Don't Pick Up Boyfriends From the Trash Bin Chapter 156 - System vs. System (6): Mermaid pearl, drinking match, a terrible friendship

Chapter 156 - System vs. System (6): Mermaid pearl, drinking match, a terrible friends.h.i.+p

Translator: kiribold

editor: sarah

The alarm bell immediately rang in 061’s mind.

…not good!

The system that Yan Jinhua was equipped with was consistent with his attributes, and it was closely linked with the to-be-raided protagonist “Duan Shujue.”

In other words, it could theoretically update in real-time and even accurately detect any data changes in Chi Xiaochi!

061 relied on his filters, convinced that it had nothing to do with Chi Xiaochi’s acting skills.

His family’s Xiaochi relied on his acting skills to increase Duan Shujue’s favorability towards Yan Jinhua from negative five hundred to zero. He was a very hardworking, good child.

But 061 also didn’t dare be negligent and immediately captured the abnormal, intrusive brainwave signals. He quietly carried out subtle interferences, made modifications, and infiltrated it to determine the system’s usual format to transmit information and data.

The level of sophistication for this process was no less than a surgical operation for a system.

As the same system, 061 knew best that his most significant advantage right now was that he hadn’t been discovered by the other side yet.

Once the other party noticed his existence, then he was afraid that Xiaochi would only be left with tearing his face off and going to battle with Yan Jinhua.

It was only fitting that he gave Xiaochi more s.p.a.ce to maneuver and use his good offices.

This was 061’s responsibility, as well as Lou Ying’s responsibility.

Chi Xiaochi noticed that Yan Jinhua appeared to have heard something. His expression was slightly stiff, his complexion was different, and he stopped complaining about the ungrateful Ye Jiming. Chi Xiaochi felt that something wasn’t right and asked 061, “What’s wrong?”

061 mixed a small Trojan horse into the information flow and silently introduced it into Yan Jinhua’s system.

The action had to be as careful as extracting mosquito blood from an amber millions of years old.

Fortunately, he had already done enough preparatory practice in fighting a battle of wits with the artificial intelligence going after him in the previous world.

While working, he said gently, “It’s okay, you can rest a.s.sured.”

He shouldn’t distract Xiaochi. Keeping him in a calm state of mind was the most important thing.

Chi Xiaochi knew something must have happened.

But since 061 told him to be at ease, he could feel at ease.

…because it was 061 who told him to “rest a.s.sured.”

In a short time, 061 had obtained enough data.

When the other system sent another detection signal, 061 successfully intercepted it midway and sent the forged data.

A silent and tense moment of antic.i.p.ation followed.

Yan Jinhua was equally nervous.

He returned to the mountain because of the calculated time until the Jingxu Sword Meeting. He planned to bring Duan Shujue to partic.i.p.ate and take the opportunity to steal his luck.

Duan Shujue had followed the carefree way of traveling the world like a veteran in the original book. At this time, he already had the spirit of a chivalrous young man. He won first place in the Jingxu Sword Meeting, winning the sword in the stone and the thousand-year sword intent contained in the blade. Since then, he embarked on the road of success, glorious the entire way, creating a beautiful scene.

He, Yan Jinhua, was not that old Daoist with few desires, nor was he Lei Feng. He had raised Duan Shujue for so many years, and it was time he received some compensation.

But if Duan Shujue found out what happened back then…

That was impossible, right?

He had done it with the utmost secrecy.

Duan Shujue’s parents were going to die sooner or later in the hands of those evil demons greedy for mermaid pearls. This was their fate. They only died a few years earlier…

Even though he comforted himself like this, Yan Jinhua couldn’t help his heartbeat drumming.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, his system gave him a clear answer. “Beep! Host, I’m very sorry. The data given earlier was wrong, it has now been corrected. The target of the raid still has a favorability of 100 towards you, please rest a.s.sured!”

Yan Jinhua breathed a ma.s.sive sigh of relief and couldn’t resist blaming it. “Next time, investigate it clearly before speaking. It gave me a big scare.”

After resolving this minor incident, he finally told Duan Shujue his plans.

Sure enough, Duan Shujue agreed without hesitation.

Once the thoughts that preoccupied Yan Jinhua were over, he couldn’t be idle any longer.

He heard that his ninth junior brother accepted a female disciple, who was twenty-eight years old and very beautiful. After two days, his ninth junior brother would take her out on a demon hunt and return after half a month. There was plenty of time since the Jingxu Sword Meeting would be held in 20 days. He could happily accompany this little beauty on a trip.

In the world he came from, Yan Jinhua couldn’t be considered outstanding in terms of appearance. He was better at using his sly tongue and quick response time. Most men and women were stupid, and a few sweet words could easily coax them back and forth.

These men and women didn’t have the extra patience to observe a person’s words and deeds long-term. They only wanted to see flowers and chocolates delivered before them, hear fresh and warm words of love, and euphemistically call to “live in the moment,” “don’t care if it lasts forever.”

So Yan Jinhua followed their wishes.

He already found both men and women suitable. He didn’t avoid meat or vegetables. While helping them live in the moment, he lived happily under the crotch.

Whenever he had enough of playing and left these people, none of them had the same das.h.i.+ng energy as when they were in love. All of them cried and begged to get back together. Looking as they uglily floundered was a kind of inexplicable pleasure.

Therefore, when the system selected him and he came to the world of various abandoned books, Yan Jinhua lived like a fish in water.

Most of the characters in the unfinished stories had an IQ level below normal humans, but most of them were devastatingly beautiful.

In the face of a group of men and women who were as stupid as pigs and beautiful as G.o.ds, Yan Jinhua could fully enjoy being the only one to have the script in hand.

However, at present, he isn’t very interested in Duan Shujue.

After all, it wasn’t long ago that Duan Shujue formed his legs. Yan Jinhua still had a deep impression of his original big, beautiful fishtail.

The men and women in Jingxu Peak were all beautiful. Although Duan Shujue was particularly outstanding, he wasn’t interested in nor had the conditions to go f.u.c.k a fish.

To him, Duan Shujue was just an ATM. He was an ATM that Yan Jinhua didn’t need to worry about and would take care of himself.

He threw his ATM into the mountains again and was free to go. He could also take the time to relieve the pain of a little brother running away.

As soon as he left, Ye Jiming lived near Yuguang Pool instead.

In his words, this lord needs to watch you, lest you make any trouble.

Chi Xiaochi knew that he was reluctant to leave Duan Shujue, and he didn’t out him. He just acted according to Duan Shujue’s previous habits. He practiced swordsmans.h.i.+p, nourished his qi, and meditated under the waterfall.

In the previous life, Yan Jinhua deprived Duan Shujue of the sword in the stone that should have belonged to him. If Yan Jinhua wanted to use the sword in the stone that belonged to the merman, he had to pour the merman’s energy into the sword.

Consequently, Duan Shujue unknowingly became his power bank. The spiritual energy in his body got worse and worse until it was almost exhausted.

Duan Shujue never knew the inside story. He only thought he was stupid, so he made slow progress as an adult and tried hard to make up for it. In order not to arouse his suspicion, Yan Jinhua took advantage of his ident.i.ty and generously brought many of Jingxu Peak’s secret books for him to read and learn.

…because he knew that it would be useless even if Duan Shujue learned them.

The principle was straightforward. No matter how good the engine was, it was useless without oil.

But now, these past secret manuals were a deep foundation for Duan Shujue, whose spiritual energy hadn’t been taken away. It was enough to make 10,000-foot-tall buildings rise from the ground.

With days and nights of hard training, all kinds of sword techniques had long been deeply rooted in his bones. Chi Xiaochi was able to retract it freely with just a slight revision.

But he wasn’t satisfied with this. He trained hard every day to make this young body do more and gain more.

Duan Shujue was a merman. When his spiritual power condensed, water mist would gather. When the sword danced like it was flying, his whole person resembled an ink painting, his garments in the wind s.h.i.+ning as an immortal.

Ye Jiming chewed on his cigarette pipe and sat on the tree to watch him. It was like many years ago when the two of them grew up as childhood friends.

However, Ye Jiming didn’t have an idle temperament.

After staying for two days, he began craving again.

After Duan Shujue’s death, he used spirits to relieve his heartache and became addicted. He didn’t touch alcohol for two days, his spirit was exhausted, and he lazily leaned against the tree while yawning.

After a set of sword dancing, Chi Xiaochi bathed under the waterfall.

Ye Jiming shouted, “Hey, little fish…Surname Chi!”

Chi Xiaochi turned to look at him.

Ye Jiming straightened up. “I’m going to get wine from old man Chi Yun’s cellar.”

…He said it as naturally as if he were going to his own bas.e.m.e.nt.

Under the roar of the waterfall, Chi Xiaochi asked knowingly, “Why did you tell me?”

He wasn’t asking Ye Jiming but trying to inspire Duan Shujue in his body.

——Ye Jiming, who had always done his own thing, now had to tell him when he picked a fruit. He was afraid of parting. He always suspected that once he went, just like their hasty meeting in the Bashu mountains, they would never see each other again.

Hearing Chi Xiaochi’s response, Ye Jiming pursed his lips and snorted coldly. “Boring.”

He slid down the tree and walked away.

Chi Xiaochi suddenly felt a surge of power in his body. He guessed that Duan Shujue had something to say, so he consciously let go of his hands.

Duan Shujue used the pure spiritual power in his fingertips to form a sword pointing gesture with his right index finger and middle finger together. He wrote a few words on the cliff behind the waterfall.

This time, Duan Shujue wrote the lines, and Chi Xiaochi had the professionalism of an actor. Naturally, he narrated it precisely as it was without any discrepancies.

He raised his voice and said to Ye Jiming, “…don’t steal anymore.”

Ye Jiming stopped, pressed his tongue lightly against his left cheek, and said disdainfully, “You think you can control this lord just because you’re wearing this face? Even he may not be able to manage this lord.”

This was simply a young couple bickering. Chi Xiaochi waited for Duan Shujue to write another line for him.

Duan Shujue controlled his sword and scribbled two white words on the cliff, “I apologize.”

…Apologize for what?

Before Chi Xiaochi could react, Duan Shujue lowered his hand and pinched his thigh.

Chi Xiaochi, “…”

Duan Shujue was a swordsman, so his finger and wrist strengths were excellent, and the pinch wasn’t light. Chi Xiaochi was in so much pain that his eye sockets watered, a teardrop falling straight down into the spring.

Chi Xiaochi finally figured out what Duan Shujue meant with tears in his eyes.

…It seemed that Duan Shujue wasn’t the infatuated idiot he imagined.

He leaned down and stretched out his hand, groping at the bottom of the spring.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Ye Jiming snorted coldly and was about to leave. However, he only took six or seven steps before a blue shadow landed on his side.

Ye Jiming was impatient. “What exactly do you want to do?”

Chi Xiaochi didn’t answer. He only stretched his right hand before Ye Jiming and opened his hand.

…A mermaid pearl laid in the center of his right palm, its splendor s.h.i.+ning, piercing Ye Jiming’s eyes.

Ye Jiming asked, “…What is this?”

The person in front of him questioned, “Is this enough?”

“Enough?”

Chi Xiaochi raised his head slightly and stared into Ye Jiming’s eyes. His voice and expression overlapped wonderfully with Duan Shujue’s. “…To go down the mountain and buy wine.”

Ye Jiming’s heart suddenly tightened, and his face changed. “Don’t blame this lord for not reminding you, don’t talk like him.”

Chi Xiaochi shrugged a little amused and turned the mermaid pearl clutched in his palm. “Coming or not?”

Ye Jiming asked, “Go where? Down the mountain?”

Chi Xiaochi replied, “Yes, together?”

Ye Jiming said, “…Don’t corrupt his image. He isn’t such a person to escape the mountain by climbing over a wall.”

Chi Xiaochi plausibly said, “It’s not him doing it, so what’s the harm? Besides, wouldn’t it be good to take him out more to see the world?”

There must have been devils and G.o.ds helping each other in the dark because Chi Xiaochi persuaded Ye Jiming.

Ye Jiming had long been a master of escaping. Duan Shujue had also lived in Jingxu Mountain for some time and remembered Jingxu Mountain’s road layout. The two easily avoided the disciples who guarded the gate.

After tiptoeing for a while, Chi Xiaochi pushed Ye Jiming, who was in front of him, “Run.”

Thus, the future White Mermaid Immortal and Blackened-Jiao Demon Lord ran wildly on the small mountain path.

The shadows of the trees on both sides swayed. The light and shadow were mottled, casting a heavy layer of shattered gold on the two of them.

Ye Jiming secretly turned his head back while running.

…He knew that the person in front of him wasn’t him, but he was also hidden in his body.

If it was the actual little fish, what would he say now?

Ye Jiming thought about it for a long time, but soon he felt uncomfortable. He turned his head around and stopped looking at that person.

He still didn’t know how that phony gentleman saw him, which was annoying.

The mermaid pearls were of good quality, and they exchanged them for a hundred taels of silver in the p.a.w.nshop.

In their previous life, Duan Shujue was by no means the young Daoist who traveled the Jianghu from the original book. Yan Jinhua raised him to the point where he even felt a sense of ignorance towards the world's fireworks.

After receiving the heavy bag of silver, he used his right hand to write on the palm of his left hand to inquire, “Is it enough?”

Chi Xiaochi replied with his left hand on the palm of his right hand, “If it isn’t enough, are you planning on switching another leg to pinch?”

Duan Shujue was a little embarra.s.sed. “I’m afraid I can’t afford it.”

Chi Xiaochi replied, “It’s enough to buy a liquor store.”

Sure enough, it took them twenty taels to get ten jars of finely aged wine and smuggle it into the mountains by the same route.

Along the way, Duan Shujue asked Chi Xiaochi many questions about gold, silver, jade, flowers, birds, fish, and insects. He asked the price of each one by one.

On the way up the mountain, Ye Jiming thought about all kinds of things just now, and the more he thought about it, the more depressed he was. So he called Chi Xiaochi, who was cleaning his hands, “Drink with me.”

This was already a hards.h.i.+p for the strong. He knew that Duan Shujue paid attention to cultivating his body and mind. He was cold and aloof. He never smoked alcohol nor touched tobacco. So Ye Jiming didn’t expect that Chi Xiaochi would sit over.

Chi Xiaochi’s reason was, “I should have a share of the wine we bought together.”

Ye Jiming tilted his head.

After getting along for a few days, he didn’t dislike Chi Xiaochi. He wasn’t sticky, was straightforward, and easy to get along with. But he couldn’t have a good impression of someone using Duan Shujue’s skin. He wanted to refuse, but drinking alone was boring and depressing. Plus, he changed his mind, thinking if the surname Chi got drunk, would Duan Shujue come out?

With a hint of secret antic.i.p.ation, Ye Jiming threw him a cup. “Sit down.”

The wine was indeed good, and after three rounds, both were in high spirits.

Knocking down the cup of wine, Ye Jiming insulted Yan Jinhua pa.s.sionately, “That old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, this lord will rip off his cover sooner or later!”

Chi Xiaochi encouraged, “Bring it to stew.”

Ye Jiming shouted, “Feed the dogs!”

Chi Xiaochi said, “You’re too angry. Cursing people like this will make it easy to scold oneself. It’s not worth it.”

Ye Jiming squinted at him.

Chi Xiaochi took a sip of wine and continued, “It’s like this. In our world, cursing people is more euphemistic. For example, I eat hot pot, you eat the hot pot base. The air conditioner blows on me, and the air conditioner outside blows on you.”

Ye Jiming replied, “I don’t understand, you will be fined three cups.”

Chi Xiaochi drank the three cups.

Ye Jiming was again grumbling and cursing Yan Jinhua over there.

He had a deep resentment for this person. The wine was strong, and he had even more righteous indignation thinking about the past. It’s just that the ancients scolded people back and forth with those few words. Ye Jiming didn’t want to go down the three roads, so he could only babble in bits and pieces, saying that Yan Jinhua opened and closed his mouth for virtue and morality. The world’s great righteousness, what bulls.h.i.+t.

Chi Xiaochi finished his fine of three gla.s.ses and refilled the wine. “He planned to stay in this world and have children later. I don’t know how he planned to set an example for his children.”

Ye Jiming spat, “Can someone like him have children?”

Chi Xiaochi said, “Can he find someone who will give birth for him?”

Ye Jiming’s heart was won over by such a tacit understanding of the three strikes.

He picked up the cup of wine. “Cheers.”

Chi Xiaochi said, “Cheers.”

061, who witnessed the whole drinking process, “…”

What was this? An expletive fellow exchange meeting?

When the ten jars of wine were exhausted, Chi Xiaochi’s face wasn’t even red while Ye Jiming fell to the ground drunk and unconscious.

To be reborn again, he needed a drunken good time.

After getting drunk, Ye Jiming’s body was fatigued and soft. Because of his low spiritual energy, he automatically reverted to his original form. He became like a mosquito coil, wrapping around Duan Shujue’s arm and sleeping soundly.

Chi Xiaochi sat back in the spring, transforming into his fishtail. Since he had nothing to do, he turned a sword into the body of a qin.

It was the mermaid instrument that Duan Shujue used to play. Chi Xiaochi leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest, allowing Duan Shujue to slowly stroke scattered tones with one hand to help Ye Jiming sleep peacefully.

And 061 read the original text of The Mermaid Immortal to him.

061 had already read the full text in advance, but even he couldn’t remember where in the original text it had written that Duan Shujue had a physique that wouldn’t be drunk after a thousand cups.

So after Duan Shujue played the qin and fell asleep according to his usual schedule, 061 closed the book and asked Chi Xiaochi how he knew this.

Chi Xiaochi put down the qin, placed one hand on his knee, and laid his left arm with the snake wrapped around it on the sh.o.r.e. “I didn’t know. I just thought it was good to let him try it.”

…try getting drunk, try sneaking out of the mountain, try all kinds of living that should be tried in this world.

“His life is already completely different from the book, and the so-called original text is also nothing more than a reference.”

061 thought that was true. When Yan Jinhua arrived, everything changed. His parents died at least four years early, and he lost the opportunity to be brought up normally. He was raised to be ignorant of the five grains, recognized a thief as a father, and was laughed at by the thief for opening the door to be robbed like a fool.

Unexpectedly, Chi Xiaochi seemed to know what he was thinking. Listening to the sound of water and the cicadas, he said slowly, “Yan Jinhua has a wolf’s heart. But if he didn’t forcibly change the plot, trudging on hard regardless of others’ wishes, Duan Shujue and Ye Jiming wouldn’t have such a friends.h.i.+p where they grew up together.”

“Now, everything has changed. His life isn’t determined and he’s not living in a script. He’s a real person with his own love and hate. There’s no need to follow the book or go back to being the gentleman who can never make a mistake in his life.” Chi Xiaochi immersed himself in the slightly warmer spring water. “Never been drunk once and never indulged once. It’s simply a pity for this person.”

Having said this, Chi Xiaochi regained his mighty appearance, making 061 feel soft-hearted and affectionate.

061 closed the book halfway and asked, “Should I still read it?”

Chi Xiaochi said, “Read it.”

061 reacted, “…Huh?”

Chi Xiaochi said, “I want to hear it.” After all, he wanted to know all the chips in Yan Jinhua’s hand before making his bets.

061 smiled. “Okay.”

061 moistened his throat and started reading the book again.

The book’s literary style was average, with occasional typos and inconsistencies. But the good thing was that the writing style was calm, and Chi Xiaochi listened quietly.

A full moon sank in the spring water before him. His fishtail swayed slightly, breaking the moon into ripples and creating dazzling silver fragments. Within a few moments, the reflection returned to perfection.

In fact, Chi Xiaochi also wanted to get drunk for himself.

After repeated role changes and short rest periods, it would be a lie to say that he wasn’t tired.

But who would have thought it would be so hard to get a merman drunk?

…He seemed to be a little out of luck.

Fortunately, he had Liu-laos.h.i.+. That voice was also like mellow wine, intoxicating enough.

Chi Xiaochi raised his hand and touched the position of his heart. He thought, not counting this world, he would no longer be able to hear this person’s voice after three worlds.

Chi Xiaochi had guessed who he could be. After several times of doubt and denial, he didn’t dare to trust himself in the slightest.

Only on this matter, he didn’t dare believe in evidence, intuition, judgment, or anything.

Because of the fear of failure, he didn’t dare to have hope.

The only thing that could make him feel at ease was for 061 to stand in front of him and tell him clearly who he was.

Thinking of this, he called out, “Liu-laos.h.i.+.”

061 stopped reading. “What’s wrong?”

Chi Xiaochi paused for a long time, lowered his eyes, and said, “…I’m sleepy.”

061 closed the book with a smile in his voice, “Alright, I won’t read anymore. Go to bed early. Will you wake up at the same time tomorrow? Or later? You’ve been drinking, I’m afraid you’ll be uncomfortable if you wake up early.”

Chi Xiaochi replied, “The same time.”

061 held back his impulse to pinch his face. “Okay, go to sleep.”

Early the following morning, Ye Jiming leisurely woke up with a splitting headache. He refused to admit the fact that he had been like a corpse last night while Duan Shujue was absolutely fine, so he cursed the wine for being bad and fake.

Chi Xiaochi said, “Mn, it’s fake wine. Next time, add some realgar for taste.”

Ye Jiming, “…”

At this point, Ye Jiming both couldn’t and was unable to beat Duan Shujue. He was so angry that he found a pile of rocks and threw them at him while he practiced swordsmans.h.i.+p. Unsurprisingly, it was reduced to dust within a few sword strikes from Chi Xiaochi.

Ye Jiming refused to admit defeat and went to buy more wine. He insisted on fighting Duan Shujue to death, but every time he fell over drunk, his mouth murmuring cusses in defiance.

After a few bouts of drunkenness, Ye Jiming and Chi Xiaochi discovered they had similar temperaments. They were both swear word lovers and tenth-level scholars on blackening Yan Jinhua. Their relations.h.i.+p improved, and they gradually became a terrible camaraderie.

On the eve of Yan Jinhua’s calculated time of return, Ye Jiming said to Chi Xiaochi, “Little fish and Surname Chi, this lord is leaving.”

Duan Shujue was practicing his sword under the moon when he mentioned this.

Upon hearing this, Duan Shujue’s sword-wielding hand paused for a beat.

But Chi Xiaochi knew that this day would come. “Go carefully. We won’t send you off.”

Ye Jiming said curiously, “You’re not going to ask why this lord wants to leave?”

Chi Xiaochi attempted to sheathe his sword but misaligned it several times. It wasn’t very handsome.

While lowering his head to the sword, he said, “You have the body of a jiao, how are you going to cultivate in the mountain? Go to a bigger place, whether it’s a mountain or the sea. I’ll take good care of Duan Shujue. If you want to come back to see him, remember to bring wine and I’ll show you.”

After speaking, he finally managed to put the sword into the sheath.

Ye Jiming spat at him, “Get out of here!”

Ye Jiming left the mountain, and Yan Jinhua returned to the mountain that night.

After 15 days of relaxation, Yan Jinhua’s depression about losing the little black snake had subsided. Once he returned to the mountain, he began to wait excitedly for the convening of the Jingxu Sword Meeting.

…and Chi Xiaochi was also waiting.

Duan Shujue’s tragedy began after meeting Yan Jinhua, but the collapse of his entire life stemmed from this sword meeting.