Chapter Text
[ ACCEPT IMPORTANT SIDE-MISSION FOR 10000 A-POINTS? ]
[ YES ] / [ NO ]
…LOADING
HOST HAS ACCEPTED MISSION.
SYSTEM WISHES HOST GOOD LUCK.
Shang Qinghua opened the door to his shifu’s room.
He’s still an external disciple so it’s pretty rare to be called in like this, Shang Qinghua also didn’t expect his master to suddenly call any disciple in except his ‘current’ head disciple.
That head disciple title will be his one day… Shang Qinghua dreads the day it does.
“Ahh, Shang Qinghua, good to see you.” The old man said rubbing his beard humbly. Shang Qinghua didn’t really know how to respond to that, he never really met him one on one.
“This disciple greets shifu.” Shang Qinghua said, cupping his hands and bowing respectfully.
“Yes yes, this master will get straight to the point.” The old man seemingly wanted to go back to.. his board game?
Shang Qinghua finally noticed the disciple his age on the other side of the table where his shifu was sitting at.
He doesn’t know for sure which way the scamming-system will force him to resort to for him to ensure his place as head disciple, but he knows it’ll be very scummy. Shang Qinghua prays for the poor guy in his heart. Don’t be resentful towards him!! he just wants to survive this evil system!!sobsobsob..
“This master wants you to go to a small town down the mountain, it’s said that there’s a strange demon wandering around each month.” The old man started. “The villagers are scared that the demon will eventually lash out and wipe their entire village, this master wants you to prevent that.”
Ah, Shang Qinghua gets it now, the guy just wants to sacrifice him.
Shang Qinghua sighed internally, but he knows he’ll benefit from this eventually, maybe even upgrade to inner disciple.
“Yes shifu, this disciple will not disappoint.” Shang Qinghua doubts the old guy remembers his name.
Shang Qinghua blankly looked at his spiritual sword.
He’s had this sword for about two years now, but he’ll never get used to it.
Why was it so dull?!
He knows he’s supposed to be a minor villain with an off-screen death but come on! He deserves better than this..
When he was thinking this his sword seemed to be letting out a disappointed like energy for some odd reason, Shang Qinghua just can’t put his finger on it..
Shang Qinghua let out a frustrated huff, he let his qi float freely from his body into the sword.
They really mean it when they say spiritual sword, it’s like letting his qi circulate in his own body- his sword just an extra limb to bounce his qi back.
With the sword floating slightly above the ground, Shang Qinghua got up on it and flew down the mountain.
Thank the gods that he mentioned flying swords… it would’ve taken ages with a horse..
Shang Qinghua used this time to check up on the information of the mission he accepted the day before.
He saw the blue screen and navigated through it like second nature, living with it for most of his second life has it’s perks. Even if the cons outweigh those perks.. shitty system. Shang Qinghua clicked his tongue.
‘[ ONGOING MISSION, CLICK FOR MORE INFO… ]’
Ah, there it was.
He clicked on the button and scrolled through the useless parts.
[ GOAL: IMPRESS THE PEAK LORD. ]
[ INFORMATION: HOST001 must impress the peak lord for said peak lord to notice HOST001. HOST001 will be tasked with more side missions to garner more attention and eventually become head disciple. + NOTE: HOST001 must do more missions as head disciple so that their title won’t get stolen. ]
Shang Qinghua accepted his fate with a groan, he knew there was something up with the system and it being quieter these past few years..
Once he got to the village he started asking around and investigating the area for any clear demonic qi.
There has been faint traces but not enough for it to be clearly malicious.
“Mister cultivator you must be careful!” One of the women in the village said to him, clinging to her husband like he was her lifeline. “The demon here is a very strong one, no one dares go against him in fear of being killed brutally!” The woman cried in her husband’s shoulder.
Shang Qinghua didn’t wanna mention how useless that information was, but he appreciated the concern nonetheless so he gave her his handkerchief.
While looking around he noticed one particular shop having more demonic qi than anywhere else in the village.
The shop was a small bookstore away from all the other shops. He noticed something, while the building seemed small, the range of books were massive. Even through the glass he knows that there’s a LOT in there.
He entered the shop, not that interested in questioning the shopkeeper just yet- too busy taking in the huge amount of books.
There was a separate shelf with books that have bad writing(basically a one star rating in modern terms..) according to other customers. Shang Qinghua found the idea very modern compared to all the other old views that exist in this world. Until he remembered that while writing his webnovel he didn’t really bother writing any historically accurate stuff.
He admits, he is quite fond of his actual version of the novel, the version without any smut in it- but there’s also a certain charm that his actual uploaded version, has.
It’s so silly that it just makes you want to read more, and he thinks that thats why the person with the cucumber ID keeps reading his shit while absolutely obliterating it in the same breath.
He hummed and got back up on his feet, maybe there’s some sappy romance novels? He wondered before-
“Oof!”
He groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
It was like his shoulder bumped into a rock- woah.
The man he bumped into was.. charming, to say the least.
Tanned, his jawline was sharp. Shang Qinghua noted as he looked up at the man, the man in question also looking down at him making his face more clear.
He had those hunter eyes- or whatever they call it on online forums.. did he have a snaggle tooth? Damn- that tooth is sharp.. his face is also so smooth.. ah, I’m getting jealous..
“Excuse this lowly one for bumping into you, master cultivator.” The man said, snapping Shang Qinghua out of his daydream with his cheerful tone.
“Oh.” Shang Qinghua gaped dumbly before actually snapping out of it. Ashamed for acting rude he apologises too, red faced. “This disciple apologises as well, this one should’ve looked at where he was going.”
“Hmm, this lowly one saw you looking at that section over there, are you interested in that type of literature?” The handsome man asked, curious.
“Ah- not really, well, this one doesn’t really know.” Shang Qinghua cleared his throat. “This disciple was just looking around.”
The man hummed, his voice sultry without even trying. Shang Qinghua is going to melt in his boots out of both embarrassment and because of how insanely attractive this unknown man is.
“This lowly one can give you some recommendations?” He offered.
Shang Qinghua is going to faint, he’s close to believing that he’ll die happy like this.
His past hermit self would never get the chance to talk about shitty novels with someone as handsome as this man.
“Uhm, o-of course.” Shang Qinghua is going to kill himself if he stutters one more time.
But he’s rewarded with a toothy grin. The man gestures him to follow, so Shang Qinghua does so.
The man looks through the books with so much focus that Shang Qinghua is surprised that he could talk while doing so. “This one has always been interested in literature, even as a young boy.” The man said, taking a book out, the cover was plain yellow. He reads through it before putting it back and continuing “This is the only store that has books my taste, and this one must say, he is very picky with his books.” He laughs at himself.
Shang Qinghua was only half listening to what he was saying, more interested in his face. God he’s such an asshole.
“Ah! Here’s one of my favourites.” The man took out another book with more interest this time. “It’s about two generals, one betrayed the other and went over to the enemy. They reunite but the one who betrayed the other was seriously injured when they met again. The general doesn’t know why the other betrayed him but he does try to figure it out.” He rambled passing the book onto Shang Qinghua who was thinking about how similar it sounded to a book he read in his first life.
“If this lowly one may have the permission to ask, why is a cultivator like you in such a small town like this one?” The man asked immediately after. It seemed like he already had this question ready but just remembered to ask it. And Shang Qinghua won’t just withhold an answer from him.
Not with that smile.
“Just on a mission, the villagers living here mentioned seeing a demon regularly come in.” He said with no actual fear. The demon must either be an innocent traveler or a demon that can cover up tracks really well.
Shang Qinghua doubts it’s the second possibility.
The man just hummed thoughtfully.
They eventually decided to part ways after a few more conversations, either about books or information about the both of them.
“Will this lowly one see mister cultivator again?” The man asked smiling, and Shang Qinghua promises that he saw the man glowing.
“Of course! This one will be here for a week.” Shang Qinghua said, trying to match his energy with a smile of his own.
[ SYSTEM WARNING ]
[ HOST001 MUST BE CAREFUL WHEN INTERACTING WITH CHARACTER: ??? ]