Thinking that it was strange to be yawning even after having such a weird experience, Qiu Yunru checked his game menu before going to sleep.

  Once again, he was shocked by the incompetence of this poorly-made, indecisive system!

  For some reason, right below his Hunger Stat, there had now appeared a Tiredness Stat!

  What the hell?!

  "What is this?" He snapped, poking at the screen and yawning. In his past life, Qiu Yunru had always been more irritable and less eloquent when sleepy, and the same was true now. "What's wrong with you people?!"

  A game notification dinged as if in response to his anger.

  UPDATE NOTIFICATION: A Tiredness Stat has been added to the code. Player will grow tired and require sleep daily. We hope this will aid in relationship development. Please continue working hard!

  After beating up the menu half-heartedly for a while, Qiu Yunru lied down and fell right asleep.

  _____

  The very next week, he went to go and return what he had found of Guo Mei's ashes to that corpse in the Lan Bing Caves, Fu Qiuyue. His allotted time to visit the caves had finally arrived, so he gathered up the spiritual holding back with the ashes and prepared to go and travel there.

  Of course, disciples were only sent to the caves in groups of at least three. Among the two others coming with him were none other than Pan Fa and Li Chenyuan.

  "Shidi," Qiu Yunru asked Li Chenyuan curiously. "How have you already applied and gotten admitted to go to the Lan Bing Caves? The approval process takes months!"

  Li Chenyuan shrugged. "Shizun allowed me."

  "Shizun allowed me," Pan Fa mocked under his breath, glaring at Li Chenyuan.

  Qiu Yunru really couldn't blame him. All this time, Li Chenyuan had done nothing but poke and prod his ego until it was black and blue! It seemed this treatment might have somehow motivated Pan Fa to work harder, because he had recently achieved Foundation Establishment.

  To avoid a fight starting, Qiu Yunru laughed awkwardly. "Let's head in. We should each cultivate separately, but not too far from each other. I'll go down the middle, Pan-shidi can go to left, and Li-shidi can go to the right."

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Both grumbling and muttering insults, Pan Fa set off down the left-hand cave path, and Li Chenyuan set off the right. Once he had seen them walk down a ways, Qiu Yunru sighed in relief and started down his own path.

  The cave walls glittered and glowed with a blue light, pulsating with spiritual energy.

  This was indeed the same path he had taken all that time ago to cultivate here the first time. He figured he could kill two birds with one stone on this trip: by cultivating in that cavern with thick spiritual mists, and returning the ashes properly, he would be doubly efficient!

  It wasn't long before he found that cavern again. The air grew heavy and cold, pressing down on his face like solid ice. Crystalline clouds rose from his lips, and the path ahead glowed brightly.

  Inside the cavern, he sat down in a meditative position and closed his eyes.

  Last time, it had taken some time for Fu Qiuyue's corpse to show up. It would be more practical to meditate and grow his cultivation while waiting for her to appear hanging over him.

  It wasn't long at all before he felt something brushing past the back of his neck.

  Qiu Yunru opened his eyes and nearly threw up again.

  Just as before, hanging over him with a tilted head, rotting blue skin, and unrecognizable robes, was that same drowned corpse. This time, Qiu Yunru waited patiently for her (while holding back his nausea) to reach out to touch his shoulder and take some of his qi to return to her living form.

  The corpse tilted its head down at him, and Qiu Yunru couldn't help but think:

  Corpses really are like puppies. Wait, what?

  When her bony, bloated finger brushed his throat, Qiu Yunru managed to hold back his nausea and was merely dizzy for a few seconds this time as a sliver of qi was sucked from his meridians. Weakly, he looked up to see the corpse's form rapidly changing.

  Rather than stinking remains, there now stood a glowing, beautiful figure before him. She wore the white and jade robes of the Jade Clouds Sect, and her features were both strong and graceful. This was Fu Qiuyue.

  "Ah?" She exclaimed, crouching down to grab his chin and see his face. "It's you again!"

  Qiu Yunru coughed a little, his eyes watering. Even though she wore the illusion of her living form, her could still smell the stink of her rotting breath!

  "Ah...it's me, yes."

  Memory was truly a strange thing when it came to spirits and vengeful ghosts. Qiu Yunru had studied this well. The one thing that a vengeful spirit could never recall without going into a vengeful rage and attacking the nearest living creature was, was their own death, or the main injustice of their life. Therefore, Fu Qiuyue was looking joyfully at him now, having no memory of her own murder, or the murder of her shimei.

  "Hmmm. You were here just a bit ago. Did you find Shizun and ask him about Guo-shimei?"

  Qiu Yunru swallowed. He must be very careful. If he delivered the news in a way that was too harsh, she might attack him immediately.

  "...I did."

  "Ah!" Fu Qiuyue's eyes lit up. "And what did Shizun say? Has she been helped?"

  If he had to answer this kind of question on the spot, knowing the information that that girl had indeed not been helped and instead had been brutally murdered, Qiu Yunru would have sweated and floundered until Fu Qiuyue grew enraged and strangled him with impatience. He really wasn't good with emotional conversations and careful words!

  However, he had certainly had time to practice for this occassion.

  Feeling a heavy guilt in his heart, Qiu Yunru nodded. "Yes. Guo-shijie has been...helped. What's more...this shidi brought something for Fu-shijie."