NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Vitality
Zhao Ming clapped his hands and looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.
"Yes, not bad."
"Boy, what are you trying to do? Let go of me!" Hu Liena was shocked to find her entire body tightly bound.
"What do I want to do? What do you think I want to do?"
"Let me go, you little hooligan!" Hu Liena scolded.
"Hooligan? A flat-chested girl like you with no curves—I'm not even interested," Zhao Ming smirked.
"But now that you've said that, if I don't do something, it would seem unjustified."
"Do you dare?!" Hu Liena was frustrated. "I'm warning you, I am the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall! You better behave yourself."
"Hah, who are you trying to scare? You're the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, and I'm the Pope of the Spirit Hall!" Zhao Ming mocked as he stepped closer with a smile.
"Ah… you little scoundrel! Stop right there!"
Hu Liena screamed in anger, never expecting to be humiliated like this in broad daylight.
"Scream all you want! No one is coming to save you, no matter how loud you yell…"
"You…!" Hu Liena felt nothing but shame and fury.
She regretted choosing to bathe in the Star Dou Forest. Couldn't she have waited until she left? The others never dared to disturb her while she was bathing, so they probably hadn't even realized she was missing yet!
As she thought about it, tears streamed down her face.
Seeing Hu Liena cry, Zhao Ming felt that he might have taken things too far. After all, he was already acting like a villain, and now he had gone so far as to tie her up after seeing her body.
"Huh? This ring looks nice. I'll take it," Zhao Ming muttered as he was about to let her go, noticing the ring on her finger—it looked like a legendary spatial ring.
"What are you doing?! That's my ring!" Hu Liena's eyes widened as she realized he had already taken it.
"Yours? Mine? I don't see your name on it," Zhao Ming teased.
"This is a spatial ring!"
Zhao Ming's eyes gleamed with excitement. He had only ever seen such things in novels—who would have thought he'd actually get his hands on one?
The ring seemed too big for him at first, but as soon as he slipped it on, it shrank to fit his finger perfectly.
A pink spatial ring. It looked a bit odd on his hand, but for Zhao Ming, practicality mattered more than appearances.
I need to get out of here fast.
There was no way Hu Liena had come alone to hunt for a spirit ring. If her companions found her like this, he'd be done for.
"Well, Nana, I'll be going now." Zhao Ming took a few steps away, then stopped, feeling that he might as well take advantage of the situation.
He turned back, looked at Hu Liena's soft red lips, and gave her a quick peck.
"Not bad," he chuckled, licking his lips as if savoring the lingering taste.
"You shameless bastard!" Hu Liena gritted her teeth, her face burning with anger. She never imagined her first kiss would be stolen like this.
"Nana, my dear wife, is that any way to talk to your husband? It makes me sad. And when I'm sad, I feel like doing something even worse…"
"You wouldn't dare!" Hu Liena's eyes widened in alarm. Something worse? No, absolutely not!
"Why wouldn't I?" Zhao Ming smirked.
"You… what do you want?" Hu Liena felt utterly helpless. Meeting someone like him was pure misfortune.
"Call me 'good husband' nicely, and maybe I'll be in a good enough mood to let you go," Zhao Ming said with a teasing grin.
"You're dreaming! That's impossible!" Hu Liena, like an enraged kitten, flared up in defiance.
"Fine, I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson in cruelty."
"Wait! Fine, I'll do it!" Seeing Zhao Ming approach again, Hu Liena clenched her teeth and forced out the words, "Good… husband…"
"That didn't sound sincere at all," Zhao Ming shook his head. "Your voice should be soft, your expression sweet, and your eyes filled with affection."
Hu Liena felt like she was about to explode from sheer rage. But if she refused, things might only get worse.
"Good husband~" she finally said in a sweet, delicate voice.
"That's my good wife," Zhao Ming chuckled.
Before leaving, he gave her one last peck on the cheek and quickly disappeared into the depths of the Star Dou Forest.
"Bastard! If I ever see you again, I'll kill you!" Hu Liena yelled furiously.
About five or six minutes later, she regained some of her spirit power and struggled against the vines binding her.
After some time, she freed herself, hastily fixed her appearance, and returned to the base camp of the Spirit Hall's hunting party.
"Nana, where have you been? I was about to come looking for you!" A tall, well-dressed young man called out, visibly relieved to see her. However, he immediately noticed that something was off about her.
"Brother, I'm fine." Hu Liena shook her head and sighed, gazing at the sky.
"Alright, let's keep moving. We need to find a suitable spirit ring for Xie Yue today…"
---
The next day…
On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, Zhao Ming lay on the ground, staring at the sky in despair.
Beside him was a stunningly beautiful woman. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that her eyes were hollow and lifeless.
Zhao Ming had managed to escape from the Star Dou Forest, and the woman next to him was the puppet, Yan Lingji.
Spending even a single day in that perilous forest had left a deep shadow in Zhao Ming's heart. For an ordinary rank-10 spirit master like him to make it out alive was nothing short of a miracle.
If not for the system's warnings, he would have died long ago.
"Ding! A new main quest has been issued."
"Ding! Join Nuoding Academy and earn Xiao Wu's favor."
"Quest reward: A random martial soul."
Xiao Wu?
Zhao Ming's eyes sparkled with excitement as a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
Back when he read the original story, he had always felt bad for Xiao Wu's tragic fate. Now that he had been reincarnated into this world, he wouldn't let the same thing happen to her again.
"Open system panel," Zhao Ming commanded.
**
Host: Zhao Ming
Spirit Power: Rank 11
Martial Soul: Puppet
Spirit Bones: None
Puppet: Yan Lingji (Vitality: 1)
Sign-In: No available locations
Quest: Join Nuoding Academy and earn Xiao Wu's favor.
**
Looking at his stats, Zhao Ming frowned.
"System, what's the 'Vitality' stat next to Yan Lingji?"
"The initial state of a system-generated puppet is an emotionless, lifeless construct. However, once its vitality reaches a certain threshold, it will fully awaken and become absolutely loyal to the host."
"What?! You're saying the puppet can come to life?" Zhao Ming asked excitedly.
When he first obtained Yan Lingji, he had felt disappointed—no matter how beautiful she was, a lifeless doll was incomplete.
But now, everything had changed.
This was just too good to be true!