[Ding!]
[Mission: Become a simp for female lead.]
"Ha! Are you telling me to simp for the female lead until she finds her true love with the main character so I can return to my world?"
[Yes, Host. That is the primary directive.]
"The Host" stared at the translucent blue screen hovering in his vision, the text pulsing with a serene, maddening indifference. He sat in the private viewing box of the Golden Pavilion Auction House, the chirchiring murmur of the crowd below, a distant mess compared to the world-view turning logic in his mind.
What's this?! A joke.
"You are also telling me I possess heaven-defying talents like Primordial Dragon bloodline, Immortal-grade spirit roots, eight Supreme Dao bones, an Immortal Dao physique, Immortal Dantian, and the eight Zodiac meridians?"
[That is correct, Host. However, all are currently sealed, excluding your spirit root. But fear not, they can be unsealed with ease.]
"And the price for this power? I must use my limitless wealth and infinite resources to pave the way for another man's happiness? My only goal is to simp for the female lead, only for me to wear a green hat?"
[Correct. The System Magic Bag produces infinite spirit stones. The System Shop is open for all purchases but its items are limited. Your objective is to ensure the Female Lead cultivates immortality and lives happily with the Main Character.]
Tianmo leaned back, the surface texture of the chair cool against his neck. A small, unnoticeable yet, dangerous smile spread across his lips, one that didn't reach anyone's eyes.
"Am I forced to simp? Like if I refuse to play the fool, do I lose the bag or system?"
[No, Host. You possess free will. However, returning to your original world is contingent upon the completion of the 'Simp' storyline. Once the Female Lead and Main Character marry, your Dao heart will shatter. You will fall into demonification. The world will unite just to slay you. Upon death, you will awaken in your original world as a corporate slave, earning 4,000 Yuan a month. You will live a life of depression, devoid of money, status, or intimacy.]
[Analysis suggests a 98.4% probability of suicide within two years of return due to emotional fatigue.]
??
Tianmo let out a soft, incredulous laugh. The sound was dry, like dead leaves skittering over stone.
Yare, yare. What a tragedy.
He looked around the auction house, at the cultivators posturing in their finery, at the desperate greed in their eyes.
Then he looked inward, at the memories of the life he was supposedly supposed to "yearn" for according to the system. A cubicle. Fluorescent lights. Debt. Loneliness. Well, it was certainly not bad, he at least had a gaming PC.
Nonetheless,
Why would he return to hell just to die a slower death?
He had no decent family waiting for him. No sick sister to cure. He was a man with nothing to lose and, apparently, everything to gain.
"System," he thought, his mental voice sharp as a blade. "If I have infinite wealth and heaven-defying talent in a world where the strong eat the weak, why in the nine hells would I ever want to go back? Like, what's the point?!"
[No idea, Host. But the option remains.]
"Then keep it," Tianmo dismissed. "I have no intention of shattering my Dao heart for a woman who belongs to another. I intend to conquer this world, not serve as a plot device for someone... If something, then I shall claim this female lead before the protagonist even has a chance."
His gaze drifted downward, to the center stage below.
A girl knelt on the cold stone platform, bathed in the spotlight of the auction hall's array. She was a mess of contradictions—flawless alabaster skin marred by the grime of slavery, a swan neck bowed in submission, a body of terrifying potential wrapped in rags.
A jade beauty yet touched by mundane dust, degrading her willow-like waist, cherry-like lips, pond-like eyes, and swan-like neck.
She is Liu Ruyan.
The future Saintess. The woman who was destined to be the death of the 'Wang Tianmo' of the original story.
She was beautiful, in the way a storm is beautiful—terrifying and magnificent.
"One thousand low-grade spirit stones," Tianmo bid, his voice cutting through the murmurs of the box.
The auctioneer, a greasy man with a booming voice, nearly dropped his gavel. The crowd below fell into a stunned silence. One thousand low-grade spirit stones for a slave with crippled meridians? It was a fortune, a sum that could buy a large mortal place... Yet it was tossed away on a whim?
"Sold! To the young master in the robes!" the auctioneer shrieked, his voice cracking with disbelief.
Wang Tianmo didn't wait for the applause or the whispers from others as such things were meaningless.
He stood up, smoothing the creases in his robes. He ignored the venomous glares directed at him from the other boxes. In this world, envy was as common as the air they breathed, and the strong had no need to apologize for their excess. This is a world of cultivation.
He walked out of the box and descended the stairs, his movements full of grace and majesty. The guards at the side entrance bowed low, recognizing the insignia of the Wang family.
He stepped into the backstage holding area. It was dim, smelling of straw and old blood.
Liu Ruyan was kneeling on the floor, her wrists bound in rough hemp rope. She was trembling, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself disappear. Up close, the scent of fear wafted off her. It was sharp, sour, and oddly intoxicating.
Tianmo stopped in front of her.
He didn't offer a hand to help her up. Instead, he used the tip of his embroidered shoe to lift her chin, forcing her to look at him.
The difference in their status was vast. She was a mortal with crippled meridians while he was someone who had awakened spirit root.
Her eyes were wide, filled with a terror so profound it seemed to drown out her soul. They were clear, watery, and framed by lashes clumped with tears.
"M-Master..."
"System," Tianmo thought, his mental voice cold. "Open the shop. I need a slave seal. The kind that ensures absolute obedience but doesn't damage the merchandise or make them full puppets without thinking capacity."
[Searching...]
[Item found: Soul Binding Brand. Price: 100,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Effect: Binds the soul to the Host. Causes excruciating pain upon disobedience or betrayal. Does not affect physical health or cultivation potential.]
"Buy it."
A glowing, intricate rune appeared in his palm, burning with cold blue fire. He grabbed Liu Ruyan's wrist, ignoring her flinch, and slammed the brand onto her skin.
"Eesss..." She gasped, her back arching as the red light flashed, sinking deep into her bones. It wasn't a physical burn; it was something far more invasive, a hook digging into the very essence of her being.
"From now on, your life belongs to me," Tianmo stated, his voice devoid of warmth, yet laced with a dark sinister undertone that of a villain. "Your breath, your blood, your cultivation... everything is mine."
He leaned down, his lips brushing the delicate shell of her ear. She smelled of lavender and misery.
"If you run, I won't kill you," he whispered, his voice a low caress that promised nightmares. "I will break your legs and keep you in my basement to rot. Do you understand?"
Liu Ruyan shivered violently, the Soul Binding Brand pulsing on her wrist, a proof of his ownership over her.
She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks like broken pearls. "Y-Yes... Master."
"Good."
Tianmo straightened up, his expression bored once more.
He tossed a bag of spirit stones to the handler who stood trembling in the corner. "Bring her to my carriage. And have her washed. I don't want the smell of this place on my property."
***
The Wang family carriage was a beast of dark mahogany and reinforced ironwood, pulled by two spirit horses that snorted plumes of white mist into the cool air.
The interior of the carriage was a sanctuary of silence and luxury, smelling faintly of sandalwood and old money.
Liu Ruyan knelt on the floor, head bowed, trembling like a leaf in a storm.
"Seventh brother... Why did you purchase her?" A woman clad in a white robe devoid of dust, uttered with disdain.
She was his little sister named Wang Ling'er.
The Wang family was a Golden-core family from a small village in the vast eastern region. His father, a golden core realm powerhouse had seven wives and sixteen children.
Among 16, only three of them awakened spirit roots.
Both, he and his sister, Wang Ling'er, possessed the spirit root and we're currently heading towards the sect for enrollment.
In the original novel, Wang Ling'er was the cannon fodder who tried to bully the female lead, got slapped by the male lead, and was eventually sold to a brothel to pay off the family's debts.
A tragic end. But how could he allow his little sister to be sold to a brothel? Outrageous!!!
Which author dares to write such a plot?! He is courting death. Unable to distinguish silver from dust.
Tianmo looked at his sister sitting across from him. She was beautiful, with the same noble bearing as their mother, but her eyes held the arrogance of the sheltered Young Miss, that arrogant look who looks down on 30 years in the east and 30 years in the west, poor ones.
"Brother, she is just a cripple," Ling'er pressed, her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something foul. She crossed her arms, her ample chest heaving slightly with her indignation.
"Father gave us a thousand spirit stones for our initial resources in the sect. You spent all of it on a rag doll. Are you trying to ruin our chances before we even arrive at the Azure Cloud Sect?"
Tianmo didn't answer immediately. He gently swirled the jade cup of premium nectar wine in his hand as they do in novels, his eyes half-lidded, observing his sister.
She was right, of course. In the original plot, the 'original' Tianmo had been a fool, spending the family's dwindling fortune on Ruyan while ignoring his own sister's plight. That neglect had turned Ling'er bitter and jealous, driving her to antagonize Ruyan once they joined the sect.
But Tianmo wasn't the original fool. He was a man who understood the value of assets and the danger of loose ends.
"Sister, worry not... If you need cultivation resources, come to me." With a wave of his hand, a pouch appeared before his hand.
"Here are ten thousand low-grade spiritual stones. Use it as you see fit."
Ling'er stared at the small pouch floating in front of her, her mouth slightly agape. She hesitated, then snatched it out of the air, her hands trembling as she opened the drawstring.
A soft, azure glow illuminated the dim carriage.
"T-Ten thousand?" she stammered, her eyes widening like saucers. "Brother... where did you get this? Father only gave us—"
"Do you want it, or should I take it back?" Tianmo interrupted, his voice monotonous. He took a sip of his wine, his eyes drifting back to the trembling Liu Ruyan on the floor. "Consider it an investment. I expect my sister to shine at the Sect, not bicker over pocket change."
Ling'er clutched the pouch to her chest, her previous disdain evaporating instantly, replaced by a mix of shock and burning greed. She knew the value of this amount. With this, she could buy pills, artifacts, and maybe even bribe an elder.
However, her family couldn't produce so much money... But something better not asked.
"Thank you, Brother!" she exclaimed, her tone shifting to sickening sweetness. She sat back, her mind racing with what to do, no longer sparing a glance for the slave girl on the floor.
Tianmo smirked. Money solved everything. It solved family drama, and it would certainly solve the issue of his sister becoming a bitter cannon fodder. If she were strong and rich, she wouldn't need to bully Ruyan out of jealousy.
He would surely cultivate his sister than some female lead.
He shifted his gaze downward.
Liu Ruyan was still kneeling, her head pressed against the carpet. Her body was tense, waiting for the next blow or humiliation.
"Rise," Tianmo commanded.
Ruyan flinched but slowly lifted herself up, kneeling back on her heels. She kept her eyes lowered, terrified to meet his gaze.
"Come here."
She shuffled forward on her knees until she was right between his legs. The scent of her fear mixed with a faint, natural floral fragrance from her skin.
Tianmo set down his wine cup. He reached out, his cold fingers gripping her chin again, forcing her face up.
"Look at me."
She hesitated, then slowly raised her eyes.
They were beautiful—clear, watery, and filled with a despair that made his blood boil in the best way possible.
Everyone is sadistic to a certain degree.
"In the Sect, you will be my maid," Tianmo stated, his thumb tracing her lower lip, enjoying the soft, trembling texture.
"You will wash my robes, clean my room, and warm my bed at night... You have any dissatisfaction?"
"N-no... This slave understands."
He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. She tried to look away but couldn't.
"Does that scare you?" he muttered, his breath hot against her trembling lips.
"Y-Yes..." she admitted, her voice barely a squeak. But she knew slaves never had a good life.
"Brother... Why are you interested in her!? If you want you can have a woman with spirit roots?"
Tianmo didn't even bother looking at his sister. He kept his gaze locked on Ruyan, his thumb pressing harder against her lip, parting them slightly.
"Spirit roots?" Tianmo scoffed, finally turning his head to give Ling'er a sidelong glance.
"Sister, you are too young to understand the allure of a broken doll. Women with talent have ambitions; they have egos. They think they are equal to Heaven."
He looked back at Ruyan, his eyes darkening with a twisted hunger. "But a cripple? A slave? She has nothing. She is entirely dependent on my mercy. That kind of absolute obedience... it pleases me."
Ling'er's face flushed a deep crimson. She opened her mouth to retort, to call him a pervert or a degenerate, but the heavy pouch of spirit stones in her lap silenced her.
She swallowed her words, turning her head to look out the window, though the reflection in the glass showed her biting her lip in confusion.
Tianmo chuckled, enjoying her discomfort. He turned his attention back to the trembling girl before him.
"Besides," he murmured, his hand sliding down from her chin to her throat, feeling her rapid pulse. "I have a hobby. I like to take things that are considered trash by the world and polish them until they shine brighter than the heavens. If I can turn this crippled slave into a supreme beauty that makes the Sect Master drool, isn't that the ultimate display of power?"
Ruyan's breath hitched. His grip on her throat was firm, possessive, but not to the point of choking.
It was a reminder of ownership.
"System," he thought. "Scan her body. I want to know exactly what 'crippled' means in this context."
[Scanning... Complete.]
[Host, the subject Liu Ruyan possesses the 'Nine Yin Absolute Body'. This is a physique that naturally attracts Yin energy, making cultivation incredibly fast for Yin-attribute arts. However, her meridians are blocked by accumulated Yin poison. If she attempts to cultivate normally, the poison will enter her heart, and she will die a painful death within three years. She is essentially a ticking time bomb.]
Tianmo's eyes lit up with a dangerous glint. A ticking time bomb? Isn't this the normal cliché? Yin body that needs to be healed by Yang? Aka get dicked by protagonist.
However, it is the ideal dual cultivation physique.
He let go of her. Truth be told, he has no hatred towards the female lead. The original host was stupid, he deserves what he got but, little revenge must be taken since he has now possessed the body.
She needs to be tamed perfectly.