Chapter 6: The Return of the Soul (06)

As the Han Emperor’s winter palace, the greenhouse lived up to its name, with the interior warm like spring.

Liu Che stood, watching the palace attendants carry out the items he used daily.

Liu Bang walked over, gazed deeply at Liu Che, then meaningfully patted his shoulder. His broad palm gently rested on Liu Che’s shoulder, lingering for a moment before he removed it.

Both dressed in imperial robes, both former masters of the greenhouse hall, their eyes met with infinite understanding.

Liu Che lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly. Liu Bang lightly patted his shoulder again, letting out a sigh reminiscent of when he faced Xiang Yu.

The system weakly said, “This grandfather and grandson, truly pitiful, enduring the same hardship.”

Lin Jiu said, “So touching, I want to take a picture to commemorate it.”

The system was silent for ten seconds.

After a moment, the system perked up and said to Lin Jiu, “Here, I’ll give you a benefit. When you achieve the [Master of the Han Palace] achievement, I can let you leave a CG picture.”

“This function was supposed to open after you level up as a host. Now, I’m letting you experience it early, like a group photo with the three of you.”

“As for what you need to do, it’s simple. Just treat Liu Che a bit better, make him happier, stop making it so tragic.”

“No problem, I’ll handle it, don’t worry,” Lin Jiu said loudly.

Before the system could respond, Lin Jiu stood up, walked toward Liu Che, getting closer and closer until her eyelashes almost brushed against his eyes.

She had no expression, and Liu Che’s face turned pale. The system was already considering calling the authorities!

Previously, when binding, the system had promised Lin Jiu [Unlimited Beauty].

Now, this promise had been fully realized on Lin Jiu.

However, as with all things in the world, there is a rule that “too much is as bad as too little.” When beauty reached its peak, it became something else entirely, turning into a chilling, eerie feeling in Lin Jiu.

Looking at her face made one realize that it wasn’t a human face at all, but something created by supernatural powers, a face forcibly molded with the concept of “beauty.”

Especially with the enhancement of the [Return of the Soul] set, this sense of the inhuman was amplified to a terrifying degree.

Lin Jiu slowly licked her lips, her tongue a deep crimson.

—–

The inhuman quality of her presence was magnified by this gesture, revealing a cold divinity—or perhaps, a ferocity.

At this close distance, with a single movement, she could tear open Liu Che’s throat!

The scene was so eerie and terrifying that no one dared speak. The palace attendants, coming and going, gradually stopped in their tracks.

Finally, everyone stopped, the sound of footsteps and the rustling of clothes faded, and even the breathing was slowed down, the vast greenhouse hall silent, where one could hear a pin drop.

Then, Lin Jiu suddenly spoke, saying, “The Emperor is not happy.”

Liu Che suddenly felt that this scene was very strange.

The goddess was saying “happy,” using a word to describe an emotion, but there was no fluctuation in her voice at all.

Could she understand human emotions? Did she truly know what happiness and unhappiness meant?

He was lost in thought, then heard the goddess say, “Be happy.”

She said it forcefully, each word pronounced clearly, as if giving an order.

Liu Che’s mind was a mess.

“Happy,” the goddess wanted to see him happy, so he had to make himself happy.

No problem, he could do that. He could act however the goddess wanted him to.

But, what would happiness look like in the goddess’s eyes?

He stood still, silent, and no one dared speak. The silence in the greenhouse hall was so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

It was unclear what the goddess understood from this silence, but she suddenly raised her hand, her fingers touching the corners of her mouth, then pulled them forcefully!

One of the maids let out a startled cry, but was immediately silenced by the maid beside her.

Footsteps followed, and someone quickly dragged the frightened maid, who was collapsed on the floor, out of the room.

Liu Che’s breathing paused for a moment.

The goddess… seemed to think she had shown a smiling face.

But what kind of smile was that? The upper half of her face was expressionless, her eyes cold as if they lacked any warmth, while her mouth was stretched wide, as if in a laugh.

Her lips, overstretched, exposed her bright red gums and white teeth, and the expression on the upper and lower halves of her face was completely disconnected.

The future great emperor’s poise showed in this moment, as Liu Che moved his lips.

Then, slowly and stiffly, he forced out a reluctant smile.

Fearing that his smile was not exaggerated enough, he imitated the goddess, lifting his hand to stretch the corners of his mouth.

The goddess lowered her hand, and the corners of her lips returned to their original position, with only red marks around her mouth, reminding Liu Che that what he had seen earlier was not an illusion.

She said, “Still, not happy.”

Liu Che rubbed his face, then his aching mouth, and forced another smile.

This scene looked strange, like a childish and absurd game called “Smile Happily.”

The greenhouse hall was filled with people.

Men and women, attendants and maids.

Everyone silently bowed their heads, listening as the Emperor and the goddess played their game of smiles.

—–

In the end, no one could count how many smiles Liu Che had put on before the goddess was satisfied.

“Click,” the scene froze.

At this moment, it was the fourth year of Jian Yuan, in the greenhouse hall.

In the center of the scene was the Emperor’s brilliant smile.

He was nineteen years old, very handsome, and at this moment his smile was indeed beautiful. Anyone who saw this smile would feel a sense of happiness growing from his heart.

His happiness was so great, it seemed as though his heart would explode with a “bang” at any second.

The goddess stood opposite him, her profile in the frame, her indifference softened by the angle, revealing a serene beauty.

Behind them, Liu Bang, dressed in his old imperial robes, stood with his hands behind his back, slightly turning his face, seemingly looking at some corner of the greenhouse hall, his expression indifferent.

The system spoke in a weary voice, “Congratulations on unlocking the special achievement [Heart Fluttering], Emperor Liu Che at the age of nineteen, his heart fluttering in confusion, just like a flag fluttering in the wind.”

After saying this, the system fell silent.

Lin Jiu said, “Eh, another achievement?”

The system replied, “This achievement means that for a long time, whenever Liu Che thinks of you, his heartbeat will become irregular.”

“Heart fluttering points will be automatically credited for a long period.” Lin Jiu summarized.

“This is indeed a good thing, but I must say, the correct way to achieve this [achievement] should be to make Liu Che fall in love, not leave him with psychological trauma.”

“It doesn’t matter, Liu Che will become strong on his own,” Lin Jiu said.

The system took a deep breath, barely managing to say, “We can’t go on like this.”

“At this rate, Liu Che will fear you, and there will be two outcomes: either he will distance himself from you, or he will try to kill you.”

“As for now, didn’t Liu Che just escape from the greenhouse hall? I can guarantee that, at least for the next three days, he won’t appear in your sight.”

At this point, the system realized something was wrong with Lin Jiu’s expression and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Then the system widened its mouth, once again stunned.

It saw Liu Che, smiling broadly, walking back in, and smiling again as he invited Lin Jiu to a feast in honor of the goddess’s arrival.

The system fell into a long silence, until dusk, when it finally mustered enough energy to speak.

“Special side quest [Han Palace Night Feast] triggered. Please achieve the [Attention of the Masses] goal at the feast. The rewards will be based on the completion of the goal.”

“Hm?” Lin Jiu asked, intrigued, “Special side quest?”

The system explained, “It can be understood as a special event triggered in the game, and rewards are usually good. Since the first main task [Catch the Attention of Emperor Liu Che] has been completed, you can now exchange for new clothes.”

The system provided clothing in four levels: SSR (Super Rare), SR (Rare), R (Uncommon), and N (Normal).

To exchange for clothes, two things are needed: exchange eligibility and exchange points.

The evaluation received for completing a task is the exchange qualification, and the “heart value” of Emperor Wu of Han is the exchange points.

Lin Jiu’s first mainline task was completed with an SSR-level achievement, which is equivalent to obtaining exchange qualifications for all clothing below and including the SSR level.

The system analyzed for Lin Jiu, “The difficulty of the [Special Dungeon] is very high, but since you now have the title of goddess, it will be much easier. In my opinion, you should exchange for this SSR [Xiaoxiang Shuiwu] set—”

Lin Jiu replied, “You’re right, the goddess’s prestige should not drop, so I’ll exchange for this R-level [Big Sweet Potato Set]—” she clicked the exchange button as she spoke.

“…” The system silently dried up.

The delicacy of the clothing is reflected in its level, and the style is shown in its name.

SSR [Xiaoxiang Shuiwu], the original design was meant to imitate the graceful dancing of the legendary Xiaoxiang goddess in the water. The entire set of clothes is exquisite, beautiful, and ethereal, very suitable for the identity of the “goddess.”

On the other hand, the [Big Sweet Potato Set] is R-level, and its delicacy can’t be expected, but it is somewhat special.

It is a mascot costume, like the ones given out during mall promotions, designed to resemble a sweet potato. When worn, the person becomes a walking sweet potato, with even the face hidden.

The system asked hesitantly, “…Are you going to wear this to the banquet?”

Lin Jiu responded, “First of all, it’s not called ‘this thing,’ it’s called the [Big Sweet Potato Set].”

The system struggled to breathe, quickly ordered a cyber breathing machine, and while inhaling oxygen, said to Lin Jiu, “…Fortunately, I’ve prepared a backup plan.”

It perked up, “Aside from doubling the heart value, [Achievement] has another use. Collecting three [Achievements] can randomly exchange for a set of clothing, and you now have three [Achievements].”

“So?” Lin Jiu’s eyes brightened.

The system shouted, “So quickly exchange for new clothes! Are you really going to wear the [Big Sweet Potato Set] to the banquet?!”