Chapter 6: A Month of Service for Forgiveness

No harm done, so it was all good!

Who wouldn’t want a slave girl utterly obedient to them alone? Especially when she was the slutty childhood sweetheart who’d once “abandoned” him.

The combination of those two traits carried a tantalizing hint of forbidden thrill, the kind that made him itch to torment her!

On the floor, Yan Meng’er maintained her doglike pleading pose, her posture irresistibly seductive.

Strands of her silky hair draped like satin beneath her body. Her pink dress, which had hugged her delicate frame so snugly before, was now hiked up to her waist, fully exposing her fair, flawless midriff.

The girl’s cheeks glowed with a drunken flush, her pearly teeth nibbling at her lower lip while a thin mist gathered in her eyes. She looked every bit the picture of humiliated vulnerability.

—Way too tempting~

Yan Zhen cleared his throat, struggling to keep any strangeness from showing on his face. After all, that was his current persona:

“Alright, get up first.”

“Ah? Oh~”

Her tone carried a touch of regret, but her master’s command was absolute.

Yan Meng’er sat up briskly, her dewy eyes locking straight onto Yan Zhen’s, eagerly awaiting his next order.

“Since you’ve gone this far, I’ll give you one chance… As long as you wear this collar and serve me for a month, I’ll accept your repentance.”

“Really? Thank you, Cousin Yan Zhen! Don’t say just a month—Meng’er would gladly do it for life~”

Yan Meng’er beamed with joy, a wave of relief finally washing over her heart.

Her decision had been the right one. This way, Cousin Yan Zhen wouldn’t keep ignoring her anymore.

She might never return to their old relationship, but a master-servant dynamic wasn’t bad. No, it was even better~

“Hmph, anyone can spout sweet words. Being my maid isn’t that simple—you might not last ten days.”

“Is Cousin Yan Zhen planning to make things tough for Meng’er?”

As she spoke, Yan Meng’er’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her eagerness plain to see.

Yan Zhen didn’t notice her odd gleam. Feigning indifference, he said, “Scared? If you’re scared, you can back out now. I permit you to remove the collar, and from here on, we’ll have nothing to do with each other!”

“Meng’er isn’t scared.” Yan Meng’er replied at once. “Cousin Yan Zhen is so gentle and kind. No matter what you want to do to Meng’er, she’ll accept it all.”

“Don’t try flattering me—I’m not going easy on you!” Yan Zhen kept up his cool persona. “It’s getting late. Head back now, before someone sees you and starts gossiping.”

“Alright, Cousin. Meng’er will come again tomorrow.”

Though reluctant, Yan Meng’er knew the value of taking things slow.

Yan Zhen watched as his nominal cousin cradled the tray and left the room. Only then did the tension drain from his body.

Turning his former slutty childhood sweetheart into a bitch slave felt incredible, but he still couldn’t fathom why her change was so drastic. It didn’t seem like some scheme, either.

Whatever. He’d play it by ear. Yan Meng’er didn’t matter anyway—she had no real role in the story.

What truly counted was the engagement divorce in three days.

His fiancée, Huangfu Wenqing, wasn’t your run-of-the-mill villainess side character. She was far more complex.

After Huangfu Wenqing arrived with people from her sect to forcefully break off the engagement, an enraged Yan Zhen challenged her to a battle pact: a duel to the death at Cloud Heaven Summit two years from now!

To surpass Huangfu Wenqing, who outclassed him in every way, Yan Zhen trained relentlessly under his beautiful female master’s guidance. Through trials and tribulations, he forged the heart of a true powerhouse!

And two years later, he kept the appointment, crushing her utterly and settling the score.

In the story’s early phase, defeating Huangfu Wenqing had been his driving force for cultivation!

“I hope Huangfu Wenqing doesn’t come down with some sudden illness like Yan Meng’er…”

Yan Zhen shook off the jumble of thoughts and returned to his bed, sitting cross-legged to begin cultivating.

For a transmigrator like him, cultivation was a wondrous pursuit. He never found it dull.

The night passed uneventfully.

As dawn faintly lit the sky, Yan Zhen ended his session and checked his aura. Sure enough, all the mystic power he’d gathered had been absorbed by the mysterious crystal stone around his neck. He felt no stronger at all.

He knew the reason, of course, but he couldn’t just remove the stone.

Only once it absorbed enough mystic power would it activate, freeing the beautiful female master trapped inside. Amazed by his talent, she’d take him as her disciple out of gratitude and appreciation for his potential.

After experiencing it firsthand, Yan Zhen truly admired the novel’s protagonist. The guy had wasted three full years on “useless” cultivation, yet persisted daily. Yan Zhen doubted he could’ve lasted even a year before giving up entirely.

Fortunately, he hadn’t started role-playing the protagonist three years ago.

That said, what if he had an expert pour enough mystic power directly into the mysterious crystal stone? Would it activate early?

The idea popped into his head and refused to leave, leaving him restless with curiosity.

But if the stone activated ahead of schedule, it’d derail the plot.

Better not…

“System, think it’d work?”

【……】

“Come on, give me some input. Don’t just blue-screen on me every time.”

【Suggest the host stick to the script and play the protagonist role properly. The system takes no responsibility for any errors.】

The system’s canned response instantly soured Yan Zhen’s mood.

“Hey, you always play dead when things get tricky, and now you feed me this crap?!”

【Please do not slander this system, Host.】

“Fine, then tell me: what’s up with Yan Meng’er’s attitude? You’ve had a whole day to check. Results?”

【Uh, n-no.】

“Five!”

【Wahhh, stop cursing! Stop! The system is working hard on it!】

Yan Zhen ignored the worthless system.

It was only good for handing out rewards—useless otherwise.

After washing up, Yan Meng’er arrived again, this time bearing breakfast.

“Good morning, Cousin Yan Zhen. Porridge or soy milk?”

“Both.”

“I figured you’d say that, so I prepared them both.”

“…”

There was vegetable-and-minced-pork porridge, a small dish of salted peanuts, a refreshing cold veggie side, plus a soy milk and youtiao bun combo. Everything was thoughtfully arranged, and her cooking was as impeccable as ever. Yan Zhen had zero complaints.

Once he’d eaten, Yan Zhen turned to Yan Meng’er.

“Meng’er, I need your help with something.”

Her eyes lit up.

“What is it? If Meng’er can do it, she’ll give it her all.”

Yan Zhen yanked the crystal pendant from beneath his clothes.

“Inject some mystic power into this. Don’t ask why.”

“O-okay.”

Yan Meng’er looked puzzled but complied, channeling her Mystic Disciple Eighth Stage cultivation to slowly pour her mystic power into the gleaming, translucent crystal stone.

The instant the mystic power touched it, both Yan Zhen and Yan Meng’er sensed something was wrong.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, they were both flung back, tumbling to the floor.

Yan Zhen touched his mouth, wincing at the fiery pain. It was definitely swelling.

“Cousin Yan Zhen, are you alright?” Yan Meng’er looked on the verge of tears. “I-I didn’t mean to!”

Yan Zhen waved her off, signaling it was fine.

This wasn’t her fault. The mysterious crystal stone had rejected her mystic power on its own.