“What kind of plot would qualify as not nonsensical?” Shen Qingqiu asked.
【 The standard is subjectively determined; it depends on the readers’ reactions. 】
“Then how many points do I need to collect to launch a beginner-level quest?”
【 The timing is situationally determined. When the requirements have been met, the System will automatically notify you. 】
Subjectively determined, situationally determined—what an all-purpose remedy. Shen Qingqiu scoffed, then upon hearing the door open, looked back to see a youth slowly walk in.
“Shizun.” The youth spoke respectfully even though his movements were unsteady, and he still managed to stand perfectly straight.
The small smile that had been forming at the corner of Shen Qingqiu’s mouth froze.
He was definitely dead! Before him was the face that would, in the future, infatuate everyone who saw it, from eighty-year-old women to infants still in their swaddling clothes, the Gary Stu protagonist’s face—and he’d beaten it to this extent?! He was dead!
But even though this face bore clear evidence of abuse and was covered in injuries, the protagonist was, as expected, still the protagonist. Luo Binghe’s two eyes were as bright as morning stars—a tender shoot of a handsome young man.
That firm yet humble countenance, demonstrating his noble and unyielding spirit. That pencil-straight back and stance, evincing a proud core that would rather break than bend!
In that instant, a flood of parallelisms and other stylistic devices flooded through Shen Qingqiu’s heart, passage after passage jumbling together into countless stanzas of praise that almost spilled forth out of his mouth.
Luckily, Shen Qingqiu managed to rein it in, albeit while internally yelling about how close he’d come. The underlying hardware of this protagonist’s halo of excellence was really too much—he almost couldn’t hold back!
Shen Qingqiu’s mouth twitched as he watched Luo Binghe limp through the door, then struggle to kneel. I can’t afford your submission—if you pay respects to me today, you are definitely going to kneecap me in the future.
“No need.” Shen Qingqiu stopped Luo Binghe, and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed over a small bottle. “This is medicine.” He paused before adding in a mocking tone, “Don’t let anyone see; they might think my Qing Jing Peak abuses its disciples.”
Shen Qingqiu had assumed his role quickly. Even though he’d done something daringly subversive by handing over medicine, he’d also done it with a nasty attitude. Therefore, it was passably in line with Shen Qingqiu’s hypocritical nature—his tendency to do evil while he simultaneously feared others finding out.
Indeed, the System didn’t send an OOC notification. Shen Qingqiu let out a sigh of relief.
Luo Binghe had expected that his master had called him for further “instruction.” He never would have thought he would be offered medicine. At first, he froze, then he respectfully received the small bottle with both hands and said, with honest gratitude, “Thank you for the medicine, Shizun.”
At this point in time, Luo Binghe’s face was still full of innocence, his smile sincere and gentle like the warm dawning sun. Shen Qingqiu stared at it for a while, then turned his head away.
Prior to his darkening, this male lead’s personality was that of a model and upright youth; shine a bit of sunlight on him and he’d glow, give him a scrap of goodwill and he’d return it tenfold—that type. It would not have been an exaggeration to call him a little lamb.
“This disciple will henceforth redouble his efforts and not let Shizun be disappointed,” Luo Binghe happily continued.
Eh, no, if you redouble your efforts, I’m guessing your original master would really be disappointed…
If Shen Qingqiu hadn’t read Proud Immortal Demon Way, he would have found the sight of this scene heart-wrenching, and he probably would have shed a couple of sympathetic tears for Luo Binghe’s plight.
As it was, he’d seen everything from beginning to end from an omniscient perspective, so he’d been privy to Luo Binghe’s plentiful and colorful thoughts post-blackening.
To wit, Luo Binghe’s current pitifulness directly correlated to the future ferocity of his wanton laughter as he ground his foot into your head. Though he would wear the mask of a kind and humble gentleman, inside, all his thoughts would be about how he’d rip out your tendons, pull out your bones, peel off your skin, and hang it all out to dry.
Luo Binghe smiled. “Today, the humiliation this disciple once suffered will be returned one hundredfold. For injuring my hands and feet, I’ll tear off your limbs and grind them to dust.”
—Proud Immortal Demon Way, selected passage number two.
After that, he had in actual fact carved Shen Qingqiu into a human stick.
“Binghe, how’s your cultivation progress?” Shen Qingqiu asked in a deliberately aloof tone as he moved to sit in a sandalwood chair. With that single “Binghe,” he terrified himself to the point that frightened goosebumps rose all down his back.
Luo Binghe’s back also shook with a clear shudder, but he still managed a smile tinged with shyness. “This disciple is stupid and still…failed to understand.”
That was about right. With a fake cultivation manual, the fact that he hadn’t yet suffered a qi deviation was all thanks to his incredible protagonist-level durability. If he’d actually understood anything in that manual, it would have been a miracle.
Boy, come hang out with me! Shen Qingqiu yelled within his heart. This master will deliver unto you the correct techniques!
That demonic System’s warning notification started blaring incessantly.
“I was only thinking about it,” Shen Qingqiu said to the System. “Of course I know it would be a violation!”
Out loud, he spoke casually. “Today, this master punished you out of his own impatience. After all, time waits for no one. Now that I think about it, you’ve been under me for a while—how old are you this year?”
“This disciple is fourteen,” Luo Binghe obediently replied.
Eh? Fourteen, huh?
That meant that at this point, this master and this disciple, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe, had already passed the incident at the mountain entrance. There, the latter had been forced to kneel as punishment.
It meant they had also passed the incident where Luo Binghe’s fellow Qing Jing Peak disciples had pummeled him en masse, as well as the incident where he’d “backtalked” Shizun and been strung up and beaten, in addition to the incident where he’d ruined the peak’s talismans and been punished with hard labor… Such a glorious track record.
(Shen Qingqiu waved goodbye to his last hope of survival.)
Shen Qingqiu rested his forehead on one hand and waved Luo Binghe away with the other. “I wish to be alone.”