Opening Her Heart

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully having a heart-to-heart with a sect member."

"Ding! Sect member Su Ling'er has opened her heart. Current task progress: 1/3."

"Ding! Would you like to claim your reward now?"

The system notifications rang in his mind, and Chen Ning's face lit up. He hadn't expected a willow planted by chance to grow into shade: he had completed a third of the task.

"Not yet."

Chen Ning replied silently.

He wanted more than just the basic reward. Since there was still time, he had to try for the rare reward.

[Time remaining for current task: 22 hours]

Chen Ning had a well-formed plan and had already settled on who to have a heart-to-heart with next.

The first was Xiao Mei.

For one thing, it wouldn't seem abrupt. He could approach her under the pretext of delivering wine, without arousing suspicion.

If he approached someone else, he could easily make them suspicious and put them on guard.

Not only would he fail the task, but there would also be a certain amount of risk.

The task required a high-ranking member of the sect. To qualify, they had to be at least a hall master's equal in rank.

Su Ling'er's position was rather unusual. She ranked three grades above an ordinary protector and answered directly to the sect leader, so she only just met the task's requirements.

With two jugs of wine in hand, Chen Ning headed straight for the Law Enforcement Hall.

When the law enforcement elder saw Chen Ning, his aged face blossomed into a smile, and he ushered Chen Ning into the inner hall.

That day, he had seen with his own eyes how the hall master had declared Lu Qing's cultivation crippled for disrespecting the sect leader.

After all, he had carried it out himself.

That alone was enough to show that the young sect leader before him was definitely not as simple as he appeared.

Otherwise, why would the hall master have defended him like that?

"Please, Sect Leader, have a seat."

The law enforcement elder bent at the waist, his face wreathed in smiles. "I've already sent someone to notify her. Our hall master will be here shortly."

"Good."

Chen Ning sat in the inner hall and waited for Xiao Mei. He didn't sit idle while he waited, but worked out his wording, thinking about how to get her to open her heart.

Xiao Mei was a witch through and through.

So he couldn't use the usual methods he would on a little loli.

He could only use the skill of the Sect Leader Who Perceives the Finest Details title.

[Lie Detection: When used, you will know whether the other person's words are true or false. Duration: one minute. Cooldown: 24 hours.]

He had never used this unique skill before, because there hadn't been much opportunity to use it in the sect.

Mainly because most of what people said to him was false.

There was no need to test it at all.

With a whole cast of villains, using Lie Detection would be asking a question he already knew the answer to.

But today, Chen Ning planned to ask some clever questions, then use Lie Detection to pull off some unexpected moves.

Chen Ning had worked out his plan: he would make an issue of her insomnia.

First, he would ask why. She would certainly avoid the subject; how could she reveal something so private so easily?

She would surely come up with all sorts of excuses.

At that point, Chen Ning would activate Lie Detection and expose her lies one after another within the minute.

Then he would say, with righteous dignity, that he had spoken out of turn.

By then, she would most likely apologize, and Chen Ning would go with the flow and pour Xiao Mei a few bowls of chicken soup for the soul.

Afterward, even if she was only being polite, she would say something like, "Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader," wouldn't she?

Once they reached that point, most of the plan would have succeeded.

It didn't matter whether she accepted the chicken soup he fed her. All he needed was the form of a heart-to-heart to get past the system.

Next, she needed to reveal what was on her mind. That was even simpler. He had already learned in the previous task that Xiao Mei needed strong liquor to sleep; he only had to guide her into saying it.

That counted as exploiting a loophole.

It was like taking an open-book exam.

Chen Ning had checked with the system, and it was entirely feasible.

Before long, Xiao Mei stepped into the inner hall and curtsied with a lovely smile. "I pay my respects to the sect leader."

"Sit."

Chen Ning pointed to the chair beside him.

Smiling with her almond-shaped eyes, Xiao Mei obediently sat down.

"Hall Master Xiao, could you dismiss everyone else?"

Chen Ning asked.

Xiao Mei nodded and projected her voice outside. "The sect leader and I have important matters to discuss. Everyone, withdraw."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Several figures withdrew from the inner hall, leaving only Chen Ning and Xiao Mei.

"Hall Master Xiao, I came here this time..."

"Sect Leader, didn't I tell you? When no one else is around, you can just call me Mei'er."

Xiao Mei's delicate brows drew together slightly, but she wasn't angry. There was a hint of coquettishness in her manner.

Who could resist that?!

Chen Ning spoke up in all honesty. "I went to Gold and Iron City a while ago and was delayed for a few days. I knew you must have run out of wine here, M-Mei'er, so I brought you two jars."

"Thank you for thinking of me, Sect Leader."

A smile that could captivate the heart danced in Xiao Mei's beautiful eyes. Chen Ning stopped meeting her gaze and said casually, "By the way, Mei'er, why don't you tell me why you can't sleep? What exactly is it that makes you need strong liquor to help you sleep?"

With the dagger revealed at the end of the unrolled map, Chen Ning prepared to put his plan into action.

He quietly activated Lie Detection as well.

Xiao Mei pondered for a moment, then looked at Chen Ning and said:

"To tell you the truth, Mei'er has a dark past. My birth was unfortunate, and my Lineage was oppressed by outsiders, barely managing to cling to life. From the day I was born, I lived amid boundless fear, chaos, and darkness. To save my Lineage and change my fate, Mei'er could only cultivate day and night, venture out to train, and scheme and calculate. Finally... Mei'er came upon an opportunity that gave me a new life and unparalleled talent. Only then did my Lineage regain its standing..."

Xiao Mei's gaze shifted as she sank into recollection.

"It's just that I haven't been able to sleep soundly since..."

Xiao Mei came back to herself and said apologetically, "Sorry to have troubled you, Sect Leader. Thanks to the strong liquor you brewed, I can finally sleep peacefully."

"It's all right, it's all right..."

Chen Ning answered casually, but at that moment, countless question marks were floating through his mind.

Because Lie Detection had found that she was telling the truth.

What's going on?

Why did she just tell me? Why didn't she follow the plan?!

Wasn't she supposed to dodge the question and come up with excuses?

Protect your privacy!

Do you trust me that much?

Do you know how dangerous I was just now?

Although Xiao Mei had spoken vaguely, Chen Ning knew her true identity, so a little thought was enough for him to understand what she meant.

She belonged to a clan from a branch of the Devil Race. Because it wasn't a direct-line clan, it had never been valued. In the end, she had obtained a fortuitous opportunity and was entrusted with important duties again.

The part she hadn't mentioned afterward was probably that she had been sent to infiltrate the Dragon-Seeking Sect.

Fortunately, she hadn't said it. If she had, things would only have been extremely awkward.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully having a heart-to-heart with a sect member."

"Ding! Sect member Xiao Mei has opened her heart. Current task progress: 2/3."

"Ding! Would you like to claim your reward now?"

Chen Ning chose "no." He had already completed two-thirds of it, so only the final push remained.