163: 4.28 Front Row Seat

4.28 Front Row Seat

Over the course of next week, the news that Jingxue-Jun had personally vowed to bring Black Demon Weeping Blood down spread all over the world. People rejoiced and worshipped his name, waiting for Heimo's downfall because what else would the honorable Jingxue-Jun obtain except for success? Surely the world would be free of demonic cultivators sooner or later.1

Lu Yizhou himself had no idea how the rumors spread so quickly like wildfire but he suspected that Sect Leader Ling had a hand in it. He supposed that it was Sect Leader Ling's way of pressuring him so he wouldn't back out at the last minute and bestowed mercy on Heimo. Lu Yizhou knew what the man was doing; using the public opinion and stellar expectation of civilians and fellow cultivators alike to pressure him, to drive him bereft of any choices but to execute the task. Foolish, Lu Yizhou sneered. He wasn't Jingxue-Jun. He cared not for his reputation or honor. If he had to throw them all away to keep Heimo safe, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

He strapped Hexue to his back and was ready to start his journey of helping Heimo behind the scene and remained invisible all the while when he was stopped by two people. Shan Duoyin and Ling Chuwei, he noted with mild irritation. "Do you need me for something?" He asked.

The two junior disciples paid their respect. It was Ling Chuwei who spoke first, blunt and straightforward as always. "Let us come with you."

Lu Yizhou's brows pinched together. "No."

"We won't be a nuisance, I swear." She put up three fingers. "You don't need to watch our backs. Shan-xiong and I will take care of each other and we know fully the consequences of our actions. The only thing you need is to let us tag along with you. Three is better than one, right? Who knows, maybe you will need our help sometime in the future."

Shan Duoyin directed sparkling, sincere eyes toward him. "Jingxue-Jun, we are worried about you."

What was there to worry about? Lu Yizhou was ready to protest further when 666 analyzed. [Host, you should let them go with you. First, you can keep an eye on them directly and intervene should the need arise. Second, you can eliminate the possibility of them sneaking around behind your backs. Third, they can even be your spy and moreover, you can rope them to your side! It's like killing three birds with one stone! Host, you should go along and put up with their presence!]

666… wasn't wrong, Lu Yizhou realized. It had gotten wiser and more useful recently — [Aiyah, Host, don't flatter 666 otherwise 666's head is going to swell! Hehehe~] — and the more Lu Yizhou thought about it, the more plausible the choice was. He faced the two protagonists who looked at him like a baby duckling did to their mother and heaved out a sigh. "Fine, but you two need to listen to my order."

Ling Chuwei pumped her fist in the air while Shan Duoyin grinned. "Yes, Jingxue-Jun!"

Thus began Lu Yizhou's adventure with the protagonists. It was… marvelous, to say the least. He had the first row seat experience to witness the thick sexual tension between them. Jingxue-Jun was notable for his coldness and aversion to touch, so every time they took a break, Lu Yizhou would be left alone much to his relief. On the other hand, Shan Duoyin and Ling Chuwei would sit very closely to each other, practically joined on their hips — Lu Yizhou pretended he saw nothing when Ling Chuwei wiped the stain on the corner of Shan Duoyin's mouth, making the latter's face as red as a tomato before he snuck some glances at Lu Yizhou. He couldn't quite describe what was in Shan Duoyin's eyes. Hesitation, apprehension, guilt…?

[666: *whisper* Host, four worlds and you are as dense as ever.]

[What did you say?]

[666: *whistles* 666 is just weaving a poem. Look, the moon looks so bright tonight!]

Lu Yizhou tore his attention away from the flirting protagonists and glanced up to the sky. True to 666's words, the moon indeed shone brighter and clearer than usual. Soon, the leaves would turn red and autumn would arrive. Until then, Lu Yizhou need not to be worried about the harsh weather. He closed his eyes and opened the system panel where the map of the world was shown in 3D and on it, there was a red blinking dot that was moving ever so slowly. The corner of his lips lifted slightly at the sight.

There was no way Lu Yizhou would have let Heimo go without doing anything. Despite Lu Yizhou's wish to bet on Heimo's willingness to stay by his side, he was used to preparing himself for the worst scenario. He was grateful for his overthinking self for planting a tracker on the hairpin he gave Heimo — he bought it in the system's store as soon as Lu Yizhou received the bonus and slipped it when Heimo was preoccupied with bringing him to bed. He only hoped that Heimo wouldn't take off or lose the hairpin by some accident. So far, everything had gone smoothly.

Days turned to week, weeks turned to month. Autumn passed by and winter arrived as they tracked Heimo down. Lu Yizhou knew clearly where Heimo was but everytime, he would steer the two protagonists to a different direction, giving enough time for Heimo to take whatever he wanted for the ritual to open the gate to the demonic realm. After he was sure that Heimo was moving to another place, Lu Yizhou then trailed behind him, keeping the same distance over and over again. 

Time crawled by excruciatingly slow as Lu Yizhou stayed on the road with the protagonists for six months. They were cultivators and didn't have any problem with camping under the night sky and hunted wildlife for food. However, when all was said and done, Ling Chuwei was a woman and the pampered daughter of Sect Leader Ling after all. When they passed through a boisterous city in the west, she requested to stay for a few nights and of course, pulled Shan Duoyin into her scheme.

Lu Yizhou pondered for a few seconds — more to add to the suspense — before he finally nodded, earning him an excited cheer from Ling Chuwei as she complained of how she had missed the feeling of the soft mattress under her back and how harsh the winter had been for her skin. Lu Yizhou mused, even if Ling Chuwei didn't call for a stop, he was going to do it anyway. 

For starters, this city — Yuling — was actually included in a small arc in the original plot. The only difference was Lu Yizhou was already dead and only the two protagonists remained, taking a break after traveling nonstop across the continent. This was also the interlude where Ling Chuwei couldn't hold her feelings back anymore. After six months of camping under the night sky, sharing the same scenery, food and a few intimate and heartrending occasions, she had a sudden breakthrough about her feelings. In this city, she was going to gather her courage and knocked on Shan Duoyin's room in the middle of the night. After a few moments of vulnerability, Shan Duoyin would finally cave under her tender affection and the two would engage in sexual intercourse for the first time, elevating the romantic tension to the next level.

(Lu Yizhou had no comment about being a third wheel, thank you very much.)

Lu Yizhou was seizing the opportunity to experiment on how far they had strayed from the original plot. If the two protagonists were to get together, that would be a bonus point and if there was a mishap… Lu Yizhou would need more data to find out what was going on.

But that wasn't the reason why Lu Yizhou wanted to stay.

Somewhere in this city...was Heimo.

And at the same time when the protagonists were having their blissful, sensuous moments, Heimo would hunt the dragon's elixir and be trapped underneath a cave for weeks as the result. After that, he would drag his injured body to perform another extraction for his sister, soaking his open flesh and bones in the pool of demonic energy. It was because of this ailment that Heimo left an opening for Shan Duoyin to take advantage of, resulting in his demise.

In other words, Heimo would fail because he was injured by the dragon. As long as Lu Yizhou was still alive and breathing, he wouldn't allow that to happen.

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