I Can Only Cultivate In A Game
Chapter 251 - 251: Lingyun's Current Status

The second guard, shorter and potbellied, stepped forward and yanked the pendant from Victor's hand. He turned it over, spat on his palm, and then shoved it into his pouch of bric-a-brac. He thumbed the stamped copper coin into Victor's palm without ceremony.

"Day pass. Goes in your pocket, not your table," the rotund one snapped. He gestured with his chin. "Move along."

No "welcome," no courtesy. Victor slipped inside with stiff shoulders.

Inside, faded lotus lanterns still hung from the rafters, but their warm glow was gone. Paint was chipped, windows boarded.

This place was a hangout haven before, where Chen Wen would serve him hearty fire mist wine but now it felt deadened.

Murmuring to himself, he scanned the square for Chen Wen his former NPC friend, but the tavern's owners were nowhere to be found.

He approached a cluster of cultivators playing a game of spirit-dice under a studded awning.

"Excuse me," he called out respectfully. "Do you know where Lingyun Rest's master is?"

They looked at him with disdain, eyebrows lifted.

"Newcomer?" one questioned with a tone of boredom. "Don't you know he's been investigated for illicit brew? The town council sealed off the tavern months ago."

Their laughter was quite irritating.

Victor realized the place was no longer just changed. It wasn't anything like before. It was technically a new place.

"Erm, excuse me, what of Chen Wen?" Victor threw out an extra question.

"That Chen Wen boy—he left. Went north, I hear." The men spat out the words, then fell silent, offering no more.

Victor swallowed his ache and nodded. "Thank you," he said softly.

---

Immediately after he left what used to be Lingyun rest, his next target was the LingyunTrade Pavilion.

The market-haven that sold and bought everything, ranging from exotic herbs to soul-crystal beads, and shimmering fabrics.

However, just like Lingyun Rest, it was now guarded as strictly as an armory.

Two guards in identical uniforms similar to what Victor saw back at the Rest, stood outside. Victor approached them, but they merely inspected him from head to toe before crossing their arms.

Fortunately, they didn't prevent his entry.

Inside, the pavilion's windows reflected fluorescent blue-runic talismans, only flickering weakly.

The open rows of shelves held carefully arranged goods: enchanted parchments, preservation vials, purification smoke pouches—nothing familiar.

Amid the dust and gloom, Victor spotted a straggler: a man with thinning black hair and a long scar traced over his eyebrows with deep worry lines framed his eyes.

It was Liu Shen... the same merchant who had bought from him before.

However, he no longer seemed to be the resolute merchant from before.

Victor hesitated a half heartbeat, then approached with tact.

He bowed slightly, caught between familiarity and caution. The man looked up with a weary eyes. The spark he used to have within had dimmed but wasn't entirely gone.

"Looking to… sell?" Liu Shen asked, attempting business as usual.

Victor forced a chuckle and pulled out a seemingly benign bundle: a handful of smoky jade stones. "Yes, some jade and spirit-crystal entwined with Rank 1 beast blood essence," he explained.

As he did, he subtly moved closer, careful not to alarm him.

Liu Shen leaned forward and sniffed. "Hmm—blood? Don't bring trouble..." he muttered.

Victor shook his head gently. "Actually, it's Fang Chen," he whispered while stepping closer. "We met before. I… I was here a year ago."

Liu's eyebrows rose.

He blinked incredulously. "You—Fang Chen? The one chased by the Qin family... but Fang Chen has black hair..."

Victor nodded. "Yes it is me. My appearance appearance changed a bit but it is still me."

Liu Shen's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Cultivator Fang... truly? After all this time?"

Victor whispered, "We can't talk here. The guards… could be watching. I need to meet you, later, tonight."

Liu looked around cautiously.

"Tell you what—come to the old pagoda courtyard, #3 street, when the moon is highest." He risked a rare smile. "I'll be waiting."

Victor nodded and tucked away the jade stones. "See you then."

---

As Victor stepped out into the cool night, a notification shimmered at the edge of his vision:

> 🔍 New Objective Activated: Meet with Liu Shen – Location: Pagoda courtyard, street 3, Moon's Apex

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The moon sat high and silent, spilling pale light across the broken courtyard tiles as Victor and Liu Shen met under the brittle shadows of an old pavilion.

A chill breeze stirred the scent of damp stone and dried lotus petals. Here, in the hushed heart of Lingyun Town, they exchanged truths that had simmered for a year.

Liu Shen closed his eyes with a look of pain smeared across his lined face. "Cultivator, Fang Chen," he began with a trembling tone, "you... you've returned at a crucial time. That night you fled—things changed faster than anyone could have expected."

Victor leanex against a broken lantern post with an expression of curiosity. "Tell me everything."

Liu Shen swallowed. "The Bai and Qin families—they've merged. Bai Tingting, married into the Qins. She became the wife of Qin Fei, the pompous youth you remember? He's now Bai… reddish-black-robed, too." He laughed bitterly. "Powerful families across Lingyun Town, thought they might challenge each other. But when Bai family bowed to Qin, everything shifted."

Victor's eyes narrowed.

Bai Tingting: He recalled Chen Wen's affection for her and how Qin Fei humiliated him for it or at least tried to.

"So they annexed," he murmured.

Liu Shen continued. "Yes. After the merger, they began building a much stronger faction—unifying their surrounding lands, quietly absorbing rival operations. The Zhao family tried to prevent their growth, concerned about the tip in power balance but when the fight came... they were wiped out. Stopped by the Qins' martial enforcers."

Victor's jaw throbbed. "Eliminated?"

"Think secret burnings, wiped ledgers, twisted broken seals—land rights and property vanished in night fires." Shen's voice cracked. "They left the Zhao ruinous...disoriented… They've died or disappeared. Then the Yan family, the second of the four big families who didn't bow to their power were forced out. They had to flee north, to remote mountain temples. Their homes were exiled, seized, emptied."

"Woah... that seems pretty serious," Victor muttered.

The Bai–Qin annexation had destroyed two generations of lineage and identity in Lingyun Town. "That explains the guards... the odd uniforms." His gaze drifted across the courtyard, imagining patrolled rows of armored enforcers lining every street.

"They took control of the town. Seized businesses, extorted merchants. Anyone who didn't comply…"

Liu Shen leaned forward with an extremely disturbed look. "Rumor is they dealt with some—disappearances. Those who refused to accept the new change. I survived by... keeping my head down. I remained in charge of the Trade Pavilion under watch... technically, I'm only the owner in name. Everything belongs to them now."

Victor closed his eyes, thinking of Liu Shen's former smile and enthusiasm. "I saw that building... the same guards, empty stalls."

Shen rubbed his face. "I survive. I run business to stay alive. No choice."

Victor's mind flashed to the boarded-up Lingyun Rest. That haven—Chen Wen's laughter, served wines, local tales. "What about Chen Wen and his father? I was told they got into some trouble... that Bai Tingting… they used to love each other, right? Did she not help them?"

Liu Shen winced. "Soon after the annexation, I heard Mr. Chen resisted the Qins. Struggled against forced titles, and forced business tributes."

Victor closed his eyes, picturing Chen Wen's kind face. "Let me guess, that's why they had to leave..."

Shen shook his head. "One night, when guards came... he slapped their swords away, tried to hold an order because the Rest refused to sell the new 'Town Levy Ale'. They smashed him, cursed him, broke the brewing spines of his father. By dawn, both Chen Wen and his father were gone. No one knows where."

Liu Shen shivered while studying the cracked lantern before him. "Lingyun Rest collapsed. Locked down for a month and then placed under new establishment."

Victor's face went pale. "That's…"

"And Bai Tingting?"

Liu Shen's eyes filled. "She—was forced to sign and swear to burn any letters from him. She lost her voice."

Victor shook his head. He was only gone for one year and now everything was upside down.

He still wondered what would have happened if he failed the quest. Would it have landed in the lap of another player or would Lingyun Town stay this way forever.

Victor looked at Liu Shen in understanding; choices made to survive under tyranny. "So all of Lingyun has changed… the Qin–Bai clan rules with fear. Two families exiled, no exceptions."

Liu Shen placed a hand on Victor's arm. "That's why people are afraid. Guards enforce curfews. Merchants sell only approved goods. Town borders sealed off on perilous budget—unspoken orders to watch newcomers. They want control."

Victor's shoulders tightened. He gazed at the sealed orchard through the moonlit pavilion gates. "I need to find out more about the annexed family. Maybe I can finally do something to change things around here and repay the Qins' for chasing me out."

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