57: Chapter 57 The lucky koi's surname is Ma; did you consult the Dragon Palace?

The air at the edge of the hall was so humid it could be wrung out like a wet towel. As soon as Hu Jinsi stepped over the stone threshold carved with cloud patterns, his gaze locked onto the thing in the pool of black water in the center.

To be honest, he really didn't get the point of this "Jinyu." He figured it was just a group of foreign designers having a sudden epiphany: "Oh, don't Chinese people love keeping koi? Alright, let's just make a Jinyu!"

And so, they came up with this thing: a round, bulbous fish head with two dead, protruding eyes like soaked longan pits; two whiskers drooping like rotting seaweed, trembling with every breath; and a deep blue robe draped over its body, the hem soaked in the pitch-black pool water, its original color long lost. The whole thing stood in the stagnant pool, looking exactly like a fermented pickle jar that had gained sentience.

This bizarre aesthetic was just as ridiculous as those tentacled, cringe-inducing Draenei from back in the day—a real pair of matching disasters.

The more Hu Jinsi looked, the more uncomfortable he felt. Why not choose from the majestic Dragon Kings or the dashing shrimp soldiers and crab generals from his ancestors' mythology? Instead, they had to cook up this monstrosity that looked like a hodgepodge of everything.

Even a boss themed around a "carp leaping over the dragon gate" would have been better! At least it would have auspicious connotations, and you'd get a bit of good luck after defeating it. But now? They put this thing here. This isn't a nemesis for an Eastern Monk; it's just a big-headed fish wearing a kasaya.

He took half a step back, his brow furrowed deep enough to crush a fly. This sudden shift from the game's art style to such realistic features was genuinely nauseating. The character model, which had looked somewhat cartoonish in the game, was now standing right in front of him—the slimy, wet, rotting, fishy stench made Hu Jinsi's stomach churn.

"Great," Hu Jinsi muttered to himself. "After this run, let alone eating fish, I'll have to walk a wide circle around the seafood stall for the next week."

The Boss didn't move, just stood in the center of that pitch-black stagnant pool, surrounded by ominous purple bubbles that gurgled up from the bottom. Every time a bubble burst, it released an even more nauseating, sickly-sweet stench.

It looked just like a down-and-out old con artist soaked in sewage, wearing a Taoist robe stolen from some traveling theater troupe, trying to act all mysterious.

Standing before the Boss, Hu Jinsi began to rapidly turn his long-unused brain, recalling the specific strategy for the first boss.

"First, it summons four slime or jelly-like things..." he murmured, his voice lowered as if afraid to disturb the stagnant water. "Kill those four little things first. After that, the first boss's invincibility will break. Once the invincibility is broken, you attack the boss, but it will spin around and fire water jets to attack..."

He frowned, straining to dig up fragments from the depths of his memory. Hu Jinsi's main takeaways for this boss were: run in circles, don't step in the water, and kill the adds first. As for the rest, he couldn't recall it for the moment because he had always speed-run this dungeon, and it had been a long time since he'd actually played through it properly.

Back then, he was just a nine-to-five office worker. He'd come home at night, turn on the computer, form a group, enter the dungeon, and rush through with flashy skills—who cared about the specific mechanics? As long as they cleared it, that was enough.

There was still a long time before the winter break ended, and Hu Jinsi didn't expect to get any achievements on his first try. So, he decided to play it safe and run it normally first to test out all the boss's skills. Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated—he understood this principle better than anyone.

---

The air at the edge of the hall was humid and stagnant, filled with a sickly-sweet, rotten stench emanating from the spring. Hu Jinsi stood at the edge where the black water spread, hearing the teeth-grinding gurgling coming from the depths of the stagnant pool. He didn't rashly step in, but instead reached back to a hidden pouch at his waist and drew a willow-leaf throwing knife. With a flick of his wrist, a cold glint cut through the air, tearing through the silence.

"The water whispers to me... they speak of your demise!"

At the central spring, the Jinyu cloaked in deep blue robes puffed out its gills and issued a dull, malicious declaration. Almost the moment the words fell, the black water pools in the four corners of the hall boiled violently. Four twisting, writhing masses of black living water shot out, carrying a nauseating, slimy sensation as they slid toward Hu Jinsi in a fan-shaped formation.

Hu Jinsi's eyes narrowed. He remembered these slime-like filth; they caused damage upon contact and would split into smaller, more explosive individuals upon death. He had no intention of tanking them with his body. With a tap of his toes, he turned into a blurred afterimage, using the extreme speed granted by his 19 Agility to run circles around the hall.

He threw the knives in his hand in quick succession, pinning them precisely in the path of the living water. Using the deflection caused by the impact of the knives, he forcibly steered the four masses of black water toward the most remote corner of the hall.

Relying on the terrifying 4-meter attack radius of [Spinning Crane Kick], Hu Jinsi kept a safe distance from these filthy things. Dull thuds rang out in succession as the four masses of living water were kicked hard into the corner. Upon impact, they exploded, turning into twelve smaller blobs that splattered the ground, creating hissing pits of acid.

Hu Jinsi didn't stop, maintaining the [Crane Form: Lonely Phoenix Style] stance, keeping these dangerous enemies locked at the base of the wall. He deliberately controlled his landing points to ensure the corrosive puddles left behind were concentrated in the neglected corner, never interfering with the upcoming direct confrontation.

During this time, the ugly Jinyu attempted to counterattack, firing several dark green water lances that whistled toward Hu Jinsi. But in the face of Hu Jinsi's full-burst speed, those predicted attacks all missed, only gouging deep holes into the ground.

As the last sewage blob was kicked to pieces, the purple bubble shield surrounding the Jinyu gave a crisp sound and shattered completely. A shockwave exploded from the spring, but Hu Jinsi had already retreated to the corner, with only the hem of his robe lifted by the blast.

Immediately after, the Jinyu, having lost its shield, entered a berserk state. It raised its staff high, and a high-pressure water jet of astonishing diameter erupted from the spring. Like an out-of-control fire hose, it began to sweep across the hall, rotating slowly in a fan shape.

Since he had just finished clearing the adds, Hu Jinsi was still in the corner of the hall, too far away to close in immediately. In the crisis, he kicked off the wall, used the momentum to vault into the air, and actually flipped directly onto the high ceiling beams.

Right there on the beams, he keenly captured a tactical opportunity: the deadly water jet seemed to only maintain a horizontal rotation and had never shown any signs of tilting upward.

Hu Jinsi's heart stirred. He quietly moved along the beam to a position directly above the Jinyu boss. Timing the gap in the water jet's sweep, he dropped his body weight and leaped down from the beam.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

[-13], [-12], [-12]

The three heavy punches of [Flurry of Blows] landed precisely on the Jinyu's head, and red damage numbers exploded continuously above the Boss.

However, the next round of the water jet was about to rotate back. Hu Jinsi didn't have time to pursue; he landed smoothly and initiated the classic "circle-strafing" tactic. Relying on his super-high movement speed, he ran clockwise, sticking closely to the direction of the water jet's rotation, always maintaining a safe distance of mere inches from the water jet.

Since the Boss's mechanics were so "rigid," Hu Jinsi couldn't be bothered to waste precious stamina. Just like a stroll after a meal, he followed in the blind spot of the sweeping water jet, punching and kicking, slowly grinding down the Boss's health at a leisurely pace.

The numbers appearing above the Jinyu's head were chaotic: double-digit numbers were normal punches and kicks; [-3] and [-4] were the fire damage from Hu Jinsi's [Hot Boot Spike]; and those rows of [-1] were the continuous bleeding caused by the lacerations from [Unarmed · Finger Blades].

The roar of the rotating water jet filled the entire hall, yet Hu Jinsi's breathing remained exceptionally steady. After just two circles, the purple light in the Jinyu's eyes faded completely, its massive body collapsed to the ground, and the pool of black water gradually returned to clarity.

---

The battle ended, and that stench finally dissipated.

Hu Jinsi shook the water off his fists and checked the combat log, only then realizing the Boss was named "Sage Mari." As for those slime-like monsters he had kicked to pieces, they were called "Corrupted Living Water," and the little things they split into were called "Corrupted Blood Drops."

"Sage Mari..." He stared at the three characters, his mouth twitching. "The surname is Ma?"

When those foreign designers made this game, couldn't they have at least checked "Journey to the West"? In the Dragon Palace, you have shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and the Turtle Prime Minister—at least that's a properly organized aquatic hierarchy with strict rules.

The Dragon Clan is uniformly surnamed Ao—Ao Guang, Ao Qin, Ao Run, Ao Shun; the Four Sea Dragon Kings each have their own names. Even if this Jinyu was just an unranked loose cultivator, logically it should be surnamed Jin, or just follow a common aquatic surname—Jiao, Ao, or Bang would all be fine.

But now? They just give you "Mari."

This name sounds like a purely foreign naming convention. It fits right in with those guys surnamed "Turem," "Khadgar," or "Stormwind."

So, the Dragon Palace not only ignores household registration but also scraps basic clan etiquette? If the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang heard this name, he'd probably be so angry he'd swing the Sea-Stabilizing Needle right there and ask which tributary this "Ma" bastard crawled out of.

The more Hu Jinsi thought about it, the more absurd it felt; this was even more annoying than the fish-head design. A perfectly good Eastern mythological background, and they had to stuff it with a bunch of Western naming logic—it was a complete hodgepodge. He patted the non-existent dust off his clothes and decided to leave this place, where even the naming was so sloppy, as soon as possible.

After the battle, Hu Jinsi noticed he had a [Purified Water] buff on his head, and a light blue water drop icon appeared in his status bar.

If Hu Jinsi remembered correctly, defeating the final boss while carrying this buff should earn an achievement. He couldn't remember the specific name, but the trigger condition was fighting the final boss with the Purified Water buff.

But clearly, Hu Jinsi didn't intend to do this achievement today. He also felt that with his current state, trying to blitz the final boss within 5 minutes was a bit risky. The final boss, the Sha of Doubt, wasn't difficult, but the adds along the way couldn't be cleared in 5 minutes.

"Another day." He noted this in his mind and turned to walk toward the Boss's loot.

After Sage Mari died, it left behind a ring, floating above the now-clear spring, emitting a faint blue light.

[Ring of Crystal Tears]

[Type: Magic Item / Ring]

[Purified Water Heart: The wearer has a certain (+2) advantage on saving throws against "Fear" and "Charm" states. When you take psychic damage, reduce the damage by 3 points (minimum 0).]

[Item Description: The ring is condensed from purified water elemental essence, with the ring face resembling an eternal tear. When wearing it, you can faintly feel a cooling energy resisting external magical erosion.]

Strictly speaking, this ring actually looked quite nice. The ring face was shaped like a teardrop, completely transparent, with faint water ripples flowing inside, like a drop of solidified mercury. Hu Jinsi held it in his hand to examine it for a moment, then tried putting it on his finger.

Hu Jinsi thought that if he could wear two such rings, he could probably be immune to skills like a Bard's Street Cursing. Of course, that was just a joke; he didn't want Su Wan to know he was thinking about such things.

For Hu Jinsi, this item wasn't very useful because Monks themselves already had a quite high implicit bonus to resistance against mental effects like fear and charm.

After all, a Monk's core attribute is Wisdom, and Wisdom directly affects Will saves. Plus, Hu Jinsi's Wisdom was already at 20 points, so basically, these types of damage from mobs were ineffective against him.

Of course, if it were a boss-level enemy hitting Hu Jinsi, this effect would still have a considerable chance to take effect, so it wasn't completely useless.

He wore the ring on his hand; his hand was empty anyway.

---

The first boss was done, and Hu Jinsi didn't intend to go through the passage behind the first boss to rush straight to the third. Instead, he honestly followed the most standard method, retreating from the side hall on the left, returning to the entrance gate of the Temple of the Jade Serpent, and turning to enter the side hall on the right.

When passing the big tree at the entrance of the Temple of the Jade Serpent, Hu Jinsi looked up at the lush, ancient pine. The trunk was thick, its branches extending in all directions, casting a dense shade over half the courtyard.

He had some ideas in his mind; if he could jump from this tree onto the roof like in the speedrun videos, he might be able to bypass some monsters and take a shorter route. But he didn't implement it just yet; he planned to wait a day or two, until he was more familiar with these boss skills, before considering trying out that immature idea in his head.

Haste makes waste; it's better to play it safe.

---

Hu Jinsi arrived at the side hall next to the right side of the main gate of the Temple of the Jade Serpent.

The structure of the right side hall was different from the one with the Jinyu on the left; it was a hall resembling a library. Upon entering, one immediately stepped into a long corridor piled high with bookshelves on both sides.

Those bookshelves were made of wood and already somewhat decayed, densely packed with bamboo slips and yellowed paper.

The path was straight and level, without steps; the floor was paved with bluestone slabs, emitting crisp footsteps as he walked on them.

Originally, Hu Jinsi wanted to take inspiration from what he discovered with the Jinyu and sneak across the roof to see if he could bypass these mobs.

But as soon as he poked his head out, he discovered that the monsters here were all caster types. One by one, the Pandaren scholars dressed in cyan robes raised their staves from afar, and Arcane Missiles with purple trails headed straight for him.

Three missiles shot towards him in a triangular formation; Hu Jinsi quickly performed a side roll to dodge, and the door frame behind him was blasted with three craters.

"..." Hu Jinsi poked his head out from behind cover, looking at the at least seven or eight Temple of the Jade Serpent scholars in the corridor, each holding a staff pointed in his direction. "Isn't this a bit too enthusiastic?"

There was nothing to say; since these brothers were so enthusiastic, Hu Jinsi had no choice but to let his fists and feet do the talking.

Dealing with these caster mobs that required channeling was actually quite simple—get close, and greet them with punch after punch straight to the face.

This was the most classic and effective tactic for a melee fighter to deal with mage-type enemies.

Mages needed to concentrate, chant spells, and maintain channeling to cast; once interrupted, the skill would fail.

And hitting them in the face was the most direct way to interrupt.

Although the Pandaren's heads looked somewhat cute, round, and furry, there was nothing to be done about it.

Hu Jinsi took a deep breath, activated [Chi Torpedo], his figure instantly vanished from where he stood, and in the next second, he appeared in front of a Temple of the Jade Serpent scholar.

"Pardon me."

He smashed a fist into that panda face.

In his past life, this punch would have landed Hu Jinsi a few years of life behind bars.

[-11]

That Temple of the Jade Serpent scholar let out a miserable shriek; the spell in his mouth was interrupted, and the glow of the Arcane Missiles extinguished in his hands.

It retreated while covering its face, but Hu Jinsi didn't give it a chance, chased it down, and delivered another kick, [-10], followed by a throat lock (though he wasn't sure if Pandaren had necks), and this Temple of the Jade Serpent scholar dissipated into motes of light.

The other Temple of the Jade Serpent scholars began to cast, and the sound of chanting rose one after another in the corridor.

But Hu Jinsi's speed was too fast. He wove between the bookshelves; with 19 Agility combined with [Unarmored Movement], every time he appeared in front of a Temple of the Jade Serpent scholar, it was a flurry of punches and kicks, interrupting casts, dealing damage, and then turning to the next target.

In less than two minutes, the first wave of Temple of the Jade Serpent scholars had been completely cleared.

But just as Hu Jinsi wanted to heave a sigh of relief, he discovered something even more troublesome.

Another type of monster—Corrupted Scrolls—were right there on the densely packed bookshelves nearby.

They looked like ancient scrolls floating on the bookshelves, their bodies wreathed in purple Sha energy.

As long as one got within a certain range of them, these scrolls would frantically use [Arcane Explosion], with rings of purple arcane energy spreading outward from them, dealing significant damage.

And even more disgusting was that they would self-destruct upon death.

"This..." Hu Jinsi looked at the dozen or so Corrupted Scrolls deep in the corridor; they were distributed in every corner of the bookshelves, turning the entire corridor into a minefield.

Facing this kind of dishonorable fighting style from the opponent, Hu Jinsi chose an even more dishonorable response.

He began to keep [Spinning Crane Kick] activated the entire time, spinning bit by bit from the beginning to the end of the corridor.

Anyway, his [Spinning Crane Kick] now cost 0 Chi to activate, consuming no Chi pool resources, and the attack radius reached 4 meters, so he wasn't at a disadvantage in terms of range.

Those mobs that could use Arcane Explosion only had an attack radius of less than 3 meters, so he could perfectly stand outside the range of the Arcane Explosion and kick them to death, circle by circle, with his Chi energy.

Hu Jinsi assumed the [Crane Form: Lonely Phoenix Style], and his body began to spin.

At first, it was one rotation per second, with Chi energy spreading outward from his legs, forming an invisible attack circle with a 4-meter radius.

He was like a giant spinning top, slowly advancing along the corridor.

Those Corrupted Scrolls sensed his approach and began to release Arcane Explosion, with purple arcane rings spreading out in circles.

But they all dissipated more than a meter away from him, unable to reach him at all.

And every rotation of Hu Jinsi's [Spinning Crane Kick] could precisely transmit Chi energy to those Corrupted Scrolls.

[-8], [-9], [-7] damage numbers kept floating up from the scrolls, interspersed with some [-4], [-5] fire damage.

As for why Hu Jinsi could now continuously use this skill without fearing dizziness, it was, of course, because when he reached level 10 and rolled for talents, he chose the feat that resisted dizziness, which he had previously abandoned.

[Crane Shadow Zen: You are well-versed in the way of survival while spinning. No longer fighting against dizziness, but dancing with it. Your gaze remains clear in the storm; every time you shake your head, the world resets in your eyes, and the enemy's openings have nowhere to hide in your clear vision.

Effect: When you channel Spinning Crane Kick or similar rotating skills, you can perform a "Fixate" action. In this state, you are immune to the "Dizzy" status caused by spinning, and you reduce the dodge chance of your fixated target (because you are constantly staring at the target).]

Long ago, Hu Jinsi had wanted to experience this feeling of infinite spinning in Raccoon City, amidst the horde of zombies.

Imagine a high-speed spinning human top rushing into a group of zombies, with zombies falling one after another wherever it passed; that scene would be simply too beautiful.

But unfortunately, as his level reached 10, he could no longer gain benefits by going there, so he gave up on that idea.

But who knew he would see this returning old brother again when rolling at level 10, so Hu Jinsi chose it without hesitation.

As the only drawback in Hu Jinsi's current attacks, having to get dizzy every three kicks was a problem of moderate size.

In battle, three seconds of dizziness could mean the difference between life and death.

And with the increase in Hu Jinsi's own Agility, he gradually discovered that he could actually accelerate [Spinning Crane Kick]; that is, the original progress of one circle per second could actually be completed in three circles within 2 seconds or even 1.5 seconds.

But the price of acceleration was that he would become even more dizzy; previously it was just a moment of dizziness, but after accelerating, he might be dizzy for longer and feel worse.

It just so happened that the arrival of this feat [Crane Shadow Zen] helped Hu Jinsi realize this idea.

He could now maintain a clear view while spinning at high speed, no longer troubled by dizziness.

This allowed him to continuously use [Spinning Crane Kick], pushing the spinning tactic to the extreme.

The corridor was not long, and Hu Jinsi advanced all the way while spinning like this.

Seeing Arcane Explosion mobs like the Corrupted Scrolls, he kicked them to explode from afar; they exploded 4 meters away, and the purple Sha energy pollution couldn't reach him.

Then, for those Temple of the Jade Serpent scholars releasing Arcane Missiles, Hu Jinsi approached them in the gaps of his rotation, directly hitting their faces and slashing their throats, finishing them off with a few punches after interrupting their spellcasting.

Adhering to this dishonorable tactic, it took Hu Jinsi 5 minutes to leave the corridor.

He left a mess behind him; the remains of the kicked-apart Corrupted Scrolls were scattered all over the ground, with purple Sha energy stains mixed with black ink, which actually had the aesthetic of an abstract painting.

The motes of light from those Temple of the Jade Serpent scholars had long dissipated, leaving only the empty corridor and the crooked, fallen bookshelves.

The mobs guarding the books dropped only useless things: faded brushes, ink contaminated by the Sha, scorched blank scrolls... In short, what use could they be to a Monk like Hu Jinsi?

He wasn't the type to level up by reading books.

The only thing that could count as equipment was a robe dropped by a Temple of the Jade Serpent scholar.

Hu Jinsi picked it up from the ground and shook it; the robe was clearly a Chinese-style wide-sleeved robe for scholars or literati, with wide sleeves, a hem reaching the ground, and cloud patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs.

The color was a very plain moon-white, and the material felt quite good, with a silk texture.

For Hu Jinsi, this kind of robe was a bit uncoordinated to wear.

He was a Monk; when fighting, he needed to perform large kicks, turns, and rolls, and such wide robes and large sleeves would only get in the way.

Hu Jinsi felt that if he wore it, he would be uncomfortable kicking; perhaps a high kick would tear the robe.

But Hu Jinsi thought that perhaps Zhou Wen would like this style.

Although it had no attribute bonuses, at least it could be worn as regular clothes for going out.

That kid Zhou Wen had always liked these kinds of ancient-style things; the last time he came to his house, he was wearing a Hanfu and was laughed at by Su Qing for an entire afternoon.

He planned to farm these mobs in the dungeon more in the coming days; at the very least, he could give one to each of them as a gift after returning from winter break.

He would choose a larger size for Lin Rui, as he had a sturdy build; as for Su Wan... moon-white should suit her quite well.

Anyway, Hu Jinsi would definitely not wear it; the style of this garment was a standard Chinese-style Hanfu robe in the eyes of foreigners—it sounded awkward, and naturally, the style was equally awkward.

The cuffs were wide enough to fit two fists inside, the collar was high enough to strangle someone, and the hem was long enough to be stepped on while walking.

This was no Hanfu; it was clearly "the Hanfu of a foreigner's imagination."

Anyway, Mother Su could alter the style herself; at least the material of the clothes felt quite good.

But for gifts, it's the thought that counts.

Hu Jinsi folded the robe and stuffed it into his backpack.

---

He arrived at the center of this library, and the second boss was now standing not far in front of Hu Jinsi.

Just after rounding the last row of bookshelves, that chubby guy wearing a scholar's robe turned around, cleared his throat, and started muttering away with pretentious literary jargon.

"History is fragile... The Sha will tamper with memories..."

The voice dragged on with a long, cadence-filled tone, carrying an air of a pedantic scholar.

Hu Jinsi's head ached from listening; he thought to himself, when is this, and he still wants to give an academic report?

"Great, another chatterbox." He pulled out a throwing knife with a backhand motion. "With this much time to recite lines, you'd be better off thinking about how to dodge this move of mine!"

But Hu Jinsi was clearly hot-headed and had forgotten the mechanics of this boss that he had recalled earlier.

This boss was similar to the first one in one aspect: he was invincible in the early stage, and one needed to listen to him finish telling a long, stinking story to draw out the monsters mentioned in his story, then slowly kill the monsters, after which he would retreat, not even giving you a chance to hit him.

Of course, the stories this Pandaren told were all twisted versions of Chinese mythological stories; for Hu Jinsi, someone who was once a person of pure Dragon Kingdom descent, listening to such stories was simply a form of mental torture.

Perfectly good myths and legends were twisted beyond recognition, character relationships were messed up, and the plot logic made no sense; listening to it was as painful as fingernails scratching a chalkboard.

The boss opposite obviously didn't care about this; he paused, tapped the bamboo slips with his fingertips, and began to chant while shaking his head:

"History is fragile! It can be twisted, corrupted... and lost forever. Take the story of that Yaungol for example: A young warrior, caught between two warring clans. One clan said: 'We must be strong! We must fight!' The other clan said: 'We must be wise! We must seek peace!' The Yaungol was caught in the middle; he must find balance... otherwise, he would be torn apart!"

Hu Jinsi rolled his eyes while listening, thinking, where is this even coming from? Yaungol? Clans? Is this f***ing Chinese mythology? This is clearly just taking an Indian story, putting an Eastern skin on it, and bringing it up here.

And "find balance," why don't you let him practice yoga?

Is one supposed to listen to storytelling while running a dungeon?

In order to defeat this boss, Hu Jinsi had to patiently listen to this boring explanation to the end.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, took out a water bottle from his backpack for a drink, and then fished out a piece of dry rations from his pocket to gnaw on.

Anyway, this boss was invincible in the early stage, and he couldn't hit him, so he might as well eat something to replenish his stamina.

The chubby Pandaren was stunned for a moment when he saw him sit down, but soon returned to that head-shaking appearance, continuing to mutter about his theory of the "Yaungol's Way of Balance."

Hu Jinsi chewed on his dry rations while silently complaining in his heart.

"Fine, I'll just treat it as listening to a stand-up comedy routine. Although the level of this comedy is a bit subpar. It's the kind that people wouldn't even listen to if you gave away tickets and free eggs."