"What kind of messy nonsense technique is this? Have we ever made any such agreement before?"
As a seasoned player, Han Mo was well-versed in almost all the techniques and skills within the world of Bahuang Changsheng.
According to the game's mechanics, techniques and skills were divided into three major categories: mental cultivation methods, divine abilities, and miscellaneous arts. Mental cultivation focused internally and was split into primary and secondary practices; divine abilities focused externally and included spellcasting, physical techniques, and movement arts; while miscellaneous arts encompassed everything under the sun, ranging from array arts, talisman crafting, alchemy, puppetry, to beast taming, with countless others in between.
The strength of these techniques was graded into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, with each tier further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.
Yellow Grade techniques were meant for transitioning through the game's beginner phase. They lacked any real devastating power, their cultivation difficulty was naturally low, and they were easy to pick up.
That being said, Han Mo had never heard of these three bizarre techniques.
Most importantly, as a dignified villainous heir apparent, practicing Stone-Hard Seal was fine enough, but wanting him to practice the Art of Enunciation—what on earth were you trying to achieve, little girl?
"Messy nonsense? This is a technique my grandfather created himself when he was young. If you, Han Mo, want to renege on your debt, just say so instead of making excuses."
The grandfather she referred to was Han Mo's grandfather, Han Lin, who was also the Marquis Yifeng of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Han Family's only Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse.
A technique he created when he was young?
It seemed this old marquis was quite an eccentric character!
Because the diary had rewritten the plot, the plot characters Han Mo came into contact with—such as Murong Ying and Han Feiyu—had changed to varying degrees. He couldn't be sure whether Su Mengyao or Han Lin had also been affected.
Of course, come what may, for the time being he had no wish to get entangled with a Daughter of Destiny who might cause his miserable death.
Right now, he could only cobble together some excuse to fool her and drive her away.
"Well, Miss Su, that's not what I meant. It's just that I happen to be tied up lately. Once I'm free, I will definitely cultivate these two techniques properly. But seeing as I'm still in the middle of a meal, perhaps you could..."
Just as Han Mo was thinking this and preparing to issue another order to see her out, a strange, subtle palpitation suddenly surged from deep within his body.
Looking inward, he discovered that the strategy diary which had already merged into his body was suddenly turning its pages without any wind, opening up to reveal a brand-new passage of blood-red text.
[Triggered the second ruinous ending. Death is projected in one month.]
[Complete the main plot objective: Brother and Sister's Night Chat, Life Counseling. Guide Su Mengyao and help her untie the knot in her heart to rewrite the fatal ending.]
Ah?!
"I knew it. You, Han Mo, are just a sore loser who can't stand losing a bet. I can't be bothered with you. Hmph~!"
While Han Mo was still reeling from the diary's anomaly, Su Mengyao let out a cold snort and turned to leave, clearly feeling somewhat disappointed.
To think she had hoped that making this wager would prompt this arch-villain to mend his ways and spend his time on cultivation instead of going out to indulge in wine and women every single day.
"Hey, wait..."
Coming to his senses, Han Mo gave a start, hastily tossed aside the bowl and chopsticks in his hand, and bolted after her.
Damn it, why had the ruinous ending been triggered again? No way, Su Mengyao, you stop right there!
The strategy notes had once again displayed a warning regarding a ruinous ending, and there was little doubt it was real.
Following the prompts did indeed allow him to avoid the ruinous ending—a fact already verified during the previous incident with Murong Ying.
Moreover, completing the main quest would yield corresponding rewards, even though the last reward had been that utterly useless "Perfect Foundation Establishment Strategy."
At the very least, he wouldn't die!
Driven by a desperate survival instinct, Han Mo covered the distance in two strides and quickly caught up behind Su Mengyao.
However...
"Yand~!"
The next moment, a soft, girlish cry rang out by his ear, and his palm came into contact with wave after wave of unusual, yielding softness.
Before he could figure out what was going on, a powerful force suddenly struck from the opposite side, sending him stumbling backward.
"Han—Mo—" Su Mengyao gritted her teeth. "You lecher!"
Pushed back by the strong force, Han Mo finally realized what had happened. Hearing him shout "wait," Su Mengyao had stopped in her tracks; but because he was in such a rush, he had grabbed her arm, instinctively pulled her into his arms, and accidentally touched somewhere he shouldn't have.
This caused Su Mengyao's pretty face to flush a brilliant crimson, whether from shyness or anger—well, it was probably anger.
In an emergency, one must resort to expedients. Han Mo didn't dwell on it too much; first things first, he needed to find an excuse and figure out a way to invite Su Mengyao to stay.
"Um, Miss Su... Mengyao, I didn't mean to."
He first lowered his voice to offer an apology, then quickly pivoted the conversation:
"I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. I am not the kind of person who goes back on his word. It's just that I am dull-witted, and even when I want to master these three techniques well, I always seem to miss the knack of it—take that Water Dragon Prohibition array diagram, for instance..."
"It's Prohibition, not Reverence! Water Dragon Prohibition!"
"It's all the same. Look here, Mengyao, you know that although I possess dual Spiritual Roots, they are Gold and Fire. But the Water Dragon Prohibition is a Water-attribute array diagram, which conflicts with my Spiritual Root affinity. Naturally, trying to comprehend it takes twice the effort for half the result."
Seeing Han Mo speak so earnestly about cultivation, Su Mengyao was quickly distracted, not even bickering with him for calling her "Mengyao" again.
She even blinked, casting a puzzled look his way as if asking, "And your point is?"
"So, I was thinking, isn't Mengyao's Spiritual Root affinity of the Heavenly Water attribute? With all that water, could you perhaps lend your brother a hand so we can comprehend this Water Dragon Prohibition together..."
"Han Mo, what... what-what-what nonsense are you spouting?! What do you mean by 'all that water'? I only have a Water Spiritual Root, I don't leak water! How dare you slander an innocent person out of thin air!"
Su Mengyao's almond-shaped eyes instantly widened in outrage, her slender hands instinctively crossing over her chest as she reacted violently to her cousin's impertinent words.
I didn't even mention Spiritual Roots leaking water! No wait, could she mean something else...
"That's not what I meant. You have a Water Spiritual Root, which gives you a natural affinity for Water-attribute spiritual Qi, making comprehension of this array diagram twice as effective..."
Han Mo quickly realized his poor choice of words, though he still didn't understand why the girl was reacting so intensely.
Offering a brief explanation, he steered the conversation back to the main point:
"So I was hoping you could teach me. Please, Mengyao... Oh, right, I have some business to attend to out of town this morning. Why don't you come to my room this afternoon so we can discuss it together?"
He still remembered the task Han Feiyu had given him—going to the pleasure quarters to listen to music—so he could only schedule the time for the afternoon.
He figured there shouldn't be any problem with what he said, and he had lowered his posture, appearing utterly sincere.
However...
"Han... Han-Han-Han Mo! What do you take me, Su Mengyao, for? You actually want me to go to your room to... to... Hmph, don't flatter yourself! I would never go to such a filthy, vile... motherf*cking... pigsty of a place!"
Su Mengyao's ears turned completely red, her breathing grew heavy, and those ice-crystal-like eyes quickly flashed with a trace of lingering anger mixed with a sliver of shy embarrassment.
With that final declaration, she forcefully shoved the blocking Han Mo aside and fled like a puff of smoke, vanishing in an instant.
Han Mo was still clueless as to what he had said wrong. Seeing her refuse so thoroughly, he could only shake his head, a deep sense of helplessness washing over him.
His reputation as a wastrel truly brought endless inconvenience to his everyday interactions, to the point where even his own cousin despised him so much.
Fortunately, the second ruinous ending he had just triggered seemed to come with a one-month buffer period.
It appeared everything would have to be carefully reconsidered.
...