The Lingxi Cave was deep and winding. Passing through layers of corridors, the view suddenly opened up. There was no wind or moon here, yet a refreshing spiritual energy permeated the air. Large and small bluestones, resembling jasper, were scattered about, naturally forming numerous stone beds. In the center of the cave dwelling was a pool of emerald water, clear as a mirror, reflecting the strange stalactites on the cave ceiling.
This was merely one of the countless sub-caves within the Lingxi Cave, yet Shen Qingqiu was quite satisfied and dismissed the idea of looking elsewhere.
Shen Qingqiu had long since memorized the ancient texts by heart. He walked straight to a stone bed, sat down cross-legged, and prepared to cultivate with full concentration.
However, as if the Heavens feared he might peacefully accumulate some cultivation, not long after he entered meditation, a strange noise broke the silence.
It was the sound of someone panting in pain.
It wasn't just his sharp hearing that detected the anomaly; the spiritual energy within his body also sensed a violent fluctuation on the verge of losing control.
Fine. Shen Qingqiu understood what was happening. The Lingxi Cave was vast, so naturally, he couldn't be the only applicant. There must be others cultivating here, and... they had clearly gone into qi deviation. This was a critical moment.
I! Just! Wanted! To! Go! Into! Seclusion! And! Cultivate! A! Little! To! Save! Up! Some! Power! Is! That! Too! Much! To! Ask? Huh?! Is! It?!
Shen Qingqiu suddenly opened his eyes, deciding to investigate. He followed the direction of the sound and the spiritual fluctuations, groping his way forward. As he wound his way through the cave, the noise grew louder.
Finally, he turned into another cavern. Upon entering, he saw a figure in white standing with their back to him, a long sword dropped on the ground.
The walls of the cave were covered in fierce sword marks, as if a storm had passed through. Blood was splattered everywhere, resembling a murder scene; even the figure in white was stained with blood.
Looks like this qi deviation is quite tragic!
Shen Qingqiu pondered silently. With his half-baked skills, if he went up to help sort out the other's spiritual flow, what were the odds of actually helping versus accidentally killing them? While hesitating, he caught a glimpse of the sword on the ground.
The sword was long and slender. Due to its master's runaway spiritual energy, it was currently emitting a blinding silver light, flowing ceaselessly along the darkly engraved spells and ancient patterns on the blade.
Shen Qingqiu recognized the sword and its owner instantly.
Damn it!
Enemies really do meet on a narrow path. Of all people, he had to run into this one!
If he had any intention of helping earlier, now he only had the thought of fleeing. However, it was too late. The figure in white turned abruptly and spotted him!
Shen Qingqiu had absolutely no mind to praise him as a "handsome figure!" No matter how handsome a man is, if he's glaring at you with bloodshot eyes and bulging veins on his forehead, you're going to want to kneel!
He flicked his sleeve, turned, and ran. The man punched the stone wall, sending stone fragments flying. The long sword on the ground flew through the air, nailing itself right into the bluestone in front of Shen Qingqiu's retreat, cutting off his path. In an instant, the irrational figure in white had rushed up.
Seeing that escape was impossible, Shen Qingqiu had to bite the bullet. He gathered spiritual energy in his right hand and, putting all his eggs in one basket, struck the opponent's chest.
If this person really possessed the strength rumored to rival that monstrous protagonist, this palm strike would definitely be useless. Not only useless, but Shen Qingqiu might even be shocked back three meters, vomiting blood.
But, it actually worked! The one shocked back three feet, vomiting blood, was not Shen Qingqiu, but the opponent!
At that moment, Shen Qingqiu held up his right hand, looking at the figure in white he had slapped down with one palm, deeply feeling: This Seat is actually so powerful!
Actually, while people in qi deviation are certainly terrifying when they go berserk, they are often also very fragile. If you're lucky enough, you might just slap away the final straw supporting them.
Shen Qingqiu looked with a conflicted expression at the man kneeling painfully on the ground, struggling to stand up, only for his knees to heavily hit the ground again. Finally, he sighed, walked over, and placed his hand on the man's back.
"Let's get one thing straight." Shen Qingqiu spoke to himself, ignoring whether the other understood or not: "I'm not familiar with this stuff either. If I accidentally kill you, at least I tried my best, so please don't blame me."
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Qingqiu felt the spiritual breath inside the man's body gradually calm down and circulate normally. Only then did his heart slowly settle, and he withdrew his palm.
The figure in white, having returned to normal, lowered his head, not yet awake.
Shen Qingqiu had actually already guessed this person's identity, but the system notification confirmed it completely.
【Congratulations! System Prompt: Plot change 'Death of Liu Changge'. Villain 'Shen Qingqiu' death-seeking value and hatred value decreased, Style +200!】
Sure enough. This was his fellow disciple, another sucker who died at the hands of the original Shen Qingqiu.
The master of Yujian Peak, one of the Twelve Peaks of the Lingxiao Mountain Sect, Liu Changge.
Liu Changge was a remarkable character.
Each of the Lingxiao Twelve Peaks had its own merits and distinct characteristics. For instance, the leading Lingxiao Main Peak oversaw the general situation, overlooking the ridges; Shen Qingqiu's Qinglan Peak was a favorite for intellectuals and artistic youths; Qianjian Peak, due to favorable timing, geography, and human harmony, produced many master swordsmiths throughout history; and the Discipline Peak—you could tell just by the name what they did. Shen Qingqiu wouldn't go there even if they whipped him...
Among the Twelve Peaks, Yaohua Peak was an existence that drooled over.
Because this peak only accepted female disciples. Moreover, the disciples throughout history had extremely high looks, beauties as numerous as clouds. The YY fanfiction written by WS readers was endless, a hundred flowers blooming. Among them, masterpieces like The Domineering Fairy Falls in Love with Me and Those Days of Being Surrounded by Beauties on Yaohua Peak were the cream of the crop, their circulation and influence even comparable to the original work.
But the one young people liked, worshipped, and were most eager to join was absolutely Yujian Peak, led by Liu Changge!
This was the most belligerent lineage of the Lingxiao Mountain Sect, and also the one with the strongest combat power.
Every generation of Yujian Peak Masters were figures of supreme swordsmanship, undefeated in a hundred battles, an invincible myth. How hot-blooded. How flashy.
That was why Shen Yuan had always been especially drawn to this character. Men naturally admired the strong. Even though the original novel never gave Liu Changge a proper front-facing description, the Liu Changge Shen Qingqiu had imagined in his head had always worn the face of a hard-edged warrior.
After all, a war god was supposed to look like one.
But now Shen Qingqiu looked down at that beautiful face, delicate enough to shame a fair maiden, and felt his long-held fantasy crack apart completely.
Why did the battle-invincible master of Yujian Peak have to look like a graceful young nobleman?
Then again, Liu Changge was the older brother of the novel's first official heroine, the peerless beauty Liu Ruoyan. The protagonist's future wife had to be premium quality. The power of good genes was both mighty and scientific.
Invincible in battle, arrogant by nature, and blessed with looks that could shame Pan An himself—it was no wonder the author had written him to die so early.
You think anyone other than the protagonist gets to act this cool? The story would kill you in minutes. And now that Shen Qingqiu thought about it, saving this man—wouldn't that affect Luo Binghe's eventual power trip?
This dazzling character had never had many scenes, but besides his record of frighteningly overwhelming victories, he served one especially important purpose in the novel: he existed to highlight what a scum Shen Qingqiu was.
Liu Changge and Shen Qingqiu were fellow disciples, yet they had always been at odds.
That was exactly why Shen Qingqiu had wanted so badly to run just now. Two people who normally could not stand each other, with one of them suddenly driven into qi deviation? The result would either be Liu Changge cutting Shen Qingqiu down or Shen Qingqiu, as in the original work, taking the chance to kill Liu Changge.
No one knew precisely what bitter grudge lay between them, but one thing was ironclad: in the original plot, Shen Qingqiu was the murderer who killed Liu Changge. The exposure of that crime was one of the direct causes that eventually pushed Shen Qingqiu to total disgrace and ruin. The novel had only said that Shen Qingqiu "took advantage of a slight deviation during his cultivation and cruelly left him to die." Thinking about it now, it had probably happened right here.
Shen Qingqiu had killed the heroine's only brother. Of course Luo Binghe would later take revenge on behalf of his future wife.
Honestly, Shen Qingqiu's list of hatred triggers really was absurdly dense.
While Shen Qingqiu was still worrying over his miserable future, Liu Changge finished coughing up blood and finally stirred awake.
The moment Liu Changge opened his eyes, he saw Shen Qingqiu sitting nearby with an infuriating air of ease, head tilted toward him, looking for all the world as if he were harboring ulterior motives. Instantly alarm bells rang in his mind. He tried to sit up in defense, but tugged at the internal injuries he had only just suffered. His breath turned chaotic, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.
Shen Qingqiu coolly commented from the side, "Hey now, no need to get so worked up. You're the master of Yujian Peak. Isn't it a little embarrassing to look this miserable? Here, wipe up." As he spoke, he passed over a handkerchief.
Still coughing blood, Liu Changge rasped, "Shen... what trick are you playing now..."
Seeing how badly he was struggling, Shen Qingqiu pressed a hand against his back. Liu Changge had assumed Shen Qingqiu meant to harm him, but he could not dodge. Yet when the palm actually touched him, what entered his body was not a killing blow but a strand of calm, even spiritual energy that moved through his limbs in steady order, helping him smooth his breathing. That shock was even greater than if Shen Qingqiu had stabbed him in the back.
As he patted his back, Shen Qingqiu said, "Junior Brother Liu, to tell the truth, this senior brother has gained a good many insights recently while in seclusion. Thinking back over what happened in the past, I have also felt deeply ashamed."
Liu Changge looked as if he wanted to cough up even more blood.
Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment, then continued, "How about this? Let bygones be bygones. From today on, the two of us work hand in hand and become a model pair of senior and junior brothers. What do you think?"
Since he had not killed Liu Changge this time and the plot line for attracting hatred had already been changed, why not go a step further? If he could improve his relationship with Liu Changge, perhaps the man could even become support he could rely on later.
Liu Changge stared at him. "...You're serious?"
"Absolutely. Couldn't be more serious. Look into these eyes of your senior brother. Are you moved yet?"
Ever since the OOC function had thawed, Shen Qingqiu felt that with no restraints left, the character was charging straight toward total collapse.
Liu Changge's expression darkened horribly. He looked into Shen Qingqiu's eyes for a long moment, then finally said through clenched teeth, "Go stand farther away."
Shen Qingqiu found that perfectly understandable.
After years of mutual loathing, there was no way their favorability toward one another would rise overnight. This was not something to rush.
So he nodded and actually got up to leave. As he walked away, he waved without even turning his head.
"Junior Brother, if your cultivation goes wrong again, don't be embarrassed. Feel free to call Senior Brother for help. We live so close together, we ought to look after each other."
Liu Changge's expression was so dreadful that if Shen Qingqiu said two more sentences, the man looked ready to cough blood again.
Reading the situation, Shen Qingqiu wisely shut up and slipped away, leaving Liu Changge alone in a total daze.
The two of them had always been on terrible terms. Even in their youth, Liu Changge had utterly despised Shen Qingqiu's conduct, and Shen Qingqiu had hated him back just as much.
This was not the kind of bickering one saw in a pair of cheerful rivals. This was the kind of hatred that would turn into an actual fight the moment words failed. For Shen Qingqiu not to kick him while he was down was already strange enough. For Shen Qingqiu to help him? That was outright absurd.
And yet the facts were right in front of him, twisting Liu Changge's face into something almost ugly.
His memories stopped at the moment his cultivation had gone out of control. But now his spiritual breathing was smooth and orderly again. There was no way he could have sorted it out on his own while delirious. Some outside force had clearly helped him.
Could it really have been Shen Qingqiu?
The mere possibility made Liu Changge feel sick, as if he had eaten something foul.