Chapter 4

He shoved the fallen boy aside, his arm slashed by the monster’s barbed limb, blood gushing—yet he didn’t hesitate.

From under his oversized coat, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed wildly.

The stench of blood filled the air.

The monster, enraged, let out a piercing shriek, its maw clamping onto the boy’s arm and ripping off a chunk of flesh.

The creature’s body was armored, but it kept shielding its abdomen—its weak point.

The boy trembled in pain, veins bulging on his forehead, blood seeping from his lips—yet he didn’t make a sound.

Crawling toward the monster’s belly, he stabbed with even more fury. The next second, the spider let out a desperate howl and dissolved into black mist.

“All that has form is illusion. Fate is self-made; appearances arise from the mind.”

As the words faded, the scene shifted.

The boy looked up—no more thorns or wasteland, only a mist-wreathed immortal platform.

His wounds from the battle were gone, as if none of it had ever happened.

“To think only one child passed the trial this year. Tsk.”

Mu Qinghua, Peak Lord of Changsheng Peak, sighed.

He’d hoped to recruit disciples to test his newly refined digestion pills.

“Old fart, it’s your fault for setting such a brutal labyrinth trial! With only one disciple and five of us, how do we split him?”

Luo Chu eyed the sharp-tongued woman—her raven hair coiled in flowing clouds, jade hairpins glinting, her purple robes hugging her curves.

Coldly beautiful, with moonbeam brows and starlit eyes—Zhu Qianyin, Peak Lord of Changchun Peak, no doubt.

Why five?

By tradition, the disciple selection was just a formality for Luo Chu.

She never took disciples.

Outsiders assumed her standards were impossibly high, but the truth?

None of the past candidates had met the original Luo Chu’s beauty standards.

“Enough bickering. Let the child choose.”

Yun Xinyi, ever the peacemaker, stepped in.

The boy knelt respectfully, head bowed, clothes filthy—yet Yun Xinyi didn’t flinch, speaking gently: “Child, lift your head.”

After a long pause, the boy slowly obeyed.

“Hiss—”

A collective intake of breath on the viewing platform.

The boy, sensing their reaction, ducked his head again, fingers clutching his tattered sleeves until his knuckles whitened.

“Blue and yellow heterochromia—an omen of misfortune.”

Mu Qinghua’s earlier delight vanished like smoke.

“How could this be…?”

Silence.

“Yunshang cannot accept a disciple like you. Leave.”

Xiao Qiang, Peak Lord of Xuanyu Peak, broke the stillness.

Luo Chu shot him a glance—fitting name.

“Trouble brews within the walls”—this guy would fuel Liu Chengzhi’s future rampage.

“Luo Chu, speak up! Liu Chengzhi’s about to be thrown out!”

“The emperor isn’t anxious, but the eunuch is. Wait.”

Luo Chu lounged in her chair, enjoying the show.

If she had to abuse Liu Chengzhi later, she needed to earn his goodwill now—saving him at his lowest would make him grateful.

The boy didn’t argue, still kneeling, murmuring: “I’ve never hurt anyone…”

“Silence!”

Xiao Qiang waved him off.

“The cultivation world has no place for you. Zichu, escort him down the mountain.”

“Yes, Shizun.” Zichu bowed, reaching for the boy.

“I thought… immortals would be different.”

The boy’s voice, hollow as a ghost’s, hung in the air.

Xiao Qiang’s face darkened, but before he could react—

The boy lunged at him with a scream.

A cry too young for such bottomless pain and despair.

It pierced every heart present.

“Overestimating yourself!”

Xiao Qiang smacked him mid-air, sending him crashing into a pillar.

Blood sprayed from the boy’s lips as he collapsed in a broken heap.

Yet he didn’t pass out.

His frail back arched like a wounded animal’s, whimpers fragile as spun glass.

“Enough.”

A voice, cold as winter jade, cut through the hall.

Luo Chu stood, radiating authority without raising a hand.

The frost-white Xuanbing Sword at her waist glowed faintly.

Holy hell, I took one sip of tea, and the villain’s already half-dead! If that slap killed him, I’d be doomed too!

She moved to lift him—but the system blared a character-setting warning.

Gritting her teeth, she looked down at the boy, forcing icy disdain: “Filthy.”

“Immortal…?”

The boy blinked up at her, fingers knotting his filthy sleeves, tears welling.

“Why cry?”

Luo Chu feigned indifference, though her chest ached.

“I’m dirty… I’ll stain your white robes. You’re upset… so you won’t hold me.”

He scrubbed at his clothes, skin peeling, blood smearing—making himself dirtier.

Yet he kept muttering, obsessed: “Too dirty… Immortals hate dirty… Why won’t it come off…?”

Luo Chu’s resolve cracked.

Screw the system warnings—completing the main mission would spare her from lightning.

A little OOC would just give her a headache.

(T/N: OOC=out of character)

She scooped him up: “How old are you?”

The boy just stared, his blue-and-yellow eyes reflecting her snowy image—a gaze too knowing.

Oh no.

Did that slap scramble his brains? How will the plot proceed now?

Finally, he whispered: “Fourteen.”

Too thin.

Needs fattening up.

“Do you have a name?”

“I… don’t. But everyone’s called me ‘Liu Ying’ since birth.”

His voice was small as a mouse’s, cheeks flushed, eyes darting nervously.

“Ying”—the word for “infant.”

No one even bothered to name him.

“‘The joyous nobleman, his blessings wrought by deeds.’ From today, you are Liu Chengzhi—may you grow into a man who finds joy in saving others.”

Luo Chu didn’t recall the original’s naming speech, but a few classical quotes did the trick.

“Liu… Chengzhi.”

The boy repeated it like a prayer, then buried his face in her neck, murmuring: “I like it… Thank you, Immortal.”

Damn.

Since when are villains this easy to win over?

Her chest tightened.

She’d loved him as a reader loves a fictional character—but now, this living, breathing child… Could she really betray him? Would he kill her later?

Small arms clutched her neck, his face nuzzling her shoulder—utterly trusting.

Sighing, Luo Chu turned, still holding him: “If none of you will take him, I will.”

The crowd gasped.

Even the boy in her arms froze.

“Venerable Luo Chu, wait—!”