Lu Zhao put away the jade pendant and reminded him, “The smell of blood will attract wild beasts. You should leave quickly too.” After saying this, he strode off toward the northwest.
Shen Qi nodded, staring at his retreating back, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
The viewers in the livestream, watching his expression, couldn’t shake the feeling that he was up to no good.
【Jianmengtianxia: Host, do you really believe what this guy says? I feel like he’s scheming something again!】
【Driver No Brake: Exactly, exactly! He seemed to smirk just now—definitely plotting against you.】
【Pacifier Crusader: Could there be an ambush in the northwest corner of the forest?】
【Shuaidebumingxian: I think so too. Shen Qi, that black-hearted lotus, probably tried to escape in the middle of the night, found guards at the northwest corner, and then ran back. Giving the host the jade pendant was just to gain trust—he actually wants revenge for the host dragging him along all this way.】
【Trash Talk King: Host, don’t go!】
The veteran viewers had long lost faith in the character of Shen Qi, the Child of Destiny, but the new viewers clearly hadn’t yet experienced the depths of human treachery.
They couldn’t help but speak up.
【February Red: Aren’t you all imagining him to be too evil? The host did save his life after all—maybe he’s had a change of heart.】
【IQ Offline: Right, right! I just felt the sincerity in his eyes.】
The livestream viewers chattered endlessly, largely split into two factions: one believed Shen Qi was plotting something foul and urged Lu Zhao not to go; the other believed Shen Qi was genuinely moved by the host and insisted the northwest held no danger.
The two sides argued until they made a bet: whoever lost would shower the host with gifts.
Lu Zhao was happy to see it unfold, asking questions but staying silent himself.
The system seized the opportunity to defend Shen Qi. 【Host, don’t listen to their nonsense. The Child of Destiny must have been truly moved by you this time. You absolutely can’t abandon him—don’t forget our main quest.】
“Is that so?” Lu Zhao asked nonchalantly, “What if he remains unrepentant? Can I just strangle him?”
The system was terrified by the coldness in his tone, trembling as it confirmed, 【H-ho-host, you’re joking, right?】
Lu Zhao chuckled, “Don’t be nervous. Like you said, I’m joking.”
The system: Sob, this joke isn’t funny at all.
Not only is the host difficult to deal with, prone to sudden madness, but also full of twisted humor.
Why am I so unlucky to end up with such a host!
The system shut up and played mute, continuing to watch as Lu Zhao headed toward the northwest corner.
The small animals in the forest, catching the heavy scent of blood on him, automatically kept their distance. As dawn broke, the exit of the dense forest was just ahead. About a hundred meters away, the rising sun pierced through the thick foliage, its rays refracting into a spectrum of colors through the morning mist.
Lu Zhao raised a hand to shield his eyes, and the five hundred viewers in the livestream felt momentarily dazzled.
At the forest exit, silhouetted against the light, stood a group of men dressed uniformly in black martial attire, heads wrapped in black bands, waists adorned with treasured blades. Their eyes were fierce, their faces like wrathful deities.
All their gazes were fixed on the Seven-Colored Gemstone Jade hanging at Lu Zhao’s waist.
The livestream viewers collectively gasped in shock. Before they could grasp the situation, those black-clad executioners drew their blades and charged at Lu Zhao.
The thin, sharp edges of their swords gleamed coldly as they lunged forward. Lu Zhao turned and fled, covering ten meters in an instant with just one glance.
Hidden weapons whizzed past his head and sides, the live stream audience feeling the chilling glints practically smothering their faces. Even across dimensions, they could sense the urgency and danger.
【IQ Offline: Holy shit, there really is an ambush!】
【Bajiaolian: Mom, I was wrong. The Child of Destiny is truly a black-hearted lotus!】
【Weilai Shouxi Zhudao: Streamer, run fast!】
【Jianmengtianxia: Looking at these people’s attire, they don’t seem to be pursuers from the Black Mine. So where did these people come from!】
Everyone was speculating about these people’s identities. While running, Lu Zhao explained, 【These people are the ones chasing Shen Qi. Shen Qi must have run into them when he sneaked away earlier, which is why he ran back and stuffed the jade pendant into my hands. He wants these people to mistake me for the Seventh Prince who’s been living in exile, making me his scapegoat!】
【IQ Offline: Damn, that’s so treacherous! And I actually thought he was sincere earlier!】
【Bajiaolian: My heart aches for the streamer for a second. Failed to see people clearly, I admit defeat, sending rockets to the streamer. And those who lost the bet earlier should quickly admit defeat too!】
Outside the live stream, hidden weapons and blade glints flew chaotically, while inside the live stream, gift effects appeared one after another.
After sending gifts, everyone in the live stream unusually united in cursing Shen Qi for not acting human.
Watching the continuously rising Popularity Value, Lu Zhao curled his lips. 【Everyone, don’t be angry. The streamer will take you to vent your anger.】
The audience in the live stream was confused: Vent what anger? How to vent? Who to vent on?
The system had already detected bad signs. It immediately asked nervously, 【Streamer, what do you want to do again? The Child of Destiny can’t take any more turmoil.】
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you say not to abandon Shen Qi? Look, as a host, how obedient I am.Before the system could figure out what she intended to do, Shen Qi’s figure appeared in the live stream, clutching his chest and staggering along.
Lu Zhao almost didn’t hesitate at all, darting toward Shen Qi as fast as lightning. By the time Shen Qi heard the sound and turned around, what met his eyes were large numbers of pursuers, countless hidden weapons, and the jinx he never wanted to see again in this lifetime.
He had already moved in the opposite direction at his fastest speed. How did this commoner manage to run so far under so many experts?
Anywhere would be better to run to, yet she had to come running right in front of him again.
Shen Qi felt the other party was simply his nemesis.
His arrow wound hadn’t healed yet, and before he could dodge, Lu Zhao grabbed him firmly, then pulled him to hide under a large tree.
Clutching his painful chest, Shen Qi asked through gritted teeth, “What did you come back for?”Lu Zhao said naturally, ‘The Liangzhou Governor’s people are coming fiercely, absolutely not leaving any survivors.'” Since you gifted me precious jade, I naturally can’t abandon you.”
Shen Qi: Then I really thank your eight generations of ancestors.
These people weren’t the Liangzhou Governor’s men at all; they were all coming for him. Fortunately, these people hadn’t seen him for many years, recognizing only the jade, not the person.
Shen Qi pushed her hard: “You go, you don’t need to worry about me!”
At this moment, Lu Zhao showed extraordinary ‘loyalty’, refusing to ‘abandon’ his companion no matter what, holding onto Shen Qi at all times.
Dodging, jumping, running…
Passing through thorns, rolling down slopes… Shen Qi, whose old wounds hadn’t healed yet, had his injuries reopen, his long hair disheveled, face pale, looking utterly miserable.
His back, arms, and face were all wounded.
The system’s heart rose and fell, afraid he might die the next second.
The five hundred viewers in the live stream collectively burst into laughter.
【Jianmengtianxia: Satisfying! Finally understand what the streamer meant by venting anger.】
【Sijibushache: The streamer is truly an exceptional brother – never abandoning, never giving up.】
【Hangenaizui: Brother Shen, hold on! Keep letting the streamer play a while longer!】
Shen Qi couldn’t hold on any longer, his voice faint as a mosquito’s hum, speaking with resentment: “Let go… you let go…”
Lu Zhao tightened her grip instead: “I will never abandon you.” As she spoke, she swung her blade and killed another person.
The forest trees grew increasingly sparse, the exit now within reach, with over a dozen horses tethered there.
Lu Zhao pulled her companion through the exit, pushed him onto a horse’s back, then swung her blade to sever the tethering ropes, using the momentum to leap onto the horse herself.
Just as she was about to settle on the saddle, Shen Qi suddenly glared fiercely and kicked at her with all his remaining strength.
Lu Zhao feigned shock as she dodged, but by the time she landed, the horses had already galloped far away.
The pursuers closed in immediately, surrounding her completely, making any escape by stealing a horse impossible.
The live chat erupted in curses again.
【Shuaidebumingxian: I told you that so-called Child of Destiny was full of treachery, backstabbing the streamer again.】
【Weilai Shouxi Zhudao: Indeed, no wonder the streamer plays with him – he stabs her in the back every time!】
【ZhiShangyixiaxian: Is the streamer going to die here? Sob, I haven’t had enough of this thrilling stream yet.】
After the curses came waves of concern, while the viewer count rose from the initial five hundred to eight hundred.
Lu Zhao steadied herself, wiped blood from her face, tore a strip from her robe to bind her injured right hand, slowly revealing an excited smile. 【What’s there to fear! With the trash gone, it’s easier to kill!】
“System, exchange for speed skill.”
The system immediately displayed a prompt: 【300 points required to exchange for ‘Speed’ skill once. Does the streamer confirm exchange?】
“So expensive? Never mind then.”
System: …
Not only is this host difficult to deal with, prone to sudden madness and twisted humor, but she’s also a miser!
【Host confirms using her 23 combat points against thirty-plus experts? The streamer’s stamina is rapidly declining. To avoid character death, we still recommend exchanging for skills.】
Before it finished speaking, Lu Zhao had already charged into battle.
The stream instantly filled with flashing blades and flying blood. New viewers dared not even breathe loudly.
This stream featured real blades, real killing!
While terrified, the audience found it thrilling, and not a single person voluntarily left the stream.
Two quarters of an hour later, Lu Zhao staggered out of the forest, looking up at the warm sun now high in the sky.
Her blood-stained face bathed in radiant light, behind her the autumn forest stained crimson.
Standing alone, she commanded solemn respect.
She gently soothed the frightened horse, then methodically untied the reins, mounted, and rode toward the vast, boundless wilderness.
An autumn breeze whispered through, where man-high wormwood stretched from sight’s reach to the horizon’s edge. Wildflowers, dragonflies, and occasional fleeting rabbits created a tranquil beauty that calmed the heart.
After the apocalypse, these would cease to exist.
The boiling blood in Lu Zhao gradually stilled as she guided the horse forward slowly, as if the recent merciless killing had been but an illusion.
The excited viewers in the stream also gradually calmed, the visual feast after the slaughter providing the ultimate impact.
【Weilai Shouxi Zhudao: I really love the host’s relaxed state. Lying in the wormwood grass right now must feel incredibly comfortable.】
【Zhishangyixiaxian: Suddenly captivated by the host—there’s a contradictory beauty about you, both fragile and resilient.】
【Shuaidebumingxian: Indeed, I don’t usually admit others are more handsome than me easily, but the host is absolutely dashing!】
These people’s comments grew increasingly exaggerated, making Lu Zhao so uncomfortable from the praise that she nearly shut down the livestream.
But seeing the continuous stream of gifts, she gritted her teeth and endured it.
Fortunately, after traveling for about half an hour, she spotted another dark brown horse in the distance, snorting as it stood not far away.
Someone sharp-eyed in the livestream immediately recognized it as the horse Shen Qi had ridden during his escape and urged Lu Zhao to approach for a closer look.
Lu Zhao tugged the reins, guiding her horse closer.
Lying in the knee-high wormwood grass was a person—eyes tightly shut, face ashen gray, lips purplish-black, with a pool of dark blood beneath them.
It was actually Shen Qi.
This bastard had delivered himself right to her doorstep.
【Shuaidebumingxian: Hahahaha, just when you search high and low without success, he falls into your lap without any effort! To think we’d run into him here!】
【Zhishangyixiaxian: Is he dead or not?】
The livestream was flooded with dense inquiries.
While Lu Zhao and the livestream viewers were gloating, the system was on the verge of tears, emitting red alerts: 【Beep beep beep, detecting the Child of Destiny’s life in critical condition. Requesting host to provide immediate treatment, requesting host to provide immediate treatment!!!!】
Lu Zhao leisurely dismounted, crouched in front of Shen Qi, reached out to check his breathing, then felt his carotid artery. With regret, she stated, “Already dead.”
The system was thunderstruck, the entire interface crackling and sizzling. The livestream followed suit with static, flickered twice, then went black as the broadcast abruptly ended.
Viewers watching the livestream wailed in frustration, all asking what had happened.
At such a critical moment, they were desperate to know how the host would handle the death of the Child of Destiny.
Those who hadn’t followed promptly hit the follow button, then voluntarily shared the recording across various forums and their personal chat groups.
A flood of people rushed to Lu Zhao’s livestream channel to wait, afraid of missing the next broadcast.
In another dimension, the system was still losing it: 【Dead? How could he be dead? Did the host torment him to death?】
It carefully reviewed the host’s actions—yes, it was the host who’d driven him to his death, right?
Lu Zhao rolled her eyes: “Flattering me. When he kicked me off the horse earlier, he was hit in the back by hidden weapons from those men in black. Those weapons were coated with a potent poison.”
“Guess he was in a hurry to be reincarnated.”
The system was on the verge of tears: 【Then what do we do now? The Child of Destiny is dead—this dimension is bound to collapse. We’re both doomed!!】
The clear sky suddenly erupted with fierce winds, rolling dark clouds, and after thunder and lightning, a torrential downpour poured instantly.
Lu Zhao, holding her horse’s reins, neither dodging nor avoiding, endured the pressure from heaven and earth, and calmly suggested: “How about… I take a loss… pretend to be the Seventh Prince and livestream becoming emperor?”
Author’s note:
System: Host, listen to the nonsense you’re spouting. This isn’t about taking a loss—you’re aiming to take it all.