Chapter 024: Shameless!

Yan Shu was utterly speechless, but she’d grown accustomed to being struck by lightning, so she looked up at the heavens and asked, “What do you want?”

A silent bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, pointing toward the direction of the Supreme Peak in the southwest.

Understanding its intent, Yan Shu dared not linger and immediately mounted her sword, flying slowly toward the Supreme Peak. Injured and short of spiritual power, her flight was sluggish, but the thundercloud followed her, showing a hint of humanity—it didn’t strike her again.

Only when she reached the Supreme Peak did the thundercloud disperse overhead.

Weak and drained, Yan Shu returned to her quarters. Using the last of her spiritual energy, she cast a cleansing spell, then collapsed onto her bed, utterly devoid of vitality.

The heavenly thunder had forced her back, which meant Xiao Jihan had also returned. Yan Shu felt a vague sense of foreboding. Judging from the will of the heavens, whether Xiao Jihan wished to kill her or not, she was destined to remain as his backup supply, always kept ready.

Moreover, it seemed she couldn't stray too far from him.

Thinking of this, Yan Shu felt even worse. If she truly couldn't be far from him, then... then where was Xiao Jihan when she was bathing in the Spirit Spring?

No, no, don’t scare yourself.

The original novel made it clear: Xiao Jihan was a man of integrity, always adhering to the principle of “do not see what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not speak what is improper, do not do what is improper.” He wouldn't even peek at a woman bathing, and if he heard a woman calling for help, as long as it had nothing to do with him, he’d simply ignore it.

Uh...

Thinking it over, perhaps he wasn’t quite so righteous after all.

Regardless of his character, the point was that even if he were nearby, he wouldn’t have glanced her way, especially since she had set up a ward.

Yan Shu’s mood calmed. If the heavens insisted she remain by Xiao Jihan’s side, she would truly have no freedom, and worse, she’d be in constant danger.

The novel was told from Xiao Jihan’s perspective, and having read it, Yan Shu understood his thoughts well.

He had suffered since childhood; before gaining strength, no one but his mother showed him warmth. Deep down, he was a child starved for affection. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so happy when the original protagonist said she’d take him as her direct disciple, packing up and coming to the Supreme Peak with such enthusiasm.

Yes, with great enthusiasm.

Though he rarely showed emotion outwardly, the novel spent many words depicting his joy at that moment. He even thought, with only himself and the protagonist on the Supreme Peak, he would serve her well.

The happier he was then, the deeper his hatred became later.

The original protagonist succeeded in making him utterly disappointed in humanity, leading him to enlightenment and severing all emotional ties, focusing solely on cultivation.

Although the book never explicitly stated that Xiao Jihan cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, Yan Shu felt it was close enough. The novel was filled with female supporting characters, each devoted to Xiao Jihan, willing to crash into walls for him.

As it was no longer fashionable for heroes to have harems, Yan Shu once invested her hopes, but even after Xiao Jihan ascended and the novel ended, there was no sign he ever reciprocated the affections of any female character beyond mere friendship. In the end, he left everyone behind and ascended alone.

The first time she read it, Yan Shu was indignant over this, so much so that she reread the entire book, hoping to find some sweetness in the story.

But she found no sweetness—only herself ending up here.

So she understood Xiao Jihan’s mindset well. He no longer believed in genuine emotion; he believed all love and hate had underlying motives, that anyone who treated him kindly must have an ulterior motive.

If she were him, having experienced so much, she’d feel much the same. The problem was, with such a mindset, he was destined not to trust easily, and his goodwill could vanish at any moment.

If she made the slightest mistake, he would react like a startled bird, eager to eliminate the threat.

Perhaps this was why the heavens refused to give up—they waited for her to slip, so Xiao Jihan could devour her in one bite.

Pah, devour her in one bite—it was clearly to make her nourishment for his spiritual root.

Having recovered a bit of spiritual power, Yan Shu sat up and began to cultivate and heal her wounds.

Her mutated lightning spiritual root gave her some resistance to heavenly thunder, and the frequent lightning strikes actually made her tougher.

Residual heavenly thunder still rampaged within her body. Yan Shu concentrated, guiding her spiritual energy to repair her damaged veins, but inadvertently allowed some of the residual thunder to join the process.

A surge of tingling numbness swept through her, reminiscent of microcurrent therapy from her previous life.

Yan Shu raised her brows in surprise, discovering that the areas touched by the thunder healed even better than with pure spiritual energy alone.

It seemed being struck by lightning wasn’t entirely without benefits.

Yan Shu closed her eyes and focused on healing.

When she opened them again, it was already morning. Most of her injuries had healed, so Yan Shu summoned her Nine-Section Lightning Whip. It still appeared pitch black.

The Nine-Section Lightning Whip was her life-bound spiritual treasure. Since the residual heavenly thunder could heal her wounds, it might also benefit the whip.

Yan Shu gripped the whip and tentatively channeled the remaining heavenly thunder through her spiritual energy.

But at that moment, it was as if a crack had opened in a dam filled to bursting—not only did the residual thunder pour forth, but all the spiritual energy she’d recovered overnight surged into the whip.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if her thunder and spiritual energy had merely found an outlet, or if the whip was intent on draining her dry.

Soon enough, Yan Shu was utterly depleted, so drained she couldn’t even lift her arms.

Looking at the whip, now restored to its original form and even twisting about in satisfaction, Yan Shu couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “You really are like a scoundrel.”

The Nine-Section Lightning Whip understood nothing of her jokes, but it was attuned to her mind. Its tail lifted and gently brushed her cheek.

Yan Shu was amused, reached out to stroke it, then put it away.

This strange world of cultivation was, after all, quite interesting.

She stood and went to find Xiao Jihan; the Brahma Secret Realm would open in a few days, and she needed to inform him.

Now, with the plot beginning to diverge, and judging from yesterday’s events, the heavens were so furious they’d even punish their favored son. If she disrupted his fortune, it would be more than just a few lightning strikes.

When Yan Shu arrived, Xiao Jihan was refining pills. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw the negative affection value hovering above his head: -35 (disgust).

Yan Shu curled her lip. The protagonist was truly a dog—she’d taken a heavenly thunder strike for him yesterday, nearly lost half her life, and only gained five points of goodwill!

As Yan Shu grumbled, Xiao Jihan, who sensed her arrival, stiffened slightly.

“We can live well together,” “I only want you,” “You’re all I want”—these three phrases echoed in his ears like a curse, tormenting him all night, making it impossible to calm his mind even while cultivating.

His handsome face showed irritation as he gritted his teeth and muttered, “Shameless!”

Yan Shu, just stepping through the door: ???