"I've only been out for a few days, and look how much progress you've made by the time I got back. As expected of Junior Brother..."
Today, Mu Qinggan seemed a little different. Whenever she saw him in the past, she had always been neatly dressed and fragrant with burning incense.
This time, however, her braided hair was somewhat disheveled, her hairpin tilted crookedly. As the wind blew through her hair, a look of desolate defeat lingered in her eyes.
Had she just returned from a mission? It seemed a fierce struggle had taken place before she came here.
Since she was coming to see Master, she ought at least to have kept herself neat and tidy. Why did she look as though she had suffered some catastrophic blow?
"Thank you for the encouragement, Senior Sister." Unsure of the exact situation, Jiang Chiao could only offer a safe reply while testing the waters.
"But the truth is, Junior Brother... I—I've been struggling so much lately. I've been so afraid that you would avoid me, always letting my mind run wild. What if—what if you found out everything? What would you think of me?"
"Found out? Found out what?" Jiang Chiao was completely baffled.
Mu Qinggan breathed heavily, her throat choking as though caught on a fish bone.
The lives on her hands were enough to frighten this gentle, jade-like youth out of his wits, enough to make him turn and flee the moment he laid eyes on her. Yet judging by Jiang Chiao's reaction, he still knew nothing of the truth. "So you didn't understand. That's good. Being clueless like this is better."
She gave a few light, rigid laughs and abruptly changed the subject. "I really envy you. You've only just joined the sect, and you've already won Master's favor. With a talent like yours, I suppose I'll never attain it in this lifetime..."
Mu Qinggan spread her hands, examining the cracks across her palms. It reminded her of the fireworks Jiang Chiao had conjured when he opened his hands.
Other people's hands could bloom with brilliant fireworks, while she was, after all, nothing more than a butcher with blood staining her fingers.
Was the gap between people truly so vast?
She knew a Junior Brother like this would certainly forge ahead, yet deep down, she selfishly didn't want him to surpass her in strength.
Over and over, images flashed through her mind of how her father had once treated his wives and concubines. Strength was a good thing, but it was also terrifying.
Only by keeping the person she loved firmly under her control could she feel secure.
At that thought, she suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Jiang Chiao merely smiled softly. "Senior Sister, what talent do I speak of? The weak are simply at the mercy of others. Ordinary mortals need grain and water to survive, and naturally, I am no different."
That helpless state of being unable to argue back, of not knowing when one might be murdered—he never wanted to experience it a second time.
It wasn't just the unprecedented pain.
It was that the longer one died, the more one gradually lost all reverence for death.
Jiang Chiao had to maintain a sober, burning pain so that one day in the future, he would have the chance to repay it threefold, fourfold, or even ten thousand times over.
He remained silent now, keeping up a polite smile, but one day, the fire burning within his heart would consume Mu Qinggan.
"What you say is true." Mu Qinggan seemed to shake off her depression, regaining her former spirit. She crept closer to her Junior Brother, her eyes narrowing as she propped her chin in her hands and scrutinized him. "You really are so different from before. In the past, you just drifted along waiting to die, with no goals at all. The current you is truly much harder to deal with."
Jiang Chiao hadn't expected Mu Qinggan's words to take such a sudden turn. Caught off guard as she closed the distance between them, he was both startled and bewildered.
[System Prompt: #Junior Brother's startled expression today is also quite appetizing, indeed.# Mu Qinggan's affection +5]
Mu Qinggan's affection was now at 60, leaving a gap of 30 before reaching 90.
The system interpreted Mu Qinggan's moments of heartbeat fluttering at every second, allowing Jiang Chiao to understand the trajectory of her inner journey at every turn.
What kind of environment had she grown up in to become like this?
Jiang Chiao regretted not checking the official website for the characters' background settings before opening the game; otherwise, he wouldn't have been left in such a passive position. Still, how could he have anticipated such a transmigration?
Ever since this thought crossed his mind, tossing and turning in bed that night, Jiang Chiao couldn't sleep as he began to reminisce.
He hadn't chosen to play this yandere game on his own; it had been unanimously recommended by his two roommates. So when his roommates were passionately discussing the game's plot, had they ever mentioned the character Mu Qinggan?
Yet Jiang Chiao's memory remained hazy.
Day Six.
The sect dining hall radiated its usual comforting aroma of food, serving as the mess hall for disciples who had not yet reached the Inedia stage.
Jiang Chiao ordered a portion of fresh meat shaomai and a bowl of millet porridge, sitting by the dining hall window where the emerald-green leaves outside instantly lifted his spirits.
Sure enough, being close to nature helped ease the restless anxiety in his body. He poured a thin pool of vinegar into a small dish and ate the shaomai dipped in vinegar.
He had just finished one shaomai when someone sat down directly across from him.
"Brother, morning! What a coincidence, you're here to eat too."
Jiang Chiao looked up and saw Li Wentian. "Morning. Wait, aren't you already in the Golden Core Stage? You shouldn't need to eat."
"Can't be helped. I'm just someone who can't live without good food. Failing to satisfy one's appetite is one of life's great regrets."
"Doesn't that affect your cultivation?"
Li Wentian smiled, took a sip of soy milk, and instead of answering, abruptly changed the subject. "Say, can you recognize most of the people eating in this hall?"
"Huh?" Jiang Chiao didn't catch on for a moment.
"Let's put it this way, I'll introduce you to a few. First, that scrawny guy sitting in the first row on the north side is Xia Yang. He's been stuck in the Qi Refining Stage for ages without the slightest breakthrough."
"That gluttonous fellow on the west side with the shocking table manners is Fu Jiucheng. He never attends to proper business, just loves puttering around with flowers and plants. He's basically a connected insider who was shoved in here with no cultivation talent just to slack off."
"And there's more..."
Jiang Chiao had already finished his porridge. He could escape the scene as soon as he ate the last shaomai, so he planned to cut off Li Wentian's chatter and directly ask him about the next trip to the Black Market—he needed to retrieve his pills first.
Then he would claim he had finished eating and had things to take care of, leaving immediately.
Li Wentian's mouth probably wouldn't stop moving even if he went three days without water. "Oh right, do you see that little girl sitting in the southern corner? Her name is Mu Chenyuan. She's the youngest junior sister among your newly entered batch, only eighteen this year—just two years younger than you."
"She never talks to anyone unless strictly necessary. Real mysterious."
Jiang Chiao popped the last shaomai into his mouth and chewed, following Li Wentian's gaze toward the south. The young junior sister was earnestly nibbling on a steamed bun.
Her round, oval face expanded and contracted with the chewing motion, resembling a lump of white dough being kneaded by hand.
Yet, just as Jiang Chiao looked at her, she looked back at him, their eyes locking.
Li Wentian was stunned as well. "Why is she staring in our direction? Is it my imagination?" Knowing the junior sister's gaze hadn't intersected with his own, he quickly realized a truth: "Could she be staring at you the whole time, Jiang Chiao?!"
By this point, Jiang Chiao had locked eyes with the junior sister for quite a long time. In his first four deaths, he had also seen this junior sister, but she had always blended into the background in various corners, completely unremarkable.
After about three seconds, the junior sister stood up and walked toward Jiang Chiao's table. This was the first time she had ever walked straight toward him like this.
Yet, under Jiang Chiao's silent watch, the junior sister put on a flawlessly grand display of a flat-ground trip, though she kept the bun clamped firmly in her teeth so it never hit the floor or suffered any collateral damage.
Jiang Chiao: Hiss...