The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 27

The sword blade pierced through the chest, and hot blood splashed onto Xiao Shu’s face. He wiped it away casually and looked down at his former “brother” who was stumbling to the ground.

Qi He’s eyes looked ready to burst, his voice a raspy hiss: “Song Huaiqiu, I won’t let you go, even as a ghost.”

“Heh.”

Xiao Shu withdrew his sword, a thin line of blood flying off the blade. He watched coldly as the other man’s pupils began to dim, his lips curling into a slight smirk.

“Then I’ll be waiting to see exactly what you, a lonely wandering ghost, can do to me.”

The above was an excerpt from Chapter 30 of The God-Slaying Immortal. It detailed the plot where the male lead, under the alias Song Huaiqiu, was betrayed by a team led by Qi He, the son of a wealthy merchant, and subsequently carried out a desperate counter-slaughter.

The premise was that Song Huaiqiu, driven to a dead end in the desert, had encountered the malevolent youth Qi He.

As for why Ji Shinian suddenly had such a vivid flashback to this scene, one he had once cheered for—it certainly wasn’t because he missed this brainless, poorly finished web novel.

It was because this memory made him realize that in the original story, the invitation Xiao Shu obtained was actually taken from Qi He’s body.

Now, the male lead wasn’t at a dead end, nor had he met Qi He. The only person around who could be connected to the son of a wealthy merchant and happened to be by the male lead’s side…

Ji Shinian held the invitation, looked at the shark-silk robes he was wearing, each piece worth ten thousand gold—and a foreboding feeling rose in his heart.

“Tiansuan, tell me,” Ji Shinian said, carefully rolling his quilt into a ball and pulling the bed curtains shut. “Is it realistic for me to go out and buy an admission slip right now?”

“As far as I know, an admission slot for the Muxu Academy costs ninety million per ticket.”

Ji Shinian nearly tripped on flat ground. This is what Ji Shuangyuan meant by ‘not much effort’?

“Host, are you going out?” Tiansuan looked at the quilt dummy behind the curtains. “Why not just leave openly?”

Ji Shinian took off his bamboo hat and shed the overly flamboyant outer robe and jewelry. “If I go out openly and say I’m going to discuss an admission slot with Xiao Shu, what would that look like?”

He was currently stuck in the role of a woman. For Xiao Shu’s sake, he had already stood out at the Autumn Feast and saved him from the Heavenly Fire. If he added the Academy to the list, Ji Shinian felt that even if Li Moyan didn’t misunderstand, he himself would start to think “Ji Shinian” was a classic supportive female lead from a male-oriented novel!

“So, the host is going to find the male lead secretly to discuss it?”

Why did that sound even weirder?

Night fell, but the banks of the Sweetwater River remained crowded. The street in front of the Elegant Residence was lined with lanterns glowing in various colors. The sound of the huqin had been replaced by the soft singing of dancers beneath the Fragrant Powder House. At the food stalls, mutton sizzled on the grills, releasing the aroma of fat and meat.

An ordinary-looking youth in red wandered from one end of the street to the other. One moment he was watching the dancers on the high platform, the next he was squeezing into a food stall, and a moment later he was stopped in his tracks by an ancient oil lamp.

In less than half an hour, his arms were full of strange gadgets.

“Host, aren’t you supposed to be looking for the male lead?”

When Ji Shinian stopped once again in front of a strangely decorated shop, Tiansuan finally couldn’t hold back its confusion. “Why have you started window shopping?”

“I think you’re right.” Ji Shinian remained unmoved. “A man and a woman meeting in the middle of the night just isn’t right.”

He stepped into the shop, but upon seeing the wall-to-wall display of weapons, he beat a hasty retreat before the shop assistant could even greet him.

“Then what about the admission slip? Is the host going to find it yourself?”

Ji Shinian walked forward slowly, deeply cherishing this hard-won non-crossdressing time. He declared in his heart: “Whatever happens, happens.”

Despite his words, Ji Shinian didn’t actually think that way.

As the world’s number one academy with its own secret realm, Muxu Academy’s standard entrance requirements were extremely strict. Aside from people like him who bought their way in and could bring as many servants as they liked, others had to earn their spot.

Xiao Shu was currently his guard in name, but as the male lead, he wasn’t the type to be humble just because he had a gentle personality.

Ji Shuangyuan had reached the Tongming Realm at twenty and was a well-known young genius, but Xiao Shu was also at the first stage of the Tongming Realm at the same age.

Purely as a promising young cultivator, it was impossible for him to be willing to remain subordinate to others forever.

“Actually, I just wanted to say the male lead will find a slip on his own, so we’re out to play!” Tiansuan’s pink screen flashed in his mind. “Is the host ready to abandon the shut-in life and run toward a beautiful tomorrow?”

Ji Shinian’s lip twitched. He turned his head to look at a tea house tucked away in a small alley called “Ten-Fold Residence,” deciding not to argue with Tiansuan. “No, I’m running toward the main quest.”

Ten-Fold Residence was a dusty, two-story tea house. The alley was a narrow, winding thing on a corner; if you weren’t careful, you’d miss it entirely.

Even though it was run-down and remote, the tea house was quite busy.

The tea house was small, and the main hall wasn’t much bigger. Ten tables with benches were squeezed together. Most people were in small groups. On the stage, a storyteller was reciting some play, his mouth moving, but his voice couldn’t drown out the whispering of the patrons below.

A waiter wove through the hall, but no one greeted the guests. Ji Shinian randomly picked a table that already had people and sat down. The cramped bench let out a loud creak.

“Oho, this young master must have stumbled into the wrong place if he came here for tea.”

The moment he sat down, a scholar in white on his right spoke up impatiently. His face was sickly, and he spoke as if his soul were dangling by a thread.

Ji Shinian looked at the man with the scarred face on his left, then arched an eyebrow at the scholar. “Is this not a place to drink tea?”

“Every wish fulfilled ten-fold.” The scholar wore a smirk as he pushed a cup of tea forward. “Has the young master never heard that?”

Four cups of tea were placed at the corners of the table. The brownish liquid was murky with green tea leaves floating on the surface, and not a hint of steam rose from them.

“Never heard of it.” Ji Shinian picked up the tea. “What is this…”

The tea bowl in his hand suddenly shattered with a bang. The scarred man retracted his hand, a glint of a blade flashing at his fingertips.

He looked at Ji Shinian with a grim expression. “This isn’t a place you should be. Get lost.”

Despite the scarred man’s actions, none of the surrounding patrons even looked over, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

“Why—” Ji Shinian brushed the shards off his clothes. Looking at the puddle of tea in front of him, he decided not to mess with them further. “Ten-Fold Residence. Pay the price, and you get what you want. Isn’t that right?”

The scholar looked surprised. “So you did know…”

He looked disappointed and scrutinized Ji Shinian again, his gaze suspicious. “Then, what is your price?”

Ji Shinian watched as the scarred man closed his eyes as if entering a meditative trance. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t have one. I just came to take a look.”

Ji Shinian naturally knew what the scholar was looking for.

The so-called wishes granted by Ten-Fold Residence could make the crippled walk, the destitute wealthy, and the mediocre invincible. This tea house had risen to prominence a decade ago but kept a low profile. In The God-Slaying Immortal, its rules and prices were only whispered among those in the know:

The “price” they spoke of to make a wish come true was a living human being.

Because what Ten-Fold Residence did was strip the talent from one person and give it to the one who wanted it. This stripping didn’t require the consent of the person serving as the price, nor did it matter if they lived or died; they were treated purely as a commodity. As long as someone brought the price here and was chosen by the Tower Master, their wish would be granted.

“What about you two then?” Ji Shinian asked, glancing between the scholar and the scarred man with some curiosity. “Where is your price?”

Though Ten-Fold Residence was crowded, none of the people here could be called virtuous. The “prices” were always particularly obvious: some were dazed, some happy, some terrified but unable to escape.

They came in all forms, these “prices” who had been tricked or abducted and were completely oblivious. Meanwhile, those in the know worked hard to treat this place like an old tea house, tacitly hiding the cruel truth.

“Oh, I underestimated you, young master, my price is him.”

The scholar grinned and leaned toward Ji Shinian, acting completely nonchalant as he pointed at the scarred man.

The scarred man remained with his eyes closed, but he gave a simple nod.

At that gesture, Ji Shinian felt the chatter from the surrounding tables freeze for a split second.

“What? Has the young master never seen a price like this?” The scholar waved a hand in front of him, smiling pleasantly.

I don’t think many people in Ten-Fold Residence have seen a ‘price’ like this either, Ji Shinian thought silently, feeling several gazes filled with obvious shock.

“No.” He pushed the overly familiar scholar, who smelled of medicine, away. “After all, based on appearances, you look much more like the price.”

The scholar wore white powder on his face, and his features looked as though they had been meticulously drawn with a fine brush; he was quite handsome. The scarred man, on the other hand, aside from the prominent scar on his cheek, had darker skin and a face that looked like a template for a mountain bandit in a TV drama.

“Haha!” The scholar burst out laughing. After a while, he leaned against the table for support. “If I were to be Hongyu’s price, that wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“Watch your words.” Hongyu finally deigned to open his eyes, but his next words were directed at Ji Shinian. “Since you didn’t come for the Ten-Fold wish, you should leave as soon as possible.”

His tone was stiff and a bit awkward, but the scholar agreed: “He’s right. Young master, this isn’t a good place to watch a show.”

“I wasn’t…”

Ji Shinian hadn’t expected these two eccentrics to actually be kind-hearted. He felt a bit helpless and was about to explain that he wasn’t there just to see the sights when the door swung open. A raspy, rude voice interrupted him loudly.

“Where’s your boss? Tell him to get his ass out here. This young master has important business with him!”

A man with a round head and shifty, rat-like eyes walked in like a meatball dropping into soup. After shouting, he tilted his head back and scanned the room with a look of pure disdain.

Before the crowd could get angry, a group of cultivators in fine silk crowded in behind him. Every single one of them was at the peak of the Tongming Realm at the very least. It looked like they were ready to level the tea house.

“Wait, wait… isn’t that the young master of the Qi family from the South?” The scholar’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg, his expression momentarily blank. “Qi… Qi-what was it?”

Ji Shinian looked at this expected “heavyweight” and finished the sentence for him: “Qi He.”

The youngest son of the Qi family, one of the three great surnames of the South, Qi He was a famous laughingstock a boy born into a cultivation family who couldn’t even open his Dao Palace.

And in the original novel, Qi He had harmed Xiao Shu specifically to come to Ten-Fold Residence and change his hopeless path of cultivation.