I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

In situations like this, Lu Ban would likely make the most of the resources and directly choose the mission in the ruined capital.

But Lu Ban felt something was off about this coincidence. When everything leads to one result, according to general theory, that result might not be what he wanted.

"There's no other way, it seems I'll have to spend more points."

Lu Ban was helpless. Although he could also get a half-price draw every day until he won, since there was a direct ten-draw option, he might as well try it.

Thinking of this, he immediately spent his Silence Points, specified the island, and exchanged for the ten-pull of [Madman's Knowledge].

To Lu Ban's surprise, this ten-times event didn't mean he was given ten skulls strung together to become Sha Wujing.

There is only one.

The skull resembled a human, but thick shadows lingered between the eye sockets, even obscuring the pale flames within.

It seems to present the image of the "madman's knowledge" representing the island.

Lu Ban immediately crushed the skull.

When the shadow, accompanied by a familiar yet unfamiliar flute melody, flowed into Lu Ban's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, he suddenly remembered something.

"If you crush one, will ten times the amount of knowledge flow in?"

In the belated moment, Lu Ban's vision went black.

Chapter 325 The Cleaner

Lu Ban felt as if his head was being kicked around like a ball, with countless pieces of knowledge and babbling emanating from his brain. It was as if his skull would burst open at any moment due to the weight of the blow.

Lu Ban saw a sky full of stars, among which the brightest ones formed a strange pattern, like some kind of towering giant. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was not an illusion.

Those stars are part of that enormous monster, whose body spans tens of millions of light-years. They, or rather, they slumber within it, only shifting their positions slightly every tens of billions of years, much like a human turning over in their slumber.

When Lu Ban realized this, countless murmurs echoed in his ears again, but these murmurs were chaotic and disordered, as if they came from countless worlds.

"...Water, I need water! It's so strange, I've drunk so much water, why am I still thirsty? No, don't stop me, I need water, give me water, give me water..."

"...It killed my mother first. When that thing's long, straw-like mouth burrowed into my mother's ear, I knew it was all over. In less than a minute, my mother's eyes rolled back, and her whole body shriveled up. I knew, I knew, that next it would be my turn..."

"...She's no hope at all, she's just a menace. Everything is aimed at her. Have you seen her face at night? That's...that's...Ahhh, don't come any closer, don't come any closer..."

"...It's strange. When we found the body, both his eyes and half of his liver were missing. His body looked like it had been pried open by something, with all his ribs protruding outwards. I know it sounds impolite to say this, but I think it looked like a flower..."

"...Everyone who has seen this painting has gone mad. I don't recommend you lift the curtain. Yes, its former owner, a singer, committed suicide the day after she bought the painting. She hanged herself from the hall's light, completely naked, with only blood, from who knows where, covering her entire body..."

“…Eyes, I’m sure, I saw eyes, on him, on the chair, on you, no, don’t come near me, I’m going to puncture these eyes, I’m going to drive these eyes away, drive them all away…”

Amidst the polluted current, which felt like it was being swept up by a raging storm, Lu Ban could only faintly feel himself bleeding.

Even the grass inside his body couldn't stop the blood from gushing out of Lu Ban's body. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, without even a twitch, his whole body frozen on the ground as if he were dead.

Black and gray smoke swirled around Lu Ban, but he remained motionless.

A few strands of hair peeked out from under the bed, and an eye stared at the motionless Lu Ban.

Soon, grass grew on all of Lu Ban's wounds.

These plants frantically absorbed his blood, as if nourished by celestial dew, and grew rapidly, soon exceeding three feet in height.

The mournful sound of the erhu drifted from an unknown building; the somewhat unfamiliar practice tune only added to the atmosphere of Lu Ban's predicament.

Pat pat pat—

Lyca ran from the living room into the room and saw the landslide covered in grass and trees, which suddenly melted.

It only took a second for the corgi to transform into a monster made of flesh and blood. The moment the hound's true form was revealed, Lu Ban's room fell silent.

The hound came to Lu Ban's side, extended two whiskers, and gently rubbed Lu Ban's head.

Immediately, the vegetation on Lu Ban's body began to sway, as if swept by a gale, making a rustling sound, and then quickly withered.

Lu Ban twitched and then woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a huge eye, surrounded by tentacles, staring at him, accompanied by the sound of flesh writhing.

"Thank you."

Lu Ban expressed his gratitude.

He got up.

Looking around, the entire room was stained with his blood.

"It's a bit difficult to clean."

Lu Ban thought for a moment, took out his phone, and found the phone number of a local cleaning company.

When the call was made, a man answered.

"Hello, this is Jiangcheng Jiaran Household Services. How can I help you?"

"Oh, it's like this, my house needs cleaning, just one room, there are some stains on the sheets and blankets."

Lu Ban explained the situation.

"Could you tell us what kind of stain it is so we can prepare the appropriate cleaning agent?"

The other party asked again.

"It's blood."

After Lu Ban finished speaking, you could hear the other person pause for a moment, as if they had bumped into something.

"...Let me confirm, are the blankets and sheets in the room stained with blood?"

Lu Ban wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he heard another dialing sound coming from the phone, though the key tones were very short, only about three.

"Yes, because of the heavy bleeding, even the mattress is stained with blood. It's quite cold now, and changing the mattress is too much trouble. By the way, do you offer wall cleaning services here?"

Lu Ban answered truthfully.

"Provided, provided."

The other party answered repeatedly.

"What about the fees?"

Lu Ban asked again.

"Well, for the whole room, our price is seventy yuan per hour, and it will probably take two to three hours."

The other party replied.

"It's a bit expensive...maybe we should check out another place."

Lu Ban felt that seventy yuan an hour was too expensive, and if all else failed, she could wash it herself.

"...Hmm, I'll keep him calm... Ah, wait, sir, I forgot to mention, this is your first time using our services, so we'll be giving you a discount—a 25% discount per hour!"

The other person seemed to have just finished speaking with someone and hurriedly picked up the microphone.

"50% off, that's not bad. When can you come?"

Lu Ban thought this shop was quite reasonable; first-time customers got a 50% discount, and it cost 35 yuan an hour, which seemed acceptable.

Although Lu Ban has a lot of money, he is not stingy or petty, which is why he is concerned about prices. He mainly hopes that everything in this world can find its value. For example, cleaning at seventy yuan an hour is obviously too high. If such cleaning services can still find customers, then wouldn't those cleaning companies that charge fifty yuan an hour be losing money?

Lu Ban negotiated the price so as not to let down every bit of hard work.

After giving his address to the other party, Lu Ban went to the bathroom to wash his face.

After waiting for a moment, Lu Ban heard a knock on the door.

"Could you please open the door? We're having a door-to-door cleaning service."

Lu Ban opened the door and immediately saw a cleaning staff member in blue clothes, and three police officers behind him.

"Don't move!"

The policeman called out.

Chapter 326 [Springtime Without War]

It took a while to persuade the police officers to leave. Under Lu Ban's supervision, the cleaning staff spent three hours cleaning Lu Ban's room.

The fee is 105 yuan.

Cheap and affordable.

Lu Ban decided to look for another company next time.

By the time Lu Ban finished cleaning, it was already evening. He ate something casually and figured he couldn't sleep in bed anyway, so he might as well go and complete the task.

Sitting on the sofa, Lu Ban checked the things he was carrying.

Radio, suona horn, crowbar, some compressed dry food, canned goods, and of course, crystallized red leaves.

Three windows reappeared on the wall.

Lu Ban pushed open the last door directly.

The falling cherry blossoms intertwined against the azure sky, forming the system's cold and indifferent words.

[No war in spring]

The shrine maiden of Wajima Shrine is about to step down, and a new shrine maiden will inherit her mantle and be bathed in the purifying fire.

However, not every priestess can enter the shrine and receive divine favor; competition is everywhere.

A shrine maiden hailed as a genius is preparing to cross the ocean to the island of He. She seems to exist solely to become the high priestess, the queen of shrine maidens. But the high priestess means power, and the entanglements of family and politics can sometimes sway the judgment of the gods. And genius, sometimes, should not exist.

[You have accepted the mission to protect the shrine maiden on her journey to the island. Along the way, more dangerous than impurities is the human heart. On this long and arduous journey, only the falling cherry blossoms and the clear seawater will not betray you.]

[Task Difficulty: Selectable]

[Mission Requirements: Escort the shrine maiden to Wajima Taisha Shrine]

[Mission Requirement: Witness the birth of a new High Priestess]

"I have forgotten what I once thought, only my body remains, perhaps a relic of yours."

"A very clear escort mission."

This type of task is actually quite difficult for Lu Ban.