Suni said that if it weren't for the Fuguoguo (fortune fruit) mission, he wouldn't have been tricked.
The Fuguoguo system had only been in operation for about a month.
In the beginning, people would exchange Fuguoguo for money. He had also bought new clothes back then, but for some reason, in less than a month, it stopped exchanging for money.
This made Suni lose his motivation.
Later, he heard that Fuguoguo could improve one's cultivation. Since he had nothing else to do, he thought he might as well try to earn some.
This Sanshui Village was a poor and remote place, and the villagers had no proper livelihood throughout the year.
Therefore, there were very few people who could offer him sustenance.
As a result, a fake Fuguoguo ruined his incense and candle stall.
"What's going on?" Liu Sandao asked doubtfully.
About ten days ago, the Fuguoguo system issued a mission. The reward was three Fuguoguo. To be honest, this was more enticing than any previous mission.
For past missions, it was almost one Fuguoguo per mission.
But this one was different, and Suni was overjoyed.
The most crucial part was that the mission was incredibly simple: just make a child happy.
Even Liu Sandao didn't understand this mission when he heard it.
Why would a divine system issue such a mission?
According to Suni, it was due to the child's destiny.
Because in his previous life, he had saved a minor deity, and in this life, that deity was repaying the kindness, ensuring he would not suffer poverty.
However, there was no certainty if he had such a fate in this life, so a scheme was set up.
It was called "Money Lure."
The specific method was: a deity would dangle a divine copper coin by a string near the child's mouth. If the child opened his mouth and bit it, he would have inexhaustible wealth in this life; if he didn't bite it, it meant he would remain a busy commoner in this life.
At first, the origin of this scheme seemed interesting.
It was a win-win situation: helping a fellow cultivator fulfill a past-life connection and gaining Fuguoguo.
Therefore, he accepted the mission without hesitation.
That night, Suni followed the mission's instructions and went to the designated household.
Unexpectedly, that family turned out to be Zhang Sushui's.
He knew this family well.
Their poverty was notorious in Sanshui Village. If this child could truly change the destiny of the entire family, he would be delighted.
Coincidentally, that morning, Zhang Sushui had asked her husband to offer incense to him.
She prayed for his blessing for their son to grow up healthy, have a bright future, and earn a lot of money.
On his incense altar, they had placed a large hen.
Therefore, completing this mission would bring happiness to everyone.
Suni used one of his copper coins as a lure, threaded it with a red string, and dangled it near the child's mouth at midnight.
Generally, children of this age woke up frequently, so it wasn't unusual.
But for him to wake up precisely at midnight was a matter of destiny.
Suni didn't care about these things. Whether the child woke up or bit the coin was truly a matter of fate.
As soon as the copper coin was placed near the child's mouth, the child remained still.
Suni secretly prayed, "Open your eyes, child. Your family deserves a change."
But the child remained motionless.
Suni didn't get up immediately, as missions required a process.
The Fuguoguo system also needed time to verify if the mission was completed normally.
Of course, the verification time was very fast and not measured by mortal time.
Suni was waiting for the "ding!" sound, which was the sound of Fuguoguo being credited.
As long as the Fuguoguo was credited, regardless of whether the child bit the coin or not, the mission would be considered complete.
He simultaneously wished to hear the sound quickly and for the child to bite the coin quickly.
Just then, three Fuguoguo suddenly appeared before him, but there was no "ding!" sound.
As Suni was wondering, the child's lips actually moved, and he opened his mouth to bite the copper coin.
Since the Fuguoguo had appeared, there was no reason for him not to take them, right? Suni reached out to take them.
At this moment, a "ding!" sound finally occurred.
However, a dark figure rose from his side and departed.
Suni had a bad premonition and immediately got up to pursue.
But at this moment, the child was biting the copper coin, and as Suni pulled away, the child's mouth was cut by the coin.
Suni couldn't bother to look at the child and was anxious to chase the dark figure.
However, the next day, Zhang Sushui's husband, along with several others, came and smashed his incense altar.
The candles and offerings on the altar were all smashed to pieces.
A usually honest man, he cursed, "What a useless land god! We just offered sacrifices during the day, and you injured the child at night! We offer so much, what's the use? The more we offer, the poorer we get. It's better to dismantle it early and be done with it!"
"What was that dark shadow? I came here just now because I was chasing that dark shadow," Liu Sandao interrupted.
"Alas, I don't know. I thought I had the Fuguoguo in hand, so it didn't matter if I chased it or not.
It's just that I felt something was slightly off in my heart, so I made that move.
Who would have thought that I would end up injuring Zhang Sushui's child like that."
Liu Sandao listened and said nothing, having nothing to say.
Suni continued, "But when I came back and carefully weighed those three Fuguoguo, they were different from the previous ones, and they were lighter!"
Upon hearing "lighter," Liu Sandao's first thought was that this mission was issued by that Fuguoguo shadow system.
But weren't those missions only available to deities or ghosts with evil energy?
"Is the weight of those Fuguoguo only one-third of the previous ones?" Liu Sandao asked, staring at Suni.
"This... I didn't pay much attention. Now that you mention it, it seems so."
Suni's uncertain reply focused Liu Sandao's attention on the Fuguoguo shadow system that had appeared.
Who would have thought that the Fuguoguo system had only been in trial operation for a short time, and someone had already devised a system with the same model? It was truly remarkable.
Although the operating mechanism was slightly different, it ultimately had an impact on the Fuguoguo system.
Thinking this, Liu Sandao comforted Suni, "You don't need to be too angry. After all, the Fuguoguo has been swapped. To find out the truth, we must catch that dark shadow."
Suni nodded.
Liu Sandao briefly outlined his plan and then quickly returned his Dharma body to Zhang Sushui's home.
Zhang Sushui was very hospitable. Bai Suxiang had already given her all her money, but she insisted on keeping the three of them for a meal before accepting it.
Although there wasn't much abundant food at home, it was, after all, a mountain village, and there were some mountain delicacies. Moreover, Zhang Sushui was skillful and her cooking was exceptionally fragrant.
During the meal, not only Liu Sandao ate with relish, but even Fu Ruhai felt that earthly delicacies couldn't be better.
As for Bai Suxiang, she kept clamoring that she would personally learn how to make these earthly delicacies in the future.