Entangled with a Gloomy Creep in an Explicit Novel - Chapter 13

Was this even human language? How could she not understand a single word?

Please, she had also been exhausted all night and had not even gotten a peaceful night’s sleep. Who was going to help her wash away her fatigue? She came here to be a sidekick, not a maid!

Jin Yongyi’s expression became as complicated and unsavory as if she had just eaten pig slop.

The system’s tone was incredibly urgent: [Host, for the sake of the rewards, you have to keep going!]

“Stop, stop, stop. You have the nerve to say that,” Jin Yongyi interrupted. “Why don’t you take a look at the scandalous, unspeakable things you give me as rewards?”

The system went silent.

Jin Yongyi always felt that something was off. Generally speaking, a system and its host shared a symbiotic relationship. Yet, no other system in the world was like this one; its total online time added up to less than half an hour. The longer she stayed in this world, the less she saw of it. It only appeared briefly whenever it needed to issue a mission.

Suddenly, she wanted to ask, “You don’t happen to have other hosts, do you?”

The system replied: [No such thing. We systems can only bind to one host at a time. That kind of unfaithful system would be criticized to death by their hosts. I am just relatively busy, so please do not doubt me!]

Fearing that it would log off again without a word, Jin Yongyi quickly threw in the towel: “I am not doing this mission.”

The system did not even ask why. It hesitated for a moment before saying: [How about this? As long as you complete the missions and accumulate fortune points, you can choose whatever rewards you want, okay?]

“Who do you think you are, Pinduoduo?”

Jin Yongyi felt thoroughly depressed. She was on the verge of quitting. The system did not care about her survival at all. Just like last time, even though it knew she was dealing with the tree demon and was trapped in mortal danger, it had not lifted a finger to help.

It did nothing but blindly issue missions. Crucially, the trajectory of these missions was getting stranger and stranger. For instance, coaxing the male lead to sleep had already been mind-boggling enough, though under those circumstances, she had not had the luxury to overthink it.

However, Jin Yongyi had no intention of bringing that up. After all, the system was a bit slow-witted and, for some reason, firmly believed she had already successfully completed the sleep-coaxing mission.

Faced with her passivity, the system said pitifully: [But the next three missions have already been set up. How about we do this? As long as you finish the remaining four missions and find a successor for your character, you can return to the real world ahead of schedule. And every single thing promised to you will be delivered.]

Jin Yongyi froze, her gaze shifting to Mu Qingfeng on the bed.

A successor; did she not happen to have one right here?

She hesitated. “Really?”

The system responded lightning fast.

Jin Yongyi curled her lip and said, “Fine, then. Who knew the resignation process would be so formal? I just hope you are equally formal when paying out my salary. Stop giving me bizarre things.”

After agreeing, the system immediately logged off. Possessing the excellent moral character of someone who wanted to responsibly finish all remaining tasks even on the verge of resigning, she tucked Mu Qingfeng in properly before heading down to the first-floor lobby to request some bath scrubbing tools.

The errand boy remembered her face clearly. With extreme warmth, he informed her where the young master who had arrived with her currently was.

Jin Yongyi bypassed a small grove behind the inn, walking forward with cautious steps. Although it was called a bathhouse, this area felt more like a hot spring. The rising mist was trapped beneath the canopy of trees, making everything look stark white. According to the errand boy, Zhao Fuzhou had given them a massive silver ingot, essentially reserving the entire place. Thus, she was not worried about running into naked strangers.

The deeper she walked, the thicker the mist became.

It was not until she completely lost sight of the path ahead that Jin Yongyi stopped in her tracks.

The privacy of this bathhouse was certainly well-designed.

With the path she had come from now blocked by the dense fog, Jin Yongyi stood still. She took a deep breath, preparing to shout Zhao Fuzhou’s name, when she heard a rustling sound coming from her front left. She shut her mouth and crept forward stealthily.

“Don’t, don’t kill me!”

A piercing, heart-wrenching scream shattered the silence of the area. Jin Yongyi straightened up in shock, not daring to take another step forward.

“I have no grievance or enmity with you, do I? The events back then were all decided by the King of Gu Demons. We have already paid the price, so why must you drive us to absolute extinction?”

“No grievance or enmity?”

Jin Yongyi was all too familiar with the voices of the two individuals speaking. Was this not Huan Nu and Zhao Fuzhou?

At that moment, Zhao Fuzhou spoke again. Jin Yongyi could detect a profound sense of sheer disdain in his tone.

“Why would I need a reason to kill you?”

This was completely different from the Zhao Fuzhou she usually interacted with. She sneakily craned her neck, attempting to see the source of the voices clearly. Unfortunately, the mist was far too thick; she could only discern a dark, blurry mass writhing on the ground.

Unsure of what exactly was happening, Huan Nu suddenly shrieked in terror, “What if I know who killed your mother?”

“I am willing to tell you everything I know!” In his panic, he gasped desperately for air, completely unable to manage his erratic breathing. His desire to survive poured violently from his throat as he said urgently, “I have definitive news. She has already left.”

The voice cut off abruptly.

Jin Yongyi cursed quietly in her mind. Stopping mid-sentence like that meant they deserved a miserable death.

She peered around, rubbing her eyes to see what had just transpired. Suddenly, a burst of soaring fire flared up right before her eyes. Grimacing, she scrambled backward and squatted behind a tree, clutching her head.

Crackling sounds echoed above her. Jin Yongyi looked up in terror, only breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that the wild sparks were automatically avoiding the trees. However, her heart, which had just settled, tightened again after only a few seconds. She focused her gaze and discovered what appeared to be a section of intestines amidst the chaotic, exploding sparks.

Ugh, so bloody.

Then again, it made perfect sense. First of all, Huan Nu was an evil demon, inherently an enemy to the Child of Destiny who stood on the side of justice. Furthermore, he actually dared to deliberately provoke Zhao Fuzhou; it would be a miracle if he did not die.

As someone who was well-versed and deeply familiar with novel tropes, Jin Yongyi was not surprised by Zhao Fuzhou’s backstory at all. It was nothing more than the demon clan killing his mother, him swearing to avenge her at all costs, embarking on a bloody path of no return, and thus magnificently launching the legend of a generation.

Male-channel web novels were always written this way.

As the fire gradually subsided, Jin Yongyi peeked out from behind the tree. Seeing that the dense fog had mostly been dispersed by the waves of heat, she waited until the last embers and the mist perished together before stepping out on tiptoe.

The scene before her was now completely clear.

A ring of unidentified stones enclosed a massive hot spring. She could visibly see wisps of hot steam rising from the water; soaking in it would undoubtedly make one feel utterly ethereal.

Jin Yongyi picked up the bath tools and approached the hot spring, scanning the surroundings. Yet, she could not find any sign of Zhao Fuzhou.

Where was he? How did he vanish in the blink of an eye? Such a perfect opportunity had presented itself today, catching the male lead right as he was taking a bath. If she did not complete this absurd mission now, when would she? Down the line, she would have to come up with all sorts of bizarre excuses to get him to bathe, which would make her look like an absolute pervert.

Walking to the edge of the hot spring, Jin Yongyi set the tools down, reached out, and dipped her hand into the water. It felt so comfortable that she internally cheered, “Nice!”

She truly wanted to recklessly dive right in for a soak. She truly wanted to cry out to the heavens to vent her internal grievances. The male lead was not the only one in this world who got tired; she did too! She also needed a pool of warm bathwater to comfort her little soul, which had been deeply traumatized by the system!

Forget it.

She had not brought a change of clothes.

Weeping inwardly, Jin Yongyi struggled with herself for a moment before picking up the tools and standing up.

Just as she turned around and lifted her foot to take a step, a hand suddenly shot out from behind her. It grabbed her raised foot and yanked it backward with immense force.

“Holy f*ck!” Jin Yongyi shrieked. Her vision flashed past the trees and the sky before she was abruptly submerged in water.

She was beneath the surface. The rapid loss of oxygen from her lungs left her mind dazed and her eyes staring blankly.

She used the last ounce of her strength to thrash around, but lost momentum halfway through, helplessly sinking down. Jin Yongyi’s furious cursing dissolved into a final trail of bubbles. Before completely losing consciousness, she felt something wrap securely around her waist.