After Stealing the Protagonist Gong's Dao Companion - Chapter 1

Also known as the Land of Absolute Death.

Here, not a single blade of grass grows; it is a landscape of utter desolation.

A great sealing array completely isolates this land of death from the outside world.

Difficult to enter and difficult to leave, it serves as the ultimate prison.

The towering black Pagoda Prison stands at the edge of the wilderness, imprisoning many heinous and wicked supreme demons of the immortal cultivation world.

If the imprisoned fiends and evil paths perish, they transform into bone spirits.

Their lingering grievances remain hard to dissipate, and they wander through the wilderness, slaughtering any living beings who accidentally stray into it.

Such as right now.

The scorching sun hangs high in the sky, and yellow sand rolls across the ground.

Song Yan runs barefoot across the boundless desert.

The azure sky and the golden desert intersect at the horizon, their wide, pure blocks of color merging into a single line. Beneath the blazing sunlight, he wears only a thin purple tunic that flutters in the wind, forming shapes like smoke and clouds behind him.

This scene is as beautiful as a painting.

If not for the two humanoid skeletons following closely behind Song Yan, one might not even realize he is fleeing for his life from a pursuit.

Roar!

The bone spirits run faster and faster, sending yellow sand splashing beneath their feet. Ghostly blue soul fires burn within their eye sockets, generated entirely from deep grievances.

One of the bone spirits closes the distance right behind Song Yan, extending its long and sharp skeletal hand. Instantly, the soul fire blazes fiercely, surging out from its eye sockets and rapidly covering its entire arm. Flames ignite at the fingertips of the bone spirit, its five claws curling like hooks as it viciously slashes toward the center of Song Yan’s back.

Song Yan dodges to the right, yet he fails to completely evade the strike.

His left shoulder is slashed open by several bony fingers, and fresh blood gushes out. The soul fire hungrily laps at his wound, emitting a sizzling sound from the bloody laceration while billowing thick black smoke.

Yet the soul fire is intensely freezing; the wounds it inflicts do not burn, but instead cause a biting cold and agonizing pain that is difficult to endure.

As if finally unable to bear it any longer, Song Yan’s legs grow weak, and he collapses heavily onto the ground.

Blood bubbles up from the wound on his back, staining the sand beneath him a brilliant crimson.

The scent of fresh blood permeates the air, driving the pursuing bone spirits into an even greater frenzy. They emit high-pitched, excited shrieks, extend their long arms, and lunge forward fiercely, preparing to tear this delicate little creature into pieces.

In the blink of an eye, the bone spirits close in right before Song Yan’s eyes.

No one knows how long these two bone spirits have wandered the Barren Wilderness; their bones have turned gray, covered densely with black spots.

The howling wind, laden with ubiquitous yellow sand and years of accumulated grievances, slowly erodes their bones, stripping away the vitality and warmth they once held.

They desperately need hot, fresh blood to irrigate every single crack in their bodies.

This provides them with the fleeting illusion that they are still alive.

Sharp skeletal claws reach out, poised to pierce straight through Song Yan’s skull.

There is nowhere left to hide.

Song Yan closes his eyes, his expression calm, as if simply awaiting his own death.

Yet death does not come for him.

Instead, he feels only the hem of a garment carrying the scent of wood gently brush across his face.

The fragrance is mild and pleasant, evoking images of misty green mountains.

Those green mountains are damp and lush, their surrounding clouds and mists stained a pale, translucent cyan.

Clack, clack.

Song Yan hears two distinct sounds of bone snapping.

Then, a heavy object crashes down beside his cheek, rolling away in a series of bounces into the distance.

It appears to be the skull of a bone spirit.

Once a bone spirit’s head is severed, its life is extinguished.

He has been saved.

Song Yan slowly opens his eyes to see a youth in cyan robes squatting right before him.

The youth’s sleeves flutter gracefully in the wind.

With the youth facing against the light, the dazzling sunshine stings Song Yan’s eyes, causing him to squint involuntarily. The youth’s features blur, leaving only a glowing halo outlining his silhouette.

It is like a scene from a dream.

Are you all right? the youth asks him.

Song Yan snaps out of his daze, nods, and refocuses his gaze on the youth’s face.

His appearance cannot be called breathtaking, yet looking at him brings an innate sense of comfort.

His features are soft, clear, and bright, and he possesses a pair of warm, light-brown eyes that gaze at him with genuine concern.

Song Yan cannot help but twitch his fingertips, wanting to reach out and touch him.

Don’t move just yet, I’ll help you heal your wounds, the youth says.

His voice is likewise beautiful, resembling a clear, melodious spring in the mountains.

Song Yan suppresses his restless fingertips and obediently remains still.

The youth extends a fingertip, gently pressing it against the center of Song Yan’s brow.

A refreshing stream of spiritual energy seeps into Song Yan’s body, gentle and meticulous, dispersing the unruly soul fire raging within him.

The wound on his back heals little by little as well.

Moments later, the youth withdraws his fingertip.

He looks at Song Yan, his eyes curving slightly into a friendly smile.

All done.

Song Yan stares at him without blinking.

In this vicious, desolate wilderness, aside from heinous criminals, cultivators occasionally venture here.

Some come to escort prisoners, others to reinforce the seals, and some simply for experiential training.

The youth exudes an aura that is bright and pristine, resembling a small, warm sun. Naturally, Song Yan would never mistake him for a terrifying prisoner of the Heavenly Prison.

Yet this youth is also quite different from the cultivators Song Yan has come to know.

In the current world of cultivation, the Way of the Ruthless reigns supreme; nearly all cultivators wear cold expressions at all times, clad in austere white robes without revealing the slightest shred of emotion.

They strive to mold themselves into untouchable immortals high above the nine heavens.

The youth is clearly an exception.

He is not cold in the least; rather, he is exceedingly warm.

Song Yan recalls the eyelids and brow center that were just touched, the warmth of the youth’s touch still lingering upon his skin.

It feels very comfortable.

He wants more.

Song Yan banishes the romantic thoughts stirring in his heart, flashes a soft smile at the youth, and whispers gently: Immortal.

Gazing at the youth, his soft lips part slightly to murmur words as intimate as a lover’s whisper.

Have I seen you before?

Simultaneously, Xie Shi questions the system within the recesses of his mind.

System, why does he look so familiar to me?

Xie Shi looks down at Song Yan before him.

Succubi are the most beautiful creatures in the world, and Song Yan’s appearance places him among the very pinnacle of succubi.

His brows resemble distant mountains, and his complexion is radiant like spring blossoms. His countenance is stunningly gorgeous, bewitching and full of amorous charm.

He possesses a pair of pink, peach-blossom eyes that seem to brim with affection, their outer corners slightly upturned and flushed with a delicate red, possessing a perfection bordering on the surreal.

Being stared at so directly, Xie Shi cannot help but feel a little embarrassed.

Not daring to meet Song Yan’s gaze, his eyelids drop hastily, only to catch sight of his disheveled attire.

That thin layer of garments has long since torn into a few tattered strips, failing completely to conceal anything and exposing vast expanses of his snow-white, alluring skin.

I want to touch him.

This thought flashes abruptly through Xie Shi’s mind.

His face flushes crimson in an instant, and he hurriedly shakes the inappropriate thought out of his head.

Whether noticing his predicament or not, Xie Shi hears Song Yan let out a soft laugh.

The voice is seductive and alluring, like a feather lightly tickling the inside of his ear.

Xie Shi’s face immediately turns even redder.

The system sounds utterly exasperated: Snap out of it! He is a succubus, do not let him bewitch you!

Oh. Xie Shi swallows hard and replies: I know.

System: You know and you are still swallowing your saliva?!

Unwilling to dwell on it further, the system prompts: Quickly send him back to the Heavenly Prison to correct the plotline.

Xie Shi murmurs an agreement, but realizing the system ignored his previous question, he asks again: System, don’t you think he looks familiar?

Familiar, the system replies coldly.

Xie Shi’s interest is piqued: Do tell?

The system’s mechanical voice carries not the slightest inflection: According to reports, Song Yan’s appearance shares a seventy-three percent overlap with cannon fodder Shou number A79 from the entertainment circle minor world, a sixty-seven percent overlap with the High Priest from fantasy minor world B469, and a sixty percent overlap with senior student A from campus minor world B578.

Xie Shi: These are all minor worlds he has previously visited.

He is an employee of the Scum-Shou Reconciliation Department within the Time and Space Matchmaker Bureau, to put it simply, a domestic dispute mediator.

His job is to manage all those complicated matters between couples.

Whenever the protagonist Shou in a scum-shou novel runs away and deviates from the plot, he must rack his brains to persuade them toward reconciliation and realign the world line.

The Matchmaker Bureau operates on emotional energy as its power source, with the emotional energy between the protagonist Gong and Shou being particularly pure and vibrant.

If the protagonist Shou runs away, the Matchmaker Bureau suffers an immeasurable loss of energy.

Roleplaying is not entirely out of the question, but the energy values generated through roleplay or through the involuntary output of non-protagonists fall far short of the genuine emotional energy produced by the protagonist Gong and Shou themselves.

Thus, the Matchmaker Bureau employs workers like Xie Shi to forge new identities within the minor worlds, approach the protagonist Gong and Shou, and employ various methods to reunite the straying protagonist Shou.

His current assignment is to reconcile the protagonist Gong and Shou of the S10 cultivation minor world.

The S10 cultivation minor world evolved from a Danmei cultivation novel.

The original novel was titled Ten Thousand Entangling Affections, a melodramatic tale involving imprisonment and angst-ridden romance.

Xie Shi does not care much for this story, nor is he particularly fond of the protagonist Gong.

Yet he holds a deep fondness for the protagonist Shou, Song Yan.

A gorgeous and untamable succubus, seemingly fragile and docile, yet possessing a spine like a blade tempered in fierce fire; beneath his flesh and blood lies a fierce, unyielding edge capable of piercing through any destiny forcibly imposed upon him.

At the same time, Song Yan is calculating and profoundly resourceful.

Beneath his exquisite and fragile exterior lies a ruthless cunning, ever ready to deliver a fatal blow.

Xie Shi never imagined that Song Yan’s assignment would fall to him.

And that he is about to become an inescapable link in Song Yan’s destiny.

Xie Shi cannot help but let out a sigh.

The plot of Ten Thousand Entangling Affections is actually quite cliché.

The protagonist Gong, Meng Jingxue, practices the Way of the Ruthless and calculates that Song Yan is destined to be his romantic tribulation.

To achieve enlightenment and ascend as an immortal, Meng Jingxue imprisons Song Yan within the Barren Wilderness Heavenly Prison, cutting off any possibility of causal entanglement and karmic disaster between them.

The Heavenly Prison is fraught with endless peril, so Song Yan naturally refuses to accept being imprisoned there passively.

In the original text, Song Yan does indeed escape, but not nearly this quickly.

The Heavenly Prison possesses a full twelve layers of restrictions, which many powerful figures within the prison fail to break through, let alone Song Yan, who is merely a delicate succubus.

He struggled within the Heavenly Prison for five full years before discovering the operational pattern of the restrictions, managing to escape into the wilderness by every means possible.

And escaping the wilderness itself took him another whole year.

That is why he was able to encounter Meng Jingxue, who had just emerged from six years of closed-door seclusion to search for secret realms.

Their true story began only with that reunion.

Yet right now:

From the moment of his imprisonment to his escape, merely five days have passed.

Meng Jingxue is still in seclusion, yet Song Yan has already broken free.

A massive discrepancy has appeared in the plot, and the protagonist Gong and Shou are very likely to miss each other entirely.

Xie Shi must lock Song Yan back inside the Heavenly Prison, forcing him to spend a full six years in the wilderness.

Receiving no answer from Xie Shi, Song Yan tilts his head up slightly to look at him.

Song Yan is exceptionally pale.

So pale he is nearly translucent, to the point where Xie Shi can even trace the pale blue veins on his hands.

Matched with his exquisite, near-perfect countenance and those pink eyes, he possesses a bizarre quality, human, yet not entirely human.

His lips part slightly, revealing four sharp canine teeth within his mouth, and his delicate, slender Adam’s apple trembles slightly against his fair neck, exuding a palpable sense of fragility.

Xie Shi hurriedly opens his mouth, yet in the end, he manages only to say: I do not know you.

Naturally, he cannot possibly know Song Yan.

Xie Shi was born within the Matchmaker Bureau and has always been an employee there.

The sense of familiarity he feels is undoubtedly, as the system suggested, due to having encountered many people resembling Song Yan in his past assignments.

Yet why does Song Yan also feel as though he has seen him before?

Densing Xie Shi’s confusion, the system remarks: Because he is a cunning succubus trying to cozy up to you so that you will save him.

Xie Shi: Oh.

That explanation makes sense.

Succubi are notoriously adept at bewitching hearts, and Song Yan has pushed this innate talent to its absolute limits.

To survive, he will stop at nothing.

In the original text, Song Yan encounters Meng Jingxue in a haunted town. Perceiving instantly that Meng Jingxue possesses extraordinary strength, Song Yan deliberately seduces him, clinging to his side to seek protection.

Song Yan merely feigned a weak and defenseless appearance to elicit sympathy.

Xie Shi is well aware of this fact.

Yet seeing this succubus look at him with such a pitiful expression, he still cannot suppress a rising surge of compassion.

Song Yan exhausted every resource and stood at death’s door just to escape his cage and regain his freedom.

Yet he is tasked with severing Song Yan’s wings and aspirations, thrusting him back into the perilous Heavenly Prison to endure endless humiliation.

Xie Shi feels like an executioner.

Host! He is merely a fictional character!

The system urges him urgently, its unchanging, cold mechanical tone turning pressing and sharp.

Indeed, he is just a fictional character; this was always his destiny.

Xie Shi takes a deep breath, forcing his heart to harden as spiritual energy gathers in his palm, intending to knock Song Yan unconscious.

Yet at that very moment, Song Yan extends his soft arms, wraps them around Xie Shi’s neck, presses close to his ear, and parts his red lips to exhale a breath sweet as orchids: Is the immortal here to save me?

As that warm, soft body falls into his arms, Xie Shi freezes entirely.

He smells so wonderful, Xie Shi thinks in a daze.

Immortal. Song Yan’s voice grows softer, his tone trembling slightly until it finally reduces to a mere breath: I am so scared.

Xie Shi’s mind turns instantly to mush; the spiritual energy gathered in his palm dissipates into mist the moment it forms, vanishing completely without a trace.

That warm breath brushes against his ear cartilage, as if melting the bone itself. Xie Shi’s ear softens, dragging the entire half of his body down into weakness, his fingertips trembling so violently that he cannot gather even a shred of spiritual energy.

Following that, Xie Shi feels his flushed, burning earlobe brushed by a soft object.

Dawning realization hits him belatedly: that must have been Song Yan’s lips.

Though it was merely a fleeting graze, Xie Shi discovers to his horror that he can vividly and completely imagine the exact shape of those lips.

Thin, crimson, and soft.

Like an intoxicating, gorgeous flower.

They might be wonderful to kiss.

At this moment, those petal-like lips part and close, uttering a seductive whisper: Immortal, save me, will you?

With every single word spoken, those lips brush softly against Xie Shi’s ear.

Like one lingering peck-kiss after another.

Xie Shi’s face turns indescribably red, leaving him able only to respond in a daze.

Alright.

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