Originally, Zhang Wuyong had planned to ignore the mission that told him to kill and silence her.
It only mentioned a reward for completion; it never said there would be any punishment for failure.
He had not expected that simply stuffing candied hawthorn into his childhood sweetheart's mouth would actually complete the "silencing" mission.
Fine.
He tapped "Claim."
A new card appeared in his inventory.
It looked completely ordinary—star pattern on the back, blank on the front.
Zhang did not immediately use the random card.
He closed the system panel and focused on his homework.
Whenever he ran into a problem he did not understand, he asked Zhao Yutong.
There were plenty of questions he could not solve, but she patiently walked him through them.
They worked side by side, chatting occasionally, and got along very well.
By the time Zhang finally left, it was almost midnight.
At that hour, Aunt Zhu had already gone to bed.
Tongtong walked him to the door. Zhang, schoolbag on his back and crutch under his arm, left her apartment and crossed the corridor to his own.
His own front door was fitted with a motion‑sensor light; it flicked on as soon as he stepped into range.
He unlocked the door, walked through the living room, and went straight into his bedroom.
He collapsed onto the bed and used the random card.
A pale yellow light flashed in front of his eyes.
[Obtained: Serpent Flame Poison Ivy.]
At the bottom of the inventory, he saw a strange flower—its petals twisted into the shapes of snakes, its overall appearance grotesque and unsettling.
He opened its description.
—Serpent Flame Poison Ivy: Yellow‑rank medicinal herb. Used to refine poisons such as Poison Dragon Pills and Ten Thousand Snake Pills. Must be nourished with fresh human blood during cultivation, and is therefore forbidden by the righteous path.
On the item panel, the serpent‑like petals writhed faintly, like living vipers.
A chill ran down Zhang's spine.
What was he supposed to do with this thing?
He did not even dare summon it out of the inventory.
If one of those "petals" really bit him, would he bleed out on the spot?
Perfect. Just perfect.
As an ordinary high school senior with the college entrance exam looming, he now possessed yet another deadly weapon.
In the lower left corner of the system, his remaining points showed as 10.
In his mind, he held the complete Heavenly Demon Bliss Technique. In his inventory, he possessed the heaven‑rank Supreme Dragon‑Slaying Blade and this yellow‑rank Serpent Flame Poison Ivy.
The system had not treated him badly at all, yet none of it seemed useful so far.
Still, the ivy was a medicinal herb from another world. Judging by its appearance, it had been saturated with spiritual energy during cultivation.
If he boiled it and ate it, then practiced the Heavenly Demon Bliss Technique, could he gain spiritual power?
He stared uneasily at the sinuous petals in the item panel.
The idea was tempting, but this was not something to try on a whim.
After washing up, he returned to his bedroom to meditate and practice his breathing exercises.
A week later, he opened his eyes around four in the morning, feeling fully refreshed.
He memorized English vocabulary for half an hour and immediately grew sleepy again.
He only stopped yawning after he tossed the English dictionary aside.
Around six o'clock, after washing and getting ready, he headed out.
"Useless!" his mother shouted from the kitchen. "You need to go to the hospital this afternoon to change your dressing. Remember to come back at noon. I already asked your homeroom teacher for leave."
"Got it!" Zhang called back, opening the door.
At the same time, the door opposite his opened as well.
Zhao Yutong stepped out, carrying her familiar pink‑and‑white backpack.
"What a coincidence," Zhang greeted her.
Just then, a notification chime sounded in his ear.
"What now?" he muttered, puzzled.
Quietly, he opened the task panel.
[The host has successfully refined Zhao Yutong, direct disciple of the Second Peak of Rongyang Immortal Sect, into a 'walking corpse.' Reward: +30 points. Additional gift: Earth‑rank demonic tome Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique.]
[Receive Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique? Yes / No.]
…What?
Zhang stared at Zhao Yutong.
A walking corpse?
How had his childhood sweetheart become a zombie?
She walked to the elevator and pressed the down button.
The doors slid open. She glanced back at the boy staring at her. "Aren't you coming?"
Snapping out of it, Zhang hurried over.
They entered the elevator together.
She hit "close," and the car began to descend.
In the cramped space, Zhang turned his head, still studying his supposedly "zombified" childhood sweetheart.
Her face was as pretty as ever, her lips still rosy.
She had a delicate nose, long lashes, and well‑balanced features; no wonder she only grew more beautiful as she grew older.
Color rose to her cheeks under his gaze. She lowered her head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Why is he staring at me like that so early in the morning?
We only parted at almost midnight last night. It's not like we haven't seen each other in ages.
Why is he looking at me like this?
Zhang remained lost in thought.
Had she died and turned into a zombie sometime in the middle of the night?
Or had the system gone mad again?
Given this broken system's track record, the answer was obvious.
When they stepped out of the elevator, he asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet," she said. "I'm going to eat near the school gate. You?"
"Same. Let's go together."
She had brought her bus card and normally took public transport.
Because of his leg, Zhang's mother had given him extra money for taxis.
The fare was the same whether he rode alone or with someone else, so he invited her to share the taxi.
Several breakfast stalls lined the street near the school entrance.
They chose one shop. Zhang ordered rice noodle soup; Zhao chose millet porridge and a few side dishes.
As he ate, Zhang read over his notes.
Zhao slowly lifted spoonfuls of porridge to her lips, sipping them one mouthful at a time.
She was clearly not some desiccated corpse.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking up.
He had been staring at her the entire morning.
Zhang quickly averted his eyes.
Even if she really had turned into a zombie, he thought, it would not change how he felt.
After breakfast, they entered the school grounds and parted at the classroom door.
Zhang went to his seat, sat down, and opened the system interface.
He chose to accept the Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique.
A set of secret methods poured into his mind.
This technique described how to capture a cultivator alive, roast and refine their body, extract their soul, and then bind and control their corpse—turning it into a walking corpse completely subject to its master's will.
It could turn captured righteous disciples into zombies unable to resist their owner's commands, while preserving most of the martial skills they had possessed in life.
It truly was a standard tool for demonic monks to travel, kill, and plunder.
Experienced corpse refiners knew that the higher the grade of the technique, the more fully a corpse could retain its living strength while stripping away its consciousness.
Although only a low‑level art, the Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique was remarkably practical.
[Host has successfully learned the Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique.]
[New mission issued: Use the Demonic Flame Corpse Refining Technique to refine twenty male disciples of the Second Peak of Rongyang Immortal Sect into Flame Corpses. Each corpse refined: +10 points. Time limit: one month.]
[Upon completion, reward: one Gold Card.]
Excellent.
Capture righteous female disciples to help him cultivate, and refine the male disciples directly into corpses.
Truly befitting the Joyful Sect demonic monk from another world who was destined to become a Demon Buddha of the Sixth Heaven.