Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 8

The Tianshan summit was divided into four courtyards: East, West, South, and North. The West Courtyard housed the residents of Wu City and the Tianshan Sect. The East Courtyard was occupied by the Taixu Sect, the Yuanzhen Sect, and the Yidao Sect—a group of Daoists who loved preaching great principles.

However, these Daoists were allowed to marry and have children; as long as they didn’t commit immoral acts, they were no different from ordinary martial artists, though they followed more rigid precepts.

Song Qi looked at the “jade-faced” Xu Yan and let out an involuntary cold sneer. She turned to leave immediately, muttering, “Completely overrated.”

In her eyes, if she hated someone, they remained ugly no matter how handsome their face was.

Song Tianxing simply smiled, thinking his sister just had high standards. He didn’t comment further; Xu Yan had nothing to do with him.

As the siblings prepared to return to the North Courtyard, they ran into people from Wu City. The Wu City members wore black martial attire embroidered with gold-thread flame totems—symbolizing the undying soul of the warrior. They looked sharp and heroic. However, why would people from Wu City be on the path between the East and North Courtyards?

There were two men, both somber and silent. Unlike the other martial artists chatting and laughing along the road, these two seemed to be on a mission, hurrying past everyone.

Song Qi and Song Tianxing stepped aside to let them pass. Looking at them, Song Qi’s heart pounded; she felt she was getting closer to her “Black Moonlight.” However, since they were heading toward the North Courtyard, had something happened there?

Song Tianxing and Song Qi exchanged a glance and immediately followed the two back to the North Courtyard. Song Qi remembered that in the original story, nothing major happened before the tournament started. What were these two doing there?

She soon got her answer: they were there to invite the Divine Sword Sect Leader, Yu Mingshun, for a chat. But since Yu Mingshun wasn’t in, the two had no choice but to head back to the West Courtyard. Song Qi recalled that Wu City and Yu Mingshun had no significant history. Why would Wen Wanxi invite him?

She couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped trying. The Young Heroes Tournament was starting the day after tomorrow. By then, patrols at the summit would be even tighter, making it harder to get a chance to beat up Xu Yan.

“Brother, I’m going for a stroll on my own. I’ll be back soon!”

Before Song Tianxing could react, Song Qi bolted. He looked at her back, shaking his head with a wry smile. He wondered if this girl was going to cause trouble.

Still, he knew that while Song Qi loved to play around, she knew her limits.

Song Qi went out to gather intelligence. Using her “social butterfly” skills, she scouted where the Taixu Sect usually practiced.

Since Xu Yan was quite famous, any inquiry about Taixu Sect led people to mention him. His fame actually eclipsed that of his own Sect Leader. Having arrived a day earlier than the Divine Sword Sect, the Taixu group usually practiced in a clearing specifically cleared for martial arts in the woods behind the East Courtyard.

Supposedly, though Xu Yan wasn’t naturally gifted, he was very diligent and practiced extra hours every night. On their first day, female disciples from other sects had tried to peep on him, leading him to ask the event organizers to manage the area more strictly.

Now, there shouldn’t be any more peeping female disciples.

Perfect, Song Qi thought. With her lightfoot skills, she could surely sneak in undetected. After deciding on her plan, she returned to the North Courtyard. The biggest problem wasn’t Xu Yan, but how to sneak out past Bai Luoyin tonight.

As the only two women from the Divine Sword Sect on this trip, they shared a room. With Bai Luoyin’s vigilance, how could she slip away under her nose?

“What are you thinking about?”

Seeing Song Qi staring blankly at the candle flame, Bai Luoyin finally asked. She usually didn’t pry, but she had been worried about Song Qi’s odd state lately.

“Thinking about what to have for breakfast tomorrow.”

What to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner were problems Song Qi often fretted over, but right now she was actually wondering when Bai Luoyin would go to sleep.

After a busy day and dinner, night had fully fallen. She had been spacing out for ages while Bai Luoyin read a book, showing no sign of wanting to rest.

Please, just go to sleep! I have a scumbag to punch!

“Finished thinking? I’m going to sleep.”

“Yes, all set! Sleep time!”

Song Qi blew out the candle and dove into her blankets in a flash. Bai Luoyin was stunned. This girl changed states too fast—one second she was dazed, the next she was energetically burrowing into bed.

Energetically? Why did she use that word? Strange.

Song Qi didn’t actually sleep. She listened intently to Bai Luoyin’s breathing. Once it became steady and rhythmic, she crept out of bed, changed into black clothes, and put on a mask. The mask only covered the upper half of her face—she had bought it on the way here specifically for this mission.

[Hey, you’re putting all this effort into punching Xu Yan, but have you thought about how to get Wen Wanxi’s sword tassel?]

Song Qi finished dressing and slipped out of the room. [I can’t worry about that now. I just want to hit him once to vent my anger!]

[Fine. Just don’t kill him; he’s a plot-relevant character after all.]

[Got it.]

Song Qi’s lightfoot technique was the “Chasing Wind Step” she had learned from Cheng Ying. It was one of the top three movement techniques in the martial world—especially at night, it allowed her to move like a ghost, vanishing into the wind.

She avoided all the patrolling disciples and reached the woods behind the East Courtyard. Sure enough, 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 performing rigid, by-the-book sword moves in the clearing.

With that level of comprehension, she wondered how Wen Wanxi had been blinded by love back then. She must have been seduced by his looks!

Xu Yan was indeed hardworking; he would practice a single move until it was “perfect,” but martial arts shouldn’t be confined to such stagnant, rote movements.

Exhausted, Xu Yan stopped, planting his sword in the ground and gasping for breath.

Now.

Song Qi flew out, her movements ghostly. She thrust her sword forward, and Xu Yan barely managed to parry it.

“Who’s there!”

He shouted angrily, preparing to counterattack, but he found the opponent’s strikes were so dense and continuous that he had no choice but to stay on the defensive. The rhythm was erratic—sometimes fast, sometimes slow—completely unpredictable.

Who is this!

Xu Yan was about to call for help, but Song Qi slapped him across the mouth with the flat of her blade.

Bah! Calling for help because you can’t win? Are you even a man! Song Qi cursed in her mind. She kept striking him across the mouth with the sword’s side, avoiding the edge so she wouldn’t draw blood, but it was definitely going to swell.

“You… you! Mmph!”

Realizing the attacker didn’t want his life, Xu Yan gave up on defense and just covered his mouth with both hands to protect it from further devastation.

Song Qi still wasn’t satisfied. With a flick of her wrist, she sheathed her sword and threw a punch straight into Xu Yan’s eye.

Xu Yan clutched his mouth with one hand and his eye with the other. He stumbled back several steps, trembling. “Who exactly are you, and why are you hitting me?”

A cold night breeze blew, tossing Song Qi’s long hair. Only then did Xu Yan realize his attacker was a woman.

Could… could it be her!?

“None of your business who I am! I hit you because I felt like it. Do I need to pick a special day on the calendar to beat you?”

Wait, did I hear that line in a palace drama once?

Song Qi intentionally lowered her voice and lunged again. This time, Xu Yan reacted quickly; he grabbed his sword and bolted for the East Courtyard without looking back. He was clearly terrified.

Song Qi didn’t chase him. If she ran into those “Old Noses” (Daoists) from the Taixu Sect, she’d be in trouble.

“Lucky you run fast,” Song Qi huffed.

She was about to head back when she felt a faint, rapid current of air flying toward her. Alert, she dodged to the side. The “thing” missed her, but it struck her mask, knocking it to the ground with a clatter.

“Who’s there!”

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind? Someone had ambushed her, and she hadn’t sensed their presence at all. Clearly, their martial arts were far superior to hers.

Song Qi covered her nose and mouth with her hand to avoid being recognized. When she looked down, her heart nearly stopped. Her mask had been knocked off by a single black needle—a needle attached to a black silk thread. This familiar yet terrifying weapon could only be… the Killing Silk!

Wen Wanxi!

Song Qi looked in the direction of the attack. A woman with a graceful silhouette was walking slowly toward her. She had already retracted the silk thread.

She clearly wasn’t intending to take Song Qi’s life.

Song Qi wanted to run, yet at the same time, she wanted to stay. She wanted to see Wen Wanxi’s face and speak to this tragic villainess, even if they had nothing to say to each other.

“The Seven Styles of the Wine Immortal.”

Wen Wanxi’s voice was crisp, aloof, and tinged with a slight laugh. But the laugh was chilling—like a venomous snake waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

It’s over. Her secret technique had been identified. Song Qi wanted to run now, but her legs refused to move, pinned to the spot as if her pressure points had been struck. They were even trembling.

If Wen Wanxi wanted to kill her, she wouldn’t last thirty moves.

Wen Wanxi walked right up to her. The distance was so close that if the villainess struck, Song Qi wouldn’t stand a chance. But Song Qi was completely dazed. By the light of the moon, she saw Wen Wanxi’s face clearly.

Her eyes were like dark ice, her skin as pale as snow. The hazy night added a touch of softness to her staggering beauty. The smile on her lips was dangerous—like a poisonous Datura flower, accompanied by a faint, cold fragrance.

Wen Wanxi reached out and pulled Song Qi’s hand away from her face, revealing her features—the face of a refined and elegant woman.

Sensing Wen Wanxi’s cold fingertips gripping her wrist, Song Qi snapped out of it. She immediately wrenched her hand away and stumbled back.

Beauty truly is a distraction!

“W-what do you want?”

Author’s Note:

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