◎ You Protect Me ◎
The original book wrote that inside the Open Door, there was a streak of sword intent left behind by the Nether Demon Lord back when he was still a top sword master.
However, that was after he had entered the Open Door.
In the very beginning, it was said that the inside of the Open Door was a weapon burial mound.
Any disciple who entered this place and managed to claim any divine weapon would gain supreme assistance.
But that young sword master looked down on them.
He pulled out divine weapon after divine weapon, but was dissatisfied with every single one. Feeling they were unworthy of the title "divine weapon," he destroyed them all. Before leaving, he incredibly arrogantly left behind a streak of his own sword intent within the mound.
His implication was: if this weapon mound inside the Open Door was meant as a reward for disciples, it was far from qualified and nowhere near as powerful as his sword intent. He might as well be the one to leave a reward for any future generation capable of receiving it.
He turned himself from a reward recipient into a reward granter.
Jing Fengliu had only used a few brief strokes to gloss over this background at the time. Essentially, the author wanted to show how frivolous and unrestrained the male lead's father was in his youth, demonstrating that even when he was still a righteous figure, he already had a lot of "personality."
With its master being so fierce, that sword intent naturally wouldn't be weak either.
It would indiscriminately attack everyone who entered the Open Door, like an untamable wild horse.
But half of the blood flowing in the original male lead's veins belonged to the Nether Demon Lord. Therefore, after the male lead walked in, the sword intent immediately submitted to him, voluntarily accompanying him and protecting his body.
As an "outsider," Yingshi obviously wouldn't be treated favorably. Thus, before entering the Open Door, she cautiously retreated behind Shuangjian, carefully tugged at the corner of his clothes, and instructed, "According to the original text's description, after the door opens, although the sword intent won't attack you, it will immediately strike down at your feet. That strike will be very sudden, so don't be scared. I'll wait for you outside..."
But even having made such mental preparations, just waiting outside the door, she could feel the blinding white light that scattered like an explosion the second the door opened.
Moreover, that light never faded, constantly maintaining an intensity that made it impossible to look at directly, because...
The stone door never closed.
Shuangjian was still standing at the entrance, unable to completely take a single step inside.
It wasn't that he didn't want to walk in; rather, he was truly blocked in place by that incredibly overbearing sword intent.
The blazing white sword glare was the physical manifestation of the sword intent. At this moment, it slashed down toward Shuangjian's head with a terrifying posture. Its trajectory and force were entirely aimed at killing him, showing no sign of recognizing a master at all. It completely contradicted the book's plot where "the sword intent submitted to his bloodline the instant it struck in front of Shuangjian"!
This meant that this sword intent did not acknowledge Shuangjian's identity; it still wanted to attack him!
Shuangjian's right hand was firmly grasping the edge of that sword glare, no different from holding a physical sword blade.
Warm blood flowed down through his fingers along with his grip, not staining the sword body formed by the white glare in the slightest. It all dripped straight onto the ground, flowing into the raised dirt mounds embedded with countless broken swords and ruined weapons, adding a bloody and bizarre atmosphere to this literal "weapon mound."
Her ears were instantly filled with the clanging sounds of trembling weapons, and Yingshi's soul trembled along with them. Could it be that the sword intent could recognize Shuangjian's soul as a transmigrator, and therefore refused to submit to him?
Seeing Shuangjian injured, she could no longer stand idly by. At this moment, she couldn't care less about whether it was dangerous or not. She hurriedly rushed to Shuangjian's side, attempting to fight against this sword intent together with him.
And in the very next instant after she arrived, Shuangjian's body swayed slightly, and he stumbled half a step backward. His arm holding the sword glare seemed overwhelmed by the heavy burden, lowering bit by bit in front of him to a position that Yingshi could reach without even having to stand on her tiptoes.
Yingshi immediately supported his arm with her hands. She was almost scared to death by the situation before her. Shuangjian had always been a master strategist, thriving in the cultivation world just like the native cultivators. In her heart, he was an existence akin to a super expert who was both a teacher and a friend. When had he ever shown signs of being outmatched?
This sword intent was actually this powerful?!
"Yingshi..." Shuangjian's voice was extremely light, sounding laced with weakness. He even proactively requested, "Hold my hand..."
Just supporting his arm was no longer enough. Yingshi fully realized how urgent the situation was. She took a swift step forward and, without hesitation, covered it with her own hands, tightly grasping that aggressive sword glare—as well as Shuangjian's endlessly bleeding hand.
The moment she grasped it, Shuangjian's wrist suddenly flipped, and at a clever and powerful angle, he locked onto her palms in reverse.
Their ten fingers intertwined tightly, trapping the sword glare between their palms, locking it securely.
Yingshi felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy, not daring to breathe even an extra breath. She could clearly feel the indescribable coolness of the sword glare. Unlike metal, it was more like flowing water, staining between her fingers together with the blood from Shuangjian's palm, and then, spreading little by little.
Spreading to her arms, her limbs, her torso...
"Eh?!"
Yingshi's eyes widened perfectly round. In her astonishment, she tried to immediately pull her hands away, but Shuangjian held her tightly. The area of the sword glare "climbing" over her body finally grew larger and larger, eventually covering her entire body, turning into a glowing, restrained warm light that softly enveloped her.
"Why is it me?!" Yingshi just wanted to shout. How could she become the person chosen by the Nether Demon Lord's sword intent?!
Hasn't everything been thrown into chaos?!
No matter how wondrous the feeling of the sword intent protecting her body was, she had no fortune to enjoy it. Only unease and panic remained in her heart.
After Shuangjian let go of her hands, she immediately shook her whole body, as if wanting to shake off the "golden cheat" tangled on her body. However, the faint white light flashed on her body several times before finally disappearing, melting into her body and becoming a bound item that could only be consumed and could not be stripped away.
Inside the Open Door, the countless broken swords and ruined weapons that were ringing incessantly just a moment ago all fell silent at this moment, without a single sound left.
"What do we do?" Yingshi couldn't help but let out a crying tone in her voice. She abruptly looked up at Shuangjian. "Shuangjian, this should be your sword intent. Did I do something wrong? Why did it tangle onto my body? What will you do? A month from now..."
"Don't be afraid." Shuangjian gently squeezed her palm. His voice no longer held the previous sense of weakness as he comforted her, "The sword intent chose you, so it is your serendipity."
"But this is your life-saving talisman!" Yingshi said anxiously. "Without the sword intent protecting your body, how will you face the Nether Demon Lord's fatal strike?"
If Shuangjian lost his life because of this butterfly effect... No, she couldn't possibly allow such a thing to happen!!
In her agitation, she even went to grab Shuangjian's palms that had been cut by the sword glare.
Shuangjian allowed her to grab them. He lowered his eyes to look at his palms that were still slowly seeping blood, and quietly used his spiritual power to heal the wounds.
"It's no matter," he said softly. "I still have you to protect me, don't I?"
"I will protect you..." Yingshi stared at Shuangjian's face, her mind already beginning to rehearse the scene of her epic battle with the Nether Demon Lord. That image... uh.
She nodded blankly. "...Okay!"
Whatever! Shuangjian's safety would be left to her to protect!
Isn't he just a crazed old widower?
As long as she could ensure they didn't die at his hands in a month's time, there would be plenty of opportunities for revenge in the future.
After all, "I See Frost and Snow" was a level-up novel all about getting revenge!
Even though she couldn't be a high-damage warrior or mage, with the blessing of sword intent, she could at least be a high-defense tank, right?
At worst, when Shuangjian was about to take a hit, she could just step in and act as a meat shield!
"I will definitely protect you well, Shuangjian!" Yingshi firmly completed her vow.
For this coming month, she would put herself through hellish training to improve her strength, and of course, Shuangjian's own strength couldn't be neglected either.
Right now, she had already snatched two of the opportunities from the three good gates, while the number Shuangjian had obtained was actually zero!
Whatever it took, she had to make sure Shuangjian got his hands on the opportunity in the only remaining Gate of Life!
...
Things did not go as planned.
Before this, Yingshi had never understood this idiom so profoundly.
But—
"Why won't any of them give face?"
Facing the rows of silent, colorful eggs in the Gate of Life, Yingshi felt deeply frustrated.
They had finally found the Gate of Life and wanted to pick the spirit pet that belonged to Shuangjian from among these divine eggs of the Holy Spirit Mountain. But now, the scene was suffocatingly awkward. All the eggs remained perfectly still, like students bowing their heads to avoid the teacher's gaze during a question in class, or like the lights being turned off one by one on a dating show. Not a single egg wanted to leave with Shuangjian.
Wherever Shuangjian walked, the nearby eggs would all roll away. An incredibly excessive drama of isolation was playing out in the Gate of Life.
If it were just this, Yingshi could still accept it, because that was how it was written in the original book. Jing Fengliu absolutely loved the trope of suppress first, rise later, so when the original male lead entered the Gate of Life, not a single divine egg was willing to choose him either.
But just as he was lonely and mocking himself, a distinctly different, snow-white divine egg radiating golden light rolled to his feet. It later hatched into a supreme-quality divine eagle, becoming his capable partner as he roamed the cultivation world.
And now, Yingshi had clearly and sharply spotted that egg that was supposed to have a role among the crowd of eggs. However, it was acting like a diva, remaining so motionless that it was infuriating. Yingshi even wanted to go over and push it herself.
What a bunch of eggs with no eye for talent!
Shuangjian was so much better than the original male lead. Why couldn't he get even a single vote!
Yingshi felt a sour ache in her heart. She wanted to comfort Shuangjian, but at this moment, even saying something like Just wait a bit longer, an egg will definitely realize and choose you felt hurtful.
Meeting Shuangjian's lonely gaze as he stood in the empty space and turned to look at her, and hearing his quiet Forget it, Yingshi, Yingshi couldn't bear it any longer. She instinctively rushed to Shuangjian's side, covered her head with her hands, pretended to be a big egg, put on a smiling face, and whispered, "Shuangjian, choose me!"
Sure enough, Shuangjian smiled at her again, hooking his finger around the one she extended, playing along with her little sitcom of mutual selection.
Yingshi was just feeling satisfied that she had successfully saved Shuangjian's good mood when she heard him say, "Since we are here, we shouldn't return empty-handed. You give it a try. If you can get the blessing of a spirit pet, it will also be of some help to us when we face the Nether Demon Lord in the future."
"...Okay." Yingshi nodded, sighing silently.
To be honest, she felt a bit uncomfortable. She had taken all the benefits, while Shuangjian was left looking pitiful. On this trip to the altar, he had only suffered in the Gate of Injury and been trapped in the Gate of Hiding.
She took Shuangjian's place, waiting for the eggs to throw an olive branch. It felt a bit like attending an interview, and standing there, she inexplicably felt a little nervous.
But gradually, that nervousness turned into apprehension, then into anxiety, and finally, she simply became sulky.
Why wasn't any spirit pet choosing her either? Was she that lame?
Even Shuangjian couldn't help but frown when he saw this scene. Yingshi didn't want this awkward silence to continue, so she called Shuangjian and was about to walk away. However, the moment she took a step, a flashy, colorful egg suddenly rolled over slowly from the corner.
This egg was among the largest of all the eggs. No matter what their true forms were, be it a mouse or an elephant, the creatures of the Holy Spirit Mountain were all born from eggs. The more powerful they were, the longer they had to incubate in the egg, just like Nezha.
Generally speaking, the size of the egg couldn't determine the quality of the spirit pet, but the eggshells of powerful spirit pets were basically all quite special.
The one that rolled over to choose her now was so colorful, which was truly rare. Perhaps it was an incredibly powerful divine egg that hadn't even been written about in the book!
Yingshi excitedly waited for it to roll to her feet. She scooped it up in her arms and quickly shared the good news with Shuangjian, failing to notice the subtle expression that flashed across his face.
Immediately after, the eggs that had previously been indifferent suddenly began to move, swarming and rolling towards Yingshi in the center.
"It seems there are quite a few spirit pets willing to follow you. You can only take one out, so you might as well choose carefully," Shuangjian said.
"No need! I believe in fate, so I'll just take this one that chose me first!" Yingshi smiled brightly, hugging and rubbing the egg. "It's quite heavy, I wonder what it is! Could it be a legendary mythical beast like a Black Tortoise or an Azure Dragon?"
"..." Shuangjian touched his nose and said nothing.
