After Redeeming the Villain, I Was Obliterated by the System - Chapter 7

“This disciple knows he was wrong. I was foolish to harbor reckless suspicions about Master. Please, let me serve Master well during this period of seclusion to atone for my sins.”

Xiao Qingyan kept his head lowered, his long, thick eyelashes concealing the flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. It was the perfect opportunity to kill his Master.

Lin Sui: !!!

Don’t think I cannot hear what you are thinking!

Lin Sui’s hand, which was gripping Mo Bai’s arm, trembled. His spiritual power was currently depleted; allowing the villain to follow him into seclusion was practically an invitation to his own funeral. He was just about to agree with Mo Bai’s earlier suggestion to leave Xiao Qingyan behind when the system issued another task.

[New Task: Ensure the villain reaches the Foundation Establishment stage within one month.]

[Failure to complete this task will result in the immediate erasure of the host.]

Lin Sui: ???

What kind of system is this? Forced labor is one thing, but immediate erasure for a failed mission?

Was the villain really only at the Foundation Establishment stage? He remembered that the villain had entered the sect five years ago. Other disciples who joined at the same time had long since reached the Golden Core stage, some even reaching the late stage.

Take Lin Xingzhou, for instance. He was the same age as the villain and had entered under the same Master. In the original owner’s memory, that was the day the original owner repaired a rift in the Demon Realm and saved a boy from drowning on his way back. Recognizing Lin Xingzhou’s rare Ice Spiritual Root, the original owner brought him back to the sect, bypassing the disciple trials.

He had met the villain on that same day and took him in out of a moment of compassion. That was how he ended up with two disciples.

Speaking of Lin Xingzhou, he worshipped the original owner completely; whatever the Master said was law. Between the two, one was a bright, spirited youth who held him in high esteem, while the other was a brooding, resentful shadow who wanted nothing more than to kill him.

The more Lin Sui thought about it, the more his head ached. He could not make sense of the plot. The original owner had treated the villain well. Xiao Qingyan had a Mixed Spiritual Root; with such poor aptitude, he should not have even qualified for the Sanqing Sect’s Outer Sect. So why did he want to kill the original owner so badly?

Lin Sui watched warily as Xiao Qingyan kowtowed in apology. Xiao Qingyan knocked his head three times, leaving a ring of fine blood beads on his fair forehead. His expression was sincere, his face full of remorse.

Mo Bai’s heart softened easily. After all, his Junior Brother possessed a Heart-Protecting Mirror. If he remained in seclusion alone for so long without a companion, he might sneak out to play again. It would be better to let Xiao Qingyan accompany him to keep a close watch.

Lin Sui was uncomfortable with Xiao Qingyan’s sudden submissiveness. He harbored no illusions about a villain who intended to murder him. However, with the countdown timers ticking under his mission bars, he felt numb. His mind raced to find a solution.

If Xiao Qingyan followed him into seclusion, there was no telling who would survive. Furthermore, the villain likely would not trust any help he offered to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

“We shall do as you wish, Junior Brother,” Mo Bai relented. He walked to Xiao Qingyan and took a single strand of his hair.

As an identical double of Xiao Qingyan appeared in the room, a solution flashed through Lin Sui’s mind. What if I use a different identity to get close to him and help him reach Foundation Establishment?

[Failed to prevent Xiao Qingyan from going to the Outer Sect. Punishment countdown beginning.]

The system’s emotionless voice rang out. Lin Sui looked at the mission bar; there were still five minutes left, but the green bar had already turned gray with the word “FAILURE” stamped at the end.

Were there not five minutes left? And technically, I did just stop him! Does this dog of a system read my thoughts instead of my actions?

“Heh, heh. You two do not take my words seriously, do you? And you, Mo Bai! Helping Lin Sui will only make him die faster! I warn you, do not play tricks with me! I am watching your every move!”

Su Zhanyun’s voice echoed from the glowing lamp on the table. The purple glass lamp pulsed with a fierce golden light, as if it wanted to jump out and strike Mo Bai and Lin Sui.

Mo Bai’s hand shook as he injected spiritual energy into the double. The substitute shattered instantly, and Xiao Qingyan’s long hair snapped into three pieces, drifting to the floor.

Suddenly, an electric current formed a net, tightly constricting Lin Sui’s heart. It spread from his chest to his limbs, his meridians sparking with electricity. The pain was so intense that Lin Sui gripped the bedding until his fingernails tore, leaving his fingers bloodied. Under the high-voltage current, he wondered if he was being charred from the inside out.

The cold poison within him was triggered. His vision became frosted over, and ice began to crawl across his face. The cinnabar mole on his forehead erupted with a blood-red light. The wind chimes at the head of the bed swayed violently, and a purple spiritual energy wrapped around Lin Sui, encasing him in a glowing purple sphere.

“Junior Brother!” Mo Bai had no time to argue with Su Zhanyun. Seeing Lin Sui wrapped in purple energy, he realized the cold poison had flared up again. But had it not been suppressed? Had the spiritual herbs lost their efficacy?

Mo Bai used his spiritual energy to refine the herbs on the table into a pill, sending it into the purple sphere. The sphere crackled with electricity, the sound making one’s heart skip a beat.

Xiao Qingyan silently crooked his finger, a smile tugging at his lips, his eyes full of predatory intent. Several wisps of demonic energy leaped from his fingertips, flying into a gap in the purple sphere.

As the electricity intensified to punish Lin Sui’s rebellious thoughts, Xiao Qingyan’s consciousness was pulled into the sphere along with the demonic energy.

He saw Lin Sui curled up on the bed, his bloodied fingers staining the sheets red. Those eyes, which were usually as indifferent as ice, were now filled with black mist. He watched Lin Sui’s suffering with great interest. Was Master not pretending to be blind? Fine, I will grant your wish.

Xiao Qingyan flicked his finger, and the black mist in Lin Sui’s eyes was pulled out through the air. Lin Sui’s body jolted, and threads of blood leaked from his lips. Hot liquid flowed from his eyes as his blurry vision plunged into a void.

Something wrapped around his eyes. Under the shock of the electricity, he could no longer feel other pains, only a dull, stinging ache in his eyes.

Xiao Qingyan controlled the demonic energy to bind Lin Sui’s eyes, leaving only his pale face visible. His bitten lips were a vivid red, giving him a fragile appearance, as if he would shatter into starlight at a single touch.

Xiao Qingyan’s eyes filled with bloodlust. He pressed his thumb hard against Lin Sui’s lips. Seeing the man’s brow furrow in pain and his breath grow faint, he suddenly decided he did not want to kill him so easily. His Master had tormented him for so long; why should he let him die so comfortably?

“Master, we shall take our time. Death is too good for you.”