On How to Get a 'Long Aotian' to Win Themselves Over - Chapter 7

None of them had seen who the master of these centipedes was yet, but one didn’t need to think twice to know it was related to these venomous creatures. This was different from the malevolent ghost, Ying Jue had managed to deal with the ghost by cramming at the last minute, but he had zero preparation for a centipede spirit.

Now, he was stuck in a certain-death situation.

Qin Sheng and Lian Muxi also seemed to sense something from the agitated centipedes. Lian Muxi’s small face was deathly pale; no matter how much she had seen of the world, this was the first time she had encountered such a scene, and she was incredibly nervous.

In contrast, Qin Sheng, who had seen too much of the coldness and warmth of human nature, was extremely calm.

“B-Big Senior Brother, what do we do now?” Lian Muxi asked with teary eyes, clutching a magical treasure in her hand.

Ying Jue pursed his lips and handed the jade pendant he was wearing to Lian Muxi. “Little Junior Sister, don’t worry. I will surely ensure your safety.”

Once she saw the jade pendant clearly, Lian Muxi waved her hands hurriedly, not daring to accept it. “This is something Senior Brother always wears. How can I take it?”

“Be good. It can protect your life in moments of danger.”

Ying Jue tossed it over like he was throwing away any random spiritual treasure, but this was actually a defensive item the Ying family head had specifically sought out for his only son. It wouldn’t protect him too well—allowing him to experience some struggle—but it could block all lethal damage. The fact that Ying Jue survived the malevolent ghost earlier was partly thanks to this treasure.

Ying Jue really wanted to ask: Since I’m an only son, couldn’t you protect me a bit better? Unfortunately, as an ancient clan, his family wanted him to be able to stand on his own, to go through wind and rain without relying entirely on his sect or family. Thus, they hadn’t given him any high-damage spiritual treasures at all; even for life-saving, there was only this one jade pendant.

After giving the pendant to Lian Muxi, Ying Jue didn’t immediately leave her. Based on his persona, even if the original soul abandoned the male lead to attract enemy fire, he would never abandon the little junior sister.

But for her safety, he had to find a way to leave her behind. Firstly, he was the one who killed the female ghost, so the fellow following them would definitely come for him. As for why he didn’t let the male lead and the junior sister go together, it was naturally because of the ‘Protagonist Halo’—there was a high chance the boy would attract the danger toward himself. If it were the ghost from the original work, there would be no need to worry, but the one following them now was a centipede spirit of unknown cultivation.

The trio walked a bit further. When the centipedes became increasingly agitated, ignoring the flames to draw closer, Ying Jue knew that guy was truly about to find them.

He reached back, grabbed someone, and used a ‘Gale Haste’ technique to sprint forward, giving no time for a reaction.

After running a long distance without feeling any struggle in his grip, Ying Jue almost thought he had grabbed the wrong person. He looked back and saw it was indeed the familiar youth in black, and Ying Jue breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The consistently silent Qin Sheng finally spoke when Ying Jue looked at him. “Big Senior Brother surely couldn’t have grabbed the wrong person.”

“What do you think?”

“Big Senior Brother specifically gave the protective treasure to Junior Sister Lian and then dragged me away. It seems you didn’t grab the wrong person; the one Big Senior Brother wanted to take away was me.”

The male lead was truly smart. Speaking with such a clever person, Ying Jue always felt like he couldn’t hide any secrets.

Fortunately, Ying Jue knew how to act. Those years of playing “Werewolf” and “Murder Mystery” script games weren’t for nothing. He casually let go of Qin Sheng’s hand and admitted, “The one I intended to take was indeed you.”

Since he admitted it so frankly, Qin Sheng actually didn’t know what to say and remained silent.

Qin Sheng stopped talking, but Ying Jue wanted to tease him a bit. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll throw you to that centipede spirit, Junior Brother Qin?”

Qin Sheng glanced at him, a deep, lingering look.

Just when Ying Jue thought the other still wouldn’t speak, the boy said, “I am. So, will Big Senior Brother show mercy?”

“Naturally, I will not.”

“Then it’s fine. I imagine that compared to me, the other party will be more interested in the Big Senior Brother who killed the female ghost.”

Ying Jue found it funny. Was the other not afraid of him becoming angry from embarrassment by saying that?

Then again, the current Qin Sheng seemed like a mortal, but with his awakened bloodline, even if he couldn’t counter-kill, escaping would be more than enough. In the original work, the male lead endured much only for the sake of the little junior sister and the platform that was the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect.

Just as Ying Jue assumed the male lead’s confidence came from his bloodline, Qin Sheng added, “If I’m not mistaken, Big Senior Brother cannot use his spiritual power normally right now.”

The guy was actually testing him.

Ying Jue secretly sighed at Qin Sheng’s guts. Knowing that the more he hid, the more he’d expose, he said grandly, “Not only can I not use spiritual power normally, even my memory has some issues. Do you really dare to strike at me?”

Qin Sheng licked his dry lips, tasting a bit of sweet copper. This was clearly the best time for him to act. He wouldn’t even need to do it himself, just ‘kill with a borrowed knife.’ But he simply didn’t dare to look down on the other. The Chief Disciple of the Heavenly Path Immortal Sect, the Young Master of the ancient Ying family—every identity guaranteed the other had countless hidden trump cards. If he dared to strike, he would be the one suffering in the end.

A look of mockery appeared on Ying Jue’s face. “Do you know what I hate most about you? You clearly enjoy the junior sister’s kindness, yet you put on an act as if you don’t need it. You’re clearly just a mortal, yet you fantasize about things you shouldn’t covet. You clearly loathe me, yet you don’t dare to actually do anything.”

This was a passage from the original work. It didn’t actually fit the current situation very well; the original soul at this point looked down on Qin Sheng more than he hated him. He wasn’t even willing to personally clean the guy up—every strike was a process of condescending. But it was also because the original soul didn’t take him seriously at first that the male lead got the chance to counter-kill him.

“If I didn’t want to prevent you from being alone with Junior Sister, do you think I’d want to bring a burden like you along?” Ying Jue gave a cold snort, providing a timely explanation for his motive for taking the male lead.

There was no more time for Ying Jue to grind that dropped Humiliation Value. A sinister wind blew past; Ying Jue didn’t need to look to know that guy was here.

In the darkness, under the silk-thin rain, a man in a crimson robe stepped out from the distant forest.

A demon mark between his brows, eerie compound eyes—one look and Ying Jue knew he was a centipede spirit.

Thoughts of things centipedes might fear flashed through his mind: chickens, snakes, smoke, realgar, or fire… but those were only good for dealing with ordinary centipedes. For a centipede spirit that had cultivated a human form, were those things really useful? He feared even keeping a fighting rooster wouldn’t be enough.

Seeing the man just walking toward them without attacking immediately, Ying Jue steadied himself slightly. As long as he wasn’t in a hurry to strike, it was fine.

“Lightning spiritual root, Golden Core stage… I didn’t expect it to truly be Lord Lingxiao.”

Ying Jue’s expression tightened. This demon actually recognized him. At this moment, Ying Jue only hoped he and the other had a “good” karmic connection.

“I wonder if Lord Lingxiao still remembers, five years ago, in the Fuyuan Cave, a snake demon with a human face and bone body.”

Ying Jue’s brain worked rapidly, finally digging that memory out of the original soul’s mind. The fifteen-year-old original soul, dressed in fine clothes on a powerful horse, had a crowd following his lead and Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation stage cultivators protecting him closely. He had discovered an opportunity in Fuyuan Cave, which was guarded by a snake demon with a human face and bone body. The snake demon needed this opportunity to transform into a human, and Ying Jue also wanted it to temper his lightning spiritual root. The final result was, naturally, the snake demon’s miserable death.

The other party bringing this up suddenly couldn’t be for idle chatter. Ying Jue carefully recalled the snake demon’s face and compared it to the female ghost’s face, realizing with a shock that they were seventy percent similar.

Even without the centipede spirit saying it, Ying Jue reacted. Sure enough, in the next second, he heard the other continue: “That jade-bone snake demon was my lover. We agreed to cultivate the Great Way together after we both attained human form. But when I finally managed to transform, I only saw her remains.”

Ying Jue pulled out the green jade flute from his waist, preparing for battle, while his mouth offered a sincere apology. “Back then I was young and ignorant, only seeking the spiritual treasure. If your Excellency is willing to let me go, with the power of my Ying family, it is not impossible to bring the dead back to life.”

Ying Jue’s words were not without basis. In the original work, the Ying family used a secret technique to save the original soul after his heart was pierced.

Using such a method naturally required a massive price, but as the Young Master, it wasn’t impossible for Ying Jue to arrange it. However, how could a mountain demon believe such a heaven-defying power?

As expected, something in Ying Jue’s words enraged the other. The crimson-robed demon’s clothes billowed without wind as he said fiercely: “What a ‘bring back to life,’ I almost believed you. Others may fear your Ying family’s immense power and the prestige of your Heavenly Path Immortal Sect, but I do not. Brat, give me your life!”

F*ck!

Sincere Ying Jue never expected that telling the truth would enrage the enemy these days. Countless centipedes were blown up by the wind to attack him. Ying Jue first threw a protective shield radiating lightning toward Qin Sheng, then spun the long flute and brought it to his lips.

The melodious flute music turned shrill after a few notes, and the centipedes suddenly exploded under the sound.

Ying Jue’s brow twitched. He let lightning overflow to prevent the centipede corpses from hitting him, while simultaneously catching a strike coming toward him with a palm.

Palm met palm, and a piercing pain arrived. Ying Jue channeled the lightning surrounding his body to shake the other off.

Looking at his palm, three poisonous needles had pierced his flesh, and the palm immediately turned pitch black.

Good grief, this centipede plays dirty.

Ying Jue didn’t even have time to comment on the dangers of the world; he immediately sealed the meridians in his left hand.

But even though he moved that fast, he still felt the toxin spreading.

For a moment, Ying Jue didn’t know whether to laugh because he wouldn’t have to grind Humiliation Value anymore, or be sad because his life was coming to an end.

Ying Jue’s palm strike just now erupted with a strength far greater than his body’s normal capacity. The centipede spirit spat out a mouthful of blood but laughed happily. “You’ve been hit by my poison. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you will bleed from your seven orifices and die. Ying Jue, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death.”

It seemed he was beyond saving. Since he was going to die anyway, Ying Jue stopped caring about so much. Knowing full well that the more he used spiritual energy, the faster the toxin would spread, he nevertheless mobilized all the spiritual power in his body.

The centipede spirit frowned, having a bad premonition. Just as he was about to strike, he saw Ying Jue pull the youth he was protecting forward. He didn’t use him as a shield, nor did he drag him down to die with him. Instead, he said “sorry” and then bit into the youth’s neck. A large amount of blood filled his mouth. Qin Sheng, who had come along because he couldn’t see through Ying Jue, was driven to ferocity by this bite and wanted to counter-attack, but Ying Jue had already let go and spat the mouthful of blood into a seal formed by exhausting all the spiritual energy in his body.

The seal took effect instantly. Even though the centipede spirit tried to run, he was temporarily trapped inside.

Toxin had already spread through Ying Jue’s entire body. His lips were dark purple, and even his face showed a hint of greenish-white.

He toppled backward, falling onto the ground. Symptoms of poisoning—dizziness, full-body weakness, nausea—all surged forward. The bloody taste in his mouth was indistinguishable, coming from either Qin Sheng or himself.

A dark shadow loomed over him. Ying Jue’s blurred perception belatedly transmitted information from the outside world: it was Qin Sheng, who had crouched down.

Ying Jue squinted and asked with a smile, “Are you going to kill me?”

He didn’t hear any reply, but that didn’t stop him from answering his own question. “This is indeed the best time.”

A sharp dagger flashed with cold light. Ying Jue, whose sense of pain was mostly numbed by the toxin, really wanted to give a reminder: “Run.” This seal might not trap the centipede spirit for long. Also, he hadn’t wanted to borrow blood by biting a neck, but the situation was special; he could only borrow some of the male lead’s Pure Yang blood to reinforce the formation and prevent the seal from failing.

The dagger finally stabbed down. Ying Jue took a look; his perception wasn’t wrong. The dagger missed—it pinned a large centipede that was trying to sneak over and take a few bites of him to the ground.

Ying Jue’s chaotic brain couldn’t quite process this. He asked sincerely: “Is it because I bit you that you’ve also been poisoned?”

Otherwise, why would I be hallucinating to this extent!

Qin Sheng: “…”