Shen's thoughts were still in disarray as he walked across the bridge to the Black Lotus Peak, but he remembered where he had seen that graceful zither.
«System, and you, by any chance, cannot reproduce the words of people in the recording?»
[Certainly can. I write everything down.]
Shen, honestly, asked without much hope.
«Then repeat Muan's last words to me!»
[«To you forever»], System immediately responded helpfully.
«What?» Shen did not understand.
[Muan's last three words. «To you forever»]
«Not so recent, System! Repeat his entire last speech. It seems that I forgot it a little out of surprise.»
System repeated everything to him word for word. Then one more time. And one more time.
For the fourth time, she began to repeat the recorded words without Shen's request. He interrupted her in mid-sentence with a semi-rhetorical remark:
«I can't believe Muan used such complex sentences. No, this is definitely not spontaneous speech. He seems to have thought about the part about the wild animal in advance, and possibly for a long time.»
Wild animal.
To some extent, Shen could agree with that. In general, he considered self-criticism to be his strong point.
Wild animal.
It annoyed him more that Muan had dug so deeply.
Wild animal.
No, it's not true after all. Didn't he do everything all this time to be closer to people? What has he done so emphatically wrong to merit such accusations?
«System, am I a wild animal?»
[Your consciousness occupies the body of a man, an immortal cultivator, Lord of the Black Lotus Peak Shen. As far as I know, you were also human in a past life.]
Sincere misunderstanding of the System made him laugh.
«Yes, you're right,» he thought, smiling.
Passing through the square to the gates of the black castle, Shen noticed a bright pink object near the entrance, which had not been here before. Coming closer, he recognized it as a hand-made flower-shaped soap.
"Someone hinting that I smell bad?" raising an eyebrow, he said aloud, looking around. "Too childish somehow."
With a chuckle, he entered the castle, immediately throwing the «gift» out of his thoughts. He was much more interested in the elegant zither, which he definitely saw in his bins when he was studying the cellars for nothing to do. He even remembered exactly where to go. There was such a small room, filled with different musical instruments.
Going down to the cellars, Shen lit the talisman and unmistakably reached the desired door. It was slightly open, but he wouldn't say for sure if he was locking it.
It was still dry and dusty inside. Shen walked past the shelves, examining the musical instruments lying on them. He did not remember the exact location of the zither, but the dust played into his hands. On one of the shelves, he saw a bright, dust-free spot. Its shape was oblong, just the size of a zither case.
It never even occurred to Shen to lock his lock from strangers. It was hard to imagine that someone willingly would dare to stick in here.
«System, do you know if anyone came to the castle in my absence?»
YOU ARE READING
Villain Path
FantasyHe died and was reborn in the world of the novel he'd just read?! How banal, damn it! System, I wish I were never born! System: [You have been assigned the identity of the main villain] Have I sinned so badly in my past life?! System: [And by the...
