A Demoness's Talent

The story between the original owner and Miss Ning was... pretty hard to sum up from the perspective of Li Muyang, the transmigrator.

Or rather, the foolish things the original owner—a rash young man who had just turned seventeen—had done were hard for Li Muyang to even think about.

The Jiuyuan City where the original owner lived was an ordinary city under the rule of the Demon Refining Sect.

The Li family didn't even count as a clan in Jiuyuan City. They were just a family with a little money.

Li Muyang's father, Li Damu, was the captain of Jiuyuan City's garrison. He had around twenty men under his command, owned a three-courtyard residence in the city, and kept two maids, an old housekeeper, and a coachman.

That kind of household was only moderately well-off, a tiny fish among tiny fish in the city.

After they married, Li Damu and his wife had only one son, Li Muyang, but they had also raised an adopted daughter named Li Yuechan.

The girl was the orphaned daughter of one of Li Damu's sworn brothers. After his sworn brother died, Li Damu brought the girl home and adopted her.

The girl was clever and lively, with a cheerful disposition that made her very likable. In stark contrast stood the original owner, who was irritable and petty, so he and his adopted little sister had a terrible relationship.

Or rather, he had a terrible relationship with everyone. Even the maids and servants at home disliked him.

Later, the original owner fell for Miss Ning of the Ning family in Jiuyuan City and blew all his money on her. She summoned him whenever she pleased and dismissed him whenever she liked, ordering him around more readily than a dog.

Later still, in an effort to force his parents to pay for his marriage to Miss Ning, the original owner had a huge fight with them.

Li Damu was an uneducated, rough sort of man. Furious with his rebellious son, he said a few harsh words, and the original owner stormed out, slamming the door.

Before leaving, he even pointed at his own front door and shouted for the whole neighborhood to hear.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Li Damu, one day I'll make you regret this!"

After that, the original owner joined the Demon Refining Sect, hoping to rise to wealth and glory there. Instead, he became a menial outer disciple.

Unfortunately, barely a month after entering the sect, the fool practiced himself into a demonic deviation and died.

Only then did the transmigrator, Li Muyang, arrive.

Remembering all the stupid things the original owner had done, Li Muyang could only cover his face.

"I'd planned never to go back to Jiuyuan City or contact my family again..."

And now his adopted little sister had come looking for him?

Li Muyang suddenly felt like he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

He hadn't done any of those stupid things himself, but after transmigrating into this body, he was like someone with mud in his pants—no matter how he tried to explain it, it looked like shit.

Everyone in Jiuyuan City who knew Li Muyang knew him as the chuunibyou idiot who'd shouted at his parents in public, "Don't look down on a poor young man!"

And now, not only was his adopted little sister coming, but the Miss Ning the original owner had always fawned over was coming too.

"This really is a disaster from the heavens..."

Li Muyang covered his face. Suddenly, this little hut, far from the crowds, seemed pretty nice after all.

At least living here would save him a lot of trouble.

The original owner had done something that idiotic. Li Muyang had no desire to meet anyone who'd known him.

And that Miss Ning? Who are you? We're not close!

After carefully reading the family letter, Li Muyang sat beneath an old tree beside the field ridge and closed his eyes.

Before the messenger arrived, Li Muyang had just finished using the Cloud and Rain Art and was resting on the ridge. He looked as if he were meditating, but in reality, he'd been playing a game.

Now that he'd read the letter, Li Muyang thought it over and quickly steadied himself.

His adopted little sister had said she would come to the Demon Refining Sect before long and asked him to meet her. Miss Ning would be traveling with her.

But the original owner and his adopted sister, Li Yuechan, had never gotten along, so he could simply skip the reunion.

As for Miss Ning... she was so beautiful, she didn't need one more lovesick fool. New ones would come flocking to fawn over her. She wouldn't care about some former acquaintance like Li Muyang.

Right now, all Li Muyang could think about was Little Wild Grass in Black Cloud Stronghold and the deadly danger at the first checkpoint. He had no interest in wasting his precious time on anything else.

He'd been stuck on this level for too long. He was nearly at his wits' end.

It was just a life-simulation game. Was it really this hard?

Entering the game again, Li Muyang sat in the empty stilt house and looked at the little girl before him.

He'd tried everything during this time, exploring all the information in the stronghold. He'd even tried loading an earlier save and choosing to adopt either of the other two children.

But whenever he adopted a Soul-Lost One other than Little Wild Grass, the system automatically judged that he'd failed the game.

And on the night after he brought Little Wild Grass home, the moment he closed his eyes, Li Muyang was guaranteed to die.

It seemed to form an unsolvable loop.

Li Muyang had explored the game for a long time, but still couldn't find a way to break the loop.

—or rather, he'd vaguely found a path to beating the game, but couldn't yet get a handle on it.

Opening his eyes again and seeing Little Wild Grass's innocent, curious gaze, Li Muyang sighed.

"Xiao Cao, could you tell me about your past?"

Every clue Li Muyang had gathered pointed to the little girl before him as the source of the danger.

After all, before the little girl arrived, the stronghold had no killer who struck while people slept. The murderer was most likely after Little Wild Grass.

And if Li Muyang didn't adopt Little Wild Grass at the start, there was a chance the girl would die. After dozens of attempts, Li Muyang had roughly worked out her odds of survival.

If he didn't adopt her, the little girl had about a thirty percent chance of dying.

All the clues and signs pointed to Little Wild Grass knowing something about the killer. She might even have a way to evade its pursuit!

Surely the stronghold's people couldn't be the ones saving her in the other seventy percent of cases?

Li Muyang had confirmed through hundreds of deaths that no one in the stronghold could help against that bizarre killer.

But although he'd found a way forward, the little brat who called herself Little Wild Grass was tight-lipped as an iron gate.

For the past few days, Li Muyang had tried everything, from gentle persuasion to torture. Whether he played the good guy or the bad guy, the little girl always claimed to know nothing.

Several times, Li Muyang tried to get closer to her and build a bond. He took her around the stronghold, made delicious food for her, and got her laughing happily. She'd even grabbed his hand affectionately and gratefully thanked him as big brother.

But when Li Muyang checked her affection score—0.

That brat was a real actress, and a real phony. At such a young age, she already knew how to put on an act and play along.

Facing a little girl who acted better than a stage performer, Li Muyang nearly laughed in frustration.

To get a heroine like this in a life-simulation game... Li Muyang was tempted to raise her into a Great Poisonous Grass instead.

That brat really had a gift for becoming a demoness of the demonic path!