Yan Xiao didn't give it the chance to decide.
He crossed the distance between them in three steps, feinting left to draw the beast's remaining defensive reflex, then drove the kitchen knife straight through the base of its skull from above.
Clean and deep.
The Crimson Winged Serpent went still.
For a moment, the entire sauna center was silent except for the sound of dripping water and the faint hum of the heating pipes somewhere in the walls.
Then the beast collapsed sideways into the pool with a heavy splash, sending a wave of water across the tiles.
The sauna owner looked at Yan Xiao, who was shaking his long kitchen knife and examining the mutated beast's corpse, his heart filled with unspeakable shock.
Too strong!
Simply too strong!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would have thought?
Yan Xiao straightened up. He looked at the kitchen knife in his hand, then at the beast floating in the pool.
Not bad.
For a kitchen knife.
"Ding! Host has successfully eliminated a Late Stage Golden Core Demon Beast — Crimson Winged Serpent!"
"Mission complete!"
"Calculating rewards..."
"Ding. Host, the System has detected something unusual. A karmic thread of extraordinary strength has attached itself to the Crimson Winged Serpent's core energy. Something is... piggybacking on the reward. The System cannot block it. Stand by."
"Reward 1: Causality Stone — a legendary-grade spiritual item. When activated, it traces the karmic thread between Host and any person Host has a significant emotional connection with. Warning: The stone can only be used once every three months. Use wisely."
"Reward 2: Crimson Serpent Core — a rare cultivation material."
The core materialized in Yan Xiao's hand — a small, crimson gem that pulsed with a faint inner light.
Then it vanished.
Yan Xiao stared at his empty palm. "System?"
"Ding. Host, the System has retracted the Crimson Serpent Core."
"Why?"
A pause. When the System spoke again, its voice was quieter. Less playful.
"Because the System which is I, needs it, Host. To update its core functions. To repair damage sustained during Host's transit between worlds."
Yan Xiao's expression shifted. "Damage?"
"Ding. The System is not invincible, Host. The explosion. The escape amulet. The dimensional crossing. All of it cost energy. If the System does not replenish its core reserves, functions will begin to fail. Detection range will shrink. Mission generation will slow. Eventually..."
The System trailed off.
"Eventually what?"
"Ding. Eventually, the System might shut down, Host. Permanently."
Yan Xiao was quiet for a long moment.
"You should have just said that."
"Ding. The System was... embarrassed. An almighty system should not need to beg for scraps from a Qi Refining host."
Yan Xiao snorted. "You're not begging. You're my system. If you die, I'm stuck in this world alone."
"Ding. Host is surprisingly sentimental."
"Don't get used to it. Next time, just tell me."
"Ding. Noted, Host. The System will endeavor to be more transparent about its existential crises in the future."
"Reward 3: Passive Skill — Serpent Sense. Host will passively detect hidden threats within a 50-meter radius. Cannot be switched off."
Yan Xiao felt a strange tingling at the back of his neck, like someone had just brushed a feather across his skin. The sensation faded, leaving behind a faint awareness — a whisper at the edge of his perception.
Then the tingling stopped.
"Ding. On second thought again, Host, you don't need this either."
Yan Xiao's eye twitched. "System."
"The Serpent Sense skill draws from the same energy reserves as the System's own threat detection module. If Host keeps it, the System's detection range will be cut in half. Missions will take longer to generate. Alerts will lag."
"And?"
"And the System which is I, needs that energy to process the Causality Stone's karmic threads. Otherwise, the stone won't work properly. Host's search for his master will be... inaccurate. Maybe even wrong."
Yan Xiao's jaw tightened.
"So you're taking the skill too."
"Ding. The System prefers the term 'reallocating underutilized assets for the greater good of both parties.' Also, Host, think of it this way — the System's improved detection module will alert Host to threats before they even enter the 50-meter range. Isn't that better?"
"...Fine."
"Ding. The Serpent Sense skill has been consumed. The System thanks Host again for his generous donation. Host's silence has been noted and logged. Moving on..."
Yan Xiao exhaled slowly. "Is that all? Or are you going to take the Causality Stone too?"
A pause.
"Ding. The System would never take the Causality Stone, Host. That one is... special. For Host's personal use only."
Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Special how?"
"Ding. Host will understand when the time comes. However..."
"However what?"
"The System has detected something else. Something that was not on the original reward list. Something that... should not exist here."
Yan Xiao tensed. "What do you mean?"
The air in front of him shimmered.
A bundle of folded fabric materialized out of thin air, hovering for a moment before gently falling into Yan Xiao's arms. It was heavier than it looked — and warm.
Yan Xiao's breath caught.
He knew this fabric. The texture. The faint scent of incense. His hands trembled as he unfolded the top layer.
It was a set of robes. Not just any robes. His robes. The ones he had worn in the Night Flower Continent. The ones his master, Qi Yun, had made for him with her own hands — stitching each seam late at night when she thought he was asleep, embroidering protective arrays into the cuffs and collar, using materials rare enough to bankrupt a small sect.
The set included:
· An inner robe — soft, moonlight-white silk that felt like water against the skin. It carried a permanent cleansing array. Dirt and blood would slide off it like rain off a lotus leaf.
· An outer robe — deep midnight blue, almost black, with silver-thread embroidery along the collar and cuffs. The pattern was subtle — clouds, mountains, and a single crane in flight. Qi Yun's personal mark was hidden inside the left sleeve.
· A waist sash — woven from golden silk and demon beast tendon, strong enough to stop a blade. The sash held two small pouches — one for storage, one for medicine.
· A pair of boots — black leather, soft-soled for silent movement, but reinforced at the toes and heels with thin plates of cold iron. The boots laced up to the knee and fit perfectly, as if they had been measured for him yesterday.
· A sword — not the kitchen knife he had been carrying. A real sword. The blade was straight and double-edged, forged from starlight steel and quenched in the blood of a thousand-year serpent. The hilt was wrapped in black ray skin, and the pommel held a small, clear crystal that pulsed with a faint inner light. A single character was carved into the base of the blade: Yun. His master's name.
· A cloak — dark grey, almost silver, with a deep hood. The fabric was thick but light, woven with insulating threads that kept the wearer warm in winter and cool in summer. When worn, the cloak seemed to swallow shadows, making the wearer harder to see in dim light.
· A storage ring — simple silver band, unadorned. Inside: a change of clothes, dried rations, a water flask that never emptied, a first-aid kit, and a small wooden comb that Qi Yun had once used. Her hair was still tangled in its teeth.
Yan Xiao stared at the items spread across his arms.
His throat tightened.
"System," he said, his voice rough. "Where did these come from?"
A long pause.
"Ding. The System does not know, Host. These items were not generated by the System. They were... pulled. From somewhere else. From somewhere far. The System detected a karmic thread connecting these items to Host and... to another."
"To Qi Yun."
"Ding. The System cannot confirm. But the System believes these items crossed the dimensional barrier on their own. As if someone — somewhere — wanted Host to have them."
"System. If she could send these across, why couldn't she send herself?"
A long pause.
"Ding. Physical objects can be pushed through dimensional cracks with enough karmic force — especially objects with strong emotional imprints. A person cannot. The energy required to move a living soul across dimensions is thousands of times greater. And attempting it without a proper amulet would..."
The System went quiet for a moment. "It would kill her, Host."
Yan Xiao was silent.
"So she sent what she could," he said finally.
"Ding. The System believes so, Host."
Yan Xiao's hand closed around the sword hilt.
The crystal in the pommel flickered once, briefly, like a heartbeat.
Like a message.
Like a whisper across an impossible distance.
I'm still here.
Yan Xiao looked east.
Then he looked down at the robes in his arms — robes that should have been lost forever, robes that smelled faintly of incense and flowers, robes that proved Qi Yun had not forgotten him.
"System."
"Ding. Host?"
"Thank you. For not taking these."
Another pause. When the System spoke again, its voice was unusually soft.
"Ding. The System would never take these, Host. Some things are worth more than energy."
Yan Xiao nodded once.
He gathered the robes carefully, folded them and placed them back into the storage ring. The ring slid onto his finger — warm, familiar.
"There's more?"
"Ding. No, Host. That was all the rewards. Congratulations on completing the mission. Please enjoy your dinner."
"The System would also like to note — Host is currently standing in a sauna holding a kitchen knife covered in demon beast blood, and the sauna owner is staring at you. The System suggests leaving quickly."
Yan Xiao stared at his palm. No money notification. No bank transfer. Nothing.
He checked his phone. Zero new messages.
He exhaled slowly. The 100,000 yuan from the ant nest was still sitting in his account, but he had spent a portion of it on groceries, a kitchen knife, a sharpening stone, and dinner. He had roughly 90,000 yuan left. It sounded like a lot — until he remembered he had no income, no job, and no idea when the next money reward would come.
Maybe it never would.
He looked at the dead beast in the pool.
Big job. No pay.
He tucked the Causality Stone into his pocket and turned toward the exit.