After Chasing The Villain With A Clueless System - Chapter 8

At the summit of Tianshan were four courtyards situated to the east, south, west, and north.

The western courtyard housed the people from Wucheng and the Tianshan Sect, while the eastern courtyard was occupied by the Taixu Sect, the Yuanzhen Sect, and the group of Daoists from the One Dao Sect who loved preaching grand principles.

These Daoists were permitted to marry and have children. As long as they did nothing that violated morality or justice, they were no different from ordinary members of the martial world, aside from having more rules and restrictions to follow.

Song Qi looked at Xu Yan’s handsome, jade-like face and unconsciously let out a cold laugh. Then she turned away.

“His reputation is exaggerated.”

Anyone she hated was ugly in her eyes, no matter how attractive they might be.

Song Tianxing smiled, assuming only that his younger sister had high standards. He said nothing else. Xu Yan had nothing to do with him anyway.

The siblings were preparing to return to the northern courtyard when they encountered people from Wucheng.

Wucheng’s members wore fitted black uniforms embroidered with golden flame totems, symbolizing the undying spirit of a martial artist. They looked bold and valiant.

But why would people from Wucheng be on the road leading from the eastern courtyard to the northern one?

There were two men, both of them unsmiling. Unlike the martial artists chatting and laughing along the road, they seemed to be carrying out some kind of assignment and hurried past everyone around them.

Song Qi and Song Tianxing stepped aside to let them through.

As Song Qi watched the two men, her heart pounded. She felt as though she had moved a little closer to the dark moonlight in her heart.

However, the two men were heading toward their northern courtyard.

Had something happened there?

Song Tianxing and Song Qi exchanged a glance, then immediately followed the two men back.

Song Qi remembered that nothing unusual had occurred before the Young Heroes’ Assembly began. What were these two going to the northern courtyard for?

She soon got her answer.

The two men had come to invite Yu Mingshun, the leader of the Divine Sword Sect, over for a conversation. Unfortunately, Yu Mingshun was not present, so the two could only return to the western courtyard.

Song Qi remembered that Wucheng had never had much contact with Yu Mingshun.

Why did Wen Wanxi want to invite him over?

Song Qi could not figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it.

The Young Heroes’ Assembly would begin the day after tomorrow. By then, patrols at the summit of Tianshan would be even tighter, making it much harder for her to beat up Xu Yan.

“Brother, I’m going to look around by myself. I’ll be back soon!”

Before Song Tianxing could react, Song Qi turned and ran.

He called after her, but she did not stop.

Watching his younger sister’s retreating figure, Song Tianxing shook his head with a helpless smile.

Who knew whether this girl would stir up trouble again?

Still, he knew that although Song Qi loved causing a commotion, she understood her limits.

Song Qi had gone to gather information.

She put her extraordinary social boldness in this world to use and began asking where the Taixu Sect usually practiced martial arts.

Xu Yan’s reputation was apparently quite considerable. Whenever she asked about the Taixu Sect, people inevitably mentioned him as well, often speaking of him even more than the sect leader.

The Taixu Sect had arrived at the summit of Tianshan one day before the Divine Sword Sect. They usually practiced in the woods behind the eastern courtyard.

There was an open clearing in the forest that had been specially prepared for martial arts training.

According to what Song Qi heard, although Xu Yan lacked natural talent, he was extremely diligent and practiced extra every night.

On the Taixu Sect’s first day there, female disciples from other sects had secretly watched Xu Yan train. After Xu Yan discovered them, he asked the person in charge of the Tianshan summit to manage the matter properly.

By now, there probably would not be any female disciples secretly watching him anymore.

Good.

With her lightness skill, Song Qi was confident that she could sneak into the area without making a sound.

Once she had made up her mind, Song Qi returned to the northern courtyard.

The biggest problem now was not Xu Yan.

It was how she could slip past Bai Luoyin tonight.

Among the women traveling with the Divine Sword Sect, there were only Bai Luoyin and Song Qi, so naturally they shared a room.

With Bai Luoyin’s vigilance, how was Song Qi supposed to escape right under her nose?

“What are you thinking about?”

Bai Luoyin noticed Song Qi staring blankly at the candle flame.

She had not intended to ask, but she was somewhat concerned about Song Qi’s condition. Lately, this person had seemed rather strange.

“I’m thinking about what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.”

What to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner were questions Song Qi often struggled with.

But that was not what she was thinking about now.

She was wondering when Bai Luoyin would finally go to sleep.

They had been busy all day. By the time they returned and ate dinner, most of the evening had already passed.

Song Qi had been sitting in the room staring into space for a long time, while Bai Luoyin continued reading with no apparent intention of resting.

Please, hurry up and sleep. I still need to go beat someone up!

“Have you decided? I’m going to sleep.”

“I’ve decided, I’ve decided. Let’s sleep!”

Song Qi blew out the candle and shot beneath the covers.

Bai Luoyin froze.

This person’s changes were far too abrupt. One moment she had been staring blankly, and the next she had darted into bed full of energy.

Full of energy?

Why had Bai Luoyin described her that way?

How strange.

Naturally, Song Qi did not sleep.

She concentrated on Bai Luoyin’s breathing. Once it became slow and even, Song Qi quietly rose, changed into black clothing, and put on a mask.

The mask covered only the upper half of her face. She had bought it on the way to Tianshan specifically so she could beat up Xu Yan.

【Hey, you’ve gone to all this trouble to beat Xu Yan. Aren’t you going to think about how to obtain Wen Wanxi’s sword tassel?】

After getting dressed, Song Qi quietly slipped out of the room.

【I can’t worry about that right now. I just want to beat him up and vent my anger!】

【Fine. Just don’t kill him. He still counts as a character who helps drive the plot forward.】

【Fine.】

Song Qi’s lightness skill came from Cheng Ying.

It was called the Wind-Chasing Step and ranked among the top three lightness techniques in the martial world. At night, it was especially elusive, allowing its user to vanish into the wind like a ghost.

Song Qi avoided every patrolling disciple and reached the rear mountain behind the eastern courtyard.

Just as expected, she heard the sound of a weapon cutting through the air.

Someone was practicing.

She hid behind a large tree and watched the handsome man in the forest mechanically repeating his sword forms.

With comprehension like his, Song Qi had no idea how Wen Wanxi had once been blind enough to fall for him.

She had probably been deceived by his looks.

Xu Yan was indeed hardworking. He could repeat the same move over and over until it was perfect.

But how could martial arts remain trapped within rigid, unchanging forms?

Exhausted, Xu Yan finally stopped.

He planted his longsword into the ground and bent over, panting heavily.

It was time.

Song Qi flew forward.

Her movement was ghostlike, and her longsword thrust out.

Xu Yan barely managed to block it.

“Who’s there?”

He shouted angrily and tried to counterattack, only to discover that his attacker’s sword forms were so dense and continuous that he had no opportunity to do anything except defend.

The attacks alternated between fast and slow, changing unpredictably with no recognizable pattern.

Who was this person?

Xu Yan was about to call for help when Song Qi struck him across the mouth with her sword.

Bah!

You can’t win, so you call for help? What kind of man are you?

Cursing him inwardly, Song Qi repeatedly struck Xu Yan’s mouth with the flat of her blade, carefully avoiding the edge so that he would not bleed.

Still, his mouth was definitely going to swell.

“You… you! Mmph!”

Xu Yan realized that his opponent did not intend to take his life.

He no longer even bothered defending himself properly and instead covered his mouth to prevent Song Qi from continuing to torment it.

Song Qi still did not feel satisfied.

With a turn of her wrist, she withdrew her sword and punched Xu Yan directly in the eye.

Xu Yan covered his mouth with one hand and his eye with the other. Frightened, he stumbled backward and asked shakily, “Who exactly are you? Why are you attacking me?”

The cold night wind blew past, lifting Song Qi’s long hair.

Only then did Xu Yan clearly see that his attacker was a woman.

Could… could it be her?

“Who I am is none of your business. I’m beating you because I want to. Do I need to choose an auspicious date first?”

Huh?

Had she heard that line in some palace drama before?

Song Qi deliberately lowered her voice and charged forward with her sword again.

This time, Xu Yan reacted quickly. He grabbed his sword, turned, and fled without looking back.

He was clearly terrified of being beaten any further.

Song Qi did not pursue him.

Xu Yan was running toward the eastern courtyard. If she alarmed those old Daoists from the Taixu Sect, she would only invite trouble.

“You’re lucky you ran fast.”

Song Qi snorted and prepared to return to her room.

Then she faintly sensed a subtle current of air flying rapidly toward her.

Alert, Song Qi twisted aside and avoided the incoming object.

However, it struck the mask on her face, knocking it to the ground with a metallic clatter.

“Who’s there?”

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it?

Someone had actually ambushed her, and she had been completely unable to sense that person’s presence.

Their martial arts were clearly far superior to hers.

Song Qi covered her mouth and nose with one hand to avoid being recognized.

But when she looked down, her heart nearly stopped.

Her mask had been knocked off by a black needle.

A black thread was attached to that slender needle.

This weapon was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Wasn’t it one of the Killing Threads?

Wen Wanxi!

Song Qi looked toward the direction from which the attack had come.

A graceful figure was walking slowly toward her, one step at a time.

The Killing Thread had already been withdrawn.

The woman had not intended to take her life.

Song Qi wanted to flee, yet at the same time, she wanted to stay.

She wanted to see what Wen Wanxi looked like.

She also wanted to speak with this beautiful, powerful, tragic villain, even though they probably had nothing to say to each other.

“The Seven Forms of the Wine Immortal.”

Wen Wanxi’s voice was clear and aloof, carrying the faintest trace of amusement.

Yet that amusement was chilling.

She resembled a venomous snake lying in wait, ready to open its jaws and swallow someone whole at any moment.

It was over.

Wen Wanxi had actually recognized her sword technique.

Song Qi wanted to flee now, but her legs refused to obey her.

They remained rooted to the ground as though her acupoints had been sealed.

They were even trembling slightly.

If Wen Wanxi wanted to kill her, Song Qi probably would not survive beyond thirty moves.

Wen Wanxi approached step by step and stopped only when she stood directly in front of Song Qi.

They were extremely close.

If Wen Wanxi attacked now, Song Qi likely would not have any chance of surviving.

Yet Song Qi had gone completely still.

By the moonlight, she finally saw Wen Wanxi’s face clearly.

Wen Wanxi’s eyes were like dark ice, and her skin was as pure as snow.

The hazy night softened her breathtaking beauty by a few degrees.

The smile on her lips was dangerous, like a poisonous datura flower, accompanied by a faint, cool fragrance.

She reached out and pulled away the hand Song Qi had been using to cover her mouth and nose.

Only then did she see Song Qi’s face—a woman of elegant, otherworldly beauty.

Song Qi felt Wen Wanxi’s hand close around her wrist.

The cool touch of those fingertips finally brought her back to her senses.

She immediately broke free and retreated several steps.

Beauty truly could ruin a person!

“Wh-what do you want?”

Author’s Note

The female lead has appeared! Our female lead has finally appeared!