0038 - So many side quests.

Lu Sheng stared at his reflection in horror. His skin had turned a deep, angry red, looking shiny and oily. The sudden change was unexpected.

"I can't go out like this!" he exclaimed. "Everyone at the Physician Hall will laugh at me!" He punched the water in anger. "Why did you not tell me that this will happen? Why didn't you stop me?"

[Host, I told you multiple times that we didn't fully understand the 999 method. I warned you not to take it lightly, repeatedly. I cautioned you that it's not a practical method. I even warned you not to come crying to me if something went wrong. But you let your greed get the best of you, and now you're as red as a tomato.]

"Ugh, come on!" Lu Sheng groaned, running his hands through his long dark hair. The weird, oily feeling on his scalp made him even more frustrated. "NO! You cannot blame this on me! You! You! You used the same method to make that spirit bead, what kind of scam are you running with me? What kind of game are you playing with me? If you use it then it's magical, it's a cheat code but when I ask, it's a blunder? A failure? A disaster? NO NO NO! This is all your fault! You have to fix this before anyone else sees this. 

[Host, you're being unreasonable. It's not my fault. I warned you multiple times, but you wouldn't listen.]

"STOP WASTING TIME! FIX THIS!!" Lu Sheng snapped at his useless Automated System. "You're supposed to be helpful, not a naggy know-it-all chatterbox! You mock me, criticize me, and then make excuses and blame me for blunders. Didn't you suggest I leave my room to prepare for Lu Zhan's duel? If I hadn't left the room that day, I wouldn't have gotten beaten by that perverted lover and ended up like this. I would have still been sleeping in my room. What kind of lousy luck do I have?!"

[Host, I am not a Divination System, I only suggested what was optimal. If you hadn't left your room, then Lu Zhan would have beaten you along with your furniture. You were going to be beaten anyway, how is this my fault? At least here you have a chance to learn new things. Did you forget your original goal? Did you forget the fire of hell?]

Lu Sheng wanted to retort, but he had nothing. In his anger, he submerged his head in the basin water and screamed out all his frustration and anger.

[Host, I am not just sitting idle, Eternal Life Core Elixir's Essence is in full use to fix this problem but it will take time, this is not a wound that needs to be healed so that's why it's a very different and tricky problem.]

Lu Sheng pulled his head out of the water to argue but noticed Tu Rong standing nearby. Her usual cheerful expression was missing, replaced by one of guilt.

Collecting himself, Lu Sheng stifled his frustration and asked calmly, "What's wrong?"

Tu Rong approached Lu Sheng and bowed apologetically.

"Are you apologizing?" Lu Sheng asked, puzzled. "Why?"

Tu Rong raised her head but avoided meeting Lu Sheng's eyes directly.

"Did your brother say something to you?" Lu Sheng's tone turned serious.

Tu Rong shook her head, indicating that her brother hadn't said anything, but guilt was still evident on her face.

"Tu Peng!!??" Lu Sheng called out loudly. Tu Rong shook her head vigorously.

"Don't worry, I'll have a word with him. He won't dare to bother you again," Lu Sheng reassured her, but Tu Rong seemed even more flustered.

She approached even closer and gestured with her hand to stop, then she pointed to the bucket and motioned towards it.

"Oh? So you were the one who splashed the water on me?" Lu Sheng smiled. "And you did it on your own, Tu Peng didn't know and tried to stop you?"

Tu Rong nodded vigorously and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hahahahaha!" Lu Sheng burst into laughter. "That's it? Did you come to apologize for this? Next time, if I don't wake up in time, you have my permission to splash me with water to wake me up. Okay?"

Tu Rong's eyes lit up, and her usual cheerfulness returned. A mischievous smile spread across her face as she crossed her arms, as if accepting the challenge. Lu Sheng laughed again and shooed her away.

"Sigh. So what's the plan now?" he reluctantly asked, feeling calmer and more refreshed now that his mind had settled. The daily automation routine resumed taking over his body, cleaning, and bathing.

[Host, if we overlook the red color, you've actually gained something.]

"Is it worth it to ignore this barbecue skin?" Lu Sheng sighed again.

[Not for now, but...I don't want to speculate and raise your hopes too high, but your skin has become thicker like a beast's hide. So I guess it'll be less cold in the winter, for now?]

"And what if we would have continued?"

[I am still not sure, maybe even thicker skin? I am not sure if it's worth experimenting with, we need more data.]

"But didn't we read the 999 method completely? Then what are we missing here?"

[This is not some clear and logically explained scientific paper for everyone to read, this is full of semantics, poetic prose, flowery words, and abstract concepts.]

"Isn't that the case with everything we read? Full of convoluted philosophy and stupid ass dao bullshittery instead of clear instructions? How are we supposed to find anything reliable like this?"

[Then maybe we should use a test subject instead of experimenting on ourselves.]

"Hmm... like a lab rat? Not a bad idea..." Lu Sheng grinned, amused by the thought. He thought of several people who could be potential candidates for his experiments, but none of them seemed villainous enough to deserve to be treated like lab rats.

[Let's focus on Eternal Life Core Elixir first because it worked.]

"Right, so that means we would have to talk to Physician Hong?" He did not like this idea at all.

[Or Ming Mei?]

Lu Sheng nodded as Ming Mei was much less scary than Physician Hong.