03 fell silent.
Lin Zhiji urged it again, and only then did it respond stiffly:
【There is… no relevant record in the book…】
Lin Zhiji frowned. 【How can something this important not be recorded?!】
03: …
Lin Zhiji continued pressing: 【Then in his youth, did he ever like anyone? A man or a woman is fine.】
All the content he had seen came from the main text, which was narrated from the perspective of the male protagonist, Liu Muzhi.
When Liu Muzhi met Xie Yi, Xie Yi was already a powerful figure in the court. His past was only briefly mentioned as background.
To know the details, he had to ask 03.
03 asked puzzledly: 【Why do you want to know this?】
Lin Zhiji didn’t dare say he was worried about his own backside, so he said righteously:
【Of course it’s for completing the mission! Know yourself and know your enemy…】
He suddenly paused.
The last time Xie Yi brought him into being a bandit, he had said the same line.
If he hadn’t come to the stronghold, none of this would have happened; if none of this had happened, he wouldn’t have started making cement; without cement he wouldn’t have lacked points; without lacking points he wouldn’t have gone to Xie Yi for missions; without missions he wouldn’t have been kissed; without being kissed he wouldn’t now suspect Xie Yi was gay and worry about his backside and come all the way to find 03…
Lin Zhiji took a deep breath.
This really was fate.
03, however, didn’t suspect anything and answered honestly:
【No.】
Lin Zhiji blinked. 【Really? But he seems very experienced…】
He immediately covered his mouth.
03 asked: 【Experienced at what?】
Lin Zhiji’s face reddened slightly. 【Nothing.】
Then he added: 【I already know how to contact you now. Unless it’s urgent, don’t use the signal anymore so we won’t be discovered.】
03 agreed readily: 【Any other questions?】
Lin Zhiji’s brow twitched. 【One more.】
【Are we really a proper “system for saving villains”?】
From the very first main mission, Lin Zhiji had already felt uneasy.
Entering Xie Yi’s ancestral hall hadn’t really benefited Xie Yi much, and it mostly felt like a disgusting requirement that ignored his feelings.
By the second main mission, that feeling only grew stronger.
03 replied firmly:
【Of course. Our Villain Rescue System is an officially registered system under the Transmigration Bureau. Our stance fully aligns with the principle of “maximizing villain benefit,” based on maintaining world stability, using dynamic quantitative evaluation systems…】
【Stop, stop!】
Lin Zhiji’s head was spinning.
He complained inwardly that 03 sounded perfectly normal most of the time—except when it talked about this stuff, it became disturbingly artificial.
No wonder they needed human employees.
With this kind of “machine-like” thinking, saving villains was practically impossible.
He could only say:
【Can you adjust the mission a bit? It’s really not considerate of people’s emotions. Who saves villains like this?】
03 replied:
【No. All missions are derived from villain-character modeling logic calculations…】
【Alright, I get it.】
Lin Zhiji couldn’t communicate further and switched tactics:
【Can you report this to your superiors? Systems shouldn’t rely only on calculations. They should be more human-centered. If necessary, you should even read some villain-rehabilitation novels… better than this blind messing around…】
03 replied:
【…I will compile and submit your suggestion.】
Lin Zhiji sighed.
That sounded exactly like customer service—polite, but useless.
He didn’t waste more time and quickly returned to the stronghold.
He went straight to the kitchen first.
As soon as Aunt Liang saw him, she hurriedly said, “Xiao Lin, you’re finally back! The hot water’s already ready for you!”
“Thank you, Aunt Liang!”
“Oh, what’s there to thank? Compared to what you’ve done for the stronghold, this is nothing.”
Lin Zhiji carried the hot water back to his room. Seeing that Xie Yi hadn’t returned yet, he sighed in relief.
To cover for himself, he had to prepare excuses.
If Xie Yi found out he was gone, he would say he went to boil water, with Aunt Liang as witness.
Even if unnecessary, it wasn’t wasted.
After all, he had fallen several times on the way and really needed a bath.
So when Xie Yi returned, he saw Lin Zhiji lying on a reclining chair asleep.
His damp black hair was spread across a bamboo pillow, basking in the sun.
His clothes were loose, revealing a sliver of pale skin—like flawless jade, but warmer and softer than jade.
A small blanket covered his abdomen, one hand resting on it, revealing faint bruises on his wrist.
Those were from Xie Yi the previous night.
Xie Yi’s gaze darkened.
Perhaps sensing movement, Lin Zhiji opened his eyes.
“You’re back.”
“Mm.” Xie Yi paused before walking over.
His tall frame blocked much of the sunlight.
“The sun is strong. Come inside first.”
Lin Zhiji felt a bit warm and nodded groggily, obediently returning to the room.
For some reason, there was a slight itch and pain on the side of his neck, but he didn’t pay much attention.
What was different was that Xie Yi was unusually easy-going today.
Lin Zhiji couldn’t help but ask softly, “Um… did you send the gift to the capital?”
Xie Yi smiled faintly, “I did. I even had it delivered at full speed.”
The fruits wouldn’t last long anyway.
Lin Zhiji relaxed.
—
A few days later, at the General’s residence.
General Xie Pingyue stared at the head in the box, furious:
“That unfilial son!!”
The general at the residence stared at the furious Xie Pingyue and still forced himself to speak:
“General, at this point, it is better not to act rashly. If things are made too big, I’m afraid the Third Young Master will discover our connection with Qingzhou. Then I’m afraid…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Xie Pingyue already understood.
Xie Yi was the type who went barefoot without fear of those wearing shoes—acting without restraint. But Xie Pingyue, with his vast household and power, would suffer immeasurable losses even from a single setback.
Just like before: because the matter reached the imperial court, the Emperor’s single decree caused him to lose a large piece of his power. Not only the expeditionary corps, but even part of the Shuo Region army had to be handed over to Xie Yi.
If the Qingzhou matter were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
A madman like Xie Yi—no one knew what he might do. It was better not to provoke him if possible.
Thinking of this, Xie Pingyue could only swallow his rage and said coldly:
“Forget it. I will swallow this bitter loss.”
After a pause, he added, “Send word to those two families. Tell them to be more careful and not expose any traces. That boy is not easy to deal with.”
The confidant finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Yes, I will handle it immediately.”
At the same time, Lin Zhiji watched the main mission two flickering continuously—the completion rate jumping up and down like it was malfunctioning.
Lin Zhiji: ???
Is this thing broken?!
He was so worried he almost slipped out to find 03, when the interface finally stabilized.
[Main Mission Two completed, progress 7.456%—zzzt, correction, progress 10%—]
Lin Zhiji: ?
For some reason, he even felt a trace of grievance coming from the system voice. So… what exactly was this progress? Did it count as completed or not?
And seriously, what kind of fruit caused this result?!
Just as he was lost in thought, cheers suddenly erupted outside.
Lin Zhiji immediately forgot about the mission and ran out.
He saw the entire stronghold gathered together, everyone’s faces filled with joy. Seeing him, they quickly made way.
Walking in, he saw freshly unmolded cement bricks—large and small, all present.
Chen Ben picked one up and knocked on it hard, disbelief in his voice:
“It actually hardened!”
After all, brick firing was a tightly controlled craft; a kiln master could support an entire family with it.
Although cement had far more uses in Lin Zhiji’s view, for the people of the stronghold, the shock of cement bricks was even greater.
“Little Lin, we succeeded!” someone shouted with tears in their voice.
They had learned to make cement!
From now on, life in the stronghold would improve!
All the hardship and worry of these days turned into excitement.
Everyone swarmed forward and lifted Lin Zhiji up.
“Hey—hey—!”
Chen Ben held a cement brick like a treasure and laughed:
“Everyone’s worked hard these days! Especially my Brother Lin! To celebrate these cement bricks, we’re having a feast tonight! Good wine, good food—no one leaves sober!”
With that, the stronghold immediately sprang into action.
Men, women, old, and young all joined in.
They slaughtered chickens and sheep, even bringing out white flour they usually couldn’t bear to use.
The stronghold was filled with warmth, laughter, and vitality.
Chen Ben even brought out his treasured wine.
With tears in his eyes, he insisted on toasting Lin Zhiji.
“Brother Lin, I’m not good with fancy words, but from now on, my life is yours! Whatever you ask, I’ll do it without a single complaint!”
Lin Zhiji felt helpless.
What was wrong with all these people? Even Songlü had said something like “my hand is yours.”
But after hearing Chen Ben’s words, his heart still softened.
He knew Chen Ben had taken on immense pressure for the sake of the entire stronghold, even though no one knew whether the cement would succeed.
Emotion rising, he raised his cup and clinked it firmly with Chen Ben’s, drinking it in one go.
But the moment it entered his mouth, he coughed violently.
The crowd burst into laughter. Someone called out:
“Little Lin can’t drink—why not let the Second Master drink for him!”
Lin Zhiji turned to look at Xie Yi beside him.
Perhaps because his tearful eyes gave everything a soft glow, he seemed to see Xie Yi smiling faintly, his eyes reflecting warm candlelight—nothing like the ruthless villain he usually was.
Xie Yi took the cup from his hand and drank the rest.
Lin Zhiji widened his eyes.
Wait!
That was his cup!
But the crowd didn’t care; they cheered loudly when Xie Yi finished the drink. Aunt Liang even joked that Xie Yi was “protecting his wife.”
Xie Yi didn’t deny it. He even smiled faintly, as if accepting it.
Lin Zhiji panicked and quickly grabbed a clean cup:
“I-I’ll do it myself!”
He carefully took a sip. It felt a little spicy, but went down smoothly.
Drinking wasn’t that hard!
So whenever someone came to toast, he only took a small sip.
He assumed the alcohol in this era was weak, and small sips wouldn’t affect him.
He overestimated himself.
By the time the banquet ended, he was completely unconscious, half-lying in Xie Yi’s arms.
Xie Yi’s gaze darkened as he carried him back to the room.
Lin Zhiji’s face was flushed red, murmuring nonsense.
Xie Yi fetched a basin of water and patiently wiped the sweat from his face.
From his brows to his nose, then his lips.
Then down to his slender neck and collarbone…
Lin Zhiji frowned, shrinking away in discomfort, trying to avoid the cloth.
Xie Yi didn’t stop. He untied his clothes, stripped him of the thin garments, and carefully cleaned him before changing him into sleepwear.
Only then did he sit back by the bed, fingertips tracing his face slowly.
Lin Zhiji, still dazed, tried to avoid the touch and mumbled tearfully:
“I want to sleep…”
Xie Yi pinched his earlobe lazily.
“Answer one question,” he said, “and I’ll let you sleep.”
But before he could finish—
Lin Zhiji suddenly wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him.