Sun Daiyu spoke loudly and clearly.

“Go back at least one-hundred meters! Not a step closer. Support the others.”

With other targets out of range, most of the eyes surged towards her.

However, this was well within Sun Daiyu’s calculations. The light on her sword was so bright the eyes could not see her, and she certainly could not see them. Both of her eyes were shut, somehow bringing a semblance of peace to her expression like a walking buddha amidst the chaos.

Wangzi Zhu seemed to grow tired of having sex with Huiliang Wen. He threw his body toward the ground, stepping towards Sun Daiyu as  he drew his scimitar, smiling fanatically. He intended to control the Demon-Eye Lamp and his black fire simultaneously.  

Song Heqing scoffed.

Wangzi Zhu had gone entirely insane. He would suffer too great a backlash from using the lamp in his current state. But that did not mean that Song Heqing wanted to wait for him to self-destruct without giving Lord Sun a hand. Although he could not contribute directly…perhaps there was another way.

In the meantime, Lord Sun lifted Dawn Chime. A soothing ring echoed as her blade cut through the demonic eyes methodically.

It slid across Wangzi’s approaching scimitar in a parry. She stood on the edge of the stone courtyard, then lifted a heel and flitted onto the path directly behind Wangzi in a blur to attack.

A gold light flashed through the air at Wangzi, but hundreds of eyes popped out from his lamp and shoved her blade off mark.

It hit his shoulder instead, and a splotch of black blood appeared under his clothes.

White sparks exploded at his feet.

A wave of black flames poured out, but Sun Daiyu twisted her body to avoid being hit while simultaneously curling her blade in a circle to cut away the remaining eyes. She flashed into retreat and landed on a hallway railing some ten meters away. Her hand and sword never paused, slicing apart tens of eyes per second. 

She tensed her knees, then flashed back in at Wangzi.

The two exchanged blows faster than the eye.

Wangzi coughed out big glob of blood after fending off Sun Daiyu the tenth time. It dribbled onto his robe, and both of his pupils were dilated as his body started to lose its ability to function. 

The Thousand Eye Lamp continued to attack her, but he paused to say, “You are lovely.”

Brown and gold robes flowed splendidly around Sun Daiyu, she was brilliant in the martial arts. It was quite lovely, anyone would agree. Of course, though, this conversation was one of absolute absurdity. No one would ever know why Wangzi Zhu would say such a thing in the middle of battle.

Sun Daiyu had no noticeable change in expression, but also offered a word in return.

“Wangzi Zhu, accept punishment for your crimes. You have fallen too low.”

“You remind me of her,” Wangzi Zhu said.

“Surrender yourself.”

“Bright and good, nothing this miserable world did to her would cause her to bend…” he paused, that awful smile erased from his face, both eyes dilated, and added, “…except death. I was close! So close to reviving her...”

Sun Daiyu could only save her breath, because Wangzi was not on the same mental wavelength as the rest of the world.

Besides the demonic Qi that he continued to pour into the Thousand Eye Lamp, Wangzi seemed to be trapped in a daze, perhaps his final strands of reason breaking from the exhaustion of battle.

At the current rate of the lamp, his meridians would atrophy soon.

Lord Sun landed several hits on Wangzi, and the arm that held his scimitar hung loosely, muscles and bone exposed beneath a bloody tear in his sleeve. His scimitar clattered to the stone, and several Eagle Sect disciples cheered from afar.

Wangzi Zhu’s face was turning ever more pallid--it was as white as bone. The horns on his head crumbled to dust, blood trailing from all of his orifices.

But his palm kindled a black flame.

They were all righteous sect members, so Wangzi would try to massacre them all until his last breath. After all, it was the righteous sect’s hypocrisy that killed his beloved.

Song Heqing stood on a roof top more than 70 meters off, black tiles under his feet.

His cultivation was far inferior to Wangzi’s, but cultivation is not everything. It was just as much about awareness and wit. A person without those would inevitably suffer defeat from even a weaker foe.

Like Wangzi at this very moment.

Song Heqing took a long bow off his shoulder, one hand slid over his palm at an even pace, and an arrow formed from a pouch of water at his side. It hardened to ice, the center of it pulsated with pure and swelling water Qi.

He notched the arrow. He pulled, then released.

The ice arrow whistled towards Wangzi Zhu. The man flinched as it sunk into his upper shoulder, sticking diagonal out all the way through his back. His hand dispersed the Qi, but he shivered violently, his already wan complexion gaining a hint of blue.

He sank to his knees, and his head fell down limply.

In the next moment Dawn Chime pierced through his heart.

Blood streamed onto the dull stones, pooling. It frothed from his mouth and eyes. Wangzi Zhu gave a few more hideous laughs from his clogged throat before dying. To him, perhaps even his own death was of no importance but as a trite amusement. The Thousand Eye Lamp lost its light instantly, the eyeballs shriveled back into the pores of the lamp paper, and the color returned to dusty bronze.

Seeing Wangzi's crumpled body on the ground, hideous and pathetic, Song Heqing had to admit that he felt gratified.  

Finally, his murdered family was avenged. 

Sun Daiyu also knew that the battle was over. She opened two eyes like blue tourmaline¹.

…

“…wow,” thought Qin Yan, once again interrupting the flashback without any qualms, “Sun Daiyu is that person Bai Lian is in love with.”

Errr, good luck with that, Bai Lian! 

Qin Yan then looked at Song Heqing and asked, “So after that you were able to subdue the other elders?”

Song Heqing nodded. “It didn’t take long. Most everyone that was present was either witnessing this battle, or had gone with Grandmaster Mu’ren’s group towards the treasury.”

“So Bai Lian was killing giant centipedes?”

“Mn.”

“Good, I hate those things.” Qin Yan thought a bit more. “But isn’t it weird that Huiliang Wen survived? He was so close to Wangzi when the battle began.”

There was an awkward silence. Song Heqing brushed over that matter because he did not like remembering it. It made him unnerved when he thought about Huiliang Wen, and how that could have happened to him, too, if it hadn't been for Qin Yan.

He answered, “He was able to survive from the eyes temporarily because Wangzi’s demonic energy was coursing through him. Then, you know how elder brother Cui can fly his knives? He tied his outer robe onto several of them and flew it over to Huiliang Wen to carry him away. They retreated into a building.”

This…Qin Yan remembered that he’d gotten two special missions, one related to Huiliang Wen, and one related to Cui Luoyang.

Qin Yan pressed, “Did brother Cui show up again later?”

“Not that I recall,” Song Heqing paused, “Which…is a bit odd. Although it is impossible to keep track of all of our sect members at such a time, we were encouraged to keep together.”

Qin Yan had always felt an odd feeling for Cui Luoyang. In general, it seemed that he’d been pretty good to Song Heqing...but he was suspicious. Hmmm. 

“System chat…?”

__

__

*Hello. System Chat is functional and ready to assist “Qin Yan”…

"Why did I receive a special mission to ‘knock Cui Luoyang unconscious’ back on Fulao mountain?”

__

….bleep….bleep…

__

*Here is what I could find for you…

* Special Missions are generated based on Misfortune Predictor©…

*Misfortune Predictor© uses complex and unfathomable algorithms to predict which characters will be influential friends or foes to “Qin Yan” based on the content of the novel ‘Crimson Rain on Wisteria Captivates the World'…

*Special Missions will either increase affinity points with characters or prevent characters from actions that will create misfortune for “Qin Yan”…

Based on the content of the novel? How??? Qin Yan almost didn’t believe it.

“How do you know the contents of ‘Crimson Rain on Wisteria Captivates the World? Isn’t it that you only know the information that I know…?"

__

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*All information on ‘Crimson Rain on Wisteria Captivates the World’ is retrieved via “Qin Yan’s” memory archives, where a copy has been stored, courtesy of the Demoness of Misfortune...

“…”

“…..!”

WHAT???

Song Heqing was confused at Qin Yan’s rapid switches in expression. He put a hand on his shoulder with concern.

“…are you okay?”

Qin Yan waved a hand at him busily and nodded. 

This was the dumbest cheat ever. And yet, great, it was really great! If he has some memories left at all about the novel, then wouldn’t it be extremely useful?! His only complaint is that this ‘demoness’ or whoever should have kindly told him about all this earlier!

The system continued…

__

*The information that Misfortune Predictor© used to generate the special mission with ‘Cui Luoyang’ was based on this passage from the novel…

__

Song Heqing and the others arrived at Eagle Sect. The cultivator that greeted them at the front gate was a man with narrow eyes, flipping a knife in his hand. He was a senior disciple of Eagle Sect, Cui Luoyang.

Song Heqing only gave him a cold stare as the two men clashed with their eyes for dominance in a masculine fashion.

“So,” said Cui Luoyang, “you say you’ve come here whilst searching for a demon. Is that true, or are you just playing around with these ladies here?”

Lin Hui’an was offended. As the haughtiest of Song Heqing’s women, she didn’t like the attitude of this Cui Luoyang. Didn’t he hear the stories of fame surrounding Song Heqing? How dare this no name speak to him like an equal!

She spoke in a low tone, “Cultivator Cui, where’s your decorum towards Lord Song?”

But Song Heqing just gave her a look that told her to keep quiet²Sexism at its finest!!.

He then replied to Cui Luoyang, “Indeed. I am searching.”

Cui Luoyang flipped the knife in his hand one last time. Then he smiled.

“Funny, because I also happen to be searching for a demon. The one that appeared at Phoenix Demonic Sect, no? It seems that we could be searching for the same thing…I want to kill it. Not just kill it, but to shred it to pieces and scatter its soul into nothingness! What say you, Brother Song, is your resolve the same?”

__

__

So in the previous novel, Cui Luoyang and Song Heqing hunted a demon…and it seems that Cui Luoyang really hated this demon. Like, really? Scattering its soul and all that...haha.

Qin Yan had figurative sweat forming. 

Soooo if Cui Luoyang feels the same about demons in this timeline, it would be BAD if he knew Qin Yan used to be a demon.

But maybe…he already found out. 

“Song Heqing…” Qin Yan’s voice was shaky. “I think…Cui Luoyang knows that I’m a demon. Er, used to be a demon? No no, that I’m part way to demonhood.”

Song Heqing froze in his footsteps, staring back at Qin Yan with alarm and disbelief.

“Why do you say that? …are you certain?”

“On the day we fought Fulao,” Qin Yan fidgeted. “Cui Luoyang and I were running on the same path together when we got separated. I went to meet you at the lake, and when I stabbed Fulao in the eye, he cleared away the sound-blocking fog…”

And then Fulao’s voiced had boomed over the mountain—

I felt it in your blade…you reek of misfortune, demon.

Qin Yan was jittery like an exposed criminal.

“Cui Luoyang would hear that, right? It was so loud it echoed! T-that’s really loud…”

Song Heqing’s lips went into a thin line. Back then, the two of them had been so caught up in a tiny lover’s spat that they overlooked such a glaring issue! How foolish. It would be stranger if Cui Luoyang hadn’t heard it.

But given that he heard it, why would Cui Luoyang not mention a word about it afterwards?

Song Heqing lowered his gaze in thought, then said, “Perhaps brother Cui did not believe Lord Fulao’s words.”

But Qin Yan knew that couldn’t be right. After all, he’d gotten that special mission; Knocking Cui Luoyang out would have prevented him from overhearing anything. Urghhh why couldn’t the system have just told him the danger from the beginning? Why doesn’t he got an easy golden finger? Why is just cryptic hints?!

He might as well have been reincarnated into a boring and shallow harem novel, at least nothing was complicated there!

Qin Yan panicked, raking his hand through his curls.

“What should we do? He’s gone back to Eagle Sect ahead of us…”

Song Heqing was also at a loss. He'd known Cui Luoyang for years. Although his senior-brother always been a bit irresponsible and frivolous, Cui Luoyang was a person who could tell evil from good. He was not petty nor cruel. So, Song Heqing was not entirely convinced that him learning such a fact would get them into trouble.

After all, Cui Luoyang should be able to tell that Qin Yan isn’t so chaotic and evil anymore! He's a very good, cute, and lovable eggplant. What reason would there be to try and cause trouble for them?

However…the fact that Cui Luoyang discovered such a secret then left quietly was disconcerting, a red flag to say the least. 

Song Heqing forced out the words, “We should hurry and-”

“What are you hurrying to do…” growled a foreign voice, interrupting the two's scattered conversation. “…are you trying to get into my sister’s resting place again?!”

A tall man strode out from a ruined hallway several paces away. He was cloaked in white mourning clothes.

It was Shen Wuming.

He saw Qin Yan’s figure, and began to pull out that hooked spear from the holster on his back.

“What did I tell you?!” he barked. “To stay the fuck away! After the kindness of letting you go alive…”

Upon hearing this, Song Heqing tensed with anger, remembering Qin Yan’s sorry state from back then.

“You are irrational!” he snapped, then drew out White Mist.