Chapter 108

Deep into the night, whispers lingered.

Yue Wuhuan meticulously helped Song Qingshi piece together his lost memories, starting from their awkward encounter at Golden Phoenix Manor. He recounted their shared past, revealing everything he had once disliked and tried to hide: the people he had killed, An Long's affection, Bai Zihao's unwavering principles, and even that self-proclaimed "task-giver" trash. His memory was impeccable, omitting no detail.

He laid everything bare, attempting to confront those painful memories without prejudice.

Song Qingshi instinctively pulled out pen and paper, organizing the information logically. The fog obscuring his mind gradually lifted as the flood of details clarified his understanding. He cross-referenced these revelations with his own fragmented recollections, marking several key points for Yue Wuhuan to elaborate on.

"The year you disappeared, An Long came to my rescue," Yue Wuhuan said, his voice calm, devoid of the resentment he once felt for this debt. "I was reborn in the flames of the Indestructible Peak, becoming the phoenix's avatar. I then launched a war, cleansing those vile sects and their scum. I killed many, plunging the world into chaos. An Long, with nowhere else to go, stayed at Medicine King Valley... He loathed me, often hurling the most vicious insults. Yet, he never joined any forces opposing the Indestructible Peak or stood against me."

Song Qingshi analyzed An Long's character and actions: "That doesn't sound like him."

An Long was known for tearing apart anything he disliked.

Yue Wuhuan recalled, "He said that before you vanished, you told him something strange—'If you kill Wuhuan, you’ll regret it.' He believed it, never acting against me, no matter how furious he was. I was puzzled by those words too. Qingshi, do you remember why you said that?"

Song Qingshi chewed on his pen, shaking his head. It was too difficult; his memories were shattered fragments, like a jigsaw puzzle with many crucial pieces missing. "I can't recall. I just had this intuition that he shouldn't be your enemy..."

"Then trust your intuition," Yue Wuhuan stated decisively. "You've undertaken many missions. Though your memory was wiped each time, repeated experiences and deeply impactful events are etched into your very being. You wouldn't forget them completely."

Just as they had felt an undeniable connection upon their first meeting.

That was memory ingrained in his bones.

"I don't dislike An Long. In fact... I admire him, even wish to help and trust him," Song Qingshi confessed, no longer holding back now that Yue Wuhuan had resolved his inner turmoil and was willing to trust his feelings. "Since we've confirmed multiple cycles, perhaps we can make a bold assumption—was An Long once a very important friend of yours?"

Yue Wuhuan scoffed. "Friend? A friend who tried to steal you from me..."

He paused, a sudden realization dawning on him.

Song Qingshi hesitantly asked, "If I weren't in the picture, would there be no mutual appreciation between you two?"

An Long, sealed in the Endless Abyss, would occasionally call Yue Wuhuan's name when lucid. At first, they exchanged curses and taunts, but over time, it became a strange routine. Yue Wuhuan would sometimes bring him wine, and An Long would recount his meeting with Song Qingshi... In the utter despair of that foul, muddy abyss, anyone willing to pull him out would have earned his love.

Yet, it was this destined-to-be-unrequited love that created a flaw in his heart, dragging him into an inescapable abyss of despair.

Didn't that feeling mirror how fate had toyed with Yue Wuhuan himself?

Yue Wuhuan pondered deeply. He found An Long foolish and annoying, yet he recognized his strength and unyielding spirit. Now, looking at the twisted, monstrous form in the Endless Abyss, he felt a profound unease. If An Long were to die, it should be by his own hand or in honorable combat, not manipulated by something vile, dying wretchedly in the darkness. That was why he had spent years searching for a way to free An Long...

An Long had once said he couldn't stand Yue Wuhuan's pathetic mental breakdowns or his cowardly hiding—he wasn't even worth killing. The Yue Wuhuan he wanted to see was a proud, beautiful bird, worthy of being defeated, its beautiful feathers plucked and nailed to the wall as a trophy.

That sounded like a taunt, so he had severely chastised the fool trapped in the abyss.

Now, looking back...

Did they both feel a sense of frustration with each other's shortcomings?

Yue Wuhuan thought of that fool again, feeling a mix of annoyance and grudging respect. He reluctantly replied, "If we were ever friends, I must have chosen my friends very poorly in a past life..."

Song Qingshi seemed to understand, resuming his notes: "If the system could orchestrate various coincidences to push your fate into despair, step by step driving you to madness, it could also put An Long's fate into a desperate abyss, then create coincidences for me to save him..."

Everything now made sense.

He must have witnessed An Long and Yue Wuhuan's friendship somewhere before, which was why he trusted An Long, wanted to befriend him, and gave him a higher level of care and concern than other patients. However, An Long, in his despair, saw him as a lifeline and developed feelings. When Yue Wuhuan appeared, the two became mortal enemies, making any alliance impossible.

The system had achieved several objectives:

1. Yue Wuhuan's possessiveness and obsession were stimulated and intensified, preventing him from having any friends other than Song Qingshi.

2. An Long became trapped in his own emotional web, a pawn manipulated by fate.

3. An Long could be used to eliminate anything the system wished to remove.

"The system likely chose An Long for other reasons. Over the years, I've tried countless ways to kill An Long," Yue Wuhuan added, taking Song Qingshi's notebook. "An Long seems to possess the toughest bones in the world—his physical body is incredibly powerful, the only one capable of enduring such terrifying modifications."

He took a pen and highlighted An Long's name and information.

An Long's transformation began after the emergence of the Filth Demon.

Perhaps this was the key to uncovering the truth.

...

After finally recounting the events of those years, Yue Wuhuan looked at Song Qingshi, who was furiously taking notes, and couldn't help but ask the most crucial question: "Who is your mission target this time?"

Song Qingshi remembered this serious matter. He glanced nervously at Yue Wuhuan, hesitating to speak.

Yue Wuhuan promised, "This time, I will absolutely control my possessiveness and properly care for the damn mission target."

Song Qingshi unconsciously straightened his posture: "This time, it's a bit special..."

Having been Dao companions with him for so many years, Yue Wuhuan knew from his posture that he was feeling guilty: "Did you make a mistake already? Don't worry, we can figure out a way to fix it."

"No, let me explain something first," Song Qingshi took a deep breath, decisively admitting his fault. "I think... I might have blown up the system..."

Yue Wuhuan looked at the large pile of newly organized documents, feeling a pang of frustration.

Song Qingshi explained, "I don't remember how it blew up, but... I feel like it was my fault? Maybe it was too many failures, and I just infuriated the system? But when the system exploded, I quickly grabbed a mission before it vanished, which is how I came back to find you. This mission is hard to explain verbally; let me draw it for you."

[Eliminate the most evil villain of the cultivation world: the Indestructible Peak's ███, ███████.]

Yue Wuhuan felt even more frustrated: "What's '███'?"

Song Qingshi replied frankly: "I don't know. It just showed up as censored. The last mission also had a lot of censored parts, but it said 'unrivaled beauty with a perfect body,' and since I thought you were the most beautiful on Langgan Terrace, I just loved it and took you home."

Moved but also annoyed, Yue Wuhuan wanted to drag the system out and blow it up again.

Song Qingshi asked expectantly, "Are there any other evil villains in your Indestructible Peak?"

Yue Wuhuan considered carefully, then affirmed, "In the eyes of the world, none of them are as evil as I am."

Song Qingshi was a bit conflicted: "If the mission target really is you, then I can't complete it."

They had been through so much together for so many years; their bond was deep. There was no way they would engage in some painful, conflicted drama about whether to kill each other or sacrifice themselves for the other.

Song Qingshi seriously pondered for a long time how to handle this, then looked up to find Yue Wuhuan smiling, a joyful, utterly un-serious smile.

Yue Wuhuan sighed, "After all your missions, I finally get to be the right answer."

Song Qingshi reminded him, "The examiner blew up. Being the right answer is useless now."

"The system is just a tool. The Filth Demon and An Long's demonization haven't disappeared; they're getting worse, proving that the force manipulating fate is still there, and so is the mission," Yue Wuhuan had studied the soul memories of the task-giver Zuo Ye countless times and understood the mission procedures quite well. He reminded Song Qingshi, who was still overthinking, "It must have been truly desperate to issue such a foolish mission, right? Your mission target being me means the pace and method of completing the mission are entirely in our hands."

Song Qingshi instantly understood his meaning.

"Eliminate" could have multiple meanings. Yue Wuhuan had never revealed his true identity; if he abandoned his Divine Lord status, he would no longer be the villain of the Indestructible Peak, thus "eliminated." Or he could support a more evil Divine Lord to become the new villain, which also counts as elimination. Or Song Qingshi, lacking the strength, could diligently work on the mission, maintaining a slow pace, dragging it out for thousands or tens of thousands of years—that would also be a solution.

"In the Mo Yuan Formation, and in Zuo Ye's soul, I've seen those so-called 'original works'—they're like childish stories," Yue Wuhuan continued to smile. "What exactly defines a villain? Is it identity, behavior, or public perception? If you take me home to be your Dao companion, make me utterly devoted to you, and have me cook for you, can I still be considered a villain? Or if I do good deeds everywhere, distribute wealth, establish schools, help the elderly and weak, and promote myself well to clean up my reputation, wouldn't I become a great benevolent person who has turned over a new leaf? Or perhaps you try to challenge the villain but lack the strength, get captured and locked in a dark room, forced to warm the bed, refine pills, and study every day, taking years to escape—that's also an option."

Song Qingshi found this very logical. He thought for a moment, then asked, "How was Bai Zihao's mission failure counted? He didn't die."

Yue Wuhuan laughed, "At that time, he formed a Dao companion bond with Jin Feiren and was bound to that scoundrel for life; his body and heart were completely controlled, making him a true slave. That scoundrel coaxed him into doing many disgusting things—it's all in the past now, and I won't soil your ears with the details. In short, when you tried to kill An Long, the system, in its urgency, judged that Bai Zihao would never find happiness again, declared your mission a failure, and forcibly dragged you away. That makes sense."

In the Mo Yuan Formation, Song Qingshi had tried to turn Qu Yurong into a sleeping beauty or imprison him, which the system also judged as a failure...

Song Qingshi understood now.

Due to the explosion, the system's tasks had malfunctioned.

It hadn't had time to make better arrangements and simply issued this blunt, no-frills task.

From the Mo Yuan Formation and Bai Zihao's mission, it was clear that system tasks had no time limit; they were only judged by completion. Since Song Qingshi had accepted the task and taken the "exam," the system had to grade the test according to its rules.

Now, with the task-taker and the mission target cooperating, they could completely control this mission...

When the system, acting as a teacher, set the questions, it never expected someone to cheat on the task, did it?