When I woke up the next morning, my head was pounding like someone had been using my skull as a practice drum. For a moment, I just sat there staring at the ornate canopy above me, trying to convince myself last night was just an elaborate fever dream.
White void. A talking system. A mission to seduce the Heavenly Lord.
Right.
I groaned and threw an arm over my face. "Fantastic. I die once, and the universe respawns me in hard mode."
My brain kept replaying that robotic voice like a curse:
> Seduce the Heavenly Lord. Repair the plotline. Failure will result in immediate termination.
Immediate termination.
I didn't even need a system manual to know what that meant.
I'd spent half the night trying to recall everything I knew about this world — Heavenly Lord's Ascension. A classic cultivation power fantasy, full of jade beauties, arrogant young masters, and one righteous protagonist: Yan Yezhen, the pure-hearted, sword-loving future Heavenly Lord.
And the body I was in? Lin Feng. Arrogant, spoiled, rich young master. Also known as: cannon fodder villain number two.
I rubbed my face and muttered, "Perfect. I'm literally the discount villain who gets his face slapped by the protagonist halfway through chapter sixty."
The universe had a sick sense of humor.
Just as I was about to get up, a soft knock came from the door.
"Young Master Lin, may I come in?"
I froze mid-stretch. "Uh… sure?"
The door slid open, and a girl stepped in — delicate, graceful, dressed in soft pink robes. She bowed so low her forehead nearly touched the floor.
"Young Master," she said timidly, "Miss Sun Yang wishes to see you."
I blinked. "Sun… Yang?"
The name sparked something at the edge of my memory. Then it hit me. The heroine. The actual female lead of the novel.
Oh no.
She was supposed to be the love interest of Yan Yezhen — and if I remembered correctly, Lin Feng used to harass her too.
My stomach dropped.
Before I could make up an excuse to flee, the girl stepped aside, and another figure entered.
Sun Yang herself.
She was even prettier than the book described — elegant and trembling, eyes red from crying. Before I could say a word, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground.
"Lin Feng, please! I beg you!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin. "H-hey, wait, what are you doing? Get up! Seriously, my back aches just looking at you—"
But she didn't move. Her voice broke as she cried, "Please, free Yan Yezhen!"
Everything in me went still.
"…What?" I asked faintly.
"Please," she said again, looking up at me with tear-streaked cheeks, "he's still out there! You ordered him to cut a thousand logs as punishment — it's raining, Young Master Lin! He'll die if this continues!"
My brain short-circuited.
Cutting wood. Rain. Punishment.
I dove into Lin Feng's memories — and the realization slammed into me like lightning.
Oh. Oh no.
This was that part of the story. The infamous humiliation scene. The one that made Yan Yezhen vow revenge and triggered his rise to power. The one that led to my (well, Lin Feng's) death later on.
"Holy shi—" I slapped my hand over my mouth. "We're already at the death-flag stage?!"
> System notification: Correction. You are at the pre–death-flag stage. Player intervention strongly advised.
"Yeah, no kidding!" I hissed under my breath.
Sun Yang blinked at me, clearly confused by my muttering. "Y-Young Master Lin?"
I straightened, forcing a smile. "Where is he?"
She hesitated. "In the back of the sect grounds, near the forest."
"Take me there."
"Now."
---
The rain was pouring when we reached the forest edge. Mist coiled around the trees, the ground slick with mud. From somewhere deeper inside came a steady, rhythmic sound:
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of an axe splitting wood.
"Stop here," I told her.
My heart hammered as I stepped forward through the mist — and then I saw him.
Yan Yezhen.
He stood in the clearing, soaked from head to toe. His white outer-disciple robes clung to his body, rain cascading down his long black hair. His hands gripped the axe so tightly that blood ran down the handle.
And yet, his movements didn't falter.
Thud.
The log split.
Thud.
Another one.
Every motion was precise, steady, almost mechanical — the kind of discipline that screamed years of pain and self-control.
Even half-dead from exhaustion, he looked… unreal.
My breath caught.
Oh.
So this was the protagonist's "heavenly aura" in person.
Beautiful didn't even cover it. There was something tragic in the way he moved — restrained, focused, like someone who carried the world on his shoulders but refused to let it crush him.
I forgot how to breathe for a full five seconds.
The system's mission replayed in my mind, and I almost laughed out loud.
Seduce him?
How the hell was I supposed to seduce that?
He looked like he'd rather meditate himself into enlightenment than ever notice someone like me.
I took a cautious step forward. "Uh… hey there."
He didn't even glance up.
The axe came down again. Thud.
Rain plastered his hair to his face, but his eyes — sharp, dark, unwavering — didn't flicker in my direction.
I tried again, louder this time. "You, uh, might want to take a break. The sky's trying to drown us both."
Nothing.
Just the sound of the axe and the rain.
I clenched my jaw. Alright, fine. Time to improvise.
I walked closer until I was just a few meters away. "Yan Yezhen, right?"
This time, the axe paused mid-swing. Slowly, he turned to look at me.
Cold, unreadable eyes met mine.
"...Sect Leader's son," he said flatly. His voice was calm — too calm.
I swallowed. "Yup. That's me. Totally sober this time. Also, not here to—"
Before I could finish, he said quietly, "If you've come to humiliate me again, you can do it after I finish my punishment."
Ouch.
"Wow, you really don't hold back," I muttered. "Listen, about that punishment—"
"I haven't reached a thousand logs," he said, cutting me off, and turned back to swing the axe.
Thud.
Okay. Deep breaths, Lu Shen. Don't panic. Don't die of protagonist glare.
"Right, right, but here's the thing." I forced a smile, trying to sound casual. "Maybe we call it even? You've chopped enough firewood to build a palace by now."
No reaction.
The rain was relentless. I could barely see through it, but the stubborn set of his jaw made it clear: he wasn't stopping.
"System," I hissed under my breath, "a little help here?"
> Advice: Emotional vulnerability increases affection points. Suggestion — offer physical assistance or display concern.
"Offer physical—what? He's built like a demigod! I'll die in one swing!"
> Affection mission progress: 0%.
I groaned, running a hand through my wet hair. Alright, fine. Let's do this.
I stepped forward, grabbed the axe handle mid-swing — and instantly regretted it.
"Whoa—!"
The force nearly yanked my shoulder out of its socket. I stumbled, soaked to the bone, and ended up flat on my backside in the mud.
Yan Yezhen froze, eyes widening slightly. For the first time, something that looked like surprise cracked through that icy calm.
I pointed at him, gasping, "Would you—stop—trying to die of stubbornness for one second?!"
He blinked slowly. "…What?"
"Do you have any idea how insane this looks? You're drenched, bleeding, and chopping wood like you're in some tragic hero painting!" I stood up, gesturing wildly. "If you want to be dramatic, at least do it indoors!"
His lips parted slightly — not a smile, not exactly — just quiet disbelief.
"I don't need your concern," he said after a moment, voice soft but firm.
"Well, too bad!" I snapped. "Because apparently I'm stuck in this godforsaken world until you fall in love with me!"
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Silence.
My soul left my body.
Yan Yezhen stared at me, utterly still.
"…What?"
"I—uh—" I coughed violently, trying to cover it up. "What I meant was! Fall in line with me! Like—like sect camaraderie! You know? Brotherhood! Companionship! Totally platonic mutual respect!"
The look on his face could have frozen the sun.
"I see," he said finally, voice unreadable. "Then please, return to your quarters, Young Master Lin. I'll finish here."
And just like that, he turned back to chopping.
Thud.
Thud.
Each swing echoed like a death knell for my dignity.
I sighed and dragged a hand down my face. "You're impossible," I muttered.
> Affection progress: 2%
I froze. "Wait—two percent?!"
> Acknowledgement: Target noticed host's concern.
I looked at Yan Yezhen again, his figure framed by rain and fog, every movement sharp and determined.
Alright, maybe I wasn't completely doomed yet.
"Fine," I said quietly. "You win for today. But I'm not letting you die for a plotline that hates me."
I turned back toward the path, mud squelching under my boots. The rain had eased into a drizzle, but my heart was still pounding.
Somewhere behind me, I thought I heard the faintest sound — the axe slowing, a breath drawn, a quiet voice barely audible through the rain.
"…Strange man."