Implied molestation. I am sorry to say this is going to be one of the MLâs bad habitsâŚat least itâs one of his only bad habits (killing/imprisonment/torture aside)
It was a while before Gallant Outlaw recovered his senses. âYou hit the hero with a pillow, so how did he react?â
âHe ran away.â
Gallant Outlaw tried to imagine the scene and almost choked on his spit. âR-ran away?â he scratched his ears in puzzlement. âThatâs not the protagonistâs style, ah. Even if youâre his shizun, he wouldnât tolerate such a loss of face. Didnât he do anything else?â
Hehe, how could that be possible. That rebellious disciple kissed me, alright?
But Xie Zhiwei had his pride and would never be so honest, so he only gave a vague âmhmâ in response.
Gallant Outlaw was left confused. âThen youâve hit him, so whatâs there to be mad about? Thatâs the big god Mu He of the entire novel, ah.â
Xie Zhiwei couldnât help a cold laugh. âHeheh, hitting him two times doesnât even hurt. It canât make up for anything.â
âMake up?â Gallant Outlaw was lost. âBut Idol, youâve already given him Qingping Sword and your secret teachings, so youâre really poor now. What else could the hero see in you?â
ââŚâŚ.â said Xie Zhiwei. So naive. Bro, I still possesses the basic dignity of a man!
Gallant Outlaw went on, âForget it Idol, since you canât explain yourself, just give me the authority to see with my own eyes. Thatâs more straightforward. I can even help you analyze the problem.â
âWait!â Xie Zhiwei slapped his head. âAnger made me an idiot. You canâtâŚwatch this.â His heart was palpitating. If he gave Gallant Outlaw authorization, wouldnât the author see how that unfilial disciple did all sorts of things to him? Where could he put his pride then?
Xie Zhiwei took a deep breath. âIâd better tell you myself.â
Gallant Outlaw quickly changed to flattering him. âAlright, I believe Idol will definitely summarize the entire thing clearly and concisely.â
And so, Xie Zhiwei opened up like floodgates to tell everything from Mu He showing off his handwriting at the Buddhist sect, to capturing Bai Yu and Bai Jianzhu for torture, to Qiu Chongyun forcing him to fake-act as Chi Yan, and finally Mu He trying to kill him as a sacrificial offering.
Gallant Outlaw could only stammer, âAll these ups and downs, in only a month ah. Idol, you went through so much. Even I couldnât write all that if my brain burned. And then, and then?â
Xie Zhiwei said, âDonât interrupt. And then I fled, but Cheese got in my way before I escaped the daoist sect. He broke my mask, the hero saw, and everything went out of control.â
âWhat kind of out of control?â
Word by word, Xie Zhiwei said, âThe hero said he liked me.â
There was silence before something seem to click: the small sound of a jaw dropping. Expecting this, Xie Zhiwei asked expressionlessly, âHey, you still there, Gallant Outlaw?â
Some time passed before Gallant Outlaw spoke again, but his voice was visibly quavering.
âH-here here here,â Gallant Outlaw swallowed with difficulty and finally steadied himself with a dry laugh. âNothing wrong, ah. Itâs common for disciples to like their shizuns, this proves you were a very successful master who gained your discipleâs deep affections.â
Xie Zhiwei fell silent.
Gallant Outlaw dry laughed again. âIdol, why arenât you saying anything? Isnât my analysis reasonable?â
Xie Zhiwei nodded. âYouâre right. He loves and respects me.â
âHeheheh, thatâs good thatâs good, you donât need to worry about him shouting bloody murder at you anymore.â
âSo he rips my clothes, gropes my body, and jerked me off once with Black Lotus. Oh right, and he kissed me tooâthe kind with tongue. This is how a disciple loves and respects his master, no problem.â
ââŚâŚ..â said Gallant Outlaw.
âGallant Outlaw,â said Xie Zhiwei. âSpeak.â
Another stretch of time passed before a blank, wooden tone replied. âHeâŚripped your clothes, groped you, jerked you off with Black Lotus, and kissed you?â
Youngster, I understand your feelings. As the person involved, I feel more shocked than you. Do you have to repeat all the specifics again?
âMhm.â Xie Zhiweiâs face was full of black lines.
Gallant Outlaw began to seriously stutter. âI was justâŚwhy, how couldâŚunlessâŚwhat ifâŚâ
Impatient, Xie Zhiwei said, âCan you stop half-saying things and get to the point? Whatâs wrong with you?â
Gallant Outlaw grew suddenly solemn. âIdol, the System didnât consider you OOC even when you hit the hero. Have you checked your Presence Points lately?â
Xie Zhiwei mocked, âWho cares about Presence Points at a time like this? I had no idea your protagonist had hidden queer attributes. Tell me whether this plot can still go onââ
His vision went black.
Following that came a cold metallic beep. âHello. You have already exceeded the 20-minute daily limit for using the System. In order to prevent malicious evasion of the plot, the System has forced a shutdown.â
WTF? ? Xie Zhiwei thought. But the System disconnected without acknowledging his feelings. He sat upright on the bed and nearly imploded on the spot. Trying to contact Gallant Outlaw again only got him a repeated message: You have reached your daily limit today. Please try again tomorrow.
Try your sister, ah! Itâll be too late by then!
Xie Zhiwei went around in circles all day before recalling the last words from Gallant Outlaw. It had been some time since he checked his Presence Points. Today heâd sneered and creased his eyebrows and even threw pillows, but the System didnât care a whit. That was really abnormal.
He opened up the interface and saw that half of the last star had been lit up. When he went to study the restrictions more closely, the System sounded out loud. âHello, congratulations on reaching 4.5 stars and unlocking 99% of all permissions. Besides beating and cursing others, you can freely use all words and actions required for your role. There is still half a star left. Please make further efforts to maintain the persona of the original host on the basis of your 99%.â
Xie Zhiwei closed the System and had a brief moment of happiness. But he soon realized how heâd gained the extra points. Presence Points came from his presence index in the plot, which completely revolved around the protagonist. Thus, if the protagonist thought, kissed, and hugged him, there was no need to question his existence.
This was already a far cry from Gallant Outlawâs âdual male leadsâ setting. This was simply stealing the heroineâs scenes and sticking them on his own head!
What should he say?
Mengmeng, Aunt Yun, sister Yin, and the tens of thousands of girls in Mu Heâs haremâIâm sorry, ah. Iâve bent your man.
But the problem was he didnât want this either, ah. A perfectly fine hero bent just like that, could Gallant Outlaw agree?!
Forget it, letâs do what I need to do. Iâll find Gallant Outlaw to discuss things later.
It was a peaceful night. Mu He didnât come to harass him again while a servant brought him hot water to wash. Xie Zhiwei took a bath to clean himself thoroughly and felt very comfortable. In the end he didnât forget to ask, âWhere is your Shizi?â
The servant girl about 11 to 12 years old was wiping the water stains on the ground when she answered. âOur Shiziâs quarters are at the eastern end, about one li away from here.â
Xie Zhiwei was relieved and went straight to bed. His nerves were so taut that his IQ temporarily dropped and he forgot that the concept of distance was nonexistent in the cultivation world.
That night, wisps of black qi seeped in along the window cracks in silence. The bed curtains were hanging down and Xie Zhiweiâs breaths were even as he slept peacefully on his back. The black qi seemed to come to life as it floated towards him, finally coalescing into a lotus shape above his forehead before slowly sinking into his seven orifices.
Xie Zhiweiâs brow shifted slightly before his head tilted to one side, his breaths now longer and deeper. The next moment, a candle lighted itself, shining a bright orange light before the bed. The bed curtains moved before an additional white-robed figure appeared inside, his profile reflected as a shadow against the curtain like an elaborate paper cutout.
âShizunâŚâ the white-robed figure touched the face of the man on the bed before slowly pressing against his body. One arm wrapped around his body and lifted him up for a quick kiss, while the other took his hand and brought it between his legs.
â
The next day, Xie Zhiwei woke up refreshed and changed into his long-lost daoist robes. Immediately, he felt like heâd returned to his old and virtuous self. He opened the doors to his room and saw that the entire courtyard was confined beneath a boundary field intertwined with Black and White Lotus energy, making it impossible to escape. There was cooking smoke in the compound as well, so it seemed to be well equipped. They could probably stay a month here without starving.
The subordinates guarding outside noticed the commotion and rushed over to help him freshen up, followed by the little maid who came carrying a lunchbox. Xie Zhiwei could almost feel himself tearing up: this was the life of the richâŚjust like his own a lifetime ago.
The lunch box had enough food to fill the table. Although the dishes were light, they were full of fresh fish and fragrant meat. Even the vegetables were green and oily enough to stimulate the appetite. Xie Zhiwei gulped imperceptibly and figured it was justified to eat a couple of meals after treating Mu He so well in the past. Thus, he sat down and picked up his chopsticks.
It had been days since he put rice to teeth, so once he started he couldnât stop. He almost ate until he burped before reluctantly dropping the chopsticks. The King of Nine Provinces was a hedonistic man who had famous cooks working in his estate; today he tasted the proof.
Especially a plate of white-hued meat heâd polished off completely.
Xie Zhiwei actually couldnât tell what kind of meat that was, since it was tender like fish but tasted nothing like seafood. There wasnât even a single fish bone. He thought about it then asked, âWhat kind of meat was in this plate?â
The little maid replied respectfully, âTo reply Xie zhenren, this is the ice carp tribute from the North Sea. I heard that it melts in oneâs mouth and doesnât have a single bone. It doesnât even taste like fish.â
âItâs indeed good. I rather like it,â Xie Zhiwei said thoughtfully.
Happy, the little maid clapped her hands. âThatâs great! If zhenren likes it, the kitchen can cook it everyday.â
âMany thanks, then,â Xie Zhiwei nodded and asked, âWhere did your familyâs Shizi go?â
âI heard they captured two people that the Shizi wants to interrogate personally,â the maid replied. âAlso, something happened at the palace, so Shizi left first thing in the morning.â
Excellent. I hope he doesnât come back for a lifetime.
Of course, that was impossible.
Xie Zhiwei next asked, âDo you know who were the two people he captured?â
â
Translatorâs Note: Do you know? 5/20 and 5/21 sound similar to ććä˝ (I love you) in some dialects of Chinese! And thusâŚletâs spread the love with double releases today and tomorrow!