The first death hadn't exactly been pleasant for that body. Ruptured meridians, throbbing flesh, the taste of blood, poison and betrayal. Not something Su Ruolan would be eager to repeat, judging from her memories. Still, minor inconveniences.
"Alleged crimes," Su Lan Yi corrected with a patronizing tone while adjusting a packet of herbs on her display. "And I'm not provoking anyone. I'm simply engaging in healthy competition."
[HEALTHY COMPETITION: A TERM TYPICALLY NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SETTING UP SHOP DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM PEOPLE WHO ALREADY KILLED YOU ONCE.]
"Your sign literally says 'twice as effective at half the price.' Twice as effective as what?" Hei Wuya crossed his arms, his crimson eyes boring into her veiled face.
"Truth in advertising is a virtue, young one."
Hei Wuya's eye twitched at being called 'young' again. "Just so you know, I am one hundred and twenty-seven years old."
Su Lan Yi paused in her coin counting to look up at him, an amused smirk playing on her lips. "Oh? That old already? My apologies, Your Eminence. You're practically ancient."
[DETECTING ELEVATED HEART RATE IN TARGET. POTENTIAL CAUSES: RAGE, EMBARRASSMENT, OR INDIGESTION FROM STANDARD DEMONIC CULTIVATION DIET OF BONES, BLOOD AND RESENTMENT. 87% CHANCE IT'S THE FIRST TWO.]
"You—" He stopped himself, visibly struggling to maintain his composure. "You claimed to be over a thousand years old yesterday. I thought you were suffering from a qi deviation, but now I'm beginning to think you're simply delusional."
"HA! It’s true, I was running into Celestial Beasts and vanquishing them when your ancestors were still practicing breathing techniques. Ah, simpler times. When a cultivator could conquer a demon and not worry about the repercussions," Su Lan Yi replied casually, returning to her coin counting. "But believe what you wish. It makes no difference to me."
She flipped a copper coin into the air, catching it with practiced ease. "One thousand and twenty-four years gives you a certain perspective on what matters and what doesn't."
Hei Wuya released a controlled pulse of demonic energy—not enough to harm, but enough to unsettle all but the strongest cultivators. A classic intimidation tactic, used to silently assert dominance.
Honestly? She’d seen better. Ancient beasts had tried (and failed, obviously) to crush her with pure presence alone. This was equivalent to tickling, in comparison.
[DEMONIC FEAR-INDUCING ATTEMPT DETECTED. EFFECTIVENESS ON NORMAL HUMANS: 98%. EFFECTIVENESS ON YOU: APPROXIMATELY 0.002%.]
Su Lan Yi looked up from her coins, reached out, and gently patted his cheek. While it was out of reach for her, leading her to stand on the tips of her toes, it was necessary. "Quite impressive for your age. Your control is improving—barely any leakage around the edges. Keep practicing, and in another century or two, you might actually make someone's knees wobble."
The stunned expression on Hei Wuya's face was worth every villain point in existence. His eyes tracked her as she settled back on her feet, unsure of how to react to her.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: PATRONIZED A DEMONIC CULTIVATOR AND LIVED! +30 VILLAIN POINTS!]
He cleared his throat, "I am Hei Wuya, terror of the Blood Moon, destroyer of—"
"Yes, yes, you've said that before," Su Lan Yi interrupted, waving a dismissive hand at whatever he intended to say. Who wrote him? The man was practically a parrot. "Now help me move this cart. The afternoon sun will spoil these herbal mixtures if we don't reposition to that shady spot by the willow tree."
For a moment, Hei Wuya looked like he might actually explode. His crimson eyes flashed, and the ambient temperature around him dropped several degrees. Su Lan Yi could practically see the internal struggle playing out on his face—outrage at being dismissed so casually warring with something else... curiosity? Fascination? Killing intent?
[ANALYZING DEMONIC CULTIVATOR PSYCHOLOGY... INTERESTING. HE APPEARS TO BE EXPERIENCING AN EMOTION DEMONIC CULTIVATORS RARELY FEEL: BAFFLEMENT.]
To her mild surprise, he stepped forward and gripped the cart's handles.
"Where do you want it?" he asked stiffly.
"By the willow tree. And be careful with those packets on the left—they're sneezing powder. If they spill, we'll have half the district in a respiratory crisis."
Hei Wuya nodded and carefully moved the cart to the indicated spot. Su Lan Yi noticed several passersby watching with wide eyes—evidently, the sight of a terrifyingly dressed cultivator performing manual labor was somewhat novel.
The cart's wooden frame groaned under the shifting, and the faint clatter of the glass vials containing raw ingredients inside made Hei Wuya pause. The weight barely registered for someone of his strength, but the precariously balanced mixtures inside demanded careful maneuvering.
[WITNESSES APPEAR CONFUSED. LOCAL REPUTATION SYSTEM RECALIBRATING: "TERRIFYING DEMONIC CULTIVATOR" STATUS NOW INCLUDES "HELPFUL WITH ERRANDS IF PROMPTED."]
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Thank you," she said, when he finished positioning the cart. "Your assistance is appreciated."
He straightened up, looking simultaneously pleased at the acknowledgment and annoyed at himself for being pleased. "I'm not your assistant."
"Of course not. You're just a good 'evil samaritan' who happens to be moving medicine carts in his spare time."
A muscle flexed in his jaw. "I’m not doing this for free, I want answers. You're not the original Su Ruolan—that much is obvious. But you're not a demonic or ghostly possession either; I would sense that."
"Perhaps I'm simply a very good actress?" Su Lan Yi suggested, rearranging her wares on the newly positioned cart.
"No one is that good."
"Your confidence in my theatrical abilities is truly touching."
[ALERT: UNEXPECTED LEVELS OF PERCEPTION DETECTED IN A MAN WHO LOOKS LIKE A 'WANTED' POSTER COME TO LIFE.]
The air surrounding them smelled of crushed herbs and simmering broth from a nearby food stall, undercut with the faint acrid tang of drying ink from a calligrapher’s stall. Merchants called out their wares, voices rising above the constant shuffle of sandaled feet on packed earth. The occasional clink of coin punctuated the hum of negotiations, but at her stall, customers hesitated as they passed—too afraid of a certain demonic cultivator looming nearby. Overhead, the shadows of the willow tree leaves cast a cool, pleasant cast over the two of them.
Hei Wuya leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Last night, after we parted ways, I consulted ancient Blood Moon texts on soul transference and interdimensional phenomena."
This actually caught Su Lan Yi's attention. "Did you now? Find anything interesting?"
"There are legends of failed immortals whose souls shattered across realms." He said, seeming slightly proud of his research.
"Go on."
"Most are nonsense, but one account from the Primordial Chaos Era describes a phenomenon similar to what you claimed. A cultivator whose ascension was interrupted, resulting in soul fragmentation across multiple worlds. They were tasked with gathering the fragments, in return for a second chance at ascension."
Her fingers stilled over the medicine packets. Soul fragmentation across multiple worlds. A rare chill crawled up her spine. She hadn't expected him to find something so close to the truth, and with more information than she’d provided—was it coincidence? Or was the Blood Moon Clan keeping secrets and records even the System hadn't accounted for?
"And what happened to this cultivator?" Su Lan Yi asked, after a pause.
"The text was incomplete," Hei Wuya admitted. "The final pages were damaged during the Blood Moon Massacre. But it mentioned something called a 'System' that guided the fragmented soul."
Su Lan Yi barely concealed her surprise. "That's... remarkably specific research to conduct over a chance encounter with a supposedly resurrected villainess."
"I was curious," he replied, a bit too quickly.
[HE'S LYING. HEART RATE INCREASED BY 22%. EITHER HE'S HIDING SOMETHING OR HE FINDS YOU ATTRACTIVE. POSSIBLY BOTH? DEMONIC CULTIVATOR MATING RITUALS ARE COMPLICATED.]
Flattering. Or inconvenient. Or both. Romance had never been high on her priority list, but if her presence alone scrambled a demonic cultivator’s focus… well, she wasn’t above weaponizing it.
"I do not need commentary on demonic cultivator mating rituals, not from a System." Su Lan Yi hissed under her breath. While she appreciated the help, this was intrusive.
"What?" Hei Wuya's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Nothing. Just thinking aloud." She cleared her throat. "Mmm-hmm." Su Lan Yi studied him through her veil. "And did this ancient text happen to mention how the cultivator could reassemble their soul?"
"It suggested gathering fragmented pieces through... 'narrative fulfillment,' whatever that means."
[HE IS SURPRISINGLY CORRECT. HOW DID HE ACCESS THIS INFORMATION? UNAUTHORIZED KNOWLEDGE OF SYSTEM MECHANICS IS HIGHLY IRREGULAR. BESIDES, THE SYSTEM ISN'T THAT OLD-]
"Is your 'System' saying something?" Hei Wuya asked sharply, his eyes focused on her with unnerving intensity.
Su Lan Yi stilled. "You can tell when it communicates?"
"Your qi fluctuates in a distinct pattern. It's subtle, but detectable to someone with blood perception techniques."
Su Lan Yi kept her expression still, but inside, her mind was already working. Hei Wuya could detect her System? That wasn't just unusual—it was impossible. Last night, the System had told her that it was supposed to exist beyond normal spiritual perception. If he could sense it, what else could he do?
Then again, he could just be fibbing. That probability was never off the table with attracti- with cultivators from the dark side.
[PRIVACY BREACH DETECTED! THIS IS AWKWARD. IT'S LIKE HE CAN HEAR ME MAKING FUN OF HIS OUTFIT AND TALKING SMACK ABOUT HIM .]
For the first time since arriving in this world, Su Lan Yi felt genuinely off-balance. "You are... not what I expected, young one."
"I told you, I'm one hundred and twenty-seven—"
"—which makes you approximately nine hundred years my junior," she finished for him. "Hence, 'young one.' It's a relative term."
[YOUR CONFIDENCE IN THE FACE OF SOMEONE WHO COULD KILL YOU WITH A SNAP OF HIS FINGERS IS IMPRESSIVE, HOST.]
Before Hei Wuya could respond, though, the hustle and bustle of the marketplace abruptly died. Shoppers froze mid-transaction, heads turning toward the main street. Su Lan Yi followed their gaze to see a procession entering the merchant district.
The rhythmic clop of a white stallion’s hooves on stone rang out in the silence, unnervingly precise, as if even the horse had been trained for perfect composure. Silk banners bearing Divine Healing Sect’s emblem rippled in the breeze, the gold embroidery catching the late afternoon sun like molten metal.
Atop the horse was a young, mediocre-looking man, his azure robes embroidered with golden clouds and his long hair secured with a jade hairpin worth more than most commoners would see in a lifetime. He was well-groomed in a polished, carefully maintained way—like an expensive porcelain doll, but his face marred the overall impression. Flanking him were eight guards in matching livery, and behind him walked a familiar figure in white robes.
Divine Healing Sect’s Heir, righteous to a fault. The Saintess, all saccharine smiles and carefully veiled daggers. The kind of people who burned witches while claiming it was for the greater good, only to profit off of it.
"Wei Chenglin and Bai Lianhua," Su Lan Yi murmured. "What an unexpected pleasure. Ugh."
Demonic Energy (魔气 – Mó Qì)
Spiritual power with darkened, resentful qualities used by demonic cultivators. Hei Wuya's attempt to intimidate with it has approximately the same effect on Su Lan Yi as a light breeze.
Blood Perception (血感 – Xuè Gǎn)
A demonic technique allowing the practitioner to sense subtle energy fluctuations. Apparently sensitive enough to detect when someone is having a private conversation with their System.
Qi Fluctuation (气波动 – Qì Bōdòng)
The subtle changes in one's spiritual energy that can reveal mental or emotional states. Su Lan Yi's pattern when communicating with System 666 is about as discreet as a neon sign to someone with the right techniques.
Soul Transference (魂转移 – Hún Zhuǎnyí)
The movement of consciousness between bodies or dimensions. Ancient Blood Moon texts describe this phenomenon with suspiciously specific accuracy.
Primordial Chaos Era (混沌元初 – Hùndùn Yuán Chū)
An ancient time period before recorded history. Apparently produced texts that just happen to explain Su Lan Yi's exact situation.
Blood Moon Massacre (血月屠杀 – Xuè Yuè Túshā)
A historical event that damaged important Blood Moon Clan records. Conveniently destroyed the pages that would have explained what happens at the end of Su Lan Yi's quest.
Narrative Fulfillment (叙事成就 – Xùshì Chéngjiù)
The method by which a fragmented soul can be reassembled. Sounds suspiciously like completing plot points in a terribly written novel.
Sneezing Powder (喷嚏粉 – Pēntì Fěn)
A medicinal substance that causes respiratory reactions. If spilled, would cause half the district to experience a synchronized sneezing crisis.
Evil Samaritan (邪善人 – Xié Shàn Rén)
A contradictory term for someone who does good deeds despite villainous appearances. Hei Wuya earns this title by helping move a medicine cart while looking like a 'wanted' poster come to life.
Willow Tree (柳树 – Liǔ Shù)
A graceful tree providing shade for Su Lan Yi's relocated cart. The perfect backdrop for patronizing a demonic cultivator to his face and living to tell about it.
Blood Moon Texts (血月典籍 – Xuè Yuè Diǎnjí)
Ancient records kept by the Blood Moon Clan. Contain information that not even System 666 was aware existed.
Demonic Cultivator Mating Rituals (魔修求偶仪式 – Mó Xiū Qiú'ǒu Yíshì)
Complex courtship behaviors of those who practice demonic cultivation. May include excessive research into a person's claims and awkward cart-moving assistance.
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