Chapter Text
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Welcoming User to Proud Immortal Demon Way.
Please a select small scenario pusher from the following choices.
1. Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python
2. Without a Cure
3. Shen Qingqiu ]
Shen Yuan balks. What kind of nonsense is this?! He's dreaming about transmigrating into PIDW? He didn't sign up for dreams like this! Reject! Reject! He spends enough time reading that dumbfuck novel when he's awake; he doesn't need to waste even more time thinking about it when he's asleep!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: User is not asleep. User has, in fact, transmigrated into the popular webnovel Proud Immortal Demon Way. Please select a small scenario pusher from the previous choices. ]
This dream is decidedly realistic. It's even trying to convince him it isn't a dream! And it comes complete with an annoying, google translate sounding voice rattling around inside his brain.
The webnovels never talk about how annoying a System really is! Really, he's going to get a headache from it if it doesn't lower the volume a bit!
He would like to wake up now, thanks! That's enough! Hell, he can't even see anything because his vision is entirely black! Does his mind truly lack the creativity to give him some sort of visual?!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: This System has high ratings from it's previous users. User is too judgemental. This System is offended by User's cruel words. ]
Leave me alone, then! He thinks back with rising irritation. I won't offend you from the waking world!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: This System doubts that. ]
Why is his brain such an asshole?! If he's going to dream up a System, why couldn't it be a nice one?! Since when are Systems sassy?!
Should he try pinching himself to wake up? Does he even have a body to pinch in this pitch black nightmare? He feels (?) formless. Fuck.
The System doesn't seem to care what Shen Yuan is thinking anymore, because it only repeats itself again.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Asking User to please a select small scenario pusher from the following choices.
1. Black Moon Rhinoceros-Python
2. Without a Cure
3. Shen Qingqiu ]
Okay. Maybe this isn't a dream. He should play along just in case, right?
Fuck, fuck, FUCK.
He can handle this. Stay calm, Shen Yuan! Don't be like those characters who freak out when they transmigrate!
After forcing himself to read through the notification again, he feels mildly irate.
What kind of choices are these?! A demonic beast, incurable poison (because he will not let the protagonist fuck him, no matter how much of a Binghe fan he is), and the scum villain?! This is a scam!
You useless System! He curses mentally, ignoring the fact that, if this really is some sort of deranged dream, he's only insulting his own mind. How am I supposed to survive any of these?!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: User is still in the character creation phase. This System can modify User's character to optimize survival based on User's selections. ]
Fine! But I'm still not picking one of those!
Shen Yuan isn't stupid! He would probably need to be a powerful half-demon like Luo Binghe to handle the first one, and a female around Luo Binghe's age to survive the second! And that's assuming Luo Binghe would even want to add him to the harem!
There's an admittedly low barrier for entry for any woman the stallion protagonist comes across, but still!
And only God knows what could help him survive Shen Qingqiu! Nope, no thanks. He definitely shouldn't pick that one.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Character changes 'powerful half-demon' 'female' and 'around Luo Binghe's age' applied. Activating small scenario pusher option 3. Activation code 'Shen Qingqiu'. Good luck. ]
Shen Yuan barely has time to yell 'FUCK' before he's blinking open heavy eyes in bleary confusion. His mind feels hazy, his limbs ache, and he can't move.
It takes him longer than he'd like to admit to realize that he's drugged and tied to a tree in some random forest.
Inexplicably, his eyes start to burn, until he feels hot tears begin to stream down his face. Not fair! Not fair! He wants to go home! And why is he crying?!
"Shut it, brat."
Shen Yuan startles, head snapping to the side to find the source of the rough voice.
Not far away from where he's tied up is a burly man with a horrible scar running jagged down his face, as if someone had once slashed him with a serrated blade. He glares down at Shen Yuan, cutting a slice off the half eaten apple in his hand with a curved dagger.
Shen Yuan feels the blood drain from his face.
He might not know much, but even one glance is enough to know that thos is not a man who will be willing to help. Hell, he's probably the one who tied him up in the first place. At the very least, he's the poor canon fodder stuck guarding him until the more important villains return to do gods know what with him.
System? He thinks. Who is this guy?! I don't remember any villains with that scar!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Beginner level quest unlocked. User must complete the character profile of the canon fodder villain before the small scenario pusher begins. Reward: user's backstory. Please click to accept. ]
Damn it! He doesn't want to do that! Who gives a fuck about this guy's character profile?! Just tell him who he is and be done with it! He doesn't need the guy's life story!
Still, learning his own backstory will probably be invaluable to adjusting to this world. If he can learn something that will help him with the scum villain when he shows up, even better.
Mentally cursing everything under the sun, Shen Yuan lets his gaze linger over the accept button until a slight ding sounds in his head.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Beginner level quest 'Uncle, please! Let me live!' begins now. Good luck. ]
Shen Yuan sniffles, attempting to blink the stupid tears away as the System fades back into the recesses of his mind. Easier said than done in a situation like this! All he wants is to feel safe, and he definitely does not feel safe!
Suddenly, the man shoots to his feet, throwing the apple down. "Gods damn it, Xiao Yue!" He bellows. "Be a good girl and be quiet!"
All the yelling achieves is cause Shen Yuan to cry even harder. Well. Xiao Yue, if the man can be trusted. Based on what the System said about uncovering his (her?) backstory, it's probably safe to believe.
Also.
WHOSE A GOOD GIRL?! DID SHEN YUAN, A GROWN MAN ALREADY IN HIS 20S, TRANSMIGRATE INTO A FUCKING LITTLE GIRL?!
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Correct. User is Xiao Yue, a 4 year old female. Continue the quest for more information. ]
FOUR?!
After directing a particularly scathing string of curses toward the System for getting him into this fucking situation, Shen Yuan comes to a startling a decision.
He has to... he has to fully embrace his new identity.
He's read enough transmigration novels to know that anything less, and he'll end up dead. Or worse.
From now on, Xiao Yue and she/her it is!
...The tears fall harder.
Fuck. At least now she knows why she's been crying so much. With the emotional regulation of a four year old, it's no wonder!
Xiao Yue's silence and further blubbering seems to stoke the man's anger. "No response, huh? Just like your fucking mother. Gods forbid you ever fucking apologize for anything!"
???
Sir! You're misplacing your anger! Take it up with my mom and leave me out of it! This four year old is innocent!
"I don't regret killing that bitch at all," he snarls, pointing the tip of the blade vaguely in her direction with a careless gesture as he begins to pace. "Some sister she was, betraying our family to marry some fucking demon filth. Glad he's fuckin' dead, too." His gaze slides back to her. "Shame she had enough time to pollute our bloodline, though."
She tenses, fear striking her heart at the clear implication. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She's going to die! This demonphobic uncle of hers is really going to murder her before she even gets a chance to see this world!
Instead of killing her, though, he laughs, prompting Xiao Yue to blink in confusion.
"Don't worry, Xiao Yue," he says, grinning disgustingly as he looks down his nose at her, clearly getting some sick sense of delight out of this. "I won't kill you—not when I've found a much better use for something with your heritage."
The way he sneers the word heritage sends foreboding chills down the back of her neck. Depending on what kind of demon her father was...
There really are some things worse than death.
Unfortunately, there's not much she can do with the physical capabilities of a small child—demon or not. She never thought she'd say it, but right now, Shen Qingqiu might just be her best hope.
Well. Unless he's the one on the way to purchase her or finds out she's half demon.
Even with the rumors of his lecherous behavior that were mentioned in PIDW, Xiao Yue doesn't think he'd stoop to purchasing a human being. If anything, Shen Qingqiu lied about wanting to buy her when he heard her uncle was trying to sell a demon and is coming to kill her.
Or, maybe, Shen Qingqiu isn't involved at all, and the small scenario pusher will only happen after she's sold like cattle!
She isn't sure which outcome she'd rather happen. In the end, though, what ends up happening isn't any one of her theories.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Beginner level quest 'Uncle, please! Let me live!' completed. Small scenario pusher option 3 is now active. Good luck. ]
Xiao Yue brushes away the System notification, focusing on the situation at hand.
Right as her uncle is about to launch into another tirade about the unfairness of his removal from her family home, a gleaming sword flies straight across the small clearing and clean through his shoulder, pinning him to a tree.
"Fuck!" Her uncle bellows, clutching at his shoulder until Xiao Yue can see blood running between his fingers. She cries out at the sight, instinctively curling into herself as much as she can while bound. Her uncle, paying zero attention to her, continues to yell. "Come out, coward!"
"This master is certain the true coward is the one attempting to sell a young girl to a brothel," comments a smooth voice, words practically dripping with disdain. "A brave man would choose to work there himself."
If Xiao Yue wasn't crying so hard, she would've laughed. Fuck, is Shen Qingqiu funny?! Why wasn't that in PIDW?!
Her uncle doesn't seem to find it as humorousas she does. Sputtering inelegantly, he says, "Y- you!"
Making a small noise of derision, the man plainly ignores him. When Xiao Yue hears footsteps crunching on the ground before her, she peeks up through her wet lashes, sniffling pathetically.
Before her is the very embodiment of an aloof immortal master. From the pale green embroidery on his fine robes to the intricately carved guan securing half of his silky hair atop his head, the cultivator exudes class and elegance.
She stares, wide eyed and slack jawed.
She barely even notices the other cultivators moving behind him and dragging away her uncle, hopefully to be locked up forever.
When Shen Qingqiu meets her gaze, his stony face seems to soften the slightest bit. It's enough to make her feel surprisingly safe.
He calls his sword back with a hand seal and uses it to cut the ropes tying her to the tree, and she slumps the moment she's freed. Thank you, Xiu Ya!
"May this master carry you?"
She blinks, using her dirty sleeve to wipe her face. Quietly, she says, "Mn."
He scoops her into his arms quickly but cautiously, propping her small body to one side so he can use his free hand to gently take hold of her wrist. It's only when she feels something like a cool breeze moving through his body that she realizes he's checking her with his qi.
After a moment, he drops her arm, adjusting her into a more secure hold. "You will likely be fine after a meal and a night's rest," he says, eyes critically tracking what she assumes are his disciples moving through the clearing. "Where is your home? This master will take you."
Unbidden, her eyes well with fresh tears, and her small fingers curl into the expensive robes of the scum villain. He is surprisingly not scummy. For now, at least.
"He killed them," she whispers. She may not have known the ones in this world, but she does remember her actual family, left behind in an unreachable world.
The probably-villain's face hardens as his jaw clenches. "You have no where to go, then?" She shakes her head. After a moment, he asks, "Would you like to be a cultivator?"
Xiao Yue's eyes widen, even as tears continue to run down her cheeks.
A cultivator?! Of course she would! She's always thought about how cool it would be to cultivate while she was reading shitty webnovels like PIDW.
If she leaves before Luo Binghe comes back to destroy Cang Qiong, she'll be fine! Probably.
At her eager nod, Shen Qingqiu hums with approval. "It will be difficult," he warns. "This master will not allow you to slack off. You will be expected to excel in the arts and in battle."
"I want to," she confirms.
"Good." He starts walking back to his disciples, but pauses to look back at her. "This one is Shen Qingqiu, the Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak. We are of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. That is where this master will bring you."
"Xiao Yue greets Peak Lord Shen," she murmurs politely before throwing her arms around him and hiding her face in the crook of his neck.
She's shy as a child! Sue her! Anyone would do the same thing in her position!
Surprisingly, the scum villain doesn't reprimand her for her sudden stickiness or comment further. He only moves to give instructions to his disciples, Xiao Yue tucked safely in his arms. She stays that way the entire flight to Qing Jing, comfortable enough to fall asleep well before they arrive.
She awakens to voices whispering above her.
"Xiao Jiu, are—"
"Do not call me that," bites Shen Qingqiu. Xiao Yue cringes internally.
"Shen-shidi," the first voice corrects gently. "Are you sure about this?"
"Do I have your permission or not, Zhangmen-shixiong?"
Pained, the other man says, "Of course."
"Good. You can see yourself out now. She needs quiet."
The man (the extremely powerful Sect Leader, if 'Zhangmen-shixiong' is anything to go on) leaves without much further fanfare, and Xiao Yue takes the opportunity to blink open her eyes to look up at Shen Qingqiu.
His expression is one she wasn't expecting to see—a mixture of longing and pain as he stares at the closed door.
Quietly, she says, “Peak Lord Shen?"
His expression immediately smooths out as he turns to look at her, grabbing a cup from the table at the side of the bed. "Xiao Yue. Drink this."
He helps her rise enough to drink the water before lowering her gently back down and adjusting the thin blanket covering her. She feels her cheeks heat, shy from being doted on.
"Thank you, Peak Lord Shen," she says dutifully, blinking up at him with wide eyes.
"Mn." After returning the cup to it's previous spot, he adds, "You may call this master 'Shizun' from this day forward."
"Yes, Shizun."
"Do you know your family name, Xiao Yue?"
She averts her eyes. Fuck. That's one thing she didn't have a chance to figure out during the quest earlier. Why did her uncle have to use a nickname for her?!
System! Do you know my family name?
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: User has not unlocked that information. ]
Useless thing! She should've known!
Stomach churning, she shakes her head. Hopefully, he doesn't think it's too weird that she doesn't know it.
Shen Qingqiu nods like he isn't surprised. "Very well." A pause, and then he adds, "Would you be comfortable taking this master's family name, then? You are much younger than this master's other disciples, so you are more like a ward than a regular disciple. It would not be strange to have a familial connection."
Xiao Yue can hardly believe her ears. Is this really the scum villain?!
Filled with much more emotion than her tiny body can handle, she scrambles up and throws herself into Shen Qingqiu's arms. He tenses at first, but quickly relaxes (for the most part) and pats her back.
Stilted, he asks, "Is that a yes, then?"
Sniffing into the collar of his robes, she clings tighter. "Mn."
"Very well. Shen Yue."
The name settles in her, warm and right. Being able to keep her family name from her first life makes her more happy than she can express.