Chapter 4 System Deduction Criteria

Shen Qingqiu knew exactly what he was thinking. He must have found Ning Yingying's affectionate way of calling Luo Binghe increasingly irritating. Shen Qingqiu had already complained countless times about this kind of cannon fodder's inexplicably high hatred for the protagonist in the original work, and it had never improved.

Ning Yingying, being a little girl at heart, tilted her head and asked, "What fun things does Senior Brother have? Show them to me quickly."

Mingfan put on a smile again, took a jade pendant from his waist, and handed it to her: "Junior sister, my family came to visit this time and brought me a lot of nice and interesting trinkets. This one is especially beautiful, so I'll give it to you!"

Ning Yingying took it and examined it closely in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Ming Fan asked eagerly, "What do you think? Do you like it?"

Having spied on this scene, Shen Qingqiu finally remembered. This part of the plot!

Oh no, he shouldn't have come here, it's dangerous!

But you can't blame him for not remembering clearly. You expect someone who criticizes an idiotic author and idiotic writing to remember the very beginning of a novel that was serialized for four years and spans two hundred years? He took twenty days to finish reading it, and he's completely forgotten that introductory section that was purely for the sake of being tragic!

Sure enough, Ning Yingying couldn't tell the quality at all. After looking at it haphazardly for a while, she tossed the jade pendant back. Ming Fan's smile froze on his face. Ning Yingying wrinkled her nose and casually said, "What is this? The color is awful. It's not even as nice as A Luo's."

This time, not only was Guangming Fan's face pale, but even Luo Binghe, who had always been very self-aware and pretended not to exist, shuddered slightly and suddenly opened his eyes.

Ming Fan forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "...Junior Brother also wears an ancient jade Buddha?"

Luo Binghe hesitated for a moment, and before he could answer, Ning Yingying interrupted, "Of course he has one. He wears it around his neck all the time, but he won't even let me see it."

Even though Luo Binghe was usually very calm, his expression changed at this moment, and he subconsciously gripped the jade Guanyin pendant hidden in his clothes around his neck.

The intelligence of the many female characters in this story is truly baffling to Shen Qingqiu.

Ning Yingying didn't consider the consequences when she said those words. She only noticed that Luo Binghe always wore a jade Guanyin pendant close to his body and never took it off.

Girls always want to get their hands on the things their crushes cherish, but Luo Binghe just wouldn't give them to her, so she brought it up again because she was unwilling to give up.

Of course he wouldn't give it up! That was a blessed artifact that Luo Binghe's mother, a washerwoman, had painstakingly saved up for most of her life to obtain for her son. It was a source of warmth in Luo Binghe's dark world, and even during his most severe period of corruption, it allowed him to salvage a sliver of his humanity. How could he just give it away so easily!

Mingfan was both angry and jealous, but in the end, the reproach in Ning Yingying's words gave way to his anger. He stepped forward and said sternly, "Junior Brother Luo, you really have quite the airs. You won't even let Junior Sister Ning Yingying see your jade pendant. If this continues, will you not even be willing to lend a helping hand when facing powerful enemies in the future?"

What the hell! What's the connection between these two things?!

Ning Yingying hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and stamped her foot in frustration: "If he doesn't want to, then so be it. Senior brother, don't bully him!"

How could Luo Binghe possibly defeat Ming Fan now? A group of Ming Fan's lackeys surrounded him, and before long, the jade Guanyin pendant fell from his neck into Ming Fan's hand. He held it up and looked at it for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Ning Yingying asked curiously, "What...what are you laughing at?"

Ming Fan tossed the jade pendant into Ning Yingying's hand, saying smugly, "I thought it was some rare treasure, that's why I was protecting it so carefully. Junior Sister, guess what? It's a fake, hahaha..."

Ning Yingying asked in confusion, "Fake? A counterfeit?"

Luo Binghe slowly clenched his fist, a dark current surging in his eyes, and said, word by word, "Give it back to me."

Shen Qingqiu's fingers involuntarily flexed and extended slightly a few times.

He was well aware that the jade Guanyin was a fake, and that it was one of Luo Binghe's biggest sources of anger.

The laundry woman of yesteryear, despite her frugal lifestyle, was swindled out of her due to her limited knowledge, buying counterfeit goods at an exorbitant price. Heartbroken, her health deteriorated afterward, a pain that Luo Binghe could never truly heal. This was the one thing Luo Binghe could never tolerate!

As an observer, Shen Qingqiu really wanted to step in, beat Ming Fan up, snatch the jade pendant back, and throw it to Luo Binghe.

Moreover, this way, Mingfan might not completely offend Luo Binghe, and might even be able to save his life in the future.

Ming Fan picked up the jade pendant from Ning Yingying's hand again, pretending to be disgusted, and said, "I'll give it back to you. It's probably a cheap item I bought at some street stall. I'm afraid it will dirty my junior sister's hands." He said this, but he had no intention of returning it.

Luo Binghe's face tightened, and suddenly he threw out both fists, hitting the low-level disciples who were holding him back.

When provoked, a person's fists and feet become chaotic, driven only by a surge of anger. At first, this intimidated the lower-ranking disciples, but they were quickly discovered to be incredibly weak. Ming Fan then called out from above, "What are you all standing there for? How dare you lay a hand on your senior brother? Let's teach him what respect for elders is!" They immediately regained their courage and surrounded Luo Binghe, giving him a good beating.

Ning Yingying was stunned and cried out, "Senior brother! How could you do this! Tell them to stop right now, or else... or else I'll never talk to you again!"

Ming Fan panicked: "Junior sister, don't be angry, I'll tell them to stop hitting this kid..." Before he could finish speaking, Luo Binghe broke free from the group of hands and feet and pounced on Ming Fan, punching him in the nose.

With a loud cry of "Ouch!", two streams of blood immediately flowed from Mingfan's nostrils.

Ning Yingying, whose eyes were already brimming with tears, couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw this.

Shen Qingqiu: ...Little sister, do you like Luo Binghe or do you want to harm him?!

Mingfan could have let Luo Binghe off the hook, but now that he's embarrassed himself in front of his sweetheart, he can't let it go so easily!

Seeing the two wrestling, Luo Binghe, despite his intelligence, was still young and hadn't studied any formal texts. He was clearly being beaten one-sidedly, yet he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound. Shen Qingqiu instinctively wanted to intervene. However, the system blared a deadly alarm: [Severe OOC! Severe OOC! Severe OOC! I'll say it three times! 'Shen Qingqiu' should choose to stand by and watch in this situation!]

Shen Qingqiu was unaware of the consequences of violating the rules and could not take the risk rashly. Just as he was getting anxious, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with a compromise.

The Cangqiong Mountain Sect possesses a minor spell called "Plucking Leaves and Flying Flowers," which seems rather useless, merely pretty and interesting. The original novel describes how Luo Binghe easily won the heart of a minor female character using it. Shen Qingqiu, who has been frantically studying various martial arts manuals lately, has also come across records of this minor spell.

He casually picked a leaf, poured a little spiritual energy into it, and the first time he poured too much, the leaf couldn't bear it and immediately shattered into pieces. He succeeded on the second time. He held it between his fingertips, blew on it gently, and flicked his wrist. The leaf shot straight towards Ming Fan like a flying knife!

Hearing Mingfan let out a long scream, Shen Qingqiu shook his hand and wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead.

No wonder they say that a master can injure someone with a single flower or tree. He shouldn't have killed Mingfan with that shot, right...?

Luo Binghe took several punches and kicks, but suddenly felt Ming Fan stagger back. He looked up and saw blood flowing from his forehead and eyes, but to his surprise, Ming Fan reached out and found his palm covered in blood as well.

Mingfan exclaimed in disbelief, "You dare to hurt me with a knife?!"

Ning Yingying, who had been too afraid to approach them earlier because of their fierce fight, quickly stepped between them, saying, "No, no, A Luo didn't use a knife. He didn't hurt me!"

Luo Binghe, also bewildered, pursed his lips and wiped the blood from his forehead. Ming Fan had blood seeping from his back, as if he had been slashed by a sword. He questioned the other disciples, "Did you see clearly just now? Did he have a knife?"

The junior disciples looked at each other, some shaking their heads, some nodding, a chaotic mess.

Ming Fan, the pampered young master, had never suffered such physical pain. Looking at his hands covered in blood, he felt a pang of panic. But what puzzled him was that he couldn't find any sharp weapons on the ground or on Luo Binghe's frail body. Surely they couldn't have simply vanished.

Shen Qingqiu held his breath. Suddenly, his vision turned red, and a huge line of floating text popped up in front of him, a shocking blood red.

[Violation: Out of Character. B-grade rating -10. Current B-grade rating: 90.]

Shen Qingqiu breathed a sigh of relief. His initial estimate was that around 50 points would be deducted, or even none at all; he only got 10, which was better than he expected. Now, he could always try to get it back later. But his relief was short-lived. Ming Fan pointed at Luo Binghe and shouted, "Give it to him!"

Shen Qingqiu nearly vomited a mouthful of blood.

Several disciples rushed forward as instructed, and Shen Qingqiu instinctively plucked a few leaves, which flew out with a whoosh.

He regretted it as soon as he made the move.

What am I even doing this for? Luo Binghe is the male lead, after all. He's been ganged up on before, he's not going to be beaten to death, is he?!

Why should you worry about this?!

We managed to get away with that last time, but this is perfect; no one can possibly miss something's wrong now!

Several disciples, all wounded, dared not surround Luo Binghe any longer and instead approached Ming Fan with suspicion and uncertainty. "Senior Brother! What happened?" "Senior Brother, I think I was cut by a knife too!"

Ming Fan's face turned pale, and after a long pause, he finally uttered, "Let's go!" before leading a group of followers, some clutching their backsides and others clinging to their arms, away in a grand procession. They truly came like the wind and left like the wind. Ning Yingying stood there blankly for a while, then called out, "A Luo, did you chase them away just now?"

Luo Binghe shook his head with a gloomy expression. He barely straightened up, but his expression was tense. He bent over and searched the ground, turning over fallen leaves, withered branches and spring mud.

Shen Qingqiu knew what he was looking for; it was naturally the jade pendant that had been lost in the chaos of battle.

As an observer, he saw clearly that Mingfan had casually tossed the red rope away before the fight even started, and it ended up hanging high in the treetop above their heads. But those involved were blinded by their own perspective, and he couldn't offer any advice. Moreover, after that handful of leaves flew out, he heard the system's heartbreaking voice: "Violation: OOC. B-level -10 x 6. Current B-level: 30."

It instantly fell below the passing grade!

Is a single leaf worth 10 points in terms of emotion? That's not a fair and simplistic calculation!

Ning Yingying didn't dare to speak either. After all, she was the one who caused this trouble. If she hadn't been so talkative, Luo Binghe wouldn't have lost his jade pendant and been beaten for no reason. She immediately started helping Luo Binghe search for it.

But as darkness fell, they had, of course, found nothing.

Luo Binghe stood there, stunned, staring at the mess. They had searched an entire area, but still couldn't find it.

Seeing him so distraught, Ning Yingying felt a little scared and took his hand: "A Luo, if you can't find it, don't give up. I'm sorry, I'll make you another one later, okay?"

Luo Binghe ignored her, slowly withdrew his hand, and walked out of the woods with his head down. Ning Yingying quickly followed.

Shen Qingqiu was truly impressed with himself. These two kids had been searching all afternoon, and he had just spent the whole afternoon watching them... What other explanation could there be besides being incredibly bored?

After they had gone far away, he emerged from his hiding place, looked up, and with a light step, he experienced what it meant to be "light as a swallow" and easily took down the jade pendant hanging from the treetop.

Shen Qingqiu did want to secretly return it to Luo Binghe, but he was familiar with the system's nature; that would definitely be considered a violation. He didn't have any extra points to waste.

After thinking about it, Shen Qingqiu decided to keep it for the time being.

Perhaps this jade pendant will come in very useful in the future. For example, it could be used as a bargaining chip to exchange for one's life in a critical moment? Shen Qingqiu seriously considered this possibility.

At that moment, a line of large, three-dimensional green characters suddenly appeared before my eyes.

"Congratulations! You have obtained a key item: Fake Jade Guanyin x1. This changes the plot, increasing 'Shen Qingqiu's' IQ by 100. Current B-level: 130. Keep up the good work!"

The points that were just deducted have not only been made up, but have actually increased!

Moreover, given its influence on Luo Binghe, this jade Guanyin is definitely a high-level item, used to save his life!

What a pleasant surprise!

Shen Qingqiu felt a wave of relief wash over him, and the frustration of squatting in the dark all afternoon vanished. Even the system's annoying voice, which sounded exactly like Google Translate, became incredibly pleasant!

Outside the woods, Luo Binghe, who had already left the back mountain, slowly loosened his fist.

Several whole green leaves lay in my palm. The edges of the leaves were sharp and stained with blood.