My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Ji Daoyun made a hand seal, and the spirit boat hovered above a city. He looked at the group and called out, "Song Yingshi will lead the team. Chu Ming, Feng Xintong, Yu Shuiling, Kong Jiu, and Bai Jing will accompany you."

The governor of Youlin County is located in Liuyao City. Go and investigate the reasons for the current state of Youlin County.

We'll head to Jinwu County first. Please contact us immediately if anything comes up.

The crowd responded and flew down on their swords, the spirit boat continuing its journey towards Jinwu County.

*

Ruan Chayan arrived in Luanyang County smoothly. She gave Jin Si directions and followed the system map navigation to Ye Nan Town, Anxing County.

【"bite--

Congratulations to both hosts for completing the second stage of the side quest. The reward of 1000 points has been credited to your account. Debt information has been detected, and points have been automatically deducted. Your current debt is 9800 points.

Ruan Chayan exclaimed, "This task is ridiculously easy."

Anyone who didn't know better would think there was some difficult task here, and the system was afraid we wouldn't come, so it deliberately called us over first.

Luo Hanying also spoke up easily: "Yeah, I don't know what they're sending people to Ye Nan Town for."

Maybe they think we're too in debt, so they're giving us some simple tasks to balance the books.

"Haha~ If you put it that way, there's some truth to it."

Ruan Chayan's face was still beaming with joy, but the moment she heard about the new task, her heart stopped beating completely.

"Now, the third stage of the side quest is being assigned: Kill Lian Jiaping."

Task deadline: Five days.

Task Reward: 1000 points.

Penalty for mission failure: 10% deduction from side mission progress.

System navigation is now enabled. Please complete the task as soon as possible.

Luo Hanying: [“Another jinx???”]

Looking at the cursor pointing directly to the center of the town, Ruan Chayan asked with a wry smile, "Lian Jiaping isn't the name of some kind of monster, is he?"

7195 responded: "Lian Jiaping, born in Ye Nan Town, Anxing County, Luanyang Prefecture, is twenty-eight years old. He is humble and kind to others. He is the resident physician of Jimin Medical Hall."

Orphaned, he was recently engaged to a girl from the Shui family and lives with his elderly grandmother, who is over sixty years old.

【“Murder?!”】Luo Hanying screamed, 【“You want us to kill someone?! Murder is illegal! How could you let us kill someone?!】

7195, are you crazy?! That's a humble doctor! Are you kidding me?!

Jin Caiyu noticed Luo Hanying's restless appearance and asked with concern, "Fellow Daoist Luo, what's wrong? Have you also discovered something?"

Luo Hanying was startled upon hearing this and quickly shook her head: "It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just a little seasick. I'll go inside and rest for a while."

Ruan Chayan and Jin Si, who had regained his human form, stood at the crossroads of Ye Nan Town, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What brings you here?" Jin Si's divine sense swept across the entire Ye Nan Town, taking in all its scenery. "These are all mortals. What business do you have here? Do your family members live here?"

Ruan Chayan looked distressed: "No, none of that. Let me have some peace and quiet. I need to think about it."

Jin Si shrugged: "Suit yourself, I'll go in and take a look."

"Hey, don't dress so conspicuously. Change into something more ordinary." Ruan Chayan didn't want to be noticed by the townspeople, so she asked Jin Si to find a plain-colored robe for her to wear.

Jin Si rolled his eyes: "You have so many problems."

After thinking for a moment, he not only changed his clothes but also used magic to cover his ethereal features. He wanted to see what was so special about this place that made Ruan Chayan insist on coming here.

"7195, you need to know that I can't complete this task."

You know what Xiaoxue and I are like. Our background, our upbringing, and our education mean we would never underestimate any life.

Ruan Chayan looked at the constantly flashing navigation cursor and tried to reason with the system, saying, "You shouldn't have given me this kind of task in the first place."

According to your description, Lian Jiaping is a kind and virtuous doctor. He is humble, kind to others, and a good person. I have no reason to kill him.

I even wonder why you want me to kill a mere mortal who can't even kill a chicken.

A cold, mechanical voice echoed in Ruan Luo and the other's minds: "Based on the data obtained, we have deduced that Lian Jiaping will be one of the key figures in prolonging the war between good and evil. To address the root of the problem, Lian Jiaping needs to die immediately."

"How could a key figure in the battle between good and evil be a mere mortal?"

Ruan Chayan rubbed her thumb, pacing anxiously in place. "Does he have spiritual roots now? Can he cultivate?"

If not, it's questionable whether a mere mortal like him could even live to see a hundred years later, let alone influence the war between good and evil.

7195 was more honest than Xian Ge, saying exactly what he meant without any deception: [“Lian Jiaping is currently just a mortal and poses no threat at the moment.”]

"He's just an ordinary person right now, how can you expect me to lay a hand on him?"

Ruan Chayan wanted to struggle a bit more, to see if she could sway the system's mind. ["Is there a deviation in your deduction results?"]

"Please trust the system's calculations, host." 7195 added, "The mission's issuance has been reviewed by higher-ups; there won't be any problems."

Luo Hanying shuddered. If what 7195 said was true, if it used her and Ruan Chayan's future actions as data for prediction, and the prediction result was that the two of them would affect the completion of the mission, wouldn't the system try to eliminate them?

Ruan Chayan's mind is currently filled with thoughts of whether or not to kill someone; she hasn't thought that far ahead yet.

[“The host has five days to make a decision.”] 7195’s mechanical voice was devoid of any emotion. [“If the host decides to complete the mission, then the outcome will be a happy one for everyone;]

If the host believes they cannot act against a temporarily innocent mortal, then the mission will fail, the mission progress will be reversed, and the difficulty of side quests will increase. The host should be mentally prepared for such consequences and bear them themselves.

Ruan Chayan took a deep breath, her wavering gaze hardening: "I understand."

Xiaoxue, you go with Ji Daoyun and the others first. If Ji Daoyun asks about my whereabouts, just say I'll be here for about five days.

"What are you thinking?" Luo Hanying was extremely conflicted. "A good person..."

If he were a villain, they could have mustered the courage to let go of their self-imposed constraints and killed him without hesitation. But in the system's brief description, Lian Jiaping was clearly a pitiful person who healed and saved lives.

Ruan Chayan understood what Luo Hanying was hesitating about; what she was thinking was exactly what she was thinking.

Ruan Chayan: ["I'll check on Lian Jiaping's situation here first."]

Consider the situation and decide whether or not to hurt someone...

Ruan Chayan looked up at the gloomy sky: "He's about to start a family, has established his career, and still has a grandmother in her sixties to support..."

I truly don't know how such an mediocre person could possibly influence the war between good and evil a century later.

Ruan Chayan found a concealment array plate, activated it, hid her aura, and followed the system's cursor to walk towards the town.