Chapter 2: Host Sister Is Actually a Man

Chapter 2: Host "Sister" Is a Guy

Feng Mingjue looked at him with a "quit the act" look and offered his sleeve for Xue Youtan to wipe his mouth.

Taking advantage of the moment he was wiping his mouth, Feng Mingjue continued in a low voice, "Li Luoshu's bone structure isn't good. You abandoned Pei Zhi and chose him as your disciple—isn't it 'cause you saw his background and his knack for serving people?"

Oh, so the disciple he just picked was named Li Luoshu.

The name didn't ring a bell. Yep, an NPC who didn't even land a bit part in the original novel.

Great, he was totally fine with this role.

But what the hell did Feng Mingjue mean by the rest of that?

"Red chamber" and "serving people"—put together, that sounded kinda sketchy. Yet from his memories of two lifetimes back, Cangya Mountain was clearly a legit sect.

Was he misreading it, or was his mind just in the gutter?

Xue Youtan was mulling over the words and didn't immediately argue, so Feng Mingjue figured he'd hit the nail on the head.

He pulled his sleeve back and patted Xue Youtan's shoulder with a "you're a lost cause" tone. "I can see I can't talk you out of it, but you should still keep it on the down low. If Yueli sees this, he'll inevitably punish you again. You know how stiff-necked and straight-laced he is."

???

Wait, what exactly are you trying to talk me out of here?

This old man's words—he honestly couldn't make heads or tails of any of it.

"Wait, Sect Master..." Xue Youtan opened his mouth, about to shoot the breeze a bit more to dig up some useful info. Maybe this old man knew some hidden plot points. But Feng Mingjue flicked his sleeve and vanished into thin air.

Leaving Xue Youtan sitting on the bed, mouth agape, grabbing at nothing.

Man, that was quick.

He held that pose for a minute and a half, until he couldn't sense Feng Mingjue's presence anymore. Only then was he convinced the old man had really just dangled a carrot and bolted. He shifted a bit, planning to get out of bed and wash his face.

Cangya Mountain was damp, so Xue Youtan had put a step under the bed to raise the frame.

As Xue Youtan's front foot hit the step, a cocky male voice suddenly cut through the silent room. "Don't move. You'll get zapped again if you step outside."

The voice was so sudden it startled Xue Youtan, his foot slipped on the step, and he slid straight into a split.

Ow~

Pulled a hamstring.

"Who's talking?"

Xue Youtan asked, pulling his leg back. He wanted to rub his crotch to ease the pain, but with a stranger around, he figured that'd be classless, so he held off.

"It's me, it's me! Host sister."

The cocky guy's voice switched to a cute girl's voice, all cheerful. "Sis, you're so pretty. This is my first time talking to such a gorgeous sis, hehe, I'm kinda shy."

If he remembered right, the term "host" was only used in system notifications.

But for the past two lifetimes, the system he was bound to had always been a robotic AI voice, only showing up to push the plot or flag OOC moments. It didn't have a chat or small-talk function.

How'd it change this lifetime? And why was it sometimes a guy, sometimes a girl? Could an AI have multiple personalities?

Maybe tech changes the world, so the system got an upgrade to be more user-friendly and smarter?

"You're... the system?"

Xue Youtan's hesitant question got an instant answer. "Yep, that's right. Hi, host sis. System 2484 at your service."

What the hell, 2484? Phonetically, it sounds like "love it or die"...

Not a lucky number.

But that wasn't the point. The point was...

"Stop calling me sis. I'm a real man, a real man, a real man." Important stuff bears repeating three times.

"Uh..." The system paused for a beat, then the cute girl voice started reading out loud. "Xue Youtan, female, one of the three masters of Cangya Mountain, the vicious master of the male lead Pei Zhi. Good at dominoes, hot-tempered, loves corporal punishment, gets off on tormenting Pei Zhi, and is the top enemy on Pei Zhi's road to glory. Date of birth unknown, died at..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Xue Youtan cut in fast. "Don't jinx me with death, thanks."

"Okay." The system dutifully changed the subject. "According to the data, the host is a female."

"But I'm male."

"Yep, that's right. Maybe the system's data hasn't been updated yet, but gender doesn't affect the plot, sweetie."

Xue Youtan: "..."

This system must've been programmed with Taobao seller skills.

Still, if the system hadn't brought up Xue Youtan's profile, he might've almost forgotten why he'd started reading that novel in the first place.

He'd been a 21st-century programmer, a total office drone. After pulling an all-nighter one day, he dropped dead on the spot, and when he woke up, he was the villain in a danmei novel he'd read right before kicking the bucket.

Yeah, a female supporting character—except, gender-swapped.

When he transmigrated, Xue Youtan was still named Xue Youtan, but in the setting, he'd been a guy from the get-go.

Don't ask a straight dude why he was reading danmei. If you ask, it's 'cause he clicked an ad in a moment of brain fog.

He couldn't care less about two dudes doing gay stuff. The only reason he kept reading was Xue Youtan!

That was the white moonlight of Cangya Mountain in the original—gorgeous and fierce, tormenting the two male leads without mercy. Most importantly, she had a killer body: F-cup chest, S-curve hips, wasp waist. Calling her "wife" wasn't a stretch, right?

But after transmigrating, he didn't get the wife. Instead, he became the wife—and a flat-chested one at that (╥╯^╰╥).

Guys, who gets this pain?

At that thought, Xue Youtan went full emo.

"Cut the crap." The system's voice switched to a guy's. The split-personality system was now run by a cool dude. The next second, a pop-up window appeared in front of Xue Youtan.

"Upgraded system online. Please read the following carefully.

Bound character: Xue Youtan, one of the Three Masters of Cangya Mountain.

Mission clear condition: Survive until the Golden Court scene.

Task Rules: Players must advance the plot, avoid character OOC, and complete tasks issued by this system. Main quests can't be declined. Completing them earns you points, while failure deducts points. Once points hit zero, the player will be terminated.

Current task progress: 1%. Good luck, player."

Two lifetimes ago, when he was a master, he didn't have this panel.

Indeed, the upgraded version is different—so advanced, it feels like I'm playing a game.

As a programmer, Xue Youtan had to admit the code for this program was pretty well-written.

But...

"Wait, can you first explain what 'points hit zero, player will be terminated' means? Is it like the previous two times, where the story restarts?"

"Literally, you'll be removed from this world and returned to the real world."

"But I've already kicked the bucket in the real world."

System Bro didn't reply.

But Xue Youtan could guess what it meant without an answer—it meant failing the task would lead to being reduced to ashes.

He didn't want to be reduced to ashes. After all, in this cultivation world, he could fly on a sword, have everything served on a silver platter, and live a carefree life without needing to work.

He'd rather live for thousands of years, outliving even a tortoise.

With that thought, Xue Youtan asked, "So, when will the tasks mentioned on the panel be issued?"

"Right now."

"Knock, knock, knock—" Just as System Bro finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door.