“You must not act on impulse. I’m a good person.”
In a cramped, pitch-dark and shabby room, Lu Dantao, a beautiful young girl with a small red mole between her brows, earnestly tried to persuade the handsome young man behind her who was holding a knife.
“If possible, I hope you can put the knife down first.”
“Heh.” A cold sneer came from behind.
The sharp stinging pain at her neck intensified along with it, and Lu Dantao could not help but roll her eyes.
Why do male leads these days all seem a bit abnormal?
*
Time rewound to two days earlier.
July sixteenth, the night of a full moon.
On the northwestern frontier of the Great Yong Dynasty, outside Shouzhou City, at a mass grave.
Lu Dantao had endured the cold at the foot of the mountain for most of the night, and finally made it to midnight.
She hunched over and slipped into that eerie, ghostly mass grave.
Perhaps because the road was dark and slippery, her foot caught on something that was neither soft nor hard, and with a thud she fell heavily to the ground.
The moment she raised her head, a dead man’s face was almost pressed right in front of her. Lu Dantao’s heart nearly stopped. She forcibly suppressed a scream, scrambled to her feet, and after gasping for breath several times, finally looked around in lingering shock.
Though it was called a mass grave, it was actually just a small hollow. Under the bleak moonlight, the surroundings seemed to be covered in a thin, pale mist.
She let out a pained sigh.
If it were not for transmigrating, how would she, a young college girl in her prime, end up running to such a ghostly place in the middle of the night to dig up corpses?
That’s right, she had transmigrated.
A month ago, she had been flung away by a half-finished piece of equipment in the laboratory and ended up directly transmigrating into this web-famous, ten-year-long serial, over ten million words in length, male-protagonist dog-blood political intrigue novel.
She became the cannon fodder female supporting character who only occupied two lines in the book, someone who shared her exact name—
Lu Dantao.
Out of more than ten million words, she only took up two lines.
And the purpose of those two lines was to highlight the male supporting antagonist’s cruelty and ruthlessness, his greed for power, showing how he did not hesitate to exterminate the entire family of his childhood sweetheart in order to use it as a stepping stone for his own achievements.
If she had not woken up lying at the bottom of a pitch-black cliff when she transmigrated, surrounded by the scattered wreckage of a shattered carriage, and found that tear-stained suicide note in the inner pocket of her clothes,
she probably would not even know who she was.
That’s right, she did not know who she was.
Because she had not inherited any of the original host’s memories. Her mind was completely blank.
Lu Dantao burst out laughing on the spot.
Out of anger.
But perhaps, lazy people have their own kind of luck.
Lu Dantao was lazy. After reading just over a dozen chapters of the original novel, she already wanted to skip ahead. But when she opened the table of contents, she discovered that she could not even scroll to the end.
Lu Dantao instantly deflated and went straight to a certain site to read analysis essays written by experts.
Those analysis essays were well-reasoned and thorough, carefully unraveling both the explicitly mentioned plot points and the hidden plotlines of the male protagonist, explaining everything clearly and logically.
Moreover, the author had even liked those analysis posts.
What did that mean?
Official recognition!
So Lu Dantao immediately buried herself in studying them. Under the guidance of those experts, even though she had only read a dozen or so chapters of the original novel, she had a complete grasp of the entire story.
So she was confident that, in the entire world of this book, no one understood the plot better than she did.
According to the analysis essays, after the villain Pei Di framed his mentor, he was promoted from Vice Commander of the Eagle Guard to Commander, officially taking over the authority as the emperor’s hound.
One month after this, the Long Aotian[1]Long Aotian (龙傲天) is a Chinese internet trope referring to an overpowered male protagonist. Such characters usually rise rapidly from humble beginnings, possess exceptional talent or luck, … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1963356_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1963356_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); male protagonist would encounter the most painful and humiliating grievous injury of his life in a small town in the northwest. From that moment, the gears of fate would begin to turn. While recuperating, he would meet the benefactor who would change his life—
his mentor, the former strategist under the Defender Duke.
From then on, whenever he encountered the winds of change, he would transform into a dragon, rising from a street ruffian into a talent capable of governing the world. Starting from the northwest, he would gather capable generals, lead his army south, and eventually ascend the throne as emperor.
And the point in time when she transmigrated just happened to fall exactly one month before this turning point in the male protagonist’s fate.
After sorting out her thoughts, Lu Dantao clenched her small fists and secretly swore:
Since she had come here, she would not stay here and live as a useless slacker.
A male protagonist, a Long Aotian, what did that represent?
Wealth! Status! Power! The future!
She immediately gathered the original host’s belongings, wrapped a cloth over that delicate and beautiful face, hired an escort agency that seemed fairly reliable, and after a month of bumpy travel, finally arrived here before tonight—
Shouzhou.
This small border town located in the northwest of the Great Yong Dynasty, and she had even climbed up to this mass grave.
So, where was the male protagonist now?
She bent her body again and walked deeper into the mass grave. The further she went, the heavier the chill became.
Clearly, a full moon hung high in the sky, yet this area seemed as if it had been swallowed by darkness.
Lu Dantao tightly gripped the corner of her clothes with one hand, held her breath, and mustered her courage as she rummaged through piles of tattered straw mats.
Finally, in a hidden crevice, she caught sight of a young man’s face.
She dragged him out with all her strength, her hands trembling as she lifted his clothes. Squinting as she leaned in to look closely, she saw that on his waist and abdomen, there was indeed a deep red, heart-shaped scar.
Found him!
Yan Yun!
The male protagonist of this male-protagonist novel!
A male protagonist who, despite enduring countless hardships, still retained a fundamentally kind nature!
Unlike other Long Aotian protagonists, he repaid kindness, repaid it many times over, repaid it like a gushing spring!
Lu Dantao clearly remembered that in the book, there was a poor fisher girl who had taken in the male protagonist when he had nowhere to turn. After he rose to power, he sought her out and granted her the title of County Lady. From then on, she was protected by imperial authority and lived a life without worry for food or clothing.
When Lu Dantao came to this world, she had money and she had looks, but she had no travel permit. She was an unregistered person. Without power or influence, both her money and her beauty could not be protected.
What she lacked the most was power.
The male protagonist did not have it now, but he definitely would in the future, and he would have a lot of it.
The fisher girl had merely taken him in, but she, Lu Dantao, was saving him from the gates of death. Surely she would not end up as just a County Lady, right?
At the very least, she should be granted a title like a prince or something.
Just thinking about it made Lu Dantao feel incredibly satisfied.
She exerted all her strength to drag the male protagonist to the side, planning to find a more convenient position to haul him back into Shouzhou City.
But suddenly, she heard a series of orderly footsteps coming from the darkness.
Startled, Lu Dantao hugged the young man and hid in the pile of grass, holding her breath as she peeked out.
Through the dense mist, several men came into view, cursing as they walked. They seemed to be wearing short outfits, their bodies full of muscles, each of them carrying a large blade.
“So those officials really can’t even do things cleanly, and instead we thieves have to come clean up the mess.”
“Officials and bandits, officials and bandits. That’s what happens when we’re the ones bringing up the rear.”
The man in the lead raised his blade and brought it down neatly, stabbing through the corpses lying around the male protagonist’s original position once more. “Alright, enough nonsense. Finish up and withdraw.”
Lu Dantao was so tense she could hardly breathe. Narrowing her eyes, she watched those pairs of large feet step across the thick blood on the ground, until they finally disappeared into the forest.
Only after the footsteps had completely faded did she dare to breathe deeply.
Oh my god, they really killed people!
Lu Dantao’s heart pounded wildly in her chest, afraid that those men might come back again. She did not dare to linger for even a moment. Moving quickly, she hoisted the male protagonist onto her back and hurried nonstop toward Shouzhou City.
Perhaps a person’s potential really is limitless.
Shouzhou City was not far from the mass grave, but it was not exactly close either.
The male protagonist looked thin, but he was not light at all.
The original host had been a noble young lady, pampered since childhood. Yet Lu Dantao, relying purely on sheer willpower, used this very body to carry the heavy young man all the way back to Shouzhou City.
Shouzhou City was an old and dilapidated place. Though it was called a city, it was actually just a small town.
Located on the frontier, far from the emperor’s reach, ever since the Defender Duke had driven the barbarians away back then, Shouzhou City had not suffered any enemy attacks. It was like a taut rubber band that had suddenly slackened after being stretched tight for years.
Its defenses could not be said to be nonexistent, only that they were practically useless.
Without much effort, Lu Dantao carried the male protagonist into the city. Following the marks she had made that afternoon, she wound her way through the streets and alleys, panting heavily as she arrived in front of an apothecary.
A cloth sign hung at the entrance of the apothecary, bearing four bold, vigorous characters—
Miaoshou Apothecary.
This was it!
The healing checkpoint that had been specially highlighted by the experts in the analysis essays.
The reason was simple. In all the various events that took place in Shouzhou City throughout the book, Miaoshou Apothecary appeared with high frequency. However, it was never involved in anything bad. Most of the time, it was simply background narration like, “the old physician from Miaoshou Apothecary came to treat so-and-so,” the kind of NPC commentary.
But whether it was the local tyrant officials and soldiers of Shouzhou, or the fierce bandits and marauders, they all seemed to tacitly avoid this place.
It was like Switzerland during World War II, a proper neutral zone.
Which made it perfect for her to bring the male protagonist here to recover.
She dropped the male protagonist onto the steps in front of the apothecary, stepped forward, and knocked hard on the door, panting as she called out, “Physician!”
After quite a while, the wooden door of the apothecary was finally opened. A young apprentice peeked out. “What happened?”
Lu Dantao was so exhausted she could barely speak, so she could only desperately point at the male protagonist collapsed on the ground.
The apprentice followed her finger and looked, then cried out, “Oh my!” before quickly retreating inside to fetch the old physician.
After a few breaths, an old physician with sleepy eyes and completely white hair and beard was supported out by the apprentice. He narrowed his eyes and swept a glance over the figure on the ground, clicked his tongue a couple of times, and frowned. “Little girl, where did you find this blood-covered person?”
Lu Dantao blinked once and immediately started making something up. “This is my elder brother. We ran into bandits on the road, and he was injured protecting me. Physician, please help me save him.”
The old physician, who had been squinting, suddenly opened his eyes a little wider. His two pale brows lifted ever so slightly. “Ran into bandits, huh…”
He quickly walked inside and beckoned to Lu Dantao. “Hurry, bring your brother in.”
“Okay!” Lu Dantao also waved at the young apprentice, signaling him to come help.
“With injuries like this, treating him will probably cost quite a bit of silver,” the old physician said as he carefully examined the young man’s complexion, then lifted his clothes. “Look here, the wound pierces straight into the waist and abdomen, about two cun (6–7 cm) wide. It looks like it was caused by a sharp weapon such as a large blade.”
Lu Dantao stood stiffly behind the old physician, anxiously watching as he prodded and examined the wound. She had the distinct feeling that this physician was not treating a patient, but performing an autopsy.
She held back and held back, but in the end, she could not stop herself from speaking up. “Sorry, may I interrupt for a moment?”
Seeing the old physician turn his head to look at her, she hurriedly patted the bulging money pouch at her waist and said somewhat anxiously, “It’s fine, physician, I have money. As long as my brother can be cured, that’s all that matters.”
Hearing this, the old physician fell silent and looked her up and down.
Lu Dantao felt a bit embarrassed, afraid that he might think she was showing off her wealth, so she quickly added, “That’s not what I meant… anyway, my brother is very important to me. Physician, just use the best medicine. As long as he can recover as soon as possible.”
She looked at the pale-faced young man lying on the bed. “In this world, I’m relying entirely on him.”
After hearing this, the old physician nodded in sudden understanding, seemingly moved by the bond between the siblings. He immediately instructed the apprentice to skillfully stop the bleeding and change the young man’s dressing, then had Lu Dantao go to the counter to get a prescription and settle the bill.
By the time Lu Dantao finished all the miscellaneous matters and returned to the guest room, daylight had already fully broken.
The morning light filtered through the window lattice, softly falling across the young man’s face.
Only at this moment did Lu Dantao truly see the appearance of this male protagonist.
This male protagonist…
He was very pale.
So pale he was almost translucent, yet not a cold pallor, nor the ghastly whiteness from excessive blood loss, but rather a sickly kind of pallor, like someone who had not seen sunlight for a long time…
A lifeless pallor.
As if he would shatter at a touch, melt at a glance.
Lu Dantao could not help but feel a little curious. Tilting her head, she leaned closer, her gaze carefully sweeping over the young man’s face.
In fact, the original novel did not describe the male protagonist’s appearance in much detail, and the analysis essays only summarized his looks based on scattered clues from the text.
Overall, it was said to be a fairly handsome face.
But the face in front of her…
For the first time, Lu Dantao felt that the analysis essays might be a bit off.
This was not merely a fairly handsome face.
This was an extraordinarily beautiful face, strikingly gorgeous, yet carrying the fresh clarity unique to youth. It was hard to describe, but simply put, he looked very good.
However, none of that was important. Whether he was good-looking or not did not affect him being the male protagonist.
Watching the steady rise and fall of the young man’s chest on the bed, Lu Dantao finally relaxed, the tension in her heart loosening as she slumped down onto the ground.
After all that rushing about, she had finally…
taken the lead and saved the male protagonist.
References[+]