Chapter 2
Lin Queli was in a daze, and the next moment, he found himself lying on the snowfield again.
The Xianzun’s terrifying figure was gone. With a clap of thunder, the large tree nearby was struck by lightning and came crashing down. Lin Queli skillfully rolled to the side, as if he already knew which way the branches and snow would fly, and easily dodged it.
How was I about to die just now?!
Helan Xue, you are terrifying.
“That was close. That rewind function saved my ass!”
Wait a minute…
“How did my 100 points turn into a negative balance??”
【The rewind function requires a huge amount of points. The fact that you can even run up a tab is already very humane, Host.】
【Besides, being dead is much scarier, right? Don’t worry about those 100 points! And you were lucky the plot hadn’t progressed for long, otherwise, 200 points would never have been enough for a rewind!】
That may be true, but it still hurt! At the very least, a speedrun was now impossible.
But there was a more serious problem… that god of death, Helan Xue, was about to arrive!
Lin Queli said anxiously, “I need to understand the situation first. Where is the plot at right now? Why does the Xianzun want to kill me?”
【Gimme 30 seconds, I’m watching an ad.】
Lin Queli: “…”
Couldn’t you have waited until after I died?
【Done! The current plot is: the Demon Lord and his subordinates infiltrated the Myriad Sword Sect, where Taxue Xianzun resides, and stole the sacred artifact of the Righteous Path. Taxue Xianzun rushed over upon hearing the news and set up a Heavenly Thunder Formation to hunt down the Demon Lord and retrieve the artifact. The original Demon Lord died in the formation, which is when you arrived.】
Lin Queli now understood why Helan Xue had asked him, “They escaped. Why did they leave you behind?”
“But in the original novel, weren’t those two arch-enemies who were evenly matched at the start? How did the Demon Lord die so easily in the formation?”
【Because the Xianzun went OOC and became hyper-competitive, so his cultivation is even higher than in the original novel.】
“…”
Another bolt of lightning flashed in the distant sky.
That familiar feeling…
Not long after that lightning strike, Helan Xue had appeared!
Help!
The Demon Lord identity was a no-go.
“Quick, quick, you said there was another identity, B. What is it?”
【Let me see… It’s a young disciple from the Changming Immortal Clan named Lin Luo. Because of his mischievous nature, his elders sent him to the Myriad Sword Sect to gain experience. He was originally supposed to become Taxue Xianzun’s disciple, but he died in an accident on the way here, which is why he has no bond with Taxue Xianzun.】
Lin Queli was filled with regret. “A new definition of the word ‘bond’.”
【.】
“Can you switch me to that identity?!”
【We’ve already loaded in… so of course, we can’t!】
【Ah, I know, Host! How about this? I can use more points to change your face, hide your demonic aura, and forge a Changming Clan token to let you disguise yourself as that disciple! It’s just that the total points for all this… will put you 500 points in debt.】
The corner of Lin Queli’s mouth twitched.
Not far away, the formation began to manifest, and the silhouette of a man in white robes took shape amidst the wind and snow.
“DO IT!!!” Lin Queli screamed in his mind.
The moment the System finished, Helan Xue arrived with his sword.
Lin Queli immediately put on a smile and scrambled to his feet. “Xianzun, are you here to pick…”
Swish—
The next moment, a sword was once again at his neck. Helan Xue’s murderous aura was like that of an Asura.
Lin Queli: “…me up?”
?!
No, seriously? Bro?
Why was he still trying to kill him?!
Watching the sword swing towards him again, Lin Queli dropped into a sliding kneel and hugged Helan Xue’s thigh, letting out a marmot-like shriek. “Wait, wait! Shizun! Shizun, show mercy! I’m your long-lost, beloved disciple!”
Lin Queli frantically fumbled in his pocket for the token the System had just made, dropping it several times before successfully holding it up. “This junior is Lin Luo! It was my uncle… Immortal Lord Changming, who told me to seek you out to become your… your disciple! This is the Immortal Lord’s token!”
Helan Xue’s gaze paused. He didn’t lower his longsword, but he did retract some of its biting intent as he took the token to examine it.
“This is indeed Immortal Lord Changming’s token. He sent me a letter several months ago, saying that his clan had a talented but rebellious and playful child who was to be sent to me for tempering, and he begged me to make an exception and take him as a disciple. Is that you?”
He’s not treating me like the Demon Lord! He’s acknowledging my ‘no-bond’ identity!
There was a chance!
Lin Queli nodded frantically.
As he nodded, he realized the longsword that could annihilate the Demon Lord was still coated in frost and pressed against his neck, grazing his chin, still looking ready to strike at any moment.
“Shi-Shizun…?”
Helan Xue said coldly, “Who is your Shizun?”
Lin Queli sheepishly shrank back.
“I followed the demonic aura here, only to find you alone. An immortal sect disciple appearing in a demon-slaying formation, acting suspiciously and obstructing the sect from exterminating demons—this adds to your crime. You deserve to be executed. Even if Changming himself were here, he would only help me do it.”
“…?” Lin Queli wanted to cry from frustration.
Was this man really a womanizer in the original story? The kind who would plant a field of weeds on my grave to race his horses?
(TN: A dramatic and curse-like way of saying someone is a scumbag.)
“Out of consideration for you being Changming’s junior, if you have any last words for me to pass on to him, you may leave one.”
Helan Xue raised his sword.
You are truly unyielding!
In a flash of inspiration, Lin Queli’s mind lit up.
“Wait!!” Lin Queli shouted. “The sacred artifact! I know where the sacred artifact is!”
Lin Queli tried his best to stall for time and think of a plan. Helan Xue had come chasing after the sacred artifact stolen by the demons; there was no way he wouldn’t care about it, right?
He had appeared here in place of the Demon Lord who stole the artifact, so the artifact had to be on him.
Sure enough, Helan Xue’s blade stopped less than an inch from Lin Queli’s neck.
Taxue Xianzun’s expression remained as tranquil as ever, his gaze landing on him as if looking at a dead man. “Speak.”
Lin Queli hastily rummaged through his robes and, sure enough, successfully found a spirit pouch sealed with countless spiritual patterns. The aura from it was faint, making it impossible to tell what was inside.
The System confirmed that this pouch contained the sacred artifact.
He was saved!
“I really didn’t linger in the formation on purpose! I ran into a group of demon cultivators on my way up the mountain. There were too many of them, and as a lone immortal cultivator, I didn’t dare show myself, so I hid in the nearby woods. It seemed like they had some kind of conflict and started fighting chaotically. I didn’t get a close look…”
Recalling the style of the demons from the original novel, Lin Queli, in this life-or-death moment, displayed the skill befitting a veteran novel reader and began to fabricate a story. “I don’t know what happened, but I only dared to come out after they left. I found this spirit pouch, but then I discovered I was surrounded by a formation and couldn’t get out…”
Lin Queli blinked, and the fine snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes slid off. With a sincere expression, he offered up the sacred artifact that “he” had painstakingly stolen with both hands.
Helan Xue frowned and took the spirit pouch to inspect it.
The sword, however, was still there.
The man’s face was still cold.
The killing intent had retreated a little, but really, not by much. Maybe 40%. A slight retreat.
Bro, you are really hard to deal with.
Lin Queli was out of options. He adopted the most obedient tone and expression of his entire life and pitifully rubbed against Helan Xue’s leg. “I truly have no ulterior motives, and I’m not a bad person. Shizun, please spare my life… I’m begging you, please, plea—cough cough—”
The plot had progressed for quite a while now, and a rewind would probably cost a sky-high number of points. He really didn’t want to be cut down again. Fearing Helan Xue would strike too quickly, he spoke faster and faster.
So fast that he choked on a mouthful of wind and snow.
Helan Xue was taken aback.
The youth in red knelt in the snow with a sword at his throat. After a series of coughs, his pale face was flushed with an unnatural red.
His black hair was disheveled, and his clothes were in disarray as he hugged himself, curled into a ball, refusing to let go. His face, a stunning combination of the original Demon Lord’s good looks, was filled with misery and fear.
He truly looked like a porcelain doll that would shatter with a single pinch—low cultivation, frail and harmless, without a hint of ambition or cunning. Instead, he looked so pitiful it would make anyone’s heart ache.
Helan Xue’s hand, holding the sword, paused slightly.
For a few breaths, amidst the sound of the wind and snow, there was only the sound of Lin Queli’s coughing.
He finally managed to clear his throat and realized that Helan Xue hadn’t attacked him without a word like he did before the rewind.
…Huh?
Seeing that he had recovered, Helan Xue’s slightly softened expression instantly turned cold again.
Lin Queli quickly let out a few more coughs, putting on a frail and boneless act.
The Sword Venerable’s killing intent indeed receded slightly. His lips parted, as if he were about to speak.
Suddenly.
Thump!
—Lin Queli hadn’t expected it himself. Before he could finish his act, his vision suddenly went white, and his body felt as if all its strength had been drained. He collapsed uncontrollably onto the snow.
A cultivator’s body should be robust, especially the Demon Lord’s, but Lin Queli’s soul had not yet fully integrated with the physical body and hadn’t adapted to it. Therefore, his cultivation was currently almost non-existent. Having been in Helan Xue’s demon-slaying formation for so long, his body finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Snow fell, covering his body.
The cold was bone-chilling.
In the moment before he lost consciousness, Lin Queli felt utterly hopeless.
His self-injury ploy had turned from fake to real, and he hadn’t even had a chance to get Helan Xue to spare him.
Open my eyes, close my eyes, is this life already over?
…
…
Lin Queli slowly opened his eyes, praying that he would wake up in his familiar room and that it had all been just a dream.
The first thing he saw was an antique-style bed canopy. Turning his head, he saw a sliver of light filtering through a carved window, illuminating a desk covered with brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone. Incense smoke curled up from the side of the desk. The room looked exactly like a set from a historical drama.
“…”
Dammit, it wasn’t a dream.
【Host, you’re finally awake! Congratulations! We’re one step closer to our goal! You’ve been brought back to the Myriad Sword Sect by the Xianzun!】
…It really wasn’t a dream.
Lin Queli touched his neck. It must have been treated with some magical cultivation technique, as it no longer hurt and had no marks.
And… Helan Xue had actually brought him back?
Before Lin Queli could feel a spark of hope or gratitude, he heard a voice from outside the door.
“Young Master Lin, I am an attendant from Cangsheng Hall. The Xianzun asked me to inform you that if you have woken up, you may return to the Changming Clan on your own.”
Lin Queli froze.
Not only did Helan Xue not kill him, he really let him go!
Yay, time to ru—
Run my ass!
If an imposter like him went back to the Changming Immortal Clan, he wouldn’t need Helan Xue; the Changming Clan would tear him to shreds.
The System was also anxious.
【Host, you must find a way to stay, or the mission can’t proceed!】
“Easier said than done.”
Lin Queli covered his face in agony. It was already a miracle he had survived, okay!
Sob… Taxue Xianzun is too terrifying.
He knew the womanizer had become celibate, but he didn’t know he’d become so unapproachable!
Lin Queli thought of that figure in the snow and those emotionless eyes. He… had to seduce someone like that?
Was it even possible?
It felt like Taxue Xianzun’s eyes only held demon-slaying, cultivation, and nothing to do with romance.
The System consoled him.
【Don’t be scared, Host. Since the Xianzun brought you back, it means he doesn’t plan to kill you. The Xianzun isn’t an unreasonable person. Hurry and find him, act well-behaved, and get him to take you as his disciple! To get pregnant with Shizun’s baby, the first step is to become his closest disciple!】
After doing some homework and brushing up on the lore with the System, Lin Queli left the room. He asked the attendant for directions and headed to the main hall, where Helan Xue was said to be discussing sect matters with the elders.
When he arrived at the main hall, Lin Queli didn’t dare to approach rashly. He just hid behind a pillar and spied on them.
He saw Helan Xue sitting in the main seat, drinking tea. His eyes were lowered, his hands slowly turning a string of cinnabar prayer beads. The full beads echoed the red mark on his brow, giving him a majestic, unangered authority from afar.
Many cultivators stood before Helan Xue. He handed the sacred artifact to one of the elders. “The Demon Lord has been vanquished, and the sacred artifact has been returned. Elder, please return it to its original place for me.”
“Excellent… If this sacred artifact had fallen into the hands of the Demon Clan, it would have been a catastrophe… Fortunately, now that the Demon Clan has lost its Demon Lord, they are a dragon without a head and can no longer stir up trouble,” the elder said with a sigh of relief.
The elders and Helan Xue chatted a bit more about the sacred artifact and dismantling the formation. After they left, Helan Xue leisurely and gracefully used the cup lid to scrape away the tea foam before speaking. “How long are you going to hide?”
“…!”
Feeling intensely like he’d been caught sneaking, Lin Queli walked out, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.
He remembered the Xianzun’s reaction before he fainted.
This terrifying sword cultivator would kill at the slightest disagreement, but showing weakness seemed to, maybe… work?
【Host, what are you talking about? He follows the Dao of Cangsheng, which is all about protecting the world. His sword does not kill the weak!】
“So…”
【So showing weakness might actually work! Why don’t you act cute with him, make his heart go all soft, and get him to take you as his disciple?】
Lin Queli scratched his head. “But I’m a tough, unyielding man. I don’t know how to act cute…”
【Host, you’re being too modest. From what I’ve seen, you’re quite good at it.】
“…Get lost.”
Lin Queli scratched his head. He really didn’t know how. Wasn’t that just a desperate move born from necessity, where a sliding kneel was the only option?
He could only try to muster up some courage and attempt to speak. “Shizun…”
Helan Xue took a sip of tea and said, “You were supposed to die. But you handed over the sacred artifact that the Righteous Path has long been searching for, which can be considered atoning for your mistake. As for anything else… This Venerable has never said he would take you as a disciple, nor do I intend to take on any more.”
Lin Queli: “…!”
His body moved on instinct, faster than his brain. Lin ‘Don’t-Know-How-to-Act-Cute’ Queli once again rushed forward and hugged Helan Xue’s thigh, whining pitifully in a soft voice, “Shizun, please take me in, please, please, I’ll be very obedient!”
Sob, sob, sob, he didn’t want to be sent back to the Changming Clan and get ganked!
Lin Queli rubbed the top of his head against Helan Xue’s pant leg, like a pitiful, abandoned puppy, trying to awaken Helan Xue’s soft side.
The way he looked, even Daji herself would have to call it a “6.”
