Chapter 3: Slacking Off, Day Three
For example, her master’s “White Moonlight” story.
Rong Hua Xianzi, who died saving Lin Yu many years ago, was the white moonlight in Lin Yu’s heart. Lin Yu remained heartbroken for many years, until she discovered Wen Ying, who resembled Rong Hua. She immediately took Wen Ying as her direct disciple.
Lin Yu doted on Wen Ying as if she were Rong Hua, showering her with the guilt she felt towards Rong Hua. Although other disciples in the Xun Xian Sect despised Wen Ying’s daily bullying, Lin Yu still protected her.
Then one day, Rong Hua returned.
It turned out that Rong Hua hadn’t actually died. She had miraculously survived, clinging to the belief that she would see Lin Yu again.
Lin Yu was overjoyed and immediately abandoned Wen Ying. To regain Lin Yu’s attention, Wen Ying did several outrageous things, but this only led to Lin Yu’s increasing disappointment in her.
Gradually, Lin Yu, like everyone else, began to resent Wen Ying’s actions.
The more Lin Yu did so, the more resentful Wen Ying became. Thus, as the wicked female second lead, Wen Ying began to create misunderstandings between Lin Yu and Rong Hua, provoking their relationship, constantly trying to smear Rong Hua, and desperately clinging to Lin Yu.
Clearly, the background story of this “White Moonlight” novel is far more complex than the initial “Silly Sweet Cultivation Novel.”
But at its core, there’s not much difference—in short, this brainless female second lead, Wen Ying, spends her days making life difficult for the female lead, throwing herself at the male lead, and creating misunderstandings.
Whatever.
Wen Ying waved her hand and pushed open the door.
As soon as Wen Ying sat down at the table, she heard that familiar, fawning voice.
【Oh my, host, how did you fail your first mission so quickly…?】
Having heard the voice for over fifty cycles, Wen Ying wouldn’t mistake it.
This was the buggy and utterly useless system.
Like other mission participants, Wen Ying had also been given a system upon her arrival.
According to the system itself, it provides guidance, offers assistance, and provides functions such as points exchange, mission inquiry, and data query.
However, based on Wen Ying’s experience, the other functions were useless. The system’s only purpose was to introduce bugs into this world.
“Heh.” Wen Ying sneered, “You finally deigned to show yourself?”
【Oh, host, that’s not it, I was researching for you, so I was late…】
The system’s voice was full of flattery.
“Oh really?” Wen Ying glared at the system. “What did you find out? Did you find a way for me to go back?”
【This… this I haven’t found… but I’ve compiled all fifty-two stories that have appeared so far!】
“And what did you compile?” Wen Ying’s tone was laced with both disdain and contempt.
【Ahem. Host, this is your fifty-second attempt at this mission. Your current skill panel is: Wisdom level, maxed; Physical Strength level, maxed; Martial Arts level, maxed; Cultivation level, maxed; Cooking level, maxed; Defense level, maxed… in short, all levels are maxed.】
“Heh.” Hearing this, Wen Ying couldn’t help but sneer again.
Yes, before the last cycle, she had painstakingly maxed out every skill, thinking that by reaching the max level, she might find a way to complete the mission.
The result? The same. Stopping at 99.9% completion.
A reversal of fortune?
My ass.
This is a world where the mission is simply impossible to complete.
Rather than clinging to the foolish idea of completing the mission…
After the incident with the Enforcement Elder, Wen Ying had some new thoughts.
【Your current mission is “The Female Second Lead in a Xianxia Novel.” In addition, you are also the “Female Second Lead in a White Moonlight Novel,” “The Female Second Lead in a Stand-in Novel,” “The Female Second Lead in a True Daughter Novel,” “The Female Second Lead in a False Daughter Novel,” “The Female Second Lead in a No-CP Novel”…】
The system listed fifty-one mission names.
“Oh.” Wen Ying remained calm, as if she hadn’t heard. “So, do you have a way for me to complete the mission?”
【This… uh, no.】
“Okay.” Wen Ying nodded, her gaze calm as she looked ahead. “You know, if I could kill you, you’d be dead ten thousand times over. I would let you live, die, live again, die again, live again, and die again.”
Wen Ying’s tone was perfectly calm, as if she were talking about what she had for breakfast.
【Ho, host… I… I’m sorry… but you, can’t kill me.】
“I know.” Wen Ying smiled. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be chattering away here.”
【That, host, if you have any other needs…】
“Unless it’s helping me complete the mission or return to my original world, you can get lost.” Wen Ying’s smile widened, becoming slightly unsettling.
【Right away!】
After saying this, the system fell silent, clearly hurrying to leave.
Wen Ying’s dislike for the system was genuine.
It wasn’t just because it was useless. From the first cycle, when she first heard its voice, Wen Ying had felt an inexplicable aversion to this androgynous voice—not because it was unpleasant, but she couldn’t explain why.
Over countless cycles and countless bugs, her dislike had only grown stronger.
You can trust a system as much as you can trust a pig to climb a tree.
Wen Ying had never expected anything from the system.
To escape the cycle, she would have to rely on herself.
Completing the mission only made the plot progress predictably; she had tried fifty-one times, and the results were always the same.
But this time, due to her previous slacking off, she unexpectedly encountered new characters and plot points.
Though it was only a small deviation that later reverted to the original plot, it was enough to get Wen Ying’s attention.
—Then let’s slack off!
Wen Ying reached a happy conclusion.
She would slack off even more, even more freely!
Wen Ying wasn’t looking for a perfect excuse for her slacking off.
She simply wanted, purely and simply, to escape the cycle and get rid of the system!
After making her decision, Wen Ying felt a wave of happiness wash over her, dispelling the gloom brought on by the system’s voice.
It should be about time.
She got up, preparing to go back to the back mountain.
In her haste to leave the back mountain earlier, Wen Ying had forgotten her cushion. It was a cushion she had searched for over a dozen cycles, the most comfortable one she’d ever found; it had accompanied her for over twenty cycles.
The disciples undergoing their trials should have finished and left the back mountain by now. She needed to retrieve her cushion quickly to prevent the spirit beasts from damaging it.
On her way to the back mountain, she encountered disciples returning.
Almost all of them had cheerful smiles, having apparently passed their trials successfully.
The trials, a regular assessment for Xun Xian Sect disciples, didn’t have rankings but had a passing grade. If a disciple didn’t meet the standard, they had to retake it until they passed.
Wen Ying had once been a diligent college student, so she could empathize with the feeling of passing an exam.
However…
Along the way, Wen Ying heard something else.
This assessment, they said, had been unusually lucky. Many disciples had found the corpses of second-order spirit beasts on the ground. Some had even found a circle of spirit beast corpses around a strange cushion, and many disciples had gathered to collect the bodies.
The disciples called it “a pie falling from the sky,” “heaven’s reward for their daily acts of kindness.”
Moreover, those disciples greatly admired the person who had helped them. Word of mouth had already made that person a “god of exams.” In their eyes, this god was not only powerful—easily killing so many spirit beasts—but also compassionate—fairly distributing the spoils.
Everyone was guessing who this powerful god of exams was.
The only people who could have been in the back mountain at that time were the disciples in the same group as them. Some guessed it was Fu Shuangxue, the disciple with the highest cultivation, but they later heard that Fu Shuangxue had encountered a ferocious beast and was seriously injured, making it unlikely.
Regardless of who it was, in the eyes of this year’s disciples, this person was already a supreme being.
At first, Wen Ying didn’t care about what the disciples were saying.
Until they mentioned the cushion.
Oh, no way, no way, the god of exams they were talking about couldn’t be her, could it?
Second-order spirit beasts… if they were only second-order…
No.
Wen Ying vehemently refused.
Those weren’t the little mosquitoes and bugs she had killed.
As a model citizen, she would never help others cheat.
There was only one thing she needed to do now.
Get her cushion back.