The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 21

“Eldest Miss, why do you wish to embark on the path of cultivation?”

“Does one really need a reason for that?”

“Of course,” Li Moyan replied solemnly, “Whether it is a passing thought or a concrete motive, there must be a source for one’s actions. In cultivation, this is known as questioning one’s true heart.”

A faint scent of ink lingered in the study. After urging the others to write their letters, Ji Shinian began absentmindedly fiddling with the winterberry in the corner. Hearing these words from his loyal servant, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at the man.

Ji Shinian’s own master had asked him this very question once. Even the phrasing, “cultivation is for the true heart,” was identical to what Li Moyan had just said.

Recalling how his first honest answer had left his examiner in stunned silence, Ji Shinian pondered for a moment before choosing the standard response from typical male-oriented web novels. “I want to become strong.”

As expected, Li Moyan didn’t say anything, but a look of approval flickered in his eyes.

Is my life about to turn into an inspirational ‘Girl’s Journey to Greatness’ story? Ji Shinian continued to pluck at the winterberry leaves while summoning the Heavenly Calculation system in his mind.

[Strictly speaking, Host, you don’t have a fixed path. Any performance that fits the character blueprint is acceptable.]

Right, right, I get it. The female lead’s settings are lacking, Ji Shinian poked the system interface. By the way, doesn’t this system have a shop? Most transmigration systems I’ve read about have stores or special features to unlock.

The second the words left his mind, a red electronic flag waved frantically on the screen in protest. [Host, how could you compare me to those others? Those are… those are fakes! I can actually resurrect people and travel through space. No deception here!]

So, besides scanning things, you really don’t have any superpowers or a supermarket?

Heavenly Calculation dejectedly swapped the red flag for a white one. [No—waah, Host, are you looking down on me?]

Why is my system like this? Ji Shinian pulled off a leaf, deciding to fight fire with fire. Heavenly Calculation, do you just not trust me?

…

The Ink-Seeking Envoy crawled through the window just as Li Moyan left to deliver the letters.

The tiny figure hopped from the windowsill onto the side table, straightened his hat, and grumbled, “Why aren’t you on the first floor? Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to climb up here?”

“Just wandering around.” Ji Shinian stopped his trek toward the bed and sat on the firm couch, pouring a cup of tea he hadn’t had the chance to drink earlier. “You timed it well. My servant is away for a bit, so give me the letter quickly.”

“Since when do you need to hide your mail from your servants?” the Envoy asked, confused. Nevertheless, he summoned his miniature carriage and hauled out a letter. “Here, your mail. I watched that Song kid write it with my own eyes!”

“I have a new servant now. He’s a bit timid, so it’s best we stay out of his sight. Regardless, thank you.” Ji Shinian took a sip of the lukewarm tea, accepted the letter, and gave the little spirit an encouraging smile.

“Your taste in servants is as bad as ever. Hmph, well, I chose you, so I’ll be careful from now on.”

Outside, the autumn vibe was heavy under a cloudless sky. Low-lying trees huddled near the small building, their canopies like clusters of green clouds. Ji Shinian leaned back against the soft bolster on the couch and opened the letter with a sense of anticipation.

To Shinian:

I hope this letter finds you well, though the news I bring is unsettling. Regarding your inquiry, I do have some memories. Twenty years ago, our family suddenly connected with the Zhou clan of Wuzhou for a marriage alliance. Curiously, most of the clan opposed the union, but the former Head of the House insisted on it. Now that the Lawmaster has vanished, the attitude of the former Head’s faction is incredibly strange.

To be honest, since Lady Zhou—your aunt, passed away and the Lawmaster disappeared, the Song family has been in total chaos. After a great deal of digging, I learned that twenty years ago, even with so much opposition, the former Head was still the Lawmaster, and almost no one dared to defy his authority. Ordinary mountain bandits wouldn’t have dared touch a prospective bride of the Song family. The group on Mount Wangshen twenty years ago were actually the newly risen Western Pole Bandits. Setting aside how such famous bandits ended up hiding on a small mountain, the former Head sent men back later, but the bandits had long since vanished. I wanted to dig deeper, but those old fossils in the family refuse to open their mouths, guarding secrets like I’m a common thief. With the Sword Alliance as my witness, the Song family’s attitude toward me is lukewarm at best.

As for the Corpse Ghouls, I would never make something so low-class. It completely offends my aesthetic. If there’s a Ghost Master you dislike, feel free to let me know, as facilitating a colleague’s downfall is a delightful hobby of mine. However, I suspect you’d probably try to chop me down first, so I won’t invite you to join that particular endeavor just yet.

Sincerely, an old friend who has a lover.

“What does it say?” The Envoy poked his head over the edge of the paper.

“Nothing much.” Ji Shinian stuffed the paper back to the Envoy, his fingers rubbing the rim of his teacup.

Inside the living puppet’s mouth, a strange taste a mix of sweet, sour, and a hint of bitterness, seemed to spread.

Creating gods, resurrections, and now mountain bandits. Does anyone remember he just came here to dodge a debt? How did he end up in the middle of such a massive conspiracy?

“If it’s ‘nothing much,’ then why the long face?”

The Envoy shot Ji Shinian a suspicious look. Seeing no answer, he simply began happily munching on the letter. To spirits like him, enchanted stationery was an incomparable delicacy.

“Sounds like typical family power struggles to me!” the Envoy commented contentedly as he finished his snack and hopped back into his carriage. “Your servant seems to be back. I’m out of here!”

The Envoy vanished into thin air. Ji Shinian waved him off and peered through the gap in the window. Sure enough, Li Moyan was stepping through the courtyard gate.

[Host, aren’t you scared?] Heavenly Calculation, having ended its silent sulk, piped up. [It all seems interconnected. The Song family might be brewing a truly massive plot.]

Ji Shinian looked up at the ceiling beams with an indifferent expression. [I suspect you’re just praising the author… What is there to fear? We’ll deal with whatever comes. I’ve already experienced death, is there anything scarier than that?]

[That actually makes sense. Don’t worry, Host. We’ll definitely get you home.]

[I’m not worried about that.]

Li Moyan’s figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Ji Shinian set down his teacup, feeling that his confidence about returning home was oddly absolute. It was as if the Master System’s promise could never be false. It was a primal, unexplained intuition.

He instinctively touched his chest. There was no heart there, but twenty years ago, what he should have possessed seemed to have revived after it stopped beating.

It was a distant memory, one so faint he should have dismissed it as a hallucination, yet Ji Shinian was certain of it. In the moment after the car accident, he had been conscious for a split second. It wasn’t a final surge of life or an out-of-body experience, it was the sensory perception of someone still in the world. But the next second he opened his eyes, he was in a different world.

He had been killed by a truck. The car he was in had been crushed beyond recognition. He would never forget the feeling of glass piercing his skin and the car frame folding in on him.

Everyone knows that web novel systems require energy to operate. Was his arrival here, and his potential return, merely to provide more screen time for a female lead?

Ji Shinian thought that perhaps the answer lay within the main quest he was forced to participate in. Completing the system tasks, getting home, and uncovering the reason for his transmigration—it would be killing two birds with one stone.

“Eldest Miss, the letter has been sent,” Li Moyan said, having reached his side unnoticed. “The young master is away today, so I’ve asked the kitchen to send dinner to the villa.”

“Is it evening already?” Ji Shinian realized half the day had slipped away. Looking at the darkening sky, he decided to show some polite concern for his “brother.” “He’s not coming back? Did something happen at the Hidden Sword Pavilion?”

“Achi died last night. The Pavilion brought in doctors, but it seems there was no external trauma. She apparently became too emotionally distraught and simply withered away,” Li Moyan shook his head. “A Ghost Master committing suicide… the news is spreading through Chaofeng City like wildfire.”

“How could that be? She said she wanted to see me…” Ji Shinian widened his eyes, preparing to play the role of the sheltered young lady, when the temperature in the air suddenly spiked.

“What is” Li Moyan was facing the window. As he watched the scene outside, his pupils contracted with such intensity that he could barely finish his sentence. “How!”

A long, long time ago, the Central Firmament was not called by that name. Humans cultivated to become immortals or gods, and the world was a chaotic yet harmonious mix of races.

Then, one day, the Great Asura Mara ravaged the land. The gods and immortals could not endure it, so they placed a seal upon the realm, separating the divine from the mortal world. Since then, the world was divided into the Four Domains, and the Central Firmament was born. For tens of thousands of years, no immortal had been seen.

Now, as the buildings of Chaofeng City crouched in a blur of gray, the night felt like a prowling beast licking the alleyways with thick black ink. The autumn wind rattled golden bells and swayed the trees, bringing with it a river of starlight to play with the shadows on the ground.

All this normalcy was shattered by a streak of blood-red spirit fire.

The fire tore through the sky, lighting up the twilight with an indescribable, dazzling crimson. It carried a massive, profound power, something close to the world’s origin, like the power of the Four Qis. It hurtled from the horizon before anyone could react, and a black shadow rose to meet it.

“What on earth is that?!” Li Moyan gripped the windowsill, watching in shock. “What is Young Master Xiao doing there?”

How is this happening?

Ji Shinian’s face turned deathly pale. The anxiety he had suppressed with logic flared up instantly. Looking at the shadow intercepting the heavenly fire, his mind went blank.

The heavenly fire wasn’t supposed to happen today…

The light turned the city into day, and the soaring temperature turned Chaofeng City into a furnace. It was a breathtaking, terrifying sight. Even though Xiao Shu was fast, he only managed to stall the fire for a heartbeat before he and his sword were swallowed by the flames and sent crashing into the south of the city.

Straight toward the Xiao Manor.

This is wrong. Why is Xiao Shu there? Ji Shinian couldn’t stop the thoughts from racing. Li Moyan’s shock made sense, but for Ji Shinian the reader, this was a disaster. In the original book, the heavenly fire hit the Xiao Manor directly. Why was the protagonist trying to stop it now?

“Eldest Miss?” Li Moyan’s hand touched Ji Shinian’s face. His shock was now mingled with deep concern. “What’s wrong?”

Ji Shinian realized he had stood up, his face a ghostly pale.

Why would Xiao Shu charge into heavenly fire? Is he trying to die?

[Host…]

But Ji Shinian couldn’t hear Li Moyan anymore. Even the electronic voice of the system was nothing more than static in his ears.

“Sorry,” Ji Shinian pushed Li Moyan aside, his voice strained. “Uncle Li… do you believe I’m actually a prodigy?”

At this point, Ji Shinian had to admit it. Even as a dedicated anti-fan, he had followed this book for six years.

The male lead cannot die!

Besides, if the protagonist died, how was he supposed to finish the main quest and go home? Was he supposed to hang out with a ghost?

[OOC Error $&%.]

[Shut up.]

He forcibly muted the chaotic system alerts. Ignoring Li Moyan’s stunned expression, he stepped onto the windowsill and vaulted into the air, racing toward the Xiao Manor.