As the first rays of dawn pierced the morning mist, a brand-new day began.
Xiao Shuying sat up, feeling a lingering sense of dull grogginess, as though he had dreamt of something fleeting during the night.
He tried to grasp at the memory, but it slipped away like a fish swimming through the currents of his mind, leaving not a single scale behind. As he stepped out of bed to push open the window and check the morning light, Su Yunyu walked into the room carrying an oil-paper parcel:
“Steamed buns bought from the innkeeper down below. Eat up; we’ll be heading out shortly.”
Though the parcel appeared filled to the brim for Xiao Shuying, Su Yunyu had actually sneaked away to feast on a hearty portion beforehand.
Since the Dragon-Heaven protagonist hadn’t witnessed it, the system had no grounds to flag any out-of-character behavior, leaving 111 hopping mad and cursing him for his shamelessness.
To that, Su Yunyu merely reflected that true genius simply operated on a higher plane.
“Understood.”
Xiao Shuying accepted the buns, casting an inadvertent glance toward Su Yunyu’s moisturized lips before lowering his gaze to the grease-stained oil paper.
In that brief instant, as though grasping a sudden realization, he deliberately probed:
“Does Master not wish to partake?”
Su Yunyu swept his sleeve in a grand, detached gesture, radiating an air of transcendent detachment:
“This master no longer requires mundane sustenance to nourish his form.”
Possessing an ethereal celestial quality, his voice echoing like an immortal from an empty valley.
Truly the supreme, untethered detachment of an otherworldly master.
Xiao Shuying glanced once more at the corners of the man’s mouth, comparing it against the greasy sheen of the oil-paper parcel. Though nothing was certain, his intuition screamed the obvious truth.
Yet he remained silent, finishing his meal in quiet solitude before following Su Yunyu out of the room.
The inn spanned three stories. As they descended the staircase, Xiao Shuying’s gaze darkened slightly, a calculating scheme brewing beneath the surface.
Tianji Pavilion’s bounty board deadline was set for noon. Su Yunyu intended to stop by the Golden-Hilted Saber first to collect the commission; according to reliable reports from the guild, not only had they successfully hunted the required thousand Nightmares, but they had also slaughtered several hundred extra for good measure!
Over the course of a single night, this surplus prompted local merchants maintaining financial ties with the Golden-Hilted Saber to seriously wonder if hunting Nightmares harbored some lucrative hidden business opportunity.
Naturally, Su Yunyu was more than satisfied with the outcome. Guided by the innkeeper’s cheerful farewells, they stepped out into the bustling street and walked barely a fraction of a mile before a wave of noisy clamor drifted to their ears.
Prompted by the early hour and an innate fondness for observing local gossip, Su Yunyu paused in his tracks, pretending to leisurely inspect the streetscape while secretly straining his ears to catch the commotion.
It was a group of children shouting and jeering:
“You never should have been born! You only ever bring trouble to everyone around you!”
“That’s right, whatever happened this time was definitely your doing…”
Catching fragments of the domestic dispute, Su Yunyu debated internally for a moment, intending to listen a bit longer before heading over to investigate.
However, the very next sentence caught his attention with a familiar name:
“Have you ever heard of that massive jinx over in Nanlin Prefecture? I reckon you’re just as cursed as he is!”
Wait a second, Nanlin Prefecture? Why does that sound so oddly familiar?
The children’s taunts continued unabated:
“That grand jinx’s surname is Xiao, and your surname is Xiao too. You two are cut from the exact same unlucky cloth!”
Hearing that surname, Su Yunyu finally confirmed his ears weren’t playing tricks on him.
Yet the epithet “jinx” was something he never expected to hear echoing all the way from Nanlin Prefecture to this city. Could this perhaps be one of the Dragon-Heaven protagonist’s active debuffs?
Noticing Su Yunyu lingering in place for quite some time, Xiao Shuying cast a sidelong glance toward the alleyway separated by a single brick wall.
He was entirely certain those children’s voices carried clearly enough to reach Su Yunyu’s ears.
The question now was whether Su Yunyu intended to feign ignorance and walk past, or,
Based on his understanding, Su Yunyu was hardly the type of person prone to meddling in extraneous affairs.
As for the moniker of a “jinx,” this was likely the first time the man had ever heard of it.
Would learning of his grim past alter his willingness to maintain this proximity?
Just as Xiao Shuying’s gaze grew increasingly dark and unfathomable, Su Yunyu abruptly pivoted on his heel, striding directly toward the source of the commotion, though not before tossing a brief instruction over his shoulder:
“Stay right here and wait for me.”
Letting the Dragon-Heaven protagonist overhear children hurling insults branding him a jinx felt unnecessarily cruel; it was bound to dredge up unpleasant emotional baggage.
Frozen in place, Xiao Shuying stared in quiet astonishment as Su Yunyu covered a considerable distance before his brain finally caught up, prompting him to lift his feet and trail behind.
His pace was hurried, completely losing its usual composed rhythm. With narrowed eyes and tightly pressed lips, a turbulent storm of hesitation raged within his mind:
What on earth is going on inside Su Yunyu’s head?
This was now countless times he had failed to decipher the man’s intentions.
Every single action defied the impressions burned into his memory from the first lifetime.
Could it be.
No, if that assumption proved true, then what significance did all those agonizing lifetimes hold?
Abandoning the train of thought as Su Yunyu abruptly ground to a halt, Xiao Shuying instinctively halted as well.
With his sparrow-patterned mask turned toward him, Su Yunyu glanced back briefly, as though silently reprimanding him for disobeying orders.
Yet he offered no verbal reprimand, instead turning away to step between the group of bickering children.
The ringleader, a remarkably unpleasant neighborhood bully, leaped forward with an aggressive scowl:
“Who do you think you are?! Mind your own business!”
Two smaller cronies chimed in to back him up:
“We’re teaching someone a lesson here, what business is it of yours?!”
Crouched tightly in the corner with his arms wrapped defensively around his head, the target of the bullying looked even more pitifully fragile than Xiao Shuying had on the day Su Yunyu first rescued him, and possessed an even younger age.
The sight stirred an unexpected wave of tenderness and ache deep within Su Yunyu’s chest.
Directing his attention toward the three young tormentors, he attempted a gentle, reasonable tone:
“You are all peers; everyone faces their own hardships. Where is the need for such cruelty?”
The ringleader curled his lip in open defiance: “What fancy mumbo-jumbo is that? We don’t understand a word.”
His lackey echoed: “Exactly, exactly! Who do you think you are anyway!”
Realizing that gentle persuasion was completely ineffective, Su Yunyu instantly shifted strategies, adopting a cold, authoritative cadence:
“I am a master of the immortal arts from beyond the mortal world. If you refuse to behave, I will have your families send you to study under me and endure rigorous hardships.”
Even amidst his turbulent, tangled thoughts, Xiao Shuying couldn’t resist a subtle twitch of his lips at the sheer absurdity of the blatant fabrication.
Yet as his gaze shifted back to the children, his expression hardened once more into deep, chilling stillness.
In truth, this entire spectacle had been pre-arranged through a transaction with Tianji Pavilion, paying intermediaries to propagate the rumor of his cursed status all the way to this region.
While he could easily have hired actors to stage the scene himself, Su Yunyu kept him on such a tight leash that he simply lacked the temporal window.
He had originally intended to use the incident to probe Su Yunyu’s visceral reaction, but the man’s actual response completely shattered all expectations.
As for how to wrap up the farce, since it was all an act, he hardly cared about the details. True to form, upon hearing the threat, the ringleader feigned initial terror before bracing himself with false bravado:
“Do you expect us to believe you’re some immortal master just because you say so?”
“That’s right! I could claim to be the Grand Supreme Laojun myself!”
Sensing the distinct vibe of an unyielding internet troll, Su Yunyu channeled his spiritual breath and concentrated it at his fingertips.
A pure, ice-blue frost bloomed at his fingertips, a crystalline shade resembling frozen spring water touched by indigo, radiating an unmistakable, ethereal immortal aura.
The children had never witnessed anything so dreamlike and magnificent, let alone such pristine, concentrated spiritual energy, drawing them forward in mesmerized fascination by a few paces.
The very next second, the spiritual energy abruptly transformed. Swelling outward from its delicate initial state as the children drew near, it surged into a massive, looming silhouette in midair that suddenly lunged forward with the ferocious momentum of a pouncing tiger, letting out a terrifying roar,
Awoooo!
Terrified out of his wits, the ringleader stumbled backward and crashed hard onto the flagstones.
Before he could catch his breath, Su Yunyu’s icy voice cut through the air: “If you don’t run along right now, I’ll lock the lot of you away!” Frightened out of their collective wits, the trio scattered in blind panic, shepherded away in frantic retreat by the smaller lackies.
Jogging a few paces forward before stopping, Su Yunyu added a stern warning over his shoulder:
“And if I ever hear you call anyone a jinx again, I’ll come back and haul you away!”
Hearing that, the three children redoubled their pace, vanishing around the corner in the blink of an eye.
Watching the scene unfold, Xiao Shuying stood frozen in momentary shock. As he looked upon the man who had instinctively positioned himself as a shield, an inexplicable, turbulent current surged through his heart.
If there existed an artifact in this world capable of peering directly into the human soul, I would gladly tear Su Yunyu’s heart open and strip it bare just to see what monstrosity or miracle truly resides inside.
Having driven off the instigators, Su Yunyu turned his attention to the small child left behind. Finding the performance over, the child naturally prepared to scurry away as well, but Su Yunyu stepped forward, reached into his spatial storage, and retrieved a piece of candy.
“Live a good life.”
Extending the sweet, Su Yunyu forced the words out; his role constraints made framing complex, comforting sentiments remarkably difficult.
Perhaps because his own childhood had been devoid of warmth, seeing another child endure a similar fate invariably struck a chord of profound empathy.
The child stared downward at the offered candy, his gaze shifting from Su Yunyu to an intense, frozen stare fixed upon someone standing a short distance away.
He noticed a willow-slim youth standing nearby, his features sharp and striking, yet his eyes carried an absolute, freezing chill that sent a shiver straight down the spine.
“Thank you.” Accepting the candy, the child offered a polite expression of gratitude. He was merely hired help performing a script; never had he anticipated encountering such a genuinely kind-hearted benefactor. Rising to brush the dust from his knees, he scampered off into the distance.
Rising to his feet, Su Yunyu heard a soft, plaintive murmur drift from behind him:
“Master is always so endlessly compassionate toward everyone.”
Though phrased as praise, the tone carried an unmistakable edge. Without missing a beat, Su Yunyu smoothly retrieved another handful of candies from his spatial storage, turned around, and unceremoniously stuffed the entire lot straight into the front of Xiao Shuying’s robes.
The sudden, clumsy gesture caught Xiao Shuying off guard, forcing him to step back half a step as he instinctively clutched his collar to secure the cascade of sweets, blinking up at Su Yunyu with feigned bewilderment.
Relieved of facial expression management behind his mask, Su Yunyu curved his lips into a warm smile:
“My kindness toward others is merely fractional; my kindness toward you is absolute.”
As the saying goes, a blend of fabricated charm and genuine warmth proves infinitely more disarming.
Bathed in the clear morning sunlight, Su Yunyu’s glowing, brilliant eyes carried a limpid, pristine clarity that felt entirely sincere, prompting Xiao Shuying to self-consciously drop his gaze:
“Master”
Lacking an appropriate response, he elected to feign emotional touch and let the matter slide.
Seeing him squirm under the attention, Su Yunyu felt an itch to push the advantage further, only to be cut short by the system’s sharp warning:
[Quit fooling around unless you want to blow past the deadline!]
Frightened straight out of his playful mood by the exaggerated threat, Su Yunyu hastily grabbed Xiao Shuying and sprinted at full speed toward the Golden-Hilted Saber.
Upon their arrival, the chief steward of the guild respectfully presented a massive sack bulging with Nightmare core essences. Eager to retain them for a moment of pleasantry, he watched helplessly as Su Yunyu snatched the sack and departed without pausing.
Navigating straight to the towering structure housing Tianji Pavilion, Su Yunyu stepped into the ground floor hall, instantly experiencing a disorienting wave of vertigo.
The soaring black dome possessed no windows, leaving the expansive hall entirely dark save for a vast configuration of bright moonstones embedded directly into the stone flooring, tracing the glowing patterns of the Big Dipper constellation.
While turning in ordinary bounty tasks typically required nothing more than presenting items to any routine staff member, Su Yunyu searched the perimeter of the ground floor and found not a single soul in sight, leaving him little choice but to ascend to the second floor.
The moment he stepped onto the second level, however, he froze dead in his tracks—the entire floor was completely devoid of doors or windows, remaining plunged in the pitch-black obscurity of night.
Wait… are the members of Tianji Pavilion essentially vampires terrified of natural light?
Just as he was spinning through endless hypotheses, Xiao Shuying caught up from behind, observing Su Yunyu standing motionlessly in feigned contemplation.
Knowing full well that the man simply lacked any familiarity with Tianji Pavilion’s internal mechanism, he found himself unexpectedly stepping forward to tap three times against a specific section of the masonry.
Knock, knock, knock. As the sound faded, a concealed gateway slowly dissolved into existence.
Blinking in absolute astonishment, Su Yunyu turned to look at Xiao Shuying:
“You are.”
Interrupting before the question could finish, Xiao Shuying replied smoothly:
“I heard Xiao Qingran mention it once—the layout of this place is engineered precisely around the mechanisms of the Big Dipper.”
Catching himself halfway through, he executed an instantaneous correction: “Ah, no, not Xiao Qingran, I meant someone from the Xiao family.”
He had nearly slipped up. Xiao Qingran harbored romantic affections for Su Yunyu, while Su Yunyu reciprocated a deep fondness for Xiao Qingran.
If he continuously borrowed Xiao Qingran’s name to display erudition, it might inadvertently inspire Su Yunyu to hold the original target in even higher esteem.
“I see,” Su Yunyu murmured with a vague nod, stepping up to rap gently against the newly manifested door before pushing it open to enter.
Stepping inside revealed an endless sea of ancient, glowing texts stretching like stars across the night sky. A lone figure clad in sweeping obsidian robes, their face entirely obscured by a wide hood, spoke from the center of the chamber:
“For what purpose have the honored guests arrived?”
Depositing the massive sack of Nightmare cores onto the desk, Su Yunyu stated plainly:
“We are here to complete the bounty commission.”
The cloaked figure rapidly tallied the count, pausing briefly before responding:
“There are two individuals present; the required quota is consequently two thousand Nightmare cores.”