Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lu Yunqi waved his hand, figuring the guy was busy practicing the Nine-Death Survival Skill, so let him be!

If he didn't master the skill, his seduction mission would get flagged as incomplete, and ultimately the mission would fail.

In one lifetime, he'd tried a different angle—either killing Murong Jie outright or crushing him so he couldn't rise. It turned out that didn't work either; after the kill, the completion rate tanked to under thirty percent—his worst run yet.

Plus, Murong Jie was scheming a rebellion—way more careful and methodical than his old man's half-baked attempt.

His dad was a hotheaded brute with six hundred thousand elite soldiers under his thumb. Everyone knew he was the most likely to revolt, so naturally, all eyes were on him.

Murong Jie, though, was a different story. He used to be the most overlooked prince, and now with the title of Young Lord Lu's husband—a gig that made inheriting the throne even more impossible—pulling off a rebellion was a cinch.

Soaking in the tub, Lu Yunqi shut his eyes and mulled over what the next step in his world-line playthrough would be.

Oh right, it should be the Second Prince's birthday bash, and they'd all get invites.

This was a minor side quest, but every lifetime played out differently, with different key players.

Like last time, the key player was Third Princess Murong Hua. He'd crown her the only Murong with any real spine besides Murong Jie.

She was also the only sibling who didn't treat Murong Jie like garbage.

He wondered what kinda drama this lifetime had in store.

Lu Yunqi let out a soft chuckle: "Ugh, guess there's another show to catch."

Once he was done bathing, Liu Bao brought over an invitation. He grabbed it, skimmed it, and smirked knowingly: "The Second Prince's birthday bash, day after tomorrow?"

Liu Bao bobbed his head: "Yes, Young Lord, day after tomorrow. Oh, and there's one for His Highness the Sixth Prince too—it got dropped off at our place."

Lu Yunqi grunted: "Fine, I'll bring it over to him."

Then he swiped the invite from Liu Bao and strolled through the flower-wall moon gate connecting the two estates, waltzing into Prince Cang's place like he owned it.

But the second he walked in, he spotted everyone—from the steward to the lowliest servant—lounging in the garden, soaking up the sun and shooting the breeze.

The place had been neglected for ages—weeds everywhere, the garden pond reeking, and even the emperor's gifts from today just sitting out in the yard.

Lu Yunqi furrowed his brow but kept his mouth shut, stepping around them into the main hall.

The main hall had zero servants—just Murong Jie, clutching a bowl of plain rice and nibbling on some stir-fried veggies.

Lu Yunqi couldn't take it anymore and snapped: "The hell? This is your dinner?"

To his surprise, Murong Jie actually answered: "I've always eaten like this. Got a problem?"

Lu Yunqi laughed in disbelief: "You're a prince pulling in five million a year, and you're living on plain rice and cabbage? That's no way for a person to live!"

Murong Jie lifted his gaze to Lu Yunqi, paused, then said: "Lu Yunqi, haven't you gotten your fill of messing with me these past few days? Everyone in this yard knows you, Young Lord Lu, don't give a damn about anyone—three days, five days, three months, five months tops—so why would you bother with me? Everyone's just reading your cues, and you know it. So why ask?"

Lu Yunqi thought: Well, damn, you actually said that much to me!

But that just ticked him off more: "Exactly! You know I'm only into you for a few months, so why not milk me for all I'm worth while you can? And those servants of yours out there—you're the almighty Prince Cang! One snap of your fingers and you could grind 'em to dust. You gotta play the poor little victim and wait for someone to feel sorry for you? Or does His Highness Prince Cang have some big master plan, thinking he's all that, pulling a whole 'sleep on firewood and taste gall' routine here?"

After Lu Yunqi's rant, the guy still had that stone-cold poker face. He thought: Why the hell am I even doing this? Just getting myself worked up for no reason.

He kicked over a stool, thinking: I must be out of my mind—why do I even care about him!

With a gut full of rage and no outlet, he stormed out of the hall and hollered at the servants: "Are you all freaking dead? Don't you know how to wait on your master? You're all acting like big shots! If you can't learn to serve right, I'll call the slave dealer this instant and sell every last one of you!"

The servants hit their knees in a line across the yard, and the steward finally got his act together, groveling: "Please don't be upset, Young Lord. I'll get them to clean the garden and sort the storeroom right away."

Once he'd blown off steam, Lu Yunqi headed back to his own yard and snapped at Liu Bao: "You! Get over to Prince Cang's place and keep watch. If any damn servant dares to slack off again, beat 'em one by one! Beat 'em till they shape up!"

Liu Bao had no clue why his young lord was so pissed, but he figured there had to be a reason, so he trotted off to Prince Cang's place.

When Liu Bao got back, Lu Yunqi still felt like he'd choked down a load of resentment, and it took him a hot minute to cool off.

Only after he settled down did it hit him that something was off—way off. His archenemy, the guy who'd killed him nine times—so what if he caught a little grief? Why the hell was he getting worked up over it?

He hit the sack without a word, skipping dinner altogether.

In the dead of night, starving and stomach growling, he couldn't rouse Yun Hua or Liu Bao, so he threw on a robe and snuck to the small kitchen to scrounge up some grub.

But the second he stepped out, he caught a shadowy figure flashing by.

Lu Yunqi squinted, thinking: Did we get burgled?

He tailed the figure quietly, watching them slip into Prince Cang's estate. He tiptoed closer and saw the person halt behind a rock formation.

Lu Yunqi didn't dare edge closer, just barely making out another figure behind the rocks. A voice drifted over: "How's the prep going?"

Hold up... is that Murong Jie's voice?

Another voice answered: "All set. This time, we can at least throw 'em into chaos for a bit."

Murong Jie said: "Mm, and the Yuezhi folks?"

The other replied: "Don't sweat it, everything's on track."

Murong Jie said: "Then don't come around for the next few days. I'll reach out if anything pops up."

The other grunted: "Here, take this. Stay safe."

With that, the person prepared to leave, but Murong Jie called out again: "Wait, Xiao Hei..."

The person stopped: "Hm? Master, what is it?"

Under the moonlight, Murong Jie's face was unreadable. After a beat, he asked: "If someone you loathe to the core suddenly turns sweet on you, what do you reckon they're after?"

Xiao Hei scoffed: "Unsolicited kindness stinks of ulterior motives—kill 'em, nip it in the bud!"

Lu Yunqi: ...

Holy crap, I'm out here spying at midnight and the punchline lands on me.

He turned to leave, thinking that if he kept listening, he wouldn't even make it to a year from now—he'd be dead on the spot.

He silently resolved: Before the Second Prince's birthday mini-dungeon, I'll be damned if I see him again!

Never expect a mortal enemy to turn into a friend, or you'll just die faster and uglier.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Lu Yunqi swore off fasting for good. He had the small kitchen whip up six dishes at dawn and devoured them in a frenzy.

Lu An, who had come early to visit his brother, looked utterly bewildered and asked: "Brother, has our family fallen so hard that you can't afford to eat?"

Lu Yunqi burped and waved his hand: "You wouldn't understand. Emotions are like—"

a tornado—sometimes when it hits, you lose your appetite. But when it passes, your stomach becomes a bottomless pit."

Lu An, a total meathead, said, "Tornado? Bottomless pit? I don't get it."

Lu Yunqi replied, "If you don't get it, then don't listen. Why aren't you at the training grounds? What are you doing here with me instead? Don't want to be Dad's good boy anymore, and want to follow your little bro here to be a slacker?"

Lu An grinned and said, "Nah, that's not it. I recently got a treasure and brought it to you."

With that, he pulled out something like a piece of paper from inside his shirt and pressed it into Lu Yunqi's hands, saying, "Wear it when walking at night or in danger—no sword or arrow can pierce it, and it can save your life!"

Then Lu An turned and walked off without saying another word.

Lu Yunqi unfolded the paper-like thing and found it was indeed a treasure, which later ended up in Murong Jie's hands. It had a nice name: the Heart-Stealing Armor.

Looking at the Heart-Stealing Armor and thinking of Lu An's tragic death, Lu Yunqi's nose stung, and he almost burst into tears.

He thought about how Lu An fought on the battlefield every day, facing extreme danger—barely escaping death, no exaggeration—and yet he got this life-saving treasure and immediately brought it to Lu Yunqi.

Lu Yunqi pinched himself and cursed, "Stupid eyes, stop leaking! I told you before, don't develop feelings for NPCs, or you'll be a wreck when they die."

After eating, he climbed back into the cabinet and arrived at the Wanping Wasteland.

From a distance, he saw the technician burning grass, who had already burned a large area. Gotta say, this method was indeed fast, much quicker than using a lawnmower.

The radish and butter lettuce planted on the first day had all come up, looking quite promising.

The lumberjack had piled up a large stack of wood nearby. Lu Yunqi opened the system menu to check his cabin's progress and found he'd completed several tasks.

"Ding, congratulations host, your NPC completed the achievement of chopping ten trees while you were away, earning 10 points."

"Ding, congratulations host, your NPC completed planting five acres of chives while you were away, earning 10 points."

"Ding, congratulations host, your NPC completed the irrigation task while you were away, earning 10 points."

"Ding, congratulations host..."

The achievement notifications kept coming one after another, and Lu Yunqi's earlier frustration finally eased a bit. He happily looked at his ninety points and called out to the distance, "Sister Na, did you do all those tasks while I was away?"

Li Na, who was playing with fire, waved at him and said, "The difficulty is too low, and I have nothing to do now. Crank up the difficulty, boss!"

==========Author's Note:==========

This story is a humorous and witty piece, focusing on a lighthearted vibe~

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