What Do You Want?

Early the next morning.

Yawning as he came out of his room, Gu Mo stretched vigorously, his joints popping slightly. He grimaced, feeling stiff all over, likely from sleeping too much.

"This isn't going to work... When is the Idiot System going to get its act together?"

He sighed deeply, feeling a headache coming on. The Idiot System was great and powerful; the functions that worked normally were incredibly overpowered. Whether it was leveling up by killing monsters or Auto-Save, they seemed to be incomprehensible, mysterious laws that transcended everything else.

But then again, the dysfunctional parts were infuriating. How could a system that was so powerful it had no friends still have such low-level errors and endless idiotic bugs?

There were even inexplicable issues like network fluctuations. Would you believe it if he told you?

In short, it made his blood pressure skyrocket.

Thinking this, he vigorously swung his arms a few times, then rubbed his shoulders and neck. The advantage of choosing to sleep was that he could allocate his limited online time to some extent; the disadvantage was the current situation, feeling stiff all over from sleeping too much, making him very uncomfortable.

Because actively going to sleep required conscious effort, he had to force himself to sleep even when he wasn't sleepy. Not only was this very difficult and tiring, but unlike being forced offline which brought instant, effortless sleep, there was no super high-quality sleep that left him refreshed and at full stats upon waking. Instead, he felt more tired the more he slept, waking up multiple times throughout the night...

Yawning again, he rubbed his slightly blurry, sleepy eyes and casually waved at a servant who happened to be walking by at the end of the corridor not far away.

"Hi, good morning. Excuse me... um, where is the place to wash up? Oh, and if possible, could you trouble yourself to find me a mirror?"

About a quarter of an hour later.

Having finished washing up, Gu Mo returned to his room and sighed as he looked at the extra bronze mirror. It seemed that glass mirrors, common in later eras, hadn't been popularized yet in this period... Although, thinking about it from another perspective, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps if he had the chance in the future, he could become a cross-border middleman, a plane merchant, or something similar.

—But for now, it seemed to be of no help to him.

Squinting, he carefully examined himself in the bronze mirror. Gu Mo realized that he might have had some misunderstanding about metal mirrors in the past due to impressions from TV dramas. After all, the scenes in television always showed blurry figures reflected in dimly lit, yellowish bronze mirrors, completely useless for seeing anything clearly. It was no wonder he had come to believe this over time.

But in reality, bronze mirrors were not dim, blurry, and hard to see. They were actually quite clear. While there was indeed a difference in clarity compared to glass mirrors, it wasn't significant.

At least he could see his own reflection in the mirror very clearly, his features all distinct... It's just that it didn't achieve the effect he had expected. There were no interactive options related to the Idiot System in the reflection. He wasn't entirely sure what the problem was.

The mirror at home worked just fine, could it be that bronze mirrors don't?

He frowned and put down the mirror, then got up and walked out. However, just as he stepped out, he heard a particularly enthusiastic voice.

"Brother Gu Mo, you're up so early... Hahahaha, aren't you going to sleep a bit longer?"

Tokichiro was also rubbing his sleepy eyes and happened to be walking over from that direction, yawning repeatedly along the way. Just as he ran into Gu Mo coming out, he quickly called out to him, his tone full of undisguised flattery, which somehow made it seem quite natural.

"No, I couldn't sleep... Hmm, you have really dark circles under your eyes. Didn't you sleep last night?"

Gu Mo raised an eyebrow, noticing the monkey's very obvious panda eyes, and couldn't help but ask.

"Ahahaha, yeah, yeah. After all, it's my first time... my first time staying in a place like this! I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night. I even woke up startled in the middle of the night just from rolling over, terrified I might have touched something and broken it..." The monkey chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his hands in embarrassment as he explained.

He didn't mention some other reasons, such as his mood being on a roller coaster ride all last night, being startled again and again; or being extremely excited, his mind full of thoughts about making a name for himself in the future, constantly telling himself that he must seize this opportunity, and before he knew it, it was very late...

"That must have been tough..."

Gu Mo's eyes became a little sympathetic.

"It wasn't tough, it wasn't tough. Brother Gu Mo, just remember to help me out more in the future... Lord Dosan looks at you differently. I'm sure you'll become a great figure in the future." Tokichiro shook his head repeatedly, smiling so widely his teeth were showing, while also cautiously flattering him: "I hope you won't forget me when that time comes."

He was somewhat worried. It was certainly a good thing for his partner to rise to prominence, but this...

Well, he's rising too fast, he's already speeding!

All things considered, they had only known each other for three days, and the other party was already showing a tendency to soar to the heavens in one step, leaving the monkey completely caught off guard. The partner's capability far exceeded his initial expectations, as he hadn't held too many unrealistic hopes initially.

He just wanted to find two high-strength partners and make a name for himself by constantly accumulating military merit.

It was a very grounded path of promotion and salary increase, without too many unrealistic fantasies, and also the most reliable method. Anyway, in this chaotic world, there were wars every year. Today, someone might feel that a true man born in a chaotic world should carry a three-foot sword and achieve an unparalleled feat, and tomorrow someone might suddenly discover that they had always harbored a noble ideal of serving the country and the people...

Once a hero draws his sword, it is another ten years of calamity for the common people. So there was no need to worry about not having military merit. For someone like him, who had no background or origin and could only start from scratch, this was the most suitable path.

But having a capable partner might not be a bad thing, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing either. The biggest problem was time... It was too fast, really too fast, completely without giving him time to prepare. Tokichiro's heart was full of helplessness and anxiety. If he had been given another year or even just three to five months, it wouldn't have made him so unsettled.

At least that time would have been enough for them to become friends and develop some friendship. Then it would be easy to ask a friend who had become a powerful figure to help him rise.

But right now, they had only known each other for three days. What could they do? No matter how thick-skinned Tokichiro was, he wouldn't dare say they were good friends. At most, they had gone from being "unknown strangers" to "people who just met."

But he was unwilling to give up this opportunity, as this might be his closest chance to succeed in his life, and he probably wouldn't have such an opportunity again. So he could only try his best to get closer while he could still talk to him, hoping to increase his chances.

Here we go again...

Gu Mo didn't know about Tokichiro's complex thoughts, nor was he too interested. He just sighed, thinking that there must be something wrong with the monkey's understanding. "What do you mean looking at me differently? Didn't you notice that old... that he's always glaring at me when he looks at me? He just doesn't like me no matter how he looks at me!"

"Ahahaha, you can't say that, Brother Gu Mo..." Tokichiro chuckled dryly. Of course, he knew that, but he didn't think there was any problem with it. "Lord Dosan might be unhappy because of Miss Axiu's relationship with you, but it's also because of Miss Axiu's relationship with you that he will definitely value you highly from now on..."

Speaking of this, Tokichiro conspiratorially took a step forward and lowered his voice as if claiming credit: "And Lord Dosan also asked me about it last night. I said a lot of good things for Brother Gu Mo!"

"Good things?" Gu Mo's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Yes, yes..." Nodding repeatedly, the monkey was about to continue speaking when footsteps came from the corridor.

A servant came before the two of them, bowed, and respectfully said:

"The Lord of the House requests your presence."

"You're here... Sit down."

It was still the same room as yesterday. Saito Dosan was holding a sake bowl in front of the Buddha statue and drinking heartily. Hearing the movement, he glanced at the person who had entered and then put down the sake bowl before speaking.

This time, he didn't glare at a certain person with that fierce look anymore. His attitude could only be said to have improved somewhat, and although he wasn't glaring at the other person, his tone was rather reluctant, as if he really wanted the young man in front of him to just stand there.

"Okay, Lord Dosan."

Gu Mo's expression remained unchanged. He calmly sat down formally on the tatami mat and looked around, but he didn't see the figure of the black-haired girl who brought him comfort.

Maybe she's not up yet? Come to think of it, the old bastard called me over without calling Axiu first. Could it be with ill intentions?

This made Gu Mo slightly worried.

Perhaps sensing his host's mood, the "spirit" that had been by his side in the air slowly approached. The large fox walked to his side and lay down again, its nine tails slowly sweeping, gently encircling him. Only he could feel the smooth touch of its fur and the warmth emanating from it.

Gu Mo felt a little more at ease. It was like going to the teacher's office in student days – when you're alone, you feel anxious, but if a classmate goes with you, you feel much more relaxed... What the Guardian Spirit brought was that feeling of knowing that no matter what, there was always a loyal friend by his side.

Saito Dosan raised an eyebrow, looking at the fox-like Guardian Spirit with nine tails lying beside the young man, and then unconsciously froze for a moment.

After a long while, he finally withdrew his gaze and casually asked, "What were you looking for just now?"

"Looking for Axiu."

Blinking, Gu Mo answered honestly. He had just looked around, naturally wanting to see if the black-haired girl was present to determine if the old bastard calling him over was a Feast at Hong Gate.

"..."

"..."

His thick knuckles suddenly tightened, and the sake bowl in his hand creaked. Saito Dosan, who had spent the entire night doing psychological preparation and finally persuaded himself, suddenly felt that this young man was really annoying and became hateful.

He silently put down the sake bowl, took a deep breath, and then couldn't help but grit his teeth, staring intently at the young man in front of him with sharp, predatory eyes.

"Young man, how did you get here?"

"..."

"..."

Gu Mo also stared straight back at him. After a moment, he hesitated before replying, "We came by carriage, pulled by two horses, and traveled for a day and two nights... Didn't Tokichiro tell you?"

The monkey beside him kept his head down tightly, not making a sound.

"I'm not talking about that!" Saito Dosan's eyes twitched fiercely. "I mean, why did you come to this island country? Someone like you shouldn't have fallen to this state, right?"

"Someone like me...?"

Gu Mo was startled. What kind of person is someone like me? Could it be that I actually have a system-assigned identity in the Dungeon, but I haven't discovered it?

"Hmph, don't want to say? Fine, I don't really care anyway..."

Saito Dosan, who had already formed a preconceived notion, waved his hand. He felt that he could understand what was going on without asking. It was nothing more than failing in political struggles. A noble like this could only flee overseas. This kind of thing wasn't uncommon.

"Let me ask you, what are your plans next?" Without giving the other person time to think carefully, the Viper of Mino quickly followed up with another question.

"...What plans could I have?" Gu Mo also felt that the topic seemed a little off. He could only force a smile, carefully choosing his words, trying to figure out how to fool this old guy with an abnormal way of thinking.

"Don't lie to me. If you're looking for an excuse, you don't have to," Saito Dosan said lightly, then snorted coldly. "You don't even dare to say what you want."

Gu Mo's expression slightly froze. This old bastard was really infuriating. He knew something and was just rambling here. Did an NPC also want to lecture him?

Putting away his expression, his tone also became a little cold: "I just want to go back next, that's all. Lord Dosan, you don't need to think too much."

"Oh? You want to go back..." A glimmer of light shone in Saito Dosan's eyes. "That won't be easy."

Someone like him, even in the Celestial Empire across the sea, was probably from an unimaginably large force. Yet he still failed in the struggle, forcing this noble son, who should have been beyond estimation, to only be able to flee overseas.

He failed in normal struggles and confrontations, and now that he had lost everything, it would be incredibly difficult to go back. Starting from scratch, making a comeback, returning... It was easy to say, but how many could actually do it?

"Not easy? I think it's quite simple. I can go back very soon..." Gu Mo pouted.

"Is that so? Very good, you have ambition..." Saito Dosan looked at the young man and finally nodded. He could see that what this person said was calm, but it wasn't just being stubborn; he was truly full of confidence, probably firmly believing that he could rise again soon and go back to reclaim everything he had lost.

He had originally favored Oda Nobunaga of Owari and even planned to hand over Mino Province after some time, since he didn't have any promising heirs anyway.

But now Axiu was back, and she even brought back a son-in-law with a remarkable background... Even the great fool of Owari, Oda Nobunaga, who originally had no ties to him, received favorable treatment after becoming his son-in-law. Of course, Saito Dosan didn't mind considering the person Axiu brought back as well.