Chapter 2: He seems to know who I am because I scared him...

Mingjian calmly spilled both buckets of water he was carrying.

Who just floated past?

He must be hallucinating.

【Xiao Bumian! That's Xiao Bumian! Do you know how long he's secretly harbored feelings for you?】

The sound of water splashing on the ground made the person behind him pause, and Mingjian subconsciously glanced back. He remembered that the system had said Xiao Bumian was a villain, and perhaps due to his childhood experience of being a wanderer, Mingjian keenly sensed a slight chill spreading in the air.

His heart skipped a beat, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly turned around and pretended that he had accidentally spilled the water.

The system sensed Mingjian's vigilance and fear, but couldn't quite understand it, so it comforted him.

[Host, don't worry too much. Although according to the original story, Xiao Bumian is still two years away from emerging from seclusion, he hasn't fallen into demonic possession yet and is still very gentle.]

The system malfunctioned for some reason. It originally planned to come two years early to spend time with Mingjian, complete the previous storyline, resolve his relationship with Xie Linzhao, and then complete the conquest mission after Xiao Bumian emerged from seclusion two years later.

But for some reason, Xiao Bumian has already emerged from seclusion. However, this is for the best; it allows the host to spend more time with their target sooner, bringing the mission's end closer.

Mingjian: "..."

If he knew what the system was thinking, he would definitely drag the system out and beat it up.

"Do you need any help?" Xiao Bumian's voice suddenly came from behind.

Mingjian sensed danger, his entire body screaming for escape, yet he still couldn't help but turn to look at Xiao Bumian. His eyebrows were beautiful and long, and his pupils beneath his long lashes held a faint smile, but behind that gentle smile seemed to suppress a hint of impending danger.

“No need.” Seeing his heart pounding, Ming refused without hesitation.

"Alright." Xiao Bumian's tone was somewhat disappointed. Only when the fish he was holding moved did he lower his eyes and gently stroke the fish's dorsal fin with his other hand.

Before Mingjian could even breathe a sigh of relief, Xiao Bumian seemed to have changed his mind. He stepped forward, squatted down to help Mingjian steady the bucket, and asked with a gentle smile, "Was it because I scared you?"

Mingjian's heart stopped, "No!"

Xiao Bumian wondered why he suddenly raised his voice, and tilted his head. "Hmm?"

Mingjian forcefully suppressed the fear in his heart, "No! It's not! It's because of you..."

Tens of thousands of possible solutions flashed through his mind, but he finally gave in to Xiao Bumian's increasingly impatient gaze and managed to stammer, "You're very good-looking."

Xiao Bumian paused for a moment, then gave Mingjian a strange look.

However, this idea was quite novel. After Xiao Bumian came to his senses, he actually smiled. The corners of his beautiful eyes curved into a slight arc, and the frosty moonlight shone into his eyes, making him even more alluring.

"May I have your name?"

Mingjian didn't know why he suddenly changed the subject. Actually, he didn't want to say it. He always felt that the person in front of him was not as gentle and harmless as he seemed. On the contrary, he was very dangerous. As long as he got close to him, Mingjian felt uncomfortable all over.

But this is Xiao Bumian. If what his inner demon said is true, this person is probably not what he's pretending to be. On the contrary, he is gloomy and obsessive, and very good at hiding himself. He won't speak, and he might kill him in the next second.

"Lu Heng." Mingjian casually said the name of a cultivator who had bullied him before.

"Lu Heng," Xiao Bumian repeated softly, unsure if he believed her. He whispered, "Thank you for your praise."

Mingjian's heart skipped a beat. "I'm telling the truth."

Despite spending so many years on Jianming Immortal Mountain, Mingjian's cultivation hadn't improved much, but his acting skills were superb. After saying this, he tilted his head slightly, his face gradually flushing with a light red, and his ears and the back of his neck also turning a faint blush, as if he was embarrassed by this outrageous remark.

Xiao Bumian was very interested in the changes in his face. He stared at Mingjian for a while before handing the fish in his hand to Mingjian, saying, "Could you please hold this for me?"

Mingjian pondered his meaning for a moment, thinking that if Xiao Bumian wanted to kill him, he wouldn't go through such a roundabout way, so he carefully took the fish. When he took the fish, his hand inevitably touched Xiao Bumian's fingertips, whose fingertips were extremely cold, as cold as a handful of fresh snow.

Mingjian unconsciously withdrew his hand.

Xiao Bumian paused for a moment, seemingly noticing something amusing, and looked thoughtfully at his hand.

After a while, he rubbed his fingertips together, withdrew his gaze, and cast a spell. The spiritual water that had just seeped into the snow turned into countless tiny droplets that floated in mid-air. As Xiao Bumian moved his hand, they gradually gathered together and finally fell back into the bucket.

“If all this water is spilled, you’ll have to go down the mountain again. Since it’s my fault, I’ll help you get the water back.”

[Waaaaah, I knew it! Xiao Bumian is so gentle; at this moment, the main villain is still the compassionate and merciful Immortal Venerable Hanyue.]

Before him, Xiao Bumian smiled like a spring breeze, his voice clear and crisp. Moonlight cast dappled shadows on his plain white robe, as if it were truly as the system had said. Xiao Bumian had not yet fallen into demonic possession and was still the humble immortal who cared for all living beings and had not yet thought of destroying the world.

Mingjian was momentarily dazed. "Thank you, fellow Daoist."

In truth, Mingjian hadn't planned to go down the mountain again. If the water had really spilled, he wouldn't want the spirit stones he received today. But who would complain about having too many spirit stones?

He handed the fish back to Xiao Bumian and hurriedly said goodbye, "The moon is very big and beautiful tonight. Take your time looking at it. I'm leaving now. Until we meet again."

After saying that, he left quickly.

Watching Mingjian's receding figure, Xiao Bumian suddenly chuckled softly, as if he couldn't suppress it. At first, it was a soft chuckle, but later it turned into a loud laugh. A faint tear welled up in the corner of his eye, startling his companion sword spirit, which had just come out for some fresh air, so much so that it dared not move and could only lie on his shoulder.

Finally, he slowly stopped laughing, the smile fading from his eyes, replaced by a captivating gloom and aloofness.

He murmured with interest, "He seems to know who I am. Should I kill him?"

The companion sword spirit was originally a wisp of extremely Yin demonic energy, which took form due to Xiao Bumian's bone chain. Hundreds of years of tempering gradually gave it sentience.

It said, "How could he have known?"

"That's right," Xiao Bumian thought, "how could he have known?"

He has never shown his true self to anyone.

"Kill him, kill him," the sword spirit said.

"Shh." Xiao Bumian made a shushing gesture, which sounded like a sigh. "Keep your voice down, it won't be good if he hears you."

He no longer wanted to eat fish, as if he had found something more interesting to him, and was quite nonchalant. "I'll wait until I figure things out before I kill him."

...

…

Mingjian was still listening to the system's complaints in his sea of ​​consciousness.

[Host, you just let such a good opportunity slip by! I'm so disappointed in you.]

Great, finally disappointed. Let's go.

system:……

"I'm not leaving! Host, if you don't follow the storyline, your body will become weaker day by day."

Right now, Mingjian doesn't even have as much credibility for this thing as the charlatan down the mountain who's always swindling people. If what this system says is true—that if he doesn't follow the plot, this world will collapse and his body will grow weaker day by day—then how did Xiao Bumian suddenly appear here? And if he's forced to follow the Kunwu storyline, won't he end up with the same ending as in the original book?

The system was busy defending itself.

[There are only some important plot points that need to be addressed; the rest are uncontrollable factors. As long as you can successfully complete the mission, the host is free to act as they see fit.]

Furthermore, it was unclear why Xiao Bumian would appear at this point in time, since he didn't appear until two years later in the original story. At that time, Mingjian went to the Misty Mountain Realm for a trial, which was originally only a three-star mission, but unexpectedly, a demonic seed appeared, which was only required for a five-star mission. The group barely escaped with their lives in the secret realm.

Just when everyone thought they were going to die in the secret realm, Xiao Bumian appeared in time to save them. The book says that it was in that secret realm that Xiao Bumian fell in love with Mingjian at first sight.

The system now hesitated. Perhaps Xiao Bumian had already met Shi Jian around this time. Their first meeting in the Misty Mountain Realm was not the first time they had met, nor was it love at first sight as described in "Kunwu." Rather, it was a long-term unrequited love.

So the moment the system recognized Xiao Bumian, it knew that the mission to conquer this world was much simpler than it had imagined, and that it might be able to return soon.

"Heh." Mingjian chuckled coldly, becoming even more determined to remove the "inner demon" from his mind.

"A piece of junk."

system:……

That's outrageous!

How could it remember that the protagonist in the original book was pure and pitiful, and kind-hearted, unlike this one who wants to kill it at the drop of a hat?

However, it only dared to grumble in its heart, fearing that Mingjian might really give up. It patiently explained to Mingjian.

[Host, while Xiao Bumian hasn't fallen into demonic possession yet, strike while the iron is hot. After successfully conquering him, the system will grant you one wish, including your most desired cultivation level and lifespan!]

Mingjian paused slightly while pouring water, but resumed his actions in an instant, continuing to treat the system as if it were empty.

After collecting his spirit stones from the mission pool, Ming Jian leisurely rode his sword back to the outer disciples' courtyard.

"That bitch has vanished again."

"Sixth Senior Brother, where could that good-for-nothing have gone? He might still be at the Nevernight Pavilion," a gruff male voice said.

Lu Heng felt a pain in his hand upon hearing the name Nevernight Pavilion, "It must be there."

"That's right. If we hadn't caused such a big scene at the Never-Night Pavilion back then, and the elders of the Criminal Investigation Department hadn't put a restriction on us that prevented us from going to the Never-Night Pavilion, there wouldn't have been anywhere for that little piece of trash to hide." The male cultivator said viciously.

The "year" he was referring to was seven years ago, when Mingjian was only at the first level of Qi Refining and always ranked last in every competition within the sect. Over time, he was frequently bullied. Few people went to the Nevernight Pavilion, so it became a good place for Lu Heng and his gang to bully Mingjian.

They were very good at striking a balance, and for a long time, the injuries they inflicted on Mingjian were not serious. If the outer sect elders discovered this, they would simply brush it off as a friendly sparring match.

Until one day, Mingjian dug a pit in their path, lured them in, and then threw in dozens of poisonous snakes he had caught in the bamboo forest. Five or six teenagers cried their eyes out, their bodies covered in sores, and it took several antidote pills from the sect elders to barely save their lives.

The matter spread like wildfire among the outer disciples. Even though the five or six teenagers insisted that it was Mingjian who did it, no one could prove it. Furthermore, Mingjian had been in the outer disciples' academy that day, asking an elder for advice on swordsmanship. Therefore, the Criminal Investigation Department believed that they had deliberately framed Mingjian.

A few disciples, perhaps disapproving of Lu Heng and his group's past behavior, stood up to speak for Mingjian. The elder was furious and confined Lu Heng and his group for a year, also imposing a restriction that forbade them from entering the Evernight Pavilion again.

From then on, there were far fewer people who always wanted to bully Mingjian.

In recent years, Lu Heng and his group would occasionally cause trouble for Ming Jian, but perhaps they were also afraid of Ming Jian, so they only dared to say a few words, and when Ming Jian came back, they would slink away.

Mingjian stood outside the door, listening expressionlessly to the people in the courtyard cursing him, his eyes growing increasingly cold.

A note from the author:

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