Chapter Thirteen "You... you actually... you are despicable!"

"Young Master Jiang! Don't!"
The girl named Xiao Xueli dropped the gauze veil from her head and tightly embraced Jiang Lin, her slender hands incessantly brushing the blood from the corner of his mouth.

At that moment, the villain who had just ambushed them seemed to glitch out, simply staring at the emotional pair.

"Miss... I... uh... I..."
Jiang Lin tried to raise his hand to touch Xiao Xueli's face, but his strength failed him and his arm dropped limply.

"Why would you, Young Master, go to such lengths for a stranger like me?"
Tears fell from the girl's eyes onto Jiang Lin's face, the pallor and delicate beauty of her features making her all the more lovely.

"The Sun and Moon Sect may be... may be a demon cult... I, Jiang Yida... though a disciple of the demon sect... still... still have my principles. To see injustice and not act... to lend a hand when needed... that is my—Jiang Yida's—principle... ah..."

Yet another mouthful of blood seeped from Jiang Lin's lips. At that moment, he felt as if he were about to die again, but before he went, he had to finish his words.

"Young Master Jiang, please, no more, don't speak again... Xueli will surely heal you..."

"No, it's... it's too late already..."
Jiang Lin grasped the girl's soft, boneless hand, his gaze deep and moving. "Alas, I... Yida can no longer protect you... Miss... for... give... me..."

Jiang Lin's hands fell, his head rolling from the girl's arms to the side, even the regret and unwillingness in his final words were impeccably delivered...

But then...

"Young Master Jiang, you are not allowed to die!"

Just as Jiang Lin prepared to die dramatically and then respawn somewhere far away, the girl closed her eyes and struck his body with a palm.

"Huh???"

Jiang Lin was ready to see his life flash before his eyes, but instead, a warm current protected his heart, and not only that, it began to heal his wounds from within.

Within three breaths, Jiang Lin actually felt his injuries stabilizing.

Holy hell! Isn't this cheating?

Sensing the oddity in both the girl and Jiang Lin's state, the black-clad leader finally came back online, thrusting his sword at the pair.

Jiang Lin felt the sword's aura, but his wounds were too severe; he couldn't even open his eyes, much less move to shield Xiao Xueli from the blow.

Just as the sword was about to strike the girl, her eyes snapped open and a colossal wave of energy flung the black-clad man away, incidentally blowing Jiang Lin's hair into disarray...

"You... you are..."

Jiang Lin felt himself gently laid down, then a surge of overwhelming sword intent flashed by, and then... all sounds vanished... the black-clad man died ten meters away.

"This man is rather handsome. Perhaps he might suit little Xueli," a cool, faintly smiling voice sounded beside Jiang Lin. Though he knew it came from the girl's lips, the tone and timbre were utterly different.

Could it be...

Jiang Lin couldn't help but think of the old man trapped in the protagonist's ring, or the granny who had possessed the hero's body...

"So young, yet already at the peak of the Cave Abode Realm. Not bad, not bad. Alas, this little girl Xueli still has important tasks; she cannot let romance hinder her cultivation."

He felt a soft hand slip into his robe; it seemed his clothes were being loosened? As Jiang Lin considered refusing, a surge of warmth entered his body again, as if he'd just had a full-body massage—utterly comfortable.

After two cycles of the warm current, his wounds were more than half healed.

Jiang Lin slowly opened his eyes; he could move again...

"Thank you, senior, for your timely rescue."

Jiang Lin struggled to his feet and clasped his fists in a salute.

"Senior? Why not address me as 'miss' anymore?"
Xiao Xueli's lips curled in a playful smile as she appraised Jiang Lin.

"I dare not, senior. Had I known you were guarding this young lady, I would never have overreached myself."

"Knowing you could not win, yet still choosing to act—excellent, young man. Whatever the case, you risked yourself to save her. Both I and this girl Xueli owe you a favor. Name your wish. Even if I cannot grant it today, I shall fulfill it in the future. Speak—what do you desire?"

"To contribute to a better world is my duty. To roar at injustice and act when necessary—that is my principle. Though I am of the demon sect, my heart remains that of a model youth, therefore I..."

[Ding...]

Just as Jiang Lin was about to finish sculpting his shining image as a paragon, the system's notification rang in his mind! He nearly choked mid-sentence. Honestly, if he weren't afraid of going down with the system, he'd have liked to torch it with a digital virus.

[Mission triggered: The soul of a mighty figure hidden within protagonist Xiao Xueli has emerged. As a host aspiring to become the world's ultimate boss, how can you stop now?]

[Mission: 1. Owing to the rescue, the target's spiritual energy is depleted. This is your best chance—pin her down and show her, with your tongue, what it means to be a real man! 2. She has offered you a reward—shamelessly demand that she give herself to you!]

[Choose now! 3...2...1...]

"System! You *&^%$#@!"
Jiang Lin cursed furiously in his heart, but the countdown had begun...

Detecting that the host has failed to choose, option one will be automatically selected. Host, you have been warned...

No!

"Senior!"

At the last second, Jiang Lin's body, beyond his control, launched itself at the ground in a classic wrestling move, startling the other party.

"Young Master Jiang, there is no need for this. Please, stand up and speak."

"No! If senior does not agree, I will not get up!"

"Young Master Jiang... could it be you have been coerced into joining the Sun and Moon Sect, and wish me to help you escape?"

"No, the Sun and Moon Sect is honest and upright. I joined of my own will."

"Then do you have a mortal enemy, for whom you seek my aid?"

"Not that either. I was an orphan from childhood; I don't even remember my parents' faces..."

"Then, Young Master Jiang, what is it?"

"Senior! I—!"

All of a sudden, Jiang Lin pounced, and before the other could react, he became the lord of rivers and unleashed a wild Q-skill upon her.

A crisp slap echoed down the street—a burning red handprint now adorned Jiang Lin's right cheek.

Raising his head, he saw Xiao Xueli blushing furiously, glaring at him. "You... how dare you... you scoundrel!"

With that, she covered her mouth and fled into the distance...

Touching his burning cheek and watching the girl's retreating figure, Jiang Lin felt nothing but melancholy... Not only that—his first kiss was lost that very night.

He sighed softly, gazing up at the moon...

He had truly provoked the protagonist now; there was no way to explain himself. Now he was truly doomed...