Chapter 11: The Cousin’s Abnormal Behavior
As the old saying goes: one need not be tall to be a hero; one need not be large to be impressive.
A dress with cat ears, a small mouth and big eyes, short hair that looks chic, and long hair that flows elegantly. No "tsundere" to disturb one’s peace, no "domineering" attitude to tire one’s spirit.
Although Han Mo was not a "sis-con," just a normal man who stood firmly against drugs and gambling, the moment he saw this silver-haired girl, a certain instinct buried deep within human DNA was triggered: *Refine it—anything can be refined!*
Of course, he never had any illusions about young girls. This was merely human nature responding to cute and beautiful things. After all, when you see a cute girl pouting, who wouldn’t want to poke her cheek? Upon hearing a girl’s soft, sweet voice, who wouldn’t find themselves smiling? Seeing her innocent, wide eyes blinking, who wouldn’t want to tease her? Witnessing those delicate, tender little feet, who wouldn’t want to... ahem, that wouldn’t pass censorship.
"Han Mo, you lecher, where are you looking?"
The girl quickly noticed Han Mo’s wandering gaze. Her pretty face turned cold, and her voice shot up an octave. She hurriedly pulled her skirt together to cover her exposed, fair legs, and didn’t forget to glare at him viciously before she was through.
"Are you... Mengyao?"
Only when the girl shouted did Han Mo regain his senses. After a moment of thought, he quickly recalled her identity.
Su Mengyao was the adopted daughter of a distant aunt of his. She took her father’s surname, Su, and was his cousin, though there was no blood relation between them. As the second-fastest cultivator in the Yifeng Marquis Estate, Han Mo had always been overshadowed by someone, and that person was none other than Su Mengyao.
She could be considered a once-in-a-century peerless genius of the Yifeng Marquis Estate. With a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a natural Water Spirit Dao Body, she had already stepped into the Qi Condensation 10th Layer Great Perfection at only eighteen years of age and was on the verge of Foundation Establishment. By contrast, the twenty-year-old Han Mo had only just barely reached the Qi Condensation 8th Layer. The gap between them was not insignificant.
Because of Su Mengyao’s extraordinary talent and high aptitude, she was arrogant by nature and particularly detested this playboy cousin who loved frequenting brothels to listen to music.
"Han Mo, what did you call me? You are not allowed to address me by my first name!"
The extreme disgust in Su Mengyao’s words confirmed that Han Mo’s memory was correct.
Of course, if that were the extent of it, it would be fine. The problem was that Su Mengyao was the core figure in his most humiliating ending out of the more than six tragic fates that awaited him. It was also the only ending that wasn’t directly or indirectly caused by the player, but rather one that led to his death.
In the future, when Su Mengyao was about to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment, the original Han Mo, consumed by madness and jealousy, would ambush her, leaving her severely injured. He would even personally gouge out his cousin’s Heavenly Spiritual Root to graft it onto himself, thereby sowing the seeds of his own destruction.
What kind of seeds?
*The heavy pupil is the path to invincibility; why borrow the root of another!*
In other words, this cousin who had her roots stolen was a true Child of Destiny, second only to the protagonist. In that tragic ending, after Su Mengyao had her spiritual roots stolen, she soon met the player. With the player’s help, she was reborn from the ashes. She then stormed the Han Family, took her revenge on Han Mo, and ultimately paid him back in his own coin by personally gouging out his spiritual roots. This left his cultivation completely ruined, led to his expulsion from the Han Family, and resulted in him dying of hunger and cold.
For a scion of a noble family to end up starving to death—calling it the most humiliating way to die would be no exaggeration.
*Hiss~*
Recalling this plot, Han Mo drew a cold breath and waved his hands repeatedly.
"Alright, alright, cousin won’t call you by your name. How about I call you Miss Su from now on? Miss Su, I really wasn’t bullying Xiao He. I was just letting her taste the flavor of today’s breakfast. If you don’t believe me, ask her."
"Miss, the heir apparent is right. He was not bullying me."
Xiao He naturally dared not contradict Han Mo and nodded repeatedly.
"Miss Su?"
However, Su Mengyao hadn’t even listened to what Xiao He was saying. Because, upon hearing the seemingly respectful yet noticeably distant title "Miss Su" from Han Mo, she—who had been full of disgust—felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest, and her delicate brows furrowed of their own accord. She felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Hmph. Since Xiao He says so, I’ll take your word for it this time."
Su Mengyao had only been passing by and heard Xiao He’s cries for mercy inside the hall. She had stormed in intending to hold him accountable, but because of that "Miss Su," she suddenly felt listless and lost the desire to continue causing trouble.
"Since everything is settled, Miss Su, I am still having my meal. Do you think you could..."
Seeing this, Han Mo breathed a sigh of relief and began to offer a polite invitation for her to leave.
In his view, since this girl was the primary cause of one of his many bad endings, the best strategy was to avoid her entirely and not provoke her. Given that she was his cousin, they could potentially reconcile, and perhaps with time, they could even grow close and develop a genuine bond as brother and sister. It wasn't impossible.
This was different from the situation with Lin Feng, where he had been cornered and had no choice but to be tough. Looking at the game’s plot, the original Han Mo had always been jealous of Su Mengyao’s talent, and it was precisely this jealousy that grew over time, eventually evolving into the act of gouging out her roots. Han Mo certainly wouldn't engage in such obvious villainous behavior, but the timing wasn't right to try to befriend her now. If he remembered correctly, at this point in time, even without the root-gouging incident, Su Mengyao held no fondness for her cousin. Forcing the issue would only be counterproductive.
He would avoid her for now and try to "conquer" her later... wait, no, he just meant fostering a pure, platonic sibling relationship. Don't get the wrong idea; he was a pure-love warrior.
"Hmph, Han Mo, you’re already trying to kick me out? You lost a bet to me last time, and you haven't honored your promise yet!"
Being ordered to leave by the person she hated most, and seeing him reverse the roles so easily, clearly left the girl feeling indignant. It was as if she were thinking: *I didn't even mind talking to you, and yet you're giving me the cold shoulder? The audacity!*
"A bet? What bet?"
Han Mo was slightly stunned. He had no memory of any bet, nor did he expect the girl to refuse to leave.
"Fine! So you really were planning to welch on it! You said you wanted to compete in swordsmanship with me, but when you lost, you didn't want to honor the wager!"
When the girl said this, Han Mo finally remembered. The game did contain this bit of background information: as the two great geniuses of the Yifeng Marquis Estate, neither was willing to submit to the other, and they were constantly at odds. In particular, Han Mo had a strong desire to win and was always the one to start trouble, challenging Su Mengyao to duels or making provocative bets. However, the background info didn't mention the specifics of their bets—after all, that was just the daily life of a villain.
Thinking of this, Han Mo could only ask offhandedly:
"And what was the wager? What did the loser have to do?"
"Hmph. According to the bet, you have to master three of the Han Family’s unique arts within a month and perform them in front of the entire family."
"Which three?"
"Yellow-Grade intermediate finger technique: *Hard Seal*; Yellow-Grade intermediate heart technique: *Bite Art*; and Yellow-Grade superior-tier array diagram: *Water Dragon Respect*."
Han Mo: "???"
Wait, girl, something is wrong with you!