The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 10

Zhou Hongluan had changed completely in the short time she had been out of sight. As she reappeared in the woods, the sleeves of her blood-red robes had burst open at the shoulders. Strange markings, like two twisting serpents, crawled across her face and arms. Her fingers had dissolved into a swirl of red and white mist, solidifying into a distorted, claw-like shape. The moment she seized the Ghoul-Thrall, the point of contact began to boil uncontrollably, emitting a sharp, sizzling sound.

Zhou Hongluan seemed oblivious to the pain. She stared at the creature before her with a frenzied intensity, her grip tightening until her fingertips sank to a horrifying depth into the Ghoul-Thrall’s pale, bluish skin.

“Aunt… Zhou… don’t bother. You… know…” Though held by the head, the Ghoul-Thrall’s expression remained vacant. “I’m already dead. Mother… is also dead. You should.”

It spoke in broken fragments. Aside from its labored speech, the creature actually sounded much more rational than Zhou Hongluan, who had supposedly become a master of the deceptive arts.

Zhou Hongluan cut it off sharply. “No! Chi Li is mine! She told me herself that, whether in life or death, she would return to my side to protect me!”

“That was only… before Mother… became a mother.”

“Shut up!” Flying into a rage, Zhou Hongluan slammed the Ghoul-Thrall into the ground. The force was so immense that the rubbery creature was buried three inches deep into the soil. “Chi Li is mine! No one can take her from me! We were so close, so close to”

Li Moyan’s face went white. “How can this be? This…” He hesitated, his lips trembling as he refused to utter that insulting name. “He is the Essence Master?”

The truth was now laid bare before the three of them. If Chi Li had married into the Song family twenty years ago under the name Zhou Hongluan, then this Ghoul-Thrall, who called her mother, could only be the Northern Essence Master, a figure revered by thousands in the Northern Territory.

The fact that the Ghoul-Thrall was a half-demon also revealed a secret: Chi Li, a demon, had successfully held the position of matriarch in a prominent cultivation clan for over a decade.

As they spoke, Zhou Hongluan turned around, her eyes glowing a feral crimson as she glared at Ji Shinian and the others. “I’ve changed my mind. Trespassing into this Illusion Realm was already a death sentence, but now that you’ve brought this beast in with you… letting you die as mere humans is far too good for you!”

With a blur of red, she vanished into the trees and lunged at Xiao Shu. Her twisted claws were far more menacing than the plague-infested Ghoul-Thrall. She struck directly for the crown of his head!

Clang!

The longsword, returning from the thinning swarm of insects, swept in to parry the blow just in time.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Hongluan recoiled. Frost had already begun to bloom on her mutated fingertips. As she pulled back, the ice crumbled like fine snow, falling silently to the forest floor.

“What is this?!” Zhou Hongluan’s expression soured. Her arrogant declaration from a moment ago had just been met with a metaphorical slap to the face.

“Just a lucky encounter, nothing worth mentioning,” Xiao Shu replied, shaking his head. As he moved, his hair ribbon slid down his shoulder, resting against his lapel. “However, Miss Zhou, being able to turn an Essence Master into a Ghoul-Thrall makes you the true master of these bizarre arts.”

Now that’s a real burn, Ji Shinian thought. Seeing Zhou Hongluan’s face twist, he felt she hadn’t put enough effort into being a competent villain. If you’re going to be arrogant, you have to commit to it, you know?

Since his character was supposed to be clueless about these high-level affairs, Ji Shinian remained silent. He watched the frost creeping up her arm, knowing that if she didn’t act fast, it would consume her hand. He gave a silent sigh. This was a free chance to excise your blood infection, girl. You’re making a mistake!

Zhou Hongluan clearly didn’t care for such a chance. She sneered, “Don’t bother trying to provoke me. What does an Essence Master matter? What does this animal matter? If I wish it, the very god those fools worship on their knees would be nothing more than a mute swine crawling on all fours!” Before she even finished speaking, her silhouette flickered again, repeating her previous tactic by lunging at the group.

Xiao Shu’s flying sword was still out, sweeping horizontally to meet her. But before it could even touch her clothes, Zhou Hongluan dodged mid-air, kicked off a tree trunk to the right, and dived straight for Ji Shinian!

Looking at the claws closing in on him, Ji Shinian felt a strange sense of deja vu. This time, however, it was so sudden that even Li Moyan was a half-step too slow to react.

The moment of truth is here!

Thinking of the impending system points, Ji Shinian instinctively checked the darkened OOC interface in his mind. The moment of his “death” seemed to slow down into a thousand frames, yet the vivid countdown was already ticking from “3.”

After acting for so long, he had no intention of failing here. He also couldn’t bet his life on the hope that Tiansuan could “resurrect” him.

At the critical moment, Ji Shinian’s gaze fell on the Ghoul-Thrall playing dead in the pit.

Fine, he thought. I can see you don’t want to help…

But I’m sorry!

He withdrew his consciousness into his spiritual sea and chanted internally:

With my blood and body, I sacrifice to the four directions. I call upon the Essence Master and borrow from Heaven and Earth!

—Vrrrrm—

With an almost imperceptible vibration in the air, a massive wave of energy erupted from the Ghoul-Thrall. The power was cold yet gentle, like brilliant moonlight. It swept through the layered forest, dispelling the boundless darkness and brushing past everyone. But when it reached Zhou Hongluan, it let out several sharp, cracking sounds like a mountain range splitting apart.

With a choked cry, Zhou Hongluan’s hand, which had been inches from Ji Shinian, went limp. She collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood as her strength failed her.

In the forest now flooded with moonlight, the red markings on her skin shriveled and vanished. In an instant, her pale face was left with only jagged red scars. Her exposed arm was now bare except for a single, piercingly bright red string. Her grotesque hands returned to normal, though the tips of the fingers on her right hand were missing, dripping thick, dark blood onto the ground.

That strong?

Ji Shinian could swear he hadn’t intended to make such a scene. He had assumed that since the Essence Master had been turned into a Ghoul-Thrall, only a fraction of his power would remain. He had only intended to borrow half of that to intimidate Zhou Hongluan so Li Moyan would have a chance to protect him.

How was he supposed to know that an Essence Master worshipped as a god came with a built-in “faith bonus”?!

He rubbed his fingertips, looking at the now-paralyzed Zhou Hongluan and the lake water that had been pushed back several yards by the force. He felt a bit guilty as he asked Tiansuan:

[Uh, this won’t affect my points, right?]

Tiansuan, staying inside his head, flickered between blue and pink on its electronic screen. Its pixelated mouth was wide open, and its voice sounded like it was short-circuiting: [You… you… Host, why on earth can you borrow the Essence Master’s power?!]

[Good luck,] Ji Shinian replied, mentally patting the system. [I asked you a question.]

[It won’t deduct points. We are a very ethical system. We only handle counting and monitoring. As long as your persona stays reasonable in front of everyone else, it’s fine!]

Tiansuan’s screen turned back to pink. [But Host, don’t mess with me. How lucky do you have to be to borrow an Essence Master’s power?]

[Take a guess?] Ji Shinian replied casually. Then, staying “in character,” he took a step back, his legs going soft as he nearly fell over.

“Miss!” Li Moyan immediately stepped forward to steady him.

“Wh—what,” Ji Shinian pointed at the crumpled Zhou Hongluan, his voice rising in a loud, dramatic squawk before he could even feel nervous. “What is going on?!”

“This…”

“It seems the Lord could not bear to see Miss Zhou stray any further and took action,” Xiao Shu said, sheathing his sword. He leaned over to look at the Ghoul-Thrall still in the pit. “Senior, are you alright?”

“Me? I…” The Ghoul-Thrall climbed out, grass sticking to his face. He looked at the handsome youth before him and, appearing quite flustered, stuffed his eye back into its socket. He answered hesitantly, “I… I’m okay?”

On the other side, Li Moyan made sure Ji Shinian was steady before rushing to bind Zhou Hongluan with spirit-binding ropes. He explained, “The Essence Masters are different from ordinary cultivators. Beyond manipulating the natural spiritual energy of the world, they are themselves like the world. This master of the North is the moon that illuminates the four directions. In the places his light reaches, deceptive creatures can hardly exist.”

“It seems the moonlight was faint and the paths were twisted along the way not to stop us, but to hide. Bringing the Essence Master into the heart of the realm was a lucky stroke after all.”

“Oh.” Ji Shinian pretended to only half-understand. “Then why didn’t he do something sooner?”

“I… I promised Mother. I cannot hurt Aunt Zhou.” Surprisingly, the seemingly dim-witted Ghoul-Thrall didn’t avoid the question. “Sorry… I was tormented by the Blood Plague before and thought you… you”

“Fine, fine, I’m not blaming anyone, you did help in the end, didn’t you?”

“I… I didn’t.” The Ghoul-Thrall looked quite depressed, hanging his head as his eye popped out again. “I don’t… know why. The power… wasn’t… under my control.”

“Not under your control?” Li Moyan was shocked, nearly tying the final knot around his own hand. “Aside from an Essence Master, who else could move such power… and aren’t the Masters’ powers incompatible with one another?”

The Ghoul-Thrall stuffed his eye back in gloomily and replied slowly, “In theory… yes.”

Xiao Shu asked, “And in reality?”

The Ghoul-Thrall turned to look at him, his pupils moving with difficulty. After a long pause, he pointed toward the sky. “I… don’t know. This… Illusion Realm… is about to collapse. You… leave. I… will lead the way.”

Ji Shinian and Li Moyan followed his finger. They saw the canopy of the trees parting on its own. The visible dome of the sky was cracking at its center, looking like it might fall at any moment.

Xiao Shu seemed to have expected this and didn’t move. He gave a light chuckle and “tactfully” didn’t press further. “Then we’ll trouble you, Senior. After you”

“Mm.” The Ghoul-Thrall’s gaze lingered on Zhou Hongluan for a moment. Finally, he looked away and lightly raised a hand toward the lake. “The insects… cannot… stay either.”

Unlike the sudden burst of power from before, this time a wisp of moonlight, like a thread of kitchen smoke, rose from his thin, small palm. It drifted through the woods toward the lakeshore. The cracked sky let out a series of loud groans, and the dark blue edges began to glow with an ominous red light. The eight white jade gates on the island swung open simultaneously, gushing out water filled with white eggs. This time, however, the water was covered in the same markings found on Zhou Hongluan. The black currents opened wide like maws, threatening to swallow the group along with the entire Illusion Realm.

But there was no longer any need to worry, for the moonlight had arrived.

The pure, flawless moon had somehow replaced that fuzzy, indistinct light source. It condensed from above, flowing down to wrap around the black currents and sweep them away into the distance without disturbing a single leaf. It gently soothed the surging waves, pulling them back until not a drop remained…

The soft moonlight dispelled the water, completely illuminating this world. Only then did everyone see that they were standing on a small hill. The land below, which had been submerged, was now a graveyard of buildings, tilted and corroded beyond recognition. The insects dispersed into shimmering points of light.

“Is this… Chaofeng City?” Li Moyan looked at the few remaining city walls within the shimmering lights. “Are we on the west side of Chaofeng City?”

A small, battered night-pearl fell from the sky. The Ghoul-Thrall caught it and said seriously, “Probably.” He added, “This… should be where Mother… and Aunt Zhou… first met.”

“Met… a deceptive cultivator’s Illusion Realm is the place where she met Madam Chi Li?” Li Moyan picked up the now-catatonic Zhou Hongluan, his expression complicated.

“Yes. Mother… told me… it was Aunt Zhou… who saved her here… when she ran away. So, she always… liked Aunt Zhou very much. Aunt Zhou… also said… Mother was her most important… person.” As the Ghoul-Thrall spoke, he lifted his thin legs and began to wobble forward.

Ji Shinian was the first to follow him. Looking at this overly submissive Essence Master, he couldn’t help but argue, “If Chi Li was really her most important person, would she have kidnapped her into an Illusion Realm and turned you into this?”

“That is… Mother’s… and Aunt Zhou’s… business. It’s… not for me… to judge.”

Ji Shinian was surprised by the answer, but his tone remained sharp. “If it’s none of your business, why did you come here?”

The Ghoul-Thrall was shocked by his persistence. Ignoring his falling eye, he shook his head violently. “I didn’t. say… it was none… none… none… none of my business!”

He got stuck on the words, and realizing his speech was failing him, he stopped arguing. He looked down while adjusting his eye. “I… I am here… to take Mother… home.”

“Take her home?” Ji Shinian was genuinely confused this time. “Didn’t… Chi Li’s soul leave back at the temple?”

The Ghoul-Thrall said, “That was… Mother’s… soul. Aunt Zhou… took… her… body… too.”

The forest was clear of gloom, but as they walked, the tall, sturdy trees began to thin out under the bright moonlight. As the Ghoul-Thrall limped along, leading the way, the entire Illusion Realm began to vibrate violently.

After crossing the forest, the Ghoul-Thrall stopped at a plain covered in cracks. He rubbed his thin fingers against the ground and somehow pulled open a door out of thin air.

“We’re… here.”

With that, the Ghoul-Thrall didn’t hesitate and jumped into the endless darkness.

As he jumped, the moonlight followed him, slowly slipping away. The tremors of the Illusion Realm intensified, and the wind began to howl, carrying a bloody scent as it whipped against the three people still on the ground.

In an instant, the door on the cracked earth began to shrink and shudder along with the shifting realm.

Li Moyan looked at Zhou Hongluan in his arms. In the end, he didn’t put her into storage. He shouted to Xiao Shu, “Master Xiao, the situation is urgent! I leave the Miss in your hands!”

Amidst the raging gale, Ji Shinian saw Xiao Shu nod. The next second, the back of his collar was yanked upward with a jolt.

He was hauled by the scruff of his neck as Xiao Shu leaped into the doorway!

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