Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 7: The Victim’s Emotions Are Currently Stable

Xia Ya leaped down the dirt slope, skillfully weaving through the broken stone walls and the gray-white ruins of ancient buildings.

Every relic within the Ruins of Cangting Principality had been painstakingly excavated and cleared by the Archaeological Expedition Team he had hired, making Xia Ya intimately familiar with this place.

Of course, in exchange, he had also burned through most of the fortune he had amassed using his Transmigrator knowledge since his rebirth. Archaeology truly deserved its reputation as a financial black hole.

Still, for such a hefty price, Xia Ya was bound to gain something in return.

His pace gradually slowed until he finally came to a halt before an aged black iron door.

Reaching out, he pushed against it, causing the dust-covered metal to creak loudly before it slowly swung open.

Unlike the other ruins that had long succumbed to the ravages of time, this hidden chamber was constructed entirely from high-strength alloy. Despite more than five centuries passing, it remained nearly unscathed.

Inside, aside from defunct lighting fixtures, the chamber was completely empty—save for two bronze-carved stone pedestals.

On the left pedestal lay a heavily damaged parchment tome, while the right one held only an empty indentation.

Without hesitation, Xia Ya strode toward the pedestals.

As unreliable as his Heavenly Fate Villain System was, there was at least one thing about it that wasn’t completely rigged against him—

The beginner quest it issued could be completed in stages, and each completed stage came with a corresponding reward.

The first stage objective of the beginner quest was: [Reach Cangting Principality].

Six hundred years ago, when Cangting Principality was still intact, this would have been no more than a simple "auto-pathfinding" fetch quest—akin to [Deliver the letter to Granny Wang, the florist in the northern village]. Completely trivial, serving no purpose other than padding player online time.

But today, just pinpointing the general location of the fallen Cangting Principality from vague, fragmented ancient texts had taken Xia Ya several months of exhaustive research. Once within the estimated range, he had relied on his System’s navigation function to meticulously scan and confirm the exact coordinates.

Still, he had completed the first stage objective—after all, who said ruins didn’t count as the quest destination?

However, the second stage objective—[Become a member of the Grand Duke's family]—was a whole different headache.

Under normal circumstances, he would probably have to undergo some sort of family trial or test, complete a series of internal faction quests, and rack up enough merit and reputation to exchange for official recognition as a member of the Grand Duke’s family.

A standard faction reputation grind—cumbersome, but at least the process was clear.

But now that the principality was long gone, how the hell was he supposed to join this dead noble house?!

This second-stage objective had stumped Xia Ya until his Archaeological Expedition Team uncovered this hidden chamber.

Turning his gaze to the bronze pedestal on the left, Xia Ya studied the tattered parchment tome resting atop it.

Most of its text had been erased by time, leaving only a single, crisp line of fresh ink at the bottom—a line that had clearly been written only months ago.

[Xia Ya Egut]

That’s right. Based on his predictions, this hidden chamber was likely some kind of ancestral hall belonging to the rulers of Cangting Principality—the Grand Duke’s family.

The place was riddled with ancient defensive mechanisms, some of which had remained functional even after five centuries, giving Xia Ya and his Archaeological Expedition Team quite a bit of trouble during their initial excavation.

And a book stored within an ancestral hall? That could only be a family registry—or genealogical record.

If he managed to get his name recorded in it, who could argue he wasn't part of the Grand Duke’s family?

Sure, he had no idea what the last Grand Duke’s surname even was, but who said noble houses couldn’t adopt outsiders?

It wasn’t like marrying in for status was forbidden, right?

Besides, the Grand Duke himself seemed perfectly content and stable, showing no objections whatsoever.

Xia Ya’s attempt was no doubt a long shot, a desperate gamble—

But the moment he inscribed his name onto that parchment tome, his System’s interface flickered wildly, its blue light distorting and shifting for what felt like an eternity before finally stabilizing.

And then, the System notification appeared—

[Stage objective completed. Reward: 5000 Free EXP.]

However, unlike the first two objectives that could be bypassed with clever workarounds, the third stage of the beginner quest wasn’t something he could cheat his way through.

[Stage Three: Increase the favorability of the Grand Duke’s daughter, Sylvia, to 30 points.]

On paper, this wasn’t a difficult task—

After all, 30 favorability points only meant a friendly acquaintance level at best. If he had successfully joined the Grand Duke’s family, all he would need to do was patiently interact with Sylvia, seizing opportunities to raise his reputation and gain her trust.

The problem was—

Nearly six centuries had passed.

Sylvia had ascended to the Legendary tier five centuries ago, earning the title of "The Argent Witch" and becoming one of the most powerful Beastmasters on the entire continent.

And now?

For the past five hundred years, she had vanished entirely.

No one knew if she was alive or dead.

Even among the top-tier Legendary Beastmasters, none had been able to trace her whereabouts.

For Xia Ya, finding her was practically impossible.

But—

“I believe there are always more solutions than obstacles.”

Xia Ya turned his attention to the empty right-side pedestal, then reached into his cloak and retrieved an intricately crafted Mithril Sealed Box—a custom-commissioned artifact forged by master artisans in the Imperial Capital, purchased at a staggering cost.

He took a deep breath.

He had spent a full five to six years preparing for this very moment.

The sheer amount of Rhine Gold Coins he had poured into this plan exceeded 100,000, a sum greater than the entire wealth of some barons or even viscounts in the Imperial Capital.

It was enough to buy a thriving village and claim it as his own territory.

Even for Xia Ya, a transmigrator, this was a nerve-wracking moment.

He had considered the possibility that all his investments would amount to nothing—but he had already pushed this bugged beginner quest this far. There was no way he was giving up now.

Besides, as unreliable as the System was, its rewards were undeniably tempting.

Just completing the second stage had already granted him 5000 Free EXP.

Although his Summoned Beast’s level was still capped by the Soul Pact tier and growth limitations, those Free EXP points could be invested into skill proficiency.

Without them, it would have taken over a decade for ilver to refine its "Charm" ability into a master-level illusion technique.

And without that foundation, developing his own high-tier illusion art, "Tsukuyomi," would have been impossible.

More importantly—

Xia Ya had a reason to grow stronger.

Closing his eyes, he steadied his mental state, eliminating all distractions.

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When he opened them again, his black pupils were filled with unwavering determination.

Xia Ya retrieved a stone carving from the Mithril Sealed Box and carefully placed it into the indentation on the bronze pedestal.

Boom—!

A dazzling light erupted, shattering the darkness of the chamber.

Amid the booming echoes and swirling radiance, a line of text flickered into Xia Ya’s vision—

[Historical Echo—"Cangting Principality" has been activated.]