Chapter 13 : System, Just Give Me a Clean Death
Chapter 13: System, Just Give Me a Clean Death
Long Tao stared at the contents on the task panel and did not come back to his senses for quite some time.
He forcefully blinked, then confirmed it again and again—three times in total.
That line of icy text remained clear and eye-searing.
The System was telling him to go check in outside True Person Mingzhu’s bathroom, and he also had to bring Nan Yuchen along to peep at his own master bathing.
A cold numbness instantly drowned all emotion.
He even lost the strength to curse, sitting there stiffly in a daze, with only one absurd and chilling thought circling endlessly in his mind……
Either way, it was death.
Would it be quicker to be crushed into flying ash by a single finger of True Person Mingzhu? Or would it be cleaner to be silently erased by this damn System? He might as well pick a way to die that hurt a little less.
“Senior Brother Long? What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?”
Nan Yuchen looked at Long Tao, who had suddenly fallen silent and even seemed a little vacant in the eyes.
In the end, he could not help but call out.
“Ah… nothing,” Long Tao almost drained every last bit of strength from his body just to barely pull out a smile uglier than crying.
“It’s just… hearing you talk about all this suddenly reminded me of when I first entered the sect, how I was bullied by those old menial disciples. Sigh… it’s not easy for anyone. Not easy at all…”
Long Tao practically exhausted all his acting skills just to make himself look somewhat normal.
Otherwise, he really would not have been able to control himself and would have broken down right here in the wine house.
This damn System—at least the previous task had been a narrow escape from death.
This time… how was he supposed to do this?!
That was a Golden Core True Person! The master of an entire peak! Moon-Washing Peak was her absolute domain! He was just a Qi-Refining minor nobody.
The moment he stepped into the boundary of the peak, he would probably be locked onto by that omnipresent terrifying divine sense.
Crushing him would be easier than crushing an ant! Compared to True Person Mingzhu, that previously awe-inspiring Foundation Establishment Wolf King was nothing more than a slightly larger pet dog!
Nan Yuchen, however, did not notice the storm raging within Long Tao’s heart and simply continued complaining about his own grievances.
Looking at the foolish boy in front of him, a tiny spark suddenly reignited in Long Tao’s originally despairing heart.
Right… this kid was True Person Mingzhu’s most doted-on youngest disciple.
Then… perhaps there was a slim chance of finding that nearly nonexistent breakthrough from him—such as… a ticket into the task location.
Just like the predicament he had encountered last time, as a mere Qi-Refining Fifth Layer outer sect disciple, it was normally impossible for him to enter Moon-Washing Peak at all.
Unlike places such as Windless Cliff, which were public areas of the sect, Moon-Washing Peak was True Person Mingzhu’s private territory.
There was no way to get in through normal means.
Damn it! He finally understood completely! The tasks released by this damn System were tailor-made wish-fulfillment scripts for Nan Yuchen! Letting him peep at his beautiful master bathing—at worst, he would get his ear tugged, be punished to copy the sect rules a few times, and be confined for a couple of days.
Maybe True Person Mingzhu would even secretly feel pleased that her little disciple had finally awakened to such things! A Child of Destiny, after all, surely came with a built-in charm aura!
But when it came to himself… heh.
In the eyes of a Golden Core True Person, what was he worth? He was probably not even a scallion.
The moment he touched the windowsill of the bathroom, a casual burst of true essence would blast him so thoroughly that not even slag would remain!
“By the way, Junior Brother Nan…” Long Tao took a deep breath, forcing his voice to sound steady and natural, carrying just the right hint of awkwardness and longing.
“I have an impertinent request. I wonder if it’s appropriate to say it?”
“Please speak, Senior Brother. As long as it doesn’t go against moral principles, I’ll definitely do my best.”
“Well… actually, I’ve admired your master… True Person Mingzhu, for a long time. It’s just that my status is low, and I’ve never had the chance to pay my respects. I also heard that the scenery of Moon-Washing Peak is like an immortal realm. I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to go take a look. I wonder if there’s any way you could let me enter the peak for a visit, just to fulfill a long-held wish?”
To Long Tao’s surprise, after hearing this, Nan Yuchen not only did not look troubled but instead burst into laughter, his face carrying a bit of smugness that said “just as I expected.”
“Hehe, I knew it! My master has admirers all over the sect. I didn’t expect Senior Brother Long to be one too! I can’t guarantee that you’ll get to see my master, but letting you enter the peak for a visit… that’s a small matter! These days, the Spirit Spring Garden on Moon-Washing Peak is being renovated and expanded. I’ll privately arrange a helper position for you. You can go in openly and aboveboard!”
See? This was the benefit of having connections.
Tasks on Moon-Washing Peak usually offered very high rewards, so they were generally monopolized by inner sect disciples.
Outer sect menials did not even have the qualification to sniff around.
And now… just because he knew Nan Yuchen, a personally transmitted disciple, everything was settled with a single sentence, no procedures needed at all.
However, Nan Yuchen was also a very busy person.
Before noon had even fully passed, he had to leave immediately because of his afternoon cultivation class.
Long Tao also was not in the mood to chat at that moment, so the two of them cleanly bid each other farewell.
Nan Yuchen told Long Tao to go directly to the mountain gate of Moon-Washing Peak the morning after next and simply report his name.
After the genius youth left, Long Tao let out a heavy sigh.
He had obtained the ticket to the task location.
As for the rest… it would depend on his own fate.
..........
Dragging his heavy legs back to the small courtyard, Long Tao only felt exhausted in both body and mind.
The moment he stepped through the courtyard gate, he saw Spider Sister Luo Yusi.
Her upper body was in her maiden form, a plain-colored apron tied around her waist, as she earnestly swept the fallen leaves in the courtyard.
The scene was truly strange.
A maiden body, a simple apron, paired with six inhuman compound eyes and six jointed long legs, somehow gave off an indescribable sense of… bizarre harmony, like that of an otherworldly maid? There was even a faint hint of peculiar beauty?
The moment this thought surfaced, Long Tao could not help but raise his hand and smack his own forehead.
He even suspected that it was because of that damn System in his head that his sense of aesthetics had gone wrong.
“Ah… Fellow Daoist Long Tao, you’re back?” Luo Yusi was startled by his movement.
All six eyes turned toward him at once as she asked in a soft, thin voice.
“Mm.” Long Tao responded weakly.
“Is it just you here? Where’s your brother?”
“Elder Brother, he went to look for me—” Luo Yusi was clearly not good at hiding things.
She gave herself away as soon as she spoke.
All six eyes blinked in panic, and two clouds of red instantly bloomed on her fair cheeks.
“He… he had something to do and went out!”
Looking at the maiden’s embarrassed expression, Long Tao understood at once.
“If it’s a private matter, I won’t ask further.” With that, he walked straight toward his small room.
It was not that he did not want to chat a bit more.
It was just that his heart was already ashen.
The day after tomorrow would most likely be his last day in this world.
Anyone facing imminent death would not be in the mood to talk idly with an otherworldly girl.
After returning to his room, the first thing he did was take out paper and brush.
Not for anything else—he planned to write his will first.
Although the previous task had also been undertaken with the mindset of courting death, back then he had been so poor that he had nothing worth arranging.
But now it was different.
That small wooden box Nan Yuchen had given him at noon was already a considerable fortune for mortals and Qi-Refining disciples.
It needed to be carefully planned.
He dipped his brush in ink, his thoughts clear.
First was the family.
More than half of the pills and spiritual materials in the box would all be left to the family.
These resources were more than enough to ensure that the small Long family could enjoy wealth and prosperity in the mortal world for several generations.
There was even hope of cultivating one or two descendants with spiritual roots again!
Then there was Dong Jiayuan.
This fellow townsman big brother who had looked after him since childhood had to receive a generous gift! In the will, he specifically noted that enough rare resources should be set aside to support Dong Jiayuan’s attempt to break through from Qi-Refining Ninth Layer to Foundation Establishment! This was the only way he could repay Dong Jiayuan for years of affection.
After hastily finishing the writing, he folded it, sealed it into an envelope, and heavily wrote on the envelope,
“Last Instructions of Long Tao. If I die, only Dong Jiayuan may open this letter and handle the aftermath.”
After completing all this, he let out a long breath, as if shedding part of his burden.
But resigning himself to fate was impossible! He forced himself to calm down and began racking his brain for that nearly nonexistent chance to break the deadlock.
However, the more he thought, the deeper his heart sank into an icy abyss.
The core difference from the previous task did not lie in how terrifying the target boss was, but in the role change of Nan Yuchen as an NPC!
Last time, when retrieving the Nine-Leaf Ganoderma, Long Tao had been the “executor” and the “deliverer.” As long as he found the item and handed it to Nan Yuchen, the task was considered complete.
His interaction with Nan Yuchen had been almost devoid of difficulty.
But this time, the core action required by the task was “Nan Yuchen peeping at True Person Mingzhu bathing.” The executor had to be Nan Yuchen himself! There was no way for Long Tao to substitute for it.
The System panel had written it clearly! At most, Long Tao could only be a witness who had to be present at the scene.
This was a deadlock!
If the System had not bound the wrong person and had directly bound Nan Yuchen, then this step would naturally be incredibly simple.
The System could just coerce or tempt that kid however it wanted, and he would obediently comply.
But Long Tao did not have that ability.
What could he possibly use to force Nan Yuchen to do such a treasonous thing? Ask him outright? He would probably not even finish speaking before that kid either turned hostile on the spot and cut ties, or directly drew his sword and started hacking.
Conclusion: Checking in by himself was useless! He had to drag that foolish kid Nan Yuchen down with him, make him actually go peep at his master bathing, and even successfully obtain those damn undergarments!
Damn it—pure fantasy!
He struggled like this all the way until nightfall, unable to think of any method to complete the task.
He even thought about just going to confess everything to True Person Mingzhu and asking her to give him a clean death.
Dying at the hands of a peerlessly elegant Golden Core True Person was at least a bit more dignified than being erased without dignity by this damn System, right?
Yet just as this thought arose, he discovered that he suddenly could not speak.
It was as if his brain had lost the function of language; he did not even know how to open his mouth to talk.
He knew this was the System playing tricks.
He could only beg for mercy in his heart, expressing that he would not leak its existence.
Soon… that aphasic sensation disappeared.
After his language function recovered, he immediately said,
“I won’t reveal your existence, but… damn it, you should at least give me a way to live!”
However, just like in the past, this System seemed to treat him as nothing more than a tool, completely unconcerned with his life or death.
There was no response at all.