Chapter 64 The System is Back, You Have to Believe Me

"No!" Shi Lian's face turned from ashen to pale, and he blurted it out almost without thinking, his voice filled with a panic he himself was unaware of.

Xie Linzhao remained silent, his cold face showing no emotion whatsoever, as if this earth-shattering proposal had nothing to do with him.

He simply stared intently into Shi Lian's eyes, which were slightly reddened with excitement, with his unfathomable gaze.

This silence felt more like an invisible pressure, making every second of waiting for an answer seem exceptionally long.

Fortunately, this suffocating stalemate did not last long.

After a long while, Xie Linzhao shifted his gaze from Shi Lian's face, glanced indifferently at Yun Hanyi, and said in a calm and even voice, "Fine, I agree."

"No!" Shi Lian stood as straight as a pine tree, but her voice trembled slightly.

He spoke stubbornly, even staring intently at Xie Linzhao in a somewhat out-of-control manner, gritting his teeth and saying, "You are a member of my Jianming Immortal Mountain. I can control where you go, but I forbid you from going to the Hehuan Sect!"

Wangyou's laughter was like the tinkling of silver bells. She covered her mouth and chuckled, "Why is this young man so agitated and worried? My Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect is of noble status. She is more than a match for a hostage who has long been abandoned by the Demon Clan and can only live under someone else's roof. Furthermore, if you are worried that the Holy Maiden will neglect Young Master Xie if she becomes intimate with other men in the future, there is really no need for that."

Her words were blunt and almost cruel: "Young Master Xie is so handsome. If he really falls out of favor in the future, as long as he is willing to humble himself and learn some gentle ways to please His Highness, he will not end up in a very miserable state."

Mingjian: "..."

As expected of the original novel's seme, his romantic luck comes fast and fiercely, and it's the kind of romantic luck with a very strong purpose.

Mingjian was secretly amazed.

Yun Hanyi did not speak.

She is the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect. No matter how much she likes Xie Linzhao, she will not lower herself to the status of others.

She merely curved her lips slightly, her beautiful, gentle eyes gazing at Xie Linzhao with a calm confidence.

Xie Linzhao stopped looking at Shi Lian and instead focused his gaze on Yun Hanyi, confirming in a calm tone, "Don't forget what the Hehuan Sect promised."

Yun Hanyi seemed to have anticipated this outcome, and nodded calmly, "That's natural. After the marriage, the sacred object can be used by Young Master Xie at any time."

The words "marriage" were like the last straw, breaking Shi Lian's carefully maintained composure.

His face was ashen, and he didn't look at Xie Linzhao again, nor did he say a word to anyone present. He suddenly turned around and rushed out of the room, the heavy wooden door making a loud bang behind him.

Xie Linzhao watched his departing figure and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately stepped out to chase after him.

"What do they mean by this?!" Gu Zhi was completely bewildered by this series of changes and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his face filled with confusion and shock.

Song Heyu sighed deeply and rubbed her temples wearily. "Fine, let them calm down. Ultimately, they need to make their own decision."

The group looked puzzled, unable to understand why Shi Lian reacted so strongly to what was clearly a good thing for Xie Linzhao.

After all, just as Yun Hanyi said, going to the Hehuan Sect would actually be entirely beneficial for him. In Jianming Immortal Mountain, most disciples were very resistant to the demon race, but in the Hehuan Sect, whether Xie Linzhao was a demon or not made no difference to them.

Xie Linzhao had such a miserable time at Jianming Immortal Mountain. He finally managed to leave Jianming Immortal Mountain, but I don't know why Shi Lian reacted so strongly.

Mingjian didn't feel much; he just wanted to ask if Shi Yan's matter had anything to do with Xiao Bumian.

Song Heyu and Gu Zhi had already left the room to find Shi Lian and Xie Linzhao, at least to ensure that the two of them wouldn't do anything unexpected in their emotional state.

The town of Qiyun outside was completely shrouded in night. Due to the successive disappearances of livestock, the entire town was eerily silent, with every household's doors and windows tightly shut, and even the cicadas were silent.

Except for the occasional extremely faint noise coming from a house, the whole town was as quiet as a giant tomb, with only the sound of their footsteps standing out clearly in the empty streets.

Seeing that Xiao Bumian still looked listless and as if he could fall asleep at any moment, Mingjian quickly followed Song Heyu and the others.

He leaned closer to Xiao Bumian, lowered his voice, and called out repeatedly in a soft and urgent tone, "Xie Hanwei, Xie Hanwei!"

Xiao Bumian lazily lifted his eyelids, turned his head, and asked with a puzzled look, "Hmm?"

"Does the sect leader's affairs have anything to do with you?" Mingjian asked directly, his heart pounding slightly.

Xiao Bumian tilted his head and thought for a moment, then realized that this matter really couldn't be attributed to him.

At that time, Shi Yan was almost possessed by that old bastard Ji Sui. If he hadn't appeared in time to interrupt, Shi Yan would still be alive, but he would just be an empty shell whose body had been taken over, which would be much worse than his current situation.

So he shook his head, even finding Mingjian's question somewhat cute. He reached out and poked Mingjian's soft cheek with his fingertip, earnestly correcting him: "No, it was me who saved him."

Mingjian: "...?"

"What did you save him from?" Mingjian was completely confused.

Xiao Bumian's eyes crinkled, seemingly pleased with his good deed. He nodded and explained succinctly, "I didn't kill him. Doesn't that count as saving him?"

Mingjian's throat tightened instantly; he almost choked on this powerful logic.

What kind of logic is this?!

But for some reason, upon careful consideration of Shi Yan's ending in the original novel, and comparing it with the present, Xiao Bumian's words seem to be impossible to completely refute.

"It really has nothing to do with you?" Mingjian asked again, still a little uneasy.

Xiao Bumian gently brushed his fingertips across Mingjian's long, dark eyelashes, making Mingjian feel a little itchy.

"No," Xiao Bumian said slowly.

His eyes were clear and bright, like those of an innocent child, filled with a naive sincerity, staring unblinkingly at Mingjian, "You must believe me."

It was clear that this person was someone who responded to gentleness but not to force, and he especially couldn't stand the almost purely dependent look and tone that Xiao Bumian occasionally revealed.

After being looked at and told those words, his doubts were instantly dispelled, and he subconsciously muttered to himself, "I didn't say I didn't believe you."

He was just curious why Xiao Bumian let Shi Yan go this time, instead of following the original plot.

The plot deviates too much, no wonder the system was so anxious that it immediately ran back to the main system to fix the data.

When the main system was mentioned, Mingjian recalled that the system had mentioned before he went down the mountain that the main system seemed to have issued a new task, but for some reason, the instruction was interrupted halfway through, and he still did not know what the specific content was.

Thinking about this abandoned task, Mingjian had a vague sense of unease.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Bumian's voice suddenly rang out, abruptly pulling Mingjian's drifting thoughts back to reality.

Mingjian looked up and met Xiao Bumian's face, which had somehow gotten close and magnified.

He bent over, looking me in the eye, a faint smile playing on his lips. His beautiful face looked almost unreal in the dim light.

He blinked very lightly, his long eyelashes almost brushing against Mingjian's skin.

Mingjian paused for a moment, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and he stammered to cover it up, "N-no, I was just wondering what was causing all this trouble."

“Alright.” Xiao Bumian seemed to accept his statement and slowly straightened up.

They walked around the town for a while longer before Xiao Bumian smiled and suddenly said, "Now, that thing is not here."

His tone was very certain.

Knowing that Xiao Bumian's perception was infallible given his cultivation level, Mingjian immediately lowered his head in disappointment.

Xiao Bumian couldn't understand why he was unhappy because he hadn't found the evil object.

He simply and naturally extended his slender, fair fingers, inserting them one by one into Mingjian's fingers until they were tightly interlocked.

Then, he held Mingjian's hand and casually played with Mingjian's fingertips, as if they were some extremely interesting toy.

This time, Mingjian truly felt the changes in Xiao Bumian.

He frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Xie Hanwei, do you feel like your body temperature has risen?"

Holding his hand, I noticed it was noticeably warmer than usual, even a little unnaturally hot.

Xiao Bumian's eyes held a smile, but her tone carried a hint of feigned innocence, "Um, really?"

He did not admit it directly.

During the Demon Tribulation stage, demons may manifest a second form at a certain point, a hideous and ugly appearance. Mingjian likes beautiful things; what if he sees her like that and stops liking her?

Xiao Bumian decided to leave Mingjian for a while when his transformation period arrived, and then come back to find him once he had become more handsome.

Mingjian, completely unaware of his complicated thoughts, simply nodded affirmatively, "Yes, didn't you feel it yourself? It really is a bit hot."

Xiao Bumian avoided answering, instead throwing out a question with bright, sparkling eyes as she looked at him, "Do you prefer my body temperature to be higher or lower?"

This question immediately silenced Mingjian Gan.

He was terrified that this yandere would keep pressing him with these strange questions and relentlessly ask them.

Just like yesterday, Xiao Bumian only used a little too much force and hurt him. He couldn't help but shed tears, and this person could kiss him while repeatedly asking, "How about this? Does it hurt like this?" In the end, Mingjian was both ashamed and annoyed, and couldn't help but bite his shoulder before stopping.

So Mingjian quickly brushed it off, saying, "I like them all."

Xiao Bumian chuckled softly, finally showing mercy and not making things difficult for him any further.

Just as Xiao Bumian had said, the night was calm and peaceful.

Having found nothing, the group had no choice but to return to their lodgings.

Li Huan said happily, "It seems that when this evil creature saw that several immortals had arrived, it knew it was no match for them and slunk away."

Gu Zhi wasn't as optimistic as him; her brows remained furrowed, but she didn't want to discourage him, so she simply said in a low voice, "I hope so. Let's see tomorrow."

Two more days passed peacefully, and Qiyun Town remained tranquil.

The continued calm gradually lowered the guard of the townspeople. With so many cultivators in charge, many farmers began to boldly go to neighboring villages to buy chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep to raise again, trying to restore their former life.

Since that argument, Shi Lian hadn't mentioned returning to Jianming Immortal Mountain first. But an invisible ice wall seemed to have been built between him and Xie Linzhao; the two stopped talking and even avoided eye contact as much as possible.

The female disciples of the Hehuan Sect continued their cultivation and patrols as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Despite the apparent calm, everyone knew that if the strange events in Qiyun Town were not resolved, they would be unable to retrieve the sacred artifact from the Hehuan Sect.

Shi Yan's injuries were critical; every moment of delay eroded his chances of survival. If he ultimately failed to obtain the sacred artifact to dispel the demonic energy, Shi Yan would likely face annihilation.

This invisible pressure weighed heavily on everyone's heart.

That night, for some reason, Mingjian felt an inexplicable anxiety welling up inside him, as if an unnamed fire was burning in his chest, making him restless.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

Only then did she realize that Xiao Bumian was no longer beside her.

Ming frowned slightly, completely wide awake.

The events of the past few days replayed in his mind like fragments, each one carrying an indescribable strangeness.

For example, Xiao Bumian has a very faint herbal scent on him. It would be difficult for an ordinary person to notice, but Ming Jian is particularly sensitive to alchemy, so he could smell it immediately.

A thought suddenly flashed into Mingjian's mind: Could Xiao Bumian be injured? Is he secretly taking medicine?

This guess made Mingjian's heart jump. He immediately got up, hurriedly put on his coat, and pushed open the door to go out.

Outside, a crescent moon hung high in the night sky, its cool autumn light pouring down like mercury, illuminating the path in a hazy glow.

A cool night breeze swept by, slightly dispelling the anxiety in Mingjian's heart.

Li Huan's mansion was quite large, with pavilions, terraces, rockeries, and flowing water, its layout exquisite. Mingjian was in a hurry and didn't pay attention, almost getting lost in the corridors and courtyards.

He walked for a while and unknowingly wandered to a relatively secluded artificial hill landscape.

Few people seem to come here; there are tiny, warm yellow fluorescent lights nestled deep in the grass, like fireflies.

Mingjian was about to go closer to take a look when he suddenly heard intermittent voices coming from the other side of the artificial hill.

"Your Highness, the sect leader only asked you to find a man with a pure Yang destiny for dual cultivation, so as to help you complete the 'Imperial Qin Scripture' as soon as possible. Why did you choose that demon man?" a female voice said in a low voice, her tone full of confusion.

She is the woman named Wangyou from the Hehuan Sect.

Mingjian's step, which was about to take a step, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Oh ho!

How can you even get gossip from this?

Mingjian instinctively wanted to turn around and leave, afraid of hearing something he shouldn't have.

For some reason, his feet seemed to be nailed to the spot, and he didn't move as if possessed. He just held his breath and listened quietly to the conversation on the other side of the artificial hill.

Yun Hanyi's voice remained gentle, yet carried an unwavering certainty: "Young Master Xie is indeed the person I told you about before."

Wangyou's voice suddenly rose considerably, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is he the man who saved His Highness in the Yunlai Immortal Mansion?!"

"I...I'm not entirely sure either." Yun Hanyi's voice was tinged with a rare shyness and hesitation.

She added, "At that time, I was seriously injured and my consciousness was blurred. I only vaguely saw a departing figure and a jade pendant on his waist. Although I couldn't see the details of the jade pendant clearly, I felt that the figure was Young Master Xie."

“Alright.” Wangyou’s tone suggested she was reluctantly accepting the reason, but she was still worried. “As long as Your Highness is happy, that’s the best. But what if Young Master Chi finds out and throws a tantrum?”

Yun Hanyi's tone was gentle, and she seemed to be having some trouble with this issue as well. "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

The two exchanged a few more words in hushed tones, and then their footsteps gradually faded into the distance, indicating that they had left.

Behind the artificial hill, only Mingjian remained standing under the night sky.

The sky was dotted with stars, and twinkling lights danced in the air.

Mingjian blinked gently, digesting the astonishing information he had just heard.

He seems to have stumbled upon some incredible gossip!

No wonder Yun Hanyi was so special to Xie Linzhao; it turns out there was a reason behind his heroic rescue of the damsel in distress.

Moreover, it sounds like this Holy Maiden has a former lover with whom she has a close relationship. If Xie Linzhao really goes to the Joyful Union Sect, wouldn't he be escaping one danger only to fall into another, becoming a thorn in someone's side?

Mingjian couldn't help but click his tongue, expressing a subtle sympathy for Xie Linzhao's future career.

Just then, a familiar voice rang in his mind without warning.

[Host, 051 is back]

It was the system's voice, but it sounded somewhat hoarse and weak, revealing an undeniable weariness.