Chapter Text
Okay, listen. Liu Qingge didn't understand how he got into this situation either.
It all started a few months ago when his sister, Liu Mingyan, sent him a text about a book that had a character with the same name as him in it. Of course, Liu Qingge was a little bit curious and had decided to read it.
What a terrible decision.
"What kind of death is that?!"
The book, Proud Immortal Demon Way, was an absolute train wreck from start to finish.
Plot holes, senseless papapa, terrible character development, and timeline issues. There was nothing in the entire book that was enjoyable at all! Well, nothing except two things..
For one, the creatures and demons are actually interesting and unique. They sound dangerous enough, even if they never even put a scratch on the stupid protagonist (and that's another thing!). In a well written book, Liu Qingge would actually like to see them fleshed out better.
And the second thing is none other than the Peak Lord of Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu.
In the story, Shen Qingqiu is known as the main scum villain; the main antagonist for the protagonist, Luo Binghe, to overcome. In the beginning, Shen Qingqiu was just another low IQ villain with no purpose for his actions other than the fact that the plot needed to move forward. However as the story continued, Liu Qingge could pick up on small innuendo's showing something more; something interesting.
It was already evident that Shen Qingqiu was different from other antagonists from his specialties. While many others would just have their expertise in fighting, he was smart in the way of books, manipulation, and monsters.
Now that's not to say that he wasn't good at cultivation. He is still the second highest in seniority for a reason after all. It's just whenever he has something to say that doesn't have to do with degrading Luo Binghe, it's usually important and exciting.
Of course, since most people just read the book for the amount of unrealistic sex, it seemed that no one except him had picked up on this fact.
In the end, Liu Qingge did start to pity the author because it was clear that they had intentions to do more with the scum villain, but were either forced to take it out or replaced it for what everyone else wanted.
And yet, while Shen Qingqiu had such an amazing setup, the author was so damn lazy with the protagonist! It's just so stereotypical with no sense of creativity! Listen, Liu Qingge gets the fact that this is what sells well, but Luo Binghe was boring. It has even gotten to the point where he's started to dread whenever the protagonist continues the story.
So yes, he did prefer The villain over the protagonist. Shoot him dead for having an opinion.
Even so, with such an interesting villain to back up a basic character should have at least been minorly entertaining, right? Especially with how he needs to be taken down, right?
"I can't believe this!"
There sat Liu Qingge as he clutched his phone tighter as he reread the same section on his phone over and over again.
On his device was the last chapter of Proud Immortal Demon Way. The chapter where everything Shen Qingqiu had done should have finally crashed down on him. It should have been the main focus of the entire thing, right?
No, all he got was a single paragraph! The stupid author just gave him another mediocre death and turned the ending into a fucking orgy! The best character in the entire book was disregarded just like that?!
Liu Qingge felt like shouting. He wanted to throw the phone across the room and never-
CRASH
Suddenly, Liu Qingge turned around to see a man with a mask over his face and a gun in his hand. 'Oh, crap. Am I getting robbed?'
"Put your hands up!" The guy shouted, pointing the weapon towards him. Who did this guy think he was?! He's in his house, trying to rob him, and now thinks he can order him around?!
"Hell no!"
Wait, when he said 'shoot him dead', he was joking!
However, it was too late as the gun's trigger was pulled.
Liu Qingge couldn't believe this! How the hell was this going to be his last moments?! This is the worst possible way to go out, especially right after he finished that God awful book! Damn Meimei, he never should have been introduced to it!
'Stupid author, give Shen Qingqiu the respect he deserved!'
So that's how Liu Qingge spent his final moments.
《Activating code, 'Stupid Author, Give Shen Qingqiu the Respect he Deserved'.》
Wha-
Silence.
————
Liu Qingge didn't know what he was expecting, but the afterlife was a lot more.. empty? At least more empty than what he thought.
Even so, he was sure that he could get used to it. It was quiet, but not mind-numbingly so. Didn't require him to do much, allowing him to finally relax after years of constantly working. School after school, job after job; it was nice to not have to do anything for onc-
《Loading complete! This system welcomes the Host to the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way. We hope to give you the best experience and help you to make this stupid work into a masterpiece!》
…What the fuck?
《Starting transmigration now! Host, please sit tight as this goes on!》
Wait wait wait, what's going on?!
《This system wishes the best!》
This is going too fast! At least explain to him what's happening!
《Good luck!》
And then everything became too bright.
Shit, what did he just get himself into?
————
Liu Qingge woke up in a daze. He shot himself up, looking around the room he was in.
The room was large, but had an overpowering scent of herbs and pastes. There were shelves that were filled from top to bottom with jars of who knows what. The room was oddly beautiful, with patterns of intricate bats that seemed to flow and dance with the wind.
"Liu-Shixiong, you're awake."
Startled by the sudden voice, he quickly turned to see a tall man wearing long robes that draped over his body that made it feel as though his elegance was seamless. He was beautiful, almost overwhelmingly so.
"Mn." What an excellent reply.
The man didn't seem to mind as he moved slowly towards a table, turning his back to Liu Qingge. "Are you thirsty? Have a headache? How's your qi-flow?"
"..Fine." He still had no clue what was going on.
The man didn't seem amused with his answer as his face scrunched up a slight bit. "Apologies, but I don't believe that. Here, drink this." The man handed him a cup of what looked to be herbal tea. "I expect you to stay here while I go get you something to eat." The man glared at him with no heat before he left the room.
"..Where-"
《Greetings, Host! This system is sorry for taking so long to respond.》
"You." Liu Qingge startled, almost spilling the drink in his hands before staring at the screen in front of him, displaying the words. "Where am I? Why am I not dead?"
《Host is so straight forward! (ﾟAﾟ;) But to answer the question, Host is currently at the infirmary of Qiao Cao Peak!》
Is that an emoticon? "Wait, Qiao Cao Peak as in one of the twelve Peaks of Cang Qiong Mountain from PIDW?"
《Precisely! (ˆ▽ˆ)》
"That means.." Liu Qingge paused to think for a second. "I've transmigrated into that bad excuse of a novel?"
《Right again!〔´∇｀〕》
Well shit.
Don't get Liu Qingge wrong, obviously it's.. nice and all to have a second chance at life, but here? He was called Liu-Shixiong by that man which definitely means that he is now the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, the character with the same name as himself.
Didn't Liu Qingge in the book die early on?!
《He did! However, it will be your job to stop that.》
Wha- Can this thing read his thoughts?
《Sure can! So don't worry about having to say things out loud for this system to hear. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧》
That's not comforting at all.
《Hey! (┳Д┳)》
'So.' Liu Qingge squinted at the screen. 'Why am I here?'
Don't get him wrong, he's read his good share of Transmigration Books (not by choice, his meimei forced him to!), so he knows how they usually go.
《...Bound Role: Canon Fodder, Bai Zhan Peak Lord, War God of Bai Zhan, "Liu Qingge". Weapon: the sword Cheng Luan. Starting B-Points: 100》
Is it ignoring him?! Canon Fodder?!
《Host has now triggered the system's punishment protocol. As the plot progresses, various point types will be unlocked. Please ensure your B-Points never falls below zero in the fear of punishment.》
Punishment?
《Currently, Host is merely a beginner. As a result, this system cannot allow them to interfere with the plot too much in fear of B-Point deduction. However, as the plot continues, that feature will be unlocked.》
What would happen if his points reached zero?
《Host would be transported back into his original body.》
The dead one?
《Correct.》
Shit, okay. So he needs to collect more points. Will he get quests?
《Yes! Would Host like to receive his first quest?》
Yes please! 100 is far too little!
As he thought this, the man came back with a tray of food. It smelled amazing for a mostly broke college student who was surviving off of nothing but trash meals for the past few years.
《Side Quest Unlocked: Leaving a Doctor's Office!
Completion is achieved when the host convinces Mu Qingfang to let him leave the infirmary.
Reward: +40 B-Points!》
So that's his name.
"Here," 'Mu Qingfang' said, placing the tray onto Liu Qingge's lap. "Eat something."
"..Thank you." Liu Qingge's throat felt scratchy; as if he hadn't talked for months. He took a sip of the tea before recoiling from the taste. He was so distracted with this that he didn't catch the startled look on the Peak Leader's face. "When will I be allowed to leave?"
Mu Qingfang looked as though he was expecting that question and sighed. "Liu-Shixiong, you just woke up from a qi deviation. I wouldn't recommend that you leave for at least another few days."
"No."
"Liu-Shixiong." The doctor crossed his arms, unamused.
"No. I.. have another mission." That's in character, right? Most of the times that Liu Qingge was mentioned in the book, he was always out on hunting missions.
"You can't just-" Obviously frustrated, he started to talk before the door was slammed open with two figures standing there.
Holy shit, Liu Qingge just felt his heart pound out of his chest.
Why?
"Shizun, this one promises that she's fine!"
"Was Ning Yingying then not captured by bandits yet again? Perhaps she didn't get cuts and bruises."
There stood Ning Yingying, first love interest of Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu, the scum villain. The lord stared poker-faced at his favorite disciple as she continued to whine.
If Mu Qingfang was elegant, Shen Qingqiu was ethereal.
The young disciple pouts, bringing her arm up to show her teacher. "She did, but A-Luo had already helped!"
Liu Qingge watched as Shen Qingqiu's eyes (beautiful, striking, alluring, donning-) darken with dismay at the mention of the name. It seems that Luo Binghe has already been at Qing Jing Peak for a while now. He stuffed his face with the food to distract himself a little.
Shit, does that mean that Luo Binghe already hates Shen Qingqiu?!
《Not yet, Host! There is still time to save Shen Qingqiu! ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶》
Really? Wait- Save? He thought that he wasn't allowed to interfere with the plot too much.
《It seems that this system has forgotten to actually explain. Due to your activation code, your mission, compared to others, is quite a bit different. The code, 'Stupid Author, Give Shen Qingqiu the respect he deserved!', has given you a quest that you start with. After completing this quest, you will be free to live your life in this world however you'd like!》
Liu Qingge thought about this for a second. It wasn't a bad deal at all, only having to complete one quest to be free? There had to be a catch.
《This system promises there is no catch! ◕‿↼)》
..Somehow, Liu Qingge trusts the system even less.
《Host is so mean! o(TヘTo)》
'So what's the quest?'
《Main Quest Unlocked: Save Shen Qingqiu from Eternal Torture!
Completion is achieved when Host manages to stop Luo Binghe from hating and therefore torturing the Scum Villain!
Reward: +10,000 B-Points
Failure Reduction: -50,000 B-Points》
What?! The point reduction is completely unfair! How is he supposed to save him? He's pretty sure in the original book, he was the one to kill his character!
《Host is currently making too many assumptions on Shen Qingqiu's character!》
"Brute."
Liu Qingge's head suddenly snapped to the source of the voice. "Scholar," he felt himself reply as if it was an instinct. Nicknames? Maybe the two of them were closer than he initially thought.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Shen Qingqiu's mouth twitch up in the slightest way. If he wasn't paying attention to every detail of his face, he would have never noticed it. "Still short with your answers I see."
"Mn." Oh God, Liu Qingge really hoped his face wasn't showing any emotions. He felt himself internally flush bright red.
With the slight crack of the window, a gentle breeze blew over the Peak Lord, making his long, silky hair flow to the side with a few loose strands shaping his sharp jawline into a soft curve. His robes held such a striking green that matched his eyes and contrasted with the hair. The paper fan in his hand lightly flapped, painting a picture that Liu Qingge wouldn't forget for years to come.
He looked like he was plucked straight from one of those drama's his meimei used to watch!
As he thought about this, Shen Qingqiu scoffed and turned back to his disciple and the doctor. "Is she alright now? We should be heading back."
Mu Qingfang nodded, patting Ning Yingying on her shoulder gently. "She indeed is fine. Your other disciple did well with the bandaging job."
Even though he was graced with good news, his mood seemed to drop even further. So his hatred for Luo Binghe is already there. Shen Qingqiu set down the fan on the table before combing his hand through the disciple's hair fondly as she preened under the attention.
"Then we have no further business. Come, Ning Yingying; perhaps there will still be some food left for you. If not, you may share dinner with me."
The young girl beamed, nodding frantically. "Yes, Shizun!"
As they left, Liu Qingge heard Mu Qingfang let out a deep sigh. "That Shen-Shixiong, holding petty grudges.."
Oh, he wouldn't exactly call them petty.
Shaking off that feeling in his chest, Liu Qingge turned back to Mu Qingfang. "May I leave?"
"Shixiong, you can't just-"
"I'm busy." Maybe if he keeps circle talking to him, he'll let him leave!
After staring at him for a little, the doctor sighed and shook his head. "Fine. However, I want you to report to me as soon as you feel anything out of the ordinary, alright?"
"Mn." Holy crap, it actually worked!
"At least finish your food." He looked like a mother scolding their child.
After stuffing his face with the best food he's had for years, Liu Qingge got up with little difficulty. He almost went through the door before he noticed something.
Shen Qingqiu's fan.
As he stared at it for a second, the system screen suddenly popped back up with a new quest.
《Side Quest Unlocked: Return the Lost Fan!
Completion is achieved when Host gives the fan back to Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu.
Reward: 20 B-Points》
He thinks about this mission and internally smiles.
'An opportunity to talk to Shen Qingqiu again!'