Chapter 6: Cangya Mountain Has Three Major Taboos

Chapter 6: Three Taboos of Cangya Mountain

The shrubbery was shorter than Xue Youtan had imagined, so even though he was crouching low, he couldn't hide the sect master robe that gleamed white on his body.

Their eyes met, and just as Xue Youtan was awkwardly wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground, the beauty broke into a charming smile the moment she saw his face. She struck a particularly seductive pose and crooked her finger at him. "Ooh, what a handsome young man. Wanna have some fun?"

WTF? What the hell kind of dirty talk was that?

He had opened a mentor points gift pack, not some brothel experience voucher!

System bro, you getting a big head or what? You really gonna pull this NSFW crap in a system novel?

Xue Youtan was totally shocked, frozen in his crouched position, watching helplessly as the woman strutted over to him like they were old pals.

Midway through her approach, the woman tossed her sheer robe over the bushes, and a heavy, cloying scent hit Xue Youtan's nose. He channeled power into his right hand, debating whether to summon Liguang and blast her into next week, when the system in his head went "Huh?" The next moment, the scene around him shifted, and he found himself in a pitch-black environment. The woman from before had vanished.

"Oops, my bad. Wrong package," the system said in a flat voice, with zero sincerity.

But Xue Youtan didn't cuss him out this time, because in the darkness, he caught a whiff of blood.

His nose had been overwhelmed by the woman's perfume earlier, but after he straightened up from his crouch, he finally detected the scent of blood drifting through the dark air.

It wasn't strong, but he could tell it was nearby.

"Where is this?" he asked.

The system replied, "Cangya Mountain."

Well, no shit? Cangya Mountain was huge—couldn't it at least give him a specific location?

Realizing he wouldn't get the answer he wanted, Xue Youtan summoned a Spirit Butterfly and sent it flying forward. The golden butterfly burst into flames midair, lighting up the room in an instant, allowing Xue Youtan to take in the furnishings.

The room was sparsely furnished—a bed, a table, and a chair—but it was kept very tidy, like a Cangya Mountain disciple's room.

Xue Youtan didn't bother with the furnishings. Instead, he sniffed the air, using the butterfly's light to track down the source of the blood. The system wouldn't waste its time on something useless—since this was a gift pack teleport, maybe he could score some key item or treasure here.

I mean, that's how these game walkthroughs always go.

The good news was that after searching around, Xue Youtan indeed found a key NPC lying on the bed in the inner room, cheeks flushed red.

The bad news was that this NPC was Pei Zhi.

What the actual fuck. He was already trying to avoid Pei Zhi like the guy had the plague, and now even a gift pack had to dump him right next to Pei Zhi of all people.

System 2484, are you seriously that bored out of your mind?

Xue Youtan's first instinct was to bolt, but the second he turned to leave, the person on the bed suddenly spoke. "I'm not a monster. Don't kick me out! Don't..."

His voice was hoarse and choked, like he was delirious from a high fever.

In underdog-revenge novels, to build up the male lead's hardships before his rise, there was always that classic trope—mom dies at birth, dad dies in childhood, and by the time you grow up, the whole village is dead. As the male lead, Pei Zhi was no exception.

So, after successfully bringing death to most of his villagers, Pei Zhi was labeled a monster and cast out.

What he was dreaming about now was probably that scene of being driven out of the village.

The wounds were barely bleeding—nothing life-threatening—but this fever-induced delirium... Tsk.

Looking at Pei Zhi's face, if he kept dreaming like this, was he gonna cook himself into a vegetable?

Xue Youtan initially figured he should just stay out of it and let things be. After all, if the male lead went brain-dead, that could only help his own chances of survival. But hearing the kid's pitiful, choked sobs, he sighed and walked back to the edge of the bed.

Forget it. He'd be a Good Samaritan for once.

Xue Youtan stepped forward and pressed his hand to Pei Zhi's forehead. Sure enough, it was hot enough to fry an egg.

Pei Zhi had been assigned the coldest, dampest courtyard in the north. Not only was there no bedding, but even the window above the bed was broken. With injuries on top of the cold wind from Cangya Mountain blowing right on his head, it would be harder not to get a fever.

Xue Youtan circulated his inner energy, and spiritual power flowed from his hand on Pei Zhi's forehead into every limb and meridian.

In his dream, Pei Zhi had no idea what was happening. He only felt that in the frozen wasteland, the demons that had taken the forms of the villagers suddenly backed away. At the edge of the sky, a glimmer of light appeared, and warmth spread through his whole body.

His long lashes fluttered as his eyes slowly opened a crack. He could just barely make out a white figure sitting by his bed. Just as he tried to get a better look, the light in the room suddenly went out, and the white figure was swallowed by the dark.

...

The next day, Pei Zhi was startled awake by the sound of the night watchman's call on Cangya Mountain.

He shot up in bed. Through the broken window, the sky was already turning pale.

After Xiao Yiheng had assigned him this rundown room yesterday, he had cleaned it until late at night just to make it barely livable. Then, too exhausted, he had climbed into bed without even treating his wounds.

He had expected those wounds to trigger a fever, but nothing had happened?

That white figure from yesterday... it must have been a dream.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard disciples outside calling to each other about heading to the lecture hall.

"Today is the day the master teaches in person. If we don't hurry, we won't get seats in the front."

"I know, I know. I'm coming. Hey, is the master teaching Sword Flight today?"

"Not yet. Should be sword techniques."

Pei Zhi nimbly rolled out of bed, washed up, then tore strips from the inner lining of his disciple robe to fashion makeshift bandages for his wounds. Only then did he hurry toward Xue Youtan's residence.

To avoid waking up early, Xue Youtan had set up the lecture hall in a warm pavilion adjacent to his bedroom—only twenty steps from his quarters.

But now, everyone had arrived, and Xue Youtan was still nowhere to be seen.

The disciples below began whispering among themselves until Xiao Yiheng barked, "What's all the noise? Looking for punishment?"

The threat carried weight, and the crowd immediately fell silent.

Pei Zhi stood at the back, glancing sideways through the crowd toward Xue Youtan's residence. He had only been watching for two minutes when his view was blocked.

His brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of displeasure barely visible in his eyes. But when he looked up, his expression had already transformed into one of meek obedience. He inclined his body slightly toward Xiao Yiheng, who stood before him. "Senior brother."

"Mm." Xiao Yiheng was satisfied with Pei Zhi's attitude. He clasped his hands behind his back, striking the pose of the head disciple. "I noticed you kept staring at the master's quarters. Why don't you go and invite the master out?"

At these words, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

Everyone on Cangya Mountain knew there were three taboos: first, trespassing into the Withered Wood Forest; second, touching Yueli's medicine furnace; and third—waking Xue Youtan.

In fact, "waking Xue Youtan" was so terrifying it ranked first among the three taboos.

Sending Pei Zhi to fetch the master now—wasn't that just sending him to his death?

Everyone present knew this, but not a single person stepped forward to warn Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi, though unaware of the intricacies, could tell from the others' expressions that this was no favorable task. Xiao Yiheng, seeing him stand still, thought he meant to refuse and was about to utter harsh words to provoke him, when unexpectedly Pei Zhi's eyes crinkled in a smile, and he said softly, "Very well."

His quick agreement caught Xiao Yiheng off guard, leaving him momentarily speechless.

As Pei Zhi passed by him, Li Luoshu reached out and tugged at Xiao Yiheng's sleeve. "Senior Martial Brother, why not send Luo Shu to summon the master? With that raspy voice of his, he might scare the master."

Xiao Yiheng drew him aside and whispered an explanation.

The voice was too low for Pei Zhi to catch the words, only faintly hearing snippets like "done for" and "punished."

Xue Youtan's residence being close by, Pei Zhi reached the door in a few steps. He stood outside, knocked, and called out, "Master."

There was no response for a long while.

He knocked twice more and was about to call again when the tightly shut door was suddenly flung open from within by a surge of spiritual energy. Following that, two glazed-glass teacups flew out, whizzing toward his head.

Though Pei Zhi lacked magical power, he was agile and quickly sidestepped to dodge. The teacups shattered on the ground with two crisp sounds.

Then, from inside, came Xue Youtan's drowsy murmur, as if talking in his sleep, "After tossing and turning all night, I finally just fell asleep—what bastard dares wake me up!?"

Pei Zhi followed the voice and looked over, seeing within the gauze canopy, Xue Youtan propped himself up, extending a jade-pale wrist to lift one side of the plain bed curtain.

Through the gap, he could clearly see the loosened collar of Xue Youtan's robe.

And beneath it, a faint red mark on his pale, sharp collarbone.