Conflicted Emotions

15:

At this moment Ling Tian had just broken through the Foundation establishment and was consolidating his cultivation realm.

Looking at the familiar silver-haired boy in front of the screen the girl couldn't help but feel her heartbeat sped up as her lips inadvertently curled into a smile.

The same face, the same feeling...

This was the boy she had been thinking about day and night.

Not only had he saved her from being taken advantage of, but he also helped her when her strange fire rioted and even gifted her a priceless cultivation technique without mentioning his name, leaving a lasting impression on her heart.

She would be the happiest person in the world if he were to be rewarded by her binding this system.

Not only because he had saved her, but also because she didn't believe she could ever pay back the other party, despite the fact that she belonged to the Ancient clan.

After all, he was so mysterious—his movement technique, his hiding technique, and then the cultivation technique he gave her… She had no idea how she could ever repay him.

"Now that I've said yes, how will this benefit him and how can I see him?"

After all, the other party claimed he wasn't from this world and it appeared as though he was cultivating in a different world, so she naturally asked.

And…How was this system so powerful that it allowed her to watch him, even though he was in a completely different world?

[Host, you don't have to worry about that. The system is called the Advanced Spectating System, so of course it would let you watch someone.]

It made sense.

"So, what system does he have?"

She recalled that the other party had a main system, while hers seemed only for spectating.

[Host, the other party has a system called the Goddess Rescue System. He earns system points by completing missions to rescue goddesses, and these points can be used to purchase items from the system store.]

"Rescuing the Goddess."

Hearing the system's explanation, she couldn't help but mutter to herself.

She was aware that she was considered a goddess, as she had heard the term "goddess" two or three times by now.

So, his mission was to save her—but from whom?

She thought back to what he had said to her that night.

He knew that Xiao Yan would enter her chamber and take advantage of her under the pretence of cleansing her meridians.

He also mentioned that by helping her, he was also benefiting himself.

So, his mission was to rescue her from being taken advantage of by Xiao Yan.

[Yes, you're right]

So, that's why he suddenly stopped her to deal with Xiao Yan himself.

He also said not to assume that he was doing her a favour that she had no obligation to return.

She went silent after hearing what the system said while feeling that the air around her was a little cold as she walked towards her room to calm her feelings.

Her heart was deeply affected that day when that brother helped her and then left without asking anything in return.

No, she didn't even know his name.

Even though she came from a Dou Di family, her family neither had the Sky defining method he casually gave her nor could they put out her strange fire, so she didn't believe him when he claimed that helping her had also been beneficial to him.

In terms of other things, he was from another world, and she knew that in his world, his identity would be no less than hers.

....

She shook her head when she thought of the other party's face, thinking if his purpose was to impress her.

No way...

While she secretly wished that were the case, she knew it probably wasn't.

After all, even though she didn't want to admit that she was so easily swayed, she realized he didn't need to do anything to impress her at all.

Even though she was only four and didn't know much about the world, she didn't think there existed a person as good-looking person as him.

Just his otherworldly face made her smitten, unable to forget.. much less his mysterious aura that only deepened her fascination.

She couldn't help but wonder how many maidens would fall in love with him as he grew older. When she first heard him say that helping her also benefited him, she assumed he was just trying to make her feel better, to prevent her from thinking she owed him a debt she could never repay.

That was one of the reasons she couldn't forget about him—the memory of his figure had lingered in her mind ever since.

But after hearing the system's explanation, it seemed that what he said was true, and he had gained system points by helping her.

Yes, it made sense now why someone would go out of their way to help a stranger.

As she sat on the bed, she reflected on it.

Although he received benefits for helping her, it didn't diminish the fact that he had changed her fate. This realization didn't lessen her gratitude.

She knew what would have happened if he hadn't shown up that day.

So she remained deeply grateful to him and was glad to have been able to repay his kindness, even if only in a small way.

However, this time she didn't feel the strange emotions that had stirred in her since that day, and her chest felt a bit empty.

Lying on her bed, she gazed at the silver-haired figure who was still sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, entranced.

Even as she watched him cultivate with his eyes closed and doing nothing, she couldn't help but marvel at his face.

Yes, he didn't owe her anything, and he had even told her that helping her had earned him a reward.

She knew no one else would have been so honest with her, so either he was incredibly kind, or… maybe he liked her and didn't want to hide anything from her.

Though she preferred the latter because it made her happier, deep down, she knew it probably wasn't the case after all...

"Did you only help me because there was a mission involved?"

However, he had also given her a heavenly technique that could merge strange flames, one that could even be improved.

How much could he possibly gain from helping her?

Could it be more significant than such a priceless technique, or more valuable than the impact he had on her life?

No, it couldn't be.

The thought made her suddenly stand up.

When the system first informed her that he received rewards for helping her, she felt conflicted and had returned to her room in a dejected state.

Even though there was gratitude but...

Now that she thought about it, there was something more, something she hadn't given much thought to.

Remembering what the system had told him earlier, his mission was to stop Xiao Yan from taking advantage of her.

That's it?

What about using his energy to help her solve her problem, easing her pain from the strange fire, and giving her such a precious technique?

Hell, he even revealed that an eighth-grade alchemist's soul was hidden inside Xiao Yan's ring and that she could merge her own fire with the other party's strange fire to gain two strange fires.

How valuable is a strange fire?

The most precious thing on the continent...

Were all of these things he did for her also part of the mission?

She didn't believe that for a second.

"System,"

Her emotions got the better of her as she once again tried to ask in a soft tone, her voice filled with agitation and hope she didn't know the reason why.

[His mission was only to prevent you from being taken advantage of by Xiao Yan]

As if knowing what she was going to say, the system replied directly.

Hah!

She really had been a fool.

Furthermore, as she listened to the system's response, she became enraged at herself for her own narrow-minded thinking.

The more difficult the mission, the greater the rewards. Compared to dealing with someone as weak as Xiao Yan, helping with her strange fire was undoubtedly more challenging.

If everything he did for her was just part of a mission, he would have undoubtedly earned far more points.

But the fact that he did all of this without expecting anything in return filled her with immense happiness.

She felt so ashamed of herself; perhaps that brother valued those points highly, and here she was relieved that he didn't receive more.

Maybe the members of the Xiao Family were right—she was truly ungrateful and selfish.

But whatever, she was who she was, and rather than trying to change that, she would try to help him in some small way, such as by using her system more frequently or if she was given a task, since she had no way of paying him back for what he had done for her.

Maybe the only way she could pay it back was by promising herself.

'No, no, no what was I thinking.'

'Why would he like a selfish person like me?'

Shaking her head she tried to remove her nonsensical, meaningless thought process, which, by the way, nobody knew about, except her and the silent system.

Ling Ying, who hiding in the shadows only felt that his young miss was becoming sick.

Though the sickness seemed a little different from what he knew.

______________

But the more she tried to remove such thoughts, the more they came.

At that moment, the otherworldly figure on the screen opened his eyes and looked towards the sky with a smile.

Seeing that smile…

All she was left was to deal with a palpitating heart and a blushing face.