[Target's Favorability Value: 0. Next stage unlocked: "We're Not That Close." One lottery draw awarded.]
She was just eating her meal when the System's notification tone chimed in her mind.
Favorability dropping to zero still earned a stage reward—seemed this System was quite generous after all.
As if responding to her thoughts, the mechanical voice sounded again in her mind. [Previous stage was -20 to 0, "Extremely Guarded." The probability of successfully bringing a high-Corruption-Value target's Favorability to zero is only 10%.]
By that logic, Shang Daoling most likely had negative Favorability toward ninety percent of people.
What a pure-hatred warrior…
Still, she was grateful to this pure-hatred warrior for the free lottery draw.
Rong Chunsong casually tapped "Permanent Prayer" in her Sea of Consciousness.
[Congratulations! You have obtained an interactive item: "Hairpin for Men Bought Casually from a Roadside Stall" ×1. After gifting it to a target, it will randomly increase Favorability by 1–3 points. Single use only.]
Ugh, nothing but useless stuff. Favorability only goes up by three points at most.
Rong Chunsong was thoroughly unenthused. She casually tossed the piece of junk into her item inventory—this System-provided inventory was actually quite handy. Whatever she wanted to store, she put in; whenever she wanted to take it out, she could. A heaven-grade storage pouch hidden in one's sleeve still risked being lost, but this item inventory—no need to worry about leaving things behind or having them stolen.
Matsutake, termite mushrooms, bamboo shoots, fish sashimi, steamed meat with young melon—wave after wave of fresh, sweet aroma wafted up.
Eating leisurely while, at the same time, she pulled up the Observation Avatar function.
Might as well treat it as watching a livestream to go with her meal.
In the original work, after Shang Daoling discovered the "Human Pill" truly had wondrous effects, he did not deliver the Myriad Spirit Furnace to the buyer as agreed. Instead, he kept it for himself—this spirit furnace was one of his early Magic Treasures. Now, after her iron-fist correction, he had instead chosen to trade the Myriad Spirit Furnace for a hefty bounty.
The person conducting the shady transaction with him wore a bamboo hat, and beneath the hat, a mask as well—clearly very unwilling to let anyone know his identity.
But after observing for a moment, Rong Chunsong had already roughly guessed this was someone from an immortal sect.
And sent by his superiors to do the dirty work, no less.
In Gusu City, the Jiang family's man-eating affair had already caused an uproar. This buyer, who had paid a heavy sum to commission Shang Daoling to retrieve the Myriad Spirit Furnace, naturally also knew the furnace had been used to refine human flesh.
"This object is riddled with filth. My sect… master originally did not wish to make use of it again. But considering that if this object continues to circulate in the world it would be yet another calamity, after we take it from Daoist Friend Nightmare Nest, we will destroy it."
Hiring someone with a heavy sum to seize a treasure, yet still spouting such righteous rhetoric—what was the point? Rong Chunsong really felt like laughing. This bamboo-hatted man was full of student-like officialese, as if terrified the cunning male lead across from him wouldn't realize he was an immortal sect disciple.
Sure enough, the next moment Shang Daoling was already smiling amiably. "Rest assured, as long as the money's in place, whether your honored sect uses it or destroys it is none of my concern."
Hearing the words "your honored sect," the fully armed bamboo-hatted man visibly stiffened.
This male lead was just too wicked—taking the money and still looking for entertainment at someone else's expense.
"Daoist Friend Nightmare Nest, please honor the code of the underworld."
"Sure. Where the money is, the honor is." With that, Shang Daoling had one hand behind his back, the other extended forward, palm up, his long eyes curving, smiling faintly.
That Snow-Skin Rosy-Cheek Pill truly had profound effects. In just a few short days, it had already transformed this leading man—who appeared human and was human on the inside too—completely, or at least, his appearance had been completely transformed.
A beautiful man whose features were as radiant as a golden moon at the heart of a river, after killing a whole group of people, smiled and asked his employer for payment—he truly gave off the impression of a male Guanyin of Ghosts.
This disciple who had come to conduct the transaction on behalf of his master had long heard of the Daoist of the Nightmare Nest's infamous reputation and knew that this person's appearance was hideous. Although the person before him had extraordinarily outstanding looks, the voice was unmistakably that of the fellow with a face full of black spots from seven days ago.
He sized the other up through his mask.
Wasn't it rumored that the Nightmare Nest bore a curse? Could this fellow have consumed a Human Pill at the Jiang family's place? How had the curse been eradicated so suddenly?
Never mind—trivial details, none of his concern. Moreover, these Rogue Cultivators who licked blood off knife edges and were utterly vicious—it was no surprise whatever filthy deeds they might commit.
The immortal sect disciple said no more. After verifying that the Myriad Spirit Furnace was indeed inside the Storage Talisman Paper in his hand, he directly handed a heavy bag of Spirit Stones to Shang Daoling, then leaped upward, his figure vanishing into the night.
Shang Daoling held the bag of Spirit Stones by his ear and shook it. Hearing the crisp clinking of Spirit Stones, he smiled in satisfaction.
The beautiful man leisurely put away the Spirit Stones and strode through the pine forest under the moonlight, as though in excellent spirits after another sum of money coming in, with the leisure to raise his head and admire the moonlight through the interlacing pine branches.
But as he gazed up at the moon, he suddenly spoke: "I say, Your Excellency the Cult Leader, do you not have any opinion to offer? Should I not be offering you a portion of this payment as tribute?"
He actually knew she was watching.
Shang Daoling seemed to have guessed what she was thinking at that moment as well, and laughed: "Your gaze of concern for your subordinate—as a member of the cult, it would be hard for me not to sense it."
"As a leader, of course I come to inspect your work from time to time. Little Shang, you've done well, but—don't get cocky! This time you honestly handed the Myriad Spirit Furnace over to that immortal sect disciple without keeping it for yourself to misuse. I hope you'll be this honest next time too."
"As for the money, keep it for yourself to spend. I don't think much of such a small sum anyway." Rong Chunsong thought to herself that when she was five years old, her daily allowance had already far exceeded what this leading man—during his pitiful "don't bully the young and poor" phase—had earned through bitterly toiling away at a pile of missions.
And what was a "leader" supposed to be?
This female ghost's foreign vocabulary was always bizarre. What mattered was—
"You know my name?" Shang Daoling narrowed his eyes dangerously.
It had been over a decade since anyone had called him by his name. From the day he began making his way in the world, he had called himself the Daoist of the Nightmare Nest.
"This Heavenly Venerable is omniscient and omnipotent."
"Fine, omniscient and omnipotent… alright then."
"But I have a proper name. For you to just call me Little Shang like that—isn't it a bit disrespectful?" Like calling a cat or a dog or something.
"Calling you Little Shang is to show warmth. If I ever called you by your full name, that would mean I've gotten angry, and you'd be in deep trouble."
Shang Daoling truly couldn't be bothered to bicker verbally with this Ghost Immortal any further. Her twisted logic was enough to fill a belly.
A lazy smile appeared on his handsome face: "I never thought much of that Myriad Spirit Furnace anyway. But the way that immortal sect disciple looked at me at the end made me a bit uncomfortable… so I deliberately, considerately, tampered with the Storage Talisman Paper I gave him." He was intent on countering her earlier "you've done well."
"What did you do to it?"
"Nothing much, just a small Echo Charm. Once he hands the talisman to someone else, it will use his voice to say the following—"
Ah, a torrent of beeped-out profanity. Rong Chunsong truly regretted not covering his ears sooner.
Someone had merely given him a disdainful glance, and he made them suffer a great humiliation when they returned to their sect to report.
"Why so quiet, Cult Leader? Do you have any objections?"
"I was just thinking your trick wasn't clever enough. If you'd slipped him some laxative, he'd have had to swallow his bitterness in silence. But instead you cursed out his entire sect—even if it was in his own voice, I doubt his masters will hear it without holding a grudge."
He'd thought she was going to condemn him for toying with that righteous disciple, but instead, she merely pointed out that his trickery wasn't thorough enough.
Shang Daoling's long brows arched slightly.
This Ghost Immortal was, in some ways, quite—of like mind, taste, and temperament—with him.
"Haha, fine. Next time I cast a curse on someone, I'll be more careful."
[Ding. Target Shang Daoling's Favorability Value +3. Current Favorability Value: 3.]
On the way back to the city, they passed by a market. Several eager yet timid gazes were cast toward Shang Daoling.
Shang Daoling's eyes swept over casually—a few street vendors. Or rather, a family running a small wonton stall. The ones who had been tied to the serving cart in the Jiang family's banquet hall. So during the battle, they'd taken advantage of the chaos to escape.
Rong Chunsong followed his line of sight.
The Jiang family truly deserved their death—the "Human Pills" they refined were all made by persecuting innocent commoners.
Seeing this "benefactor," the family hesitated, unsure whether to approach. They knew he was a Rogue Cultivator. Ordinary people living their simple lives, even if they didn't know the man before them was the Daoist of the Nightmare Nest with his fearsome reputation, they had witnessed his unbridled, ferocious demeanor in the Jiang family hall that day. That day, this "benefactor" didn't seem to have come to vanquish evil and punish wrongdoers, but rather, in the struggle against the Jiang family, he'd given them a chance to escape with their lives.
Should they step forward and express their gratitude?
Just as they hesitated, Shang Daoling had already strode over with his long legs—
His thick, dark lashes lowered, and he smiled with an air of approachability. "Good evening, everyone."
He, of course, couldn't be bothered with what these mortals were thinking. It was simply that he spotted freshly made food on their stall, happened to be hungry at the moment, and was leveraging his favor for a meal.
The family running the wonton stall immediately snapped into action, ladling out a full bowl of wontons for Shang Daoling—shepherd's purse with pork, Indian aster with pork, clover with pork, wolfberry sprout with pork… piled so high the bowl nearly overflowed. There was also a scallion pancake stuffed with chrysanthemum greens and pork, bigger than a face. It was the seasonal "Seven Sprouts and One Green" of Gusu Terrace in spring.
After eating, Shang Daoling made a show of paying, but the family waved their hands repeatedly, saying it wasn't necessary. Seeing that they were "sensible," Shang Daoling smiled casually, turned, and left with a flick of his sleeve, brushing off the dust.
Rong Chunsong seized the opportunity to ask: "After doing a good deed and receiving gratitude, do you feel even a little joy from helping others?"
Beneath the moonlit street's festive lanterns, Shang Daoling let out a light laugh. "Naturally."
Judging by his utterly unmoving Corruption Value, Rong Chunsong knew he didn't.
But whatever—at least this book's Darkness Value had dropped.
[《Celestial Feast of Consumption》 Darkness Value -10. Current Darkness Value: 50. Congratulations, Host, you have successfully prevented the event "Origin of Sin."]
The Darkness Value was still at fifty. In other words, stopping the "Origin of Sin" seemingly couldn't completely prevent him from truly refining pills with cultivators in the future.
According to the System, the initial value of the Darkness Value was the same as the male lead's Corruption Value—both at sixty. She had thought that if the male lead's Corruption Value decreased, the Darkness Value would decrease as well, but unexpectedly, the two were not entirely linked.
Another draw chance.
Hopefully this time the System would be sensible and give her something useful.
[Congratulations on obtaining an A-rank item "Become a Magical Girl!" ×3.]
[Congratulations on obtaining a B-rank skill "Reborn as a Capital Noble Lady, White Jade Capital Local Ning."]
The A-rank item "Become a Magical Girl!" had the effect of greatly increasing spiritual power, lasting for one day. There was a small note after it: during use, all of the host's spells would be overlaid with the BUFF "Witch's Descent," carrying an inherently oppressive, dark, and suffocating Atmospheric Aura. This one was decent.
But this B-rank skill was a bit…
[When out in the world, your identity is self-given. Can overlay the host with the White Jade Capital local BUFF—so authentic it's the real deal, through and through! Makes everyone within the radiation range firmly believe in the host's identity as a White Jade Capital local. The effect weakens over time, and the same person can only be affected once.]
Making others think she was a White Jade Capital local Ning—what use was that? And it wasted another draw chance. What a little brat of a System.
Whatever. She, the magnanimous one, wouldn't hold a grudge against a tiny System. Things that seemed useless might just be resources misplaced.
Rong Chunsong casually dragged this little skill—waiting for the day it could be turned from trash into treasure—to the very last spot on her skill list.