Chapter 2: The Scapegoat

When Fan Zifan appeared, she had just managed to untangle the storyline; she hadn’t even had time to receive the sect’s techniques, nor had she expected that this Second Senior Brother would greet her in such an unusual fashion.

“Alright!” Fan Zifan looked at her with lingering fear. If the force he’d just used had come from a sword cultivator, Wen Jinge’s head might have flown off. “I believe you. I don’t want the nine medicine mountains you gradually owed me before; just compensate for the one you destroyed half a year ago.”

“Oh.” Wen Jinge nodded.

It’s always said that something strange is a sign of trouble. Fan Zifan grew even more nervous. “Fine, fine, I don’t want anything.”

“Hmm?” This person was truly odd. Wen Jinge recalled what the system had said about the big boss lurking nearby, so she cleared her throat. “Other than destroying your medicine mountain, have I done anything else wicked to you personally, Senior Brother?”

Fan Zifan shuddered violently.

What did Wen Jinge just call him?

Senior Brother?

Ha! It’s as if the sun rose in the west today! Wen Jinge, of all people! Even in a good mood, she’d call him out and curse him by name. Today he was the one who started the fight—how could this end peacefully?

“Don’t scare me!” Though Fan Zifan was highly ranked, he was a medicine cultivator; his physique was nowhere near as sturdy as Wen Jinge, a sword cultivator. He couldn’t beat her. “Just say what you have to say.”

Wen Jinge simply stared at him, but in her mind, she asked the system, “My character’s a villain—being harsh to the protagonists is one thing, but I don’t need to be so strict with the supporting cast, do I?”

[Negative] The system’s tone was tense. [What are you planning?]

“Don’t be so nervous.”

[I am not nervous! I’m an AI, I cannot be nervous!]

“Alright, alright, let’s analyze the situation. One: at the sect’s recruitment after tomorrow, barring surprises, the protagonist Qiao Yu will surely shine. Because of his gifted bloodline, he’ll be chosen by the Sect Leader Senior Brother as my registered disciple.

Two: I am a terrible master. Under Fan Zifan’s provocation, I mistreat Qiao Yu in every way, which is witnessed by my true nemesis—Shan Hongxing’s top disciple, Lu Feiyu. The two young ones fall in love as they help each other.

Three: The major sects form an alliance and send disciples to participate in a trial, preparing for the prophecy that a demon general will appear in twenty years. However, some demon scouts sneak into the barrier. Qiao Yu and Lu Feiyu are trapped inside; Shan Hongxing enters to rescue them but dies in the formation, and I am blamed as the killer. The two protagonists resent me, and I leave Xuan Yun Sect.

Four: The Sect Leader Senior Brother is thoroughly disappointed in me. He enters the forbidden Burning Heaven Gate to repent to our master, only to be torn apart and devoured by the demons. The life-symbolizing Jade Butterfly is extinguished. Only the Sect Leader and I possess the key to Burning Heaven Gate, so I am once again the main suspect.

Five: Xuan Yun Sect falls apart. After enduring countless hardships, Qiao Yu becomes sect leader and marries Lu Feiyu. The demon army appears ahead of schedule, and I happen to enter Burning Heaven Gate to investigate the true cause of the Sect Leader’s death, making me a suspect once more. Later, when Lu Feiyu dies in childbirth, I am also suspected.

By this point, Wen Jinge was speechless. She really wasn’t evil at all—just a perpetual scapegoat.

Always taking the blame, until finally she became the scapegoat in truth.

[Any more?] The system asked. In the past, every host had feared it; this was the first time a host had actively discussed the plot with it.

“Six: Qiao Yu gathers the alliance and initiates the execution order. In the end, I join the Demonic Sect and become the enemy of the world. In the Execution Array, I am gravely wounded. Qiao Yu, hating me to his bones, skins me alive and tears out my muscles, yet refuses to let me die.

Seven: After three years of undying agony, I disappear. Qiao Yu, surrounded by talented followers and relying on his own efforts, ultimately leads the righteous sects to defeat the Demon Lord, ensuring the demons cannot invade for a century. Because he slays demons wherever he goes, he is honored as the Sword God by the world.

That’s all the entanglements between me and Qiao Yu. I can’t change any of these major plot points related to the protagonists, right?”

[Correct. You will be warned before acting out of character. If you insist, there will be corresponding penalties.]

“Alright, back to the previous topic. Qiao Yu and Lu Feiyu are definitely the protagonists, and I, at best, am the most formidable female villain.

So here’s the question: Xuan Yun Sect is a righteous sect; Burning Heaven Gate is a forbidden ground. How did the demons get in?”

[Are you suggesting there are already demons within the sect?]

“Yes.” Wen Jinge nodded. “You seem surprised. Don’t you know?”

[What you know is what I know. ‘Far away, close at hand’—that’s the answer from the main system.]

“So, the Demon Lord big boss must have another identity! In fact, he’s very likely hiding within Xuan Yun Sect itself.”

“Sect Leader Senior Brother! I really didn’t do anything to her! Her head? Yes, that was me, but all her sorrow, joy, and worry—none of that is because of me! She just went blank while we were talking. Wen Fifth is a schemer, not someone I, an honest man, could bully!”

“Liang Si! Is what your Martial Uncle says true?”

[Huo Yongfei, Sect Leader of Xuan Yun Sect, master of Xuanbing Peak, sword cultivator. Like his master before him, he is quite fond of Wen Jinge and grants her every request.]

“Senior Brother!” To avoid another bump on her head, Wen Jinge, upon regaining her senses, immediately threw herself at Huo Yongfei.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out—Huo Yongfei’s hand was broken.

Fan Zifan kept his gaze lowered, waiting until Huo Yongfei had set his own bone with a spell before saying, “Sect Leader Senior Brother, you’d better check on Wen Fifth’s head. She’s really not right in the head. She’s spaced out and absent-minded. Tomorrow is the sect’s recruitment, and she’ll have to take on disciples herself this time—nothing can go wrong!”

Huo Yongfei understood Wen Jinge’s temperament. His junior sister was used to keeping to herself; on Wanzhang Peak she allowed no one. The disciples assigned to her in the past had all transferred to other peaks.

“Accept them! I’ll take a whole group.” Since this was an unavoidable plot point, she might as well witness the future Sword God’s brilliance firsthand!

Xuan Yun Sect recruited new disciples from the outside every ten years, nothing unusual about that. But this time, the sect had already spread the word: the recruitment was mainly for the peak masters to select disciples.

If selected by one of the peak masters, one’s future would be limitless!

Many thought this way. As a thousand-year-old great sect, not only did countless ambitious outer disciples flock here, but even other minor sects hoped to pick up the leftovers Xuan Yun Sect did not want. Thus, the outer peaks set aside for guests had long since filled up.

On the day of the recruitment, Wen Jinge rose early, but the outer peaks were a long way from Wanzhang Peak. By the time she arrived, proceedings had already been underway for a while.

“Wen Fifth! Over here, over here!” Since parting the other day, Fan Zifan had been especially friendly, as if all past grudges had vanished.

There were seven peaks in Xuan Yun Sect. She was ranked fifth, seated beside Sect Leader Huo Yongfei, with Fan Zifan on her other side—a testament to her status in the sect.

“Second Senior Brother, you’re early!” These days, Wen Jinge had been cramming knowledge about this world, sleeping poorly, still yawning as she spoke.

Fan Zifan looked at her and teased, “As Master predicted, Burning Heaven Gate has truly transformed you. Now you even act more like a person.”

Wen Jinge glared at him. “I can tell what you’re really saying—you’re calling me ugly.”