Chapter 48: The Jianghu’s Been Renamed “Love and Ruan Xuezong”

As everyone knew, any great battle came with its share of casualties.

That night, the players were incredibly busy. They first extinguished the fires, then cleared the battlefield and treated the wounded. The on-site guests had suffered severe injuries. The physician players had hemostatic and pain-relieving pills in their inventories. Aside from those disfigured or maimed by the Demonic Cult’s demonesses, the players could manage the standard bleeding and bandaging.

Each life they saved granted a hundred points of physician proficiency and ten points of favorability from the wounded. That night left the physician players utterly exhausted.

The reinforcements from Six Gates weren’t idle either. They aggressively requisitioned herbs and doctors from Jinling City’s pharmacies while combing the mountainside for Demonic Sect stragglers.

Perhaps heaven took pity on them and refused to let Peacock Manor be utterly destroyed. A light drizzle soon began to fall. Though not heavy, it persisted for several hours. The flames were swiftly quenched, leaving only wisps of damp, bluish smoke.

By the time the fire died out, dawn had broken.

Half of Peacock Manor lay in charred ruins, reduced to broken walls and rubble. The pavilions, towers, and fragrant wooden gardens that distant guests had praised so effusively upon their first arrival had become blackened wastelands. In a daze, one could almost recall the heart-stirring battle from the day before.

The players charged into the ruins and discovered a charred corpse. After carefully shifting the fallen beams pinning the body, they confirmed it was Qu Tianwei. His form had curled up in the blaze, yet remarkably, his face remained unburned.

In his grasp, he clutched something—a tattered remnant of a painting. A faint, contented smile played on his lips. Like a moth to the flame, he had rushed into the inferno. In his dying moments, it seemed he had beheld the Du Qing’e he cherished, perishing contentedly in her embrace.

The crowd fell silent.

One player helped Mrs. Qu over.

She looked as though she had endured a terrible illness.

When she had previously recounted those old tales to the players, her tone carried reminiscence and resentment, laced with boundless hatred. From beginning to end, she had held herself straight-backed like a true lady of a great house, her eyes never misting over.

But the moment she laid eyes on Qu Tianwei’s remains, Mrs. Qu’s resolute posture crumbled. For the first time, tears streamed down her face. Sobbing, she said, “I was too naive. So that demoness binds a man once, and it’s for life…”

Qu Tianwei had forsaken a lifetime of righteous renown for Du Qing’e. He had dragged Peacock Manor into the Demonic Sects’ camp. Even in death, charging into the blaze, he felt no scorching agony—his corpse bore that smile, evoking sighs from all who beheld it.

As Mrs. Qu’s tears hit the ground, splashing into a tiny puddle, ripples spread across the game interface like water disturbed. A line of ink-wash text appeared: 【Behind this absurd birthday banquet lay gentleness and blood-soaked tears, needles hidden in silk floss. We watch him build the lofty tower, watch him host his guests, watch the tower crumble to dust—leaving him solitary and forlorn, a shadow for company.】

The players blinked in confusion. “??? The planners finally hired a copywriter???”

“I was deep in the plot’s emotional kill, and bam—this ding nearly popped my nose bubble!”

The diehard plot enthusiasts sighed in appreciation. “This copy nails it perfectly…”

Qu Tianwei had hosted his sixtieth birthday at Peacock Manor, drawing martial heroes from across the land. Yet it took a shocking turn—a perfectly fine celebration morphed into a bloody scandal of collusion with the Demonic Sects, self-orchestrated carnage that stunned all of Jinling City.

The irrefutable truth stared back: Qu Tianwei had hoarded Du Qing’e’s portrait while conspiring with the Righteous Path Fairy against the Demonic Sects, deceiving every guest. Overnight, Peacock Manor’s name lay in tatters. No words could whitewash the stain.

The three survivors of Peacock Manor were forced to prop up this hollow shell of a disaster. Were they not left utterly alone and isolated?

The one small mercy was that the righteous path typically held that crimes did not extend to family.

A day later, as the guests’ wounds mended somewhat, none wished to linger in this demonic lair. They departed amid curses and hatred. Few dared act rashly, thanks to the Sweeping Old Man’s presence as a half-step grandmaster.

Amid a chorus of condemnation, Qu Tianwei and Qu Wangshu’s bodies were hastily gathered and interred. To quell the martial heroes’ fury and avert extreme reprisals, Peacock Manor skipped any ceremonies, opting for a simple, unadorned burial.

Qu Qingyang, thrust into the role of manor lord like a duck to water, shouldered the burden amid the storm. He endured much in that time.

Reality outstripped the wildest tales. His father’s mad infatuation, the Demonic Sects’ brazen manipulations of the heart—it turned him into a laughingstock overnight.

Seizing a quiet moment, he bowed deeply to Ruan Xuezong. “The other day, Peacock Manor nearly faced total extermination and a brutal massacre. Many thanks to Manor Lord Ruan and all you guests for stepping up. Only your aid turned disaster to deliverance. Should Heart Washing Manor ever face trouble, Peacock Manor stands ready to repay the debt.”

He truly felt grateful toward Heart Washing Manor and the players who had helped.

Recalling his past suspicions and insults toward Ruan Xuezong’s looks, Qu Qingyang flushed with shame. He wished he could crawl into a hole.

【Ding! You stepped forward in their hour of need, saving the entire manor. Peacock Manor favorability +40,000.】

Ruan Xuezong noted that in just one day as manor lord, Qu Qingyang had not only restored but doubled the favorability that Qu Tianwei had squandered. Not to mention the bonuses from the Sweeping Old Man and Mrs. Qu.

Ruan Xuezong returned the bow. “Manor Lord Qu—no, Manor Lord Qu now. This banquet was truly regrettable. I hope my next visit brings fine wine, grand feasts, and joyous events.”

Qu Qingyang paused for several seconds. “You mean…?”

He hadn’t connected it to himself at first. He only wondered if the remnants of Peacock Manor could ever host such a feast again.

Ruan Xuezong casually brushed his sleeve. “Having escaped your father’s shadow at last, it’s time to look ahead. Some destinies won’t wait forever.”

“You mean…” Qu Qingyang’s breath grew heavy. A lovely silhouette flickered in his mind, plunging him into deep doubt. “Is she still waiting for me? She must have married long ago.” After twenty years under the Demonic Sects’ heartstrings, the new manor lord struggled to shake off that haze of uncertainty and inferiority.

“Maybe she is, maybe not. But if you never ask, never seek her out, then perhaps there never will be.”

Ruan Xuezong figured he’d given sound advice. If Qu Qingyang didn’t pursue it, no harm in a few wasted words. But if he did—six months, a year—Peacock Manor might host a true joyous wedding to cleanse this lingering shadow.

After all, what happened had happened. Amid the grief, one had to press forward, right?

…

Meanwhile, the players kept brewing medicinal soups or cleaning up wreckage, their tasks growing ever more efficient with each site Ruan Xuezong visited. Suddenly, the game interface erupted with a flurry of pop-up windows.

【Congratulations to all players, Main Quest: Jinling Banquet Uproar Cleared! Peacock Manor Exploration at 100%! Congratulations to All Players on Gaining Massive Experience and Gold—Specific Rewards Sent via Flying Eagle Dispatch】

【Congratulations to all players for gaining Peacock Manor favorability +2000. Individual favorabilities: Qu Qingyang +400, Mrs. Qu +400, Sweeping Old Man +300, Ruan Xuezong +100. Initial relationship ‘Shared Hardship’ achieved.】

【Congratulations to all players for receiving the “Honored Guest” title from Peacock Manor. Equipping the title grants the following privileges: 1. Permanent access to fishing, hunting, and gathering spots on Yanghe Mountain. 2. When traveling the rivers and lakes and encountering difficulties, seek help from Qu Qingyang. 3. NPCs at Peacock Manor will show goodwill toward you and proactively greet you…】

【Ding! Combat instance “Peacock Bloodstained Cry” (Nightmare difficulty) completed. System distributing first-clear rewards based on player contributions.】

The players instantly felt euphoric.

The greatest joy of gaming came from grinding away for a full day and night only to have rewards flood their inboxes until they overflowed!

Scrolling further down, nearly every player who had participated in the plot or battles appeared on the list. The settlement screen tallied four key metrics: damage output, healing output, damage absorption and defense, and special contributions.

The total healing relied entirely on the physician players.

Special contributions alluded to certain standout individuals. Take Five-Colored Mottled Black, for example. He had contributed almost nothing during the actual fighting, but his absurd luck had landed him the rarest tasting task in the final round. He had identified a poisoned “medicine” and rushed to report it to the Six Gates, catapulting him into the top three by contribution score. It drew waves of jealousy and envy…

Ruan Xuezong had slept deeply, and it was a restless slumber.

He dreamed of his previous life. When he awoke, he felt disoriented, as if he didn’t know what era it was. It took him a moment to recall that Peacock Manor’s fate had changed in this lifetime. There had been no poisoning incident, no deaths. His inner energy reserves had simply been depleted by the buffs, so he had rested to recover fully.

He had slept for so long that he was still in a daze, a faint ache pulsing at his temples.

His hand groped habitually beside the pillow, but he found no mask and gave up. When he pushed open the door, his expression changed drastically. The lingering pain and fog in his mind cleared in an instant.

Because outside the courtyard of Peacock Manor stood a dense crowd of players. The moment they spotted him, their eyes lit up, drool trickled from the corners of their mouths, and they shouted with even more fervent excitement than ever before. “Zongzong, you’re awake!”

With a sharp “pa,” Ruan Xuezong coldly slammed the door shut.

【What’s going on?】 he asked System 007. His headache had already vanished by then.

【Check the forums yourself,】 System 007 replied, sounding helpless. In the game’s logs, Ruan Xuezong was no different from any other rivers-and-lakes character—just a string of data. His stats were perhaps a touch more impressive than average, but the moment his mask came off, it ignited the entire game forum. All the traffic surged toward him, crashing the servers multiple times…

Ruan Xuezong had the necessary permissions. He tried logging into the game forums, but the interface kept displaying “Server malfunction—emergency repairs in progress.” He refreshed for ages before finally gaining access.

Once he was in, however, he discovered that his photos had taken over the entire front page.

“？？？”

It all started in a photographer player’s livestream of the Peacock Manor main quest. The streamer had followed Ruan Xuezong throughout, capturing shaky, low-res footage due to unsteady lightness skill. Yet even the blur and jitter couldn’t hide Ruan Xuezong’s stunning face. Forum users fell one after another.

When Ruan Xuezong returned from the battlefield, it had stunned not only the martial artists but also hordes of players, who frantically screenshotted him and built entire image threads. One such post sat at the top.

【(Explosive) Ruan Xuezong HD Color Pics—Continuous Updates! See This Beauty Once and Never Regret a Lifetime; Miss This Beauty and Regret Your Whole Life. Thread Updating… Heat: 10,000,000+】

Forum users drowned in his beauty, utterly unable to pull themselves away.

“I’m such an idiot. The planners stuck a total knockout right next to me for two months, and I wasted it grinding quests every day. No wonder I never got a romance storyline.”

“Shut your mouth, you animal—what are you scheming? Ruan Xuezong belongs to everyone!”

“Wuuu, my husband is so handsome. Thoughts after the Peacock Manor plot: if Zongzong had been born twenty years earlier, there wouldn’t have been any other drama.”

An echoing chorus chimed in with a twist: “Push Heart Palm is insanely cool, and Ruan Xuezong is the most beautiful and badass! (Thunderous applause!)”

Ruan Xuezong scrolled silently through a couple of pages. The players had screenshotted him at times he hadn’t even noticed. One image topped the thread by popularity.

In the picture, Qu Tianwei’s body was being laid to rest. Ruan Xuezong stood there without a word, serene and quiet as an ink-wash painting. His expression was calm, his fine lashes casting a subtle shadow. In truth, he had been lost in thought at that moment, but from the photographer’s angle, a faint melancholy tinged his brows.

“Wuuu, Zongzong is so kind-hearted—he’s actually grieving for Peacock Manor’s father and daughter. I just want to hug him.”

Ruan Xuezong: ? I was just spacing out.

In another shot, his killing intent blazed as he struck a black-clothed foe with a palm strike, sending the man plummeting into the riverbed. Ruan Xuezong was rather satisfied with this one; he looked fierce enough to intimidate the more obsessive players.

Yet the comments underneath left him speechless.

“Beautiful, strong, and sassy—now I really want to conquer him, hehe.”

“I’d gladly die under that beauty’s palm—I wish, I wish, I WISH!”

“Planners, you online? If you’re reading this, drop another beta invite quick. It’s not about the looks—mainly I want to play hero and smack down the Demonic Sects.”

“I hereby declare that starting today, this game isn’t called 《Jianghu》 anymore. It’s 《Love and Ruan Xuezong》. Who’s with me? Who’s against!?”

Players spawning on the world map piled on: “Jiangnan beauty, I’m coming for you—”

Ruan Xuezong stared in utter bafflement, deeply shocked.

After calming himself for a moment, he realized he needed to find some way to divert the players’ attention.