I Snatched the Male Lead’s "Cool Novel" Script - Chapter 33

The moment Yan Yu started, she directly draped a bath towel over Yin Beiqing’s shoulders, then tied it firmly around her neck, cutting off any possibility that she would see anything she should not see later.

Yin Beiqing’s hair was very long, and the quality was excellent. Holding it felt like holding a length of fine silk.

Yan Yu squeezed a little bath liquid into her palm, worked it into fine foam, and began washing her hair. When rubbing, she deliberately used the pads of her fingers to massage in circles, avoiding the pain that would come from scraping with her nails.

In the past, she often washed her little niece’s hair like this, and the other party would bare her little white teeth with a very comfortable expression.

Yan Yu was glad she trimmed her nails often. Otherwise, she really feared that if she was not careful later, she would hurt this ancestor.

As she washed, she observed Yin Beiqing’s expression. Seeing that her eyes were closed and she looked very relaxed, Yan Yu slowly stopped being nervous.

“What did you go out to do just now?” Yin Beiqing asked, her voice carrying a lazy tone like after an afternoon nap.

The place was only this large. With Yin Beiqing’s five senses, she could probably even count how many steps Yan Yu had taken from the moment she left until now. Even if Yan Yu wanted to hide it from her, she could not.

More importantly, she did not feel there was any need to hide it.

“I looked for medicinal herbs and made some medicine while I was at it.”

Yin Beiqing gave a very light “mm,” then asked, “Specifically for that little brat?”

Yan Yu guessed that Yin Beiqing had probably heard her knock on Li Zhao’s door.

“No.”

Yin Beiqing opened her eyes and turned her head, staring at Yan Yu expressionlessly. That expression seemed to say, Don’t tell me you have someone else outside.

“Actually, it was mainly brewed for Lin Hegui.” Yan Yu used a bit of force to turn her face back, scraping away the foam to avoid it falling into her eyes. “If we give her this medicinal decoction, perhaps she’ll agree to save you.”

“As for Li Zhao’s portion, it was actually for her mother. After I bottled everything, there was still some left. I thought the medicine might be useful for her mother’s arm, so I brought it over to her.” Yan Yu explained the reasoning to her. “After all, the mother and daughter kindly took us in, and one of the herbs in this decoction was given by Li Zhao.”

This person gave another “mm,” but from the sound of it, this one was much more comfortable than the previous one.

Yan Yu found her tough-mouthed, soft-hearted, and tsundere appearance truly funny, and could not help curving her lips.

“Why are you laughing?” A certain person had very sharp ears.

“Sorry.” Once Yan Yu opened her mouth, she could not hold it back even more. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m just in a very good mood because I finally succeeded in making the decoction.”

For this kind of thing, telling a small lie should not make the heavens blame her, right?

“…”

Yin Beiqing was not that easy to fool. She had originally wanted to do something troublesome like before to scare Yan Yu and stop her from being so “pleased with herself.” But after listening to the soft laughter behind her for a while, she seemed to get used to it, and it was not as annoying as she had imagined.

Before long, even the corners of her own mouth curved up.

“All right, this time it’s very clean. I’ll rinse it for you, then you can smell whether there’s any scent left.” Yan Yu was very confident in her hair-washing skills. They were the result of years of tireless effort and secretly learning techniques from hair salon teachers.

Yin Beiqing nodded, letting her handle her hair.

After all the foam was rinsed clean, Yan Yu lifted a lock of hair and brought it under her nose. “Smell it.”

“…It’s passable.”

“That’s good.” Successfully soothed.

“It’s already washed. I’ll go out first. You should also dry yourself quickly and come out.” Yan Yu spoke as she was about to stand, but this person reached out and grabbed her again, raising her head to look at her. “Where are you going? You only washed my hair.”

“Hiss—”

Yin Beiqing happened to press right onto the wound on her arm. In addition, it had split open once again while she was brewing the medicine earlier, so the sudden pain shot straight to the crown of Yan Yu’s head, making her unable to stop herself from drawing in a sharp breath.

Only then did Yin Beiqing realize that she had touched Yan Yu’s wound.

She raised her hand and untied the already soiled bandage, lowering her eyes to examine the wound on Yan Yu’s arm.

Yan Yu’s hairpin was not sharp, so the edges of the wound looked somewhat rough, but it had pierced deeply. One could see how much strength she had used when she did it.

Yin Beiqing’s fingertip lightly swept over it and picked up some blood. She pinched two fingers together, smearing the red within her vision. “It’s healing too slowly. Why didn’t you use medicine?”

“It’s only a superficial wound.”

Yan Yu only felt that the place she touched was slightly hot and numb. She shrank her shoulder, wanting to pull back, only to discover that although the other party was not using much strength, her grip was very firm.

“Mm.” After an unclear hum, Yan Yu saw Yin Beiqing lift her arm and lower her head. “What a waste.”

Beads of blood were swept into her mouth one by one, each movement handled with great care.

Yan Yu suppressed the tremor in her voice, her eyes almost turning red. “What are you doing?”

Yin Beiqing raised her head. The silver eyes looking up seemed filled with light. “Expressing my apology.”

In the past, she had never felt apologetic toward anyone. Even when she took someone’s head, she felt it was only natural, let alone apologizing. Of course… no one dared to demand an apology from her either.

But Yan Yu was different. Yin Beiqing was very clear on this point.

She was like a lustrous and exquisite yet easily shattered porcelain piece. In Yin Beiqing’s mind, malicious thoughts constantly appeared, wanting to reach out and push her down, to watch her fall to the ground and shatter into hundreds and thousands of pieces. Yet occasionally, she could not help wanting to hold her up, wipe her carefully, and cherish her meticulously.

She was born a contradiction and especially did not understand how to express her own feelings.

Perhaps most of the time, even Yin Beiqing herself did not know what she was thinking. But after living this long, the conclusion she had reached was that whatever she wanted to do in the moment, she should simply do it.

No need to dwell on it, and there would not be so many worries.

“Sickly weakling.” Yin Beiqing opened her mouth and asked a question. “Earlier, you said that if I had been born in your world, we could have become friends.”

“What I mean by my world is…” Yan Yu’s brain spun rapidly. “I said before that I originally wasn’t from this world. The place I came from is somewhat different from the Jin Kingdom.”

What Yin Beiqing wanted to ask was clearly not this. She said again, “Why must it be there before you’re willing?”

Yan Yu instinctively said, “Because I feel that there, you would be happier.”

“What about now?” Yin Beiqing grabbed her hand.

“Mm?”

“Now, here, are you unwilling to be close with me?” Her eyes looked as if she was very eager to know the answer.

Yan Yu hesitated for a moment. Actually, it was not that she was unwilling here.

She only felt that if Yin Beiqing had been born into an ordinary, peaceful family and grown up being cherished, perhaps she would not be like this now, covered in thorns that made those beside her afraid to approach.

But this hedgehog had suddenly opened her belly to her.

“I’m willing.”

Actually, so what if Yin Beiqing was covered in thorns?

She had long since prepared herself to be covered in wounds.

“Then right now, I’m quite happy.” Yin Beiqing held Yan Yu’s hand and pressed it to her own face.

Yan Yu’s palm touched the hard edge of the mask. In that instant, she seemed to guess what Yin Beiqing was going to do.

“You said you won’t be afraid of me, right?”

Yan Yu nodded blankly.

“Even if my whole face is covered in scars, even if I look more terrifying than an evil spirit.” Yin Beiqing stared fixedly at Yan Yu’s expression. If she saw even a trace of hesitation, she would immediately change her mind.

“I won’t.” Yan Yu’s answer was firm.

“Then good.”

Yan Yu watched as she reached her fingers behind her head and untied the fixed knot. The mask was gently removed, revealing the face that had always been hidden.

Because she had mentally prepared herself, Yan Yu was not too shocked by her beauty when she saw this face.

It was only that Yin Beiqing truly looked different from what she had imagined. Her features were deep, her facial lines distinct, and her brows were on the thinner side, but because of the obvious arch, they carried a heroic air. Such upturned eyes on someone else’s face might have looked seductive, but on this person’s face, paired with silver eyes the color of three chi of frozen ice, they only felt thinly cold.

Yes. If it was for the sake of obtaining one gentle glance from such an aloof woman, of course many people would be willing to rush through water and tread through fire like moths to a flame.

Yin Beiqing untied the bath towel wrapped around her body, exposing the totems covering her entire body before Yan Yu’s eyes.

“Does it look good?”

“Good… it looks good.”

Yan Yu’s eyes suddenly did not know where to look. Below the neck was an ironclad boundary she absolutely could not cross, but when she met Yin Beiqing’s eyes, which held no distracting thoughts at all, she felt a kind of fear as if her whole person had been seen through.

Yin Beiqing looked Yan Yu up and down and quickly noticed her overly obvious abnormality—before this, she had never seen Yan Yu blush this hard.

Although this sickly weakling could not take a beating, her skin had always been quite thick.

After struggling for a while, Yan Yu finally chose to turn around with her back to Yin Beiqing. But this completely exposed the red tips of her ears.

“You should wrap the bath towel back on.”

Splash…

Amid the rippling water, Yin Beiqing quietly approached her, then stretched out both hands to brace them on either side of Yan Yu’s body, locking her in her arms from behind.

The “criminal” had nowhere to escape.

“Are you a mirror-grinder?”

Yan Yu was completely unprepared for this coming-out moment.

She was indeed gay. She had been aware of this since high school. Fortunately, her family was considered open-minded and calmly accepted it over the course of one meal.

So she had never felt guilty or inferior because of her sexual orientation. Subconsciously, she did not feel that she was any different from other girls. It was only in matters like exposing one’s body that she would still try to avoid it as much as possible.

But she did not know how to explain this to Yin Beiqing. Would the other party think her behavior was a kind of premeditated deception, then fly into a rage and say, “Drag her off to feed the wolves”?

Because she thought too much, Yan Yu could not answer for a while. And her hesitation had already given Yin Beiqing the answer.

Understanding flashed through Yin Beiqing’s eyes. Just as she was about to say something else, she heard Yan Yu belatedly say in an extremely “righteous and upright” tone, “Don’t worry. I don’t have improper thoughts toward you. If you feel uncomfortable, I’ll go out right now and try not to wander in front of you in the future.”

“Heh.” What answered her was a light, neither-heavy-nor-soft cold laugh.

Yin Beiqing turned Yan Yu’s shoulder, making her face her. This also allowed Yan Yu to clearly see the displeasure in her eyes.

She probably did not even know the source of that displeasure herself, so her expression looked even more irritable.

“Why not?” Yin Beiqing raised her hand and pinched her chin, using enough force to leave red marks. “You say you want to be close with me, yet everything you do keeps me at a distance.”

At that moment, Yan Yu almost began doubting life.

She felt that this person definitely had something wrong somewhere. Having no improper thoughts could be called keeping someone at a distance?

“Or are you also like those two-faced people?” Yin Beiqing spoke as she moved even closer. The words spat from her thin lips were like thorns stabbing into a person’s body. “On the surface, you act close to me, but behind my back, you also say those words of disgust. Being intimate with me makes you feel disgusted, doesn’t it?”

Yan Yu was locked by her gaze. Although her body was not actually imprisoned at this moment, she felt that every muscle in her body could not move.

It was as if she once again felt from Yin Beiqing the sense of oppression from their first meeting. Her arm pressed against the edge of the bathtub trembled uncontrollably.

She understood.

Having a bad relationship with this person was dangerous!

Becoming friends with this person was even more dangerous!

“You’re afraid of me.” Seeing her little movement, the darkness in Yin Beiqing’s eyes deepened. The prelude to an incoming storm had already sounded.

Was this ever going to end?

Yan Yu threw caution to the wind. She directly hooked an arm around Yin Beiqing’s neck and pulled her toward herself, raising her chin and forcefully kissing her cheek.

After the kiss, Yin Beiqing was visibly stunned. Yan Yu herself also felt her heart beating like a drum, but she still steadied her voice and asked in return.

“Is this enough to not count as keeping distance?”

Yin Beiqing raised her hand, her fingertip touching the place Yan Yu’s lips had touched.

So this was what being kissed felt like.

A soft smile appeared in her eyes, and the brutality that had accumulated earlier instantly dissipated. “You like me.”

“I…” Yan Yu felt that even a hundred mouths would not be enough to defend herself.

Yin Beiqing tilted her head. Her long hair slid aside, revealing a long, snow-white neck. Then she opened her arms and looked at Yan Yu.

“Then I permit you to bathe me.”

You could at least ask for my opinion first.

“It’s more convenient for you to wash your body yourself. I can help scrub your back.”

“Didn’t you say you had no improper thoughts?” A certain person’s tone cooled in one second, her expression changing faster than the weather. “Wash.”

Yan Yu could only pick up the towel and begin serving her.

“Too light. Use more strength.”

Yan Yu gritted her teeth and added force.

“Now you’re hurting me.”

Yan Yu’s ears were almost smoking. She did not know whether it was from anger or from being embarrassed on someone’s behalf.

She began imagining that she was only wiping a piece of wood. There was no need to feel embarrassed.

No, she should be wood.

This was only one piece of wood rubbing against another piece of wood!

After finally finishing, Yan Yu rubbed her sore wrist and felt that this job truly hurt her arm.

“All right. I’ll go get your clothes.”

“Wait.”

What now?

Yin Beiqing raised a hand and pointed at her.

Yan Yu: “Mm?”

“Very dirty.”

“I’ll go draw another bucket of water.”

“Right here.” This ancestor calmly leaned back and raised a hand to rest against the side of her forehead. “Wash.”

“Right here?”

You’re going to “supervise” me washing?

Yin Beiqing’s eyes signaled that she could begin.

Okay.

Fine.

In any case, at this moment, Yan Yu’s brain had already been completely hypnotized by her own “wood hypnosis” method.

Throwing caution to the wind, she thought, what was the big deal? It was still better than the scene of dozens of girls washing together in a bathhouse, right?

She silently recited in her heart: She is wood. I am wood too.

This was only one piece of wood watching another piece of wood scrub itself.

…

By the time the “pieces of wood” finished bathing, there was less than an hour left before sunrise.

Physically and mentally exhausted, Yan Yu still decided to lie down and rest for a while.

She was too tired.

Accompanying a ruler was like accompanying a tiger. Accompanying Yin Beiqing was life-threatening.

Yin Beiqing, who now smelled entirely of Golden Vine Flower, was also very impolite as she lay down behind her.

Looking at Yan Yu’s tightly shut eyes, she restlessly said in a faint voice, “Xueji and Zhongpu are close.”

“Mm, I could tell.” Yan Yu knew that the two had very deep feelings. In the book, when Xueji died, Zhongpu spent a very long time sunk in a lost, soulless state and could not come out of it.

“They usually hug when they sleep.”

“…”

Yan Yu seemed to understand.

But actually, she did not really want to understand.

Could she pretend she did not understand?

“You need to be self-aware, sickly weakling.” Yin Beiqing quickly corrected this form of address and emphasized each word. “Oh, my good friend.”

Yan Yu immediately felt as if one head had become two, but she still had no way to refuse. In the end, she could only keep her eyes closed, wrap one arm around Yin Beiqing, pull her into her arms, and very self-consciously place her palm on top of Yin Beiqing’s head and pat it.

“Sleep.” Stop tormenting me, ancestor.

Yin Beiqing was very satisfied with this posture. Compared to the one she had arranged herself, this was a real embrace.

“You smell better than usual today.”

Nonsense. You directly poured into the bathtub a sachet whose fragrance lasts at least three months. Both of us have been marinated, all right? Yan Yu silently complained.

“You too.”

“Sickly weakling.”

“Mm.” Yan Yu answered softly.

“Are you asleep?”

“No.” She still patiently answered.

“You said before that I have a death tribulation. Was it tonight?”

At this, Yan Yu immediately woke up. She opened her eyes. “No. I told you before. Your death tribulation is a man.”

Yin Beiqing was indifferent. “Forgot.”

From the bottom of her heart, she felt she looked down on everyone, let alone men.

It was Yu Fusang’s skills that made her somewhat unhappy.

“Actually, I can tell you who he is.”

Yin Beiqing had no expression. “Who?”

“It’s Guo Lu. In the future, you will fall in love with him and be used by him.” Yan Yu’s fingers unconsciously twined around a lock of Yin Beiqing’s long hair and clenched it in her hand. “Yin Beiqing, don’t fall in love with him.”

Hearing this, Yin Beiqing frowned and looked at Yan Yu, but she only looked without speaking.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Now I think you may be a fake goddess.”

“…” Very good. Maintain this confidence.

…

They had only cuddled for a short while, but Yan Yu felt as if she had slept for a long time.

Perhaps because she had taken a bath before sleeping, when she woke, she felt refreshed all over and very energetic.

The sky had only just brightened. She tidied Li Zhao’s room, picked up her own things, and opened the door.

The moment the door opened, the scene was simply something else.

A dense crowd of people stood at the entrance of Li Zhao’s house. Every single one carried a basket, with everything inside from eggs to buns and stuffed pancakes.

Yan Yu was directly startled back a step by this formation, just happening to bump into Yin Beiqing, who had walked out behind her.

Yin Beiqing steadied this rash person. “Has my Langdie Valley mistreated you? This small degree scares you like this?”

“If the ones standing here were Langdie Valley’s maidservants, I wouldn’t panic like this either.”

The enthusiastic clan chief came forward holding Li Zhao’s mother’s arm, carrying a large red bundle and stuffing it into Yan Yu’s arms. “Miss Yan, I know you all are going to Yaochi Mountain for proper business and dare not keep you long. But thinking that the mountain road ahead is dangerous, we prepared some dry food for you.”

“This is too much.” Yan Yu did not dare accept it at all.

Yin Beiqing and the others had already cultivated to the level where not eating would not make them hungry. These things would probably all have to be solved by Yan Yu alone later.

How could she finish this?

“We didn’t know your tastes, so we prepared a little of every kind.”

The clan chief pointed at the tribe members behind her. “Everyone is also very enthusiastic. Every household spontaneously prepared some. If there’s anything you like, please take it with you.”

Yan Yu: Even if I had sixty-four octopus legs, I couldn’t take this much.

“No need. We actually brought food ourselves.”

“Miss Yan, please don’t be polite with us.” Li Zhao’s mother walked forward. She wore a sleeveless fitted outfit. Even after being ill for so long, the muscles on her arms were still very firm and beautiful. As long as she diligently did rehabilitation training, she should be able to recover her former imposing manner.

“I heard from Li Zhao that your sword has never been equipped with a scabbard, so I took it upon myself to make one for you.” She took down the thing on her back and handed it to Yan Yu. “It’s just that time was tight, and I didn’t have time to carve patterns into it. I hope you won’t dislike it.”

Yan Yu accepted the scabbard with both hands, feeling the solid, smooth, heavy texture in her grip. The scabbard was entirely pitch-black, with golden edging decorating the end. Under the sunlight, one could see a faint bluish reflection.

Turning it over and seeing the blue-green gemstone inlaid in the relief carving, Yan Yu said in surprise, “Is this Qingwen Stone?”

This kind of stone was extremely precious. Even in the army, only soldiers at the general level could be equipped with it, let alone ordinary households.

When Qingwen Stone was ground and sifted, then added to metal or wood during the firing process, it made the refined finished product darker and brighter, while also increasing its hardness so it could withstand wind and sun.

Most importantly, Qingwen Stone had stable properties. Placed in a home, it could dispel miasma. Using it as a scabbard to suppress the Demon-Slaying Blade was simply perfect.

But Yan Yu knew that Li Zhao’s family was not well-off. This Qingwen Stone scabbard…

“Did you modify your own sword’s scabbard and give it to me?” Yan Yu hurriedly pushed it back. “This is too precious. I can’t accept it.”

“These two arms are equivalent to my life. When I lost them, I also lost my ability to fight and the meaning of living.” Li Zhao’s mother shook her head, her attitude very firm. “You healed my arms. Even if you asked me to risk my life for you, I would not refuse, let alone give you only a scabbard.”

“You…”

“Just accept it, Miss Yan.” The clan chief stepped forward to speak. “Li Zhao’s mother is one of the most stubborn people in the tribe. If you don’t accept it today, she can follow you all the way up Yaochi Mountain.”

“…”

“Thank you.” Yin Beiqing, standing behind Yan Yu, reached out and accepted it for her. “She likes it very much.”

Yan Yu: ?

“Hahahaha, that’s good, that’s good.” The clan chief revealed a smile, probably feeling that Yin Beiqing was easier to talk to than Yan Yu, and handed the red cloth bundle in her hands to her as well. “Then please also accept the food for Miss Yan.”

“No, no, no.” Yan Yu blocked them from the middle. “Clan Chief, I truly appreciate everyone’s kindness. It’s just that we really can’t eat this much.”

“This is grain you all worked so hard to grow. If we can’t finish it and it spoils, what a pity that would be.”

“But… I saw that child can eat quite a lot.” The clan chief blinked.

“Who?”

Panpan appeared from the Soul Domain with a smile, still holding a piece of sugar cake in its hand. The area beside its mouth was covered in sesame crumbs from the sugar cake. “Master, it’s me.”

Its nose was very sharp. In the middle of the night, it had smelled the fragrance of food being prepared outside and happily run out.

Because it had such distinctive looks, the tribe members quickly recognized it as Yan Yu’s Beast Soul. Seeing its greedy look, as if drool was about to flow out, they all took action and fed it.

After eating everything, it still liked this sesame-filled sugar cake the best. It could eat more than a dozen in one breath.

“And this.” Li Zhao’s mother brought over another long bundle. Judging from the part sticking out of the bag, it should be bamboo.

“That bamboo was originally meant for making baskets. It seemed to like eating it, so I went and cut some more.”

“Mm, mm, mm! This is perfect for grinding teeth! And it’s crunchy and full of juice!” Panpan waved its little chubby paws to accept it, only for Yan Yu to slap them away.

“No need to indulge it. It won’t eat.”

“Wu…”

Yan Yu patted its head. “Be good. Thank the clan chief.”

The little fatty pouted but still opened its mouth and obediently said in its milky voice, “Sorry, Clan Chief. Panpan was greedy and ate a lot of your food. But thank you very much! And thank you, everyone!”

“It’s fine. You silly cat-cat are so cute. Everyone likes you very much. What’s wrong with eating a couple bites of sugar cake and bamboo?”

As she spoke, she stuffed the things into Panpan’s arms.

“No, this is spoiling it. It won’t do!”

Panpan quietly clenched its paws on the side. “I like being spoiled, I like being spoiled. Please spoil me a lot!”

As it was muttering, a large hand suddenly lifted it by the back of its neck from behind and suspended it high in the air.

Panpan’s little eyes glanced at the dark-faced Yin Beiqing, and its face instantly fell into a tragic expression. Its dangling feet rubbed left and right as it said uncertainly, “Occasionally… being spoiled occasionally is also fine.”

“Heh.”

Hearing this cold laugh, its whole body tightened. It hurriedly changed its words.

“No need to spoil me! Just treat me normally…”

But Yin Beiqing still did not put it down.

The little fatty turned its not-very-flexible brain, then tested softly again. “How about being a bit stricter with me instead? I’m too disobedient.”

“Did you hear that?” Yin Beiqing put the thing down. She seemed to be speaking to Yan Yu, but it was actually also meant for everyone else to hear. “It said to be stricter with it.”

“Ha… hahaha…” The clan chief dryly laughed twice and gave Panpan a helpless look. “It’s fine. If you can’t eat that much, just take some. After all, you haven’t had breakfast yet.”

In the end, Yan Yu was still forcefully stuffed with a basket of eggs before leaving. When they left, they even had to run. Otherwise, they might be chased and fed more things.

You You tribespeople really are terrifying!

…

“Ugh—” A hoarse male voice came from below the cliff.

Guo Lu supported his swollen, aching head and looked around. He was horrified to discover that he was actually suspended in midair!

Oh, no. He had been caught by half a tree growing out from the cliff.

He was actually hanging in the air!

“Beep beep.” The system’s voice sounded. “Detected that Host was in mortal danger just now. The system activated automatic protective measures, deducting thirty luck points to retrieve one life for you. Current remaining luck points: fifteen.”

“You deducted thirty from me for this tree!” Guo Lu panicked. “You might as well have let me fall to my death.”

“Understood. Detected Host’s wish. Resetting luck points for you and adding thirty points back. Calculating the result after freefall without protective measures. Mm… fractured legs, broken ribs, abdominal cavity…”

“All right, all right, I won’t reset it. Thank you, precious system, for saving me!”

“Understood. You’re welcome.”

“Host, please move as soon as possible and reach the summit of Yaochi Mountain before Yin Beiqing and Yan Yu.” The system urged him to act quickly.

“It’s not like—” Guo Lu had just wanted to say that there was a barrier he could not pass, but when he raised his head, hey! The barrier was gone!

“Yes. Please move as soon as possible.”

“Urge, urge, urge. All day long, you only know how to urge.” Guo Lu held onto the tree trunk and carefully straightened up to climb down.

“Hiss—hurts!” A violent pain came from his waist. It should be an injury from when he had fallen and smashed into the tree just now. “So damn speechless. I was originally climbing just fine, then suddenly my rope was cut! Who the hell is so wicked!”

The system replied without emotion, “Host, please conserve your strength so you can reach Yaochi Mountain and complete the disciple-acceptance mission as soon as possible.”

“I know, I know. Who asked you to talk so much?”

Guo Lu climbed all the way to the bottom of the cliff, then suddenly remembered something and nervously touched his chest. Discovering that the medicinal herb was still in his lapel, he let out a heavy breath of relief. “Good.”

“Hey, help me see what herb this is. Is it useful?”

System: “This is intermediate Guilin Grass. Paired with the system’s pharmacopoeia, it can be refined into a pill that strengthens the physique.”

“Then tell me the prescription.”

“Host, your current points balance is -13. You cannot exchange for any item. Please work hard to increase your soul power level and obtain additional points bonuses.”

“Asking you is the same as not asking.” Guo Lu snorted and continued forward.

The road toward Yaochi Mountain became steeper and steeper. Later, there was not even a road anymore. He had to step on stones and climb upward himself.

Guo Lu was exhausted, panting like a dog. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and encouraged himself.

“This isn’t an ordinary mountain road. This is your runway to level up and become a god. Charge! Guo Lu!”

System: “…”

Can it apply to change hosts? It really had had enough.

Pumped full of fighting spirit, Guo Lu had never felt he had run this fast in his life. He worked even harder than during a one-thousand-meter test.

Finally, before the sun set, he climbed to the mountain summit. Following the system map’s guidance, he walked all the way toward the small wooden house where Lin Hegui was.

“Hey! Anyone there?”

The wooden house door was tightly shut, but judging by the dried flowers and medicinal herbs drying under the eaves, someone should be living there.

But no one inside paid him any attention.

He raised his voice again and knocked hard. “Hey, hey, hey! Is anyone there? I came to find Lin Hegui and become her disciple. Let me in!”

He kept knocking relentlessly for half an hour, and finally, the person inside could not take it anymore.

“Where did this yellow-haired brat come from, acting wildly here?”

“You…” Guo Lu lowered his head in confusion and looked at this thin, weak man sitting in a wheelchair. “Isn’t Lin Hegui a woman?”

“I am her elder brother.” Lin Zhuxun glared at him with an ugly expression. “Ill-mannered thing. Get out!”

“What’s wrong with you? I came to become your sister’s disciple, not yours. What does it have to do with you?” Guo Lu retorted angrily.

“Become her disciple?” Lin Zhuxun smiled mockingly. “Someone like you still wants to become her disciple? I advise you to go home and farm for a few more years to properly train your strength.”

“You look down on me?”

Lin Zhuxun did not conceal his contempt. “You keep saying you want to become her disciple, but how much do you know about my sister? She has never accepted disciples whose soul pearl aptitude is below yellow, because teaching useless trash would be teaching for nothing.”

“What did you say!” Guo Lu raised his voice word by word.

Lin Zhuxun was not afraid of him at all. “I said you are useless trash. But this is only stating a fact. Also, my sister hates people disturbing her peace the most. Before she returns, I advise you to disappear immediately.”

Guo Lu flew into a rage. “What right does a cripple like you have to talk about me! Do you know who I am? I am someone who will become your female—no… your emperor in the future!”

“If the position of empress were truly taken by someone like you, that would simply be a disaster for the Jin Kingdom.”

“Fine. Then I’ll let you taste what disaster means right now!”

Guo Lu rolled up his sleeves, his fist hammering straight toward Lin Zhuxun. But halfway, a gust of wind suddenly rushed in, howling toward him and directly flipping his entire body over.

Several cries sounded overhead. Guo Lu looked up and saw a gigantic vulture descend from the sky. It flapped its wings and landed on Lin Zhuxun’s shoulder. “Master, I’ll finish off this rude person for you.”

“If you have the ability, don’t use a Beast Soul!” Guo Lu shouted in anger.

Lin Zhuxun smiled contemptuously. “Do you really think I can’t beat you without using a Beast Soul?”

He raised his hand to make the Beast Soul retreat, then crooked his finger in Guo Lu’s direction.

Successfully provoked, Guo Lu immediately sprang up from the ground, pulled a short knife from his waist, and pounced at him viciously.

But this time, he still could not get close. Lin Zhuxun formed a one-handed hand seal with the hand hidden in his wide sleeve. Using only the most basic attack spiritual art, he sent Guo Lu flying back miserably. Guo Lu flipped several times in the air before finally falling to the ground, directly eating dirt.

“Pah, pah, pah!”

“System! System! What’s going on! Hurry and give me a golden finger. I have to kill this wretched man today!”

“Beep beep.” The called system could only be forced to operate again. “Your points are -13. Please…”

“Not enough points, not enough points… Of course I know!” Guo Lu interrupted it with no patience. “Give me a golden finger. I’m willing to give you anything! Soul power, spiritual arts…”

He probably realized he had nothing, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said, “Lifespan! Take my lifespan!”

“Beep—beep beep—” The system lagged for a moment before sounding again. “Understood. A new exchange channel has been opened for you. Please choose the golden finger you want from the following options.”

(A: Exchange fifty years of lifespan for one hour of Special-rank Beast Arts Master spiritual arts and physical arts.)

(B: Exchange thirty years of lifespan for one hour of either Special-rank Beast Arts Master spiritual arts or physical arts.)

(C: Exchange one year of lifespan for one Guilin Grass prescription, allowing you to obtain a pill that strengthens the physique.)

In the end, Guo Lu was still afraid of death. “C! I choose C!”

“Understood. Exchanging the Amber-Guilin Pill prescription for you.”

Guo Lu carefully checked it and quickly raised a question. “What is this Amber Grass?”

“Amber Grass grows around the You tribe settlement. It generally needs to be gathered at night. However, you were too anxious last night and did not notice, so you missed it.”

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier? Exchange it for me immediately!”

“May I ask which grade of Amber Grass you would like? We have Special, high, intermediate, and low grades. The success rate and quality of pills made from each grade differ.”

After weighing it, Guo Lu spent another three months of lifespan and chose the intermediate grade with the best cost-performance ratio.

After obtaining the two herbs, he immediately and impatiently crushed them and stuffed them into his mouth. As he chewed, he glared viciously at Lin Zhuxun. “Just wait. I’ll send you to the western heavens right now.”

Yan Yu’s group moved fairly quickly, but because they set off later than Guo Lu, they still arrived one step slower.

The book had not drawn a map of Lin Hegui’s home either. It only said that Lin Hegui’s small house was in the place with the best sunlight on all of Yaochi Mountain. Yan Yu had completely followed her sixth sense and sense of direction to point the way. She had not expected that all her guesses would actually be right.

“There’s a house ahead. I can see the roof!” Xueji, sitting on Zhongpu’s shoulder, said excitedly.

“Wait.” Yin Beiqing’s expression suddenly became a little off.

Teng Jingjie seemed to have a similar feeling to her. “Do you smell blood?”

“Blood?” Yan Yu’s five senses were not as strong as theirs. At such a distance, she could not smell anything, so she shook her head.

“A lot of blood.” Yin Beiqing, who was most sensitive to the smell of blood, quickly reached a conclusion. “Someone died.”

---

Author’s Note:

Yin: You like me.

Yan: As a good friend.

Yin: Nonsense.