Ning Ning always felt that her system was very wrong.

She said it was smart, but it would only make a ding-dong sound every time it issued a task. Not only was the plot prediction extremely unreliable, but it also seemed to have no reasonable criteria for judging. Even if she went a long way off the plot, it would still pass smoothly.

But she said it was stupid, and judging from the few exchanges she had with the system, although it had a bad temper and didn't like to talk to people, it definitely had a certain level of thinking ability and could communicate with people unimpeded.

However, the most urgent task is not to speculate on the cat's greed. As a conscientious party who suffers from PTSD to the system sound, Ningning paused immediately after hearing the ding-dong sound, and quickly turned her attention to the words that emerged in her mind.

She no longer remembers the specific content of the original book clearly, and can only vaguely remember the general plot.

Looking back at this time, even Ningning herself feels very surprised. This book is obviously not her favorite type, but she was able to read it all without missing a word.

As a work with a male protagonist who wants to upgrade, "Sword Breaks the Sky" repeats the cycle of frustration, upgrades and slaps in the face throughout the whole process. Most of the plot is spent in the secret realm, telling how Pei Ji fights his way out of the siege and ascends to become an immortal at a speed that shocked the entire cultivation world.

And what appeared in her mind at this time was the plot after the end of the first round of the Dharma Assembly.

According to the original work, Pei Ji, as Ning Ning's mortal enemy, naturally could not go to the secret realm with her.

He has always been a loner, acting ruthlessly and decisively. He cut off countless tokens in the secret realm, and for a time he was in the limelight and attracted the favor of many immortal elders.

At this time, it was naturally her turn as a vicious female supporting role to take action.

The Ningning in the original novel has lived under the spotlight since she was a child. She was determined to take the lead in the Dharma Assembly, but she didn't expect that all the limelight was taken away by Pei Ji, and she couldn't make any splash.

She had long been resentful of this cheap junior brother, and all the resentment in her heart broke out today. When Pei Ji was healing, she broke into the room and not only humiliated him with words, but also broke the fairy spring he used for healing.

The vicious words and fierce behavior were like arsenic mixed with chili peppers, poisonous and spicy.

This time it's over.

The more Ningning read, the more frightened she felt, and her mind stayed on the last paragraph.

[The crisp sound of the medicine bottle breaking was like a blade slicing through the eardrum. Pei Ji looked at her coldly, and there was a dark tide in his dark pupils, full of undisguised disgust.]

Every word was so suffocating. She was still pinching her philtrum to take a deep breath when she heard the system prompt as cold as a small pudding popsicle:

[Host, please complete the task as soon as possible, recite the lines according to the established plot, and smash the elixir.]

Ning Ning's stunned expression was quickly noticed by Pei Ji. The young man sitting on the bed raised his eyelashes slightly, glanced at her quickly, and then reached out with a slightly dimmed look in his eyes and picked up the porcelain bottle containing the elixir from the bedside.

"If you find it inconvenient, I can apply the medicine myself--"

His voice was very low, hiding all his emotions when he spoke. It was no different from his usual indifferent and gloomy tone, except that the ending sounded like a drooping tail, which inexplicably sounded a bit lost.

"No, it's not."

Ning Ning was upset and confused, and couldn't think of a reasonable way to explain it. The system was still counting down in a tone like an announcement of death. In desperation, she had to give up and recite the first line of speech in her mind--

"Even if I win the first round of the Dharma Assembly, what does it matter? I'm just a useless waste."

...Hmm?

Wait, something doesn't seem right.

Because of the tight schedule, Ning Ning only had time to take a quick glance at all the lines and didn't know the specific content of each sentence.

Now that she read out the first sentence herself, she suddenly remembered:

something is wrong. Because the plot is so messed up that even the author can't recognize it, the first place in this secret trial seems to have changed from Pei Ji to her.

So what is this line... I'm scolding myself?

Pei Ji didn't understand why she suddenly said this, and a little confusion and hesitation filled his eyes.

Ning Ning tried hard to hide the surprise in her heart, and moved her consciousness stiffly to the second line of the line: "Even if you were in the limelight before, now your spiritual power is greatly damaged and you can't do anything - the injuries on your body must be very painful, right?"

Something is wrong, this direction is wrong.

Obviously, these are all extremely vicious lines, but once the subject is changed... why do they suddenly become like the confession in Qiong Yao's drama!

Especially the sentence "It must be painful".

If these five words were in the context of the original text where the two people were at loggerheads, the effect of reading them out would be absolutely explosive. Coupled with a sinister sneer, it would be a ruthless mockery that could attract all the hatred from Pei Ji in a matter of minutes.

But now... it seems like she is blaming herself for being powerless and unable to treat him properly.

That's not the case! Rubbish system destroys people's innocence! Reading the lines like this, it seems as if she has some shameful thoughts about Pei Ji, and she is obviously not worried at all -

okay.

Although she is indeed a little worried, it is really only a little.

Ning Ning never thought that one day she would be so embarrassed that her ears would turn red when she read out the lines of the vicious female supporting role.

"Ning Ning baby, why did you come to this!"

Cheng Ying was so moved that he almost shed two lines of tears like an old mother: "Pei Xiaoji, go and comfort her! How could such a kind girl blame herself so much for not being able to protect you... My heart is about to melt!"

He said as he glanced at the little girl in front of the bed. He saw Ning Ning's complex expression and her ears were slightly pink, and his heart softened.

Looking at her desperate expression, she must have used up all her courage to say these words. She was so innocent, so cute, and so touching.

If Ning Ning could hear its sound, Cheng Ying would definitely yell at her: "Don't blame yourself, dear! Pei Ji is not worthy! As the first place in the ceremony, you are the best!"

Ning Ning stepped from one abyss into another hell, resisting the urge to blush, and continued to look down.

The previous few sentences could barely cause misunderstandings due to a combination of coincidences, but the following plot could not be rounded up at all.

The original owner's sarcasm was met with a retort from Pei Ji, and she was so angry that she rushed into the house through the door, snatched the fairy spring on the table and threw it to the ground.

The most fatal thing was that she called out "evil spirits in the demon world" in front of Pei Ji.

Ning Ning felt that it was all over.

She was in a state of panic. Seeing Pei Ji staring at her in a daze with the porcelain bottle in his hand, she gritted her teeth secretly, and her voice became a little hoarse unconsciously: "Give it to me."

Pei Ji didn't know her inner struggles, and without thinking too much, he handed the bottle forward.

"Strange. Pei Xiaoji, do you think... Ning Ning's expression is a little strange?"

Cheng Ying carefully looked at her expression and thought: "She has been staring at this fairy spring since not long ago."

Pei Ji naturally noticed this cat-like thing.

Since he picked up the porcelain bottle from the bedside, Ning Ning's eyes have become more and more depressed, as if she has something to say, but she always hesitates. Now that she has taken the bottle, she stares at the fairy medicine inside without saying a word, and I don't know what she is thinking.

He had never seen such an expression on her face.

Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard Ning Ning's voice: "It's just the evil spirits from the demon world-"

The evil spirits from the demon world.

He had heard these four words from countless people, but he never thought that she would say this word herself.

There were only two of them here, and Ning Ning could only be referring to him.

Pei Ji's heartbeat stagnated, and his right hand clenched the bed sheet tightly.

The little girl in front of him lowered her eyes and stopped looking at him. After taking a deep breath, she continued: "How dare you make trouble in the Ten Dharma Assembly!"

Then there was a sharp and piercing sound.

Ning Ning broke the porcelain bottle containing the fairy spring.

The room was dim and quiet.

The harsh sound of ceramics breaking and the sound of spring water pouring on the ground rang out together, like a sharp blade piercing through the silence.

Along with it, there was also a shallow gasp.

This time, not only Pei Ji, but also Ning Ning was stunned in place.

She followed the system's prompts and smashed the porcelain bottle according to the original plot, but at the moment the bottle broke, what gushed out was not the fairy spring.

The liquid was colorless and odorless, and there was no trace of it from the outside. When it splashed onto her calf, it was like extremely corrosive sulfuric acid, and it burst into unbearable scalding heat in an instant.

Then, the wound was filled with demonic energy, and the light black mist was like an invisible little snake, penetrating deep into the body with piercing pain.

"Oh no, Xianquan has been replaced!"

Chengying suppressed his smile and cried out in surprise: "Pei Xiaoji, go quickly--"

Before he could finish his words, he saw Pei Ji turned over and got out of bed, picked up Ningning without saying a word, and put her on the bed where he had just sat.

Ningning's head was completely confused.

This was never mentioned in the original book. She should have thrown the porcelain bottle and staggered out of the room, but this demonic energy that came from nowhere-

it was really the evil spirit of the demon world.

So why did Xianquan become such a thing!

She was in so much pain that she couldn't think.

So Ning Ning gave up thinking, leaned her head on the bed like Ge You's paralysis, and after a brief eye contact with Pei Ji, she seemed to suddenly remember something and raised her hands to cover her entire face.

"Don't look at me!"

She endured the pain while speaking, and finally gathered her scattered consciousness again: "My expression now must be very-hiss!"

Cheng Ying was so distressed that he trembled all over: "Oh my God, if Ning Ning hadn't noticed that the fairy spring was different, wouldn't you be finished? Who replaced the fairy spring?"

No wonder she had been staring at the fairy spring before, no wonder she showed such a complicated expression, and no wonder Ning Ning blurted out "evil spirits from the demon world".

The bottle does not contain a life-saving elixir, but a deadly poison that is infected by demonic energy.

Pei Ji's face was cold. He took out the prepared medicine and cotton cloth from his storage bag and gently lifted her skirt.

The girl's calves were slender, but now they were burned with bloody wounds. He forced himself to suppress the murderous intent in his heart, and his knuckles holding the medicine bottle turned white.

Ning Ning covered her face, and in the darkness, she felt something soft gently brushing the edge of the wound.

She was in great pain, and because she didn't want Pei Ji to see her facial features that were distorted like plasticine, she only opened a small gap between her fingers and secretly looked at him between the gaps.

He seemed a little angry, and his brows were tightly locked.

But his eyes were clearly mixed with many inexplicable emotions, like a stormy night with surging waves in the deep sea.

Pei Ji's fingers were trembling slightly.

Ning Ning heard his voice, hoarse and low, almost inaudible: "...Why help me?"

She was stunned: "What?"

"You don't have to wait for me to this point, I--"

His brows were full of sinister and vicious, not to her, but to himself.

Those simple words rolled on the tip of his tongue, and when they were finally spoken, they inexplicably brought a sense of self-abandonment and disgust: "I have nothing to give you."

Pei Ji really didn't understand.

He was aloof and gloomy, and came from a humble background. Others either kept a distance from him or mocked and ridiculed him without disguising, but Ning Ning was different.

She always approached him with a smile, just like she treated everyone around her.

Even though he was taciturn and clumsy in speaking, and Ningning often said a lot of things but he could only reply a few words stiffly, she never became impatient.

As for the hand holding that night, those hasty hugs, and the words she said today -

why did she always help him, why was she so nice to him.

Pei Ji couldn't figure it out.

Just like he didn't understand why he was so upset and almost went crazy after seeing Ningning injured.

"Do you want to know the reason?"

After a brief silence, her voice suddenly rang in his ears.

Ning Ning's voice was melodious and clear, and because of her smile, she looked approachable and naive. When Pei Ji looked up, he met her eyes.

In order to apply the medicine to her calf, Ning Ning sat on the bed with her knees bent.

At this time, she leaned forward, her chin resting on her arms, and her arms were wrapped around her knees. In an instant, she was very close to him. When she smiled with the corners of her lips slightly raised, a faint swirl appeared on her cheek.

"I don't want anything from you."

Ning Ning said, "Will you be nice to someone you hate?"

He shook his head.

"That's right! On the contrary, if you really want to be nice to someone, it must be because--"

Pei Ji pursed his lips indifferently. Only he knew that his heartbeat under his chest was already crazy fast.

He heard Ning Ning say, "Because I like you."

Cheng Ying held back his voice and laughed silently, his whole body wrapped into a ball.

"You, look."

She seemed a little shy because of the word "like", and buried her chin gently in her arms.

"There are many kinds of love in the world, family love, friendship, teacher-student love, and the love between us as fellow students - I will not get close to my fellow students around me casually. The reason I am willing to help you is because you are Pei Ji."

The undercurrent in his heart intertwined into a secret but surging emotion. Pei Ji was completely stunned by the last few words, and the black color in his black eyes gradually deepened.

"You asked me first, don't say I'm corny."

The wound on his leg was still painful, but Ning Ning forced herself to endure the pain and continued to smile.

The self-loathing in Pei Ji's eyes was obvious. She had read the original work and knew what kind of life he had lived from childhood to adulthood.

Abandoned by his mother, isolated by his peers, with no one around him willing to identify with him, all the values ​​he accepted expressed the same consensus: he was a monster with impure blood who should not have been born.

He must be disgusted with himself from the bottom of his heart, so he isolated himself from the world and was obsessed with swordsmanship.

Only when practicing swordsmanship, he didn't have to worry about other things.

Ning Ning wanted to help him.

Even though her power was limited, the cognition that had been deeply rooted in his heart for many years could not be easily changed, but she still wanted to tell Pei Ji.

"Pei Ji is better than many other people."

Ning Ning said, "If you can be happy and don't need any gifts, I will also feel very happy."

These are words that would never appear in dreams.

Pei Ji was a little short of breath.

Maybe it was because her heart was beating too fast and too violently.

How could she... say such words nonchalantly?

The boy remained silent. Because his headband was loose, his long messy hair fell quietly in front of his eyes, covering the unknown emotions that gradually rose in his pupils like dark clouds.

The strange but strong feelings grew like vines, entwining around his heart in circles. Pei Ji seemed to have the answer to the previous question.

Why was he upset because of Ning Ning's injury?

There was a strange feeling that he had never had before that broke out from the bottom of his heart.

He heard the sound of his own heartbeat.

"Ouch - it hurts! Be gentle!"

"...I haven't touched the wound yet."

"Wait wait! Let me change the bandage for you first! Your shoulder is bleeding again - what is this between us, injured and disabled people helping each other?"

This time Pei Ji's tone of response was particularly serious: "Friendship between fellow disciples."

=====

When Elder Mu of Su Wen Tang rushed to the inn, he found that Pei Ji's door was ajar and not closed.

He knew that this was a door specially left for him, and was about to knock on the door, but he saw the scene inside the room through the tiny gap.

Pei Ji closed the curtains, and a thin light as soft as water flowed in the room. The skinny young man sat upright at the head of the bed, his body already covered with gauze, and on the bed, lay a familiar girl who had quietly fallen asleep.

He recognized that it was Ning Ning from the Xuanxu Sword Sect.

Because Pei Ji had his back to the door, Elder Mu could not see his expression at the moment. He only knew that he had been standing at the head of the bed for a long time without saying a word. He wanted to reach out and touch her several times, but hesitated and retracted his movements.

There happened to be a breeze blowing by, blowing the window curtains, and also sending light pouring down.

In the soft light for a moment, he saw Pei Ji bowing gently and lowering his head carefully.

——For the first time, the young swordsman, who had always been decisive and full of hostility, made a gesture similar to submission, leaning over silently, and quietly lowering his eyelashes.

His eyes were dark, but his thin lips were tinged with a peach-like red.

In the breeze and sunshine, Pei Ji kissed the girl's bandaged calf with great piety.