“We have a problem,” Seraphine said curtly, carrying me toward the great hall. Halfway there, she glanced down and froze, holding me up to examine me more closely.

“What… exactly are you supposed to be?”

I held up one matchstick arm and pressed it against my circular body. “Eye.”

I lifted another matchstick. “Arm.”

Then raised the third one. “Leg.”

Pretty comprehensive, right? I was basically a miniature human! Well, if humans were silver orbs with stick limbs.

Seraphine stared at me. “…”

Her lips twitched, and she suddenly reached up to pluck a peach blossom from the ornamental hairpin in her hair, placing it delicately on top of my head.

The pink petals drifted right through my incorporeal form and landed in her palm.

I angled my circular eyes downward, watching the flower fall between my matchstick limbs.

Seraphine went silent again. She lowered her hand, letting the blossom flutter to the jade floor tiles.

“Right. I forgot you don’t have a physical body,” she muttered.

So this whole time she’d been ‘carrying’ me, I’d actually been flying alongside her. I was just being polite and playing along.

After all, I’m the host’s best companion and the System Bureau’s most outstanding employee!

I puffed out my non-existent chest and floated to shoulder height, following her forward. Just before entering the great hall, Seraphine hesitated.

“You’re going in like this? Won’t others notice you?”

“Only the host can see me,” I assured her.

Rather than reassuring her, my answer seemed to make her find me even more suspicious. But she had more pressing concerns than analyzing my peculiarities.

Seraphine settled into the Palace Lord’s throne. The setup was identical to before—the same wooden puppet-like servants standing silently on both sides—but this time, only two guests remained from the previous Lianshan Sect delegation, both looking thoroughly disheveled.

One was the middle-aged man who’d led the group. The other was the woman who’d been following that Xue Bufan character.

The woman’s robes were stained with blood. She knelt on the floor, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded with Seraphine. “Please, Palace Lord! You must save Young Master Bufan!”

Seraphine glanced at the woman, then shifted her attention to the middle-aged man beside her, who was sighing repeatedly. “Speak. What happened?”

Apparently, after leaving Luanyang Palace, the Lianshan Sect group had planned to return directly to their sect. But while passing Red Jiao Mountain, they encountered fleeing cultivators who claimed a secret treasure had appeared in the mountain. Several hot-headed young disciples immediately wanted to enter the mountain to search for it.

Seraphine arched an eyebrow and laughed mockingly. “Red Jiao Mountain is only a day’s journey from Luanyang City. If there were truly treasure there, why has no one in the city ever heard of it?”

The middle-aged man sighed heavily, his brow furrowed so deeply his eyebrows nearly touched. He cupped his hands respectfully. “Exactly as the Palace Lord says. The treasure was fake, but the bandits were real. Those cultivators claiming treasure had appeared were part of the bandits’ scheme to lure us into the forest and rob us!”

“I protected Young Master Bufan all the way to a cliff, but during the fighting, he was unfortunately knocked over the edge by the thieves!” the kneeling woman said frantically. “There seems to be some kind of formation array below the cliff. My cultivation isn’t sufficient to investigate it properly. I beg the Palace Lord to intervene and save our young master! Even if it’s just his… his body…”

She broke down completely, unable to finish the sentence.

“Sigh!” The middle-aged man let out another dramatic breath, looking like the heavens themselves were conspiring against him, waiting for Seraphine to respond.

But after waiting for quite some time, not only did the person on the throne not speak, she actually tilted her head and stared at her—shoulder?

Seraphine was looking directly at me, her expression somewhat dark.

My two black circular eyes became as innocent as possible, transforming into question marks to express my confusion.

What’s wrong?

Falling off a cliff, mysterious formations below—please don’t tell me there’s actually some ring-bearing old master hiding down there!

Seraphine’s fingers clenched into fists inside her sleeves. She took a deep breath, slowly straightened up, and looked at the middle-aged man.

Even if she was going to help, she couldn’t do it too easily. That would make Luanyang Palace look like a pushover!

“Although Lianshan Sect isn’t as glorious as it once was, it still has some reputation,” Seraphine said. “For the other party to be so brazen as to force Xue Bufan off a cliff shows complete disregard for your sect.”

The middle-aged man’s face grew even more bitter.

What reputation could Lianshan Sect possibly have now? Nearly a thousand people in the sect, but only two Golden Core stage elders, and not a single promising talent among the younger generation! Their great hope, Xue Bufan, had his spiritual roots shattered and became an ordinary mortal. There was nothing left but pity.

He remained silent, but the kneeling woman looked up with tear-filled eyes. “Palace Lord, those bandits were well-trained and stronger than us. They injured three of our people immediately upon attacking—they didn’t seem like ordinary robbers. Moreover, their target was clear. After injuring us, they went straight for our storage pouches. It looked like they were… specifically after the compensation from Luanyang Palace.”

“How dare you!” Siyi, who had been serving at the base of the steps, abandoned her gentle demeanor and glared angrily. “Are you suggesting these people were sent by Luanyang Palace?”

Cold sweat immediately broke out on the middle-aged man’s forehead. He’d harbored such suspicions on the way here but hadn’t dared voice them. He never expected this loose-lipped girl to say it outright.

“Little Tao! What nonsense are you spouting? Apologize to the Palace Lord immediately!”

The woman called Little Tao’s lips trembled. Intimidated by Seraphine’s sharp gaze, she said shakily, “I didn’t say the Palace Lord sent them. It’s just that only those of us present knew about the compensation from Luanyang Palace. The timing of the bandit attack after we left Luanyang Palace was… too coincidental.”

Siyi’s expression changed as she quickly glanced at the servants on both sides. The two rows of flower-like attendants looked shocked and bowed their heads even lower.

“Could it be that Lianshan Sect has an internal traitor? Someone monitoring and stealing from within?” Siyi demanded.

Little Tao’s face darkened with grief. “Impossible. Besides Elder Li and myself, everyone else… even the young master fell off the cliff. If Elder Li or I were in league with the bandits, we would have fled long ago instead of coming to Luanyang Palace for help!”

Her logic was sound.

I updated the character files for the Lianshan Sect members, filling in Little Tao and Elder Li’s names and noting their characteristics. While entering Elder Li’s information, the real Elder Li was still sighing, and I heard Seraphine mutter very quietly, “And he’s actually an elder.”

I faithfully recorded the host’s assessment of Elder Li and promptly changed his name in the files to “Elder Sigh.”

This minor task completed in the blink of an eye, I asked Seraphine, “Does the host intend to intervene?”

Seraphine’s gaze fell on me.

I explained, “Among hosts choosing rapid immortal ascension, 90% engage in seizing the protagonist’s opportunities. However, considering the time it took them to seek help, the protagonist may have already encountered his opportunity. If the host wishes to act, please do so quickly.”

Get moving!

“…”

Seize Xue Bufan’s opportunity?

Seraphine’s long lashes caught the sunlight, creating a pale golden outline, while the flames in her pupils burned more brilliantly, making her seem almost inhuman. Under the expectant gazes of Elder Li and Little Tao, Seraphine curled her lips disdainfully.

“Luanyang Palace and Lianshan Sect currently have no relationship. Since I became Palace Lord, our sects have had no dealings. If you want me to intervene, shouldn’t you show some sincerity?”

Her words clearly put immense pressure on both visitors, causing sweat to bead on their foreheads. Elder Li especially struggled internally. Xue Bufan was worthless now with his destroyed cultivation, but the compensation from Luanyang Palace represented their greatest gain from this trip.

But that compensation had been stolen…

Elder Li’s mind raced as he began making excuses. “It’s not that Lianshan Sect doesn’t want relations with Luanyang Palace. As you know our current situation—we simply don’t have anything presentable… When the Palace Lord ascended, Lianshan Sect didn’t offer congratulatory gifts precisely because we feared being laughed at. Moreover, at that time the Palace Lord and Young Master Bufan were still engaged. If Lianshan Sect embarrassed itself, wouldn’t that reflect poorly on the Palace Lord as well?”

His self-serving explanation painted Lianshan Sect as completely innocent, as if anyone wanting relations with them and expecting gifts was deliberately making things difficult. The high-sounding reasoning made Seraphine think: Who says Lianshan Sect has nothing of value? This shamelessness alone is worth observing.

Elder Li wasn’t finished. He cupped his hands again. “If the Palace Lord is willing to help retrieve the compensation, Lianshan Sect will return half of the original items.”

“And Young Master Bufan! Please save Young Master Bufan!” Little Tao immediately added.

Elder Li felt annoyed but reluctantly said, “If the Palace Lord rescues the young master, we’ll return the other half of the compensation as well.”

Of course, he didn’t think Seraphine would actually agree. Xue Bufan’s questioning in the palace hall still echoed in his ears. With Xue Bufan now having an ordinary mortal’s body and falling off a cliff, forget survival—his bones were probably powder by now. What was there to save?

“The compensation isn’t necessary,” Seraphine said.

Elder Li’s eyes flashed with satisfaction.

“But I want something else.” Seraphine’s words gave the tearful Little Tao hope. She looked up sharply to find Luanyang Palace’s beautiful Palace Lord looking directly at her.

“What’s your name?” Seraphine asked.

Little Tao stammered, “Xue Mengtao. Xue from young master’s family name. Mengtao because the day I began serving the young master, he dreamed of a peach grove and gave me this name. I’m not a Lianshan Sect disciple—just a servant attending the young master.”

Xue Mengtao.

I quickly updated her information and whispered in Seraphine’s ear, “Generally, characters like this become part of the harem and possess the trait of unwavering loyalty.”

The mention of “harem” made Seraphine’s eye twitch. She wanted to grab me and fling me into outer space, but since this was Xue Bufan’s person…

“I’m willing to help rescue Xue Bufan. If he’s dead, I’ll bring back his remains. In exchange, I want you to enter my Luanyang Palace and serve at my side from now on, with absolute loyalty. Can you do this?” Seraphine asked Xue Mengtao.

Her words surprised everyone. Siyi looked up at Seraphine in confusion, not understanding her intention.

Elder Li, however, was delighted. A reasonably attractive servant girl versus half a treasure trove of spiritual materials—any fool would know which to choose!

He immediately called Xue Mengtao’s name sternly. “Since the Palace Lord has made this offer, why haven’t you accepted? When you reach Luanyang Palace, serve as diligently as you did the young master!”

Xue Mengtao had never imagined leaving Xue Bufan and the Chu family. Her mind went blank. Elder Li bent down and whispered in her ear, “Luanyang Palace’s resources are incomparable to Lianshan Sect’s. Little Tao, this is your great fortune!”

“Great fortune…” Xue Mengtao smiled bitterly to herself, then kowtowed to Seraphine. “If the Palace Lord is willing to help, Little Tao pledges to serve the Palace Lord for life with absolute loyalty!”

Seraphine nodded lazily and gestured to Siyi. “Time is of the essence. Let’s go.”

Siyi bowed respectfully and retrieved a flying artifact from her storage ring. The artifact transformed into a stream of light, flying out of the hall and materializing as a three-tiered flying ship. The palace servants all filed out to board it.

Seraphine prepared to leave as well when suddenly a silver orb floated near her nose.

“Host, after analyzing your behavior, I understand now,” I announced.

“?” Seraphine looked puzzled.

“Some hosts seize the protagonist’s opportunities, some hosts seize the protagonist’s spotlight, but you’ve chosen to seize the protagonist’s women!” A little lightbulb appeared above my head, blinking enthusiastically. “By taking all the women from the protagonist’s harem, the host not only disrupts the protagonist’s storyline but can also select a dao companion from the harem group—killing two birds with one stone!”

I greatly approved of Seraphine’s innovative approach and expressed my encouragement. “The host chose ‘all of the above’ between rapid immortal ascension and early marriage. To support the host, I’ll carefully identify women who might become part of the protagonist’s harem. So I need to know the host’s capacity in advance.”

“Does the host have any opinions about maintaining a harem? Can you accept a ‘come one, come all’ policy?”

“If you want them all, shouldn’t we plan accommodation in the palace first? I think this mountain peak would work well—it’s close to the host’s palace, convenient for future physical… exchanges and childbearing preparations…” I chattered on, even pulling up a map interface to show Seraphine potential housing locations.

“…”

“Echo.”

Her voice was silky smooth. “Shut up.”