Jiang Xing could guess with his big toes how Zishu Bai would react. Not only would Zishu Bai not suspect who knew him so well, nor worry about whether Yan Zhun would drag him down, but he would also gladly accept Yan Zhun. In fact, he’d be thrilled that someone trusted him enough to entrust a friend to his care.
Zishu Bai was precisely that kind of idiot. Jiang Xing knew him all too well; after all, across more than a thousand chapters of the plot, Zishu Bai’s character design had never once broken.
Sneering in his heart, Jiang Xing raised his hand to smooth out the creases on his lapel, pulled out a red string from his robe, and neatly tied back his ink-black hair.
Heaven had granted him a second chance at life and transmigrated him into this book—perhaps precisely in the hope that he could reshape the plot into a satisfying, face-slapping story targeting the Holy Father. He was now the transmigrated protagonist, and according to the tropes of transmigrated web novels, the original protagonist was naturally meant to be used for face-slapping.
He would destroy Zishu Bai’s eyesore, nauseating hypocrisy bit by bit.
It was getting late. After asking around, Jiang Xing finally found the antagonist, Qin Shangyan.
Though labeled an antagonist, Jiang Xing actually empathized with Qin Shangyan quite a bit.
In the original novel, the two had formed a grudge on the day of the Sect Entrance Ceremony. During the talent assessment, Qin Shangyan had cheated to secure a spot as an inner sect disciple. People look out for themselves, or heaven and earth will destroy them—if it were Jiang Xing himself, he would have done the exact same thing.
However, right as he was cheating, he happened to be caught by the meddlesome Zishu Bai. Zishu Bai exposed him on the spot, even saying something about how it was unfair to the other disciples and hoping he wouldn’t do it again, which earned him Qin Shangyan’s deep hatred.
When Jiang Xing first read this segment, he nearly died of frustration. Did he really have to call him out to his face? Couldn’t he just go report it anonymously to the elders in private?
Besides, what did someone else’s cheating have to do with Zishu Bai? As a bumpkin straight out of the deep mountains, newly arrived at the sect with no connections or background, how dare he provoke a disciple like Qin Shangyan, who could get test content in advance? Wasn’t that just blatantly seeking death?
If not for his protagonist halo, Zishu Bai would have died who knows how many times over.
“You want to join?”
Qin Shangyan scrutinized Jiang Xing, his eyes narrowing slightly as he asked in a mild voice, “What is your spiritual root talent, and which peak’s disciple are you?”
Jiang Xing had anticipated this question and already prepared his disciple token to hand over. The token functioned much like a student ID—one look was all it took for the other party to know.
Qin Shangyan took the token from his palm, swept a casual glance over it, and knit his brows slightly. “A Wind Spiritual Root admitted to the Sword Peak? Aren’t Sword Peak disciples all Metal or Fire spiritual roots?”
How could Jiang Xing know? His character was merely an extra with poor talent. In the setting of the original book, only the primary five-element spiritual roots were considered top-tier, while derived ones like wind, ice, and lightning were inferior, non-pure spiritual roots.
Perhaps, just as Yan Zhun had said, maybe he really did have someone backing him higher up.
“Normally I wouldn’t have been able to join the Sword Peak, but someone helped out a bit later on,” Jiang Xing lowered his voice and said. “If Brother Qin is willing to accept me, I certainly won’t hold you back. I can share my inside information with you.”
Hearing his words, Qin Shangyan’s brow relaxed. Understanding his underlying meaning, he immediately broke into a knowing smile. “So that’s how it is. You said your name is Jiang Xing earlier, right?”
Jiang Xing nodded slightly. “Precisely.”
“We happen to be short on hands, so come along with us.” Qin Shangyan’s attitude quickly turned enthusiastic as he threw an arm around Jiang Xing’s shoulder and introduced him to the people around them, “This is Jiang Xing. From now on, we’re brothers and we need to look out for each other…”
Jiang Xing skillfully put on a fake smile, but before he could chime in, his peripheral vision caught sight of two familiar figures, and his smile instantly froze on his face.
Not far away, Yan Zhun was carrying a packed sack of dry rations, occasionally pulling out a flatbread to take a bite while chatting animatedly with the person beside him. “How can you go into battle without eating? Brother Xiaobai, are you really not hungry? Eat a bit to line your stomach.”
Meanwhile, the person beside him was staring straight toward Jiang Xing.
That gaze inexplicably made Jiang Xing shudder, and he unconsciously avoided the man’s line of sight.
He wondered if Zishu Bai had heard Qin Shangyan call his name…
Get lost, don’t come talk to me.
If Qin Shangyan found out he had any “relation” to Zishu Bai, wouldn’t he end up resenting him as well?
A gust of wind and sand blew past without warning. Zishu Bai stood frozen where he was, his eyes reflecting Jiang Xing’s delicate, refined face—long, dense eyelashes, thin lips with a faint shade of pale pink, and skin so white that his demeanor appeared somewhat cold and sinister.
Though it might be improper to describe him as such, he truly was very beautiful.
In his ear, Yan Zhun’s rambling voice suddenly broke in, “Are you really not going to eat? This lotus-leaf flatbread is from Xinghe Bakery, it smells amazing.”
Snapping out of his daze, Zishu Bai retracted his gaze and thanked him softly, “Thank you, but I’m not hungry.”
That person is also named Jiang Xing. Is it a shared name?
Qin Shangyan is a ruthless man who will stop at nothing for revenge. The people who walk his path likely aren’t good or kind either.
It must just be someone with the same name.
He answered his own question silently in his heart, then turned to Yan Zhun and said with a light smile, “When the Demon Elimination Trial ends, how about we invite Jiang Xing to eat at Xinghe Bakery together?”
“Of course! I’ll treat you two to delicacies of land and sea—even if you want to eat a phoenix, it’s on me.”
Damn it, damn it!
I’ll kill you! Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off…!
The pain across his body had gone almost completely numb, with splatters of shredded flesh and blood clotting everywhere into the yellow sand beneath him.
The deafening buzz of the Sky Insects filled the sky, as if etched deep into his nerves. His eyes had been eaten completely clean, his entire face disfigured beyond recognition, and his internal organs were gradually being hollowed out, leaving only his brain still thinking in despair.
Jiang Xing was going to die.
No one had expected the Sky Insects to arrive so suddenly. Right at noon, a sandstorm swept from south to north, turning the sky pitch-black—nothing could be seen, as if a total solar eclipse had plunged the world into sudden night.
Even though Jiang Xing knew the Sky Insects feared water and had prepared a great deal of it in advance, he hadn’t anticipated that the insects—which were easily dealt with and glossed over in the original novel—would swarm in numbers large enough to cover the entire sky. That little bit of water was nowhere near enough.
They fled for their lives and finally found a team with a Water Spiritual Root disciple. That disciple formed a protective barrier over them, but it couldn’t hold for long.
Seeing the barrier shatter, Qin Shangyan didn’t hesitate to push Jiang Xing toward the Sky Insects to buy himself time.
Although Jiang Xing was on guard and had even prepared to strike first, Qin Shangyan’s cultivation was slightly superior. Jiang Xing’s legs were forcefully snapped, and he could only watch helplessly as that bastard abandoned him and fled.
If I could do it over, I would definitely kill Qin Shangyan…
Regret, agony—none of it mattered anymore. Only poisonous, venomous hatred remained in Jiang Xing’s heart.
The sandstorm faded, and his breath ceased.
The vast desert restored its former tranquility. The wind blew past, leaving no trace behind, everything proceeding as usual.
“Cough, cough…”
Jiang Xing’s chest suddenly constricted, and he snapped his eyes open, drenched in a heavy sweat.
“You want to join?”
The voice shifted from far to near, gradually growing clear. A gaze like a venomous snake lingered over him. Jiang Xing trembled all over, instinctively lifting his head to look at the speaker.
Qin Shangyan looked down at him from above, his voice contemptuous. “What is your spiritual root talent, and which peak’s disciple are you?”
What’s going on?
Jiang Xing’s face turned deathly pale as he looked around. The bright sun in the sky was dazzling, inducing a wave of dizziness and nausea.
He was actually still alive. His body was completely intact, not covered in dense swarms of insects, nor were his internal organs or intestines spilling out.
“Why aren’t you answering? Which peak’s disciple are you?”
Everything that had just happened was still crystal clear in his mind; he could even still feel the saw-like buzzing sound of the Sky Insects. He quickly realized—he had reincarnated.
And this scene was… when he had come to find Qin Shangyan to form a team.
It turned out he also possessed a cheat code: he could reincarnate back to the point right before he made a wrong choice!
Qin Shangyan knitted his brows, staring heavily at Jiang Xing. Before he could speak again, the other party said cold-voiced, “Forget it. I am merely a Wind Spiritual Root; I won’t bother you then.”
“A mere Wind Spiritual Root… at least you have some self-awareness.”
Qin Shangyan clearly felt disdainful and paid Jiang Xing no further mind, naturally missing the dense, flashing hatred deep in Jiang Xing’s eyes.
He would kill Qin Shangyan sooner or later, but the urgent priority now was to quickly assemble a team of his own.
Relying on anyone was worse than relying on himself. With his previous experience, he at least knew his team needed to have Water Spiritual Root disciples, or else they couldn’t deal with that many Sky Insects.
That night, he assembled his team. Aside from himself, there were two Water Spiritual Root disciples—already the best teammates he could find. Using the gold bracelet he had tricked out of Yan Zhun, Jiang Xing bought many water buckets from the locals.
With these preparations, it should be enough. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Jiang Xing leaned against the dirt wall and fell fast asleep.
Throughout the night, he was repeatedly jolted awake by nightmares. He dreamt of his body being devoured to nothing by the Sky Insects, of Qin Shangyan sneering as he stomped his legs broken, and of those two idiots, Zishu Bai and Yan Zhun… dreaming of them identifying his bones by his disciple token, digging a pit to bury him, and placing a lotus-leaf flatbread on his grave.
What a strange dream. Who wants their pity?
When he woke up the next day, Jiang Xing looked terrible, with dark circles under his eyes, appearing exceptionally listless.
The Sky Insects would arrive soon.
At the thought of this, his body trembled uncontrollably.
He suppressed the fear in his heart and forced himself to calm down.
This time, he would rely on himself to walk out of Shazhen alive. Whether it was Zishu Bai or Qin Shangyan, they could all go to hell.
Opening his eyes yet again, Jiang Xing had never felt so utterly desperate.
He had reincarnated once more.
Looking at Qin Shangyan’s hideous face, he almost vomited.
Jiang Xing had calculated everything except that those two Water Spiritual Root disciples would lose their minds from fright the moment the sky was covered with insects. They panicked, ran around randomly without listening to his orders, and ended up getting everyone eaten completely clean by the Sky Insects!
He clenched his fists viciously. Since he could reincarnate infinitely, he refused to believe in this curse.
The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time… Jiang Xing gave in.
Now, whenever things took a bad turn, he would immediately pull out his sword and commit suicide; it was a far more merciful death than being eaten by Sky Insects.
Just what on earth did he have to do to escape Shazhen alive? Jiang Xing had already tried every single method he could think of, yet he still couldn’t change anything, dying a tragic death by twist of fate every single time.
Was a mere extra’s fate truly impossible to alter?
The tenth time. Jiang Xing didn’t know if there was a limit to his reincarnations; perhaps this was his very last life. If this kept going, he would be driven insane even if he didn’t die.
Why?
Why was he always so unlucky?
Why did God insist on treating him like this!
“Hey, I’m asking you. Which peak’s disciple are you anyway?” Qin Shangyan was still asking him.
Jiang Xing found it difficult to breathe, his head splitting with pain. The endless cycle of suicide, rebirth, and suicide again was like an unending nightmare. His mental state had deteriorated to the absolute limit; his throat felt blocked by something, rendering him unable to utter a single complete sentence.
He collapsed onto his knees weakly, retching uncontrollably.
Qin Shangyan frowned and stared at him for a moment before turning away indifferently.
“Sick and still coming to team up with me? Go take a look in the mirror first.”
With ringing in his ears, Jiang Xing couldn’t hear his words at all, forcing himself to try to calm down.
After an unknown amount of time, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Xing’s body froze, and he slowly turned his head around.
The young man was slightly frowning, those eyes—glistening like spring waters—looking at him with pity and concern.
A gust of wind blew past, and the world seemed to turn blank in an instant.
He stared blankly at the other party, damp teardrops remaining on his face from an unknown moment.
It was Zishu Bai.
Right… Zishu Bai was near him back then too. He had even worried about being recognized by Zishu Bai and Yan Zhun…
This scene felt so familiar. Jiang Xing froze for a moment.
In his dream, Zishu Bai and Yan Zhun stood before his bones, and that person had looked at him with that same compassionate expression, saying something about how they could go eat at Xinghe Bakery together after the trial ended…
It suddenly occurred to him—
If that dream was real, then Yan Zhun—an extra who was never even mentioned in the original book—had actually survived.
A certain string in his heart was gently plucked, like a butterfly flapping its wings, setting off a gathering breeze.
So that was it.
The clouds parted, the mist cleared, and the dawn broke.
Jiang Xing understood everything now.
So this was the only way to survive: only by relying on Zishu Bai’s protagonist halo could an extra live through this.
He stared dead at him, reaching out to tightly grab Zishu Bai’s wrist like catching his last life-saving straw, speaking fiercely:
“You have to help me.”
It was an incomparably willful and unreasonable sentence. Jiang Xing knew he should perhaps beg Zishu Bai, acting pathetic to gain his sympathy, but he truly lacked the energy left to scheme. Thus, what burst out was such a brainless, unlikable line.
Anyway, as long as it was Zishu Bai, he would definitely help him.
Zishu Bai stared at him in surprise. After a moment, he softly yet firmly grasped his hand back.
“Alright, I’ll help you.”
A Holy Father is always a Holy Father.
No reason needed, no explanation required.
You need me, I’ll help you.