Could this be why the system sent me here to help? Could Li Fucheng, with his Protagonist Template, end up helping me somewhere down the line?
Having reached that conclusion, Jiang Beiran suddenly found the man before him much more pleasing to the eye.
After listening to Li Fucheng's story, tears welled up in Fang Qiuyue's eyes again. Especially when he and Tang Tingshuang looked into each other's eyes—Fang Qiuyue felt that such love was simply too beautiful.
But when she recalled Senior Brother's words, "Only fools and idiots would believe a story like that," Fang Qiuyue held her tears back again.
Jiang Beiran naturally took in Fang Qiuyue's reaction. With a quiet chuckle in his heart, he said to Li Fucheng, "So Brother Li came all this way because you wanted to make a name for yourself in a foreign land and prove yourself?"
Li Fucheng clenched his fist and nodded firmly. "That's right! I'll make all those who once looked down on me see me in a new light!"
See me in a new light? Sure...
Jiang Beiran thought that, as the Demonic Cult Leader's son, shouldn't he have wanted those who looked down on him to pay the price? Why did he sound like some model student the moment he opened his mouth?
But as soon as Li Fucheng finished speaking, his spirit abruptly deflated. His expression sagged as he said, "But I can't even defeat those petty criminals from the countryside just now. How can I talk about making a name for myself? Sigh..."
Since Li Fucheng had brought it up himself, Jiang Beiran asked, "How did Brother Li and those Thieves come into conflict?"
Before Li Fucheng could answer, the other girl behind him spoke up. "It was all my fault..."
But Tang Tingshuang immediately shook her head. "Ni Mei, it wasn't your fault. You don't need to blame yourself."
"So... what exactly happened?" Jiang Beiran asked curiously.
The girl called Ni Mei first glanced at Li Fucheng. Only after seeing him nod did she say to Jiang Beiran, "It happened like this. That day, I was passing through some fields when I saw several thugs bullying an old farmer. I couldn't stand it, so I taught those two thugs a lesson. Later, I forgot all about it. Who knew they would call for help and ambush us on the road? If Brother Wang and the others hadn't helped us, I really would have caused a terrible disaster."
Taught... two thugs a lesson!?
Jiang Beiran was dumbfounded. Were they even worthy of the title of Demonic Sect disciples acting like this!?
After grumbling inwardly for a while, Jiang Beiran suddenly understood.
Born of an Evil Cult, yet upright and honorable in action, kind-hearted and charitable. As expected of a Protagonist Template!
Having confirmed his thoughts once more, Jiang Beiran stepped forward and said to Li Fucheng, "Perhaps your father isn't as cold-hearted as you imagine."
"Huh?" Li Fucheng looked bewildered, unable to understand why this Fifth Brother, who had never even met his father, would suddenly say such a thing.
Jiang Beiran looked over Li Fucheng and the five companions behind him one by one, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, this isn't the first time you've all been targeted by Thieves because you helped someone, is it?"
"This..." Li Fucheng hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "That's right."
"Then answer me this first, Brother Li. Is this the first time you and your companions have traveled so far from home?"
"Yes. We all grew up in the sect on the mountain. Every day, we trained diligently and rarely went out."
"Then do you think that, when every one of you was traveling so far from home for the first time, you could safely make your way from Huainan all the way to Jiangbei solely because you were capable enough?"
Those words struck Li Fucheng like a bolt from the blue, and he suddenly understood many of the "strange occurrences" they had encountered along the way.
"Third Uncle! Third Uncle must have been following us!"
Huh?
Li Fucheng's answer nearly threw Jiang Beiran's back out. He had thought Li Fucheng would first assume his father was protecting him, but instead, a Third Uncle had popped out.
"And this Third Uncle is?"
After hearing that, Li Fucheng suddenly raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. "Third Uncle... Third Uncle is the only person in the entire sect who still treats me well."
After speaking, he spent a moment gathering his emotions before continuing, "Ever since Father learned that I was useless at cultivation, he quickly gave up on me completely. He even distributed all the cultivation resources that should have been mine among my other brothers and sisters."
"But Third Uncle kept encouraging me. Not only did he teach me cultivation every night, he also gave me many medicinal herbs in the hope of changing my constitution. Unfortunately, I was too disappointing. Even after studying for so long, I still made no progress. Yet Third Uncle never despised me in the slightest. Instead, he gathered all sorts of cultivation techniques for me and let me try them one by one. Whenever the sect members mocked me, Third Uncle would teach them a lesson for me. And also, also, Third Uncle, he..."
As Li Fucheng spoke more and more, growing ever more emotional, Jiang Beiran's expression became increasingly strange. In the end, he could not help asking, "What exactly is this Third Uncle to you? Why does he treat you so well?"
"Huh?" Li Fucheng, suddenly interrupted, froze for a moment before answering, "Third uncle is my father's younger brother. He watched me grow up and has always taken care of my mother and me. Come to think of it, my mother was also dragged down by me. Because I can't cultivate, father has neglected her too. Sigh..."
"Hey! Wait, wait! I don't even know where to begin complaining!"
The more Li Fucheng said, the more Jiang Beiran felt that the cult leader father's head was turning greener and greener. He even felt that the reason the cult leader father despised Li Fucheng probably had little to do with him being useless...
Just as Li Fucheng was about to continue reminiscing about how Third Uncle had once cared for his mother and him, three options suddenly appeared before Jiang Beiran's eyes.
[Option One: Remind Li Fucheng to carefully consider why Third Uncle treats him so well. Completion Reward: Mahamudra Finger (Earth Grade Middle Rank)] [Option Two: Silently continue listening. Completion Reward: Golden Bell Art (Mysterious Grade High Rank)] [Option Three: Join in praising Third Uncle as a good man. Completion Reward: Random Basic Skill Points +1]
Damn!
Knowing he could not keep listening, Jiang Beiran hurriedly chose the third option, then interrupted Li Fucheng. "It sounds like your Third Uncle truly is an exceptionally good man."
Having said that, he too raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. "Actually, I'm just like you. I was born with a constitution incapable of cultivation, but there was an uncle who always took care of me. Without him, I would probably have died long ago."
Jiang Beiran then proceeded to tell one moving story after another about this "uncle" of his. In any case, the core message was that uncles everywhere were like this, so Li Fucheng absolutely must not overthink it.
Only when the system notified him, [Option mission completed. Reward: Gu Poison +1], did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But before Li Fucheng could react, Jiang Beiran's five junior sisters could no longer hold back. Fang Qiuyue, already streaming with tears, said hoarsely, "Se... Senior Brother, I never knew you had suffered so much all these years."
At the same time, they understood why Senior Brother was so formidable yet remained unknown within the sect. It turned out he had been born with a useless constitution and simply could not cultivate at all.
Watching Fang Qiuyue's tears flow without end, Jiang Beiran silently sighed.
Well, everything I taught them along the way was for nothing.
PS: There will be another chapter tonight. (This one wasn't short today!)
Before you continue