Zuo Lin'an was surprised.
If he remembered correctly, someone on the forum had made a post specifically about this outfit.
These dragon-scale robes were the uniform of a department directly under the current emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty.
This department was known as the Dark Dragon Guard. Its numbers were unknown, but it definitely had no fewer than a hundred members, and every single member had at least Houtian Rank strength!
In other words, the Dark Dragon Guard member who had just taken the 【Withered Leaf】 was at least at the Houtian Rank, and might even be at the Xiantian Rank!
So, did he just hit the jackpot?
But something wasn't right.
His was only a One-Star dungeon, so why had such a powerful player been assigned to it?
Could this Dark Dragon Guard member also be a newbie player? And maybe the talent they drew was just a common talent?
Filled with doubt, Zuo Lin'an continued to observe the group of players.
Three of them looked completely ordinary and were likely commoners. Since their clothes had no patches, they probably came from moderately wealthy families.
There was also a scholar.
And a female warrior carrying a sword... No, she was carrying a scabbard.
A soldier wearing armor but carrying no weapons.
A middle-aged man dressed as a merchant.
As well as a dignified and elegant...
Right then, the scholar bowed to the elegant woman.
“This lower official greets Your Highness Consort Rong.”
Zuo Lin'an's eyes widened slightly. So she was an imperial consort, and the player dressed as a scholar was actually an official.
Huh?
Wait, that wasn't right!
Since there was an imperial consort here, could that Dark Dragon Guard member have been... ordered by the Emperor to protect Consort Rong?
Well, then.
How was this not a unique way of carrying a girl?
Zuo Lin'an frowned.
How could a Dark Dragon Guard member ordered by the Emperor to protect an imperial consort possibly be a newbie player?
What kind of joke was this? How was he supposed to kill someone like that?
He watched as the Dark Dragon Guard member climbed down from the tree, handed the 【Withered Leaf】 to Consort Rong, and then stood quietly to the side.
Just as he thought!
If it was only a guess before, it was now fully confirmed.
The Dark Dragon Guard was there specifically to protect Consort Rong.
Zuo Lin'an was glad he was hiding far away and had completely concealed his specter aura.
While powerful martial artists had incredibly sharp senses, it was impossible for them to detect his presence from a whole mountain away. That would be far too absurd.
It wasn't like they were in a cultivation world where they could project their divine sense.
Consort Rong carefully examined the special effects of the 【Withered Leaf】 and put it away with a highly satisfied expression.
As for the minor official who had just bowed to her?
She waved her hand indifferently. “You may rise. Lord Zeng is the top scholar of the imperial examinations and has already entered the Hanlin Academy. Your position is highly prestigious, so you must not bow to a mere woman of the imperial harem like me.”
After speaking, Consort Rong did not wait for Lord Zeng to reply. Instead, she turned to the middle-aged man dressed as a merchant.
“Father, I never expected that we, father and daughter, would meet in a place like this.”
The middle-aged man sighed deeply. “It would have been better if we hadn't!”
Zuo Lin'an raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected them to be father and daughter.
Remaining quiet, he continued to observe them stealthily from the shadows.
After the players exchanged pleasantries, Zuo Lin'an got a general idea of their backgrounds.
First was the Dark Dragon Guard, named Xuan Liu. He was indeed a Houtian Rank martial artist with formidable strength!
Consort Rong's original name was Tang Wanrong.
Her father, the middle-aged man, was Tang Jianghe, the head of the imperial merchant Tang family.
Just as he had guessed, Xuan Liu of the Dark Dragon Guard had been personally ordered by the Emperor to protect Consort Rong.
This Consort Rong was a complete newbie.
The female warrior carrying the scabbard was named Zhuang Feiyin, a Second-Rate martial artist. She was the daughter of the Martial Alliance Leader, possessed a righteous heart, and was a proper member of the orthodox factions.
The minor official who had previously bowed to Consort Rong was Zeng Qiuning.
He was the top scholar of the imperial examinations and had just entered officialdom. Only a few days ago, he had joined other officials in submitting a memorial to impeach Tang Jianghe of the Tang family, accusing him of using his daughter's status as Consort Rong to amass massive wealth from the common people.
This included, but was not limited to, replacing the tribute goods intended for the imperial family with low-quality, inferior substitutes.
Meanwhile, the embezzled high-grade goods were secretly sold at high prices to various princes, high-ranking officials, and even wealthy merchants to accumulate wealth.
As for whether it was true or false, Zuo Lin'an didn't know and couldn't tell.
However, since Zeng Qiuning was merely going with the flow and posed no real threat, Consort Rong hadn't made a scene earlier, maintaining a lukewarm attitude instead.
Lastly, the soldier wearing armor was a military lieutenant named Li Tie. He hadn't even reached Third-Rate Rank and was just a regular military officer.
Zuo Lin'an's gaze then fell upon the three ordinary commoners. They cowered in the distance, trembling with fear, not daring to draw close, yet not daring to wander too far away either.
This reminded him of his first dungeon run, where there had also been three commoners at the start, though those had been farmers.
Xuan Liu swiftly lit a bonfire.
Consort Rong and Tang Jianghe sat near the bonfire while Xuan Liu guarded them from the side.
Zeng Qiuning sat somewhat awkwardly on the other side, keeping his distance.
The regular soldier, Li Tie, temporarily took orders from Xuan Liu, helping to protect Consort Rong.
Tang Wanrong suddenly looked behind her. “Xuan Liu, the newbie benefit consists of the word 'time'.”
Xuan Liu replied, “Yes!”
Then, he seemed to sense something.
“Your Highness, the scent of blood is drifting from nearby. Should we send someone to investigate?”
Tang Wanrong didn't want Xuan Liu to go too far from her, as it would be too dangerous.
She looked at Li Tie.
“Lieutenant Li, would you mind making a trip?”
Li Tie naturally would not refuse.
“Please wait here, Consort Rong. This lower official will go at once.”
Just as he stood up, Zhuang Feiyin, who was standing nearby, stepped forward.
“Wait, I'll go with you.”
Li Tie was more than happy to have her along. After all, Zhuang Feiyin was a Second-Rate martial artist, far stronger than a regular soldier like him.
“Then... I will trouble you, Miss Zhuang.”
The two of them headed toward the direction Xuan Liu had pointed out. A few minutes later, they returned, one after the other.
Zhuang Feiyin's brow was furrowed deeply, her expression grave, while Li Tie's face was completely pale, clearly terrified.
Xuan Liu pressed, “What did you see?”
Zhuang Feiyin sighed. “It was a dead body. They were skinned alive, their flesh sliced open, their bones pulled out, and finally, the corpse was chopped into pieces.”
“The scene was incredibly bloody!”
Her tone was extremely serious.
“Master Xuan Liu, the specter we are facing this time is likely far from ordinary. Furthermore, we still do not know what kind of Death Rule this specter possesses, nor how that person triggered it.”
“We must exercise extreme caution from here on out.”
While they were discussing the corpse, Zuo Lin'an pulled out his phone.
From a distance, he took a few photos of the players, briefly described their names and identities, and quickly posted a thread to seek help from other bosses.
Because Zuo Lin'an posted information about several players at once, the replies below were somewhat chaotic.
Xuan Liu was the top priority, so he compiled this person's information first.
【I recognize those clothes. That's the Dark Dragon Guard, the Emperor's personal blades.】
【It's said that the top five of the Dark Dragon Guard, meaning Xuan Yi to Xuan Wu, are all Xiantian Rank powerhouses. From Xuan Liu downward, they are all at the Houtian Rank.】
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