Blocking his path was a woman dressed in coarse cloth, who looked quite young. Remarkably, in such harsh conditions at the border, this woman not only kept herself impeccably clean, but her skin was also smooth and supple. With such an appearance, she certainly attracted attention wherever she went in the military camp.
She held a bowl of steaming wontons in her hands, and looked up at Qin Chu with a smile: "Marshal Qin, you missed the mealtime, so I made you a bowl of wontons. If you don't mind..."
Qin Chu glanced down at her and said, "I'm not hungry."
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving the woman standing there dumbfounded.
This scene was common in the army. The soldiers following Qin Chu couldn't help but chuckle as they watched the cook flirt with the blind man.
He found it strange, even joking. It was impossible for anyone to resist such a woman's advances in the military camp. Everyone else was green with envy, but Qin Chu remained completely unmoved, like a wooden statue.
In Qin Chu's mind, Noah was laughing heartily: "Hahaha, she's here again! Here again! Commander, she's really fallen in love with you!"
"Shut up."
Qin Chu was annoyed by the laughter.
He had been in the army for so long and had met the players Noah had mentioned.
That cook is the most obvious one.
When Qin Chu first met this girl in the military camp, he thought it was quite remarkable. But Noah told him that there was a man beneath the skin.
Forgive Qin Chu for not being able to understand the perverse tastes of these transvestites.
Why does he keep following me?
They brought food one minute and hot water the next. Qin Chu thought for a moment and asked, "Don't tell me I'm their target?"
“No, that’s not it.” Noah couldn’t help but laugh again. “In another world, this game has a new feature: players can explore the mysteries of life with NPCs!”
Qin Chu: "..."
Noah: "She's trying to seduce you, hahaha!"
Qin Chu was truly speechless.
He took a moment to process this before continuing his business with Noah: "We're about to return to the capital, but I think fighting will break out again soon, so I plan to stay at the border."
Of the two mission lines Noah mentioned at the time, the first one was still unclear, but the second one had already been calculated. For Qin Chu, it was very simple: to quell the war in this world.
But this time Noah refused Qin Chu's suggestion: "Sir, you must go back."
"Why? These players' mission objectives have appeared?"
"That's right."
As he spoke, a holographic image of a child appeared before Qin Chu's eyes.
The child looked no more than six or seven years old, dressed in fine clothes that suggested wealth and nobility. However, his face was extremely pale, with dark circles under his eyes that seemed impossible to dispel, giving him a sickly appearance. Coupled with his emaciated body, which was nothing but skin and bones, he looked like a refugee who had fled from somewhere.
This is clearly just a character simulation image. The child is standing in a very standard posture with his palms open and facing forward. If you look closely, you can see a bright red birthmark on his palm, which indicates that the child is a boy.
"So young? What's their mission, to kidnap or protect this child?"
Noah's answer surprised Qin Chu: "All players have only one main quest, which is to kill this child."
"What's the point of killing a little kid? This game's quests are so boring, does anyone really even play it?" Qin Chu was very skeptical.
Noah then began to boast: "Actually, this task was quite difficult to solve. When I was analyzing the data, it took me a long time to find out the detailed reasons."
"What are the detailed reasons?"
"This child is actually the eldest prince of your country, and the only prince. However, there is something wrong with his birth, and since his birth, the emperor has been seriously ill and bedridden, and wars have broken out all around the country. Therefore, this prince is regarded as an ominous sign."
"So my mission is also to kill him?" Qin Chu broke off a few pieces of dry rations and swallowed them whole with cold water.
He frowned slightly, clearly somewhat disliking the task.
"No, your mission is to protect him, therefore you must now return to the capital with the army. The eldest prince has escaped from the capital and is heading north. You must find him!"
Soon, news of the negotiations between the two countries' envoys reached the capital.
Some soldiers returned to the capital, while others remained stationed on the border. The returning soldiers were divided into two groups: one led by the general rushed back to the capital, while the other slowed down to prepare for any eventuality.
Qin Chu was in the group at the back, and because they were moving at a slower pace, he had time to survey the surrounding environment.
The eldest prince was only ten years old, and his small stature made him look only six or seven. For such a child to escape from the capital alone was both conspicuous and well-hidden.
Qin Chu was restricted by his position and could only follow the group calmly, but Noah was a little anxious.
"Not only are these players eyeing the Crown Prince, but the Imperial Palace has also discovered that the only prince has escaped and is preparing to capture him! So, sir, you must hurry!"
Qin Chu was somewhat puzzled: "Wasn't he said to be an ominous sign? If he ran away, why bother to catch him again?"
“This is a precious young man, sir. You should be a little more mindful of your status.” Noah muttered. “Even a small mosquito is still meat. With our maternal grandfathers invading, they’re probably planning to send this eldest prince to marry a foreign ruler.”
He's only ten years old.
Thinking about the situation where she would have to get married as soon as she transmigrated, Qin Chu unexpectedly felt a little sympathy for the eldest prince.
Even at a slow pace, they soon arrived at the foot of the imperial city.
Qin Chu and his men received orders not to advance further, but instead to set up camp midway.
"Lord Qin, I..."
Upon hearing this voice, Qin Chu, who had just set up camp, turned to leave. But just before stepping into the tent, he stopped, turned back to the cook behind him, and asked coldly, "What is it?"
The cook clearly hadn't expected this treatment and immediately handed over a bowl of noodles with a smile: "Marshal, you must be hungry tonight. Here's a bowl of noodles for you as a midnight snack."
This time, Qin Chu surprisingly didn't refuse. Instead, he glanced at her and took the bowl of noodles.
The cook was immediately overjoyed.
It was just a bowl of noodles, yet her joy was all too obvious. Qin Chu glanced at her again, then looked down at the noodles in his hand, lifted the curtain, and went inside.
There were three or five brothers still inside the tent, who had already seen the situation outside clearly, and they immediately gathered around and started making a fuss.
"Brother Qin couldn't hold back any longer?"
"Tsk, this noodle is so fragrant. Compared to it, what I eat for dinner is like pig swill."
Seeing a group of people circling around the bowl of noodles, Qin Chu didn't touch the food. Seeing that he wasn't eating, a soldier in one of the tents couldn't resist taking a bite.
Unexpectedly, Qin Chu said, "You shouldn't eat either."
"Brother Qin, are you reluctant to part with it?"
Some people joked.
Qin Chu frowned. He had only taken the bowl of noodles to study the player's methods, but he hadn't expected that everyone in the tent would be interested in the noodles and the person who delivered them.
After glancing outside the tent and confirming that the player had left, Qin Chu said, "Don't you guys think she's strange?"
"What does this mean...?"
The soldiers exchanged glances, all somewhat suspicious.
"Whose daughter has been at the border for so long and is still like this?" Qin Chu asked indifferently.
His words immediately caused some people to feel subtly displeased.
The cook was beautiful, and many people secretly admired her. If it weren't for the fact that she clearly cared deeply for Qin Chu, and that they were completely convinced of Qin Chu's worth, they would have already made their move first.
But now, even though they were suppressing their feelings of affection, Qin Chu was saying that there was something wrong with the cook.
One of the younger soldiers couldn't hold back any longer, his face flushed as he retorted to Qin Chu, "Brother Qin, I admire you in every way. But if that girl is interested in you, fine, but you can't smear her reputation, can you? I can't respect you for that!"
Upon hearing this, although some people were not so bold, they still nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right. If you don't like it, that's fine, but saying it like that is going too far."
Hearing these words, Qin Chu glanced at the faces of everyone in the tent and felt a surge of admiration for the cook.
Of the ten soldiers in the tent, seven or eight, besides himself, clearly disagreed with his words.
These were all brothers who had fought alongside Qin Chu. They might not have any ill intentions towards him, but they were all unknowingly charmed by the cook, each of them believing that she was beautiful, kind-hearted, and a good cook.
If this matter is left unattended, something bad will happen sooner or later.
Someone tried to smooth things over: "Seventh Brother, don't say anything more. Don't you know what kind of person Brother Qin is? It would be strange if he were interested in women."
"It's so late, the lamp oil is almost gone, go to sleep!"
Qin Chu, however, did not present this request.
He picked up the bowl of cold noodles and looked at everyone: "What, you don't believe me?"
Even the person who had tried to smooth things over fell silent, looking at Qin Chu awkwardly.
Qin Chu didn't refute, but looked at one of the soldiers and said, "Fifth Brother, did you hunt two rabbits today? Are you still keeping one?"
The fifth brother scrambled out of his bedding: "What's wrong, Brother Qin? Are you hungry but don't want noodles, you want roasted rabbit?"
Qin Chu only asked him to bring the rabbit back.
The plump, strong wild rabbit was dragged over by its ears; it was quite bold, still hopping around in the tent. Qin Chu glanced at it and placed the bowl of noodles directly in front of the rabbit.
His action immediately drew gasps from many people: "Brother Qin, what are you doing? We can't waste food!"
"This...this noodles smell so good, how can you feed it to a rabbit?"
The seventh brother, who had spoken earlier, came to pick up the bowl, his face flushed, so angry he could barely speak: "You...you're wasting food!"
Qin Chu stopped them, saying only, "You'll see how the rabbit reacts after eating it."
Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately understood.
Despite not believing Qin Chu's words, their curiosity led them to gather around, eager to see what the outcome would be.
Someone else asked, "Do rabbits eat noodles? Don't they all eat grass?"
"I don't know if the rabbit ate the regular noodles, but it definitely ate the ones she made." Qin Chu looked at everyone. "Don't you all think the food this cook makes smells especially delicious, making it irresistible to eat?"
This resonated with many, which is why they genuinely envied Qin Chu. But the delicious food he made was simply due to his excellent culinary skills!
Under everyone's watchful eyes, it wasn't long before the glossy-furred rabbit started munching on noodles with its three-lobed mouth.
The noodles were so delicious that as the rabbit nibbled on them, the enticing aroma swirled through the tent, making the stomachs of all the men in the tent rumble loudly.
"Damn, this smells so good!" Someone couldn't help but swallow hard.
The rabbit probably thought so too, because the bowl of noodles was quickly emptied. The big gray rabbit was still not satisfied, so it licked up all the soup, then stood up and began to lick the soup-covered fur.
The group stared at the rabbit for a while, then began to look at each other in bewilderment.
After watching for so long, I gained nothing except making myself hungry.
Someone sighed and advised Qin Chu, "Brother Qin, if there really was a problem with this noodle, it would have shown up before the rabbit finished eating. The fact that nothing happened means there really is nothing wrong."