“Thus, the matters in the Imperial City are finally settled, right?”
Hua Xiangrong sat on a small stool in the inn, put down the melon seeds in her hand, and spoke softly as she watched the real-time broadcast of the Imperial Palace from 099 in her mind.
“Yes! Through the Host’s hard work, we successfully changed the ending of the original major arc, [Exorcising Evil in Great Chu]! Congratulations, Host!”
099 cheered and then began to summarize seriously.
“In the original novel, the investigation by Yun Xuechang’s trio in Yunjing would have been exceptionally difficult — mainly because Zhao Mingyuan was well-prepared. They would have first suspected Bai Zhi, but by chance, they would eventually uncover the truth that Zhao Mingyuan was the mastermind. This was likely the author’s deliberate arrangement, or perhaps the protagonist halo essential for a female lead?”
“Afterward, Yun Xuechang’s trio would have faced Zhao Mingyuan, who had successfully broken through to the Spirit Transformation Middle Stage — unlike what we encountered. In the original, Zhao Mingyuan used the time while Yun Xuechang and the others were investigating within Great Chu to smoothly break through his cultivation level using evil methods. At the same time, Bai Zhi would have fought alongside him. She was also a Great Demon at the Deity Transformation Stage, with profound cultivation.”
099 paused and then added:
“During the battle, Zhao Mingyuan would have had Bai Zhi take a fatal blow for him, then used a secret technique to devour her demonic body, causing his cultivation to skyrocket — the classic Boss Phase 3. We didn’t encounter that this time.”
“Moreover, because they didn’t have Qu Linglong and Lin Qianqian set up an Entrapment Array like we did, the original Zhao Mingyuan would not only threaten the lives of the Yunjing citizens during the fight but also consume human lives to recover from his injuries. Thus, the trio was no match for him. In the end, it was only because Yun Xuechang broke through during the life-or-death battle that they barely managed to defeat him. The price for defeating Phase 3 Zhao Mingyuan was the near-total destruction of Yunjing City, Qu Linglong’s death in battle, Yun Xuechang and Lin Qianqian being severely injured, and a series of far-reaching consequences…”
“But!” 099’s tone shifted, becoming cheerful again. “Through the Host’s efforts, we have successfully avoided such a tragic outcome! The progress of saving the world has taken a giant leap forward! Congratulations, Host!”
“System points have all been credited! Ah… but Host, you surely won’t need them, right?”
The small system’s tone carried a hint of jealousy toward the end.
“Is there any…”
“No weird medicine!” 099 interrupted before Hua Xiangrong could finish.
“Oh, then never mind. There really isn’t anything left worth redeeming.”
Hua Xiangrong nodded, took a glass of freshly squeezed juice with both hands, and gulped it down.
“Hah — “
She let out a long breath, put down the empty glass, and said softly with lowered eyes:
“I just didn’t expect Bai Zhi to die in the end. I originally thought that, given my mother’s and the others’ way of doing things, they would spare her life and then send her to a Righteous Path sect to serve as a Mountain Guardian Beast for a few thousand years to atone for her sins. I didn’t expect her to choose suicide…”
She kept her eyes down, unconsciously rubbing the rim of the glass with her small hand, her thoughts unknown.
“Perhaps she just didn’t want to live anymore? I don’t really understand human emotions,” 099 whispered back.
“However, Host, 099 must remind you that this was our first time interfering with a large segment of the novel’s plot, so we could still rely on the script — because the ‘predetermined plot’ itself was fixed.”
The system’s tone became serious:
“But now, Zhao Mingyuan is dead. Higher-level Villains will surely notice, and the series of chain reactions we’ve triggered will cause this dynamic world to gradually become completely different from the script — this is the so-called Butterfly Effect.”
“The further we go, the lower the reference value of the script will be, until it might become unrecognizable.”
“I know, I know. The subsequent tasks definitely won’t be this easy; I’m aware of that,” Hua Xiangrong replied.
She slid off the small stool with a “heave-ho,” performed a Water Condensation Art to clean up the leftover melon seed shells and the tabletop, and then dove back into her blankets.
“But, I remember in the subsequent plot of the original work, there is a fairly long rest period. Based on the schemes of the Villains in the script, this period of time most likely won’t change.”
“We still have plenty of time.”
“By the way, 099, the cinematic experience of your real-time broadcast is amazing. You can slow down action details and switch viewpoints. The audio-visual effects are fully immersive! Has your system ever thought about opening a cinema? Wouldn’t that be more profitable than doing tasks in novel worlds?”
“The Karmic Energy born from changing the ending of a novel world is more precious than countless cinemas combined, okay!” 099 retorted helplessly.
“And I’m not some viewing device!”
……
A few days later, on a green mountain outside Yunjing.
“Hmm, not bad. The feng shui here is excellent. Why don’t we settle on this spot?”
The sunny hillside was covered in tiny flowers. Qu Linglong, carrying a wooden box, circled the area twice and stood with her arms crossed.
“Yes.” “Good.” “I have no objections either.”
Behind her, Yun Xuechang and the others all nodded in agreement.
“Then it’s settled.”
Qu Linglong pointed, and the soil near the cliff on the hillside turned over on its own, revealing a pit.
A Mechanical Arm extended from the wooden box on her back, delivering a small coffin.
Yun Xuechang stepped forward and gently placed the lifeless silver-white puppy in her arms into the coffin, settling it into the pit.
Once the coffin was set, Qu Linglong raised her hand again, and the surrounding soil automatically surged over the coffin, forming a small mound.
Yun Xuechang found a well-shaped piece of bluestone on the spot, shaved it into a rectangular tablet with her sword, and stood it in front of the grave.
Her blade moved again as she condensed a sword to carve the words.
The stone immediately displayed the eight characters “Grave of Great Chu Empress Bai Zhi.”
But after a moment, she felt it was inappropriate and wiped away the writing with her sword, recarving the four simple words: “Grave of Bai Zhi.”
Afterward, the group set out incense and candles, burned spirit money, and performed a simple ritual.
“Is it really appropriate to tell the people of Great Chu that ‘the Emperor was assassinated by Evil Cultivators and the Empress died saving him’?”
Yun Xuechang inserted the incense in front of the grave, her brow slightly furrowed.
“I still feel uneasy. Zhao Mingyuan was clearly an Evil Cultivator. Why can’t we make it public?”
“Oh, Daoist Friend Yun, you have to understand. Although Zhao Mingyuan was an Evil Cultivator, his political record in the early and middle stages of his reign was quite good, and he had an excellent reputation among the people.”
Qu Linglong explained helplessly from the side:
“He had no heirs all these years. Installing a side branch of the Zhao Family to the throne would already make the people dissatisfied. If we revealed the truth, the people wouldn’t believe it. Instead, they might view us as usurpers, leading to uprisings. This is the only way we can handle it for now.”
“But…”
Yun Xuechang frowned, wanting to say more, but Hua Yan interrupted.
“Oh, honestly, you just don’t know how to be flexible.”
She munched on an offering fruit and snorted, grumbling inwardly:
‘These Righteous Path folks really are quite dull. If it were my Demonic Path, we’d expose his secrets regardless of his reputation. So many concerns… the Righteous Path just loves to drag their feet…’
“If you really care about this, wait a few hundred years, go down the mountain yourself, find the descendants of the Zhao Family with evidence, and revise the history books before announcing it to the world. Anyway, the one thing we Immortal Cultivators don’t lack is time.”
She casually tossed away the fruit core and spread her hands:
“As for the commoners — who cares about right and wrong from hundreds of years ago? After a dozen generations, at most it becomes gossip for tea-time, debating whether Zhao Mingyuan was a Wise Monarch or a tyrant.”
“But history books will record his past truthfully, just a few hundred years later. How about it?”
Yun Xuechang looked at her seemingly careless expression, her eyes softening as she thanked her seriously:
“Thank you, Yan’er. This is an excellent plan. In 500 years, I will definitely go down the mountain to find the Zhao descendants and correct the history books.”
“What are you thanking me for… also, don’t mention that unlucky number 500 to me. Come back in 400 years instead.”
Hua Yan turned her face away, avoiding those clear red eyes.
‘By then… we should have been married for a long time. Right, we agreed to go back to The Valley together after this is finished. After returning to the valley, I’ll have to marry this blockhead…’
“When the time comes… if I’m free, I — it’s not like I can’t go with you! You… you must remember to come get me!”
She turned her head away, her voice lowering, a faint flush rising on her cheeks.
“Okay.”
Yun Xuechang was startled at first, then the corners of her lips curved slightly, the smile in her eyes melting like spring water as she nodded gently.