The old man shuffled into the room, his head bowed low as he avoided direct eye contact with the young lord. He turned his attention to a young servant girl who had been busy polishing the dark wood of the furniture. She paused, the cloth in her hand still damp, and looked up at him.
"Bring her in, Xiao," the old man muttered, his voice gravelly and thick with age. "I have things to discuss with the Lord."
The girl nodded, dropping the towel onto a sideboard before heading toward the heavy doors. As she stepped out, A-fu lingered behind. He looked at Lu Chen with a mix of confusion and hurt, his brow furrowed.
"Why did you stop calling me by my name, Young Master?" A-fu asked, his voice soft and hesitant.
Lu Chen felt a slight twitch in his brow. He stared at the man, searching the back of his mind for a name, a memory, or even a basic fact. Nothing came to him. In the grand narrative of this world, the man before him was nothing more than an extra, a background character whose name had never been worth memorizing.
"What is your name again?" Lu Chen asked, his tone flat and disinterested.
"A-fu," the man replied.
Lu Chen watched him for a moment, feeling a bubble of dark amusement rise in his chest. He let out a short, hollow laugh that didn't reach his eyes.
"I was just kidding, he lied smoothly. I remember."
A-fu didn't look entirely convinced, but he moved closer, his expression shifting to one of genuine concern. "Young Master Lu, please, I would advise you to be nice to Young Lady Yan of the Su family."
Lu Chen leaned back, crossing his legs. "And why should I?"
"She has been waiting in the palace for a very long time now, and we do not want to cause unnecessary issues," A-fu explained, reaching for a bowl of dark, pungent liquid. "So please, take your herbal concoction so you do not mess things up."
As the bowl came closer, the bitter, earthy scent hit Lu Chen like a physical blow. He wrinkled his nose in immediate disgust, his hand flying up to cover his face.
"Get rid of that shit," he snapped. "It reeks."
A-fu startled, his hands shaking at the sudden outburst. As he tried to pull back and stand up, his foot caught on the hem of his robe. The bowl tilted, and the dark medicine splashed across the floor, soaking into the expensive rug.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Lu Chen hissed.
"Forgive me, Lord! I deserve to die!"
The old man immediately dropped to his knees, his forehead hitting the floor with a dull thud. He trembled violently, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Clean it as soon as possible," Lu Chen responded, watching the man's terror with a cold, detached curiosity. "Then I will consider it."
He watched as the old man scrambled to grab the rag Xiao had left behind. With desperate, frantic movements, the servant began to scrub the floor, pouring his entire soul into erasing the stain. In that moment, a glowing interface flickered into existence before Lu Chen's eyes.
[Sin level obtained: 10. Reward: 50 points.]
"So, I also get points for mistreating people", Lu Chen thought, his gaze drifting back to the old man on all fours. "Cool."
A small, sharp pang of guilt pricked at his heart. It felt wrong to treat someone so loyal with such blatant cruelty. Now that he had the points he needed, perhaps he could say something kind, or offer a hand to help the man up.
Before he could speak, a red warning flashed across his vision.
[Warning: User is not allowed to act kind or warm to the people he hurts.]
Lu Chen felt a bitter smile tug at his lips. If this isn't nice, he thought.
He stood up just as a sharp knock echoed through the room.
"Go check the door", he commanded.
The servant scrambled up, bowing repeatedly as he backed away toward the entrance, never once turning his rear toward his master. He pulled the door open, revealing a figure standing in the hallway.
She was a haunting sight. The girl was impossibly pale, her skin like polished marble and her lips a faint, bloodless pink. Her deep green eyes stood out against the stark black of her hair. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she didn't wait for a greeting. She went straight to her knees.
"Lord Lu Chen, thank you for seeing me," she whispered.
"Don't thank me yet", Lu Chen said, his voice cold. "Who are you and why are you here?"
He searched his memory again. He couldn't recall her appearing in this part of the story. Had he missed something? He looked deeper into her eyes, and suddenly, the realization hit him like a cold bucket of water.
This was Su Yan. This was the girl who had caused his death or rather, the original Lu Chen's death at the end of the chapter because of the way he had treated her. A surge of irritation and defensive anger rose in his chest as he approached her.
"My name is Su Yan," she said, her voice trembling. "I need your help with medicine. My father has been struggling for a month now. We went to our usual suppliers, but they said you already paid for everything. His life is in danger. Please, if you can help me."
She pressed her forehead against the floor, her body shaking with the effort to remain composed.
"Why should I help you?" Lu Chen asked. A-fu turned to look at him,
Knowing that this girl was the catalyst for his ultimate demise made the bitterness in his mouth taste like iron. If she was going to be the reason he died, he might as well make it worth it. He would annoy her to the fullest and harvest every point the system had to offer.
"Why do I have to care about your sick father?" Lu Chen continued, looking down at her with a sneer. "Or do you think after your story I will bend down with you and sob?"
Su Yan sat back on her heels, tears gathering in her eyes. Her hands shook so violently she had to clench them into fists, her eyes wavering as she fought to maintain her dignity.
"Before I came here, I already prepared myself for everything you would say", she said, her voice cracking." I do not care how much you talk down to me. I need your help. Please."
She bowed again, her forehead touching the wood.
"Can you get this trash out of my room?" Lu Chen said, turning his back on her to walk away.
Suddenly, he felt a firm grip around his ankles. He stopped, looking down to see her small hands clutching his robes.
"Please, Lord Lu Chen! I have been here since rooster time. I cannot suddenly leave like that!"
Lu Chen pushed her hands away with a sharp kick of his leg and readjusted his robes.
"Did I ask you to wait? I didn't. So why are you thinking that would change anything?"
He finally crouched down, forcing her to look him in the eye. He took in her desperate expression, the way her pride was crumbling under the weight of her father's mortality.
"A prestigious lady like you doing this for her father, instead of letting him die, is a little bit adorable", he mocked.
The dam finally broke, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another.
"Please, Lord Lu Chen, please help me. I will do anything for the medicine. Please."
"What can you possibly do for me?"
"I can help sort out any land issues between borders, " she said quickly, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "I can help with anything. My family has good connections when it comes to sighting good deals and making decisions." She said folding the hem of her skirt
"So why didn't you go meet those people for the medicine?"
"Because you are the only one that has it," she sobbed. "Please help my father."
"Will you really do anything I want?" Lu Chen asked, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous silkiness.
"Yes, I will."
He reached out and gripped her jaw, forcing her head up so he could see the raw pain in her eyes.
"I need your family to pledge your loyalty to the Lu family for the rest of your life", he said. "And you will come help me out with my daily decisions."
"But that is something I do not have power over", she stammered, her eyes widening in horror at the price.
Lu Chen stood up abruptly, his shadow falling over her. "That means you are not ready for the medicine. A-fu, tell them to ship the medicine out."
"No!" She grabbed his leg again, her voice a desperate wail. "Fine! I will do it. We will pledge our loyalty."
She bowed so low her chest touched her knees, her body heaving with silent sobs.
"A-fu, take her thumb and mark it," Lu Chen commanded, his heart feeling like a heavy stone in his chest. "Then give her a whole bag of the medications."
"Thank you so much, Lord Lu Chen, "she whispered, bowing one final time.
As she looked up, Lu Chen saw the wavering light in her eyes. He knew she hated him. He knew she felt trapped, forced to sell her family's soul because she had no other choice. She needed her father's name to survive, and he had used that need to put a leash around her neck.
"Don't thank me," he said, turning his gaze away from her broken form. "Because you will later beg me to kill you. Get her out of my sight."
A-fu moved forward, gently taking her arm to lead her out. Lu Chen watched from the window as she staggered down the hallway. He noticed her knees were bruised and red from kneeling on the hard floor for hours.
A part of him wanted to reach out, to offer a bandage or a kind word, but he forced the feeling down. She was the one who killed him in the book. He couldn't afford to care.
[Congratulations], the system chimed in his mind. [You have been rewarded with 100 sin energy for completing your daily task.]