Chapter 2: Knife Your Dreams

Is this really all there is to it?

Lin Bai chuckled to himself.

See? I told you emotions are the easiest things to manipulate, especially with this naive little scholar who harbors dreams; just take a knife to his dreams, and every strike hits the mark!

As the reward (Spirit +1) was issued, Lin Bai felt as if he had downed a can of Red Bull, his spirit instantly invigorated.

The exhaustion since his transmigration was swept away.

The effect was immediate.

Struggling is for the weak; a golden finger and a transmigrator are the perfect match!

"Lin Bai, I took you for a confidant, why would you fabricate such a story to humiliate me?" Luo Congwen's eyes were bloodshot, and he was panting heavily, clearly furious to the extreme. He glared at Lin Bai and said in a deep voice, "You know the status of the Luo Family in Jiamu City. It would be one thing if you told me the original story in its entirety, but if you keep making things up, I won't even let you leave the Luo Mansion."

Tell a story, and now my personal freedom is restricted?

Are there no human rights in ancient times?

Having understood the social structure, Lin Bai knew that what Luo Congwen said was a fact; at least within Jiamu City, a young master of the Luo Family could indeed do as he pleased.

But was Lin Bai afraid?

If he were afraid, he wouldn't have entered the Luo Mansion in the first place!

Besides, he now had a golden finger.

Wealth is sought in danger.

……

【Sub-quest: Negative Emotion unlocked. Collect ten instances of negative emotions directed at you; Reward: Spirit +3;】

The initial task completed, the Emotion System immediately rolled out a follow-up task.

Looking at the annoyed Luo Congwen, Lin Bai cupped his hands: "Brother Luo……"

Luo Congwen had not yet recovered from the previous story and coldly interrupted him: "Do not call me Brother Luo. A storyteller, what qualifications do you have to call me brother?"

"I am not a storyteller," Lin Bai said calmly.

"Could you possibly have some grand background?" Luo Congwen mocked.

Lin Bai tapped the tabletop with composure: "I was brought here by your father."

"My father?" Luo Congwen was stunned.

"Sigh!" Lin Bai nodded, silently completing a bit of wordplay, and continued, "Young Master Luo, don't you think my appearance is a bit of a coincidence?"

Luo Congwen looked at Lin Bai, lost in thought, and then his expression suddenly turned sour.

Lin Bai sighed: "Brother Luo, you have the imperial examinations next year, yet you spend your days neglecting your proper work, thinking only of seeking immortals and inquiring about the Dao. Old Master Luo is worried that if you continue like this, you will ruin your future, so he asked me to come and persuade you."

Luo Congwen snorted: "So, you fabricated a story to disgust me?"

"This is not a story, it is a real event. When Ning Caichen was discovered, what followed…… was too tragic to look at……" Lin Bai closed his eyes, as if unwilling to recall the miserable scene, and sighed, "Brother Luo, seeking immortals and inquiring about the Dao is not as wonderful as it is in storybooks. Those who succeed in cultivation do not necessarily have morals. Before becoming immortals, they are first human. Being human means having seven emotions and six desires. Just like Young Master Luo, if you truly succeed in cultivation in the future, will you forget your father and mother?"

Luo Congwen was silent.

"Clearly, you will not," Lin Bai shook his head and said, "Resources in the Cultivation World are limited. In order to snatch limited Dharma Treasures and herbs, and to compete for limited immortal destiny, the law of the jungle is the norm in the Cultivation World."

Longevity is inherently the ultimate greed of man. If cultivators were truly tranquil and inactive, they would naturally grow old and die, and would not be thinking of plotting for longevity.

Seeking longevity is inherently going against heaven, and the immortals who plot for longevity have even more intense desires than mortals. Mortals compete for resources, but hindered by their own weakness, they can still restrain themselves; however, cultivators have abilities far beyond ordinary people, so why would they restrain their own desires?

Brother Luo, what is a vast family fortune in the eyes of a cultivator?

Suppose you really met a Sword Immortal, why would you think he would treat you with special favor? Wake up! Most of the time, Ning Caichen's fate is the final outcome for you ignorant fellows."

"I don't believe it." Luo Congwen's expression was somewhat ferocious.

"I have more secrets of the Cultivation World here. A foul-smelling zombie putting on a Painted Skin to seduce a scholar, and while the scholar is confused by passion, peeling his skin and digging out his heart. Demons transforming into Buddhas, setting traps to frame young cultivators, and absorbing their masculine energy……" Lin Bai casually made up a few small headlines, where the little scholar fell into the trap of lust, that bone-scraping steel knife.

"Say no more." Luo Congwen looked at Lin Bai, expressionless, "You go! Tell the old master that my Dao Heart is firm and I will not turn back."

Little brat!

Didn't you want to lock me up just now!

And now you're taking the initiative to drive me away?

Is that all the intelligence you have?

If it were an ordinary person, they would have taken the hint and left.

But Lin Bai was not an ordinary person.

He had the pride of a transmigrator; his skills were not high, but his courage was great.

Staring at Luo Congwen, Lin Bai continued to play his fictional role, earnestly saying: "Brother Luo, take my advice. The water in the Cultivation World is too deep and not suitable for you. Studying hard for the exams is the right path. A scholar thinking about immortal cultivation all day is even more ridiculous than doing business, and it is highly likely that you will be trampled upon just like Ning Caichen, eventually dying an unnatural death……"

"Get out!" Luo Congwen was furious, forcefully smashing his teacup on the ground, pointing at Lin Bai with trembling lips, "I told you to get out, didn't you hear me? Immediately, right now, disappear from my sight."

【Anger from Luo Congwen, +1】

With consecutive gains, Lin Bai was even less likely to leave. He stubbornly looked at Luo Congwen: "Brother Luo, I cannot leave. I made a military pledge to Old Master Luo; I cannot leave without persuading you, otherwise, the old master will not give me my reward. Let us continue talking about the affairs of the Cultivation World!"

"Serious illnesses require strong medicine. The reason you yearn for immortal cultivation is because you do not understand the Cultivation World. I still know many stories of miserable cultivators; let us tell them to you slowly……"

It was as if a sore spot had been poked.

Luo Congwen, with a dark face, fished a banknote out of his sleeve and handed it to Lin Bai: "Take the money and get out!"

【Anger from Luo Congwen, +1】

"What Old Master Luo promised me was one hundred taels." Lin Bai looked at the banknote without even blinking.

Swish!

Three more banknotes, fifty denomination each.

"Two hundred taels." Luo Congwen, without further ado, shoved the banknotes into Lin Bai's hand and gritted his teeth, "Take the banknotes and disappear immediately."

Look at that, the money for opening the restaurant is here!

Lin Bai smiled, leisurely tucked the banknotes into his pocket, and cupped his hands to Luo Congwen again: "Brother Luo truly has a firm Dao Heart, which is admirable. I shall take my leave now. Even if the deal is not done, the friendship remains; if Brother Luo wants to hear more stories in the future, feel free to come find me!"

Having said that.

Lin Bai stood up and walked outside, the Emotion System once again harvesting a portion of anger from Luo Congwen.

……

Lin Bai was in a very good mood.

The rewards brought by the cheat were secondary; the key was that they gave him sufficient confidence.

Lin Bai's previous plan had not been so bold and aggressive; he had truly intended to get on good terms with Luo Congwen and proceed slowly.

After all.

A transmigrator only has one life; if you squander it, it's truly gone.

But after the system possessed him, it simply issued a few tasks, forcibly pushing him into becoming a radical adventurer.

The most critical thing was that it had even succeeded.

Not only were the tasks completed, but the follow-up startup capital had also been secured...

The sweetness came unexpectedly, greatly eroding Lin Bai's firm will and causing him to quickly sink into the beauty brought by the cheat.

Lin Bai was not worried about the matter being exposed; Luo Congwen, who was devoted to cultivating immortality, did not have a good relationship with his father.

Theoretically, the little scholar would not seek verification from his father over such a trivial matter.

Taking a step back.

Even if the matter of swindling money were truly exposed.

Lin Bai believed he would also have a way to deal with it.

Through the experiment with Luo Congwen, he discovered that operating the system tasks was quite simple.

Perhaps by the time Luo Congwen realized what had happened, he would have already grown into a big shot that the Luo Family could not afford to provoke!

It must be said.

A cheat really can bring a person sufficiently powerful self-confidence.

……

The servants ran past Lin Bai one by one in high spirits, as if some major event had occurred!

Lin Bai grabbed a guard: "What happened?"

The guard recognized Lin Bai and knew he had been hanging out with their young master these past few days, so he dared not be negligent; he stopped his pace and said respectfully, "In reply to the young master, everyone is going to see the lecherous thief."

"Lecherous thief?" Lin Bai was stunned. Do these things exist in ancient times in broad daylight too?

Seeing that Lin Bai did not understand, the guard patiently explained: "The young master hasn't been out these past few days, so you don't know the situation outside. In the last two days, many strange things have happened in the city. Some people's chickens were hacked to death for no reason, some people jumped off the city tower and fell to their deaths, and others were molesting young maidens and wives on the street, causing panic among the people. The Catchers in the city are all busy to the point of madness, catching people everywhere. Look, they just caught another one a moment ago..."

What is the situation?

Lin Bai was stunned.

Is there another new transmigrator, or does someone else have a system too?

He could not help but make such associations.

After all.

He had just transmigrated to this world seven days ago, and today he had even been possessed by countless systems!

The strange things the guard mentioned could be done by both transmigrators and system holders.

The system might assign any task, and if one does it regardless of anything else, their behavior would absolutely look like that of a lunatic.

Seeing that Lin Bai was dazed and no longer asking questions, the guard hesitated for a moment, carefully retreated a few steps, turned around, and ran outside the courtyard to watch the excitement.

Lin Bai came back to his senses and followed quickly; in his three days at the Luo Mansion, he seemed to have missed many things.

If those troublemakers outside were truly his own kind, it would also be a good thing for him.

Regardless of whether the encounters of his own kind were good or bad, they had very high reference value for his future development; at the very least, it could allow him to avoid falling into many pits.

(End of this chapter)