Xie Zhiwei looked back with a dumbfounded face to see Tantai Meng standing terrified in front of the dense forest that concealed the Demonic Sect entrance, her body wrapped tightly in xuan iron chains. Next to her stood a smiling Qiu Chongyun holding the end of the restraints.
What he feared had come to pass.
After all, the number one reason Xie Zhiwei remained at the Demonic Sect was for the sake of the heroine. He could wipe his shoes and slip away now, but would Qiu Chongyun give up? As expected, Qiu Chongyun paid respects to him with eyes full of worship before the various demonic soldiers standing guard. “Saint sovereign, you’ve finally returned. This subordinate sure had a time searching for you. The little sister here must have gone crazy, not only charging into my Demonic Sect but calling you ‘benefactor.’ Say, do you think she’s brain-damaged?”
As she said the last sentence, she suddenly raised her eyes to look directly at him. Xie Zhiwei felt that her gaze hid daggers that would stab him to death if he said the wrong thing—ah no, stab Tantai Meng to death.
Tantai Meng was no fool. After hearing the threat, she looked around before shutting up and lowering her head. Xie Zhiwei cleared his throat and gave a fake “Mhm” before saying, “Since that’s the case, just chase her out.”
“This subordinate has an even better idea, does saint sovereign want to hear it?” Qiu Chongyun replied.
Your mother, isn’t it chaotic enough? “Speak,” Xie Zhiwei said as he felt his head swell.
“Wouldn’t this little sister ruin the saint sovereign’s prestige if she runs about shouting like a madman? Why not leave her at the Demonic Sect and let this subordinate take good care of her? Perhaps we can even cure her.”
“That’s impossible,” Tantai Meng blurted out.
Xie Zhiwei imitated Chi Yan by narrowing his eyes. “You know how to treat illnesses?”
Qiu Chongyun met his gaze with a grin. “Saint sovereign might not know, but this subordinate’s full of good points.”
Just like that, Tantai Meng was locked up. Xie Zhiwei remembered that a plot like this did exist in the original novel. After the hero and Tantai Meng were separated for years, she was captured and imprisoned by Qiu Chongyun when breaking into the Demonic Sect to attack the devils there. Then the protagonist rushed over, recognized, and released her. Qiu Chongyun and Tantai Meng didn’t fight but started calling each other elder and younger sister. Within the protective formation of the Demonic Sect, they both soared up in doubled joy.
But now the hero would rather get rid of Tantai Meng as soon as possible and Qiu Chongyun was insistent on playing auntie. How were either of them supposed to fly anywhere?
Helpless, Xie Zhiwei could only tap on the System.
Gallant Outlaw appeared in high spirits. “How is it, Idol? Has the plot gone smoothly recently?”
So calm? He’s not even anxious to ask about plot progression like the past? Is this the result of being pitted too much by the storyline? But even Xie Zhiwei couldn’t stay calm after suffering so many pits. He rolled his eyes and said, “Like hell it’s smooth. I bet 50 cents that you can’t write this kind of plot even if someone drilled 800 holes into your brain!”
Now it was Gallant Outlaw’s turn to be confused. “No way ah, Idol. If it’s so rough, why haven’t you found me recently?”
“Is it any use?” Xie Zhiwei sneered.
Gallant Outlaw was aggrieved. “Idol, that’s wrong. We need to communicate, ah. Otherwise, how can we resolve problems? And if we can’t solve problems, how can I guarantee your benefits in this world?”
Xie Zhiwei was about to give up. “I have benefits in this world?”
“Of course!” Gallant Outlaw asserted. “Your life continues, your scenes don’t stop. You’re an acting fanatic and a film emperor, can’t you steal any scene you like?”
That cheered Xie Zhiwei up, but he still had self-awareness and remained indifferent. “Don’t praise wildly, there’s no way I can steal the women’s scenes.”
“That’s true,” Gallant Outlaw laughed ingratiatingly. “Idol, if you think things are too confusing to explain, just give me authorization to review your experience from the past view days in the form of a synopsis.”
“Synopsis? That function exists?”
“Of course, it’s hi-tech after all.”
“Then go ahead and look. I authorize you, hurry up.”
Five minutes later, Gallant Outlaw slapped his thigh and started cursing a series of dammits in his mouth.
Xie Zhiwei furrowed his brows. “What’s the use of dammits? Speak human.”
A while later, Gallant Outlaw finally burst out, “Ahhhhhh, as expected of Idol, as expected of an acting fanatic, you even stole the boss’s scenes! So amazing!”
“
..” said Xie Zhiwei.
Gallant Outlaw was excited. “Idol, have you ever thought of becoming a protagonist in this story?”
“Becoming a protagonist? Are you kidding me?” Xie Zhiwei started before he turned serious. “Are you saying I should dress up as Mu He?”
Gallant Outlaw rejected the idea. “Nonono, how is that possible? You’re the perfect fit for Xie Zhiwei, ah.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Idol, you’ve acted in countless things. You should’ve heard of “dual male leads“ as a setting, right?”
—
After shutting off the System, Xie Zhiwei needed a long time to calm down. Gallant Outlaw’s suggestion was for him to step up and steal more scenes. Besides the hero, he should take over all other important scenes too. When his Presence Points reached the full five stars, his status would be equal to the hero. No matter how the story distorted then, the System wouldn’t cause him any problems.
The theory was sound but he’d already stolen the boss villain’s scenes. How was he supposed to increase his efforts from here?
Xie Zhiwei could only wait for his chance.
Now that Tantai Meng had been captured, Qiu Chongyun might be planning all sorts of secret schemes. But one thing was for sure: only these two females knew he’d replaced Chi Yan’s identity, so he could still act at will.
After a few uneventful days, Xie Zhiwei stared at his four Presence Points and felt restless. He locked the door to his room and traced the previous route with Red Lotus to open up a void leading directly to Mu He’s residence in the mountains. There was a bamboo grove inside the courtyard too, but strangely enough, these were the exceptionally rare variety with thorns found only in Summit City.
The hero appears one way, but still has nostalgia for the past, Xie Zhiwei wondered. Those with unhappy childhoods would always keep the dolls or other toys from their youth for a sense of security. The hero was probably behaving similarly. But I don’t think the hero in the original novel had these settings?
There was a pond with fish, a small pavilion, and even furnishings designed the exact same way as Suihan Lodge on the premises. Aside from this, the place was empty. The hero was gone and had put up a boundary field around the place that carried the qi of Qingping Sword. This was completely to Xie Zhiwei’s tastes. The hero has a meticulous heart. Since the Qingping Sword is one of a kind, this boundary field is inaccessible to anyone else except its owner.
Despite all his calculations, the hero would never guess that Qingping Sword still had a previous owner who was still alive.
Xie Zhiwei pushed open the door and entered the house, its familiar surroundings reminding him of his own home on Summit Peak. He thought the protagonist might try to make the quarters more comfortable since nothing could’ve been as shabby as his days in Suihan Lodge. But despite his beliefs, the huge room was bereft of anything except a single table and a wooden bed, like some sort of cold kiln.
Is the hero really some kind of masochist? How can he sleep on such a hard bed? Or does he have back problems?
Xie Zhiwei was actually disappointed after his surprise. He looked around before finally finding something bulging beneath the pillow on the bed. He glanced outside the window anxiously—there was no one there. Afraid to upturn things with his spiritual energy, he bolstered his courage and crawled somewhat clumsily onto the bed to feel under the pillow.
It was a square box cold to the touch, made of high-quality jade. Xie Zhiwei couldn’t help slandering Mu He. This youngster really prides himself on face. He didn’t like the box his father gave him with the military token, so he found a jade one for himself to store it instead.
Right as he prepared to open the box for a look, there was a crisp metal sound from outside the door. In a state of high alert, Xie Zhiwei almost dropped the box. He didn’t get to look up before a white shadow scampered over and rushed in front of him. Xie Zhiwei dodged to the side before he could think, throwing the box at the thing in the process.
“Meooooow—!”
Xie Zhiwei gave a start. Why does this sound so familiar?
When he stopped to look, he indeed saw a fat cat cowering in the corner of the wall, staring intently at himself. The jade box had skittered on the ground but actually didn’t break. Xie Zhiwei had no time to appreciate the hero’s care in picking such a sturdy container for his military token.
“Dog!” he blurted out.
Hearing this, Dog’s blue eyes flashed with doubt before the hairs on his body puffed up. He looked aggressively at Xie Zhiwei while waddling to the door to grab something dark.
Looks like this damned cat lived well in the past four years. His body was blessed with shiny fur and likely ate his fill of fish from the pond. His life was probably more comfortable than his time at Suihan Lodge. While Xie Zhiwei was sighing with emotion, he happened to see Dog’s claws and grew incensed.
No wonder I heard metal just then. The military token ended up as this damned cat’s toy?!
Mu He, this cheap child! Does he know how many people in the world want this token? Even if you can’t break it from play, this attitude is unacceptable!
But
what’s in the jade box, then? Something even more precious than a military token?
Xie Zhiwei took a step forward and picked up the box again. As soon as he tried to open it, something tightened around his wrist: Dog had leaped over like a ghost to bite him viciously and accurately.
“Let go!” Xie Zhiwei exploded. Four years later and this beast was still a mutt who couldn’t stop eating shit
sounds weird when I put it like that.
At the same time, the boundary field outside showed fine ripples, while the thorny bamboo swayed gently. Xie Zhiwei didn’t need to look to know who had returned. With no time to bother with details, he stuffed the jade box back under the pillow and fumbled to activate Red Lotus and escape via its portal. By the time he returned resentfully to his quarters, Dog was still hanging off his wrist like a pendant, all dead weight.
Xie Zhiwei hadn’t dared to meet Mu He face-on this time, but when he entered the tunnel with Red Lotus, a cold and domineering figure clearly appeared in his mind: Mu He dressed in white robes.
He recalled how the youth had haughtily evaded the efforts of the King of Nine Provinces to pet his head.
Xie Zhiwei comforted himself. Back then this bro could pet his head as much as I wanted. Even if he yells bloody murder at me in the future, this is enough.
—
The Chinese commenters:
Translator’s Notes: Any guesses for what’s in Mu He’s jade box? I have my own hunch but
I’ll keep it to myself until we find out the answer. 😉
Oh Xie Zhiwei, you need to stop looking at Mu He from the novel perspective and start looking at him as a person
and as a disciple who probably misses you very much

Do you like otome-game transmigration? Fantasy-romance? What about a dense protagonist gathering his harem? Including childhood friends? (and how about some glass shards that’s heavily covered in sugar and spice and everything nice?)
Then look no further than Rika-chan’s Loving You as a Friend! It’s got everything above and much, much more! Follow our lovely, dense MC, Alexis, as he tries to live in this new world while slowly collecting a small harem for himself (unconsciously!)