The Substitute Female Supporting Character Sees the Bullet Screen

Chapter 54

Inside the Blood Moon Tower, Feng Hanying opened his eyes from meditation upon hearing footsteps ascending the stairs. His irises, devoid of any light, made him appear eerily numb.

He already knew who the visitor was from the sound of the footsteps.

The palace door was gently pushed open, and Feng Hanying asked irritably, "Why are you here again? Haven't you made up with Master yet?"

"Thanks to you, we had a big fight," Nie Yinzhi replied offhandedly.

They hadn’t actually argued. Nie Yinzhi had already let go of her anger, but she wasn’t ready to move back yet—she didn’t want to sleep with the devil.

Nie Yinzhi had originally thought that if their conflict remained unresolved, she could stay by Gu Jiang’s side, even if he was devoid of love, until her life ended. She had believed she could endure it.

But she never expected that she would be the first to reach her breaking point.

Gu Jiang hadn’t been cold toward her. He had done his best to express his affection, but some gestures born of genuine emotion were no longer possible.

When they kissed, the fervent embrace she once felt was gone.

She walked into the dark hall and climbed onto the soft couch Feng Hanying hadn’t yet removed. After cleaning her hands, she picked up a piece of the snack she had given Feng Hanying as a gift and began nibbling on it. She noticed Feng Hanying’s expression growing darker, almost matching the obsidian stones in the hall, as if he wanted to kick her out.

"How did you end up on the demonic path?" Nie Yinzhi suddenly asked.

Feng Hanying frowned. "Why are you asking that?"

"Just curious. Someone as lazy as Gu Jiang—how did he end up taking you as a disciple?" Nie Yinzhi’s teeth got stuck on the pastry, and she spent a moment poking her tongue around her mouth before continuing, "Gu Jiang said he picked you up randomly."

"That’s true," Feng Hanying admitted, relaxing his posture as he leaned back on the obsidian throne. "When I was about seven, some men from my village went grave-robbing and brought back a plague. The sores from the disease seemed alive, spreading rapidly. To stop the outbreak, the entire village was sealed off. Oil barrels were rolled down from the mountains, and the village was set on fire."

"Once people died, the sores would leap onto the living. My parents stuffed me into a water vat. Before the fire could kill me, the sores covered my entire body. I was the only one left alive. The sores couldn’t escape, so they clung to me as I rolled in the flames. Those things could kill, but in that moment, they also saved me. My body was completely covered in sores, and though the fire sizzled against them, the heat nearly melted me, but it couldn’t kill me."

"I was in agony, praying to gods and buddhas, but they were useless. So I turned to demons. Master said he heard my cries and found them annoying, so he came to silence me." Feng Hanying smirked. "But my throat was already burned—I couldn’t even cry out."

"That’s how he picked me up. I lived with him in a valley for eight years. After I built my foundation, he left without a word."

Nie Yinzhi hadn’t expected Feng Hanying to have suffered so much as a child. She jumped off the couch and approached him, patting his head in the same way Gu Jiang used to comfort her. She handed him a plate of snacks. "I told you praying to Gu Jiang, the devil, is more effective than praying to gods or buddhas," she said, sounding oddly proud.

Feng Hanying instantly retreated several feet, his expression darkening. "Who are you patting? Do you think I’m a dog?"

Nie Yinzhi: "..." Keep talking.

Feeling unappreciated, Nie Yinzhi sat back down, took a sip of water, and tentatively asked, "Did Gu Jiang guide your cultivation? I didn’t think he’d teach anyone."

Feng Hanying snorted without hesitation. "Of course not. He wouldn’t. The master leads you to the door, but the cultivation is up to you."

Nie Yinzhi bit into the pastry fiercely. That damned devil, that liar. He had once told her that he was guiding Feng Hanying through a bottleneck and had said something against the natural order, which led to him being struck by lightning.

She cursed him in her heart but pretended to be curious. "Without Gu Jiang’s guidance, how did you channel demonic energy? How did you sense the Blood Moon Shadow?"

She had once unintentionally drawn out the demonic energy from the Red Leaf Blade. She had tried several times since, even sneaking back to the oasis and staying in a paper body, holding the Red Leaf Blade. The blade had hummed in her arms, but she couldn’t summon the Blood Moon Shadow again.

Feng Hanying extended his pale, paper-like hand from his sleeve, toying with a strand of Blood Moon Shadow energy. "It’s the same as how you open your spiritual channels to draw in spiritual energy."

This space was entirely independent. While secret realms still had to abide by the deeply rooted rules of the natural order of the world, here, such rules did not apply. All the rules were dictated by Gu Jiang, as if he were the embodiment of the natural order itself.

Like the natural order.

Gu Jiang's fingers tightened under his sleeve. Beneath the tightly wrapped robe, a soft sensation gently caressed him. He swallowed, his expression remaining calm and composed as he spoke in an unruffled tone, "Have you made your decision?"

"This is nothing short of a high-stakes gamble," Han Jing replied, turning back to sit in the pavilion.

"Regardless of the outcome, I will ensure your safety," Gu Jiang said lightly, his promise carrying an inexplicable weight that made it easy to believe him.

In this struggle against the natural order, Han Jing was merely a conduit between the two forces. Having cultivated for nearly a millennium, he no longer feared life or death. Yet, the instinct to survive was inherent to all living beings. Until the very last moment, he would not give up easily, nor did he wish to die in confusion.

"I naturally trust you, Senior," Han Jing said, puzzled. "But if you have already transcended the cycle of the natural order, why would you willingly step back into it?"

"If I had truly transcended it, I wouldn't be sitting here discussing this with you," Gu Jiang replied. Since his fall into demonhood, he had been under the oppressive weight of heavenly might. It wasn't enough to kill him, and over time, he had grown accustomed to it. He could endure it for thousands or even tens of thousands of years without issue.

If it weren't for Nie Yinzhi...

The sensation on his body grew more pronounced, and Gu Jiang's expression shifted slightly, though his eyelashes trembled involuntarily. He lowered his arm beneath the table, folding his sleeves in front of him. Nie Yinzhi—she was getting bolder with her touch!

Han Jing, completely oblivious to reading the room, continued to chatter annoyingly, "The heavenly might you mentioned, Senior, that you endure constantly—is it similar to the pressure one feels before a tribulation?"

Gu Jiang nodded. "Indeed... it is somewhat similar," he said, struggling to steady his breath.

"So it's like enduring the pressure of a tribulation while constantly wrestling with the natural order?" Han Jing looked at him with admiration. "Since the Mystic Soul Sword emerged and the heavenly might descended again, it's been less than a year, and I can barely withstand it. Yet, you've endured this for a millennium. Truly remarkable."

Nie Yinzhi seemed to flick the golden leaf with her fingertip, and Gu Jiang inhaled sharply, nearly doubling over. Han Jing finally noticed something was amiss and asked with concern, "Senior, are you...?"

Before he could finish, he was thrown out of the space.

In Wu City, a hundred miles away from the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, Han Jing's consciousness abruptly returned to his body. He opened his eyes, bewildered, as the heavenly might pressed down on him, nearly crushing his neck.

Han Jing summoned the scabbard of his Mystic Soul Sword and ran his fingers over it. Despite the overwhelming heavenly might, his back remained straight, and the sword intent within his meridians surged like a roaring river. He was growing increasingly eager.

Inside the Blood Moon Tower of the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, Nie Yinzhi toyed with the golden leaf for a while. A warm, lingering emotion seeped through their shared connection. Gu Jiang's thoughts were sparse, as if suppressed by something—perhaps he was truly asleep.

But even in sleep, the sensations from his body were transmitted through their emotional link. Nie Yinzhi rested her wrist on the pillow, staring closely at the leaf for a moment. Her heart raced faster and faster. She hesitated for a long time, so long that she was on the verge of exploding from the thoughts swirling in her mind before she even acted.

Finally, she closed her eyes, mustered her courage, and leaned forward, opening her mouth to gently take the leaf between her lips.

Gu Jiang's figure appeared at the bedside just in time to witness this scene. The sensation was transmitted to him instantly, without the slightest delay.

"Nie Yinzhi..." Gu Jiang's knees buckled, and he half-collapsed to the floor beside the bed.

Nie Yinzhi's eyes snapped open, and she found herself staring wide-eyed at the man kneeling before her.

Nie Yinzhi: How thrilling?

Gu Jiang: Thrilling enough to make me kneel.

Nie Yinzhi immediately wished she could dig a hole and bury herself in it.