[Oho, impressive. Now even I want to read it.] Xiao Yuan spoke cheekily inside Ning Ke's mind.
During his first mission, Ning Ke had spotted this book in the original owner's storage space. Back then, it hadn't been labeled as volume one.
Yet now, a volume two had appeared.
It made him wonder what kind of author could draw an erotic comic like this.
Were all members of the Demon Clan this talented?
Stashing the book away like a hot potato, Ning Ke asked Xiao Yuan, I've been here a while now. Why haven't you given me a mission?
[That's what I was about to do. What's the rush?]
Xiao Yuan cleared her throat and said, [Your second-stage mission is to play the junior disciple in love with Lou Yunxiao, gouge out your eyes for him in the secret realm, and self-detonate for him.]
"Huh?" Ning Ke froze.
"That junior disciple is me too?"
He remembered that his sister had indeed written a close male friend for Lou Yunxiao, the novel's protagonist.
He had also played a major role early in the story.
The boy was around Lou Yunxiao's age. After joining the Sword Sect, he loved trailing after Lou Yunxiao, calling him "senior brother" at every turn.
Even when everyone grew wary of Lou Yunxiao for practicing demonic cultivation and gossiped behind his back, this junior disciple named A Ke still followed him without hesitation, even challenging others to fights for his sake.
His presence was also crucial to keeping the protagonist on the straight and narrow despite all the criticism.
His death, however, marked the beginning of Lou Yunxiao's inability to control the Demonic Aura...
Xiao Yuan replied as though it were perfectly obvious, [Of course. A Ke-that's you, isn't it?]
"But that's clearly part of the proper plot. How can it count as a plot hole?"
[Because your sister never wrote where A Ke came from. No backstory means a plot hole, so you have to play him.]
"Hiss." Ning Ke sucked in a sharp breath. After mulling over the mission, he raised another objection. "Then can you explain what you mean by 'in love'?"
[Exactly what it says.] Xiao Yuan's laugh was positively wicked. [A Ke, male, interests: Lou Yunxiao. An unrivaled, utterly hopeless love-struck fool~]
She "recited" with great feeling.
[Even though he knows his senior brother doesn't love him, even though someone else occupies his senior brother's heart, he still loves him deeply. Even gouging out his eyes and self-detonating for his senior brother are acts of love. He has no regrets!]
Ning Ke: 0_0 I suspect you're screwing with me.
[I'm not. I didn't. Don't make things up.]
After that, Xiao Yuan cheekily offered a suggestion. [Host, if you really don't understand this kind of love, you could read Day and Night with the Daoist Supreme. It should be more useful than the An Actor's Self-Cultivation you read before.]
"Get lost!!"
[You got it~]
Xiao Yuan promptly rolled away.
Exhausted, Ning Ke rose, walked into his bedchamber, and flopped onto the enormous, unbelievably soft bed. He closed his eyes and played dead.
Good grief.
What kind of nonsense was this?
He, Ning Ke, twenty-five years old, was an upright, upstanding straight man who was still single.
What sin had he committed to deserve playing a pathetic simp who liked men?
He kept thinking about it until he wore himself out and fell asleep.
In his groggy slumber, he had a dream.
He dreamed that he lay in a hospital bed while his sister sobbed at his bedside.
She called out, "Brother, wake up. Don't leave me all alone."
Ning Ke frowned.
Hadn't he just gone to sleep?
Why was he in a hospital? His body was covered in injuries of varying severity, and his mouth was connected to a ventilator. He couldn't respond to his sister's cries at all.
His heart ached, and he tried to wipe away her tears, but his fingers passed straight through her. He couldn't touch her at all.
Their parents had died young. At first, he and his sister had been taken in by relatives, before moving out to live on their own. They had always depended on each other. His sister was his only family, the princess he cherished above all else.
She had always been well-behaved, too. Once she started university, she wrote novels to earn money so she wouldn't burden him.
The reason he was trying so hard to get home was that he couldn't stop worrying about her.
He couldn't bear to see her cry over him.
The dream ended abruptly there, and Ning Ke opened his eyes on the enormous bed.
He immediately called out to Xiao Yuan in his mind. To hell with it! It's just playing a love-struck fool who likes men, right? I'll do it! As long as you can get me home, I'll do anything you ask!
September brought clear skies, wispy clouds, and refreshing autumn breezes.
The Human Realm once again welcomed the Immortal Sect Recruitment Assembly, held every three years.
The Sword Sect, the Pill Sect, the Music Sect, and the Buddhist Order-the four great sects-gathered atop the mountain, eagerly awaiting the young talents' arrival at the summit. Each was scheming to lure away as many recruits as possible.
In the past, the Flowing Cloud Sect had brought their number to five. Now, with only four great sects remaining, the gathering felt somewhat subdued.
Hong Yao, the Music Sect's leader, rested her head on her hand, her beautiful eyes half closed. Her voice was full of sorrow and regret. "Had I known the Flowing Cloud Sect would meet such a disaster, I would have poached all their beauties and handsome men beforehand. Then so many good-looking talents wouldn't have perished."
Wei Qinghai, the Pill Sect's leader, shook his head. "Say something like that, and Lou Jing might jump out of his coffin to come after you."
Lou Jing was Lou Yunxiao's father and the leader of the Flowing Cloud Sect.
"How absurd. At this point, I wish he would jump out and come after me."
Abbot Wujue, the head of the Buddhist Order, turned to the middle-aged man beside him and asked, "How is that Lou Family boy faring in your Sword Sect?"
Gao Ze was the Sword Sect leader who had searched for Lou Yunxiao that day. He replied, "Demonic Aura remains within him, so we cannot act rashly. I have temporarily confined him inside the Demon-Sealing Pagoda. Once some time has passed and we're certain he won't harm anyone, I'll release him."
A sharp glint flashed through the old monk's eyes. "In my opinion, you should never have let him live."
"Someone harboring the Demonic Aura will become a menace sooner or later."
Gao Ze pressed his lips together. "There is something suspicious about the Lou Family's massacre that still needs investigating. And Lou Yunxiao vanished for a year, only to reappear practicing dual cultivation of Dao and Demon. These are all unprecedented developments."
"I believe guiding him onto the right path would be a good thing. It would also bring comfort to the souls of the dead."
The old monk snorted and rebuked him.
"Softhearted foolishness."
Gao Ze didn't argue.
As a sword cultivator, he cultivated his heart. In everything he did, he sought a clear conscience.
He still couldn't bring himself to kill a pitiful junior who had done nothing wrong.
As they spoke, a crowd of little youngsters who had passed the tests came huffing and puffing up the mountain.
Ning Ke, who had taken on the appearance of a teenage boy, stood among them. Whether in looks, height, cultivation, bearing, or his extravagant clothes adorned with gold and silver, he stood out dramatically.
The four big shots who had just been chatting all turned their gazes toward him at once.
The Pill Sect leader said, "A fire heavenly spiritual root? Perfect for alchemy!"
The Music Sect leader said, "This child is so beautiful, so captivating! He must join our Music Sect!"
The Buddhist Order's abbot said, "He has already reached the Golden Core stage at such a young age. With that aptitude, our Buddhist Order is taking him!"
The Sword Sect leader looked down at his own plain cloth robes, then at Ning Ke's splendid clothing overflowing with spiritual energy. At last, a trace of poverty-stricken embarrassment surfaced on his stern face.
"...Well, he's too rich. I don't think our Sword Sect can afford to keep him."
Before you continue