Playing a video game for more than one thousand hours really does have its advantages.
Though his body had been weak in his past life, Qiu Yunru had always been smart, with a good memory. The one aspect of every playthrough of Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits that was consistent was the ingredients and potions available to the player. He had catalogued away in his mind every type of herb and ingredient in the game, along with the dozens to hundreds of potions that could be created. He knew where to find the rarest of ingredients, and how to find common ingredients that were hidden in plain sight. If only medical school was about potion-making and not human biology--he might have actually liked it! Thus, Qiu Yunru was able to formulate a plan that wouldn't require killing someone, but still used poison.
He spent the first few hours of the night walking around the city and collecting ingredients. From the sides of old buildings, he chipped rotted rosewood; he gathered jasmine petals off of vines; he crouched down over the cobblestone streets and picked at them until he had a handful of quartz. Lastly, he stole a piece of coal from a cooking fire. He then returned to the inn room, where he quietly brewed his plans into existence.
When he was finished, he had three long incense sticks: Permanent Weakness Incense. Yes, it was just as the name sounded--an incense that, once inhaled densely for three hours, would cause one's body and mind to permanently grow decrepit. Though you would still be alive after, you would barely be able to walk on your own, and words would come slowly. You definitely couldn't raise your hand against your defenseless nephew once you'd had a bit of this! Qiu Yunru just had to be careful not to breathe it in himself. Wouldn't it be laughable if he managed to disable himself in this world just as badly as he'd been in his past life?
He tied a cloth around his nose and mouth and set out with the incense sticks and a match for the Li Mansion. It was difficult to avoid the guards, but not impossible. It was still a Medium-level quest, after all. With careful timing, Qiu Yunru was able to make it to the roof of the house. Though his cultivation was low, this body was still limber, and somehow he climbed up without any hitches. He wandered around a little until he found the room where Li Fengguang was sleeping.
Inside was really a disgusting sight. Li Fengguang lay in bed, looking dead and wrinkled in his sleep. But he wasn't alone--he was surrounded by prostitutes! It seemed they had all fallen asleep together in his room. Lying across that greasy man's chest was a beautiful lady, sleeping at his feet was a pretty one, lying next to him was a graceful one--just how much money did this man have to purchase so many beauties to stay the night at his personal residence?! Qiu Yunru really hoped they were getting paid well...Who would spend the night with such a slimy geezer if they weren't receiving a mountain of gold?
However, whether or not they were getting paid properly wasn't close to the biggest problem.
If Qiu Yunru lit the incense and filled the room, all these innocent women would be disabled for life, too! His heart wilted. Such a perfect plan foiled by a man's lust and greed! He was probably impotent anyways! Qiu Yunru rubbed his temples and thought for a bit. What should he do?
The system dinged again, almost causing him to shriek (thankfully, het kept his mouth shut).
ATTENTION: There are five hours left to complete the mission, or 100 Reputation Points will be deducted. This may result in a warrant for the player's arrest. Player must use poison. Good luck!
Shut up! Shut up, shut up! Qiu Yunru snapped internally. You're turning my stomach! Let me think!
After thinking and thinking for nearly twenty minutes, Qiu Yunru was at a loss. He could try sneaking in to wake them up, but what if they screamed? He could try to send them a dream through cultivation, but with his skills, he'd probably give them nightmares and wake them screaming anyways! He could try to extract Li Fengguang's body, but that was riskier than all the others! Suddenly, a desperate thought struck him.
Could that work...? If he got lucky?
No, no. When had he ever gotten lucky in his life? Who was he kidding?
But...he didn't have much choice, did he?
Qiu Yunru leapt off the roof and ran back into the city. About five minutes later, he returned to the Li Mansion's roof, peering in the window. He swore and leapt off the roof again, hurrying back into the city. Then he returned again, peered in the window, swore, and left. He did this over and over again, until his legs burned like two logs in a bonfire. An hour passed, then two. Qiu Yunru leapt onto the mansion roof again, taking a moment to gasp for air with his hands clutching his knees. Sweat dripped down his forehead and into his eye, making his vision blurry. What the hell? What was the need for sweat in a video game? He rubbed his eyes, then stumbled over to Li Fengguang's window again. If it hadn't worked this time, he might as well jump in the window and slit Li Fengguang's throat! He really didn't care about not killing someone anymore, as long as he could salvage his poor reputation points! But as he peered in the window one last time, his eyes widened.
Fuck! Yes! It had actually worked!
Inside the room, Li Fengguang was lying alone. All of the women had disappeared! Qiu Yunru punched the air aimlessly to celebrate a small victory. Maybe he truly did have a little luck in his body!
What he had been hoping for was an annoying, but relatively common glitch in the Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits code. If you left the generation field of an area and returned, occasionally, characters who were not central to the plot of that area would despawn by accident. He had figured that, since Li Fengguang probably brought in different women whenever, and that he hadn't seen these prostitutes before, they were probably not essential to this quest. He had been correct! After two hours of exiting and re-entering the Li Mansion's generation field, he had gotten lucky, and they had all disappeared!
ATTENTION: There are three hours left to complete the mission, or 100 Reputation Points--
Qiu Yunru smacked the system, and it shut up. He was really out of time now. Permanent Weakness Incense took exactly three hours to work. Hurriedly, he pulled the cloth tightly over his face, lit the incense on the windowsill, and closed the door. He would have to retrieve it in the morning to get rid of the evidence. Having finally completed his mission, Qiu Yunru internally high-fived himself. He didn't leave the roof for fear that the ladies would respawn if he did. Instead, he sat there for three hours, running through the catalogues of ingredients and potions in his mind. He listed out all of the game glitches he could think of as well. Maybe he could grow strong faster using cheats!
He didn't notice two fierce eyes watching him from the darkness of another window nearby. Those eyes were filled with curiosity.