Wei Jin stood motionless, his mind was a mess.
The cool night air brushed against his face, yet he felt nothing but the oppressive weight of indecision.
Before him, the faint remnants of the old man's soul flickered like a dying ember, its translucent form trembling as it begged for salvation.
"Please, Wei Jin of this world! We have the same name too…" the soul cried out, its voice hoarse and desperate. "Help me! I can give you answers! I have a solution!"
Wei Jin scoffed, his eyes narrowing with disdain.
"A solution?" he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're the same as me—weak, defeated, and cast aside. If you had a solution, why did your wife never love you? Why did you end up dying bitter and broken?"
The soul shivered but didn't retreat. "I… I was scared!" it admitted, its voice cracking.
"I was rich, yes, but that only made me cautious. I saw too many of my friends fall for the wrong women. Playboys who squandered their fortunes, betrayed and humiliated by their wives. I was terrified that my own wife would be the same."
Wei Jin's lips curled into a bitter smile. "And yet, despite all your wealth and precautions, she still didn't love you," he said, his tone cold.
"But she didn't cheat either!" the soul snapped back, desperation fueling its words. "If I had known the truth—that she only stayed with me because I was safe—I could have walked away! I could have started over!"
Wei Jin stared at the soul, his expression unreadable.
He didn't believe in the old man's so-called solution. He is fated to have special feelings for Ru Shaonian. How could someone who had failed so completely offer him anything of value?
Yet, deep down, he felt a strange resonance with the old man's memories.
When he had devoured the soul, he had glimpsed fragments of its desires, its regrets, its unfulfilled longing to rewrite its fate…
Wei Jin of this world was curious.
Why is that?
Why is this old man with the same name seemingly unaffected despite having experienced a lifetime of being used like he is?
Suddenly, a sharp sound echoed in his mind.
Ding!
Wei Jin flinched, his eyes widening in surprise.
—
The host has activated the Sugar Maiden System:
Waste your cultivation resources on maidens to become the strongest.
Note:
Make sure to choose the maidens you have wasted your cultivation resources to.
The more significant they felt it, the more you can learn techniques from them.
—
Wei Jin froze, his mind racing. "What…?" he murmured, his voice barely audible. It was the screen again? Was it a system all along?
Before he could process the first notification, another message appeared in his mind's eye.
—
Ding!
Ru Shaonian felt significant value equivalent to ten spiritual essences on the cultivation resource that the host wasted on her, the Hundred-Year Spirit Herb.
Note:
The host's level is only at the Ninth stage of Mortal Cultivation, so the ten essences are the current limit.
—
Wei Jin's eyes widened further. "Ru Shaonian?" he whispered. His voice grew louder, tinged with disbelief. "A system? I really have a system?"
The soul before him quivered, its faint glow dimming further as it struggled to maintain its form. The old man's voice broke through Wei Jin's stunned silence.
"You... You saw it, didn't you?" the soul asked, its tone a mixture of fear and hope. "You… You have a system, don't you? That's why I told you I have a solution! Systems—they're the answer! You can rewrite your fate!"
Wei Jin's mind reeled.
From the old man's devoured memories, he had learned about these so-called systems.
The old man, in his life of wealth and leisure, had spent countless hours reading novels about cultivation, systems, and the paths to power.
To Wei Jin, it had seemed like nonsense at first—a fiction that belonged to the old man's world. But now… now it was real.
A flicker of understanding crossed Wei Jin's face as he pieced it together.
The system had activated when he threw the Hundred-Year Spirit Herb to the Ru Family as compensation.
It had been wasted, in a sense, but the system had turned that waste into something tangible—spiritual essences.
He looked down at the soul, his expression hardening once again. The old man continued to beg.
"Don't kill me!" the soul pleaded. "Please! I can help you! I understand systems—I can guide you!"
Wei Jin clenched his fists, torn between contempt and curiosity. Could the soul truly see the system? Was it hiding knowledge from him? Or was it just a desperate attempt to cling to existence?
Without a word, Wei Jin raised a finger.
A faint thread of his cultivation energy spiraled out, piercing the dim light of the soul.
The soul quivered violently, letting out a weak cry.
"Stop!" the soul gasped. "What are you doing?!"
Wei Jin's voice was cold, devoid of emotion. "Injecting a trace of my energy. If you can see the system, I'll know. And if you can… I'll crush you."
The soul trembled, but its voice grew calm, almost resigned. "I can't see it," it whispered. "I can't see your system. But… I can feel it. Its presence is tied to you, not me."
Wei Jin stared at the fading light of the soul, his thoughts a chaotic tangle. If the soul couldn't see the system, then perhaps it truly had no power over it. And yet, its knowledge of systems, however limited, might still hold value.
With a sigh, Wei Jin withdrew his energy. The soul glowed faintly, stabilizing but still fragile.
"You live for now," Wei Jin said, his voice low and firm. "But don't think for a moment that I trust you. One wrong move, and I'll obliterate you."
The soul pulsed weakly, a flicker of gratitude in its faint light. "Thank you," it said, its tone humble. "I won't let you down."
Wei Jin turned away, his mind racing.
The system's notifications still echoed in his thoughts. If the Sugar Maiden System was real, then it was both a curse and a potential boon.
Wasting resources to grow stronger—it was an absurd concept.
Yet, if it meant rewriting his fate, if it meant breaking free from the role assigned to him in Ru Shaonian's story, he had no choice but to embrace it.
But first, he needed to understand it. And for that, he would need time—and perhaps, a little guidance from the soul he had chosen to spare.
"What should I do next again?" Wei Jin muttered to himself as he walked into the night.