Chapter Sixty-Eight: An Earnest and Honest Host

These minor tasks were truly tedious, and in a game with one hundred percent realism, players had no choice but to do everything themselves, running back and forth.

“Let’s see… collect daily necessities from the General Affairs Hall, dig bamboo shoots in the Southern Bamboo Forest, post a gathering list at the Record Hall…”

One after another, the chores spun her around like a little top, never stopping—no different than the games Xu Nuo had played before.

[Is this a farming game? Looks so old-fashioned.]
[It’s just the same old thing, nothing new.]
[Such a waste, the modeling and effects are so good.]
[Why did the map suddenly change? I just stepped outside for a moment.]
[This game doesn’t seem interesting at all.]

The audience’s reactions were exactly what 007 had hoped for. It consoled her with feigned concern: [Don’t worry, Host. You just need to finish the first few tasks. The rest can be done slowly…]

The entire room had only been given a simple cleaning. There was little furniture, not even any food—clearly, her current status in the sect was far from favored.

Xu Nuo sighed, “At the very least, I’m a descendant of an Immortal Lord.”

007 corrected her: [To be precise, you’re the thirtieth-generation sole daughter of the Immortal Lord’s cousin.]

With a gap of several hundred years, Xu Nuo and that aloof Immortal Lord shared only the faintest trace of blood. Yet she had still sought the ancestor’s protection, claiming her entire family had been wiped out in a single night, and only she survived, so the Xu bloodline would not end with her.

Though the ancestor agreed to her plea, the Immortal Lord never appeared in person. But that wasn’t the point—the real challenge was how to gain a foothold in this sect and complete the strategy missions.

007 kept chattering in her mind: [This game is meant to be light and healing, and there’s only one romance target. All you have to do is farm, provide warmth and care to the target, and you’ll pass easily.]

[First, let’s finish the initial tasks to earn the right to enter the inner sect…]

The strategy target, with a tragic past, was now waiting for Xu Nuo’s rescue in the outer sect.

But Xu Nuo wasn’t having much luck with her current chores.

She asked the menial disciple before her once more, “Really, there’s none?”

The disciple, clearly impatient and disdainful, replied, “No, no. This is the inner sect—where would you find mundane things like oil, rice, firewood, and salt here?”

With no seasoning collected, her first little task ended in failure.

[Don’t be discouraged, Host. Try again later! You have the best luck and popularity in this world, after all.] 007 was confident in her host’s one hundred percent good fortune attribute. Compared to her host’s previous wild antics, these small early setbacks were almost a relief. This was how a romance-farming game was supposed to play out.

So Xu Nuo obediently moved on to other tasks. She tried to borrow tools—no luck. Asked for directions—ignored.

As half the day slipped by, she had run all over and accomplished nothing.

Xu Nuo laughed and asked the system, “Xiao Qizi, is this what you call the best luck and popularity? Is this your so-called easy path to victory?”

[Uh…] 007 grew uneasy. It had only tweaked the numbers a little, but the effect seemed too obvious. [According to the settings, you’re not well-liked in the sect at first, but don’t worry—this is only temporary. You’re the luckiest, kindest heroine, beloved by all—a little angel. It just takes some development…]

Xu Nuo spread her hands. “So what do I do? I can’t even complete the tasks. I’m about to starve.”

Most of the sect disciples practiced fasting, untouched by mortal food, so whenever Xu Nuo went to pick up daily supplies at designated places, she was refused with that excuse.

007: [Why not have a snack to tide you over?]

Xu Nuo, ever compliant, answered, “Sure, I’ll eat before working.”

007 breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Good, the host wasn’t getting up to any mischief. Clearly its host was a good one—just led astray by unscrupulous viewers.

As the sun set behind the mountains, Xu Nuo sprawled carelessly at the edge of the mountain steps. A group of people, weary and slow, trudged up the path, regarding her as though she were invisible.

Xu Nuo stopped the last girl in the group. “Excuse me, sister, can you tell me how to get to the Purple Bamboo Forest?”

The girl, young-looking and startled at being addressed, appeared awkward and flustered. “I… well, I…”

Hearing the commotion, the leading senior sister glanced over, sizing Xu Nuo up. She wasn’t dressed as an inner disciple, her posture was slack, her aura casual, with not a trace of spiritual energy about her—clearly an ordinary person. Only her face could be called lively and lovely, but her whole demeanor greatly diminished it, making her seem an uncultured wild girl… An ordinary person appearing in the inner sect must be that so-called orphaned relative of some elder.

The senior sister quickly judged the situation, her face showing both impatience and contempt.

Xu Nuo, growing exasperated, complained to the system, “Why do they all look at me that way?”

007 was too guilty to reply.

The senior sister’s brows drew together. “Xiao Qi, why are you dawdling? Come on!”

The girl called Xiao Qi immediately bowed her head. “Yes, Senior Sister, I’m coming.”

Before leaving, she whispered to Xu Nuo, “Sorry, I’m busy right now and can’t guide you.”

“Is your senior sister in a hurry?” Xu Nuo asked aloud. “I only wanted to ask for directions.”

“You want to go to the Purple Bamboo Forest?” With cultivators’ keen hearing, the senior sister caught her question but had no intention of answering. “You’re just an ordinary mortal—how could you possibly go there?”

Seeing Xu Nuo bow her head, as if chastened, the senior sister continued, “The Purple Bamboo Forest is rich in spiritual energy, home to many spiritual beasts and plants. What would a mortal want there?”

Xu Nuo replied honestly, “To cook.”

“To cook?” The group was stunned by her answer.

“I just arrived. My house has no pot, no rice, not even salt. I’m about to starve. I heard there are fresh bamboo shoots in the Purple Bamboo Forest, so I wanted to dig a few for a meal.”

“You…” The senior sister stared at Xu Nuo’s face—she looked so sincere and guileless it was impossible to tell if she was serious or just playing dumb.

“Such outrageous nonsense!”

Purple bamboo shoots were so precious, and this mortal ignorantly, arrogantly wanted to use them for a meal.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Nuo said innocently. “When I went to the Hundred Flavors Hall for food, they told me the only edible thing in the entire sect was the bamboo shoots in the Purple Bamboo Forest. If I dug some up, they’d make me a meal.”

The senior sister asked, almost choking, “You went to the Hundred Flavors Hall for food?”

Xu Nuo replied, “Yes.”

Did this mortal mistake the Hundred Flavors Hall for a kitchen? The senior sister felt both amused and infuriated. Their sect’s Hundred Flavors Hall was the top holy land for spiritual medicines in the entire cultivation world. Many cultivators would give up everything for a single mid-grade pill from it.

And this ignorant mortal, too dull to understand sarcasm, was actually going to look for purple bamboo shoots.

The senior sister gritted her teeth. “Do you think the Purple Bamboo Forest is somewhere you can just enter?”

“Why not?” Xu Nuo asked.

“Heh. Without an inner disciple’s token, you have no right to wander the inner sect, much less enter the Purple Bamboo Forest.” The senior sister was so scornful she wouldn’t even look directly at Xu Nuo. “Since you’re new, we’ll let it go this time.”

Xu Nuo was puzzled. “Why do you have the right to hold me accountable?”

A disciple couldn’t help but retort, “Our Senior Sister Guan is the deputy of the Discipline Hall. Dealing with a mortal like you is a simple matter.”

The senior sister continued, “The Hundred Flavors Hall is a sacred place in our sect. By the rules, you’re not allowed inside either.”

Xu Nuo was truly exasperated. Nothing had gone right all day. “I’ve also been to Thousand Blade Peak, Autumn Pavilion, and the Myriad Treasures Vault… Should I be held accountable for those as well?”

“You—you…” Hearing her name so many places as if reading a menu, the senior sister was nearly speechless. “How did you get in?”

Without an inner disciple’s token, it was impossible to get close to those places.

“I just walked in,” Xu Nuo said, casually shaking the jade token at her waist. “Isn’t this the inner disciple’s token?”

The group stared in disbelief, nearly burning a hole through her jade token. It was genuine, not a forgery.

“See for yourselves. Can you show me the way now?” Xu Nuo asked.

A mere mortal, having entered the sect through sheer persistence, could so easily possess a jade token. The senior sister’s envy was barely contained. The rest of the juniors felt the same—how could a mere mortal have an inner disciple’s status? How could she enter places even they weren’t allowed?

“So, you want to dig purple bamboo shoots?” the senior sister sneered. “Very well, I’ll take you.”

Xu Nuo seemed oblivious to their expressions. “Thank you. My surname is Xu, given name Nuo.”

The senior sister gritted her teeth. “Very well, Miss Xu, follow me.” She’d make sure this ignorant girl learned her place today.

The junior sister Xu Nuo had spoken to earlier looked at her with worry, hesitant to speak. “Um, Miss Xu…”

“Yan, aren’t you and your seniors short on purple bamboo shoots?” the senior sister said, voice sharp. “Miss Xu is going to dig some. What are you standing around for? Hurry up and follow!”

“Yes, yes!” The girl shivered, bowing her head in agreement.

The barrage of comments grew lively:
[Oh ho, is this the start of the slapstick face-slapping arc?]
[Let’s see what Empress Xu does next.]
[I’ve read the settings—nothing to expect. Just an ordinary cultivation and farming healing story. Only one romance target, no harem.]
007 noticed the drop in viewers and felt secretly pleased. Excellent, excellent—let’s drive these people away and keep them from leading the host astray.

007 addressed the audience directly: [Welcome to our romance livestream. This time, we’ll bring you a love story completely different from before.]

[On the boundless immortal path, why pursue the ultimate Dao? Love itself is a tribulation one cannot cross in this life. Rather than seeking ascension, why not cherish the smoke curling from the kitchen, the rows of vegetables, a meal with wine and tea, and in leisure, hand in hand, moonlit nights, and flowers in your hair.]