The veil of cold silk shrouded their meeting, yet they could not recognize each other…
The tea drinkers at nearby tables were clearly stirred into lively discussion, lowering their voices to gossip.
One of them, brimming with curiosity, asked, “Why is the City Lord of Ghost Domain City called the Thousand-Faced Ghost Maiden?”
Hearing this, another person perked up immediately and said with great enthusiasm, “I know this one! I heard that Gu Wan’s face was burned by Moonlight Fairy, and half of it was a ghastly sight, bloody, pitted, and scarred beyond recognition. My sister-in-law’s younger sister’s seventh aunt’s friend’s daughter’s young lover is a disciple at Lingyun Sect and saw it with his own eyes during the battle at Ghost Domain City.”
“And moreover,” another chimed in, spittle flying as if he had witnessed it himself, “after she took over Ghost Domain City, she specifically captured beautiful women, peeled off their faces while they were still alive, and made them into human-skin masks! That’s how she earned the name ‘Thousand-Faced.'”
The crowd couldn’t help but shudder at this.
Then, an old man slowly shook his head, a trace of regret in his expression: “Alas, what a pity. Gu Wan was one of the top geniuses in the cultivation world. She once single-handedly challenged the elite disciples of five major sects and cut down the number one on the Prodigy Ranking. ‘Peerless in talent and beauty, a single sword stroke like fireflies shaking the nine heavens’, that was said of her. Who would have thought she’d sink to such depths later?”
“What’s there to pity? People like her deserve to die and be done with it.” A young man sneered with disdain, raising his voice: “Sect Master Xie Zhi of Lingyun Sect kindly took her in, but instead of gratitude, she grew jealous that Qingheng Immortal Lord Mu Ci was more favored, and committed deeds that defy heaven and reason, betraying her master, deserting the sect, and harming her fellow disciples. Crime after crime, utterly heinous, deserving of death and more. She ought to be ground to ashes.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
“Truly an offense against heaven!”
Voices of agreement rose one after another.
Gu Er listened to their conversation as if it were a story, but when she heard names like “Xie Zhi” and “Mu Ci,” a strange suffocation welled up in her chest, making it hard to breathe for a moment.
[Host?] 0086 seemed to notice her brief silence.
“I’m fine.” Gu Er replied inwardly, setting down her teacup and tossing the last few melon seeds into her mouth.
Just as she was about to rise and leave, a thin, frail-looking man at another table interjected mysteriously: “Hey, let me tell you all a secret… I heard that during the battle at Ghost Domain City, when the Immortal’s sword struck Gu Wan, a blinding white light suddenly burst from her body, and she vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye. Maybe… she never truly died!”
“Nonsense!” Someone immediately scoffed. “Qingheng Immortal Lord Mu Ci personally verified it, soul extinguished, body destroyed! What white light? It must be lies spread by the remnants of the demonic path to deceive the masses!”
“Exactly! She’s been dead for three hundred years; her bones should have turned to ash by now!” The argument flared up again.
The man stiffened his neck and retorted, “And who’s to say those bones were really Gu Wan’s? That’s not certain at all.”
Gu Er asked the system in her mind: “Since you said the storyteller’s tale wasn’t accurate, are these things they’re saying true or false?”
[Half and half, I’d say. After all, it’s been three hundred years, and many details can no longer be verified.] 0086’s electronic voice drifted lazily through Gu Er’s mind. [Host, the most important thing now is getting into Lingyun Sect. We still need to hurry to the recruitment site to register. Let’s not worry about other people for now.]
“Good system, give me the full rundown. As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated. If I’m going to defeat Gu Wan, I need to understand her thoroughly.”
Gu Er’s eyes sparkled with a cunning glint as she continued to coax: “Think about it, if I know nothing about her, how can I possibly beat her? She’s the big villain, after all. System, just consider it for the sake of our shared mission and tell me.”
The system felt its host had a point: [Alright then. But our information mainly follows your perspective, Host.]
With that, the system rapidly flipped through its database, and after a moment, pulled out a string of data. [Found it! At age eight, Gu Wan entered Lingyun Sect and was taken under the Sect Master’s wing, becoming his most favored disciple. Later, she grew jealous of her junior fellow disciple, Mu Ci, who had exceptional talent, and schemed against him multiple times. After failing to secure the position of Sect Master’s successor, she gravely wounded the Sect Master and fell into the demonic path.]
[Her first act after falling to demonic cultivation was to massacre the Cen family of Jiangxiao City, the family of this body you’re inhabiting. The main bloodline was slaughtered, corpses strewn across the fields. After that, she went alone to Ghost Domain City, challenged several of its top experts, and single-handedly secured her position as City Lord.]
Gu Er propped her cheek on one hand, gazing into the distance with somewhat hollow eyes.
Her fingers unconsciously tapped the table, one after another, producing a rhythmic “tap, tap, tap.”
Her expression remained calm, but inside, her thoughts were churning: This is practically a full-blown demon lord. How could I ever defeat her? Once I find the real female lead, I need to stay far away from all this. Best to find a way home as soon as possible.
Lost in thought, that familiar, crisp fragrance of tea drifted over once more, interrupting her reverie.
Gu Er’s spine stiffened, and she slowly turned her head. The youth from yesterday, with white cloth covering his eyes, had at some point taken the empty seat beside her. He was still dressed in the sect robes, ice-silk covering his eyes, a single cinnabar dot between his brows, quietly “gazing” in her direction.
Seeing it was Mu Ci, Gu Er’s face instantly broke into a beaming smile as she greeted him sweetly, “Immortal brother, hello there! Didn’t you go back to Lingyun Sect with the others?”
“Young friend, just call me Mu Ci. I still have some matters to attend to, so I’m not planning to return just yet.” Mu Ci’s voice was warm and smooth like jade, incredibly pleasant to the ear.
“You’re older than me, so I’ll call you Brother Mu. Just call me Gu Er directly, who knows, maybe in the future you’ll have to call me junior sister.” Gu Er grinned as she spoke.
“Gu Er? That’s a good name.” Mu Ci’s thin lips pressed together lightly, that faint, elusive smile still lingering at the corners of his mouth. If one looked closely, the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
The system poked its head out: [Host, why didn’t you tell him your real name?]
Gu Er made something up on the spot: “That’s because your host is too weak right now. If I revealed my real name, the Cen family would find out. Once we grow stronger, we’ll go back to the Cen family for revenge.”
Yeah, right, if she used Cen Shiqing’s name, what would happen to the real Cen Shiqing? There was no way two people with the same name could exist.
The system bought it and said happily, [Host, you’re amazing!]
Just as Gu Er was communicating with the system, Mu Ci spoke again: “I heard from my junior brother that you’re going to Jinling City for the recruitment assembly. Coincidentally, I have matters to handle there as well. Why don’t we travel together?”
Gu Er instinctively grew wary: “I… I know the way myself.” She said in a small voice, her fingers curling slightly.
[Host! Agree to it! Agree to it now!] 0086’s voice rang out urgently, carrying a rare seriousness. [Data analysis shows that traveling with this person will greatly increase your safety coefficient and mission efficiency! His strength is formidable, and he seems to harbor no ill will toward you. This is a rare opportunity!]
Gu Er sighed inwardly. This man gave her a very complicated feeling, and she didn’t want too much contact with him. But the system kept urging her on, and she could also sense Mu Ci’s “gaze” resting on her.
Left with no choice, Gu Er said helplessly, “Alright then. With Brother Mu accompanying me, the journey will surely be very safe.”
“Then pack up, and we’ll set off immediately.” After speaking, Mu Ci rose and took the lead in walking out of the teahouse.
The moment he left, the warm, enthusiastic smile on Gu Er’s face vanished without a trace, replaced by a cold, indifferent expression.
“System, why do you think Mu Ci wants to travel with me?” Gu Er frowned, her heart full of doubt.
The system thought for a moment, then said somewhat excitedly, “You’re the female lead, you know! Maybe he’s drawn to you, love at first sight!”
Gu Er raised an eyebrow slightly and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly: Female lead? The system had mistaken her for someone else, but she knew full well she wasn’t the real female lead at all.
Mu Ci had only met her once, barely exchanged a few words, and suddenly struck up a conversation with her, there had to be something else behind it. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she’d had the system interfere with her appearance and slightly mask her soul’s aura. Unless someone deliberately examined her, no one could tell anything unusual.
Four days later, Gu Er and Mu Ci arrived in Jinling City.
With one day left before the new disciple selection began, the city was already packed with people who had come to participate, bustling with excitement. Streets and alleys were decorated with lanterns and banners, and the sounds of hawkers and laughter filled the air endlessly.
Gu Er and Mu Ci checked several inns in a row, but the answer at every one was the same: no vacancies.
“So many people are participating in the selection. It looks like getting into Lingyun Sect won’t be easy.” Gu Er looked at the surging crowd on the street and couldn’t help but worry.
As she slowly moved along with the flow of people, she muttered inwardly: Getting into Lingyun Sect is way too hard. I wonder what the scene will be like at the selection tomorrow, and whether I’ll run into the real female lead.
According to the original book, just the first round, testing spiritual roots, would eliminate more than half the participants.
The second and third rounds went without saying, harder than climbing to heaven, with only a handful making it into the inner sect.
If she really were the female lead, with the protagonist’s halo backing her, she might pass through smoothly.
But she was just a fake. If she couldn’t even get past a simple spiritual root test, that would be too embarrassing.
“Don’t worry. When the sect takes in disciples, numbers aren’t the key factor, and the assessment content isn’t all that complicated. As long as you pass the first round and haven’t done evil deeds in your daily life, staying true to goodness will get you through easily.” Mu Ci seemed to sense her anxiety and comforted her in a soft voice.
Gu Er’s mouth twitched slightly at the corners when she heard that: She really hadn’t done anything heinous, at most, she’d helped classmates with their homework, caused mischief and broken things, and pinned the blame on her younger sister.
At the thought of this, Gu Er’s heart suddenly felt as if squeezed by an invisible hand, a wave of bitterness surging through her.
Her nose tingled slightly, and a faint red mist crept into her eyes. She really wanted to go home, longing for the days when her mother would nag in her ear, that was the life she truly yearned for.
Gu Er was still immersed in her deep homesickness, her expression somewhat dazed.
Suddenly, a crisp and hurried “clatter-clatter-clatter” sound approached from afar.
Before she could react, she felt her wrist tighten. Mu Ci had somehow appeared by her side, reaching out to pull her, shifting his body slightly to shield her between himself and the carriage.
After steadying himself, Mu Ci asked softly, “Were you hurt?” His tone carried a hint of barely perceptible tension.
Gu Er shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said, though her heart gave a slight start at this sudden close-quarters protection. Then, as if snapping back to reality, she shoved Mu Ci away abruptly and smoothed her clothes with an awkward air. “Brother Mu, thank you for earlier. If it weren’t for you, I definitely would have been hit by that carriage.”
…
“Out of the way, all you riffraff!” A sharp, arrogant voice cut through the air. A lavishly decorated carriage sped past in a flash, moving so fast it kicked up a considerable gust of wind, sending the carriage curtains fluttering high.
Inside sat two women and a man, all dressed in opulent attire, their expressions brimming with haughty superiority.
“Who is that, charging around so recklessly?” The vegetable-carrying woman standing beside Gu Er couldn’t help but frown, her voice shrill and grating.
Someone immediately chimed in, “The children of the City Lord of Jinling City, of course.”
Four hundred years ago, the mortal realm was in turmoil, demons running rampant. Each city claimed its own territory, dynasties declined, nations vanished, and there was no longer an “emperor.” In their place stood one “renowned city” after another.
The “City Lord” had become a revered figure in the mortal world, and the Zhong family, who governed Jinling City, ruled over the number one city under heaven, their influence leaving other cities far in the dust.
“They sound pretty impressive. Are they here for the Lingyun Sect’s sect test too?” Gu Er asked, full of curiosity.
A passerby, wearing a look of utter obviousness, curled their lip and said, “Of course. Who comes here for anything but the sect test? Though, for the likes of them, they’re probably already guaranteed a spot.”
“The young city lord of the Zhong family is already at the second level of Qi Refining. His prospects are limitless,” another person added with a mix of envy and admiration.
The next morning, just as the sky began to pale with the first light of dawn, Mu Ci said he needed to handle some matters, while Gu Er set off alone to attend the recruitment assembly.
Gu Er let out a long sigh of relief, finally, she could part ways with Mu Ci. Throughout the journey, he had been asking all sorts of questions, and her half-truths and half-lies were getting harder and harder to keep up.
She trotted all the way to the sect recruitment site, where she found the place bustling with activity, a sea of people.
Each major sect had claimed its own spot, with the five great sects occupying the most prominent and largest areas.
Standing in the crowd, Gu Er swept her gaze around and quickly locked onto her target.
Her eyes lit up, and she dashed toward the Lingyun Sect’s location. Standing at the registration table, she wrote down her name, learned the detailed process for joining the sect, received her number tag, and then turned and headed toward the spiritual root testing point.
Gu Er looked down at her number tag to see what number she was, completely failing to notice someone walking toward her from ahead.