Chapter 1: Favorability Points Gone Back to square one

The flickering candlelight cast long shadows, and the gauze curtains trembled gently, illuminating two intertwined shadows.

"Lili, be good, say it out loud, don't bite your lip."

The man's voice was hoarse and low as it rang in the woman's ear, his pupils swirling with pain and sorrow.

"Let me go!" the woman cried out, trying her best to suppress her voice.

The man leaned down close to the woman's ear, his breath hot as he said, "I'd rather die than let you go."

"Please don't... I beg you! He's right outside!"

The man's eyes were filled with a mad and unruly rage, and his heart ached so much that his eyes welled up with tears.

He pinched her chin with one hand, forcing her to look at him. A hot tear fell onto her face, burning her eyelashes.

"It's precisely because he's outside that I want you to shout to lure him in! Let him see what we're doing, and see if he still dares to want you!"

The woman's tears of humiliation welled up, mixed with restrained groans, as she slapped the man's body wildly with her hands.

The man gritted his teeth and grabbed her slender waist with his other hand.

Her lips slammed down, suddenly tightening, with a punitive tone: "Say you're mine, say it now!"

She cried out in pain, "No..."

Fang Li's eyes widened suddenly, and before she could finish speaking, she felt herself choke on a mouthful of ice water.

As consciousness gradually returned, Fang Li realized that she was soaking in water, her body was ice cold, and her mouth and nose were filled with cold water.

What's going on? Wasn't she slashed by a demon and then thrown off a cliff?

What just happened? It felt so real...!

She remembered being kidnapped by a demon and tied to a stone pillar on a cliff, who intended to use her to force Shen Yunzhou, the top disciple of the Sword Sect, to come.

She stood in the cold wind all day, waiting only for a junior brother to deliver a message.

The man glanced at her with disdain and said to the demon, "Senior brother finds her extremely annoying, do whatever you want with her."

She was utterly disheartened, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and said no more.

The monster was furious that its plan had failed, so it stabbed her in the chest with its sword and threw her off the cliff, cursing as it left.

But why did that scene just now feel so real...?

"Shameless"

A cold male voice suddenly came from above.

Fang Li looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure in white standing on the blue stone on the shore. His black hair was tied up high and his sword-like eyebrows were tightly furrowed. It was Shen Yunzhou, the senior brother of the Sword Sect whom she had been chasing to the death.

Four years ago, she transmigrated into a novel called "The Immortal Path" and became the junior sister of the Sword Sect.

The system told her that she could go home as long as she could win over the male lead, Shen Yunzhou.

Who knew that Shen Yunzhou was aloof and detached from worldly desires, obsessed with cultivation, and extremely cold. It took her three years to win over 50% of him.

With the time allotted by the system fast approaching, that damn system came up with a dirty trick for her.

She fell into the water next to Shen Yunzhou, and Shen Yunzhou rescued her as a hero. The two had intimate physical contact, which forced him to make a vow of becoming a Daoist couple with her.

Since then, Shen Yunzhou's favorability rating has remained at 50%, and no matter what methods she uses, it will not increase.

And now I've just come to my senses at the point where I fell into the water.

Shameless? Yes, she was driven mad by the system, pestering it for four years, only to end up falling off a cliff and being shattered to pieces. In her previous life, she was utterly hopelessly stupid.

"Aren't you coming up? Do you want the whole sect to see you in this ugly state?" Seeing her floating motionless in the water, Shen Yunzhou's tone became even more impatient, and he reached out to pull her ashore.

Fang Li slapped away his outstretched hand, turned around, and swam forcefully towards a deserted corner on the opposite bank.

"Fang Li!" Shen Yunzhou frowned even more when he saw that she was ignoring him and wanted to swim ashore by herself: "Have you made enough of a scene?"

Fang Li ignored him and climbed up the slippery rocks little by little.

Just then, a clean outer robe with a faint, refreshing fragrance was handed to her.

"Junior sister, put this on quickly, be careful not to catch a cold." A gentle voice rang out.

Fang Li looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes.

Xie Chen stood on the shore, still dressed in his green robe, his hair tied up with a jade hairpin, and his face bearing his usual gentle smile.

In her past life, he was the first to send her clothes. At that time, she was preoccupied with Shen Yunzhou's attitude and only thanked him hastily before saying nothing more.

Now, Fang Li looked at the clean outer robe, but subconsciously shook her head and took half a step back to avoid it. She no longer wanted to have too much to do with her past life.

Xie Chen's smile froze for a moment, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The commotion on the shore attracted many disciples to watch, and whispers rose and fell among them.

"Oh my god, isn't that Junior Sister? How did she fall into the icy pond?"

"Judging from Senior Brother's expression... could it be that Junior Sister is bothering him again?"

"I heard she was sending snacks to her senior brother every day a while ago. Did that not work out, so she's resorting to a water-diving scheme now?"

At this moment, several white-haired elders of the sect rushed over upon hearing the news.

Elder Yunzhi, who was at the head of the group, frowned as she looked at the disheveled Fang Li, then glanced at Shen Yunzhou, whose expression was unpleasant, and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

Before Shen Yunzhou could speak, Fang Li lowered her eyes and said, "I slipped and fell while cultivating, disturbing Master and Elders. It was my fault."

Everyone was stunned, including Shen Yunzhou.

Who doesn't know Fang Li's feelings for Shen Yunzhou? No one in the entire Sword Sect has ever been more persistent than her. How could she possibly let it go with a casual "accidental slip"?

Elder Yunzhi clearly hadn't expected her to react this way.

The prepared remarks got stuck in my throat. (Most likely, after a few words of reprimand, I'd casually mention how the two of them were destined to be together.)

She looked at Fang Li, who, despite her disheveled appearance, showed no intention of getting involved.

He glanced at Shen Yunzhou's face, which was so cold it seemed like ice crystals could fall off, and finally said in a deep voice, "The Cold Moon Pool is a forbidden area of ​​the sect. You are punished by copying the Sword Sect Rules one hundred times and submitting them to the Enforcement Hall within three days. Go back to your residence to change your clothes and recuperate. Take good care of yourself and don't catch a cold."

She bowed respectfully to the elders and said, "This disciple accepts the punishment and thanks the elders for their concern."

After saying that, she turned to leave. Her wet clothes clung to her body, showing off her exquisite figure. A cold wind blew, making her teeth chatter.

"Fang Li." Shen Yunzhou's voice rang out again. He had been frowning as he watched the slender figure walk away without turning back. "Are you just going to walk back like this?"

Fang Li didn't stop walking or turn around, only casually saying, "No need for Senior Brother to trouble himself."

Shen Yunzhou stood there, watching the receding blue figure, his brows furrowed.

Shouldn't she be crying and making a scene, demanding he take responsibility, or clinging to her and acting pitiful?

Xie Chen put his outer robe away and looked in the direction where Fang Li had disappeared, a thoughtful look flashing in his gentle eyes.

Fang Li, who had walked away, could no longer hold on and began to cough violently while leaning against the tree trunk.

[Ding! System restart successful. Abnormal host behavior detected, triggering main quest: Apologize to Shen Yunzhou and ask for forgiveness, restoring his basic favorability (current favorability: -30). Quest time limit: one hour. Failure penalty: Level 1 electric shock.]

The familiar mechanical voice echoed in her mind, but Fang Li only sneered: "You want to wipe me out in one move? I'm not putting up with this anymore! Get lost!"

[Warning! Host refuses to perform task, triggering penalty mechanism—Zzzzz!]

An electric current surged through Fang Li's body instantly, causing her to convulse in pain. She curled up on the ground, her teeth grinding together, and her forehead covered in cold sweat.

[Host's strong resistance detected, punishment upgraded - buzz... buzz... error...] The system's mechanical voice suddenly became choppy, as if there was a bad signal.

Fang Li was taken aback. Could it be that this broken system also has bugs?

The electricity stopped intermittently, and she slowly stood up, leaning on the tree trunk.

Her muscles were still twitching. She dusted herself off and walked toward the courtyard.

Back in the simple courtyard, Fang Li closed the door behind her and, trembling, took out a talisman to light the charcoal brazier.

She quickly changed her clothes, wrapped herself in a blanket, sat on the edge of the bed, warmed her hands by the charcoal brazier, looked at the flickering flames, and rolled her eyes at the air: "In my previous life, I managed to win over a person with a negative 30% affection level. Your broken program should have been reworked long ago."

[Host has disobeyed orders! Warning! Punishment doubled! Buzz... Buzz... Abnormal soul fluctuations... Unable to lock on...]

Fang Li raised an eyebrow. This damn system is really stuck?

A knock sounded at the door, and Xiao Tao, who lived in the same courtyard, pushed it open with a bowl of ginger soup, her face beaming with gossipy excitement: "Senior Sister! You're finally back! I just saw Senior Brother standing outside the courtyard, do you think he is...?"

"What does this have to do with me?" Fang Li took the ginger soup and drank it all in one gulp, the warmth sliding down her throat.

Xiao Tao was so shocked by her attitude that she opened her mouth wide.

Why does my senior sister seem like a completely different person today?

Fang Li ignored Xiao Tao's surprise, took out paper and pen from the desk, dipped them in ink, and wrote on the rice paper: "Stay away from Shen Yunzhou and focus on cultivating immortality to save your life." She then stuck the note on the headboard of her bed.

The flames crackled in the charcoal brazier, illuminating Fang Li's profile.

Outside the courtyard wall, Shen Yunzhou stood with his hands behind his back in the cold wind.

He had followed Fang Li back to the courtyard as if possessed, and when he heard her say "What does it have to do with me?", he felt a strange tightness in his heart.

She really... stopped bothering him?

This realization made Shen Yunzhou frown. The cold wind blew his robes, but he stood still, not leaving for a long time. His usually aloof profile was tinged with a hint of bewilderment.