LOT -Chapter 267 The Price Bai Xiao Paid to Become Human

The moment she heard the words “little fatty,” Lin Mo exploded. If she hadn’t been too weak to climb out of bed, she would’ve gotten up and given him a proper beating.

“Who are you calling a little fatty? You’re the fatty! I’m not fat at all right now, okay?”

It was just that she had been chubby for a short period when she was little, and this person had insisted on calling her “little fatty lump” ever since.

Lin Ran smacked Ji Qianhua irritably. “She’s still sick, and you’re teasing her?”

Ji Qianhua touched his nose and shut his mouth. He had honestly meant what he said earlier—if this girl had a stronger constitution, she probably wouldn’t have caught a cold.

Bai Xiao muttered quietly in his heart: 【I don’t think this is about your constitution. With how much you move around every day, you’ve already exercised more than enough. It’s probably just because you haven’t been sick for a long time, so it all hit you at once this time.】

【From now on, you should go out less at night. At least wait until your body’s fully recovered.】

This incident really scared him. He had never considered the possibility of Lin Mo falling ill. She was always so lively, carefree, and cheerful—how could someone like that get sick?

But reality proved that no matter how energetic she was, she was still human, and humans fall ill.

Lin Mo lay in bed, feeling helpless. 【I really didn’t expect a bit of wind would make me run a fever. Xiao Bai, how come you are perfectly fine? Is your body stronger than mine? That shouldn’t be possible.】

Bai Xiao replied: 【Did you forget what I used to be? Even though I’ve taken human form now, my body isn’t something you can compare yourselves to. Let’s put it this way: I won’t get sick. But my life is tied to yours. If you die, I probably will too.】

A system bound to its host naturally lived and died with that host, especially when he was still just a newly-formed system.

Everyone else quietly listened to their exchange. If that was the case, then Bai Xiao would be with their girl for his entire life.

They had already silently acknowledged that the two of them would end up together, but no one knew what the future might bring.

After all, even betrothals and marriages sometimes fall apart.

Lin Mo grew even more curious. 【But I remember that you’re only bound to me, right? After I die, you can just find a new host. Systems are reusable. Once the host dies or completes the mission, the system moves on to the next.】

In the novels she read, systems only accompanied the host for part of their life. Afterward, they transferred to someone else.

Some systems experienced countless hosts—practically immortal, endlessly traveling between worlds.

Bai Xiao was silent for a moment before he said: 【I’m not like the other systems anymore. Other systems don’t have a physical body. I’m different.】

When he chose to become human, he had been given two options. If he became human, he would be fully bound to Lin Mo—her life tied to his. If she lived, he lived. If she died, he died. He would no longer be an immortal, undying existence.

He would simply be… a person with special abilities.

If he didn’t choose to become human, he would remain a system forever. After each host died or completed their mission, he would move on—like all the other systems.

Day after day, year after year, repeating the same mission cycle endlessly.

He didn’t want that.

So he chose to become human.

Some might call him foolish, but he didn’t feel foolish at all. Lin Mo was his very first host—this was different.

When he transformed into a human, the main system had even issued a warning: He was the first system to do such a thing. Also the first “foolish” one.

What was wrong with being an immortal system traveling endlessly between worlds? Why insist on being human?

Many systems would indeed feel joy or sadness with their early hosts, especially the young systems who had only gone through one or two hosts.

But with time, they would grow numb. Eventually, it became nothing more than completing missions.

Bai Xiao did not regret it. He experienced something entirely different—going out to play, basking in the sun, eating food, bickering with family. That alone was worth it.

These were things other systems would never experience.

He didn’t tell Lin Mo all this. As long as he understood, that was enough.

—

Lin Mo’s illness kept her bedridden for half a month. Just when she seemed to be getting better, the fever came back.

Her condition fluctuated, so Lin Shangshu only went to court on her better days. If she seemed worse, he took leave to stay home.

Even the emperor ordered him to stay home and watch over her—if anything happened to that little ancestor, it would be disastrous.

“Why do people have to get sick? That little girl was always so healthy, yet now she’s seriously ill,” the emperor muttered as he paced his study, full of worry.

He had already sent over plenty of precious medicinal ingredients. The imperial physicians checked on her daily, but always gave the same answer: she needs to rest and recuperate.

Half a month had passed, yet she still wasn’t fully recovered. It was maddening.

Eunuch Li comforted him. “Your Majesty, there’s no need to worry too much. The young Lord Lin is being well cared for, and her health has always been good. She won’t come to any harm.”

“She may return to court in a few days. Illness strikes swiftly but leaves slowly. She may already be recovering but simply lacks the energy.”

What Eunuch Li said was true—Lin Mo really was much better. As for whether she had energy…

Only she knew the answer to that.

“It’s so nice lying in bed. Imagine—just by being sick, I can skip court for half a month. Except for feeling miserable physically, not going to court feels amazing!”

Lin Mo lay in bed with her legs crossed, humming a tune.

She felt like she’d returned to her days of unemployment—she could barely even remember them, aside from knowing she had been carefree, happy, and never needed to wake up early.

Bai Xiao lay beside her, cracking melon seeds. “You can’t stay sick forever. A lot of people are worried about you. They visit every day, but your parents turn them away. If you keep this up, they’re going to overthink.”

A lot of people were indeed concerned for her, and gifts poured in nonstop.

Ginseng, deer antler velvet, every kind of tonic imaginable—many of them aged and incredibly precious.

If she ate all of it, she’d probably be “supplemented” to death.

After discussing it, her parents had the imperial physicians take all the tonics away. There were too many. Better to give them to the medical bureau—someone else might actually need them.