Moonlight fell just right across Su Chen's face.
Bibi Dong stood in the doorway, her gaze lingering on his face for half a second longer than she could control.
She had seen too many men.
Qian Xunji had been handsome in his youth, the Great Worship had a steady air about him, and even a rough brute like Tang Hao could at least be called broad-backed and burly.
But the face before her was different from all of theirs.
Too clean.
Like a piece of warm jade untouched by the mortal world.
On the Light Screen, the favorability score sat steadily at -10.
Su Chen saw it all clearly.
Still gripping the broom, he made the most cautious decision in the blink of an eye.
The broom slipped from his hands. His knees buckled, and with a muffled thud, he sprawled face-down on the wooden floor.
"This subordinate didn't know His Holiness the Pope would visit so late at night. I deserve to die!"
His voice trembled, and his back bent like a boiled shrimp. He wished he could shrink into a crack in the floor.
His acting was flawless.
Bibi Dong stood in the doorway, looking down at the groveling figure on the floor.
Her divine sense swept over him. There wasn't the slightest trace of Soul Power in his body. He didn't even qualify to become a Soul Scholar.
A complete waste.
In her mind, the system's scarlet countdown kept flashing wildly.
Bibi Dong drew a deep breath. Her fingertips nearly dug into her palms. It took every ounce of restraint she had to force two words through her clenched teeth.
"Rise."
She paused for two seconds, as though it had taken all her strength.
"This one... is thirsty."
The last three words wavered faintly, though even she didn't notice it.
Su Chen, of course, didn't care.
All his attention was fixed on the Light Screen before him.
[ Bibi Dong's current inner monologue: Hurry up! Say it and leave! Once this damned tea is poured, I'll leave at once. No one will ever know what happened tonight! ]
[Current emotions: Humiliation 91% / Agitation 67% / Fear 42%]
The "Fear 42%" caught Su Chen's attention.
She wasn't afraid of him, a mere servant. She was afraid of the torture awaiting her if she failed the mission—torture worse than death.
Su Chen understood perfectly.
He climbed to his feet, trembling, still bent over and keeping his head down as he shuffled toward the tea table.
Every step felt like treading on the tip of a knife—soft and slow.
At the tea table, he reached for the tea caddy.
As expected, he came up empty-handed.
Su Chen put on an appropriately troubled and frightened expression, then bent down to search the cabinets.
Nothing on the first shelf.
Nothing on the second, either.
He moved so slowly he might as well have been doing tai chi. Each time he searched a compartment, he carefully put everything back in its place, afraid of making even the slightest sound and disturbing His Holiness the Pope behind him.
On the Light Screen, the countdown mercilessly dropped to five minutes.
Bibi Dong stood by the door, her brow knitted into a knot.
She watched the useless servant rummage through the cabinets at a snail's pace. Her nails had already pierced her palm, sending a sharp sting through her hand.
In her mind, the blood-red line [Time Remaining: 5:00] flashed frantically. The warning of Soul-Devouring Pain felt like ten thousand steel needles stabbing deep into her soul.
She remembered that pain.
Even a mere warning had nearly brought her to her knees.
If she had to endure all seventy-two hours...
Bibi Dong's throat bobbed despite herself.
Just then, Su Chen "finally" found the dusty tea caddy at the very back of the cabinet.
He straightened up and carefully placed it on the tea table, as though he were carrying a priceless treasure.
Then his wrist flicked with perfect precision.
"Clack!"
The tea caddy struck the corner of the table. Its lid popped off, and the dry tea leaves spilled all over the floor.
Su Chen drew a sharp breath, his voice trembling with twelve parts terror.
"Y-Your Holiness, please forgive me! I... I let it slip..."
He dropped to his knees again and frantically began picking the tea leaves off the floor.
One leaf.
Then another.
He pinched them up ever so carefully between his fingertips and put them back in the caddy.
His glacial pace sent Bibi Dong's breathing completely out of control.
The countdown on the Light Screen passed four minutes.
Then three.
Bibi Dong's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
She glared at the figure crouched primly on the floor. The Evil Fire in her chest threatened to burn straight through the top of her skull.
Humiliation?
It had long since been crushed by a more primitive emotion.
Fear!
Pure fear of having her soul torn completely apart!
Three minutes!
Only three minutes left!
Bibi Dong moved.
She rushed forward like a gust of wind and shoved Su Chen aside as he was "diligently" picking up tea leaves.
She didn't hold back at all.
Su Chen stumbled into the bookshelf with a muffled thud.
"Get out of the way! I'll do it myself!"
Her voice was shrill and hurried, completely warped out of tune. There was none of the composure of the Pope who usually planned everything from behind the scenes.
Leaning against the bookshelf, Su Chen maintained his dazed expression of someone "scared witless," his eyes opened wide.
But his gaze landed precisely on the Light Screen.
[Bibi Dong's current emotions: Agitation 97% / Fear 89% / Humiliation 36%]
[Inner monologue: I can't care about that anymore! Face, dignity—none of it is worth a thing in the face of Soul-Devouring Pain!]
Su Chen looked at the 97% agitation and nearly laughed aloud.
Good grief, he'd almost taken things too far.
Bibi Dong snatched up the coarse porcelain kettle on the tea table. Inside was the boiled water Su Chen had left to cool that afternoon.
She lifted it and poured water into the lone teacup.
Her hand was trembling.
The stream wavered, splashing several drops onto her moon-white skirt and leaving dark stains.
She didn't notice at all.
After pouring the water, Bibi Dong gripped the coarse porcelain cup tightly, her chest heaving.
The countdown kept ticking.
One minute.
The system showed no reaction.
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted to pinpoints!
She abruptly glanced down at the cup, then at Su Chen, who was "shivering" against the bookshelf.
In the blink of an eye, she understood everything.
The mission said, "Pour Su Chen a cup of tea."
Not pour a cup for herself.
It was... for him!
Bibi Dong spun around and darted in front of Su Chen in two strides.
She thrust the teacup roughly toward his mouth.
The rim struck his lower lip with considerable force.
Her face flushed scarlet, the heat spreading from her ears down her neck. She fixed her gaze on the wall, not daring to meet Su Chen's eyes.
"You... you're thirsty too, right? Drink!"
Her tone was as forceful as an order, but her voice quivered so badly that the last word nearly broke.
Su Chen felt the cold rim against his lips, and the brief warmth of her fingertips as they accidentally brushed his jaw.
At that very instant, Bibi Dong froze.
The moment her fingertips touched Su Chen's skin, an incredibly restrained yet unimaginably vast aura flooded into her divine sense from the point of contact, like mountains collapsing into the sea.
It wasn't Soul Power!
It was something on a higher plane of existence! More ancient than the divine might of the Rakshasa God, vaster than Di Tian of the Star Dou Forest. It was as though an entire cosmic sea of stars were silently collapsing and spinning within his body!
Bibi Dong's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and her heart nearly stopped.
Lord of Creation... Could it be real?!
She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but only a dozen seconds remained on the countdown.
Su Chen didn't give her time to hesitate.
He played along flawlessly, looking overwhelmed by the honor and too afraid to disobey. Trembling, he drank a mouthful of cold tea from her hand.
The next second,
two completely different mechanical voices exploded in their minds at once!
[Ding! Beginner guidance mission complete. Distributing reward: Removed 10% of the Rakshasa God's evil thoughts!]
That was what Bibi Dong heard.
What Su Chen heard was another voice, one that made his heart surge even more.
[Detected that Binder No. 001, Bibi Dong, has completed the mission. Lord of Creation's hundredfold critical reward has been triggered!]
Before you continue