Chapter 9
Lin Queli kept his head bowed, his hands held high.
Although getting spanked earned him points, he was still a little scared. What if the discipline rulers of the cultivation world or the force of Helan Xue’s blows were different from what he imagined? Would one hit leave his hand bruised for a whole day?
When Shouyang turned his head curiously, the scene he saw was Lin Queli pitifully curled up, kneeling before Helan Xue, his hands held high, his upturned palms trembling slightly. He looked terrified, yet he didn’t dare to disobey.
Shouyang stepped forward and said, “What mistake has Young Master Lin made?”
He looked at Lin Queli and only saw him as pure and lovely, like a delicate porcelain doll, not someone who could cause much trouble. Why was he acting as if his Shizun was about to gouge him out now?
“I fell asleep during meditation… It’s only right that Shizun punishes me.”
Lin Queli was worried that Shouyang would ruin his plans, for example, by punishing him on Helan Xue’s behalf. He quickly tried to send him away. He blinked his teary eyes and turned his head away, saying bravely, “It’s alright, senior martial brother, I can totally handle it!”
Shouyang: “…”
Shouyang paused, then stepped forward. “Shizun, considering that Young Master Lin is still young and has just started cultivating, and doesn’t know the ropes yet, could Shizun spare him?”
Lin Queli: “…!”
If it were before, he would have screamed that Shouyang was his savior, but now he just wanted to rush up and shake Shouyang’s shoulders. No!!!
Lin Queli became anxious. “No, no… you can’t spare me!”
Shouyang sighed. “Shizun, look at how sensible and willing to admit his mistake Young Master Lin is. He must have already realized his error.”
Lin Queli became even more anxious. “No, no!! I haven’t realized my error!”
【Host… it’s not that I’m complaining, but how is it that your cute act works on everyone, Ji Chun is one, Shouyang is another, but it’s completely useless on Taxue Xianzun?】
Lin Queli said angrily, “What cute act! I’m a man of iron and bone, I never act cute! I was humbly begging for mercy. It works on Ji Chun and Shouyang because they have a conscience.”
“Helan Xue has no conscience!” This was truly from the bottom of his heart.
Helan Xue looked at the flustered Lin Queli and the helpless Shouyang and shook his head.
“Forget it. Since this is your first offense, This Venerable will not punish you. There will be no next time.”
“…!”
He was wrong.
He did have a conscience after all.
Ah, ah, ah, ah!!! Don’t suddenly have a conscience at a time like this!
Lin Queli said in despair, “Shizun…”
Helan Xue returned the discipline ruler to Lin Queli and then closed his eyes to rest, fiddling with his prayer beads.
Lin Queli wanted to cry but had no tears.
【Look on the bright side, you’ve already earned 6 points today! That’s a total of 12 points, a leap in progress!】
Lin Queli: “…”
I’m 500 points in debt, and I’ve earned 12. Do I look happy to you?
Seeing that Lin Queli was still kneeling, Shouyang thought he was being too sincere and reminded him, “Shizun is going to rest. Let’s leave first.”
“Oh…”
Lin Queli left with Shouyang. On the way, Shouyang’s tone was somewhat worried. “I see that your spiritual energy is weak and unstable. Did you not practice in the Changming Clan before? Ji Chun told me that Shizun’s test for you is to win three consecutive matches in the grand competition arena. How will you pass like this?”
Lin Queli asked sincerely, “Then, senior martial brother, do you think I can pass if I start cultivating diligently from today?”
“Hmm…” Shouyang studied Lin Queli for a moment. “It’s hard to say. Hard work might create a miracle.”
“…”
Senior martial brother really knows how to talk, how tactful.
After returning to his room, Lin Queli asked the System, “Is there no item or way to activate my Demon Lord’s cultivation and disguise it as the immortal path?”
【Umm… points…】
Lin Queli rolled his eyes, already knowing what the System was going to say. “Useless system.”
【Well… but the Host has already earned and paid back 12 points of his debt. If you successfully pay back 50, I can apply for a loan once, and you can exchange it for this item.】
Lin Queli took a deep breath. “This means I’ll be even more in debt.”
【But at least you’ll survive?】
“…”
Lin Queli took another deep breath. “So, compared to cultivating, I need to work even harder to earn points!”
50… no, 38 points sounded achievable with some effort.
【That seems to make sense, but something feels strange. It’s supposed to be a seduction mission, but how did it turn into being a points-loan slave?】
Lin Queli bared his teeth. “Are you asking me?”
【…Ehehe.】
Lin Queli paced back and forth, thinking. “It just so happens that I’m about to finish my roasted chicken. I’ll go to the back mountain to catch another one. That way, I can not only eat something delicious but also get Shizun to punish me!”
What a bargain!
“Or I could just go down the mountain to buy a chicken? I could also buy duck, fish, pork…”
Since transmigrating, he had never been to the mortal world to see it.
The mortal market must be even more interesting and lively than the mountain, right?
But he needed money for shopping.
Lin Queli started searching. He had a lot of things on him when he first transmigrated, such as the secretly hidden Demon Lord’s token and a spirit pouch.
Lin Queli opened the spirit pouch and explored it carefully. He saw that besides a wooden bird sculpture and the “remains” of the roasted chicken he had stuffed inside, there was nothing else, no money.
The great Demon Lord, penniless?
And what was this wooden bird?
Lin Queli took out the wooden bird to examine it, and the next moment…
Whoosh—!
“…Your Highness?”
Lin Queli stared dumbfounded at the two men in night-traveling clothes who had appeared out of thin air before him.
They were both masked, revealing only their eyes. At this moment, they were both kneeling on one knee. “What are Your Highness’s orders for summoning us!”
…!
Eek!!!
…
Half an incense stick’s time later.
Lin Queli sat on the bed, looking deeply at the people before him—Tingfeng and Zhuiying, two of the Demon Lord’s shadow guards.
The wooden bird was actually a magical tool that the Demon Lord could use to summon his shadow guards anytime, anywhere.
Before the era of the Long Aotian, the Demon Lord was the only one in the world whose cultivation could rival Taxue Xianzun’s. But what Lin Queli didn’t expect was that the Demon Lord could actually create a teleportation formation that could conceal their tracks and demonic energy, allowing these two shadow guards to appear in the Myriad Sword Sect without even the bracelet reacting.
Lin Queli asked, “After you’ve come, how do you leave?”
What he was most worried about now was what would happen if these two were exposed.
He wanted Helan Xue to hit him, not kill him!
The more mature-looking Tingfeng said, “This subordinate can use Your Highness’s special formation to teleport to the foot of the mountain.”
Lin Queli asked expectantly, “Can I use it?”
Tingfeng: “The formation is specially made and exclusive. No one can use it except this subordinate and Zhuiying.”
Zhuiying, standing to the side, also nodded.
Lin Queli: “Then if I want to go down the mountain, how long would it take?”
Tingfeng seemed a little puzzled by this question but answered honestly, “An ordinary person might take five days, but with Your Highness’s profound skills, two days would be sufficient.”
“…”
Again, he wanted Helan Xue to hit him, not kill him.
In that case, he couldn’t sneak down the mountain at all. If he went down the mountain, it would probably be a one-way trip for the disciple.
“Your Highness…”
Lin Queli’s body trembled. “I’ve been wanting to say this since just now, don’t call me that.”
It was bad luck!
Tingfeng paused, his tone also becoming serious. “It was this subordinate who was not thoughtful enough. Your… Young Master is now hiding his identity and lurking in the Myriad Sword Sect. Your status has already changed.”
Zhuiying added, “Young Master has endured humiliation and hardship for the revival of the Demon Clan. Whatever your orders are, the Demon Palace and this subordinate will do our utmost, even if it means sacrificing our lives!”
Lin Queli: “…”
Lin Queli: “How about you bring me a roasted chicken?”
“…”
Zhuiying: “Huh?”
Tingfeng patted him. “Young Master has his reasons for doing so!”
Zhuiying: “Yes!”
…
So, after Lin Queli took a nap, he received a roasted chicken and a large bag of ingredients in the middle of the night.
Not only that, Lin Queli also had them bring some books. Although he had read the original novel, he had skipped all the scenic descriptions when he was reading it before. He regretted it now! So the fastest way to understand this world now was to read books.
After handing over the things, Tingfeng asked, “Does Young Master have any other orders? Elder Jin asked this subordinate to inquire if Young Master is lurking in the Myriad Sword Sect for the Demon Scabbard and the Demon Sword fragments?”
Lin Queli’s body trembled.
Ancestor! I don’t dare to have any ideas about that!
Lin Queli cleared his throat and said in a deep, feigned voice, “I have my own plans. You all stand by for now.”
Don’t cause trouble!
Zhuiying frowned. “But the Demon Palace has heard that the attempt to steal the Demon Scabbard failed. Under Elder Jin’s instigation, they seem to have become a little impatient recently. Elder Jin has even brought people to lurk around the Myriad Sword Sect, nominally to provide support for Young Master.”
Lin Queli: “!!”
Lin Queli’s body trembled for the second time.
He didn’t dare to reveal his true identity in front of the original owner’s subordinates. After chattering with the System for a while, he finally remembered that this Elder Jin had always coveted the Demon Lord’s position. Although he was also a villain from the Demon Palace like the Demon Lord, their relationship was not harmonious, and they had divided the Demon Palace into two factions.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Queli took a deep breath and tried his best to imitate Helan Xue’s arrogant, profound, and cold demeanor. He lowered his voice and said with a stern face, “That… you pass on a message for This… This Lord. If you still have any respect for This Lord, tell Elder Jin and the others not to act rashly, to leave the Myriad Sword Sect, and not to have any ideas about the immortal sect grand competition. Otherwise, if they ruin This Lord’s good plans, see how they will answer to the Demon Palace and the Demon Clan!”
“Yes!”
Phew…!
After the two left, Lin Queli breathed a sigh of relief and quickly hid the ingredients in his spirit pouch to keep them fresh. He then curiously took out the books they had brought him.
Records of Cangzhou’s Customs, Records of Famous Swords, Records of Beauties…
Huh?
Lin Queli came across A Pair of Mandarin Ducks Flying Together and picked it out curiously.
Judging by the name, it should be a lingering, poignant romance novel, perhaps about some lonely man and resentful woman.
Lin Queli opened it.
“…”
Lin Queli closed it.
Holy shit!!
You and your demon cultivators.
Is the public morality so open?! They said they would bring me some books about local customs, and they brought me a spring palace picture?!
(TN: Spring palace pictures are a euphemism for erotic art.)
【Host, don’t refuse! JJWXC doesn’t have any JJ, and I have censorship restrictions. This is the only thing that can help you! I suggest you study it frame by frame, dear.】
After preparing himself mentally, Lin Queli opened the book again. The clothes were still on on the first page, but by the second page, even the censors would be furious.
He kept rubbing the bracelet, feeling his heart race and his whole body grow hot.
What’s going on?
“Da Zhuang, I feel a little hot.”
【Aiya, it’s normal for a man to get a little hot looking at this.】
“No…”
Lin Queli said uncomfortably, “It feels like an abnormal kind of heat.”
Lin Queli’s face was flushed, and he curled up under the covers, panting slightly. His knuckles were white as he clutched the quilt, and he said in a hoarse voice, “I feel weak all over, and a little itchy. It itches so much it hurts, but I can’t say where it hurts. It feels like I’m in a furnace.”
“Bro, I’ve described it in such detail, do you have any idea what’s going on?”
【W-wait! I’ll go watch an ad and check the Demon Lord’s lore.】
Lin Queli: “…”
【Holy shit… Host, this.】
【I… you…】
【Ah, ah, ah, ah, why does the Demon Lord also have the setting of being a furnace cauldron?!】
(TN: A furnace cauldron is a cultivation trope where a person has a special constitution that makes them ideal for others to cultivate with (often sexually) to steal their energy and advance their own cultivation. They are often treated as disposable tools.)
“Huh?”
What?
A furnace what?!
【My god, so the reason the original Demon Lord turned to the dark side was because he knew from a young age that he had a furnace cauldron constitution, and he went to extremes to avoid being defiled by others. Ah, the author wrote it quite detailedly.】
Lin Queli was about to faint. “Detailed my ass! At a time like this, could you please consider my feelings?!”
For god’s sake, why is he a furnace cauldron!!
What kind of damn setting is this!
【I-I can’t help it! Host, you’ve got all the debuffs this time. I also found another setting… The Demon Clan is naturally indulgent and cultivates with desire, whether it’s the desire to kill or sexual desire, it’s easily ignited!】
【How about… I’ve seen in other novels that the male protagonist takes a cold shower at times like this. Do you want to try it, Host?】
“…”
…
Ice Cave Abode, Helan Xue, who was in seclusion, frowned slightly.
He felt a shared sensation from the bracelet.
That brat… what was he doing now??
If Helan Xue didn’t actively share the sensation, the bracelet wouldn’t transmit any emotions. But there was one exception—if the owner of the bracelet had excessive evil thoughts, the bracelet would act as a warning, alerting the other owner.
At this moment, the ice shards in Helan Xue’s palm seemed to have melted a little due to the rising temperature.
Helan Xue burned a sound transmission talisman to Ji Chun, his face dark, his tone as if it had fallen into a frozen abyss. “Tell Lin Luo to come here.”
