035 is not a good dog.

As he spoke, Qu Zhanyi’s heart sank lower and lower. She couldn’t help but ask, "Then my father... is he still alive?"

Qin Yangsheng shook his head. "Since that battle, there has been no trace of the Demon Emperor."

Though she had already guessed as much, hearing the answer still left Qu Zhanyi unable to hide her disappointment. After a long silence, she asked another question that had been weighing on her mind: "My return to this world—does it have something to do with you?"

Qin Yangsheng tilted his head and murmured, "I suppose you could say that."

Qu Zhanyi frowned, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes. "What do you mean by 'suppose'?"

Qin Yangsheng spread his hands in a gesture of regret, his eyes holding an indecipherable emotion. "For years, I could never locate the place where Your Highness was sealed. That was until someone detected neutrinos—the so-called 'ghost particles'—ten thousand meters underground. At the same time, others discovered a moving ancient pagoda; it caused quite a stir in the academic world. Your Highness must have sensed that this merged world is not entirely devoid of spiritual energy. I simply took advantage of that, turning a ripple into a tidal wave. This world is not lacking in scientific madmen, and clearly, they succeeded in resurrecting you."

Qu Zhanyi watched him quietly, thinking of the "Villain Reform System" that had been dormant in her mind for so long. She pressed further: "So, the thing in my head—was that your doing, too?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yangsheng’s expression darkened. "Those people implanted something into you?!"

Qu Zhanyi tapped her temple, looking indifferent. "A thing that calls itself the 'Villain Reform System.' It can unlock the shackles binding my soul, but it seems to want to use me to gain 'authorization' to enter the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion."

"They are too greedy."

The "they" Qin Yangsheng referred to were clearly the people behind the system. After that cryptic remark, he asked, "What does Your Highness intend to do?"

"They cannot take the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion, but the system is still useful to me."

"I understand," Qin Yangsheng said, his blood, long cold, suddenly beginning to boil. "I will go and capture those people right now and force them to unlock your soul shackles as quickly as possible."

Qu Zhanyi narrowed her eyes and leaned in close, her warm breath brushing against his cheek like a feather, causing the man’s heart to tremble. "You should know the laws of survival in this world better than I do. You are so eager to break my seals—do you have some ulterior motive?"

"Your Highness’s words are truly heartbreaking," Qin Yangsheng said, his handsome eyes instantly brimming with grievance. "Must I have a motive just because I saved you?"

His gaze was too intense, filled with complex emotions that were impossible to read. Qu Zhanyi instinctively recoiled. She was a natural-born villain; if not for the system constantly restricting her behavior since her resurrection, she would have long ago turned Yanjiao Village upside down.

Qin Yangsheng was a "toy" she had picked up once. In her eyes, he was no different from a stray cat or dog. Aside from feeding him and giving him a place to sleep, she had mostly ignored him. Even later, when he emerged from thousands of children to stand as her equal, she treated him no differently, often using him like a spinning top.

How could someone like her be worth his trouble? Moreover, seven thousand years is enough to extinguish any person’s passion, so why was he so obsessed with resurrecting her?

Qu Zhanyi couldn’t fathom it. Back then, when she was besieged by the righteous factions, her body was destroyed, her soul sealed, and she had fallen into a chaotic void, completely unaware of the changes in the world. And what of Qin Yangsheng? In a world where spiritual energy had withered, the Demon Realm had ceased to exist, and the Daoist sects lived in deep seclusion, how had he walked this path?

While Qu Zhanyi was lost in thought, Qin Yangsheng had already tearfully finished all the roasted meat.

Qu Zhanyi looked at him with a deadpan expression. *Just as I thought!* Did anyone who once followed her in her wickedness ever do something as kind as saving her?

She knew the breed of the dog she had raised better than anyone. Someone who could slaughter his own kin while weeping and stab himself while smiling—calling Qin Yangsheng a mad dog was no exaggeration. As a member of the demonic path, he was undoubtedly a qualified hound to her.

But after thousands of years apart, something about this dog seemed different.

Qu Zhanyi couldn't be bothered to investigate the reason; she had the answer she wanted, and there was no need to stay any longer. As she turned to leave, Qin Yangsheng suddenly spoke: "I never liked her. The few times I encountered her, it was only because the little trinkets she made could bring a moment of pleasure to the Princess."

Qu Zhanyi: "What?"

"Su Miaomiao. I have no connection to her."

Qu Zhanyi: "Oh."

"The only woman I have a connection with is Your Highness."

Qu Zhanyi: "..."

"Of course, I mean the connection of fighting side-by-side through life and death."

Qu Zhanyi: "...You're sick."

Qin Yangsheng rested his chin on his crossed hands and chuckled, his shoulders shaking with mirth.