Reborn As The Short-Lived White Moonlight of the Tragic, Powerful Male Lead - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Skinner (Bopi-lang) first encountered Xie Lanting in winter. It was a day of heavy snowfall. The Skinner’s entire clan had halted their trek to set up camp, and he had followed the scent of a “beauty” to a certain courtyard. Unfortunately, the moment he scaled the wall, a flying sword pinned him to a tree.

A man of extraordinary handsomeness ruthlessly plunged the sword deeper into the Skinner’s heart. As the man drew closer, the Skinner howled in pain, yet he couldn’t help but stare at the man’s face.

Amidst the pure white scenery of the drifting snow, the man seemed to be the most vivid color—exceptionally dashing. The dying Skinner thought that this was likely the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life.

The man withdrew his sword, and as the Skinner slid down the wall, he heard the man speak: “A Skinner?”

Just as the Skinner thought this man’s face would be the last thing he saw, another voice rang out: “Gu Bu wouldn’t go so far as to command a Skinner. Their tribal nature… cough, cough… they probably followed the scent of a human.”

The man abandoned the dying creature and turned around hurriedly: “Why did you come out? It’s cold outside.”

As he turned, the person behind him was revealed. The Skinner’s eyes widened slightly—this was the true concentrated fragrance of a beauty; this was the most beautiful person!

The newcomer wore a heavy cloak, but one could see his frail frame beneath it as he moved. His complexion was sickly, yet his eyes held the sharp glint of a sword. The Skinner stared greedily at his face—he was peerless in elegance; no beautiful word in the world was enough to describe him!

If the first man had brightened the snowy scenery, the person before him now lit up the entire world.

Ah, why? Why must I only encounter them right before I die? Their skins… I want them… I want to wear them so badly…

The sickly beauty had a smile in his eyes: “No need to fear a little chill. Look, I’ve wrapped myself tight in this cloak.”

“Following the scent of a human… did he want to attack you?”

A murderous aura flickered in the first man’s eyes. But since the Skinner had already been pierced through the heart and was near death, there was no point in landing another strike. The sickly beauty arched an eyebrow: “Why couldn’t it be you? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about your own looks?”

The man’s killing intent was easily dissipated by this playful remark. He stepped forward helplessly and tucked the beauty’s collar closer: “He isn’t worthy of even coveting you… Lanting, there have been too many annoying pests these past two days. How about…”

“Stop right there, I’m not leaving,” the sickly beauty waved his hand. “Gu Bu moved the overt guards away specifically to test your abilities. If I’m not here and assassins keep dying in heaps, what excuse will you use to brush him off?”

The beauty reached out and tapped the man’s nose: “Since I’ve married you, Gu Yunqi, I naturally won’t let you walk through the mud alone.”

Gu Yunqi’s eyes curved into a smile as he gathered the beauty’s pale fingertips into his palm to warm them: “Once your injuries are healed, and once my vengeance is settled, we’ll go traveling. To the ends of the earth… there are so many places I want to see with you…”

The Skinner heard nothing more after that, as his consciousness plunged into darkness, dying completely.

…

So, what was going on with this blackened, still-moving Skinner? And what was with the memories in its head?

The Skinner was being washed away by a sea of memories; its scorched brain lacked the capacity to hold them all. Amidst the rolling black mist, it had clearly gone mad. Xie Lanting was holding his sword against the creature’s withered hand when he suddenly discovered his immortal sword was being slowly corroded!

Though this wasn’t his soul-bound sword, it was still a high-grade immortal blade capable of slicing through gold and jade. Even in a forge, it wouldn’t melt without intense spiritual fire—yet it was being eaten away into notches!

No wonder Baili Wuhen was screaming like a stuck pig nearby; his flesh was likely dissolving as well!

Xie Lanting immediately prepared to pull back, but the Skinner possessed a strange strength. Even as its flesh sizzled and smoked against the immortal sword, it wouldn’t let go. Decisively, Xie Lanting released his grip and retreated, kicking the Skinner—and the sword—away.

A high-grade immortal sword ruined just like that… as a sword cultivator, it was naturally painful to watch. Gu Yunqi thought to himself that even for someone wealthy, a sword of that quality couldn’t be replaced easily…

Then he watched as Xie Lanting flicked his wrist, and another immortal sword of identical quality appeared in his hand, a seamless transition.

Gu Yunqi: “…”

Alright, as expected of the former ‘First Sword Cultivator,’ Immortal Lord Lanyue. My perspective was too narrow.

Having lost its target, the Skinner didn’t give chase. It gripped the immortal sword and tilted its head. The human skin it wore had become tattered, peeling away in chunks to reveal its hideous true form beneath.

Losing all reason, the Skinner brought the sword to its nose, sniffed it, and then lunged toward the nearest targets: Baili Wuhen and the Nian family guard.

Baili Wuhen’s leg was wrapped in black mist, making it impossible to escape. The Nian guard, in an attempt to save him, had half an arm caught in the mist as well. As the Skinner lunged, the three of them tumbled into a chaotic heap.

Xie Lanting first glanced toward his sword array, confirming the black mist hadn’t broken his formation and that the people inside were safe. Only then did he stare at the three figures rolling on the ground.

That glance happened to meet Gu Yunqi’s eyes. Gu Yunqi couldn’t help but curl his lips into a slight smile; Xie Lanting truly prioritized his safety—it wasn’t just talk.

Strangely enough, while the skeletons had been hyper-active earlier as if injected with “chicken blood” by the black mist, the mist was now acting on its own while the skeletons collapsed into piles of bone, motionless. The black mist paced tentatively around the edge of the sword array. Gu Yunqi held his sword at the ready, but the moment the sword-light flared, the mist acted as if it had been pricked, retreating rapidly and rolling away in the opposite direction.

Gu Yunqi: ?

It was just mist, yet Gu Yunqi could swear he saw emotion in it. Was this mist actually alive?

Baili Wuhen, the Skinner, and the Nian guard were still entangled. Their swords had long been dropped, and in a pure physical brawl, the Skinner had a massive advantage. Its claws were sharp, and its scorched flesh had become a hard shell; other than some human skin being torn off, it felt no pain.

If the Skinner still had its wits, it wouldn’t even have to choose between targets with a “fragrant” beauty like Xie Lanting nearby. Unfortunately, it was insane and its aesthetic sense was gone. It drooled even over Baili Wuhen, and during the struggle, it took a bite out of Baili Wuhen’s previous wound, tearing away a large chunk of flesh.

Baili Wuhen let out a harrowing scream. The Skinner chewed the flesh twice but then paused. With a “ptui,” it spat the meat out, looking confused as if wondering why it had eaten something so foul.

Baili Wuhen nearly fainted from the pain and fury, but he bit his tongue to stay conscious. If he fainted now, he wouldn’t even know how he died. During the chaotic struggle, his leg had partially pulled free from the black mist, but it wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, the Nian guard took advantage of the Skinner’s confusion to drag the creature further away from Baili Wuhen.

Baili Wuhen’s eyes darkened. He wanted to escape this predicament, and there was only one way left…

As the Nian guard struggled desperately with the Skinner, a palm strike suddenly slammed into his back, shoving him directly onto the monster. The guard turned in disbelief only to see Baili Wuhen withdrawing his hand. Using the momentum of that shove, Baili Wuhen wrenched his leg free and scrambled backward.

At the critical moment, Baili Wuhen finally tore off his mask of righteousness, revealing his true colors. He was going to use the Nian guard as a scapegoat to save his own life.

Baili Wuhen let out a sigh of relief, but before he could finish it, a warm hand clamped onto his bloody ankle. Startled, he looked down into the hateful eyes of the Nian guard.

The guard had twisted his body with all his might. His lower half was almost entirely enveloped in black mist, but he gripped Baili Wuhen with a death-grip: “You… you are not worthy of the young lady!”

Now that he knew Baili Wuhen was a hypocritical villain, he would die before letting him deceive the young lady again!

Xie Lanting had only looked away for a moment to check on Gu Yunqi’s safety, and when he turned back, the situation had shifted so drastically he was momentarily stunned. He frowned; looking at their current positions, saving the guard would be difficult.

Baili Wuhen was dragged back into the fray, and the three of them were a jumbled mess again. Xie Lanting approached with his sword, but it was hard to find an opening for a strike. Sensing that the swordsman’s intent was focused on helping him, the Nian guard shouted, “Don’t worry about me!”

Xie Lanting: “We have no grudge; I don’t want your blood on my hands.”

From the perspective of Gu Yunqi and the Gu family secret guards, the scene was incredibly chaotic and… a bit slapstick.

The secret guards couldn’t stop whispering.

“The Immortal Lord wants to kill the Skinner, but Baili Wuhen and the guard are busy shoving each other under the blade. Isn’t that just sabotaging him?”

“No, look closer. The Immortal Lord is being careful of the guard, but he didn’t pull back when Baili Wuhen leaned in. If they hadn’t rolled away at the last second, Baili Wuhen would be dead or crippled!”

“With that scumbag behavior he just pulled, he deserves it!”

Xie Lanting missed a swing and felt it was a pity. Perhaps because he was closer, he caught the Skinner’s attention again, but since the creature was mad—and because Baili Wuhen and the guard were locked in a mutual struggle with their flesh practically fused together—the Skinner found it hard to lunge at Xie Lanting even if it wanted to.

Xie Lanting sighed. If this dragged on, Nian Wan’er would arrive. Since he couldn’t find a way to kill two birds with one stone, he decided to deal with the Skinner first. All those bleached bones and lost lives deserved justice.

Xie Lanting wiped his finger across his blade, gathering a surge of sword-light. The Nian guard gasped for air, snarling at Baili Wuhen: “The young lady thought you were a true gentleman… you… cough… you vermin!”

“Haven’t I treated her well? I give her everything she wants!” Baili Wuhen remained stubborn to the end. “You’re a guard; isn’t it your duty to die for your masters?”

“My master is the young lady, not you!”

In the time it took for them to argue those two sentences, Xie Lanting’s sword-light solidified. Finding an opening, he struck with lightning speed, piercing the Skinner’s head straight through!

The guard still couldn’t see the movement clearly, but compared to Baili Wuhen, he was at least a Golden Core cultivator. Taking advantage of the Skinner finally being pinned and the stalemate breaking, he squeezed out the last of his strength and violently shoved Baili Wuhen forward—straight onto Xie Lanting’s sword tip!

Because Xie Lanting’s strike still carried forward momentum, Baili Wuhen felt a sudden chill in his chest. His eyes bulged in disbelief as he and the Skinner were skewered together on the sword. His feet left the ground, and he hung there on the blade—a black-and-white “human kebab” along with the Skinner.

The surprise was so sudden that even Xie Lanting was stunned. He couldn’t believe it actually worked! And as long as the guard survived, he could even clear his own name!

However, the guard let out a wild laugh, coughed up blood, and fainted. His lower body had been corroded by the black mist to a gruesome degree; it was unclear if he would live.

The Skinner was dead, and the black mist retreated back into its corpse. Xie Lanting was about to withdraw his sword to check on the guard when he heard an incredulous scream.

“Brother Wuhen—!!”

By pure coincidence, Nian Wan’er had arrived.

She had rushed there as fast as possible with reinforcements, only to see Baili Wuhen skewered on Xie Lanting’s sword like meat on a spit, his wide eyes lifeless, dying with deep grievances.

Overwhelmed by disbelief and grief, she shrieked and charged forward.

Xie Lanting pulled his hand back, and Baili Wuhen’s body hit the ground with a “thud.” The confused reinforcements looked at one another. Xie Lanting maintained a calm expression and stepped back two paces.

“If I said he ran into it himself… would you believe me?”