No wonder.
No wonder the system had said that although the novel had already reached its grand finale, the male protagonist’s spirit still lived on.
Of course it did.
He had someone else to take the blame for every single one of his grudges!
In the original novel, the male protagonist had been fairly normal in the early stages. At most, he was a little sleazy and lustful.
By the middle of the story, however, the beginnings of an arrogant, overpowered “Dragon King” archetype had emerged. He thought he’d finally met his destined woman, when in reality, he had his eyes on someone else’s wife. He pursued her relentlessly, only to get beaten up and humiliated.
The male protagonist, who had always had everything go his way, had never experienced such a setback before. He became bitter and resentful, and from that point onward, he gradually descended into darkness.
By the later stages, he regarded human lives as worthless and money as dirt. His numerous wives were nothing more than stepping stones on his path to success—if he wanted to sacrifice them, he could do so without the slightest hesitation. His methods had become downright disgusting and brutal…
Shi Qixue didn’t even dare imagine how many terrible things that sleazy protagonist had done while wearing his face.
“I’m telling you, I really didn’t do this. Would you believe me?”
Shi Qixue’s words sounded painfully unconvincing.
“Only a ghost would believe you.”
“I was in seclusion at the time.”
“Did anyone see you in seclusion? You must have found some way to sneak out and fool around!”
Ruan Anjing’s eyes were practically bulging from their sockets.
“I can sense that my Ling’er is inside the Chaoyang Sect. Hand her over immediately!”
Shi Qixue: “…”
Has your Ling’er ever even acknowledged you as her husband? Why are you yelling ‘wife, wife’ all day long?
“Hand over Madam Ling!”
“Madam Ling—!”
“If you don’t release her today, we’ll smash the Chaoyang Sect to pieces! We’ll show you that our Jinglei Sect isn’t to be trifled with!”
The disciples of the Jinglei Sect were just as unreasonable as their sect master. Some of them had even thrown themselves onto the ground and simply refused to leave.
Ling Fengqi watched as the situation grew increasingly heated and couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
He had known Shi Qixue for many years and naturally understood his personality. There was absolutely no way he would do something like this.
They had to come up with a solution.
“Everyone, quiet down!”
“And Brother Anjing, please be quiet too!”
Ling Fengqi cast a spell, amplifying his voice to its maximum and easily drowning out the surrounding commotion.
“I have an idea.”
“Everyone knows that Qingyu cultivates the Ruthless Dao. If he had truly committed such a despicable act, his Dao heart would certainly have shattered. I happen to have a jade mirror here that can detect a person’s desires. The stronger their desires, the more violently the mirror will react.”
Ling Fengqi demonstrated it himself, touching the surface of the mirror with his fingertip.
As the sect master of the Hehuan Sect, he naturally possessed the full range of human emotions and desires. The jade mirror immediately trembled violently, emitting a deep humming sound.
“If someone who cultivates the Ruthless Dao touches it and the mirror remains completely still, wouldn’t that prove Qingyu’s innocence?”
Ruan Anjing thought about it and reluctantly nodded.
“Then let’s give it a try.”
Shi Qixue found himself facing hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of eyes.
His scalp went numb.
Ling Fengqi must secretly be a member of the Demonic Sect!
Otherwise, why would he keep setting me up like this?!
The jade mirror slowly approached.
Shi Qixue desperately suppressed the urge to step backward. He lowered his eyes, his long lashes trembling slightly.
The mirror is definitely going to react.
If that happened, everyone would learn that he was actually a good-for-nothing. All those enemies he had accumulated, both openly and secretly, would come looking for him and tear him to pieces.
What do I do? What do I do? What do I do…
Nearby, Chi Yan silently stared at the rabbit spirit perched on Shi Qixue’s shoulder.
His long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly.
The translucent rabbit’s fur had all puffed up in terror. It curled itself into a round little ball and covered its eyes with its two long ears.
Its body trembled.
There were simply too many tears for its ears to block completely, and droplets kept falling one after another.
It looked pitiful enough to make anyone’s heart ache.
Chi Yan fell into thought.
So…
Had Shi Qixue really become a cripple because his Dao heart had shattered?
“Why should I have to prove myself?”
Shi Qixue lifted his eyes.
A layer of frost seemed to settle over his brows, and his lips tightened into a straight line.
“The character of everyone in the Chaoyang Sect is known throughout the world. Yet today, your Jinglei Sect was the one that came here looking for trouble. You’ve hurled insults at us nonstop, behaving like a bunch of street hooligans standing there with your hands on your hips, cursing and making a scene. You’ve even thrown yourselves onto the ground and refused to get up. Where is the dignity of the righteous path? Where is your integrity?”
“Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances would probably think you were disciples of the Demonic Sect.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the crowd below erupted.
Even the people who had been lying on the ground pretending to sleep stopped pretending. They scrambled to their feet and immediately squared off against the other side.
Seeing that the verbal confrontation was about to escalate into an actual fight, Ling Fengqi once again jumped in.
“Stop—!”
“Brother Anjing, you’re being awfully aggressive. What if the jade mirror doesn’t detect anything?”
Ling Fengqi smiled, his eyes curving like those of a sly fox.
“If the mirror detects nothing, then after causing such a huge commotion today, wouldn’t Qingyu’s reputation have been tarnished for nothing?”
“Why don’t we each take a step back? If the jade mirror detects nothing, your Jinglei Sect can bring spirit stones and magical artifacts to apologize to Qingyu.”
“Hmm… Qingyu is such a famous figure, after all. His reputation must be quite valuable. How about a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones? That shouldn’t be excessive, right?”
Ruan Anjing’s brow twitched.
A hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.
It wasn’t that the Jinglei Sect couldn’t afford it.
But if they actually paid that amount, their sect would certainly suffer a devastating blow.
After the great war five hundred years ago destroyed many of the high-grade spirit-stone mines, high-grade spirit stones had become exceedingly rare. They were also nonrenewable, meaning every one that was spent was one fewer remaining.
One high-grade spirit stone was worth five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Ling Fengqi is treating me like a pig he’s about to slaughter!
Seeing that Ruan Anjing remained silent, Ling Fengqi simply answered on his behalf.
“Qingyu, why don’t you give it a try?”
Shi Qixue: “…”
You demonic sect bastard, can you please stop screwing me over?!
The jade mirror approached once again.
Shi Qixue slowly closed his eyes, his fingers curling slightly.
Fine.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll just die.
“Wait!”
Ruan Anjing suddenly interrupted.
“I never agreed to this! Did you even ask for my opinion?”
“What if that jade mirror is a trap the two of you set up together? What if you’re deliberately trying to screw me over?”
He pointed toward the side.
“You there—the last and only direct disciple.”
Chi Yan had been quietly enjoying the show when he was suddenly singled out.
The faint upward curve of his lips disappeared.
Ruan Anjing continued, “Your last and only direct disciple presumably cultivates the Ruthless Dao too. Let him try first. Let’s see whether he can pass.”
Chi Yan: “?”
Shi Qixue calmly nodded.
“Very well.”
Disciple, you’ll have to take the hit for me first.
And preferably, don’t pass.
Chi Yan looked at the rabbit spirit that seemed positively delighted by the situation and couldn’t help finding it amusing.
The enormous Chaoyang Sect couldn’t even produce a single person who genuinely cultivated the Ruthless Dao.
The pale jade mirror was brought before him.
Chi Yan lowered his eyes and extended his hand.
His fingertip was only two millimeters away from touching the mirror when—
“Whoosh!”
“Master, watch out!”
An unexpected change occurred.
A dart flew out of nowhere with a sharp whistle, smashing directly into the jade mirror and shattering it into pieces.
The entire scene fell silent.
Shi Qixue felt a pair of warm, broad hands cover his ears. His entire body was pulled protectively into someone’s arms.
The faint scent of soapleaf filled his nose, while his long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly.
Only then did he realize—
His disciple was actually that much taller than him.
“How dare your Jinglei Sect launch a sneak attack! What exactly are you trying to do today?!”
The disciples of the Chaoyang Sect finally came to their senses.
“Bullshit! It wasn’t us!”
“The dart came from your side! You shameless bastards!”
“It wasn’t us!!”
“Our senior brother was injured!”
“…”
“You’re hurt?”
Shi Qixue looked up, his brows drawing together.
“As long as Master is unharmed, that’s all that matters.”
Chi Yan lowered his eyes, his expression impossible to read.
“Let me see—”
Shi Qixue struggled free from his arms.
His fingers caught hold of a section of Chi Yan’s white sleeve.
The fabric around his right arm had been slashed open, revealing a horrifying wound nearly ten centimeters long.
The flesh was torn open, and fresh blood wound its way down his wrist before dripping onto the ground.
“From this day onward, our Chaoyang Sect and your Jinglei Sect are sworn enemies!”
Shi Qixue gritted his teeth as he delivered the threat.
His fingertips were still resting against Chi Yan’s wrist, and blood had smeared onto them as well.
This time, even Ruan Anjing was thrown into a panic.
He looked left and right, but he couldn’t find a single person from his sect who could have launched the sneak attack.
This is truly a case of being falsely accused!
“Junior Brother, are you still feeling unwell?”
Amid the crowd, a man dressed in black turned his head and asked with concern.
Wen Yao had only just managed to steady himself. He patted his backside, still struggling to catch his breath.
“No, no. I must have eaten something bad last night and upset my stomach. A few trips to the latrine and I’ll be fine.”
Yeah, right!
Wen Yao was so exhausted he didn’t even want to speak.
He had been sneaking into the Jinglei Sect and pretending to stir up trouble and inflame the conflict, while at the same time his senior brother had been keeping a close eye on him.
So he’d had no choice but to use going to the latrine as an excuse, running back and forth between the two sides.
He had truly maxed out his status as a disposable tool.
The dart just now had been thrown by him.
There had only been one tiny accident…
He had originally intended to smash the mirror and, while he was at it, injure that bastard Shi Qixue.
Who could have expected his own brother to block the attack for that bastard?
Wen Yao stared at the two people in the distance, his fists tightening slightly.
But when his senior brother turned his head toward him, Wen Yao immediately put on an innocent, childlike expression.
“You didn’t have to protect me. Keeping yourself safe is what’s most important…”
“We should go treat your wound right now.”
“Does it hurt?”
Shi Qixue was nearly frantic with worry.
He had completely forgotten all about maintaining his aloof, untouchable image as a master.
Those dark, shining eyes reflected his face, filled with such genuine concern that it seemed impossible to fake.
Yet Chi Yan lowered his eyes and stared at the hand resting against his wrist.
His stomach churned violently.
Disgusting.