How about being my master

"Drip, drip..."

The sound—whether it was bathwater or blood hitting the floor—was unnervingly clear.

The stairwell reeked of the pungent stench of blood.

The door to Su Di'er's home had been smashed open, leaving a gaping hole.

Zhong Yi pressed his eye nervously against the peephole.

He watched as the girl's cheerful footsteps froze the moment she reached the fourth floor.

Yet, in just an instant, Su Di'er steadied herself. Like a startled kitten, she lowered her head and hurried forward.

Her footsteps were no longer light.

Zhong Yi could see it clearly—Su Di'er kept stealing glances toward her own home with the corner of her eye.

The hallway was littered with corpses, impossible to miss.

Zhong Yi's heart pounded wildly.

If Su Di'er showed even the slightest sign of distress, she would end up just like her father or younger brother—brutally slaughtered by those lunatics from the Demon Suppression Bureau!

After all…

They were a pack of madmen hellbent on wiping out the entire family!

What surprised Zhong Yi was that Su Di'er's composure and quick thinking defied her age.

Even as her family's blood pooled at the doorstep…

Even as she saw her little brother's lifeless body sprawled in front of the door…

She didn’t turn back.

Instead, she walked past her home as if it meant nothing to her, heading straight for Li Ang's room.

Only when she reached the guard stationed outside did Su Di'er finally break, her eyes welling up with tears.

Zhong Yi realized it immediately—Su Di'er was pretending not to be Ma Wei's family, but his.

Trembling, Su Di'er approached the door.

Now, only a thin barrier separated her from Zhong Yi.

She raised a hand and knocked.

Her beautiful eyes were already drowning in tears.

Zhong Yi burned with the urge to fling the door open and pull her to safety.

But the moment his hand gripped the doorknob, a sharp deduction flashed in the corner of his vision.

[Behavior Score -10 (This is a life-or-death gamble. Li Ang refuses to meddle in others' karma.)]

[Behavior Score -5 (Opening the door the moment she knocks would reveal you’ve been watching. Unbecoming of a professional killer.)]

Through the peephole, Zhong Yi saw Su Di'er’s delicate face twisted in despair, her voice a fragile whisper.

"Please… please…"

"Open the door… just let me in…"

How could Zhong Yi endure this?

Veins bulged on his forehead as he tightened his grip on the handle.

"Screw karma! OPEN! OPEN!!!"

He gritted his teeth and tried again to turn the knob.

Another prompt.

[Behavior Score -8 (This is a life-or-death gamble. Li Ang refuses to meddle in others' karma.)]

"Damn it!!!"

Zhong Yi cursed and attempted once more.

[Behavior Score -5 (This is a life-or-death gamble. Li Ang refuses to meddle in others' karma.)]

Another failure—but he noticed something. The deductions were shrinking.

Was Li Ang’s true self also struggling?

He looked outside again.

Su Di'er wept silently, her shoulders shaking.

Meanwhile, the Demon Suppression Bureau guard at her doorstep had noticed something amiss. A cold glint flashed as he drew a dagger and began advancing toward her…

Zhong Yi’s breath hitched.

As a cultivator, the guard could easily sense breathing from inside.

If Su Di'er knocked and no one answered… it meant she wasn’t family.

And that meant only one fate awaited her—death.

"OPEN! OPEN, DAMN IT!!!"

Zhong Yi rattled the handle like a madman.

The dagger-wielding man drew closer.

Su Di'er’s brows furrowed, her quiet sobs trembling through her small frame…

[...]

Behavior Score -3…

Behavior Score -1…

Then—

Click.

A sliver of light fell across Su Di'er’s face.

The dull gray in her eyes suddenly flickered to life.

Li Ang’s low voice cut through the silence.

"Come in."

[...]

Li Ang’s room was almost unsettlingly bare.

At the old wooden table, Zhong Yi and the hollow-eyed Su Di'er sat in silence.

The Demon Suppression Bureau agents had left.

The constables had come, asked a few questions, and hastily retreated upon learning it was the Bureau’s doing.

Zhong Yi had just listened to Su Di'er pour out her grief.

How the woman and older sister in the house were her stepmother and half-sister.

How she despised her piggish father, who had watched her mother die without lifting a finger, doting only on his new wife and her daughter while beating Su Di'er daily.

Their deaths didn’t sadden her.

In fact, she admitted that if the Bureau hadn’t done it, she might have killed them herself one day.

The only one she mourned was her four-year-old brother…

[...]

"What’s your name?" Su Di'er asked once she’d calmed slightly.

"Li Ang."

Zhong Yi answered while reaching for a cup of goat’s milk.

"Cute. I like it."

The girl wiped her tears, her tone startlingly frank.

Pfft—

The system’s interference sent Zhong Yi choking on his drink.

While he turned to grab a cloth, Su Di'er’s gaze snagged on a black bundle atop the cabinet.

By the time Zhong Yi turned back, she was staring wide-eyed at the assortment of tools inside his assassination kit.

"Li Ang… what are you?"

She blinked, unafraid.

"Same as them. A killer."

Zhong Yi considered, then answered truthfully.

"But you won’t kill me, right?"

Su Di'er smiled.

Zhong Yi wanted to respond, but the behavior system locked his words.

"Can you kill some people for me?"

"The six outside?"

"Mhm. How much does it cost?"

"Five thousand… per head."

"That’s way too expensive…"

She pouted, suddenly childlike again.

"Li Ang…"

"Teach me how to kill. Be my master, okay?"