The Abused-Novel Female Lead Holds a Mad Brush - Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Beep Beep
Hearing Pei Tianming’s words, Yu Jiaxue was initially taken aback. Then, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
[Is this the legendary “sucker”?]
System 999 was deeply shocked.
It had galloped through agony-filled melodrama novels for many years, witnessing countless instances of hearts being dug out and core-sacrificing scenes. Yet, it had never encountered such a willing give-away—it completely shattered its worldview!
For a moment, 999’s heart surged like a serene sea suddenly sprouting an iceberg, leaving it entirely bewildered—
“What ‘sucker’? Show some respect with your language.”
Yu Jiaxue frowned, speaking with righteous severity, “Please call Young Master Pei an Angel Investor.”
She sounded so natural and righteous, as if she hadn’t just been thinking the word “sucker” a moment ago.
999: …
What a flexible, accommodating client!
Thought as she might, she still had to put on a proper front.
Yu Jiaxue immediately put on the standard fake smile used when politely declining New Year red envelopes.
She spoke gently to the golden pixel avatar, “Oh my, how could I possibly accept this? Young Master Pei is far too polite. But if you pawn this, won’t your family have an issue with it?”
She sounded completely, utterly green-tea insincere.
“No, my family has too much money.”
Pei Tianming sighed, “The gold in our storehouse is bursting at the seams—there’s barely room for it all. Every year, a whole stack of silver banknotes even ends up going moldy.”
Yu Jiaxue’s lips twitched; she was rarely rendered speechless like this.
This statement drew way too much hatred.
Pei Tianming didn’t notice anything amiss. Naturally slow-tempered, he scratched his head and sluggishly explained, “Besides, I don’t know why, but the moment I set eyes on Miss Yu, I felt a sense of familiarity.”
Afraid Yu Jiaxue might misunderstand, he quickly added, “Not that kind of familiarity! I just feel Miss Yu resembles an elder in my family. So, I just want to help out within my ability.”
Pei Tianming would never admit that a part of this was also his rebellious streak at work.
****
In Front of the Water-Moon Mirror
Ever since witnessing Yu Jiaxue’s grand posture while jumping into the water, all the watching elders and disciples had fallen into an eerie silence.
Every nerve in their brains was stretched taut, and every drop of blood in their bodies screamed at them to look away, yet they couldn’t tear their eyes away from the Water-Moon Mirror.
This disciple is so damn captivating!
Mu Yihe was in a state of utter trance, floatily murmuring, “Did she cast a spell on us?”
“Probably not.”
Yu Yinglian was also staring intently at the Water-Moon Mirror, offhandedly chiming in, “I think it’s a ‘you’ problem. To put it in the words of your Yuge Peak, this should be called ‘saying no with your mouth, but being very honest with your body.'”
Mu Yihe: “…”
He shot Yu Yinglian a fierce glare.
Did you just grow a mouth to show off?!
Shen Xuezhu watched from the side, chuckling softly.
In the Floating Life Dream, all living beings suffered. Yet amidst this realm filled with flash of blades, shadow of swords, and bloody farewells, there was one person who was uniquely different.
Under such circumstances, almost everyone’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to her.
She reached the shore.
She hopped on the spot.
She raised a leg and spun in a circle.
Her hands touched the ground.
And then her head touched the ground too.
Her. Head. Touched. The. Ground. Too?!
Huh???!
Is she trying to walk upside down using her head and hands together?!
Seeing a ghost in broad daylight was nothing compared to this.
Liu Ruxiu closed his eyes, nearly swooning.
No one knew that behind Liu Ruxiu’s calm and unflappable exterior—as the Head Disciple of Chilun Peak and the revered “Chilun Miracle Doctor”—he possessed a fatal weakness.
He was afraid of ghosts!
Whether it was monsters from storybooks or ghosts in the cultivation world, Liu Ruxiu couldn’t stand any of them!
Otherwise, why would he have insisted on joining Chilun Peak in the first place? Wasn’t it because at least on Chilun Peak, he was dealing with living people with actual bodies!
“What kind of posture is that?”
Bai ling, a junior sister from Chilun Peak, had shining eyes as she excitedly pulled at Liu Ruxiu’s sleeve.
“So humans can walk like that? Senior Brother Liu, next time we encounter patients with crippled legs, can we recommend this method?”
Liu Ruxiu: “…”
Liu Ruxiu: “…”
Liu Ruxiu: “…I think not.”
“Why not?”
Xuanyuanzi, who had been feigning sleep, suddenly cracked his eyes open slightly.
He let out a long sigh and instructed earnestly, “As medical practitioners, our goal is to heal patients and help them recover. If a patient is willing to walk like this, why can’t we accept it?”
“Ruxiu, you shouldn’t be too dogmatic.”
Xuanyuanzi reached out, tapping the medical soul mark behind Liu Ruxiu in mid-air.
“Although this child’s behavior is unexpected, it lacks no thought. She often glimpses the whole picture from a tiny detail, making a single move that resolves the entire situation—truly splendid!”
—Hurry and find a way to get her into our Chilun Peak!
Junior Sister Bai ling agreed, “Yes, I think this little Daoist friend is very interesting. If she comes to Chilun Peak, perhaps we can research cures for many difficult and complicated illnesses.”
Liu Ruxiu said calmly, “Remove the last three words.”
Bai ling: “?”
Liu Ruxiu: “I think she can develop many difficult and complicated illnesses.”
Or maybe she didn’t even need to develop them.
She was a complex illness all on her own.
Bai ling: “…”
Xuanyuanzi: “…”
The two turned back to the Water-Moon Mirror in silence. In the next second, Yu Jiaxue in the mirror extended her fist and gave a gentle swing toward a nearby old tree.
Her facial expression was calm, her movement delicate and elegant—as if she were merely an infirm noble lady needing a touch of support—
BOOM!
The old tree shattered.
She—with a single punch—had obliterated a willow tree that was at least a hundred years old into oblivion.
Liu Ruxiu’s pupils shook violently!
Both he and the tree shared the surname “Liu” (Willow); rounded off, they were practically family! Seeing the old tree’s fate made him feel deeply empathetic!
Liu Ruxiu looked agonized: “She…”
“She’s so strong!”
Bai ling’s eyes sparkled: “If Daoist Yu comes, does that mean we never have to worry about people causing trouble again?!”
Xuanyuanzi opened his eyes, the usual laziness replaced by absolute clarity: “And no one will ever dare say that our Chilun practitioners are weak!”
Master and disciple exchanged a glance, immediately commencing a private telepathic chat.
Judging by the expressions on their faces, they had evidently kicked Liu Ruxiu—the Head Disciple of Chilun Peak—right out of the chat group.
Liu Ruxiu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
To prevent heart-demons from taking root, he actively engaged in self-psychological healing before opening his eyes.
There’s nothing to run away from.
A cultivator must train their mind even more than their body.
To do what ordinary people cannot do, to see what ordinary people cannot see, to understand what ordinary people cannot understand.
To walk through the bustling noise, see through the joys and sorrows of the world, sever mundane attachments—all phenomena are illusions, and the demons and ghosts of the world are nothing more—
“Woah!”
A loud burst of exclamations suddenly came from the crowd of disciples behind him.
A female disciple’s overjoyed voice rang out: “She actually knocked out a tiger with just a few punches!”
Liu Ruxiu: “…”
His newly opened eyes were stung once again by an unknown glare.
Liu Ruxiu slowly closed his eyes once more.
Given the circumstances, Liu Ruxiu deeply regretted his overwhelming sense of responsibility that made him take on the task of accompanying his master to observe the new disciples’ trial.
He should have let Junior Brother Ming come instead!
Sacrificing one Junior Brother Ming could benefit millions of Liu Ruxius!
Yu Yinglian retracted his gaze from Yuge Peak, turned his head, and poked it over to ask, “Why ‘millions of Liu Ruxius’?”
“Because I have already cracked into pieces.”
Liu Ruxiu replied numbly, his voice eerie and floating.
“Just like that willow tree shattered into pieces.”
Not far away, Perfected Master Ninggui, having overheard everything, covered her lips with her folding fan and smiled gently.
This folding fan was transformed from her natal treasure, the Gui Jun brush. Perfected Master Ninggui rarely used it normally, but right now, things were hardly normal.
She sighed, “To actually encounter a Spiritual Energy Beast—it seems she’s a child with exceptional luck.”
Spiritual Energy Beasts were, as the name implied, a bundle of spiritual energy born of heaven and earth.
This energy would appear inside certain top-grade magic treasures. They possessed no thoughts or personalities of their own; only after being tamed by a destined master would they naturally absorb the master’s personality and manifest a form matching it.
As the master of a Spiritual Energy Beast, one could mobilize this spiritual energy to fight, or even possess it to roam about.
Furthermore, Spiritual Energy Beasts were completely different from spirit beasts—they possessed no consciousness of their own, so there was no need to worry about betrayal or injury.
Ultimately, it was merely a relatively pure mass of void spiritual energy.
Master Xihe said, “Indeed. I recall the last person to encounter a Spiritual Energy Beast was Acting Peak Master Wangshu, right?”
Shen Xuezhu nodded, saying gently, “After my Spiritual Energy Beast took form, it was extremely clingy and adorable.”
Recalling Yu Jiaxue’s unblinking stare back in the dungeon, a faint smile spilled into Shen Xuezhu’s eyes.
He looked at the person in the Water-Moon Mirror: “I wonder what form this little Daoist friend’s Spiritual Energy Beast will eventually take?”
Shen Xuezhu meant nothing underlying by his words; his tone carried obvious curiosity and anticipation.
However, upon hearing his words, everyone present fell into collective silence.
They all felt… like something massive was about to happen.
Inside the Floating Life Dream.
Pei Tianming was likewise looking at Yu Jiaxue in utter shock.
“You… you… that… that tiger—”
Yu Jiaxue stared at the dialogue box above Pei Tianming’s head for a few seconds before suddenly realizing.
“Oh, so that was a tiger.”
Pei Tianming was stunned by her sudden tone of realization.
Even his initial terror at encountering the tiger and his shock at seeing Yu Jiaxue split it open with her bare hands receded significantly.
He instinctively asked back, “Otherwise, what did Miss Yu think it was?”
Yu Jiaxue looked at the yellow pixelated block on the ground, pondering, “When it pounced over, I thought it was a giant yellow rat.”
Pei Tianming: “…Miss Yu sure knows how to joke, haha.”
One should know, when Pei Tianming first realized he had actually run into a tiger, his mind had gone completely blank.
Kung fu, instructions—all were thrown to the back of his mind.
Facing those glaring tiger eyes, his legs had turned to jelly, and he couldn’t even hold onto his sword.
In that moment, Pei Tianming truly believed he was going to die in the tiger’s mouth.
His bodily reaction far outpaced his brain; deep down, his subconscious told him that he shouldn’t drag down Miss Yu beside him.
When he snapped back to reality, he immediately tried to push Yu Jiaxue away, tragically shouting “Come at me” at the tiger.
However, Yu Jiaxue was far faster than him.
One punch, one tiger.
And she even said she thought it was a rat.
The two stared at each other in silence. Fearing that Yu Jiaxue might give him a punch out of anger too, Pei Tianming immediately tried to smooth things over with laughter.
Pei Tianming stammered, “Ha-he-he, to… to actually mistake a ti-tiger for a r-rat… as expected of Miss Yu, haha-he.”
Yu Jiaxue: And I’m a Boom-Chaka-Laka!
Yu Jiaxue sharply pointed out, “Your vocabulary is quite rich, but use fewer reduplicated words. It makes you look a bit dim-witted.”
999: Strict with others—as expected of you!
Yu Jiaxue felt a bit helpless.
She couldn’t explain that she really wasn’t joking.
She had no choice; she couldn’t hear any sound effects at all. Tiger roars, angry howls—Yu Jiaxue hadn’t heard a single thing.
Relying purely on her client-survival instinct, after sensing a sudden gust of wind behind her, she had subconsciously turned around and slapped it.
And then, the tiger… well, it shattered.
Squatting on the ground, Yu Jiaxue examined the mass of yellow pixel blocks, suddenly remembering Pei Tianming’s earlier words.
“Young Master Pei, I remember you mentioned earlier that your family wanted you to hunt a tiger?”
Pei Tianming nodded mindlessly, “Right…”
Yu Jiaxue immediately picked up a piece of the yellow block mixed with red, turning to him and asking enthusiastically, “So what do you think of this?”
Looking at the one-ninth piece of the shattered remains, Pei Tianming instantly shook his head in horror: “NO NEED!!!”
“Aiya, what’s our relationship? You’re acting as my suck—Angel Investor, and even accompanying me on my revenge. What’s a little favor like this?”
Yu Jiaxue assumed he was just being polite, so she took a step forward, saying lovingly, “Here, take it. Aiya, why are you being so formal with me?”
In a trance, Pei Tianming felt as if he were seeing his childhood self during the holidays, when the family elders were handing out red envelopes and New Year money.
So peaceful, so warm, so…
Warm my foot!
Good-boy Pei Tianming cursed in his heart for the very first time.
What she was holding wasn’t a red envelope at all; it was a ninth of a magnificent big tiger that was alive moments ago!
As someone who always preferred staying home and avoiding outsiders, when had Pei Tianming ever encountered such a scene? He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and pass out right then and there!
“No need, no need, no need!”
Pei Tianming waved his hands repeatedly, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, his entire body turning into a blur of motion.
Yu Jiaxue marvelled in her mind: Little Zero, do you think if he waves any faster, he could fly straight into the sky using that hand-spinning move?
999: ?
999: [Be human for once!]
How could a 37-degree mouth spit out such icy cold words!
“…It really isn’t necessary!” Pei Tianming glanced at the ground, closing his eyes in agony, “My family wants a complete tiger pelt. This one is already shattered—it’s useless.”
So that’s how it is.
Staring at the pile of yellow pixel blocks, Yu Jiaxue pondered for a few seconds, then clapped her hands: “That’s easy!”
Back when she was adapting to her pixelated body after jumping off the cliff, Yu Jiaxue had discovered something.
All things are blocks; all things can be pieced together.
Before Pei Tianming could stop her, Yu Jiaxue had already ducked down quickly, assembling, piecing, and drawing around the remains of the tiger.
“Done!” Yu Jiaxue patted the dust off her hands. “How about you take a look at this?”
Pei Tianming: “…”
Pei Tianming: “…”
He stared at the thing in front of him, dumbfounded, completely unable to utter a single word.
No—what on earth was this thing in front of him?!
The body remained entirely yellow, and there were still black stripes on its back. However, its two ears were stretched extremely long and pointed upward. The tips of the ears were sharp without a trace of roundness, its tail was long and raised, and there were two strange red blushes beside its cheeks.
That wasn’t even the most important part. The most important part was—
“H-H-H-How is it alive again?!”
Pei Tianming was so terrified that he collapsed onto his buttocks on the ground.
He watched helplessly as the thing sat up, tilting its head and smirking at him.
How should one describe its smile?
Such an elegant curve, such an elegant grin, such an elegant…
999: [Host! Host! My eyes!]
999: [How did you end up making a Pika□hu?!]
999: [Even if you want to make something, can’t you make something acceptable to carbon-based lifeforms?!]
What kind of cursed meme-version of Pika□hu is this thing right now?!
“Because of copyright.”
Yu Jiaxue said calmly, “I cannot commit cross-realm infringement; it lacks respect.”
She would never admit that her craft was simply subpar, and that this was the only thing she could piece together!
999: […]
Then do you think making this thing shows any respect for our mental sanity?!
Directly confronting the evil, Pei Tianming was already speechless.
Before he even knew what “mental pollution” meant, he had already experienced its full force.
For a moment, he wondered if he had died the exact moment he met the tiger, and everything he was seeing now was just an illusion.
As the saying goes: All phenomena are illusions.
“Ah, it seems to really like me.”
Seeing the thing gradually shrink, leap onto Yu Jiaxue’s shoulder, and fade out of sight, Pei Tianming had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Yu Jiaxue speak apologetically: “Since it likes me so much, I might not be able to give it to you in one piece.”
Pei Tianming let out a giant sigh of relief: “No problem—”
“How about I split it in half, and we take half each!”
“—It’s a huge problem!” Pei Tianming’s speech sped up drastically, so terrified he lost all composure, blurted out wildly, “Totally unnecessary absolutely impossible hard is the road ahead harder than climbing to the sky—!”
Pei Tianming didn’t even know what he was saying, but that didn’t matter at all.
“In short, Miss Yu doesn’t need to consider me at all! You can keep it for yourself!”
Terrified out of his mind, his hands waved into a blur once more.
If the young and old of the Pei Family were to see this scene, they would surely feel deeply comforted.
Pei Tianming, who normally hated stepping out of the house, actually had a moment where he actively exercised!
Seeing how sincere Pei Tianming sounded, Yu Jiaxue didn’t stand on ceremony any longer.
“Alright then, Xiao Mei is mine.”
Pei Tianming: “…”
Pei Tianming: “…”
Pei Tianming: “Xiao Mei???????”
That thing—whatever it was—is named Xiao Mei?!
Yu Jiaxue nodded. After some thought, she decided to treat her business partner a bit better, so she took down the shrunken Xiao Mei from her shoulder and proactively held it up in front of Pei Tianming.
“Here, look closely. This rat is named Xiao Mei, it…”
Before Yu Jiaxue could elaborate any further, Pei Tianming’s eyes rolled back, looking as if he were about to pass out on the spot.
Yu Jiaxue had no choice but to pull back her hand with regret.
“Then you guys can meet again next time. Let’s head out of the forest first.”
In Front of the Water-Moon Mirror
Deadly silence prevailed.
Ever since Yu Jiaxue summoned that unidentified yellow entity, not a single person had uttered a word.
The disciples of the Xihe Sect blinked slowly. Even if their skill levels varied, their talents differed, and their specialties were distinct—and even though they were scolded daily by their respective masters and elders with “You are the worst batch I’ve ever taught”—
—No one had ever created something like this before!!!
The disciples of Chilun Peak exchanged glances, and in unison, drew massive books from their storage pouches, slamming them onto the table with a loud thud, before leaning down to flip through them frantically.
For a time, the area was filled with the loud rustling sound of turning pages!
As they flipped, they muttered under their breath:
“Not listed in The Encyclopedia of Cultivation Realm Beasts…”
“Not listed in Where to Find Strange Ailments…”
“Not listed in One Illness, One Refining…”
“Not listed in Fundamentals of Beast Pathology…”
“Not listed in Recognize a Thousand Beasts in Three Minutes…”
“Not listed in The Taotie Feast: A Hundred Ways to Eat Rats—”
Before the last Chilun Peak disciple could finish speaking, his senior sister delivered a punch right to him.
The senior sister said coldly, “It’s almost mealtime. Shut up.”
The junior brother felt like crying without tears.
Senior Sister Bailing, didn’t you achieve Bigu (fasting) long ago?!
And why does your punching style look so familiar?!
“Ah! Found it!”
The junior brother who had just been punched glanced at the book he had pulled out at random.
His page-flipping motion suddenly froze, and he let out a surprised yell.
In an instant, everyone turned to look at him, including the Peak Masters of the Seven Peaks.
Their eyes were so intense that the junior brother couldn’t help puffing out his chest, feeling rather puffed up with pride.
A nearby Chilun Peak disciple glanced at his book, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes.
Raising his voice, he asked, “Which page?”
The junior brother announced loudly, “Page 258, top left corner, the first image! It looks extremely similar!”
A flurry of page-flipping sounded around them. A few seconds later, the area where Chilun Peak sat suddenly fell dead silent—not a sound remained.
Master Yiyao couldn’t help asking, “Why did everyone stop talking?”
He was also extremely curious about what on earth that thing was!
Amidst the dead silence, Senior Sister Bai ling said calmly, “Junior Brother, take a look at the title of that book.”
“Huh?” The junior brother looked down in confusion, reading the title on the cover aloud slowly, “…Don’t Let Your Disciple Lose at the Starting Line — Recognize These 900 Types of Beasts?”
Is there a problem?
Ah, wait a minute!
“You unfilial disciple!”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xuanyuanzi abruptly sprang up from his slumber, swinging his brush at his disciple’s head, his voice booming like a bell: “THAT IS A PORTRAIT OF YOUR MASTER!!!”
“Look at it! Open your eyes and take a good look!”
“—Your Master’s handsome, elegant, and charming face—what have you scribbled all over it?!”
“Ah, Master, calm down, calm down!”
“Junior Brother, stop spinning around, I’m getting dizzy!”
“We practitioners of medicine must possess the spirit of sacrificing ourselves for others! Today is the day you dedicate yourself, Junior Brother—aiyaya, Junior Brother, don’t hide behind me!”
Chilun Peak descended into chaos, a sight too painful for others to watch closely.
Over at Yuge Peak, Mu Yihe looked at the thing on the Water-Moon Mirror and finally couldn’t help slapping the table: “Utterly ungraceful!”
Mu Yihe detested beasts most in his life, let alone one that completely defied his sense of aesthetics.
Liu Ruxiu: “Where is it ungraceful?”
Ever since Yu Jiaxue split the tiger, he had automatically sat to the side without opening his eyes, successfully dodging a bullet.
Mu Yihe: “Look at its head—”
Liu Ruxiu: “Round and big. Graceful.”
Mu Yihe: “Look at its ears—”
Liu Ruxiu: “Long and sharp. Graceful.”
Mu Yihe: “Look at its tail—”
Liu Ruxiu: “Thick and standing straight. Graceful.”
Their eyes met. Mu Yihe was furious, while Liu Ruxiu responded nonchalantly.
Heh, after experiencing ‘walking with your head touching the ground,’ nothing in this world could ever break him again!
Yu Yinglian, who had been watching for a long time, felt a itch in his heart. He couldn’t resist poking his head over, leaning close to the two, whispering like a sinister demon: “Look at its smile—”
Liu Ruxiu: “…”
Liu Ruxiu slowly and painfully closed his eyes.
Ah, one step behind.
In this round, he was defeated after all!
Just then, a cold laugh suddenly echoed from beside them.
Mu Yihe unhurriedly adjusted his hair crown, unhurriedly raised his eyebrows, and unhurriedly picked up his teacup.
“Beautiful and charming. Graceful.”
The moment those words were spoken, everyone who heard them shuddered violently.
Yu Yinglian’s eyes widened.
Liu Ruxiu’s heart skipped a beat.
Du Shuangxiao’s expression went completely blank.
Daoist Master Yuanru turned around in absolute shock.
Sect Master Xihe couldn’t help casting a gaze of concern over.
Even the people from Chilun Peak stopped squabbling, turning their heads in unison.
Countless pairs of eyes stared deeply at Mu Yihe, who had just spoken.
A thousand words choked in their throats, beyond description.
In the surging silence, Shen Xuezhu blinked slowly, voicing the question on everyone’s mind in a gentle tone:
“Junior Brother Mu… are you alright?”
Yu Yinglian added his own interpretation: “Mu Yihe, are you out of your mind?!”
Mu Yihe: “…”
Under everyone’s gaze, he slowly leaned back, closing his eyes peacefully.
Mu Yihe could feel that although he had achieved an overwhelming victory in his clash with Liu Ruxiu…
The moment he uttered those words…
Something inside him had also left him forever.
