My System, My Wife Feng Aotian [Transmigration] - Chapter 24.1

Acknowledging that it had emotions and was sad didn’t seem to change anything.

03 drifted behind Feng Jue, watching her figure ahead.

Feng Jue occasionally glanced back, and finally, unable to resist, she clicked her tongue and stopped. They were in a flat, open area where a tree with intricate petals bloomed with vibrant purple flowers. Illuminated by the moonlight, tiny sparks of light, like fireflies, drifted down from the branches.

The two stood beneath the tree, enveloped by the dense canopy of blossoms. Feng Jue reached up, plucked a branch of flowers, and tucked it into her hair. As she moved, her gaze drifted to 03.

“How long will you remain so dull?” she asked. “According to you, 02 has been dead for ages. Even if you were sad, shouldn’t you have gotten over it by now?”

A tearful emoticon floated out from the dimming 03 bubble. “Host, your words sound rather heartless,” it replied involuntarily.

Feng Jue’s lips curved into a smile more radiant than the freshly placed flowers. “Remove the ‘rather,'” she corrected. “Let it be known that this Palace Mistress is naturally cold-hearted and indifferent—utterly heartless.” Her tone held no self-restraint, only a hint of pride.

03 couldn’t understand how someone so heartless could possess such a brilliant, scorching flame.

“My host treats me very well,” it said.

Even though 03 had shown up unannounced and couldn’t provide much help, Feng Jue still chose to accept it. And—03’s gaze landed on the Storage Ring Feng Jue was wearing.

Feng Jue, unaware of 03’s gaze, took out an artifact and tossed it beneath the flowering tree.

The artifact expanded upon landing, transforming into a small, jade-like pavilion of exquisite beauty. After erecting a barrier, Feng Jue stepped inside. The pavilion was fully furnished with a bed, table, and cabinets, and a vase in the corner held fresh green bamboo.

Feng Jue glanced at the bamboo, then looked out the window at the drooping branches of the flowering tree. She stood with her hands on her hips for a moment, then pursed her lips slightly. Seeing 03’s questioning gaze, she snapped impatiently, “Who said you’re not human? You’re loyal to this Palace Mistress, so what’s wrong with treating you a little better?”

“It’s not like you can even touch or feel these favors. In the end, it all benefits me anyway. If you keep being the same old reliable self, my care for you will only grow. That’s all I have to say. Since you don’t need sleep, go stand guard at the gate instead. Alert me if you see any humans or demon beasts passing by.”

Understood.

Perking up, 03 accepted the new mission and obediently drifted outside to perch on the roof.

The world stretched vast and magnificent below. From its vantage point, the silver-white System was no larger than a leaf, gazing up at the swaying blossoms and distant stars.

“Beautiful,” 03 said.

After Feng Jue’s awakening, it realized that the days spent quietly gazing at mountains and rivers, sun and moon, stars and galaxies, weren’t indifference to the outside world. It was appreciation. It enjoyed watching these things.

A cool breeze carried a chill as it swept past. 03’s bubble-like eyes narrowed into slits, basking in the comfort. Remembering Feng Jue’s expression as she stared at the flowering branches outside the window, 03 suddenly flew to a flowering branch and extended a slender matchstick, striking down at it.

The matchstick pierced through the branch, dealing 0 damage. 03 silently nestled against the vibrant purple flowers, pretending to bloom at the branch tip.

As a system with a sense of public morality, 03 couldn’t casually pick flowers or pluck grass. It patched itself and patched Feng Jue.

But the host was human, not a system, and could pick flowers to wear.

The non-human system was quite satisfied with its patch. After logging its final mood for the day in its journal, it obediently settled in for the night.

*****

The Chongshan Secret Realm was vast. In the half month since 03 and Feng Jue entered the realm, they had only seen Xue Bufan once at the very beginning, yet they had experienced numerous fierce battles—some of which seemed like Feng Jue deliberately looking for trouble. The schedule was packed, the gains were plentiful, and the “movie” was great—no ticket required. This was the work log of 03, who could only watch helplessly from the sidelines during each of Feng Jue’s battles.

Just as it finished typing the last sentence, Feng Jue, ahead, flicked blood from her sword, her expression cold and stern.

03 quickly drifted over. “What’s wrong?”

She looked furious.

Feng Jue had just sliced open an Earth Fiend Python and removed its Beast Core, but Palace Mistress Feng clearly disliked doing such work. Her movements were reckless and unbridled, leaving the scene a chaotic mess, like a splattered ink painting. Even her clothes and face had been splattered with blood from the first slash.

“If it weren’t for this Beast Core, I’d have burned you to ashes!” Feng Jue snarled, viciously stomping on the python’s carcass, blood splattering across her face.

03 circled Feng Jue twice before stopping in front of her and encouragingly said, “But you still look amazing!”

“Brave and spirited, graceful and magnificent, captivating with every glance…” 03 secretly flipped open a small electronic dictionary and began spouting exaggerated flattery.

“Really?” Feng Jue stared at it skeptically.

03 nodded vigorously, then produced a panel and immediately drew Feng Jue’s portrait, which materialized instantly.

On the magnified panel, Feng Jue stood atop the severed head of a colossal serpent—two men wide and a hundred meters long—sword in hand. The wind lifted the hair on her forehead, revealing a golden floral ornament at her temple. Though the portrait was a side view, showing only a partial glimpse of her striking features, it irresistibly drew the viewer into the painting, longing to see her face in full.

Droplets of serpent blood splattered across her face like scattered plum blossoms, accentuating her sharp and resolute eyes. The chaotic bloodstains stained her golden robes like burning flames.

Unable to resist, 03 enhanced the brightness of the Host in the painting, proving she was the sole protagonist.

“So this is how it is,” Feng Jue said, surprised as she gazed at the portrait. She nodded in satisfaction. If this was the case, she could tolerate the pervasive stench of blood.

Holding the portrait, 03 circled Feng Jue and began reciting poetry: “Vast and boundless, soaring through the void on the wind, without knowing where it will end; ethereal and detached, transcending the world, ascending to immortality.”

Feng Jue: “……”

As 03’s endless praise continued, Feng Jue’s displeasure gradually dissipated. Her shoulders relaxed, and she scoffed, “You’re going overboard.”

“Am I?” 03 asked, genuinely surprised.

“You’re actually surprised?” Feng Jue glared at 03 irritably, but her glare lacked its usual force—she couldn’t kill the System, nor could she inflict the slow, agonizing punishment of “lingchi” on it.

Unfazed even by the threat of “lingchi,” 03 grew even more smug. It stored the portrait in a newly created album, alongside the previous portrait it had generated of Feng Jue. After Feng Jue finished burning the Earth Fiend Python’s carcass to ash, 03 leisurely followed her. The Artifact for rest and recuperation in the Secret Realm was nearby.

Coincidentally, just as Feng Jue had finished clearing the nearby Spirit Beasts and was planning to go into seclusion to regulate her breathing for a few days, the Earth Fiend Python had crashed right into her territory. Perhaps it had sensed the sudden disappearance of the usual dominant beasts in the area and rushed to claim the territory, only to be cut down by Feng Jue.

Relying on her Early-Stage Great Perfection Golden Core cultivation, Feng Jue dared to confront a Mid-Stage Golden Core Spirit Beast head-on. A mere Early-Stage Golden Core Earth Fiend Python was beneath her notice.

“It’s strange, though,” Feng Jue remarked casually as she strolled back. “Since entering the Secret Realm, nearly every Spirit Beast we’ve encountered has been at the Golden Core Stage.”

03 pulled up a 3D map for Feng Jue, with a 2D overview in the upper left corner. Every Spirit Beast, Spirit Plant, and Spirit Object they’d encountered along the way was clearly marked, down to the Spirit Stones hidden deep within the mountain’s belly.

Feng Jue raised an eyebrow, staring at the map in surprise.

03 said, “Indeed. The System analysis suggests that the Chongshan Secret Realm likely disperses cultivators to different locations based on their cultivation level, with each location corresponding to spirit beasts of a similar cultivation level.”

Feng Jue frowned, murmuring, “How is that possible? I’ve never heard of such a considerate Secret Realm.”

Spirit plants and artifacts were one thing, but spirit beasts had legs and could move. How could they be confined to different areas? Unless each region had a Barrier to restrict their movement, but how could such a thing be done by a lifeless Secret Realm?

“Before the Chongshan Secret Realm’s upgrade, I heard Lanyang Palace disciples describe the situation within. In a Foundation Establishment Stage Secret Realm, the highest cultivation level of spirit beasts is Early-Stage Golden Core. There was no mention of anything like what you’re describing.”

“It stands to reason that after the upgrade, the spirit beasts’ cultivation levels have also increased. Golden Core cultivators wandering around like they’re a dime a dozen wouldn’t be surprising.”

03 said calmly, “The System is merely presenting a possibility.”

Feng Jue: “Who is this System?”

03: “The System is me.”

Feng Jue: “This System seems quite capable. I’ve never seen a map so detailed that you can see every blade of grass and tree. This System is exceptionally gifted and remarkably perceptive.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected praise, 03 couldn’t help but puff up slightly, its avatar in the bubble even striking a self-satisfied pose.

Feng Jue couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

In the perilous yet reborn Secret Realm, Feng Jue and 03 were enjoying a rare moment of warmth together. Suddenly, a shrill girl’s scream pierced the air, growing louder as it approached, followed by a familiar roar.

03 spun around and said, “Ling Shi.”

Feng Jue halted, staring at the approaching sounds, her eyebrows arching.

As the footsteps drew nearer, Feng Jue and 03 watched as a hooded girl in gray burst from the undergrowth, her face pale with panic, and collided with Feng Jue.

Before her stood a woman with cold, detached eyes, her face and clothes splattered with dark blood, radiating a raw, bloody aura as she glared at the girl.

“Ah!!” The girl screamed, her knees buckling as she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

03’s gaze followed the girl’s crumpled form. Before Feng Jue could speak, it calmly declared, “You may rise.”

Feng Jue’s lips twitched. Ignoring the girl wailing on the ground, she turned to the Fire Rock Jiao that had been chasing her.

“Rrrroar?”

Ling Shi’s large head emerged from the bushes. Her eyes lit up when she saw Feng Jue. She slithered over affectionately, coiling around Feng Jue and resting her head on her shoulder.

03: ?

Isn’t that its usual hideout? 03 drifted over, clutching a twig-like object and circling Ling Shi’s head. It then pointed solemnly at Feng Jue.

First come, first served. The cuckoo displaces the warbler’s chicks.

Feng Jue shook her head slightly and tossed a black object—the Spirit Core she had recently extracted from the Earth Fiend Python. The moment Ling Shi saw the Spirit Core, she stopped pestering Feng Jue and shot after it with a whoosh. Her jiao body brushed the tips of the girl’s hair as she flew past, her scorching heat making the girl shiver violently, her sobs growing louder.

“Enough!” Feng Jue snapped impatiently. “Hurry up and get lost!”

The girl, who had been wiping her tears with her cloak, paused mid-sob. After a few violent gasps, she whimpered, “I… I want to leave too, but I can’t… I can’t get up…”

“My legs are weak.”

Feng Jue glanced at her coldly and strode past. A newly ascended Foundation Establishment cultivator with unstable spiritual energy wasn’t worth her caution.

But as she passed the girl, the one she had so easily dismissed, mustered an unexpected courage. She reached out and grabbed the hem of Feng Jue’s skirt, her voice trembling. “F-Fellow Daoist… is that jiao your Spirit Beast?”

A thought bubble appeared above 03’s head. After a pause, it flew from Feng Jue’s still-cold shoulder to hover in front of the girl, staring at her dirt-covered face.

The mud on the girl’s face looked like a mask, leaving only her large, round eyes visible. Even red from crying, her delicate features were still apparent.

03 tilted its head curiously.

Support My System, My Wife Feng Aotian [Transmigration]