Forced to Become the Protagonist of a Restricted Novel [Transmigration & Rebirth] - Chapter 11

“Stop!” Murong Yue turned in horror. “Su Cheng, you can’t do this!”

Su Cheng stood with arms crossed. “This isn’t my doing.”

“You can control it!” Murong Yue snapped. “Don’t think I don’t know how your power works. If you don’t activate that—”

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

The junior let out a blood-curdling scream as her flesh crumbled away, turning her into a blood-drenched figure, limbs already reduced to bare bone.

“Compensation! I’ll compensate!” she wailed. “I’ll pay any amount you want!”

“Stop!” Murong Yue commanded sharply. “I haven’t finished explaining—”

Su Cheng paused.

Since her conjecture had been confirmed, this person’s death would bring no benefit. It was better to take the money and let her live.

However—

Su Cheng tried, but found it impossible to stop any of this.

The junior collapsed wailing into a pool of blood.

Her entire body was crimson, fragments of flesh torn away by unseen forces littering the ground. Her limbs were now skeletal, a horrifying sight.

“You!” Murong Yue was both shocked and furious. “Why would you do this?!”

Su Cheng frowned as she looked at him.

At this moment, she understood with absolute clarity why people feared the God-favored.

“Enough,” Su Cheng said softly. “Where were you when she tore up the ‘contract’?”

Murong Yue took a deep breath. “The moment you took it out, I knew it wasn’t the contract!”

He had personally read and signed it, so he remembered exactly what the contract looked like.

Su Cheng sneered. “So just because it wasn’t the contract, she could snatch and tear it up? Your rank is higher than hers, and you could have moved faster than her. If you had stopped her, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. Why don’t you reflect on yourself? You knew I wasn’t someone to be trifled with—why didn’t you warn her beforehand? And we made it perfectly clear in the contract that all terms had to be fully disclosed! Why didn’t you say anything? Were you ashamed? You actually care more about your own pride than someone else’s life! You’re utterly hopeless!”

Murong Yue’s expression turned extremely grim. “I did tell her about the annulment and warned them not to provoke you—”

“She didn’t know about the contract! Or the compensation! Stop dodging the issue!”

The members of Nanhe Academy were dumbstruck. Some wanted to speak up, but one glance at the blood and bones on the ground silenced them.

Most of them had wanted to curry favor with Murong Yue earlier and had even tried to mock her. Now, they were infinitely grateful they hadn’t said anything.

This was definitely not the power of an ordinary Elemental Mage!

Even though they had all witnessed death—even taken lives themselves—this scene was still too bizarre and horrifying.

Su Cheng turned away.

While the atmosphere here was tense and deadly, the guild hall remained chaotic.

The place was packed, with people blocking each other’s line of sight. Most couldn’t see what had happened—they only smelled blood.

“…What’s going on?!”

“Someone died?”

For mercenaries, who lived by violence, deaths due to disputes weren’t uncommon. But most would restrain themselves on guild premises.

Behind the railing on the upper floor, a dense crowd of mercenaries watched the spectacle.

They looked down from above, studying the motionless, bloodied figure, murmuring among themselves.

“An Arcane Mage? Looks like a curse. They exchanged words earlier—maybe that triggered it?”

“Could be spatial magic. That looked like a tear in reality—”

“Didn’t sense any fluctuations, though…”

As they speculated, their eyes kept drifting to Su Cheng, trying to guess what power she had used.

No one mentioned the God-favored.

They were too rare, and most people wouldn’t even consider the possibility.

Besides, the guild hall was too crowded, with too much noise. Very few had heard her conversation with the deceased clearly.

Su Cheng glanced at the second-floor walkway, scanning the mercenaries until she spotted a familiar figure.

A silver-haired young man leaned against the railing, sipping a bright red drink and watching with amusement. When their eyes met, he winked at her.

She tilted her head slightly and then noticed Camus standing by the corridor entrance.

Amid the passing crowd, the golden-haired man’s figure flickered in and out of view. His dark blue eyes gleamed coldly beneath the shadow of his hat.

He met her gaze briefly before turning and walking away.

It almost seemed like he had come out just to confirm she was still alive.

Su Cheng: “…”

During this time, two students from Nanhe Academy had already left, dragging along an unfortunate soul who might have been dead or alive, leaving only a large pool of blood on the ground.

Suddenly, another commotion erupted from behind.

A group of people descended from the opposite staircase, and the nearby mercenaries quickly made way for them.

Each member of this group was clad in ornate and exquisite armor, their entire beings exuding a bloody aura, clearly battle-hardened veterans.

On their breastplates was the emblem of spread wings.

—The insignia of the Silver Wing Mercenary Corps.

The leader was a tall and strikingly handsome young man with silver curls tied into a long braid that loosely draped down his back, interspersed with streaks of light blue, resembling floating waves in a glacier.

His skin was porcelain-white, glowing with a lustrous sheen, and he had a pair of beautifully pointed, elongated ears.

Almost the entire guild hall fell silent.

The appearance of an S-rank mercenary corps member drew the attention of nearly everyone present.

“…Xiao Lan!” one of Murong Yue’s classmates exclaimed.

Clearly, the silver-haired youth was the very person Nanhe Academy had been trying to recruit.

The silver-haired young man walked forward unhurriedly, and the gathered crowd parted like waves before him.

Murong Yue forced herself to rally her spirits. “Lord Xiao Lan—”

A buzz of murmurs rose around them.

As everyone knew, the title “Lord” was typically reserved for only two circumstances.

One was for those with officially bestowed noble titles, and the other was for mages or Battle Masters of the sixth rank or above—that is, at least a Grand Magician or Grand Battle Commander.

Of course, clergy of the Holy See could also be addressed as “Lord” once they attained a certain status.

Or, in the case of the God-favored—though those were even rarer.

“No need to say more,” the silver-haired youth raised a hand, cutting Murong Yue off.

His voice was warm and gentle, pleasant to the ear. “Bullying the weak is truly despicable. The behavior of your academy’s apprentices speaks volumes. It was I who arranged to meet you here, so I apologize—but now, there’s nothing left to discuss.”

Murong Yue’s gaze turned cold. “Do you truly believe she is weak?”

“She is not,” Xiao Lan shook his head slightly. “But your classmate assumed she was and tried to humiliate her. Because that wasn’t the case, she reaped what she sowed. But if she had indeed been weaker, would she have had to endure it? Clearly, your academy selects students based solely on talent, strength, and background, with no regard for character. Well, there’s nothing more to say. I won’t be classmates with such contemptible mediocrities—it would ruin my mood.”

Su Cheng tilted her head, studying him.

As Murong Yue’s “best friend,” Xiao Lan had clearly undergone a gender change as well.

Her impression of this character from the original story had been vague, but now he seemed quite interesting.

The faces of the Nanhe Academy contingent were all grim.

Xiao Lan’s words were harsh, and none of them knew how to refute them.

The silver-haired youth no longer looked at them, merely turning slightly. “Good day, miss.”

“Good day, Grand Battle Commander,” Su Cheng nodded in greeting. “I must say you’ve made a wise choice.”

Xiao Lan studied her thoughtfully. “And what about you? Which school will you choose for your continued training?”

Su Cheng was momentarily taken aback. “Huh?”

They appeared to be about the same age, but Xiao Lan looked even younger—one might mistake him for a middle school student without feeling it out of place.

Yet he still stood a head and shoulders taller than her, his frame already taking on the contours of a grown man.

Only his face retained its childishness.

The youth’s delicate brows and blue eyes resembled sunlit ocean waves shimmering with light, his thick silver lashes layered like frost crystals.

Su Cheng felt her heartbeat skip a beat.

She quickly averted her gaze. “Ahem, I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps I won’t be attending any school.”

Murong Yue beside her gave a subtle glance.

He fully believed Su Cheng hadn’t considered studying elsewhere.

Currently, the gods were largely divided into two factions—either allies and subordinates of the God of Light, or those who had pledged themselves to the God of Darkness.

The God of Law and God of Contract were both allies of the God of Light. The Holy See was keen on recruiting favored ones of these deities, offering them extremely favorable treatment.

As a God-favored herself, she naturally qualified for such privileges.

The Holy See gathered elites and masters, maintaining its own academy to train promising new clergy or those with special abilities.

“…I understand.”

Xiao Lan nodded, his beautiful blue eyes glimmering as his gaze briefly swept past her arm before showing sudden comprehension.

“If your intentions change, please do notify me. I believe your choice would hold valuable reference.”

The youth spoke earnestly, “I don’t know many humans, and hardly any my own age. I thought conversing with them might prove enlightening.”

He tilted his head to glance at Murong Yue and the others. “…Clearly I was mistaken.”

Su Cheng stared blankly for several seconds. “So you actually do want to enroll in an academy?”

“Indeed,” Xiao Lan nodded solemnly. “I’ve never experienced school life. Some consider it an indispensable experience.”

Su Cheng understood now. “Well, if I do decide to study somewhere, I’ll have someone inform you. Your people are stationed here year-round anyway, right?”

Top-tier mercenary groups like Silver Wing, being among the empire’s foremost, were occasionally hired by the royal family or imperial military.

As a mid-sized mercenary band, they might only have three or four-digit numbers of actual combat personnel, but maintained support staff handling paperwork, recruitment, and contract negotiations.

Thus in strategically important cities like Golden Amber, the mercenary guild halls always had outposts for these elite groups.

They held long-term leases on at least one office space, unlike other mercenary teams who had to rent temporarily—often finding none available during peak periods.

“So,” Su Cheng said casually, “I just need to come by and mention it then?”

“Precisely. My thanks for your trouble,” Xiao Lan replied courteously. “I noticed you’ve just registered as a mercenary?”

Su Cheng was still holding her little booklet. “That’s right?”

The silver-haired youth gazed at her quietly. “So, have you decided on a team to join yet?”

Su Cheng blinked. “What if I said no? Would you recruit me then?”

He smiled, mimicking her tone. “What if I said yes? Would you be willing?”

Behind Xiao Lan stood several mercenaries from Silver Wings, yet none protested or showed any sign of dissent.

Gasps echoed around them, followed by countless envious glances.

Su Cheng instinctively turned her head.

The leader of Black Flame still stood by the wall, right in front of the notice board covered with invitations.

His towering height and robust build made him stand out even among the burly mercenaries surrounding him.

Through the shifting crowd, her eyes met Kai’s.

The leader remained perfectly composed, even offering her a gentle, approving look, as if genuinely happy for her.

The students from Nanhe Academy were utterly stunned.

“At her age, she’d need to be at least an intermediate Magician or Battle General to even qualify for your combat unit, and even then, she’d need approval—” someone familiar with Silver Wings’ rules protested indignantly. “And that approval isn’t guaranteed!”

“True,” Xiao Lan said softly. “But first, exceptions exist. Second, some rules are meant to weed out the incompetent.”

The speaker’s face flushed red instantly.

Murong Yue sighed inwardly.

Whatever exceptions might apply, the status of a God-favored would undoubtedly be one—especially one chosen by two major deities.

Xiao Lan had likely already guessed as much.

“…I’ll have to decline,” Su Cheng announced clearly. “Organizations like yours have too many rules, and members have to take on assigned tasks regularly. I’ve made other commitments and have things to attend to.”

Xiao Lan froze.

Even the Silver Wings members behind him looked shocked, clearly not expecting her refusal.

The Nanhe Academy students were dumbfounded.

To them, this was like manna from heaven—joining Silver Wings was something they might not even qualify for with their own skills.

Then they remembered Su Cheng had just killed their classmate, proving her abilities far surpassed their expectations.

“If that’s your decision, so be it,” Xiao Lan smiled. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

The youth bowed courteously.

Su Cheng hastily returned the gesture.

Xiao Lan paid no further attention to Murong Yue and her group, turning to leave directly.

Su Cheng likewise acted as if they didn’t exist, weaving through the crowd to reach the silently observing leader.

Mercenaries around them stared, several wanting to approach—but they stopped when they saw her take the dark-haired man’s hand.

Tilting her head up, Su Cheng said, “Let’s go.”

Her hand couldn’t fully encircle the leader’s wrist, barely gripping half of it.

Her fingertips brushed over the leather bracer, tracing its intricate patterns and the cold, hard metal rivets at the edges.

Kai didn’t resist, letting the girl lead him as they walked forward.

They exited through the guild hall’s side door, emerging onto the street outside.

Su Cheng released him. “I really didn’t expect all this chaos. Sorry for wasting your time.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” the leader said, looking down at her. “You seem preoccupied.”

Su Cheng sighed.

—It proved that divine power couldn’t be fully controlled. Once used, there was no telling what would happen next.

But that wasn’t the only thing on her mind.

Su Cheng: “I’m calculating the odds of winning a lawsuit against him. He obviously didn’t disclose the full contract terms or even mention the contract’s existence. But he definitely said things about calling off the engagement and not to mock him. Given his personality, people would probably just see it as arrogance rather than realizing it involved compensation. And considering the Murong family’s status, even in court, few would dare use truth-compelling magic on him. That person is most likely dead now, so there’s no witness. Plus, I made a mistake—I didn’t set a disclosure deadline in the contract. He could easily claim he was about to reveal the remaining terms before the deceased spoke— Ughhh I’m so incompetent!”

Su Cheng abruptly stopped talking.

She suddenly realized she probably sounded like a complete lunatic to outsiders.

Or some money-grubbing beast.

Yet the man beside her remained expressionless, as if he hadn’t heard anything at all, with no intention of mocking or questioning her.

She paused for a few seconds.

Kai looked down at her. “I haven’t read the original contract, but if he selectively disclosed partial contents and truth magic can’t be used on him, does that mean every friend around him would make judicial officers feel intimidated too?”

Su Cheng: “…”

He actually listened seriously! And understood her completely!

“And if you need,” he added after some thought, “whatever it is, I can testify in court. When that Mr. Murong entered, he wasn’t speaking to anyone around him at all.”

Su Cheng: “???”

Su Cheng suddenly felt they should have met sooner, wishing they could become sworn siblings on the spot.