Chapter 3
He would change everything.
He would save every innocent member of the sect, avoid falling out with his master, and ensure that those who deserved punishment received it.
By the latter half of the night, the rain gradually eased.
Qin Youzhou did not know how many days he would be gone, so under cover of darkness, he checked all the spirit plants on the mountain, gathered the necessary medicines, and placed them outside Ying Weiye’s room.
Finally, he tucked beneath the medicine packages a three-thousand-word self-reflection he had written in advance, every word sincere and earnest.
His master never allowed him to kneel like the other disciples did.
Qin Youzhou silently performed a respectful bow, then hurried down the mountain beneath the first light of dawn and made his way toward the sect square.
In the square, Li Minglu was yawning, completely unaware that a storm was about to break.
“I’ve already attended the Immortal Hunt six or seven times.”
He raised an eyebrow at Yun Luoyi, who was nervously counting the participants.
“Don’t worry, Junior Sister. Nothing will happen.”
Without making it obvious, Yun Luoyi shifted half a step farther away and gave him a perfunctory smile.
“Then I truly must thank you, Senior Brother.”
Senior Brother Li always behaved this way toward the female cultivators in the sect.
It might not quite count as harassment, but it was still far too frivolous.
Seeing her reaction, then remembering how easily she laughed and chatted with Qin Youzhou, Li Minglu’s good mood vanished.
He leaned half a step closer.
“Tell me honestly. Wouldn’t you rather attend the Immortal Hunt with Fourth Junior Brother?”
Before Yun Luoyi could answer, Li Minglu clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. You really shouldn’t fall for someone like Fourth Junior Brother.”
“Judging by the way he is, he might not even like women.”
“I don’t have romantic feelings for Senior Brother Qin.”
Yun Luoyi’s face flushed red with anger.
“Besides, speaking ill of him behind his back is not the conduct of a gentleman!”
Li Minglu merely assumed she was embarrassed, which worsened his mood even further.
He flicked the horsetail whisk in his arms and declared self-righteously, “That’s the truth, not slander.”
“Think about it. A grown man spends all day clutching books, acting all sour and scholarly, constantly quoting old classics. He sweeps, cooks, and tends flowers and plants every day like a female cultivator. He doesn’t have the slightest trace of masculinity.”
Yun Luoyi’s expression darkened.
She snorted.
“Then someone as masculine as Senior Brother should go befriend other masculine men. Don’t come talking to a woman like me!”
More and more cultivators were gathering in the square.
After being thoroughly rebuffed, Li Minglu awkwardly turned his gaze elsewhere.
Disguised among the crowd, Qin Youzhou happened to hear the entire speech about how he was neither man nor woman.
He had never felt ashamed of doing any kind of work.
Nor did he believe hobbies could be ranked as noble or lowly.
Qin Youzhou lowered his eyes and looked at his disguised reflection in a puddle on the ground.
He paid it no mind.
He was far more concerned about what unexpected changes they might encounter once they entered the mountain.
At noon, the large group finally set out in grand procession.
Li Minglu attempted to strike up conversations with several female cultivators, but hardly any of them were willing to engage with him.
They merely responded out of politeness.
Usually cheerful and outgoing, Yun Luoyi nervously stroked the little chihu beast accompanying her.
Ever since they entered the mountain, she had not relaxed for a moment.
“There’s the scent of a beast.”
Before they even reached the hunting grounds, she quietly warned Li Minglu.
“To the south.”
Yun Luoyi was nearly two full realms below Li Minglu, so he did not take her words seriously.
“I didn’t sense anything.”
“Even if there is something, it probably isn’t a vicious beast. Ignore it.”
The Immortal Hunt was described grandly as a mission to eliminate evil and destroy monsters.
Put bluntly, however, it was little more than bringing a group of low-level disciples out to put on a show for the outside world by killing a few weak spirit beasts that had already been arranged in advance.
They only needed to complete the task safely.
There was no reason to invite trouble.
Qin Youzhou, however, immediately became alert.
He secretly released two talismans toward the south and quietly moved to the back of the group.
There were countless cultivators in Yinxiao Sect.
No one found the appearance of an unfamiliar junior disciple unusual.
No one paid him any attention either, which made it much easier for Qin Youzhou to act.
“There really is a vicious beast!”
Yun Luoyi’s eyes widened.
“Farther south is Yao City. The civilians there—”
“Luoyi.”
Li Minglu interrupted her impatiently.
“Listen to your senior brother.”
Hearing the argument at the front, unrest spread through the group.
Qin Youzhou keenly sensed a wind carrying the stink of blood blowing toward them from the distance.
Spirit races born from spiritual beings had always been exceptionally sensitive to malice.
The bloody scent drew closer and closer.
Soon, even Li Minglu noticed something was wrong.
Just as he was about to order everyone to speed up, a beast’s roar erupted from the forest and shook the heavens.
“Help! Help me—!”
A weak, panicked young voice followed immediately after, accompanied by the sound of fabric tearing.
It had begun.
Qin Youzhou’s heart tightened.
He gripped the folded fan hidden inside his sleeve.
“Someone’s been caught.”
Without hesitation, Yun Luoyi drew her long whip.
“Senior Brother, we have to go quickly.”
Li Minglu did not move.
He had sensed it too.
The beast had cultivated for more than a thousand years, making it roughly equal to him as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
And the people accompanying them were merely Foundation Establishment disciples.
It would already be fortunate if they did not make things worse.
Subduing such a vicious beast would be troublesome.
It would be far better to retreat and report the matter to the Sect Master.
He gritted his teeth.
“Everyone, follow me back. We’ll report—”
“ROAR—!”
It gave him no chance to flee.
A pair of crimson beast eyes lit up within the dense forest.
It was a massive wolf standing five meters tall, its fur coarse and rigid like iron spikes.
A half-dead young man dangled from its jaws.
Its sharp teeth were streaked with blood as it glared furiously at the terrified cultivators.
“Save me!”
The young man had originally hung his head.
He suddenly lifted it, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.
He had long black hair, violet-tinged pupils, and a pair of innocent almond-shaped eyes.
His face was covered in tears and blood.
“Immortals… Immortals, please save me!”
He sniffled, looking both pitiful and helpless.
The instant Qin Youzhou saw that face, the blood in his body seemed to flow backward.
It was the person born with that innocent face who had slaughtered his entire sect.
The boy screamed and sobbed as though his heart were being torn apart, only making Li Minglu even more eager to withdraw.
Yun Luoyi, however, could not stand aside and watch.
“Follow me and save him!”
Seeing that she could not persuade Li Minglu, she gritted her teeth, tightened her grip on the whip, and advanced with the little chihu beast that barely reached half a person’s height.
Her appeal was sincere.
Yet only a handful of cultivators were willing to follow her.
The female cultivator raised her hand and cast a spell, attempting to soothe the wolf demon.
But the wolf had already been drugged, and its mind was in complete chaos.
It calmly lowered its head as though it had been pacified.
Then, just as Yun Luoyi approached, it suddenly growled, raised its paw, and lunged violently at her without mercy.
At the critical moment, a beam of golden light shot toward the wolf demon’s claws, striking precisely against the vulnerable pad of its paw.
Qin Youzhou rushed from the crowd.
He closed his fan and tossed it into the air.
The black-gold ribs scattered apart, then reassembled into a long sword and dropped back into his hand.
“Senior—”
Yun Luoyi’s eyes widened.
When Qin Youzhou glanced at her and raised a finger to his lips, she hurriedly stopped herself.
She tightened her grip on the whip and wrapped it around the wolf demon’s injured leg.
The chihu beast leaped onto the wolf’s back in perfect coordination and sank its teeth into the demon’s neck.
The sword in Qin Youzhou’s hand moved like a wandering breeze.
With nimble precision, it sliced beneath the wolf’s coarse hide, producing a sharp metallic ringing.
Before the wolf demon could retaliate, the blade flowed apart into countless segments.
They reassembled into a folding fan that returned to Qin Youzhou’s hand.
He swept it outward, unleashing a gust so swift that it dazzled the eye.
Flesh and blood scattered amid the wolf demon’s shrill cries, staining the hem of his snow-white robes.
Qin Youzhou did not dare relax for even a moment.
He leaped and kicked the snarling wolf head away from him.
Everything happened in an instant.
Li Minglu seemed to have been frightened stupid.
He stood there staring blankly as his junior brother and junior sister fought the vicious beast.
Naturally, Li Minglu did not wish Qin Youzhou well.
He did not want Qin Youzhou stealing his glory.
Thus, while watching the wolf demon’s movements, a strange hint of anticipation crept into his eyes.
But nothing went as he hoped.
Qin Youzhou, Yun Luoyi, and the cultivators who had stepped forward to help were already more than enough to give the wolf demon a miserable fight.
Its hide was peeled back with clever applications of minimal force.
The wolf demon howled in agony.
It attempted to resist, but the ribs of Qin Youzhou’s fan transformed into jade needles and accurately pierced the acupoints behind its neck.
“Awoo—!”
The giant wolf’s flesh swelled all over.
Using the last of its strength, it thrashed its head and stretched out its claws, attempting to drag Qin Youzhou, who stood upon its body, into death with it.
Just as the claws were about to swing toward Qin Youzhou, who was protecting the other disciples, something flashed through the chaos in the blind spot of everyone’s vision.
It gleamed silver.
It resembled a snake, yet was not truly one.
The translucent snake eyes shifted.
Its sharp teeth lightly sank into the giant wolf’s thick hide, releasing venom capable of corroding gold and silver.
Almost instantly, the wolf’s massive body swayed.
The paw it had failed to swing crashed weakly to the ground.
The elusive “silver snake” flicked out a bright red tongue before silently slipping into the tangled grass.
“What are you standing around for? Move!”
Li Minglu acted as though he had only just recovered.
He hurriedly led the other cultivators forward to help, making himself appear extremely busy.
The enormous creature swayed twice before collapsing powerlessly to one side.
By sheer “coincidence,” it did not crush the boy beneath its paw.
The hand Yun Luoyi used to hold her whip was still trembling.
She nearly collapsed to the ground.
The female cultivator panted heavily, staring at her palm in disbelief, her expression somewhere between laughter and tears.
Qin Youzhou leaped down from the wolf’s body and calmly looked at the fellow disciples who had arrived far too late.
“Form the array and contain the evil.”
Warm blood dripped down.
The young man stared in a daze.
Ignoring the death of his loyal servant, he foolishly looked up at the cultivator standing high above him like an immortal.
Hmph. This immortal sect disciple isn’t too bad after all. At least he knew to come save me.
Someone this powerful, with such an excellent figure, must surely be…
He looked up expectantly.
At that exact moment, the cultivator also looked toward him.
The man stared with a pair of dead-fish eyes.
His lips were thicker than the corner of a city wall, and when they moved, the pockmarks across his face trembled along with them.
Dai Yang: …
So ugly!
He had actually been rescued by someone so disgusting.
Dai Yang’s expression instantly darkened.
His sharp canine teeth bit his lip until it bled.
Unwillingly, he lowered his head and wiped the dirt from the back of his hand in disgust.
【So it really was love at first sight based entirely on looks!】
The system watched the show and could not resist sighing.
Even so, this was not enough to make Dai Yang fear or completely despise the host.
If he ever saw Qin Youzhou’s true appearance one day, he might still develop other thoughts.
“Today, we truly owe everything to Junior Brother.”
Li Minglu approached with a beaming smile.
“Otherwise, who knows what might have happened?”
There was a faint gritting of teeth behind his words.
News of the Immortal Hunt would certainly reach the Sect Master.
When that happened, all the credit would belong to Qin Youzhou.
But the outer disciples present were not fools.
Li Minglu could not openly lose his temper.
Even if it was only for appearances, he had to act properly toward Qin Youzhou.
Qin Youzhou gave him a meaningful glance but did not respond.
He removed pills from his storage ring and distributed them among the cultivators who had helped.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”
Naturally, the cultivators were endlessly grateful.
“Junior Brother is too polite. It’s thanks to you accompanying us today.”
“Exactly. That giant wolf nearly frightened me unconscious. If Junior Brother hadn’t been blocking it at the front, I definitely wouldn’t have dared approach.”
Having survived the ordeal, no one questioned why he had appeared there.
The cowards who had not dared advance earlier lowered their heads in shame.
Under the disdainful gazes of the other cultivators, they kept trying to hide behind the crowd.
“Junior Brother, what should we do with him?”
Two cultivators supported the ragged Dai Yang and cautiously asked Qin Youzhou, completely ignoring Li Minglu.
Dai Yang looked at him pitifully.
His eyes reddened unconsciously.
“Thank you for saving me, Daoist.”
“Who are you, and why were you here?”
Qin Youzhou questioned him calmly.
Everything unfolded exactly as it had in the original novel.
“I’m a refugee from outside. My entire family is gone.”
Dai Yang lowered his head slightly, his lips trembling.
“If… if you Daoists are willing, please take me in temporarily.”
“I won’t eat or stay for free. I can wash clothes and cook, and I understand a few simple spells. I can make myself useful!”
He twisted together fingers that clearly had never done a day’s hard labor.
Combined with his fragile and innocent appearance, it moved the cultivators beside him.
The sect often took in destitute wandering cultivators.
Allowing him to stay for a while might not be impossible.
“Set him down. I’ll examine his injuries first.”
Qin Youzhou changed the subject.
He put on his glass spectacles, crouched halfway down, and looked Dai Yang over from head to toe.
From beginning to end, he did not touch him.
He’s examining me without touching me?
Dai Yang pretended to be in pain and lightly curled his lips.
A flash of contempt passed through his eyes.
That suited him just fine.
He did not want this ugly creature, whose bearing was the only attractive thing about him, touching him either.
“His injuries aren’t serious.”
Facing the blood-covered young man, Qin Youzhou calmly gave his assessment.
“It’s only a sprained ankle, a slight fracture in the shoulder, and superficial scrapes everywhere else.”
He had thought Dai Yang would make his performance more convincing.
He had not expected the other man to remain so superficial simply because he was delicate and afraid of pain.
“Strange…”
While searching through his pills, Qin Youzhou quietly murmured to himself.
“This vicious beast had gone completely mad. After being held in its jaws for at least fifteen minutes, it’s impossible for him to have sustained only these injuries.”
His words awakened the watching cultivators.
Curiosity appeared on their faces as well.
Indeed, the young man seemed to possess some cultivation, but not enough to escape a vicious beast unharmed.
Dai Yang steadied his expression.
Suppressing the impatience and irritation inside him, he lowered his head and pressed his lips together as though on the verge of crying.
He pretended to be dazed and empty-headed.
Qin Youzhou continued.
“It’s also strange that this vicious beast suddenly went mad and attacked civilians.”
He raised his eyes toward Dai Yang.
“How did it attack you?”
Dai Yang sniffled, sounding aggrieved.
“I wanted to head south in search of a livelihood, so I took a shortcut through the mountain.”
“I never expected that while everything was fine this morning, I would suddenly encounter a vicious beast…”
“I panicked and desperately called for help. After that, I don’t remember anything.”
His excuse had clearly been prepared in advance.
For the moment, no obvious flaw could be found.
Qin Youzhou appeared to believe him and nodded lightly.
His gaze fell upon the green plant residue staining Dai Yang’s fingernails, then quickly moved away.
“Junior Sister Yun.”
He looked toward Yun Luoyi, who had recovered and was wiping blood from her face.
“You understand beast taming. Before the vicious beast dies, could you help me determine why it went mad?”
His expression turned serious.
“If it was merely a beast uprising, that would already be fortunate. But if someone deliberately caused chaos in the mountains, we must investigate it thoroughly.”
Medicinal herbs required time to take effect.
Naturally, they also required time before all traces disappeared completely.
“Of course!”
Yun Luoyi immediately became energetic.
“Just give me fifteen minutes.”
Dai Yang’s expression stiffened.
His father was the Clan Chief of Qingqiu.
Ever since childhood, he had received whatever he wanted.
Now he only wanted to enter Yinxiao Sect.
Why did it have to be so troublesome?
Grinding his teeth, he forced a smile and refused to reveal any weakness.
“By the way, young friend.”
Qin Youzhou stood, his tone gentle yet distant.
“I cannot determine whether the vicious beast carried any beast venom, so your condition must still be examined in greater detail.”
“…There shouldn’t be any beast venom.”
Dai Yang hurriedly brushed the matter aside.
“After taking the pill you gave me, I already feel perfectly fine.”
“Junior Brother, he looks badly frightened. Stop pressuring him.”
Li Minglu seized the opportunity to undermine Qin Youzhou.
“Perhaps he’s simply afraid you’ll misuse medicine. After all, every medicine carries some toxicity.”
“Since he has nowhere to go, we should verify his identity, then temporarily take him back to the sect and settle him there. It would count as forming a good karmic connection.”
His original intention was merely to oppose Qin Youzhou.
But when Dai Yang heard that they would still verify his identity, his already pale face grew even whiter.
At that moment, Yun Luoyi excitedly approached while holding a cloth stained with green plant fluid.
“Senior Brother, it really was poisoned!”
“Cough, cough…”
Dai Yang hardened his heart.
Without warning, he spat out a mouthful of blood, interrupting Yun Luoyi and attempting to gain the cultivators’ sympathy through self-inflicted suffering.
Before anyone else could react, Qin Youzhou efficiently seized his jaw and forced his mouth open.
He looked scholarly and refined, but he had practiced martial arts year-round.
His grip was extraordinarily strong.
“He only bit his tongue.”
Qin Youzhou gave it a quick glance, then immediately released Dai Yang.
Dai Yang cried out wildly, clutched his jaw, and glared at him in anger.
His attempt to sell misery had been interrupted halfway through.
Holding his face, Dai Yang lowered his head awkwardly.
“…Seeing so many immortals made me too nervous.”
After this display, even the most innocent cultivator sensed something was wrong.
“Do you think this young man staged everything because he wanted to sneak into our sect?”
“Don’t say that. He really was injured, after all. Still, I also find it strange…”
“I suggest sending him to a nearby town.”
Qin Youzhou had already achieved his goal and did not waste any more words.
“He has only just suffered such a fright. Remaining in the mountains will only make him even more unsettled.”
“Junior Sister and Senior Brother, what do you think?”
Yun Luoyi replied, “Of course.”
Li Minglu had no choice but to nod.
“I still have business to attend to. I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Li to escort him.”
Qin Youzhou’s lips curved into a smile.
“Senior Brother Li seemed very concerned about him earlier. Since you’ve already chosen to help, please see it through to the end.”
Dai Yang glanced at Li Minglu with distaste and forced a smile.
He was fairly good-looking, but Dai Yang disliked short men.
He would rather have the ugly creature who had rescued him escort him instead.
“…Fine.”
Li Minglu ground out the word through clenched teeth.
【Congratulations, Host! Mission completed! You successfully deviated from the plot!】
As the voices of the fellow disciples faded into the distance, the system’s excited announcement rang out.
【The degree of plot destruction this time was ninety percent… meaning nine-tenths. You have received ninety points, which can later be exchanged with me for items.】
【You eliminated three plot influences in total: “Dai Yang’s good reputation,” “Li Minglu stealing the credit,” and “your sympathy for Dai Yang.” Overall story destruction progress is now five percent.】
“Why only ninety percent?”
【Because Dai Yang still developed a small degree of favorable interest toward you. We failed to completely destroy “Dai Yang’s affection.”】
The system sounded helpless.
【Put simply, your words and actions were still too impressive. Being handsome is a kind of original sin too.】
Qin Youzhou: …
That counted as well?
【Ninety percent is already extremely high. Most hosts are considered impressive if they can deviate from even half the plot!】
【However, this was the easiest beginner mission. The next plot point will be more difficult.】
Qin Youzhou guessed, “Is the next plot point preventing Dai Yang from becoming a disciple?”
【Host is very clever! More precisely, however, you must prevent Dai Yang from entering your master’s tutelage within three months.】
In the original novel, Dai Yang first cultivated feelings with Qin Youzhou.
Then he used an unorthodox method to win first place in the sect recruitment tournament.
Using both of these factors, he forced Ying Weiye to accept him as a disciple.
Once the two of them lived in the same place, it became even more convenient for Dai Yang to cause trouble and play petty schemes.
【This is an extremely important plot checkpoint. I hope that throughout the upcoming story, Host will continue working hard!】
In that case, he could prevent Dai Yang from entering the sect entirely.
Or, if that became impossible, he could guide him into becoming the disciple of another martial uncle.
Allowing him into the sect at all would still bring disaster upon others.
It would be safest to keep him outside if possible.
Qin Youzhou continued thinking as he walked.
Becoming his master’s disciple…
Wait.
His master.
Oh no!
He lowered his head and looked at his white robes, now stained with blood and grime.
If he returned looking like this and his master saw him, he would be in terrible trouble.
But Qin Youzhou was too embarrassed to change clothes inside the bushes.
He could only hastily use a cleansing spell to remove most of the blood from his robes.
Then he took night-breath incense powder from his storage ring and sprinkled it over himself, barely concealing the smells of blood and damp soil.
He silently prayed that Ying Weiye had not yet emerged from seclusion and quickened his pace home.
Upon entering Xuanxing Peak, Qin Youzhou gradually relaxed.
The rain had stopped.
The mountain was terrifyingly quiet.
He could not sense his master’s fire-aspected spiritual energy lingering nearby.
When he returned to their residence, the gu plants outside the door were still sleeping peacefully.
Only the little ginseng that refused to sleep properly shook its leaves in greeting.
“Jiezi, has Shizun emerged from seclusion?”
Qin Youzhou bent down slightly and asked.
“Bugu.”
The ginseng shook its little head.
From a distance, the self-reflection Qin Youzhou had written for his master remained untouched outside the door.
The tension in his heart finally eased.
Even so, as he entered the house, he still felt guilty like a thief.
It was almost as though a pair of eyes had been watching him the entire time.
He quietly slipped into his room and closed the window.
Then he removed his filthy outer robes, leaving only a thin inner garment.
He released a long breath.
His hand rested against the collar, and he was just about to remove the inner garment as well.
“Xiao… Zhou… er.”
A cool voice sounded behind him.
The final syllables carried a smile that made his skin crawl.
Spiritual energy surged through every corner of the residence like a massive flood dragon lying in ambush that had finally found its prey.
It clearly belonged to the fire element.
Yet it felt as though it came from the eighteen levels of hell, without the slightest warmth.
Qin Youzhou’s pupils contracted sharply.
A cool hand settled upon his shoulder.
The back of that hand lifted slightly, raising a lock of his golden hair stained with traces of blood.
“Tell me.”
“Where did you go?”
Qin Youzhou turned with great difficulty.
He met a pair of deep green eyes, dark and poisonous like deadly herbs.
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