Chapter 55

Luo Binghe was nothing if not perceptive.

He took another step forward.

“What does Shizun think I will do to him?”

“I honestly couldn’t guess,” Shen Qingqiu replied, his tone sincere.

He didn’t dare try to guess the protagonist’s thoughts anymore. History had proven that every attempt missed the mark by a thousand miles.

Luo Binghe extended his right hand. Shen Qingqiu remained outwardly still, but his gaze was inevitably drawn to those fingertips, tracking their path.

The hand was long and elegant, clean—it didn’t look like it belonged to a demon lord who had taken countless lives. It seemed more suited to plucking the strings of a zither. It ghosted past his cheek, the barest whisper of a touch against his skin.

Then it settled against his throat.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but the hand seemed to press directly over a major artery in Shen Qingqiu’s neck.

Shen Qingqiu stared straight ahead, his Adam’s apple moving in an almost imperceptible swallow.

Luo Binghe withdrew his hand.

“My blood,” he said, his voice giving away nothing of his mood. “It no longer answers the call.”

So that fleeting contact had been to probe for the suppressed Heavenly Demon blood within him.

“It seems Shizun has had quite the adventure in these past few days,” Luo Binghe observed.

“What will you do about it?” Shen Qingqiu asked. “Force me to drink it again?”

“Whether you drink it or not, you’ll still run.” Luo Binghe’s voice was flat. “The result is the same. Better not to add another layer of disgust for me in Shizun’s heart.”

In front of others, he showed Shen Qingqiu no face at all, but in private, he suddenly became all polite and refined. Shen Qingqiu was thoroughly exasperated. The more he acted like this, the more one couldn’t let their guard down.

“Shizun will remain here for now,” Luo Binghe stated. “If you wish, you may move freely within the palace. I’ve left people outside. They will not enter, but you may summon them for anything you need.”

“Very thorough,” Shen Qingqiu said dryly.

Luo Binghe studied him for a moment. “Is there anything you want?”

“Anything at all?”

A nod.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t mince words. “I’d like to see you as little as possible. Not at all would be best.”

Luo Binghe seemed completely unprepared for those words. The color drained from his face.

Seeing it gave Shen Qingqiu a vicious sort of satisfaction, but it also felt like being pricked by a needle. After all, he’d never been one for delivering such sharp, merciless remarks.

The blood returned to Luo Binghe’s cheeks with agonizing slowness. “Shizun once asked me if I wanted to become strong.”

“When I asked that,” Shen Qingqiu countered, “I believe I also told you that strength is for protection. Not for plunder and slaughter.”

“No.” Luo Binghe’s voice was icy. “Only by becoming the strongest can one hold tightly to the person they want. I finally understand that waiting for Shizun to come to me… is pointless.”

He clenched his fist, forcing a fierce, brittle smile onto his lips. “So, now that I’ve caught you this time, don’t even think about running!”

Once the tyrant had made his exit, Shen Qingqiu tapped at the system interface in his mind. “2.0, you there?”

The system chimed. [We provide comprehensive, user-friendly online service 24 hours a day.]

“Uh, ‘comprehensive’ I’ll grant you. ‘User-friendly’ is a stretch,” Shen Qingqiu muttered. “What are the current values?”

[Coolness Points: 1330. The label ‘Cringe-Fest’ has been successfully removed. The medal ‘Slightly Ridiculous’ has been awarded. Please continue your efforts. We await the unveiling of your next mysterious medal. Satisfaction Points: 3840. Rage Points: 1500. Heartbreak Points: 4500. Further effort is required.]

Well. After all his hard (and stupid) work, this trashy stallion novel had finally gained a bit of dignity. While ‘Slightly Ridiculous’ wasn’t exactly high praise, it was still half a step better than ‘Cringe-Fest’. The Heartbreak Points were sky-high—so Luo Binghe really did have a fragile heart. The Rage Points weren’t as catastrophically high as he’d imagined. Things were just getting more and more confusing.

“With Satisfaction this high, can I exchange it for anything?”

[You may upgrade your system tools.]

Shen Qingqiu’s spirits lifted. “Great, great! Upgrade it, upgrade it now!”

The system emitted a soft ding and began coyly downloading an upgrade package.

Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Wait, what’s this system tool called again?”

[The Deluxe ‘Plot Nudger’ Suite.]

Shen Qingqiu decisively canceled the download.

Dammit! It had already finished! And it had deducted 3,000 Satisfaction Points! He was going to leave a scathing review!!!

After fruitlessly bombarding the system with complaints and spam, Shen Qingqiu settled into his new life of house arrest.

Luo Binghe was busy consolidating the northern border demon tribes under Mobei-jun’s territory. Sha Hualing also seemed to have officially embarked on her career of screwing over her father—quite literally. In short, Luo Binghe had a long list of people to eliminate and others to recruit recently. His affairs were undoubtedly numerous and complex, leaving him no time to spare. So, he never appeared.

Or perhaps that one cutting remark from Shen Qingqiu had shattered his glass heart into a million pieces, and he didn’t dare show his face.

Either way, Shen Qingqiu was grateful.

If Luo Binghe continued to stay away, wouldn’t this life be exactly the idle, carefree retirement he’d always dreamed of?

Besides, Luo Binghe hadn’t even used chains or anything to lock him up.

Bullshit!

If Shen Qingqiu actually comforted himself with that nonsense, he’d have to be out of his mind. He wasn’t some Stockholm syndrome patient, grateful for a few extra crumbs. Happiness had to be built by your own hands, not handed out as charity. Got it?!

His hand tightened, and the page of the book he was holding tore with a sharp rip. A louder cracking sound came from outside the window. Pushing aside the curtain, he saw a group of demon servants busy at work. He leaned out. “What are you all doing?”

“Immortal Master Shen! You’ve come out!”

The servant’s attitude was enthusiastic and respectful, not at all like he was addressing a prisoner. He grinned. “We’re planting bamboo here.”

Shen Qingqiu was taken aback. “Bamboo?”

“Yes. You must know this plant from the human realm. It doesn’t grow well here in the demon realm, it just won’t take. But His Lordship insists on having it planted here, so we have to find a way.”

Observing the servant’s strength and the way he channeled his energy, this was no ordinary laborer. Luo Binghe had probably picked these demons from among his elite Black Armored Guard. Having such experts perform menial tasks for him was a gross waste of talent.

And that wasn’t all.

For the first two days, Shen Qingqiu had no appetite. By the third day, he’d lost interest in losing his appetite. After a reserved (and flirtatious) exchange with a pale, beautiful, and generously endowed demoness maid, he requested a meal.

He barely touched two bites before he couldn’t eat anymore.

The maid tilted her head, a playful smile on her lips. “What’s wrong, Immortal Master Shen? Doesn’t it taste good?”

It tasted wonderful. Exceptionally so. It was because it was so good, and so deeply familiar—a flavor he hadn’t tasted in many years—that he couldn’t continue.

He set down his chopsticks. “Did you make this?”

The maid giggled. “How could I? I only know how to kill, eat things raw, or wait for the meat to rot before eating it. I don’t know these human methods, with all their fire and fussy ingredients like rice, oil, and salt. Such a bother.”

…Great. A carrion enthusiast. Shen Qingqiu lost even more of his appetite.

He’d realized early on that this girl was utterly wasted on dusting and sweeping. In Shen Qingqiu’s opinion, her style and strength were better suited to wielding a pair of battle-axes on the front lines, cutting down enemies like melons and vegetables. That was likely her original post.

Shen Qingqiu kept his voice low and neutral. “Then who made it?”

“Oh dear, I dare not say,” the maid chirped. “His Lordship would kill me if I did.”

She wouldn’t say? As if he couldn’t tell just by tasting it!

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, unsure if he was more irritated or agitated.

Luo Binghe was just… infuriating!

Just when you thought he’d gone completely dark, he’d turn around and act all pitiful and eager to please. Just when you pegged him as a delicate, helpless little white flower, he’d immediately turn around and slap you in the face. In person, he was a menacing, domineering tyrant, but behind the scenes, he was pulling these sneaky little stunts. A total nutcase! He was absolutely, certifiably insane!

The maid cleared the dishes and swayed out of the room. Not long after she left, the curtain was pushed aside again, and a figure staggered in.

The moment Shen Qingqiu saw that face, malice surged through him. He launched a fierce strike. “Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, I’ll fuc—”

Shang Qinghua hastily raised his arms to block, interposing an unsheathed sword to deflect the attack. “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t, absolutely don’t! Brother Shen, you can’t just go around fucking people anymore. If you fucked me, sure, I’d come to a bad end, but don’t think that one would let you off easy either.”

Shen Qingqiu roared, “You sold me out! What about friendship?! What about our shared hometown bond?!”

“What else could I do?” Shang Qinghua said, utterly shameless. “That’s Luo-dage we’re talking about. Even if I didn’t sell you out, he’d pretty much figured it out anyway. Why should I take a beating for no reason? I’m not an idiot. I chose to confess and seek leniency.”

His brazen, unapologetic logic left Shen Qingqiu momentarily speechless. In that moment of distraction, Shang Qinghua had already stepped forward, lifted the hem of his robe, and taken a seat at the table. He placed his sheathed sword on the table with a thump. “Forget about that. I’m here on orders to deliver something.”

Shen Qingqiu looked closer, and his hand reached out almost of its own accord.

It was his own spiritual sword, the one that had shattered into several pieces along with his dissipating spiritual power during his self-destruction. Xi Ya Jian.

Shen Qingqiu still held deep affection for this sword. The moment the familiar hilt met his palm, all thoughts of beating up Shang Qinghua vanished. He drew the blade. It was still pure and snow-bright, slender and elegant. The reforging was seamless, the spiritual energy within it vibrant and abundant, not a single crack visible.

Over at the table, Shang Qinghua rubbed his hands together, sighing with exaggerated wonder. “Ah, I really… never could have imagined… the plot would get twisted into something like this.”

“The male lead of your stallion novel turned out to be gay,” Shen Qingqiu said flatly. “Shouldn’t you be furious?”

Shang Qinghua replied with utter sincerity, “It doesn’t matter to me. He’s not after me, after all.”

Shen Qingqiu gave him a friendly middle finger before lowering his head to clean his sword. Shang Qinghua gave a thumbs-up. “Actually, there’s no need to be so pessimistic. You’ve got prospects, real prospects. That golden thigh is thick and sturdy!”

“Screw your golden thigh,” Shen Qingqiu snapped. “It’s supposed to be a thigh, but what the hell did I latch onto?! The space between the thighs!”

“The space between is even better,” Shang Qinghua said with a grin. “That’s a man’s most critical area.”

If Xiuya Sword hadn’t just been returned to him and he wasn’t reluctant to dirty it with such vulgar business, Shen Qingqiu would have seriously considered carving a chunk out of that “critical area.” Remembering something important, his expression turned serious. “Since we’re coming clean, let me ask you: did you ever make any settings for the character Tianlang-jun?”

“Why are you asking about Bing-ge’s father?”

“No reason,” Shen Qingqiu said. “Just think it’s strange you didn’t make a bigger deal out of the male lead’s dad. Knowing you, you could write 500,000 words for an extra wife—with an extra father, you could’ve serialized for another two years.”

Shang Qinghua’s spirits lifted. “You’ve got a good eye, a true loyal reader. Let me tell you, I originally planned to expand the grand framework. The setting was that Bing-ge’s father would be the final boss. But as I was writing, my computer crashed once, the outline was lost, and a lot of details became unclear.”

…So that’s how all those plot holes came to be. “So you just left it full of potholes?”

“Actually, potholes aren’t so bad, right?” Shang Qinghua said. “The main thing is that everyone enjoys the ride. All the girls that needed pushing got pushed, all the scum that needed killing got killed. No need to force in another boss.”

Xiang Tian Da Feiji might have enjoyed cutting the outline, but the System had meticulously filled in all this world’s gaps!

Shang Qinghua continued, “Actually, there’s a more important reason. Mainly, I didn’t know how to make it up. Tianlang-jun’s bloodline is purer than his son’s, his martial prowess is higher, he became famous earlier, his character design is more badass. I thought about it for a long time and actually couldn’t figure out how to let the male lead defeat him!”

Shen Qingqiu facepalmed.

Oh, hell.

If Tianlang-jun really was released, could Luo Binghe actually defeat him?!

Maybe this could be used to restrain Luo Binghe?

Shen Qingqiu immediately snuffed out that dangerous thought.

Trying to use someone whose true capabilities were completely unknown—he might not even know how he died in the end.

The conclusion remained eternally unchanged: Xiang Tian Da Feiji, you absolute legend, really know how to put a person’s mind at ease!

Shen Qingqiu slammed the table. “Confess honestly. Is there anything else you set up but didn’t write? Pick the important stuff!”

“Whether it’s important or not, I don’t know,” Shang Qinghua said. “But there is one thing related to you—or more accurately, to Shen Jiu.”

Hearing this, every hair on Shen Qingqiu’s body stood on end.

Given Xiang Tian Da Feiji’s usual style, what normal, sensible setting would he possibly add for him?!

Shen Qingqiu clutched his head. “Just… say it. I can take it.”

Shang Qinghua began to passionately expound on his writing philosophy. “I had many ideas for the character Shen Qingqiu. I wanted to shape him into a round, three-dimensional person. He’s scum, he’s despicable, but he also has reasons for being scum and a side that isn’t scum. But the readers didn’t buy it. The moment I wrote those hints, they started fighting in the comment section. So when I saw the wind changing, I immediately turned him into a stereotypical, despicable villain. But actually, he…”

Shen Qingqiu was listening with rapt attention when suddenly, several maidservants outside the room chimed in unison, “Junshang!”

The timing couldn’t be worse!

Hearing this call, Shang Qinghua’s face changed dramatically. He shot up as if his backside had been singed by fire and bolted for the rear door. “Your guy is here. We’ll talk later!”

Don’t go! Shen Qingqiu reached out a desperate hand.

To hell with “later”! Getting cut off here was even more unbearable than [a witness saying “The murderer is actually…” then coughing up blood and dying on the spot]!!!

By the time Shen Qingqiu turned around, the blue curtain was lifted, and Luo Binghe was ducking his head to enter the room.

Shen Qingqiu immediately adopted a placid expression.

Because the very important (probably) serious discussion had been interrupted, his expression wasn’t good. Luo Binghe’s gaze first landed on Xiuya Sword in his hand before lifting.

After a moment of silence, it was Luo Binghe who spoke first.

“How have you been these days?”

“Fine.” Not seeing you was indeed fine.

Luo Binghe said, “Shizun doesn’t seem to have rested.”

“If I could avoid dreaming, rest would be good,” Shen Qingqiu replied.

His meaning was perfectly clear. Surprisingly, Luo Binghe didn’t get angry.

His eyelashes lowered slightly. He stood for a while, as if steeling himself with great resolve, before saying quietly, “Although I concealed some things from Shizun in the dream at that time, the words I spoke were not false.”

You dare say that?!

Mentioning this made Shen Qingqiu furious. He wanted nothing more than to swing his arm and slap him a hundred times.

The Luo Binghe in the dream had truly been much more likable. Though he was still the male lead, pitiful and tender-hearted, even a straight man like Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but feel compassion. It was just that the more compassion he felt then, the harder his face was slapped afterward. Having taken a tumble and lost face, no wonder he was resentful and ashamed.

Shen Qingqiu said, “I truly don’t know which of your words are real and which are false now.”

He had also said the events at Jinlan City weren’t his doing. Shen Qingqiu had been ninety percent convinced before, but now he didn’t dare believe even ten percent.

Luo Binghe’s blood rushed upward, his face flushing slightly. He lifted his eyelids, his gaze cold. “Shizun is only angry that I deceived you. But if I hadn’t done so, I’m afraid I still wouldn’t be able to speak a single word with you now.”

True enough. Shen Qingqiu had always turned and run at the sight of him. Even when they did speak, for some reason, it always ended up like this—three sentences in and they were deadlocked, the air thick with gunpowder.

Luo Binghe’s fingers unconsciously tightened around Xin Mo Sword’s hilt, his knuckles whitening with force. Not only were his pupils red, but the rims of his eyes were also faintly reddening. “Has Shizun not also deceived me? You said you didn’t agree with the distinction between demons and humans, yet in the blink of an eye, you denied it. At Huayue City, you died. For five years, I summoned your soul over ten thousand times. I tried repeatedly, failed repeatedly, but never lost heart. Even so, I never suspected Shizun detested me to such an extent that you’d rather abandon your body than see me.”

By the end, his voice wavered slightly, his tone gradually rising, a mix of indignation and petulance. “Shizun now certainly has every reason to condemn me as a scourge, a calamity upon the world. But why, when I had done nothing, was I also avoided like a plague? You deceived me twice; I deceived you twice. Isn’t that perfectly fair?”

…He really kept accounts meticulously!

Tit for tat—truly the type to repay every grievance!

Even while acknowledging his accounting wasn’t wrong, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but say sincerely, “You really hold a grudge.”

Luo Binghe sneered. “Shizun probably hasn’t seen what I’m truly like when I hold a grudge.”

He laughed, but his expression gradually turned gloomy. He said lightly, “If I said, toward Shizun, I only remember, I do not hold a grudge… that probably wouldn’t be believed either.”

Shen Qingqiu’s heart secretly clenched. “Calm down.” If you want to talk, talk properly. Don’t change expressions!

Luo Binghe said in a low voice, “Shizun, you’ve always been able to stay calm. But I can’t stay calm anymore.”

Before Shen Qingqiu could process what was happening, he heard a thump. Pain shot through his back. By the time he regained his senses, the two of them had already tumbled together onto the bed boards.

…It had been so long since he’d slept on this bamboo bed—it was fucking uncomfortable!

Shen Qingqiu cursed. “Have you lost your mind?!”

Luo Binghe pressed his lips together, saying nothing. Just as Shen Qingqiu was about to kick him away, all his hair stood on end.

A hand suddenly slipped under his robes and into his inner garment.

Holy shit!

Shen Qingqiu’s knee shot upward, only to be caught by Luo Binghe’s single hand, which pressed it down with the momentum.

Shen Qingqiu cursed a hundred times in his heart. He had no desire to be bent into a position with legs splayed wide, lying beneath someone else! He immediately surged upward, using a clever burst of force, twisting at the waist. With a great reversal, he flipped Luo Binghe beneath him.

Xiuya Sword left its sheath by three inches, its cold, clear edge pressing against Luo Binghe’s throat. Provoked into a rage himself, Shen Qingqiu bared his teeth in a fierce smile. “Playing at forced conquest? Hmm?”

Being at someone’s mercy was one thing, but don’t expect him to assume a docile, compliant posture!

Though restrained at his upper, lower, and vital neck points, Luo Binghe’s eyes shone brilliantly, showing not the slightest fear of the sharp blade at his throat. He gripped Shen Qingqiu’s wrist with one hand, braced the other against the floor—the situation was about to reverse again. How could Shen Qingqiu let him have his way? He struck Luo Binghe’s pressure points with Xiuya’s hilt. Back and forth they went for several rounds, grappling into a tangled roll that tumbled them off the bed. Suddenly, Shen Qingqiu realized.

Wait, this is a xianxia novel! Why are we brawling like this?! What idiot doesn’t use their spiritual power when they have it?!

He immediately raised his hand, channeling a burst of spiritual power, and delivered a shattering punch straight into Luo Binghe’s abdomen.

This punch felt immensely satisfying. The accumulated frustration and anger of the past several days seemed to pour out with the blow. Just as he was reveling in supreme satisfaction, the System suddenly erupted with a fanfare of celebratory prompts:

【★,°:.☆( ̄▽ ̄)/$:.°★ 。Congratulations~ Pleasure +500!】

Shen Qingqiu: “…”

Holy hell, this guy really is a pervert! He truly is! A deserving masochist! No pain, no pleasure! Hitting him actually gave 500 pleasure points?! Even the System prompt became flashy, spring-heartedly flirtatious, and unprecedentedly included a tilde. In all his years, he’d never seen such a freak!

Shen Qingqiu was ready to deliver another devastating blow, but Luo Binghe had stopped playing along. A flick of his right wrist sent the strike veering off course, punching a perfectly geometric hole through the ceiling. This was a combo, however. The first missed, but the second and third waves of spiritual power followed right on its heels. Luo Binghe only parried, never counterattacking. When a blow did land, he absorbed it without a sound, not even a grunt. They tumbled across the room, white light and sparks exploding in their wake, a chaotic storm of spiritual energy and demonic miasma, destructive power flying wild.

He’d been playing the aloof, refined master for so long, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t remember the last time he’d brawled this brutally. The sheer catharsis of it was incredible! A hand suddenly tore through his inner robe, skin meeting skin as it slid against his waist.

Shen Qingqiu went momentarily limp, then immediately slammed the hilt of his sword into Luo Binghe’s forehead. “You beast!”

What else could you call someone who’d try something like this now?!

He’d pummeled the man senseless, and the system had chimed over fifty times. His ‘Satisfaction’ points had shot up by at least four thousand!

“In Shizun’s eyes, I’m already worse than a beast,” Luo Binghe said, a note of self-abandonment in his voice. “Might as well make it official.”

Furious laughter bubbled in Shen Qingqiu’s chest. Looking for punishment, was he? Happy to oblige! The word “Scram!” and a dual-handed mega-strike were poised to erupt when the world before him suddenly swam. His body listed sideways.

Xiuyajian clattered to the floor. A dragging force, as if his very soul were being ripped from his body, assaulted him.

He went rigid. Sensing the change, Luo Binghe froze, his expression shifting to one of alarm and intense wariness. In the span of a heartbeat, a splitting headache threatened to crack Shen Qingqiu’s skull open.

Fragmented images flashed before his eyes—a blinding white void one moment, pitch darkness the next, then shadowy, indistinct human forms. A sharp, piercing tinnitus stabbed at his eardrums.

Only then did Luo Binghe realize something was terribly wrong. He flipped over, sitting up to reach for Shen Qingqiu. But his grip found no purchase. It was as if a pair of gigantic hands were brutally yanking at Shen Qingqiu’s soul and mind from the outside. Clutching his head, Shen Qingqiu writhed on the ground, struggling in agony.

Something was screaming. Countless hands reached from all directions, shrieking as they clawed and tore at his spirit.

Even when the Heavenly Demon’s blood had been at its most ferocious, Shen Qingqiu had never felt an impulse to scream this raw.

“Shizun, I… I was just trying to scare you,” Luo Binghe said, panic lacing his words. “Don’t take it seriously. What’s wrong?”

Shen Qingqiu thrashed violently in the circle of his arms. Holding him halfway, Luo Binghe swiftly channeled a stream of spiritual power through Shen Qingqiu’s meridians. Nothing was out of order, yet Shen Qingqiu’s cries held an indescribable, horrifying anguish, as if a red-hot branding iron were being driven directly into his brain.

As Shen Qingqiu’s heartbeat and pulse grew fainter, Luo Binghe began to tremble. A slight shiver at first, then growing more and more violent until he could no longer support himself, collapsing from a half-kneel to fully kneeling on both knees.

He had tried every method he knew. Nothing worked. Desperation clawed its way up his throat and he roared, “Someone! Get in here, now!”