131: Chapter 131 The System's Light Bulb: A Pop-up Task Prompt

I buried my face in Xiao Jue's chest, my nose brushing against the herbal scent on his black martial attire—it was from when he helped me pick Condensation Grass earlier, mixed with a unique cool air under the moonlight, more effective than the "Soothing Incense" sold in the System mall. Just as I was about to nuzzle him a few more times, something gently poked the back of my neck, making me shrink back from the itchiness.

"Stop it." I thought Xiao Jue was playing a prank and reached out to pat his arm, but in the next second, a crisp "ding" echoed in my mind, and the System notification exploded in my ears like a clap of thunder:

[Ding! Detected that the host is in "Sweet Date Mode," triggering the System-exclusive "Third Wheel Task"—Given the host's recent excessive "display of affection" with Xiao Jue, causing the System's backend "Single Dog Data" to soar, an emergency task is now issued: Within 1 hour, collect 10 "Moonlit Ghost Lilies" with Xiao Jue and refine a "Concentric Pill" (can increase couple players' synergy by 5%). Task Reward: "Anti-Disturbance Barrier Talisman" x2 (valid for 24 hours); Task Failure: Deduct 100 bound gold coins and forcibly play "Single Dog Love Song" for 10 minutes (broadcast to all channels).]

I froze in Xiao Jue's arms on the spot, the smile on the corners of my mouth collapsing instantly, feeling as spicy and stifling as if I had swallowed a mouthful of lava bubblegum. Xiao Jue sensed something was wrong and looked down at me: "What's wrong? Your face looks so pale, did you catch a cold?"

I looked up, shoving my phone with the System prompt right in front of his eyes, my voice trembling with a sob: "Look! This broken System is doing it on purpose! We finally got some peace and quiet, and it just has to butt in as a third wheel! It even threatened to deduct 100 gold coins if I fail and play 'Single Dog Love Song' on all channels! Last time it took 50 gold coins, I was heartbroken for ages. If it takes 100 this time and lets the whole server know I'm a 'task failure,' where will I hide my face!"

Xiao Jue stared at the phone screen, his brow furrowing deeper. He reached toward my waist—I thought he was going to pull out some powerful Magical Artifact to help me confront the System, but instead, he pulled out an oil-paper bundle. Opening it revealed the leftover sugar-fried chestnuts, which he held to my lips: "First, eat a chestnut to calm down. I know about the Moonlit Ghost Lily; it's mentioned in the 'Encyclopedia of a Hundred Herbs.' It only blooms by the Cold Pool on full moon nights. The petals can be used in medicine, but you have to avoid 'Soul-Devouring Butterflies' when picking them, or they'll drain your spiritual power."

Chewing the chestnut, I asked indistinctly, "Then where is the Cold Pool? Is there enough time if we go pick them now? And that Concentric Pill, I've never refined it before. What if I mess it up?"

"Don't worry." Xiao Jue pulled me up and naturally picked up the bamboo basket for Spiritual Plants. "The Cold Pool isn't far from here, just north of the Black Water Marsh. I've scouted the terrain before. I also remember the Pill Formula for the Concentric Pill. It needs Moonlit Ghost Lily petals, plus the Condensation Grass you picked earlier and the Thousand-Year Red Blood Lingzhi fragments I gave you. It's not hard to refine."

As he spoke, he pulled a white cloak from his storage ring and wrapped it around me: "The wind by the Cold Pool is strong at night, don't get cold. By the way, bring the Frostfrost Sword; Soul-Devouring Butterflies are afraid of the cold aura of ironware."

I quickly slung the Frostfrost Sword onto my back and pocketed two handfuls of Itching Powder—just in case I met the Soul-Devouring Butterflies and couldn't win, I could at least scatter the powder and run. Old Black approached at some point, nudging my trouser leg with its head, its beady eyes sparkling as if it wanted to come along too. I patted its shell: "Old Black, you want to come with us too? Alright, it'll be good to have company on the road, and you can help us keep an eye out for any Yao Beasts."

The three of us (counting Old Black) walked toward the Cold Pool. The moonlight lit up the path brightly. Xiao Jue walked on my left, constantly shielding me toward the middle of the road and giving me a hand whenever we hit a pothole. Chewing on a chestnut, I suddenly remembered the "Concentric Pill" in the System task could increase synergy by 5% and couldn't help but ask him: "Xiao Jue, what do you think our current synergy is? Last time we fought the Black Water Mysterious Turtle, just as I was about to stab its eye, you blocked the black water for me. Does that count as synergy?"

His footsteps paused, and the tips of his ears turned red again. His voice was low: "It counts. My mother said true synergy isn't about discussing things beforehand; it's knowing what the other person is going to do as soon as they raise their hand. Just like how my father blocked a Yao Beast for my mother back then; she didn't say a word, but my father knew she was going to save an injured Spirit Deer."

My heart felt warm, and I reached out to hook my arm through his: "Then after we refine the Concentric Pill, our synergy will definitely be higher. Next time we fight a Yao Beast, I'll be in charge of poisoning, you'll be in charge of slashing, Su Tian will play the zither, and Ah Kai will control Iron Egg. We'll surely be invincible!"

Xiao Jue's body stiffened for a moment as I hooked my arm through his, then he slowly relaxed and even gently patted my hand: "Mhm. When the time comes, we'll go to the water branch of the Xuanxiao Realm together to find more treasures."

After walking for about fifteen minutes, we heard the sound of rushing water—the Cold Pool had arrived. The pool water shimmered with a faint blue light like a giant sapphire. On the rocks by the pool, there were indeed over a dozen white flowers blooming, their petals covered in dew and sparkling under the moonlight. They were exactly the Moonlit Ghost Lilies!

"Great! There really are Moonlit Ghost Lilies!" I was about to rush over to pick them when Xiao Jue pulled me back: "Wait, look at the trees by the pool."

I looked in the direction he pointed and saw dozens of black butterflies perched on several crooked trees, their wings shimmering with an eerie red light—they were Soul-Devouring Butterflies! They seemed to sense our arrival and began to fly slowly toward us, their wings flapping with a cold, chilling wind.

"What should we do? With so many Soul-Devouring Butterflies, we can't even get close!" I pulled out the Itching Powder, my palms sweating from nervousness. However, Xiao Jue pulled a copper bell from his storage ring and gave it a gentle shake—"Ding-ling," the crisp sound of the bell spread through the night. Hearing the bell, the Soul-Devouring Butterflies instantly stopped in mid-air, as if they had been frozen.

"This is the 'Clear Heart Bell,' which can suppress Yin-attribute Yao Beasts." Xiao Jue pulled me toward the pool: "Pick them quickly before they can react!"

I hurried to the Moonlit Ghost Lilies, put on my silver gloves from before, and carefully picked the petals—these petals were extremely delicate and would fall at a touch; I was terrified of crushing them. Xiao Jue kept an eye on the Soul-Devouring Butterflies for me, shaking the Clear Heart Bell from time to time and helping me put the picked petals into the bamboo basket. Old Black lay by the pool, using its shell to block a few Soul-Devouring Butterflies that had slipped through the net, preventing them from getting near me.

Soon, we had picked enough petals from 10 Moonlit Ghost Lilies. Xiao Jue shook the Clear Heart Bell and pulled me to run back: "Let's go, the effect of the Clear Heart Bell is about to wear off!"

We had only run a few steps when the Soul-Devouring Butterflies reacted and chased after us. I pulled out a handful of Itching Powder and threw it behind us—the powder landed right on the Soul-Devouring Butterflies, and they instantly fell into a chaotic mess, flapping their wings incessantly, no longer able to bother chasing us.

"Hahaha! My Itching Powder really is useful!" I laughed and clapped my hands. Xiao Jue laughed too, reaching out to wipe the sweat from my face: "You, always relying on these little tricks."

Back at the small mound in the medicine field, I quickly took out the Moonlit Ghost Lily petals, Condensation Grass, and Thousand-Year Red Blood Lingzhi fragments from the bamboo basket, then pulled out the Pill Furnace (obtained from a previous task; though it was Low Grade, it was barely usable). Xiao Jue helped me start the fire and handed me the Spiritual Plants one by one according to the proportions in the Pill Formula: "Put the Condensation Grass in first and warm it with spiritual power for three minutes, then add the Moonlit Ghost Lily petals, and finally the Lingzhi fragments. The heat must be controlled at a 'gentle flame'; don't be too hasty."

I did as he said, slowly injecting spiritual power into the Pill Furnace—with my previous experience refining the "Temporary Spirit-Increasing Ointment," I wasn't as flustered this time. The Spiritual Plants in the Pill Furnace slowly melted, turning into a pale pink liquid that emitted a faint fragrance. Xiao Jue stood beside me, helping me adjust the heat from time to time, his gaze incredibly focused.

Just then, Su Tian suddenly ran over holding her zither, with Ah Kai and Iron Egg following behind: "Yuluo! Xiao Jue! You two ran off so fast just now, did you run into a Yao Beast? We saw the System prompt in the guild chat saying you were doing a 'Couple Task,' so we hurried over to check!"

"Don't speak!" Xiao Jue quickly stopped her. "Yuluo is in the middle of Alchemy and cannot be distracted!"

Su Tian quickly covered her mouth, and Ah Kai had Iron Egg turn off its speaker. Old Black "gurgled" nearby, as if telling them to be quiet. I concentrated my mind and continued to control my spiritual power—the liquid in the Pill Furnace slowly condensed into two red pills that shimmered with a faint light.

"It's done!" I opened the Pill Furnace excitedly, and a mellow fragrance wafted out. The System notification sounded along with it:

[Ding! Congratulations to the host and Xiao Jue for successfully refining the "Concentric Pill" and completing the "Third Wheel Task"! The reward "Anti-Disturbance Barrier Talisman" x2 has been issued to your bag. Detected that the Concentric Pill purity reached 98%, additional reward "Couple Avatar Frame" x1 (unique to the whole server). System friendly reminder: Remember to use the Barrier Talisman in advance for your next date; this System never wants to be a third wheel again—by the way, the pills you refined smell really good, could you leave one for me?]

Looking at the System prompt, I rolled around laughing: "Hahaha! The System actually wants to eat my Concentric Pill! It doesn't even look to see if it has a mouth!"

Xiao Jue picked up a Concentric Pill and held it to my lips: "Eat it first; it can increase synergy." I opened my mouth and bit half, then handed the remaining half to him: "You eat it too; it only works if we increase our synergy together."

He was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth and ate the remaining half—the Medicinal Pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a warm current surged through my entire body. I felt as if a wonderful connection had formed between me and Xiao Jue; I could almost vaguely sense what he was thinking.

Su Tian leaned in, staring at the Concentric Pill in our hands, her eyes lighting up: "Wow! So this is the Concentric Pill! It looks so delicious. Yuluo, can you refine one for me too? Ah Kai and I want to increase our synergy too!"

"No!" Xiao Jue quickly put away the remaining Concentric Pill. "This pill requires Thousand-Year Red Blood Lingzhi, and I only had those few fragments left. We'll talk about it next time."

Ah Kai also joined in the teasing: "Brother Xiao, you're too stingy! It's just a pill. At most, we'll trade Iron Egg for it! Iron Egg can even play 'Tian Mi Mi' for you!"

Iron Egg nodded quickly, its mechanical claw making a "heart" gesture: "Trade! Iron Egg is willing to trade!"

I laughed so hard I slapped my leg. Although Xiao Jue's face was still a bit dark, he wasn't truly angry. He just pulled me to his side and took out the System-rewarded Anti-Disturbance Barrier Talisman from his bag: "Next time we use this, no one will be able to disturb us."

I took the Barrier Talisman, which had two little people holding hands drawn on it and shimmered with a faint golden light. My heart felt warm as I leaned into Xiao Jue's arms—although the System was always a third wheel, it brought us different adventures every time and made our feelings grow deeper and deeper.

Under the moonlight, the Spiritual Plants in the medicine field shimmered with a faint light. Old Black lay at our feet napping, Su Tian and Ah Kai were clamoring nearby to eat sugar-fried chestnuts, and Iron Egg was still playing "Tian Mi Mi." I touched the Water Spirit Bead in my bosom and looked at Xiao Jue beside me. Suddenly, I felt that even if the System was a pain and loved being a third wheel, it didn't matter—because with him by my side, every adventure and every task became the sweetest memory.

As for whether the System would come up with any more ridiculous tasks next time, I was no longer worried—after all, I had Xiao Jue, reliable teammates, a whole field of Spiritual Plants, and sweet sugar-fried chestnuts. Even the most difficult task could be completed together.

After all, we are the people who are going to travel through all the Small Worlds in the "Fantasy World Realm" and become "Chosen Ones." How could we be stumped by a little System third wheel!