On How to Get a 'Long Aotian' to Win Themselves Over - Chapter 5

With the Humiliation Value jumping up such a huge chunk, Ying Jue was feeling absolutely delighted. He even started to find the maggot-faced female ghost a bit cute.

Unfortunately, the female ghost didn’t appreciate it at all. Her eyes were practically turning green with hunger as she looked at Qin Sheng, yet she still found time to mock Ying Jue before acting. “The world rumors that Lord Lingxiao is a generational talent, elegant and peerless. I didn’t expect him to be a coward who fears death.”

Ying Jue’s expression didn’t change, steady as an old dog. “Every man for himself, or heaven and earth will destroy him.”

Such a hypocritical stance made the female ghost sneer. Her interest in Ying Jue finally faded, and she turned her gaze toward Qin Sheng, whom she had ignored at first, saying with a beaming smile, “Look, your Senior Brother wants your life in exchange for his own. Aren’t you sad?”

Qin Sheng kept his head lowered, not uttering a word.

With this silent, brooding posture, if it weren’t for that “63” Humiliation Value hanging high, Ying Jue would have thought the male lead was being deceived by someone he trusted most.

Don’t say it—the male lead’s acting is quite natural.

In the original work, the guy’s acting was more than decent, and his ability to adapt to circumstances was top-tier. As long as Ying Jue was heartless enough, he could completely ‘shift the trouble’ and dump everything on Qin Sheng’s side. However, as an adult, Ying Jue really couldn’t bring himself to throw danger at a half-grown youth. The reason he said those things was entirely intentional: first, for the Humiliation Value; second, to find an opportunity to strike.

At this moment, while the female ghost’s attention was diverted to Qin Sheng, Ying Jue used his fingertip blood to carve a formation. His hands moved incredibly fast, like he had practiced hundreds of times, nearly leaving afterimages.

Ying Jue was fast, but the malevolent ghost wasn’t slow either. Before Ying Jue’s formation could succeed, she had already arrived in front of the protagonist, just a step away from pouncing to verify his identity.

At the critical moment, Ying Jue suddenly spoke: “It’s no wonder your Excellency was tricked by others. You really are incredibly easy to fool. You actually believe whatever I say.”

The female ghost’s sharp nails stopped right in front of Qin Sheng’s face. If Ying Jue had been any slower, those nails would have sliced through Qin Sheng’s features.

The female ghost withdrew her hand, her expression eerie. She looked back and asked with a smile, “Lord Lingxiao, are you joking?”

Ying Jue heard a thick murderous intent beneath that voice which sounded like a lover’s whisper. If he dared to say “yes,” the other party would finish him off first.

Being watched by such a ruthless gaze, Ying Jue was incredibly nervous. His heart skipped several beats involuntarily; one mistake and his little life would be over.

In the midst of extreme tension, Ying Jue’s hands tied behind his back moved even faster, and his brain became increasingly clear. He managed to say in a very punchable tone before the ghost lost patience: “What do you think?”

Such a high-and-mighty arrogance that looked down on everyone stung the ghost’s eyes. She no longer wanted to verify if the other kid was a Pure Yang Body; she had only one thought in her mind: Kill him!

“So Lord Lingxiao is making a fool of this lady.” the ghost’s smile turned hideous. “Excellent, truly excellent. As expected of the Chief Disciple of the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect—none of your sect members are good things!”

As the last sentence fell, the gentle female voice suddenly became shrill. The red-clothed ghost’s figure was even more eerie; in just two afterimages, she reached Ying Jue and slammed him to the ground.

A dull thud echoed as immense pain radiated from his internal organs. Ying Jue let out a muffled groan.

This all happened too fast. The ghost, who was some distance away just now, had reached him in an instant. Ying Jue’s heart nearly stopped, but even though he was pinned to the ground, the formation hand-signs didn’t stop, and he had finally reached the last step.

Facing her blood-red eyes, Ying Jue acted decisively, biting the tip of his tongue. Using the tip-of-the-tongue blood as a catalyst, he shouted fiercely: “Break!”

The words carried the force of law. The ghost-dispelling formation that Ying Jue had never succeeded with before manifested a blinding golden light with that shout.

Feeling the pressure pinning him down lighten, Ying Jue finally dared to exhale the breath he had been holding. Should he say it’s expected of the Ying family’s Heaven-tier cultivation technique? He actually succeeded in this certain-death situation.

The female ghost screamed miserably under the golden light, her hateful gaze looking as if she wanted to swallow Ying Jue alive.

Seeing herself about to be completely engulfed by the eerie golden light, the originally hideous female ghost actually began to laugh loudly.

“Hahahahaha! What a Heavenly Path Immortal Sect, what a Lord Lingxiao! I underestimated you. I admit defeat.”

Ying Jue, his heartbeat settling, remained expressionless and coldly replied, “You flatter me.”

Perhaps Ying Jue’s overly cold expression provoked her, or perhaps something else, but the female ghost’s face became hideous once more. “So what if my soul is scattered? Soon, you all will come to accompany me. On the Yellow Springs Road, at the Bridge of Helplessness, this lady will await your grand arrival.”

Arrival my ass! Every debt has its debtor. I’m innocent!! Go find your unfaithful lover if you’ve got the guts!!!

Ying Jue’s heartbeat, which had finally returned to normal, ignored his commands again and started playing a symphony on its own.

Once the other party was completely wiped out in soul and form, Ying Jue, lying on the ground in a ‘flat-lay’ posture, finally composed himself.

Did her words mean she had accomplices who could avenge her? After all, they weren’t poisoned or marked; they couldn’t just suddenly drop dead while walking down the road, right?

Various thoughts crossed his mind. When Ying Jue looked at the protagonist not far away again, he was quite impressed. A protagonist who can survive death traps multiple times is truly awesome. Indeed, not just anyone can be a protagonist.

What Ying Jue was thinking was that the protagonist is so f*cking amazing, but what he said was: “Qin Sheng, untie the rope for me.”

This appearance of a hypocrite who no longer wanted to pretend was played to perfection by Ying Jue.

Lian Muxi had tears in her eyes and hadn’t quite reacted yet. She blankly replied, “But Big Senior Brother, Brother Qin Sheng is also tied up. How can he help you untie?”

Ying Jue gave a sneer. He remained unmoved by the complex look Qin Sheng cast his way, pulling his villain persona to the max to perfectly diminish any goodwill that might have come from saving him just now.

Qin Sheng, perhaps due to unhealed heavy injuries or something else, was still deathly pale. He stared at Ying Jue motionlessly, his gaze calm, appearing as if he wanted to see through Ying Jue’s eyes.

The two sides were at a stalemate for a while. Just as Lian Muxi wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, Qin Sheng actually stood up.

The youth in black had a faint expression, and the ‘Immortal-Locking Rope’ that was supposed to bind him simply fell away as he moved.

How?!

Lian Muxi’s eyes widened. The Immortal-Locking Rope that even Big Senior Brother was helpless against was untied just like that.

Qin Sheng didn’t look at his shocked junior sister. Instead, he walked toward Ying Jue step by step. Even the system panicked; with that silent, dark-eyed look, was the male lead really not here to kill the host?

It would be one kill per strike.

Looking at that steady “63” Humiliation Value, saying Ying Jue wasn’t panicking would be a lie. But he held his ground. The other party couldn’t kill him in front of the junior sister unless he intended to get rid of her too. Furthermore, with the male lead’s endurance, he wouldn’t choose this timing.

Sure enough, Qin Sheng didn’t strike. After approaching, he only asked in a low voice:

“How did Big Senior Brother know I wasn’t trapped?”

Look at the kid’s humble way of asking. Ying Jue was too embarrassed to say he was just guessing.

The main point was that in the novel, the male lead could survive even if trapped in a desperate situation. If this tiny rope could really trap him, Ying Jue would have to compliment the manufacturer on the quality.

Ying Jue grumbled internally, but he didn’t forget his villain persona. He mocked: “Such a trick can be seen at a glance. Junior Brother Qin lacks everything else, but you’re quite good at these heterodox paths. No wonder only your spiritual roots were destroyed. Who among normal people would want to personally kill a piece of trash?”

Qin Sheng’s face tensed up. Hidden in his lowered eyes was a ferocity that couldn’t be concealed.

Ying Jue felt guilty, fearing he had mocked him too much. If Qin Sheng took advantage of his inability to move and decided to chop him up and dump his body in the wilderness, he’d be done for.

Who would have thought that the male lead, despite the high Humiliation Value, actually came over to untie him? The value, which was already at 63, silently crept up by two more points.

Ying Jue’s eyes flickered. Those villainous lines at the tip of his tongue simply couldn’t be said. He could only give a cold snort to save face.

After Qin Sheng rescued those hands that clearly looked pampered, his gaze lingered for a moment on Ying Jue’s pulse before he lowered his head and said, “Thank you for the rescue, Big Senior Brother.”

Ying Jue: “…”

He had a billion doubts that the male lead was being sarcastic.

Aren’t you actually trying to say, ‘Why aren’t you dead yet?’

Fortunately, Qin Sheng only said that one thing to Ying Jue and then went to untie Lian Muxi.

Freed from the Immortal-Locking Rope, Ying Jue rubbed his red-marked wrists. Following the villain’s logic, he added another line: “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

According to the original soul’s persona, adding “truly disgusting” would have been even better—maybe the Humiliation Value could have broken the seventy mark in one go. But Ying Jue truly couldn’t find the heart to do it. He didn’t consider himself a good person in the traditional sense, but he didn’t want to trade his survival for this kind of behavior.

The fact that he could say a few villain lines to keep the Humiliation Value from dropping was already the height of his professional dedication.

Ying Jue, whose whole body ached, found a healing pill in his interspatial bag and swallowed it. As soon as his condition improved slightly, he went to check on the traumatized little junior sister.

Lian Muxi had been scared out of her wits earlier, her emotions fluctuating wildly. Even after being freed from the rope, she hadn’t completely recovered.

Once she regained her composure, she looked at Ying Jue with big, teary eyes. “Big Senior Brother, are you alright? It’s my fault for misunderstanding you.”

The cute and lively girl next door was looking at him with a face full of guilt. How could Ying Jue say anything reproachful?

He comforted her: “The situation was dire at the time; it was a necessary move. It’s only natural for Junior Sister to misunderstand. How could I have the heart to be angry with you?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ying Jue noticed Qin Sheng turning his head away, a look of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Although he didn’t know exactly what the other was thinking, it was likely words like “hypocritical” and “fake gentleman.”

Ying Jue almost laughed. How could the protagonist be so… how to put it? He wanted to use “cute,” but “cute” was probably a word very few fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys would like. He could only act as if he hadn’t seen it and continue being his fake gentleman.

Ying Jue didn’t dare completely ignore the ghost’s parting threat. As the rain lightened, he took the male lead and the junior sister and continued their journey.

Rain meant nothing to cultivators above Foundation Building; they only needed to use spiritual energy to block it. But the male lead’s spiritual roots were destroyed, so how could he block the rain? While Lian Muxi had a Foundation Building cultivation, she could only protect herself. She intended to stand in the rain with Qin Sheng, but Qin Sheng was unwilling. He only viewed Lian Muxi as a childhood playmate and didn’t want her to suffer like that.

In the end, among the three, only Qin Sheng was walking completely drenched. Rainwater slid down his cheeks, soaking his clothes; it looked incredibly uncomfortable.

In the original work, the male and female leads directly fought the ghost for three hundred rounds in the rain. At that time, whether there was an umbrella didn’t matter much. But right now, among the three, only the male lead was drenched like a drowned rat, and Ying Jue felt uncomfortable no matter how he looked at it.

He took an oil-paper umbrella out of his interspatial bag and handed it to Lian Muxi, saying thoughtfully: “Little Junior Sister, the rain is heavy. Don’t let your clothes get wet.”

Lian Muxi, who had been looking at Qin Sheng worriedly and wanting to help, gave an “Ah” and thanked him: “Thank you, Big Senior Brother. But I want to give the umbrella to Junior Brother Qin to use.”

Ying Jue’s expression turned sour, but he quickly adjusted it and gave a noncommittal grunt.

Lian Muxi, her heart focused on Qin Sheng, didn’t notice Ying Jue’s unease. She joyfully handed the umbrella—painted with black ink runes—to Qin Sheng.

While the junior sister was acting, Ying Jue, who had just finished his performance, secretly watched, fearing Qin Sheng would refuse. Fortunately, the protagonist was indeed a protagonist; he understood how to yield and stretch. He obediently took the oil-paper umbrella offered to him.

Seeing her kindness wasn’t rejected, Lian Muxi’s eyes crinkled into a smile. While using a spell to help dry Qin Sheng’s clothes, she even said a few good words for Ying Jue.

In the past, Ying Jue wouldn’t have minded watching the young couple interact, but the current situation didn’t allow for romantic interludes.

If he wasn’t mistaken, they were surrounded by a dense mass of centipedes.

Hilarious. He thought the female ghost was just talking tough, but she was playing for keeps.