Qi Yuan’s expression stiffened slightly. He threw a robe over his shoulders with a backhanded motion and began to explain himself.

“Eldest Senior Sister, you know me. I have always been a man of integrity—pure, honest, and morally upright. You can’t just slander a good man like this!”

“Who could have known your constitution was so bizarre? The Yang energy inside you mutated! I only helped you absorb it back to save your life… I almost suffered a backlash myself…”

“Stop talking!”

Before he could finish, Bai Xirou cut him off, her face flushed a deep crimson. She hastily pulled her thin fur cloak tighter around her body.

“Even the Yang energy in your body is improper… How do you have the nerve to call yourself pure and honest? Turn around. Don’t look back.”

“No problem.”

Qi Yuan agreed immediately, turning his back with a composed expression.

Whatever. I’ve already seen everything there is to see—what’s the difference now?

After a long moment, Bai Xirou finally finished adjusting her dress. Her voice carried a tremor of shyness and unease. “Alright, you can turn around now.”

Qi Yuan turned as instructed.

Bai Xirou had changed into a fresh goose-yellow gown, her dark hair pinned up high. She looked proper and dignified, yet her starry eyes were slightly unfocused, and a lingering, seductive charm still clung to the corners of her brows.

Seeing her hesitant, conflicted expression, the corners of Qi Yuan’s mouth curled up. He couldn’t resist teasing her.

“Ahem… Eldest Senior Sister, I must say, your mastery of the Scripture of Yin-Yang Metamorphosis surpasses even mine. You must have studied it quite diligently in private, haven’t you?”

Hearing this, Bai Xirou’s face instantly turned the color of a ripe tomato. She looked as if she wanted to find a crack in the floor and crawl inside.

Flustered and angry, she snapped, “How dare you bring that up! If it weren’t to save you, do you think I would ever cultivate such a shameless technique? Get out! I… I don’t want to talk to you anymore!”

Seeing that her emotions were stirred up—no longer depressed as she had been before—Qi Yuan felt a sense of relief. He put on an innocent face and spread his hands.

“My apologies, I misspoke just now. I truly didn’t mean anything by it. If you’re shy, I promise I won’t mention it next time.”

“You want a next time?!”

Bai Xirou was so angry her willow-leaf eyebrows shot up. She glared at Qi Yuan, grinding her silver teeth, and stepped forward to push the man out of the room.

But suddenly, her legs went weak. She lost her footing and stumbled straight forward.

Qi Yuan moved in a blur, catching her in his arms. With a solemn, righteous expression, he said:

“No need to wait for next time. I must properly thank Senior Sister for her life-saving grace right now. Whether it is repaying a kindness or settling a score, this Holy Scion never likes to leave things overnight.”

“Since the stars have aligned, why dwell on it? Better to repay the debt now. I can also offer some pointers regarding your doubts about the Scripture of Yin-Yang Metamorphosis. What do you say?”

As he spoke, he lightly waved his sleeve.

Hum.

A soundproofing barrier instantly expanded, enveloping the entire guest room.

“What are you doing…”

Before Bai Xirou could react, she was swept up into a horizontal embrace. After a moment of dizzying disorientation, her furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and her breath became as fragrant as orchids…

[Ten thousand words omitted here]

The morning sun cast its golden rays down.

Qi Yuan stepped out of the room, feeling refreshed and invigorated. He was just about to go find An Cailan to bid farewell when several lines of text refreshed on his previously empty System interface.

The trash System had a new mission!

Qi Yuan’s eyelid twitched. He immediately composed himself and examined the text closely.

[New Main Mission Issued: In Reed River City, you saved Eldest Senior Sister Bai Xirou using the Scripture of Yin-Yang Metamorphosis and successfully reached the Foundation Building realm yourself, taking a crucial step in your counterattack.]

[However, the danger is far from over. Yin Qingyuan, the new Sect Leader of Falling Cloud Valley, has issued a kill order to the local Wang Family of Reed River City to eradicate all traces of you both. He demands that the Wang Family Ancestor, Wang Tiande, hunt you down and finish the job…]

[Mission Objective: With the help of Eldest Senior Sister Bai Xirou, defeat Wang Tiande of the Wang Family (Early Golden Core Realm) within one month.]

[Mission Difficulty: 4 Stars (Difficult) — Note: Due to his lifespan nearing its end and forcibly cultivating ghostly evil arts in a living body, Wang Tiande’s true strength has dropped to the peak of Foundation Building.]

[Mission Rewards: 1000 Counterattack Points, 3 Supreme Great Recovery Pills, Enlightenment Mode Upgrade…]

Qi Yuan: “…….?!”

Staring at these glowing lines of text, Qi Yuan subconsciously rubbed his eyes. After confirming he hadn’t misread anything, his entire body went numb.

Once the realization hit him, he couldn’t help but curse out loud.

FCK!!!*

System, screw your ancestors!

Usually, you have me bullying Qi Refining noobs, which I can tolerate. But this time, you’ve completely lost your mind! You actually want me to defeat a dead man?!

The Wang Family of Reed River City had been wiped out ages ago by those two idiots, Lucky Li and Richie Zhang!

Wang Tiande’s head was currently hanging on display in the Merit Hall of Falling Cloud Valley!

How the hell am I supposed to defeat him? Do I dig up his ashes and scatter them to the wind again?!

Qi Yuan took several deep breaths, barely suppressing the rage in his heart. He called out mentally:

“System, listen to me. The mission target, Wang Tiande, is already dead. If you change the mission now, it’s not too late. I’ll pretend I never saw this glitch.”

[System: Verification complete. Mission target is confirmed accurate. Please complete the mission within the stipulated time.]

Hearing this, Qi Yuan’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. A vein throbbed violently on his forehead.

“But the target is dead! Where the hell do you expect me to find him? Should I slit my own throat and go down to the underworld to duel him?!”

The response was another formulaic, mechanical voice:

[System: Re-verification complete. The mission content is accurate. Please complete the mission within the stipulated time.]

Holy sht!*

Qi Yuan choked, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

I knew it!

You really can’t expect a damn thing from this stupid System!

Other protagonists’ Systems are considerate and caring, pampering their hosts all the way to the top, letting them act cool effortlessly. Why is it that when it’s his turn, everything turns into this kind of dumpster fire?

What kind of brain damage does it take to come up with a mission from the afterlife like this?

Although he was about to explode with anger, Qi Yuan forced himself to calm down and consider the possibilities for completing the task:

Plan A: Go to the Wang Family’s ancestral graveyard and flatten Wang Tiande’s tomb.

Plan B: Force Lucky Li to legally change his name to Wang Tiande, then beat him up.

Plan C: Find a way to resurrect Wang Tiande, then kill him again…

The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. He was starting to feel completely disoriented in the wind.

Damn it all!!!

Trash System, if you have the guts, come out here! I promise I won’t beat you to death!