Harvest from the Patrol
And thus, Ye Ming successfully infiltrated Marquis Harland's castle as a low-level guard of the outer castle. Ye Ming did not care much that he was only a low level guard. The important thing was that he had achieved the first step in his plan. He would take one step at a time. For now, he would settle down and familiarize himself with the situation.
"You'll join the squad led by Rafi and patrol together with them," guard captain Ali explained to Ye Ming and left soon after.
Ye Ming gave a deep salute to squad leader Rafi. "Greetings, squad leader. Please take care of me from now on."
"I don't have time to take care of anyone. He'll be joining your team, Gasso," squad leader Rafi said impatiently.
"Yes, sir," replied the Vampire named Gasso. He turned to Ye Ming and told him, "Come with me. I'll first show you our quarters."
Ye Ming followed Gasso across the ancient castle to reach a separated courtyard. During the walk, Ye Ming constantly looked around and paid attention to everything he saw, lest he miss any treasure chests.
After entering the separated courtyard, Gasso brought Ye Ming to a room. "This is where our team rests. I'll now tell you the rules of Marquis Harland's castle, so listen closely and make sure you remember them. If you cause any trouble, you'll be held responsible."
"Yes, sir. I'll definitely commit the rules to memory," Ye Ming replied earnestly like a straight-A student listening to an important lecture.
Gasso was very satisfied with the honest and obedient attitude Ye Ming was showing. No one liked to have a subordinate who was like a thorn in the side, talking back and questioning orders all day long.
"Rule #1 is to be on time for your duty. Our team has two shifts of patrolling duty to perform every day; once in the morning and once at night. Make sure to memorize the time. If you oversleep, no one will be waking you up. You'll be responsible for your own actions."
Ye Ming nodded and committed the patrolling hours Gasso told him to memory.
"Rule #2 is you can't move around in the Marquis' castle as you please. You only have clearance for your patrolling route and this courtyard. You must not go anywhere else unless Marquis Harland or the guard captain call for you. You can't go wandering around. Do you understand?" asked Gasso.
Ye Ming quickly nodded.
Gasso continued, "If you have business outside the castle, you must ask for leave from squad leader Rafi and get his approval. Lastly, and also the most important rule: listen to orders, obey the command. You won't remain in Marquis Harland's castle for long if you can't do all these."
"Yes, sir. Please don't worry team leader Gasso. I'll definitely follow all the rules."
Gasso patted Ye Ming's shoulder and told him, "Good. Take a rest for now. Don't miss the patrolling time tomorrow." After saying that, he turned around and left.
Ye Ming opened the door and stepped into the room. He saw three Blood Coffins inside, which means there were most likely three guards living here. Ye Ming went to each Blood Coffin in turn to inspect them. He found the innermost one covered in dust, which means it had probably not been used for a long time. That should be his coffin.
He pushed open the lid of the Blood Coffin and as expected, it was empty inside. He jumped in, pulled the lid close and began his rest.
The next day, Ye Ming woke up before the patrolling time Gasso told him yesterday. He found that the other two Blood Coffins were also open.
The guards in the other two coffins were a little surprised to see a newcomer. "Are you new?" one of them asked.
Ye Ming nodded and told them his name.
"That's rare,"the Vampire guard remarked. "The Marquis'castle hasn't recruited a new guard for a long time. You must be really good to make it in."
"Not really, I'm just at Baron rank," replied Ye Ming modestly. "Compared to the two of you, I don't even come close."
"Okay, let's stop chit-chatting. It's almost time," urged the other Vampire.
They hurried outside to the separated courtyard where Rafi was already waiting. The squad quickly assembled. Because Ye Ming was new, he was placed at the end of the formation.
The squad set off. Right as they left the separated courtyard, Ye Ming received a system notification telling him that he had found a treasure chest. Pleasantly surprised, Ye Ming looked around and saw a treasure chest under a dead tree by the path.
'I'm alone at the end of the formation. This position cannot get any better for me.' Ye Ming rejoiced inwardly. He patiently waited for the people in front of him to walk past the dead tree. When it was his turn, he casually approached the treasure chest.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have found a golden treasure chest.]
Ye Ming opened the treasure chest right away and quickly pocketed the treasures inside without checking them. He was worried that his abnormal behavior might attract notice.
He continued advancing forward following behind the squad. They climbed the castle wall and walked along the slope. Ye Ming once again heard the system notification sound, making him rejoice. He had now already found two treasure chests on the very first day of his patrol duty. When he got close to the treasure chest, he quickly took the chest into his arm when the others were not looking.
The patrolling route the squad took for was not a short one. They had patrolled for nearly two hours along the periphery of the Marquis' castle. Ye Ming secretly sighed. Marquis Harland's castle was so much larger than Count Osrhein's where he had previously served.
Ye Ming took advantage of the patrol to familiarize himself with the layout of the Marquis' castle. The Marquis' castle actually consisted of two parts - the inner castle and the outer castle. The place Ye Ming had patrolled belonged to the outer castle. He had surveyed the inner castle from the distance by standing on the castle wall. He discovered that the inner castle was slightly bigger than the outer castle, and the inner castle was not surrounded by a wall. It seemed to function purely as a place of residence, while the outer castle was used for a more defensive purpose.
Just as the patrol was coming to an end, Ye Ming's system once again gave a notification.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have found a treasure chest.]
Ye Ming looked around. He quickly saw a treasure chest gleaming with a golden glow from the bush ahead of him. After waiting for the others to walk past, he smoothly split the bush apart and picked up the treasure chest, then quickly rejoined the group.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have found a silver treasure chest.]
"Perfect! Today's yield is simply too nice!" Ye Ming secretly celebrated. The squad returned once again to the separated courtyard. After Rafi shouted the order to dismiss, all the squad members relaxed their tense body and left in twos and threes to take care of their own business.
Soon, it was time for the second patrol of the day. The route was still the same as the one in the morning patrol. Because Ye Ming had already gone through the same path before, he believed he had basically found all the treasure chests along the way, so he did not really take the patrol this time seriously.
And so, Ye Ming performed patrol duty for seven days in a row. Following at the back of Rafi's squad, he had been to almost every location on the outer castle at least once, during which he had managed to obtain a considerable harvest. He had found no small amount of golden treasure chests and silver treasure chests, all of which he had looted.
But after that, the frequency of finding treasure chests kept getting lower. Ye Ming estimated that he had probably found most of the chests in the outer castle by now. It was about time he moved on to the inner castle. But that was easier said than done.
He did not dare enter the inner castle even in the absence of Marquis Harland. This place was not like the Count's castle. The outer castle alone already had so many guards patrolling it, and the inner castle should be even more heavily guarded. There were many people in this world who were stronger than him. He did not want to try his luck.