NOVEL NEXT 17. Daily Quest
As the little white tiger gratefully hugged the peach, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out:
“Ding! Daily quest loaded successfully! Good interpersonal relationships are essential for the host’s path to the peak. As the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity. Mingxia Peak’s Senior Sister Yun Qingyu has gifted you a sweet peach; you should return the favor. Please pick a peach as a gift as soon as possible.
Current progress: (0/1).”
The little white tiger, about to bite into the peach, froze. She looked down at the fruit in her paws, then up at the tall peach tree, inevitably falling into contemplation—do tigers climb trees? She knew cats could, but tigers? She wasn’t sure. Especially since she wasn’t originally a tiger; as someone who couldn’t climb trees before, she felt rather uncertain.
While the little white tiger was doubting herself, Yun Qingyu noticed her unusual behavior. Of course, she couldn’t guess anything about daily quests. Instead, she thought of the Qingyuan Spirit Essence that the little white tiger had eagerly accepted earlier but eventually had to entrust to her for safekeeping.
The Qingyuan Spirit Essence was too high-grade for the current little white tiger to use, but this was just an ordinary peach.
Yun Qingyu was puzzled, but the little white tiger’s next actions seemed to confirm her suspicions. She stared at the peach tree for a while, then finally pushed the peach back with a solemn expression, even pressing her fluffy little paw firmly on it… Her actions and gaze were as serious as if entrusting a dying wish.
The atmosphere inexplicably turned serious, though Yun Qingyu didn’t understand why. Before she could inquire, the little white tiger, who had been contentedly nestled in her arms, suddenly wriggled free and leaped down.
At present, the little white tiger was still very weak compared to cultivators, but the agility of felines was innate.
The little white tiger landed gracefully, her paw pads touching the ground without a sound. She shook her fur, stretched lazily, took a few steps to limber up, then with a running start, dashed straight for the peach tree.
Jiang Mo ran fast. Though still considered weak by cultivator standards even at level 11, by mortal standards she was already unimaginably powerful. So when she ran, leaped, extended her claws to grip the trunk, then scampered up to the treetop, the series of actions was so fluid it even surprised herself.
Her tender tiger paws resting on a forked branch, the little tiger raised her head proudly: Was she really this capable now?
Jiang Mo stood steadily in the tree, feeling pleasantly surprised and a bit smug. She truly didn’t know how to climb trees and had almost given up on this daily quest. But based on her past gaming experience, she figured daily quests usually weren’t too difficult, and early-game leveling often relied on them. Even as a slacker, she felt she should at least give it a try.
Moreover, she had been waiting for these daily quests for days. Now that she had finally reached level 10 through pill-popping, the daily quests had unlocked. Even with her shortcut to leveling, she was curious to see what rewards the daily quests might bring.
So she decided to try, and the attempt proved surprisingly rewarding.
At least all those pills hadn’t been consumed in vain; her increased combat power wasn’t just numbers.
The little white tiger swished her tail proudly, then looked around, ready to find the biggest, sweetest peach for her senior sister.
Yun Qingyu, unaware of her thoughts, wasn’t impressed by the little white tiger’s swift ascent to the treetop. After all, this height was nothing for a spirit beast. She was merely curious about why the little white tiger had climbed the tree.
Driven by this curiosity, she took a few steps forward, holding the peach the little white tiger had entrusted to her.
As it happened, Jiang Mo had carefully selected her target. She was pondering how to pick the peach with her short claws when she saw her senior sister thoughtfully approach the tree. Her tiger eyes lit up, and inspiration struck. She simply extended her paw and swatted forcefully, knocking the chosen peach from its branch, sending it hurtling towards Yun Qingyu.
A cultivator at the peak of Golden Core realm naturally wouldn’t be hit so easily. Yun Qingyu raised her hand, effortlessly catching the falling peach. She looked at the two peaches in her hands, a thoughtful gleam in her cool, beautiful eyes.
After a moment, Yun Qingyu looked up and asked, “Little white tiger, is this peach for me?”
Jiang Mo was delighted by her perceptiveness. She quickly nodded her little head, raising her paw to point at the peach while letting out several “aow” sounds, gesturing emphatically. It looked quite adorable, though her crouching posture in the tree resembled a monkey more than a tiger… Hadn’t she just picked a peach as a gift?
Of course, Yun Qingyu wouldn’t say such things aloud. Jiang Mo only saw her eyes curve slightly, revealing a rare smile. Though faint, it was truly stunning. “Thank you,” she said.
The little white tiger felt happy, and what made her even happier were the system prompts that followed:
“Ding! Congratulations, host has completed the daily quest. Current progress: (1/1).”
“Ding! Congratulations, host has gained 2000 experience points and 10 points.”
“Ding! Congratulations, host’s experience meets the upgrade condition. Congratulations, host has reached level 12.”
Three consecutive prompts made Jiang Mo’s eyes sparkle. She hadn’t expected such generous rewards from a daily quest. This was her first time earning 2000 experience points at once, and she finally had some points beyond zero. At this rate of earning points, unlocking the mall and level indicators would be no problem at all!
Jiang Mo rejoiced briefly over gaining points but quickly became nonchalant about the 2000 experience points. After all, the experience required for leveling up doubled each time. While 2000 points seemed substantial now, in a couple of days it would be insignificant.
Moreover, she still had Spirit Nurturing Pills. Taking a few more pills would be more efficient than this once-daily quest. Unless the quest’s experience reward increased with her level…
Thinking of this, Jiang Mo wanted to ask the system, but looking around, she remembered they had left it behind earlier. Before she could feel annoyed about this, she realized something even more vexing—while climbing up the tree had been exhilarating, now that she stood in the treetop, she suddenly realized she didn’t know how to get down!
It was quite embarrassing.
The little tiger’s paws stepped tentatively on the branch, making it sway precariously, and she dared not move further. She was afraid to jump down; the tall peach tree was three or four stories high, and the thought of falling was painful.
Left with no choice, the hesitant little white tiger finally gave up struggling and decided to seek help from her caretaker.
So Yun Qingyu, who had just received a peach gift from the little tiger, soon found herself torn between laughter and exasperation as she discovered the divine beast trapped in the peach tree, mewing “aow, aow” at her in a milky, pitiful voice.
Fortunately, the senior sister was kind-hearted and didn’t mock the little tiger. She just gave her a helpless look, put away the two peaches, then opened her arms and said to the little white tiger in the tree, “Jump down, I’ll catch you.”
Jiang Mo’s heart immediately settled. Without hesitation, she leaped into Yun Qingyu’s embrace.