55: Brother, I'm begging you.

"Faster, a bit faster!"

"Faster, faster, even faster! That demon is coming, that demon is coming!"

"Fellow Daoist, stop being so soft-hearted!"

"Do it now!"

The world of cultivation is a cruel one, and Zhou Yan had seen plenty of it.

But the person before him...

Could a human truly break to such an extent?

Iron Second Ox's entire face was completely reshaped by terror.

His eyes were wide as if splitting open, bloodshot, his pupils shrunk into two trembling black dots.

His nostrils flared rapidly, his lips were deathly pale, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

His muscles twisted into a stiff expression that was neither a cry nor a laugh, and cold sweat covered his sallow skin like oil.

All his despair finally twisted into a single sentence squeezed through his teeth: "Kill me."

"Ding, you have received the Encounter Quest: 'Redemption'."

Oh? An Encounter Quest actually triggered?

These kinds of random Encounter Quests usually didn't provide experience or currency rewards, but they would randomly give a certain amount of special rewards.

The reward content and quantity were unknown.

For these Easter egg-like special tasks, Zhou Yan might not have seen one even after a month of map-clearing in his previous life.

He had heard that the unlucky ones on the African King Leaderboard, in order to get an Encounter Quest to boost their Luck Score slightly, would even hire Professional Boosters just to drop a few ranks on the leaderboard and save some face.

Encounter Quests were very rare; since he had come across one, he might as well lend a hand.

A golden bow suddenly appeared in his left hand, radiating brilliant light.

His right fingers drew the string, and a speck of silver light condensed with it.

Seeing that Silver Bullet as brilliant as a meteor, a smile finally appeared on Iron Second Ox's twisted face.

He knelt on the ground and opened his arms, like a lamb welcoming a descending angel.

"Pfft."

Iron Second Ox's body fell to the ground, the black Qi around him already dissipated. However, the bloody hole in his forehead contrasted with the blissful expression on his face, creating a strange sense of holiness.

"Ding, Encounter Quest 'Redemption' completed."

"Congratulations to the player for obtaining Karma +20."

"Detected that the player's Karma has reached 100 for the first time, rewarding the title [Good Person (Excellent)]."

[Good Person (Excellent)]: Slightly increases the initial favorability of NPCs.

"Aaaaah! My last bit of Karma!"

Just as Iron Second Ox fell, a Daoist priest flew in from afar on a sword.

The Daoist looked young and ordinary; while not handsome, the righteous aura between his brows was very reassuring.

The Daoist lunged forward, grabbing Iron Second Ox's still-warm corpse, and began to wail in pain.

"Second Ox! You can't die!"

"So many of my Karma sources have died, and you were the only one left! If you die too, what will happen to my Karma!"

"Even... even if you have to die, at least drop the Karma for me before you go! Are you... are you all worthy of my month and a half of hard work?"

"Waaaaah (ｉДｉ)"

Uh oh, did I stumble into a Badger Game scam?

A Daoist priest mourning a demonic cultivator—what kind of plot twist is this?

"Uh, Daoist Priest?"

"Look, I don't know what happened; I only stepped in because he looked like that."

"If there's an issue, I can explain."

The Daoist priest finally snapped out of it and looked at Zhou Yan.

No mistake, it was Karma.

He had seen it clearly just now; a wisp of Karma, exceeding the normal amount, had indeed entered this person's body.

There is a kind of sorrow in this world called not making money yourself, and another kind of sorrow called not making it yourself and then seeing someone else make it.

The Daoist tossed Iron Second Ox aside and tightly grabbed Zhou Yan's shoulders. His originally righteous face was now full of urgency as he leaned in close and shouted.

"Did you just get Karma?!"

"Did you?!"

Just as Zhou Yan thought a conflict was about to erupt, the Daoist's expression suddenly shifted, and he shook Zhou Yan with a pleading look.

"Please, brother, I'm really begging you."

"How did you manage to get so much Karma?"

"As long as you tell me, I'll do anything."

"Hey, stop, stop shaking me. Let go of me first."

After checking the mini-map, the Daoist in front of him hadn't changed; he was still a neutral NPC. Thus, Zhou Yan temporarily lowered the golden bow he had been ready to fire.

Hearing Zhou Yan's words, the Daoist realized he was being rude. He quickly let go, stepped back a few paces, and kicked Iron Second Ox's corpse aside for good measure.

He then performed a Daoist salute and introduced himself to Zhou Yan.

"I was too impatient just now and didn't consider your feelings, Fellow Daoist. It was indeed my fault; please accept my apologies."

Zhou Yan frowned. He didn't much like this guy who got physical right away, as it reminded him of a certain unpleasant shit-tier mob.

Thinking of avoiding further involvement, Zhou Yan was about to refuse when he saw the other man pull a handful of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch.

"Ahem, Daoist Priest, you're far too kind. It was just a small matter, no offense taken at all." With a flick of his finger, the Spirit Stones in the Daoist's hands turned into streaks of light and entered Zhou Yan's arms.

"This... I don't know yet, how should I address you, Daoist Priest?"

Speaking of his origins, the other man's urgent expression calmed down. He straightened his appearance and introduced himself to Zhou Yan.

"This humble Daoist is surnamed Xiao, given name Xiao Sheng. I have officially joined the Kurong Temple and entered the Yuan Generation, receiving the name Xiao Yuansheng."

"Oh~, so it's the talented Daoist Priest Xiao from the Kurong Temple. A pleasure to meet you; I have long heard of the Kurong Temple's great name."

Hearing this, Xiao Sheng's face turned strange.

"Fellow Daoist, do you actually have no idea what the Kurong Temple is?"

Xiao Sheng's single sentence caused the atmosphere to instantly turn cold.

Seeing Zhou Yan's awkward expression, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't mind me, Fellow Daoist, don't mind me. I thought my reputation had fallen to such a low point. Since you don't know the Kurong Temple, that makes sense."

"You needn't worry about it either. Our temple is located in the Southern Desert; it's only natural that people from the Northern Border wouldn't know of it."

Hearing Xiao Sheng's explanation, Zhou Yan's awkwardness eased, and he introduced himself.

"I am Zhou Yan."

And then?

That's it?

Xiao Sheng was curious about Zhou Yan's brief self-introduction.

Usually, when people meet, they first announce their lineage. Even if they don't mention their master's heritage, they should at least state their place of origin.

But this person didn't even want to mention a place name.

However, since the apology was made, the gift given, and names exchanged, it was time to get back to the main point.

"Fellow Daoist, tell me quickly, how did you obtain so much Karma?"

Xiao Sheng's eyes turned red again, and his righteous appearance vanished once more.

Zhou Yan scratched his head, not knowing how to explain for a moment.

"Actually, I didn't do much. He actively sought death and asked me to kill him, so I did. There wasn't much else to it."

"Is it that simple?"

"It's that simple."

"Hahaha, impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"I have traveled the world of cultivation for quite some time and have conducted many experiments."

"The Karma he carried himself—simply killing him would never grant that much Karma."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths trying to deliver him."

"Isn't Deliverance something monks do?"

"Aren't you a Daoist priest?"

Zhou Yan asked a Soul-searching question. Now he somewhat understood why Xiao Sheng had been so out of sorts.

It turned out he had stolen the man's KPI.

But why was this Daoist priest competing with monks for Deliverance KPIs?

Xiao Sheng burst into laughter and said with a serious face:

"Since ancient times, Daoism and Buddhism have been of one family. Whether it's exorcising demons or Deliverance, any method that earns Karma is a good method."

"But that's not the important thing. The important thing is for you to tell me quickly, what exactly did you do?"

This Daoist looked very righteous, but his way of speaking sounded quite improper. However, since he had taken the money, he had to answer.

"That's really all I did. It's just that he looked very desperate at the time, and after I killed him, he looked completely relieved instead."

After speaking, Zhou Yan pointed to Iron Second Ox lying to the side with a blissful smile on his face.

"That can't be right?"

After Zhou Yan confirmed it again, Xiao Sheng began to reflect on what he had done.

"Fellow Daoist, there's one more thing."

"Before he died, he seemed to be vaguely shouting something about a demon coming. Could that have something to do with it?"