Lu Youling finished eating the fragrant chicken leg, wiped his mouth, and rubbed off all the grease. His crude manners made “Gong Ze” sigh for what felt like the umpteenth time, saying, “You’re a young lady, you know,” before pulling out his handkerchief and handing it to him.
Lu Youling took the handkerchief but didn’t use it. Instead, he just stuffed it straight into his own pocket.
Completely blatant about it.
Gong Ze: …
So this is the protagonist bottom’s personality?
Gong Ze reached out his hand. “Um…”
Lu Youling played dumb. “Huh? What’s wrong? Didn’t you give it to me to use?”
“…Never mind.”
“Gong Ze” assumed he liked the handkerchief. He thought to himself that the handkerchief he used was a typical man’s style, while girls in the big cities all preferred silk ones. He’d get her a nice one next time.
Lu Youling rinsed his mouth again to get rid of any meaty smell, then reluctantly said goodbye to Gong Ze and sneakily slipped out of Gong Ze’s small courtyard.
Shui Sheng, who had been keeping watch outside, lifted the curtain and came in, making exaggerated faces at Gong Ze.
Gong Ze found it amusing. “Just say whatever you want to say.”
Shui Sheng might be young, but he was sharp. “Second Master, you’ve got to seize the opportunity!”
Knowing Shui Sheng had misunderstood, “Gong Ze” didn’t bother explaining. He beckoned him over, and when Shui Sheng happily came closer, Gong Ze raised an eyebrow and flicked him on the forehead.
“Oww.”
Seeing Shui Sheng wince and cover his forehead, “Gong Ze” smiled. “That’s my little sister-in-law.”
Shui Sheng refused to give up. “She hasn’t married into the family yet!”
Yes, the little sister-in-law who hasn’t married in yet.
…
“System, give me the mission details and the affection value.”
Late at night, with everything silent, Shui Sheng had helped Gong Ze wash his feet and left. The candle was extinguished. Gong Ze lay on the bed, his eyes still gleaming in the darkness.
[Okay, host. Please wait a moment.]
System Ni Hao Da said, then flapped its wings and issued the mission.
【Ding——】
【Mission issued.】
【Main Mission: Refuse to kill again, but complete the original host’s revenge and redeem Gong Ze’s villainous image】
【Side Mission: Gain the protagonist bottom’s forgiveness】
【Side Mission: Gain the protagonist top’s favorability】
【Please change the ending in the book and obtain the protagonist bottom’s spiritual spring】
The system reminded him: [Current affection value for Lu Youling: 50 — first bloom of love. He’s currently in the early stage of thirsting over your face and body.]
[In addition, you have three romance conquest modes to choose from. First…]
“Stop.”
Gong Ze cut off the electronic voice mid-broadcast. “That’s enough. Why are these missions different from before?”
Obtain the protagonist’s spiritual spring? Refuse to kill again?
Gong Ze’s eyes turned sharp. “Who did the villain ‘Gong Ze’ kill? Does the Main God want Lu Youling’s spiritual spring? What does it want it for?”
System Ni Hao Da had just been kicked offline by the electronic broadcast. After logging back in and checking the data, it was also shocked.
[The spiritual spring is the Main God’s request. Lu Youling traveled to this era through a family heirloom jade and obtained a spring that can heal people.]
[The spring itself is pure energy. My guess is the Main God wants the energy? Or maybe just as a collectible—it’s pretty rare.]
[As for who he killed…]
The system swallowed nervously.
[According to the data, the first person the villain “Gong Ze” killed was his older brother.]
But his older brother had supposedly died from a venereal disease, and Gong Ze had only returned after the eldest Gong had already contracted the illness.
After running it through his vast mental palace twice, Gong Ze’s sharp expression softened, and his vigilance eased. “This isn’t difficult. It’s not some fantastical mystery—it’s achievable…”
It was possible that the villain Gong Ze had actually returned much earlier and used money to bribe a prostitute in the brothel to infect the eldest Gong.
[The second person the villain “Gong Ze” killed was his father.]
But Old Master Gong had died from a fit of rage.
The system looked dumbfounded.
[Holy crap, that was him too?!]
Gong Ze thought about the owner of this body—about the vengeful heart hidden beneath the polite, refined exterior he had shown upon returning to his hometown—and curled his lips with interest.
“The targets are very clear. The concept is clever, the setup is straightforward, but it’s also easy to expose. Still, I have to say—this villain Gong Ze is very much to my taste.”
[What do you mean?]
“He infected the eldest Gong with a venereal disease, then came home when the eldest was near death, pretending he had returned just to see his brother one last time. No one suspected him.”
“Then, when the old lady was desperate to save her son, he paid a con artist to pose as a Taoist priest and tell her that the eldest Gong would die on a specific date.”
The system couldn’t believe it: [He paid a con artist… oh my god! That Taoist priest?! He was actually an actor hired by the original host?!]
Gong Ze nodded with satisfaction. “Exactly.”
The system asked: [Then how—how did he calculate the eldest Gong’s time of death? Could he see the future? Was he a doctor?]
Gong Ze said, “None of the above. That part was the simplest.”
[Huh?]
“He just had to pick any random date. Then kill the eldest Gong on that day. And that day would become the eldest Gong’s date of death.”
[…]
The system was speechless with shock.
Gong Ze continued, “You’ve got the logical order wrong. First, he had the con artist tell the old lady the date of the eldest Gong’s death. The old lady panicked, believed the fake Taoist priest, and decided to hold a wedding to ward off evil with a grand feast.”
“The old master Gong was frail and didn’t have many years left. He had been bedridden for years, barely alive. But he insisted on attending his eldest son’s wedding.”
Gong Ze recited calmly: “Illness, a noisy environment, the sudden death of his son. If it were me, I would also add some blood pressure medication to the old man’s medicine that day. As everyone knows, if a healthy person takes a large dose of that kind of medication, their blood pressure can drop to dangerous levels—and kill them.”
Then what?
“‘Gong Ze’ was taboo to the old lady, so he wasn’t allowed to attend the wedding. He stayed in the backyard.”
“The eldest Gong had a disgraceful venereal disease, so the old lady listened to the Taoist priest and used a rooster to perform the wedding ceremony in his place. He was also in the backyard.”
“Both of them were in the backyard ~”
Gong Ze curved the corners of his lips slightly, his gaze glinting.
The system had already pieced it together, and a chill ran down its digital spine.
It understood the purpose of the wedding now.
It wasn’t just to exhaust the old master. It was because on that day, everyone would be at the front hall grabbing wedding candy and watching the excitement. There would be no one in the backyard.
The eldest Gong, lying in bed, completely helpless.
Gong Er, strong and healthy.
The system thought: Holy flying f—
“‘Gong Ze’ used the noisy environment of the wedding day as cover. He sent Shui Sheng away, saying he was going to sleep in his room. Then he climbed out the window and went to the eldest Gong’s room. He used some kind of verbal provocation, and ultimately killed the eldest Gong.”
“Then he made some noise, lured the servants to check on the eldest Gong, and returned to his own room to lie down. His mental fortitude was incredibly strong—because he actually managed to fall asleep.”
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