Chapter 1#
Lu Yan#
It was clearly a freezing snowfield, yet there were so many people around.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on him, filled with disdain, contempt, amusement, and pity. These gazes were colder than the wind and snow, making Yin Yuheng’s body stiff.
Yin Yuheng lay on his back in the snow, blood staining the ground, a truly tragic sight. He couldn’t move, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz: “Master…”
The aloof, white-robed sword cultivator, embracing his beloved young disciple, cast a cold glance at him, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Yin Yuheng closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. The wound was truly horrifying; each breath felt like a knife twisting in his flesh.
Faint laughter reached his ears: “Destroying his spiritual platform, removing his immortal bones, breaking his hands and feet, it’s truly not easy for him to have held on until now.”
“If I were him, I’d just end it myself! What’s the point of holding on? Next, they’ll gouge out his heart and refine his soul, which is worse than death.”
“He was fed the ‘Silk Lotus,’ the Lord won’t let him die, so he can’t. No matter how much torture, he can only endure it alive.”
“He used to be a prince, living in luxury and honor, yet he’s fallen to this state.”
“How pitiful…” This was a pleasant young voice, seemingly regretful, yet also playful.
Yin Yuheng felt himself falling into darkness, but a divine thought pulled him upwards, preventing him from finding release. He couldn’t even faint, only enduring the bone-deep pain.
Yin Yuheng wanted to smile, but he couldn’t. He struggled to open his parched lips: “I want to see Lu Yan…”
He had tried his best, but his voice was still so faint that no one heard him.
Even if they did hear, they would probably only mock him, “What right do you have to request an audience with the Lord?”
Fortunately, Lu Yan still came.
He came to personally carry out the execution.
Lu Yan stepped on the snow with his sword, walking towards him step by step, his demeanor peerless and divine.
Yin Yuheng remembered that Lu Yan was very skilled in swordsmanship and quick to kill. Unfortunately, this person refused to let him die a quick death, not only using the Silk Lotus but also preparing the Kunlun Mirror to trap his soul within it, to endure endless torment without release.
Yin Yuheng’s gaze was unfocused, he no longer had the strength to even look at Lu Yan. The moment the sword tip pierced his chest, Lu Yan’s voice seemed to come from a distant place:
“A-Heng, do you regret meeting me?”
*
Yin Yuheng woke up.
The dream was too real; the coldness of the sword tip seemed to linger in his chest, but there was no Lu Yan, no biting snow. He was in a carriage, having merely fallen asleep by accident.
Yin Yuheng didn’t stare blankly for long. Since childhood, he had dreamt this dream one hundred and thirteen times; the initial pain and suffocation had long become a habit.
Wrapped in fox fur, holding a hand warmer, he comfortably leaned against the soft couch, lifted the curtain, and revealed a handsome smile: “Where are we?”
Commander Qin, who was focused on riding his horse, immediately replied, “Your Highness, we are fifty li from Chaoge. It’s getting dark, and our Wusui horses are injured. There seems to be an inn ahead, perhaps we should rest there for the night before continuing?”
“An inn?” Yin Yuheng’s smile grew even gentler, “Alright.”
Yin Yuheng called out in his mind: “Xiao Bai.”
A phantom white book floated in Yin Yuheng’s sea of consciousness. Hearing Yin Yuheng’s voice, the book spirit Xiao Bai immediately responded: “Heng-ge, I’m here.”
“The inn ahead is where I first met A-Yan,” Yin Yuheng’s eyes were filled with longing, his tone expectant, “So excited.”
What was there to be excited about meeting the person who would kill him in the future?
Xiao Bai couldn’t help but shiver its pages.
In the wilderness fifty li from the imperial capital Chaoge, the only small inn’s banner fluttered, occasionally providing a resting place for travelers and merchants from all directions.
Facing a team of thirty to forty people, the innkeeper was both excited and apprehensive. In this remote mountain wilderness, sometimes he wouldn’t see so many people for half a month. This was truly a big business.
“We’ll rest here for one night and leave tomorrow morning,” Commander Qin dismounted, his long saber at his waist, “Our horses need careful attention, feed them good fodder.”
“Understood, understood, I wouldn’t dare to neglect them!” The innkeeper glanced at the armor and weapons on the group, repeatedly smiling apologetically, and called for the stable boy to lead the horses to rest.
Commander Qin waved his hand, and several subordinates entered the inn first, inspecting it thoroughly. Someone went upstairs to tidy the guest rooms, replacing the original cotton quilts with brocade soft quilts, then returned and said solemnly: “Commander Qin, everything is arranged.”
Commander Qin nodded, turned and walked to the carriage, respectfully saying: “Young Master, please alight.”
The innkeeper was so startled by this display that he sat uneasily, inwardly speculating about the identities of “Commander Qin” and the “Young Master” in the carriage, not daring to speak much, only secretly observing.
A slender hand gently lifted the curtain, and the next moment, a young man stepped out. He wore a white fox fur coat embroidered with silver patterns, held a hand warmer, his ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and his face was pale, as if he were ill. His eyes held a smile, and his temperament was gentle, reminiscent of distant mountains and bright moons, boundless spring waters.
The young man surveyed the inn, said nothing, nodded, and walked in.
The innkeeper stood frozen, unable to resist rubbing his eyes.
He was his first time seeing such a handsome person, making him feel that stepping into such a small mountain inn was a desecration to him.
Commander Qin respectfully led the young man into the room, surveyed the old wooden bed and the cobweb-covered corners, and frowned: “Young Master, this inn is small and dilapidated, and your health…”
Yin Yuheng smiled meaningfully: “It’s fine.”
Yin Yuheng was in high spirits, holding his hand warmer, standing by the window looking at the stars.
A lone moon hung in the frosty sky, the Milky Way bright for thousands of miles.
Xiao Bai, however, was not in such a good mood, and nervously said in the sea of consciousness: “Quickly get the bow and arrow ready, when the demonic energy appears, we’ll shoot and run, just muddle through this plot point and go to sleep.”
Yin Yuheng had been transmigrated for twenty-one years, and had gone through many plot points, big and small, so he was not unfamiliar with this, and slowly said: “What’s the rush?”
According to the original plot, Yin Yuheng, as the Crown Prince of Li Dynasty, was staying overnight at a wilderness inn on his way back from an envoy mission to the Demon Realm. In the middle of the night, a fierce demonic beast aura suddenly flashed from the north. The original host thought there was a demonic beast causing trouble, and in a moment of urgency, shot an arrow that hit Lu Yan directly in the heart.
Fortunately, Lu Yan was wearing a heart-protecting mirror, which barely saved his life, but he also held a grudge against the original host. Later, when Lu Yan met Yin Yuheng again, he approached him seemingly calmly, but secretly humiliated and tormented him.
Xiao Bai recalled this part of the plot, feeling very worried.
Heng-ge definitely wouldn’t want to do such a hateful plot. Unfortunately, the plot was the destiny of this world, and fate was hard to defy. Even if he was unwilling, it would definitely happen, and it couldn’t do anything about it.
Xiao Bai was pondering how to persuade Yin Yuheng to follow the plot, when he suddenly noticed Yin Yuheng putting down his hand warmer and gracefully pulling out a bow and arrow from his Qiankun bag.
Not only was there no reluctance in his eyes, but he was even full of interest.
Xiao Bai: “…?”
The bow was named “She Tianlang” (Shooting the Sirius), cast from Kunlun clear stone as its bone, engraved with thirty-three magic arrays, a famous divine bow.
The arrow was named “Bu Huitou” (No Turning Back), made from the sunken wood of a volcanic core, immensely powerful and indestructible.
Together, this bow and arrow could split rocks and collapse mountains.
Xiao Bai had a bad feeling: “Wait… wait!”
The plot clearly stated, “Yin Yuheng casually pulled out a silver bow, and the long arrow left the string, turning into a silver light and shooting towards the north.”
It should have been an ordinary silver bow here, how the hell did you bring out divine artifacts?
While Xiao Bai was bewildered, Yin Yuheng had already slightly curved his lips, drew the bow, and nocked an arrow. The night wind stirred the fox fur on his body, lifting the stray hairs on his forehead, and the moonlight shone, making his beauty boundless.
In a forest to the north, a surge of demonic energy suddenly flashed.
It’s here! Yin Yuheng’s eyes lit up, and he shot an arrow.
The long arrow left the string, like a thunderbolt, like a heavenly fire falling, illuminating the entire night sky in an instant, heading straight for that demonic energy!
Boom—
Trees fell, fires erupted everywhere, and a large pit was blasted into the ground.
Yin Yuheng put away his bow and arrow, smiling: “Is he dead? I want to see if that heart-protecting mirror can still protect him.”
Xiao Bai: “…” It should have known that its Heng-ge couldn’t be judged by common sense!
Commander Qin’s anxious voice came from outside the guest room door: “Your Highness! What just happened?”
Yin Yuheng leisurely said: “Nothing, you may withdraw.”
He narrowed his eyes, then jumped out of the window, not forgetting to tuck the hand warmer into his arms.
Yin Yuheng warmed his hands as he walked towards the shattered forest, strolling leisurely as if he were just going for a spring outing.
Xiao Bai finally found its voice, feeling like its entire book was in a daze: “…Heng-ge, don’t be impulsive!”
“I’m not impulsive,” Yin Yuheng smiled innocently, “I’m just following the plot very seriously.”
Too seriously!
“What are you going to do now?” Xiao Bai thought, don’t tell me he’s going to finish him off… that’s something its Heng-ge would do.
Yin Yuheng finally stopped, looking at the unconscious young man on the ground.
The young man was dressed in black gauze and dark robes, now stained with mud and blood, tattered beyond recognition, revealing the dim heart-protecting mirror on his chest, looking utterly disheveled.
This was Lu Yan.
Yin Yuheng raised an eyebrow: “It’s actually a heart-protecting mirror made of dragon scales… Tsk, he really didn’t die.”
The young man’s breath was very weak, but he was still alive.
Xiao Bai whispered: “I told you before, plot characters can’t die.”
“I know,” Yin Yuheng looked at Lu Yan’s miserable state and smiled, “Just trying it out.”
Yin Yuheng carefully examined the young man on the ground.
He had been curious for a long time—having dreamt the dream one hundred and thirteen times, he had never clearly seen Lu Yan’s face.
It had to be said, Lu Yan was very handsome.
Even though he was covered in dirt, his hair matted with blood on his face, his complexion pale, and utterly disheveled, one could still imagine his peerless elegance when he was not injured.
Yin Yuheng recalled the description of the person in the original text: young in age, dressed in black gauze and dark robes. His hair was bound with a jade crown, his eyes like stars, serene and upright, clear and spirited.
Yin Yuheng watched in silence for a while, then suddenly squatted down, lifted Lu Yan’s head, and put a pill into his mouth.
Pure spiritual energy instantly surged into Lu Yan’s limbs and bones, repairing his shattered spiritual meridians.
Xiao Bai felt like it couldn’t keep up with Yin Yuheng’s thoughts, and the entire book was in a state of confusion: “Heng-ge, are you going to save him?”
It could understand Yin Yuheng wanting to kill Lu Yan, but saving him was beyond its comprehension.
Yin Yuheng chuckled: “Since I can’t kill him, I might as well save him.”
Xiao Bai was baffled by this logic.
The night wind howled across the wilderness, seeping into their clothes.
Yin Yuheng’s body was weak, and he couldn’t help but cough a few times. He thought for a moment, tilted his head, and tucked the hand warmer into Lu Yan’s arms.
Warmth seeped into his heart, and Lu Yan’s eyelashes fluttered, waking up in a daze.
…What just happened?
Right, he was being hunted, and when he was healing in the forest, he used the Golden Crow Divine Fire, exposing his demonic energy. Before he could react, a terrifying arrow light shot straight at him…
Lu Yan’s head throbbed, and he struggled to open his eyes, then suddenly froze.
He was being held in someone’s arms, and the unextinguished firelight around them illuminated the other person’s face.
Lu Yan had never seen such a handsome person.
A begonia dripping with dew, a jade leaf carved by the wind, nothing more.
“You… you saved me?”