Chapter 49: Forty-Nine Cuts "Give me the pen, let me write..."
Only Xie Changming enjoyed the meal. If it weren't for the fish head and tofu stew at the end, Luo Mingshu would have also enjoyed it.
On the other side of Dongzhi Wonderland, Wei Qing began to worry. He had originally planned to try to win the first two projects first, so that he could take the initiative and then easily handle the last three projects.
But judging from the current situation, the rumors he spread before are no longer effective. Even the Supreme Immortal Lord himself doesn't mind and is very affectionate with the beautiful goddess. What could the cultivators of the Heavenly Realm possibly have to say?
After Luo Mingshu finished her performance and was about to leave Dongzhi Wonderland, Lu Yaoyao secretly came to find her again: "Senior Sister Luo, is it really impossible to return that jade bracelet to me?"
"Is that even a question?" Luo Mingshu said. "You've already found your senior brother, what do you need the jade bracelet for?"
Lu Yaoyao still didn't recognize Wei Qing. Upon hearing this, she was greatly shocked: "Where is my senior brother...?"
She didn't have the Soul-Calling Bell and couldn't see through Wei Qing's disguise. She only knew that Wei Qing was in the Misty Star Sea, but she wasn't sure if Wei Qing was in this exploration scene.
Now that Luo Mingshu had mentioned it, she finally came to her senses, but which one was her senior brother?
"Is my senior brother A-Bai or A-Mo?" Lu Yaoyao asked subconsciously, but when she came to her senses, she felt that Wei Qing was no longer the focus.
Her system is gone, so why is she still trying to increase Wei Qing's favorability?
“Your senior brother is A-Bai.” Luo Mingshu was delighted that Wei Qing was having a terrible time. Even she couldn’t stand Lu Yaoyao, so Wei Qing definitely couldn’t either.
"I...I'll go find my senior brother right now!" Although she didn't really care about Wei Qing, she still had to put on an act, so Lu Yaoyao turned around and ran towards the Eastern Branch Wonderland.
She planned to go to Wei Qing to express her longing.
Luo Mingshu watched her retreating figure and silently mourned for Wei Qing.
After tricking Wei Qing with just a few words, Luo Mingshu planned to return to Wuji Palace to think about the questions for the next round of the competition.
As long as she can refute the rumors, her position as a moral exemplar in the celestial realm will be secure, given the readership of their "Celestial Realm First-hand News".
Since her trip to Dongzhi Wonderland, Luo Mingshu has dispelled the rumors about her keeping a male concubine from the demon race. Her votes have soared, and many celestial cultivators are dissatisfied with the rumors previously spread by Dongzhi Wonderland and have begun to question the authenticity of the "Celestial Gossip Gazette".
After temporarily declaring victory in the first round, Luo Mingshu and her allies held a small meeting in the Wuji Hall to discuss how they should pose questions to each other.
“In my opinion, we should give them the beginning of a storybook and let them continue writing it until the story is finished,” Meng Weifang suggested first.
He knew that the cultivators of Dongzhi Immortal Realm were not easy to deal with. If he simply tested their magical skills or knowledge, they would naturally work together to come up with a solution.
To win, they had to take an unconventional approach: they would present two questions, and if the opponent failed to complete even one of them, they would be considered to have lost.
"That's a good idea." Luo Mingshu was clearly a cunning person. "Here's the beginning of the story: In a prestigious sect in the human world, there is a senior disciple with a noble status and wealth. However, this senior disciple is unlucky; she is just a supporting character in someone else's story. The real protagonist is a seemingly kind and cute junior sister. How will this senior disciple turn the tables? Please continue the story—"
"Wow!" Meng Weifang, who had read countless stories, was impressed by Luo Mingshu's brilliant idea. "Such a beautiful goddess, the beginning of your story is so refreshing and unique. How come I couldn't have come up with such an idea? It turns out that the characters in the book also have to find ways to change their fate in the book. Brilliant!"
“Indeed,” Luo Mingshu said, stroking her chin. “Of course, we can’t let them just write whatever they want and call it a day. They have to write seriously and win the favor of the celestial cultivators. The story they continue must be serialized in the tabloids for the following week. If the celestial cultivators don’t like it and write to request that the page be removed, then they have lost.”
Luo Mingshu truly lives up to her reputation as a vicious supporting character. She directly throws her own story to the original female lead to continue writing. Even she herself is impressed by her own insidious actions.
The next question was to be devised by Xu Qian. After much thought, she could only come up with this: "Super beautiful goddess, we can have them search for the secrets of important figures, such as the Supreme Immortal Lord or Master Ye Nan, and dig out their hidden dirt."
“Supreme Immortal Lord won’t do.” Xie Changming, who had transformed back into his original form, said. He couldn’t let anyone discover his identity as “Supreme Immortal Lord,” or the exploration scene would collapse.
"Everyone knows about Master Ye Nan's messy affairs. He's two-timing both his grand-disciple and his disciple. Now that neither of them wants him anymore, he deserves it," Xu Qian mocked.
“Let them fight amongst themselves and find out their teammate’s biggest secret,” Luo Mingshu suggested, offering an even more malicious suggestion.
"That's wonderful." Xu Qian clapped her hands excitedly, also eager to know what secrets the two teams of contestants from Dongzhi Wonderland might have.
Their discussion has temporarily come to an end, but the voting results for the first round of the competition will be announced after the five-week competition is completed. The main reason is that Xuan Tianfu has noticed a huge loophole in their competition system: if one side wins three consecutive rounds, then there is no need to compete in the next two rounds. Even if they do compete, someone will lose their fighting spirit.
However, the five duels they proposed were truly interesting. Several elders from Xuantian Mansion, who had cultivated to the point of having no worldly desires, were eager to watch all five matches. Therefore, they proposed to keep some of the results confidential for the time being and announce them all together in five weeks.
The entire celestial realm was waiting to see some fun. After so many years of silence, something interesting was finally happening.
Wei Qing was devastated to learn that the voting results were kept secret, because this meant he could no longer control the outcome of the match. What if they won an extra round?
But Wei Qing guessed that they had already lost in the first round. Who told Wuji Palace to be so shameless, actually selling their tabloids at a loss and gaining a bunch of cultivator readers.
Wei Qing thought to himself, "I need to go all out in the next round."
but--
He pinched his brow in frustration. Lu Yaoyao was still clinging to him, calling him "Senior Brother" repeatedly.
"How did you recognize me?" Wei Qing asked Lu Yaoyao helplessly.
Lu Yaoyao lowered her head and said shyly, "It's...it's Senior Sister Luo."
"She tricked me," Wei Qing said in a voice only he could hear.
"Senior brother, how should we set questions for them?" Lu Yaoyao asked excitedly as she sat side by side with Wei Qing on the bluestone—they seemed like childhood sweethearts.
Although the system was gone, she still remembered that Wei Qing was the most important target of her mission. She wanted to raise Wei Qing's favorability to the maximum, so that he would recognize her and never let go again.
But Wei Qing clearly didn't mean that. He carefully moved to the side, maintaining a proper distance from Lu Yaoyao.
Behind him came Amo's light laughter: "Oh dear, Brother Bai, you've finally met your match."
Wei Qing smiled bitterly, because of Amo's words, he decided to drag Amo into the mess as well.
"Fairy Leng, I have a plan," Wei Qing called out to Shui Qingnian.
At this moment, Shui Qingnian was busy chatting with Suo Ai. The two stood side by side under the peach grove, looking quite like a divine couple.
“Love Lock, I know you are a phantom in the Misty Star Sea, but here I finally see your true form, and you are even more beautiful than I imagined.” Shui Qingnian rarely spoke so gently. “I am not actually human. After I conquer the Demon Realm, may I go to the Demon Realm to find you?”
Suo Ai still retained some of Wen Yu's personality traits. He nodded and said, "It's alright, whether you are human or not doesn't matter."
"What? You're not human?" Suo Ai was shocked.
Shui Qingnian whispered, "I am a demon, a member of the Silver Dragon clan."
If it were really Wen Yu from the Demon Realm, he wouldn't care too much about Shui Qingnian's race. However, due to the special nature of the Demon Realm, Shui Qingnian dared not reveal her demon race identity. She naturally assumed that Feng Xin Suo Ai (183cm tall) would reject her because she was a demon.
This image of Suo'ai (183cm tall) in her mind was exactly how she imagined her to be, so Suo'ai naturally took two steps back: "Cold fairy, how could you deceive me like this?"
“I…” Shui Qingnian was speechless for a moment. She didn’t want things to be like this either. She looked at Suo Ai and didn’t know what to do.
She thought their relationship was good enough, but Suo Ai seemed... to mind her identity.
This was just a grudge in Shui Qingnian's heart, so Suo Ai no longer chose to be with her. He said to Shui Qingnian, "Cold Fairy, if you continue like this, I can no longer stay by your side."
"There is no trust between us anymore," Suo Ai said to Shui Qingnian, emphasizing each word.
In fact, Shui Qingnian had already rehearsed this online-to-offline meeting scene countless times in her mind. Looking at Suo Ai, she finally managed not to lose her composure: "Fine, if you want to leave, then go ahead. It turns out that the feelings between us can change because of my race."
"Cold Fairy, this is a matter of integrity." Suo Ai stared intently at Shui Qingnian, then disappeared. He left and headed towards the Demon Realm.
“You—” Shui Qingnian stared wide-eyed at the empty peach tree, her expression complicated.
At this moment, Wei Qing had been watching from the sidelines for a long time. He never expected that his shout of "Cold Fairy" would scare away even her future Daoist partner.
Shui Qingnian did value Suo'ai. Even though she knew that the Suo'ai who abandoned her and left was not the real Fengxin Suo'ai (183 cm tall), she was still heartbroken. She widened her eyes to keep the tears from falling.
She hates online dating. She only has two hours of online time each day. Why does she have to choose to date that guy, Fengxin Suoai (183cm tall)?
Just as Shui Qingnian was feeling somewhat sad, a white handkerchief was handed to her.
Wei Qing's voice was gentle and soothing: "That demon has left?"
Shui Qingnian sniffed, grabbed the white handkerchief, and rubbed her eyes haphazardly: "He... he's so awful. Even though I lied to him first, he actually just left like that."
Although he didn't know why Shui Qingnian had developed feelings for a character in the Misty Star Sea, Wei Qing still gently comforted her: "Is that so... Cold Fairy, please don't cry anymore..."
Wei Qing raised his hands, somewhat helplessly. Lu Yaoyao stood a little behind and talked to the air behind her: "Amo, look at this is what happens when you start an online relationship. If you're going to date, then date, but don't get too emotionally involved."
Amo had never seen anything like this before. He had never had an online romance. Wasn't the Four Directions Water Mirror a place for cultivators to have "friendly" exchanges and discuss the news? How could someone be having a romance on it? Were they all on the same spiritual network?
"Anyway... well... never mind, Cold Fairy, listen to me, aren't we going to give them a challenge in the second round of the competition next week? Let's have them find a way to get Suo'ai back, how about that?" Wei Qing had a sudden inspiration and offered his suggestion, "After Suo'ai comes back, whether you want to beat him up, officially kick him out, or let him stay with you again, it's all up to you, how about that?"
“They also have a demon over there. This task must be quite simple for them.” Shui Qingnian folded the white handkerchief in her hand and said loudly, “I don’t care if he comes back. Even if I find him, I will drive him away. How dare he leave on his own? Who gave him the guts?”
"How about something else?" Wei Qing asked.
"Let's find him," Shui Qingnian immediately changed her mind.
“Alright, our second question is to have them search for Amo who is hiding within the Heavenly Realm.” Wei Qing was a smart man. He was good at dragging his teammates who wanted to slack off into the mess and making full use of their abilities.
Ah Mo's concealment technique is unparalleled. Unless you get within ten feet of him, even someone with his advanced cultivation level like Ah Mo cannot find him unless he reveals himself.
"You're being too insidious, cultivator." Shui Qingnian's eyesight wasn't good; for a long time, she even thought that Wei Qing was soloing the Misty Star Sea.
The two questions posed by Wei Qing were unanimously approved internally, proving that even a "slacker" can be quite reliable when they put their mind to something.
Before long, the day for exchanging questions arrived. The meeting place was still Xuantian Palace. Wuji Hall and Dongzhi Immortal Realm each presented two questions, which were then reviewed and certified by the Lord of Yingtian Palace. This old Lord of Yingtian Palace was said to be over ten thousand years old, even older than Master Ye Nan and the Supreme Immortal Lord. He was an upright man and would not do anything to show favoritism.
"Alright, whose question should we answer first?" Under the watchful eyes of many cultivators in Yingtian Prefecture, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture accepted the four letters, two red and two black, handed over by both sides.
Red represents Dongzhi Wonderland, and black represents Wuji Palace.
Luo Mingshu was very magnanimous in this matter. She spread her hands in the direction of Dongzhi Wonderland, indicating that they should decide first.
"Let's see what they come up with." Wei Qing was confident in the questions he had set, but he wanted to see what questions the other side had set first.
"Alright, the first question from Wuji Hall is—please continue the story using the following opening line. This story will be serialized simultaneously in 'Heavenly Gossip Gazette' and 'Heavenly Real First-Hand News' for seven days. The royalties will be paid by Wuji Hall. If more than a hundred cultivators write to request the withdrawal of this serialization, it will be considered a failure to solve the question." The old mansion master solemnly read the contents of the black letter. "Wuji Hall, your question is quite interesting, but we cultivators live long lives and have rich experience. Writing some short stories is a piece of cake for us, isn't it?"
However, after reading the beginning of the story, the old manor lord's expression changed from calm to shock. He muttered to himself, "To think... such an idea exists! Well, the protagonist in the book is not the protagonist. Such a subversive idea, I like it. Everyone in Dongzhi Wonderland, you must continue writing it well. I look forward to it."
Luo Mingshu felt the green bracelet in his spatial pouch vibrate. He expressed his dissatisfaction again. They would never have imagined that she would dare to make public the contents of the book in his dream.
Her move was brilliant; she simply handed the beginning to the original female lead to write, to see what kind of brilliance she could create.
Immediately afterwards, the old manor lord began to read the beginning of the storybook provided by Wuji Hall: "The Nameless Sect, one of the four major sects in the human realm, has a senior sister who is extremely wealthy and rich, but unfortunately has a volatile temper—do you think she is the protagonist of the storybook? Yes and no. The senior sister is actually a supporting character in another storybook; she exists to highlight another female protagonist."
"Another storybook says that the eldest senior sister will do evil deeds in the future, harming the kind and lovely junior sister in the sect. She even has a crush on the senior brother, but he has long been in love with the junior sister, who seems to be a chosen one of heaven, and even has a powerful figure (referring to the system) secretly helping her. Our poor eldest senior sister is just a villain who destroys other people's relationships. In the end, she will be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison of the mortal realm, where she will live a miserable life. But one day, the eldest senior sister woke up and dreamed of the contents of this book. Now, what should she do..." P*i*a*n*o*z*l
"This is the beginning of the story. Are you all here in Dongzhi Wonderland feeling inspired and excited?" The old man stroked his beard and praised, "We need this kind of topic that can entertain all the cultivators in the Heavenly Realm."
Shui Qingnian seemed to have put herself in the shoes of the senior sister. After hearing the beginning, she couldn't wait to pick up a pen and start writing: "Damn it, that senior sister is too pitiful. Give me the pen, I'll write it!"
Because the beginning of the story written by Luo Mingshu was too common, with the four major sects' senior sisters, junior sisters, and senior brothers being the standard for storybooks, no one except Lu Yaoyao, who knew the plot, noticed anything wrong with the beginning.
On the Dongzhi Wonderland side, even Amo wanted to get involved and write it together. Only Lu Yaoyao looked pale. She didn't expect that Luo Mingshu actually knew the plot. Not only did she know the plot, but she also made it public. Logically speaking, shouldn't she have carefully kept the plot a secret?
Luo Mingshu is open and honest, and she does whatever she wants. There's nothing shameful about talking about the contents of this storybook, so why can't she say it? Will she die if she does? Since she won't die, she might as well publish it and let everyone enjoy the show.
"How was my move?" Luo Mingshu leaned back slightly, showing off to Xie Changming, "Wasn't the beginning of the story interesting?"
"Why were you locked up?" Xie Changming missed the point. Luo Mingshu had only mentioned the dream book to him, but he didn't expect that her imagined fate would be so tragic.
No matter what, she could never be locked up in the Black Prison, after all, Luo Mingshu... is indeed special.
If anything happens to her, regardless of the Demon Realm, the Monster Realm alone would not agree. The ancient demon god had saved the entire race of the Monster Realm, and the Monster Realm would certainly protect this last Yinglong.
“It’s written in the book,” Luo Mingshu complained softly. “You think it’s outrageous too, don’t you?”
"If..." Xie Changming suddenly realized something. If Luo Mingshu hadn't remembered the plot, hadn't discovered her true identity, and hadn't been unaware of it, and if he hadn't found her, she might really have...
"This matter should be taken seriously," Xie Changming said.
Luo Mingshu was in a good mood, so she replied in a teasing tone, "I know, I know, my cheap husband. I'll naturally find a way to investigate the truth after we leave here, but you'll probably disappear along with the exploration scene by then, right?"
Xie Changming listened but only halfway. He was stunned, and the key words he heard were only the two words "husband". He pursed his lips, and a faint blush rose on his cheeks.
Of course, after saying that, Luo Mingshu realized how outrageous her address was. She turned around, patted her cheeks, and felt that they were a little hot.
Their little actions went unnoticed, while the old manor lord had already opened the letter and begun to browse the second question posed by Dongzhi Wonderland.
"Oh my, this is an interesting question." The old manor chuckled, then asked Shui Qingnian, "Fairy Leng, has that demonic cultivator named 'Love Lock' really left?"
Shui Qingnian's lips trembled: "I've left."
"He didn't leave voluntarily?" The old manor lord was extremely perceptive and noticed that something was wrong with Shui Qingnian.
“Yes,” Shui Qingnian said, frowning.
"Lord of the Manor, please announce the question. Please stop asking questions." Wei Qing told the old lord not to say anything more.
"The first question for Dongzhi Wonderland is—bring back the demon who went to the Demon Domain and was called 'Love Locked' to Dongzhi Wonderland and bring him before the Cold Fairy." The old manor master cleared his throat and read out the question.
"This..." Upon hearing this, the entire hall erupted in uproar. They hadn't expected Dongzhi Immortal Realm to present such a simple question. Everyone knew that Wuji Palace also had a demon, and there were no communication difficulties with the Demon Realm.
Is it really that difficult to bring back a demon?
“This question is not simple.” Wei Qing knew the logic of the people in the Misty Star Sea. They would do things according to a fixed procedure, and this fixed procedure was sometimes generated based on the explorer’s preconceived notions. So as long as Shui Qingnian believed that Suo Ai would abandon her after knowing her identity, Suo Ai would not take the initiative to return to her side.
Even if the security captain of the 19th Security Team could communicate with the demons, they might not be able to persuade Suo Ai to come back.
"By the way, we can't use violence, and we can't hurt Suo'ai. We must bring him back willingly, completely unharmed," the old manor lord added.
Luo Mingshu had thought this question was easy, but Xie Changming lowered his eyes and simply said, "Not easy."
He was about to continue sharing his profound understanding of the demon race, but then he suddenly remembered that he also had the disguise of a Supreme Immortal Lord, so he kept quiet and did not remind him again.
"What happened between them and Suo'ai?" Luo Mingshu didn't hesitate to speculate about her opponent with the worst possible intentions. "Did they abuse him? If so, I can't just send a lamb to the slaughter."
As if anticipating Luo Mingshu's concerns, the old manor lord added, "Don't worry, Dongzhi Wonderland treats Suo'ai very well; he left on his own."
"Alright, I will now announce the next two questions. Please answer these four questions in the next week. Make good use of your time and resources. Wuji Palace and Dongzhi Wonderland, I have high hopes for you!" The old manor master then announced the other two more normal questions, thus completing today's question exchange session.
Both sides, each with their own thoughts, began to ponder how to solve these bizarre problems.
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