The captured system becomes “it” in hide-and-seek.

I found myself perched on a shelf, back against the wall, my matchstick arms dangling at my sides while my perpetual dark circles stared straight ahead into the void.

“One… two…” I began counting.

My soft glow cast an eerie light through the ancient tomes as my mature, detached voice echoed through the library. Seraphine stood watching me with her arms crossed, while the qilin wiggled under her skirts at her feet.

Seraphine: “……”

Before I could reach ten, the great bell at the top of the Scripture Pavilio began tolling. I heard Seraphine call my name and quickly flew over.

The thunder qilin emerged, still dragging the unconscious Fire Rock Dragon, and deposited Error at Seraphine’s feet. Its tail wagged as it looked at me with obvious reluctance.

“Master’s trial has ended, and the immortal palace must close now. I must return to slumber and cultivation until the day I can find Master again.”

“If you have the chance to visit Chongshan Secret Realm again in the next century, don’t forget to visit me!”

I flew up to the little thunder qilin and shook its paw solemnly. “I will. I’ve added it to my schedule.”

“But I think Seraphine will ascend much faster than you, so let’s aim for within this century. By then I’ll—mmph, mmph?”

Both the system and qilin looked up at the human cultivator whose smile definitely didn’t reach her eyes.

Seraphine’s lips curved in a beautiful but terrifying arc, her stunning face mere inches from both of us. The vermillionflower mark between her brows blazed like fire.

“Just a moment.” Seraphine smiled sweetly at the thunder qilin while her grip tightened around me. Her voice transmitted directly into my consciousness: “Say goodbye to your friend properly, and rein in that attitude of yours!”

What attitude? I didn’t understand, but I complied.

The two friends bid each other a reluctant farewell.

The bell’s song stretched long and continuous through the clouds.

The barrier that had surrounded the entire Chongshan Immortal Palace, keeping it tantalizingly out of reach, finally dissipated. The celestial stairway connecting to the palace suddenly crumbled, stones tumbling down.

Cultivators who had been frantically trying to climb to the palace during this opportunity now scrambled to avoid the falling debris.

When they looked up again, no trace of the immortal palace remained—only the blazing sun and towering mountains. The palace and its inheritance seemed like nothing more than a fleeting dream.

The three people ejected from that dream found themselves transported to a forest clearing.

Qiu Shuangshuang stood there in complete bewilderment, pointing at the sky, then at herself, then at the two people before her. “The palace… I… you two… huh? What?”

What just happened? Why was she suddenly here?

Seraphine coldly raised her hand, using the motion of adjusting her hairpin to slip me into her sleeve.

I hugged her wrist tightly.

“Lady Qiu!” Xue Bufan’s face lit up with a broad smile—still wearing that hideous disguise, but now radiating newfound energy, confidence, and fighting spirit.

Which somehow made him even more horrifying.

Xue Bufan turned toward Seraphine, bowing respectfully as he called out warmly, “Senior Sister.”

The horror in Seraphine’s eyes became almost tangible as she jerked backward, her hand diving into her sleeve to squeeze me hard.

Why didn’t you mention this? Xue Bufan got an inheritance too? Senior Sister?

I clung to Seraphine’s finger, my bubble form going completely rigid.

I had no idea this would happen.

I hadn’t expected Chongshan Immortal Venerable to give Xue Bufan an inheritance after all. The original plot was proving harder to change than anticipated. I stared at Seraphine’s finger through my dark circles, nervous expressions bubbling up inside my transparent form.

Stare. Stare.

I was so nervous that I couldn’t help pulling out a ice pop from my inventory and chewing on it anxiously while staring at Seraphine’s hand.

Xue Bufan maintained his bowing posture as he addressed Seraphine: “I know Senior Sister possesses exceptional talent, beauty, wisdom, and ability. Master mentioned someone completed the trials faster than I did—it must have been you.”

Seraphine pressed her lips together tightly, her emotions wavering between acknowledgment and denial. If she denied it—Qiu Shuangshuang hadn’t even reached the third trial, and there were only three people total. Who else could have passed besides her? But if she admitted it—

Wait.

Seraphine raised an eyebrow and questioned Xue Bufan: “You’ve acknowledged Chongshan Immortal Venerable as your master. What does that make the Lianshan Sect?”

“When my spiritual roots were destroyed, the master who raised me at Lianshan Sect personally severed our master-disciple relationship,” Xue Bufan replied. “As I am now, aside from my current master, I have no other such bonds.”

At this, he smiled bitterly. “Actually, even my father and family…” He smiled again but didn’t continue speaking ill of the Xue family.

Qiu Shuangshuang covered her mouth, looking at Xue Bufan with sympathy. “You’re so pitiful.”

Xue Bufan just kept smiling.

Seraphine remained unmoved, her expression unchanging. Her gaze casually swept over the ring on Xue Bufan’s hand, her thoughts churning as she fell into contemplation.

“Senior Sister?” Xue Bufan looked at Seraphine hesitantly, then apologetically said: “Earlier at Luanyang Palace, I was disheartened and said many offensive things. That was entirely my fault. As for what happened after entering the secret realm—”

Xue Bufan suddenly froze, his eyes going blank for a moment. When he came back to himself, he was filled with shame. “I was consumed by greed. Please scold me as you see fit, Senior Sister. I won’t argue back. But since we’re now fellow disciples, we should watch out for each other. I hope you can forgive my previous rudeness.”

For a moment, Seraphine really wanted to pull Echo out of her sleeve and throw she at Xue Bufan’s face, telling him that the one he needed to “watch out for” was this orb!

But she restrained herself.

Small intolerance leads to great chaos of orbs.

Echo origins couldn’t be revealed to others, and she was just a ball—how could she be exposed in public? Especially now, when besides the three of them, there was something unknown lurking in Xue Bufan’s ring—human or ghost, who could tell?

Xue Bufan claimed it was Chongshan Immortal Venerable’s spiritual consciousness, but why wouldn’t it come out to meet his other disciple? And who was the new master of that mirage who wanted everyone dead? Was there any connection to the consciousness in this ring?

Given Chongshan Immortal Venerable’s character, he would never take the life of a cultivator who failed the first trial. But this mirage’s new master was different—ruthless and vicious. How could Seraphine risk exposing Echo existence?

Seraphine laughed coldly to herself.

“Fine.”

She waved her hand with apparent impatience. “The matter of Chongshan Immortal Venerable’s inheritance falling into our hands cannot be spoken of to outsiders. I’m the Lord of Luanyang Palace—anyone who wants to move against me needs to consider their own capabilities first. But as for your life…”

This was the protagonist.

Seraphine’s tone turned cold in an instant: “Whether you live or die, do whatever makes you happy.”

If he actually died, for Echo sake, she wouldn’t order fireworks at the sect gates in celebration.

Setting them off in the city would be nice though—celebrate with the people.

Though with Xue Bufan’s unkillable constitution, she wasn’t sure if the fireworks artisans in the city would ever get to collect payment from Luanyang Palace.

Xue Bufan, who had been earnestly listening to her guidance: “?”

Qiu Shuangshuang immediately raised her hand and swore: “You’re both my benefactors! I absolutely won’t tell anyone about the inheritance!”

Seraphine looked at Qiu Shuangshuang, whose face beamed with excitement and showed no disappointment at missing the opportunity. Seraphine lowered her lashes, continuously stroking Echo while saying coldly: “Then swear an oath.”

Qiu Shuangshuang scratched her head, disappointed that Seraphine didn’t trust her. But remembering how her carelessness had nearly gotten her killed, she quickly swore an oath in front of both Seraphine and Xue Bufan. When she lowered her hand, thinking that was sufficient, she was surprised to see Seraphine’s elegant eyebrow arch as her clear eyes fell on Xue Bufan.

Him too?

Seeing the warning in Seraphine’s eyes—swear or die—Xue Bufan quickly made an oath to the Heavenly Dao, guaranteeing he would never reveal Seraphine’s inheritance to anyone else.

Seraphine nodded with satisfaction. “Now that the oath is made, I actually wouldn’t mind if you did tell others.”

This was the first time Xue Bufan had heard such a gentle tone from Seraphine. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he said quietly: “Senior Sister is joking.”

“Heh.” Seraphine’s laugh was anything but warm.

Since there was still time before the secret realm closed, and with the trials ended, the barriers between regions had disappeared, allowing cultivators to explore freely. Seraphine still had her agreement to escort Qiu Shuangshuang, so the three parted ways.

“Get lost,” Seraphine told Xue Bufan coldly. Even with that, I hugged her wrist even tighter. Seraphine resisted the urge to beat me up and warned Xue Bufan with the authority of a senior sister: “And rein in that playboy nature of yours!”

Disgrace your master if you want, but don’t disgrace Echo.

Having accepted Chongshan Immortal Venerable’s inheritance and formed the master-disciple karmic bond, as my host, Seraphine had no desire to see Xue Bufan return someday with a string of women calling her “Senior Sister.”

The thought alone made Seraphine’s fists ache.

Nearby, Qiu Shuangshuang heard the words “playboy nature” and thought she’d misheard. She rubbed her ears, but seeing how decisive Palace Lord sounded, she couldn’t help but stare. Palace Lord wasn’t one to speak carelessly, so… Her gaze fell on the equally shocked Xue Bufan, growing increasingly strange.

Though young, she could tell that Palace Lord disliked Young Master Xue. She didn’t know their past entanglements, but Palace Lord wasn’t one to speak without reason, so perhaps…

Qiu Shuangshuang stared, then quietly sidled closer to Seraphine.

“Playboy?” Xue Bufan looked shocked, pointing at himself in bewilderment. “Senior Sister, I…”

Before he could finish his explanation, Seraphine flicked her sleeve and frowned impatiently. “Why aren’t you gone yet?”

Xue Bufan fell silent and left.

He made his way carefully, avoiding nearby searching cultivators and melting into the mountains like a fish returning to the sea.

Once safe, he excitedly addressed the consciousness in his ring: “Master, the phantom you left in the trials was exactly as you described—graceful and extraordinary!”

The spiritual consciousness in the ring remained silent for a long time, then began laughing—a sharp, piercing sound.

Xue Bufan had grown used to its unpredictable moods. “It’s unfortunate there were no fragments of your spiritual consciousness in the secret realm, nor in the immortal palace.”

“Why would I hide my spiritual consciousness in such obvious places?” the spiritual consciousness replied with displeasure.

“Of course.” Xue Bufan quickly soothed it, and once the spiritual consciousness calmed down, he said gently: “I just didn’t expect Master to choose two inheritors for your legacy!”

“My trials select only the most talented young cultivators who align with my sword path,” the consciousness said. “Few have ever reached the final trial, but unexpectedly…”

Throughout the centuries, countless people had climbed the celestial stairs, defeated the thunder beast phantoms, and read thousands of books, only to be turned away at the gates. This year, with only three people reaching the end, two had actually passed! And that girl called Seraphine had been faster than Xue Bufan—what kind of talent was that?

It was truly—enviable!

The spiritual consciousness thrashed about inside the ring, consumed by fury.

What made it even more furious was that the life-saving treasure it had obtained from the Treasure Pavilion after failing the trial years ago had somehow ended up helping Chongshan Immortal Venerable’s disciple! How absurd! How utterly ridiculous!

Heaven had betrayed it!

While Xue Bufan was discussing how to apologize to Seraphine for his past offenses, he noticed the spiritual consciousness had gone silent. He looked at the ring with concern and asked hesitantly: “Master?”

“Ha!” The spiritual consciousness sneered. “Seraphine is so high and mighty—how would she deign to look at whatever gifts you offer? I think the best apology would be to stay away from her! She clearly can’t stand the sight of you!”

A wisp of smoke emerged from the spiritual consciousness, staring at the hunched old man as its face contorted with rage. Just wait until it gathered all its fragments……

Though his master’s words were hurtful, Xue Bufan had to admit they were true. “Master, after leaving the secret realm, I’ll head to Nanyang Continent to find the spiritual consciousness fragment you left there. Once your two fragments merge, you won’t be as volatile as you are now, and then we can arrange for you to meet Senior Sister.”

His master had warned him that enemies were still alive and his existence must never be revealed. Since they shared the same master, he couldn’t let the master teach only him. However, Palace Lord had a proud temperament, and his master’s spiritual consciousness was unpredictable and sharp-tongued. If they met now, the sect might fall apart.

Hearing this, the spiritual consciousness shrieked in fury: “You dare call me volatile!”

Xue Bufan remained calm, talking to himself: “I need to quickly find the Foundation Establishment materials I promised Little Tao. Lady Qiu ended up in danger because of me and probably didn’t collect anything good. I should find some spiritual materials useful for Foundation Establishment to apologize to her. Though I have conflicts with Palace Lord, I still need to offer proper apologies… Master, help me out here. After all, you’re the one who told me to pry those spirit stones, which offended Senior Sister!”

The spiritual consciousness exploded with rage, cursing: “That girl was right—you are a playboy! Your head is full of women, never thinking of yourself! I was scheming for your benefit—was that wrong?”

Xue Bufan: “……”

The spiritual consciousness berated Xue Bufan for a long time until it was out of breath. Then, suddenly remembering the treasures it had hidden in its Nanyang Continent cave dwelling, its twisted form gradually solidified as a sinister smile spread across its face.

“Fine. Since I gave you such an important treasure to heal your spiritual roots, and now Seraphine has also become my disciple, how could I show favoritism? In my Nanyang Continent cave dwelling, besides the spiritual consciousness fragment, there’s also a magical artifact. You must find it and give it to Seraphine—this is your master’s goodwill.”

The spiritual consciousness materialized into a vague form, leaning close to Xue Bufan’s ear.

Faint black mist emerged from its already ethereal body, seeping into Xue Bufan’s ear.

“You must obediently listen to me and deliver that item to your senior sister’s hands.”

Xue Bufan suddenly froze, his gaze gradually becoming vacant. After a long moment, he said: “Yes, Master. I’ll listen to everything you say.”

Using rest as an excuse, Seraphine found a quiet, secluded spot to set up her spiritual dwelling and walked inside without looking back.

She lifted me from her arm and placed me on the table.

“Here.” Seraphine raised her arm, pointing at the red mark left by my matchstick limbs, glaring at me.

I stood at attention for punishment, my round eyes staring at Seraphine’s arm.

Her Golden Core cultivation showed no outward signs on her appearance. She was a woman—a very beautiful woman with an elegant, slender build and delicate bone structure. Having reached Golden Core, her beautiful years were frozen in time. Moreover, she was in the prime of her youth, her skin like congealed cream, so crystal clear that the red marks stood out dramatically, like plum blossoms on fresh snow.

The system noticed too.

“I’m sorry,” I said with genuine remorse. “This is my first time hugging a human’s arm.”

I had no experience, and I’d been panicking.

I raised my matchstick limbs to indicate they were the culprits.

Seraphine pulled out a chopstick from her storage ring and rapped my matchstick arms several times. The bubble system began wailing dramatically.

“Who taught you that?” Seraphine asked.

My matchstick pointed toward Qiu Shuangshuang, who was standing guard outside.

Seraphine’s chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath, then rapped my matchstick arms again.

Learning all the wrong things!

I hung my head in shame, pressing my face against the table.

After finishing the lecture, it was time for serious business.

“Why were you so anxious?” Seraphine asked.

Still wallowing in guilt, I lay flat on the table—though for a ball, there really was no distinction between front and back—with my matchstick legs kicking uselessly at the air.

“You can’t get too close to the protagonist,” I said. “You can’t develop inexplicable entanglements with him.”

Please always remember our main goal, our primary mission!

Seraphine took another deep breath, invisible flames erupting from her head as she raised the jade chopstick and struck my bottom firmly.

Ding—

My bottom produced a clear, bell-like sound as jade met jade. I clutched my rear and jumped up, my matchstick legs supporting me as a shocked exclamation mark appeared above my head.

“That’s exactly what I was aiming for,” Seraphine said coldly.

“Now explain how things turned out this way, hmm? Xue Bufan’s senior sister, Golden Finger System Echo Lady?” She was doing all this for who? For which ball!

My bubble bobbed up and down, up and down.

After a long moment, I pushed away the jade chopstick and pulled out my little sword from my inventory.

“I’ll go kill him,” I said calmly.

The main system had said this world was different from previous ones and required more exploration. If I could give myself golden fingers to help my host, surely I could kill a protagonist too, right?

Seraphine slammed her hand down on me, pressing me against the table, taking another deep breath as she said gravely: “He’s your junior disciple now.”

I remained calm.

Kill him, and there won’t be a junior disciple anymore.

Seraphine’s vision went dark, feeling that I’d become increasingly “presumptuous” since gaining physical form.

I organized my logic:

Seraphine had her own path and wouldn’t kill the protagonist.

The system had no such path and could kill the protagonist.

If the host killed the protagonist, the world would likely collapse.

If the system killed the protagonist, the world might not collapse.

If the protagonist died, the system would have no junior disciple, the host wouldn’t need to worry about entanglements with the protagonist, and the mission would be… complete?

Mission complete would mean I’d have to return to the system world…

I froze mid-sword-grip, looking up at Seraphine.

Seraphine was rubbing her temples, her wide sleeves pooling at her elbows. A golden bracelet clasped her wrist, its gemstones flickering with varying depths of light as she moved.

Below the golden bracelet, the marks I’d left hadn’t faded yet. The pink traces were particularly glaring.

Drawing sword and looking around, my heart confused.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to go anymore. I put the little sword back in my inventory and said: “Please be careful, host. Don’t let my sword accidentally cut you.”

It was quite sharp, after all.

Seraphine continued rubbing her temples, her lips curved in a slight smile beneath her half-concealing sleeves as she let out a soft laugh. She leaned against the table, supporting her cheek with one hand while staring at the round orb on the table. With a gentle sigh, she said slowly: “Not going anymore?”

Not going.

I pushed a teacup toward her, inviting Seraphine to have some tea.

Seraphine picked up the cup and said lazily: “After all this talk, I still had to cover for you and deal with him. Now how am I supposed to bring you around people? Won’t I have to keep hiding you to avoid complications?”

A physical system would indeed cause complications.

I reflected for three seconds, then opened my dialogue box with the main system. I scrolled up through a mess of question marks and bizarre emoji, found the main system’s price list, and counted the zeros. Then I opened my inventory and counted the zeros in my balance.

Chaotic black lines appeared in my bubble.

I should have known better than to exchange for seasoning.

“Life is unpredictable.” I said with an old soul’s weariness.

“Pft.” Seraphine nearly choked on her tea, looking at me in surprise. “Why the sudden philosophical moment?”

System troubles aren’t worth sharing with the host.

Even with a human body, I still couldn’t casually kill protagonists.

But there was one thing I needed to clarify with Seraphine.

I floated up to hover in front of her. “What I’m about to do, and what I want you to do—please pay attention. This is a very serious matter.”

Seraphine lazily lifted her lashes, wondering what scheme I was cooking up now.

I raised my matchstick arms.

Seraphine raised her hand.

“I, the 3,520th host of Golden Finger System Echo!” I declared with dramatic emphasis.

Seraphine didn’t even bother lifting her eyes, lazily repeating after me while commenting: “Wow, you’ve had quite a lot of hosts.”

My free matchstick patted Seraphine’s hand, reminding her to be serious.

“Swear to the great Data God that I will never develop any emotional entanglements with the protagonist beyond what is absolutely necessary! We are just ordinary human-to-human relationships!” I continued my dramatic recitation with passionate fervor. “I, Seraphine, will definitely complete my mission with the help of Golden Finger System Echo, change my predetermined fate, and walk toward a new life!”

Seraphine was practically dying of laughter inside but endured it, finishing the oath with me. She watched as I lowered my arms, a relieved emoji appearing in my bubble.

“Satisfied?” Seraphine reached out to poke me, laughing softly. “I’ve heard of land gods and kitchen gods, but who is this Data God?”

My matchstick arms hugged Seraphine’s finger, asking her not to poke the system casually. I explained: “The Data God is a non-existent deity, randomly invented by the main system.”

Seraphine paused, thinking, That’s allowed?

“Since it doesn’t exist, why make me swear to an imaginary deity? Shouldn’t I swear to the Heavenly Dao instead?”

I let go of her finger and patted it, maintaining my calm tone.

“No.”

“When cultivators in your world swear to the Heavenly Dao, they suffer backlash if they break their oaths. But the Data God won’t do that.” I explained. “This way, even if you eventually follow the original plot’s fate, it would just be my mission failure. You won’t get hurt.”

Seraphine fell silent, then suddenly reached out in the room’s lingering fragrance and pressed her hand over me on the table.

Covered system: ?

This feels familiar, like it just happened.

The system, blinded by darkness, couldn’t see Seraphine’s bewildered and helpless expression as she sat at the table’s edge.

“You……” Seraphine closed her eyes.

She must have been really addled by Echo earlier words, otherwise why would she feel her thoughts stirred by a mere ball at a time like this?

This was impossible.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and lifted her hand to release Echo. Ball was still ball, she was still herself.

Good. Good.

Seraphine sighed in relief, her haughty smile returning as she flicked me with her finger, sending me rolling twice before saying: “Don’t worry. Rather than develop feelings for Xue Bufan, I’d sooner fall for a ball.”