Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 2

At the entrance of the male dormitory, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Song Qi—especially Lu Xiaoming, who was dying to see what kind of trouble she had stirred up this time.

“Senior Brother Song, Junior Sister Song just had a sparring match with Senior Sister Bai, and she…”

Song Qi hadn’t actually planned on saying anything; she just wanted to get her bearings. After all, in this world, Song Tianxing was her only family. While surprised at how quickly she had accepted the fact that she had transmigrated into a book, Song Qi turned her gaze toward Meng Tian. This person…

“Why are you so talkative?” Song Qi interrupted.

“Sister, Junior Sister Meng was only…”

Before Song Tianxing could finish, Song Qi cut him off: “Fine, fine. You’re the only one who can’t tell she’s a Green Tea [1].”

Meng Tian had always disliked Bai Luoyin, believing that Bai Luoyin also had feelings for Song Tianxing. Consequently, she often whispered bad things about Bai Luoyin in Song Qi’s ear. If Song Qi remembered correctly, this recent “sparring match” had also been instigated by Meng Tian.

As long as Song Qi got hurt, Song Tianxing would get angry, and naturally, he wouldn’t treat Bai Luoyin well. The original Song Qi was nothing but a tool for her, but the woman standing here now knew a real Green Tea when she saw one.

One had to remember that Bai Luoyin was a supporting female character who was seriously focused on her career; Song Qi actually liked her a lot.

“Green… Green what?”

Song Tianxing didn’t understand the term. Song Qi simply waved it off without explaining and asked instead, “What year and month is it? When is the Young Heroes Tournament?”

Song Qi only cared about this. she didn’t want to talk to Meng Tian, so she didn’t ask her. She was naturally incompatible with Green Teas and found them irritating. If she hadn’t been lost, she wouldn’t have followed Meng Tian at all.

“Uh… Sister, what’s wrong with you? Today is the seventh day of the ninth lunar month. The Young Heroes Tournament is at the end of this month.”

The Young Heroes Tournament was a massive event in Tian Xing. It was where the male lead first met the female lead and where he first clashed with Wen Wanxi. It was the beginning of everything!

“Oho! Could it be that our Junior Sister Song wants to participate in the Young Heroes Tournament?” Lu Xiaoming teased. “Or have you finally mastered your ‘Skiff Over Ten Thousand Mountains’ technique?”

As the “Queen of Arguments,” her martial arts could lose, but her verbal battles definitely could not.

“As if you could participate. Since when did you become an A-rank disciple?”

As soon as she said this, the surrounding disciples burst into laughter at Lu Xiaoming, who was only a B-rank disciple. Everyone was close with him and knew he wouldn’t get truly angry, but seeing Song Qi leave him speechless was hilarious.

“You can’t put it like that…”

Lu Xiaoming tried to fire back, but Song Qi was a step ahead: “I can put it like that. The disciple examinations are in half a month. Who knows, you might even drop down to C-rank!”

This made Lu Xiaoming feel even more ashamed. He didn’t have much interest in martial arts; he preferred finding stories to tell everyone. They all called him the Divine Sword Sect’s Storyteller. Having neglected his training lately, dropping to C-rank wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

“Sigh, forget it, forget it. I can never win an argument with you.”

Lu Xiaoming had a good temper and never held grudges. He lacked a competitive spirit. Though he was a bit annoyed at first, he remembered that Song Qi was always like this. He had been bickering with her for two years and had long since grown a thick skin.

“Sister, Xiaoming is your Senior Brother after all. You should respect him.”

Song Tianxing finally found a chance to chime in. Song Qi just shrugged, not feeling she was in the wrong. This was how the original Song Qi and Lu Xiaoming interacted; after two years, they had forged a bond of “iron-tempered” bickering. If it were anyone else, Song Qi wouldn’t have dared to be so sarcastic.

“So, are you hurt?”

The topic finally returned to the point. Song Tianxing looked at Song Qi worriedly, fearing she had some injury. But Song Qi shook her head and said, “Nothing happened. Senior Sister Bai is a good person; she even gave me a few pointers!”

Of course, Song Qi was making this up. With Bai Luoyin’s “ice block” personality and Song Qi’s chatterbox nature, they were like fire and water. Pointers were impossible—it was a miracle she hadn’t been crippled.

“Well, that’s good then.”

The Song Tianxing in the book trusted Song Qi implicitly and let her have her way. This level of doting made the current Song Qi feel a bit awkward. Even with a good relationship, unconditional trust seemed a bit much—especially since the original Song Qi was a total troublemaker. Wouldn’t a normal person have wanted to strangle this sister long ago?

Song Qi chatted with Song Tianxing for a while about their daily training. Fortunately, she had been a diligent reader and remembered the names and styles of the techniques, so she managed not to slip up.

Song Qi remembered from the book that the male dormitory was in the west of the back mountain, and the female dormitory was in the east. To get from one to the other, there was only one path—a design meant to make it easier for guards to prevent any “indiscreet” behavior between male and female disciples.

Meng Tian stood by silently with a pitiful expression. Song Qi found it annoying, but she knew that if she said anything rude now, she would fall right into the girl’s trap.

“Senior Sister Meng, thank you for today. However, I have some business back at the dorm. I’ll thank you properly another day.”

Song Qi spoke with such sincerity that Song Tianxing was startled by the sudden shift in attitude, and Meng Tian even forgot to keep up her “pitiful” act. Only magic can defeat magic—facing a Green Tea like Meng Tian, she definitely couldn’t get into a direct conflict right now.

“Oh, by the way, ‘Green Tea’ means ‘beautiful woman’ in my hometown dialect!”

As a parting shot, Song Qi continued her mockery. Song Tianxing was stunned—why had he never heard that phrase back home?

“Then… then thank you for the high praise, Junior Sister.”

Meng Tian felt Song Qi was acting strange, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. She felt a faint sense of hostility—was it just her imagination?

After saying goodbye, Song Qi headed straight for the female dormitory. She remembered that the original Song Qi lived in B-rank Room 3. After wandering around a bit, she finally found it. Four people to a room, each in a corner, labeled “Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.” Song Qi occupied the “Heaven” bunk.

It was noon, so the room was empty—likely everyone was at the cafeteria.

She flopped onto the “Heaven” bed, feeling dazed again. She really didn’t understand how she ended up here or how she was supposed to survive.

Ding—!

Suddenly, a “ding” sounded in her head. Song Qi bolted upright and looked around, but saw nothing.

Did I hear wrong? No, wait… that sound was familiar. It was the same “ding” she heard before she blacked out.

[Hello, Song Qi. I am Hu Tu No. 2, happy to be at your service.]

An electronic system voice rang out. This was too much—Song Qi actually tumbled off the bed in fright. Her beautiful eyes darted around the room, searching for the source.

“Are you a person or a ghost?”

Song Qi was terrified of ghosts. Reading horror novels used to keep her awake all night.

[Huh? I am neither person nor ghost. I am a system, Hu Tu No. 2.]

A system? A system?!

Song Qi’s face scrunched up. She wondered if something was wrong with her ears. In this ancient, classical world, there was actually such a thing as a system? Had she developed delusions after transmigrating?

[Sorry, transporting you to this world exhausted my energy. I just went to recharge and have only now powered back on.]

Song Qi: “…”

So your battery life is crap? Song Qi wondered if this system was like a certain phone brand that might suddenly explode. What would a system explosion even look like?

“Why did you bring me to this world?”

Song Qi was furious. She was young; her life and career were just starting. Even if there were struggles, she was full of hope for the future.

[We are the Novel System Bureau. Our database calculated that your life was about to end, so I was sent to retrieve you. After connecting to your brain data, we found you had deep feelings for the world of ‘Tian Xing,’ so we sent you here. If you complete the mission, you won’t have to die.]

Complete a mission?

Holy crap? The tropes from those web novels are actually happening to me?

“Then tell me, what mission do I have to complete?”

Song Qi felt that because she had read so much and seen so many bizarre worlds in books, she was quick to accept things—including this… what was it called again? What kind of system was it?

[Your mission is to change the ending where the Great Villain dies in battle. Once the mission is complete, you can return to the real world!]

After Hu Tu finished speaking, Song Qi froze. A surge of heat rushed from her feet to her head, making her feel flushed.

She actually had a chance to change her Black Moonlight’s ending?! For real?

“Wait, you said I have to change my Black Moonlight’s ending?”

Song Qi was afraid she had misheard and immediately confirmed it. She quickly received confirmation from Hu Tu.

[Correct.]

Song Qi thought about it and suddenly became excited. As long as she could change the ending where Wen Wanxi died… wait. How was she supposed to change it? Her martial arts weren’t strong, and she wasn’t as smart as Song Tianxing. Was she supposed to defeat people with her “verbal output”?

Furthermore, Wen Wanxi had already turned evil. She had killed her master and slaughtered many people in Wu City. Currently, many “righteous” sects in the martial world despised her actions.

“But she’s already turned evil!”

Hu Tu didn’t respond immediately. A moment later, it spoke: […Oh no, I adjusted the timeline incorrectly. I sent you to the wrong point in time.]

Song Qi gave a numb smile and asked: “…What did you say your name was?”

[Hu Tu (Confused) No. 2.]

Song Qi almost cried. Fortunately, she held it back, using her rage to suppress the tears: “I’m tired. Let the world just end now!”

When other people transmigrate with a system, they get cheats and power-ups. But looking at this system, Song Qi felt she would “fall in battle before the mission even began.”

Just then, footsteps sounded outside—light steps accompanied by approaching laughter. When the door opened and the three girls saw Song Qi slumped on the floor with vacant eyes, they rushed over to help her up. A slightly chubby girl asked, “Senior Sister Song, what’s wrong? Why are you sitting on the floor?”

“I’m just absorbing the ‘earthly qi’ early. Who knows, I might be living underground very soon.”

“Huh?”

The three girls were confused, but Song Qi just gave a miserable smile, driven to madness by Hu Tu. Currently, she had neither literary talent nor martial prowess—how was she supposed to get close to that high-and-mighty, world-renowned number one?

No. To meet her, she had to go to the Young Heroes Tournament. That was where the villain and the protagonist first met. Although she didn’t know what to do even if she met her, as long as she took the first step, she would have a chance.

According to the rules of the Divine Sword Sect, only the top five disciples from the examinations could go to the tournament. But her current strength was only that of a B-rank disciple…

Was it too late to start working hard now?