ALERT! ALERT! SHOU MC 98 DAMAGE POINTS SUSTAINED! ALERT! ALERT! CRITICAL CONDITION!
The system's alarms blared incessantly in Yi Ming's ears, each warning pushing him to channel his qigong to its limit. His body surged forward with breakneck speed, and behind him, Li Zhameng struggled to keep pace, barely managing to follow in his wake. As Xue Laohu approached the coordinates, his heart sank at the sight that greeted him. There, crumpled and bloodied, was his disciple-Shou MC- hanging limply, clutched by the collar.
A towering figure loomed over him, his presence almost suffocating. The man had a tall, imposing frame, his skin a deep, rich tone that emphasized the sharp lines of his angular jaw and high cheekbones. His dark, bloodthirsty eyes glared beneath thick brows, and a long, tightly braided rat tail snaked down his back. In that instant, Xue Laohu saw the bloodlust gleaming in the man's eyes as his sharpened claws hovered above Xue Tuzi's chest, poised to tear into his heart.
Without a moment's hesitation, Xue Laohu unsheathed his sword. It flashed like lightning, slicing through the air with deadly precision. In a split second, the blade met its mark, striking Shudu's hand just as he was about to pierce Xue Tuzi.
"Unhand my disciple!" Xue Laohu's voice thundered as he rushed forward, catching the nearly unconscious Xue Tuzi in his arms.
Shudu grimaced, at the deep wound on his hand blood dripping to the side, but when his gaze met Xue Laohu's, his eyes widened in shock, recognition flashing across his face.
"Grandmaster Xue. It's been a long time," Shudu said, his voice unexpectedly soft. His smile spread gently across his face, and the intensity in his eyes faded, the bloodlust that once hung in the air around him simmering down to nothing.
Xue Laohu's muscles tensed, his sword still drawn, but before he could utter a response, the system cut in, sputtering like an old hag before it choked out a garbled announcement:
CHARACTER UNLOCKED: ENTER GONG ML. NO FURTHER DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE.
Fucking useless piece of shit, Yi Ming cursed internally, his thoughts laced with frustration as he cradled the barely conscious Xue Tuzi. He hadn't read the novel. He knew next to nothing about its plot or characters. His choices now boiled down to either forfeiting more life points to the scam of a system or winging it entirely. He chose the latter.
"Who are you?" Xue Laohu demanded, voice hard as iron, his sword glinting in the fading sunlight as he brandished it with fierce resolve.
Shudu, unfazed, spoke in a measured tone, his eyes locked onto Xue Laohu's. "It seems Grandmaster Xue has forgotten this venerable one. Yet this venerable one hasn't forgotten you."
His words hung in the air like a fog of memory. Xue Laohu narrowed his eyes, the irritation at not knowing the man gnawing at him. Could this man just spit out his backstory so they could move on? Yi Ming gritted his teeth, maintaining an outwardly intense expression despite the internal sigh of impatience building within him.
Before Xue Laohu could reply, a raspy voice cut through the tension.
"Master, are you sure this is the prolific Grandmaster Xue? He looks more like a boy who just got mugged by bandits." Xiao Zongzi's voice came from above, her figure dangling from the intricate web she had spun, swaying lazily.
Shudu gave a slight nod, eyes never leaving Xue Laohu. "There's no mistaking him. I could never forget that face. Though," he added, stroking his chin thoughtfully as his gaze roved over Xue Laohu from head to toe, "I will admit, the hair has been completely botched."
A surge of annoyance coursed through Xue Laohu, his lips pressing into a tight line. He raised an eyebrow, the irritation in his voice impossible to miss. "I cut my hair like this because I like it," he muttered defensively, gripping his sword tighter as if to ward off further insults.
Just then, a winded Li Zhameng arrived on the scene, skidding to a stop with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. "Shizun!" he managed between labored breaths, his face flushed with exertion.
"Shizun?" Shudu mocked, his voice laced with condescension as he chuckled, placing his hand over his face to mask the sinister smile creeping across his lips. "989 years ago, I begged you to take me in as a disciple, yet you chose these two weaklings instead?!" His voice cracked with anger, the deep resentment of centuries echoing through every word.
Yi Ming clenched his teeth, battling the rising irritation swirling inside him. Yanking at his hair mentally, he tried to make sense of the situation. The system—silent and useless as ever—offered no help, leaving him to face the Gong ML's wrath like some kind of unwitting villain. How was he supposed to remember something that happened 989 years ago? For one, he wasn't even around back then, and even if he had been, who in their right mind would recall something that old with clarity? Nearly a thousand years? Seriously?
Xue Laohu's expression darkened. His jaw tightened, and he gritted his teeth, his sword lowering only slightly as he took a breath. "I don't recall," he said, his voice rough and cold, hiding any hint of uncertainty. "Speak! Why have you attacked my disciple?"
His demand cut through the air like the edge of his blade, but beneath his steady exterior, Xue Laohu's mind raced.
"Very well," Shudu said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone. "If Grandmaster Xue has forgotten, allow this venerable one to jog his memory."
He stepped forward, his towering figure casting a long shadow across the ground, and began to recount his story, his voice laced with both bitterness and nostalgia.
"When I was human, I was nothing more than a street rat, living off the filth of others, surviving by any means necessary. I stole, I scraped for food, and my life was a despicable one. One fatal day, deep in the forest, I was attacked by a demon. He tore my flesh apart, gnawed on me as though I were nothing more than meat for slaughter. He chewed my bones as if they were brittle twigs. The pain..." Shudu's voice quivered, his eyes distant as if reliving that very moment. "The pain was unbearable. I wanted it to end. I wanted it to rip my heart out just to make it stop. But as fate would have it another demon appeared, drawn by the scent of my blood. He too wanted a piece of me."
"I don't know what came over me in that moment, but while they fought each other over my broken body, I fled with what little energy I had left. That's right-despite the hell I lived in, I yearned to survive. I stumbled into a cave and collapsed, my strength fading with every breath. As I lay there, I heard a voice from the depths of the cave."
Shudu's eyes darkened as he recalled the memory, his voice lowering to a sinister whisper. "'Who dares disturb this one's grave?' her voice echoed through the cave like a haunting melody. I was terrified, frozen in place, too weak to even scream. I could feel the cold stone beneath me as I saw long, thin legs crawling toward me. When I looked up, I saw her-a gray- haired woman, her face twisted in agony, but her body... was that of a spider."
He paused, "I thought for sure she would devour me. A pitiful, wounded boy like me-an easy meal for a demon like her. But instead, her voice was oddly soothing. She said, 'Pitiful child, this old hag came to this cave for her eternal slumber. You're far too young to join me.' Then, with her spindly legs, she dug into her own abdomen and revealed a demon core, glowing with dark, pulsating energy. 'Take it and live,' she said. I don't know what possessed me-perhaps my sheer will to survive- but I took it."
Shudu clenched his fists, his eyes flickering with the dark memories. "The demonic power was insufferable. My body fought to reject the demonic qi coursing through me. I felt my skin crawl, my bones shatter, my heart pounded like it was going to explode. My vision blurred, the world flickering in and out, and the pain... it was unlike anything I had ever known. But the demonic energy consumed me, tore me apart, and rebuilt me. When I looked up, the spider demon smiled at me, closed her eyes, and turned to dust."
"I survived, but I was too gravely injured to move. That's when you came." Shudu's eyes bore into Xue Laohu's with an intensity that could cut through stone. "How could I ever forget that immortal presence? Like a god descending from heaven. You came in robes as white as snow, your long, ink- black hair flowing in the wind, your face serene, with a gentle smile and soft brows. You were a vision of purity, of hope in the darkest of times. That immortal... was you, Grandmaster Xue."
Shudu's voice trembled, though whether from emotion or restrained fury was hard to tell. "That night, you nursed me back to health. You visited the cave every day. You fed me, brought me medicine, changed my bandages, and washed the blood from my skin. You... saved me. How can you forget?"
Xue Laohu's face fell flat as the all-too-familiar ringing of the system chimed in his head.
CONGRATULATIONS USER. BACKSTORY OF GONG ML OBTAINED. +25 LIFE POINTS.
Internally, Yi Ming's temple throbbed with irritation. Now is not the time, system, he thought bitterly. And only 25 life points? For such a gut-wrenching, tragic backstory? Tch.
Li Zhameng, ever the loyal disciple, stepped forward and clasped his hands respectfully, bowing slightly. "Gongzi," he began, his voice calm and deferential, "please don't be too harsh on my Shizun. He recently suffered qi deviation and may have sustained some memory loss."
Yi Ming blinked, a strange warmth bubbling up inside him. My sweet little NPC, coming to my rescue, he thought with a mental sniffle. Oh, how I wish I had a million of you. He braced himself for whatever would come next, knowing this situation still hung in a delicate balance.
Shudu's gaze flickered, the raw fury in his eyes softening just a little as he considered the explanation. "Is that true?" he asked, his voice no longer biting with rage, but with an edge of vulnerability.
Xue Laohu cleared his throat, feeling the weight of Shudu's stare on him. "That is correct," he admitted, lowering his sword ever so slightly. "I went into seclusion for an entire year to overcome qi deviation. I... I don't recall much from the past," he added, his voice tinged with an unusual hesitance. The truth hung awkwardly between them.
For a moment, Shudu was silent, but his face twisted in frustration as an old resentment began to resurface. "Then how come—how come you *
chose these weaklings as your disciples?" Shudu's voice cracked with anger, his brows furrowing deeply as he gestured toward Li Zhameng and Xue Tuzi, his hand trembling with barely contained fury.
Xue Laohu let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders drooping slightly. "The me you knew before is not the same me of today. But regardless, I need you to explain yourself—why did you try to murder my disciple?" His voice, though calm, carried the weight of authority that could not be ignored.
He couldn't just let this go. Something wasn't right. Why were the Shou and Gong locked in conflict instead of fostering the romantic bond that should be at the heart of their story? The title Bound by Darkness, Drawn by Love implied passion and connection, not violence and resentment. As things stood, it seemed more like Separated by Darkness, Ignited by Hatred. The disconnect gnawed at him, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.
"Hmph," Shudu scoffed, spitting blood onto the ground with a loud splatter. "Your disciple attacked me first." His voice was cold, but there was a bitter edge that betrayed his underlying frustration.
Xue Laohu's eyes widened in disbelief. His gaze flickered downward, landing on the bruised yet undeniably beautiful face of Xue Tuzi. His heart twisted. His little bunny rabbit could never have done something like that! Xue Tuzi was gentle, harmless, incapable of hurting a fly—let alone picking a fight with a rufian like Shudu. He shook his head in quiet disbelief. The idea of Xue Tuzi being aggressive was laughable.
What Xue Laohu didn't know, however, was that Xue Tuzi's gentle exterior masked a peculiar hobby. His disciple took great pleasure in swatting flies and exterminating any vermin that dared to invade Sect Mount Dingbu. Bugs, flies, pests—none of them stood a chance when Xue Tuzi was around.
"My master was enjoying himself when that disciple of yours decided to take a shot at him," Xiao Zongzi chimed in, dangling from her tree-bound web.
Xue Laohu exhaled deeply, his mind swirling with conflicting emotions. "I apologize on behalf of my disciple," he said at last, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "It seems there has been a misunderstanding. You've sustained injuries... please allow me to heal them as retribution." He couldn't ignore the rules of honor, even if part of him still couldn't fully accept that Xue Tuzi had been at fault.
Shudu's expression shifted. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them with an unnerving ease. Leaning in close to Xue Laohu, he whispered into his ear, his voice low and teasing. "If it's healing done by your hands," he purred, "of course I will come." A wicked smile spread across his face, his sharp canine teeth glinting in the light as he reached out and gently stroked Xue Laohu's cheek, sending a shiver down the grandmaster's spine.