Leaning against the wall, Xi Cui held a bowl in her hand, shoveling rice into her mouth.
The sun was scorching.
She felt like a salted fish under the blazing heat, drenched in sweat that dried only to soak her again. A shake of her clothes would send salt crystals scattering, and her whole body reeked of rotting fish and shrimp.
The bowl was piled high with coarse rice, topped with fermented black beans and greens—barely any oil in sight, utterly unappetizing. Especially after Xi Cui caught sight of her own thickly haired arms, her appetite vanished completely.
A perfectly fine young woman had somehow transmigrated into the body of a burly man. No matter how strong her mental fortitude, this was too much to handle. She was no longer that soft, sweet-smelling girl. Now, her gender was male—a towering, bearded, dark-skinned brute.
All of this happened because she had read a web novel called The Imperial Physician’s Daughter.
The story was well-written, following the female lead, Wu Huaifei, as she practiced medicine and saved lives, culminating in her happy ending with the male lead, Gao Qian. The plot was full of twists, dramatic confrontations, and satisfying takedowns—especially the humiliations heaped upon the antagonist, Wu Xicui, a character who shared Xi Cui’s name.
Xi Cui had spent three days engrossed in the novel, thoroughly entertained. The only oddity was that the villainess, Wu Xicui, shared her name exactly.
Every story needed side characters to drive the plot, and Wu Xicui was one of them.
She was the female lead’s ungrateful, unrelated younger sister—plain-faced, envious of the male lead, and a textbook malicious antagonist who constantly schemed against the heroine.
The shared name was just a coincidence, and after a brief moment of discomfort, Xi Cui shrugged it off.
But what she never expected was that after finishing the novel late at night, closing her phone and preparing to sleep, she transmigrated—straight into the story. Worse, she was bound to an icy system that demanded she seduce the novel’s second male lead, Wei Tansheng.
Xi Cui: "Can I refuse?"
System: No.
This was a joke. She had never even been in a relationship—how was she supposed to know how to seduce anyone?
But the system behaved like a true, emotionless AI.
Without another word, it dumped her here—Qingyang County, atop Piao’er Mountain, in a bandit stronghold.
She had become a fearsome bandit.
No matter how much Xi Cui protested—Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? If I had to transmigrate, shouldn’t I at least be Wu Xicui? What’s with this bandit nonsense?!—the system remained unmoved.
After a thorough self-inspection, Xi Cui had no choice but to accept her tragic fate: she was now a muscle-bound brute, tasked with seducing the novel’s gentle and refined scholar—Wei Tansheng.
Wei Tansheng was a somewhat legendary figure in the story.
The Wei family had served as officials for generations. When he was ten, Wei Tansheng accompanied his father, Wei Zonglin, to take up a post in Qingyang County.
Qingyang County was remote, and bandits often ambushed travelers on the roads. Spotting the boy’s fine clothes, the bandits kidnapped him. By the time Wei Zonglin rescued his son, it was too late—Wei Tansheng’s leg had been crippled, leaving him with a permanent limp.
No one knew exactly what had happened to him in the bandit stronghold.
But the ordeal left deep psychological scars, leaving him unable to sleep through the night.
Half a year later, the Wei family sent him to Kongshan Temple to be cared for by Master Liaoshan, where he devoted himself to Buddhist study.
At eighteen, Wei Tansheng returned to the capital, though he still lived as a monk.
Steeped in Buddhist teachings, he was compassionate and charitable. Combined with his delicate, almost feminine beauty, the capital’s people nicknamed him "Little Bodhisattva."
His limp, a childhood affliction, was severe—on rainy days, he could barely walk.
Fortunately, Wu Huaifei’s medical skills alleviated his pain.
Wu Huaifei was gentle and lovely, often accompanying him to aid the poor. Over time, Wei Tansheng developed feelings for her.
But like most gentle second leads, his story ended in heartbreak—forced to smile and bless Wu Huaifei and Gao Qian’s union before stepping out of the love triangle.
Now, Xi Cui was supposed to seduce him—in the body of a dark-faced, bearded brute. Wei Tansheng would have to be blind to fall for her.
The system, however, informed her that it was currently the fifth year of Yuanping—the events of The Imperial Physician’s Daughter hadn’t even begun. Wei Tansheng was only ten, freshly kidnapped and with a broken leg. She still had a chance to warm his heart, heal his wounds, and comfort his traumatized soul.
Xi Cui: "..."
Wei Tansheng was ten! That was a pedophilia warning right there!
What could she even do in this monstrous form? Offer him the comfort of her chest hair and pecs?!
Shaking off her thoughts, Xi Cui glanced at the coarse rice in her bowl, chewed the bitter greens, and forced down another mouthful.
The greens weren’t the only bitter thing—her heart was just as sour.
The situation was set in stone. The system wouldn’t budge, so she had to fill her stomach first and plan later.
Following Xi Cui’s gaze, a large locust tree stood ahead, where two or three burly men were wrestling bare-chested, roaring with exertion, their sweat splattering onto the dirt in dark patches.
"He still won’t eat?"
A voice suddenly boomed above her.
Xi Cui looked up to see a towering man looming over her, his tone gruff.
She jerked her chin toward the small thatched hut behind her. "Still refusing."
The man cursed, kicked the door open, and stormed inside.
The hut was dark and filthy, sweltering in the summer heat like a steamer.
The moment the door flew open, the stench of sweat and excrement wafted out.
In the corner, a ten-year-old boy curled up, his hair a tangled nest, his once-fine robes now tattered and stained with yellow and red filth.
Yellow from dried waste, red from dried blood.
The bandit kicked him, snarling something unintelligible.
But the stench was too much—within moments, he strode back out, scowling, and jabbed a finger at Xi Cui. "You make sure he eats. If he won’t, shove it down his throat. And keep an eye on him—don’t let him die."
Xi Cui’s appetite had already fled. At his words, she set the bowl down immediately.
She had been in this bandit stronghold for three days. These men lived by the blade, and she was no high-ranking member—until today, she hadn’t even had a chance to approach Wei Tansheng.
Now, they’d assigned her to guard the hut and ensure he didn’t escape.
Not that Wei Tansheng could run even if he tried. He was too young, and his injured leg made movement impossible.
Even mentally prepared, Xi Cui nearly teared up from the stench when she stepped inside.
An indescribably pungent odor filled the entire thatched hut.
During this time, Wei Tansheng had been eating, drinking, and relieving himself inside, with no one coming to clean up. It wasn’t hard to imagine just how "pleasant" the smell must have been.
Xi Cui held her breath and bent down to check on him.
Huddled among the filth was a half-grown child—her target, the male supporting character from The Peaceful Healer, Wei Tansheng.
Unfortunately, unlike the gentle, almost saintly figure described in the novel, the current Wei Tansheng lay with his eyes tightly shut, his lips cracked and dry, his face so grimy his features were barely recognizable.
The wound on his leg had only been roughly treated, and flies buzzed incessantly around him. His tattered clothes barely covered his body, resembling nothing more than a filthy burial shroud.
Xi Cui’s throat tightened.
It might not have been right to feel disgusted, but the sheer filth made her stomach churn.
"Wake up," she prodded his cheek.
Wei Tansheng lay limp as a ragdoll, utterly unresponsive.
Seeing his unnaturally flushed face, Xi Cui’s heart sank.
The weather was scorching—had he suffered heatstroke?
Without another thought, she wiped his forehead, her hand coming away slick with sweat. The heat radiating from his skin was alarmingly high.
Acting fast, Xi Cui rushed outside to call for help.
Though the bandits of Piao’er Mountain had kidnapped Wei Tansheng, they didn’t intend for him to die.
The moment she shouted, someone arrived at the hut within moments.
The newcomer recoiled at the stench, spat on the ground, and barked at Xi Cui, "What’re you standing around for? Carry him out!"
Being transmigrated into a burly man had its advantages—like now, when lifting Wei Tansheng felt no harder than hoisting a scrawny chick.
With no medical experience, Xi Cui could only carry Wei Tansheng to the shade of a large locust tree and let the more experienced take over.
The men pinched his philtrum, splashed water on him, and fussed over him for what felt like forever before Wei Tansheng’s lashes finally fluttered weakly.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the ground in shifting patterns of light and shadow.
The boy’s unfocused eyes blinked dazedly.
In his feverish haze, all he saw was a dark-faced, bare-chested brute looming over him with bulging, ox-like eyes, grinning in delight.
"Hey! You’re awake?!"
