Soaring Moon Peak.
Lin Xiao leaned against a pillar in the pavilion, gazing at the sea of clouds, and let out a long sigh.
Things had gotten complicated.
Originally, in the plot, he was supposed to enter the inner sect with Xiao Luoyi in their second year, make a name for himself in the inner sect tournament, and then catch Ling Qingxue’s eye before being taken as a true disciple.
But now, the entrance exam hadn’t even started, and they were already true disciples.
Master Ling Qingxue had never taken on a disciple before, and she also valued tranquility.
On top of that, Xiao Luoyi was still recovering from her injuries. The grand disciple-acceptance ceremony that other elders would have held was also conveniently skipped by her.
At the same time, Master brought an even more absurd piece of news: Chu Qingchen was coming.
This princess was supposed to appear in the mid-game of the storyline, trigger a bunch of royal quests, and then have a chance encounter with her at some key plot point.
But now, she was coming directly to their door, name-dropping Soaring Moon Peak.
It had only been a month since he transmigrated, but it felt like decades.
From the initial “lie low and stay away from the heroines,” to the life-and-death crises during team training, and now inexplicably becoming a true disciple and having to receive the arriving Chu Qingchen…
Every step felt like being pushed by an invisible hand.
He couldn’t keep going like this.
He had to do something proactive.
The plot had completely derailed; the story nodes from the game were no longer reliable references.
If he kept reacting passively, he would only be dragged deeper into the vortex by increasingly frequent surprises.
He had to get stronger.
Not just by monster grinding, leveling up, and stacking equipment.
But also… by sorting out his relationships with these “heroines.”
His progress with Xiao Luoyi was astonishingly fast.
And Chu Qingchen’s arrival was imminent, with no idea what tricks she had up her sleeve…
He walked back into the house, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and began recalling the details he had overlooked in the game.
Those hidden opportunities that weren’t part of the main storyline but might exist in this real world.
Before he knew it, he was lost in deep thought, until a knock on the door startled him awake.
It was very light. Three knocks, a pause, then two more.
Lin Xiao opened his eyes, and a smile crept onto his lips. This was the knocking rhythm he had agreed upon with Xiao Luoyi.
It was actually unnecessary, since they were the only two true disciples on Soaring Moon Peak.
But Xiao Luoyi felt it added a sense of ritual, so Lin Xiao went along with it.
He got up to open the door.
Sure enough, Xiao Luoyi stood outside, her pale purple eyes sparkling.
“Senior Brother,” she called softly.
“What brings you here? Didn’t Master tell you to rest?” Lin Xiao stepped aside to let her in.
“Can’t sleep.” Xiao Luoyi walked into the room, looked around, and her eyes curved into crescent moons. “Senior Brother’s place… is very clean.”
Lin Xiao coughed dryly.
Could he say that was because he had just moved in and didn’t have anything yet?
The two of them sat down on chairs by the tea table.
The chairs were a bit cold. Lin Xiao thought about getting a cushion, but Xiao Luoyi shook her head. “No need, this is fine.”
Lin Xiao didn’t insist. Instead, he asked, “How’s your injury?”
“Still a little sore.” Xiao Luoyi answered honestly, then pursed her lips in a smile. “But with Senior Brother here, it doesn’t hurt.”
Lin Xiao felt a warmth in his heart, but also found it amusing. “I’m not Anesthetic Soup.”
“Senior Brother is more effective than Anesthetic Soup.” Xiao Luoyi said very seriously, staring at him without blinking.
Lin Xiao felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and looked away. “What nonsense are you talking…”
“It’s true.” Xiao Luoyi said softly, then suddenly raised her left hand, which still had bandages wrapped around her wrist.
“Since Senior Brother doesn’t believe me, Luoyi will show you.”
She untied one end of the bandage, revealing the scabbed abrasion beneath.
“Here, it was bleeding a lot back then, but now it’s almost healed. It just still hurts a little.”
Lin Xiao frowned. “Don’t move around too much, be careful not to open the wound again.”
“It won’t.” Xiao Luoyi shook her head, then did something that made Lin Xiao freeze.
She gently took Lin Xiao’s right hand and carefully wound the end of the bandage around his wrist.
Once, twice, three times.
The bandage wasn’t long, just enough to bind their wrists together, tied in a tight knot.
“You…” Lin Xiao stared dumbly at their bound wrists.
“Like this,” Xiao Luoyi also looked at the bandage knot on both their wrists, “it won’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Xiao felt a strange sensation of being treasured—but perhaps overly treasured.
He had wanted to say, ‘Junior Sister… it’s a bit tight…’
But seeing the burning anticipation in her eyes, all the words got stuck in his throat.
Finally, he sighed, and with his unbound left hand, he ruffled her hair.
“As long as it doesn’t hurt.”
Xiao Luoyi smiled sweetly, leaned her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
“Senior Brother, will you always be by my side?”
Lin Xiao didn’t answer right away; instead, he asked her, “Will you always keep me tied up?”
“Yes.” Xiao Luoyi answered without hesitation.
“Then I guess I’ll have to be here.”
Lin Xiao replied with resignation.
Xiao Luoyi contentedly nuzzled his shoulder.
They stayed like that in quiet silence for a long time, until Lin Xiao almost thought she had fallen asleep.
“Senior Brother.”
“Hmm?”
“You still haven’t told me,” Xiao Luoyi lifted her head to look at Lin Xiao, “why you helped me back then, but didn’t tell me it was you.”
Lin Xiao’s body stiffened.
It had come after all.
He instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but the bandage tugged at it…
He pretended nothing was wrong, picked up the teacup from the table, and brought it to his lips, his mind racing.
“Cough, well…” he said vaguely, “I thought at the time… it would be better if you didn’t know.”
“Why would it be better?”
Lin Xiao took a big gulp of tea, suppressing the panic in his heart.
How could he explain?
Should he say, ‘Because I was afraid you’d become overly dependent on me and turn into a yandere who would chop me up’?
“I just felt,” he searched for the right words, “that Junior Sister should focus on her cultivation and not be… distracted by these things.”
“These things?” Xiao Luoyi tilted her head. “You mean the things Senior Brother does for me?”
“That’s not what I meant…” Lin Xiao felt a headache coming on.
This girl usually didn’t talk much, but once she got serious, she was so hard to deal with.
He was racking his brain on how to talk his way out of it. He really didn’t want to lie to Xiao Luoyi, but he couldn’t very well say he was a transmigrator who knew the future, could he?
But then Xiao Luoyi suddenly blinked, her tone carrying a hint of testing and innocence as she asked,
“Senior Brother… could it be that you like men, and that’s why you didn’t want to have too much contact with Luoyi?”
Pfft—!!
Lin Xiao spat out a mouthful of tea, splattering all over the table and soaking his sleeves.
Half from choking, half from shock.
‘Likes men?!’
‘Wasn’t that the nonsense he had deliberately said to Xiao Luoyi in his last playthrough, before the rollback from the disastrous “Sleeping Under One Quilt” ending, just to test if the system bug was fixed?’
‘And then Ling Qingxue’s cleaver had sent him back to the entrance ceremony.’
‘But that was from the last playthrough…’
‘After the rollback, theoretically everything should have reset. Xiao Luoyi shouldn’t remember anything at all.’