2. A "useless" male protagonist?
The moon hung high in the sky, and the entire Green Mountain Peak fell into tranquility.
After receiving her permission, Ling Xueluo hurriedly released Yin Li and took care of him for a long time.
But as a master, he hasn't visited his disciple during the day to maintain his image as a strict disciple. Now, for the sake of the mission, it's time for him to go and see him.
Chu Qing quietly arrived at a secluded courtyard, gently pushed open the door, and tentatively walked forward in the darkness.
Approaching the bedside, she looked at the unconscious boy with a pang of pity. Several bruises on his face were especially noticeable in the moonlight, and although the wound on his forehead had been treated, it still couldn't stop the fresh bleeding.
She was about to wave her hand to cast a healing spell when she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door being pushed open.
"Master?"
Ling Xueluo was surprised, not expecting her master to be here at this time. When she saw Chu Qing's outstretched hand about to touch the male lead, she disregarded etiquette and subconsciously stepped forward to block it, saying, "Master, leave Senior Brother to me. His injuries are too severe, and I'm afraid he will pass on his illness to you!"
Seeing her wary gaze and actions, Chu Qing was speechless for a moment. She knew that Chu Qingge was vicious in the original novel, but she didn't expect just how vicious Chu Qingge was! She really just wanted to treat her simply, just a little bit, and that was enough to set the female lead on high alert!
Oh my god, Chu Qingge, I'm taking the blame for all of your mistakes!
Ling Xuelu remained silent as she stood in a stalemate with Chu Qing. She hadn't noticed her master's intention to punish her. Could it just be—a visit to her senior brother?
Just as she was about to speak and probe, she suddenly noticed that the other party had received a message.
Chu Qing took it in her hand and frowned when she saw the words on it.
Wen Ruyu came to see her?
He was definitely unhappy that he had released Yin Li without permission.
In the original novel, Chu Qingge was completely manipulated by Wen Ruyu, often believing his slander, neglecting her disciples, and doing many disheartening things.
At this point, Wen Ruyu should want to make Chu Qingge completely suspect that Yin Li has ulterior motives, and use her to get rid of the male lead, a scourge with amazing cultivation talent, so as to prevent him from being hindered in unifying the immortal and demon realms in the future.
However, it seems that stopping Wen Ruyu is also her task, and she must be careful and plan carefully.
Chu Qing glanced at Ling Xueluo, but didn't explain anything, and quickly left.
Upon entering the front hall, one sees an elderly man dressed in a snow-white Taoist robe, with frost-white eyebrows and beard, standing there with an air of otherworldly wisdom.
Hearing footsteps, the man quickly turned around. It was clearly a handsome young face, but Chu Qing met a pair of unfathomable eagle eyes—sharp, sinister, deep, and weathered.
"Qingge, I apologize for disturbing you so late, but I am truly concerned about the matter of colluding with the demons. It concerns the reputation of Qingshan Peak and yours. However, I have heard that the criminal—?"
Wen Ruyu spoke first with a smile on her face, which was as warm as a spring breeze, but the surroundings were somewhat cold.
Seeing this, Chu Qing remained composed and calmly delivered the prepared statement from the journey, saying, "Elder Wen, the excuse of leaking demonic energy is too easily exposed. Besides, that criminal has already suffered enough punishment and is behaving himself. Why not return to my sect first and slowly find evidence against him? When we have sufficient evidence to prove his crimes, on this Green Mountain Peak, I will say what I mean and no one will dare to contradict me."
Hearing this, Wen Ruyu narrowed her eyes, feeling that something was amiss, but given her strength, she couldn't refuse.
Hmph, anyway, Chu Qingge is easy to fool. If there really is a problem, I can solve it with just a few words.
"Elder Qingge, thank you for your trouble. Please take care of yourself. I'll be leaving now."
"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off."
Watching Wen Ruyu's retreating figure, Chu Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had managed to get away with it this time, but she also knew that there would be a next time, and a time after that. She couldn't cover it up every time.
Sigh, if I want to survive, I should probably raise the male lead's favorability first. I have to think about my future.
Back in the courtyard, she sat on a stone bench under a tree and poured herself a cup of tea by the moonlight to clear her head.
Unexpectedly, two figures appeared at the door, one being supported by the other, limping as they approached the courtyard.
At this moment, Yin Li dragged his slightly better body as he walked with difficulty. He had just woken up when his junior sister came in to change his dressing, but he heard from her that his master had come to his place.
He originally thought he was going to be punished again, but to his surprise, she did nothing. No, he was more inclined to believe that Chu Qingge hadn't had a chance to do anything before her junior sister stopped her.
It's strange, though. They were whipped so severely in prison, so why did they let them go so easily later?
Could it be that a new conspiracy has been hatched?
Seeing the two getting closer and closer to Chu Qing, a glint of light flashed in Yin Li's eyes, and he decided to test them.
"Master, Master!"
His previously listless expression vanished instantly. He left Ling Xueluo's support, his eyes glistening with tears, and tried to give Chu Qing a proper bow.
"Master, your disciple has something to say."
Seeing the male lead's pitiful look, Chu Qing admired his acting skills and silently signaled him to continue with an impatient expression.
"Master, please see the truth. Your disciple's heart is set on the righteous path, and I have always actively dealt with the evil demons. How could I betray you and Green Mountain Peak!"
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed heavily, his voice choked with emotion.
"Yin Li, empty words are not enough to convince the public. Even if you didn't do it, once everyone believes it, you will be unable to defend yourself, understand?"
He couldn't stand Chu Qingge's perpetually arrogant attitude, but clearing his name was the most important thing right now. His junior sister had already done her best to get him free, so perhaps—
Yin Li replied again, "This disciple is willing to atone for my sins by investigating this matter together with my junior sister!"
"Please grant permission, Master!" the two said in unison. Seeing this, Chu Qing had achieved her goal.
"Okay," she paused, her tone playful.
"Then, I'll give you both a chance."
"Thank you, Master!"
Yin Li kowtowed, then stood up and stepped forward to pour Chu Qing a cup of tea.
The steam was thick, but the scalding heat when he touched the cup made him flinch. He could have kept his hand steady, but then something occurred to him, and he deliberately loosened his grip on the teacup, letting the boiling tea spill all over her skirt and sleeves.
"Master, please forgive me! Your disciple deserves to die for such carelessness!"
The change happened in an instant. In the chaos, he endured the pain and knelt down with a "thud," even knocking the stool next to him a few inches away.
The tea wasn't spilled unintentionally; the temperature was tolerable. However, Yin Li was quite puzzled as to why, no matter what he did after Chu Qingge came in, she didn't find fault or scold him anymore.
If she can truly tolerate this tea, then she must have come up with a new scheme. If she gets caught again, she'll probably be heading straight for the underworld.
So he lowered his head, expecting punishment, but after a long time, there was no sound from above.
Yin Li, feigning a well-behaved and gentle expression, slowly raised her head and saw that although Chu Qingge looked disgusted, she simply patted the water that had splashed onto her clothes and didn't seem to care.
But at this moment, Chu Qing was in a complete panic!
I can't accept this!
The male lead is her ancestor now, she can't make this ancestor kneel down!
Alarm bells rang in my mind, and I disregarded my usual composure. I quickly straightened my clothes and stepped forward to support the other person's arm.
Both of them froze.
Yin Li's arms tensed, his brows furrowed, wanting to dodge, but fearing that doing so would lead to more severe punishment, he remained rooted to the spot.
[Warning! Warning! The host has exhibited serious out-of-character (OOC) behavior. Immediate punishment will be imposed!]
A strong electric current surged through her body. Chu Qing endured the intense pain without screaming, but instinctively pushed Yin Li away several feet.
"Cough cough!"
Because his injuries had not yet healed, he could not withstand the violent shoving and fell straight to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his lips, his internal organs feeling as if they were being burned, with intense pain.
"Senior brother!" Ling Xueluo ran over, wanting to help him up. Her eyes were filled with hatred again, but she had nowhere to vent it.
Yin Li painfully got up, her doubts and disgust growing stronger, finding her hypocritical behavior repulsive.
Ha, Chu Qingge, what kind of good person are you pretending to be now!
Current favorability rating: 9
!!
【System, are you sure you're not mistaken?!】
Chu Qing felt cold inside, but she blamed herself even more for being too flustered. In her haste, she lost her composure and ended up being out of character. She had originally wanted to increase the favorability rating, but now it had backfired.
However, the male protagonist really hates Chu Qingge so much that he feels that being nice to him will only annoy him and make him run away.
After the pain subsided, she took a few deep breaths, looked at the innocent-looking boy in front of her, casually tossed a bottle at his feet, and said in a haughty tone, "Don't get in my way with this pathetic look. If anyone sees this, they'll all say that I, Chu Qingge, am abusing my disciple. Take this wound medicine back and use it to heal your injuries. Now get lost."
Is it medicine, or have they come up with another way to torture me, trying to poison me?
Yin Li looked at the bottle and took it in her hand.
"This disciple takes his leave. Thank you, Master."
The courtyard gate closed, and after the two had walked away, Yin Li secretly tested them with his inner energy.
It really is wound medicine!
A storm was brewing in the boy's eyes, but he silently concealed it, choosing not to harm his own body.
What is the meaning behind her doing this? She seems to be speaking ill of others, but she always seems to be letting things slide unintentionally.
Chu Qingge, what exactly are you plotting?
But now, in order not to expose the demonic energy techniques on his body, he has to continue to deal with her. Only by becoming stronger can he break free from her control!
Chu Qing had no idea what the other person was thinking. Now that the favorability rating hadn't dropped any further and Yin Li had returned, what she needed to do was to increase the male lead's favorability rating as quickly as possible within the year.
The snow of winter gradually melted, and the withered yellow of the mountains turned green again.
The group lived peacefully like this, and Yin Li gradually discovered that Chu Qingge was no longer as harsh on him as before. Although she would occasionally make sarcastic remarks about his cultivation progress, she would also inadvertently reveal solutions in every sentence.
Autumn has passed and spring has come again; a year has already passed since then.
After recovering from his injuries, Yin Li devoted himself to cultivation, rarely leaving his room. He continuously improved his cultivation level and tried to transform the immortal and demonic energy within his body.
But he has always lacked one thing—the Fire Dance Spirit Orb!
Those who obtain this pearl possess extremely strong demonic energy and can freely switch between immortal and demonic cultivation.
Recalling his wrongful imprisonment a year ago, the flame of becoming stronger burned continuously within him. In two weeks, Green Mountain Peak would welcome the triennial secret realm trial, and the Fire Dance Spirit Orb was located in the third secret realm. He had to obtain the qualification for the secret realm trial in order to have any chance of going there.
Yin Li frowned slightly. He had only been a disciple for two years, and he had heard that besides being selected through the sect's trials, there was another quick way to participate in the secret realm trials: to obtain a personal recommendation from an elder.
He missed the selection process due to his injury, and now only...
With that thought in mind, he clenched his fist and walked out of the courtyard with a determined expression.
"Master, your disciple requests an audience."
At this moment, Chu Qing was leisurely lying on a grand chair in the courtyard, holding fresh fruit in her hand.
Hearing Yin Li's voice, she raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous. This kid has visited a handful of times in the past year. What brought him here today?
"Enter."
“Master, I recently heard that the Green Mountain Peak Secret Realm Trial is about to begin. I have never slacked off in my cultivation this year, and I would like to ask you for help.” He pursed his lips, feeling a little nervous, and had a feeling that the other party would refuse him anything as before.
Please recommend me personally.
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Qing looked up, her relaxed expression vanishing.
The secret realm trial she had been looking forward to the most had arrived! It was here that the male protagonist was injured, his junior sister died tragically, and she arrived too late to save them. The male protagonist harbored resentment, which sealed her fate of certain death!
"You think you can enter the trial through a personal recommendation? What a joke! Disciples who obtain this qualification are exceptionally strong. You—"
She glanced at Yin Li with disdain, secretly probing his spiritual power. Although it was far inferior to her own, she estimated that there were very few disciples in the entire Green Mountain Peak with such profound skills.
His cultivation is progressing well.
Yin Li knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the back of his hand, trying to fight for himself one last time, but the other party changed the subject and said in a playful voice, "If you die in there, your master will not care about you."
He looked up instantly, his breathing quickening slightly. Chu Qingge had actually agreed just like that?
Could all these changes over the past year be a trial setting a trap for him?
But Yin Li had no way out; he had to go, no matter what!
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