Chapter 010

While Zhaoxue was panting and climbing the stairs, she heard the system’s prompt.

【Only one of those two people is left now.】

Zhaoxue was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood.

He was probably killed by that figure hiding in the darkness like a poisonous snake. No, perhaps it couldn’t even be called a person—in Zhaoxue’s eyes, it was more like a demon. Even someone like Zhaoxue, who had little experience, could easily sense the unnatural difference between that demon and a human.

In a place guarded by a prestigious noble family, such a demon brazenly appearing was astonishing. Zhaoxue didn’t understand the classifications or ranks of demons, but she knew that this demon’s power must be terrifyingly strong.

With such overwhelming strength, it was no wonder those people were so fearful and cautious.

ZhaoXueshould have been afraid too, but she was so weak she couldn’t even grasp how powerful that being really was.

In her perception, anyone with a bit of strength could easily crush her, whether human or demon—it made little difference in her eyes. So when faced with such a dreadful presence, she could still somewhat keep her wits.

【Hide quickly!】 the system urged anxiously.

Zhaoxue replied softly, swallowed her dry throat, and rushed into one of the empty rooms at the far end of the third-floor corridor.

On the way upstairs, she had glanced briefly and found this room unexpectedly large. Passing by some other doors, she even heard faint, unclear sobbing.

Footsteps came upstairs, hurried and panicked. Zhaoxue carefully slipped into the room, looked around, then crouched down and hid under a dusty wooden cabinet by the window. The hanging curtain and the pitch-black darkness concealed her presence quietly.

Covering her mouth and nose, Zhaoxue tried not to breathe loudly but couldn’t avoid coughing and gasping.

“Cough, cough…”

The smell of blood filled her nostrils.

Her palm was wet and sticky, smelling of rusty iron.

No way…

At a time like this, even Zhaoxue couldn’t help but mock herself: so weak and pathetic.

She shook her head, shook off her thoughts, focused her attention, and pricked up her ears to listen to the footsteps in the corridor outside the door.

The footsteps were very hurried, pushing open each door as they passed by to take a look. When the creaking sound of a door opening came, Zhaoxue tensed her body.

Fortunately, the footsteps didn’t linger for long.

He didn’t notice the small wooden cabinet.

After a short while, the footsteps left. The door was gently pulled, hitting the door lock, making a crisp sound in the dark night. Then it was pushed open again, leaving a narrow crack.

Only then did Zhaoxue let out a breath of relief.

“That’s a relief…”

But the system didn’t understand.

To it, the host was a girl physically and mentally very fragile. She had been trapped within high walls since childhood, never seen the vast world, and the people she interacted with the most were just her childhood friends. Her social connections and horizons were pitifully narrow.

It didn’t understand why someone like her could always take bold, even somewhat reckless actions—like the requests she made to Zhaoyang, or the decision she was making now.

“Are you saying I’m reckless? Careless about my life?”

Zhaoxue thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s true. But, you know, my life has been so short that before I make any decision…”

She slowly leaned her head back against the cold cabinet wall, glancing at the bright, shining moonlight filtering through the crack in the door.

“I have to consider whether this might be the last chance I’ll ever get in my life.”

The system sensed more complexity mixing into its data. Just as it was about to analyze further, it suddenly shuddered all over, startled, and warned,

【!! Zhaoxue—】

Zhaoxue noticed it too—the footsteps sounding again.

Along with the footsteps came the faint, heavy sound of thick robes dragging on the floor. Occasionally, the drip of water fell, and the scraping of hard scales against the floor could be heard…

—It was that demon.

The cluttered footsteps gradually approached the room. The demon gently placed a hand on the wooden door, with just a little force, it could easily push it open.

The system saw the despair on the girl’s face.

In an instant, her complexion turned pale and ashen. Her dry, cracked lips were completely colorless, and her eyes were empty, as if she didn’t know what to do.

—She was doomed.

Zhaoxue knew that humans might not be able to detect her, but the demon, sensitive to abnormal auras, would never make such a mistake.

It was still too early for dawn, no one would come to save her.

She closed her eyes, unwilling to see the demon’s terrifying form, nor her own miserable state.

But the system could see her nonstop tears, and hear the voice in her heart.

“I don’t want to be skinned alive,” the girl sobbed inside, pleading pitifully.

But who was she begging? The only one who could hear was the system.

The system didn’t know what to say, but suddenly it recalled the girl’s earlier words.

“Because… this might be my only chance in this life.”

If the host died, it could change hosts. But doing so would consume energy, break the rules, and require a long recovery time.

Even so…

It didn’t know where it found such great courage, but its voice rang out:

【Zhaoxue, although I don’t have the authority to do this, at this critical moment—listen carefully.】

【For the next four hours—that is, two time cycles—I will make your aura and figure completely vanish so that neither humans nor demons can detect you. But you cannot leave this place during that time because this mansion is sealed with a lockdown barrier. You must use this chance to hide from those people, then find a place where you will never be discovered, and wait for your family to come rescue you.】

The system paused for half a second, then continued, 【Of course, since this will consume energy, I will go offline to recharge—that is, disappear for a while to restore power. It will take longer than last time, and during this period, you won’t get my hero prompts or be able to ask me about their favorability.】

【But as soon as my energy recovers, I will come back immediately. So please don’t worry, Zhaoxue.】

Zhaoxue was stunned, before she could react, she heard the final warning.

【Only two time cycles, Zhaoxue. Be very careful.】

The system’s voice disappeared.

Her world fell silent again.

At the same moment, the wooden door was pushed open, and the demon wrapped in a black robe entered the room.

Zhaoxue didn’t even have time to wipe her tears, she instinctively held her breath.

She stared intently at the dragging black robe, which seemed to be lifted high at the back by something huge, still swaying slowly. From Zhaoxue’s point of view, she could just see a part of the gap beneath the robe.

It was a short section of a snake tail covered in hard, patterned black scales stained with dark red blood.

As the owner dragged it along, the snake tail left a long trail of nearly dried blood on the floor, and blood drops were slowly dripping from above the robe.

If it wasn’t someone else’s blood, it meant a very severe injury that had not healed for a long time.

Who on earth could have wounded a demon with such terrifying power?

Soon, the demon noticed nothing else and turned to leave the room.

Zhaoxue finally let out a deep breath, completely relieved.

She recalled the system’s instructions.

She clenched tightly the rusty iron piece in her hand.

Before finding a hiding place, she still had more important things to do—she had to make use of the two time cycles before dawn.

—

The morning sun rose from behind the clouds, and the brilliant rays made the entire testing platform shine brilliantly.

Below the platform, a sea of people crowded together. Besides the heads of the noble families and elders of the Hidden Sword Sect seated in their places, many disciples waiting for the selection test blocked every inch of space, their noisy chatter filling the square platform.

As the deep and heavy bell tolled, the bustling crowd instantly fell silent. The disciples took turns stepping forward one by one to take the test.

However, strangely, the lady of the Shen family was nowhere to be seen.

Although the head of the family sat at the front, he was visibly uneasy, constantly whispering to attendants with a worried look.

The Shen family was a great clan in Yucheng. Although the head of the family was the one seated, everyone knew that the real power belonged to the lady who had lived in the Shen residence for years.

Today was an important day—her youngest daughter, Shen Zhaolan, was to attend the Hidden Sword Sect’s selection test, yet the lady had not shown up, which was very surprising.

Soon, people realized something more alarming.

Shen Zhaolan herself was not present.

When her name was called from the list with no response for a long time, the anxious head of the family finally reacted. He slapped his thigh hard and shouted angrily:

“That stubborn girl!!”

This selection was of great significance, it would determine her future. She was the main focus today! At such a critical moment, she still refused to listen to her mother!

He stepped forward to whisper an explanation to the Hidden Sword Sect elder, then bowed in apology before hastily leaving the venue.

After he left, the crowd erupted like boiling water being stirred.

“What exactly happened? Does anyone know? What’s going on with the Shen family?”

“Even if the lady isn’t here, Shen Zhaolan herself didn’t show up either! Could she have overslept? I was looking forward to seeing that legendary talent! Shen Zhaolan must have the same pure, flawless spiritual root as her sister!”

“Speaking of which, I have relatives working in the Shen family. I heard today’s matter might have something to do with Zhaolan’s older sister…”

“Zhaoyang, the eldest sister?”

“No, not Zhaoyang, the second miss! You know, the one who’s always cold, aloof, bad-tempered, and useless—the adopted daughter, Shen Zhaoxue…”

Ji Xueshou’s ears twitched sharply when he caught that name.

Zhaoxue.

His thoughts were involuntarily stirred. What happened to Zhaoxue? What’s going on with her?

Just as he pricked up his ears, his mother tugged at his collar.

“Xueshou,” she called him. “You know what day it is today, right?”

Her eyes looked at him, filled with earnest hope. When he was still at home, she had countless times expressed her expectations and reminders.

“Your rival is Shen Zhaolan. Now that she’s not here, you must seize this opportunity even more.”

She adjusted his collar and gently rubbed the patterns on the silver longevity lock with her fingertip. “Xueshou, remember what you promised me when you were at home? You are the heir of the Ji family, the future of the Ji clan. No matter what happens, until the selection is over, you must not leave. You can’t be willful and reckless like before. You have to take responsibility. Do you remember?”

The longevity lock reflected a beautiful shine in the morning light. In his mother’s eyes was hope, in the elders’ eyes was the expectation of another promising talent.

…But why did his heart feel so uneasy?

Ji Xueshou clenched the longevity lock on his chest. After his name was called, he slowly and steadily walked onto the testing platform.

Having been reminded countless times to respect teachers and elders, to painstakingly remember their names and ranks, and to perform the proper etiquette—

Ji Xueshou did each and every one carefully.

Because that day, in the dimly lit room, the girl held his burning ear and said to him:

“You must become the brightest rising star of the Hidden Sword Sect, and make them know who is truly powerful!”

But the unease in his heart grew little by little, and finally, it was confirmed amid the boiling crowd.

—”No way, is what you said really true? The Second Miss of the Shen family, Shen Zhaoxue, was really kidnapped by thieves last night?”

“My relative said it herself, how could it be false? She said the lady was so shocked she almost fainted, holding her forehead, and it was Zhaoyang, the eldest sister, who helped her back to her room. After the news came out at dawn, Miss Zhaolan was so angry she wanted to go find the kidnappers immediately, but after persuasion, she agreed to wait until the selection was over today. Still, she wasn’t watched carefully and secretly ran out before dawn. Zhaoyang directly sent a family guard squad from the estate outside the city to search… Hey, I heard that house with the sealing barrier was filled with demonic energy, extremely dangerous. To save her sister, Zhaoyang even begged her senior brother who came down the mountain to exterminate demons — the famous Sword Sovereign…”

Ji Xueshou couldn’t hear clearly, his ears ringing. He only vaguely caught phrases like “Zhaoxue was kidnapped,” “demonic energy overflowing, extremely dangerous,” and so on.

He looked up at the sunlight, so dazzling that tears nearly came to his eyes. He wiped the corner of his eyes, but saw nothing.

When he looked down again, he realized he was involuntarily walking down from the testing platform.

His mother was there, her face pale, calling his name and trying to stop him.

“Xueshou, Ji Xueshou! Stop!”

“Do you even remember what you promised me? Is this how you keep your promise?!”

Ji Xueshou looked at his mother. He wanted to say that he never made any promise, he was just silent, and they all took his silence as consent.

Expressionless, he turned and continued walking down the steps.

The crowd was in an uproar, silent at the same time. The elders looked at each other, their faces darkening.

But Ji Xueshou didn’t care about any of it. What he thought about was how terrified Zhaoxue must have been, spending an entire night in such a dark and cold place. Just the thought of it made his heart ache.

If he didn’t go now, he might regret it for the rest of his life.

He had promised her not to forget her, they would still meet again.

Finally, the woman’s voice rose sharply, becoming stern and harsh.

At this moment, she was no longer just his mother, she was the head of the Ji family, the one who controlled the fate of the entire clan:

“Ji Xueshou, by leaving now, are you joking with your own future and the future of the family?!”

Ji Xueshou finally paused in his steps.

He turned to look at the woman, her face both familiar and strange.

He was puzzled—why was giving up this selection test considered giving up his future and the family’s future? The world was not limited to just the Hidden Sword Sect, nor was cultivation the only path to follow.

He did not understand her, nor them, nor the rules of the mortal world.

But there was one thing he knew he had to do at this moment.

The boy’s curled black hair was tinged with a faint golden hue from the rising sun, stirred by the breeze. His dark eyes looked at his mother:

“…I have to go.”

He added the subject, speaking clearly and deliberately, with a determination unlike any before:

“Mother, I… must go.”