I Failed to Reform the Protagonist [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

The old man hadn’t been listening to a word he said. His eyes rolled around in his sockets before he spoke. “I think I saw someone like that on my way here. Follow me; I’ll take you to him.”

Pei Jing let out a soft laugh. “Alright.”

Clutching his basket, the old man shuffled slowly toward the depths of the mountain range. His walking posture was strange—his legs were spread wide, and he swayed from side to side. However, what caught Pei Jing’s attention was the basket he held protectively in his arms like a precious treasure.

The basket was covered with a layer of black cloth, but a bit of red seeped out from the edges, looking very much like blood.

As they ventured into the deep forest, the mist gradually thickened, becoming so dense it was impossible to see one’s own hand in front of one’s face.

Pei Jing pretended to be frightened. “I feel like this place is a bit eerie.”

The old man hummed. “Eerie? You young people are just cowards. I roam these mountains every day and I’ve never seen anything.”

Pei Jing perked up with interest. “And what do you do in these mountains every day?”

The old man leading the way froze for a second before stammering out a response. “Just picking some fruit and ganoderma to sell. Our village relies on this to make a living. Didn’t you see it when you arrived? At the mouth of the mountain range, it’s called Wood Village. Our ancestors have lived here for generations, selling wood and herbs. We know this terrain like the back of our hands.”

Pei Jing’s vision, however, was not obscured by the mist at all.

The further they went, the stranger the old man’s appearance became. His head began to flatten, and the skin exposed outside his clothes turned a greenish-black, covered in a layer of slime. Semi-transparent webbing even began to grow between his fingers. He had likely only recently taken human form; now that he was back “home,” he was itching to reveal his true shape.

“I see,” Pei Jing asked, hitting the key point. “So, is your basket full of ganoderma to be sold?”

The Toad Spirit had reached the depths of the mountains and felt physically and mentally at ease. He said gloomily, “Yes, quite fresh, too.”

Pei Jing said happily, “That’s perfect. Our Elder’s task for us is to collect ganoderma, but I haven’t been able to find a single one. Can I buy them from you?”

The Toad Spirit’s mouth was practically watering. “Sure, just come over here.”

A foul stench permeated the mist, accompanied by the faint sound of popping bubbles. The path beneath their feet turned into a muddy mess.

Pei Jing saw everything clearly. The Toad Spirit had reverted to its original form: a toad the size of half a man, covered in pustules. With blood-red eyes, it crouched in a swamp, waiting for him to approach.

One more step forward, and Pei Jing would be in the swamp. The swamp was filthy, a thick black-red mess of rolling bubbles. Beside it lay a pile of bleached white bones; it was impossible to tell how many creatures had died there.

The Toad Spirit’s eyes were fixed on Pei Jing’s feet. One more step, and he would be its meal.

The Toad Spirit urged, “Hurry up. Are you buying or not?”

Pei Jing gave a light chuckle. “Don’t be in such a rush. I was just thinking about what I should use to buy them from you. I’m coming.”

The corners of the Toad Spirit’s mouth stretched almost to its ears, its eyes glowing. It watched as this “idiot” cultivator stepped onto the swamp with his black shoes—

Stepped onto the swamp…

And then walked across it as if it were level ground.

The Toad Spirit: “…”

Passing through the mist, a sword light swept away the gloom. The youth in light brown robes looked exceptionally elegant as he rested his sword against the creature’s head. He said with a smile, “I’ve thought of it. How about I use your life to pay for your ganoderma?”

The Toad Spirit had at least gained some intelligence; it reacted instantly, its entire body trying to dive into the swamp in terror. However, Pei Jing stepped firmly on its webbed foot.

“Don’t run. You invited me to your home as a guest; shouldn’t you offer something to entertain me?”

The Toad Spirit was on the verge of tears. Its massive body floated on a large black leaf, its front claws pressed together in a human gesture of prayer. Unfortunately, since it was incredibly eyesore-inducing, the expression was awkward and hideous. It wailed, “Exalted one, spare me! I’m just a young toad who just reached adulthood. Before, I only ate wild beasts that fell into the swamp. Today was my first time trying to eat a human. The things in this basket aren’t ganoderma. Take them if you want, just don’t kill me! I’m still young, I don’t want to die!”

Pei Jing knew it hadn’t eaten humans before; otherwise, he would have killed it at first sight.

“Not ganoderma? Then what are they? Bring it here.”

The Toad Spirit looked aggrieved as its black webbing pawed at the basket and handed it to Pei Jing.

Pei Jing withdrew his sword and lifted the basket. Under the black cloth was a protruding object. The moment he pulled the cloth away, his pupils constricted.

A piercing, high-pitched cry of an infant suddenly rang in his ears. A dense wave of resentment and blood-aura rushed at him. Inside the basket was the head of an infant—blood-red, with blurred features, but its teeth were exposed outside the red flesh in three rows.

Pei Jing’s eyes darkened. “What is this?”

The Toad Spirit was desperate to prove its innocence. “This really has nothing to do with me! I don’t know where these things came from, but whenever it rains, they pop out of the dirt. I didn’t dare go outside to eat humans, so I just picked these up to fill my stomach. I really don’t know anything! Usually, I hide whenever I see a human.”

It sounded genuinely miserable. The first time it had a wicked thought, it ran into a plague god. Its life as a frog was now destined to be human-free.

Pei Jing covered the basket again and asked, “They pop out of the dirt?”

The Toad Spirit nodded. “Yes, yes. After it rains, you can take a walk in the woods and run into one every now and then.”

Pei Jing’s smile faded slightly. It seemed he had underestimated the severity of the situation. The deep parts of the Yunlan Mountains were thick with a bloody aura; a great demon must be causing chaos.

Putting the basket into his storage space, Pei Jing looked down at the Toad Spirit. “I’ll spare your life. Tell me, who is in the depths of this mountain range?”

The Toad Spirit pulled a long face. “Exalted one, how would I know who’s in there? I didn’t dare go before I was an adult, and now that I have intelligence, I certainly won’t go.”

Pei Jing believed it. This Toad Spirit was so scared it didn’t dare breathe the moment he drew his sword; it couldn’t be very brave.

After warning the Toad Spirit, Pei Jing made use of it by assigning it a task: it was to provide fifteen days’ worth of ganoderma for him.

The Toad Spirit wanted to drown itself in the swamp. Today should have been a fruitful, happy day, but its poor eyesight had ruined everything.

The Encounter

Pei Jing headed deeper with his sword. He preferred to deal with problems on the spot rather than let them fester.

The deeper he went, the more ghosts and monsters appeared. However, due to his overwhelming pressure, they all shivered in the corners, not daring to approach. He eventually reached the place where the blood-aura was thickest, but it was just a flat clearing with a few bare trees—nothing unusual.

Does this monster know how to hide itself?

Pei Jing circled the clearing a few times but found nothing.

In the dead silence, he suddenly heard a scream from not far away.

He looked toward the sound. It was a Yunxiao disciple wearing an awkward yellow outfit, with a dark shadow chasing closely behind him.

The disciple was pale with terror, mouth wide open, arms swinging wildly as if he were about to collapse. The moment he saw Pei Jing, he shrieked, “AHHHH SAVE ME—!”

Pei Jing scoffed and shook his head. “As a Yunxiao disciple, falling into such a pathetic state… how embarrassing.”

Gripping his sword, Pei Jing stepped forward to save the young disciple out of his duty as a Senior Brother.

But when he saw the true face of the dark shadow, his smile froze.

The young disciple was sobbing, clinging to his shoulder and hiding behind him. “Senior Brother Zhang, get him! This bastard snake chased me through half the forest! I only stole one of its ganoderma! Doesn’t it know I’ve been afraid of snakes since I was a kid?!”

A python over a meter tall stood upright, its dull yellow vertical pupils staring down coldly.

Pei Jing’s scalp went numb. He swung his hand back and punched the disciple. “Get him your head!”

He would rather be killed than face this disgusting thing with his bare hands.

Before the tears in the disciple’s eyes could dry, he was dragged away by Pei Jing. He realized something and his face turned even paler. “You’re afraid of snakes too?!”

Pei Jing really wanted to beat him up. “Just shut up!”

If he wasn’t afraid of exposing his cultivation level, he would have cleaved the snake in two long ago.

After running in circles around a few trees, Pei Jing simply dragged the disciple toward the edge of the mountains. The mist was thick, but the snake’s vision was unaffected; its massive body twisted and turned, following right behind them.

After running for who-knows-how-long, the disciple was panting and stopped by a tree. “I can’t… I’m not running anymore. Let’s fight it to the death.”

Pei Jing stood aside, his mouth twitching. “You think you can beat it in your current state?”

The disciple replied, “Don’t I have you? You said you could take on five at once!”

Pei Jing countered, “Do you believe everything I say?”

At this, the disciple suddenly remembered something and looked around. “Aren’t you in a group with Chu Junyu? Where is he?”

Pei Jing said, “I don’t know. Maybe I’m too strong and he was too ashamed to be seen with me.”

The disciple let out an unkind burst of laughter. “Hahahahaha, I knew it! He ditched you because you’re too weak—”

Pei Jing: “…”

The disciple swallowed the rest of his laughter and said enthusiastically, “Why don’t you join us? Six people is fine too. Our group is pretty nice.”

Pei Jing pointed. “How about you deal with the snake behind you first?”

The disciple turned around. “AHHHHH—!”

However, his scream was cut short.

A blood-colored sword light fell from the sky. The moment the python opened its massive maw, the light pierced through its body and severed its head. The snake’s entire body convulsed, shaking the nearby trees, before it collapsed lifelessly on the ground.

Pei Jing looked forward.

Out of the rain of blood walked a youth in black. His long sword was dripping with blood. Perhaps the mist was too thick or the light was uneven, but his hair seemed white, and his eyes were blood-red.