Chapter 126
Chapter 126: The Big Prop Gift Pack
[No, host, everything is normal.]
[Hmm, then keep an eye on that bastard for me. The moment he comes within five li of me, alert me immediately.]
[Got it!]
Su Qian Xue finally relaxed completely. Leaning back against the carriage wall, she closed her eyes and silently prayed that nothing unexpected would happen this time.
[Hahahaha…]
Hic…
Seeing the dialogue box in her mind, Yun Wan Ning couldn’t help bursting into laughter. She laughed so hard that she accidentally hiccupped. Quickly covering her mouth, her watery eyes showed a flicker of embarrassment.
[Ugh, I just ruined my image. Good thing no one knows, or I’d die of shame.]
Everyone present: “…”
No, no, they all knew. They just weren’t going to say it aloud.
[Hah, this is all Su Qian Xue and her system’s fault for being so ridiculous.]
[Just looking at the dialogue box with Second Brother’s name on it, I can practically taste the gritted teeth in her tone. Clearly, Su Qian Xue hates him to the bone.]
[And she even had her system keep constant watch on him, ready to warn her the moment he’s within five li. Hahahaha, I’m dying over here.]
[Did Second Brother really leave that deep a scar on her psyche?]
Turning her head, Yun Wan Ning suddenly noticed that the young man who had been peeling peanuts for Madam Yun had vanished without her realizing it. A glint of suspicion flashed through her eyes.
[Huh? Where’s Second Brother? Wasn’t he just here? When did he leave? How did I not notice at all?]
…
The carriage soon reached Prince Qi’s manor.
After paying the fare, Su Qian Xue stepped down and walked toward the main gate, only to be stopped by the guards before she could get close.
“Stop. This is Prince Qi’s residence. No entry without an invitation.”
Being stopped was no surprise.
Su Qian Xue cleared her throat, pointed at herself, and lifted her chin with full confidence: “You don’t know who I am? I’m Su Qian Xue. My father is Grand Commandant Su. Your prince has urgent business with me. If you don’t believe me, go ask him.”
The guards sneered and gave her looks full of disdain. Clearly, they weren’t taking her words seriously at all.
Su Qian Xue almost exploded with rage.
She was the dignified daughter of the Grand Commandant’s manor, the female lead of this world, yet these random nobodies dared treat her this way? Unforgivable.
Of course, this was all Mo Yuan Hao’s fault. His bad attitude toward her had trickled down to his subordinates, making them just as dismissive.
“Er… Brother Guard, why don’t you help me send in a message? Just a message. If Prince Qi doesn’t want to see me, I won’t insist…”
Seeing that her status wasn’t working, Su Qian Xue quickly shifted tactics. She grabbed one guard’s hand with a flattering smile and slipped a gold ingot into it.
The guard’s expression darkened immediately. He jerked his hand back and took a step away, drawing his blade.
“Miss Su, if you keep pestering us, don’t blame my blade for having no eyes.”
“…”
Who was it that said money makes the devil turn the millstone?
Maybe she hadn’t given enough?
Gritting her teeth, she pulled out several more gold ingots. The other guards instantly backed away, all drawing their swords as well.
Looking at this formation, Su Qian Xue felt momentarily dazed.
[…]
[Useless, utterly useless. What kind of cursed fate did I have to get a host this stupid?]
“???”
[Did I call for you? Why are you talking?]
[Sorry, host didn’t call me, but I couldn’t hold it in.]
[…]
[Isn’t insulting the host punishable?]
[…]
The system went silent, which made Su Qian Xue instantly suspicious.
[Answer me. Is insulting the host punishable?]
[Honestly, host, you pick the worst times to be smart.]
[So it is punishable? Then I advise you to watch yourself.]
[… I wasn’t insulting you, just stating facts. Standing here in broad daylight trying to bribe a guard—how could he dare take it? If he did, someone would report him to the male lead. Then not only would he lose the bribe, he’d lose his post or even his life. How is that not stupid?]
“…”
So it wasn’t that the saying was wrong, or that she hadn’t given enough—it was that her method was wrong?
Fine, fine. What’s done is done. If it was wrong, it was wrong. She could just try another way.
With a cold snort toward the armed guards, she turned to leave. But that was just for show.
Once she was out of sight, she stopped and looked around, then crept toward the dog hole she’d used last time.
All the way there, she kept psyching herself up. But the moment she remembered how she’d sworn never to crawl through a dog hole again, shame burned her cheeks.
When she arrived, she froze in disbelief, squatting motionless for a long time.
Where was the dog hole?
Who had sealed it?
When did this happen?
[System… where’s the dog hole?]
[Blocked, host. You can see that yourself. Besides, didn’t you say you’d never crawl through one again?]
[…]
[Yes, I said I didn’t want to. I never said I wouldn’t. People often have to do things they don’t want to. Now check if there’s another dog hole in Prince Qi’s manor.]
[I checked. No other dog holes. But the manor has a river that connects to the outside. Host could try entering by water.]
[…]
[If you want me dead, just say so. It’s midwinter—the river’s frozen. Even if I could swim, I’d freeze to death before I got in.]
[Ah, right. I forgot host is so frail.]
[In the end, it’s because host can’t do martial arts. If you could, we wouldn’t have this problem.]
“…”
No kidding. If she could do martial arts, she could just scale the wall like Yun Wan Ye did when he broke into her house, knock Mo Yuan Hao unconscious, and complete the mission by force.
[If you have nothing worthwhile to say, you don’t need to talk at all.]
[Really? I was going to give you a reward for your recent efforts.]
[If host doesn’t want to hear it, we’ll just save it for later.]
“…”
This damned thing was doing it on purpose.
Forcing down her anger, she plastered on a smile.
[Don’t, I want to hear it. What’s the reward? Can it help me complete the mission instantly?]
[Beep—friendly reminder: It’s not dark yet, so maybe don’t dream so big.]
“…”
[Pffft hahahaha…]
[This is too much. Heaven must think I’m bored, so it sent these two oddballs to entertain me.]
Unable to hold back, Yun Wan Ning burst into loud laughter again.
[But what good does laughing do for me, huh?]
Madam Yun looked at her in confusion. Little Fourth had been laughing all afternoon. What on earth had Su Qian Xue and her system been talking about to make it so funny?
Yun Wan Ning’s heart voice continued:
[She tried to bribe the guards and failed, went to crawl through a dog hole only to find it blocked, and then got mocked by her own system. Su Qian Xue is the unluckiest heroine I’ve ever seen. Hahaha.]
[And this system—no starter gift pack, no golden cheat—its only talent seems to be roasting its host.]
“???”
Bribing guards? Crawling through a dog hole? Madam Su was getting more and more curious.
[No chance of giving you an instant-mission reward, but I can give you some tools to help.]
[Tools? What tools?]
[Beep—reward gift pack sent. Please check. Items are random.]
[Oh.]
Following the system’s prompt, Su Qian Xue opened the gift pack.
[Beep—congratulations, host has obtained Invisibility Talisman ×1, Disguise Pill ×1, Heart-Throb Aura ×1.]
[You can check each item’s duration and effects.]
…
Yun Wan Ning’s smile froze.
[Wow, that slap came fast. I was just mocking the system for not giving her a gift pack, and here it is.]
[This isn’t a starter pack, but close enough. Useful is what matters.]
[No, no, I refuse to believe I’m a jinx. But just in case—Su Qian Xue, those items sound shady. Probably have side effects. You should destroy them all. Yes, destroy them right now, in front of your system.]
The thought of those items—especially that Heart-Throb Aura—made Yun Wan Ning uneasy. With these, even a dog could finish the mission, let alone Su Qian Xue.
Madam Yun grew even more puzzled. Invisibility talismans, disguise pills, heart-throb auras? What in the world were those?
…
Outside Prince Qi’s manor, Su Qian Xue examined the items.
Invisibility Talisman: Beginner level. Grants invisibility for 10 minutes.
Disguise Pill: Beginner level. Transforms the user into any imagined appearance for 10 minutes.
Heart-Throb Aura: Advanced level. Makes everyone within range fall madly in love with the user for 30 minutes.
Seeing their effects, Su Qian Xue smiled in satisfaction.
[These will be very useful. Why didn’t you give them to me earlier?]
[While bound to a host, the system runs a default test phase to gauge ability. This gift pack is for…]
[So it’s a reward for passing the test?]
[No, it’s a consolation prize for failing. Strong hosts don’t need the system’s help. Weak ones—like you—can’t complete the mission alone and need tools. So, host, your rating is… Failure.]