After Zachary left the Bamboo Gully, he went to the Logistics Hall to get an assignment. When he completed the assignment, he returned to the treehouse.
'It turns out that the ultimate goal why the system sent me to collect that ganoderma is to heal Elva. This main quest is really interesting. Can the system predict what will happen in the future? But will Elva be moved by my actions?' Zachary wondered. Then he smiled and entered the system.
"Congratulations for unlocking the series of sub-quests of 'First Awakening of Love'. The first sub-quest, the Token of Love, has been unlocked..." Zachary was knocked off his feet after he read the contents of the first sub-quest. It required him to get a brassiere from Elva.
"Holy, shit! Is this quest trying to get me into trouble? It asks me to get a brassiere from Elva. I can't just ask it from her directly. Otherwise, it's no different from committing suicide," Zachary cursed as he felt helpless. He was required to get Elva's brassiere to complete the quest. He knew how important the main quest was. If he failed to complete this quest, no other main quest would become available. Apparently, Elva was connected to this series of sub-quests.
"Is the purpose of this main quest to make Elva fall in love with me?" Zachary muttered in slight disbelief.
"It seems that the only way to complete this quest is to steal it. But, this can be very difficult. The best time to do it is when Elva is not in her room." Zachary gritted his teeth. He understood that it was an extremely difficult quest. Not even considering the big gap between Elva and him in terms of power. More importantly, if he got caught, he would be labeled a pervert.
Night came fast. Silence and darkness spread everywhere like fog.
It was in the dead of night when a figure ran all the way from the back hill of the Welkin Sect to the Bamboo Gully where all the female disciples lived.
It was called the forbidden land because male disciples were not allowed to approach the Bamboo Gully within five hundred meters. If anyone violated this rule of Welkin Sect, they would be punished severely. Several female disciples oversaw daily patrol within the restricted area around the Bamboo Gully daily.
Although this was the forbidden land for regular male disciples, for Zachary, sneaking in was as easy as sneaking into an unguarded place. It did not take long before he slipped into the Bamboo Gully from under the watch of a group of female disciples who were on patrol.
Zachary sneaked into one of the bamboo houses, when a soft fragrance grabbed his attention and disrupted his concentration.
Zachary crept inside the bamboo house, separated from the outside world by a bamboo door. He was relieved to see that the bed was empty, though he knew this beforehand because he had asked around before he planned to come here tonight. His eyes scanned the objects inside the house one by one and tried to determine where the object that he came here for could be. Elva was on patrol tonight and would not be back any time soon. He should have the time that he needed to steal what he needed to get without fear of being discovered.
Zachary's eyes fell on a small bamboo cupboard in one corner. He approached it with a wicked smile, reached out his hands, and then opened the cupboard. He saw three neat layers of clothes inside which were clean and dry. Some of the clothes at the lowest layer were colorful and fragrant. These colorful clothes were the holy objects that male disciples in the Welkin Sect always dreamed about.
"She has quite a few of these. I'll just steal them all, so I don't have to come back if I need one again," Zachary whispered to himself and raised an eyebrow. He took out a cloth bag immediately and collected the loot. Then he quietly closed the cupboard and left the house.
He suddenly heard the sweet sound of a flute as he exited the house. The music breaking the silence of the night.
"This is weird. Who is playing a flute at this time?" Zachary listened to the flute while looking for the figure that played it. He couldn't help but look in the direction where the music was coming from.
Under the moonlight, on top of a bamboo tree not far from Zachary, a snow-white figure stood. Her body moved with the music that made the tune more alluring. The sweet but melancholy music from the flute and her slow dance were irresistibly intoxicating.
"Who is that playing the flute in the middle of the night? Is she not afraid to disturb others?" But Zachary did not have the time to enjoy the music or the graceful movements that accompanied it. First, he just stole something and second, he was not supposed to be here.
"Who's there?" a voice called as the flute ceased playing. The figure suddenly jumped into the air and after she leaped between several trees, she landed lightly and blocked Zachary's path.
"It's you! Didn't you go on patrol?" Zachary fixed his eyes on the figure in front of him. He had no idea that it was Elva, the famous aloof beauty in Welkin Sect.
"What are you doing here? And what's that in your hand?" Elva didn't expect to see Zachary in this time and place. She then glanced at the cloth bag in Zachary's hand.
"Nothing. Actually, I came to see you," Zachary said. He quickly hid the bag behind his back.
"You came to see me?" Elva asked surprised as she stared at Zachary.
"I thought that the weather was perfect for a date tonight. So, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go out for a walk. By the way, didn't I just give you my pill and cure you? I think that maybe we could go out for dinner tomorrow," Zachary said smiling. He couldn't help but think about the crazy sub-quest that he received. He started to wonder what the next sub-quest would be.
"What are you talking about? Watch your language. But I want to thank you. The fourth-grade Heaven and Earth Pill really had a great healing effect and my internal injuries have almost completely healed. Here are three third-grade green therapeutic pills that the leader gave me. I didn't want them at first, but now that you gave me that fourth-grade purple therapeutic pill, these three could serve as a gift of gratitude. The three pills could not compare with the fourth-grade pill though..." Elva said as her cold face softened a little. She took out a bottle and handed it to Zachary.
"You don't have to. Just keep it. I obtained the pill by luck. Maybe it was heaven's decree to send me to you when you needed that four-grade pill. To tell you the truth, I didn't expect that a beautiful lady like you is not snobbish like everyone else. I was expecting that you would not even talk to someone nameless like me. I am just very happy and honored that you accepted my pill. You do not have to give me anything in return; your quick recovery is all that I needed," Zachary said with humility. He wanted to create a cordial mood between the two of them and to give her a good impression of him. And the situation was indeed a good catalyst for the chemical reaction between them. He thought that how Elva regarded him could be helpful for the sub-quests ahead.
"You seem to be different from the other disciples here." Elva's voice was cold, but there was a subtle change in the tone of her voice as well as in the way that she looked at Zachary.
"Maybe it's because I am not a confident person compared to them?" Zachary said as he smiled lightly.