I Just Want to be a Throwaway Character - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: World Two

The sun had just risen, but Ji Wan was still sound asleep, curled up in bed with her blanket. There was a little bit of drool at the corner of her mouth; being small had definitely made her cuter.

Lin Morou had been waiting at Ji Wan’s door since early morning. Yesterday, she had heard from the other disciples that Senior Sister Ji Wan started cultivating promptly at sunrise. But she had been waiting for an hour, and the sun was already high in the sky. She still hadn’t seen the supposedly talented and diligent Senior Sister Ji Wan. Lin Morou stood at Ji Wan’s door in her sect uniform, her expression blank.

A detached system voice echoed in Ji Wan’s mind: “Ding! Troublemaking Value +1.”

It was enough to make Ji Wan’s blurry, sleepy eyes open. But she quickly closed them again.

Half an hour later, the system voice chimed again, still without emotion: “Ding! Troublemaking Value +1.”

This time, Ji Wan was fully awake. “What trouble? When did I start making trouble?” she wondered, a little flustered by the sound that greeted her upon waking.

Ji Wan let out a big yawn, got out of bed, and pushed the door open to get some fresh air. She was horrified to find someone blocking her doorway. The person looked at her coolly as she emerged.

Seeing this little turnip-head who was a head shorter than her, Ji Wan felt a strange sense of pride. But that soft, pinchable little face belonged to none other than the female lead. Lin Morou wore the standard white sect uniform, perfectly neat and tidy. She carried the poise and upbringing of a noble-born child, her back ramrod straight. This was in stark contrast to Ji Wan, who had messy hair, a crooked uniform, and had just let out a big, ungraceful yawn.

Lin Morou couldn’t help but recall what the disciples had said about Ji Wan yesterday: “Senior Sister is the light of the sect; her cultivation is top-notch. Not only is she adorable, she’s also polite. Although she’s often cold and doesn’t talk much, her aura is the number one model for the cultivation world.”

Ji Wan felt a bit awkward, seeing the sun high in the sky and the expressionless female lead in front of her. She had an inexplicable urge to find a crack in the ground and hide. The atmosphere grew strange. Ji Wan stared blankly at Lin Morou, and Lin Morou stared back, her face a blank slate.

“Uh, Junior Sister, you’ve come early,” Ji Wan said, unable to bear Lin Morou’s icy gaze any longer.

“Yes,” Lin Morou replied calmly, not showing any intention of blaming Ji Wan. The air solidified once more.

“Just wait for me outside for a little bit, I’ll be right out.” Ji Wan quickly stepped back and closed the door with a loud thud.

Lin Morou was once again shut out.

“Ding! Troublemaking Value +2,” the emotionless system voice chimed again.

Ji Wan’s hand trembled as she put on her clothes. She couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t do anything!”

…

At the Practice Field

A quarter of an hour later, two figures, one tall and one small, appeared at the practice field. Ji Wan had successfully restored her cold, aloof senior sister image. The other disciples looked on with eager eyes. Ji Wan was their senior sister in name, but she was still practicing alongside a bunch of little kids ranging from seven to fourteen. Since her cultivation was the highest among them, she had naturally become their idol.

Ji Wan led Lin Morou to an empty spot. She kept her demeanor like an iceberg but with an approachable feel, nodding to the disciples who greeted her.

“Wow, Senior Sister Wanwan looked at me! How cool!” one little kid cheered, jumping up and down.

“That’s a lie, she looked at me!” another adorable girl with pigtails shouted.

“I’m so jealous of that person Senior Sister Wanwan is teaching. I wish I were a sect master’s disciple too,” a little boy said glumly.

Ji Wan brought Lin Morou to the field and began speaking. “In our Frozen Feather Sect, we start by training the body. Only with a strong physique can we begin to absorb Qi and truly start on the path of cultivation. You must be prepared; this road is a difficult one.”

Ji Wan was rarely this serious. To be honest, as the representative of the Frozen Feather Sect’s disciples, she had said this for two or three years. I really can’t figure out what those old elders are thinking, making a little kid tell a bunch of other kids how hard cultivation is, Ji Wan grumbled internally. Her tone and expression had become so ingrained that it felt like the original character’s DNA.

Lin Morou’s expression remained calm, but her eyes grew more resolute. She was clearly impressed.

“I will succeed,” Lin Morou stated plainly, clenching her fists.

“Good. For now, follow the other disciples and practice. Once you are qualified, I will guide you to the next step,” Ji Wan said, feigning an aloof tone. In reality, she was just making an excuse because she was too lazy to teach the female lead.

“Yes,” Lin Morou said, and she walked over to join the kids doing physical exercises.

As for Ji Wan, although she successfully got out of teaching the little kid, she still had her own cultivation to do! Looks like my dream of being a lazy “salted fish” can’t come true in this world, she thought, a working girl shedding bitter tears. Ji Wan resigned herself to her fate, picked up her sword, and began to practice. Her sword forms were sharp, and her movements were graceful, looking very much the part. Her long hair danced in the wind, and her expression was calm and profound, without any unnecessary emotion.

Soon, Ji Wan successfully captivated the attention of all the children. They all stopped their own training and watched her from a distance, their admiration clear in their eyes. Even Lin Morou, the only one still doing her exercises, couldn’t help but glance at Ji Wan. “Is that what a cultivator is like?” Lin Morou’s gaze grew even more determined, and she returned her focus to her own training.

Even though her face was covered in sweat and her body was exhausted, Lin Morou continued to punch the sandbag. Though the sandbag, which was many times her size, didn’t move at all. Inspired by her, the other children stopped looking at Ji Wan and returned to their own training.

An hour later, Ji Wan stopped, breathing slightly, her face unchanged. She looked in the female lead’s direction. Many of the other disciples had collapsed, exhausted, but only Lin Morou and a few older disciples were still practicing.

Seeing a child of only ten years old working so hard, and thinking about her reasons, Ji Wan decided she would help her, both openly and secretly. Even if the troublemaking mission was still in effect.

The midday sun was high in the sky, and its scorching heat felt like a fire snake, wearing down a person’s will. The few remaining disciples slowly gave up, one by one. Only one person was still persevering.

Ji Wan stopped her movements and walked towards Lin Morou. Lin Morou’s face was flushed from the hot sun, and her clothes were soaked with sweat. Her movements were shaky, clearly at their limit.

“Lin Morou, stop,” Ji Wan said, her voice flat, impossible to tell her mood.

Lin Morou looked up at Ji Wan and didn’t respond. But her vision suddenly blurred, and she fell straight forward. Ji Wan was grateful for her quick reflexes, otherwise, the little girl’s butt would have been bruised.

Lin Morou fell weakly into Ji Wan’s arms, her expression unchanged, still the same cold, blank look. Her lips, dry from dehydration, stubbornly mumbled, “I… I can still go on.”

Ji Wan ignored her and carried her directly to a shady spot under a tree. She had someone get a cup of water and fed it to Lin Morou.

“Lin Morou, in cultivation, you must not harm your body. Don’t you know you broke a rule?” Ji Wan said coldly.

I need to find her a task that won’t make her get sunburned, she thought. It would be a sin if that beautiful face turns into charcoal later.

I really am a good person, Ji Wan thought, feeling proud of herself.

“I’m sorry,” Lin Morou said, her soft, childish voice sincere as she apologized and reflected on her mistake. This immediately slammed right into Ji Wan’s girlish heart.

“So cute! I want to pinch her!”

Ji Wan’s mind went into a frenzy. “No, no, that’s not right. Be mean! Be fierce! Make things difficult for her!”

Ji Wan’s inner thoughts were in turmoil, but her expression didn’t show it. Her tone remained cold as she said, “Starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for the cleaning of our residence as a form of punishment.” The original character’s persona was a cold, inhuman queen, so her room was never cleaned by others. She had been self-sufficient since she was eight, cleaning and washing her own clothes. Why was the original character’s life so miserable at eight? As for why she didn’t use a spell, she just hadn’t learned it yet at her low cultivation level.

Ji Wan felt no guilt about employing a child, but rather felt like she was helping a child grow.

“Yes,” Lin Morou agreed without a second thought. For now, her cultivation depended on this unpredictable senior sister.

“Ding! Troublemaking Value +3.”

“Wow, I’m already getting points and I haven’t even started. What’s it going to be like when I really start?” Ji Wan thought excitedly.

Lin Morou felt an inexplicable chill down her spine. The way Ji Wan looked at her felt… off.

…

The First Task

So the next morning, a knock sounded on the door. Ji Wan ignored it, turning over to continue sleeping. The persistent knocking continued. Ji Wan pulled the blanket over her head and covered her ears. After a while, the sound stopped. Ji Wan thought she was gone and took the blanket off her head, ready to go back to sleep.

Then, the window directly opposite Ji Wan’s bed was opened. Lin Morou, standing on a wooden chair, looked at the messy sleeping woman. Her small eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her good upbringing told her to always sleep in a proper position and not move around. But the person in front of her was completely contrary to that belief.

Perhaps it was Lin Morou’s intense gaze, or maybe the outdoor light hit Ji Wan’s eyes. Ji Wan’s sleepy, misty eyes fluttered open. She innocently looked towards the light and saw Lin Morou’s face, which was cute but completely expressionless. Ji Wan’s body jerked, and she sat up, still clutching a pillow. Her hair was messy, and her voice was a little hoarse with morning grumpiness. “What do you want? So early in the morning.”

Lin Morou found her a little bit cute for a second, of course, just for a second.

“To clean. Open the door,” Lin Morou stated plainly, with no extra words.

“Ugh, I wish I had a soft and adorable junior sister who would act spoiled. What a waste of that explosively cute face. So cold,” Ji Wan thought internally. Since there wasn’t anyone around, she decided to drop her cold facade. “Then come in. The door’s unlocked. Be quiet, I’m going back to sleep.”

With that, Ji Wan lay back down. Lin Morou looked at her expressionlessly, with a faint hint of disdain in her eyes. She accepted her fate and walked into Ji Wan’s room to clean.