Chapter Four: Unexpectedly Summoned Him
“Would you like to spend four hundred summoning points to perform a targeted summon?”
Zhu Hao cursed the system in his heart for meddling. “I’d love to do a targeted summon, but where would I get four hundred points? Damn you, always making things complicated!”
Even though he was grumbling inwardly, Zhu Hao replied politely, “No summoning points spent. Proceed with a random summon!” As he spoke, anticipation welled up within him. His life was perilous at every turn; if he could summon a mighty general to protect him, that would be ideal. Or if he could call forth a brilliant strategist to advise him, that would be great too. Lost in these pleasant thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by the system’s chime:
“Ding!”
“Random selection of three-star talent complete!”
“Congratulations, you have summoned a three-star polymath: Wei Xiaobao, the close friend of Emperor Kangxi!”
“Wei Xiaobao’s special skill is: Gathering Beauties from All Corners! He can search for beautiful women across the land for you!”
“Wei Xiaobao will appear by your side as a young eunuch!”
At this, Zhu Hao collapsed to the ground, no longer able to restrain himself. He cursed aloud, “Heavens, are you playing tricks on me? What kind of nonsense is this? What am I supposed to do with him?”
His sudden outburst was met with silence, both from the system and the spirit, Ling. If not for the fear of disturbing his resting parents, Zhu Hao would have smashed up the place to vent his anger.
Just as his frustration reached its peak, a timid voice sounded from nearby, “Master, please don’t be angry. Little Gui is here! If you have any grievances, you may take them out on me.”
Zhu Hao looked over and, for the first time, noticed a timid boy standing beside him, about his own age. The boy was delicate and handsome, though there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. No doubt, this was the Wei Xiaobao he had just summoned from the system.
The sight of this unlucky Wei Xiaobao only fueled Zhu Hao’s anger, and he lashed out, kicking the self-proclaimed ‘Little Gui’ to the ground. “It’s all your fault, you useless thing! You’ve ruined this prince’s plans!”
Yet the boy, sprawled on the ground, showed no resentment. Instead, he grinned obsequiously, “Your Highness is right. It’s all my fault.”
Hearing this, Zhu Hao suddenly found himself amused. He feigned anger, “Oh? Since you admit your mistake, tell me, what exactly did you do wrong?”
Of course, Zhu Hao knew this had nothing to do with Little Gui; it was just his own bad luck that he’d drawn this character, whom he didn’t even like.
After hearing Zhu Hao’s question, Little Gui knelt and trembled, “This humble one is slow-witted and doesn’t know exactly what made Your Highness angry. But if Your Highness is displeased, it must be my fault!”
Listening to this, Zhu Hao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. No wonder Wei Xiaobao became Kangxi’s confidant; to endure an emperor’s whims and adapt on the fly truly took rare talent. Unfortunately, he wasn’t much help right now. With his father possibly dying, his beautiful mother at risk of execution, and himself on the verge of becoming an orphan, a sycophant could provide little comfort—let alone a solution.
Zhu Hao sighed helplessly, “Get up, Little Gui. From now on, follow me and serve me well. I won’t mistreat you.”
No sooner had he spoken, a system notification sounded:
“Ding!”
“Congratulations, you’ve gained Wei Xiaobao’s favor. His loyalty has increased by one.”
“Huh? Loyalty? What the hell is that?” The sudden notification left Zhu Hao puzzled.
Only a moment later, Ling’s sweet voice explained, “Master, every summoned character has an initial loyalty score. If loyalty is low, they may betray you. The starting loyalty varies: the higher the star rating, the lower the loyalty. The maximum is one hundred. When a summoned character’s loyalty reaches one hundred, they will never betray you, and it will never decrease. Wei Xiaobao’s base loyalty is sixty-five points. Because his personality closely matches yours, he gains an extra twenty. And just now, with your favor, it’s now at eighty-six. Congratulations, Master, on your first talent with over eighty loyalty! The system will reward you with five hundred summoning points!”
As Ling finished, the system chimed again:
“Ding!”
“Congratulations! First talent with loyalty reaching eighty points!”
“Reward: Five hundred summoning points!”
Moments ago, Zhu Hao had been full of resentment, but now, hearing this heavenly news, he couldn’t help but grin widely.
Little Gui, startled, asked timidly, “Your Highness, are you alright? Please don’t scare your humble servant.”
The unexpected reward left Zhu Hao in excellent spirits, but he still felt a vague unease. He asked playfully, “Little Gui, I’ve heard you’re not a real eunuch, that you snuck into the palace without being castrated. Is that true?”
Little Gui immediately knelt, trembling, “Who’s spreading such lies? Your Highness, I’m innocent! I was castrated as a child before entering the palace—how could I not be?”
“Oh?” Zhu Hao replied. “In that case, let me check and see if you’re truly a eunuch!” With that, he grabbed Little Gui, intent on pulling down his trousers.
Little Gui’s eyes filled with tears as he pleaded, “Your Highness, please don’t! I swear I’ve been castrated!”
Despite his crying and struggling, the frail Little Gui was no match for Zhu Hao, who quickly yanked his trousers down. Upon seeing the truth, Zhu Hao gasped inwardly, “Impossible! Wei Xiaobao is actually a real eunuch?”
Back in the twenty-first century, Zhu Hao had been a science major, but he was a devoted fan of Jin Yong’s novels. He’d read and watched *The Deer and the Cauldron* many times and was fond of the character Wei Xiaobao—hence the personality match that led to the extra loyalty points. He’d only been annoyed at summoning Wei Xiaobao because he seemed useless in Zhu Hao’s current predicament.
His confusion was soon resolved by Ling: “Master, since Wei Xiaobao and you come from different eras, there are certain changes when he’s summoned. This Wei Xiaobao has all the abilities of the original, but since he’s set as your eunuch, he really is a eunuch.”
Ling’s explanation brought Zhu Hao some relief—and even a hint of delight. Perhaps Wei Xiaobao would be of great use after all. He began to daydream about a harem full of beauties, the likes of Chen Yuanyuan and Liu Rushi, all thanks to Wei Xiaobao’s skill. When he first summoned Wei Xiaobao, he’d feared the man would be just as in Jin Yong’s story: a fake eunuch and a real man. If that were the case, sending him to recruit beautiful women could end disastrously. If Wei Xiaobao were a fake eunuch, Zhu Hao had even thought of making him a real one—there was no way he’d tolerate a wolf in his harem. Thankfully, this problem was now avoided.
Just as Zhu Hao was reveling in these thoughts, the system’s cold notification hit him like a bucket of ice water.
“Ding!”
“Your actions have humiliated Wei Xiaobao.”
“Wei Xiaobao’s loyalty has dropped by ten points. His loyalty is now seventy-six.”
“Please be more mindful of your behavior.”
As the message ended, Zhu Hao’s face turned bitter. He glanced at Wei Xiaobao, who was now sobbing pitifully, tears and snot streaming down his face, his voice choked with humiliation, “I’ve always been loyal to Your Highness. Why would you shame me so? What have I done wrong?” With that, Wei Xiaobao collapsed to the floor, wailing.
By now, Zhu Hao realized he’d gone too far. He forced a laugh, “Little Gui, you and I are friends. I was only joking with you just now. How about this—if you like, I’ll drop my trousers and let you have a look too! Don’t cry anymore!”