156 Every Dilemma Has a Solution (2/2)
Side Quest: Leave Yuan Shaoqing and His Clan Alone!
Clear Conditions:
1. Do not intervene with the Yuan Clan's affairs until the next Holy Land Tournament
2. Yuan Shaoqing must survive!
Failure Condition: Yuan Shaoqing dies.
Rewards:
1. Yuan Hua will give you the dryad's plane and the control of the plane's laws.
2. If Yuan Shaoqing kills Ju Chen, Ju Shoufen, or Jia Wenhe, Yuan Hua will compensate you with one divine-grade pill, one divine-grade cauldron, and one element crystal of your choice.
3. Every year, Yuan Hua will give you 100 magical wet bananas and random immortal-grade pills as bribes.
Failure Penalty: Yuan Hua will be forever your enemy. She will send protagonists and antagonists to hunt you while you're in the mortal world. If you ascend to the divine realm, she will hunt you down personally.
System Sponsor's Note1: Yuan Hua will do her best to convince Yuan Shaoqing not to touch Ju Shoufen. You can expect a long period of peaceful time within the sect, and
System Sponsor's Note2: Yuan Hua will also bribe you 100 magical wet bananas every year as long as you ignore the Yuan Clan's activities in the Myriad Cauldron Sect.
System Sponsor's Note3: If you have a brain, you know what to do.
--
The system was toying with Cao Mao. Now, it gave him branch side quests.
However, upon a careful study, Cao Mao found loopholes in their quests. He grinned as he had an couple of ideas how he could exploit them. Also, he chose not to do it in a cliche way.
”System, are both quests forced on me at the same time?”
Ding
\u003cYes.\u003e
”Can I negotiate with either the Sun Crow or Yuan Hua?”
Ding
\u003cYes.\u003e
”Good. Well, please tell Goddess Yuan Hua. She should expel Ju Shoufen from the sect and send her to us. Then, tell the Sun Crow to cancel the killing parts. If he is willing to compromise, Yuan Hua has to ensure Ju Shoufen and her family's safety. How's that?”
Ding
\u003cThe messages have been relayed.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow dislikes your idea, but he's willing to compromise as long as Ju Shoufen is unharmed.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua is delighted. She is currently negotiating with the Sun Crow.\u003e
The branch quests sounded complicated at glance, but it could be easily exploited. Why should he choose to complete one when he could negotiate with both Gods and complete both quests?
The purpose of the Sun Crow was to rescue Ju Shoufen. Therefore, killing Yuan Shaoqing was unnecessary. As for Yuan Hua, she was just trying to protect her family. If Cao Mao could cut the killing conditions out, both quests could be resolved peacefully.
It didn't take long for the system to announce the result.
Ding
\u003cYuan Hua has negotiated with the Sun Crow and agreed to change the content of your side quest.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua has canceled her side quest, but she will give you 100 wet bananas as compensation. She has dispatched her vessel to escort Ju Shoufen out of the sect.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow agrees to cancel his side quest. He will give you something as compensation for your advice.\u003e
Cao Mao laughed.
”See? It's so simple. Why should I make things complicated when we can bend the rules with a simple talk?”
Ding
\u003cFor a moment there, Your Sponsor thought that you would have abused the yearly bribe and betrayed Yuan Hua in the future. He is shocked.\u003e
”Are you taking me for a fool? Heck, these quests are waving death flags in the air! Why should I go through one of those cliché plot lines and get myself into trouble when I can end the conflict on the spot with a simple move!? Why do I have to worry about someone else when I have my own issues and my campaign quests!? Screw Ju Shoufen, screw Yuan Shaoqing, and screw you, too, my sponsor! I'm taking shortcuts whenever I want!”
Ding
\u003cYour Sponsor is speechless.\u003e
\u003cThe Sword God Kunwu bursts into laughter.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow shakes his head and sighs.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua nods in admiration.\u003e
Now that the matter regarding higher entities had been cleared, Cao Mao concentrated on healing his internal injuries from the previous electric shock even though he still had several questions to ask Jia Wenhe and Ju Chen.
'Ju Shoufen is fucking Ju Chen's grandmother or some sort, isn't she? And… What relation is Jia Wenhe to Ju Shoufen?'