Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Su Ling’er had never found the act of vanquishing evil for the people to be so toe-curlingly embarrassing.

Until today.

Before this day—the day she was forced to vanquish evil under her senior brother’s control—she never would have imagined such a thing was possible.

SQUELCH.

Her longsword plunged into a guard’s chest, and once again, blood blossomed in the air.

The next moment, an irresistible, bizarre force grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back several meters to her original spot.

The moment her feet touched the ground, her shoulders began that shameful, rhythmic heaving again.

INHALE—EXHALE—!

INHALE—EXHALE—!

Su Ling’er stared at the group of enemies in front of her, who were also heaving up and down in place, and felt her spirit crumble.

’Why?’

’Just why is Senior Brother doing this?’

’With the power he used to instantly kill that old fiend in the purple robe, Senior Brother could annihilate this mob with a flick of his finger.’

’But he refuses to do it.’

’Not only is he not doing anything, he’s just sitting there on that Grandmaster’s Chair, holding a teacup, watching me with a benevolent smile at his own leisure.’

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Lin Qingfeng put down his teacup and began to applaud.

"Well fought, Junior Sister! Such spirit! Junior Sister, quick! Use One Hundred Thousand Volts on the enemy!!!"

Su Ling’er: "..."

’What the hell is One Hundred Thousand Volts?! Since when do I know a move like that?!’

’Why do I get the feeling that in your mind, I’m not a person, but some kind of rodent demon beast! It’s not what I’m thinking, is it?! Besides, aren’t you the one deciding which moves I use, Senior Brother?! So what in the world is One Hundred Thousand Volts?!’

If Su Ling’er could move, she would have died of shame and indignation on the spot.

This fighting style was worse than death. She was forced to charge forward like a marionette, stab an enemy just enough to leave them breathing, and then retreat. It was unbearable.

This looked less like a heroic deed and more like some kind of shamanistic ritual.

Lin Qingfeng, however, didn’t see it that way.

Watching his junior sister’s stiff yet flawless movements, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

’This is the "battle-hosting service" I bought for one hundred Spirit Stones. If I just skipped to the results, wouldn’t my junior sister be losing out?’

’As her considerate senior brother, how could I invalidate my junior sister’s silent efforts?’

(Su Ling’er: "I’m begging you, please invalidate my efforts already!!!")

’Of course! And more importantly, I can’t let my own contribution be invalidated! I paid for this with real silver!’

’Besides, my junior sister is too repressed on a normal day.’

’I’ve seen her multiple times, her eyes glowing red and black qi swirling around her at the slightest provocation, looking just like an Evil Cultivator. If I weren’t her senior brother, and if some righteous warrior had come across her, she would have been eradicated as a demonic heretic long ago.’

’Besides, the Guixi Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect. As the current standard-bearer for our generation, how can she walk around all day with such a look of deep-seated hatred?’

’It’s better to let my junior sister kill some people and blow off some steam.’

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’This turn-based combat is great. It’s safe, reliable, and it lets her experience the feedback of a blade sinking into flesh again and again.’

’Killing them one by one, slowly experiencing the fading of life... this will gradually soothe her bloodlust. This is the best therapy for the soul.’

’Speaking of which, maybe I should apply to become a psychotherapist or something?’

’Lin Qingfeng felt he had quite a talent for spiritual healing.’

...

Su Ling’er felt the sword in her hand grow heavier and heavier.

She looked at the group of enemies across from her.

The guards in black were also completely baffled by this situation.

’They gripped their blades but couldn’t advance. All they could do was perform these damned breathing exercises in place along with this crazy woman.’

’This has to be sorcery! Our boss is already dead, but we can’t even run or surrender! Who does this?! You’re so damn powerful, can’t you just let us beg for mercy? Do we really have to play along with your charade at the cost of our lives?’

’Are you some kind of sadists who get off on torturing people to death?’

’Look at that Lin Qingfeng guy, all calm and nonchalant. He ended his fight in an instant. But over here, we’re being finished off one by one by his servant girl.’

’So it’s obvious whose fault this is!!’

’This servant girl is a twisted serial killer!!! She loves to slowly torture her opponents mentally, savoring the pleasure of killing them step by step!’

’This broad... she must be a psychologically twisted Evil Cultivator!!! Can some righteous hero who’s just passing by please hear our cries, save us, and get rid of this Evil Cultivator?!’

Finally.

Their invisible action bar finally filled up.

[Enemy Turn]

One of the black-clad guards was finally forced to move. He let out a great roar and charged forward, blade in hand.

’Here it comes!’

Su Ling’er’s heart tightened.

The guard rushed up to her and swung his blade. His movements were wide and powerful, without any fancy flourishes.

Normally, Su Ling’er would have ended it with a single strike to the throat, but her body was not under her control. It wasn’t her turn to attack, so she could only passively defend and evade.

[Judgment: Dodge Successful]

Su Ling’er’s body shifted half an inch to the left at an unnatural angle.

SWOOSH.

The steel blade missed, grazing her sleeve.

By all logic, the guard’s defense was now wide open, presenting the perfect chance to counterattack.

Instinctively, Su Ling’er wanted to thrust her sword forward.

But she couldn’t do a thing!

’Because it wasn’t her turn yet!’

And after that one slash, the guard didn’t press his advantage. Without even a glance at the outcome, he turned and jogged right back to his original position.

He turned.

His shoulders heaved.

INHALE—EXHALE—!

Su Ling’er: "..."

’Senior Brother! What is the profound meaning behind this?!’

’Why can’t I understand it?!’

Before she could recover from the absurd scene, the second guard’s turn began.

The same roar, the same charge, the same slash.

CLANG—!

Su Ling’er’s longsword moved on its own, blocking in front of her.

[Judgment: Parry Successful]

Sparks flew.

That guard also didn’t press the attack, returning to his original spot after his one slash.

Then, he resumed breathing.

’What is this?’

Su Ling’er’s brain, which had previously shut down from shame, was now spinning furiously.

’You bunch of... not Evil Cultivators... Are you insane?’

’You could have swarmed me, but you insist on coming up one by one to get killed?’

’You could have followed up with a combo, but you run away after a single hit?’

’No.’

’That’s not right.’

’No enemy in this world is that stupid. Unless... all of this is under Senior Brother’s control!’

Su Ling’er glanced at the figure behind her, who was still drinking tea.

Her senior brother looked completely at ease, even smiling faintly.

’I see!’

A realization exploded in Su Ling’er’s mind.

’Senior Brother is training me in this special way!’

’Normally, my fighting style is too aggressive. I often only attack and never defend, trading blows to land a fatal strike.’

’Senior Brother must have seen this weakness and deliberately used this supreme Divine Technique to forcibly control the rhythm of the battle for both sides.’

’He’s deconstructing the fight!’

’He’s forcing me to see the trajectory of every attack, forcing me to learn how to dodge and parry with minimal cost!’

’This is special training for me!’

’Senior Brother has gone to such lengths! Even in this dangerous demon’s den, he hasn’t forgotten to help me improve my practical combat skills!’

’But... but can we please not do the special training in such a humiliating way?!’

’This is terrifying, okay?! I can do this kind of training myself! I don’t need you to hold my hand through it, Senior Brother!’

’Still, Senior Brother... to go this far for the sake of my cultivation...’

’Never mind. Since this is the case, how can I let down my senior brother’s painstaking efforts?’

’Bring it on!’

’Even if my body can’t move, my eyes will memorize every trajectory!’

Just as Su Ling’er was hyping herself up, ready to face the next round of "special training," Lin Qingfeng was already bored enough to yawn.

’This turn-based system is way too slow.’

’I don’t know how players who are into this sort of thing can stand it. I guess I’m just not that type of gamer.’

He glanced around out of sheer boredom, and his gaze suddenly froze on the side of the auction stage.

There, a bloated figure was hugging the wall, trying to shrink his three-hundred-pound frame into the shadows as he inched toward a hidden door.

It was the fat steward from Nabo Garden.

Lin Qingfeng raised an eyebrow.

’Trying to run?’

’You took my things to sell, trivialized my contribution, and now you think you can just walk away scot-free?’

’Life isn’t that easy.’

Lin Qingfeng hooked his toe under something.

A broken leg from the red sandalwood Grandmaster’s Chair on the floor flew into the air.

BANG!

Without even looking, Lin Qingfeng casually kicked out.

The piece of wood shot forward like a thunderbolt, tearing through the air with a piercing whistle.

"AHHH—!!!"

A scream like a stuck pig came from the distance.

The fat steward collapsed to the ground, clutching his right leg and rolling in agony.

The piece of wood had pierced through his shin, pinning him to the floor.

Lin Qingfeng stood up, dusted off his robes, and casually strolled over.

"Well, well, if it isn’t the righteous Steward from before?"

Lin Qingfeng walked up to the fat steward and looked down at the large face, now twisted in pain.

"In such a hurry to get somewhere? Weren’t you just handing evidence to the auctioneer, trying to help ’uphold the city’s reputation for refined affairs’?"

The fat steward was sweating profusely from the pain, his face a mess of snot and tears.

Looking at the demonic young man before him, he had lost every shred of his earlier arrogance.

"Mr... Mr. Lin! A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!"

Ignoring the excruciating pain in his leg, the fat steward kowtowed desperately, his forehead thudding against the floorboards.

"I was just following orders from my superiors! The Business Alliance organized this auction, and their people did the appraisal! I’m just an errand boy!"

"I really didn’t know anything! I beg you, be merciful! Please, just treat me like a fart and let me go! I have an eighty-year-old mother to care for and a three-year-old child to feed..."

Lin Qingfeng almost laughed out loud.

"Didn’t know?"

Lin Qingfeng crouched down and picked up the "Autumn in the North" scroll that had been tossed on the floor.

"You seemed to know plenty when you were on stage, pointing at this painting and calling it trash."

"You took my goodwill and used it as a tool to line your pockets. You twisted my contribution into a bargaining chip in your hands..."

Lin Qingfeng gently tapped the fat steward’s cheek with the scroll’s roller. Each tap made the man flinch.

"After doing this kind of business, did you really think you could just walk away unscathed, sir? Aren’t you being a little too naive?"