Shu Fu was deeply troubled.
Not long ago at the Qi residence, she had unleashed a flurry of iron fists, fierce as a tiger, beating Qi Yuxuan until he looked like a mangy dog. That had finally put him in his place for a good while.
But after only a few days apart, how had he reverted to his original state, lost in the delusion that “Jiang Ruoshui is hopelessly in love with me,” unable to pull himself out?
Narcissism is a disease. It needs a cure, brother.
Meanwhile, Qi Yuxuan was scrutinizing her with growing doubts.
Ever since their last falling out, when the third master Qi confessed and was executed, and Shu Fu had scolded him mercilessly, he did feel guilty. So he obediently called off the engagement, planning to elope with his true love, Fang Wanqing, and become a perfect couple bound by fate.
Cherish life; stay far away from Jiang Ruoshui.
However, when he told Fang Wanqing about the broken engagement, she didn’t seem relieved like him. Instead, she sighed with worry.
“Yuxuan, you don’t understand a woman’s heart. ‘Beating is affection, scolding is love.’ The harsher she treats you, the deeper her love runs. Unrequited love breeds hatred.”
“Believe me, Jiang Ruoshui does love you, but because of the feud between your families, she can’t express it.”
“If we get together in the future, she’ll probably try to interfere.”
Qi Yuxuan was currently in the throes of a love-induced brain fog. He couldn’t bear to see her so troubled, so he swore to the heavens, uttering a long string of tender and heart-wrenching words, declaring his firm resolve to sever ties with Jiang Ruoshui.
He was already soft-hearted by nature, and now, having a tense encounter with Shu Fu at the lecture hall, he was even more convinced by Fang Wanqing’s worries.
Why else would Jiang Ruoshui, who should be comfortably enjoying life on Yaoguang Peak, come all the way to the lecture hall to mingle with scattered cultivators if not to get close to him?
Pfft.
He and Wanqing were a perfect match, a destined couple — who cared about some witch trying to get in the way?
Just as Qi Yuxuan was about to say a few more harsh words to make this deluded woman back off, Shu Fu calmly turned her face away and asked Bai Tian, “Young Master Bai, are you hungry?”
“Ah?”
Bai Tian was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized, “A little.”
“Here.”
Shu Fu placed a hand on the storage pouch at her waist and took out a small basket of freshly dew-kissed spirit fruits and a specially prepared food box from Yaoguang Peak, handing them to Bai Tian.
“There are several days’ worth of provisions inside, along with some medicinal pills for your recovery. This should help you live comfortably for a while.”
Qi Yuxuan—
The wind was so cold.
His face stung.
From beginning to end, Shu Fu hadn’t even glanced at him once.
In her eyes, his presence was probably worth less than a lunchbox — or even less than the chicken tail inside one.
Qi Yuxuan thought to himself, so this must be the so-called “love turns to hate” thing… but something didn’t quite add up.
He couldn’t help but start doubting Fang Wanqing’s judgment.
Beside him, Fang Wanqing furrowed her brows slightly, a hint of surprise flickering in her eyes, as if she too found Shu Fu’s reaction unexpected.
But after all, she was a refined lady from a noble family. Even if she harbored resentment, her outward grace and composure remained flawless.
She stepped forward, lowering her brows and lashes, and gracefully clasped her hands in a polite bow.
“Daoist Jiang, it’s an honor to meet you.”
Shu Fu returned the bow without a hint of emotion.
“You’re too kind.”
Facing this so-called "male lead’s white moonlight," she naturally wouldn’t feel the same sorrow and despair as Jiang Ruoshui did, but her emotions were still somewhat complicated.
In the original story, the "white moonlight," Fang Wanqing, the eldest daughter of the Fang family, was not initially a malicious or brainless supporting character.
From birth, she was like a celestial being on a cloud—talented, beautiful, well-connected, and deeply loved by the male lead.
To a Cinderella like the female lead, unloved by her biological father and persecuted by her stepmother, Fang Wanqing held a condescending kind of sympathy and never saw her as a rival.
That was, until the male lead’s affections shifted elsewhere.
From Fang Wanqing’s perspective, she thought she was the queen, only to be single-handedly defeated by a bronze-level player. All her money spent leveling up turned into a joke, and she almost broke down and quit the game.
After that, she turned her back without hesitation and joined the ranks of the villainous supporting characters.
As a top-tier player, Fang Wanqing set trap after trap. Not only did she secretly collude with other antagonists, but she also turned the female lead’s only close friend against her, exiled the female lead to the Demon Realm, and managed to maintain a spotless reputation while becoming Qi Yuxuan’s partner, achieving perfect harmony in life—and even succeeded in creating offspring.
Among all the villainous supporting characters throughout the story, she was undoubtedly the most formidable.
But no matter how powerful she was, it couldn’t stop the female lead from turning the tide, reducing the white moonlight to a mere speck of rice, and once again, the male lead left her behind to happily unite with the female lead in a happily-ever-after.
Like all malicious supporting characters, Fang Wanqing ended up with nothing. She was expelled from her sect, lost custody of her son, and fell into the hands of the male supporting character, the Demon Lord, with a tragic and unspeakable ending.
At the time, many readers cheered, celebrating the justice served, but Shu Fu only felt a bit disheartened.
The female lead fought over scraps, and even after winning, what was there to be happy about?
So this time, she sincerely hoped to walk away unscathed before any enmity with Fang Wanqing arose, wishing her and Qi Yuxuan a lifelong bond, early blessings of children, and a love that lasts forever.
Rivalry and catfights?
Not happening.
Why would anyone willingly eat garbage when things are just fine?
Was it that Liu Ruyi wasn’t beautiful enough, Jiang Xuesheng not charming enough, the merman senior brother’s singing not sweet enough, or the white-haired senior brother at the door not alluring enough?
Shu Fu’s expression when looking at garbage was priceless.
Qi Yuxuan: “”
Fang Wanqing must be overthinking, he thought. No matter how he looked at it, the girl before him was staring at him like he was a slimy slug.
Who in the world would fall in love with a slug?
For the first time in his life, Qi Yuxuan felt the sting of being looked at like a slug. Feeling a bit frustrated, his mind went blank, and he blurted out a random excuse.
“This Fang young master is Wanqing’s clan junior, always humble and refined. I wonder where he offended Miss Jiang. Miss Jiang, you pride yourself on chivalry—how could you bully someone weaker like this?”
“”
Shu Fu paused mid-step, quickly switching to a “looking at an idiot” expression, tilting her head with a half-smile and a sideways glance. “Humble and refined my foot, Qi Yuxuan. Drinking like this in broad daylight?”
Last time it was the third uncle and cousin, now it’s the future brother-in-law. This male lead really never learns his lesson—he forgets the pain as soon as the wound heals.
If he doesn’t get a few more beatings, he’ll never realize how blind he is.
“What?”
Qi Yuxuan genuinely looked bewildered—his blindness was well-deserved.
“Open your eyes wide and take a look. The footprints on the white young master’s body haven’t even been wiped off yet.”
Shu Fu grabbed Bai Tian’s arm and gave him a shove forward. “Fang Han takes great care of my sister but greets fellow disciples with his feet—that’s really refined of him. They say those who aren’t family don’t enter the same door. Looks like Young Master Qi usually greets people this way, so he’s just used to it.”
Qi Yuxuan was momentarily stunned, then belatedly turned to Fang Han. “You laid hands on Young Master Bai.”
Fang Han was still reeling from the sharp pain of the broken egg—gritting his teeth, he tried to defend himself, “Brother Qi, I—I just lost control in the heat of the moment.”
His gang of scoundrels immediately swarmed forward, chattering loudly to back him up.
“That’s right, Bai Tian has always been arrogant in Qingcheng, barking orders at us. Everyone’s had enough.”
“Fang Gongzi is just standing up for us.”
“This has nothing to do with Miss Jiang. You barging in blindly without knowing the facts is just unreasonable.”
“Ah!”
Shu Fu raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Using numbers to bully the few, shameless and despicable—anyone would be justified in beating you up for it. Isn’t that common sense? What other reason do you want?”
“You—”
“Enough. Let’s keep it simple, everyone.”
Shu Fu didn’t bother negotiating further. With a flick, his solitary gleaming sword spun half a circle, the tip pointed forward. “Young Master Bai has a bad temper. If you have grievances, settle them. If you have grudges, resolve them. I wholeheartedly agree. Why don’t you all step outside and have a one-on-one duel with Young Master Bai to vent your pent-up anger?”
The crowd was speechless.
What a joke.
If dueling worked, would they still gang up on him?
Although Bai Tian’s talent was mediocre—half his cultivation owed to hard work, the other half to the precious materials the Bai family scoured the world for—it was still better than nothing.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse; a broke Jack Ma is still richer than you. The cultivation world is harsh and brutally realistic.
The crowd was annoyed.
One young man couldn’t help but retort, “Bai Tian comes from a good background and has better resources, so he advances faster. We can’t beat him one-on-one. Does that mean we have to swallow our pride forever?”
Shu Fu was waiting for that. “Fine. How about you duel me? I’m still officially not even a disciple of the Jiang family, dirt poor and alone—easy pickings. Don’t worry, you have no shame, I have some. I promise I won’t call on Master Tan Hua for help. It’ll just be me against you.”
The crowd was silent.
Yeah right, as if you’re easy to bully.
Under the crushing might of socialist iron fists, the boys’ fragile pride was shattered in an instant.
They whispered among themselves, exchanging glances. Though none dared speak up, their hearts were already pounding retreat drums, each instinctively shrinking back into the crowd.
Fang Han, however, was gifted and young, with a bit of a street punk’s rogue spirit. “She’s already beaten me like this, and you want to talk about rules and honor?”
“Yeah, yeah! Let’s all jump in and avenge Fang Gongzi!”
“There are five of us. How could one girl stand a chance?”
Fang Han’s words woke them from their daze. Though ganging up on a female cultivator was a little embarrassing, if it was to avenge a brother’s broken eggs, a sudden burst of passion and reckless force could be forgiven.
Alright, opportunity knocks but once. Now’s the time to make a move and teach her a lesson.
Fang Han’s chickens and eggs must not be sacrificed in vain.
The leader of the group—a brainless fangirl with a gap-toothed smile—raised his arm and shouted a battle cry, charging forward with his sword.
He still wanted to save face, so before striking, he loudly called out, “Excuse me!” Then, he thrust his sword and its scabbard straight toward Shu Fu’s face.
“”
Shu Fu seemed not to hear a thing, standing still. Just as the scabbard was about to touch his eyes, he deftly tilted his head back to dodge, then grabbed the boy’s slender wrist like a little chick’s and twisted it forcefully in the opposite direction.
The boy let out a miserable “Aow!” as his fingers relaxed, and the long sword dropped with a clatter.
Without waiting for the sword to hit the ground, Shu Fu lightly flicked his toes, hooking the falling blade, grabbed the scabbard with one hand, and fiercely shoved the sword backward.
“Waaah!”
The hard hilt struck another boy sneaking up from behind right in the stomach, nearly making him spit out sour bile on the spot.
The third boy saw this and quickly changed tactics, lowering his body and center of gravity, swinging his sword fiercely at Shu Fu’s lower body.
But his sword had only swung halfway when Shu Fu lightly jumped, planted one foot on the blade, and with the other foot followed up with a twisting high kick—his toe making intimate contact with the boy’s cheekbone, instantly producing the unmistakable sound of a cracked skull.
Honestly, that kind of experience was quite rare.
“Yu Xuan!”
Fang Wanqing, sensing things were going badly, quickly grabbed Qi Yuxuan’s arm and pleaded softly, “They’re all my brother’s friends. Please help them, Jiang, don’t hit them anymore.”
Qi Yuxuan had by now realized Fang Han’s group was clearly in the wrong and felt that, since his own cultivation far surpassed Jiang Ruoshui’s, pressing the advantage would be bullying. He hesitated somewhat.
But when the white moonlight—the object of his affection—spoke, he naturally could not refuse. He brushed his sleeve and was about to step forward.
“Miss Jiang, I misunderstood just now. Please show mercy—”
Before he could finish, Shu Fu grabbed the collar of the fourth boy and threw him over his shoulder with a shoulder throw, slamming him hard onto the ground. The boy’s legs flailed wildly in the air and happened to kick Qi Yuxuan right in the eye socket, causing him to stagger backward, falling onto his back.
“Love.”
But it wasn’t over yet. Shu Fu held a chicken in his left hand and a duck in his right, then grabbed the fifth person—Fang Han’s high ponytail—and spun him around like a windmill, rotating a full 360 degrees before releasing him. Fang Han flew straight through the air, flailing his arms and legs wildly, and once again landed a precise hit on Qi Yuxuan’s face.
And this time, it was head-to-head, face-to-face, that awkwardly close position so commonly seen in Japanese manga when the male and female leads first meet.
“”
In an instant, the once deafening lecture hall fell utterly silent, not a single sound to be heard.
Because the scene before them was truly unbearable to look at—horrifying beyond words, impossible to describe on Jinjiang. Anyone attempting to do so would only face their chapter being locked and awaiting revision.
“”
Fang Wanqing’s face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling as if she was about to burst into tears.
Or maybe she was about to cry from shock.
No wonder, Shu Fu thought.
Just from the scene before her eyes, it looked like she had been cuckolded by her own sycophantic little brother.
To be fair, that was pretty terrifying.
“Ugh, uh…”
Though Fang Han was a seasoned sycophant, he had never thought of showing such devotion in such a physical way.
He scrambled up hurriedly, only to feel a sharp pain at the back of his head as Shu Fu jabbed him with the sheath of her sword, forcing him uncontrollably forward to pin Qi Yuxuan firmly to the ground.
Shu Fu smiled gently, “Don’t rush, Young Master Fang. Since you like Brother Qi so much, why don’t you two get a little closer?”
The hardcore head-pressing squad, come rain or shine, delivering you lip-to-lip intimacy.
She originally wanted to press a little longer, but just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the lecture hall. Several disciples from Tianxuan Peak, responsible for enforcing order within the sect, strode in briskly and shouted sternly,
“Why the uproar? The lecture hall is a place for learning and cultivation. Who dares cause trouble here?”
“Fellow Daoists, it’s Jiang—”
Qi Yuxuan was about to speak when a leading female disciple scanned the room. She saw the injured scattered everywhere, shouting and clamoring, but only Shu Fu stood calmly among them, her gaze thoughtful for a moment before she sneered coldly and bluntly declared,
“Ah, so it’s the classic case of the many bullying the few, ganging up to beat someone. Seems like you don’t take the Jiuhua Sect seriously at all. With all your swagger, why come to Jiuhua Sect to seek apprenticeship, only to carve out your own territory and set up your own sect? Isn’t that even better?”
“Junior brothers and sisters, detain all those injured here. Tonight, they will spend the whole night in the lecture hall copying the Jing of Serenity to sober up properly. If they offend again, they will be expelled from the mountain.”
Qi Yuxuan was speechless.
“No, no, it wasn’t us who ganged up on her,” Fang Han finally managed to lift his head, hoarsely protesting, “It was her alone who attacked all of us.”
The female disciple replied coldly, “Do you take me for a fool? You were armed to the teeth, yet her sword remained sheathed at her waist the entire time. You tried to gang up on her but failed, getting beaten by someone unarmed. If I were you, I’d be so ashamed I’d have taken my own life by now. Take them away.”
Spicy as always, Tianxuan Peak really had no mercy. Shu Fu felt that once they arrived, she was completely off the hook.
So she didn’t linger. Watching Fang Han and his gang wail like banshees, she brushed off her clothes, then walked straight over to Bai Tian, whose expression was one of stunned disbelief.
She said solemnly, “Young Master Bai, you came here alone to learn your skills, no doubt to temper yourself. But there’s a big difference between being strict with yourself and letting others walk all over you.”
“From now on, if anyone treats you like they treated those people, remember to treat them the way I treated them.”
With that, she turned to the Tianxuan Peak disciples, cupped her fists in salute, and without looking back, swept through the crowd like a gust of wind and vanished outside the door.
Gone with a flick of the sleeve, hiding her name and presence.
Of course, to prevent Bai Tian from being targeted again, she had secretly slipped a special pill called the “White Phoenix Pill” into his lunchbox, concocted by Jiang Xuesheng using a single tear from Liu Ruyi.
The effects of the medicine last for three days, during which a person feels mentally invigorated and incredibly strong—capable of punching ten opponents at once, just like her.
As for what happens after those three days, well, that depends entirely on Young Master Bai’s own fate.
By the way, Liu Ruyi’s saliva can actually be used as a medicine too, but many straight men just can’t stomach the idea, and Liu Ruyi herself finds it disgusting.
So every time Jiang Xuesheng fires up the furnace to refine pills, he has to bury Liu Ruyi in a pile of onions, making her cry enough to fill a water jar.
After that, in the time leading up to the trial…
Since making a trip to the preaching hall, Shu Fu has been training even more diligently.
One reason is to further hone her iron fists, so she can confidently face multiple opponents at once.
The other reason is to avoid drawing Qi Yuxuan’s attention.
You have to understand, although this male lead is a bit eccentric, he’s the genuine article when it comes to being a “Dragon Soaring the Heavens”—a prodigy with extraordinary talent and overwhelming fate. Later in the story, feats like moving mountains, splitting the heavens, and reshaping the earth are no big deal for him. He stands at the pinnacle of combat power in the entire book, embodying the phrase, “Trading a lifetime of intelligence for sheer fighting strength.”
“Golden scales are not meant for the pond; when the wind and clouds rise, they become dragons.” That’s exactly what this means.
Although the original female lead was also talented, her role was mainly to suffer—suffer, suffer, then fall into darkness. She was even crippled once by a vicious female antagonist, losing her cultivation and meridians, ultimately failing in the path of immortality.
The female lead with combat strength doesn’t need that kind of nonsense.
Even if she turns dark and fights the male lead, the focus won’t be on brute strength, but on their love-hate relationship. And in the end, the male lead will definitely be the one to kill the female lead.
In response, the newly appointed female lead Shu Fu declares:
Watch my lips: hetui
She aims to let Qi Yuxuan experience the feeling of “A dragon’s roar shaking the heavens, a meeting of wind and clouds in shallow waters,” changing the future where the female lead suffers one-sided abuse.
Instead of letting the male lead be the Dragon Soaring the Heavens, she’d rather be the one.
No one but her can let her be wronged.
No one.
Shu Fu throws herself into her training with the seriousness of someone preparing for college entrance exams and graduate school tests, meditating and practicing swordplay with fierce determination, even wishing she could use her sleeping hours for training.
She even asked the little panda, “Do you have those kinds of dream demons that can enter your dreams and teach you while you sleep?”
The little panda said no.
Unable to train or kill in dreams, Shu Fu felt very disappointed.
But she didn’t give up. After successfully adjusting her schedule, she discovered that a Qi-cultivator only needs four hours of sleep to stay energetic all day. The higher the cultivation level, the less sleep is needed.
Shu Fu set herself a modest goal: twelve hours of training daily, running a hundred kilometers, circulating her internal energy a hundred times, and swinging her sword three thousand times. Three months later, she sliced through the waterfall where her Shark Brother was in seclusion, going to the Water Curtain Cave behind it to visit him.
A gentle, heavenly-voiced male mermaid—who wouldn’t like that?
Unfortunately, the Third Senior Brother is said to be shy and rarely leaves his cave. He often stays in seclusion for years at a time, a true homebody among fish. The only way to see him is to break the barrier set at the cave entrance—that is, the waterfall itself.
Shu Fu said, “Let me take a look, I want to take a look.”
During this process, Jiang Xuesheng and Liu Ruyi did not intervene at all; she was left to act freely on her own.
“If it’s something she wants to do herself, you have to let her do it,” Jiang Xuesheng said. “Enduring hardship and grinding through difficulties, like polishing jade until it shines. She understands this truth better than anyone.”
The ghost Tian Xin couldn’t help but complain, “This little sister is really something—more ghost-like than a ghost. I’ve never seen anyone be so harsh on themselves.”
A passing fellow disciple muttered, “Being harsh on yourself is good. First, toughen yourself up; only then, when you face the Master of the Peak, will you be able to withstand it.”
“Exactly. The first time I went through it, I was in pain for half a month and couldn’t even get out of bed.”
“Half a month? Back then, I couldn’t even sit. Just touching a chair would send me into unconsciousness from the pain.”
Shu Fu
Wait, what exactly does “it” refer to?
I suspect you’re talking about something risqué, but I have no proof.
Later, she learned that the so-called “it” was basically a euphemism for “opening the Ren and Du meridians.”
Jiang Xuesheng’s method was rather unique—basically, it was painful. Very painful. Excruciating to the point of tearing one’s heart apart, burning the five internal organs, feeling like death and rebirth, worse than death itself.
Many people never experience such agonizing pain in their lifetime; it’s indescribable and can only be imagined wildly, with all sorts of exaggerated comparisons. Men say it’s like giving birth; women say it’s like cutting off one’s own genitals.
It is said that if you’re harsh enough on yourself from the start and have a solid foundation, the pain can be somewhat alleviated, but it’s still far more painful than any risqué activity.
Shu Fu thought to herself, this is worse than anything risqué.
And so, after mercilessly pushing herself for three months, the Xianyun Terrace opened, and the initiation trial proceeded as scheduled.
Before heading to the Xianyun Terrace for the gathering, Shu Fu came to the waterfall where her third senior brother was in seclusion. After hesitating for a moment, she ultimately did not raise her sword to knock.
She really wanted to see this senior brother.
Under the Tanhua Sect, there were four direct disciples in total, making them a family of five.
In other words, this shy and introverted merman senior brother should be her third “family member” in the Jiuhua Sect.
But, it would be better to wait until she officially joined.
With this thought, Shu Fu made up her mind and turned around, drifting away gracefully.
She didn’t notice that in the pool behind her, quietly and silently, a fish head popped out.
The fish head bubbled, blinking a pair of very expressive big eyes, and muttered to itself in a somewhat confused tone:
“Little junior sister left, but I’ve already set up the cave, just waiting for her to come by.”
