Shen Yuan shuddered and settled his mind, forcibly peeling open his eyes. The scene that appeared before him was a massive, whirling flurry. It took a while for everything to finally coalesce and slowly become clear.
He lay on a bed.
Looking up: a white, gauzy canopy hung overhead, with finely crafted perfume pouches dangling from the four corners.
Looking down: he wore a white robe of an ancient style. Next to the pillow lay a paper fan.
Looking to his left: a handsome, elegant young man dressed in xuanduan formal robes sat by his bedside, looking at him with concern.
Shen Yuan closed his eyes, then sharply reached for that folding fan and opened it with a snap. He lightly waved it, fanning away the cold sweat pouring down his face.
The man’s eyes lit up with joy. “Shidi finally woke up,” he said warmly. “Do you have any discomfort?”
“Nothing too bad,” Shen Yuan said with some reservation.
The information overload was a bit much. He dazedly tried to sit up. As he did, the man quickly reached out to support his back, letting him lean against the headboard.
Having read many of Zhongdian’s transmigration novels, Shen Yuan had long ago resolved that, if he one day woke up to find himself lying in a strange place, the first words out of his mouth before he understood what was happening definitely wouldn’t be a carefree giggle and, “Are you filming a movie? The props look so real—your crew’s really giving it their all!” I.e., the words of a person slow-wittedly trying to find their footing.
Rather, Shen Yuan concentrated on acting like he’d just woken up, expression absentminded. “I… Where is this?”
The man startled. “Did you sleep yourself into a trance? This is your Qing Jing Peak.”
Internally, Shen Yuan was shocked, but he continued to act muddled. “Why…why was I asleep for so long?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. You were in perfect health, so how did you suddenly come down with a high fever? I know that with the Immortal Alliance Conference approaching, you’ve been training your disciples and are anxious to see results. But with Cang Qiong Mountain being such a well-established and renowned sect, even if one of our own didn’t attend this time, no one would dare question us. Why concern yourself with empty words?”
The more Shen Yuan listened, the more something felt off. Why did these lines sound so familiar? No, why did this setup seem so familiar?
The man’s next sentence, single and earnest, confirmed all his suspicions. “Qingqiu-shidi, are you listening to Shixiong?”
At this moment, something dinged, and the mechanical, Google-Translate-like voice from his dreamscape spoke again.
【 The System was successfully activated! Bound Role: Luo Binghe’s master, Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak, “Shen Qingqiu.” Weapon: the sword Xiu Ya. Starting B-Points: 100. 】
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, what bullshit is this? How come you’re speaking directly into my brain? Does Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky know you’re plagiarizing Proud Immortal Demon Way’s setting like this?!”
Of course, Shen Yuan didn’t say this out loud, but the voice swiftly responded.
【 You have triggered the System’s execution command and have been bound to the Shen Qingqiu account. As the plot progresses, various point types will gradually become available. Please ensure that no score falls below zero, or the System will automatically mete out punishment. 】
Stop. Enough. Shen Yuan was sure now. He’d hit the jackpot—he’d transmigrated!
Transmigrated into a story he’d just finished, moreover, even if it was a pitch-black stallion novel he’d hated, and even if it came with some kind of shitty “system.” As a 21st century veteran VIP reader of Zhongdian Literature, Shen Yuan had read various types of do-over and transmigration male power fantasy novels year in and year out, so theoretically, he could have happily and easily accepted this fact. But of all people, the shell he was borrowing just happened to belong to the male lead’s scum villain master, Shen Qingqiu. This…uh, made the situation rather complicated.
The amicable-looking elder-brother type beside him was Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s current sect leader, Shen Qingqiu’s shixiong, the “Xuan Su Sword,” Yue Qingyuan. Fuck.
There was a very important reason Shen Yuan emphatically thought “fuck” at the sight of Yue Qingyuan. In the original work, Yue Qingyuan’s death had been caused by his good shidi, Shen Qingqiu, okay?!
And what a horrific death it was. Tens of thousands of arrows had pierced him until not even his bones remained!
At this moment, the victim was facing his own “murderer” and showering him with concern. The pressure was immense.
On second glance, though, the story hadn’t yet unfolded to that point. Yue Qingyuan was still in perfect health, meaning that at this point in time, Shen Qingqiu had yet to reveal himself as a hypocrite, and his reputation was still pristine. Yue Qingyuan was a bleeding heart, nothing to be afraid of. Though his character ended up suffering quite a bit, during his read, Shen Yuan had been rather fond of him. He was just about to relax when a string of words floated eerily to the forefront of his mind.
…Within the dark, gloomy room, a metal chain hung from a beam. At the end of the chain dangled a ring. The ring was fastened around a person’s waist—if it could still be considered a “person.” This “person’s” appearance was filthy and disheveled, like that of a madman. The most frightening thing about him was that all four of his limbs had been severed. His shoulders and thighs were only four bare knobs of flesh. When touched, he would let out a hoarse “ahhh” sound. His tongue had been torn out too, rendering him unable to form complete words.
—Proud Immortal Demon Way, a selected passage on Shen Qingqiu’s fate.
Shen Yuan—ah, no, Shen Qingqiu—rested his forehead on his hand. He was in no position to lament the horrors of other people’s deaths—the most horrific death was his own, okay?!
Henceforth, he had to avoid any critical errors!
First: eliminate any mistake at the root.
Second: from now on, cling madly to the male lead’s thighs.
Third: be a good mentor and helpful friend who is earnest and gentle in his teachings; meticulously show the male lead every kind of concern.
The moment Shen Qingqiu had these thoughts, a long string of alarms erupted in his mind, as if one hundred police cars carrying one hundred shrieking divine beasts were zooming past. It was so cacophonous that he shuddered, clutching his head in pain.
“Shidi, does your head still hurt?” Yue Qingyuan asked worriedly.
Teeth clenched, Shen Qingqiu didn’t answer.
【 Warning, 】 the System shrilly notified him. 【 This proposed plan is incredibly dangerous and qualifies as a violation. Please do not attempt, or the System will automatically mete out punishment. 】
“How was that a violation?”
【 Currently, you are at the beginner level, and the OOC feature is frozen. You must complete a beginner-level quest to unfreeze it. Before unfreezing, any act in violation of the original Shen Qingqiu character settings will result in a deduction of a fixed number of B-Points. 】
As a semi-otaku, Shen Qingqiu had seen a number of fanwork-related terms here and there—you know what I mean—so of course he knew the definition of OOC: adj., acronym for “out of character,” defined as breaking character or acting in a way inconsistent with the character’s canonical personality.
“In other words…before that whatever-feature gets unfrozen, my behavior and actions can’t differ from what ‘Shen Qingqiu’ would do?”
【 Correct. 】
This System had already let him transmigrate into Shen Qingqiu’s shell, replacing him, but it still cared about a detail like being OOC?
“You just said something about how…the points can’t fall below zero. If they do, what happens?”
【 You will automatically be deported back to your original world. 】
Original world? But in Shen Yuan’s original world, his body had already expired. In other words, if he lost all his B-or-Whatever-Points, what awaited him was, in short, death.
Well, if he just ignored the male lead and avoided doing anything, things would be fine, right?
He raised his head and scanned the room, but among the disciples waiting on him by his bedside, he didn’t see anyone that matched Luo Binghe’s description. Feigning unconcern, he said, “Where is Luo Binghe?”
Yue Qingyuan paused, giving him a strange look.
Shen Qingqiu remained straight-faced but was secretly filled with glee. Was it possible that the time wasn’t ripe? That the male lead had yet to apprentice to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect?
“Shidi, don’t be angry,” said Yue Qingyuan.
An ominous premonition stirred in Shen Qingqiu’s heart.
Yue Qingyuan sighed. “I know you don’t like him. But that child’s already worked hard enough, and he hasn’t made any significant mistakes. Don’t punish him any further, all right?”
Hearing this, Shen Qingqiu’s lips felt dry. He wet them and said, “…You can just say it. Where is he?”
Yue Qingyuan was silent for a moment. “Whenever you finish stringing him up and beating him, haven’t you always shut him in the woodshed?”
Shen Qingqiu’s vision went dark.