After Chasing The Villain With A Clueless System - Chapter 9

“Wh-what do you want?”

Song Qi retreated several steps, yet her gaze remained fixed on Wen Wanxi’s face.

The smile on Wen Wanxi’s lips deepened. Her beautiful eyes were darker than the night itself, sharp and dangerous, revealing nothing of what she was thinking.

“I wanted to see who beat that man.”

What the hell?

Could Wen Wanxi still have lingering feelings for Xu Yan and now intended to settle the score with her?

No way. Wasn’t Wen Wanxi supposed to be clearheaded when it came to men?

Then again, in the novel, Wen Wanxi had regained her senses very quickly. After claiming the position of Wucheng’s lord, she never mentioned romance again and devoted herself entirely to her ambitions.

“Y-you want to avenge him?”

Song Qi’s lips trembled.

By the moonlight, she studied Wen Wanxi carefully. She wore fitted black clothing that outlined her graceful figure, making her resemble a blade draped in black gauze—mysterious and dangerous.

“No.”

Wen Wanxi gave only that single-word answer.

Then she stepped forward, reached out, and seized Song Qi’s chin.

Her grip was so strong that Song Qi wondered whether her jaw might be ruined. Would she never again be able to run her mouth to her heart’s content?

“You did well. I liked it.”

The corners of Wen Wanxi’s eyes lifted slightly, adding a touch of bewitching madness to her expression.

“I originally came here tonight to kill him. But now that I’ve seen this, keeping him alive seems more entertaining.”

A madwoman.

As expected of a madwoman.

Song Qi swallowed.

Yet she could not resist Wen Wanxi’s allure—dangerous and captivating.

For the first time, Song Qi found herself unable to remain rational. On one hand, her heart ached for Wen Wanxi. On the other, she was completely entranced by the woman she had become.

Wen Wanxi embodied every quality that fascinated Song Qi, yet she also carried a danger that made Song Qi afraid to approach her.

Song Qi possessed an omniscient view of the story.

She knew Wen Wanxi had become this way because she had endured experiences no human being should ever have suffered.

All her madness, cruelty, and coldness were merely protective colors.

Wen Wanxi noticed the softness and heartache in Song Qi’s eyes.

As though pricked by a needle, she abruptly withdrew her hand.

Had she seen incorrectly?

“You pleased me tonight. If you break one of his arm bones tomorrow, I will grant you one request.”

Song Qi immediately perked up.

If Wen Wanxi would grant her a request, didn’t that mean she finally had a chance to obtain the sword tassel?

【Hurry up and agree!】

Hutu urged her.

Song Qi did not hesitate.

“Fine. But I don’t need you to grant me a request. I only want you to give me one thing.”

“What?”

Wen Wanxi’s slender brows rose slightly, adding a hint of wickedness to her expression.

Song Qi suddenly felt as though she were trying to snatch food from a tiger’s jaws.

“Y-your sword tassel.”

Song Qi pointed toward the sword hanging from Wen Wanxi’s waist.

It was the Seven Killings Sword, one of the four great swords of the martial world.

A red tassel was tied around the hilt of the divine weapon. It resembled both a flower and a butterfly and was exquisitely crafted.

Wen Wanxi took the Seven Killings Sword in one hand and looked at the tassel on its hilt.

Her brows furrowed slightly, as though she found the request difficult.

“I’ll only keep it for a few days. I’ll return it afterward.”

Song Qi immediately added an explanation.

The mission only required her to obtain Wen Wanxi’s sword tassel. It had never said she needed to keep it forever.

That should count as completing the mission, right?

【I checked. You have to keep it with you until the Young Heroes’ Assembly ends!】

“I’ll return it after the assembly ends.”

Song Qi hurriedly added that as well.

Wen Wanxi narrowed her eyes and studied Song Qi, clearly unconvinced.

Of course.

Wen Wanxi trusted no one.

Why would she trust Song Qi?

“If I don’t return it, or if I damage it, you can just kill me.”

It wasn’t as though I can defeat you or escape from you. I’d be completely at your mercy anyway.

At this, Wen Wanxi withdrew her gaze and said coldly, “Accomplish it first. Then we’ll discuss it.”

Wen Wanxi turned to leave.

Song Qi immediately released a breath, and the pressure weighing against her chest finally dispersed.

“Hey, Wen Wanxi!”

Song Qi suddenly remembered something extremely important and quickly called after her.

“What did you call me?”

Both within Wucheng and outside it, everyone respectfully addressed Wen Wanxi as City Lord.

No one ever called her directly by name.

No one except Wu Ye, who was already thoroughly dead.

“Uh, City Lord Wen. Could you keep what happened just now a secret?”

Song Qi immediately lost her nerve.

In her urgency, she had directly called Wen Wanxi by name. Fortunately, Wen Wanxi had not sent a Killing Thread flying at her.

Wen Wanxi knew Song Qi was referring to the Seven Forms of the Wine Immortal.

It was a sword art practiced only by the Drunken Sword Immortal, so it must have been taught to her privately.

Taking another master after already joining a sect was a grave taboo in the martial world.

The punishment was to have one’s martial arts crippled before being expelled from the sect.

Wen Wanxi naturally had no interest in such matters.

However, she regarded this secret as useful leverage. With it in hand, she would not have to worry about Song Qi breaking her word.

Wen Wanxi said nothing.

She disappeared into the night, her figure vanishing from sight.

After meeting Wen Wanxi today, Song Qi finally understood the meaning behind the novel’s description:

“Wucheng’s peerless beauty, enough to captivate the entire martial world.”

That line had been used to introduce Wen Wanxi.

The other peerless beauty in the book was the female lead, Bing Xian.

The author had described Bing Xian with the words:

“At the sight of such beauty, one’s soul would be completely overturned.”

Were Song Qi to interpret the two descriptions herself, she would say that Wen Wanxi was even more beautiful.

Claiming she could captivate only the martial world was far too modest.

A beauty like hers could captivate everything under heaven.

【Song Qi, you beat Xu Yan tonight. Do you honestly think he’ll return tomorrow? Besides, he has no grudge against you. Are you really going to break one of his arms?】

Song Qi did not linger.

She picked up her mask and immediately began returning to the northern courtyard.

“He isn’t a good person anyway. If his arm gets broken, then it gets broken. Sometimes, being too constrained by worldly etiquette and morality only makes people cowardly and indecisive.”

Song Qi did not consider herself a good person.

However, she would never casually take another person’s life.

If others did not offend her, she would not offend them.

Xu Yan was an exception.

Song Qi hated him.

She admitted that she had lost her reason in this matter, but she also felt exhilarated.

She could teach a scumbag a lesson, break one of his arms, and exchange it for ten percent of her life value.

That was not a bad deal.

People were selfish.

**

On the way back, Song Qi kept wondering about something.

If Wen Wanxi had intended to kill Xu Yan, why had Xu Yan remained completely unharmed during the Young Heroes’ Assembly in the original novel?

Had Wen Wanxi lied, or had something else happened?

In the original story, the original Song Qi had never reached the summit of Tianshan. Even if she had, she would never have sneaked out at night to beat Xu Yan.

Since this incident had not occurred, why had Wen Wanxi ultimately spared him?

No matter how much Song Qi thought, she could not understand it.

The original novel had never included this side plot, so she had no explanation.

In the end, she simply stopped thinking about it.

When she returned to the northern courtyard and gently pushed open the door, Bai Luoyin’s voice startled her.

“Where did you go?”

Song Qi genuinely jumped.

Perhaps this was what people meant by a guilty conscience making one nervous.

Who could have known that this woman had awakened and was even waiting for her to return?

“I-I went to the latrine!”

“You changed your clothes to visit the latrine?”

Song Qi: “…My previous clothes were dirty, so I changed before going.”

“You certainly have a strong sense of ceremony when using the latrine.”

After Bai Luoyin said that, Song Qi was rendered completely speechless.

She even suspected that Bai Luoyin had learned her skill at mocking people through their countless confrontations.

“Defecating is an important event in life. Of course it requires ceremony. I almost considered praying to the gods and cutting up a roasted pig before I went.”

This time, Bai Luoyin was completely speechless.

When it came to shamelessness, Song Qi was still superior.

“I don’t care what you’re doing, but it must never be something that harms the innocent or violates justice.”

Song Qi did not light a candle.

She had spent so long moving through the night that she had grown accustomed to the darkness. She could now faintly see everything in the room, including Bai Luoyin sitting on her bed and watching her.

Song Qi removed her black clothing and calmly changed into another set of white clothes.

Bai Luoyin had not expected her to be so bold.

She immediately turned her head away and stopped looking.

“There aren’t that many absolute distinctions between black and white or right and wrong in this world. Sometimes, you can only judge according to the scale within your own heart. But the scale in your heart and the one in mine may not be the same.”

After dressing, Song Qi continued, “So don’t constantly keep righteousness and morality on your lips. When you truly encounter something impossible to choose between, the one who suffers will be you.”

Song Qi immediately crawled back beneath her blankets.

After running around outside, she was genuinely cold. Her bed was much warmer.

“What about you? When you encounter something where right and wrong are difficult to distinguish, what would you do?”

The two of them had never been compatible, yet tonight they unexpectedly began discussing something serious.

“Me? I’d probably follow my heart and make the decision I wouldn’t regret, even if many people disagreed with it.”

Song Qi turned onto her side and looked toward Bai Luoyin on the other bed.

Bai Luoyin was also looking at her.

In the darkness, the outlines of both their figures became hazy, as though the disguises they wore during the day had been stripped away, revealing the true yet complicated selves hidden underneath.

“You really are different from before.”

The moment Bai Luoyin said that, Song Qi almost choked.

How had this woman noticed?

Song Qi had already worked so hard not to act out of character.

“The old you would cling to trivial matters and make a scene, but you ignored anything truly important. To be honest, I didn’t like you.”

This was the first time Bai Luoyin had directly expressed her dislike.

Song Qi had expected it, but when Bai Luoyin actually said she did not like her, Song Qi still felt a tightness in her chest.

The original Song Qi had learned martial arts to protect herself and the people she loved.

However, she disliked the martial world and cared very little about fame, profit, or even chivalry.

Strictly speaking, she was a rather indifferent person.

“Then at least I managed to catch Senior Sister Bai’s attention. That can also be considered a talent.”

“Now, I think you’ve changed.”

Bai Luoyin refused to be distracted by Song Qi’s verbal deflection.

She continued, “You also seem to be hiding many things I don’t know.”

“All right, don’t worship me. I’m only a legend.”

Song Qi suddenly blurted out that hopelessly outdated phrase.

Strangely enough, it felt rather suitable at the moment.

Bai Luoyin: “…”

Bai Luoyin lay back down.

Song Qi thought their conversation had ended.

Unexpectedly, just as she was about to fall asleep, Bai Luoyin said, “I do wonder how many other things about you I still don’t know.”

**

The following day, Song Qi wandered around everywhere, apparently sightseeing but actually trying to discover what had happened to Xu Yan.

She only heard that he had not appeared all day and had remained inside his room.

Even when members of the Taixu Sect tried to check on him, he drove them away.

Song Qi was delighted.

Xu Yan relied on his good looks to win people’s affection.

Now his mouth and face were probably swollen like a pig’s head.

How could he possibly dare show himself?

【Then how are you going to break his arm?】

【It’s time to visit the eastern courtyard.】

When Song Qi reached the eastern courtyard, she was stopped exactly as expected.

A patrolling disciple asked why she had come.

“I’ve heard that the senior brothers of the Taixu Sect excel in Taiji Swordsmanship—using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, overcoming speed with slowness, and borrowing an opponent’s force to strike back. I came to ask the Taixu senior brothers for guidance on several martial arts questions.”

Song Qi did not speak quietly.

The Taixu disciples inside the courtyard heard her and immediately became delighted.

Naturally, they were pleased to hear someone praising their sect’s martial arts.

Before the patrolling disciple could say anything, several of them quickly stepped forward.

“So you’re a junior sister from the Divine Sword Sect. If there is anything you don’t understand, this senior brother will certainly help resolve your doubts.”

Aside from hearing their martial arts praised, Song Qi was also extremely beautiful.

Naturally, they became even more enthusiastic.

Song Qi immediately pretended to be a complete beginner and asked several questions about using slowness to overcome speed in swordsmanship.

The Taixu disciples had not studied for nothing.

Their answers were clear, detailed, and convincing.

Song Qi listened so intently that she almost forgot her mission.

“Thank you very much for your guidance today, Senior Brothers. On the way here, I heard someone mention that there were sounds of an argument in the rear mountain behind the eastern courtyard last night. I don’t know who was involved, but please be more careful.”

“Sounds of an argument?”

A disciple with thick brows and large eyes frowned.

“Could Senior Brother Xu have argued with someone and been injured yesterday? Is that why he refuses to leave his room today?”

A tall, thin disciple said, “Hurry. Let’s go check the Heaven Room!”

The thick-browed disciple cupped his hands toward Song Qi.

“Junior Sister, please excuse us for now!”

Oh?

So he was staying in the Heaven Room.

Just wait until tonight!