Chapter 26 : Awakening with Amnesia

Chapter 26: Awakening with Amnesia

Long Tao abruptly opened his eyes.

The dazzling daylight made him instinctively squint.

Beneath him was cold, hard stone slabs—this was… the mountain gate of Moon-Washing Peak?

He struggled to sit up, his head feeling as though it had been smashed by a heavy hammer, waves of dull pain crashing down on him.

Several female disciples guarding the gate were gathered not far away, pointing and whispering among themselves.

When one of them saw that he had woken up, she immediately spoke hurriedly into a small sound-transmission bell at her waist.

He lifted his head and glanced at the position of the sun.

It seemed to be already morning, but… what exactly had happened?

The task… right! The System’s task.

He was not dead—did that mean… the task had been completed?

He hurriedly called out to the System in his mind, and the familiar, majestic voice indeed rang out.

【The Host has completed the Check-In task. The Child of Destiny, Nan Yuchen, has completed the tasks ‘Peeping at True Person Mingzhu Bathing’ and ‘Stealing Personal Garments.’ The Host has obtained a Destiny Luck reward. Soul Lamp value +6 points.】

Completed? It had actually been completed?!

A storm churned in Long Tao’s heart—half was the ecstasy of surviving a catastrophe, half was deeper fear and confusion.

But why could he not remember anything? The last thing he could recall was the instant he stepped out of the room together with Nan Yuchen.

After that, the memories were as if a chunk had been brutally gouged out!

He clutched his head, trying to dredge up even a shred of a clue, but it was utterly futile.

If the System said it was completed, then it must have been done.

Yet the amnesia itself also proved that what had happened last night was definitely far from simple.

Just then, a familiar figure walked over along the Cloud Path behind the mountain gate—it was Senior Sister Zhu, whom he had seen twice before.

“Yo! You finally woke up. I was worried that Master might have been a bit too heavy-handed last night, and you’d just sleep until death.”

“You are… Senior Sister Zhu?”

“That’s right. You can still recognize people—looks like you didn’t become an idiot. In that case, you should also know why you’re here, right?”

Naturally, Long Tao would not be stupid enough to pretend otherwise at this point.

These female cultivators would not care about his life or death.

“I can roughly guess, but I’ve lost all memory of last night, so I wanted to ask—was it Junior Brother Nan who pleaded for me?”

“Hmph! At least you still have some conscience, remembering that junior brother’s kindness. I don’t know how you coaxed Junior Brother into doing that… that kind of shameless thing, but Master and Senior Sister were furious. Fortunately, Junior Brother said you had a moon-chanting poem in hand that was barely worth a look.”

She paused, her tone carrying a trace of condescension.

“That was why Master showed mercy and spared your miserable life for now—just to see whether that poem is really as good as Junior Brother claimed. If it truly pleases Master, maybe you’ll be allowed to live and roll down the mountain.”

Long Tao had never imagined that the two lines of poetry he casually recited yesterday would become the crucial factor saving his life.

He could not help but sigh at the unpredictability of fate.

Still, he felt a little reassured—if Zhang Ruoxu’s Spring River, Flower, Moon, Night could not satisfy True Person Mingzhu, then his death would not be unjust.

“All right. But that poem wasn’t written by me—it was a posthumous work of a certain senior. Does that still count?”

“As long as Master is satisfied, it counts. Besides…” Zhu Huaisu waved her hand impatiently, wearing an expression of “we already knew that,” “with a lecher like you, how could you possibly write a good poem? We guessed long ago it belonged to someone else. Paper and brush are here—hurry up!”

Long Tao said no more.

He took the paper and brush and, enduring the headache, wrote out the entire Spring River, Flower, Moon, Night from memory.

Halfway through, however, he suddenly realized something he had not noticed yesterday.

When he had recited those two lines, Nan Yuchen’s reaction clearly showed he had never heard them before.

Could it be that Nan Yuchen was truly a native rather than a transmigrator? But this could not be concluded with certainty.

Although the poem was famous, it was not one everyone memorized in school—many people might only know the title, and plenty might never have read it or even heard of it.

He stopped thinking about it and focused on finishing the poem.

After handing the paper back to Zhu Huaisu, she merely glanced at it at first.

Yet after only a few lines, her gaze abruptly froze, then instantly filled with astonished admiration.

The lapse lasted only a moment—she immediately forced her face stiff again and said sharply,

“Wait here. We’ll see whether Master gives you a chance.”

Afterward, she instructed the gatekeeping female disciples to keep an eye on Long Tao, then went back to report.

Inside the Pocket Realm…

In a small pavilion at the center of a cloud-wreathed lake, True Person Mingzhu sat upright in the middle.

With no curtain veiling her, that face—blending a maiden-like charm with the accumulation of several hundred years—appeared all the more radiant and peerless.

Su Muzhi and Chen Qianyun stood respectfully at her sides, the atmosphere tranquil.

Having just returned, Zhu Huaisu stepped forward briskly and presented the poem manuscript with both hands.

“Master, that lecher has finished transcribing the poem from memory.”

True Person Mingzhu did not reach out.

The thin manuscript was lifted by an invisible force and hovered steadily before her.

Her clear, water-like eyes slowly swept over the lines.

At first, there was a trace of scrutiny; gradually, her gaze became absorbed, as though sinking into the moonlit night depicted in the poem.

After several breaths, the manuscript floated lightly into Su Muzhi’s hands.

True Person Mingzhu’s expression remained calm and unruffled, yet her gentle voice carried an indescribable appreciation.

“An absolute masterpiece!”

“Yesterday, just from hearing those two lines, I already felt it was extraordinary, yet I worried the rest would merely pad the numbers.” She shook her head slightly, with rare self-mockery.

“It seems this teacher harbored the petty heart of a common person. Muzhi, that block of Star-Dew Condensed Jade Stone purchased some time ago—there’s no need to use it for anything else. Make it into a stone stele and engrave the entire poem upon it.”

“Master!” Su Muzhi exclaimed.

Even the hands holding the manuscript trembled.

“That is top-grade Star-Dew Condensed Jade Stone! Its value for artifact refinement is astronomical! To engrave… engrave a poem on it? Isn’t that far too wasteful?!”

As she spoke, she could not help but swiftly read through the poem in her hands.

The shock on her face was instantly replaced by a more complex emotion—astonishment and admiration, mixed with intense unwillingness and heartache.

Yet when she thought that this peerless poem was not written by that shameless fellow, that bit of unwillingness was barely suppressed.

True Person Mingzhu, however, felt no pain at all.

She turned her gaze to Zhu Huaisu and continued issuing instructions.

“Huaisu, that disciple with the surname Long… his name is Long Tao, correct? Let him go down the mountain. Also, reward him with some items to take with him.”

“Master!? The things he did—dying ten times over would still be insufficient! Letting him keep his life and roll down the mountain is already an immense mercy! And you still want to reward him?”

“That miserable life of his?” True Person Mingzhu let out a soft scoff.

“Even if it were crushed a hundred times, it would not be worth one ten-thousandth of this poem’s value. But letting him return just like that would make it seem as though I took advantage of Senior Zhang Ruoxu. The rewards given to him will simply be a small compensation for his transferring this poem to me.”

This reasoning left the three disciples momentarily speechless.

They could only bow their heads and comply, though Zhu Huaisu still complained somewhat resentfully,

“But Master! Why is it always me who has to go?”

“That Nine-Leaf Ganoderma was found by him, wasn’t it? Strictly speaking, he did you a favor. You’re the most suitable.”

At the mention of that Nine-Leaf Ganoderma, Zhu Huaisu immediately fell silent.

That thing had indeed helped her greatly, but… precisely because of that, she was even more unwilling to have contact with Long Tao.

Still, since Master had spoken, she had no choice.

With reluctance, she once again headed toward the mountain gate.

……

Back at the mountain gate, Long Tao was still sitting in the same spot without moving.

Zhu Huaisu walked up to him and kicked him lightly.

“Alright! Master is kind-hearted and has let you off. And also… she said that your worthless life isn’t even worth a single character of that poem. Letting you go like this would make Moon-Washing Peak seem like it took advantage of you, so she’s making an exception to reward you with something—consider it compensation for buying that poem. Say what you want, but let me be clear first… if you dare to push your luck, I’ll throw you straight down.”

Long Tao had not expected True Person Mingzhu to be so magnanimous—what bearing! Truly worthy of being the number-one goddess in his heart! For a moment, however, he did not know what to ask for.

If he asked for a Cloud Vessel, this Senior Sister Zhu would probably really throw him down the mountain.

As for other things… weapons and equipment would be too conspicuous, and he had no use for them within the sect for now.

As for pills, what Nan Yuchen gave him last time was enough to last him several years.

Of course… the top priority had to be life-saving items that could help him get through System tasks, and also a residence of his own.

These two were urgent necessities.

“Then… since the True Person is so generous, I can’t disappoint her good intentions. I won’t ask for anything precious—just two things will suffice.”

“Say it, as long as it’s not too excessive.”

“Junior Brother’s cultivation is weak, so… I’d like something that can save my life. Defensive or stealth-type would be best.”

“Oh? Stealth, huh? So it’s convenient for you to go peep at women again, right?”

“Look at what Senior Sister is saying. Wasn’t I just… completely bewitched by the True Person back then? I’ve learned my lesson—truly learned my lesson.”

Zhu Huaisu did not care whether he had really learned anything.

If it was just a life-saving item, she herself could provide it.

She reached into her Storage Pouch and took out a silver chain necklace of ancient design, set with a pigeon-egg-sized emerald-green gem.

“Here… I’ll give you this to make do. The Emerald Jade Short-Distance Chain. Once you wear it, as long as you continuously inject spiritual energy into the gem, you can perform a single short-range spatial contraction technique.”

“That simple? The cooldown— I mean… what’s the usage interval?”

“A little over two quarters of an hour, and the spiritual energy consumption is not small either. As for the specifics… go back and test it yourself.”

Long Tao carefully tucked the necklace into his clothes, his heart finally settling.

He now had a life-saving item.

“Hehe, as for the other thing… Junior Brother has just been promoted to the Outer Sect, and I was thinking of setting up a property within the sect, so…”

“You’ve got some nerve, kid—asking directly for a house?”

Zhu Huaisu almost laughed in exasperation.

With Moon-Washing Peak’s resources, gifting him a small courtyard in a good area of the sect would not be a big deal.

But when she thought of his shameless behavior last night, she did not want to see him feeling too pleased with himself.

“What is Senior Sister thinking? I’m not that bold. It’s just that… I heard the sect plans to build a new town by the river, and I thought of making an early investment. But the exact location is really impossible to get. I wonder if Moon-Washing Peak has… any information.”

This turn caught Zhu Huaisu off guard.

He was not directly asking for something ready-made, but for information and an investment opportunity? This kid was indeed no fool.

She pondered briefly, then thought of the ‘favor’ of that Nine-Leaf Ganoderma, and said decisively,

“There is indeed such information. However, the prime locations there have almost all been internally reserved by the various peaks. With your status, you wouldn’t be able to buy anything decent even if you went now. How about this—just giving you information would make us seem stingy. Moon-Washing Peak secured some land there early on; I’ll give you a little corner of it. I’ll go back and get the land deed. Wait here.”