I Faked My Death After Choosing the Wrong Protagonist - Chapter 19

Huangfu Ying watched the unfolding scene with immense satisfaction.

He chose his moment perfectly this time, aiming directly for Qi Ye’s heart. Regardless of his entanglement with Shen Qingzhuo, the “Demon Seed” had to be eliminated!

Qi Ye, who had just shielded Shen Qingzhuo, now stood there in a daze, as if his very soul had been hollowed out.

At that critical moment, Shen Qingzhuo reached out and swept the boy aside, dodging the strike. Shen Qingzhuo felt a flash of frustration at the boy’s lack of initiative. “Are you a fool? You have cultivation—why aren’t you moving?”

Qi Ye’s eyes widened in astonishment. Shen Qingzhuo hasn’t abandoned me yet?

Huangfu Ying was also momentarily taken aback and quickly withdrew his hand. He spoke in disbelief, “You see it now. He is not the frail thing you imagined; he has been deceiving you this whole time.”

“Is that so?” Shen Qingzhuo’s lips curled into a mocking sneer. “I don’t know the extent of his strength, but is this the ‘adoration’ Crown Prince Huangfu has repeatedly spoken of? Is this your ‘must marry only me’?”

Huangfu Ying was left speechless. He had indeed only intended to strike Qi Ye, but he hadn’t considered what would happen if he lost his gamble what if Qi Ye’s feelings for Shen Qingzhuo weren’t deep enough to force his hand?

Shen Qingzhuo’s usual warmth vanished. Dressed in white, he now radiated nothing but a bone-chilling cold. “Does the Crown Prince wish to continue? You won’t need Xiao Ye to lift a finger—I will deal with you myself.”

Huangfu Ying frowned. “I never intended to be your enemy. My desire to marry you is genuine. What happened just now was a desperate measure born of necessity.”

“But you intend to be an enemy to Xiao Ye.” Shen Qingzhuo stood there, as elegant as the wind and moon, yet his words carried no warmth. “Then let me tell you: Qi Ye is mine. If you touch him, do not blame me for becoming your enemy.”

Having finished, Shen Qingzhuo turned and extended his hand to Qi Ye. “Come. We’re leaving.”

“He is a Demon!”

As Shen Qingzhuo led the boy out, Huangfu Ying roared, “Stop them!”

Huangfu Ying’s subordinates, who had arrived at the Underground Market shortly after him, followed his command and surrounded the two from all directions.

Upon hearing the word “Demon,” the other cultivators in the market grew alert, preparing to join this “holy crusade” against evil. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it: the former genius whose Profound Spiritual Root had been destroyed had actually turned to the Demonic Path.

The most shocked of all was Lin Sheng. His face turned pale, and his legs gave way, leaving him slumped on the ground. The “useless waste” he thought he finally surpassed the one person who had given him a shred of confidence over the past three years was actually…

Lin Sheng touched his neck with trembling hands, overwhelmed by a lingering fear. How terrifying!

“Did everyone see that? He used Demonic Qi just now. Kill him!”

An unknown cultivator shouted first, followed by a wave of indignant outcries. “Yes! He is a demon! Such an evil creature has no place in this world. He must be eradicated!”

“Master Shen, he is a demon! Do not be deceived by his honeyed words! Kill him!”

The path ahead was blocked. Countless cultivators and Huangfu Ying’s legions formed an airtight blockade.

In Shen Qingzhuo’s grip, the youth continued to shrink back, his head hanging low. Through their touching fingers, Shen Qingzhuo could feel the boy’s absolute terror.

Shen Qingzhuo shifted his grip, interlacing his fingers with the boy’s in a firm clasp.

Numerous blades and sharp edges bypassed Shen Qingzhuo, aiming straight for the youth at his side. Shen Qingzhuo raised his eyes; his snow-white sleeves billowed without the help of a breeze, matching the coldness of his heart. As the boy stood frozen, unsure of how to dodge, Shen Qingzhuo pulled him upward into a leap. A pale blue light emitted from his hand as he issued a summons, and a melodious cry echoed from the heavens.

The divine beast, the Vermilion Bird!

Shen Qingzhuo had actually awakened the Vermilion Bird and made it recognize him as its master!

The crowd was shocked, and even Huangfu Ying looked stunned. The four divine beasts would fall into a deep slumber during peaceful eras, sleeping for hundreds of years. To awaken them required extremely harsh conditions and the perfect alignment of time and place, let alone convincing one to accept a master.

Among them, the Vermilion Bird was the most arrogant. Rumor had it that the last time it had accepted a master was eight hundred years ago. Regarding that master, the person had since become a taboo on the Nine Provinces Continent; cultivators were forbidden from mentioning him, and most books about him had been burned until nothing remained.

It was said that back then, that individual was also inextricably entangled with the demonic race.

The fiery, golden divine bird flew down with three beautiful, long tail feathers. The dimly lit Underground Market was instantly illuminated, the scorching radiance forcing everyone to shield their eyes. By the time they opened them again, Shen Qingzhuo and the “Demon Seed” were already flying away on the back of the Vermilion Bird.

Huangfu Ying gave an indignant command: “Pursue them!”

As they passed by, Qi Anning stopped crying and crawled up from the ground, grabbing Huangfu Ying’s leg. “Your Highness…”

Huangfu Ying brushed him off with a sweep of his sleeve. “Get out of the way!”

The divine bird expanded its wings, carrying the two across the vast sky, over high mountains and rivers. Shen Qingzhuo didn’t give a specific command on where to go, so the bird simply kept flying, occasionally letting out a crisp cry.

Thousands of feet below, a child saw the divine bird passing through the clouds and hurriedly called out to her mother and sister, making a wish toward the sky.

“I wish that Mother never grows old, that Sister stays young and beautiful, and that I get to eat meat every day!” Laughter echoed from the small courtyard; that night, they enjoyed a lavish feast of meat.

Shen Qingzhuo noticed the youth keeping his body low, huddling into himself. When Shen Qingzhuo touched him gently, the boy shrank back further, seemingly terrified of him. Shen Qingzhuo’s heart softened instantly, aching for him.

He didn’t know what to do. He realized he still had many questions for Qi Ye, but none of that seemed important anymore.

The Vermilion Bird flew for a long time from sunrise to sunset, covering nearly half the continent. When it finally landed, the sight made Shen Qingzhuo’s eyes light up.

He didn’t know where they were. The place was somewhat dilapidated, with overgrown vegetation that looked as though it hadn’t been tended to in years. Yet, looking closely, it was beautiful. Light blue flowers and pear blossoms bloomed everywhere around a tall Bodhi tree. Deep within the grounds were several elegant, classical courtyards.

Due to the passage of time, the courtyards were damaged to varying degrees; the ancient sandalwood doors had been eroded by wind and rain. What moved Shen Qingzhuo most was the half-person-high white marble stone, behind which several large characters were crookedly carved: “The leaves of the pear tree are brilliant” (Qi Ye Zhuo Zhuo).

The handwriting was admittedly terrible one could guess the writer was young at the time yet the strokes were vigorous and written with great care.

Shen Qingzhuo had once had a wish. His age before transmigrating was similar to his current age. His mother was a national research scientist, and his father’s company was world-class. Shen Qingzhuo had received a strict education and graduated early at nineteen with top honors to help his father.

His wish was to retire early and buy a house in the countryside. It didn’t need to be large, but it needed mountains and water, a climate suitable for gardening, and preferably a dog. He wanted to go somewhere where there was no one else, to feel the morning dew every day, to read with the evening sun spilling onto the pages, so quiet that only the orioles could be heard. Just him. Of course, if someone were willing to leave the noise behind to accompany him, that would be fine too.

Shen Qingzhuo pushed open the old wooden door. Inside, spiders had spun webs over large areas due to the long absence of visitors. As he did some simple cleaning, he found several yellowed pages of paper on a table, the ink already faded.

He read the contents: apparently, several hundred years ago, two people had lived here in seclusion. They shared the same interests like friends, yet more than friends and seemed very happy every day. However, by the end of the letters, a rift seemed to have formed between them; they could no longer stay in this pear garden paradise to brew wine and taste tea together.

The last page stated that if anyone discovered this place, it was a matter of fate, and asked the finder to please look after the flowers here.

Shen Qingzhuo brushed off the dust from his clothes and stepped out to find the youth still waiting for him obediently. On a whim, Shen Qingzhuo asked, “Didn’t you say you had no home to go to? How about this place? From now on, let’s make this our home.”

Home?

Shen Qingzhuo whispered something else, and the Vermilion Bird circled him once before soaring into the high clouds, leaving them behind.

Only the two of them remained.

Qi Ye stared with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. Shen Qingzhuo wasn’t going to interrogate him about his Demonic power? He even wanted to give him a home?

Truthfully, after Shen Qingzhuo went inside, Qi Ye’s fear had already begun to subside. Shen Qingzhuo had brought him here alone; with just the two of them, Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t cast him aside.

He wasn’t afraid of Shen Qingzhuo being angry, or disappointed, or even giving him a severe beating. As long as Shen Qingzhuo could vent his anger, he was willing. If Shen Qingzhuo still couldn’t forgive him or found him disgusting, he still wouldn’t let Shen Qingzhuo leave him.

Qi Ye thought such dark thoughts. He often deceived himself into trying to be a good person, but sometimes he felt that darkness was his true nature.

“It’s a bit dirty, so we’ll need to clean it together,” Shen Qingzhuo said to himself. He was very satisfied with the place and took it for granted that Qi Ye would agree; his voice even sounded a bit cheerful. It was just like their interactions over the past few days, as if today were just another ordinary day without any unpleasantness.

Qi Ye was stunned.

Shen Qingzhuo walked over to him, as if he had discovered some world-class treasure, and pointed out the white marble with the carved characters. “Look, Ye and Zhuo. Both our names are right there; isn’t that a coincidence? I went inside the original owners shouldn’t mind us being here.”

Shen Qingzhuo continued, his snow-white attire making him look as pure and noble as the pear blossoms in the garden, yet he carried no air of oppression. He extended a hand to Qi Ye.

“This place is far from the world; no one will find us again. When you don’t want to go outside, treat this place as your home, and we’ll stay here together.”

“If you still like the outside world, don’t worry. I said I would always stand by your side. If anyone stops you from doing what you want, then I will stop them.”