System: “Host, Shen Yanzhou has half Fox Demon blood. After he began cultivating, the Spiritual Qi activated his bloodline. Every month, around the middle, it will flare up for four consecutive nights, turning him into a Half-Demon that feeds on human flesh and blood.”
Chi Yu blinked: “A m-male fox spirit? No wonder he’s so good-looking.”
Look at how his knuckles were straining, veins bulging, yet he was restraining himself with such difficulty. It inexplicably stirred a certain… risqué impulse.
System: “…Can you be serious for once?”
Chi Yu replied perfunctorily: “Yeah, yeah, go on, I’m listening.”
Although she said that, as she watched Shen Yanzhou desperately suppressing his urge to harm others, her hand still reached out and stroked his beast ears.
Hiss, so fluffy and satisfying to pet.
She couldn’t help but pet them a few more times, completely failing to notice the momentary daze in the young man before her.
Shen Yanzhou’s feelings were extremely complicated, like autumn osmanthus mixed with lotus flowers blooming for miles.
Two days ago, he already knew his demonic blood would flare up, so he raised his Cultivation Base to Foundation Establishment, using Spiritual Qi to resist the demonic blood. This way, he could maintain some rationality.
He also used a Cultivation Technique he had comprehended in previous lifetimes to suppress his Cultivation Base, preventing Chi Yu and the System from detecting it.
And yet, while he and the System were following the plot, she was focused on petting his ears?!
Just who was the Task Executor here?
The System couldn’t take it anymore either: “Do you still want that billion or not?!”
Only then did Chi Yu reluctantly let go with some regret: “Go on.”
The System transmitted the original plot:
[Shen Yanzhou went alone to Canglang City. His demonic blood flared up, he uncontrollably injured people, was besieged by Cultivators, left covered in wounds, and was then thrown into a mass burial ground.]
[There, he devoured the Hundred Ghosts’ Resentment, temporarily suppressing his bloodline, broke through to Qi Refining Fifth Stage, and gained the qualification to participate in the Sect Selection. However, on the day of the selection, the Resentment Energy plunged him into crisis.]
System: “Host, the situation is urgent. The database recommends the following course of action: let Shen Yanzhou bite and injure you, then make a bigger commotion. He will be besieged by Cultivators and thrown into the mass burial ground. When he is near death, you save him. This can increase his Favorability Level by 1 point.”
In short, it meant letting her create a predicament for Shen Yanzhou, then pull him out of it.
Shen Yanzhou sneered inwardly. The previous five Task Executors had all acted according to the System’s given plan.
They set up schemes to make him suffer immensely, then came out to redeem him, attempting to move him.
What would Chi Yu do?
Under the moonlight, she suddenly pulled out a brick from her Storage Bag and then, without hesitation, smashed it against Shen Yanzhou.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
Caught off guard, he was knocked unconscious by this brick.
System: (Shocked expression)!”
It was stunned: “Host, what are you doing?”
She yawned: “This way he’ll be quiet. I’m planning to sleep.”
System: “But this is such a great opportunity.”
Chi Yu sighed: “Bro, just 1 Favorability point, with such high cost? Only a fool would do it. Can’t you add a bit more?”
Her Cultivation Base was currently very low, and the damn System wouldn’t let her buy on credit or use cheats. Fighting would definitely mean getting injured again.
Last time on Yao Mountain, her bones nearly shattered, the pain almost killed her. She really didn’t want to experience that again.
System: “No, this is the factory setting. I can’t add more. And you’re the damn one!”
“Then there’s nothing to discuss.”
Anyway, currently, the only mandatory task she had was [Help Shen Yanzhou reach Qi Refining Fifth Stage]. The Favorability Level could come slowly.
Ignoring it, she turned and dragged Shen Yanzhou onto the bed.
Under the candlelight, the young man’s clear jawline and exquisite features gave him a fragile beauty. His high nose bridge showed a boy’s resoluteness, and his thin lips inexplicably exuded a cold aura.
Chi Yu reached out and stroked his ears, which trembled slightly under her touch.
That soft tail didn’t quiet down with Shen Yanzhou’s unconsciousness. It was still gently swaying, also tempting her.
Chi Yu wanted to grab it, but it instantly dodged away.
“Tsk, how annoying.”
She tried many times but couldn’t catch it, so she simply gave up.
Morning.
Yunshui Residence guest room.
Shen Yanzhou sat on the floor, his long legs casually crossed. The beast ears had long since disappeared.
On the floor, the shed white demon tail was hopping about incessantly.
“You’re saying that after she fell asleep, she kicked me off the bed and tried to grab you all night?”
The demon tail bent slightly, as if nodding.
It indignantly jumped onto the bed and stepped on Chi Yu a couple of times.
Unfortunately, it was too light; those two steps were less effective than tickling.
Shen Yanzhou wasn’t surprised at all.
Chi Yu’s sleeping posture was as terrible as a ghost’s.
What surprised him was that last night, she actually didn’t listen to the System’s plan to put him in danger and then save him.
Had that so-called Time-Space Management Bureau changed its strategy, sending such a person to deliberately act naive and nice to him, trying to make him think she was special, different from the previous five?
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed, making him act even more cautiously and carefully.
When Chi Yu woke up, he shrank against the wall in a flustered and helpless manner, not daring to look at her: “Last night… I… I didn’t mean to.”
Chi Yu scratched her head: “It’s fine. People have impulsive moments sometimes. I’ll take responsibility for you.”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
He was flustered about his sudden frenzy, not about post-“one-night stand” panic!
What kind of nonsense was she responding with?!
Suppressing his anger, he continued acting: “I don’t know why this happens either. People in the village all say I’m a monster…”
Chi Yu walked over and patted his shoulder: “It can’t be helped. You’re a demon…”
System: “Host! Shen Yanzhou’s background must be discovered by himself. You can’t reveal it.”
Chi Yu forcefully changed her sentence mid-way: “Demonic… Demonic Energy has entered your body. Just cultivate diligently and use your Spiritual Power to purify it.”
Shen Yanzhou looked at her with reddened eyes: “Really?”
Her first instinct was to say: Silly child, of course it’s fake.
But facing that face, Chi Yu nodded: “Really.”
Under her reassurance, Shen Yanzhou finally calmed down.
That night, he transformed again and almost ran out into the streets.
Chi Yu struggled for a long time before finally knocking him out.
“System, is there anything that can suppress his demon bloodline?”
If he really ran out, the trouble would be huge. She would be implicated because Cultivators wished they could hack demons to pieces.
System: “Dragon scale fruit can suppress it, but it’s only temporary.”
Early the next morning, Chi Yu went to the trading ground.
Upon learning the price of dragon scale fruit, she was dumbfounded.
“Four thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones for one?!”
Shen Yanzhou needed two, so that was eight thousand.
Chi Yu took a deep breath and tried to bargain: “Will you sell for four hundred?”
Shopkeeper: “You ****”
She was almost beaten out.
After much consideration, for the sake of personal safety and the billionaire lifestyle, she tearfully spent eight thousand and brought the two dragon scale fruits back.
Plus buying a Qiankun Order, she was instantly broke, her pockets cleaner than her face.
To make matters worse, the Sect Selection was still several days away. Before that, she had to earn money for the upcoming accommodation and food expenses.
How sorrowful is it to have no money?
Just like a eunuch visiting a brothel.
The only comforting thing was that after Shen Yanzhou took the dragon scale fruit, he didn’t transform that night.
Shen Yanzhou was actually quite surprised that she, being so stingy, was willing to buy him dragon scale fruit.
While he was eating it, she muttered beside him: “Eight thousand, eight thousand. Shen Yanzhou, you must earn this back for me in the future. It’s eight thousand!”
Shen Yanzhou: “…Okay.”
He felt this wasn’t eight thousand; it was her life.
Looking at Chi Yu’s worried and frowning face, his brow twitched slightly.
Fine. Since she was being uncharacteristically generous, he’d let her have a smoother time for now.
[Target character Favorability Level +3. Reward: 3 points. Total points: 5.]
Hearing the System announcement, Chi Yu instinctively glanced back and saw Shen Yanzhou, sitting nearby, quickly look at her and then immediately avert his gaze.
Happiness came too suddenly.
She couldn’t help but sigh to the System: “See? As long as you pay with money, it will definitely be noticed. That crappy plan you gave only added 1 Favorability point. I spent eight thousand Spirit Stones and got 3 points!”
Money can not only make ghosts turn millstones, but it can also make people develop feelings.
The System also didn’t expect that Chi Yu, not following the main plot’s strategy, could still gain so much.
Data analysis showed that the two dragon scale fruits moved Shen Yanzhou, hence the increase. So it didn’t refute her.
Chi Yu’s happiness didn’t last long.
Points couldn’t be exchanged for Spirit Stones and had to be saved for emergencies.
The trading ground was now full of people running lotteries. If she went to set up a stall again, she wouldn’t earn anything.
She was still a poor wretch, unable to afford meat for dinner.
As she was pondering ways to make money, she saw Jiang Jiuming walk in and sit down beside her: “Good buddy, lend me some money (˙ー˙)”
Chi Yu: “Didn’t you have money?”
Jiang Jiuming sighed: “Originally, yes. Now, no.”
He had been going to the trading ground to set up a stall these past two days. He finally managed to sell one Cloud-Soaring Talisman, but a customer had a problem while testing it and fell, fracturing a bone on the spot.
All his Spirit Stones were compensated to that person.
Chi Yu: “…”
One dared to sell, and the other actually dared to buy.
Seeing Jiang Jiuming looking at her expectantly, Chi Yu clicked her tongue: “I was thinking of borrowing money from you.”
Learning that she was also penniless, the two sat together worrying.
“Got it!” Jiang Jiuming suddenly said.
Chi Yu instinctively looked at his stomach: “How many months?”
Jiang Jiuming: “…No, I mean I have a way to make money.”
She instantly perked up: “Tell me!”
“We can take on tasks together.”
He took out his Qiankun Order.
Some high-reward tasks were a bit difficult for one person, but just right for three.
Chi Yu suddenly understood: “Right.”
How could she have forgotten about this?
She took out her Qiankun Order and saw task messages popping up one after another.
Jiang Jiuming scratched his head: “You take the task. My credibility points aren’t really sufficient.”
Before coming to Canglang City, he accepted an escort mission. As a result, while the employer was waiting for him, they were eaten by a demon.
On his very first job, he tragically received a bad review, and many credibility points were deducted.
Chi Yu agreed readily: “Okay.”
She and Jiang Jiuming looked for a while and finally selected a task whose poster was closest to them.
[Yingying Like the Wind: Location Canglang City. Looking for a person. Requires task taker to have Qi Refining Third Stage or higher Cultivation Base. Reward: one thousand Spirit Stones.]
Chi Yu just met the conditions, and one thousand Spirit Stones was about the highest reward she could get for her Cultivation Base.
She promptly clicked to accept the task.
Jiang Jiuming saw her alias and his mouth twitched: “The employer might not even want to approve the task acceptance request after seeing this alias of yours.”
Chi Yu glared at him.
She originally wanted to name herself “The Reddest Butt Among All the Monkeys on the Mountain.”
But that name was already taken.
Reluctantly, she changed it to “The Greenest Shell Among All the Turtles in the Pond,” but that was also taken.
So, in a fit of anger, she randomly picked one.
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou pretended to defend Chi Yu: “Don’t say that. She put deep thought into choosing this alias. I think it’s great.”
As he spoke, he leaned over to take a look.
On the large Qiankun Order, four words shone brightly and conspicuously: Frenzied Maggot in a Sea of Manure.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
Could he take back what he just said?
The employer was also an odd one, quickly approving Chi Yu’s application and saying they would come find her. So she waited in the main hall of Yunshui Residence.
Not long after, a girl in pink clothes walked in slowly. She looked somewhat hesitantly at the Cultivators in the hall: “Excuse me, which one of you is…”
“Frenzied Maggot in a Sea of Manure?”
Chi Yu also didn’t expect the visitor to be a cute girl with a round face, who recited her alias in front of everyone.
She quickly snapped back to reality and pointed at the person beside her: “Him.”
Simultaneously, she and Jiang Jiumong tacitly moved away from Shen Yanzhou.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
Song Yingying looked at the handsome young man before her. Although she didn’t understand why someone so good-looking would choose such an alias, she still stepped forward: “I am Yingying Like the Wind, Song Yingying.”
Shen Yanzhou gritted his teeth: “I am… Shen Yanzhou.”
He absolutely couldn’t utter those four words.
Learning that the three of them were together, Song Yingying sat down at the table, took out a portrait. The woman in it had an oval face and was very bright and beautiful.
“I want you to find my older sister. Seven days ago, we came to Canglang City together to participate in the Sect Disciple Selection. But not two days later, she mysteriously disappeared.”
Canglang City was only so big. She had commissioned dozens of people to search, all to no avail.
Chi Yu frowned: “Although this sounds inauspicious, Miss Song, your sister might already be… deceased.”
Demons most liked taking human form, hiding among crowds, and seeking prey.
There were also demons in Canglang City.
But Song Yingying shook her head: “She’s still alive.”
She took out a double-fish jade pendant: “My sister and I are twins. Back then, the elders in our family used a technique to seal our blood on this pendant. If something happens to one, the fish will turn red.”
Currently, the pendant was still cyan.
Chi Yu understood and took the pendant: “Is there any other information? For example, where did she go that day? Who was the last person she met?”
Song Yingying thought for a moment: “We went to the trading ground. I got separated from my sister. When I found her, she was talking to a young man, but it was dark and I didn’t see his face clearly.”
As if remembering something, she took out another item: “This is a Spirit Talisman my sister took from that young man at the time.”
After returning to the inn, her sister went back to her room. Song Yingying never saw her again. Only this Spirit Talisman was left on the bed.
Chi Yu carefully took it.
The three of them looked at it for a long time. Shen Yanzhou pondered for a moment: “This talisman… don’t you think it looks familiar?”
Chi Yu frowned: “Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit.”
Hearing this, Jiang Jiuming also leaned in for a closer look: “Holy crap? Isn’t this my Spirit Talisman?”
As soon as he said this, Chi Yu’s eyes widened.
Right. Talisman Cultivators each had their own habits when drawing talismans. This talisman was exactly how Jiang Jiuming drew them.
Only his drawings were this sloppy and extremely messy and unsightly, like drawn by a ghost.
Song Yingying was startled and scrutinized the person before her. After a moment, she said hesitantly: “The person I saw that day… seems to be this fellow Daoist.”
Chi Yu’s gaze sharpened: “Did you abduct her sister?”
He instantly stood up: “I did not!”
Chi Yu stared at him: “It’s just a casual suspicion. Why are you so nervous?”
Jiang Jiuming: “…”
Nonsense, how could he not be nervous?!
He really didn’t do it!