While reading, Shen Qingqiu had thought it a little strange that Luo Binghe hadn’t tried to castrate the creep. His failure to do so absolutely didn’t jive with Bing-ge’s dark charm! So, he’d gone to the comment section and joined the mob in flooding it with posts to the tune of, “Please castrate Shen Qingqiu! No castration, we unsubscribe!”
Upon reflection and closer consideration, Shen Qingqiu was profoundly terrified. If the appeal had succeeded then, he’d absolutely have had to chop off the hand with which he had made those posts!
Luo Binghe glanced over once and offered only a half-hearted smile.
But Ning Yingying wanted his attention, and she fumbled around for something to say. “Tell me, A-Luo, which shixiong was practicing their sword glares out here?”
“On Qing Jing Peak, I’m afraid only Shizun has this level of cultivation,” Luo Binghe answered as he picked up an axe and started chopping at a tree.
He only spoke one line, then paid her no more heed. His focus was entirely on his own actions as he raised and lowered the axe, chopping in earnest.
These trees were neither thin nor weak, and the axe was half-rusted. At this time, Luo Binghe was only fourteen years old, so chopping was tremendously taxing. Soon, sweat poured down his face.
Ning Yingying sat on an old log, watching him with her face propped in her hands. After a while, she was bored again and wheedled. “A-Luo, A-Luo, play with me!”
“I can’t.” Luo Binghe didn’t even have the time to wipe away his sweat; he continued to swing the axe as he spoke. “Our shixiong told me that after I finish chopping today’s wood, I also have to carry the water. If I finish chopping quickly, I can clear out some time to meditate.”
“Our shixiong are really awful! Always making you do this and that. It looks to me like they’re bullying you on purpose.” Ning Yingying pouted. “Humph, I’ll go back and tell Shizun. Once I do, they won’t dare bully you anymore.”
Until this point, Shen Qingqiu had been treating this experience like he was at a shoot for a scene of a Proud Immortal Demon Way drama—just passing through!—and enjoying a tale of two childhood sweethearts. Upon hearing this, he paled in shock.
No, no, no, you absolutely can’t come tell me! What am I supposed to do?! I can’t be OOC—who exactly should I punish?!
But at this time, even while the young Luo Binghe was experiencing the full depth and breadth of humanity’s hardships, he still had the pure heart of a white lotus. He shook his head at Ning Yingying. “Absolutely don’t. I don’t want to trouble Shizun with these small matters. Our shixiong don’t mean any harm, they just see that I’m young and want to give me more chances to train.”
In that instant, Shen Qingqiu could almost see ten thousand rays of light behind Luo Binghe. He couldn’t help but back up three steps, unable to look directly at a male lead who had achieved such a transcendent state of being—who’d attained such profound enlightenment!
While Ning Yingying chattered, Luo Binghe finished chopping his quota of wood. Putting the axe away, he found a random patch of relatively clean ground and sat down cross-legged with his eyes closed.
Inside his heart, Shen Qingqiu released a long sigh.
In truth, even during the early, misery-ridden part of the storyline, the protagonist’s overpowered nature had already started to emerge. The cultivation manual Ming Fan had given Luo Binghe was a fake. The more he trained by following it, the more his techniques should have degraded until they were absolute rubbish. But with his peerless talent and his body’s half-demon blood, Luo Binghe had managed to eke out a path of his own by complete accident… It was entirely unscientific!
While Shen Qingqiu sighed, there came the sound of another set of jumbled footsteps.
As soon as he heard them, Shen Qingqiu knew that what was coming wouldn’t be good.
Ming Fan stepped out into the clearing, leading several low-ranked disciples. Upon seeing Ning Yingying, he delightedly strode up and grabbed her hand. “Xiao-shimei! Xiao-shimei, I finally found you. How could you come to a place like this without saying anything? The back side of the mountain is so large—what if some dangerous beast or poisonous snake leapt out? Come, Shixiong has something fun to show you.”
Naturally, Ming Fan saw Luo Binghe silently sitting nearby, but he ignored the other boy as if he were nothing but air.
However, Luo Binghe, being very well mannered, opened his eyes and spoke. “Shixiong.”
“I’m not afraid of poisonous snakes or dangerous beasts,” Ning Yingying giggled. “Besides, isn’t A-Luo with me?”
Ming Fan swept his gaze toward Luo Binghe, squinted, and scoffed.
To Shen Qingqiu, Ming Fan’s thoughts couldn’t have been clearer. He heard the affectionate way Ning Yingying addressed Luo Binghe and, in that moment, his annoying shidi had become even more irritating.
In the end, Ning Yingying had a young girl’s disposition, completely unable to take a hint or read the room. “What fun thing does Shixiong have?” she asked, head tilted. “Hurry up and show me.”
Ming Fan became all smiles. He unfastened a deep green jade ornament from his waist and held it in front of her. “Shimei, my family just came to visit, and they brought me lots of high-quality and interesting little trinkets. I thought this one was particularly pretty; I’ll give it to you!”
Ning Yingying took it from him and examined it closely in the sunlight shining through the leaves.
“Well? Do you like it?” Ming Fan asked eagerly.
From his hiding place, Shen Qingqiu finally remembered—this was that scene!
Not good! He shouldn’t have come! Danger!
He couldn’t be blamed for not remembering clearly. How could someone who’d cursed “dumbfuck author, dumbfuck novel” remember ancient content from the beginning of a serialized novel that had been running for four years and covered an in-narrative span of two hundred years? He’d spent twenty days binging the novel from start to finish, so he had clean forgotten that whump-filled arc of pointless abuse that covered Luo Binghe’s beginnings at the sect, okay?!
Ning Yingying had absolutely no idea what was high quality and what wasn’t. After looking nonchalantly at it for a while, she tossed the jade ornament back.
Ming Fan’s smile froze on his face.
“What? This color is so ugly. The one A-Luo has is prettier,” Ning Yingying said carelessly as she wrinkled her nose.
Not only did Ming Fan look unhappy, but Luo Binghe, who’d been wisely pretending to not exist, trembled lightly as his eyes snapped open.
“Does Shidi also wear this kind of thing?” Ming Fan spat through gritted teeth.
Luo Binghe hesitated slightly.
He hadn’t managed to answer when Ning Yingying barged in. “Of course he does. Every day, he wears it close around his neck. It’s his treasure. He refuses to even let me look at it.”
Although Luo Binghe was usually so composed, at this point his expression also changed. He unconsciously clutched the goddess of mercy Guanyin pendant around his neck, hidden beneath his clothes.