Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 13

Xie Qingyang stared in terror at everything that had suddenly occurred, completely at a loss.

He tried to raise his sword to kill Xue Qingshu, who was standing right behind him, but the deep-seated fear surging through his mind made him unable to move an inch.

Xue Qingshu watched Xie Qingyang for a long time. Seeing that he wasn’t going to make a move, she walked in front of him and met his eyes with a cold stare.

Xie Qingyang’s heart stopped. The instant he felt his right hand lifting the sword to make him commit suicide, he chose to personally crush the jade token at his waist.

With the token shattered, Xie Qingyang was pulled out of the Floating Life Pagoda, falling onto the ground soiled with his own involuntary waste, utterly disgraced.

This was a brutal, direct killing. Hu Li slumped against the stone wall, staring at the jade ceiling, unable to snap back to reality.

Twenty years of a student’s life, tracing the same path daily, had completely collapsed at this moment. Hu Li realized for the first time that she had transmigrated and into a world of cultivation where swords and shadows lurked everywhere.

Perhaps, the next person to die would be her.

Even if she was the Female Secondary Lead, one careless mistake could send her plunging into an abyss of eternal damnation, just like He Shiqing.

As for the rumors that the Female Secondary Lead was guaranteed to survive until the later stages of the novel? To hell with them.

“Ding—Mission complete.” A sudden sound in her Sea of Consciousness pulled Hu Li back to her thoughts.

She stumbled to her feet, her hand frantically reaching for the jade token at her waist, intending to leave the Floating Life Pagoda immediately.

But just then, Gu Sheng walked up beside her and asked, “Are you alright?”

Hu Li looked at Gu Sheng, her face pale, and remembered the book review that had flashed across earlier: “The only person the Male Secondary Lead offended in the original novel was the Female Lead.” She couldn’t help but take a step back, putting some distance between them.

Yet, she then recalled all the time she had spent with Gu Sheng recently, and quickly dismissed her baseless suspicion.

“I’m fine,” Hu Li said. “Immortal, this place is dangerous. We should leave quickly.”

She decided that survival was more important than anything else.

Gu Sheng also noticed Hu Li’s reaction to her. Her hand tightened almost imperceptibly around her sword, then she said softly to Hu Li, “Hu Li, the Illusion Demon has already left. We can continue down.”

The Illusion Demon has already left? Hu Li dazedly looked up at the jade ceiling, realizing the mirrored image was gone. Moreover, the silver light that had been illuminating the entire floor had also disappeared.

She frowned slightly and cautiously peered into the hole in front of her, confirming that Xue Qingshu was indeed nowhere to be seen below.

What’s going on? Hu Li was confused.

Min Xiuhe, holding Shang Miaoyun’s hand, walked over and explained, “The Illusion Demon’s illusion array activates for half an hour and deactivates for half an hour. Once the time is up, the Illusion Demon and the array both automatically conceal themselves.”

Hu Li nodded. “So that’s how it is.”

Descending to the second floor, the bloodstains on the jade bricks hadn’t dried yet. He Shiqing was still kneeling in the same spot, a gruesome sight.

Gu Sheng sighed and stepped forward, crushing the jade token at his waist. “Senior Brother, may you rest in peace.”

Min Xiuhe patted Gu Sheng’s shoulder in comfort. “Junior Sister, every year during the Floating Life Pagoda trial, quite a few disciples never make it out. It’s lucky that Junior Brother He’s body can be retrieved.”

He Shiqing was a hypocrite, and Min Xiuhe had never liked him. His death didn’t affect her much; she just wanted to get to the first floor quickly.

Gu Sheng understood this. She didn’t linger long before following Min Xiuhe through a hidden door toward the first floor.

Hu Li was the last to leave. As she stepped onto the stairs, she looked back at the pool of blood, a deep sense of dread washing over her.

It was truly a miracle she had made it this far through the Floating Life Pagoda alive.

The first floor was a spacious hall, its layout somewhat similar to the sixth floor where Hu Li had first landed in the Pagoda. Aside from the four main support pillars, only a circular platform in the center stood out.

“Junior Sister, let’s go,” Min Xiuhe said to Gu Sheng, then pulled Shang Miaoyun onto the circular platform.

Gu Sheng stood still, glancing at Min Xiuhe who was waiting for her, then looked at Hu Li standing next to her. She pressed her lips together in silence, seemingly struggling to say something difficult.

Hu Li met her gaze, clearly understanding that Gu Sheng was hesitating on how to tell her she couldn’t take her out of the Floating Life Pagoda.

This had, after all, been a mere excuse to trick Xie Qingyang earlier. So, to spare Gu Sheng any further awkwardness, Hu Li deliberately lied. “Immortal, coming down here, I’ve actually found the Floating Life Pagoda quite interesting. So, I plan to stay. I won’t be leaving.”

Gu Sheng: “You’re not leaving?”

Hu Li affirmed: “I’m not leaving.”

Gu Sheng lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and replied, “Then, I’ll come back for you the next time I enter the Tower.”

Hu Li smiled and agreed, nudging her toward the platform.

The platform had three circular slots. Min Xiuhe and Shang Miaoyun’s jade tokens were already embedded in two of them.

Gu Sheng looked back at Hu Li one last time, then removed the jade token from her waist and placed it into the remaining slot.

As the token slotted in, the entire platform instantly lit up. A deep, solemn voice then resonated through the hall, echoing to every corner of the Floating Life Pagoda.

“Gu Sheng of Luoxia Peak, Min Xiuhe of Luoxia Peak, and Shang Miaoyun of Qinglan Valley have passed the trial. Trial concluded.”

Hu Li looked up, her gaze fixed on Gu Sheng. The light emanating from the platform enveloped her, then rapidly expanded in the blink of an eye, illuminating the entire Floating Life Pagoda.

In the dazzling light, everyone was reduced to a small dot, and then, as the light faded, they vanished from their spots.

Hu Li looked at the now-empty platform. She secured the bracelet that concealed her demonic energy onto her wrist, then touched the jade token at her waist, crushed it, and prepared to leave the Floating Life Pagoda as well.

But for some reason, long after the token shattered, she was still standing exactly where she was, unable to leave.

What’s wrong with this jade token? Hu Li frowned at the token, an uneasy feeling bubbling up.

She quickly walked onto the platform, her heart sinking as she saw the circular slots were empty again.

“That stinking profiteer!” Hu Li cursed loudly, tossing the shattered token onto the platform.

Her token was flower-shaped, not circular. It was obvious she had been tricked.

She should have known there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. That Elder Qi was definitely up to no good!

Hu Li angrily kicked the platform once, looking at the confined Floating Life Pagoda, utterly helpless.

The Floating Life Pagoda was meant to imprison demons and evil cultivators. Every area had restrictions that weakened demonic power. By delivering herself here, she had essentially cut off her own retreat.

Hu Li slid down onto the floor, burying her head in her arms, frustrated and helpless.

It wasn’t until a quarter of an hour later that a familiar voice sounded in her ear: “Fellow Daoist, I’m here to take you out of the Floating Life Pagoda.”

Hu Li looked up at the familiar bright yellow figure. She quickly scrambled up from the platform, asking both delighted and angry: “Shopkeeper Feng, what’s the deal with this jade token? Why didn’t it teleport me out of the Floating Life Pagoda when I crushed it just now?”

Shopkeeper Feng leisurely walked up to Hu Li, placed a hand on her shoulder, and explained, “This is a Summoning Token, not a regular teleportation token.”

With that, he didn’t give Hu Li time for another question, immediately taking her out of the Floating Life Pagoda.

Once outside the Floating Life Pagoda, Hu Li turned back into the red-furred dog. Shopkeeper Feng casually set her down on a patch of grass and then vanished.

Hu Li rose from the ground, a problem suddenly dawning on her.

Shopkeeper Feng had clearly seen her human appearance when he came to retrieve her.

This was a problem of ambiguous size. If she never ran into him again, it was fine. But if she did, she didn’t know if he would use it to threaten her.

Hu Li frowned, unable to figure out what to do. Finally, she decided to return to Tingfeng Cliff first. As for Shopkeeper Feng, well, she just wouldn’t go to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion anymore.

*******

Not long after the Floating Life Pagoda trial ended, Hu Li learned from Gu Sheng that Xie Qingyang had been expelled from the Tianyan Sect by Vice Sect Leader Yu Shibai for the crime of slaying a fellow disciple.

As for He Shiqing, though he was the chief disciple, his Master was in secluded cultivation, so no one arranged his funeral. After discussion, the Elders decided to bury him directly in the back mountain, following the old rules.

[Can the author even continue this book? Both the Male Lead and Male Secondary Lead are gone.]

[Is there a Male Tertiary Lead? Maybe he’ll take the top spot.]

[Given the current situation, the author is most likely setting up the Female Secondary Lead to take the lead.]

[Huh? I thought I was reading a BG novel. How did it turn into GL?!]

[The Fox Spirit’s feelings for Sheng Sheng have been obvious for a long time. What kind of proper villainess would become the Female Lead’s Spirit Pet?]

[Yuri is the best!]

[The citrus is ripe! (Yuri/GL is flourishing.)]

[Li Sheng is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)!]

[Victory is the GOAT!]

[No, the Dog-Chicken CP cannot disband. (Erkang reaching hand JPG.)]

[The Zoo Squad counts me in!]

*******

These book reviews had been scrolling for three days, and Hu Li watched them calmly, having gotten used to it.

But while Hu Li was composed, the system’s CPU had been fried for the past three days.

The Male Lead and Male Secondary Lead were both offline, and the main storyline faced collapse. If the Main System found out, the system’s life would be completely over, and it would be factory reset.

Therefore, to keep the Main System from discovering the issue and to allow the main storyline to progress, the system ultimately made a decision that went against its ancestral programming.

It hacked into the main character settings and quietly changed Hu Li’s Female Secondary Lead designation to Male Lead and Male Secondary Lead, then issued Hu Li the mission to “Capture the Female Lead.”

What it didn’t anticipate was that on the very next day after issuing the mission, Gu Sheng was selected to participate in the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament and was taken by Yu Shibai to Fubai Peak for special training.

With the target for her mission gone, the system entered a self-imposed shutdown.

Hu Li, in contrast, finally had time to herself since the system had stopped issuing tasks.

However, Hu Li didn’t use her free time to just lay around; she chose to find a job to earn money.

She returned to the Black Market, put on her disguise as Mr. Li, and resumed her work as a middleman.

Yet, perhaps due to fierce competition among peers or because everyone had enough money lately, no one came into her shop for five days.

As a result, she had no choice but to return to her old profession: working as a waiter at an inn.

What she didn’t expect was that the job of an inn waiter had become fiercely competitive in the few days she was away at the Tianyan Sect.

Left with no other options, during the inn’s employee selection process, she secretly recommended Mr. Li to the rejected waiters, urging them to seek work there.

She then learned from the rejected waiters that Mr. Li’s reputation was ruined. This was because he constantly recommended work at brothels, not only scamming money but also scamming people.

Hu Li was distressed. While she had to admit that most of the jobs she introduced were a little bit shady, they weren’t that bad.

But a ruined reputation couldn’t be explained away; any effort to clarify would just make things worse. So, Hu Li had no choice but to keep looking for work.

However, most jobs in the Black Market were life-threatening, and most jobs outside the Black Market only hired cultivators. As a result, Hu Li searched for days without success.

Until a person finally visited her shop.

Support Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration]