Reborn As The Short-Lived White Moonlight of the Tragic, Powerful Male Lead - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The three black-clad men—Gu Yunqi’s three hidden guards—started gossiping the moment Xie Lanting was out of earshot.

“The Young Mistress sure can eat. I feel stuffed just watching!”

“Do you think the Young Mistress knows that the hairpin on his head was prepared by the Madam for her daughter-in-law?”

“Did he really not notice the Young Master just now?”

The three were chatting happily when they heard Gu Yunqi mutter to himself, “Clear Breeze brushes the Bright Moon.” A subordinate immediately pledged his loyalty: “It’s fine, Young Master! We support you and the Young Mistress. Let’s come up with a name too, something that will definitely overshadow whatever ‘Clear Breeze’ nonsense…”

Gu Yunqi didn’t say if it was good or bad, but simply corrected their address for Xie Lanting: “He hasn’t crossed the threshold yet; he is not the Young Mistress.”

“Oh, right, right,” the hidden guard Chu Yi said, thinking himself clever. “And our Young Master is currently running away from the wedding. Who knew you could bump into your fiancé while runaway? Hahahaha!”

Gu Yunqi: “…”

Chu Er slapped him on the back. “What are you laughing at? Our Young Master was just a bit impulsive in a moment of indignation.” He held up two fingers with a very tiny gap between them—from afar, they looked like they were touching. “Just a tiny bit. Once he calms down, he’ll still go home.”

“True,” Fifteen added with certainty. “Even though they don’t love each other at all, the Young Master will definitely endure it for the sake of the Great Cause!”

Gu Yunqi: “…Shut up.”

What a bunch of “thoughtful” geniuses. The hidden guards his parents left him were good at everything—except, unfortunately, they were born with mouths.

Gu Yunqi had run away from the wedding, but the world was vast; who would have thought he’d run into Xie Lanting at a nameless tea stall?

Talk about a silent understanding: running away at the same time, choosing the same direction, and ending up in the same spot.

Gu Yunqi was able to recognize Xie Lanting because of the jade hairpin on his head. It was a memento left by his mother for his future Dao companion. Before the Gu Family Head went to the Jade Sword Sect to propose, he had snatched the hairpin away without a word, refusing to leave him even that small memory.

The Flowing Cloud White Jade Hairpin was exquisitely carved and made of top-tier jade, but it wasn’t a spiritual artifact. That was the only reason the Jade Sword Sect hadn’t kept it for themselves, allowing it to reach Xie Lanting’s hands.

But no one had told Xie Lanting the meaning of the pin. It had simply been left in his room, and he had used it as a matter of convenience.

Xie Lanting never imagined that his carefully planned escape would be exposed because of a single hairpin.

Gu Yunqi had left in a fit of rage, but now he had calmed down. He carried the blood feud of his parents; he had endured all sorts of oppression and testing, playing the useless waste for years. He had suffered too much to let everything fail because of a momentary impulse.

The moment he heard the Family Head was arranging his marriage, Gu Yunqi’s killing intent had almost become uncontrollable.

He knew he had become a heap of mud, failing to grow into the upright gentleman his parents expected. Yet, he still held onto a final shred of hope—hope that he wouldn’t rot completely. He yearned for the faithful, one-and-only devotion his parents shared. Sadly, he had finally lost even his freedom in marriage.

Gu Yunqi had intended to return to the Gu family, act as if nothing happened, and continue to endure humiliation. But then, he met Xie Lanting here…

He said his name was Qu Liushang.

Lanting Spring Warmth, Qu Shui Liu Shang (Winding Stream Party). This alias was very “Xie Lanting.”

Chu Yi scratched his head. “Uh, Young Master, what’s the plan now…?”

Gu Yunqi fiddled with his teacup. After a moment of silence, he made a decision: “Follow him.”

Though he didn’t know why the supposedly “recuperating” Immortal Lord Lanyue was out and about, now that they had met, he might as well see what kind of person Xie Lanting really was.

…

Xie Lanting continued on his way. His escape route wasn’t chosen at random; it was all part of the plan.

The Jade Sword Sect was in the North, and the Gu family was in the South. It was perfectly logical for him to run East.

He had calculated it all: the Jade Sword Sect valued their reputation. They wouldn’t announce his escape to the world, nor could they post “Missing Person” notices everywhere. They could only send people to search for him quietly, perhaps contacting the Gu family so both houses could search together.

Cultivators had too many tricks. Hiding in the deep mountains wasn’t necessarily safe. The best way was guerrilla tactics: hide and move, don’t stay in one place for too long, and lead them on a wild goose chase.

As for the person Xie Lanting was going East to deal with—that was a villain from the original book named Baili Wuhen.

Why did Xie Lanting target him? It was still about survival; escaping the wedding was only the first step.

The thing was, while the original novel later added some background for Xie Lanting and described his love with Gu Yunqi through memories, it never explained exactly how Xie Lanting died.

Where did he die? Unknown. How did he die? Unknown. By whose hand did he die? Unknown.

With no information at all, the only thing certain was that Xie Lanting did not die of natural causes.

Xie Lanting seriously suspected the author just forgot. Once the “protagonist with a dead wife” persona was established, Xie Lanting became nothing more than a tool to harvest readers’ tears.

Lacking information, he had to analyze it himself: after a successful escape, Gu Yunqi’s enemies wouldn’t care about him, but Xie Lanting had enemies of his own. Among the known characters in the original work, Xie Lanting picked out Baili Wuhen.

It wasn’t that only Baili Wuhen was capable of killing him, but rather… Xie Lanting couldn’t beat the others right now.

An Immortal Lord Lanyue whose cultivation had plummeted and who carried old injuries was in a pitiable state. If he couldn’t win, he couldn’t win. To strike first, he could only pick the “soft persimmons.” Truly lamentable.

Baili Wuhen’s cultivation only skyrocketed after a certain secret realm trial. Right now, there was a high probability he was weaker than Xie Lanting—a villain who could be nipped in the bud.

In this world, the cultivation stages from low to high are: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Great Convergence, and Transformation. Even though Xie Lanting had dropped from Transformation to Golden Core—a fallen tycoon—bullying a villain whose cultivation wasn’t yet complete was no problem.

Moreover, Baili Wuhen was a total scumbag. According to the book, he was so malicious that he killed his own younger brother at age ten and did many harmful things in secret. He was a piece of work.

Killing him would be doing the people a favor.

The reason for the feud between Baili Wuhen and Xie Lanting was almost laughable. The Baili family had declined, and years ago, he tried to join the Jade Sword Sect. However, Xie Lanting happened to walk by and saw him bullying the weak. With one sentence—”This child’s character is poor; he shall not enter the sect”—Xie Lanting had barred him from entry.

Xie Lanting decided to investigate first to see what Baili Wuhen’s current level was and confirm the strength gap between them.

…

Xie Lanting walked all the way. Because his cultivation was greatly diminished, he never noticed the “tail” named Gu Yunqi behind him. After passing through a certain city gate, Gu Yunqi followed and looked up at the high-hanging plaque. It bore three large characters: Dongyang City.

Once inside Dongyang City, Xie Lanting asked for directions and went straight to the Dongyang Bookstore. In modern terms, the Dongyang Bookstore was a landmark; everyone in town knew it.

As a bookstore, it occupied a vast area. The building had nine floors, reaching high enough to “pluck the stars.” It was grand and magnificent, with an exquisite interior layout and the fragrance of ink. Before Xie Lanting could finish admiring it, a book attendant stepped forward and politely asked what he was looking for.

Xie Lanting: “I want to buy some novels… the ones about ‘Clear Breeze brushes the Bright Moon’.”

To be honest, in such a grand and serious bookstore, one’s first thought would be of hidden literary treasures, not melodramatic trash. But the attendant immediately smiled: “We have them. Please look at this month’s popular book list, or you can just give me the title and I’ll find it for you.”

Xie Lanting took the list and looked. Good heavens. Out of the top ten, five books were marked with “Clear Breeze brushes the Bright Moon novel.” It was no exaggeration to say they dominated the charts. For a “ship” involving two strangers, they were surprisingly popular. He scanned further down and unexpectedly saw new content related to himself.

“The Useless Master’s Cold Immortal Lord…” Xie Lanting’s eyelid twitched as he read the title and the note following it: “The story of Gu Yunqi and Xie Lanting.”

Why were the titles for his “ship” with Xiao Qingfeng all elegant or spicy, but when it came to him and Gu Yunqi, the style suddenly changed? Technically, he and Gu Yunqi were the “official pairing”!

Cough, no—rather, in the public consciousness, they were the ones getting married, the true Dao companions. Yet, their sales couldn’t even beat the “Clear Breeze/Bright Moon” ship.

Hearing him read it aloud, the attendant said enthusiastically, “Are you also interested in the novels about the Gu Family Young Master and Immortal Lord Lanyue? I’m a bookseller, but to be honest, the current stories about them are quite average and lacking. They only started appearing half a month ago, and they aren’t selling well.”

After all, Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi had only been engaged for half a month. Before that, Gu Yunqi was lurking in the Gu family, playing a pig to eat the tiger, completely unknown. No one on the outside would have ever linked him to Xie Lanting.

Xie Lanting ordered the “Clear Breeze/Bright Moon” novels, intending to buy them as gifts for Chen Zhushu, and then pointed to the book about him and Gu Yunqi: “I’ll take one of those to see what the fuss is about.”

Attendant: “Certainly, please wait a moment.”

The bookstore was massive. Some regulars found their own books, but most waited for an attendant. While Xie Lanting was waiting, a handsome gentleman fanning himself with a folding fan strolled down from the second floor. He stopped right in front of Xie Lanting.

The man was clean-cut and good-looking. The front of his fan depicted clear skies and flowing clouds, while the back showed a pleasant moon. Standing three paces away, he smiled at Xie Lanting: “I calculated yesterday that I would meet a benefactor today. Sure enough, here you are.”

There was no one else standing near Xie Lanting. He raised an eyebrow behind his mask: “By benefactor, you mean me?”

Man: “Exactly.”

Xie Lanting: “I don’t know you, sir.”

The fan in the man’s hand swayed back and forth. “It’s not too late to know me now. My divination had a follow-up, young master. You have a ‘Death Calamity’ on you.”

The man spoke meaningfully, but Xie Lanting wasn’t frightened. He simply took a step back. “And let me guess, next you’ll say that to turn bad luck into good, I need to ‘spend money to avert disaster’? Like buying ten or eight stacks of exorcism talismans from you, burning them to ash, and drinking them with water?”

The man froze, his eyes widening slightly. “The benefactor must be mistaken, I haven’t…”

Xie Lanting pulled his other foot back another half-inch, his awareness of fraud prevention being very high. “So traveling charlatans are doing business inside bookstores now.”

Seeing Xie Lanting’s accusations get more and more outrageous, the man, who had been speaking slowly and methodically, suddenly spoke rapidly: “I’m not, I’m not! Friend, surely you can see I am also of the Immortal Sects. How can you compare me to a common swindler?”

He could see it, but one must always be wary. Who said cultivators couldn’t lie? In the original book, every villain was a cultivator.

“Customer, your books… eh, Manager?”

The attendant finally brought Xie Lanting’s books but spoke to the man telling Xie Lanting’s fortune: “Manager, what are you doing here?”

The Manager of Dongyang Bookstore? Xie Lanting re-evaluated the person in front of him. After being identified by the attendant, the man seemed to regain his confidence. He put back on his “calculating” smile and gave Xie Lanting a look that said: See? I’m really not a swindler.

Xie Lanting remained calm. The Manager of Dongyang Bookstore never appeared in the original work. For such a massive bookstore, famous throughout the mortal realm, the manager couldn’t be a mere “Extra.” Moreover, being able to find Xie Lanting so accurately—was he truly proficient in divination, or…

The Manager unfolded his fan, returning to his “mystic” persona, and spoke unhurriedly: “How about this? If you don’t believe me, I’ll give you another divination for free. Within three days, you will surely face a ‘calamity of being hunted.’ But don’t worry, it can be resolved. Should you need help when the time comes, you can find me at the bookstore. Use this as proof; I will definitely do my best to help you.”

The Manager raised his hand and tossed a wooden token to Xie Lanting. Xie Lanting caught it and found the characters “Dongyang” carved on the front, while the back featured an exquisite “Clouds Gaze at the Moon” illustration.

The Manager said, “When the time comes and you believe me, it won’t be too late for us to exchange names and truly get acquainted.”

He seemed certain that things would proceed exactly as he predicted. Xie Lanting pondered for a moment and pocketed the token. “Then I thank the Manager in advance.”

He wanted to see what kind of game this Dongyang Bookstore Manager was playing.

Xie Lanting reached for his wallet to pay for the books, but the Manager instructed: “Attendant, the books for this gentleman today are on the house.”

“No need.” Xie Lanting took out some silver and placed it on the table. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If we truly become friends in the future, then I will accept your kindness.”

The Manager smiled but said nothing more. The attendant had no choice but to take the silver. However, after paying, Xie Lanting didn’t move. He showed no intention of leaving. The attendant, stuck between staying and going, peeked at the Manager, only to see a flash of confusion in his eyes. The Manager’s smirk was on the verge of collapsing, yet he forced himself to maintain his “expert” poise.

Attendant: Is it really that uncomfortable if you don’t act like a mysterious grandmaster?!

Since the Manager didn’t speak, the attendant tried to smooth things over. “Uh, customer, is there anything else you need?”

Xie Lanting answered bluntly: “No.”

Maintaining a polite expression, the attendant frantically hinted with his eyes: Then why haven’t you left?

Xie Lanting looked at the two men standing in front of him and found it bizarre. “What are you looking at me for? Give me my change! Your books have a set price, and the money I gave is clearly too much.”

Manager: “…”

I thought you had something profound to say to me!

The attendant turned bright red and bowed hurriedly. “I am so sorry! I’ll get your change right away!”

It was all the Manager’s fault for making him forget his actual job!