Rebellious Girl

Zhong Yi couldn’t help but look up.

His gaze followed the spiral staircase upward, where he could faintly make out a delicate face partially obscured by the railing’s ornate carvings.

The girl had short hair, unusual for her gender, with fair, porcelain-like skin. In her left hand, she clutched a small wine flask, her eyes vacant as she stared blankly ahead.

Only when Lyon approached did the emptiness in her eyes fade, replaced by a flicker of awareness.

Flustered, she quickly hid the flask beneath her sleeve and smoothed her hair, letting the jet-black strands fall over her cheeks.

At that moment, Zhong Yi unconsciously entered the state of [Assassin’s Focus].

Lines of information floated before his eyes.

[Su Di’er: The youngest daughter of your neighbor, Ma Wei]

[Often feigns maturity with behavior unbefitting her age—a rebellious girl]

[Seems particularly attentive to you, who is similarly “lonely”]

[The wine flask in her hand was stolen from her father]

…

Zhong Yi froze.

Unlike others, Su Di’er’s name was displayed in gold.

Clearly, she was a special character.

Though she sported a boyish haircut and deliberately acted mature,

the youthful, carefree aura of adolescence still radiated from her, impossible to conceal.

Behind his sunglasses, Zhong Yi pretended to glance at her casually a few more times.

Then, for what felt like the hundredth time, he walked past her without a word.

Just as Zhong Yi had stepped behind Su Di’er, the girl suddenly tilted her head back and called out softly:

“Hey.”

Zhong Yi instinctively halted.

A new quest prompt appeared in his vision:

[Main Quest: Speak with Su Di’er]

‘Finally, I can turn around.’

Zhong Yi sighed inwardly before slowly turning to face her.

During the brief climb up the stairs, every time he’d considered greeting her, his Behavior Points had started plummeting.

The reason given was that Li Ang was inherently reclusive, unwilling to form connections with others.

Only when the girl initiated would Li Ang respond passively.

“Why… did you hide the flask?”

Zhong Yi pointed at the half-visible flask peeking from her sleeve, barely suppressing a smile.

Su Di’er blinked, realizing she’d been caught. With no point in hiding it now, she lifted the flask to her lips with slender fingers and took a delicate sip.

A drop of glistening liquor trickled down the corner of her pink lips.

Su Di’er wiped her mouth. “This place is full of sneaky people. I don’t want my old man finding out… I’ve got enough trouble already.”

As she spoke, she tilted her head slightly.

Her hair swayed, revealing a bruise beneath her eye.

Still in [Assassin’s Focus], Zhong Yi saw text hovering over the injury:

[Fresh wound, inflicted within the last hour]

[Su Di’er is frequently beaten and scolded by her father, neglected at home]

Zhong Yi frowned.

“What happened?”

Keeping his movements minimal, he kept his tone concise, adhering to Li Ang’s character.

Sure enough, his Behavior Points surged dramatically.

“I fell.”

Su Di’er hurriedly adjusted her hair to cover the bruise again, forcing a nonchalant expression.

“Don’t lie—”

Zhong Yi barely started speaking when his Behavior Points in the upper-right corner sharply dropped.

[Behavior Points -10 (Li Ang avoids meddling in others’ affairs, maintaining distance to avoid karmic ties)]

Seeing this, Zhong Yi swallowed the rest of his words.

Even if he wanted to continue, the illusion’s safeguard would trigger.

If a player’s actions excessively interfered with the plot, the character would revert to preset behavior, beyond the player’s control.

Resigned, Zhong Yi turned and headed toward his room.

After a few steps, Su Di’er’s voice called out again.

“Hey.”

Zhong Yi looked back once more.

“About the wine… don’t tell my dad, okay?”

Her voice was soft, slightly hoarse.

Zhong Yi nodded wordlessly and left.

He reached his door, unlocked it, and stepped inside.

Behind him, an increasingly heated argument erupted.

“Why would you do this!?”

“I—I don’t know! I didn’t do anything…”

“Do you have any idea how bad things are right now? Explain yourself!”

“It’s not my fault, sir! I’m just the caretaker—how would I know how to handle this stuff? You know I’m just a nobody…”

“Shut your mouth, idiot! When we handed it to you in June, it wasn’t like this… Where’s the demonic elixir!?”

“I… I don’t know! How would I know what to do with something like that?”

…

Zhong Yi closed the door and pressed his ear against it, listening intently.

“Demonic elixir? The thing mentioned in the notes?”

His interest was instantly piqued.

At the same time, the quest info in the upper-right corner updated:

[Main Quest: Use an item to secretly observe the argument outside]

“Must be a major event!”

Zhong Yi quickly searched for a tool to spy with.

It wasn’t hard to find—right on his door.

A glass panel made of special material.

From inside, he could see out clearly, but from the outside, it appeared as nothing more than an ordinary decoration.

Zhong Yi pressed his eye against it and peered outside.

Three figures came into view.

Once again, he channeled spiritual energy into his eyes, activating [Assassin’s Focus].

[Ma Wei: Su Di’er’s father. An informant for the Demon-Suppression Bureau, operates in both legal and illegal circles, not entirely clean.]

[Ma Wei’s eyes dart nervously, his forehead beaded with sweat—likely lying.]

…

[Feng Tianshuo: Rank-A grunt of the Demon-Suppression Bureau, mid-stage Qi Refinement.]

[Feng Tianshuo speaks urgently, as if anticipating disaster.]

[His gaze keeps flicking backward—the person behind him seems to exert immense pressure.]

…

[Shi Dan: Demon-Suppression Marshal of the Bureau, late-stage Qi Refinement, Daoist title “Sirius the Celestial Wolf.”]

[Wears a new-style jade slip in his ear.]

[Sways slightly, mental state appears unstable.]

[Exudes a powerful, dangerous aura.]

…

After listening to Ma Wei and Feng Tianshuo argue, Zhong Yi pieced together the situation.

Ma Wei was an informant planted by the Demon-Suppression Bureau, helping them control the black-market trade of demonic elixir.

Pure demonic elixir could be used on infants to induce demonic possession.

When diluted through certain methods, it could also be consumed by cultivators, inducing extreme addiction.

Thus, it fetched exorbitant prices in both legal and underground markets.

The Bureau had stored a batch of pure elixir with Ma Wei, only retrieving it yesterday.

But they soon realized something was wrong—the elixir’s purity had dropped, adulterated with other substances.

That was why they’d come knocking.

“Listen, I’m trying to help you… If you insist on playing dumb, I’ll have no choice but to let him handle it.”

Feng Tianshuo lowered his voice, gesturing toward Shi Dan, who stood with his back to them.

"This lord despises being disturbed while listening to music..."

"No one can deceive him, for he possesses the uncanny ability to smell lies... Trust me, you wouldn't want to face him."