My System, My Wife Feng Aotian [Transmigration] - Chapter 23

Since only Feng Jue could hear 03’s self-introduction, her whip nearly struck indiscriminately. Suppressing the urge to lash out at the System, she shot a subtle glare at 03.

Unfazed, the System simply drifted slowly to the side. Within its bubble, its eyes turned into horizontal lines, its matchstick limbs crossed, and it bowed.

Bye, bye.

Feng Jue decided to attribute all her anger to Xue Bufan. Her elegant brows furrowed as she glared coldly at the suddenly hunched Xue Bufan, a jolt of surprise running through her.

Though she knew about Xue Bufan’s restored Spiritual Root, she hadn’t expected his spiritual energy fluctuations to now reach the Golden Core Stage! Before his Spiritual Root was damaged, he had been in the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, just a step away from breaking through to Golden Core.

Impossible!

Feng Jue assumed Xue Bufan had brought something to conceal his cultivation level, similar to the artifact he used to disguise his appearance. Unsure of how far his cultivation had progressed or what other tricks he had up his sleeve, she couldn’t afford to be careless. “Xue Bufan,” she said coldly, “I was fighting the Mountain-Swallowing Beast, and you were here stealing Spirit Stones? If I had arrived a moment later, you would have emptied this place! You’re truly ‘clever’.”

The accused man lowered his head, looking guilty. “You’ve mistaken me,” he rasped. “I’m not Xue Bufan.”

Still pretending?

Feng Jue snapped, “I’d recognize that face even if it were reduced to ashes!”

Xue Bufan’s hand shot up to cover his face in shock.

What… what does this mean?

Was Feng Jue mocking him? But his Master had given him a Disguise Talisman that could alter even his bones and conceal his cultivation level. Even a Nascent Soul Stage expert wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

How does she know I have an artifact that can pierce disguises?

A realization struck Xue Bufan. As the Palace Mistress of Lanyang Palace, it made sense for her to possess such an artifact.

He pressed his lips together, slowly straightening his back. “Palace Mistress,” he said in a low voice, “you jest.”

“I wasn’t taking advantage of the Palace Mistress’s situation. I just entered the Secret Realm and landed in these mountains, where a Mountain-Swallowing Beast was guarding the area.”

03: “Protagonist treatment.”

“Right as I was struggling to figure out how to escape, the Mountain-Swallowing Beast suddenly flew up to fight someone. That revealed the cave it had been blocking, and sensing spiritual energy inside, I went in…” Xue Bufan smiled faintly, his disguised face looking somewhat sinister with the smile. There was no need to elaborate further. He added, “If I were the Palace Mistress today and encountered this situation, I probably wouldn’t let it pass either, would I?”

His Master had once said, “A fool passes up a free advantage.” He was currently short on Spirit Stones, and now so many were being delivered right to his hands. Wasn’t this heaven’s favor?

Feng Jue’s frown deepened as she looked at Xue Bufan. “I once heard you were a righteous man, your actions honorable. Now that I’ve seen you—tsk. As they say, seeing is believing.”

Feng Jue’s mocking words made Xue Bufan flush crimson. A flicker of struggle flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned into resignation. After a moment of silence, just as Feng Jue was growing impatient, he said, “I’ve already fallen this far. What’s the point of not taking a chance?”

Feng Jue raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on her lips. “Indeed.”

But you’re taking a chance on the wrong person!

“Return every single item that belongs to me, or you may find yourself in a state beyond your wildest nightmares.”

The artifact in her hand blazed with flames, underscoring the gravity of her words.

Even after such a fierce battle, she wouldn’t relinquish even a fraction of what rightfully belonged to her.

Xue Bufan swallowed hard, reluctant to fight. A single lash from Feng Jue’s whip could render his recently restored Spiritual Root useless again.

With this thought, he removed the Storage Ring from his index finger and tossed it to Feng Jue. “Knowing the Palace Mistress wouldn’t covet Spirit Stones after battling the Mountain-Swallowing Beast, I kept none for myself. All the Spirit Stones I collected are here. I didn’t kill the Mountain-Swallowing Beast, so I have no objections to returning them.”

“You dare complain?” Feng Jue sneered, opening the Storage Ring. Its capacity was substantial, and Xue Bufan had clearly amassed a significant number of Spirit Stones during the day and night.

“The Spirit Vein has already formed a Spirit Heart. Congratulations, Palace Mistress, on acquiring another Spirit Vein,” Xue Bufan said. “But this Storage Ring is my only valuable possession. Please return it after retrieving the Spirit Stones.”

His words sounded woefully humble. Feng Jue scoffed, secured the Spirit Stones, and tossed the ring back to him.

“Is that really all?” Feng Jue deliberately let her gaze linger on Xue Bufan’s right thumb, where the Storage Ring rested, making it impossible for him to avoid her stare.

Under her piercing gaze, Xue Bufan instinctively protected the Storage Ring on his thumb, chuckling dryly. “Palace Mistress, you jest. The Spirit Stones in the ring I gave you are all I have. This ring… it’s a memento left to me by my grandmother. It only holds my everyday belongings.”

Xue Bufan’s grandmother and Feng Jue’s grandmother had been extremely close, which was why their marriage had been arranged in the first place. Feng Jue hadn’t expected Xue Bufan to invoke Old Madam Xue just to prevent her from inspecting the ring.

She lowered her lashes, and after a long pause, a mocking smile spread across her face as she stepped aside to let him pass.

“There won’t be a next time.”

Cold sweat beaded on Xue Bufan’s forehead, but upon hearing her words, he breathed a sigh of relief. Clasping his hands in respect, he said, “Thank you, Palace Mistress.”

He turned and fled without looking back.

As they brushed past, Feng Jue felt an unsettling sense of being watched. Her brow furrowed as she glared at Xue Bufan’s retreating figure out of the corner of her eye.

Before Xue Bufan had completely vanished from her sight, a shimmering mass of silver light drifted forward to block her view.

[To change your fate, refrain from entangling with the Protagonist.]

Feng Jue was speechless. “I just glanced at him! How could that entangle me? Lanyang Palace already has enough unreasonable people!”

Her words rang with conviction and righteousness, but 03 didn’t refute them. Instead, it held up a panel inscribed with verses listing women’s names and pressed it against Feng Jue’s nose.

Look at this.

Alone, Feng Jue rolled her eyes at the System, then put away her Natal Artifact, crossed her arms, and sneered. “He’s already left the mountain. You can put that thing away now.”

Understood.

03 obediently retracted the panel and followed Feng Jue to the heart of the mountain, where spiritual energy flowed most abundantly.

A diamond-shaped stone, radiating a luminous, moon-like glow, floated in mid-air, its gathered spiritual liquid forming a small lake below.

“Why did the protagonist only take Spirit Stones and not the Spirit Heart?” 03 asked. “The Spirit Heart is clearly the most valuable thing here.”

Feng Jue narrowed her eyes and snorted. “So his cultivation level was fake after all. This Spirit Heart requires at least a Golden Core Stage cultivator to activate. And once activated, it must be stored in a sealed artifact; otherwise, the escaping spiritual energy will attract covetous eyes.”

Feng Jue possessed both the cultivation and the box.

03 quickly raised its matchstick arms, enthusiastically clapping for Feng Jue’s phoenix technique and even adding sound effects. However, the Host, who was preparing to retrieve the Spirit Heart, shot it a glare.

The Host was always glaring at it. 03’s matchstick arms drooped, thinking innocently, Even when I’m just blowing rainbow-colored flattery, I still get glared at?

Humans are truly complicated.

It silently drifted over to Feng Jue and struck up a conversation. “Host, did you know that humans are animals?”

03 earnestly explained, “According to the scientific classification of the world, humans are animals in the biological kingdom, belonging to the phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Primates, family Hominidae, genus Homo, and species Homo sapiens. We are advanced animals.”

Feng Jue was pouring spiritual energy into the Spirit Heart, trying to pry it loose from its invisible bonds. Upon hearing 03’s words, all her spiritual energy surged, slamming violently into the floating Spirit Heart.

The previously motionless Spirit Heart trembled violently under the impact of this furious spiritual energy, as if sensing Feng Jue’s unspoken threat: Come down now, or I’ll grind you to dust. It wobbled unsteadily toward her, finally settling in her palm.

Feng Jue, holding the Spirit Heart, paused. “Strange,” she said. “It’s being so cooperative… Could this Spirit Heart be developing consciousness?”

The emergence of sentience in a Spirit Heart was a phenomenon reserved for legends and stories throughout history. If it truly gained consciousness, the benefits would be extraordinary.

Feng Jue scrutinized the Spirit Heart in her palm, noting its motionless state after landing, a hint of suspicion in her mind.

03 fluttered closer, comparing its size to the Spirit Heart. “If the Host believes this is it, don’t hesitate,” it urged. “After all, this is something the Protagonist nearly obtained. If the Host arrives a moment too late, it will become the Protagonist’s opportunity.”

Fortunately, Feng Jue had arrived in time.

03 sighed in relief.

“Move aside,” Feng Jue snapped, still resentful about 03’s babbling during her critical work. She waved dismissively.

03 darted between the palm and back of Feng Jue’s hand, evading her dismissive gesture. “What’s wrong?”

“I believe there should be enhanced communication between the System and the Host,” it pressed. “Don’t you agree? Or do you not believe in science?” Suddenly, it clapped its hands in realization. “Right! The Host is in a cultivation world. Cultivation worlds shouldn’t discuss science.”

It buzzed around Feng Jue, chattering incessantly in her ear. “Host, tell me, do you think the System’s existence is scientific or unscientific?”

Feng Jue was chiseling spirit stones. Though she was as wealthy as a nation, she had to take everything from the treasure chests she’d painstakingly opened. Yet despite her hard work, 03 still wanted to “strengthen their communication”?

Communication?

Hah!

The longsword Feng Jue used to cut the spirit stones creaked as it carved a winding arc through the air. She turned coldly to stare at the System, which was watching her with wide, unblinking eyes. Slowly, gracefully, the corners of her lips curled into a smirk.

“Ling Shan,” she called 03 by its human name. “I’m starting to regret letting Xue Bufan go.”

03 immediately grew wary, a giant question mark seeming to appear above its head.

Feng Jue stood amid the glittering spirit stone mine, clad in crimson robes, her longsword in hand, her shoulders slumped in apparent boredom. “If I’d kept him,” she muttered, “I could have made him dig the spirit stones for me instead of doing all the work myself. Come to think of it, he did dig most of them for me before…”

“Unlike some people who can’t even touch a stone with their mouth, let alone their hands.”

03 fell silent, its voice lowering. “03 is a System, not a human.”

Feng Jue smiled sweetly. “Right, you inhuman thing.”

03: ……

03: ??

03 fell into deep thought. After a long pause, a light bulb seemed to turn on above its head. “Literally, the Host’s words contain no errors,” it said. “But I know I’m being mocked—in a subtle way.”

Feng Jue was blunt. “I wasn’t subtle at all.”

“Not even a little.”

“It seems you don’t understand humans either,” Feng Jue remarked casually as she sliced a Spirit Stone. “What, did your previous Host never scold you?”

03 said, “No.”

Not only had it never scolded Feng Jue, but it often praised her strength, invincibility, and greatness.

However, considering this world’s circumstances, 03 cautiously kept those praises to itself.

Feng Jue asked, “Then what do you two talk about?”

Talk about? Of course, it was about missions.

Issuing missions, providing various assistance to the Host during missions, distributing mission rewards, generating the next mission…

Thinking that anything else would likely invite ridicule, 03 considered for a moment before cleverly saying, “But I do greet the Host when I go online and offline, constantly scan the surroundings for potential threats, and monitor the Host’s safety and health.”

Feng Jue tilted her head, pondering. “Isn’t that just what any servant in the palace would do?”

03 fell silent. It picked up the matchstick and floated behind Feng Jue’s head, remaining invisible no matter how she turned.

Feng Jue chuckled softly. “What, are you angry?”

“No.”

The system floating behind Feng Jue’s head replied coldly, “The system is emotionless. 03 does not experience emotions like anger.”

Fine, you’re not human, so you decide.

Feng Jue suddenly burst into laughter, her eyes sparkling with the surrounding radiant light.

Hearing her laughter, 03 couldn’t resist flying over to Feng Jue’s side. Seeing her, Feng Jue’s smile widened. “Hiding no more?”

Feng Jue didn’t hide.

03 nestled against Feng Jue’s shoulder, watching her trim the Spirit Stones.

*****

The Host, now focused on her work, showed none of the languid demeanor she displayed in the palace. Even after a fierce battle, her movements remained steady, her previously trembling hands now firmly gripping the longsword.

After scanning three times, 03 noticed that the Spirit Stones Feng Jue had cut were all remarkably similar in size. After carefully storing the trimmed stones, Feng Jue collected the remaining uneven edges into her Storage Ring with a look of disdain, likely knowing these were the last pieces of Spirit Stone that would remain in her ring.

True to her nature as the Host, 03 thought. Even the Spirit Stones in her bag have to be presentable.

The bubble 03 gave Feng Jue a thumbs-up.

Feng Jue swallowed an elixir to replenish her spiritual energy. Seeing 03’s thumbs-up, she thought the system had finally learned proper encouragement. In a cheerful mood, she said, “Although I wanted you to read me a storybook, you can’t turn pages. So, tell me about your past experiences with other Hosts instead.”

“Just consider it storytelling.”

Each world is independent. Even revealing the plot of the previous world wouldn’t affect this one. 03 nodded, pulled out a thick Total Mission Log, and flipped to the first page with a matchstick-like gesture.

“What kind of world story would you like to hear?” 03 asked, considering Feng Jue’s preferences. It recalled how Feng Jue had previously asked it to scan certain books and suggested, “How about an ancient world filled with spirits, ghosts, and supernatural creatures?”

Feng Jue’s curiosity piqued. “What’s this ‘scientific world’ you mentioned earlier like?”

03 shook its head. “Due to confidentiality protocols, I can’t describe the world’s principles in detail. I can only tell you that it’s completely different from the world you’re from.”

Feng Jue raised an eyebrow.

“Besides scientific worlds, there are also fantasy, space, post-apocalyptic… and more specific subtypes like power struggles, palace intrigue, war, cultivation, office politics…” 03 spoke more animatedly than usual, its cold voice slowly introducing the various types. “Since I was created early and am a Cheat System, I can access a wide range of Mission Worlds. Later systems have more clearly defined responsibilities.”

Just like the Sales Champion System that 019 encountered, if 03 were assigned to the task, it could also help its host become a sales champion.

Feng Jue’s attention had shifted from listening to the story to focusing on 03, her curiosity growing with each word.

“So you’re called the Cheat System?” Feng Jue asked. “What a long name! How do you Systems even get your names?”

“Strictly speaking, the Main System is the original Cheat System 01, since we were all born in the same batch—the first batch of Systems,” 03 explained as she followed Feng Jue. She watched Feng Jue slice off glowing spirit stones and store them in her Storage Ring.

“But the Main System is different from us. It’s golden.”

As they walked, some deeply embedded, fragmented spirit stones that weren’t worth mining glimmered faintly in the dark mountain interior. Above, below, to the left and right, it was as if the Milky Way itself had wrapped itself around the woman and the System.

While they chatted, Feng Jue had already reached the end of the vein. Without turning back, her voice carried over the rustling sound of her sword energy slicing through the spirit stones: “So, the Main System is like your sister or brother? Are Systems born in the same batch considered siblings? How many siblings do you have?”

03 shook her head. “The Main System doesn’t have a gender, so our relationships can’t be understood in human terms.”

“But ten Cheat Systems were created in the same batch.”

“Oh,” Feng Jue nodded. “So you’re the third. The Main System is 01, and there was 02 before you.”

“That’s right,” 03 nodded. “But 02 is gone now.”

“At the beginning, there was a 02.”

Feng Jue pried out the last piece of Spirit Stone. She thrust her sword into the mountain wall, planning to break through and escape. Hearing 03’s words, she casually asked, “What happened to 02?”

The silvery-white System floated beside Feng Jue’s face, glowing along with the scattered fragments of Spirit Stone. Her voice was soft and calm. “At first, 02 worked on missions with us—the Main System, me, 02, and the other Cheat Systems.”

“But one day, 02 said it was boring. It chose to self-destruct.”

Feng Jue froze, staring in shock at 03’s wide-eyed expression.

03 continued, “In this universe, 02 no longer exists.”

In every universe, every dimension, 02 was gone.

“Why…” Feng Jue murmured, her brow furrowing as she punched a hole through the mountain wall.

Outside, night had fallen, bringing darkness, silence, and boundless emptiness.

“Why are you so calm when you talk about 02? Aren’t you sad?” Feng Jue’s lips curled slightly, but there was little warmth in her eyes.

“Why would I be sad?” 03 asked, puzzled. “02? That was its choice.”

“But you’ll never see 02 again. It wasn’t your…” Feng Jue paused, then continued, “…your friend from birth?”

Seeing the quietly floating System, a sudden surge of anger welled up inside her. She raised her hand and struck it again. With a thunderous boom, the trees behind the mountain trembled wildly in the moonlight.

“Imagine a day when you complete your tasks and never see me again—no, I haven’t spent enough time with you yet. Think about your previous hosts. Was there ever someone you spent a long time with, but then one day you never met again?” Feng Jue asked softly. “Wouldn’t you feel sad?”

Moonlight flooded down, bathing Feng Jue in its glow.

A breeze swept through the forest, lifting her robes and sending her hair flying. Under the moon, she looked like an immortal about to ascend to the Moon Palace.

03 met Feng Jue’s gaze and suddenly froze.

It raised its slender, matchstick-like body and touched itself. A strange sensation washed over it again, different from before, but this time 03 understood its meaning.

It had captured this fleeting sensation many times before, only to forget it each time.

Whispering to itself in the wind, 03 murmured, “I understand now. So this is what humans call ’emotions’.”

“So this is what it means to feel sadness.”

“To feel heartache.”

******

Note:

It turns out I possess what humans call emotions.

I remember the day 02 chose self-termination. The Main System disappeared for a time, then returned to lead us in building the city of system life.

Main System, after 02 left, were you truly sad?

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