DADH Chapter 15

⌈Weekend update: 0/2⌋

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Inside the courtyard, a man with the NPC name “Uncle Pipi” on his head was holding the wooden door with one hand. When he saw that the person knocking on the door was a little insignificant figure, he slowly lowered his head. The coarse farmer’s clothes on his body fluttered in the wind, and the farmer’s emblem was very prominent.

However, what Jing Nian noticed at first glance was his aura, cold and distant like a lone star in the sky, and… those straight and powerful long legs.

Because of the significant height difference, Jing Nian’s upward gaze was a bit awkward. After finally seeing clearly, his pupils contracted in astonishment for a moment.

“Plap-”

The cloth that was used to cover the dragon’s claws accidentally slipped to one side, revealing a bit of the young dragon’s pointed nail.

Jing Nian quickly snapped back to his senses, covering the claw with the cloth again, and with a flushed face, he hurriedly averted his gaze.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but be grateful for the cloak that covered his face. Jing Nian awkwardly tugged at the cloak, and because of his nervous and hurried movements, his small, unstable body tripped over the cloak and tumbled to the ground.

Seeing the little figure wrapped in cloth manage the situation while he stumbled over himself, a trace of mild puzzlement crossed Uncle Pipi’s black pupils.

His gaze shifted from the bundle of cloth covering Jing Nian’s head to the only pair of round eyes that were visible. He silently observed, without speaking or making any indication that he wanted to help.

The chubby little dragon cub was unharmed by the fall; Jing Nian was used to falling and simply sat on the ground, looking up at him.

No matter how he looked at this handsome guy in front of him, with an indescribable aura of restraint, he didn’t seem like a farmer, let alone an uncle.

Those eyes, cold like stars, glistened with a frosty light. His eyebrows reached his temples, and his thin lips were quite attractive. Except for the short stubble around his chin, which was an attempt to fit the “uncle” image, every aspect of this NPC matched Jing Nian’s aesthetic.

And that stubble was quite out of place. How could he possibly look like he was in his twenties with that stubble? Probably the work of the game’s artists trying to fit the “uncle” age, Jing Nian thought.

“Gulu.” Jing Nian quietly swallowed his saliva. If he weren’t in an unexpected situation but playing a game instead, he would definitely try to capture this NPC’s heart. QAQ

Wiping away the non-existent drool, Jing Nian shook his head to remind himself of the task at hand. He climbed to his feet from the ground and double-checked the NPC’s name, suppressing the odd feeling in his heart. Holding the slightly trailing “cloak” in his hand, he took a couple of quick steps and stood before the excessively handsome Uncle Pipi, preparing to initiate the quest dialogue.

However, Uncle Pipi suddenly froze, like he got stuck, and became motionless all of a sudden.

Jing Nian, with his head tilted up: ?

After about ten seconds, Huo Yi, who could regain control of his body only if he didn’t deviate from this NPC’s setup, looked at the suspicious little figure before him with a complex expression and spoke in a cool voice.

“Can you do me a favor?”

The chilly voice was strangely pleasant to the ears. Jing Nian didn’t have time to ponder what had just happened with the NPC before he saw the quest prompt appear.

“It seems that Uncle Pipi has encountered a problem and is in a hurry, with his head full of worry. Will you help him?”

[Accept/Decline]

His fingertip instinctively tapped on the quest prompt, ready to accept the quest. But suddenly, Jing Nian paused and glanced at the quest description again. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze to the calmly composed Uncle Pipi.

Jing Nian frowned: “Is there something off about the game I’m playing?”

Meeting Jing Nian’s puzzled gaze, Huo Yi subtly swept his eyes over the various text boxes and frames in front of the little figure.

After accurately capturing the keywords “encountered a problem” and “head full of worry,” his eyebrows furrowed.

Hmm, troublesome.

He had no idea what it meant to encounter a problem or be in a hurry in his entire life. Just as he was pondering how to convey these two emotions, he saw the originally puzzled round eyes of the little figure suddenly light up with realization. In a swift motion, he extended his “hand,” which was wrapped into a small round shape, and tapped on [Accept].

Jing Nian saw the quest list change to “[Novice Quest 1: Listen to [Uncle Pipi]’s worries.]” He obediently tilted his small head, ready to listen to the handsome uncle’s concerns.

When it came to helping a handsome guy, he was more than willing~

Moreover, he realized that the NPC settings in this game were quite whimsical. If he hadn’t observed carefully, he wouldn’t have noticed the worry and anxiety hidden between the “uncle’s” handsome brows.

Could it be that his character was just a dialogue machine with no emotions, he chuckled.

Seeing the anticipation in the eyes of the little figure, Huo Yi’s gaze couldn’t hide his disdain. It wasn’t disdain for the little figure but for the character design of this farmer NPC. However, he hadn’t fully penetrated the holographic technology programming of this world, so he had to endure and speak.

“Ahem, my livelihood-sustaining vegetable field has met with a disaster. Can you help me?”

Despite lacking any emotions, there was one thing for sure—listening to this NPC talk was truly enjoyable. Jing Nian nodded in agreement while savoring the experience. But then, he realized that the quest didn’t continue.

Hmm—

Jing Nian widened his innocent round eyes once again, looking at Uncle Pipi in puzzlement.

Then, he saw Uncle Pipi’s brows furrow even tighter, his forehead visibly contorted into three vertical lines, and he repeated the same lines with a more emotionless tone.

“Sigh, my livelihood-sustaining vegetable field has met with a disaster. Kind young person, can you help me?”

Miraculously, this time, the quest for Jing Nian finally refreshed.

[Novice Quest 1: Go to [Uncle Pipi]’s [vegetable field] and take a look.]

Huo Yi’s gaze fixed on the quest prompt in front of Jing Nian, a place that NPCs weren’t supposed to notice, and then without saying a word, he turned and walked in a certain direction.

Seeing the quest arrow pointing at Uncle Pipi, Jing Nian understood that he was meant to lead the way to the vegetable field. He quickly picked up the trailing cloth cloak and trotted after him with his short legs.

However, Uncle Pipi’s legs were too long, and his steps were agile. After a turn, Jing Nian, who was already unsteady on his feet, fell once again.

After stumbling out of the cloth bundle, and readjusting the cloak, Jing Nian faced the empty little mountain path and was dumbfounded.

The quest marker only pointed towards the branch direction where Uncle Pipi was. Before him was a fork in the road, and the marker indicated between the two paths.

If it were under normal circumstances, he could try both paths if needed, but he was currently using the body of a little dragon cub. Just getting to this point had left him out of breath; he didn’t have the energy to try both paths.

Sighing, Jing Nian squatted down and picked up a twig to draw circles. He was beginning to consider summoning the sand sculpture to help him.

Right at that moment, a young man carrying an iron sword on his back emerged from one of the paths at the fork.

The young man had a dark complexion and was dressed in a short tunic. His eyes were full of vitality, and they lit up even brighter when he saw Jing Nian. He approached enthusiastically.

“Little friend, do you need help?”

Jing Nian looked up and saw the words [Warrior Ahe] written above the young man’s head. His gaze also brightened as he opened the main quest.

Just as he thought.

[Main Quest: Small Fishing Village – Warrior] was flashing.

So, this was the quest giver for the main quest!

The excitement in Jing Nian’s eyes surged higher and higher; he couldn’t help but feel thrilled.

Any gamer knows that main quests provide the most experience and rewards!

Jing Nian had originally placed the main quest after the beginner quest because he thought it might be difficult to find a warrior. Now that he had encountered one, who needed a farmer anymore!

Happily, Jing Nian stood up, but before he could respond, he was lifted up by someone, his feet leaving the ground.

Due to concerns about revealing the features of the little dragon cub’s body, Jing Nian’s cloak was tightly wrapped around him. When he was lifted, the taut fabric covered his mouth, rendering him unable to speak.

Then, Jing Nian watched with wide eyes as the warrior’s gaze revealed a kind smile. He cautioned:

“Little friend, don’t run around outside. Hurry and go home with your parents~”

After saying this, the warrior quickly disappeared around a corner.

Seeing the experience points slipping away just before he could obtain them, Jing Nian couldn’t afford to be afraid. Angrily struggling within the confines of the tight cloak, he freed his mouth and turned to see the culprit, only to suddenly freeze.

Those eyes, cool and tinged with a faint sense of confusion, belonged to none other than Uncle Pipi!

Before Jing Nian could express his frustration, Uncle Pipi’s thin lips parted lightly: “Too slow.”

With that, he used Jing Nian’s cloak and lifted him, heading toward the other fork in the road, the one the warrior had taken to leave.

Struggling inside the wrapped cloak, Jing Nian felt a sense of helplessness: “…”

Just as players were about to receive the main quest and earn a big wave of experience, he was unexpectedly brought back to the vegetable field by being carried.

He didn’t think much of it, though. After all, ever since the era of interstellar technology, AI had become quite advanced, and many NPCs in holographic online games had their own human-like personalities. Jing Nian found it quite normal.

But this Uncle Pipi’s personality was indeed quite unique, even among unique personalities!

Few words, but decisive and handsome farmer? Not bad!

Haha, Jing Nian amused himself and found it somewhat interesting. He looked at the quest arrow continuously pointing at Uncle Pipi and sat comfortably in the cloak without struggling.

He even had the leisure to secretly use his small paw to lift the edge of the cloak, admiring Uncle Pipi’s handsome face with satisfaction.

Starting with the beginner quest was originally his plan, so this wasn’t too bad either.

However, just half a minute after this thought crossed his mind, Jing Nian regretted it immensely.

Uncle Pipi carried him to the front of the vegetable field and, before Jing Nian could react, tossed him into the field and thrust a wooden knife into his hand.

Standing in front of the vegetables, the ‘Little Dragon cub Jing Nian’ looked particularly perplexed. Knowing Uncle Pipi’s character as a man with few words, Jing Nian began to speculate on his own.

Could it be that he was supposed to chop vegetables?

Thinking this, suddenly a cyan-colored, larger-than-himself bug emerged from the vegetables in front of him.

“Ah, wah—!!!”

The moment he saw the full appearance of the cyan bug with its body, Jing Nian’s mind went blank. He dropped the wooden knife in despair and sprinted away.

Unfortunately, the little dragon cub’s body was small with short legs, and he tripped over his own cloak with a “plap.”

As he fell to the ground, Jing Nian didn’t even dare to open his eyes. He tightly wrapped himself in the cloak, with only one thought in his mind: just let me die!

Only a few people knew of Jing Nian’s major weakness: fear of insects. His fear of insect-like creatures was so severe that he wouldn’t even encounter bug-shaped monsters in holographic online games.

As a result, unexpectedly encountering such a formidable enemy without any warning, Jing Nian felt that just by looking at it, he had lost half of his life.

Now lying on the ground after tripping, unable to escape, listening to the rapidly approaching sound of the wind from behind, Jing Nian felt that the remaining half of his life was also about to vanish.

Jing Nian pitifully clutched himself tightly, tearfully awaiting his demise.

Suddenly.

“Whoosh—” “Thud!”

A wooden knife flew past Jing Nian’s head and the sound of something falling behind him followed.

Crawling frantically on the ground within his cloak, Jing Nian felt the wind chasing him no more. He cautiously peered out with a pair of eyes from under the cloak, looking back.

He saw the large cyan bug pinned to the ground by the wooden knife, thoroughly defeated.

Suppressing his disgust, Jing Nian moved aside and accidentally bumped into an obstacle above him. He lifted his head and met a pair of cold, disdainful eyes.

The tears that had been held back behind Jing Nian’s eyes surged forth. The first person he saw after narrowly escaping death was now being treated as his savior. This person, agile and not at all like a chubby little dragon cub, was staring at him.

Before the handsome farmer could react, Jing Nian sobbed loudly, crawling into his embrace and tightly wrapping his arms around the farmer’s neck.

“Sob, sob, sob! You scared me to death!!!”

 

Author’s Note:

This chapter is also known as: “The Dominant Farmer Falls for Me hehehe”

PS: Jing Nian is not a crybaby all the time; he’s just afraid of big fleshy bugs.

PPS: I forgot to mention in the synopsis, but Huo Yi previously ascended from the world of martial arts.

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