The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Sir, you may not know this, but those are the horses of the guests staying at the inn. Our inn is too small to keep horses," the steward replied.

Luo Yifei didn't say anything more. He took back half of the silver coins and handed the other half to the steward.

The manager thanked him repeatedly and returned to the station to prepare food.

At this moment, a woman in red came out of the inn and asked Luo Yifei, "You want to buy a horse?"

“Yes,” Luo Yifei said, looking at the woman in red and mimicking someone from an ancient drama, “The journey is long, so it’s natural to buy a horse to save some effort.”

"A Westerner, aren't you? Although you're dressed in Eastern clothing, your backpack is definitely Western style." The woman in red seemed to be verifying her judgment as she said to Luo Yifei, "I'd like to transfer the horse. It's not a fast horse, but it has excellent stamina."

"May I ask your name, and how much silver would you be willing to part with this horse?" Luo Yifei continued to imitate the characters in period dramas.

The woman in red seemed to dislike this overly formal way of speaking, perhaps finding it somewhat insincere. She walked over and sat down at Luo Yifei's table.

At this moment, the steward brought out the food: a small jar of wine, peanuts, and a plate of cured meat.

"Just call me Red Robe. Five taels of silver. The brown horse over there." The woman in red felt that the man in front of her probably couldn't afford it, so she waited for him to haggle.

“Okay,” Luo Yifei replied, “By the way, the lady in red didn’t ask my name. My name is Luo Yifei.”

Luo Yifei hadn't expected the expenses to be so high. He was wondering how long he could stay here and how he should start earning money. He took out a gold ingot from his pocket and handed it over.

The woman in red took it and weighed it in her hand. "It's probably less than five taels, but it's alright, consider it a discount for you."

Luo Yifei thanked her, and the woman got up and walked towards the main road to the south, leaving behind the words, "Don't take the main road, or the soldiers will confiscate your horse; and don't take the side roads, or you'll be robbed by bandits."

Luo Yifei smiled wryly. If they weren't taking the main road or the side paths, how else could they go? He stared at the sword on the woman in red, lost in thought. He wondered what kind of world this was. Was it really like the one depicted in that game? That was truly fantastical. He wondered if the sword energy magic was an effect added later by Mu Qing and the others.

After filling his stomach, Luo Yi mounted his horse and headed towards the side path. He remembered this part of the map; although the main road was wide and long, the side path, though difficult to traverse, was a shortcut.

……

After traveling for a while and getting some distance from the post station, Luo Yifei took out a drone and began to survey the terrain.

It was about to complete a patrol flight, but before it could return, it crashed. Luo Yifei watched as an arrow shot towards the drone in the transmitted footage.

From the previous footage, Luo Yifei saw a man in black standing on a tree, carrying a bow and arrows.

Luo Yifei touched the pistol in his pocket, flicked the reins, and the horse sped forward.

A moment later, Luo Yifei saw the figure of the man in black, who had already fired an arrow at a group of people on the main road ahead. A figure dressed in red fell to the ground, struck by the arrow, and in that instant, as the red figure flicked his long sleeve, the entire group collapsed to the ground.

As Luo Yifei drew his pistol, the man in black jumped down from the tree, turned around, and drew his bow and arrow.

The two looked at each other, but neither made a move.

As they confronted each other, a group of men in red clothes ran out of the woods and surrounded them.

"Why are you riding Lin Lei's horse?" one of them asked.

"I bought the horse." Luo Yifei did not put down his gun.

As he answered, another member of their group thrust his sword into the man in black from behind. At that moment, the man in black's arrow also left his bow, but instead of striking Luo Yifei, it struck the man in red behind him.

The two people next to "Senior Brother" immediately helped the man who had been shot.

At the same time, the group of people who had just fallen to the ground were also surrounded by the men in red.

Before Luo Yifei could even comprehend what was happening, everything went black and he fell off his horse.

……

When Luo Yifei woke up, he was lying in a thatched hut. His bag and pistol were gone. Lying next to him was the black-clad archer, who had been stabbed in the back but hadn't died. The archer was now tilting his head and looking at Luo Yifei. This gave Luo Yifei a chill.

"Were those strange black birds with four wings yours?" the man in black said to him, then coughed.

"It's my stuff. Are you alright?" Luo Yifei asked, looking at the man in black who seemed on the verge of death.

"Don't worry, they won't let me die until they get the antidote."

"who are they?"

"The Red-Clothed Cult".

"Then why did you kill them?"

“I’m not trying to kill them, but they’re trying to save the people I’m trying to kill, so I’m going to kill them too.”

Luo Yifei didn't say anything more. He knew that, based on the plots of the fantasy novels he had heard from Shen Lixi, this kind of person was mostly impossible to communicate with.

After a while, Luo Yifei couldn't help but ask, "Where are we?"

"Judging from the fact that it's just getting dark, and based on their speed, we should be at Mount Emei," said Luo Yifei, referring to the man in black who had returned home.

Luo Yifei was startled. Four years later, he had returned to this place. And he was heading in the opposite direction.