Chapter Fifteen: The Sorceress of the Demon Sect and the Aloof Buddhist Disciple (Part 1)

“Pfft—hahaha!”

Fan Sijin couldn’t help but laugh. “Honestly, you’re pretty adorable—those chubby cheeks. So it turns out you’re a little chubby kid.”

She squatted down and gave the little bundle’s face a firm squeeze.

The system felt as if struck by lightning. Did the host just call himself a little chubby kid? Was he really that plump?

He glanced down at his protruding belly and almost teared up. Why wasn’t his transformed form a handsome, dashing figure? Why did he turn into a child?

The little bundle angrily pushed her hand away, then turned his back to her, as if deeply wronged. Covering his face with his hands, he whimpered in a mock fierce yet pitiful voice, “Host, you’re mean. I don’t want to play with you anymore...”

“You’re cute—no, you’re the cutest,” Fan Sijin was even more delighted by his antics. “You’re the cutest little chubby kid!”

The little bundle seemed ready to explode with rage. He turned around and glared at Fan Sijin fiercely. “Who’s a little chubby kid? I’m not! Host, stop being lazy and get to work! Hurry up!”

“Alright, alright, the little chubby kid calls the shots,” Fan Sijin said, opening the task panel before her. “Next mission... hmm, a martial arts world?”

This mission’s target was Tan Qin, a notorious demoness of a cult, once a fearsome figure in the martial arts realm. Her unparalleled skills and blood-stained hands made her an enemy despised by the righteous sects.

Yet, among her many foes, she harbored a unique affection for a Buddhist monk named Kong Xuan.

Kong Xuan, compassionate and wise, was known far and wide as a flawless and handsome monk, revered by all as a true disciple of Buddha.

Despite their opposing identities and stances, Tan Qin fell deeply in love with him.

She once tried to conceal her true identity to get close to Kong Xuan, but his high moral standards and incorruptible nature kept him distant.

When her identity was eventually revealed, Kong Xuan simply said he would no longer see her, and Tan Qin, ashamed, vanished from his sight.

But she could never escape her position. She was forever the proud demoness of the cult. Raised and trained by the cult master from childhood, greatly valued by him—how could she not serve him loyally?

On the night she was ordered to complete a mission, her hands dripping with the blood of a righteous family, Kong Xuan hurried over—not to see her, but to snatch the life of the last child from her grasp.

Tan Qin knew that if she let the child escape and failed her mission, the cult master’s punishment would be severe. Yet, to harm Kong Xuan was unbearable to her heart.

So she fled in panic, haunted by the calm, deep gaze of Kong Xuan that seemed as still as an ancient well.

From beginning to end, it had been her own one-sided wish. He never loved her, nor ever saw her differently.

Her hands were stained with blood, she had taken countless lives, but to him, she was just another soul in need of salvation.

Yet fate turned swiftly, and even a Buddha’s disciple was still but a mortal.

The war between the righteous sects and the cults escalated fiercely.

In one such battle, both sides suffered heavy losses, and Kong Xuan was gravely injured. Only a blood elixir could save him.

Blood elixir—just the name foretold rivers of bloodshed.

To concoct it, eighty-one boys and girls had to be killed.

The righteous sects prided themselves on justice and no one was willing to save Kong Xuan at such a cost.

Tan Qin, accustomed to killing, didn’t hesitate to slaughter the eighty-one children to produce the cure, just to save him.

The demoness knew nothing of justice; no one had taught her. She only knew she loved someone who had been abandoned by all, who was dying. If saving him required any sacrifice, she was willing to pay the price.

But when Kong Xuan found out, he not only showed no gratitude but struck her hard, calling her heartless.

Tan Qin was confused. Why did he treat her so coldly?

She was grateful for the cult master’s upbringing and devoted herself to the cult; she loved Kong Xuan and was willing to give everything for him. She honestly believed she had wronged no one. She was guiltless!

Though puzzled, Tan Qin refused to give up. She began to watch over Kong Xuan from afar, secretly caring for him until he recovered. But at that moment, she finally understood.

She understood why Kong Xuan always kept his distance and wore a cold face: she was not the one who stirred his heart.

And that person was... a nun.

Tan Qin nearly laughed.

A monk paired with a nun—how perfectly matched.

It turned out that the usually detached and indifferent disciple was not without feelings. His eyes could indeed reveal profound tenderness.

He already had a childhood sweetheart, a junior nun, with whom he silently shared mutual affection, both dedicating their lives to Buddha.

They redeemed and supported each other. So what was Tan Qin to him?

Her heart filled with pain; she only wanted to kill that little nun. Yet she never imagined that Kong Xuan, who lived by the precept of non-violence, would sacrifice her life for that nun.

Tan Qin looked down at the spreading bloodstains on her chest. In the end, she realized that Kong Xuan could save everyone but her.

Because she was a demoness beyond redemption.

“What’s the mission this time?” Fan Sijin asked after reading the background story, making a guess. “To pull this sanctimonious monk off his pedestal?”

After all, demonesses often fall for the unattainable, and the more righteous and saintly a man is, the more they are drawn to him—an eternal truth.

“Bingo, you got it. The mission is to win the monk’s true heart as the demoness.”

Fan Sijin was not surprised. She didn’t set off immediately but instead sat down in the resting area of the space.

“Host, why aren’t you leaving?” The little bundle waddled over, twisting and turning.

Fan Sijin crossed her legs, looking utterly relaxed. “No rush.”

“Huh?” The little bundle looked puzzled, tugging at Fan Sijin’s pant leg with a confused expression.

Fan Sijin propped her chin on her hand, pondering. “How to put it... Tan Qin gave her life just to win the heart of Kong Xuan, but how could she know that he was unmoved? To me, that so-called Buddha’s disciple has already been touched.”

“Host, what you’re saying is hard to understand.”

Though the little bundle appeared as a child, his core operated without human emotion—he could only calculate based on data. But human hearts are not machines to be computed.