The air in my room shifted. A chill ran down my spine, even though the morning sun was bleeding gently through the paper windows. I haven't been able to sleep all night and I needed to know something if I was to do something, anything about it.
"Uhmm, System? System?" I called out repeatedly. "Who is going to betray Yan Yezhen?"
[Scanning…]
[Error: Unknown Source. Possibility: 67%. Internal. Probability: 92%.]
[Summary: Internal betrayal within the Azure Spirit Sect detected.]
I sat up instantly. "Internal? As in, one of us?"
[Affirmative.]
I rubbed my face, groaning. "Can't we ever have a normal day in this sect? Just one day without lightning, wild animals, gossip, or someone trying to stab us?"
[Negative. That would lower reader engagement.]
"Reader… what?"
[Never mind.]
That was when it hit me. Shit I'm still in that stupid novel that I was obsessed with.
I dragged myself out of bed and changed into a clean robe. As I stepped outside, sunlight washed over the courtyard, birds were chirping, disciples were sweeping, and somewhere, a pair of junior sisters were whispering about me again.
It would've been a nice morning… if my system hadn't just told me that someone inside our sect was planning betrayal.
And if the person I had to "protect" wasn't the same guy I maybe, possibly, kind of liked if you understand what I meant but yeah.
Yan Yezhen was already waiting for me at the training grounds.
He stood beneath a cherry blossom tree, its petals catching in his hair like fragments of dawn. His sword rested against the ground, his expression calm, unreadable as ever.
For a man who had been bleeding to death in my arms just a few days ago, he looked annoyingly perfect.
"Morning," I said, trying not to sound like I had just woken up from a panic attack.
He nodded slightly. "The Sect Master assigned us to train together."
"Us? Together? Like... sparring?"
"Like cooperation drills," he corrected, tone mild but firm. "He said it will strengthen unity."
"Right," I muttered. "Nothing builds unity like nearly stabbing each other."
[Side Quest: Partner Training Initiated. Objective — Increase synergy with protagonist.]
[Bonus: Higher synergy improves mission success probability.]
"Oh, synergy," I whispered. "Yeah, because last time we had 'synergy,' we almost died in the forest."
Yan glanced at me. "What?"
"Nothing! I am communicating with my inner demons. Same as always."
He gave me that look that said 'I am re-evaluating all my life choices.'
We started training.
It was supposed to be simple. Basic sword forms, synchronized defense, energy flow alignment. The easy stuff.
Except it wasn't.
Because every time I tried to match his movements, he got closer.
Every time I dodged, his hand brushed my arm.
And every time our spiritual energies touched even for a second my stupid heart decided to reenact a fireworks display.
"Focus," Yan said calmly, as his sword came down in a clean arc.
"I am focused!" I grunted, barely blocking. "I'm just, uh… emotionally distracted!"
[Warning: Heart rate elevated. Hormonal imbalance detected.]
"System, shut up," I hissed in my brain. "Don't medical-analyze me mid-flirt!"
[Clarification: You are not flirting. You are underperforming.]
"Ouch." His sword hit me.
We clashed again. His movements were fast, and precise, like lightning in human form. While I barely parried in time, and when I stumbled, his hand shot out to steady me, firmly wrapping his warm fingers around my wrist.
For half a heartbeat, neither of us moved.
Then he let go. "You should rest."
"No," I said quickly. "I can handle another round."
He tilted his head, studying me. "You're reckless."
"I'm genre-savvy," I corrected. "There's a difference."
He didn't reply, but the faintest shadow of amusement flickered in his eyes.
We ended up taking a break under the tree. The air was filled with drifting petals and the faint sound of disciples sparring nearby.
I sipped from my water gourd, trying not to think about the fact that I'd almost fallen into his chest twice during practice.
"So…" I started. "How's your energy recovering after the forest trial?"
Yan nodded. "Better. The Sect's healers are skilled."
"Good! Because, uh, we might need all that strength soon."
He looked at me sharply. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing. Just—" I gestured vaguely, "hypothetically, if someone were planning something shady inside the sect, how worried should we be on a scale of one to apocalypse?"
He stared. "Is this another one of your metaphors?"
"...Sure," I said weakly.
[Warning: Host leaking classified information.]
"Don't glare at me!" I hissed internally. "I'm being vague!"
[Still suspicious. Trust level of protagonist: Unaffected.]
Well, at least I hadn't ruined everything yet.
Yan studied me for a moment longer, then said, "There was a disturbance this morning. An artifact from the treasury went missing."
I froze. "Wait, a what?"
"The Jade Spirit Mirror," he said. "It suppresses demonic energy. Without it, spiritual balance across the inner mountain will weaken."
I blinked. "That sounds… bad."
"It is," he said simply.
[New Data Acquired: Sect artifact stolen. Correlation with betrayal: 64%.]
My stomach twisted. "System, are you saying this is connected?"
[Affirmative. Probability increasing.]
I frowned. "Who would even steal something like that?"
[Unknown. But suspicion rising within sect ranks. Social instability expected.]
Yan must have seen my expression because he added, "Don't concern yourself with it much. The Elders will investigate."
"Yeah, except when Elders start investigating, people mysteriously stop existing."
He gave me a small, questioning look. "You don't trust the Sect?"
"I don't trust anyone who can vaporize me with a frown."
"Wise," he murmured.
---
By midday, tension had crept through the Azure Spirit Sect like fog.
Everywhere I went, people whispered, quieter than usual this time, with fear instead of gossip in their voices.
"An inner disciple saw Elder Mu near the treasury last night…"
"No, it was someone else. I heard demonic energy was sensed."
"Could it be an outsider infiltrating us?"
The last whisper hit a little too close to home.
If they ever found out that i was an outsider not from another sect, but another world I'd be roasted alive faster than spiritual pork buns.
[Reminder: Stay inconspicuous. Betrayal missions require subtlety.]
"Yeah," I muttered. "Because subtlety has always been my strong suit."
That evening, I passed by the meditation hall and stopped dead.
Two voices echoed from inside.
Elder Mu's low, gravelly tone.
And another Elder — softer, uncertain.
"…I'm telling you, I felt it," Elder Mu said. "A trace of demonic qi, faint but undeniable. It came from him."
"From who?" whispered the other.
"Yan Yezhen."
My blood ran cold.
No. That couldn't be right. Yan was the righteous hero. The pure-hearted, lightning-wielding, ice-cold saint! He literally lectured people for jaywalking in the sect courtyards!
"Impossible," said the second elder. "The boy is… disciplined."
Elder Mu snorted. "Discipline means nothing when the blood stirs. The Jade Spirit Mirror was crafted to contain such energy. Its disappearance cannot be coincidence."
My pulse pounded in my ears.
[Alert: Threat pattern forming. Betrayal proximity — HIGH.]
[Warning: Host emotional interference detected.]
"I'm not emotionally interfering!" I whispered. "I'm just… concerned! There's a difference!"
[Denial noted.]
I backed away quietly, heart racing.
If what they said was true? If Yan did have demonic energy then he wasn't just at risk of being blamed for the theft.
He could be executed for corruption.
And my mission was to protect him from betrayal.
Even if that betrayal came from within the sect.
Or worse… from himself.
---
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The words echoed over and over in my head: Demonic qi. Yan Yezhen. Betrayal.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the moonlight slicing through the window.
"System," I said quietly. "What if the hero really is the threat?"
[Analysis inconclusive. Mission directive unchanged: Protect him.]
"But protect him from what? From others? Or from himself?"
[Unclear. Story progression requires ambiguity.]
"Do you hear yourself? You sound like an avant-garde scriptwriter."
[Thank you.]
"That wasn't a compliment!"
Silence stretched between us.
Finally, the system said, softer now:
[Reminder: The Host's role is not to decide the plot. Only to survive it.]
I laughed weakly. "Yeah, well, maybe I'm tired of just surviving."
Outside, the wind picked up, carrying the faint echo of bells — the signal for a sect-wide meeting at dawn.
Something was happening.
And deep down, I had the sinking feeling that whatever it was… would drag both Yan and me right into the center of it.
[Mission Progress: 12%. Threat Level: Rising.]
[Emotional variable: Unstable.]
[Affection Level: 100.]
[Warning: Attachment detected.]
I exhaled slowly, lying back and staring at the ceiling.
"Yeah," I murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "Tell me something I don't know."
Because the truth was, no matter what the system said, no matter how much danger brewed in the sect's shadows, I had already made up my mind.
If someone was going to betray Yan Yezhen…
They'd have to go through me first.