Chapter 47 Privately

It was the eighth day of Qin Wentian's apologies, and only one name remained on the list. He stood at the entrance of the Commoner Supermarket, staring at the name circled and re-circled in red ink, his hands trembling. He had been staring at this name for three days, never daring to face it.

The ID was "Old Soldier Never Dies." This was a Warrior player who used to be the guild leader of a casual guild. Three years ago, Qin Wentian had personally led people to block their guild territory for a full week, forcing the entire guild to disband and causing Old Soldier Never Dies to delete his account and quit the game. It was said that he was a veteran who played this game just to pass the time and keep in touch with his comrades. Qin Wentian had destroyed his guild and, with it, his emotional refuge.

"Guild Leader Qin, what are you still standing there for?" Fatty Wang poked his head out from the supermarket. "Go on. There's only one left."

Qin Wentian gave a bitter smile. "He quit the game a long time ago. The ID is greyed out. Where am I supposed to find him?"

"Then go find him," Fatty Wang said. "Brother said, if he's alive, I want to see a person; if he's dead, I want to see a corpse. Even if he quit, you have to find a way to track him down."

Qin Wentian fell silent. He knew Lin Ye was right. Some debts couldn't be avoided just by quitting the game. He opened his friends list, looked at that grey ID, hesitated for a long time, and then sent a private message.

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: Old Soldier, I am Qin Wentian. I want to apologize to you. What happened three years ago was my fault. If you can see this message, please contact me. I will do everything in my power to compensate you.

The message was sent, but it was like a stone dropped into the ocean. Qin Wentian waited for a day, but there was no reply. The second day, still nothing. The third day, still nothing.

He went to find Lin Ye, stood before him, head lowered, his loli voice sounding listless: "Brother Ye, he isn't replying. Maybe he really doesn't play this game anymore."

Lin Ye was sitting by the window eating sunflower seeds, his expression calm. "If he doesn't reply, keep sending. If one day doesn't work, try two; if two days don't work, try a month. One day, he will see it."

Qin Wentian was stunned. "A month?"

"Yes. The debt you owe cannot be repaid in a single day. What's sending messages for a month? Even if you send them for a year, it's what you deserve."

Qin Wentian fell silent. He knew Lin Ye was right. He nodded, turned, and left.

For the next week, he sent a private message to "Old Soldier Never Dies" every day. The first was an apology, the second was an explanation, the third was a compensation plan, the fourth was... By the tenth day, he finally received a reply.

[Private Message] Old Soldier Never Dies: Who are you? I don't know you.

Qin Wentian's hands trembled with excitement, and he quickly replied—

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: I am Qin Wentian. Three years ago, I destroyed your guild. I am here to apologize.

There was silence on the other end. After a long while, a reply finally came—

[Private Message] Old Soldier Never Dies: Oh, it's you. I'd forgotten. You don't need to apologize; I don't play anymore anyway.

Qin Wentian panicked—

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: No. I must apologize. This is part of repaying my debt. If you don't accept it, I will keep sending them.

The other side went silent again. This time, the silence lasted even longer.

[Private Message] Old Soldier Never Dies: You're quite persistent. Fine, I accept your apology. But there's no need for compensation. I'm doing quite well now; I don't need your things.

Looking at this message, Qin Wentian's eyes turned red. He hadn't expected Old Soldier Never Dies to forgive him so easily.

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: Thank you. Thank you for forgiving me.

[Private Message] Old Soldier Never Dies: You're welcome. Actually, I stopped hating you a long time ago. It's just a game, being happy is the most important thing. Hating someone is too exhausting; it's not worth it.

Looking at this message, Qin Wentian couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. He remembered when he used to hate Lin Ye, grinding his teeth in hatred, wishing he could tear him to pieces. Thinking about it now, it was truly ridiculous. Besides making oneself miserable, what could one gain from hating someone?

He closed the private message, walked out of the Commoner Supermarket, and took a deep breath. Every name on the list had been crossed out. His debt was repaid.

He went upstairs to find Lin Ye, stood before him, and handed over the list: "Brother Ye, it's all paid off."

Lin Ye took the list and glanced at it; it was densely covered in crossing-out marks. Next to the last name, "Old Soldier Never Dies," was written: "Apologized, forgiven."

"Good work," Lin Ye said.

Qin Wentian shook his head. "It wasn't hard. This is what I should have done."

Lin Ye nodded. "So, what do you plan to do next?"

Qin Wentian thought for a moment. "I want to continue helping newbies grind mobs. My current equipment can't handle high-level dungeons anyway. I might as well help the newcomers in the Novice Village."

Lin Ye smiled. "Fine. Then go to the Novice Village and be a 'Newbie Instructor.' Your salary will come from the Commoner Supermarket's accounts."

Qin Wentian was stunned for a moment. "You're even paying me a salary?"

"Of course. You work, I pay. It's only right." Lin Ye patted his shoulder. "However, the salary isn't high—one thousand gold coins a month. Enough for you to buy bubble tea."

Qin Wentian gave a bitter smile. "One thousand gold coins? I used to spend more than that in a single day."

"That was the past. Now you are a good person. Good people should live a good person's life." Lin Ye's lips curled into a wicked smile. "What? You think it's too little? Then I won't pay you."

"No, no, no." Qin Wentian quickly waved his hands. "It's not little, it's not little. One thousand gold coins is enough. Enough for me to buy bubble tea."

Lin Ye smiled and turned to walk away. Qin Wentian watched his back, feeling a warmth in his heart. He used to think money was omnipotent, but now he knew that some things simply couldn't be bought with money. For example, forgiveness, trust, and—a chance to start over.

He turned and went downstairs, heading toward the Novice Village. The sunlight shone on him, and that pixelated blur sparkled in the light like a moving star. Players along the way saw him and all burst into laughter—

"Hahaha! Qin Wentian is here again!"

"His voice is so cute! A loli voice!"

"And he's so kind, helping newbies grind mobs every day!"

"Qin Wentian, can you say something? We want to hear your voice!"

Qin Wentian's face darkened, and he said in a low loli voice: "Shut up!"

The players laughed even harder. Qin Wentian ignored them and walked straight to the monster area of the Novice Village. Several newbies were there grinding mobs, and when they saw him coming, they all swarmed over—

"Brother Qin! You're here!"

"Brother Qin, what are you teaching us today?"

"Brother Qin, can you take us to fight a BOSS?"

Looking at these newbies, the expression on Qin Wentian's face softened. He crouched down and said gently in his loli voice: "Today, I'll teach you how to fight elite monsters. We'll talk about the BOSS later."

The newbies excitedly gathered around him, listening to his explanation. The sunlight spilled onto them, warm and cozy. Qin Wentian suddenly felt that this kind of life was actually quite good. Although his level was a bit low, his equipment was a bit poor, his voice was a bit strange, and his appearance was a bit pixelated—but he had never felt this relaxed before. No more scheming, no more suppression, no more fighting against the market. He only needed to do one thing—help people.

At this moment, Lin Ye was standing on the top floor of the Commoner Supermarket, watching Qin Wentian's back in the distance, his lips curling into a wicked smile.

"Brother, do you really think he can keep this up?" Fatty Wang walked up and stood beside him.

Lin Ye nodded. "He can. He has already found what he wants to do."

"What thing?"

"Helping people." Lin Ye pointed to the Novice Village in the distance. "Look at him, look how happily he's smiling."

Fatty Wang looked in the direction of his finger. Qin Wentian was crouching in the middle of a group of newbies, gesturing and explaining something, the smile on his face as bright as a child's.

"That's true." Fatty Wang smiled. "When he was a guild leader before, I never saw him smile. Now, he smiles much more."

Lin Ye nodded. "Because the him from before wasn't his true self. The him now is the real Qin Wentian."

Fatty Wang nodded, half-understanding. Lin Ye turned and went downstairs, leaving behind one sentence: "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him go astray again."

Fatty Wang watched his back and chuckled: "Don't worry, Brother. Leave it to me."

At this moment, Qin Wentian was crouching in the monster area of the Novice Village, teaching a few newbies how to fight elite monsters. He was explaining very earnestly, and the newbies were listening very intently. The sunlight spilled onto them, warm and cozy. Qin Wentian suddenly felt as if he had found something—found something worth doing for a lifetime.

"Brother Qin, were you really a bad person before?" a newbie asked suddenly.

Qin Wentian was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Yeah. I was a big villain before."

"And now?"

"Now?" Qin Wentian thought for a moment. "Now I'm a good person. Learning to be a good person."

The newbies looked at him, their eyes full of admiration. Qin Wentian looked at their eyes, feeling a warmth in his heart. He suddenly remembered a sentence Lin Ye had once said— "Not all debts need to be repaid with money. Some debts must be repaid with a lifetime."

He finally understood the meaning of this sentence. The debt he owed could not be repaid with money. He would spend his whole life helping people, atoning for his sins, and making this world a little better.

He stood up, brushed the dust off his body, and his loli voice drifted in the wind: "Let's go. I'll take you to fight a BOSS."

The newbies cheered and followed behind him, marching toward the BOSS lair. The sunlight stretched their shadows long and thin. Qin Wentian walked at the very front, wearing white-tier equipment, his whole body pixelated, his voice a loli voice. But he had never felt more confident.

Because he knew that what he was doing now was right.