On How to Get a 'Long Aotian' to Win Themselves Over - Chapter 4

Ying Jue was feeling absolutely heartbroken over his dropping Humiliation Value, and the rain he had been waiting for finally started to pour down at that moment.

In the original work, the male lead’s group encountered the malevolent ghost because they chose to settle in a village to escape a torrential downpour. According to Ying Jue’s deduction, the ghost should appear roughly within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after the rain started.

Now, the group had taken a different path, and their resting place had changed from a village to a ruined temple, but Ying Jue still felt uneasy.

Amidst the heavy rain, Lian Muxi looked outside worriedly. She wanted to suggest traveling through the rain but was concerned that Qin Sheng, whose spiritual roots were destroyed, wouldn’t be able to handle it. Just at that moment, the sound of knocking came from the temple door.

Ying Jue gripped the flute sitting beside him. He saw a red shadow knocking at the ruined temple’s entrance. That steady, unhurried knocking caused Ying Jue’s heartbeat to accelerate involuntarily.

To be perfectly honest, he was just a tiny bit afraid of ghosts!

Lian Muxi frowned and was about to ask who it was when a gentle female voice came from outside: “This young lady was traveling at night and unfortunately lost her servants. Now that the rain is pouring, I wonder if you could provide me some shelter?”

Although Ying Jue was afraid the person outside was a ghost or monster, he was also worried she might actually be a young girl, so he had to agree.

After removing the formation placed on the door, the temple entrance was blown open by the wind, but where was there any woman outside?

Ying Jue cursed internally as things took a turn for the worse. He stood up to close the door, but a hand lightly rested on his shoulder.

A gentle female voice whispered in Ying Jue’s ear: “Is the little immortal looking for this young lady?”

Ying Jue looked at those pale fingers and simply didn’t dare to turn his head.

Meanwhile, his ‘mouthpiece,’ the little junior sister, had already let out a scream.

Ying Jue took a deep breath, spun his long flute, and swatted away the hand resting on his shoulder. He lunged forward several steps before turning back to face her.

It was a woman in red. One half of her face was beautiful and enchanting, but the other half was a mass of rotting flesh with maggots writhing inside. One of her eyes was a clear, autumn-water eye, while the other was entirely white, oozing bloody water.

Ying Jue sucked in a sharp breath, nearly fainting from terror.

He had come all the way to the cultivation world; how was he still naive enough to believe whatever a ghost said?

But fainting was out of the question. The junior sister and the male lead were right there—didn’t he want to save face?

Ying Jue maintained a calm expression, hoping the ghost would show some respect and lure him away as planned. But this was a different ghost, and she had a different method. The moment she faced them, she brought a massive amount of ghost energy toward them, followed by a dizzying sensation of the world spinning.

By the time he woke up, he, the junior sister, and the male lead were all tied up tightly. The rope binding them was none other than the “Immortal-Locking Rope” from Ying Jue’s own body.

This ghost really knew how to make the most of things.

Ying Jue continued to play dead and urgently contacted the system: “Why didn’t you tell me just now that there was a ghost outside?”

“Even if I told you, Host, it would have been useless. This female ghost has a perfected Foundation Building cultivation. With your current unreliable strength, you definitely couldn’t have handled her. Rather than resisting and exposing that you aren’t the original soul, it was better to obediently open the door and pretend to fall into the trap unintentionally.”

“And then wait to die?” Ying Jue gave a death smile face.

Knowing there was no point in arguing now, Ying Jue asked instead: “Does the system have a mall or something? At least let me exchange for something to deal with ghosts.”

“Uh, no. Host, you should try to stall for time. Once the male lead wakes up, there might still be hope.”

Hope my foot! In the original work, the male lead and the junior sister weren’t tied up like rice dumplings, and even then, they had to exhaust all their strength to deal with the ghost.

“The little immortal is quite interesting. Since you’re already awake, why bother pretending to be asleep?”

That familiar, gentle voice came from nearby.

Ying Jue sighed silently and was about to open his eyes when he heard the male lead’s calm voice from beside him: “We are people of the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect. If you kidnap us, aren’t you afraid the sect will wipe out your very soul and form?”

The red-clothed female ghost chuckled. “Whether the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect will wipe me out, this young lady doesn’t know. However, this lady can certainly ensure the little immortal dies without a burial place beforehand.”

To prevent the ghost from actually attacking, Ying Jue opened his eyes at the right time. He hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings earlier, but now he realized they were still in the temple. Rain continuously hammered against the tiles, making the small ruined temple feel as though it might shatter. However, that was nothing compared to the realization he had after seeing the marks on the ground—now he knew why the system was so relaxed about them being unconscious.

It was because this female ghost wasn’t in a hurry to take their lives—or rather, if she wanted a life, one was enough.

The formation on the ground wasn’t anything else but a “Transformation Grand Array.” If successfully cast, she could shed her ghost body and become a cultivator with extraordinary talent. Among the three of them, her primary choice was the junior sister, followed by him, the villain.

“Did the little immortal figure out what this is?” The female ghost leaned in with her terrifying face and asked softly.

Ying Jue forced himself not to show fear and said coldly: “A Transformation Grand Array. This formation isn’t something just anyone would know. You are quite interesting, lady.”

The female ghost acted shy and chuckled into her hand. Several maggots fell off her face, and the stench of rot grew even stronger.

“This lady was originally a disciple of the Xunshan Sect. Although my spiritual roots were poor, I had a bit of talent in formations. Unfortunately, I was young and ignorant, deceived by a disciple of a great sect who stripped me of my skin and flesh and threw me into a wild forest to be eaten by beasts. Before I died, I thought I must let him experience my pain as well. Sadly, I never had the chance to see him again.”

Ying Jue’s smile was strained. If he guessed correctly, this “great sect disciple” was a disciple of their Heavenly Path Immortal Sect.

Ying Jue really wanted to say that every debt has its debtor, but if that person never left the sect, a small malevolent ghost naturally couldn’t get past the sect’s mountain-protecting array. Thus, she set her sights on these unlucky souls returning to the sect.

The protagonist simply couldn’t escape the fate of encountering a malevolent ghost!

“Then which of us does the lady intend to use as the transformation vessel?” Ying Jue asked, pretending to be calm.

“This lady is but a woman, so naturally, that little girl is a better fit. However, the little immortal’s Golden Core cultivation also seems very convenient for my future actions. Since that’s the case, why don’t I leave the choice to the little immortal? Do you want to do it yourself, or let the little girl do it?”

Great question. Not even mentioning whether this ghost would keep her word, just this test of human nature was enough for her to enjoy the show.

It was lucky the junior sister was still unconscious. If she were awake, who knows how she’d react.

Ying Jue pondered, appearing to be thinking to stall for time. To his surprise, the ghost summoned a large amount of rainwater and splashed it on Lian Muxi’s face, forcing her awake.

She repeated the choice to the newly awakened Lian Muxi.

Ying Jue thought the girl would be scared out of her wits, but the silly girl didn’t stall for a second before saying: “If you want to transform, just transform me. Let Big Senior Brother and Brother Qin Sheng go.”

Ying Jue might be a coward, but could he really watch a little girl die in front of him?

He said in a deep voice: “She only has a Foundation Building cultivation. Even if you borrow her body, you might not be able to enter the mountain gate of the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect. I am different. Within the sect, aside from the Sect Leader and Immortal Lord Duanyu, I am the first in status.”

The ghost hadn’t been dead for very long, as she actually uttered Ying Jue’s Daoist title: “So it is actually Lord Lingxiao.”

Upon learning he was Lord Lingxiao, the ghost stopped playing her little games of testing human nature. She directly slashed Ying Jue in several places, taking blood from between his brows, his neck, his fingertips, and several drops of heart’s blood.

Ying Jue had never suffered such pain before and nearly fainted. Yet, even in this state, the system wouldn’t let him go, sending waves of electricity through him.

Ying Jue asked the system silently: “Do you think I’m not dying fast enough?”

The system was also innocent: “Villain persona value isn’t under my control. Whenever the host’s behavior doesn’t match the persona, there will be an electric current.”

“Then why shock me now? I’ve already sacrificed myself for my junior sister.”

“Probably because you didn’t drag the protagonist down with you. It’s too inconsistent with a villain’s character.”

Ying Jue was speechless. It could be like that?

Perhaps because Ying Jue’s performance was too righteous and noble, Qin Sheng couldn’t bear to give him such a high Humiliation Value anymore. The value, which had already dropped several points, dropped two more. Seeing it was about to drop even further, Ying Jue acted as if he couldn’t bear the pain. He suddenly opened his eyes and said to the ghost: “I regret it now.”

It wasn’t yet the most critical moment of the array, so the ghost still had the leisure to play with human nature. She looked at Lian Muxi, who had become a crying mess calling for her Senior Brother, and then at Ying Jue. “Oh? So now you want your junior sister to be the transformation vessel?”

Ying Jue was quite a mess right now. Sweat soaked the black hair on his forehead, and his handsome, cold face was bloodless. However, those amber eyes were still as beautiful as glass beads.

Facing the ghost’s question, he even managed a smile, shook his head, and spat out a sentence: “No, I’m saying that instead of transforming me, it’s better to transform that other kid.”

“S-senior Brother, what are you saying?” Lian Muxi looked at Ying Jue in disbelief, her eyes blurred with tears.

While she didn’t want to see Ying Jue die, she also didn’t want to see Qin Sheng die before her eyes.

“Then Lord Lingxiao should explain how someone who can’t even sense spiritual roots can compare to you.”

“That is naturally because,” Ying Jue gasped heavily before saying with difficulty, “his bloodline is special. He possesses the Pure Yang Body.”

The ghost’s casual gaze became serious. “A Pure Yang Body, once in a thousand years. Lord Lingxiao surely isn’t making fun of this lady.”

Meeting the junior sister’s shock and Qin Sheng’s surprise, Ying Jue let out a light laugh. “I have no need to tell a lie that would be exposed after only a little verification.”

“Senior Brother, what are you saying?” The junior sister cried out in disbelief.

Ying Jue was cold and heartless. “Junior Sister, if one of the three of us must die, he is the most suitable candidate.”

Lian Muxi continued to question Ying Jue on why he would do this, but at this moment, Qin Sheng had already withdrawn his slightly surprised gaze, staring at the ground with dark, heavy eyes.

Qin Sheng’s reaction was completely within Ying Jue’s expectations. Unlike the previous petty squabbles, in the protagonist’s eyes, he was truly trying to take his life this time.

Ying Jue began counting down in his heart, preparing for a massive spike in Humiliation Value.

Three, two, one…

System notification: “Protagonist Qin Sheng’s Humiliation Value: 63. This person wants nothing more than to kill you quickly.”