After Transmigrating into a Book as a Cannon Fodder Character, The System Turned out to be Completely Unreliable! - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The White-Haired Old Man

That night, Ye Lingxi racked her brain but still couldn’t figure out what was going wrong. She grabbed her hair in frustration, making it even more of a mess.

“Ahhh!” she shouted. “Why is everything like this?!”

Ever since she arrived here, nothing had gone her way. She’d been close to death multiple times, and now her weapon upgrade had completely failed.

She glared at the broken sword resting on the stone table and threw it into the grass nearby.

She was about to lose her mind.

“System! Where the heck did you go?! Why haven’t you shown up?!” she shouted into the sky, but no one answered. “Seriously, I don’t even have someone to complain to anymore.”

She slumped over the stone table, staring at the sword she’d just thrown. After a moment of hesitation, she got up and picked it back up. “You’re the one the system told me to pick up—so why are you so useless? Just like that dumb system.”

She gave the sword a few careless swings, and to her shock, a streak of golden light shot from the blade and blasted a rock apart.

Ye Lingxi stared in shock at the shattered stone, then at the sword in her hand.

“What the—? Are you some kind of masochistic weapon?” she muttered. “Why do you only work when I insult you? You’re just like that system!” She laughed in disbelief. “Didn’t see that coming.”

At that moment, the black rock sword gleamed brightly. “Alright then, I’ll count on you for the final assessment.”

She practiced a few more swings and found it felt more natural each time.

Once her face had fully healed, Lan Muxu asked, “You’re all better now, right?”

Ye Lingxi nodded. “Thank you for your care, Shishu. I’m fully recovered.”

Seeing her face was no longer swollen, Lan Muxu said, “Then you should return.”

Ye Lingxi had expected that, but hearing it still made her a little reluctant.

“Why aren’t you leaving? Or… do you not want to go?”

She shook her head. “No, I was just thinking about how to thank you, Shishu.”

“Oh?” Lan Muxu looked intrigued. “And what do you have in mind?”

Ye Lingxi’s eyes darted. In truth, she was wondering if the demon queen was still cultivating safely. But her moment of distraction didn’t go unnoticed.

“I haven’t figured out how to repay you yet,” she said. “But from what I can tell, Shishu doesn’t seem to lack anything.”

Which was true—Lan Muxu was a sect leader, after all.

Lan Muxu smiled. “And what makes you think I don’t lack anything?”

Ye Lingxi’s eyes widened. Wait… does she actually lack something? But she’d looked around and couldn’t find anything missing. Still, the way Lan Muxu was looking at her… like she wanted to eat her. Could it be…?

“I’ll take my leave now,” Ye Lingxi said quickly, backing away before she got trapped.

Lan Muxu watched her run off: “…”

Ye Lingxi didn’t stop running until she was far away. She bent over, hands on her knees, catching her breath. “How could I forget this is a world full of women who like women? The way she looked at me—she definitely wanted to pounce.”

She admitted Lan Muxu was beautiful—but she herself was straight. She wasn’t planning to change that.

“Good thing I ran fast,” she muttered. “The exam’s tomorrow. I should enjoy a little freedom while I can.” She pulled out her stash of silver. “Still got some money left. Time to buy some snacks.”

She went into town and bought some candied hawthorn skewers, stuffing one into her mouth and holding a bag of pastries in her hand.

Feeling satisfied, she turned to head back—when someone tapped her shoulder. She looked around. No one. She turned the other way. Still no one.

She pulled the skewer from her mouth and shouted, “Who’s touching me?!”

After yelling, she turned back—and her pastries were gone. “Where’s my stuff?!” She rubbed her eyes. Still gone. “What the heck?” She looked up and saw a white-haired beggar-like old man walking away with her food.

“You thief! Stop right there!” Ye Lingxi shouted, chasing after him through the crowd. But two men carrying goods blocked her path.

By the time she got around them, the old man had vanished. She cursed under her breath.

She kicked a nearby rock and sulked, nibbling on the last hawthorn on her skewer. “This is all I’ve got left…” she sighed, head hanging low.

“Everything’s been going wrong lately.” She must’ve dropped the rest when someone bumped into her.

Her heart broke as she knelt down, staring at her ruined skewer—then someone stepped on it.

Her hands trembled. “My candied hawthorn… my poor hawthorn…”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Why am I so unlucky?” Her sobs echoed down the street.

Passersby couldn’t help but glance at her.

She picked up the crushed remains of her snack and stood up shakily.

“Can I wash it and still eat it?”

She’d finally gotten a chance to sneak out and enjoy herself, and now everything was ruined.

She clutched the broken, stomped-on skewer, heart aching.

Just then, she heard voices.

“Is that her?”

“Looks like it.”

Ye Lingxi turned toward the sound and saw two kids watching her. When she looked at them, they quickly ducked their heads.

She blinked. “What’s going on?” Still focused on her ruined snack, she picked up a bright red hawthorn—only to get hit in the head by a rock.

Pain shot through her skull. She squinted and smiled at the two kids who threw it, though dark mist swirled ominously around her. “What exactly are you two trying to do?”

She lunged and grabbed one boy by the collar. “I heard you two whispering earlier. Now you’re throwing rocks at me? Do I look like someone you can bully?” She glared at him.

Sure, she was a side character—but that didn’t mean random nobodies could mess with her.

“S-Sorry, big sis! We were just trying to help!”

“Help me?” she asked, confused.

The other boy threw another rock.

Ye Lingxi lost her temper. “You brat! You want a beating?!” She grabbed the second boy by the arm and yanked him close. “Why are you throwing rocks at me?!”

The boys struggled. “We saw you were about to eat food that fell on the ground!”

Ye Lingxi scoffed. “And what’s that got to do with you?”

“We just wanted to remind you—it’s not safe to eat food off the ground. You could get sick.”

Her grip loosened. “You’re serious?”

“We are.”

She let go and looked at their ragged clothes. Are these kids even worse off than me?

One of them said, “Thanks for the pastries earlier, big sis.”

Ye Lingxi froze. “Wait—what did you just say? What pastries?”

The two kids realized things were going south and tried to run, but how could Ye Lingxi let them escape? She drew her sword and unleashed a dazzling strike, blocking their path. “Where do you think you’re going?”

They turned around and saw Ye Lingxi grinning like a devil—fake and menacing. “Big sis, please have mercy!”

Ye Lingxi grabbed them both by the collars. “Tell me what you meant earlier, and I’ll let you go.”

She clearly remembered the one who stole her pastries was a white-haired old man—so how did it turn into these kids? Something was off.

“Grandpa Lan told us a big sister gave them to us.”

“So we just wanted to see what the sister Grandpa Lan mentioned looked like.”

Ye Lingxi looked back and forth between the two of them, who were taking turns answering like a rehearsed act. Her head was spinning. “Fine. Take me to him.”

“No way! Grandpa Lan said it’s a secret!”

“Oh, a secret?” Ye Lingxi’s expression darkened. “Then how about I take you both to the authorities?”

“No!” The two of them immediately panicked like startled birds.

Ye Lingxi: Seriously? That dramatic?

She dragged them along. “Behave.” Just a little shake and the kids shut their eyes in fear.

In a rundown temple, an old man was handing out pastries to a group of children.

“Grandpa Lan, I want one too!”

“Me too!”

“Alright, alright, there’s enough for everyone. Don’t rush.” The white-haired old man was distributing the pastries he’d just stolen.

When Ye Lingxi arrived, she looked around and muttered, “There’s actually a broken temple here?”

One of the boys said, “Of course.”

“You rich folks don’t understand how hard life is for us,” another added.

Ye Lingxi: Okay, fair point—but I’m not some rich noble. I’m just a regular cannon-fodder trying to survive.

“Big sis, please don’t report Grandpa Lan to the authorities, okay?”

Ye Lingxi glanced down at him but didn’t answer right away.

By the time Grandpa Lan finished handing out the pastries, Ye Lingxi had caught up. The two kids, still struggling, suddenly broke free and shouted, “Grandpa Lan, run!”

Caught off guard, Ye Lingxi watched as the old man bolted. She drew her sword and launched an attack. Grandpa Lan stopped, turned back, and said, “Young lady, your strength’s pretty weak, huh?”

Ye Lingxi hadn’t been that angry—until he said that. After all her hard work lately, finally gaining some spiritual power, being mocked by a background character? That was too much.

“You thief! Give me back my pastries!” she shouted, charging at him with her broken sword.

Grandpa Lan dodged and countered with a palm strike to her back.

The blow knocked the sword from her hand, and he caught it midair.

Ye Lingxi hit the ground hard. The old man examined her sword and muttered, “Seems like your sword hasn’t lost anything important.”

She didn’t care what he was saying. “Give me back my stuff!”

He clearly wasn’t interested in the sword and tossed it back at her. The clattering sound as it hit the ground was especially grating.

“You!” Ye Lingxi grabbed her sword and tried to stand, but as soon as she got up, she collapsed again. “What did you do to me?!”

Grandpa Lan stroked his beard and said, “Young people these days—so fiery.”

Ye Lingxi: Fiery? You’re the one who stole from me!

“You’ve got some nerve!” she shouted.

Startled, Grandpa Lan took a few steps back. “Whoa, scary.”

Ye Lingxi felt humiliated—more than when she had to cling to the main characters for survival. “What do you want from me? Hurry up and undo whatever you did!”

“I wouldn’t dare. What if you attack me again?” he said pitifully.

Ye Lingxi: Seriously, old man—who’s attacking who here?

“I won’t hit you!”

He flinched. “Really?”

Ye Lingxi sighed and nodded. “Really. I swear.”

Seeing her sincerity, he tapped her twice, and she felt her body return to normal. She sat up.

Seeing she had no intention of attacking again, he crouched nearby. “Why is a young girl like you carrying such a strange sword?”

Ye Lingxi glanced at him. I’d like to know that too. Why couldn’t the system let me pick up a better weapon? Then again, maybe it was her fault for being too curious and touching everything.

“Can’t I just like it?” she replied coldly.

Being lectured by someone just as pitiful as her was annoying. “Hey, hey! Are you done staring?” He’d been watching her the whole time.

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “You’re from Qingyang Sect, aren’t you?”

Uh-oh…

He figured it out already?

“Got a problem with that?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

Ye Lingxi: This guy is weird.

“But I can tell your spiritual consciousness hasn’t fully awakened yet.”

Ye Lingxi’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“I can see it,” he said bluntly.

“Really?” The more he stared, the more creeped out she felt. What is this old man looking at?

“How do you know so much?”

This time, he didn’t answer directly. He just said calmly, “How about this—I help you unlock your spiritual consciousness, and you forget about the pastry theft?”

Ye Lingxi studied his dirty face and replied with a look of disgust, “No.”

“Huh?” Grandpa Lan was shocked. “But that’s a great deal!”

He really didn’t look trustworthy. She stood up. “Why should I believe you?”

“Well…” he scratched his head, clearly unsure how to answer.