While Maid Xiao Suo was treating the girl they had encountered on the road, Ren Suo was controlling Young Master Mu to inspect Investigation Point No. 26, a warehouse.

This warehouse was a location where clues could be investigated. Because a special plot had finally been triggered, Ren Suo was in a good mood. He had Young Master Mu check every nook and cranny of the warehouse, even clicking "Further Investigation" several times when "Mouse Droppings" appeared in the corners.

Such a carpet-bombing style of investigation indeed yielded more information than previous attempts.

As Young Master Mu, in his 'Demon's Heavenly Eye' state, examined the black stains on the ground, strange images suddenly flashed before his eyes: a gaunt man, a murdered woman, a hatchet, flickering lights, and a row of neatly arranged armored Samurai...

"An evildoer, claiming to be a subordinate of the Demon Lord, tortured and killed dozens of civilians here. He committed these atrocities for half a month before being discovered by Soul Hall Samurai."

Young Master Mu didn't need Ren Suo to analyze the scene; he quickly sorted out the clues himself: This Young Master is visiting Yingzhou for the first time, so it's impossible that I recruited this subordinate over ten days ago.

This evildoer was mentally deranged. When discovered by the Soul Hall Samurai in Yingzhou, he swore to resist to the death. Before dying, he chanted, 'On the day of the Demon Lord's return, all treacherous subjects shall die.' However, he didn't seem to recognize this Young Master, nor did he mention my name.

Yet, when the people of the Sanctuary successfully slandered me, this testimony became one of the cartloads of 'straw' the Six Major Factions used to attack me.

But the perpetrator was frail, weak, and easily bullied, indicating he wasn't previously a murderous maniac. Why did he suddenly gain the power to torture and kill? And why would he devoutly worship the Demon Lord?

Total Clue Progress increased to 1.9%!

There was nothing left to investigate at Investigation Point No. 26. Ren Suo had Young Master Mu leave the warehouse. Upon exiting, he saw Maid Xiao Suo stroking the rescued girl's hair as if soothing a cat.

The rescued girl was sobbing and thanking Maid Xiao Suo profusely, showering her with words of gratitude. Maid Xiao Suo, however, merely smiled, stroked her hair, and said nothing.

When Young Master Mu emerged, the rescued girl hurriedly thanked him, "I, Lingyin, thank you both for your assistance."

Young Master Mu conjured a flame, turning the man's corpse on the ground to ashes. He then said, "We've just arrived in Edo and are unfamiliar with the area. We didn't expect to stumble upon such injustice and end up helping you by killing this evildoer. Miss Lingyin, could you perhaps lead us to a place to stay, so we might take shelter for a few days?"

Lingyin, clutching Maid Xiao Suo's hand tightly, nodded. "No problem. My home has a spare room where you two benefactors could stay temporarily. However, my home is in Musashi, which is a bit far from Edo. I don't know..."

Young Master Mu said, "There are carriages running between Musashi and Edo, so it's no problem. My maid is rather shy and not very talkative. Perhaps you should..."

Upon hearing this, Lingyin didn't let go. Instead, she held Maid Xiao Suo's hand firmly against her chest. "I felt an instant connection with her," she said, "and believe we should become good friends. Moreover, I'm still rather frightened. This younger sister has a very comforting scent, and her voice is also very soothing. Please, allow me to stay with her for now."

Young Master Mu said, "Very well."

"Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood is slightly affected and is currently in the 'Pleased' state."

Though it seemed his mood had dipped slightly, Ren Suo could totally accept the current situation, especially compared to the 'Super Depressed' mood from "choosing the traditional Healing method." He hadn't wasted two turns and had incidentally completed the mission to 'find a place to live'!

After a cutscene of a carriage journey, the camera shifted to the interior of a Japanese-style house. Although no candles were lit, the house was surprisingly bright.

Young Master Mu said, "I am tired today and would like to bathe and change my clothes."

Lingyin said, "There's a bathroom with hot water; please make yourself comfortable. By the way, there's only the master bedroom and a secondary bedroom. How should we arrange the sleeping quarters?"

At this point, three options appeared in the game:

"Lingyin and Xiao Suo share a room,"

"Young Master Mu and Lingyin share a room,"

"Young Master Mu and Xiao Suo share a room."

Ren Suo quietly saved his game and then clicked the first option: Lingyin and Xiao Suo to sleep together.

Lingyin was overjoyed, "Wonderful, wonderful."

Maid Xiao Suo also nodded repeatedly, "Alright, alright, then I'll gladly accept."

Game prompt: "Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood is severely affected and is currently in the 'Depressed' state."

Sheesh, what a hypocrite.

You just don't want to sleep alone!

Reloading the game, Ren Suo selected the second option: Young Master Mu and Lingyin sleep together.

Lingyin hesitated briefly but still nodded, "That... would also be fine. I just hope Young Master won't mind my poor sleeping habits."

Young Master Mu said, "Of course not."

Maid Xiao Suo said, "Then I'll just sleep in a room by myself, haha."

Game prompt: "Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood is slightly affected and is currently in the 'A Bit Happy' state."

Huh?

You're still a little unhappy even when you get to sleep with the beautiful girl you just met?

Ren Suo had no choice but to reload the game again and click on the third option: Young Master Mu and Xiao Suo sleep together.

Maid Xiao Suo was startled, "Sleep in the same room as Young Master... Isn't that improper?"

Young Master Mu insisted forcefully, "What's improper about it? Isn't this bound to happen sooner or later? What are you being shy for?"

Maid Xiao Suo said, "Well... alright then, I won't stand on ceremony."

Game prompt: "Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood is severely affected, current status is 'Embarrassed Anger'."

Ren Suo blinked, looking at the prompt on the screen. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to call his dad.

Ren's father, who might have been slacking off in the teacher's office after class or had already snuck home to loaf (having mastered the art of slacking off over decades as a teacher), answered the phone immediately.

Ren's father said, "..."

Ren Suo said, "..."

Ren's father asked, "...?"

Ren Suo exclaimed, "...!"

"Go ahead, what's up?" Ren's father finally said.

"Dad, does the term 'Embarrassed Anger' indicate a good mood or a bad mood?"

Ren's father replied, "Son, I teach mathematics, you know."

Ren Suo said, "Come on, Dad! Have you forgotten that besides teaching me the multiplication table in the neighborhood garden, you also taught me three hundred Tang poems? You, my math teacher, also taught me Chinese!"

Ren's father said, "Well, 'bro,' I'm telling you, this term can be good or bad. It depends on the tense and the subject."

Ren Suo asked, "What do you mean by tense and subject?"

Ren's father explained, "Simply put, if a man says it, it usually means a bad mood, signifying anger from being shamed. If a woman says it, it could mean anger from being shamed, or it could be anger stemming from shyness."

Ren Suo asked, "So, a man can't be angry from shyness?"

There was Silence on the other end of the phone.

Ren's father recalled Ren's mother once mentioning their son was quite popular with men in Lianjiang. He exhaled slowly and said, "Son, home will always have your back."

Ren Suo asked, "Huh?"

Ren's father continued, "I won't ask anything. No matter what you become, in your parents' eyes, you're still that silly child playing in the mud. Remember, safety first. Make sure to take the necessary precautions."

After hanging up, Ren Suo scratched his head, feeling that perhaps he'd been away from home too long, as he could no longer keep up with his parents' conversational rhythm.

He turned his gaze back to the screen. If Dad is right, then Young Master Mu sleeping with Maid Xiao Suo would also lead to a bad mood?

Because he's sleeping with a maid, he feels humiliated, and therefore angry?

Ren Suo felt this speculation was very accurate—surely it couldn't be because Young Master Mu was so shy about sleeping with Maid Xiao Suo that he got angry, right?

After all, Young Master Mu woke up in the same bed with Ling'er at the very beginning of the game, seemingly a veteran of romance. How could he possibly be shy about sleeping with a maid?

Thus, upon closer inspection, Ren Suo suddenly realized that all three options seemingly had negative outcomes!?

Ren Suo thought for a moment, then decisively returned to the game's main menu and opened 'Xiao Suo's Secret Diary.'

Sure enough, three new lines of floating ink appeared below:

"If I sleep with Lingyin, will Young Master have any thoughts?"

"If I sleep in the big bed alone, will Young Master have any thoughts?"

"If Young Master sleeps with me, what will he think?"

After clicking on all of them, the three lines of floating ink merged into one: "This seems to be the only way, but how should I put it?"

Ren Suo clicked it and found that he needed to spend Krypton Gold again to help Xiao Suo think. However, this time it was cheap, only costing 1 Merit Point.

One Merit Point wouldn't lead to loss or scams. Ren Suo, true to his 'Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose' nature, loved such one-Merit Point transactions. Naturally, he chose to spend the Krypton Gold, which felt like getting a freebie from Maid Xiao Suo.

The floating ink then quietly turned into solid ink: "Alright, I know what to do now."

Ren Suo reloaded his save and returned to the game, finding an additional option: "Ask Xiao Suo."

Young Master Mu leaned close to Maid Xiao Suo and whispered, "There are only two rooms, Xiao Suo. How do you think we should divide them?"

Maid Xiao Suo said, "Obviously, Lingyin should have one room, Young Master Mu another, and I'll sleep in the living room!"

Young Master Mu asked, "Really? But you could sleep with one of us. Look, Lingyin really wants to sleep with you. As for me, if you beg this Young Master, perhaps I'll agree too?"

Maid Xiao Suo shook her head repeatedly. "Absolutely not, absolutely not! When traveling, it's best to be cautious. Besides, we're strangers in a strange land. I need to stay in the living room and help keep watch. How could I hide away in a comfortable bed?"

Young Master Mu asked, "So... you'll really sleep in the living room?"

Maid Xiao Suo said, "Yes, yes, yes! I love sleeping in the living room the most."

Game prompt: "Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood is slightly affected, current status is 'Quite Pleased'."

This time, he had finally achieved the best possible start. Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief—he hadn't expected that the 'who sleeps with whom' decision at night could also trigger a small plotline, and the correct approach was to have Maid Xiao Suo sleep alone.

Thank goodness I'm clever. I first asked my dad for the correct interpretation of 'Embarrassed Anger,' then decided to open 'Xiao Suo's Secret Diary' to discover the Truth.

Otherwise, I would have probably thought 'Embarrassed Anger' was a good thing, chosen the third option directly, and ended up with a negative outcome.

This was a 5-star game; every choice had to be made with extreme care. A famous military strategist once said: mistakes made in the early stages of a war are irreparable.

Similarly, mistakes made in the early stages of a game would accumulate, eventually becoming fatal flaws that prevented completion.

As an experienced high-level player, Ren Suo naturally strove for perfection in the early stages of the game. This was the same principle he followed when he spent countless efforts to get the best possible start in 'Over My Dead Body.'

After this minor plot event concluded, the game presented an option: "Enter the second day."

Now that Ren Suo had nothing else to do, he clicked to enter the second day. The game displayed a prompt: "After a short but stable night of sleep, the Demon Lord feels very good. But since it was only a brief rest, only a portion of Resentment has been purified.

The Demon Lord's mood remained 'Quite Pleased,' and 10,000 Resentment was purified this round."

10,000 Resentment purified!

The amount of Resentment purified in the 'Quite Pleased' state was five times that of the 'Super Depressed' state!

More importantly, this wasn't a proper rest; their nighttime activities constituted investigation, not rest.

This Resentment purification was merely a bonus from staying the night!

If Ren Suo had the Demon Lord choose the "Rest Well" action during the day, the purification amount would likely double, or even more!

By achieving a Perfect playthrough of 'The First Day of Escape,' Ren Suo fully understood the game's main goal. While the two final tasks were the overt objectives, the most crucial aspect of gameplay he needed to focus on was maintaining the protagonist's mood!

And the key to maintaining the protagonist's mood was, of course, Maid Xiao Suo!

Through 'Xiao Suo's Secret Diary,' Ren Suo might be able to keep Young Master Mu's mood consistently above 'Pleased'!

That's the correct way to use a maid!

DING-A-LING—A-LING—

The alarm rang, reminding Ren Suo to pick up Little Jiu from school. He quickly saved the game, got dressed, and headed out.

Ren Suo had once considered whether to use remote-controlled Cloning to pick up Little Jiu from school, but he ultimately dismissed the idea. Cloning should be reserved for crucial tasks; a half-hour round trip to pick up Little Jiu wasn't worth using it for.

Only when Little Jiu was sound asleep, in the quiet home filled with chores—that was when Cloning could truly shine!

Ren Suo quickly reached the school gate, just in time to see Little Jiu with a tall female teacher. He waved and walked over, calling out, "Little Jiu!"

Little Jiu, who was chatting with the teacher, saw Ren Suo and waved back energetically, shouting, "Big brother!"

As Ren Suo approached, Little Jiu suddenly said to the teacher, "Teacher Su, what do you think of my big brother? He's definitely a good man!"

Teacher Su's face turned red. "Little Jiu, what nonsense are you talking!"

Ren Suo's expression stiffened. Teacher Su quickly tried to explain, "No, I don't mean you're not a good man... Children say the silliest things; please don't take it to heart."

However, Little Jiu hid behind Ren Suo and said shyly, "Teacher Su, didn't you ask me to help you find a good man? I found one, so why are you scolding me..."

This teacher was asking a student to help find her a man?

Ren Suo glanced at Teacher Su and thought she looked quite nice. He wondered, had the marriage and dating market really become this tense?

Teacher Su quickly clarified, "That was Xiao Tong teasing you... Oh, are you Ren Xiaojiu's relative? Xiaojiu said she'd introduce me to a boyfriend today, so I thought Mr. Bai was coming to pick her up... Ah, that's not what I meant..."

Seeing Teacher Su was about to start rambling again, Ren Suo managed a wry smile and said, "Old Bai is indeed a good man. Would you like his WeChat and phone number?"

Teacher Su's face turned red again as she took out her phone. "Then... I'll graciously accept."

After this exchange of favors, Ren Suo finally said, "Yes, I'm currently Ren Xiaojiu's Guardian. My name is Ren Suo."

Because they shared the same surname, Teacher Su seemed to immediately assume Ren Suo and Little Jiu were blood-related. She glanced at Ren Suo, her brow furrowing slightly. "I'm Little Jiu's homeroom teacher, Su Jinxuan. Were you... the one who went to the comic convention with Little Jiu?"

Ren Suo's expression changed!

He thought his actions at the convention had been Perfect, keeping both himself and Little Jiu out of anyone's sight. How had they been discovered!?

Before he could formulate a plan to silence her permanently, Su Jinxuan continued, "Luckily, Little Jiu ran into me at the subway station that time. Even though you're not her parents, you still have a responsibility to look after Little Jiu. How could you go to the convention yourself and leave Little Jiu at the subway station?

"Previously, Miss Dong and Mr. Bai picked up Little Jiu, so it wasn't appropriate for me to say anything. Now that you've come yourself, I must enlighten you. Society has many dangerous individuals who target children. As a Guardian, you must be very cautious..."

Ren Suo listened for a while, then exchanged a look with Little Jiu. He finally understood the connection between Su Jinxuan and Little Jiu: Little Jiu had initially gone to the comic convention by asking Teacher Su to take her.

Then, Little Jiu, upon discovering Ren Suo who possessed the Holy Grail, had separated from Su Jinxuan to find him.

Little had he expected that Su Jinxuan would turn out to be Little Jiu's homeroom teacher at her new school!

After piecing things together, Ren Suo realized Su Jinxuan probably didn't know the full story and merely thought Ren Suo had taken Little Jiu to the comic convention for fun. He secretly sighed in relief.

With utmost sincerity in his voice, he said, "Teacher, I know I was wrong. It absolutely won't happen again. I Hope you won't tell anyone else about this. Otherwise, Little Jiu and I... we might have to be separated again..."

Perhaps it was the sincerity in Ren Suo's voice that led Su Jinxuan to mentally sketch out a family drama spanning at least thirty episodes.

Her tone softened slightly as she said, "Of course, I'm not one to gossip, nor have I mentioned this to anyone else. It's good that you realize your mistake... By the way, Little Jiu has been playing on her phone frequently at school. Have you disciplined her about it?"

Ren Suo immediately glared at Little Jiu. "No playing on your phone at school! You need to study hard!"

Little Jiu shook her head, her face an image of pure innocence as she said, "Big brother, think about it. We only use our phones for a few years, but we live for decades. To us, our phones are just a part of our lives, but to our phones, we are their everything.

"We should put down our homework and spend quality time with our phones instead..."

Ren Suo slapped Little Jiu on her small head—her Charm plus fallacious reasoning couldn't withstand the fist of Truth. With Dong Chengling busy with her intensive Cultivation, Ren Suo had to play the bad cop and properly discipline Little Jiu.

However, Ren Suo looked at Su Jinxuan and suddenly said, "Teacher Su, you must be tired after teaching all day, right?"

Su Jinxuan looked somewhat surprised but nodded slightly. "A little, yes. That's part of being a teacher."

Ren Suo said, "You've taken care of Little Jiu so many times, and I haven't had a chance to thank you properly... Ah, how about we go to the Starbucks across the street for a chat? My treat."

Su Jinxuan hesitated. Then, Little Jiu came over and tugged at her hand. Besides, Starbucks was quite crowded. Eventually, she agreed—she had many things to discuss with Ren Suo, such as Little Jiu's phone habits, concerns about budding romantic interests, and issues with her fan club...

But not long after Su Jinxuan sat down in the coffee shop, and after Ren Suo had listened to her concerns for a while, he suddenly remarked, "Being a teacher is truly hard work."

"It is..." Su Jinxuan couldn't help but show her emotions, sighing. "And as a young teacher, I also have to be a homeroom teacher; there's no escaping it... Ah, please forget I said that."

"If you're too tired, why don't you take a short rest here?"

Su Jinxuan's gaze was irresistibly drawn to the dance of Ren Suo's ten fingers. Her consciousness began to blur, and she quickly fell into a deep Sleep.

When she awoke, a female Starbucks employee was gently rousing her.

"A gentleman tipped me to ensure no other customers disturbed you while you slept. He said if you weren't awake in 20 minutes, I should wake you." The employee handed her a small note. "This is what the gentleman left for you."

Su Jinxuan looked at the words on the note: "This is just a small Ability of mine. I Hope it gave you a comfortable Sleep. Please consider it a small token of my Thanks."

Su Jinxuan shook her head, feeling remarkably clear-headed, as if she'd had a full eight hours of sleep.

Recalling her impression of Ren Suo, Su Jinxuan suddenly realized that Ren Suo spoke quite pleasantly, and he had a very reassuring aura.

Perhaps it was because of that impression that she had let her guard down, right?

Mr. Bai... he's like a flower on a high peak, beyond my reach. But if it were him... perhaps...

Su Jinxuan, her heart fluttering, felt a pang of disappointment realizing she hadn't gotten Ren Suo's WeChat or phone number.

But Little Jiu was in her class. The monk could run, but the temple couldn't. There was no rush...

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