The two remaining descendants were one, Qi Zhao, the eldest son of the Qi family, the only one in the Kingdom of Claris who was still willing and brave enough to defend the nation.
The other was the youngest daughter of the Qi family, now being pressed to the ground by a man dressed in black, her eyes filled with fury as she glared at Xue Yuan. Sadly, the last bit of hope that the previous generation of the Qi family had placed in the royal family had finally been completely shattered.
Qi Huahua was so angry because the kingdom was now filled with rebels. Her brother, General Qi, had originally planned to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion, but just before he could depart, he was unexpectedly discovered by the original owner of this body.
The general was tall and strikingly handsome. He had grown up in the army and developed an outstanding aura, a rare combination of valor and beauty.
The original owner had an abnormal obsession with beauty. Whenever he saw an attractive person, whether male or female, he would bring them to his palace and torment them.
After being noticed by him, the Emperor of the Plumera Kingdom ordered that General Qi be captured and sent to the Second Prince's palace, forcing him to serve there—in other words, forcing him to endure suffering.
General Qi resisted until the very end, but Xue Yuan still treated him with extreme cruelty.
The day before Xue Yuan took over this body, the general who was supposed to go to war had already been tortured until he was half-dead and was locked deep within the dungeons of the Second Prince's palace.
Last night, unsatisfied, the original Xue Yuan had summoned all of his companions, both male and female, to his chambers. Every one of them was in a miserable state because of him.
Qi Huahua resembled her elder brother greatly. Both were extremely beautiful. Two years ago, the original Xue Yuan had already taken her into his palace.
This morning, after learning that her only brother had suffered the same fate, Qi Huahua burst into the bedroom in rage, just as Xue Yuan opened his eyes.
The voice of System 92 sounded again in his mind.
"Dear Host, System 92 and the Main System will provide all the support you need. However, in order to maintain balance, tools and rewards will only be granted after the corresponding tasks are completed."
"To put it simply, dear Host, the system will issue missions. Only when a mission is halfway completed or fully completed will you receive tools to assist you with the next mission, and then a reward will be given."
"There is no need to worry, dear Host. These tasks will guide you, and completing them will be beneficial to the plan of conquering the empire."
Xue Yuan let out a mocking chuckle. "So you are afraid that I would refuse the missions and directly demand the rewards?"
"Not really, Young Master. If you avoided the missions and demanded rewards and tools immediately, they would be completely useless."
The system thought Xue Yuan would ask for a more detailed explanation and was prepared to clarify everything, but to its surprise, Xue Yuan neither argued nor questioned further. He only nodded.
The system fell silent.
Xue Yuan ignored it. As long as the reward was fair, he would treat it as a business deal. That was perfectly acceptable.
He had always lived in the world of business. If a deal made sense, he would not refuse it.
He began to think about the task.
The system sensed his thoughts and paused again.
Fortunately, although Xue Yuan was sharp-minded and intelligent, he had principles. He was not the type who tried to exploit others.
Xue Yuan did not know what the system was thinking. After a few seconds of reflection, he looked at Huahua.
The woman who was restrained yet unyielding reminded him of the senior employees of the Xia Corporation, those who had followed the company since the time of his parents and grandparents.
Those employees were loyal like the Qi family, holding deep feelings for the enterprise they served.
But even so, Xue Yuan was not sure that if the Xia Corporation ever collapsed, they would still stand by it.
Of course, that was only a hypothetical thought. The Xia Corporation would never collapse.
But here, the Kingdom of Claris was already falling apart.
The Qi family had always been brave and wise. There was no way they could not see the truth, yet they remained loyal, always shedding blood for the kingdom.
Xue Yuan did not know how to judge such people, but what the original body and his brother had done was truly inhumane.
"Can I act differently now?"
The system replied quickly, "Dear Host, it is not advisable to display a completely different personality overnight. You may change their perception gradually, but you cannot act entirely differently at the beginning. The people of this world deeply believe in spirits and gods. A sudden change would raise suspicion."
"Moreover, dear Young Master, the Qi family is one of the few noble families with many generations in this kingdom, and they are extremely useful. Gaining their favor is an important part of this mission."
Xue Yuan sneered coldly at the system and said, "You do not allow me to act out of character, yet you want me to gain their favor? How should I do that? By bringing both siblings here and continuing to use them?"
The system fell silent again and left him to decide for himself. It was only a system that assisted with missions; what he chose to do was not its concern.
Then Xue Yuan's voice sounded again, amused. "Forget it. I do not care about their favor. As long as they obey me and do what I say, that is enough."
After all, people could be trained.
He did not need their affection. If he could train them to obey his orders, they would do whatever he said, no matter what kind of person he was.
That was sufficient.
Xue Yuan suddenly stood up and walked toward Huahua. Under her furious gaze, he reached out and lightly pinched her chin, his eyes playful.
His expression and behavior were exactly the same as those of the original owner of the body.
"So you mean your brother can defeat the rebels? That as long as he goes, those pests will be wiped out immediately?"
When Xue Yuan made a gesture, the man in black holding the girl removed the seal that prevented her from speaking.
Huahua immediately shouted, "Yes!"
The Kingdom of Claris, which her ancestors had protected for generations, had been ruined by these two brothers. Officials with integrity had either left or joined the treacherous regent.
Thinking of the desperate state of the country, Huahua felt deep sorrow.
If not for the honor and loyalty passed down through the Qi family, she would have begged her brother to take their people and flee this fallen land.
Xue Yuan laughed softly, looking down at her as if he were watching a clown.
Just as Huahua was about to explode with rage, Xue Yuan bent slightly and touched her face as if she were an expensive courtesan from a brothel.
"Very well. Let me give you a chance to face reality. Let us see whether your family belongs on the battlefield… or locked in the palace serving me."
Huahua glared at him as if she wanted to kill him.
Xue Yuan ignored her and continued acting like the original person, casually brushing his fingers along her neck, almost reaching her chest.
"I will give you ten days. If your brother cannot suppress the rebellion in Calendula City within ten days, then he must return, renounce his title, and together with you, serve in my palace."
Huahua's eyes widened in fury. Even riding without rest, it would take three days to reach that place. That would leave less than seven days to crush a massive rebel force that had already seized several border cities.
And…
"My brother is still injured and locked in your dungeon."
This man only wanted to imprison them and torment them.
Xue Yuan smiled and took her chin again. "I said, both of you."
Huahua froze.
Xue Yuan looked at her and said, "Your brother is too badly injured to ride a horse, so I am not being unreasonable. Go with him."
Her eyes widened even more. She could not believe this man would show any mercy.
Indeed, Xue Yuan released her chin, took a silk handkerchief from his sleeve, and slowly wiped his hand.
"Your brother cannot even fight right now. He would die if I sent him out, but I have not had enough fun with him yet, so I do not want him to die."
"So go with him. You are both from the Qi family. If you fail, at least you will return together, understand the truth, and serve me. Isn't that right?"
Huahua looked like a wild beast, breathing heavily, her eyes red with fury.
Xue Yuan waited for her to curse again, but instead, she took a deep breath, calmed herself, and stared at him.
"And if we succeed?"
Oh? Not bad. She even knew how to bargain.
Xue Yuan's impression of the Qi family changed slightly. Not only was she fierce, she was also resilient. That meant she possessed real inner strength, perhaps forged during her time in the palace.
Xue Yuan smiled. "If you succeed, I will let your brother go. What do you say?"