Chapter 1 A Series of Mishaps

"Ah... just two measures ago, he was still saying something like... 'Is it easy being the protagonist?' But as soon as the next chapter starts, he throws all the mess to me..."

Four PM. Xiao Tan walked alone on the street, his schoolbag on his back, muttering to himself.

"Saying something like... 'Anyway, there's still a long time until midnight. I alone am enough to watch over Xiongji. You can take this opportunity to move freely in this script world, maybe pick up some hidden missions or get some props'... Heh... isn't this just shirking responsibility..."

As he grumbled, he looked down at the map in his hand. "And... this map is drawn so sloppily... Can I really find Mya Beauty's home and meet up with them using this..."

"Hey~ You over there, student."

Just as Xiao Tan was looking at the map, a rather effeminate voice came from behind him.

"Hmm?" Xiao Tan's first reaction was, "A salesperson?"

In the real world, Wang Tanzhi was the type who often got stopped on the street. Because he looked like a very approachable person, so... insurance sellers, gym membership pushers, peddlers of various three-no-product, self-proclaimed talent scouts... all liked to find him. And then there were... random street interviews by TV stations, pick-up attempts from strange women, pick-up attempts from strange men, pick-up attempts from strange gender-unknown individuals, and so on...

Xiao Tan was just that kind of person, giving people a warm, safe feeling at first glance. It was an innate temperament, though it had something to do with his appearance, but it wasn't entirely about looks. For a negative example... there was Feng Bujue.

Jue-ge's appearance was by no means ugly. The white-clothed woman at the South Gate of the Harem City gave him a very pertinent evaluation: "Forgive my bluntness, but in terms of appearance, young master, you're still lacking just a little bit." Since it was "just a little bit," that meant... not much. Considering that the Harem City world didn't have any "Oppa" types, their aesthetic sense should be pretty reliable.

However, Feng Bujue rarely got spoken to by strangers when he walked on the street... Even those staff members who handed out flyers indiscriminately to passersby would look away, showing a hint of nervousness, when giving Jue-ge a flyer.

Under the same circumstances, if Xiao Tan walked down the street with a smile, people would feel... this handsome guy must have encountered something good. But if Feng Bujue walked down the street with the same smile, people who saw him would think... this handsome guy had just finished a locked-room murder...

"Hello there, student, can I bother you for a moment?"

When Xiao Tan turned around, he saw the figures of two men.

Both of these... were "people." Real human beings, not some anthropomorphic animals.

The one who spoke to Xiao Tan looked to be in his forties or fifties, wearing a light green kimono. He had light brown hair and a stubbly beard on his chin.

And the one next to him looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a beige kimono. He had black hair, a fair complexion, and a pair of dead fish eyes. He also carried a wooden box tied to a straw rope on his back.

"Hmm..." Xiao Tan hesitated for two seconds and replied, "Okay."

He was just wandering around aimlessly, looking for some side quests and hidden missions, so he had plenty of time.

[Side Mission Triggered]

As soon as Xiao Tan said "Okay," the system prompt came.

He immediately opened the game menu and looked at the quest log. The line [Witness the Match Between Basho-san and Sora-kun as a Referee] appeared before his eyes.

"Hmm?" After seeing the mission content, Xiao Tan reacted for a few seconds and thought, "Judging from these two's names and appearances... are they 'Matsuo Basho' and 'Kawai Sora' (the historical Matsuo Basho was a famous haikai poet of the Edo period known as the 'Haikai Saint,' and Kawai Sora was a contemporary haiku poet who traveled with Matsuo Basho in Oshu and Hokuriku as a disciple, i.e., the 'Narrow Road to the Deep North' journey. He was also one of Matsuo Basho's ten great disciples, the 'Basho Ten Disciples')?"

Xiao Tan wasn't as familiar with "Hiyori" as Jue-ge, but his knowledge of history was quite solid, and he knew something about famous historical figures from various countries, so he wondered in his heart, "Aren't these two master and disciple... What's with the match?" Thinking of this, his eyes changed slightly, "But... in this silly universe, anything can happen. I'd better take a look first..."

"Great, student. Oh... right, let me introduce myself first." Basho smiled and continued when he saw Xiao Tan agree, "I am the famous Matsuo Basho."

"Actually saying you're famous to someone you've just met..." Xiao Tan didn't know what kind of person Basho was in the Hiyori world, so he complained in his heart after hearing this, "Wait... even in front of acquaintances too... Ah... never mind..."

Two seconds later, Xiao Tan gave an awkward smile, pretended to be a little surprised, and replied, "Eh~ You're that famous Matsuo Basho-san?"

"Hehe... yes, it's me, no mistake. Would you like me to sign your clothes?" Basho asked with a pleased expression.

"Uh..." Xiao Tan replied with squinted eyes, "That... that won't be necessary... May I ask, what did you stop me for?" Xiao Tan quickly steered the conversation towards the main topic, wanting to complete the mission as soon as possible.

"Oh! Right, it's like this..." Basho pointed to Sora beside him, "That man with the poor eyesight over there is my disciple, Sora-kun."

"Slap your bear face!" As soon as Basho finished speaking, Sora slapped him from the side.

"Ah—" Basho screamed miserably, turning his neck ninety-odd degrees. However, in two seconds, he recovered, looked back at Xiao Tan, and said with a look and tone of intimidation, "You... did you see anything just now?"

"No... I'm a little farsighted, I didn't see anything..." Xiao Tan looked up at the sky and replied against his will.

"That's good." Basho said solemnly with tears in the corners of his eyes, "The Basho legend on this land still needs you to extol it, thank you for your hard work!"

"Rely on me..." Xiao Tan twitched his lips and replied, "Speaking of which... what exactly is this 'Basho Legend'..."

"Ah, that's why I stopped you." As Basho spoke, he began to explain, "Actually... just now, Sora-kun and I each composed a haiku (a classical Japanese short poem composed of seventeen syllables in a 'five-seven-five' pattern, with strict formatting requirements and subject to the restrictions of 'kigo' (seasonal words))..."

At this moment, Sora said to Xiao Tan in a very fast voice, "I composed—Magnificent Matsushima, The cuckoo soars, borrowing a sparrow's coat, Let not the scenery fade."

After he finished speaking, Basho said, "And I composed—Though it was itchy, Just a short while ago, Now it's all better."

"Hey..." Xiao Tan was shocked after listening, "What's that in the back? This shouldn't be a problem with the system translation, right? Even if I haven't studied Japanese, I can tell that the two pieces are worlds apart..."

"Student, I just wanted to find an observer to judge which sentence is better." Basho hadn't finished speaking, he said smugly, "But if you ask me... if my haiku is '100', then Sora-kun's sentence is probably '2'... oh no... it's vomit, hehe... vomit, aha... aha... ahahaha..." As he spoke, he shamelessly giggled.

"Slap your bear face again!" The next second, Sora-kun stopped Basho's foolish behavior with another slap...

"I'll go... Can these two goods' gong and shou attributes be any more obvious..." Xiao Tan felt a lot of pressure watching from the side, and thought to himself, "And... does the outcome between these two really need a 'referee' to judge..."

"Student..." Basho quickly covered his swollen left cheek and approached Xiao Tan as if nothing had happened. "The general situation is like this... Sa~ Speak... Who do you think has the better haiku, me or Sora-kun? Speak... and extol the Basho Legend..."

"Sora-kun." Xiao Tan gave the answer decisively without even waiting for Basho to finish speaking.

"Pu-eh—" Before the words were finished, Basho instantly spat out a mouthful of old blood and collapsed on the side of the road in an orz position.

"You should give up now, Basho-san," Sora said coldly from behind Basho.

"That... this student... although I don't know your name yet..." Basho didn't seem to have given up, and he came to Xiao Tan again, "Please... reconsider carefully..."

"This guy's skin is really thick..." Xiao Tan looked at Basho with a face full of sweat, and thought to himself, "You don't know my name because you never asked me or gave me a chance to introduce myself, right... And... the more you repeatedly and carefully consider your kind of haiku, the more you will feel how low it is..."

"Ah! I've got it!" Suddenly, Basho's eyes lit up, and he took out a rather thick piece of cardboard from somewhere and handed it to Xiao Tan, "If you think about it carefully, I can give you this~"

"Trying to bribe me..." Xiao Tan muttered softly and took the thing the other party handed over, "Hmm... if it's really a good prop, I might consi..."

His words stopped abruptly, because he found... on that piece of cardboard, there was only Basho-san's signature, and what was more outrageous was... there was actually a bright red lip print next to the signature.

"Please put this thing away..." At this moment, Xiao Tan's darkened state suddenly came online, "Even if you get on your knees and beg me, I won't accept it..."

"That's enough, Basho-san," Sora seemed to be unable to stand it anymore at this point, he stepped forward and grabbed Basho by the collar, "Let's go, Basho-san, don't cause any more trouble for others."

"Wa... Wait! Sora-kun..." At this moment, Basho turned over and stood up straight, "No... Sora!"

Pa—

"No... Sora-sama..." Another powerful slap changed Basho's address to his disciple, "...Duel! Duel with me!"