“It’s fine, I guess… it’s just gender.” After all, as a top-tier figure in the voice-acting scene, Yu He had seen it all. He’d been shipped with people more times than he could count. He’d long since learned to take these things in stride.

Tang Shaoqing’s eyes widened slightly, the smile at the corner of his mouth impossible to hide.

As long as he wasn’t repulsed, there was at least a chance.

Besides, Yu He had voiced BL radio dramas before, so it made sense that he wouldn’t be against it.

With the dungeon cleared, the World Chat icon reappeared.

[World][Don’tWantToStudy]: Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah it’s over. What did you get??

[World][NineMeters]: Camping front row!

[World][Pink Gold Carat]: Ah, ah, ah so excited

[World][Jiaojiao nmsl]: Where are you?

[World][Guji]: Camping for results qvq

[World][Little Elf]: Where’d you go…

“What did we even get…” Porridge scratched his head. It felt like they hadn’t gotten anything, just played through the story and got some money at the end.

“One pill and a revival manual,” Tang Shaoqing said.

“…That’s it? Just these two items?” Yu Guo looked utterly baffled.

“Don’t panic. There’s an explanation.”

[Marrow-Cleansing Pill: Allows reallocation of skill points]

[Revival Manual: After cultivation, allows revival of oneself or others; cooldown decreases as level increases]

“Holy shit, the Marrow-Cleansing Pill!” Porridge exclaimed.

In Xianxia Online, skill points were divided into Constitution, Strength, Qi, Control, and Agility. But players only had a total of 100 points. Once allocated, they couldn’t be refunded or changed. The Marrow-Cleansing Pill existed to make up for that flaw.

The Marrow-Cleansing Pill couldn’t be crafted and could only drop through pure RNG. Very few had ever dropped, and its price had been driven to astronomical levels.

“I heard Zhizi Yugui has been begging for one forever and still hasn’t gotten it,” Porridge said.

Tang Shaoqing raised an eyebrow.

Zhizi Yugui, huh…

“How about we sell them?” Yu He suggested.

After all, with just these two items, there was no way to split them among the four of them, and he didn’t really care, especially with two outsiders present.

“Sure.” No one objected.

“So what about that revival manual?” Yu Guo asked.

That manual was basically like a healer’s resurrection skill, not exactly groundbreaking.

“You guys split it. I don’t need it. My advisor’s looking for me, I’m logging off,” Porridge waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned.

He’d been dragged in for no clear reason anyway. Getting a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for free was already pretty great. Porridge·Zen mode, was perfectly satisfied.

“Leave some contact info. Once we sell the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, we’ll split the profits,” Tang Shaoqing said.

“Sure.”

After adding each other on □□, Yu Guo and Porridge both logged off. One due to a power outage and going to sleep, the other because his advisor had summoned him in the middle of the night.

Once again, only the two of them were left.

Yu He thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go learn that manual.”

Meaning: Let’s hang up the call.

“Okay. I’ll put the Marrow-Cleansing Pill up on the auction house,” Tang Shaoqing replied.

They were still in a party together, and the mic was still on. Yu He hesitated for a bit, then let it be.

Yu Guo had already said she didn’t want the manual. She was just a casual player, so it was useless to her. As for Voice Changer, he wore an expression that clearly said what’s mine is my wife’s.

Yu He had no choice but to accept it.

Learning the manual was quick. Just a right-click and it was done. Afterward, Yu He set it to a shortcut and carefully read through the description.

It was actually pretty cracked. Healers already had a skill to revive others. Add this manual on top for double resurrection, and future fights would be stress-free.

And then there was the real cheat: It could revive yourself. Completely broken.

Once the skill was fully leveled, who knew how short the cooldown would get.

After learning the skill, Yu He rested his chin on his hand and glanced at world chat. He hadn’t checked it all evening, and it felt a little strange.

Meanwhile, the World Chat had gone insane because of a single line from Voice Changer.

[World][Doting on He-jiang]: Selling Marrow-Cleansing Pill. Auction house, go check

[World][Yanghua Falling]: ??!! HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT

[World][JiaoJiao nmsl]: ???? HOLY SHIT A MARROW-CLEANSING PILL

[World][Guji]: Holy crap, a Marrow-Cleansing Pill dropped

[World][Luoyang Snow]: wdm1Slang for 我的妈 (wǒ de mā). Lit. My mom. Meaning: Omg, wtf a Marrow-Cleansing Pill!! I’m actually seeing a real one

[World][Zhizi Yugui]: Name your price

[World][Fly Higher]: ? What the hell??

[World][Idiot Kid]: Oh my god

“They’ve started bidding.” While Yu He was lurking, the familiar voice came through his headset.

“Hm?”

“Go check the auction house.”

“Oh, okay.”

The auction house was where players traded items. An auction meant the highest bidder won. At a glance, Yu He spotted the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, its price already pushed sky-high.

Yu He wasn’t a whale. He’d always played games in a pretty Zen way, only buying something occasionally if he really liked it. This was the first time he’d ever seen a virtual pill auctioned to such an outrageous price.

Even though his family was loaded, his parents had raised him frugally from a young age. They only loosened the reins after he went to college, and he still wasn’t quite used to it. He’d always lived low-key.

The price kept climbing. Every refresh showed Zhizi Yugui competing with different bidders, inching it higher and higher.

“Why does Zhizi Yugui want the Marrow-Cleansing Pill so badly?” Yu He asked, puzzled.

In his mind, Zhizi Yugui was just “RMB whale”, top of the cash rankings, apparently Luo Yan’s game partner. Luo Yan, Luo Yan… why did that name sound so familiar?

“Probably thinks he misallocated his skill points. He’s never been able to climb the PK rankings,” Tang Shaoqing said with a smile.

Zhizi Yugui had always been oddly hostile toward him. Tang Shaoqing had never really understood why. Thinking it over, the only explanation was that he just couldn’t beat him.

Zhizi Yugui was an assassin too. His gear was top-tier, but his hand speed and game sense were lacking; he’d never been able to win against Tang Chao in arena PK.

Back then, Tang Chao had casually commented on his mechanics and awareness and maybe Zhizi Yugui felt embarrassed. After that, whatever Tang Chao did, Zhizi Yugui had to outdo him, even marrying Luo Yan was probably partly out of spite.

Anyone who liked gossip in World Chat knew that Zhizi Yugui and Tang Chao were at odds.

Tang Shaoqing couldn’t be bothered with it. It was just a game, why be so petty?

Back then, he played games for fun and money. Now… he played to be a little closer to big brother.

“I really don’t understand rich people’s world,” Yu He sighed.

Tang Shaoqing chuckled, recalling how Yu He used to wear head-to-toe designer clothes as a kid while scrimping and saving to buy candied hawthorns. If Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu hadn’t raised him so well, Yu He might’ve ended up a full-blown RMB whale in-game too.

But… as long as big brother was happy, that was enough.

He was no longer the little kid who stuck to Yu He’s back, calling him big brother over and over like cling wrap. Now, he could stand in front of Yu He and shield him from the wind and rain.

Yu He suddenly let out a soft ‘huh?’, “Tang Chao?”

“Hm?” Tang Shaoqing’s heart jolted.

“This is hilarious,” Yu He laughed as he rubbed the cat’s head. “Every time Zhizi Yugui raises the bid, Tang Chao adds just one yuan. Zhizi Yugui’s afraid he’ll keep dragging it out, so he can only raise it by more each time. What kind of grudge do those two even have?”

Tang Shaoqing opened the auction house page. Sure enough, just as Yu He said, every time Zhizi Yugui bid, Tang Chao followed with an extra 1 RMB.

Tang Shaoqing silently opened WeChat.

Tang: Did you log into my account?

Guji: I PM’d you and you didn’t reply, so I logged in. Your account has money, it can bid. Mine’s too broke to do it.

Guji: Isn’t Zhizi Yugui that smug bastard? This is cracking me up.

Tang: Fine then.

Guji really disliked Zhizi Yugui. He’d been robbed during escort missions a few times and targeted more than once. Whenever Guji’s guild made any move, Zhizi Yugui would always throw out sarcastic remarks.

Even several anonymous gossip posts on the forums had IPs matching Zhizi Yugui’s.

Absolutely impressive. A grown man, yet that petty. Respect.

Guji: Hey wait, who are you chatting with? You’re not replying to me. Don’t tell me you’ve got someone else out there.

Tang: Get lost.

Tang: I’ve sent screenshots to Jingjing.

Jingjing was this guy’s girlfriend. Don’t be fooled by how unserious he usually looked, he was a total wife slave in private.

Guji: ?

Guji: Bro, we just made up. Don’t do me like this.

Their interests were pretty different. Jingjing didn’t even like gaming. No idea how those two ended up together. They fought over trivial things all the time, made up within half a day, then went right back to showering everyone with PDA. Tang Shaoqing was already used to it.

“Do you know Tang Chao?” Just as Tang Shaoqing was about to reply with a sticker, that came through his headset. The next second, he shut off his phone and focused entirely on the computer screen.

“What about Tang Chao?” Tang Shaoqing asked.

“He’s a scumbag,” Yu He said.

Tang Shaoqing: “?”