Li Rufeng was kneeling on the ground, his heart pounding with anxiety as he wondered how the Empress would deal with him. At that moment, the voice of the System rang in his head again: "Ding! Daily quest issued — Find a way to evade military service. Success rewards the special skill 'Primary Strategist Skill'; failure deducts the 'Luck Halo' and brings bad luck for a year." Li Rufeng cursed his luck inwardly; this System truly never missed an opportunity to torment him.
The streets on both sides were lined with all sorts of stalls, bustling with a lively, bustling crowd coming and going.
Li Rufeng looked around curiously, his eyes suddenly caught by a candy-figurine stall. Like a little child with eyes gleaming, he couldn't help but draw closer.
Just then, a little beggar ran over, grabbed a candy figurine with a filthy little hand, and bolted. The stall owner shouted at the sight, "Catch the thief!" Without a second thought, Li Rufeng directly used the Telekinesis Art.
Before taking more than a few steps, the little beggar tripped over a protruding stone slab and plunged forward. As luck would have it, right ahead was a sweet tofu pudding stall, and the beggar dived headfirst straight into the bucket of tofu pudding, instantly turning into a "tofu-brain head."
The surrounding crowd burst into uproarious laughter at the sight. "Haha, this little beggar failed to steal a candy figurine and ended up as the spokesman for tofu pudding instead," joked a passerby.
The Empress couldn't help laughing either, and said to Li Rufeng, "Using your Bad Luck Curse on a petty thief like this is rather amusing." The Empress Li Huilan pondered for a moment and said, "Since that is the case, and you are so clever, you might as well join the Daxia army and serve the country. Consider it making amends for your past deeds."
Hearing this, Li Rufeng grew as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and hurriedly kowtowed: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this petty one is truly unsuited for military service! I am as timid as a mouse and will only hold everyone back on the battlefield. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!"
Right at that moment, an old man selling candied haws walked past, accidentally tripped over a stone, and lurched forward. The candied haws in his hand poked straight into the face of a guard. The guard let out an "Ouch," and a few red marks instantly appeared on his face, looking utterly comical. Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over, and they burst into hearty laughter.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Rufeng hastily stood up and tried to resort to his old trick of using the Shadow Shifting Technique to escape. But in his panic, he collided with a peddler carrying shoulder poles. The peddler's load tilted, sending his goods spilling all over the ground—various trinkets and jars and pots crashed and shattered everywhere.
The peddler hopped around in fury, shouting, "What is wrong with you? Are you blind when you walk? You've ruined my livelihood for the entire day!"
With a face full of apology, Li Rufeng said, "Brother, I am terribly sorry, I am really in a rush." As he spoke, he instinctively stepped back, only to bump into a passing fat matron. The fat matron staggered from the impact, almost falling over, and the vegetable basket in her hand flew through the air, sending her vegetables scattering across the ground.
The fat matron akimboed her hands and yelled angrily, "You reckless young man, charging around blindly like that, what are you trying to do!"
The marketplace instantly descended into utter chaos. The guards surrounding the Empress rushed to maintain order, while Li Rufeng dodged left and right through the crowd, bumping into this side one moment and crashing into that side the next, buzzing around like a headless fly.
Watching the chaotic scene, the Empress was both exasperated and amused: "This fellow truly never rests for a single moment."
Just then, a fortune teller squeezed his way out of the crowd. He looked at Li Rufeng, then at the chaotic scene, and shook his head sagely as he said, "Ah, young man, your fortune today can truly be described as full of twists and turns. However, if you can follow the Mandate of Heaven, perhaps you can turn peril into safety."
Li Rufeng retorted irritably, "Don't you add to the mess here; I'm already annoyed to death."
Do you think that in this chaotic marketplace, Li Rufeng will ultimately succeed in evading military service? What bizarre methods will he come up with next? And when the Empress sees Li Rufeng's intense aversion to serving in the army, what decision will she make?