Fortunately, the residence ahead wasn't far. Just as they stepped under the eaves of the house, torrential rain began pouring down.
The residence appeared grand with its imposing entrance and sprawling courtyard. One glance was enough to tell it wasn't an ordinary household, but rather a summer villa belonging to some wealthy family.
Xue Mingyuan knocked three times on the door. The doorkeeper quickly responded, opening a narrow gap in the side door. After hearing their situation, he asked them to wait a moment while he went to inform the estate's steward.
Ordinary people held great respect for cultivators. Upon learning that two practitioners sought lodging, the steward immediately led several servants to welcome them, opening the main gate to usher them in. They were warmly shown to guest rooms, with everything arranged properly before the servants departed.
They stayed in the same guest courtyard, one in the east wing and one in the west wing. Yu Yi, still containing unspent lightning energy within her body, sat down to meditate as soon as she entered.
Senior Brother Crane sprawled on the soft couch by the window, resting his long neck on the windowsill while watching the heavy rain outside.
The guest courtyard was beautifully landscaped, with a small garden in the center featuring an ornamental rock garden surrounding a small pond. Several brightly-scaled carp in the pond had taken shelter beneath the artificial cave due to the rain. Occasional lightning flashes illuminated the entire courtyard, making the fishes' scales gleam.
Senior Brother Crane's black button eyes stared fixedly at the fish, drool dripping from his sharp beak faster than the falling raindrops.
Xue Mingyuan leaned against the window, able to see through the gap above Crane's head into the opposite room where someone sat cross-legged in meditation.
Electric arcs occasionally flickered across her body, stirring loose strands of hair near her temples. Her profile, gilded by the wavering candlelight, showed soft and elegant contours. Her forehead, nose bridge, and lips - every line was perfectly proportioned. Even through the rain curtain, the beauty glimpsed through the window gap was impossible to conceal.
Xue Mingyuan pressed a hand to his chest, once again feeling his stirring heartbeat beneath his palm, and curiously asked, "System, could you tell me what her favorability rating is now?"
The system promptly replied, "Master, the current target's favorability is at sixty-eight percent."
Xue Mingyuan raised his eyebrows in surprise - it was already so high.
Had he misjudged Yu Yi? He had thought she would be the type whose heart was difficult to move. During their last meeting, she had clearly maintained strong wariness toward them, her entire being encased in a hard shell that rejected their attempts at closeness.
At that time, Xue Chenjing had been like a caged beast, unable to find any breakthrough.
What had Xue Chenjing done during this period to move her heart?
Xue Mingyuan rested his chin on one hand, leaning against the windowsill, his eyelashes dampened by the spraying rain mist. In his other hand, he held a cherry-colored handkerchief that still carried the fresh scent of medicinal ointment.
His fingertips gently traced the embroidery on the handkerchief as he politely asked, "Could you tell me everything that happened between them after I left?"
The system, which had been enduring Xue Chenjing's death threats daily, finally encountered the master's gentle side again. Hearing Xue Mingyuan's soft inquiry, it cheerfully replied, "Of course, my master."
The downpour drummed against the half-withered banana leaves in the courtyard, creating a crackling sound as the rain curtain enclosed this small square world.
Xue Mingyuan gazed at the withered yellow edges of the leaves, formed a hand seal, and sent a bit of spiritual power into them. Under the nourishment of spiritual energy, the withered yellow edges gradually unfurled, returning to fresh green.
The torrential rain continued unabated through half the night. Across the way, the crowned crane had grown tired of watching fish and fallen asleep with his head still on the windowsill. In the room, having dispersed the lightning energy within her body, she removed her hairpin, letting her smooth long hair fall loose as she prepared for bed.
Xue Mingyuan listened to the system's detailed report, and when it mentioned the tutorial, he asked it to bring up the tutorial panel.
The last time Xue Chenjing opened this tutorial, the task progress had reached the third phase, days thirty to sixty of the hundred-day plan.
"Become an 'indispensable' existence in the target's heart." Xue Mingyuan softly read the tutorial's guidance, lost in thought.
According to the system's report, during this period, his brother hadn't done anything particularly earth-shattering that could move someone's heart.
Yu Yi had entered the Great Green Mountain Sword Realm and received Ming Zhaojun's inheritance. In the realm, she had witnessed his previous life's struggle with inner demons, repeatedly killing Xue Chenjing. Yet she hadn't been frightened; instead, her favorability had increased.
Could it be that she had developed feelings of pity for him?
If so, such significant progress in their relationship would make sense. Once she began to feel pity, her emotional defenses would naturally become easier to breach.
However, was it really so easy for love to grow from pity? Was she the type to fall in love so easily?
Xue Mingyuan pondered while continuing to flip through the tutorial.
[Hundred-Day Conquest Plan, Days 60-80: Once you have successfully become an "indispensable" existence in the target's heart, the next step is to leave the target, letting them deeply experience the despair and pain of losing you.
Best practice reference: Fake death, disappearing act.
Note: This beginner's package includes a fake death potion. Please use with caution at the appropriate time.]
Xue Mingyuan smiled - this tutorial certainly knew how to manipulate hearts.
However, it seemed his brother hadn't fully achieved the third phase's goal. Comparatively, the one crying in despair in the depths of his heart right now showed more clearly who had truly fallen.
Xue Mingyuan gazed intently at the window opposite, his thoughts appearing and vanishing like the strings of rain outside.
The system occasionally caught glimpses of his thoughts, and seeing him sink deeper into contemplation, suddenly called out, "Master."
Xue Mingyuan's thoughts were interrupted, but he quickly cleared his mind, letting the rainy scene before him occupy his thoughts as he responded, "Hmm?"
The system hesitated briefly before emphasizing, "The host has made significant progress in this period of conquest. They've already had very intimate moments."
Xue Mingyuan wasn't annoyed by the system's interruption, responding mildly, "Yes, you mentioned that."
Once in the Sinking Flower Sea, when she lost control after consuming his spirit fire. Once behind the Moon Goddess Temple, when Yu Yi didn't immediately push him away. So, she must harbor feelings for him.
Xue Mingyuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Can't the favorability be split? Surely her feelings for me and Chenjing are different?"
The system hadn't expected Xue Mingyuan to raise the same request, and replied awkwardly, "Sorry, Master, but since you were born as one chaotic entity, the system considers you as one person, so the favorability calculation cannot be split."
Xue Mingyuan nodded, calmly accepting this answer, unlike Xue Chenjing who would have flown into a rage and hurled insults at the system to vent his frustration.
"So you're saying that in the end, both of us will be with her?" Xue Mingyuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gave a soft laugh, either finding it absurd or for some other reason. "How could Chenjing agree to that? Would he accept me for her sake?"
Xue Mingyuan found it hard to imagine.
The system couldn't answer this question. It was originally just a female protagonist system, considering its mission complete once it helped the female lead conquer the antagonist.
In the original story, they were simply two sides of the same person, and whether the female lead ended up with Xue Chenjing or Xue Mingyuan specifically, or both simultaneously, wasn't important.
In the east wing, Yu Yi walked to the window, gently lifted Senior Brother Crane's head from the windowsill, and helped tuck it under his wing.
Senior Brother Crane made a soft sound, sleeping deeply.
As she reached to adjust the window, she suddenly sensed someone's gaze. Looking through the gap, she gazed toward the west wing's window, which was half-hidden behind large banana leaves and also partially open, with a faint candlelight visible inside.
Xue Mingyuan was still awake.
Yu Yi sat beside Senior Brother Crane, stroking his feathers as she pulled out a piece of paper from the desk and picked up a brush to write. During her five years in the Bamboo Grove Secret Realm, she had practiced calligraphy by copying her master's handwriting. Her characters now carried a sword-like stroke that she was quite proud of.
Her earlier doubts remained unresolved, and since neither of them was asleep yet, she thought it better to get clarity now.
The person who set up the formation in the mountains was a Yuan Ying cultivator, and it wouldn't be easy to dismiss or shake them off. If they were an enemy lurking in the shadows, it would be far too dangerous.
Of course, it would have been best if Xue Mingyuan or Xue Chenjing had dealt with them on the spot, but judging from his appearance after she broke through the formation, it didn't seem like he had resolved the situation.
Yu Yi wrote down her question and initially wanted to fold it into a paper crane, but since that was too complicated, she simply folded it into a simple paper airplane and sent it flying out the window.
The paper airplane was wrapped in spiritual energy, dancing through the heavy rain. Raindrops struck the protective spiritual energy surrounding it, creating sparks of light, as it trailed across banana leaves before flying through the window behind them.
The silhouette projected on the window raised a hand and caught the paper airplane.
Xue Mingyuan examined the paper airplane carefully before gently unfolding it. The note asked about what had happened with the maze formation in the mountains of Fengsheng County, and if someone had specifically set up the formation to target him, why had they vanished after she broke through it.
She didn't pursue any further questions about Xue Chenjing's situation.
Xue Mingyuan picked up his brush and wrote: "Not an enemy, but an old acquaintance." He held his wrist suspended for quite a while before continuing, "Chenjing is fine, unharmed."
This wasn't exactly a lie - Xue Chenjing was only bound by spiritual force, his soul remained uninjured.
After finishing, Xue Mingyuan set down his brush, refolded the paper along its creases, and tossed it back out the window.
Yu Yi received the reply and opened it to read the answer, softly murmuring, "An old acquaintance?"
Her eyes moved to the last line and lingered there for a moment. According to the system, the truth-telling mode should also constrain Xue Mingyuan, so he shouldn't be able to lie to her.
Could these old acquaintances be their parents? Was Xue Chenjing unable to come out because he was under their spiritual restraint?
Yu Yi recalled how Xue Chenjing had once irritably whispered in her ear that his courtesy name didn't come from "There is a dragon in the southern pools," but rather because of Xue Mingyuan.
Their parents missed him so much that they gave him the character "jing" (pool) - while "yuan" meant a deep, vast abyss, "jing" meant a low-lying pool. His parents had always wanted him to return to being Mingyuan.
He had seemingly once questioned her too, asking if she also wanted him to change back.
At that time, Yu Yi had been affected by the strange atmosphere in Yinzhou City and wasn't thinking clearly. She only remembered him pacing back and forth in front of her, ranting in frustration, looking as pitiful as a homeless stray dog.
So she had patted him, teased him a little.
Yu Yi turned to look out the window. Outside, the rain was lessening, its intensity diminishing. The light in the west wing was still on, and the silhouette by the window hadn't moved.
Her crane senior brother must have been having some dream, as it let out a muffled cry from under its wing. Yu Yi was startled, turned back, and reached out to pat it soothingly.
As she stroked the crane's feathers and looked back at the paper in her hand, she suddenly realized something - what right did she have to sympathize with others when she herself was even more homeless? In this strange alternate world, she had only a bird for company.
Yu Yi couldn't deny that compared to the beginning, she had indeed been "conquered" by Xue Chenjing. Her emotional defenses had developed cracks under his persistent erosion, allowing him to slip in and occupy a place in her heart.
However, this wasn't enough to make her want to actively involve herself in their disputes. Back at the Great Green Mountain, Xue Mingyuan and Xue Chenjing had been locked in conflict, and their centuries-long struggle had yet to reach a conclusion. This was, after all, their own matter - what place did an outsider have in it?
If she were to go up to Xue Mingyuan and ask him to let Xue Chenjing out, how would that be any different from when the Xue parents had begged Chenjing to let Mingyuan emerge?
It was enough just knowing he wasn't hurt.
Yu Yi sat for a while longer, then held the paper over the candlelight, letting the ashes scatter out the window where they quickly dissolved in the rain.
She closed the window, extinguished the light, and went to bed.
After the east wing's lights went out, the west wing's lights also dimmed. Xue Mingyuan lay fully clothed on his bed, sleepless through the night.
Their parents' spiritual force couldn't restrain Xue Chenjing for long. He had already recovered his tail bone and two fires, and this body's power had increased dramatically - even demon beasts like the Huan submitted to him.
If he were to recover his heart fire, he would have no more restraints and could fully harness the power left behind by the ancient demon, commanding the allegiance of all demons and once again ascending to the position of Demon Lord.
That would lead to another upheaval.
Xue Mingyuan sat up and took out a lotus communication jade from his robes, infusing it with spiritual power to illuminate the inscriptions upon it.
In just a moment, the communication talisman connected, and Lady Lotus's cool voice came through, asking, "Mingyuan, what is it?"
In the darkness, Xue Mingyuan spoke softly, "Sister, I need to ask for your help with something."
