Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 6

Coming down from the martial arts stage, Song Qi intended to go watch Song Tianxing’s match, but she noticed a familiar figure staring at her. It gave her a fright—for a moment, she thought she had an admirer.

However, she quickly realized that was impossible. Given the original host’s turbulent personality, even if she was beautiful, the likelihood of this person being an enemy was far higher than them being a suitor.

“Song Qi.”

Though Bai Luoyin looked cold, her voice carried the soft, gentle cadence of a Southern dialect—a natural sweetness that often felt unintentionally tender. Song Qi knew this was an illusion, of course; a woman like Bai Luoyin didn’t have a tender bone in her body.

“What do you want?”

Even though Song Qi liked Bai Luoyin as a character, the original host’s relationship with her was poor. Thus, Song Qi had to follow the host’s behavioral logic.

“Don’t come over here. Private duels during the examinations will land you in the Discipline Hall.”

Seeing Bai Luoyin walk toward her, Song Qi immediately issued a warning. But on second thought, Bai Luoyin wasn’t one to start trouble; in the past, it was always the original Song Qi who picked fights. There was no reason for her to attack now.

Bai Luoyin paused, the corner of her lips curling into a faint arc. “If we truly fought, I might not necessarily be able to beat you.”

Song Qi’s heart skipped a single beat. Looking at Bai Luoyin’s knowing expression, she felt as though her biggest secret had just been exposed.

“W-what are you talking about? Are you making fun of me?”

Song Qi feigned anger, putting one hand on her hip and pointing at Bai Luoyin with the other. “So what if I’ve lost to you a few times? Is it necessary to come all this way just to mock me?”

Song Qi’s voice wasn’t loud, but the dispute between her and Bai Luoyin had already drawn many gazes. Everyone knew they didn’t get along. Song Qi had challenged Bai Luoyin multiple times, and every time had ended in her defeat. Seeing them bickering again was nothing new.

Though the crowd didn’t know the details, most assumed it was the fault of the “Queen of Arguments,” Song Qi.

Bai Luoyin didn’t speak. She let out a light chuckle and said, “I’ve already seen through it.”

Seen through what? Song Qi panicked. What did she see? Did she see that I’m wearing red underwear today? She had a mahjong date with her roommates after the exam, and red underwear was an essential lucky charm!

“I hope we have a chance to face each other properly.”

With that, Bai Luoyin turned and left, giving Song Qi no room to respond. Although Song Qi’s mind was usually full of bizarre ideas, she only had to think for a second to realize what Bai Luoyin meant.

Bai Luoyin seemed to know she was hiding her strength.

In the Divine Sword Sect, the person Song Qi had fought most was Bai Luoyin, followed by Chang Yueyue. Chang Yueyue’s battles were usually just verbal, but Bai Luoyin was a woman of few words who went straight for the sword. It wasn’t surprising that she had noticed something was off.

Song Qi looked over at Chang Yueyue being helped away by other disciples and rolled her eyes. If it weren’t for Chang Yueyue being so weak that it made Song Qi’s acting look clumsy, how could Bai Luoyin have noticed?

Whatever. Let her find out. Everyone has secrets. As long as I don’t use the ‘Seven Styles of the Wine Immortal,’ all is well.

[You have a lot of internal monologue.]

The system’s electronic voice chimed in again. Song Qi was annoyed that it only showed up to criticize her.

[Mind your own business.]

She had been brought to this world for no reason—couldn’t she at least have her internal drama?

[I asked the higher-ups why you need to take the sword tassel.]

[Why? Why?]

Song Qi cared about this far more than Bai Luoyin’s suspicions. This determined her survival!

[The higher-ups said you’ll understand in the future.]

Song Qi gave a numb smile. Looking at the blue sky, she reminded herself: The world is beautiful, the air is fresh, I must not get angry.

[You explained it, but you didn’t really explain it.]

Hu Tu (Confused), you truly live up to your name!

The results of the disciple examinations were largely the same as in the original book. Song Tianxing took first place, Bai Luoyin second, and Duan Qingyi third. Song Qi didn’t bother remembering the names of the remaining two; they were just background characters.

Aside from Bai Luoyin, Duan Qingyi would be a major help to Song Tianxing in the middle and late stages of the story, so Song Qi made sure to memorize his face.

The only difference from the original plot was that Song Qi became an A-rank disciple. She had challenged an A-rank student and won. Her motive was simple: A-rank disciples received double the allowance of B-rank ones. She didn’t care for the prestige, but she was always interested in money. She needed to save up in case she needed funds later.

That confused system is unreliable; I can only depend on myself.

Lu Xiaoming dropped to C-rank, which also matched the book. Song Qi rushed to tease him immediately, but to comfort him, she bought two pieces of mung bean cake from the cafeteria auntie.

A slap followed by a sweet—they might bicker, but she still cared if Lu Xiaoming was genuinely upset.

As the first-place winner, Song Tianxing was allowed one request. Usually, the winner asked for a high-level manual. In the book, Song Tianxing asked for a body-tempering technique. Now, he wasted this precious opportunity for Song Qi’s sake.

Song Qi felt guilty. After the exams, she found him, but the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat.

“Silly girl.”

Seeing her hesitation while people watched them—some waiting to see if she was in trouble again—Song Tianxing smiled.

“Your business is my business. Opportunities will come and go, but I only have one sister.”

Song Tianxing was truly a good brother—no malice, completely sincere. This was why he made so many friends and allies.

But Song Qi felt that in the real world, such a person’s life would be too smooth. Sometimes, being too pure leads to being deceived.

“Mm,” Song Qi whispered. “I promise once we get to the Tianshan Mountains, I won’t cause trouble.”

“Good.”

The Young Heroes Tournament was held at Tianshan. The winner would become the focus of the martial world. Wen Wanxi had been the champion seven years ago, and her fame had been unrivaled.

This time, they would not only meet Wen Wanxi but also her ex, Xu Yan of the Taixu Sect. The book described him as handsome as Pan An [1] and incredibly refined. Everyone liked him at first sight.

Years ago, Wen Wanxi loved him and even wanted to follow him back to his sect. Her master, Wu Ye, wouldn’t allow it and threatened Xu Yan. Fearing for his life, Xu Yan fled in the middle of the night and cut off all contact. Wen Wanxi looked for him once, but quickly gave up on him entirely.

Eventually, during the uprising against Wen Wanxi, Xu Yan died by her sword. When Song Qi read that part, she felt it was well-deserved. A man with no sense of responsibility or loyalty deserved nothing less.

Though she promised her brother not to cause trouble, Song Qi couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t sneakily attack Xu Yan to vent her frustration if she saw him.

“What are you thinking about?” Song Tianxing asked. She had been spacing out a lot lately.

“Nothing, just thinking about going to Tianshan to see the heroes. I’m nervous and excited.”

Song Qi gave him a sweet smile, though she secretly felt a shiver of cringe—it was so unlike her real personality.

“It’s getting dark. Go back, eat well at the cafeteria. Do you have enough money?”

“Yes, plenty.”

He really was a 100-point brother. Always checking if she was warm, if she had money, if she was sad… no wonder the original host stayed in his shadow.

Song Qi had a game scheduled. It was a leisure activity with her roommates—no money involved, but the biggest loser had to clean the room for three days. After leaving her brother, she met them at the cafeteria, and after dinner, the four rushed back to the room to play “God of Gamblers.”

“Senior Sister Song was so impressive today, promoting to A-rank,” said Qiao Xi, the chubby one.

“Yeah, but why didn’t we see Senior Sister Meng today? Doesn’t she usually follow you everywhere?” asked Zhong Xiaorui, a petite girl who loved feeding Qiao Xi snacks.

“I don’t know. I was busy,” Song Qi replied casually, letting out a small smirk. She knew why. A “Green Tea” is very sensitive; after being treated coldly for days, Meng Tian knew she couldn’t cling to Song Qi anymore and had to find another way to get close to Song Tianxing.

“But Senior Sister Meng stayed in B-rank. Isn’t her martial arts usually better than yours?” asked Yu Qi, the tallest and most gossipy of the group.

“I just got lucky. The A-rank brother I fought probably wasn’t feeling well. Pure dog-shit luck,” Song Qi said nonchalantly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Hu-le! [2]”

She flipped her tiles and laughed. Those red undies were working—she had won eight out of ten rounds!

“No way, Senior Sister! A ‘Thirteen Orphans’ [3] hand!” Qiao Xi fainted dramatically. If they were playing for money, they’d be bankrupt.

[Song Qi.]

Song Qi: […What? I’m playing mahjong, don’t bother me.]

Hu Tu: [There is a side quest. If you complete it, you’ll get 50 taels of silver.]

Song Qi bolted upright, her face urgent. She almost screamed “I’ll do it!” but caught herself.

[I’ll take it!]

Money! That’s cold, hard cash!

“Senior Sister, what’s wrong?”

Song Qi realized her reaction was too extreme, like she’d been poked in the butt with a needle.

“I… need to use the restroom.”