"Shut up!"
Luoyun Huan's voice trembled. She hated the System for exposing her inner thoughts, but honestly, anyone would be flustered to encounter a great beauty the moment they transmigrated into a novel.
Especially when that person was a top-tier beauty.
After all, romance novels like this placed an extreme value on physical appearance.
[Alright, alright, I'll shut up immediately, but you've got to put in some effort, Host!]
The System's somewhat stiff laughter echoed in her mind. Although it was a robotic voice, Luoyun Huan could detect a joy unique to a soul.
The frost crystals originally condensed on her hair gradually dissipated, replaced by rising mist. As the frost melted, it brought warmth.
Luoyun Huan's nose was filled with a faint, delicate fragrance—the scent of Qin Yiqiu, like a quiet and elegant magnolia flower. So... Qin Yiqiu was warming her entire ice-cold body.
"Is this person really... practicing the Heartless Dao?"
Luoyun Huan fell into momentary doubt.
This was her inner monologue, which somehow only the System could hear, so the System gave an answer.
[Of course, absolutely true.]
[However, the Heartless Dao isn't that one-dimensional. It means being unfeeling in the heart, not that one remains indifferent to everything.]
The definition in every novel is different. When Qin Yiqiu was created, she might have just been a device for interaction between the female protagonist and supporting characters, but this was a complete world.
To operate properly, it couldn't rely solely on the author's writing prowess. That was why the System Alliance to protect supporting characters had been born.
Its purpose was to maintain a delicate balance, preventing supporting characters with overly disparate power levels from causing the entire world's operation to fail.
"Does it still hurt?"
A soft voice sounded by her ear, devoid of emotion, like a drop of cool, refreshing summer water falling onto the back of a hand.
Luoyun Huan froze for a moment, a flurry of messy thoughts flashing through her mind, and she immediately shook her head.
No, how could she be so spineless? She hadn't even started pursuing her target before she was counter-targeted. This simply wouldn't do!
"Not very painful."
As Luoyun Huan said this, her pristine white teeth were practically biting through her tender pink lips; the credibility was lower than low.
"That's good."
Although Qin Yiqiu noticed this tiny detail, she didn't care. She had no need to exhaust herself over an outer sect disciple.
"My Cultivation Manual is extremely yin and frigid, which causes physical weakness. You should recuperate properly when you return."
Qin Yiqiu stepped down from the bed, found one or two bottles of medicinal pills in her Storage Ring, and handed them to Luoyun Huan.
"Someone within the sect maliciously used the Huanhuan Pill on you; this incident is my dereliction of duty. Tomorrow, I will give you a proper explanation."
Luoyun Huan had a persistent feeling that the Eldest Senior Sister was offering an apology to her. Still, she figured the original owner of this body must have been very frail, whereas she was not. If someone had framed her, they deserved to be punished.
"Thank you, Eldest Senior Sister, for clearing my name."
Thinking of this, Luoyun Huan also jumped off the bed and bowed respectfully, even though she didn't know much about the etiquette of the Immortal Cultivation World.
However, kneeling on both knees was definitely correct. Whether rooted in reality or in novels, this was the highest level of formal courtesy—it was offering her utmost sincerity.
"There is no need for that."
True to form, Qin Yiqiu put on a benevolent expression akin to Liu Bei, reaching out to help Luoyun Huan to her feet.
"You should go back."
Luoyun Huan felt a pang of reluctance to leave such a great beauty, but if she stayed any longer, she would probably be mistaken for some kind of creep, so she decided to leave decisively.
...
She stepped out of the cave, and her eyes were met with a scenic expanse of pine trees. Luoyun Huan had originally been worried that she wouldn't know the way, but the System very considerately popped up a navigation interface.
It even marked which intersection to turn at and where the steps were.
It was practically the autonomous driving function of the System world. Luoyun Huan couldn't help but quietly praise it in her heart; this was true high-tech.
[Host, because the headquarters previously allowed many pursuers to drag out their time, frequently resulting in pursuers reaching the end of their lifespans without capturing the target, starting today, headquarters will issue new guidelines.]
Luoyun Huan:!
She listened intently to the System talking and almost missed her footing, nearly tumbling straight down the hillside.
"What did you say?"
[I mean, if you fail to make the target's heart-flutter value increase even a little within three days, you will face a lifespan-reduction penalty.]
The System's punishment wasn't even an electric shock...
Wait, what kind of focus was that?
The real focus should be that she was far too miserable; she ran into a reform on her very first day on the job.
"Whatever. This is an immortal cultivation world after all; even if my lifespan is reduced, it's no big deal."
Luoyun Huan's tone carried the attitude of someone ready to give up and lie flat. The System maintained total silence. Just as Luoyun Huan was feeling pleased about winning the argument against the System, the navigation panel before her shifted, suddenly transforming into her own attribute panel. Upon seeing the attributes for Four Spiritual Roots, Luoyun Huan completely lost her composure.
Her feet slipped, and she fell flat on her back, completely devoid of any maidenly grace as her dark hair picked up yellow soil, looking utterly wretched.
Her eyelashes trembled as she timidly peeked at the talent column.
[Extremely Poor]
"God, just kill me!"
Between pursuing the Heartless Dao and having such trashy aptitude, her chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment and living for five hundred years were practically zero.
In other words, the threat of lifespan reduction was very real to her.
"System, if I fail the pursuit, can I still go back?"
Luoyun Huan asked tentatively. The System remained silent for a long time before giving its answer.
[Host... how could a failure get such a wonderful reward? If you successfully complete the pursuit, perhaps I will consider sending you back, but if you fail, your soul can only remain in this world, and I will make no further arrangements.]
Truly malicious.
Luoyun Huan sighed.
"Fine, fine, I'll just pursue Qin Yiqiu."
Dusting off her robes stained with yellow mud, Luoyun Huan couldn't help thinking that it was still uncertain who would take advantage of whom.
With Qin Yiqiu's stunning looks, kissing her once would probably give someone three days of sweet dreams.
Of course, that was assuming she didn't freeze to death first.
Seeing that her host finally had some drive, the System was quite pleased.
[In view of the headquarters suddenly increasing the difficulty, a Newcomer Gift Pack has been issued to the System. Please claim it.]
Hearing the System say this, a large red gift box appeared before Luoyun Huan's eyes. She reached out and clicked to unpack it. A yellow ribbon slowly drifted down as the gift box opened.
Inside was a stack of spirit stones, with a label directly reading: Medium Spirit Stones x500.
Luoyun Huan was pleasantly surprised, not expecting the System to be completely useless after all; at least it gave her some reward.
Thus, she decisively took out her Storage Bag.
The original owner's Storage Bag was extremely worn out, and surprisingly, even had a patch on it.
Luoyun Huan was somewhat speechless, but using such a ragged wallet to hold so many spirit stones actually felt reassuring, because no one would suspect a thing.
Luoyun Huan stored the spirit stones inside, instantly feeling as though her pockets had grown heavy.
However, suddenly getting rich overnight might arouse suspicion, so she still had to be very careful when spending the spirit stones.