“Young lady and your fiancé truly share a deep bond…”
Lu Qingtang leaned against Su Lingyao’s embrace, following her gaze to Jiang Yijie, who was crouched down examining the demon’s corpse.
It had to be said—the male lead was indeed the male lead. Dressed in pristine white robes, his features were handsome and refined, with a gentle warmth radiating from his eyes and brows. He was like an orchid—elegant and peerless.
The yellow light that had chased after the Skin-changing demon earlier swooshed back. Jiang Xunbai reached out to catch it, and a yellow Fu Zhi (Talisman Paper) happened to be pinched between his fingers.
He lowered his gaze to the talisman paper, which was on the verge of dissipating, and sighed regretfully, “She escaped again.”
Hearing Jiang Xunbai’s lament, Jiang Yijie glanced up at him and said gently, “It’s alright. Even though this Skin-changing demon is extremely cunning, she will eventually slip up. Let’s wait a few more days—we will surely catch her.”
Jiang Xunbai nodded and shifted his gaze to Lu Qingtang in Su Lingyao’s arms. He smiled and asked, “I forgot to ask—what is your name, young lady? Where is your home? How did you end up captured by demons and brought here?”
Was Jiang Xunbai suspecting that she was connected to the Skin-changing demon?
Lu Qingtang reluctantly rose from Su Lingyao’s embrace. Her face was pale, the corners of her eyes drooping, and her eyes brimmed with tears, making her look innocent and pitiable. “My name is Lu Qingtang, from Gusu. I don’t know why the mountain demon took a liking to me, but he captured me to force me into marriage…”
Seeing her sorrowful tone, Su Lingyao couldn’t help but reach out and pat her shoulder in comfort.
Jiang Yijie suddenly understood, “It seems the mountain demon coveted you, young lady, intending to use the Cai Yin Bu Yang (Yin-harvesting Yang-supplementing) technique to enhance his cultivation.”
Halfway through his explanation, he noticed Lu Qingtang’s pitiable expression and softened his voice, “Don’t be afraid, Miss Lu. You were fortunate to encounter the Skin-changing demon disrupting the wedding—all these lesser demons were killed by her.”
Lu Qingtang: “…”
Was it really good luck to run into so many demons at once?
Jiang Xunbai watched Lu Qingtang with keen interest. His gaze was too conspicuous to ignore, and she couldn’t help but glance up at him.
Jiang Xunbai’s eyes were unreadable. Casually holding a night pearl to provide some light for Jiang Yijie, he asked as if offhandedly, “Since Miss Lu is from Gusu, how did you end up in such a remote wilderness?”
This place was at least thirty li away from Gusu. They had just come from Gusu, where no demons had appeared at the time, so Lu Qingtang couldn’t have been captured by the mountain demon and brought here.
At his words, not only Su Lingyao but even Jiang Yijie, who had been examining the demon’s corpse, looked at Lu Qingtang with curiosity.
Lu Qingtang’s heart skipped a beat. While frantically thinking of how to handle the situation, she inwardly gritted her teeth at Jiang Xunbai.
In Jiang Xunbai’s consciousness, the system’s warnings echoed incessantly:
[Warning! Warning! Host, please note: Character Lu Qingtang’s current favorability is -3/100. Please complete the mission diligently. If favorability drops to -10, the host will face corresponding penalties.]
The warmth in Jiang Xunbai’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by a cold indifference.
Lu Qingtang spoke softly, “I was separated from my maid while passing through Wangshui Zhen (Forget-Water Town). I was then abducted by the mountain demon…”
What Lu Qingtang said was not false.
In the novel, Lu Qingtang had run away from home with her maid to escape an arranged marriage. While in Forget-Water Town, she caught the attention of the mountain demon, who forced her into a bridal sedan and tried to compel her into marriage.
Another light chuckle was heard as Jiang Xunbai remarked, “So that’s how it was.”
Lu Qingtang didn’t know if he believed her, but seeing that he didn’t press further, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
By this time, Jiang Yijie had finished examining the corpses. He said gently, “These creatures were indeed killed by the Skin-changing demon.”
As he spoke, a blue flame materialized in his palm. The next moment, the flame suddenly fell upon the corpses, reducing them to ashes in mere moments. The empty forest was left only with beads glowing with a dark green light.
Lu Qingtang exclaimed in amazement, “What are these?”
She knew the technique Jiang Yijie had just performed was the Jiang family’s secret art, the Blazing Flame Art.
Jiang Yijie explained with a smile, “These are Yao Dan.”
Demons possess Yao Dan – if the Yao Dan remains undestroyed, the demon cannot be truly eliminated.
This was the established lore in the Zhu Yao world.
“A-Xun.”
As soon as Jiang Yijie spoke, Jiang Xunbai produced a bag, and all the dark green Yao Dan disappeared into it.
“Miss Lu, my name is Jiang Yijie. This is my younger brother Jiang Xunbai, and this is Su Lingyao.”
Jiang Yijie introduced them to Lu Qingtang.
Lu Qingtang nodded. Jiang Yijie then asked, “The Skin-changing demon has escaped, but the mountain demon’s body is nowhere to be seen here. Did the mountain demon escape together with the Skin-changing demon?”
Just as Lu Qingtang was about to nod – after all, her special ability couldn’t be revealed – Jiang Xunbai spoke up first to cover for her: “Brother, I destroyed that mountain demon’s Yao Dan. It has already turned to ashes.”
Jiang Yijie glanced at Jiang Xunbai but didn’t question his statement.
Lu Qingtang looked gratefully at Jiang Xunbai, surprised that he would cover for her. But in the next instant, something exploded in her mind with a bang –
How did Jiang Xunbai know the mountain demon was dead?!
When he arrived, the divine beast had already disappeared. There wasn’t even a trace of the mountain demon to be seen here.
Jiang Yijie said considerately, “Miss Lu, this is no place to linger. Mortals should have as little contact with demons as possible. Why don’t I have A-Xun escort you home first?”
Lu Qingtang blurted out, “No—”
At her words, Jiang Yijie and Su Lingyao looked at her in surprise. Jiang Xunbai stood to the side, eyebrows slightly raised, watching her as if enjoying a show, waiting to see what she would say.
The night pearl in his hand cast an eerie glow, making his skin appear as white as snow and his lips as red as blood, as if he had just eaten a child.
Lu Qingtang paused for a moment before saying softly, “Big Brother Jiang, you might not know this, but that Skin-changing demon took something of mine. I’d like to accompany you to find the Skin-changing demon.”
How could she leave the main protagonist group!
If she left them, how would she complete her missions? How would she return home?!
But why was there an extra Jiang Xunbai in this protagonist group? In the original work, Jiang Xunbai was clearly just a cannon fodder male side character – why did he have so much screen time?
Lu Qingtang temporarily suppressed her numerous doubts. For now, what mattered was sticking with the protagonist group.
When the Skin-changing demon takes a liking to beautiful women, it typically steals their personal belongings. After successfully peeling off the beautiful woman’s face, it can then transform into their appearance and move about in the world.
Therefore, the protagonist group didn’t doubt Lu Qingtang’s words.
Su Lingyao said with a serious expression, “Miss Lu, you might not know this, but mortals who come into contact with demons are highly susceptible to being affected by evil spirits. As for your belongings, we’ll retrieve them for you.”
Lu Qingtang shook her head and said quietly, “Sister Su, please let me go with you?”
Su Lingyao had a reserved and indifferent personality, rarely becoming close with others. Faced with Lu Qingtang’s coquettish pleading, she immediately became somewhat flustered.
She looked toward Jiang Yijie seeking help. Just as Jiang Yijie was about to persuade Lu Qingtang again, they heard Jiang Xunbai ask with keen interest:
“Oh? What could possibly be worth risking your life to retrieve, Miss?”
Lu Qingtang glanced at Jiang Xunbai, who had asked her countless questions tonight, remained silent for a moment, then murmured: “It’s… it’s a token between me and my fiancé.”
At these words, not only Jiang Xunbai, but even Su Lingyao and Jiang Yijie exchanged glances, remaining speechless for a long while.
Lu Qingtang wasn’t lying.
The skin-changing demon had indeed taken the token from her and her fiancé. She had originally been carrying it to call off the engagement, never expecting a skin-changing demon to appear halfway and stealthily steal her token.
Using this as an excuse now worked perfectly.
Jiang Xunbai smiled charmingly, but Lu Qingtang detected a strange undertone in his words:
“So that’s how it is. I never imagined you and your fiancé were so deeply devoted to each other, Miss.”
Oh no, she was OOC! In the book, although Lu Qingtang had a fiancé, she fell in love with Jiang Yijie at first sight. But now she had made them misunderstand that she and her fiancé were deeply in love. How was she going to complete future missions?
Lu Qingtang anxiously waited for the system’s warning, but after a long while, no prohibition came.
A bold conjecture surfaced in her mind: as long as she completed missions according to key plot points, she didn’t need to strictly follow the original Lu Qingtang’s behavior.
The next moment, the system’s emotionless mechanical voice suddenly sounded:
[Mission One: Host must find a way to stay with the main protagonist group.]
Lu Qingtang breathed a sigh of relief.
Her conjecture was correct.
After a long silence, Su Lingyao still refused: “Even so, this journey is full of dangers. It’s not suitable for you to follow us, Miss Lu.”
But Jiang Yijie said: “A-Yao, Miss Lu is so sincere. Why don’t we let her come with us?”
Su Lingyao remained somewhat worried. Mortals were too fragile, and demons were so cunning—she really didn’t feel comfortable letting Lu Qingtang accompany them.
“Let A-Xun protect Miss Lu properly,” Jiang Yijie continued persuading.
Seeing this, Jiang Xunbai smiled and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep Miss Lu perfectly safe.”
Only then did Su Lingyao hesitantly nod, then cautioned Lu Qingtang: “Miss Lu, you must stay close to us.”
[Congratulations, host. Mission progress 0.5/10. Please continue working hard to complete the mission as soon as possible.]
The cold mechanical voice sounded again.
Why were there decimals?! So Mission One wasn’t fully completed yet?
Even so, Lu Qingtang was in quite good spirits—at least there was progress on the mission.
She gave Su Lingyao a sweet smile: “Don’t worry, Sister Su! Sister, you can call me Tangtang.”
The corners of Su Lingyao’s mouth curved slightly—a rare occurrence. Jiang Yijie was also all smiles, though Jiang Xunbai’s expression looked somewhat unpleasant.
Lu Qingtang asked in confusion: “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Yijie’s voice was as gentle as the wind, carrying a hint of laughter that felt like a spring breeze:
“Miss Lu, you might not know—A-Xun’s childhood nickname is Tangtang.”
Lu Qingtang’s eyes widened abruptly: “His name is Jiang Tangtang!”
The smile vanished from Jiang Xunbai’s face.
But Lu Qingtang continued: “He’s called Tangtang too? Then what should I be called? Sister Su, how about you call me Qingqing instead!”
Jiang Xunbai averted his gaze, his expression dark: “I’m not called Tangtang. If you want to use it, you can have it.”
Jiang Yijie watched Jiang Xunbai’s flustered expression with amusement and said, “A-Xun loved sweets dearly as a child, so we all called him TangTang…”
“Elder Brother!”
Jiang Xunbai couldn’t help but protest.
Only then did Jiang Yijie relent, adding, “But A-Xun never liked this nickname, so we no longer call him TangTang now.”
Lu Qingtang was utterly astonished. She simply couldn’t picture this handsome youth, who even carried a hint of delicate charm, being addressed as “Jiang TangTang.”
While Lu Qingtang was still lost in thought, a pleasant young voice unexpectedly reached her ears: “Miss Lu, you must stay close to me. Don’t get lost.”
With that, Jiang Xunbai strode ahead first. Without hesitation, Lu Qingtang followed closely behind him, while Su Lingyao and Jiang Yijie brought up the rear.
A faint yellow glow emanated from Jiang Xunbai’s fingertips as he concentrated on sensing the direction of the tracking talisman and moved forward.
The group walked on until daybreak, finally stopping at a crossroads.
“A-Xun, how is it?” Jiang Yijie inquired.
Jiang Xunbai gazed at the wispy cooking smoke rising in the distance, a look of surprise crossing his face.
“She dares to settle down here?”
Lu Qingtang wiped the sweat from her face and looked ahead. At the crossroads stood a stone stele inscribed with the flamboyant characters “Wangshui Zhen.” In the distance, cooking smoke curled above the small town, and a river meandered behind it, creating a picturesque scene.
“Tang-Tang, are you alright?” Su Lingyao asked softly.
Hearing a certain word, Jiang Xunbai instinctively turned his head. He saw Lu Qingtang smiling with crescent-shaped eyes. Though fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, her voice was remarkably sweet:
“Thank you for your concern, Sister Su! I’m fine! I’m not tired at all!”
Fortunately, she had trained rigorously in dance in her previous life, so her stamina was fairly good. Otherwise, as a mere mortal, she would have been exhausted after traveling for hours through the night with these demon hunters.
“Let’s go in and investigate,” Jiang Yijie decided.
The others nodded and followed him into Wangshui Zhen.
At some point, Jiang Xunbai had moved to Lu Qingtang’s side and was now walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her.
“Miss Lu,” Jiang Xunbai suddenly spoke.
Lu Qingtang looked at him in confusion, but he abruptly bent down, bringing his face extremely close to hers. Lu Qingtang stared into Jiang Xunbai’s peach-blossom eyes, which held a faint smile, then shifted her gaze to the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye.
The mole at the end of Jiang Xunbai’s eye was so alluring that Lu Qingtang flustered and wanted to look away. Yet Jiang Xunbai continued to gaze intently at her, locking eyes as if trying to see through her entirely.
Lu Qingtang’s eyes drooped slightly at the corners, accentuating her innocent appearance. The words on Jiang Xunbai’s tongue caught in his throat, and only when Lu Qingtang’s voice reached his ears did it sharply pull back his wandering thoughts.
“What does Second Young Master Jiang intend by staring at me like this?”