Ch122 - Choices

Xie Zhiwei got what he wanted and instantly used the money to pick out a high-quality fox fur cloak for Tantai Meng. Faceless was originally shocked by Xie Zhiwei asking for money, but seeing him buy a female cloak dispelled his doubts. Although Xie Zhiwei had no idea what he “understood,” he didn’t bother explaining. There was no way he could reveal the whereabouts of the heroine.

Actually, Xie Zhiwei was a little helpless before Faceless. He exposed himself before Xie Zhiwei not only because of his acting skills, but his fatal mole on his hand. However, no one else in the novel knew about his disguise skills in the novel besides Mu He and the King of Nine Provinces. Perhaps they were aware that the king had a master of disguise at his side, but not that the person was Faceless. When he thought of this, Xie Zhiwei felt a bit better. But Faceless came and went like the wind and seemed to live only for the sake of risking his life for the King of Nine Provinces. Why did he suddenly think of seeking out Xie Zhiwei to learn acting?

Could he be…planning to impersonate someone again?

The person this time had to be very important and the task even more difficult, while the target was likely someone unprecedentedly savvy. Thus, he was being extra cautious. Just what was the King of Nine Provinces planning?

Xie Zhiwei was afraid that Tantai Meng would run off and also considered that she hadn’t eaten yet. so he rushed back to the mountain cave. By now it was snowing heavily to cover up the previous snowfall. Tantai Meng shrank in the cave while barely moving her position. Even her posture hadn’t changed.

Xie Zhiwei was a little surprised. She actually didn’t try to break the seal with Golden Lotus, making her a little too cooperative. As soon as he stepped inside, she sat up and looked towards him. Xie Zhiwei said hastily, “Miss Tantai, I brought you some food. And also this.”

He shook open the cloak in his bag, which was made of several white fox skins stitched together. They were snow white and shiny without a single stray hair. The fox fur was soft, fluffy, and looked warm at a glance.

At last, Tantai Meng’s gaze showed a trace of a ripple. Xie Zhiwei knew that she used to be the young lady of another sect, but after her family was slaughtered, she was forced to wander as a vagabond. Then she lost her memories and became a thrifty, diligent, and silly sweet girl. The best robes she ever wore were the white set Xie Zhiwei had gifted her before.

How could girls dislike pretty clothes? Especially a cloak as luxurious and fairy-like as this one.

“Do you like it?” Xie Zhiwei asked. “It’s a gift for you.”

Tantai Meng’s eyes drooped. “It’s too expensive.”

Xie Zhiwei gave a slightly sigh as he moved onto the next step of touching her feelings. “Indeed, I almost couldn’t afford it. Thankfully I had something important on me to use as an exchange.”

Acting skills were an actor’s life! They were extremely precious!

“Xie zhenren, you are a deservedly good person,” Tantai Meng murmured. “But…I can’t accept this. It’s better for you to trade that item back.”

Xie Zhiwei had used his male god persona while in the entertainment circle, so he knew very well how to win maidens’ hearts. He didn’t argue or reason with Tantai Meng, but simply walked over and draped the cloak over her body. When she raised a hand to refuse, he said, “Money is only a material thing. Even without the Golden Lotus, you and I know each other and you’ve helped my disciple in the past. Is this friendship not worth a cloak?”

“But…” Tantai Meng’s hand fell in disappointment. “No wonder…”

“What?” Xie Zhiwei asked.

Tantai Meng slowly stood up. “Xie zhenren is so benevolent, it’s no wonder you can even move Shizi Mu He’s viper heart…”

“Is that so.” Move? You’ll be even more moved when you’re eating steaming hot meatbuns later!

Tantai Meng suddenly creased her brows. “No, I can’t call it moved. He’s different from me, he likes Xie zhenren.”

Xie Zhiwei was in the middle of taking out meatbuns when he nearly tossed them at her words. He raised a dumbfounded look at Tantai Meng and said while hoping not to get caught, “I am his shizun, so of course he respects and likes me.”

“He respects Xie zhenren very much, but the ‘like’ I’m referring to…” Tantai Meng seemed to be rather cold as she drew the cloak tighter around herself. “I’m afraid it’s different from the ‘like’ in Xie zhenren’s words. Shizi Mu He told me personally that he wanted to be together with Xie zhenren, holding his hand and never letting go.”

Xie Zhiwei’s brain buzzed as the meatbun finally plopped from his hand. Tantai Meng quickly used spiritual energy to send the bun into her mouth before her lips pulled into a quirky grin. “Dare I ask Xie zhenren what kind of relationship allows two people to hold hands for eternity?”

Xie Zhiwei was really caught off guard.

Dammit, Mu He got water in his brain! Why did he tell the heroine these things?! Now she knows what’s up all right?!

Only Gallant Outlaw knew in the past, but he was a ghost. It wasn’t like he could escape the System and bother Xie Zhiwei in real life. But Tantai Meng was different. She was the original heroine of the novel. Now that the hero was bent, how was she supposed to face the NTR that came unawares?

Even if Mengmeng was an ordinary passerby girl, this was still embarrassing! A man was liked by another man, ah! Xie Zhiwei felt very guilty. He clearly didn’t like men, but why couldn’t he act magnanimous?

He could only asked slowly, “He really told you that?”

Tantai Meng’s response was equally slow. “Yes. That’s when I realized I probably wasn’t leaving the King of Nine Provinces’ estate—at least, not alive. But I never expected him to release me and City Lord Chu a few days later and even say he wasn’t going to take my Golden Lotus anymore.”

No wonder. Mu He had blurted these things to Mengmeng while he had a falling-out with himself. So immature! He was originally planning to use fatal methods, but withdrew because of Xie Zhiwei. Otherwise, the hero would have gotten Golden Lotus by now, though whether Mengmeng would survive after that was a different matter.

What is all this?!

“He did promise me that he would never hurt you two again,” Xie Zhiwei said.

Tantai Meng looked straight at him. “He listens to Xie zhenren’s words with unilateral trust like an uncontrollable madman, but what about Xie zhenren yourself? Are you aware of this?”

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes stagnated for a moment before he muttered, “I’m aware.”

Uncontrollable madman. That’s too much of an exaggeration, sister, how could you even tell?

Tantai Meng said, word by word, “In other words, Xie zhenren knows he has indecent thoughts towards you but is still trying to save him, shield him, and never give up on him in your lifetime.”

Xie Zhiwei fell silent.

Dammit, no wonder Tantai Meng kept showing strange looks when she brought up Mu He or saw us together. Looks like she already had suspicions. And I was still trying to maintain my image as a good Chinese shizun like a big-tailed wolf!

Xie Zhiwei originally wanted to strike while the iron was hot to say a few good words about Mu He while Tantai Meng was still feeling touched. Then she’d be persuaded to take out Golden Lotus. Now he inexplicably felt a sense of shame when mentioning Mu He, to say nothing of praising him.

Thankfully Tantai Meng wasn’t the type of person who got interested in gossip. She was a serious and proper girl, unlike Gallant Outlaw who always wanted to know the ins and outs of a matter from 360 degrees. After confirming the doubts in her heart, she simply started a fire and put the cold meatbuns and chicken over it to roast before sharing them with Xie Zhiwei.

The two of them didn’t speak much for the rest of the day, but Xie Zhiwei was all too happy not to talk since he was still embarrassed.

As soon as he fell asleep that night, Mu He appeared as promised. Xie Zhiwei was worried about his condition and really wanted to see him, but as soon as Mu He came over, he remembered his awkward conversation with Tantai Meng during the day. His expression shifted before he pushed Mu He back a few steps. Then he discovered that Mu He’s body felt even lighter today and even weak to the touch, like clay in water that couldn’t maintain its shape. The turquoise bamboo around them were slightly duller as well, while even the fish in the pond were now only a vague shadow.

Xie Zhiwei’s heart thumped.

It’s only been a day…is that legendary spell formation really this f**king strong?

Mu He felt wronged as his smiling lips fell. “How did disciple provoke shizun’s anger?”

Xie Zhiwei didn’t have time to talk to him about Tantai Meng and scolded him directly. “Get rid of this dream, you’re hurting yourself!”

Mu He relaxed and said softly, “So shizun got angry because he was nervous about this disciple?”

…when I pushed you I was really angry, not nervous!

Xie Zhiwei pursed his lips and refused to speak, but Mu He was looking at him expectantly. It seemed that he wouldn’t abolish the dreamscape unless he got an answer, so Xie Zhiwei just nodded. Mu He smiled again and said, “Disciple is just checking to see whether shizun’s sleeping well. Since shizun slept earlier than last night, disciple is relieved.”

“Mm,” Xie Zhiwei replied and Mu He’s smiled deepened.

He pecked the corner of Xie Zhiwei’s lip and prepared to disperse the dream, but Xie Zhiwei suddenly said, “I know everything.”

Mu He’s expression froze, but he remained smiling. “Shizun knows what?”

For the sake of saving Mu He’s spiritual power, Xie Zhiwei spoke quickly. “I entered the capital city today. Your father posted proclamations to break off relations with you and you’ve been refined in the spell formation for a day and a night. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mu He finally withdrew his smile and lowered his head. “Disciple is afraid that shizun…”

“Afraid of what? Afraid that I’ll worry?”

Mu He paused before nodding.

Xie Zhiwei felt metaphorical black lines going down his face. Really, enough of this! What is this brat thinking of everyday? He’s obviously very helpful when I’m worried, but now he’s afraid again?

Xie Zhiwei sighed and rubbed his head again. “Don’t think nonsense. Save your spiritual energy to resist the spell formation.”

Mu He nodded gently and reached out to brush Xie Zhiwei’s cheek. Due to the reduction of spiritual energy, the reality of the dreamscape weakened and the two of them almost went through each other when they touched. Xie Zhiwei’s face was close at hand, an arresting sight no matter how many times he saw it. Mu He finally dispelled the dreamscape with reluctance before his eyes turned dimmer than they’d ever been. He really was afraid that shizun would worry, but…he was more afraid that shizun wouldn’t be.

The thought frightened him to death.

—

Xie Zhiwei’s heart was in turmoil. Even if Gallant Outlaw swore that Mu He’s protagonist halo would ensure he survived, he was still anxious. He couldn’t imagine how much Mu He had to be suffering in the spell formation nor whether this death would be more painful than his last one. The lack of certainties made him more upset.

As soon as he left the dreamscape, he contacted Gallant Outlaw. “Get out, I have something to ask you.”

Gallant Outlaw immediately popped out with a string of words. “Idol, you came just in time. I have something to tell you too.”

Xie Zhiwei rolled his eyes. “Is it important? If not, let me speak first.”

Gallant Outlaw was serious like never before. “Of course it’s important.”

Xie Zhiwei was momentarily stunned. Hell, he’s so somber it’s like he’s a different person…what kind of thing could make Gallant Outlaw so tense when he’s not even part of the story? Did something happen to the System?

“Did the System blow up?” Xie Zhiwei asked cautiously.

Gallant Outlaw didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “No.” Immediately after that he said, word for word, “But this world’s about to be fried.”

He didn’t sound like he was joking. Gallant Outlaw loved literature as much as his life and even argued fiercely with Xie Zhiwei over the smallest character details. He would never speak nonsense about the story.

“What the hell?” Xie Zhiwei was floored.

Gallant Outlaw gave a long sigh. “I don’t want this either, but didn’t you say the hero bent and wanted me to report it to the Main System to fix the problem? You also wanted me to fix the bug that was Yin Cangshan, so I reported that as well… This is the solution given by the Main System: let the hero die naturally so the world can collapse and everything cease to exist.”

Xie Zhiwei’s mind went blank.

Gallant Outlaw called him multiple times without response. Finally, the author had to press the alarm. The screeching noise filled his eardrums and made Xie Zhiwei jolt back to awareness. “What are you smoking?!” he demanded.

“It looked like your soul was about to fly out of your body, so I…”

“I’m not talking about that!” Xie Zhiwei clenched his fists. “Did a donkey kick you in the brains? What kind of shitty solution is this…why the f**k do you want the hero dead? Lunatic! Didn’t you say before he wouldn’t die?!”

“Idol, you kept asking whether he’d die or not…aren’t you hoping he’ll die yourself? He treated you like that, but you still want him to stay safe and sound? Have you been…bent by him?”

“Bent your father! Answer the question!”

“Cough, all right…the past was the past, but the System now thinks this world has gone too far off track. It doesn’t fit the settings of the original novel anymore and its existence value is too weak, so it withdrew its System privileges. In the future Mu He…won’t have the protagonist halo anymore.”

Xie Zhiwei slammed a fist against the System screen while raising his voice. “Who told it to deal with it this way? It would’ve been better if it never got involved! Let it scram.”

Gallant Outlaw was anxious too. “Idol, why are you…don’t forget, we’re both dead. Without the System we would be floating who-knows-where by now. You’re the first transmigrator to earn five stars, which is why the System made an exception to award you. It’s impossible to ask for any more.”

Xie Zhiwei only sneered. “Award? I only see the punishment it has for this world.”

“Listen to me, Idol,” Gallant Outlaw said, “Of course it’s a punishment for this off-track world and hero, but it’s an award for you, ah! There’s a total of three choices, you’ll definitely like them!”

“Speak.”

“Number one, System can unleash a huge wave of energy to reverse time-space, allowing you to go back to your previous life before the car accident. It counts as having a whole new life.”

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes lit up. That was quite—no, very tempting. When Xie Zhiwei first transmigrated, he acted like he didn’t care, but he couldn’t help sinking into his memories. Seeing Mu He reminded him of He Zheng so it took him a long time to adjust himself. After all, his world was the place he was most familiar with. After fighting and crawling for over 30 years, he had experienced the most complete ups and downs of life. He unconsciously referred to his original world as his previous life while calling the one with Mu He the “plot” or “this world.” The difference between the two was evident.

Xie Zhiwei calmed his emotions and asked, “What else?”

“Number two is to have you redo the plot again. This time I’ll keep strict watch to prevent the plot from straying. System will also modify the program to make the hero more stubborn and adjust accordingly when any character settings slip.”

Xie Zhiwei felt that sounded strange. “You can adjust human emotions too?”

“System can do anything. The story world you’ve living in now has original characters where even the slightest changes can affect their behaviors and personalities. For your sake, System did a self-review and felt the need to create new characters that it can control so nothing runs off-course again.”

Xie Zhiwei said sarcastically, “If you can control a person, are they still human? Won’t they all be puppets like Shen You then? Is that interesting? Or the original purpose of your writing?”

“Nonono,” Gallant Outlaw explained, “Idol, you’re thinking too simple. The System is highly advanced and will definitely make sure you don’t notice any abnormalities. It’ll be like going through the plot normally. How thrilling will that be, ah? You’ll really go through the original novel and act anything you want.”

“Act anything I want?” Xie Zhiwei echoed.

“Right, isn’t that cool?”

Xie Zhiwei didn’t respond before muttering, “Act…”

Gallant Outlaw didn’t hear his last word and went on chattering to himself. “I personally support choosing Option 2 one hundred percent. After all, I’m the author and would definitely put my own work first. But I think Idol would favor Option 1. You’re a good actor and probably have plenty of works you haven’t tried yet. It’s much better than just playing a single role. You’ll still have to steal the scenes then.”

Xie Zhiwei didn’t speak.

Gallant Outlaw saw him in a rare, unangry moment and felt even more confident. He couldn’t stop talking now. “But Idol, you won’t suffer any losses if you pick either one. No one will cling to you nonstop or seize the chance to do this or that to you anymore. You don’t need to live your days worrying about your morals all the time.”

Xie Zhiwei remained silent.

Gallant Outlaw couldn’t help asking, “…Idol, isn’t my analysis very reasonable? You seem to be listening very closely…Idol?”

At last, Xie Zhiwei spoke. “What’s the third choice?”

Gallant Outlaw scratched his head. “Idol, if you choose one of the others, you don’t need to hear about number three.”

“Stop f**king wasting words.”

Gallant Outlaw took a deep breath after he was scolded and obediently spilled the beans. “…Option 3 is for the System to stop intervening in life and death matters from this moment on. If you want to stay behind, you can only unbind with the System and become an actual person in this world. From then on, you’ll live if the world lives, and die if the world dies. But Idol, look at the situation now…there’s no point in staying, right? You’ll need to throw your life away too.”

—

The author has something to say: My hands keep slipping and writing more than usual…

Translator’s Notes: Regarding the author’s notes, she usually hovers around 3k character chapters but this one was 3993 works in the raws. The next one is even longer at 5020 words. As most readers (and myself!) prefer keeping the longer chapters intact instead of splitting them up, that’s what I’ll do. Look forward to some hefty reading sessions ahead, especially as the stakes keep rising! (u 3 u)

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