4.8

The next day they all set off to Little Leaf Village. 

Jia Hyson scuttled around the cart curiously. He had ridden horses and been on similarly primitive carts before in Samotrelis, but obviously, with his change in stature, the view was much more different, giving him a novel worldview. His claws itches to write and describe this unique feeling but unfortunately, in front of outsiders he couldn't exactly whip out Bebe's holographic keyboard to furiously type into. 

Da Gong silently watches the little worm excitedly move back and forth in the cart with bemusement. To him, this sort of experience was very dull, merely a weekly chore in his daily life. However, he supposes for this small country bumpkin of a worm it must be a big deal. Thinking this, he can't help but feel the worm is very pitiful and has the urge to take care of such an ignorant worm, showing the little creature all the good things that it probably has never seen in it's short life. 

Puffing himself up he proudly walks around to show off the things in the cart, clucking and crowing at Jia Hyson as he struts around like he owned the place. Da Gong even flaps his wings and jumps up a particularly precarious pile of items just to drop a colourful stuffed donkey in front of Jia Hyson. He nudges the toy toward the small dragon with a doting yet arrogant look, his expression saying for him, 'Be grateful, Laozi has taken a liking to you and gifted you with this treasure.' 

Jia Hyson reaches out with his claws and clutches at the plush donkey. Da Gong had a good eye. The donkey toy was fairly small so it was not difficult for Jia Hyson to hug. Even though it wasn't very soft and the cloth it was made from was a bit scratchy and rough it was still probably the most appropriate and less dangerous thing in the cart for a small reptile like himself. 

He was amused and a little flustered at such unrestrained, clumsy doting. Monroe and Tian Shun were definitely a little like this too but they were far more subtle and restrained. However, Da Gong, who held no concept of human shame and anxiety, was different and was very bold and expressive. At the same time though, he did showcase Monroe and Tian Shun's innate meticulous thoughtfulness by picking out the best gift for Jia Hyson given the circumstances. 

Drake and Li Guiren were more the types to impulse buy whatever and offer it to him with a wagging tail. If Jia Hyson didn't like it they would learn from their mistakes and try again. Like a protagonist in a sports manga, they will always start off terrible, failing a lot in the beginning but always able to pick themselves up and strive to improve. 

In contrast, Monroe and Tian Shun acted more like they only had only one life left in a game and every choice mattered. They would research and contemplate and do all sorts of overthinking in order to pick the perfect gift. Failure was not tolerated. Jia Hyson had honestly never seen them pick an unsuitable or bad gift for him before so he truly doesn't know what would happen if he ever rejects it. 

Anyway, Jia Hyson couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. Absentmindedly he wonders where the other half of Da Gong is. After all, like Yin and Yang, there's always both. 

…He does hope the other shard counterpart has better luck and at least ended up as a human ah _(:3」∠)_

The ride there was long, at least a few days journey by horse. Unfortunately, it was only an hour and a half into the journey when Jia Hyson began to feel nauseous and headache-y. 

It turns out... dragons could also get motion sick. _:(´ཀ`」∠):_

'Motherfuck,' He inwardly groans as he slumps on top of his donkey toy, hugging it tightly as he buries his face into the coarse fabric, trying desperately to ignore the bumpy motions of the cart. Da Gong was sitting next to him and gently fanning him with one wing. The rooster was looking the other way as he did so, pretending that he was doing such a subservient action by chance. His eyes staring blankly up at the sky, his gaze aloof and uncaring. If Jia Hyson wasn't feeling so unwell he would have found it adorable. 

It turns out a bit of tsundere is not bad ah. 

Still, not even the power of a cute animal companion would soothe his trembling stomach. On the bright side, at least they didn't have to worry about his next meal. His appetite is utterly gone, probably left for the next few days.

Ugh, just thinking about eating food right now makes Jia Hyson want to utterly die.

'Distract me a little ah. Tell me about the side missions for this story,' Jia Hyson instructs tiredly. Bebe can't show it on the holographic screen given there were other people around so it could only relay it by reading it aloud into Jia Hyson's head. 

'There are currently five main side missions.' Bebe complies quickly, also aware of Jia Hyson's suffering, 'The first is from the original body. He wants to grow up to be a proper dragon and not die before reaching his first century. Reward, 2000p, guaranteed one random special skill from original body.'

Jia Hyson immediately frowns. The first part is okay but to not die before reaching a century? Isn't that asking him to stay for over a hundred years in imperial China? What the fuck, that sounds awful. 

However the reward is really good. Ignoring the 2000p, the guaranteed special skill was incredibly tempting for him. After all [Skill Stealer] only gave a chance to steal special skills. If you're luck is good (and the skill level is high) you can get multiple special skills but if you're the type who struggles to pull out an Uncommon Rarity card on a good day like Jia Hyson then you may just get absolutely nothing. If he takes the first side mission, best-case scenario, he wins two or more skills. Worst case, he still wins at least one. 

But is it worth limited and slow wi-fi for a hundred years?

Jia Hyson weighed the pros and cons and grudgingly decided it was.

Grudgingly.

'The second side mission is from this world's consciousness and the heavenly path. It wishes you to choose the best ruler for the kingdom out of the imperial candidates. If none of them is suitable, find someone who is or groom the one with the best potential. Time limit: 30 years. Will provide one Male Lead Halo, two Helpful Supporting Lead Halos and Three Blessings of your choice (to be bestowed on others, not yourself) and 10 syringes of 100cc of Spiritual Energy (TM). Reward: A Small World's Gratitude, 100cc of Heavenly Energy (TM).' 

This one is interesting. Because the story was put on hiatus before the imperial intrigue arc took place and there have been no obvious allusions to the male lead's identity, no one knows who will be crowned the next emperor. Generally, the male lead will be the victor and rule the country well with his female lead by his side but no one knows who that is either. 

Choosing the right male lead is pretty much choosing the monarch of a country for the next fifty years. It's a difficult task, especially when male lead material may not necessarily mean good leader material. 

After all, many male leads are described as tyrannical, obsessive, only seeing their beloved female lead, blinded by love and the need to dote on their girl, cold and uncaring to others, intelligent but cruel- none of these traits is particularly great for a leader much less a leader for the country. Except the intelligence bit, obviously. And maybe a bit of cruelty. This was imperial china after all, if you can't stomach some blood you can't even dream of getting that crown ah.

Still, in order to complete the story, Jia Hyson needs to appoint a male lead anyway. The free halos and spiritual energy gained by accepting this mission was pretty much a bonus. But what is with these rewards?! 

'A Small World's Gratitude...' Bebe coughs awkwardly. It's already used to world's who give out stingy rewards in side missions. 'This reward is just as it sounds. You gain the gratitude of this world. So once the mission is completed successfully the world will favor you a bit. Generally this is through nature such as a freak bolt of lightning hitting your enemies or a bountiful harvest year or something.' 

Jia Hyson blinks, 'That doesn't sound so bad.'

Bebe looks away from it's host guiltily. It couldn't tell him that most of the times the gratitude comes in the form of something like 'never eating a rotten fruit or vegetable in this lifetime' or 'having your favorite flowers bloom in your garden no matter the season'. You would barely notice unless someone points it out to you. Lightning was only for big worlds like cultivation worlds. And the good harvest year would probably only come twice in a row at most before reality sets back in. 

Who told the world's consciousness to be created so poor and cheap? Those poor bastards could barely afford to purchase the lowest universal wi-fi and data plans okay. Ah, Bebe was so glad it wasn't born as a world consciousness, their lives were really too tragic. 

The poor and cheap world's consciousness: '…'

'The 100cc of Heavenly Energy is really good though,' Bebe quickly changes the subject. 'Scooped straight from this world's Heavenly Path where the spiritual energy is strongest, Heavenly Energy is more potent than Spiritual energy. High grade Heavenly Energy can be a 1000x more concentrated and a small dose can even make cultivators immediately ascend. Then going down it's Medium, Low and Mediocre.' 

'Of course this world wouldn't have such luxury stuff so let me guess,' Jia Hyson snorts, 'the grade of the reward energy is mediocre, what's that, 5x the concentration?'

Bebe: '....2.5x.' 

Jia Hyson: 'I see.' Not even willing to give a whole number. How stingy. DisdainfulCat.gif

Bebe felt bad for the world's consciousness being disdained for it's poor gift-giving skills. It's still pretty good stuff okay? Okay maybe not good, good but it's not bad stuff. Like socks for Christmas. Very practical. Better than nothing. 

Better than nothing Heavenly Path: '...' It hurts to be mediocre grade okay? ( ´༎ຶㅂ´༎ຶ `)

Stingy world's consciousness: '...' I want to retire ah. (ꐦ ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )

Despite his whining Jia Hyson accepts the first two side missions. It's not like he'll get the death penalty if he doesn't succeed ah. At worst, for side missions like the second one where the employer would give tools to help, obviously there would be a monetary compensation if you used up their things and didn't produce results. 

Do you think halos are like cabbages? Only the world's consciousness and heavenly path can give them away and even then it costs quite a bit of energy on their half okay? They're already so broke, it's like making a homeless person pay a passerby to go buy them food and that passerby ends up buying some shitty plastic bracelet. It's really hard for them okay?

As poor as homeless people World's Consciousness and Heavenly Path: '...' Must you hurt us like this? (눈_눈 )(ಥ_ಥ ) 

The next side mission is also from the World's Consciousness. 

'Reconciliation between dragonkind and humankind?' Jia Hyson shakes his head, 'Pass, hell no, that's too difficult.' 

If it was to change the general opinion of dragons toward humans from 'terrible and greedy people' into 'there's some good eggs among the bad' them it's possible by introducing the protagonist to them. However this was asking for dragons and humans to be on friendly terms again which was nearly impossible.

Because humans were as a whole rather terrible and greedy people, and dragons were arrogant and prideful to their bones. Even if humans worshipped dragons now, that was because they didn't really believe in their hearts that they were real. They were like Lord Ye who loved dragons- only loving the concept but not truly the real thing. 

Maybe if the dragons came to offer them gifts and blessings they will be happy with only a few harboring greedy thoughts and ill intentions, but if these great dragons suddenly appeared and demanded the servitude they were used to.... 

No, no, reconciliation is too difficult. Jia Hyson came from modern more civilized times and even then people still haven't completely found a stable equality and mutual respect for each other. If they were still so many people being discriminatory against having a different skin color then expecting them to hold a good attitude to a completely different species altogether was like asking a lion to hold a baby rabbit in it's mouth and not move. 

Obviously the result will be messy and bloody and definitely not what you were going for unless you were a sadistic farmer who somehow owns a lion. Maybe the farmer is a retired circus person. Who knows.

What were they talking about?

Right. Third mission. Firmly rejected. 

He's not even going to hear the rewards. Because Jia Hyson knows he's a weak-willed bitch who would probably be tempted with whatever he hears. 

The fourth mission was also similarly rejected. It was again, from the World's Consciousness, but this time it asked for Jia Hyson to inject enough spiritual vitality into the world that would sustain low level primitive life that lives in Heaven such as spirit herbs and maybe small spiritual beasts like horned rabbits or golden flower sparrows. 

Now even though in the mission request it is emphasized those were considered the easiest to maintain creatures in Heaven's world who will naturally flock to places with some spiritual energy like insects to a food pantry, Jia Hyson wasn't fooled. He had over three years of biological and ecological principles carved into his head and no matter how shitty his memory is he can still recall the general gist of it. 

Spiritual energy is like nutrition in soil. You need to have a way to replenish it. For soil, nutrients are taken away by plants to grow but are given back through the decay of plant matter and detritus. It's a nice cycle. And more nutrients can be added with the corpses of animals and insects. Unfortunately spiritual energy on earth not only doesn't have a good medium that can hold most of it without dissipating back out into the atmosphere, it also doesn't have a way to constantly replenish energy without dragons. 

Which meant he would either have to find an alternate energy source or try to get dragons to come back to earth without antagonizing or being provoked by humans. 

Jia Hyson sighs. 'This World's Consciousness is quite a greedy fellow. It wants me, this small dragon who worries about getting his next meal, to reform the entire country and even change the setting from Imperial China to Xiaxia ah.' 

'Most World Consciousness are like this,' Bebe explains patiently, it has seen many hosts complain about the frankly high expectations these world's seem to have for them in terms of mission requirements. They're not wrong though, these sort of missions were absurdly hard to do not to mention time consuming. Even if Jia Hyson could reincarnate a hundred times he still wouldn't have enough time to achieve such a thing ah. 'Unfortunately those with more feasible requests are worlds with a better situation that don't need our help as desperately.'

It's the equivalent of choosing between giving a million dollars to a poor person or ten dollars to a rich person. Even though you feel sorrier for the poor person, if you had to choose it would be much easier to help the rich person. Not only because you don't have a million dollars you can just casually give away, but because the benefits in helping the rich person is also much greater. 

World's consciousness and Heavenly Path: '...' Please stop. ( º言º) ( ´༎ຶㅂ༎ຶ`)

Who made it so even worlds must face the disparity and unfairness that was life? 

Finally, the fifth mission was actually quite different from the previous ones. 

'The fifth side mission request is requested by the original body's father and current leader of the golden dragons. He wishes to find his son again and watch him grow up and marry. The marriage partner must not be a two-faced dragon since his fellow dragons were the reason why the original got dropped here in the first place. The original's father learned the truth later on and could no longer trust the other dragon groups. 

However even if they aren't a dragon they still must be an acceptable match for his child. Strong, independent, polite and filial to elders, a body and mind as flexible as bamboo against a storm, as strong as a mountain and yet as lovely as a peony blossom budding in spring. Preferably as young as his son and be just as cute. Does not have to be from a rich household or have high status, in fact, preferable not to but must have power and reliability.'

Jia Hyson: '…' He understands the first sentence of the request but why was the rest written like an online dating advertisement? And a rather annoyingly specific one too.

'This is the wish the original body's father made in the original story,' Bebe coughs awkwardly, 'Because of the original body's death obviously as said before the consequences were quite tragic resulting in widespread conflict with the dragons as the winners. Despite winning though, the golden dragon king's wife died and he was left to grow old alone. His main regret in life was not seeing his son grow up and be happy. As time passed and had nothing left to do but vent on humans and other dragons he also spent a lot of his old life imagining what would it be like if his son was still alive.

When even the hatchlings of the original body's generation began to have children of their own the golden dragon king grew immensely bitter and sad seeing those little grandchildren. When he died he wished his son was not only alive but can find a partner and give him grandchildren as well. 

Unfortunately since he was so old, he was still a little senile at the time when the overseer was processing his request and he ended up rambling up his dream daughter in law.'

Jia Hyson: '…wu..'

Bebe: ?

Jia Hyson: 'Wu.. wu… wuwuwuwu that's so sad! Oh my god I hate that, wuwuwuwu let's take the mission, I don't care what the rewards are I'll let the dragon king experience the familial love he deserves!'

Bebe: 'O-okay…' 

Bebe was a little stunned at how easily it's host was moved by the story. Then it realises that this mission touched on one of Jia Hyson's biggest fears- dying alone with no one that loves him- and one of the few topics that can successfully make him tear up- sad old people with lost dreams and hope that they can never gain back because they're at the end of their life. 

It's host was the sort of person who would smile as he read about innocent highschoolers get massacred S*w movie style but once he starts reading through an elderly woman's dying regrets as she slowly and weakly traces the tears of her only granddaughter… that was when the waterworks would flow. Jia Hyson simply could not stand the sadness of this sort of thing. The N*tebook? Was completely unmoved, even disdainful, until the very last scenes where he suddenly burst into tears and couldn't bear to even look. Tragic old people were essentially his emotional sore spot. 

Da Gong glances down at Jia Hyson and was startled to see the rather lethargic worm wiping his face against the toy donkey, faint pinpricks of wet spots forming on the toy's fabric from the tears. Da Gong stares at the little worm, concern in his eyes. 

Angrily Da Gong turns around to glare at Ye Cheng and the horse, blaming his human's bad driving skills as well as the horse for not pulling its weight and trying to keep the cart as smooth as possible. The worm is clearly ill and crying from pain ah! He had already shown off the greatness of his human and cart, strutting and boasting to the worm but if the worm becomes sick because of the cart then isn't it his fault? 

As the boss he will have to take the blame and lose face in front of the worm!

Ye Cheng: '…' Who's the boss? Who's the master? Am I the one not providing for you? (ﾉ￣□￣)ﾉ ~┻━┻

After being angrily squawked and pecked at for a few minutes Ye Cheng finally got the message being sent via angry rooster and changed the pace of his cart to a slower and steadier pace. Ye Cheng glanced at Da Gong who merely hmph-ed and turned away to hurriedly attend to his worm. There wasn't even a thank you.

Ye Cheng: '...' Okay, okay, you're the boss ah, you're the boss. _(QwQ _ )_

Ye Cheng bitterly continued steering the cart as he listens to his domineering bully of a rooster coax the small lizard with soft clucking and gentle strokes with his wing, a complete turnaround to how he just treated the one who raised and fed him for so many years. Is this the rooster trying to be a friend or raise a small wife ah?! 

The more Ye Cheng thought about it the worse he felt. He's in a cart with a rooster and a lizard but somehow he can't help but feel like he's being a third wheel being force-fed dog food. How come it seems like his chicken will find a girlfriend before he does ah?! 

Ye Cheng stares at his horse and reaches down to pat it's rump sadly, "You'll never leave me right Lok Lok?"

Lok Lok the horse turns around and snorts disdainfully at his master, farting at him before continuing to slowly walk across the beaten path. 

Ye Cheng chokes on the foul smell. 

QAQ Why is life so hard for a handsome single dog like himself ah?