Yu Xingwu studied Shen Zhuo.
Although that damned villain was awful and refused to follow the storyline, there was no denying that he was incredibly handsome.
Just as Yu Xingwu was admiring his appearance, Shen Zhuo approached the bedside, carrying a bowl of medicine.
It was only then that Yu Xingwu noticed the medicine bowl in his hand, and she immediately became fully alert.
She even imagined Shen Zhuo as Pan Jinlian holding a bowl of poisoned medicine, just waiting to say, “Darling, it’s time to take your medicine[1]Pan Jinlian is a character from the Chinese classic Water Margin, widely associated with poisoning her husband, Wu Dalang. The phrase “Darling, it’s time to take your medicine” is a … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694196_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694196_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });~”
“Um, Second Senior Brother, what brings you here?”
【System! Hurry up and check whether there’s poison in that medicine! Is Shen Zhuo trying to poison me to avenge the female protagonist?! What a terrifying pair of scoundrels!】
System: “…” Does Host have some kind of persecution complex?
Shen Zhuo: “…” Not a bad idea. I should have poisoned the medicine and killed her.
“Drink your medicine.”
Shen Zhuo’s voice was cold as he held the bowl out to Yu Xingwu, deliberately allowing a faint smile to appear on his lips.
Yu Xingwu’s heart skipped a beat.
【Look! Just look at that damned villain’s expression! He must have put poison or some kind of Gu parasite in the medicine, right?!】
The system replied, “…Would you believe me if I said he hadn’t?”
Yu Xingwu shook her head inwardly.
Only an idiot would believe that.
If he hadn’t poisoned the medicine, why was Shen Zhuo smiling?!
He never smiled at people he hated!
“Second Senior Brother, I’m perfectly healthy! I don’t think I need to drink this medicine. Why don’t you leave it here, and I’ll drink it a little later?”
Shen Zhuo’s tone left no room for argument. “What do you think?”
Yu Xingwu: “…” I don’t care what you think. What matters is what I think.
Neither was willing to give in.
Remembering that the System Shop sold Universal Antidote Pills for 500 points each, Yu Xingwu steeled herself, accepted the medicine bowl, closed her eyes, and drank every last drop.
【Boohoo! System, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, my heart hurts! Everything hurts from head to toe! If I’m about to die from poisoning, remember to exchange my points for an antidote! Boohoo! (┯_┯)】
System: “…” Could you possibly be any more dramatic…?
Shen Zhuo: “…” Why hasn’t the pain killed you yet?
“There’s no poison in it. Why are you clutching your stomach?”
Yu Xingwu: “?”
“Hehehe! Second Senior Brother, what are you saying? How could I possibly suspect Senior Brother of poisoning me? I’m just hungry, so I was rubbing my stomach…”
【Damn it! If you didn’t poison the medicine, then why the hell were you smiling at me just now?!】
Shen Zhuo sneered. “You ate an entire table’s worth of food tonight, yet you’re still not full?”
Yu Xingwu: “?”
【You damned villain! Are you implying that I’m a pig?! Did I eat your family’s rice?! Did I ask you to feed me?!】
Yet her face turned shy as she said, “It’s because Second Senior Brother’s handsome face makes everything so appetizing! I merely glanced at Second Senior Brother a few extra times during dinner, and my heart filled with joy, making me eat several more bowls of rice. Second Senior Brother is simply so handsome that he makes food taste better~”
【Ugh! Please! Just let me throw up!】
Shen Zhuo: “…”
System: “…”
The system announced, “Detected: Host has expressed affection toward the villain. Mission reward: 200 points. Current balance: 750 points.”
Yu Xingwu was overjoyed.
Her previous mission had failed because of Shen Zhuo. Naturally, she had to recover those lost points from him!
The only downside was that she’d thoroughly disgusted herself in the process.
Just as silence settled over the room, Ye Su entered carrying a food container.
Seeing the empty medicine bowl beside the bed, he smiled gently and asked, “Junior Sister, how do you feel after drinking the medicine? I specially added some malt sugar to the medicinal broth. It shouldn’t taste bitter anymore, right?”
Yu Xingwu froze.
So Ye Su had prepared the medicine and asked Shen Zhuo to bring it to her!
No wonder Shen Zhuo hadn’t poisoned it!
Considering that Ye Su had personally prepared medicine for her and hadn’t yet turned against her because of the female protagonist, she decided to treat him kindly for now.
“The medicine Eldest Senior Brother prepared wasn’t bitter at all. Eldest Senior Brother, what’s in that food container you’re carrying?”
Ye Su took the food out of the container.
To be precise, there were only vegetables and no rice.
And they were wild vegetables, at that.
“Junior Sister, these are stewed wild vegetables. I dug them up myself. Didn’t Junior Sister say she wanted to eat wild vegetables?”
That day, he’d heard Junior Sister’s inner thoughts saying that they could all form a group and go dig wild vegetables.
He’d assumed Junior Sister must have been craving them, so he’d gone out to gather some. While she was still unconscious earlier, he’d hurriedly stewed the vegetables for her.
Yu Xingwu blinked her large, watery eyes, her mind filled with question marks.
She couldn’t tell whether something was wrong with Ye Su’s brain or whether she’d genuinely lost her memory.
【System, did I ever tell the ultimate backup boyfriend that I wanted to eat wild vegetables?】
The system replied, “I don’t think so…”
The second male lead was supposed to be that heartbreaking character whose unrequited love left readers filled with regret.
So why did this particular second male lead seem a little… abnormal?
Shen Zhuo chuckled softly.
Although he didn’t know what “ultimate backup boyfriend” meant, he was certain that whatever Yu Xingwu was thinking couldn’t be anything flattering.
“Junior Sister said just now that she was starving. Eldest Senior Brother, you’d better make sure she finishes that entire bowl of wild vegetables.”
Ye Su shot Shen Zhuo a cold glance. “There’s no need to trouble Second Junior Brother with that. It’s getting late. Second Junior Brother should return to his quarters.”
Yu Xingwu wanted to say, Both of you should leave.
But after comparing the two, she decided it would be better if Ye Su stayed.
It was just that bowl of wild vegetables…
The following day.
Yu Xingwu woke from a restless, dazed sleep.
In her dream, a group of wild vegetable spirits had chased her for hundreds of miles. She was utterly exhausted by the time she woke up.
It was all Ye Su’s fault!
Last night, he’d insisted on watching her eat an entire bowl of stewed wild vegetables!
Now, everything she looked at reminded her of wild vegetables.
What helped ease her irritation slightly was that Ye Su had given her several jade slips the previous night.
The jade slips contained various cultivation techniques and manuals.
There was the Record of Runes, the Exquisite Sword Art, the Long Rainbow Saber Technique, the Compendium of Spiritual Beasts, the Star-Plucking Movement Technique, the Introduction to Alchemy, and more…
He really was extraordinarily generous…
So, were all second male leads this wonderful?
Unfortunately, he wasn’t her second male lead.
“System, exchange some of my points for a big saber! I want to learn the Long Rainbow Saber Technique.”
System: “?”
The system asked, “Host, are you serious? You have a mighty Sword Venerable as your master, yet you insist on learning saber techniques instead?”
Yu Xingwu gave the system a look that said it simply didn’t understand.
“Let me ask you something. Isn’t a Fire-Attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root particularly suitable for becoming either a Sword Cultivator or a Saber Cultivator?”
The system replied, “That’s right! Absolutely!”
Yu Xingwu continued, “Since both paths are suitable for me, why should I become a Sword Cultivator?”
“It’s not because I’m rebellious, nor is it because the male protagonist will eventually expel me from the sect. It’s because more than half the cultivators in the major sects are Sword Cultivators.”
“I wasn’t born with an Innate Sword Constitution, nor have I developed Sword Bones. Even if I pursue the Dao of the Sword, it’ll be difficult for me to stand out among so many Sword Cultivators.”
“But Saber Cultivators are different. Across the major sects, there are less than half as many Saber Cultivators as Sword Cultivators, and female disciples who practice saber techniques are even rarer.”
“Under those circumstances, wouldn’t it be much easier for me to distinguish myself? Besides, whenever a Secret Realm opens, the sect considers disciples from all cultivation paths. They can’t possibly allow only Sword Cultivators to enter, can they?”
“Scarcity creates value, and the same applies to cultivation paths. There’s nothing wrong with becoming a Saber Cultivator. At least in my eyes, Saber Cultivators are every bit as capable as Sword Cultivators.”
“Besides, now that the male protagonist has accepted the female protagonist as his disciple, they’ll have another eight hundred chapters of their torturous love story ahead of them. Where would he find the time to teach me swordsmanship?!”
“And the most, most, most important thing is—who am I?”
The system replied, “You’re the Vicious Female Supporting Character!”
Yu Xingwu said, “Exactly! Haven’t you heard the saying that becoming a good person is difficult, but becoming a bad person only takes a knife[2]This is a pun on the Chinese word 刀 (dāo), which translates to both ‘knife’ (often associated with criminals or villains) and ‘saber/broadsword’ (the weapon class she wants … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694196_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694196_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });?! How can someone as thoroughly villainous as me not have a saber?! That just wouldn’t make sense! Don’t you agree?”
System: “…” Suddenly, everything Host says sounds incredibly reasonable! I can’t even argue!
“A saber is absolutely essential! And the male protagonist can get lost! We’ll pursue the path of Saber Cultivation and become the number one female Saber Cultivator in the entire immortal cultivation world!”
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