The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 30

“By the way,” Ji Shinian said, the invitation now right before his eyes. He hadn’t forgotten the three people following him, though they seemed to have no idea what he was actually up to. “Didn’t you guys want to see the boss? How about seeing him now?”

“I think, given the current situation, it might not be best to meet face-to-face… ahem,” Shan Yunzhu cleared his throat guiltily, covering his mouth. “On the other hand, Master Ji, you didn’t bring a ‘price’ or anything else. You aren’t just looking for the boss to watch the drama, are you?”

Ji Shinian paused for a moment in thought before replying, “I wanted to see if the boss has any Academy invitations here.”

“Why are you looking at me?” Ji Shinian avoided Xiao Shu’s gaze. Since he was going to enroll anyway, he decided there was no point in being secretive. “My name is Ji Yun, and he is my guard, Song Huaiqiu. In a few days, we’ll be joining the Academy, so I figured I’d just find an invitation for him.”

“You’re finding one for him?”

“Exactly. It’s mostly because he’s so useless. If he doesn’t study more, won’t he just end up illiterate?” Ji Shinian didn’t forget his character persona, taking the opportunity to belittle the male lead as he spoke.

Shan Yunzhu looked at Xiao Shu, then back at Ji Shinian, adopting the tone of a seasoned elder. “Sigh, I understand the youth of today less and less.”

Hongyu nodded and added, “The owner of Shiquan Residence only sells talents, not Academy invitations.”

“Can’t he be persuaded to make an exception?”

Shan Yunzhu narrowed his eyes. “Whether he’ll make an exception or not, I don’t know. But Master Ji, is your name really Ji Yun?”

Ji Shinian asked suspiciously, “What else would it be?”

“Maybe I’m overthinking it. Recently, uh”

Shan Yunzhu hadn’t expected him to be so certain, and before he could finish his sentence, he abruptly shut his mouth. Ji Shinian followed his gaze and saw a tall figure standing before them.

“Since you honored guests have come uninvited, you should at least say hello, shouldn’t you?”

The man wore earthy, wide-sleeved robes, and his features, drawn with disguise techniques, were crooked and terrifying. Behind him stood a large crowd of cultivators. The door to the left was already wide open, where Qi He stood alone, his small eyes glaring at them intently.

Shan Yunzhu reacted quickly, slowly crawling out from behind the decorations and smiling before he even spoke. “It seems this is the boss. To be honest, we actually have important business to discuss. Do you happen to be free right now?”

Staying that calm was truly the mark of a powerful person. Ji Shinian marveled inwardly, but he also stepped out from behind the decorations, putting on an air of righteous confidence. “No one greeted us on the first floor for ages, and they wouldn’t let us go to the second floor, so here we are!”

Hongyu followed along expressionlessly, reciting, “Yes, so here he is.”

“You… you all—” Qi He had never met anyone so brazen. Seeing the four of them standing there in perfect formation, he couldn’t even get his words out straight.

Ji Shinian countered, “What about us? Aren’t we on the second floor now? Shouldn’t the boss receive me as a guest?”

Qi He had likely never been spoken to like this in his entire life. His expression twisted as he pointed at Ji Shinian, and the cultivator beside him was about to speak for him. However, the boss raised a hand and said softly, “A visitor is a guest. Since you have come here, I assume you have prepared your price. As for Young Master Qi, since the time has been set and this matter allows for no errors, why not go back and prepare to ensure everything goes smoothly?”

The boss of Shiquan Residence spoke very politely, and Qi He didn’t push further. He gave a clumsy salute and said, “Thank you, sir.”

With that, he shot Ji Shinian a nasty look and led his group of cultivators away in a flurry.

Ji Shinian hadn’t expected his nonsense to actually work. Feeling the gazes landing on him, he touched his face and thought: Is this the first time I’ve been openly disliked by a living person in a meaningful way?

The sensation was quite novel.

The commotion from Qi He soon faded. The boss held his sleeves and made way for Ji Shinian’s group. “This guest, please?”

The group walked boldly into the room Qi He had just exited.

The decor here was quite simple, with tables and chairs set up on either side like a match of Go. In the center of the floor, a formation made of sand was laid out in an unrecognizable pattern. On the wall directly facing the door hung a massive cotton cloth.

This cotton cloth was extremely eye-catching because the weaving technique of its threads didn’t belong to the current era, yet the overall image looked like a modern handicraft. It depicted one woman and three men, their faces blurred, singing and dancing under a pitch-black tree. On the ground, jade jars were tipped over, and the sand was damp.

“This is a replica of The Banquet,” Ji Shinian had just sat down when Shan Yunzhu leaned in, whispering in his ear. “Legend has it the original was painted by the Son of the Sun. The cotton cloth had to be soaked in blood from the start, and the thread spun from the clouds in the sky. It’s very rare to see this in the Western Lands.”

Since it was important information, Ji Shinian suppressed the urge to push him away and asked, “In that case, how did you recognize it?”

Shan Yunzhu shrugged. “Naturally, because the original is still hanging in the Great Hall of the Academy. I am a student there after all. The difference between this and the real thing is obvious at a glance.”

Hongyu, sitting next to Shan Yunzhu, nodded.

The boss followed Xiao Shu inside and closed the door. Hearing the comment about his items being fake, he didn’t seem angry. Instead, he said, “Young Master has a sharp eye. I wonder what the difference is between this piece and the one at the Academy?”

Shan Yunzhu changed his face again, saying with a grin, “Actually, there isn’t much difference. Perhaps the embroideress was in a rush and didn’t manage the distance between these figures correctly. I’m no expert, so if I’ve said something wrong, I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

The boss chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, and said, “I haven’t asked yet, how did the guests break through the formation to get here? Oh, please don’t worry, it’s just that the formations here are all interconnected. As the host, I’m simply curious how the guests managed not to trigger the internal alarms.”

“Also,” he clapped his hands, and several cups of steaming tea appeared before Ji Shinian. “Welcoming tea, please enjoy.”

The rim of the teacup was smooth, the tea was clear without any foam, and even the tea leaves were of the highest quality. Ji Shinian pushed a cup to Xiao Shu beside him and picked one up himself. “Fair enough, fair enough.”

He took a sip. It was fragrant and sweet with a long-lasting aftertaste, truly a top-tier brew. To his surprise, after that one sip, the three people beside him all turned to look at him simultaneously.

Ji Shinian said tentatively, “Uh… good tea?”

Shan Yunzhu said, “It’s nothing, the boss is asking you a question.”

Based on your and Hongyu’s expressions… Ji Shinian thought, you probably wanted to say the boss is trying to kill me.

He set down the teacup and decided to calmly ignore the two of them, as well as the unreadable Xiao Shu, and flashed a pure, innocent smile at the boss. “If I said it was all down to talent, would that work?”

…

The air in the room suddenly went still.

The boss’s face visibly stiffened. After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out the words, “Talent? The last person I saw who could dismantle a formation like that was Lord Huo Xiang of the Southern Lands. You are truly a gifted young man.”

Ji Shinian, who had just channeled Huo Xiang’s power because of Shan Yunzhu’s words, thought: No wonder it was so easy. It really is a ‘homecoming’ of sorts.

Of course, he couldn’t say that to anyone. Ji Shinian said cheerfully, “Indeed. I just happened to come from the Southern Lands as well. It must be fate.”

****

The boss seemingly couldn’t find a way to keep the conversation going. He forced a smile again and said gently, “Well, I mean to ask all of you guests, what is your price, and what is your wish?”

“An Academy invitation.”

“Good health.”

Ji Shinian didn’t hesitate. At the same time, Shan Yunzhu’s voice overlapped with his. Facing the four people in the room, Shan Yunzhu pointed shamelessly at Hongyu beside him and added, “My price is right here.”

Even though he knew it wasn’t right, Ji Shinian couldn’t help but look at Shan Yunzhu. He had thought that because they were like this, what was said downstairs was just a joke… Truly, everyone in the world has their own fate. Ji Shinian had no desire to judge, and besides, compared to his own situation, there was no reason to condemn Shan Yunzhu.

He then looked at Hongyu, and the scarred man also looked enlightened, saying, “Exactly. Legend says Shiquan Residence is perfect in every way. I just wonder if the boss can grant his wish?”

The boss wasn’t surprised by their performance. Instead, he laughed a few times and said, “I have hosted people like you before. Such a simple wish can naturally be fulfilled.”

With the moment upon them, Shan Yunzhu became exceptionally calm. “What do we need to do?”

“It’s simple. Wait until the night of the full moon, drink the blood of the price, and come here together. I will naturally help you fulfill your wish.”

Xiao Shu suddenly spoke up, “This sounds like a wicked art.”

The boss gave a strange smile. “You are overthinking it. Shiquan Residence stands under the Western Lands Academy and follows the philosophy of Xiahe Ge’er. For compatriots to drink each other’s blood, binding their bodies and even their fates together, how can that be called a wicked art?” He shifted his gaze abruptly toward Ji Shinian. “On the other hand, this guest, despite being such a rare genius, why do you want an Academy invitation?”

Wasn’t this the wishing phase? Why is it my turn to give a reason? Ji Shinian blinked and asked, “Do you not sell them here?”

“Of course I do. Although no one has bought one before, I can make an exception and customize a talent for you to get into the Academy.”

“However,” the boss’s uneven eyes narrowed with a deep gaze, “if I asked you to use your own talent as the price, I wonder if you would be willing?”

Silence fell over the room once more, but this silence was different from the previous one. it was like the calm before a storm, waiting for a single crack of thunder to trigger an unstoppable, massive wave.

Ji Shinian seemed oblivious. He smoothed out the curled corner of his sleeve and said with a smile, “Sure.”

***

Perhaps people are always like this: things easily obtained are not precious, while treasures easily asked for become a curse.

Because he was so blunt, the boss’s expression froze. He looked hesitant and incredulous, letting out a forced laugh. “You must be joking. It was just a jest. Although an Academy invitation isn’t easy to get, I do have one here that is worthy of a young talent like yourself.”

Ji Shinian hadn’t expected him to actually have one. His eyes lit up. “Then swap the talent now! Hurry, hurry, give me the invitation!”

The boss’s mouth twitched as he said with difficulty, “No, there’s no need. I said it was a joke, why did you take it seriously?”

“Alright. What do I have to do for you to give me that invitation?”

Seeing that he didn’t push further, the boss breathed a sigh of relief, shook his head, and said, “Let’s just call it making a friend. I’ll give this one to you as a meeting gift.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a thin vine crawled up from under the table where the group was huddled. The tip of the vine held a golden invitation, acting with extreme subservience. Ji Shinian took it and didn’t stand on ceremony. “Thanks. I accept you as a friend.”

He stood up. The important matter was settled, and the three others in the room stood up as well. The boss remained stationary, but another thick vine crawled up next to the thin one, carrying four square red plaques, which it held out to the group as they headed for the door.

“Then I won’t see you out. If you wish to come again, this token is as if I were there in person. If you show it, you may enter through the front door. This friend, and the three guests, have a safe journey.”

“Got it. See you if fate allows.” Ji Shinian grabbed two of the tokens, tugged on Xiao Shu, and waved nonchalantly before jumping gracefully out of the window they had come through.

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