Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 85

Not only was Lu Yuexi missing, but Xue Tian and his mother were also nowhere to be found.

Lu Tang wasn’t really concerned about those two. Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed out the window, her thoughts drifting.

When would Qin Mo and his team finally deal with Magistrate Zhao?

Magistrate Zhao had committed so many heinous crimes. Were there even more horrifying things behind him that had yet to be uncovered?

How horrifying could they be?

Or was the person behind Magistrate Zhao too powerful for Qin Mo and his team to act against recklessly?

Feng Chunshan was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. Qin Mo’s position was certainly higher than Feng Chunshan’s, yet they still didn’t dare to touch Magistrate Zhao?

Would Qin Mo and Song Qingzhan come back to Sihe Town?

They probably wouldn’t. The part of the case related to Sihe Town was already over.

Should she keep that room on the third floor reserved, or could she put it back on the market?

If she kept it reserved, should she charge rent?

She should charge, since it cost quite a bit per day…

“Young Master Lu? Young Master? Ahem, Master Lu?” The burly guest on the second floor called a few times without getting a response. Hesitating, he reached out to tug at Lu Tang’s sleeve.

Maybe he used too much strength because, with just a light tug, Lu Tang’s hand slipped from her chin, and she almost hit her chin on the table.

This snapped Lu Tang out of her thoughts. “What are you doing?”

The burly man looked at Lu Tang nervously, licking his lips and stammering, “Sorry, I called you several times, but you didn’t hear me. I didn’t use much strength.”

His timid demeanor was quite at odds with his burly appearance.

Lu Tang collected her thoughts. “Why were you calling me?”

The burly man put down the book in his hand. “Young Master Lu, weren’t you going to test me? I’ve prepared myself.”

Lu Tang finally remembered the seven-day test. Today was the seventh day.

The system, that useless thing, hadn’t recovered since the last time it tried to trick her and got punished. She had almost forgotten she had a system.

Glancing at the book titled “Comprehensive Guide to Water Management,” Lu Tang asked, “Did you finish reading it?”

The burly man nodded anxiously. “Yes, I finished it.”

Lu Tang continued with a serious tone, “Did you understand everything?”

“I… I think I understood most of it. If there’s anything I don’t understand during the test, please don’t think I’m stupid.”

A man nearly six feet tall, talking like a timid little bird.

Lu Tang waved her hand dismissively. “Alright, go back to your room. I’ll prepare and come to find you later.”

The burly man quickly gathered his books and stood up, adding shyly as he left, “I’ll wait for you. Please hurry.”

Liang Cheng, coming downstairs, was shocked.

He stared at the burly man as he walked past, nodded at him, smiled, and hurried upstairs, his face flushed.

Liang Cheng: Flushed?

Liang Cheng looked at Lu Tang in astonishment and walked over. “What does he want from you?”

Sitting nearby, Guo Dawei and Zhou Shu, who were playing with crickets, said in unison, “Brother Tang is going to his room to test him later.”

Xu Shen added, “That weirdo wants Brother Tang to test him on the knowledge from ‘Comprehensive Guide to Water Management.’ Hurry up and test him, so we can all have some peace.”

Over the past few days at the inn, the burly man had become familiar with everyone, dragging people to his room and forcing them to quiz him on the book’s contents.

Those who didn’t know how to quiz him just listened to him recite.

The thick “Comprehensive Guide to Water Management,” he recited better than the Three Character Classic.

The world of a top student was truly incomprehensible to those of us idlers.

Having fun playing with crickets would be much better than reciting a book, right? Oh my god!

Hearing this, Liang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and then said to Lu Tang, “When are you going to test him? I’ll go with you.”

Lu Tang rolled her eyes at Liang Cheng, laughing, “What’s there to accompany? Instead of accompanying me, why don’t you focus on selecting someone to go on a matchmaking date with tomorrow.”

Liang Cheng was the oldest among them, already nineteen this year.

Nineteen and still unmarried, which worried his parents to no end.

Even though Liang Cheng had hidden away in Sihe Town, his mother still sent seven or eight portraits, instructing him to choose one for a matchmaking date by tomorrow.

Hearing Lu Tang’s words, Zhou Shu and the others stopped playing with crickets and started teasing Liang Cheng.

Feeling irritated, Liang Cheng looked at Lu Tang, “Do you really want me to get married that badly?”

Lu Tang rolled her eyes as she stood up, laughing as she patted Liang Cheng’s chest. “You talk as if I’m your mother. If I were your mother, I would’ve packed you and Zhou Shu off to the palace to become eunuchs if you weren’t married by nineteen!”

With that, Lu Tang turned to go back to her room, leaving Zhou Shu to shout angrily behind her, “What does this have to do with me!”

“Come out!”

Once in her room, Lu Tang prepared pen, ink, paper, and inkstone while summoning the system with her thoughts.

Summoned, the system appeared weakly.

[Host, what are your orders?]

Ever since this thing’s last failed attempt to trick her, which resulted in it being thoroughly bound to her with punishments, it had lost its previous arrogance.

Lu Tang found this very satisfying. “Wasn’t there a seven-day test? What? Did you forget? Is this considered a loophole? If I report you, will I get a reward?”

System: …

[Host, can you not understand my injured heart and body? Level 3 punishments are very severe. The fact that I can still function is already something.]

“Is that my fault?”

[…]

Failing to achieve its goal and suffering for it, the system had nothing to say.

[Please wait a moment, host. The test questions are being generated.]

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Tang took the test questions copied from the system and went to the burly man’s room.

Meanwhile, at the bandits’ hideout.

Qin Mo sat in a chair, casually crossing his legs.

Song Qingzhan sat across from him. “This case here is basically wrapped up. The remaining parts will be settled when we return to the capital. Once you report the situation here to His Majesty, we’ll start with Magistrate Zhao, to avoid alerting Gu Zongming prematurely.”

After speaking for a while without getting any response, Song Qingzhan turned to Qin Mo, who seemed distracted. “What are you thinking about? I’m talking to you!”

Qin Mo snapped back to attention and stood up abruptly. “You handle it.”

Song Qingzhan hurriedly asked, “What do you mean by ‘handle it’?”

“I mean, you return to the capital and report. I’m not going back.”

Song Qingzhan: What?

“You’re not going back?”

“Yeah.”

“Why aren’t you going back? Next month is Consort Rong’s birthday. You’re not going?”

Qin Mo looked righteous. “Why should I go back just because it’s her birthday? It’s not like the sun won’t rise or she won’t have her birthday if I’m not there. It happens every year. You go back and pick a gift for her on my behalf.”

Song Qingzhan was dumbfounded. “What nonsense are you talking? How can you say ‘pick any gift’? Consort Rong will kill you if she finds out.”

“If you don’t tell her, she won’t know. Just say I picked it carefully.”

“But why aren’t you going back? What are you staying here for?” Song Qingzhan looked at Qin Mo in bewilderment.

Qin Mo: …

Stay for what?

There was plenty to do.