[Beep—]
[System connecting. 3, 2, 1—Connection successful! Congratulations, Host, you have successfully transmigrated into this world!]
[Transmitting information—]
Before Lu Qingtang could even open her eyes, she heard a series of notifications in her sea of consciousness. Before she had time to think, a jolt came from beneath her. The next instant, with a loud clang, something fell to the ground, and the shaking beneath her ceased abruptly.
Lu Qingtang’s eyes flew open. The first thing that greeted her was an endless sea of crimson. She yanked off the red wedding veil covering her head, only to hear the system’s cold, emotionless mechanical voice again:
[Information transmission successful. Character Lu Qingtang has been successfully bound.]
Lu Qingtang froze. Wasn’t she Lu Qingtang herself? What did it mean by “bound”? The next moment, the system resolved her confusion.
[The Host is currently in the world of the Xuanhuan novel Zhu Yao. Please receive the script and mission.]
Lu Qingtang had no chance to react as an endless stream of information poured into her mind.
In the world of the Xuanhuan novel Zhu Yao, humans and demons walked different paths, each keeping to their own territory and not interfering with the other. But some demons secretly left the Demon Realm to mingle in the mortal world, leading to a series of murder cases. This was how the human demon hunters came into being.
The male and female leads were both demon hunters from prestigious demon-hunting families. They were childhood sweethearts who grew up together, and they had been betrothed since they were young. They should have been the perfect couple, but their charisma was too great, and countless supporting male and female characters always wanted to tear them apart.
Lu Qingtang was one of them.
That’s right, the original owner of this body was also named Lu Qingtang. She was the second female lead who, unable to win the male lead’s affection, turned to the dark side.
Before Lu Qingtang could curse this cliché, melodramatic script, the system’s voice echoed in her sea of consciousness once more:
[The Host’s mission is to follow the plot, create obstacles for the male and female leads, but without causing them to have a bad ending. Current mission progress is 0/10. Please work hard to complete the mission and be resurrected soon.]
Resurrected?
Lu Qingtang finally remembered something.
She was dead.
In the real world, she had died in the middle of traffic while saving a child on the road.
Clang—
The sound of something massive crashing down suddenly rang out, pulling Lu Qingtang’s thoughts back to the present.
She reviewed the script she had just seen while observing her surroundings.
She was currently inside a bridal sedan. Following that sound, all the light around her vanished completely. She could only see a sliver of dim light filtering through the curtain.
She remembered.
In the script, Lu Qingtang’s first encounter with the male and female leads happened in a scene just like this.
Lu Qingtang had run away from home to escape an arranged marriage, but because she was too beautiful, she was targeted by a mountain demon. He used his demon power to bewitch her, wanting to marry her. At that moment, the male lead would arrive like a hero bathed in brilliant light to save the damsel in distress. Lu Qingtang would fall for him at first sight, thus beginning her life of unrequited love and muddled despair.
The sedan had already stopped, but Lu Qingtang waited for a long time without any sign of the male and female leads.
She couldn’t help but ask the system, “When will the male and female leads get here? What if they don’t come? What do I do then?”
The system’s reply was very robotic: [Please wait a moment, Host.]
Lu Qingtang asked again, “Do I have any golden fingers? Like mind-reading, or a bag of treasures, or something.”
[No.]
Just as Lu Qingtang was about to curse, an extremely soft and seductive voice came from outside the sedan: “Mountain demon, I’m taking this new bride of yours.”
Lu Qingtang’s heart skipped a beat. There was no such female voice in the script!
“Huapi, in your dreams!” another deep voice rang out.
What followed was the bright flash of countless bursts of demon power and the rustling of leaves in the surrounding forest.
Lu Qingtang sat in the bridal sedan, somewhat delighted.
Fight! Fight! A fight was good. It would buy her more time until the male and female leads arrived.
Just as this hopeful thought emerged in Lu Qingtang’s mind, a deathly pale hand suddenly reached inside.
Then, a devastatingly beautiful face peeked in. The woman spoke in a seductive voice, “Oh, your little bride is awake.”
The mountain demon lunged from outside. The woman in red immediately dodged. The mountain demon entered the sedan, grabbed Lu Qingtang, and pulled her out. At the same time, the bridal sedan suddenly exploded, shattering into pieces.
Only then did Lu Qingtang see the ground littered with dying lesser demons, likely the mountain demon’s underlings killed by the Skin-changing demon when she came to snatch the bride.
The mountain demon was hideous, and Lu Qingtang really didn’t want to look at him. She couldn’t ignore the hand he had on her waist, but she knew it was best not to speak right now. She had to minimize her presence and let these two fight to the death first.
But heaven just wouldn’t grant her wish. The mountain demon’s hand suddenly shot out and clamped around her neck.
A wave of suffocation washed over her. Lu Qingtang’s mouth fell open as she tried to gasp for more air.
The woman in red shouted angrily, “Don’t you kill her! I still need to skin her alive! If she dies, how will I get this beautiful face?!”
As she spoke, she lunged at the mountain demon.
The mountain demon sneered, “Huapi, since we both want her, why don’t we just kill her? That way, we won’t hurt the harmony between us. What do you say?”
The Skin-changing demon fell silent. The mountain demon had a point. They demons already had to be on guard against the arrival of demon hunters. If they also damaged their relationship with other demons, wouldn’t it be terrifying to be attacked from both front and back?
Hearing this, Lu Qingtang’s heart sank inch by inch. Was she going to die here before she even started her mission?
[Warning, Host. Your health is decreasing.]
A sarcastic smile touched Lu Qingtang’s lips. There was a sense of release in her heart, but also a hint of unwillingness.
So be it. Death it is.
It was just that she still had a few regrets.
[Contact with a higher authority has been established. Due to the current world’s extreme instability, the Host will be granted a golden finger. Host must remember, this golden finger can only be used three times for now.]
With a deafening boom, a white light suddenly flared. Lu Qingtang instinctively shut her eyes. The next moment, the force on her neck loosened, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. She pushed herself up slightly and looked at the giant creature that had appeared out of thin air.
[Golden finger “Summoning Scroll Divine Beast” current usage: 1/3.]
So this thing was what the golden finger summoned.
Lu Qingtang, having survived the ordeal, felt her back drenched in cold sweat. The divine beast that had appeared from nowhere was wreathed in white mist and shimmering with golden light. In a flash, it swallowed the ugly mountain demon whole. A few drops of warm liquid splattered onto Lu Qingtang’s face.
Before Lu Qingtang could get a clear look at the divine beast’s appearance, it had already vanished from the spot.
“Hey! There’s still a Skin-changing demon left! Don’t swallow that one!”
Why did it leave?
Seeing a yellow light streak through the air, Lu Qingtang silently swallowed the rest of her words.
“Brother, over here!”
A clear, bright, and excited young man’s voice followed.
The yellow light shot straight toward the Skin-changing demon, disappearing from Lu Qingtang’s sight in an instant.
The male and female leads were here!
Lu Qingtang’s heart leaped with joy.
A figure in black entered her vision. The young man was dressed in black, his high ponytail swaying in the wind. His face was as handsome as jade, especially his pair of enchanting peach blossom eyes, which were filled with a smile that felt like a spring breeze, refreshing and uplifting.
“Is he the male lead?”
Lu Qingtang silently asked the system as she stumbled forward according to the script.
[Congratulations, Host, for unlocking a new character: Jiang Xunbai.]
Lu Qingtang’s movement faltered.
He’s not the male lead?!
She tried to pull back and steady herself, but the ground was uneven. Her foot slipped, and she could no longer keep her balance, continuing to fall forward just as she was.
What was most infuriating was that the black-clad young man, Jiang Xunbai, remained standing where he was, showing no intention of catching her, simply letting her fall at his feet.
Feeling the searing pain from her knees, Lu Qingtang was filled with rage.
Jiang Xunbai took a step forward and slowly crouched down to be level with Lu Qingtang, the smile in his handsome peach blossom eyes deepening.
Lu Qingtang said resentfully, “Didn’t the script say the male lead was the one who saves the damsel in distress?”
The system was playing dead.
A hand, fair as jade with long, well-defined fingers, was extended in front of Lu Qingtang.
His voice was innocent, but Lu Qingtang detected a faint, teasing tone within it. “Oh my, how did you fall, Miss?”
Lu Qingtang silently stared at the hand Jiang Xunbai offered her, desperately wanting to curse him. But then she heard the system say:
[Warning, Host. The male and female leads are about to arrive.]
Lu Qingtang silently swallowed her curses, tore her gaze away from Jiang Xunbai’s hand, and got up by herself.
She shook her aching leg and shot Jiang Xunbai a fierce glare.
“She’s my conquest target? The stunningly beautiful, utterly helpless… weak woman?”
Jiang Xunbai glanced at the dying demon on the ground and the blood splattered on the young woman’s face, asking his system silently.
He didn’t get an answer from his system. Instead, he heard its warning:
[Warning! Warning!! Character Lu Qingtang’s current favorability is 0, -1, -2!! Please complete the mission seriously, Host. Do not treat this as a game!]
Favorability could go into the negatives?
The corner of Jiang Xunbai’s mouth twitched. He stared at Lu Qingtang with great interest.
Only to be glared at by Lu Qingtang again.
What are you looking at?! Why wasn’t it the male and female leads who came? Why didn’t he catch her?!
Lu Qingtang’s resentment at that moment was enough to swallow him whole.
“A-Xun, did you find the Skin-changing demon?”
A gentle, jade-like male voice came from behind Jiang Xunbai. Then, two figures, one in red and one in white, emerged from the dark mountain forest.
Lu Qingtang gritted her teeth and began to act out her part.
“Ahhh, it’s so scary! Help, sob, sob, sob!”
Lu Qingtang cried out, the corners of her eyes drooping as her beautiful eyes filled with tears. She ran towards the male and female leads.
The woman in a brilliant red dress raised her arms and caught her.
Lu Qingtang wailed tragically and helplessly in her arms. “Demons, there are demons! Big Sister, save me…”
Su Lingyao’s body stiffened for a moment before she softened her tone as much as possible to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid, miss. We are demon hunters. We will protect you. Those demons are nothing to be afraid of.”
Jiang Yijie glanced at Jiang Xunbai, who was staring at Lu Qingtang, then shifted his gaze back to her and also said in a gentle voice, “Don’t be afraid, miss. With us here, you’ll be fine.”
Jiang Xunbai watched as the young woman who had just been glaring at him burst into tears the moment she saw Jiang Yijie and Su Lingyao, throwing herself forward and crying her heart out in Su Lingyao’s arms as if she had suffered the greatest injustice.
The smile in his handsome peach blossom eyes deepened, and a meaningful grin spread across his lips.
This conquest target of his was really… interesting.