CH 3

Obviously Gu Feidi couldn’t hear the howl in Su Yang’s heart.

He waited for a long time and seeing that Su Yang wasn’t responding, he gritted his teeth, raised his hand and reached into the lapel of his clothes. He felt around, retrieved a small blood-stained purse and held it tightly in his grasp.

“Although everyone says the Devil—Young Hero Su is unpredictable…” Gu Feidi raised his eyes, staring unwaveringly at Su Yang’s face and continued in a low voice, “…but he never reneges on his promises.”

Su Yang: ???

…You—hang on a minute!

Since when did the Devil Sect’s Young Saint, the main villain of the show, have such a fan-favored setting?

Gu Feidi, you moron! Not only are you randomly changing the script lines, you’re even changing the characteristics of the show!

Gu Feidi was on the verge of insanity when confronting Su Yang, but deep down, he hadn’t yet realised it, “If I give you the jade bell, you’ll… let me go?”

“I won’t!”

Su Yang blurted out, flabbergasted.

Gu Feidi’s eyes dimmed again.

He clutched the purse and gave a wry smile: “To tell you the truth, I don’t have the strength… to perform another True Hawk Sword technique …” 

As he spoke, his eyes closed slightly and he coughed softly twice. A little blood spattered from the corners of his mouth and he croaked out: “…just strike me.”

“I…” Su Yang was tongue-tied, “No—you…”

Su Yang’s heart seemed to beat like tens of thousands of galloping beasts but he had to maintain the outward persona of the Devil Sect’s Young Saint. Even so, his whole being was on the verge of caving in. 

He struggled for a while; his insides in chaos. Finally, he bit the bullet and resolved himself to finish reciting the lines of the script. He’d deal with the rest later.

Who knows after he finishes delivering his lines, this obnoxious, script-changing brat’s reinforcements would arrive to take him away and prevent him from causing more trouble.

So Su Yang opened his mouth and rushed through his lines superfluously in one breath:

“It’s-fine-if-you-don’t-want-to-hand-over-the-jade-bell-as-a-matter-of-fact-I-don’t-need-your-jade-bell-there-are-few-in-this-forest-who-can-defeat-me-furthermore-I-have-my-valet-at-my-side-I-just-can’t-understand-your-type-of-Jianghu-righteous-stubborn-moral-integrity-character-as-if-the-whole-world-is-like-you-are-not-fearful-of-life-and-death-even-if-you-pass-the-Lesser-Jade-House’s-assessment-and-obtain-their-legacy-and-knowledge-people-like-you-won’t-amount-to-anything-in-the-Jianghu…”

Gu Feidi listened to Su Yang’s verbal diarrhoea in silence. Suddenly, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

He finally couldn’t hold it anymore, his eyes closed tightly and his body, which was leaning on the tree trunk suddenly slid forward and collapsed into Su Yang’s arms.

Su Yang: …

…WTF! I really want to shout mamaipi* at the sky!

(*TN: mamaipi = from the Sichuan pronunciation of māmàibī [妈卖屄]; swear word, vulgar way of saying “your mom’s a prostitute”)

Seeing that his master had successfully knocked out Gu Feidi and was holding him in his arms, the Devil Sect flower aide immediately glided down from the tree and landed at Su Yang’s side.

“Young Saint,” he said began, “…when this subordinate explored the terrain earlier, I found a cave nearby, which is completely secluded. The cave has nine twists and turns, so no sound would be transmitted out. There is also a clear pool of water in the cave. If your lordship wishes… you can take Young Hero Gu there to do your business.”

Su Yang finally couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes.

He grumbled to himself: The Devil Sect servants are really sick in the head. Not only do they want to kill in a dignified manner, but are so particular about the killing environment that it requires caves and pools?

But there was no way he was going to kill Gu Feidi.

If Gu Feidi dies, what would happen to the rest of the storyline? How was he going to return to the real world?

Not only would he not kill Gu Feidi, but he would save him instead!

In his heart, he felt exasperated having to deal with these asinine issues yet he exhibited his Devil Sect Young Saint’s persona towards the flower aide and stretched out his hand: “Medicine.”

The flower aide was taken aback and then softly objected : “Young Saint, this Young Hero Gu is seriously injured. You don’t need those medicines, otherwise it’s very likely… that he will die mid-affair and that wouldn’t be good. Furthermore, doing it here in broad daylight would be detrimental to your image. Wouldn’t it be better to go to the cave where you can be free to do as you please?”

WTF, what the hell?

Su Yang was still reeling from the earlier plot collapse, but now he was throughly confused by the flower aide’s barrage of words.

He was vaguely impatient when dealing with these supporting actors. He frowned and said: “It’s because he is badly injured that I asked you for the medicine! Why are you dawdling? The one from our sect… something Xiang, something Chun pill medicine that can bring the dead back to life? Did you bring it?”

The flower aide was startled again, then dropped his head. He rummaged around, took out a small jade bottle and handed it over to Su Yang.

Su Yang took the bottle without hesitation and opened the cap to pour out a pill. Seeing this, the flower aide couldn’t help but probe: “My lord, this Lianxiang Rejuvenating Pill is extremely rare. I originally prepared it for you in case of any accident. Do you really want to give it to him?”

Su Yang ignored the flower aide. He pinched Gu Feidi’s chin and immediately stuffed the pill into his mouth.

The pill melted the moment it was in his mouth. Gu Feidi’s initially pale face turned slightly ruddy. Su Yang was amazed as how fast the medicine’s effect was.

But deep inside, he still couldn’t help worrying and only hoped that the storyline would not collapse too much because of his actions.

But then again…

He had completed all his extensive lines.

Gu Feidi had even fainted.

Where’s that group of righteous Jianghu reinforcements who’s supposed to be protecting Gu Feidi?

Why hadn’t they arrived yet?!

Could it be that not only is he in charge of saving Gu Feidi, but for taking care of him until he regains consciousness as well?

This Devil Sect’s Young Saint was really being too loving and caring.

Although Su Yang was feeling annoyed, he gently supported Gu Feidi on the tree and made him sit securely. He then removed his hands, preparing to leave this small open space for the time being and hide in the tree to watch for any changes. If not, someone passing by might spot him guarding Gu Feidi. Who knows how that would spread in the Jianghu…

With that thought, Su Yang’s gaze inadvertently fell on the face of the young Gu Feidi.

Gu Feidi’s head was tilted as he leaned against the tree trunk. A streak of sunlight seeped through the shade of the trees and just happened to shine onto him. The crow-feather-like eyelashes cast a shadow on the youth’s smooth and childish cheeks, making him look even more innocent and harmless.

The distinctive floral fragrance of the Lianxiang Rejuvenating Pill seeped out through his mouth and slowly dissipated with his shallow breathing. His lips, which had been stained dark red from blood, resembled two lustrous petals.

Su Yang couldn’t resist leaning forward to help Gu Feidi wipe the blood from his lips.

At that moment, there was a rustling sound from the movement of shrubbery not to far away, followed by a girl’s scream: “Ah! What are you doing—“

Su Yang rose to his feet and looked up.

Three people stood in the bushes not far away.

It was a girl in a goose-yellow outfit who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Her mouth was held shut by the tall young man behind her, preventing her from speaking further.

Behind the two of them was a tall man who hadn’t said a word but had withdrawn his sword from around his waist. He looked over with a wary expression; a trace of surprise between his eyebrows.

Su Yang couldn’t recognize these people and turned around to ask his flower aide discreetly: “Who are they?”

The flower aide replied, “Young Saint, that girl is a last disciple of Gu Ruohai, the leader of the Martial Alliance and Gu Feidi’s xiao shimei. Her name is Pu Lingyun. The young man is Xu Yunzhan, the eldest son of the lord of Qianfeng Villa, who is friends with the leader of the Martial Alliance. He is also Pu Lingyun’s biao xiong*. The one behind them should be the manservant of Qianfeng Villa and Xu Yunzhan’s bodyguard.”

(*TN: biao xiong = maternal elder cousin brother)

Upon hearing the two names ‘Pu Lingyun’ and ‘Xu Yunzhan’, Su Yang’s eyes lit up.

They’re finally here!

Gu Feidi’s reinforcements!

Pu Lingyun, Gu Feidi’s shimei, was the leading lady in the ‘Arch-Rivals’ script. In the future, she would become Gu Feidi’s guardian angel who would risk life and limb for him, therefore she was naturally the most trustworthy person.

As for Xu Yunzhan, he was the second male lead in the script and a close friend of Gu Feidi’s. While they were together in Lesser Jade House, the two had unwittingly stumbled upon the Veiled Pearl Pavilion at the back of the mountain. You could sort of say they were sworn friends who would not hesitate to die for each other.

Even though these people were not really similar to the characters in the script, it wasn’t unreasonable to at least let the Devil Sect’s Young Saint withdraw from the scene so that Gu Feidi could be rescued.

Su Yang felt that it was time for him to exit the stage.

“Oh? There are so many people here to rescue you.” Su Yang quickly went into character and displayed the persona of the Devil Sect’s Young Saint. He smiled, looking at Gu Feidi under the tree and was determined to finish delivering his exit lines.

“Such being the case, I will let you off today. If we meet again in the future, you won’t have such good luck to wait until someone comes and saves you!”

“Flower aide, let’s go!”

After that, Su Yang manoeuvred his internal strength to use the Prized Flower Steps and quickly retreated, disappearing into the dense forest.

Xu Yunzhan frowned and did not relax as he looked in the direction that Su Yang had left.

The bodyguard behind him whispered: “Young Master, the people in the Devil Sect are very crafty. For him to leave so easily, he must have something else planned.”

Xu Yunzhan’s expression was grave as he nodded: “I just don’t know what the game is…”

Pu Lingyun didn’t deliberate as much as the two of them. She broke away from Xu Yunzhan’s grasp and raced towards Gu Feidi calling out anxiously: “Xiao shixiong*! Xiao shixiong! Wake up!” 

(*TN: xiao shixiong = youngest senior martial brother)

Seeing Pu Lingyun’s thoughtlessness, Xu Yunzhan heaved a sigh of relief and remarked: “This lass has always been like this; having no care for herself.”

As he spoke, Xu Yunzhan threw a final glance at the woods before turning back and heading over to Gu Feidi. He leaned over to check on the extent of his injuries.

As he got closer, Xu Yunzhan’s expression changed and he said in alarm, “Bai Qi, come and smell this fragrance. Isn’t this the aroma of the Devil Sect’s divine medicine, Lianxiang Rejuvenating Pill?”

His bodyguard caught his words and promptly stepped forward to carefully make an identification.

His face fell immediately and he confirmed, “Young Master, this indeed the unique fragrance of the Lianxiang Rejuvenating Pills. It is said that this medicine can bring the dead back to life but it does not fall into the category of a divine medicine. Nevertheless, this fragrance would penetrate the bones and blood of the person who takes the medicine and it cannot be dispelled even after decades. The Devil Sect has a kind of aroma-seeking butterfly that can track the scent to find the person no matter how great the distance. To our knowledge, there is no escaping this.”

Xu Yunzhan slammed his palm on the tree, gritted his teeth and said: “I told you there’s no way that Devil Sect demon spawn would be so magnanimous! Rumour has it that he prefers men, especially good-looking youths and that he has had countless bedwarmers attending to him since he was young… He has even dared to set his sights on Feidi! I must inform Leader Gu on this matter so that he can quickly prepare and make arrangements!”

Bai Qi nodded in agreement.

Xu Yunzhan continued: “But right now, Lesser Jade House is about to open its gates. As long as Feidi can advance through the assessments to be accepted, there is no need to worry for the next three to five years. I don’t presume that that guy will dare to harass Lesser Jade House. From now on, we’d best stick to Feidi’s side constantly, so that the demon spawn can’t take advantage of him!”