The Outcast Male Sub-Lead Stole the Female Lead’s Role - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shi Jingyu followed behind two disciples, carrying two wooden trays stacked with jade plaques engraved with the names of the participants. He was distributing them one by one.

A spirit butterfly fluttered gracefully toward Yan Huan, landing perfectly in her hair. At that moment, Shi Jingyu had just picked up the jade plaque with Yan Huan’s name on it. As their eyes met during the exchange, his gaze lingered for a split second before he noticed the butterfly. He chuckled softly, “It seems the lady is quite favored by spiritual creatures.”

Yan Huan was startled. She tilted her head slightly and saw the spirit butterfly take flight, circling her several times before finally departing.

Jiang Xu watched from the sidelines, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Shi Jingyu smile. In the original book, the male and female leads were meant to have a romantic arc; even if the plot was crumbling, the core storyline centered on this romance should still exist. Now that they were talking, there would surely be more interactions to come.

He was watching intently, failing to notice that beside him, Fu Bihan’s face was twisted with rage.

In the book’s description, Yan Huan was a “cool-type” beauty. Though her features were clear and elegant, she rarely smiled, maintaining a cold expression. Despite her humble origins, she possessed a fierce character and an innate, lofty aura. Upon entering the sect, she earned the collective adoration of everyone, possessing a natural “everyone-loves-her” protagonist attribute.

According to the book, the eldest senior brother, Shi Jingyu, was supposed to be captivated by her at first sight. Jiang Xu watched them chat with glee, waiting for the “spark,” only to see Shi Jingyu give a slight nod after handing over the jade plaque and walk away.

What’s going on? Shouldn’t they talk a bit longer?

Jiang Xu frowned. Turning his head, he realized his younger martial sister, Fu Bihan, had already vanished. He clicked his tongue, sighed at the lack of chemistry between the two leads, and planned to find another opportunity to play matchmaker later.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd ahead. The missing Fu Bihan had somehow appeared among the uninitiated disciples. She pushed through the crowd aggressively and walked straight to the front, slapping Yan Huan on the shoulder.

“You! What’s your name?” She stood with hands on her hips, her tone incredibly rude.

Yan Huan frowned slightly and took a half-step back, saying politely, “Greetings, Senior Sister.”

This greeting made Fu Bihan even angrier. “Who is your ‘Senior Sister’? You haven’t even passed the trials; why are you calling me that?”

The order of the assembly was disrupted by this sudden outburst. Not only the disciples, but the peak masters and elders sitting at the front grew anxious. Sect Leader Fu was the most panicked of all; he jumped down from the dais and hurried toward the scene of the trouble.

Jiang Xu stood on his tiptoes to watch the drama. He saw Sect Leader Fu’s long white eyebrows fluttering as he hurried down the stairs—a somewhat comical sight. He was clearly flustered.

Facing Fu Bihan’s bullying, Yan Huan remained composed and dignified. She didn’t change her form of address: “Senior Sister is right, but if you continue to block the way, I fear the trials will never begin.”

Her words were polite, but the subtext was clear: You’re in the way.

Jiang Xu’s eyes crinkled with laughter. He thought to himself that the female lead truly wasn’t someone to be pushed around. Just as he was enjoying the show, the voice of 001 suddenly rang in his ear.

Host.

This fellow had been showing up less and less lately. When it did appear, it was always silent and sudden. Fortunately, Jiang Xu had grown used to it; otherwise, he would have been scared to death by now.

“What is it this time? I thought you said you’d leave it all to me?” Jiang Xu grabbed 001 and began kneading its fluffy body. “Also, where have you been these past few days?”

001 allowed him to rummage through its fur, its voice as cold as ever. I am only here to remind the Host: pay attention to the new disciples. It blinked and added, Friendly tip: Host, stay safe. With that, it vanished.

His hands were suddenly full of air. Jiang Xu pouted, holding up his hands which still felt the lingering soft texture. He sighed, “Why do you always speak in riddles? If it’s a ‘friendly tip,’ just tell me what the danger is so I can avoid it.”

Despite his grumbling, he took the warning about his safety seriously. Jiang Xu stopped watching the drama at the front and was about to shrink back into the crowd when he noticed a strange person among the new disciples.

It wasn’t that the person’s clothes or face were strange—his appearance was ordinary, the type that would disappear in a crowd—but while other disciples were either amused, confused, or impatient by the disruption, this person’s face remained expressionless. If anything, there was a trace of disdain.

However, based on that alone, Jiang Xu couldn’t be sure the person was a villain. It was difficult to enter Lingyun Mountain; before entering, one had to be searched thoroughly and pass through a Spirit Pool to detect any abnormalities.

He kept a watchful eye on the man. Up ahead, Sect Leader Fu had stepped in front of Fu Bihan. Though he was angry, he didn’t speak harshly to her, instead trying to coax and soothe her. But the little sister’s goal was to pick a fight with the female lead; how could she be so easily calmed down?

Jiang Xu shook his head, thinking that if Shi Jingyu were the one doing the coaxing, the “medicine” would work instantly. A father’s coaxing was useless here.

Just as he thought this, he saw that Sect Leader Fu had already fetched the Eldest Senior Brother. He pushed his unmanageable daughter toward his top disciple, then turned to the crowd with a slight bow. “My daughter was impulsive. Everyone, please continue.”

The moment Fu Bihan saw her Senior Brother, her arrogance vanished. With a shy and bashful expression, she followed him out of the crowd, completely forgetting about the female lead as if the Eldest Senior Brother was the only person in her world.

This little sister has such great potential, why is she such a ‘love-brain’?

Jiang Xu shook his head. Since 001 had mentioned danger but nothing was happening yet, and the trials were bound to be long and boring, he figured he’d go find something to eat before coming back to watch the female lead.

Just as he turned to leave, he saw a figure quietly slip through the crowd and follow Fu Bihan and Shi Jingyu. In such a large crowd, no one noticed a single person leaving the formation. Jiang Xu frowned and, before he knew it, he was following them.

They didn’t go far. Shi Jingyu had responsibilities at the assembly, so he couldn’t stray. The two stood under a tree, talking about something. Fu Bihan was beaming with joy, her shy demeanor a complete contrast to her previous bullying.

The outer disciple stood not far away. He didn’t seem to care if he was discovered and made no effort to hide. Jiang Xu peeked from behind a tree and watched as the disciple’s hair began to turn white from the tips upward.

Shocked, he frantically searched his memory of the original book but couldn’t recall any character who should be here at this time. The only white-haired person he could think of was the Demon Lord, Bai Liu.

But Bai Liu wasn’t supposed to appear until much later in the book! How could he be here now?

As Jiang Xu was thinking, Shi Jingyu turned to leave, presumably having finished soothing the little sister. The person ahead suddenly seemed to sense something and turned his head. This face was different from the ordinary one he had seen before—a pair of striking red eyes met his. With just one glance, the man turned back, but Jiang Xu was left trembling, breaking out in a cold sweat.

In this book, only one person had white hair and red eyes: the Demon Lord, Bai Liu.

Heavens, Jiang Xu covered his face behind the tree. Why did I have to run into this guy!

In the original work, this guy was exceptionally cruel, temperamental, and bloodthirsty. Despite being a monster, his face was top-tier. White hair and red eyes were rare enough, but his face was so beautiful it was almost androgynous. In the human world, he usually wore a refined, smiling mask, but everyone knew the madness that lay beneath that pretty face.

Clutching his chest, Jiang Xu didn’t know what to do. As he hesitated, he heard Fu Bihan’s scream. Startled, he jumped out from behind the tree and saw Bai Liu—who had already reverted to his original appearance—choking Fu Bihan by the throat. Seeing that he was about to leave with her, Jiang Xu panicked and rushed out.

When the Demon Lord was being “normal,” he seemed perfectly fine, and his good looks were highly deceptive. But the moment he spoke, his true nature was revealed: “You wish to stop this Lord?” He looked Jiang Xu up and down with a teasing smile, the corners of his eyes turning up into a seductive, dangerous curve. “With such weak spiritual power, do you intend to use your… body to stop me?”

He emphasized the word “body.” Jiang Xu got goosebumps and rubbed his arms. He took a few steps forward boldly. “I’m going to hit you, obviously.”

Bai Liu’s eyebrows arched. His red pupils narrowed and his lips curled into a thin line. He looked like a cold-blooded predator waiting for its prey. He repeated Jiang Xu’s words with amusement, but when they left his mouth, they sounded as if they were soaked in blood: “Hit me?”

Jiang Xu had been a bit too quick-tongued. Now, hearing Bai Liu’s chilling voice, he felt a shiver down his spine. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He screamed for 001 in his head, but the fellow was nowhere to be found.

“Never shows up when I need him…” Jiang Xu muttered, beginning to calculate how his “noob” level spiritual power could help him escape the fastest.

“Jiang Xu!” Fu Bihan, who had harbored a sliver of hope because Jiang Xu’s cultivation was actually higher than hers, saw him trembling and grew furious. She forgot her fear of the Demon Lord for a moment and screamed at him, “How can you be so cowardly!”

“Are you serious? You’re taking the time to scold me right now?” he deadpanned. “Can’t you save yourself?”

“You—!”

“Tsk.” Bai Liu grew impatient. His grip on Fu Bihan’s neck tightened, and his red eyes darkened. “This Lord was foolish to waste time with you two.”

With that, he suddenly appeared right in front of Jiang Xu and wrapped an arm around his waist. “It seems you want to come along. Since that is the case, I have no reason to refuse.”

Startled, Jiang Xu looked at the still-choked Fu Bihan. Gritting his teeth, he leaned down and bit the hand around his waist as hard as he could.

If I can’t outfight him, I’ll outbite him!

Caught off guard, Bai Liu let out a hiss of pain and loosened his grip. Fu Bihan took the chance to scramble out of his clutches and—without a single backward glance—turned and bolted.

How heartless is this little sister?!

Seeing that Fu Bihan had escaped, Jiang Xu tried to let go and slip away, but Bai Liu grabbed him by the back of the neck. The demon leaned close to his ear and held out the arm that had been bitten. His skin was pale, and because Jiang Xu had used all his strength, the bite mark was a vivid, angry red.

“Is this Lord’s flesh tasty?” Bai Liu’s voice carried a hint of violence. He gripped Jiang Xu’s chin and forced him to look into those deep red eyes.

Jiang Xu tried to force a calm expression. He swallowed. “It was… mediocre. I don’t really have a taste for human flesh…”

Bai Liu’s pupils shrank. A strange smile played on his lips. “You aren’t afraid of me?”

I am! I really am! But what was the point of fear now? The ungrateful sister had run away, and he couldn’t win a fight…

Bai Liu didn’t wait for an answer. He let go of Jiang Xu’s chin, tucked him firmly under his arm, and said coldly, “Since you ruined my plans, I’ll take you back to play with instead.”