Chapter Text
Proud Immortal Demon Way.
The horrendous, plothole-filled, stallion novel that Shen Yuan regretted to admit that he had spent so much time obsessing over.
And no! It was not because it was good, it was solely because of its countless plot holes, plot devices, unfinished backstories, unnecessary subplots, and questionable ‘papapa’ scenes that had him practically spewing steam from his ears with rage from each updated chapter. It was purely hate reading!
With each chapter he read, he’d immediately go straight to the comments and bash ‘Great Master’ Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky for his lazy and hack writing.
Because what kind of cultivation world had people using horses and carriages all day? What kind of cultivation world had people who, after achieving inedia, still needed to eat and sleep? What kind of cultivation world had an author who occasionally mixed up even the stages of Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul?
And why did every woman in the entire novel grovel at the protagonist’s feet? Why was it the second even a hint of his scent was released that every Omega in the region laid on their backs?! Couldn’t this be deemed as some kind of Omega slander!? Stallion novel or not, this was too much!
Not to mention every cannon fodder character seemed to immeidately lose at least 100 IQ points the second the protagonist stepped into the scene! All of them just kept digging their own damn grave! Constantly throwing physical abuse when the protagonist was still a sweet little white lotus, and then being stupid enough to try and do it again once he darkened and became OP!
Though the character that Shen Yuan absolutely despised the most, Shen Qingqiu, the damn scum villain himself!
The bastard had been key in Luo Binghe’s darkening, constantly abusing him physically and verbally, locking him in a woodshed, and having the rest of his peak disciples gang up on the poor boy along with him! All because the damn scum was jealous of the protagonist’s OP-ness! Seriously, did no one in the world of Xianxia give a damn about child abuse!? To make it even worse, his character was complete shit even without the protagonist there to make him lose IQ points! He was a perverted man who had even tried to push himself on Ning Yingying, one of Luo Binghe’s first and most popular wives! He was constantly going to brothels, and even killed his own sect brother! The worst of the worst, a true scum among scum!
And to pay for his crimes, the villain had been turned into a human stick! Every one of his limbs was torn off by the protagonist along with an eye and his tongue, his legs were even sent to Yue Qingyuan, the sect leader of Cang Qiong Mountian, luring the only character that had actually had the ability to take Luo Binghe down, straight to his death of ten thousand arrows piercing his body! Not even leaving behind a skeleton to bury! All courtesy of his scum villain Shidi!
Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t enjoy self-degrading, nor was he a masochist! But how could anyone quit such a dumpster fire of a novel?! It was like watching a training wreck on repeat, no matter how terrible it was, or how clearly simple it would be to make the entire situation better if someone (cough, Airplane Shooting Toward the Sky, cough), would just put in the effort to try and make it at least a halfway decent novel with a mediocre plot!
His rage was inconsolable! “Dumfuck author, dumbfuck novel!” Even through his rage, his weak constitution was no match for the expired yogurt in his fridge.
What a stupid way to die! Expired yogurt, really? Of all of the illnesses and struggles his body had gone through in his nineteen years of life, it was yogurt that finally made him keel over!?
In the endless darkness, it was a voice that was creepily familiar to google translate that caught his attention.
[Activation code: “Dumbfuck author, dumbfuck novel” System automatically triggered.]
“Who is this?” Shen Yuan looked around. It seemed like he was floating in space, infinite darkness that made it impossible for him to even see his hand in front of his face.
[Welcome to the System. This System operates in line with the design concept “YOU CAN YOU UP, NO CAN NO BB”, we hope to provide you with the best possible experience. It is our sincere wish that during your time, you can fulfill your desires and in accordance with your wish, transform a stupid work into a magnificent, high-quality, first-rate classic. We hope you enjoy.]
System? What the hell kind of system was this!?
“A-Yuan, what are you doing sleeping right now?”
Wait where is he?
“Why are you ignoring your Gege? Answer me!”
Whose his Gege!?
At first, he tried to spring up from the grass that he now saw he was laying on, only to find that even moving his arms proved difficult and a rising ache began to ignite in his very bones.
The boy who had yelled at him seemed to notice his struggle and swiftly knelt next to Shen Yuan’s prone body, placing a gentle hand on the middle of his back, rubbing down the expanse of his spine until the pain lessened a little and Shen Yuan was able to sit up correctly.
Looking around, he had apparently been asleep under a willow tree. From the placement of the shadows in the east, he could tell that it was getting later into the night.
From a distance, he could see a bustling small town, despite the sun setting, people still were mulling around and conversing naturally.
Then suddenly, he remembered what happened, he had died, hadn’t he? Yet here he was, alive. He’d hit the jackpot, he had transmigrated! But to where?
Finally, his gazing rewarded him with a swift flick to the forehead from the boy that had yelled at him. Shen Yuan cried with indignation, his hands immediately flying to protect his head while his eyes throbbed from the pain of the migraine that was currently making itself at home.
The boy that Shen Yuan still did not know the name of quickly got to scolding him. “A-Yuan. You ran off, what were you thinking? I told you to stay put, why don’t you listen to me? You think you’re big enough to disobey your Gege?”
My Gege? You’re not my Da-ge or my Er-ge! I don’t know who you are, so don’t call me A-Yuan either! Also, stop scolding me! I just woke up! Shen Yuan groaned as he lowered his hands, only to shriek at what he saw. He was small! Like super kid like small! Why was he in a child’s body!?
The boy noticed his shock as he waved about his hands and looked himself up and down, so with grimy hands, the bigger of the two grabbed the smaller by his shoulders and forced him still. “A-Yuan, are you sick? Were you hurt somewhere, why are you acting so strange?”
Before Shen Yuan could bring himself to answer or just start screaming about his luck, because how had he won the chance of a lifetime to be transmigrated, but into the body of a child!? The same robotic voice that sounded far too much like google translate spoke again.
[The system was successfully activated! Bound Role: Xiao-Shi; Shen Yuan. Orphan; slave. Age: 7. Gender domination: Undetermined. Confidants: Yue Qi; fellow slave/adopted elder brother, and Shen Jiu; fellow slave/elder brother. Starting B-Points: 100.]
“Fuck, fuck! You’re speaking directly into my brain! Tell me where I am right now!”
Of course, Shen Yuan didn’t speak out loud, but the system swiftly responded.
[This System welcomes, user to Proud Immortal Demon Way. You have triggered the systems execution command. As the plot progresses, various point types will gradually become available. Please ensure that no score falls below zero, or the system will automatically administer punishment.]
Shen Yuan could feel his face pale. Does Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky know Proud Immortal Demon Way’s setting is being plagiarized like this!?
Composing himself, Shen Yuan tried to focus on the holographic screen that was floating at his side. “I’ve never heard of a character named Shen Yuan or Xiao-Shi in Proud Immoral Demon Way, or any characters named Yue Qi or Shen Jiu… and we’re slaves right? So, no one in this novel really does give a damn about child abuse.”
He couldn’t believe this! He had been given the chance of a lifetime, and he was just cannon fodder! Though, this probably was the safest option he could’ve had. At least as an irrelevant side character, he could live out his life in relative peace! He wouldn’t have to worry about facing the major plot points of this trash novel!
Not to mention, he had no clue where he was in the storyline anyways, for all he could know, Luo Binghe had long since conquered the three realms and Shen Yuan had been lucky enough to miss the carnage.
And he could finally check out all of the animals, flora, and other supernatural entities that had been one of the sole reasons he kept so dedicated to such a dumpster fire novel.
Though before Shen Yuan could even begin to get excited about the possibility of seeing all of the natural assets of this novel, a swift flick to his forehead once again drew his attention back to his migraine.
Shen Yuan immediately covered his forehead again, his voice shrill as he shouted at the boy that he now knew was Shen Jiu, his Gege. “Stop it!”
“Then stop spacing out! I asked you what happened, you were flailing around for a second. What’s wrong with you? If you’re hurt, tell me. If not, don’t you dare run off again, what if someone caught you, huh?”
Shen Jiu, the boy that was apparently his older brother. Shen Yuan couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia at the tone of voice. It was the same way his Da-ge used to scold him whenever he’d try to escape his room at the hospital in favor of going out to some convention going on nearby.
It never did work out in his favor, and he was always dragged back to his hospital room with his Da-ge scolding him in a way that Shen Yuan knew was his way of showing love.
Shen Yuan couldn’t help but feel guilty now, he wondered who it would be to find him back in his world. He really hoped that it wouldn’t be his Da-ge… “Sorry… I won’t do it again, I’m not hurt.”
Shen Jiu seemed to relax at the confirmation, scoffing as he stood and didn’t wait to grab Shen Yuan’s hand and pull him up. Only for the boy to crumple the second he put any weight on his legs, a searing hot pain erupted from the limbs that once felt numb, and Shen Jiu caught him before he could fall to the ground.
Shen Jiu’s scowl returned and he immediately went to inspect the tatters of Shen Yuan’s pants and his legs, instantly finding ugly bruises of all sizes starting from his ankles further to the flesh of his waist. “You told your Gege you weren’t hurt! You’re such a terrible liar, who did this to you?!”
How am I supposed to know!? I just woke up here! And why must you always yell, Mean-gege! That’s what you ought to be called!
Though before Shen Jiu could yell anymore or Shen Yuan could try to come up with some bullshit, another voice shouted from where a tall and thin youth came running over. “Xiao-Jiu, you found him! A-Yuan, why did you run off? You made Qi-ge and Xiao-Jiu worry.”
That must be Yue Qi. “You shut up! I told you to let me kill those damn little bastards!” Shen Jiu shouted furiously, glaring at Yue Qi as though he was solely responsible.
Mean-gege, why are you yelling at him now!? He just got here too! How angry of a person are you!?
Yue Qi immeidately looked defeated before he even scanned over the ugly bruises that marred Shen Yuan’s legs, which only seemed to make the older boy feel worse as his face scrunched.
Shen Yuan really hated that kind of expression.
It was the same one that his parents always shared when the doctors would inevitably give them the sorry news that their youngest son, was still nothing more than a sickly shell of a man.
Shen Yuan quickly turned his head to look at the, still scowling Shen Jiu, with a scowl of his own. “Don’t blame Qi-ge! He didn’t do anything!”
Shen Jiu seemed surprised at the sudden outburst, as though expecting Shen Yuan to just stay silent about all of this. Seriously, just how cowardly was the original flavor? Child or not, why let your older brother constantly yell?
Yue Qi on the other hand did nothing but smile as he knelt next to Shen Yuan and opened his arms out as though requesting a hug. One Mean-gege and one Sweet-gege, why did this already feel like some kind of trap?
Regardless of his hesitation, and still having almost no clue of who these two boys were, Shen Yuan still allowed Yue Qi to wrap his arms around him before he lifted the younger up easily and set him on his hip.
Yue Qi still smiled even when he turned to face the sour-faced Shen Jiu, who Shen Yuan held his breath not to laugh at. Because who could blame him!? The boy was just standing there with his arms crossed and a pout on his face! “Xiao-Jiu, let’s go to the river a bit away, it’ll be best if we can make sure that A-Yuan’s bruises don’t get infected.”
Shen Jiu rolled his eyes at the statement, though he inevitably was the first to head in the direction of the river. Yue Qi followed closely behind and Shen Yuan took the advantage to look around thoroughly.
He had been obsessed with Proud Immortal Demon Way, whether he enjoyed admitting that fact or not. So, he even was a VIP veteran member, which meant he got special content not available to others, such as maps created by ‘Great Master’ Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky of the entire world of PIDW.
But so far, there was nothing around them that even gave away a little hint of where they were! Don’t tell me that hack of an author was so insufferable that even the maps he made were illegitimate! Shen Yuan mentally lit a candle for himself.
They hadn’t walked all that far when they finally came upon the river, Shen Jiu still looked just as paranoid as when they first left, and Yue Qi was still smiling when he set him down at the bank of the river.
“Be careful A-Yuan, the Luo River is normally cold this time of year.” Yue Qi warned him, but Shen Yuan was nothing but ecstatic. The Luo River! The famous river where the protagonist was sent adrift as an infant! Did this mean that there was a chance that he could meet the protagonist as a baby if he was in the right timeline?!
Shen Yuan didn’t even get the chance to test out the temperature of the water before a handful of the freezing water was poured over his head. Startled, he instantly tried to shuffle away, only for a hand to grab his shoulder and effectively begin scrubbing at his face.
“Hold still! You have dirt all over your face. You’ll get sick again!” Shen Jiu scolded, pinching Shen Yuan’s cheek each time the boy whined or tried to pull away. Off to the side, Yue Qi merely watched with a sympathetic smile as he scrubbed his own arms and face.
Though Shen Yuan couldn’t help but find this unfair, screw it if he was in the body of a seven-year-old! He could clean himself! “Gege! I can do it myself!”
Shen Jiu scoffed at him as he scrubbed off the final bit of dirt on the boy’s face, finally backing off enough to let Shen Yuan wipe his face with his arms and gently clean the dirt off his own legs while he began to scrub at himself.
Though as Shen Yuan gently wiped his legs clean, cringing at the state of his limbs and the various bruises, he couldn’t help but take a long look at his reflection. He couldn’t say that he was particularly eye-catching, his hair was long, or at least longer than it had been in his original body, and black, completely pitch black, something Shen Yuan couldn’t tell was natural or because of the dirt in his hair. It was very clear he was a street urchin, his skin was ashenly pale and it wouldn’t be far off to say that he was the equivalent of a human toothpick.
There was one feature about himself that did effectively catch his eye. Well, more so his eyes. They were two different colors. His right eye was a dark navy blue that could almost be considered black in the right lighting, and his left eye was a pine color, not dark enough to be considered black in the right lighting like his right eye, but a stark enough shade to become brighter when he moved his face towards the light.
“Hey, System?”
[How can this humble System be of service?]
“Can you tell me about the original flavor? What happened to him?”
[In the original world of Proud Immortal Demon Way, Xiao-Shi died due to malnutrition and infections caused by wounds inflicted by human traffickers and other slave children, after enduring life on the streets from infancy up to seven years of age, Xiao-Shi ran away to hide only to die due to his weak immune system before the age of presentation. He was then later found by Shen Jiu, which inadvertently led to the locked plot line ‘Dark Path Awakening’]
Of course, it was just his luck that he had been born into a sickly body in his first life, spending the majority of his young life in a hospital bed while his body had all but given up on him by the age of ten. But now he was reincarnated into a body even worse than his original!
“System, why am I called Xiao-Shi and Shen Yuan?”
[Xiao-Shi is the name given by the human traffickers who own Xiao-Shi, Shen Jiu, and Yue Qi. The name Shen Yuan was given and kept by Shen Jiu.]
That makes sense, it’s easier to remember grimy children by number rather than name. Shi; ten. Jiu; nine, and Qi; seven, and if Shen Jiu was an actual blood relative to the original flavor, it made sense that he’d already have a name to call him that wasn’t a number given by the human traffickers. “System, are there any character profiles I can look at for Shen Jiu and Yue Qi? Maybe why Shen Jiu gave me a name other than what the human traffickers did but not himself?”
[Of course! Shen Jiu, age: 11. Gender domination: Alpha. Confidants: Shen Yuan; younger brother, Yue Qi; close friend. Abandoned at the age of four with infant Shen Yuan by their parents, Shen Jiu continued to call his younger brother by his name while inadvertently forgetting his own when they were kidnapped by human traffickers.]
“Ah… So shit parents. That sounds about right for this kind of setting, and I’m guessing that human traffickers aren’t normally prone to keeping infants that they can’t sell or use in any way, so why didn’t this body die then?”
[Shen Jiu was helped by an elder female slave and Yue Qi during Shen Yuan’s infancy until she was sold and the children and human traffickers moved.]
Shit, this just kept getting more depressing!
Clearing his head and moving past the depressing backstory regarding himself and his Gege, Shen Yuan kept his focus on the task at hand. “Tell me about Yue Qi.”
[Yue Qi, age: 12. Gender domination: Alpha. Confidants: Shen Jiu; close friend, Shen Yuan; close friend/adopted little brother. Yue Qi grew up in the human trafficker ring, no other information is known about this character at the time!]
They really were just cannon fodder! Whatever, it didn’t matter. At least he knew who the two boys were now, and why one was called Qi-ge and the other his Gege.
“You said that I can’t let those B-Point things fall below zero, or punishment would be administered. How do I gain B-Points? And what is the punishment?”
[Failure to complete a mission or B-Points reach zero will result in immediate account deletion and the user will be sent back to his original body.]
There was no need to ask what that meant, deleting this ‘account’ meant killing this body of his, and his original body and already perished. So, in simple terms, if his points fell below zero or he failed to complete whatever ‘missions’ there were, he’d die, for real this time.
“Do I have any missions now?”
[Objective 1; Survive! Gain B-Points by eating and staying safe!]
Alright, that was simple enough, he just had to stay out of trouble and help Gege and Qi-ge find food.
[Objective 2; Be the best little brother! Keep Shen Jiu from unlocking the ‘Dark Path Awakening’ plot line!]
He was almost too scared to ask what the ‘Dark Path Awakening’ plot line was, having already seen the start of growing anger issues that Gege of his had, he couldn’t help but shudder at the idea of him going down a darker path than the one they were already on!
[Objective 3; Awaken new instincts with presentation!]
Hold on. Presentation!? Shit! He completely forgot about that! He was only seven in this body, so it made sense that he hadn’t yet presented! But that didn’t mean he wanted to go through anything like that again!
In his original body, he had been so sickly from the time of his toddler years to the very moment of his death. He’d presented as an Omega, but only barely. His body had practically failed to fully present and all but noped out on him immediately after his presentation heat, leaving him a broken Omega.
Not that he had been upset back then! He knew from early on that the likeliness of him ever living a normal life was slim to none, and the mere fantasy of ever having a mate was even slimmer. So, he’d been content to just live his life practically as a Beta, just with heightened instincts, scents, and a severely more sensitive sense of smell.
But now he had to go through all of that shit again!? Maybe if he got lucky, he’d really just be a Beta this go around.
Before he could ask any more questions, a wrist pressed against his neck. He almost jumped away until he realized that it was Shen Jiu. The boy looked rather focused and Shen Yuan couldn’t help but relax into the simple familial gesture.
From his other side, Yue Qi placed his hand on top of Shen Yuan’s head, the scent gland on his wrist scenting his hair and the nape of his neck. His gesture was far gentler than Shen Jiu’s, though no less thorough in the act of scenting. “From now on, A-Yuan needs to stay with either me or Xiao-Jiu, just until your legs are better.”
Shen Yuan’s had no protests against that, his legs still ached terribly and he didn’t know just how safe it would be for him to be alone in general. The original flavor had died after being beaten not only by the human traffickers but by the other slave kids after all!
“Of course he will, that’s how it should’ve been in the first place!” Shen Jiu chimed in bitterly, the boy all but slapping Yue Qi’s wrist away from the younger as he hauled Shen Yuan to sit in between his legs. Using his now clean, and cold fingers to detangle the knots in his air.
Mean-gege, why are you so hostile towards Sweet-gege? What did he ever do to you, hm?
Yue Qi on the other hand didn’t lose his smile, only his eyebrows creased and he looked down shamefully. “It’s this Qi-ge’s fault, I thought it would be safer for A-Yuan to stay near the less trafficked streets.”
Shen Jiu only nodded with an affirming sniff. “I told you that he should have just stayed with me, he can’t cry on demand but he’s smaller and cuter, people would show more pity.”
Are they seriously just going to talk about me like this when I’m right here!? I’m a person too you know Geges’!
Yue Qi looked away with a defeated expression, and Shen Yuan couldn’t help but get the feeling that the idea of using him as a better begging tactic was not something his Qi-ge agreed with. “I know, I just thought it would be safer, I’m sorry.”
Before Shen Jiu could say another thing that would likely want to make Shen Yuan smack him, the boy chimed in. “I’m not mad at Qi-ge! Gege shouldn’t be mad at him either, it wasn’t his fault.”
Shen Jiu scoffed at the statement and Yue Qi immediately looked like he felt better. “A-Yuan you’re so naive, you’d forgive anyone for anything, wouldn’t you?”
“No! But Qi-ge didn’t do anything wrong! It’s not like he asked those kids to beat me up,” A sharp tug of his hair made him yelp. “Ow! Gege!”
Shen Jiu didn’t verbally apologize for the slight against his hair, instead petting the spot soothingly as he raged. “I knew it was those little bastards! They already had the audacity to try and take my territory, and you still won’t let me kill them!” His words were no longer directed at Shen Yuan, but at Yue Qi, who looked just as equally upset as Shen Jiu sounded.
“A-Yuan won’t go near them alone again. But we can’t just kill people, Xiao-Jiu.”
“Of course, you’d say that! Look at his legs! He can’t walk! Those little bastards probably would’ve killed him if they really tried and you wouldn’t give a damn, would you!?”
Gege, too far! It’s like you also know the original flavor's intended fate!
Yue Qi looked genuinely hurt at the accusation, and Shen Yuan immediately spun around to the best of his abilities to scold this elder brother of his on his Qi-ge’s behalf. “Gege don’t speak like that! You’re being too mean, you’re acting like Qi-ge beat me up! You can’t blame him for the actions of others! Say you’re sorry!”
Shen Jiu looked like he could spit blood as he glared at his little brother. “A-Yuan!”
“Shen Jiu!”
Oh… either that was the right move, or the really wrong one because his Gege’s face changed from black to green to white to red all in one moment. Even Yue Qi looked as though he was in complete shock, and Shen Yuan couldn’t help but try and shuffle away.
Of course, he didn’t get anywhere before Shen Jiu was already dragging him back to his spot by his shoulder, where he then received a sharp flick to the forehead, making his eyes throb from the migraine that had only recently dissipated. Seriously, could his Gege not hit anywhere else!?
While Shen Yuan whined over his headache, Shen Jiu turned him around again and continued with his hair. “Sorry.” It was not a poetic masterpiece of an apology by any means, but he still apologized! It had to be a win of some caliber! Yue Qi still looked as surprised as before, only now, he was smiling with a hint of relief in his expression.
[Teach A Valuable Lesson, B-Points earned: 100! Keep up the good work!]
All he had to do to earn B-Points was scold his big brother and stay alive? This would be easier than he thought!