The Stingiest Male Lead in History, Bar None

"Junior brother, wait for me!" Ling Xian found that she simply couldn't keep up with Chu Yu.

Ping Qingyun approached them from the opposite direction, holding a handkerchief over his mouth and nose. At the sight, mockery flashed in his eyes. "Is she dead?"

Chu Yu shot him a chilling look, then ran toward the exit.

With the Mist Beast dead, the miasma gradually dispersed. They stopped after running only a few steps farther.

Chu Yu laid Su Ying on the ground.

Not caring in the slightest whether they lived or died, Ping Qingyun looked anxiously at Ling Xian. "Junior sister, you weren't poisoned, were you?"

Ling Xian looked toward Chu Yu and Su Ying, sorrow in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Did Su Ying bully you again?" Ping Qingyun asked. As far as he remembered, that expression always meant she had been bullied.

Ling Xian shook her head. "Senior sister gave me her Detoxification Pill."

"She gave it to you? Then she..." Only then did Ping Qingyun realize that Su Ying hadn't collapsed because she couldn't defeat the Mist Beast, but because she had given her Detoxification Pill to Ling Xian.

A trace of guilt suddenly stirred in him, along with disbelief.

Su Ying had actually helped Ling Xian.

Chu Yu couldn't be bothered with them. He pulled the Teleportation Mirror from his pocket and cast a spell on it.

Ping Qingyun gaped at the sight. He had only just joined the Sect, yet he could already activate the Teleportation Mirror?

Before he could recover from his shock, all four of them were instantly transported back to the Sect's gates.

The senior brother in charge wasn't surprised that their team had returned first.

Although Ling Xian was a hindrance, Ping Qingyun and Su Ying were both among the Sect's stronger disciples. With another disciple whose Spiritual Root talent was exceptionally high, it would have been difficult for them not to take first place.

Yet the senior brother in charge was astonished to discover Su Ying slung over the newly admitted disciple's shoulder. He hurriedly asked, "What happened to Junior Sister Su Ying?"

After so many training expeditions, this was the first time he had seen an experienced disciple injured.

"Senior Sister Su Ying inhaled miasma and fainted." Chu Yu set Su Ying down. Unlike before, he was careful this time.

Although he knew she had a system supporting her, and that scourges lived for a thousand years, he still felt that Su Ying was terribly fragile. For now, he wouldn't take the opportunity to torment her.

"Oh dear, what kind of miasma?" The senior brother in charge took Su Ying's pulse.

"A Mist Beast's." Chu Yu took out the beast core. "Senior Sister Su Ying led me in hunting it. If she hadn't given her only Detoxification Pill to Senior Sister Ling Xian, she wouldn't have fainted."

For some reason, Chu Yu had initially found Su Ying's miserable plight rather amusing.

But after seeing her shield Ling Xian from disaster again and again, he decided to selflessly reveal the truth.

That way, he would at least set the record straight for her.

Ling Xian's face alternated between green and white.

Feeling that the senior brother in charge was looking at her differently, she said, "I was worried about senior sister. That's why I rushed into the miasma."

Confusion appeared in Ping Qingyun's eyes. Hadn't she gone because she was upset with him?

Seeing Ling Xian's pitiful expression, he felt bewildered for the first time. How could Junior Sister Ling Xian, such a flawless female cultivator, lie?

Ping Qingyun felt as though his entire world had collapsed.

"This Mist Beast was quite high-level." The senior brother in charge studied the glittering golden beast core. It was an excellent ingredient for pill refinement. He added, "Master will have to treat Junior Sister Su Ying's injuries. Carry her back first, and I'll notify Master."

"Mm." Chu Yu's eyes flickered. In fact, he could treat her too.

It simply wasn't time to reveal his identity yet.

Ever since she had flown him up to the tree on her sword, Chu Yu had begun to look forward to this role-playing game.

Perhaps cultivation wasn't the only interesting thing. Teasing this woman was rather entertaining too.

The great demon king of the Demon Realm, who had spent a thousand years engrossed in nothing but cultivation, had finally developed a playful streak.

Chu Yu left with Su Ying over his shoulder.

Although Su Ying had fainted, the system inside her hadn't crashed.

[If the host knew that young fellow cultivator Chu Yu had carried her over his shoulder like this, who knows how excited she'd be? What a shame. The host just doesn't have that good fortune.]

Chu Yu heard the system's muttering clearly, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Ling Xian didn't leave either, following Chu Yu instead.

Back at Firefly Fragrance Court, he had just laid Su Ying on the bed when Xiao Muchen walked in, looking ethereal in his white robes.

"What happened to Su Ying?" he asked calmly.

Before Chu Yu could speak, Ling Xian rushed to report everything that had happened in the Unbounded Forest.

Of course, she concealed the fact that she had recklessly barged into the miasma...

Xiao Muchen glanced at Chu Yu, who stood to one side. He always felt that something was off about this disciple.

But he couldn't say exactly what it was...

Xiao Muchen withdrew his gaze and took Su Ying's pulse. "The Mist Beast's miasma..."

Hearing this, the system couldn't help snarking:

[Is this male lead an idiot? Didn't the female lead just tell him that?]

The corners of Chu Yu's lips lifted.

The system added glumly:

[Host, when are you going to wake up? It's so boring without you here to snark with me.]

A sharp glint flashed through Chu Yu's eyes. So this was a system that couldn't stand being lonely.

A chatterbox.

Just like Su Ying.

Xiao Muchen channeled several streams of true qi into Su Ying's forehead. Only after quite some time did he withdraw his hand and say, "Su Ying also has an injury around her waist, but that will heal on its own, so it's nothing serious."

Chu Yu heard the system snark again:

[The stingiest male lead in history, bar none! He could clearly heal the host completely by giving her a little more true qi, but he just won't do it. Tsk, tsk...]

He couldn't help nodding in agreement.

Xiao Muchen rose. "Su Ying will wake up in two hours, but she'd best stay in bed for the next two days. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll visit her another day. Take good care of her."

His last remark was directed at Chu Yu.

Although Chu Yu disdained dealing with someone like him, he still bowed and said, "Rest assured, Master. This disciple will spare no effort in taking good care of senior sister."

Ling Xian said, "Junior brother, I can actually take care of senior sister."

"Senior Sister Ling Xian, Senior Sister Su Ying was injured because you recklessly barged into the miasma. If you hadn't gone in, she could have killed the Mist Beast outright and emerged unscathed."

At Chu Yu's words, Xiao Muchen's cool gaze settled on Ling Xian.

Ling Xian's eyes reddened, and she explained aggrievedly, "I was only worried about senior sister and junior brother."

A trace of disappointment flashed through Xiao Muchen's eyes. He turned and left.

Chu Yu was about to tell Ling Xian to leave when he heard the system inside Su Ying speak again:

[Oh no, oh no! With those words from young fellow cultivator Chu Yu, the plot the host finally managed to straighten out is going off course again. Sigh, all that effort wasted again.]

He raised an eyebrow.

Ling Xian looked pitifully at Chu Yu. "Junior Brother Chu Yu, I really was worried about Senior Sister Su Ying."

"Senior Sister Ling Xian, Senior Sister Su Ying needs to rest now." Chu Yu showed her the door.

Ling Xian had no choice but to leave reluctantly.

Two hours later, Su Ying slowly regained consciousness. The Pain-Relief Pill was still working, so she didn't feel much pain. Opening her eyes, she saw a youthful face looming before her. Those clear purple eyes seemed about to draw her into an abyss.

"Holy shit, he's handsome." She couldn't help blurting out that choice national expression to convey just how handsome he was.