Chapter 28 System, come out here, I promise I won't tear you apart.
This year's Immortal Alliance Conference is the one that has suffered the most damage in its history.
The total number of new talents from all factions attending the meeting was 1,313. Among them, Huanhua Palace lost 140 people, Tianyi Temple lost about 90 people, and Zhaohua Temple, which did not send any people to the meeting and focused on being the pillars of the barrier, was spared. Cangqiong Mountain Sect suffered the lightest casualties among the other three major factions, with only 39 people.
As for the other miscellaneous sects, the newcomers with shallow skills and weak techniques are basically concentrated in this area, which is the real disaster area for casualties.
Originally, making it onto the Golden List should have been a joyous occasion, but now, looking at it again, nearly a quarter of those on the list perished in the Valley of Despair. Especially the number one spot, held high at the top, held by Luo Binghe, a disciple of Qingjing Peak of the Cangqiong Mountain Sect and beloved student of Shen Qingqiu, who died with his sword broken—how could this not be heartbreaking?
And these figures do not even include the losses suffered by the monks who rushed to the scene to provide rescue after the incident.
After this battle, all factions were severely weakened.
A red list was presented to Qingjing Peak.
On that red list, the number one name, "Luo Binghe," stood high above, gleaming with golden light.
Mingfan approached and reported, "Master, three thousand spirit stones have been delivered. What should we do with them?"
Three thousand spirit stones? Where did they come from? Shen Qingqiu asked in astonishment, "Why are so many spirit stones suddenly being sent up the mountain?"
Mingfan said cautiously, "Master, have you forgotten? At the Immortal Alliance Conference, you bet a thousand spirit stones, at..."
Shen Qingqiu remembered. It was the bet he had placed on Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe had indeed lived up to expectations, displaying his prowess after the demon invasion, directly surpassing Gongyi Xiao and Liu Mingyan, who were ranked first and second respectively, to take the top spot and earn back double for him.
But for some reason, even though he was initially in the mindset of making a quick buck, he now feels a bit lost.
In the past, he had always entrusted these things to Luo Binghe to handle. Whether they should be organized and stored, used for something else, or how to do it, he didn't have to worry about it. Now, however, it was Mingfan's turn to ask him how to deal with them.
Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment and said, "Let's keep it for now."
"..." Mingfan actually wanted to ask more details about "where to put it", but his master's expression was really not good, so he didn't dare to ask any further. He thought that putting it in the warehouse was the right thing to do, so he immediately withdrew.
For several days, the disciples of Qingjing Peak were extremely cautious, trying their best to avoid the danger zone, afraid of touching the string that hurt their master. They all thought that things would get better after a while. Who knew that more than half a month had passed, and Shen Qingqiu seemed to be gradually recovering, but one day, near mealtime, they suddenly heard Shen Qingqiu call Luo Binghe's name twice in the bamboo hut.
Ning Yingying burst in, startling Shen Qingqiu: "What are you doing? Why are you barging into the room so suddenly? What kind of behavior is this for a young lady?"
Ning Yingying, her eyes red like a little rabbit, said, "Master, what...what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
Shen Qingqiu coughed lightly and said, "No need. Go out and have some fun."
Ning Yingying stamped her foot and said, "Master! Even without A Luo, you... you still have us other disciples! You look so... distraught, we disciples are so worried!"
Shen Qingqiu never imagined that the word "disheartened" could be used to describe him. In truth, at Shen Qingqiu's level of cultivation, whether he ate or not didn't really matter. He was just craving snacks and had accidentally forgotten that Luo Binghe had been kicked into the Abyss of No Return. How did he end up being labeled as "disheartened"?!
Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth, but couldn't explain himself. Seeing that Ning Yingying was almost crying, he quickly comforted her, swearing that he had just let something slip, and then she calmed down.
After coaxing the girl out, Shen Qingqiu breathed a long sigh of relief. Suddenly, she realized that the girl who had always been spoiled and troublesome in the book had actually grown up quite a bit.
You have to understand, she's part of Luo Binghe's harem. She should be the one crying and wailing the most, but instead, she knows to come and comfort her master.
Does this mean his education has been somewhat effective?
In short, this can't go on any longer!
He's the one who raised the innocent male lead, so why does it seem like the male lead is the one who kept him? He's only been gone a few days and he's already wearing that widow's face all the time—who does he think he's scaring?!
No, ptooey! Shen Qingqiu mentally slapped himself.
Calling someone a widow with a bad face! Calling someone's husband dead! How can you say such nonsense? You're really getting worse as you get older. You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. You deserve a beating!
However, he must be feeling a bit lonely now that Luo Binghe is gone. Especially when he thinks about how, five years from now, when they meet again, the former teacher-student affection and filial piety will all turn into smiles and laughter masking hidden dangers.
Shen Qingqiu took the remains of the Zhengyang Sword back with him, hastily dug a pit behind the bamboo hut on Qingjing Peak, erected a sign, and built a sword tomb. Those who saw him staring blankly at the empty tombstone assumed he was missing his beloved disciple and couldn't help but sigh at the deep bond between master and disciple, a cruel twist of fate. Only he knew that what he was lamenting was that within the sword tomb lay buried the warm and gentle boy who would never return.
Furthermore, what truly turned him into a fossil scattered in the wind was a dehumanizing notification message sent by the system after several days of silence.
[Congratulations! Your team has successfully completed the critical mission "Legend Unveiled: Luo Binghe's Fall and Rebirth". Reward: 10,000 Main Character Satisfaction Points.]
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingqiu was overjoyed: This time they've shown some conscience!
Then.
[However, due to special circumstances, a new statistic has been activated: Luo Binghe's Heartbreak Level. Because the Heartbreak Level is too high, the protagonist's Satisfaction Level is reset to zero. Please try again!]
...Reset...Reset...Reset...
The two large characters kept repeating in Shen Qingqiu's mind...
So what the hell is this "Heartbreak Level" thing?! Didn't I tell you not to activate weird data randomly?! Get lost! Luo Binghe is definitely the favorite son; he even has a separate value for Heartbreak!
Thirty years of toil, only to be back to square one overnight. Shen Qingqiu felt utterly heartbroken.
Since he himself is unhappy, of course he'll go find someone else's unhappiness.
So, Shen Qingqiu had someone deliver a note to Shang Qinghua, inviting him to the bamboo house.
Shang Qinghua put down his snow-white porcelain teacup and smiled, "Senior Brother Shen's Qingjing Peak is truly serene and elegant. Even the small teacup is so exquisite. This kind of refinement makes me feel ashamed of myself."
Qingjing Peak and Anding Peak had always kept to themselves, neither warm nor cold. Furthermore, Shen Qingqiu was aloof and never proactively invited guests. This time, however, she actually sent her disciple to Anding Peak to deliver an invitation, leaving Shang Qinghua somewhat puzzled. One shouldn't hit a smiling face, so he decided to offer some pleasantries first; it couldn't be wrong.
Shen Qingqiu dismissed his disciples, closed the door, and sighed, "Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel nostalgic again. Every blade of grass, every tree, every cup and dish in this tranquil retreat was arranged by my disciple."
"..." Shang Qinghua also sighed, "Alas, Junior Nephew Luo was a young talent, what a pity. The demons caused us heavy losses, it is truly hateful. The whole world is saddened, Senior Brother Shen, please accept my condolences."
Shen Qingqiu said quietly, "If Junior Brother Shang really felt it was a pity, this tragedy wouldn't have happened."
Upon hearing this, Shang Qinghua froze.
After a moment, he seamlessly smoothed out his smile: "What do you mean by that, Senior Brother Shen? Are you perhaps blaming me for my poor supervision at Anding Peak? If so, I should indeed apologize to you."
Shen Qingqiu poured him another cup of tea and said, "It's not that you didn't try hard enough, it's that you overdid it. You even brought in demonic creatures like the Ghost-Headed Spider, the Female Vengeful Spirit, and the Bone Eagle, which have never ventured into the human realm on their own initiative. How can you bear to blame me for not supervising properly?"
Shang Qinghua suddenly stood up, his face a mixture of red, green, white, and black: "Peak Master Shen, you can't go too far with your words!"
Shen Qingqiu placed his hand on Shang Qinghua's shoulder and asked seriously, "Junior Brother Shang, why are you so agitated? Let's sit down and talk. If I call your name, will you dare to answer?"
Shang Qinghua sneered and brushed his hand away, saying, "What's there to be afraid of? I, Shang, have a clear conscience. Do you think I'm afraid of you framing me?"
Shen Qingqiu: "Shoot a plane into the sky?"
In an instant, it was as if a bolt of divine lightning from the heavens struck Shang Qinghua directly on the head, rendering him speechless.
After a long pause, he finally managed to say, tremblingly, "How...how did you know this ID?"
Seeing his reaction, Shen Qingqiu felt as if she had been struck by lightning as well.
Three seconds later, Shen Qingqiu patted his shoulder, pressing down hard, and smiled, "It really is you? I've finished reading your book, how could I not know your ID? If it weren't for you accidentally letting slip a word when Mobei-jun came out, I really wouldn't have known it was you, Juju!"
At that moment, when Shang Qinghua saw Mo Beijun suddenly appear, he unintentionally blurted out "WTF!"
Shen Qingqiu didn't hear it clearly at the time, so he didn't pay attention to it, but afterwards he became more and more suspicious.
The fact that Shang Qinghua, as the mastermind (in charge of logistics), didn't release the Black Moon Python Rhinoceros, which should have had a significant role, was already a major point of suspicion. However, if we interpret this as deliberately hindering the plot's development and cutting off the root cause of Luo Binghe's tragedy of being thrown into the Abyss of No Return, it makes sense.
As for why he guessed it was shooting down a plane into the sky... of course, there's only one reason—the only person he knows besides himself who knows the plot is the original author, so of course he can only guess one option!
It's not his fault that he guesses correctly every time with such a stupid guess!
The two remained silent, each more scorched on the outside than the other.
After a long pause, Shen Qingqiu said, "You've dug a hole and then left it unfilled! The foreshadowing is ruined! It's full of plot holes! This is elementary school level writing! If you're going to write a harem novel, just write a harem novel properly. Why are you playing with this torture and torment genre?!"
Shang Qinghua: "...I'm a victim too. I'm the author, and I'm supposed to be a god who created the world, right? If I'm going to transmigrate, I should be the protagonist. Who knew that I would get an electric shock while plugging in an outlet, and the system would randomly assign me a role, and I would be given a cannon fodder role."
Shen Qingqiu sneered, "It's still better than me. Your undercover identity was exposed and you were immediately silenced by Mo Bei Jun. At least you died a quick death. I was personally chopped into a stick by Luo Binghe." He spoke each word with great emphasis, revealing the depth of his resentment.
Shang Qinghua: "You've only been reborn for a few years? You're already a Grandmaster level right after being reborn? I was transmigrated from infancy. Do you have as much experience as I did, from a poor and destitute childhood to being an unappreciated outer disciple?"
The two couldn't reach a conclusion by comparing their misfortunes; they were both equally miserable. Shang Qinghua remarked, "I actually ran into a reader. I guess it's fate. What's your reader ID on Qidian Literature Network? Maybe we're old acquaintances."
Shen Qingqiu said, "A peerless cucumber."
Shang Qinghua pondered for a moment and said, "I have a vague recollection. Wasn't there a time when you were shouting particularly loudly in a building, begging to castrate a villain? It was after you, cough cough, the original Shen Qingqiu, failed to molest Ning Yingying."
“…” Shen Qingqiu: “Let’s not talk about the past.”
He said seriously, "The family reunion is over, so let's stop with the nonsense. The reason I'm talking to you about this today is because after the Immortal Alliance Conference, I suddenly thought of a way to solve the common problem we're facing."
Shang Qinghua was taken aback: "Really?"
Shen Qingqiu waved his fan: "Is it funny to joke about something like this? My method can be said to cure the root of the problem. As long as it doesn't leak out, it will eliminate any future troubles."
However, there are still one or two minor conditions missing.
Success or failure hinges on this. It all depends on whether Shang Qinghua, this fellow townsman, can lend a hand.
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