Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 1

At 3:00 AM, the city of Huanhai was deep in slumber. Most of the lights in the apartment buildings had gone out, and the day’s hustle and bustle had subsided. However, a unit on the 25th floor of Building B in Mingyu Garden remained lit, stubbornly fighting on in the dead of night.

Song Qi sat at her computer desk, her keyboard clattering rhythmically as words marched across the document like soldiers. Song Qi was a web novelist, but her current diligence wasn’t fueled by a sudden burst of creative inspiration—she was writing a comment.

She had just finished the hit wuxia novel Tian Xing. In the story, the protagonist group led by Song Tianxing eventually destroyed the villain. But instead of cheering, Song Qi was devastated, her heart aching for the fallen antagonist.

The final boss of Tian Xing was named Wen Wanxi. She was the City Lord of Wu City, and before Song Tianxing’s rise, her martial arts were the best in the world. She started as an innocent and romantic young girl, but she was later betrayed by her lover and nearly murdered by her most respected master. After falling off a cliff, she accidentally learned her family’s lost technique, Huangquan Biluo (The Green Fall of the Yellow Springs), which granted her peerless martial power.

Only later did Wen Wanxi discover that her master had only adopted her to steal that manual—and had murdered her entire family to get it. To seek revenge, Wen Wanxi fought her way back to Wu City, slaying her master in just ten moves. Anyone in the city who refused to submit was purged in a bloodbath. With a ruthless iron fist, she became the new City Lord.

She was cruel, eccentric, and acted entirely on whim. She killed without reason and was despised by the “righteous” sects.

Naturally, her end came when the protagonist group joined forces to take her down. In her final moments, she seemed to dream of her youth—a time when she was carefree, without schemes or blood on her hands.

The book described it like this: “In a daze, Wen Wanxi seemed to see someone waving to her from afar. It was her younger self—pure and kind. She walked toward that smiling girl, and upon seeing her expression, Wen Wanxi’s face was suddenly covered in tears. She realized she hadn’t smiled like that in a very long time.”

Reading this, Song Qi had also burst into tears, cursing the author for having a heart of stone.

Finally, Wen Wanxi closed her eyes, her soul entering a dream—a dream where she once wanted to protect the goodness of the world.

Song Qi couldn’t let it go. Despite not writing a single word of her own work all day, she opened her computer to write a long review for Tian Xing. Once she started, she couldn’t stop; her mind and eyes were filled with the tragic end of that beautiful, powerful villainess.

Wiping away tears, Song Qi muttered pitifully to herself, “Author, you have no heart.”

Song Qi loved wuxia novels. She had read the classics by Jin Yong and Gu Long more than once. When she heard Tian Xing was highly rated, she started following it. After three years of following the series, seeing it end with Wen Wanxi’s death made her feel like her heart had shattered.

She loved the novel and got deeply immersed every time she read it. This long review was a culmination of three years of love and the lingering grievance she felt for the character.

She didn’t deny that the author was successful in shaping the character, but the author was too cruel to Wen Wanxi. Her life was a tragedy, and no one ever came to redeem her. While her final paranoia and methods were unforgivable, they were heart-wrenching.

After typing the last word, Song Qi checked the time. It was past 5:00 AM. She had accidentally pulled an all-nighter—all for her favorite tragic villainess!

She copied the content from her document, pasted it into the Tian Xing comment section, and hit send. Song Qi let out a heavy sigh and slumped into her gaming chair.

She switched back to the document to check the word count: 10,300 words. This was more productive than when she actually worked on her own updates! After staring blankly for a while, she reached for her thermos. Just as she was about to take a sip of water, a sharp pain shot through her heart. Terrified, she clutched her chest and tried to regulate her breathing.

Her heart had never been great—it skipped beats occasionally—but she never expected a pain this violent. It felt as if a hand were squeezing her heart with all its might. She couldn’t even breathe.

It’s over, it’s over, I’m done for. Song Qi’s mind raced with the thought that she was dying. She reached out, trying to grab her phone to call an ambulance. It might be too late, but she wanted to struggle one last time.

However, the struggle was futile. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind: her parents who were indifferent toward her, her best friend, her fledgling writing career…

Mom, I don’t want to die!

Song Qi lost all sensation. Her head buzzed, and finally, a “Ding—” system sound echoed in her mind. It was the last thing she heard in this world.

What was that sound? Song Qi wondered. Then, everything plunged into darkness, as if she had died.

Song Qi felt like she had been drifting in darkness for a long time, but her consciousness was gradually returning. She found it strange—wasn’t she dead? Why was she becoming more alert? She could even…

She heard voices nearby. Someone was speaking, and they seemed to be calling her.

“Junior Sister! Junior Sister, wake up!”

Who is it? So noisy. And what’s with this ‘Junior Sister’ stuff? What are they talking about?

“Senior Sister Bai, why did you strike so hard? If Senior Brother Song finds out, he’ll definitely be angry!”

Senior Brother Song?

Song Qi struggled to open her eyes. A ray of sunlight pierced her vision, so bright it forced tears out and made her snap her eyes shut again.

Sorry, my mistake. I shouldn’t have opened them.

As a nocturnal writer, she rarely went out, and almost never during the day. Sunlight was like a natural enemy to her.

Wait. Why was she here? Shouldn’t she be collapsed in her room?

Song Qi snapped her eyes open again, ignoring the stinging light. She bolted upright, startling the person supporting her, who jumped back a step. Before her was a massive, open-air martial arts training ground. Beside it stood a stone tablet with four words carved in sharp, powerful strokes: “Fortune Favors the Diligent.”

Why did this scene look so familiar? She had clearly never been here.

“Junior Sister, I’m glad you’re awake. You suddenly fainted; you scared me to death.”

The woman who had jumped back stepped forward again, looking Song Qi over anxiously, as if truly afraid she was injured. Song Qi looked down at her own clothes: a silver-white robe with gold-threaded edges. A character for “Sword” (剑) was embroidered on the left chest. On her wide white silk belt hung a wooden plaque with the character “Yi” (乙 – B-rank/Second).

Holy crap?!

This… this… this…! Wasn’t this the uniform of the Divine Sword Sect from the novel Tian Xing?!

Song Qi spun around to look at the concerned woman. The woman flinched back again. Just as she was about to speak, Song Qi interrupted: “White clothes, long sword, a ‘Yi’ plaque on the belt, and a butterfly jade hairpin in your hair… with those flirtatious eyes, are you that ‘Green Tea’ [1] bitch, Meng Tian?”

Now it was Song Qi’s turn to scramble backward. She was horrified. How was she inside the world of Tian Xing? Seeing the characters she had read about standing there in the flesh was scarier than seeing a ghost!

“Have you gone mad?”

A cold female voice drifted over. Song Qi realized she had bumped into someone’s leg while backing up. She looked up to see a tall woman looking down at her.

“Black Water Sword, a ‘Jia’ (甲 – A-rank/First) plaque on the belt, aloof and refined features, and a ‘stay away’ vibe… You, you’re Bai Luoyin?”

It’s over, it’s over. Is this real? I must be dreaming!

At that thought, Song Qi pinched her thigh hard. She hissed in pain.

Ow! That hurts! Why did I pinch myself so hard?!

Bai Luoyin sheathed her Black Water Sword behind her back and looked coldly at the noisy woman at her feet. Frowning, she thought to herself: Did I knock her stupid just now? No, I didn’t hit her in the head.

“You were the one who challenged me to a duel. Do not blame me.”

Bai Luoyin turned and walked away. Under the scorching sun, Song Qi sat on the training ground floor—which was getting hot enough to burn her butt—unable to recover her senses. Her mind was a loop of: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

“Junior Sister.”

“Shut up.”

“…”

Song Qi stood up unsteadily. Her legs hurt—likely injuries from the “duel.” She wandered off the training ground in a daze, but after a few steps, she realized she had no idea where to go. She was familiar with the descriptions in the book, but she didn’t actually know her way around the massive Divine Sword Sect!

“Junior Sister Song, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Do you want me to take you to see Senior Brother Song?”

Junior Sister Song? Senior Brother Song?

Could it be that I am Song Qi, and Song Tianxing is my brother? Heavens! I’m actually Song Tianxing’s sister—the one who’s useless at everything but is the reigning champion of complaining at the Divine Sword Sect!

“Yes, yes, take me. Take me now.”

Song Qi rarely went out in her past life and was terrible with directions. Meng Tian led her through twists and turns, past two training grounds and three lecture halls, before finally arriving outside the male disciples’ dormitory.

Female guests were naturally discouraged from the male dorms. When the male disciples saw two women standing outside, they all looked over. Seeing a familiar face, a skinny disciple playfully shouted toward the inner hall: “Senior Brother Song! Your sister is here for you again!”

The others chuckled. Song Qi suddenly remembered that in the book, the original Song Qi was a constant whiner who would run to her brother for comfort every time she offended someone. That disciple’s use of the word “again” was very telling.

Ah, right—that was Lu Xiaoming. Skinny, lively, and mischievous. He was close friends with Song Tianxing and was the person the original Song Qi argued with the most.

Song Tianxing rushed out from the inner hall. He ran toward Song Qi with concern, asking, “What happened? Did someone bully you?”

Song Tianxing only gave a nod to Meng Tian as a greeting, but Meng Tian’s eyes were glued to him, looking as though she wanted to hug him right then and there.

“I… I’m fine.”

Song Tianxing. The protagonist of Tian Xing. Sharp brows, starry eyes, and a clean, handsome aura. His white robe emphasized his refined, scholarly temperament. With the Seven-Star Sword at his waist, he looked like a graceful noble son.

When Song Qi had read the description in the book, she had associated him with Lin Pingzhi [2]. Seeing him now, she felt he had much more masculinity—standing before her like a steady mountain, calm and heavy.

Most importantly, he doted on his sister, protecting this “useless” sibling like she was a precious treasure!