Ch2 - Mu He

Actually, Mu He had it hard too. His mother was a demonic cultivator turned Chinese opera singer whose mind was filled with delusions of Mary Sue-styled romance and fantasies. Because of this, Mu He had been raised as an innocent naivete and thought the world was a beautiful place.

Later on an evil despot took a fancy to his mother and wanted to add her into his harem. Since she had long lost her cultivation skills, she had no way to resist him. She even lied to her son and told him to go to Yujing Sect to learn some skills and become a big hero. As soon as he ran off, she hung herself.

The only items that Mu He had to prove his identity were his mysterious bloodline and a jade pendant. The jade belonged to the imperial clan, giving Mu He a noble, if irresponsible, father. With such unreliable parents, he was destined for a tragic end in his first life.

For the sake of sounding cool, Gallant Outlaw snuck in a line from one of Li Bai’s poems into his book: “The white jade capital in the Heavens/Has twelve towers and five cities.” The number one daoist sect under Heaven was named after the “jade capital” yujing and summarily divided into five “cities” like public institutions in the modern world. The twelve towers, on the other hand, were responsible for logistics and cleanup work. Since their tasks were hard and dull, they were rarely mentioned in the story.

As Xie Zhiwei wanted to enter closed door cultivation for research purposes, he handed Mu He over to a big villain in the novel—Bai Jianzhu—as his disciple. Bai Jianzhu (白见著) had poor innate talent and wasn’t built for cultivation, but he was so ambitious that he coveted the position of sect leader. Fortunately, his son Bai Yu (白誉) was extremely capable and rose to be an outstanding figure in Yujing Sect at a young age. After Xie Zhiwei rejected the position of city lord, this junior Bai Yu inherited it instead. He discovered Mu He’s jade pendant by chance and suspected it had important origins, so he got close to the protagonist with ulterior motives. In the end, he sent Mu He to his death, stole the pendant for himself, and assumed Mu He’s identity.

Mu He was unresigned with his death and vowed to snatch back all his belongings if he was given a second chance. What’s more, he’d give everyone who hurt him unsightly deaths. At that moment, the tables turned. The black lotus that Xie Zhiwei gave him was one of the Five Treasures of the world. Inside it was sealed a soul who had a tragic end. Since the soul was unresigned to his death as well, he forged a contract with Mu He to send him back in time as long as Mu He fulfilled his revenge in turn.

Naturally, Mu He agreed.

The reborn Mu He took to the past like a fish to water, aided by the secret of the Black Lotus and his own memories. But by then he had blackened completely. Bai Jianzhu, the master he loved and respected, was actually the culprit who killed his own senior brother Xie Zhiwei, stole his secret manual, and instigated Bai Yu to target Mu He. Meanwhile, his so-called senior brother Bai Yu took everything from him  including his life. The soft-as-water senior sister Cheng Daoxiu (程道秀) had backstabbed him by tampering with his food. His corpse was still cooling beside her when she took off her clothes to give Bai Yu a passionate kiss.

After his rebirth, Mu He stopped trusting anyone. His life had no purpose beyond vengeance. Even Tantai Meng, the only girl to move his heart, drifted away after witnessing his ruthless actions with the words, “Different paths should go different ways.”

Tens of thousands of readers could do nothing but sigh and reminisce regretfully after the ending.

Meanwhile, Xie Zhi had transmigrated as Xie Zhiwei at a terrible time because Mu He had already blackened. In other words, Mu He’s original rebirth sent him back to the day that Xie Zhiwei brought him to Yujing Sect. In the future, all the people Bai Yu had arranged to bully Mu He were silently dealt with without leaving a trace. The reborn Mu He had also drugged Cheng Daoxiu with an aphrodisiac before throwing her into a cave of wild boars…with unsightly results. As Mu He grew in strength and sought revenge, his methods became more creative. Nothing was beyond reproach, only beyond imagination.

How am I supposed to save you, my blackened protagonist?

Xie Zhiwei pondered the issue before determining he was one of the rare positive figures in Mu He’s life. At the very least, the boy wouldn’t come at him with a knife.

When he opened his eyes again, the incense was drifting in the air as usual and the voice outside was still urging him on. “Martial Uncle Xie, when will you depart?”

Xie Zhiwei cleared his throat and tried to speak as gently as possible. “You may leave first. I shall arrive presently.”

The other muttered an assent before padding away.

Meanwhile, Xie Zhiwei was still curious about the protagonist. He’d been so invested as a reader during Mu He’s villain abusing arc that he anonymously stalked all the comments. But a single peek at the bed stunned him speechless.

That face…

Why the hell is it He Zheng’s face?! That’s my arch-rival!

It was all He Zheng’s fault that he couldn’t keep going in the entertainment circles and got humiliated with a soy sauce role. He mentally summoned the System. “Gallant Outlaw, why does the protagonist look exactly like He Zheng?”

Gallant Outlaw chuckled. “Although I always wanted to cast He Zheng as the protagonist, this is definitely the original Mu He from the book. They may look alike, but he’s not He Zheng.”

That’s still a problem! Seeing a face like that just makes me want to gnash my teeth! How am I supposed to care about him?

“Heheh, aren’t you thrilled, Idol?”

“Hah, I’m so happy I could die. Got any other obsessions?”

Sensing something amiss, Gallant Outlaw quickly backpedaled. “Nope, none, definitely not.”

Xie Zhiwei abruptly cut connection with the System chat window. At that moment, Mu He stirred. Although Xie Zhiwei hated his appearance, he really did match the description in the novel. Eyes like a doe with the aura of a being removed from the mortal plane, a perfectly flawless face like this could incite both girl crushes and maternal love. That was why the comments sections exploded when the production team announced Mu He’s casting choice. Countless fangirls appeared to support their idol.

Currently, the protagonist appeared both young and inexperienced. His cheeks even had baby fat, but he was still a beautiful boy despite lacking his future self’s killer looks. A pity that his heart was all black.

“Awake?” Xie Zhiwei asked.

Mu He opened his eyes, a trace of wariness in his pupils. He had already traveled back to the past and carried years of accumulated resentment. But right now there was no way for him to take revenge, so he could only feign ignorance.

Xie Zhiwei’s heart gave a jolt at the sinister flash in those eyes. Afraid that he’d be stabbed the next instant, he suppressed all conflicting feelings towards that face and asked, “How are you feeling?”

When Mu He realized it was Xie Zhiwei speaking, tears gathered in his eyes. It’s him. The one who rescued me before I was reborn. He not only took care of me, but gave me the Black Lotus that saved my life.

Without Black Lotus, how could he have the chance to rewind time? In the past…if he hadn’t been taken under Bai Jianzhu’s wing back then, none of the tragedies would’ve happened in the first place.

But I wonder what happened to my benefactor afterwards. The current Mu He had yet to discover Xie Zhiwei’s secret manual or know that Bai Jianzhu had killed this man.

He could only stare at him with teary eyes. Meanwhile, Xie Zhiwei was secretly taking pleasure in the sight. It’s soothing to see him look so pathetic.

With great enthusiasm, Xie Zhiwei went through his lines. “You’re crying. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Mu He gave a start before blinking back his tears. He had already vowed to show no more weaknesses in front of anyone, even his benefactor! Instead, he looked at Xie Zhiwei with a trace of awe. “Where is this…are you an immortal?”

Hehe, keep faking it. Xie Zhiwei almost smirked, but his lips were frozen in place. The system beeped and reminded him, “Without sufficient Presence Points, you cannot activate the smirking function.”

When Xie Zhiwei checked his Presence Points again, he saw that half a star had lit up from the group of five. Not bad. All I did was say one sentence to the protagonist. Keep up the good work.

Xie Zhiwei could only smirk inwardly as he replied, “Little friend, this is Yujing Sect. I am Xie Zhiwei.”

Mu He crawled up from the bed and into a kneeling position. “So it was Xie zhenren. Thank you for saving my life!”

Hehe, keep up the act.

“Little friend, your body is frail, hurry and rise,” Xie Zhiwei said gently. “Our sect is accepting disciples today. I expect this little friend came to sign up?”

“To reply zhenren, yes.”

Xie Zhiwei glanced at the sunlight outside and said, “It’s getting late and I need to reach the grounds. Little friend, you should rest.”

Mu He gave him a pleading look and mumbled, “Zhenren, can you take me with you?”

Thanks to his character settings, Xie Zhiwei couldn’t agree immediately. “Little friend, who do you want to study under? I’ll help you with introductions. You’re unwell right now and need to recuperate.”

His care almost made Mu He’s nose sting with unshed tears. The boy had been starving for days, so Xie Zhiwei promptly fed him a bowl of light congee after he found out. Once he regained some strength, he stood up and persisted, “Please, zhenren. Today is a once in a thousand-year chance. I really want to expand my horizons.”

More like you really want to see your enemies, Xie Zhiwei thought privately. He nodded and said out loud, “Since that’s the case, this little friend can come with me.” From his sleeve he took out a single pill and gestured for Mu He to take it. It was a Bigu Pill that could keep him full for a month. The Xie Zhiwei of the last timeline had done the exact same thing.

Though he already knew the answer, Mu He still asked, “Is this an immortal pill?”

Xie Zhiwei picked up the sword on the table and smiled slightly. “That’s right. Eat this and you won’t be hungry anymore.”

Mu He endured another threat of tears to swallow the pill. Xie Zhiwei could understand his mood perfectly. Besides his mother, he was the only one who had treated him well. No wonder Mu He had been so affected by the truth of Xie Zhiwei’s death. His later methods to slay the Bai father and son were simply extraordinary.

Under Mu He’s reverent gaze, Xie Zhiwei raised his sword and chose [Treasure Sword > Destination: Ascension City] from the system menu. The two figures rose from the ground to ride the sword away. Mountains, streams, and gullies flashed past their feet, wreathed in clouds with ancient trees like a scene from a fairyland. Clearly visible from the sky were the four cardinal cities in the north, south, east, and west as well as the last one in the center.

Mu He stood in the front with Xie Zhiwei lightly touching his shoulders. There was a touch of sincerity in his voice as he said, much moved, “Xie zhenren, I really want to be your disciple.”

Xie Zhiwei wore an indulgent smile as he refused. “Little friend, I’ve never accepted disciples.”

“So it’s like that…” Mu He was a bit disappointed. “How regrettable.”

That’s right, Xie Zhiwei thought. You’ll be even more regretful after you find out how Xie Zhiwei died. But since I transmigrated into this life, he’ll definitely live.  I’m kinda looking forward to what’ll happen in the future.

Thoughts were just thoughts, but Xie Zhiwei smiled and said, “No matter. Of my sect siblings, Junior Brother Bai cultivates pills while Junior Brother Chu cultivates in martial arts. You could study under them. If you’re lucky, even my senior brother the sect leader could take you under his wing.”

“Are they all as strong as you, zhenren?”

“Much stronger than me.” Even as he said the lines to match his character, they were a lie. He could guess that Mu He was pursing his lips without even seeing his face. After all, Xie Zhiwei was a profound and mysterious character. No one knew the extent of his strength. When it came to the peerless secret manual he penned, he was already above the cultivation base of the sect leader Yan Zhifei (​​颜知非).

Ascension City was drawing closer and closer. Killing intent pooled in Mu He’s eyes, but his words were all innocence. “Zhenren, we’re flying so high. I want to be like zhenren in the future, standing still while riding a sword!”

“You will,” Xie Zhiwei said with full foresight. You’re the hero, after all…

Because Mu He didn’t look behind him, he didn’t know Xie Zhiwei was currently standing with his eyes squeezed shut as his stomach did somersaults.

Crap! We’re so freakin’ high! I’m gonna die from acrophobia!

—

Translator’s Note: Fun fact, the Chinese fanbase nicknamed Mu He 穆涸 as “Wood Box” 木盒 (mu he) in the raws’ comments section because both names are pronounced the same way.