latelenovela Chapter 131 Demotion Penalty
Chapter 131 Demotion Penalty
Chapter 131 Demotion Penalty
666: "After completing the 'Find the Jade Hairpin' task, you earned a full 10 points of good and evil! Adding the 5 points of good and evil you gained from the increase in favorability with Marquis Anshi, your current good and evil points have been refreshed to -12. If you just put in a little more effort and do a few more tasks, you can refresh your good and evil points back to a positive number, yay!"
Ye Pianran closed her eyes and entered the space. After opening the system panel, she saw that her good and evil value had indeed increased again. At the same time, her experience points and the ethereal spiritual energy in the space also changed.
The side quest "Finding the Jade Hairpin" earned her 500 experience points, 10 good/evil points, and 5% spiritual energy. Furthermore, since she had planned the quest herself and completed it exceptionally well, she received an "Excellent" rating for quest completion.
After she selected "Yes" on the "Claim Task Reward?" button, a burst of white light appeared in the space, and after a gentle breeze, several items appeared out of thin air in her hand.
Item 1: Mustard seed bag
Quality: Medium Grade (Human Level)
Function: It can contain all things in heaven and earth.
Item 2: Mysterious Seed
Quality: unknown
Function: It can be planted in the space. After the seeds absorb the spiritual energy of the space, they will randomly grow into a plant.
"Oh my, host, these two are really good things!" 666 exclaimed, flapping its wings after seeing what was in her palm. "Don't be fooled by the fact that this mustard seed bag is the same size as a sachet, it can hold the entire Orchid Heart Courtyard! And no matter how much you put in it, the volume remains the same, and the weight remains the same, so it won't bother you at all!"
Ye Pianran nodded in satisfaction: "It is indeed a good thing." In the future, when she gets medical books from her master, she will no longer have to worry about who will help her carry them. She can bring everything back with just a small bag.
"And what about this?" Ye Pianran asked, holding up the seed in her hand.
"The mustard seed bag is a good thing, and the mysterious seed is even better!" 666 said. "As the host knows, the space can be upgraded as the system level increases. Specifically, the area of the space becomes larger and larger, just like in the beginning of chaos. When enough soil accumulates, it becomes a mountain, and when enough water accumulates, it becomes a sea. The host can plant any kind of plant in the space. When the space is upgraded to the highest level, you can even build a house in it!"
"However, whether the space can be upgraded depends on spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy, the space's energy cannot be maintained. Besides the rewards for completing tasks, spiritual energy is also generated when the host plants plants in the space! The higher the level of the plant, the higher and purer the concentration of spiritual energy it produces! If the plant is a high-level herb, the host can not only improve their alchemy skill level, but also upgrade their 666 skill level much more efficiently!"
Ye Pianran nodded knowingly, then took the tools and planted the "mysterious seed" in the soil of the space as usual.
On one side, Ye Pianran completed the task brilliantly and received a generous reward from the system. Meanwhile, far away in the examination hall, Ye Yingrou's expression changed drastically.
"Ding! An Shihou's favorability -20, host's morality value -2, host's current morality value is 298, which is lower than the morality value requirement for 'Advanced Drug Maker'. You will soon be demoted to 'Intermediate Drug Maker'. Please prepare to accept the demotion penalty! Please prepare to accept the demotion penalty!"
Demotion? How could that be! Why did Dad suddenly lower his opinion of him?! What on earth happened outside?!
Ye Yingrou's hand trembled, knocking over the inkstone on the table. The thick ink instantly spread, mercilessly covering most of the writing on the answer sheet. Before she could even figure out what had happened, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her brain, as if countless electric currents were attacking it simultaneously. Unable to bear the pain, she let out a miserable scream, clutching her head and falling off the chair, her body convulsing violently.
Hearing her screams, the guards outside thought something had happened inside, so they burst through the door and rushed in, only to find Ye Yingrou rolling around on the ground.
Chunyu Jing also heard the commotion. He walked leisurely into the cell with his hands behind his back. He first glanced at the exam papers that Ye Yingrou had placed on the table, and finally turned his gaze to the disheveled Ye Yingrou.
The demotion punishment lasted only three minutes before it ended. After enduring this painful ordeal, Ye Yingrou was completely weak and her clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
Seeing that she was in a precarious situation, the guard whispered to Chunyu Jing, "Your Highness, should we send this person to see a doctor?"
Chunyu Jing glanced back at him, and the guard felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately understood and lowered his head as he retreated. Only Ye Yingrou and Chunyu Jing remained in the cell. In the quiet space, Ye Yingrou's heavy breathing was particularly noticeable.
Chunyu Jing walked up to Ye Yingrou, squatted down, looked directly at her face covered by a human skin mask, and said with a slight smile:
"Miss Ye, what are you up to? Are you unable to answer the questions and deliberately putting on this act to try and escape?"
Ye Yingrou struggled to lift her head. The smile on Chunyu Jing's lips made his handsome face appear even more sinister and malevolent. She subconsciously clenched her fists and said weakly:
"But...it was just an accident! I can answer again!"
"I truly admire Miss Ye's perseverance, but today is the last day of the autumn imperial examinations, and there's only an hour left until the end." Chunyu Jing took her answer sheet from the table. Her handwriting was flowing and beautiful, clearly showing she had put in a great deal of effort. But what a pity…
Seeing the thick ink stain on the answer sheet, Ye Yingrou's expression changed several times: "No! There's still an hour left, I can write another one!"
“Even if Miss Ye could write another one, I am not satisfied with this hastily completed answer sheet,” Chunyu Jing said. “Therefore, in the end, I have won the bet that Miss Ye made with me.”
At the same time, the system in Ye Yingrou's mind spoke again: "Beep, the mission 'participate in the autumn examination and obtain the qualification for the metropolitan examination' has failed. Experience points -3000, good and evil points -30. The host's current experience points are 14506 and good and evil points are 268."
This is not over yet.
"Beep, Target 2's favorability -5, affection -10, good/evil -5, Target 2's current favorability is 53, affection is 10, and the host's current good/evil value is 263."
A series of data points were reported, and Ye Yingrou's face darkened further. This mission failure had cost her 30 points of good/evil and 3000 experience points? And why had her target's favorability decreased again?! Chunyu Jing's affection for her was now only 10 points! If it dropped any lower, even her side quest for conquering him would fail! No, this couldn't continue!
Ye Yingrou seemed to have suffered a great blow, her face contorted with heartbreak. She murmured, "How could this happen? I... I thought everything was foolproof..." With that, she forced a miserable smile, struggled to her feet, and knelt before Chunyu Jing, saying with utter despair:
“Your Highness is right. Even if I could finish this within an hour, it wouldn’t be the same answer sheet as before. What confidence do I have to satisfy Your Highness? I accept my defeat willingly. Please punish me, Your Highness.”
Chunyu Jing narrowed his long, narrow eyes slightly, his smile deepening: "You're quite sensible, knowing when to yield. Let me think about what punishment I should give you."
"When-when-when-"
Inside the examination hall, the bronze bell was struck three times by the proctoring guards. After the bell stopped ringing, one of the guards shouted in a loud voice:
"There is one hour left until the end of this provincial examination!"
Inside one of the examination cells, Ye Yanxun deftly put the wet brush back on the exam paper, placed it back on the brush holder, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
He inhaled a cool breeze carrying a hint of floral fragrance, which made his mind even clearer.
The autumn imperial examinations were conducted in three sessions, each lasting three days. Due to the long duration of the examinations and the unpredictable autumn weather, many candidates succumbed to their fatigue and had to be carried off by the guards. Today was the final day of the autumn imperial examinations, but unlike the anxiety and unease of the other candidates, Ye Yanxun remained extremely focused throughout. This was not only because he was confident of winning, but also because of the refreshing fragrance that occasionally lingered around him.
Opening his eyes, Ye Yanxun glanced at his answer sheet, which was beautifully written, neat, logical, and well-supported, and seemed to exude a sharp and confident aura. A hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
Then, he turned his gaze to the small, openwork copper incense stick he had hung on the pen holder, and pursed his lips slightly.
Ye Pianran slipped this into his hand before he entered the examination hall. It was said to be able to refresh and concentrate. He didn't believe she would be so kind at first, but in recent days, whenever he felt sleepy, the fragrance emanating from this sachet would rouse him again.
As Ye Yanxun gently stroked the uneven surface of the incense ball with his fingertips, he raised his head and looked at the azure sky outside the cell, his brows furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought once again.
In the Anshi Marquis's residence, Ye Pianran, who was browsing through the "Tai Su Ling Zhen - Beginner" manual she had redeemed from the system, suddenly received a message:
[Ding! Ye Yanxun's favorability +30, good/evil value +15. Ye Yanxun's current favorability is 60, and the host's current good/evil value is 3!]