"Search! Make sure he doesn't escape!"
"Come! You, search there!"
"You search there!"
"The rest of you come with me!" An authoritative voice shouted.
'Help me! Please! Save me! Avenge me!' A helpless voice cried.
"Hgnn," Li Jun groaned.
'It hurts!'
"Over here! Daoren!* we found some traces over here," a voice called out.
"So loud, who's there?" Li Jun whimpered in a hushed voice, his eyes blurry and his head pounding like a motherf%%%!
"Host! Host!" A familiar voice rang in Li Jun's head. However, Li Jun could hardly comprehend the voices around him due to the splitting headache.
"Who's calling? System?" Li Jun called in a hushed voice.
"Host! You're in danger now. If you don't leave now, you'll die, and the task will fail. The Punishment is death!" Pixie informed ominously. As if scalded by boiled water, Li Jun's skin color, drained from his body with his soul that was almost taken by the grim reaper, instantly returned to his exhausted body once he heard the word death!
"DIE!? Why didn't you say that first? Calling host, host, host! What if I die? Will you be responsible!?" Li Jun fumed, his eyes gradually becoming clearer by the second. With his eyes becoming clearer, Li Jun quickly scanned his surroundings. Hiding amongst a bush hedge, Li Jun noticed a lake 100 meters from where he was hiding. Along the river sides were stone gravels of all shapes and sizes. Tall and Majestic trees surrounded Li Jun, obscuring him from his pursuers.
"System? What's this situation?" Li Jun enquired as he stared down at himself with a perplexed expression. Pixie floated before Li Jun, materializing into a solid form (his half-human, half-robotic form).
"Host is being pursued," Pixie replied offhandly.
"What? Of course, I know I'm being chased. Isn't it obvious enough!? I'm asking, who am I? Why am I being chased? And by whom?" Li Jun retorted with urgency and resignation in his tone.
"Haha! Host, of course, I knew what you were asking! I was joking!" Pixie chortled awkwardly.
"Ahem! Host, you can check your stats. For additional information, I will brief you, but for in-depth information about any other, you'll have to pay coins depending on the value information," Pixie added.
"Search over here! Today! We must catch this thief!" The leader of the pursuers ordered aloud. Meanwhile, Li Jun continued his conversation with Pixie.
"Hmm. Alright. But I don't have the time to read the stats right now, and I'm not ready to die! So brief me, and quickly!" Li Jun said, his face paled upon thinking his death was right around the corner.
"OK, host. You are now in the body of Lan Huyan; he just turned 18. He's an orphan and only remembers when he was ten years old. Caught from stealing, he was incarcerated. However, due to his beautiful face and slender figure, he was sold by some corrupt officer to the number 1 pleasure house in Shuidong County, Heavenly Paradise. After turning 18, the owner of Heavenly Paradise decided it was time for him to serve the guests. Still, later that day, an official of lower rank, the Governor of Shuidong County, Pan Ye, was enchanted by his beauty and wanted to possess him, thus buying him from Heavenĺy Paradise at the highest price. However, Lan Huyan, sensing something wrong after eavesdropping on Pan Ye's conversation, decided to run away. Shortly after, Governor Pan issued a notice of you as a thief who stole his moat prize sword, Tian Jian, thus you're predicament," Pixie said in one breath.
'Just as I thought! Bah! Just as I thought!? Why did you have to sell to a brothel!?.a brothel of all places! Hash! No, there's no time for this! I have to dash so I can get away from these perverts. I don't want to die in such an unfamiliar world!' Li Jun thought his skin crawled as he thought of dying.
"System, how many men are chasing and in which directions," Li Jun enquired, urgency evident in his tone.
"Replying to host, over 100 men. 30 deployed north, 50 east, 20 at the Shuidong's city gate, and more than 20 in the forest where we are now, and Shuidong city," Pixie informed.
"What!? Did this perverted man send out all the guards from ShuidongCity!? How perverted!" Li Jun said aloud, clearly forgetting that he was being chased.
"Over here! There he is!"
"Catch him!"
"Chase!" The guards shouted one after another as they chased after Li Jun.
'Shit! I've got to run! Li Jun thought as he made a run for it. Running through the forest, Li Jun decides to look at his status.
'Status,' Li Jun said.
[STATS]
Host: Li Jun
Identity (SPECIAL): unqualified
Skills: Glib tongue, 2x Meng Attack, innovative, trashy, unworthy acting skills, deceptive, thick-skinned, shameless.
Body Of: Lan Huyan
Character traits: beauteous, evasive, soft-hearted, cynical, apathetic, smart
Target: Rui Huaein
System: Xiǎo jīnglíng [Pixie]
Level: Entry [Beginner]
Special Abilities: Seductive and Eloquent
Skills: sword dance, plays the qin well, eloquent, seductive, frail-play, intelligent, excellent hearing
Target: Rui Huaein
Task Bar: Fill the love meter and assist Rui Huaein in finding the mastermind behind the assassination and death of Minister Shanguan.
Gaymeter: 0%
Straight meter: 100%
Love meter: 0%
Fail meter: 55%
Timeline: 3 years
Awards: ???
Special Awards: ???
"Bah! What are these useless skills!? System, how am I supposed to escape with such skills?" Li Jun complained, running past the trees and leaping over thick, meager branches and logs.
"Host, you ask me, who should I ask?" Pixie retorted through the mind link. Even though Pixie wasn't in his solid form, Li Jun could already visualize his pretentious expression.
"You!?" Li Jun yelled. Speechless, he found it hard as he couldn't think of how to respond to the shameless and pious system.
As Li Jun was running through the dense forest with no destination or hiding place in mind, he heard the sudden racking of a carriage heading south of his direction. It was as if God felt pity for his poor soul and sent him his saver. Running like a track star, Li Jun tried his best to catch up to the carriage before it took the next right turn. As if enhanced by some force, Li Jun's eyes suddenly became much more keen-sighted, slightly better than 20/20 vision. Li Jun's eyes identified three different paths straight out as if looking from an eagle's eye.
There were three paths highlighted within Li Jun's sight. His eyes showed the trajectory of each path and their distance. Li Jun recognized and understood each trajectory as if the knowledge had already been planted in his brain stem. The road to the left leading to the southwest of the carriage was 18 meters from Li Jun's current position. The road to the right had a slight curve but was shorter by 5 meters and would lead Li Jun to stop the carriage. He is running on the road 10 meters, shorter than the previous two. However, as Li Jun calculated the distances between the three paths and the speed of the carriage, he concluded that the first path was the best choice.
[Bing! Bing!]
[CONGRATULATIONS HOST! YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED SKILL RUNNER!]
[CONGRATULATIONS HOST! YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED SKILL EAGLE EYES!]
[CONGRATULATIONS HOST! YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED SKILL INTELLECT!]
A series of notifications echoed within Li Jun's head as he felt his running speed accelerate. Before he could think about anything else, he heard the voices of the soldiers in pursuit of him.
"Don't let him escape!?"
"Catch him!?"
"Stop right there!" The soldiers shouted in hot pursuit of Li Jun.
"System, there are rewards like these?" Li Jun questioned incredulously.
"Yes, or else?" Pixie responded snarky.
"Impossible, right?" Li Jun said, not paying heed to Pixie's tone.
'Heeee!' A black stallion horse brayed and came to a halt.
"Who are you? How dare you block the way! Are you tired of living!?" An authoritative voice called out.