Chapter 4: Pitiful Lottery

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Volume One: First Entry into Another World

Zu An: "???"

For some reason, the system's voice always seemed to carry a hint of schadenfreude!

He suddenly noticed some small text next to the steel wool ball on the screen. Unwilling to give up, he leaned closer to examine it.

"Introduction to the Rich Madam's Pleasure Ball: Legend has it that this item can bring immense pleasure and satisfaction to wealthy madams, but at the cost of unbearable pain for delicate male escorts. Thus, a clever escort invented this item as a substitute.

Effect: After using this item, the pain caused by women wealthier than you will be converted into pleasure. Note: This does not reduce damage, but it can lock your last drop of blood when a wealthy madam inflicts a fatal wound."

"Do you wish to store it in your inventory? You can retrieve it for use by pressing the Q key with your thoughts."

What a scam!

Looking at the genuine steel wool ball in his hand, Zu An nearly dropped to the floor.

What's the use of this thing? Its effect is so useless and niche, with so many restrictions. I'm not going to be a male escort, so what good is this to me?

With a darkened expression, Zu An stuffed the steel wool ball back into his inventory. Then he went back, changed the water in the basin, and washed his face. Still uneasy, he specifically went back and washed his hands several more times.

Only then did he press for the third draw.

The cursor continued to spin. Zu An stared intently: "Please don't be Space, please don't be Q..."

Finally, the cursor stopped on the "B" key.

The cold voice echoed in his ears: "Congratulations on drawing 'Poisoned Dagger'!"

Zu An: "???"

He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. This keyboard was too vulgar! What kind of nonsense was it drawing? Only when he saw the pitch-black dagger hilt on the screen did he realize he had misunderstood.

"Introduction to 'Poisoned Dagger': Once, someone, confident of victory, subconsciously licked it and immediately died. Their last words before dying were 'The dagger has poison.' Usage instructions: This is a cursed dagger. As long as it inflicts a wound, the injured person will die instantly."

Zu An finally felt some relief. Although the item's name was a bit... odd, if used well, it was no less than a divine artifact. The biggest problem, however, was whether he could actually wound his enemies.

Having witnessed Xue'er and Chu Chuyan's abilities earlier, he knew that if it came to a real fight, he probably couldn't even get close to them, let alone inflict a wound.

Hmm, I need to keep a low profile. Sneak attacks are the way to go. If Wei Xiaobao could win over seven women with a dagger back then, with this divine artifact, it'll be no problem for me, Zu An, to get seventy.

Wait, if I get wounded by this dagger, will I die too?

Looking at the gleaming dagger in his hand, Zu An had an impulse to cut his finger and test it, but he ultimately abandoned the idea of testing it on himself. That would be too suicidal.

Zu An quickly tried to start the next draw, but no matter how he pressed, the lottery system didn't respond. Only a message on the screen read: "Insufficient Rage Value."

"Isn't it easy to get Rage Value?" Thinking of that girl Xue'er, Zu An stroked his chin and chuckled mischievously.

Huh, laughing like that makes me sound like a bad guy.

Thinking of Xue'er, he recalled the embarrassing experience from that night. His face twitched involuntarily, and the joy of the draw instantly dissipated. The immediate priority was how to restore his 'little brother.'

Wait, that 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' from just now, did the keyboard just swallow it?

Zu An's face instantly turned ashen. "Am I really going to become Sima Qian?"

He hurriedly checked the keyboard and found that only the F2 key was lit. He pressed it, and the screen displayed: "Do you wish to cultivate the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture?"

Zu An's worry immediately turned into joy. Could he reach max level with a single click using this keyboard? A secret manual from an unknown land—just hearing it sounded incredibly powerful. Wouldn't he be able to dominate this world then?

He quickly pressed "Yes." Dots of golden light flew out from F2 and spread throughout his body, giving him a warm and extremely comfortable feeling.

"One strike, level 999! One strike, level 999!"

Zu An chanted silently. After a while, the golden light faded, and he suddenly opened his eyes. He felt the air was sweeter, and the world seemed a little different. So, he channeled his cultivation and punched a nearby stone.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow..."

Zu An clutched his fist, tears almost welling up.

It was completely unchanged from before... No, there was a slight difference. On his skin, there seemed to be nine incredibly complex inscribed magic formations. Each formation was hollow, distributed sequentially around his body, with lines connecting them.

Soon, those inscribed magic formations receded into his skin and slowly disappeared. Zu An immediately panicked. Then, he saw those inscribed magic formations again, as if he were looking inward.

"What are these formations?" Zu An noticed some golden substance inside the lowest formation. He recalled the mysterious old man's description of this cultivation method's characteristics, then looked at his somewhat bloody fist, and suddenly realized:

This lowly cultivation method really does require getting beaten to increase one's power!

With his rich gaming experience from his previous life, he quickly understood that the keyboard had simplified and visualized cultivation. As long as he filled the golden substance in these nine formations, he should be able to level up.

And this golden substance could clearly only be obtained by getting beaten.

For the happiness of his lower body... *Ptooey*, for the happiness of the rest of his life, even if this cultivation method was 'lowly,' he had to practice it.

Zu An gritted his teeth and punched the wall again.

This time, although it still hurt a lot, the golden substance in the formations barely increased. Zu An looked at both his fists and roughly understood what was happening.

Unlike the first punch, this time he had conscious awareness. His body's subconscious would protect itself by retracting some of the force, so the effect naturally wasn't as good as the first time.

This self-abuse path won't work. It seems I can only find others to hit me. But who should I find?

Damn it, the more I think about it, the more despicable it feels.

He was feeling agitated when he suddenly noticed a mouse scurrying out near his feet to forage. His anger flared up. Being a live-in son-in-law was truly miserable; not only was his living quarters dilapidated, but there were even mice.

He directly kicked the mouse out the window with a flying kick. Just as he was marveling at his footwork, which rivaled the national football team, his room door was suddenly kicked open.

"Did you throw this mouse?" As a clear voice rang out, a young girl appeared at the doorway. She was slender and petite, with rosy lips and white teeth, thin pink lips, shoulder-length short hair, and bangs that slightly covered her eyes.

If it weren't for the mouse she was holding in her hand, Zu An would have exclaimed, "What a lovely young girl!"

Watching the mouse squeak and struggle in her hand, Zu An warned, "Be careful, the mouse might bite you."

"I'm not afraid of this thing," the girl said. No sooner had she spoken than she squeezed it directly. The mouse let out a pained squeak and then breathed no more.

Zu An swallowed hard. "Is this even a woman?"

The girl casually tossed the mouse's corpse away, indifferently wiped her hands, and then stared at him with a frosty expression: "I don't know what my sister was thinking, not punishing you after bringing you back."

Zu An was about to ask about the chewing sounds coming from outside when he was startled by her words: "Sister?"

Only then did he notice that her eyebrows somewhat resembled Chu Chuyan's, though she was much younger. She seemed to be Chu Hanzhao, the Second Young Miss of the Chu family. Over this period, his memories slowly merged with those of this body, and many previous fragments came back to him. However, he didn't understand why the Second Young Miss had such an unpleasant name.

The girl before him was dressed head to toe in tight leather, which further accentuated her slender waist and shapely backside. Coupled with the small leather whip hanging from her waist, she looked exactly like a 'little chili,' completely different from her sister's ice-cold demeanor. He wondered how two siblings born of the same mother could be so strikingly different.

"Where are your dog-like eyes looking?" Chu Hanzhao was already highly displeased with him, and now seeing his eyes darting around, she found him even more detestable.

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 10!

Zu An noticed the Rage Value on the keyboard had turned to "10" and couldn't help but be overjoyed. This little girl had quite a temper! It would be a disservice to his conscience not to seize this opportunity to earn more Rage Value.

His eyes darted around, and a plan came to mind: "I've always had a question I couldn't figure out. Your sister's name, Chuyan, is so pleasant. Why did they give you such an unpleasant name like Hanzhao?"

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 666!

Zu An was startled. This Rage Value was simply exaggerated!

Chu Hanzhao's eyes turned red, and her small face flushed crimson: "Pah! What Chuyan? That's the name she changed herself! Her original name was Zhaodi!"

Zhaodi? Thinking of his nominal wife, with her ethereal, fairy-like aura in her white robes, having such a rustic name, Zu An's expression immediately turned odd.

Zhaodi, Hanzhao... Wait, I remember the young master of the manor was called Youzhao...

"Are you laughing at me?" Chu Hanzhao's words interrupted his thoughts.

"No, no," Zu An quickly denied, feeling the flames flickering in her eyes. "By the way, why don't *you* change your name?"

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 199!

"I *wanted* to change it, but Mother and Father wouldn't allow it no matter what, and my sister wouldn't permit it either. Hmph, she changed her own name, but then she didn't care about anyone else!" The girl recalled being mocked by friends and academy classmates since childhood, and her face filled with indignation.

"Wait a minute!" Chu Hanzhao suddenly reacted. "Stop trying to cozy up to this young mistress! I'm here to settle last night's score with you!"

Zu An was cheerfully counting the Rage Value he had accumulated. He had already gathered 875 points, enough for eight draws. This time, he absolutely couldn't draw any more of those absurd things. Hearing her, he subconsciously replied, "What happened last night must have been a misunderstanding."

"You climbed onto my bed, what misunderstanding could there be?" Chu Hanzhao sneered repeatedly.

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 10!

Huh, why is the Rage Value so low? It just goes to show how deep her resentment about her name is.

Zu An spread his hands: "Then why didn't you stop me at the time? Or call for help?"

"I..." A faint blush instantly flashed across Chu Hanzhao's fair cheeks. "I don't know what happened; I think I was asleep at the time."

"I was drunk at the time too! I don't know why I ended up in your room. There must be something fishy going on." Zu An no longer cared about Rage Value at this point. The immediate priority was to calm down this 'young mistress.' He wondered if she knew martial arts. People her age often didn't know their own strength. What if she accidentally killed him? Where would he go to seek justice?

"Are you suggesting I brought you into the room?" Chu Hanzhao sneered. "As the saying goes, 'wine is the matchmaker of lust.' You got drunk and didn't go anywhere else but straight to my room, which proves you've harbored improper thoughts about this young lady all along."

Zu An stared at her 'airport-flat' chest and let out a long sigh: "You're still a child! How could I have any thoughts about you? If I had any thoughts, I'd be running to your sister's room instead."

Chu Hanzhao immediately bristled. "I've clearly grown up! I can even help the family manage its properties occasionally! But you, you good-for-nothing, you just freeload at home! What right do you have to talk about me?!"

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 99!

Zu An secretly snickered. Indeed, no matter in which world, newly grown adolescents most detested being treated like children.

"Look at your fierce and evil demeanor! What man would dare to marry you in the future? Women should act like women, doing needlework and learning to be virtuous and gentle in their daily lives," Zu An said earnestly, looking at her with eyes full of 'benevolence.' "Now, now, your brother-in-law is doing this for your own good."

Although he was somewhat worried about being beaten to death, seeing the Rage Value skyrocketing, he found it truly difficult to stop.

"Aaaah!" Chu Hanzhao felt like she was going crazy. This scoundrel, had he gone mad? How dare he adopt the stance of an elder and lecture her?

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 333,333...

Seeing the numbers on the Rage Value panel soaring, Zu An nearly burst out laughing. This little girl's emotions were indeed easy to provoke. If it were his 'iceberg wife,' it probably wouldn't be so easy.

"You really want to hit me right now, don't you? Don't forget, I'm your brother-in-law. Bully your elders, and beware of being struck by lightning!" As if he could see smoke almost rising from the girl opposite him, Zu An felt a bit guilty. "Will I go bald if I keep plucking from just one chicken?"

However, on second thought, it wouldn't be a big deal to let her hit him once. With her small arms and legs, there shouldn't be much danger in getting 'little-fist-punched' in the chest by such a pretty girl. Perhaps he could even use the opportunity to make a breakthrough in that cultivation method.

Rage Value from Chu Hanzhao: 55!

Before Zu An could even be happy, he felt a powerful force strike his chest. A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and he tumbled backward onto the bed.

Chu Hanzhao withdrew her fist and scoffed disdainfully: "I thought you had some real ability, provoking me like that. Hmph, weakling!"

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