Chapter 36 The Villain [Show Mercy]
After the crowd dispersed, Shen Cangyu didn't return to Kunlun. Instead, she followed the familiar path to the disciples' quarters at Qizhenfang. Before she even entered, she saw the person she was looking for under a tree near the entrance.
Jiang Qian bowed to her: "Long time no see, my benefactor."
Shen Cangyu didn't exchange pleasantries with him, but simply said, "Do you know what you're facing here?"
Jiang Qian looked puzzled: "The Kunlun Immortals are recruiting disciples in the mortal realm. I heard that food and lodging are provided here, so I came here. Does my benefactor think that I shouldn't have come here?"
"Don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about."
Upon hearing her words, Jiang Qian suddenly grinned, like a cunning fox: "Lord Wan sent me, so I came."
Sure enough, Wan Qianzhong not only contacted her, but also Jiang Qian.
When she wanted to come to Kunlun, Wan Qianzhong tried to stop her several times. She thought Wan Qianzhong was concerned about his disciple. Unexpectedly, she actually let Jiang Qian come here as well.
"What did she send you here for?"
Jiang Qian remained silent. Shen Cangyu knew that Wan Qianzhong had probably given him a secret mission, a mission that no one, including herself, could know about.
Recalling Jiang Qian's actions in his previous life, and remembering Wan Qianzhong's identity, Shen Cangyu guessed that Wan Qianzhong sent Jiang Qian to Kunlun probably to order him to move all the mental cultivation manuals bearing his name out.
If Jiang Qian's mission is indeed this, then he is indeed not suitable to enter the inner sect. The inner sect has too many limitations, while the rare treasures workshop in the outer sect is the most suitable place for him.
Qizhenfang is the hub connecting the inner gate of Kunlun with the outside world.
but……
"Why did you try to kill Shen Qingyan? If you didn't want to enter the inner sect, you could have thought of other ways. You could have tried to lose in the preliminary rounds, or not participated in this competition at all..."
Why resort to such an eye-catching method to attack the time traveler in front of everyone?
Jiang Qian smiled with narrowed eyes, looking just like before: "I thought... my benefactor always wanted him dead, so I took action for you."
Shen Cangyu was stunned. How could he know her thoughts? Was she being so obvious? Or did he also know something?
"But it shouldn't have happened in front of so many people..." That person fell into the sea and was able to revive and climb up Kunlun Mountain; he possesses many strange abilities and is most skilled at bewitching people...
"What are you hesitating about?" Jiang Qian said. "Are you scared? When did you become so timid?"
Upon hearing Jiang Qian's words, Shen Cangyu's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, what is she afraid of?
Shen Qingyan has just arrived in Kunlun; he has no connections, no power, and even only a superficial understanding of this world, but…
She seemed to suddenly wake up, realizing what Jiang Qian had become—he had become the "villain" in the comments.
She learned the word "bullet screen" from those white boxes, and she also learned the word "villain" from those white boxes.
Ever since she met Shen Qingyan, the white frames and words floating around her have never stopped. With just a thought, she can bring up these "comments" and watch the otherworldly readers discuss them.
The otherworldly readers were using many strange words, which were clearly individual characters, but when put together, she couldn't understand them. However, after observing them for a while, she gradually managed to guess their meanings.
The door to a new world slowly opened before her eyes.
From these readers, she learned that the story they were reading was actually a newly serialized web novel. The author liked to write stories with overpowered protagonists, but those stories were outdated, so she decided to follow the trend and write about a slacker protagonist.
What is a "salted fish protagonist"? As the name suggests, it means someone who has no ambition and is like a dried-up salted fish, indifferent to any upheaval or earthquake, and simply turning over to continue sleeping when tired.
Shen Cangyu understood that everyone's pursuits were different. She believed that hard work pays off, but some people just wanted to live in the moment and get by. That was fine.
The problem is that in these stories, those who work hard never achieve good results, while those who just laze around and wait to die become the supreme immortals.
On what grounds?
Shen Cangyu did not understand.
In the stories of their world, mortals always gain opportunities and, through their own efforts, eventually achieve enlightenment and ascend to immortality. But in their world, only the pitiful need to work hard, and that's not what they want to see.
They want to see a protagonist who's not exactly a hero, but has a cheat code, ascend to the throne of an immortal lord surrounded by a crowd.
While others were busy fighting monsters, he was just lazing around, but the treasures and spirit pets kept vying for his attention, leaving him no choice but to accept them with tears in his eyes. Meanwhile, everyone else who had gone to great lengths to acquire resources could only watch helplessly as they fell into his hands, seething with resentment.
That's the kind of thrill they want to see.
They not only want to see the protagonist reap the rewards, but also want to see everyone who offends the protagonist pay the price, and those who offend the protagonist are called "villains".
Jiang Qian is a villain, and so is she.
In this story, they all meet a terrible end.
You asked her if she was afraid of going against such an "absolute protagonist"? Shen Cangyu thought that she was afraid, but perhaps when she was alone and had no scruples, she wasn't afraid.
But now she has many things, and she can no longer act recklessly as before. She has to learn to plan and strategize, and try her best to protect herself and everyone she wants to protect in this game with Shen Qingyan.
She is no longer herself.
*
When Shen Cangyu came to her senses, she was already standing at the entrance to Little Kunlun. The chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs rose and fell all around her, creating a deafening sound. She looked up at the lonely moon hanging high in the sky, while the stars were dim.
Suddenly, she heard a sobbing sound.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a throbbing figure under an old tree not far away.
The small figure nestled under the tree, his gray outer disciple robes making him look like a gray mouse.
Shen Cangyu didn't consider herself a kind person. Outer disciples formed cliques and schemed against each other; many were bullied. She had tried crying like that before, hiding in a corner under a tree by the mountain. But later she realized that crying was only a temporary release; it only made her feel a little better and served no other purpose.
To prevent the same thing from happening again, she has to change herself. Either become strong enough that no one dares to touch her, or adapt to the rules, navigate social situations skillfully, and endure hardship to achieve her goal.
Just as she was about to take a step, her gaze suddenly fell upon the comments on the screen beside her.
[Another crying scene? Fans of crybaby protagonists are in for a treat...]
[This is a copywriting scam! What happened to the promised wish-fulfillment story? ...I'm leaving now. Whoever wants to read this wish-fulfillment story can read it.]
[The protagonist is so kind! He's really kind. He was almost beaten to death at the beginning but didn't seek revenge. Now that he's qualified to become an inner disciple, he's being bullied by cannon fodder from the outer sect but doesn't complain. He just hides in a corner and cries. Wow, he's so kind!]
[I suspect the person upstairs is using yin-yang symbolism (questionable)]
Your suspicions are not unfounded.
[The protagonist was influenced by this child's body after being reincarnated, so his personality is now like a child's, which is normal. Let's give him a chance to grow, don't be too harsh, and be kind with your words.]
Seeing the barrage of comments flying by, Shen Cangyu quickly guessed who this person hiding behind the tree and crying was.
She looked down at his sobbing back.
It seems your readers... don't like you that much either.
She smiled and walked over.
Shen Qingyan wiped the snot running down her nose with the back of her hand and buried her head in her arms.
The system was still comforting him, telling him not to be sad.
"Don't bother with those guys from the outer sect. They're just cannon fodder. Once you grow up, you can wipe them out with a flick of your finger."
Shen Qingyan said in a muffled voice, "I really didn't mean to show off to them. I thought we were friends, and that they would bless me when they found out I had entered the inner sect. I didn't know they would hate me so much."
The system chimed in, "Don't stoop to their level. Your status is different now. It's their loss if they don't try to curry favor with you. Once you enter the inner sect and become the Kunlun Immortal Master, they'll all fawn over you."
Shen Qingyan remained silent.
The system earnestly advised, "Once you enter the inner sect, just follow the storyline properly and make your presence known to those important NPCs. As your honor points increase, your protagonist aura will become stronger and stronger, and then no one will dare to bully you or speak ill of you."
Seeing Shen Qingyan's dazed expression, it said, "You are blessed by the heavens, otherwise why would I have chosen you as the protagonist? You must believe that as long as you stand high enough, you will find that everyone around you is a good person, and the whole world will flock to you. At that time, those who hate you will not have a chance to get close to you. You only need to lift a finger, and the people around you will rush to eliminate all threats for you..."
The system suddenly fell silent before it could finish speaking.
Shen Qingyan was suddenly struck by silence. He looked up in confusion and suddenly saw a figure standing in front of him.
The silver-white robes shimmered like a flowing galaxy under the moonlight, dazzling him. Suddenly, he realized this was the unique attire of an inner disciple, and he quickly knelt down, performing a strange and awkward salute.
He buried his head in the ground, too afraid to move.
He didn't know why an inner disciple would appear in the outer sect, or why they were standing in front of him.
“Raise your head.”
He heard a pleasant voice say that.
He cautiously raised his head to look at her and saw a beautiful face in the moonlight. He thought she was very beautiful, more beautiful than many people he had ever seen before. She was breathtakingly beautiful, making him feel inferior. He only glanced at her once before he couldn't help but lower his head again; he dared not look at her.
But when he looked down, he saw his dusty, gray outer disciple uniform.
His eyelashes trembled, and his eyes were fragile, like those of a fledgling bird.
Shen Cangyu looked at his tear-streaked face and sneered inwardly.
Shen Qingyan, if you saw yourself become like this, you would also feel very sad.
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