To make Yu Yi accept him more quickly, Xue Chenjing deliberately dressed up as a woman.
From his observations, people tended to lower their guard more easily around beautiful girls, especially since he intentionally pretended to be severely injured, appearing weak and pitiful, posing no threat to her.
As a result, she actually kicked him flying with one foot!
Xue Chenjing stood up from the ground, his face gloomy. He glanced in the direction Yu Yi had fled, then slowly disappeared into the mist barrier.
Several more groups of people subsequently came to this mountain, all following clues about the Sword Stone of Mount Li Town. The mist barrier of Earth Impurity enveloped the entire forest, causing those who entered to lose their sense of direction.
Every scene and object within the mist barrier was under Xue Chenjing's control. He knew Yu Yi's whereabouts and could easily find her again.
In fact, he didn't even need to go look for her. He only needed to manipulate the Earth Impurity to shift the mist barrier slightly, and it would guide her back to him.
...
Meanwhile, Yu Yi ran out of the mountain god temple in a frenzy, soon finding herself surrounded once again by the all-encompassing mist barrier. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but vast white fog in all directions. Within the white fog, only faint, indistinct tree shadows were visible, with sparse sounds of insects and birds.
When Yu Yi ran out, she wasn't running aimlessly. The mountain god temple had given her a sense of her current position.
Where there was a temple, there must have once been human activity. And where there was human activity, there would be a path. Although the path, like the mountain god temple, had been abandoned for many years and was now overgrown with weeds, rarely trodden, it still retained traces of man-made excavation.
Following the stone mountain path at least gave her a sense of her location, which was better than running around aimlessly in the mist.
When she kicked Xue Chenjing away and fled, she had intentionally looked for the mountain path to the right of the temple. The dense fog blurred space and distance, so Yu Yi could only count her steps in her mind, stopping at the place where the mountain path should appear in her memory.
Sure enough, she discovered stone steps beneath a tangle of bushes and weeds.
She walked down the steps for a while, when suddenly she heard a faint groan. Yu Yi gripped her Green Bamboo Sword tightly, then heard two more painful "ouch, ouch" sounds coming from beneath a tree shadow ahead.
An old man with graying hair was leaning against a large tree beside the mountain steps, with a small basket full of medicinal herbs placed to his right.
Was he an herb gatherer?
Although Cloud Mountain had no spiritual veins and wasn't a celestial mountain, it was rich in resources for ordinary people. Local villagers often came up to hunt or gather herbs.
After her recent experience, Yu Yi was somewhat suspicious of this old herb gatherer. But after a moment's consideration, she still took the initiative to approach him.
After all, if he really was an injured old herb gatherer, leaving him here overnight could be dangerous. If he encountered that demon, the old man might not survive.
Hearing her approach, the old man grabbed the sickle beside him and looked up, startled and afraid.
Yu Yi quickly spoke up: "Old sir, don't be afraid. I'm the Crane Fairy, the young lady who often wanders around here with a red-crowned crane."
Her crane senior brother was quite famous in this area. As a result, she had also gained the beautiful title of "Crane Fairy."
Hearing her words, the old man indeed put down his sickle and gratefully said, "Crane Fairy, thank goodness I met you. Otherwise, these old bones of mine might have been left here for good."
Yu Yi walked up, observing him while inquiring about his situation.
The old man hunched his back, tilting his face up slightly. His thin face was full of wrinkles, and his coarse linen clothes were soaked by the cold mist, causing him to shiver and hug his arms tightly.
He suppressed a cough, then caught his breath and said, "I had already finished gathering herbs and was planning to rest for the night in the shed halfway up the mountain, then go down the mountain the next day. But halfway there, the fog got thicker and thicker. I accidentally fell and broke my leg. I can't move; it hurts whenever I try."
Halfway down this mountain path, there was a small cabin on the mountainside of Cloud Mountain where hunters or herb gatherers occasionally spent the night.
Yu Yi glanced at the old man's right leg, which had been crudely splinted with tree branches. The wound was covered with a layer of crushed herbs. Most of her suspicions dissipated.
"This fog is a bit strange and easy to get lost in. Old sir, I'll take you to the shed first. If the fog clears by morning, I'll take you to the county town's medical clinic."
The old man nodded, expressing his gratitude repeatedly.
Seeing this scene, the system was immensely gratified and said cheerfully, "See, I told you the female lead is kind-hearted and eager to help others! She would never ignore someone in need! That previous incident must have been a misunderstanding."
Yu Yi's movement to help the old man up paused subtly.
The system's voice! It was the system's voice again!
So the herb-gathering old man in front of her must be Xue Chenjing in disguise. This demon was truly relentless.
Yu Yi steadied herself, pretending to be unaware. She helped the old man onto her Green Bamboo Sword, using it to gently lift him, then began to descend the mountain steps with him.
The hilt of the Green Bamboo Sword emitted a bright green flame, radiating warmth and illuminating the rugged steps of the mountain path.
The system chattered in Xue Chenjing's ear, fretting, "Master, although this method has allowed you to successfully approach the female lead, look at your current state – you look like you've got one foot in the grave! How are you going to raise her favorability like this? Are you going for a May-December romance?"
The system sighed deeply. Ah, if only they hadn't scared the female lead during their first encounter, he wouldn't have had to change his appearance just to approach her.
How unlucky they were to meet the female lead in such circumstances.
Xue Chenjing silently curled his lips. He had no intention of raising any favorability.
"Young lady, my leg hurts so much," Xue Chenjing wailed, turning his head to look directly at the woman beside him.
In the flickering green flame, those wrinkle-filled eyes gradually became clear, with a silvery-white light overflowing from his pupils. Invisible tendrils extended from his eyes, their tips swaying as they attached to her smooth cheeks, eager to devour her consciousness and turn her into his puppet.
If only Yu Yi would turn to look at him.
Bang—
A tremendous noise exploded next to his ear. Xue Chenjing felt a sharp pain in his head, the impact making his entire brain rattle. Before Yu Yi could turn to look at him, he received a heavy blow to his head.
Xue Chenjing tumbled off the Green Bamboo Sword, rolling uncontrollably down the steep mountain steps.
Yu Yi touched the corner of her eye apprehensively, still feeling a lingering wet sensation as if something had crawled over it, giving her goosebumps all over her body.
She glanced at the figure rolling down the mountain steps, now obscured by the dense fog. Grabbing her Green Bamboo Sword, she used its power to sprint back up the mountain path in the opposite direction.
The system cried out in alarm, "Master!"
The Bone Demon quickly darted down from the treetops, blocking the mountain steps. Xue Chenjing rolled into the Bone Demon's arms, finally coming to a stop.
The illusory disguise on his body dissipated. His wrinkled skin returned to smooth and fair, his features once again became three-dimensional and handsome, and his coarse linen clothes transformed in the blink of an eye, changing into a white brocade robe.
Xue Chenjing clutched his still-throbbing head. His chin had been gashed to the bone from hitting the stone steps. He turned his head to spit out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his face contorted with rage as he shouted viciously, "Earth Impurity!"
In response, white fluid condensed from the dense fog, shooting towards Xue Chenjing like falling rain, enveloping him completely. Moments later, the white fluid turned to mist, and Xue Chenjing's figure vanished from the spot.
The mist on the mountain steps dissipated considerably. Morning light filtered through the branches overhead – day had broken.
The Bone Demon, left behind, lay on the ground, meticulously licking up the blood Xue Chenjing had spilled on the steps. It joyfully picked up a tooth that its master had lost, immediately becoming so excited that it danced about, its bones rattling. It raised its hand to toss the tooth into its mouth, crunching it with glee.
...
Yu Yi also noticed that the dense fog had thinned. Morning light poured down, tinting the mountain forest mist a golden honey color.
She gripped her Green Bamboo Sword tightly. The light on the sword suddenly blazed intensely, like a burning flame. Within the fire, snake-like streams of light intertwined. With one swing, the air filled with faint popping explosions. The green flame sword energy, carrying the momentum to split mountains and seas, tore through the mist.
The mist barrier violently churned, like a curtain ripped apart, opening a rift.
Behind the rift was a clear, bright sky.
Yu Yi leapt onto her Green Bamboo Sword, flying towards the rift in an attempt to break through the mist barrier.
At that moment, the space above her head rippled. Something writhed out of the air, layer upon layer, blocking the rift. Even the sunlight became distorted within this thing's body.
Yu Yi had no time to react before she crashed into a soft and slippery object, as if falling into some animal's cavity lined with tender flesh. Things quickly coiled around her body, tightly gripping her waist and limbs, with an icy, wet sensation crawling across her skin.
She opened her eyes wide, channeling her spiritual power to activate her spirit vision, yet she still couldn't clearly see what was binding her.
The torn mist slowly closed before her eyes, and the thick fog engulfed her once again.
Yu Yi was pulled back down, and through the swaying mist, she caught a glimpse of a vague outline.
The thing looked like countless intertwined vines, no, not vines, but rather transparent tentacles would be more accurate. They were soft and slippery, writhing wetly in the air.
Yu Yi felt a chill on her neck as a tendril climbed up, attaching itself to her jaw and cradling her chin, twisting her head backward. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure standing on the stone steps behind her.
The young man wore white robes with his hair tied up, looking up at her. His jet-black hair clung to his pale skin, his entire body exuding a damp moisture from the mist, like a freshly painted ink wash painting. The only spot of color was the bright red blood on his lips.
Yu Yi, bound by invisible tentacles, was twisted around and pulled down from midair, getting closer and closer to him until their noses touched and their breaths intermingled.
Xue Chenjing raised his hands to cup her face, his palms as cold and wet as the tendrils wrapped around her neck. Even his breath on her face was damp and cold, his features seemingly frosted over, devoid of any human warmth.
Looking up at her from below, his black eyes were like two deep wells, and she was falling into them.
Yu Yi bit her tongue, the pain jolting her back to awareness. She immediately closed her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.
She heard Xue Chenjing's laughter beside her ear. He didn't force her to open her eyes, but Yu Yi still saw those eerie pupils floating before her: jet-black irises encasing sharp, silvery-white vertical pupils that held an irresistible magical power.
Even though she kept her eyes tightly shut, those eyes still appeared before her, staring at her unblinkingly.
Yu Yi's mind began to fill with countless fragmented noises again, creeping up and trying to engulf her entire consciousness.
— Don't run, you want to stay by my side, you don't want to go anywhere else, just stay by my side and love me
— Love me love me love me love me love me
Yu Yi's mind was completely filled with these forcefully injected thoughts, every nerve wrapped in his cold tendrils, holding a megaphone and shouting: Love me love me you must love me right now immediately...
Her head was about to explode. Unable to bear it any longer, she opened her eyes and glared at him furiously: "Will you stop it?!"
The voice in her mind paused, and Xue Chenjing seemed stunned by her shout, his expression momentarily bewildered.
However, he was only dazed for a moment before the silver light in his eyes grew stronger, drawing even closer to her face.
The tidal wave of voices in Yu Yi's mind surged again, more turbulent than before, attempting to alter her perception and make her submit like the other magical beasts, becoming a captive at his feet.
Yu Yi gradually realized that this demon only knew how to shout with a megaphone in her mind, but he had no idea what "love" actually meant.
It was as if he was frantically writing "solve" in her mind with a pen, without knowing the correct answer to the problem. So, despite his efforts, he could only score zero.
Yu Yi was terribly annoyed by the noise, but she wasn't brainwashed by him. She impatiently spat in Xue Chenjing's face, "Pah, I'll never love you."
Unless she went mad, she would never love such a monster! What did it matter if she was the female protagonist in a novel? What did it matter if the book said she should have a happy ending with the villain? She wouldn't let someone else's pen dictate her fate.
She could dump Pei Jingchao, and of course, she could dump Xue Chenjing too. Why should she have to choose a boyfriend from the trash can?
Xue Chenjing blinked, his vertical silvery-white pupils contracting into a dot. The confusion in his eyes gave him a somewhat human appearance.
He didn't understand why this method was ineffective on her.
But Xue Chenjing wasn't a demon who gave up easily. Compared to the effort of trying to win her favor, it seemed simpler and quicker to just brainwash her into falling deeply in love with him to complete the system's task.
He gripped her face with one hand, while his other hand's thumb wiped away the water on his face. His fingertip hooked up a silver thread, smearing all the saliva she had spat on his face back onto hers.
Yu Yi: "......"
A cold, slippery tendril pressed against her lips, worming its way into her mouth.
Yu Yi's eyes widened as she struggled with muffled sounds. Although she couldn't see the transparent tentacle, she could clearly feel its presence.
It clung to her neck and jaw, prying open her teeth, writhing on her tongue, its tip almost reaching her throat. The thick tendril stretched her mouth open and then sealed it shut.
Xue Chenjing lowered his eyes slightly, seeing through the transparent flesh of the tendril how the depths of her mouth instinctively convulsed and gagged at the intrusion of the foreign object.
The system was already dumbfounded, advising in disbelief: "Master, this is only your third meeting. Isn't this a bit too hasty and impolite?"
What it really wanted to say was that it was a bit too perverse.
Xue Chenjing ignored it. He raised his eyes again, staring intently at Yu Yi's eyes. Invisible filaments extended from his pupils like mushroom spores, seeping into her through her seven orifices, then taking root in the depths of her consciousness, enveloping every nerve.
The megaphone in Yu Yi's mind started shouting again. Xue Chenjing seemed determined not to give up until he successfully brainwashed her. In the end, even Yu Yi almost forgot what the word "love" meant.
The Green Bamboo Sword kept ringing within the embrace of the tentacles, its green flame tinting the crowded tentacles with a gradient of green. Fine electric currents darted about, outlining the shape of the tendrils coiled in the air.
Xue Chenjing felt his flesh and bones go numb from the flowing light on her sword. A strange sensation built up higher and higher in his body, pushing him to the crest of an invisible wave. Every hair on his body stood on end, each tentacle trembling in the coursing electricity.
His expression went blank for a moment, his eyes widening, pupils dilating. Tears welled up at the corners of his upturned eyes, a red flush spreading from his eye corners to his ears. Blue veins bulged on his neck, and his breathing suddenly became rapid.
The system was shocked. How could this arouse him? Its master was truly a bit too perverse.
Xue Chenjing's momentary distraction allowed Yu Yi to break free from the brainwashing completely. She gave an odd glance at the suddenly panting man and, taking advantage of Xue Chenjing's daze, plunged her hand deep into the transparent tentacle flesh, struggling to form a sword seal.
The Green Bamboo Sword's energy suddenly surged, transforming into a winged red-crowned crane. Each of its feathers carried a sharp sword light wrapped in raging fire, cutting through the tentacles tightly binding Yu Yi's body.
The crane sword shadow spread its wings wide, letting out a long cry. It raised its claws and forcefully stomped on Xue Chenjing's face. Its sharp nails directly tore through the flesh of his face, even piercing through the facial bones, producing a crackling sound of bone fractures.
A series of "pop pop pop" sounds echoed in the air, like the sound of bubbles bursting. The invisible tentacles exploded, and a small salty rain fell on the mountain steps, showering Yu Yi's face and body.
Yu Yi broke free from her restraints, and the tendril was pulled out of her mouth, drawing out a silver thread. The tip of the tentacle, warmed by her body temperature, had turned a faint rosy color and was hanging with glistening saliva, looking like a delicious crystal jelly.
But she knew how tough it was and that she couldn't possibly bite through it. In fact, she was a bit afraid to bite it. Xue Chenjing looked like some kind of jellyfish monster, and she remembered that most jellyfish are poisonous!
The sword seal had exhausted all of Yu Yi's spiritual power, and she fell backward, her body completely limp.
At that moment, Crane Senior rushed out from the forest, caught her on his back, and dashed back into the woods, disappearing without a trace.
Xue Chenjing's entire body trembled as he knelt weakly on the ground. The tingling sensation flowing through his bones was cut off by intense pain, as if he had suddenly fallen from the crest of a wave into the deep sea. He covered his face with both hands, curling up on the stone steps in agony, whimpering softly as copious blood seeped through his fingers and dripped down in streams.
"M-Master, are you alright?" the system anxiously inquired.
Xue Chenjing's voice was muffled in his palm, each word seemingly squeezed through clenched teeth, filled with a viciousness that suggested he wanted to devour someone alive. "Despicable, shameless, and underhanded."
The system was bewildered: "???"
After a long while, Xue Chenjing finally stopped trembling. He straightened up and lowered his hand. The claw marks on his face had already healed, and the remaining blood was licked clean by the Earth Impurity that surged to his side.
The system was as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to utter a word.
Xue Chenjing sat motionless for a moment, then stood up and slowly walked up the mountain path, returning to the collapsed mountain god temple.
The rubble on the ground rolled and reassembled with his footsteps, fitting back together like pieces of a puzzle. The collapsed temple gradually restored itself as if time was flowing backward.
But upon closer inspection, one could see viscous, gel-like filaments between the bricks and stones. This wasn't time reversal; rather, the fallen bricks and beams were being pulled back together by these filaments.
Inside the temple, the mountain god statue had been smashed to pieces, with colorful stone fragments scattered all over the ground.
Xue Chenjing stood before the shrine. Transparent fleshy tendrils emerged from the shadows at his feet, picking up the statue fragments one by one, placing them back on the shrine, and binding them together with fine threads.
In the blink of an eye, the statue took shape. A rotund body, intertwined limbs, with a large chunk missing from the head.
But there were no more painted stone pieces left on the ground.
The system cautiously said, "Master, I don't think you've assembled it correctly."
It wasn't just incorrect; it was completely unrecognizable. Judging from the bizarre monsters Xue Chenjing kept, the system seriously doubted its host's tastes.
His preferences seemed to have nothing to do with humans at all.
Thinking this, the system became even more worried.
Xue Chenjing stared at the statue, lost in thought for a moment. A howling wind sound echoed in the void, and the tentacles moved rapidly. The mountain god statue on the shrine was quickly disassembled into fragments, then reassembled moments later.
This time it looked a bit more human-like, but no deity statue would have a gaping hole in its belly. Its colors were a chaotic mess, clearly out of harmony.
"It really didn't look like this originally," the system said, materializing an image of the statue before it was destroyed for its host to see. "It was heavily weathered, with blurred contours, but the colors were still vivid. Master, you can reassemble it based on the color blocks on its body."
Xue Chenjing accepted its suggestion, disassembling the statue once again. He sorted the fragments according to the painted colors, then reassembled them following the painted lines.
"Yes, yes, yes, that piece is correct there," the system cheerfully observed for a while before belatedly realizing, "No, no, no, we should be chasing after the female lead now, trying to increase her favorability towards you, not playing some puzzle game here."
"Master, please don't give up, Master!"
