Chasing the Villain with a Confused System (GL) - Chapter 9

“W-what do you want?”

Song Qi backpedaled several steps, but her eyes remained fixed on Wen Wanxi’s face. She watched as the other woman’s smile deepened. Her beautiful eyes were deeper and more mysterious than the night itself—sharp, dangerous, and completely unreadable.

“I wanted to see exactly who it was that beat that man up.”

Holy crap, does Wen Wanxi still have lingering feelings for Xu Yan? Is she here to settle the score? No way, no way—what happened to being ‘the most clear-headed woman in the martial world’? Wait, no. In the book, Wen Wanxi snapped out of it very quickly. After seizing the position of City Lord, she never mentioned romance again and focused entirely on her career.

“Are you… are you going to avenge him?”

Song Qi’s lips were trembling. By the moonlight, she studied Wen Wanxi carefully. She was dressed in black martial attire that accentuated her graceful silhouette—looking like a blade draped in black silk, mysterious and deadly.

“No.”

Wen Wanxi uttered just the one word. Then she stepped forward and reached out, pinching Song Qi’s chin. The force was so great that Song Qi worried her jaw might break. Will I never be able to enjoy a good bicker again?

“You hit him well. I like it.”

The corners of Wen Wanxi’s eyes tilted upward slightly, adding a touch of the bewitching and the manic. She smiled. “I originally came here tonight to kill him. But now I find that letting him live might be more fun.”

A psycho. She really is a psycho.

Song Qi’s throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she found herself unable to resist Wen Wanxi’s charm—dangerous, yet mesmerizing. For the first time, Song Qi felt she couldn’t maintain her logic. On one hand, her heart ached for Wen Wanxi; on the other, she was completely captivated by her current state.

She embodied every quality that fascinated Song Qi, yet carried a lethality that made one afraid to draw near.

Because Song Qi possessed the “God’s eye view” of a reader, she knew this woman became this way due to inhumane trauma. All her madness, cruelty, and coldness were merely her armor.

Wen Wanxi caught the soft, pained look in Song Qi’s eyes. She recoiled her hand instantly, as if stung. Did I see that wrong?

“You made me very happy today. If you can break his arm tomorrow, I will grant you one request.”

Song Qi perked up immediately. Grant her one request? Wouldn’t that be her chance to get the sword tassel?

[Hurry up and agree!] Hu Tu urged.

Song Qi didn’t hesitate. “Fine. But I don’t need a ‘request.’ I only want one thing from you.”

“And what is that?”

Wen Wanxi’s willow-leaf brows arched slightly, radiating a sense of wickedness. Song Qi suddenly felt like she was trying to snatch food from a tiger’s mouth.

“Your… your sword tassel.”

Song Qi pointed to the sword at Wen Wanxi’s waist. It was one of the four legendary blades of the Jianghu, the Seven Kills Sword. Tied to the hilt of this divine weapon was a red tassel, shaped like a flower or a butterfly, incredibly delicate.

Wen Wanxi took her sword in hand and looked at the tassel. She frowned slightly, appearing somewhat hesitant.

“I’ll only take it for a few days, then I’ll return it to you.”

Song Qi quickly added that bit. Her mission was only to obtain the tassel; it didn’t say she had to keep it forever. That should count as completing the task, right?

[I checked,] Hu Tu chimed in, [you have to keep it with you until the Young Heroes Tournament ends!]

“I’ll give it back after the tournament is over,” Song Qi corrected herself.

Wen Wanxi narrowed her eyes, seemingly unconvinced. It made sense; Wen Wanxi didn’t trust anyone, so why would she trust her?

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

I can’t beat you and I can’t outrun you anyway, so I’m at your mercy, right?

Hearing this, Wen Wanxi withdrew her gaze and said coldly, “We’ll talk once you’ve actually done it.”

Wen Wanxi turned to leave. Song Qi let out a massive sigh of relief as the suffocating pressure on her chest finally dissipated.

“Hey, Wen Wanxi!”

Song Qi remembered something very important and called out.

“What did you call me?”

Inside and outside Wu City, everyone addressed her respectfully as “City Lord.” No one called her by her name except for the now-very-dead Wu Ye.

“Er, City Lord Wen. Regarding what happened just now… can you help me keep it a secret?”

Song Qi lost her nerve instantly. She had blurted out the name in her haste; she was lucky the Killing Silk didn’t come flying at her. Wen Wanxi knew she was referring to the “Seven Styles of the Wine Immortal”—a sword style only known to the Drunken Sword Immortal. It was clearly taught to her in secret.

In the martial world, joining a sect while secretly taking another master was a grave taboo. Wen Wanxi had no interest in sect politics, but she saw this as leverage—a way to ensure Song Qi didn’t go back on her word.

Wen Wanxi said nothing and vanished into the night.

Meeting Wen Wanxi today, Song Qi finally understood the phrase: “The peerless beauty of Wu City, the pride of the martial world.” That was how the book introduced her. The other “peerless beauty” was the female lead, Bing Xian, described as: “To see such beauty is to lose one’s soul.”

In Song Qi’s personal interpretation, Wen Wanxi’s beauty was superior. “Pride of the martial world” was an understatement; such beauty should be the pride of the entire world.

[Song Qi, you beat Xu Yan today. Do you think he’ll even show up tomorrow? Besides, you have no grudge against him—why break his arm?]

Song Qi didn’t linger. She picked up her mask and headed back to the North Courtyard. [He’s not a good man anyway. If his arm breaks, it breaks. Sometimes being too bound by social etiquette and morality just makes you weak and indecisive.]

Song Qi didn’t consider herself a “good person,” but she wouldn’t actively take a life. “If no one provokes me, I provoke no one.” Xu Yan was an exception. Song Qi hated him. In this matter, she admitted she had lost her mind, but it felt good.

Besides teaching a scumbag a lesson, she could break his arm and trade it for 10% of her real-world health. It wasn’t a bad deal. Humans are selfish.

On the way back, Song Qi wondered: If Wen Wanxi had intended to kill Xu Yan, why was he unscathed in the original book?

Was Wen Wanxi lying, or was there another twist? In the original book, the host never came to Tianshan. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have snuck out to hit Xu Yan. Since this encounter never happened in the original timeline, why did Wen Wanxi stay her hand back then?

It was an unsolvable puzzle. The original book didn’t cover this side-plot, so Song Qi eventually gave up on thinking about it.

When she reached the North Courtyard and pushed open the door, Bai Luoyin’s voice nearly gave her a heart attack: “Where did you go?”

Song Qi literally jumped. This was the definition of a “guilty conscience.” Who knew this woman would be awake and waiting for her?

“I… I went to the latrine!”

“You change clothes to go to the latrine?”

Song Qi: “…The clothes I had on got dirty, so I changed before going.”

“You certainly have a lot of ceremony for going to the latrine.”

Song Qi was speechless. She suspected Bai Luoyin’s sharp tongue was honed through their countless previous bickers.

“Taking a crap is one of life’s great events. Of course there should be ceremony! I almost wanted to worship the gods and carve a roast pig before I went.”

Bai Luoyin was left utterly without words. In terms of thick-skinned audacity, this person was peerless.

“I don’t care what you do, but do not do anything immoral.”

Song Qi didn’t light a candle. Having been in the night for so long, her eyes had adjusted. She could vaguely see Bai Luoyin sitting on the bed watching her. She stripped off her black clothes and changed into her white ones. Bai Luoyin hadn’t expected her to be so bold and immediately turned her head away.

“There isn’t that much absolute black and white or right and wrong in this world. Sometimes you can only judge by the ruler in your own heart—but your ruler and mine might not be the same.”

Once dressed, Song Qi continued: “So, don’t spend all day talking about benevolence and righteousness. When you encounter a truly impossible choice, you’ll be the one who suffers.”

Song Qi dove back into her blankets. After a walk in the cold, the bed felt like heaven.

“And you? What would you do in a situation where right and wrong are blurred?”

The two, who usually couldn’t stand each other, were now having a rare serious conversation.

“Me? I’d probably follow my heart and make a choice I won’t regret, even if many people disagree with it.”

Song Qi rolled onto her side to look at Bai Luoyin. Bai Luoyin was looking at her too. In the darkness, their outlines were hazy, as if they had stripped away their daily disguises to show their real, complex selves.

“You really are different from before.”

Song Qi almost choked. How did she notice? She had been trying so hard not to break character (OOC).

“The old you caused scenes over small things but ignored the big ones. To be honest, I didn’t like you.”

This was the first time Bai Luoyin had explicitly stated her dislike. Song Qi had expected it, but hearing it still felt a bit stifling. The original host learned martial arts only for self-preservation and to protect those she loved, but she disliked the martial world. She cared little for fame, fortune, or even chivalry. Strictly speaking, she was a cold person.

“Well, at least I was able to catch the eye of the Great Senior Sister Bai. That’s a skill in itself.”

“Now, I think you’ve changed.” Bai Luoyin didn’t let the sarcasm deflect her. “You seem to be hiding many things I don’t know about.”

“Alright, don’t go idolizing me. I’m just a legend.” Song Qi blurted out a cheesy, outdated internet slang.

Bai Luoyin: “…”

Bai Luoyin lay back down. Song Qi thought the conversation was over, but just as she was drifting off, Bai Luoyin whispered: “I’d actually like to see how many more things about you I don’t know.”

The next day, Song Qi wandered around, ostensibly to see what happened to Xu Yan. She heard he hadn’t appeared at all and was holed up in his room. He had even chased away his fellow Taixu disciples when they tried to check on him.

Song Qi was delighted. Xu Yan relied on his looks for popularity; now that his face and mouth were likely swollen like a pig’s head, he wouldn’t dare show his face.

[But how are you going to break his arm?]

[Time to pay a visit to the East Courtyard.]

When she reached the East Courtyard, she was inevitably stopped. The patrolling disciples asked what she was doing there.

“I heard that the Senior Brothers of the Taixu Sect are experts in Taiji Swordsmanship—using softness to overcome hardness and redirecting force. I wanted to ask for some guidance on martial theory.”

Song Qi spoke loudly. The Taixu disciples in the courtyard were instantly flattered. Hearing their sect’s style praised made them beam. Before the patrol could say anything, they stepped forward. “So it’s a Junior Sister from the Divine Sword Sect! If you have questions, we would be honored to help.”

Besides the praise, Song Qi was very pretty, which made them even more eager.

Song Qi played the role of a “newbie,” asking about redirection techniques. The Taixu disciples weren’t faking their knowledge; they gave detailed answers, and Song Qi almost forgot her mission listening to them.

“Thank you so much, Senior Brothers. On my way here, I heard someone say there were sounds of a fight in the back mountains of the East Courtyard last night. I’m not sure who it was, but please be careful.”

“Sounds of a fight?” A thick-browed disciple frowned. “Could it be that Senior Brother Xu got into an argument and was injured? That would explain why he won’t come out today.”

A tall, thin disciple said: “Quick, let’s go check the ‘Heaven’ Room!”

The thick-browed disciple bowed to Song Qi. “Junior Sister, please excuse us!”

Oho~ so he’s in the ‘Heaven’ Room!

Just you wait until tonight!