Chapter 3 Even if it was all just a dream, she was still unwilling to accept it...
She had seen him when she first started out.
She had just entered Xiaokunlun and was full of curiosity about everything. She ran around on the mountaintop, then slipped and fell down the mountain.
It was this senior brother who saved her and even brushed the snow off her head.
But she never saw him again. She tried to inquire about him secretly, but the news was like throwing a stone into the sea. After all, Kunlun is so vast, finding someone is no easy task.
Shen Cangyu's gaze swept over Pei Wenjing's silver sect uniform, and she finally understood why she couldn't find out any news about him.
He was an inner disciple, while she belonged to the outer sect; they were worlds apart.
The inner disciples' uniforms were made of shimmering silver silk, while the outer disciples' uniforms were made of rough gray cloth, making them look like a drab gray mouse.
The joy of reunion turned into trepidation.
After all, she had suffered a lot of cold looks and exclusion from inner disciples in Kunlun over the years, and perhaps this senior brother in front of her was no different from them.
Her cargo box is still in the other party's hands. The other party is an inner disciple, so they shouldn't be so likely to confiscate her goods... but what if they are?
This batch of goods contained the blood of the Golden Mountain Rhododendron, which she had gone to great lengths to acquire from merchants in Southeast Asia. As soon as she received the goods, she traveled day and night to Kunlun, fearing that if she was even a step too late, the rhododendron blood would dissolve on the way.
Azalea blood is nothing rare for inner disciples, but for her, it represents three months' worth of salary.
Fearing that the outer disciples would run away, Qizhenfang would often withhold their salaries to blackmail them. Only by completing the task and safely delivering the purchased goods to Qizhenfang could they get back the expenses incurred during the journey and their salaries.
Shen Cangyu stared at the cargo box in Pei Wenjing's hand, and said a bunch of nice things in an attempt to coax him into taking the cargo box back.
But no matter what she said, Pei Wenjing only nodded in response, as if the cargo box was welded to his back.
She couldn't very well just snatch the box back.
Pei Wenjing walked ahead, and she followed closely behind, afraid that he would run too far away and she wouldn't be able to catch up.
Fortunately, he walked slowly.
After walking for quite a while, Shen Cangyu suddenly realized that the snow seemed to have stopped.
She looked up and saw that the snow was still falling, but she didn't feel cold at all.
That's strange.
She quietly untied her cloak.
It's not cold!
She squatted down and grabbed a handful of snow from the ground. The snow was warm, not cold at all.
Could it be that she has absorbed the spiritual energy of Kunlun every day, and now her physique has greatly improved, and she has attained immortality?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she saw small silver fish floating beside her, swaying their tails as she moved forward.
She had never seen such a flying fish before, and couldn't resist reaching out to pinch it.
Pei Wenjing suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at Shen Cangyu behind him, his gaze sweeping over her as he said, "Put on your cloak. It's late at night and the snow is heavy. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Shen Cangyu subconsciously replied, "It's not cold..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the heating around her suddenly went out, and a chill swept over her. She covered her nose and sneezed.
When she looked up, she saw that her senior brother was looking at her with his eyes squinted.
Shen Cangyu could tell that this senior brother was cunning and wicked.
She fastened her cloak again and realized that it wasn't that she had become stronger, but that her senior brother had shielded her from the cold.
She was somewhat envious. She had been in Little Kunlun for so many years but had never had the chance to learn magic. She also wanted to master the ability to ward off the cold and learn how to operate the fish cart, so that her delivery work would be much easier...
Suddenly, Pei Wenjing stopped and looked at Shen Cangyu, saying, "We've arrived."
Shen Cangyu came to her senses and looked at the Qizhenfang, with its soaring eaves reaching into the clouds, not far away. She realized that Pei Wenjing had been leading her all along, guiding her from the distant mountain peak all the way to the location of Qizhenfang.
"Senior brother, what's your name?" she asked.
Pei Wenjing handed her the cargo box: "My name is Pei Wenjing."
Pei Wenjing, so that's who he is, the legendary senior brother who ranked first in the inner sect of Kunlun.
She remembered that the inner disciples all called him… “May I call you Senior Brother?”
Pei Wenjing chuckled: "Since you call me Senior Brother, then I, as your senior brother, should give you a gift."
With a wave of his hand, the treasure flew out of his sleeve like flowing water and hovered in front of her: "Just tell me what you want."
Looking at the dazzling array of treasures hanging beside her, Shen Cangyu couldn't help but pinch her arm. Everything that had happened tonight felt like a dream; she had never imagined things would turn out this way.
"Anything is fine?" Shen Cangyu asked.
"Please choose," Pei Wenjing said, looking at her with interest.
"I want to learn your spells for releasing small fish," Shen Cangyu said, glancing past the pile of treasures at him. "I also want to be a cultivator, an inner disciple of Kunlun."
Pei Wenjing hadn't expected her to say such a thing. He raised an eyebrow: "That's Tai Chi Daoist magic. I can't teach you that. Daoist magic is all about fate; you have to figure it out yourself. But you can learn the art of the mind. The art of the mind is just a kind of art in the end, and everyone can learn it."
"Can ordinary people do it too?" Her eyes widened.
"Even ordinary people can do it."
She immediately replied, "Then I want to learn the art of mind!"
At this moment, Pei Wenjing flicked his finger, and a silver-white sword landed in front of Shen Cangyu: "In a few years, there will be a competition for outer disciples, and the winner can enter the inner sect. Once you enter the inner sect, I will teach you all the mental techniques I have learned."
"It's a deal!"
"It's a deal."
White snowflakes burst open before my eyes, and all the images vanished with the wind.
Why would she forget something so important?
She forgot their promise, forgot the sword, and forgot Pei Wenjing.
When they met again, they were strangers. She didn't know if Pei Wenjing still remembered what had happened before.
She knew she wouldn't be content to stay in the outer sect, and if given the chance to become an inner disciple of Kunlun, she would definitely go. But she had no recollection of the year they agreed to meet, or of the competition itself.
It seems that Shen Qingyan was the ultimate winner of that competition. He entered the inner sect through this opportunity and gained the appreciation of the elders.
Because she did not participate in the competition, she lost the opportunity to enter the inner sect and meet Pei Wenjing.
I never imagined that our next meeting would be a moment of life and death.
They all deserve a better future.
Why...why has everything changed?
She felt as if she had been possessed by some ghost in the past few years, doing many things she would never have done before, and forgetting her original ambition to go to Kunlun.
Why did it turn out like this?
She was unwilling to accept it!
In a few breaths, her soul rose, rose, and then sank, and she heard a voice.
"I don't want any inheritance; I just want to be a lazy bum."
That's Shen Qingyan's voice.
At this moment, another strange voice, one that had never been heard before, said, "No, host, just hang in there a little longer. You can go home after you complete the mission."
The scene before Shen Cangyu's eyes gradually became clearer. She saw Shen Qingyan lying on the bed, eating fruit while saying, "I don't care, I just want to give up. It's impossible for me to work hard, it's impossible for me in this lifetime."
The strange voice that appeared out of nowhere replied: "Never mind, I almost forgot that you have maxed out innate luck. Even if you just lie down and do nothing, eat and sleep, sleep and eat, NPCs will still automatically advance the plot for you."
Shen Qingyan looked confused: "I don't know. I just wanted to lie in the corner and be a well-behaved little salted fish. It was them who insisted on coming over and saying I was a genius. I didn't do anything."
He chewed on the fruit in his mouth: "Never mind, the bed here is more comfortable and the food is better. In order to be able to eat and drink my fill, I will mercifully stay here."
He stretched and moved the soft pillows on the bed to a more comfortable position: "It's a pity there's no internet here, I can't use my phone, I can't play games, and there's no Coke... There's nothing here, reality is better."
The strange voice said in a fawning tone, "You can go back after you finish the storyline."
As she spoke, Shen Qingyan smacked her lips and began to fall asleep.
Sleep? No sleeping!
Shen Cangyu listened to their conversation from beginning to end, and after understanding what they meant, she felt like she was going crazy with anger.
It turns out that the world they live in is just a storybook. The original protagonist of this storybook was Pei Wenjing, while Shen Qingyan was a transmigrator from another world.
After Shen Qingyan was unexpectedly thrown into this world, he was bound to something called a system. As long as he completed the plot requirements and gained everyone's favor, he could increase his honor points.
The higher his honor value, the stronger his protagonist aura becomes. Everyone who sees him will feel good about him, and even passing dogs will lie down and turn their backs on him.
So he eventually replaced Pei Wenjing and became the protagonist of this storybook.
No wonder... no wonder he has all the benefits in the world.
He just wants to give up.
Yes, in his words, he just wanted to lie there and reap the benefits without lifting a finger. After he got all the rewards, he would look at the other losers with innocent eyes and say, "Huh? So I'm the ultimate winner? I didn't want to be."
If you don't want it, then give it to someone else!
Shen Cangyu hated this kind of person the most. The existence of such a person was a waste of the hard work of all those who tried, so why should he be the protagonist?
Just because he's the system-bound host? Just because he's the "sole protagonist" most favored by Heaven, and no one is allowed to steal his spotlight, and all characters must love him?
So, as his competitor, the eldest brother could only die?
So, this insignificant little character, who was never mentioned in the story, was naturally erased from her memory by the system, lost her own opinions, and obediently played her role as a "marginal character." Then, before she died, she was pulled out to demonstrate the protagonist's great love and add luster to the protagonist's personality.
On what grounds?
On what grounds?
Why should I?!
Why should someone like that be the protagonist? Why can't she be the protagonist?
The wind howled in his ears, and Shen Cangyu suddenly opened his eyes.
Before me was a dark, dilapidated roof, and in the air was a strong, musty smell emanating from the wood.
This is not Kunlun.
She stared intently at the wooden beam above her head, her consciousness returning. She looked at the window nailed shut with wooden strips, and she realized that this was the small, dilapidated hill where she had lived when she was still a mortal.
She's back.
A note from the author:
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