I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

“I’m in a good mood, and seeing you bustling about, I want to treat you to a bowl. What? You dare not heed the words of a cultivator?” Long Tian narrowed his eyes and filled a bowl for him.

“Alright, I’ll drink it, I’ll drink it.” The waiter took the bowl of chicken soup, sipped a few times, then licked his lips. “Ah… it’s exquisite, a delicacy of the mortal realm. Why are you staring at me? Hurry and drink!”

Long Tian remained still, and the waiter chuckled awkwardly. “Then I won’t disturb you; I’ll take my leave.”

After the waiter left, those who had drunk the chicken soup, including Qiu Ligao, began to show signs of drunkenness. Long Tian glanced at the unconscious Pi Yang, thinking that this guy probably had no idea, only responsible for bringing himself out.

With the chicken soup mixed in, and the stimulation of alcohol, the effects were doubled. Long Tian was curious about what the mastermind behind this was truly aiming for. To knock them out and take them to a remote wilderness to kill them?

Long Tian stood up, deciding to find that “waiter.”

98 Playing Shadows

“What’s with that kid? Did he see through me? But how? I shouldn’t have been exposed…” The innkeeper’s steps were frantic, his heart racing as he swiftly left the tavern, darting into a dark alley just a few streets away, where he whispered the secret code to a small, nondescript house.

“On the ground, one monkey; in the tree, seven monkeys; how many monkeys in total?”

With a creak, the door swung open, and the innkeeper stepped inside, greeted by the scowls of several burly men, their faces etched with menace.

“Back so soon? Did you really complete the task all by yourself?” one of his companions sneered.

“Don’t even mention it. That target, for some reason, seemed to realize something was off with the soup.” The innkeeper yanked off his hat and slammed it to the ground. “If I hadn’t been as cautious as a pangolin and taken the antidote beforehand, I’d be out cold right now.”

“No way! That was my own concoction of ‘Family Down’ powder—colorless and tasteless! Coupled with the third-grade spirit chicken soup, it should have been undetectable…”

“What are you all staring at me for? Am I supposed to warn him that the soup has a drug in it? ‘Don’t drink it!’?” The pangolin felt the weight of his companions’ gazes, uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

“No, we think you’re an idiot. If you’ve been seen, why come back so early? What if they followed you? We’d be exposed!” These men were all on the wanted list, criminals who had committed their share of murder and theft. Though Yucheng was a small city, its proximity to Tianluo Sect meant there were plenty of formidable cultivators around.

“Absolutely impossible.” The pangolin denied vehemently. “I’ve observed that kid’s cultivation; he’s only around the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment. I’m a first-layer crystallization powerhouse! Even if he did come, he couldn’t possibly kill me!”

“Boom!” The door suddenly exploded inward, and a figure shot in, a sword pressed coldly against the pangolin’s back. A calm, chilling voice whispered in his ear, “Oh, but I can.”

His companions jumped in shock, hastily drawing their weapons, ready for a fight.

The pangolin’s eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to retaliate, but the blade at his back was positioned at his life’s gate; one misstep could mean his end. “Damn it, you’re playing shadows with me, huh… How did you figure out something was off?”

“Creeping around, shifty eyes. Sure, you laughed a few times when you came in, trying to blend into our midst, pretending to be all warm and welcoming with that soup. But if you were truly a mortal, you wouldn’t dare speak in front of a bunch of drunken cultivators.” Of course, the most crucial detail was what Long Tian didn’t say—that he had the remnant soul of a fallen immortal by his side, capable of discerning worldly poisons, which had detected the drug in the soup.

“Who are you? What do you want with the disciples of Tianluo Sect?”

“Tianluo Sect disciples?” At the mention of this, shock rippled through the room, their fighting spirit waning considerably.

Long Tian caught this shift, clearly sensing that the other party was unaware of the truth.

“Us brothers had no intention of provoking the disciples of Tianluo Sect. We humbly ask you to spare us and grant us a way out.”

“That depends on whether the information you provide can satisfy me. Who sent you to do this, and what was the original plan?”

“We don’t even know who our employer is. The payment was quite generous; they only told us to knock out a young man in a private room of the tavern, create a huge commotion, then set up a soundproof barrier, and kill everyone except you. The rest was none of our concern; just take the reward and leave.”

At these words, Long Tian’s body trembled.

Not only did they want to kill him, but they also intended to frame him with the crime of murdering his own kin!

It made sense; a few outer disciples out drinking—if they all died, Tianluo Sect would surely investigate thoroughly. But if one remained at the scene, regardless of whether they fled afterward, they would be deemed a suspect. The plan to knock them out and create a loud ruckus was to fabricate a quarrel, while the soundproof barrier would leave doubts, obscuring what truly transpired inside.

“Was the other party arrogant, like a young master from a prominent family?” Long Tian pondered, the only name that came to mind was Bai Song orchestrating this from the shadows.

“No, the person wore a wide-brimmed hat and had their face covered. But judging by their build and voice, they should be a middle-aged man, with cultivation at…” Before the words could finish, a fierce sword aura burst into the room.

Long Tian reacted swiftly, leaping out through the opposite window.

“Boom!” The house shattered into pieces, and those inside were instantly obliterated.

Long Tian wanted to pursue, but the old man, Yuxian, reminded him that the priority was to avoid any possibility of being framed.

Before leaving the private room, Long Tian had already administered an antidote to them. They soon awoke, resuming their drinking, even asking where Long Tian had gone. But in their half-drunken state, trouble was bound to arise, especially with the opponent’s cultivation being so high—at least above the eighth layer of crystallization.

Avoiding blame was simple. Seeing the townsfolk gathering at the commotion, Long Tian quickly gathered the dead assailants into a pile, waiting for the guards to arrive.

What he needed to do now was transform himself into a righteous cultivator capturing criminals. After all, those who sought to kill their own kin could not remain calm while hunting down the culprits afterward. As long as he had this small merit, even if Qiu Li and Gao still perished, Long Tian could leverage this contradiction to seek a sliver of hope, prompting the Law Enforcement Hall of Tianluo Sect to reexamine the incident. After all, the Law Enforcement Hall couldn’t be entirely composed of Bai Song’s people; they would investigate fairly and thoroughly.

While waiting for the guards to arrive, Long Tian used a communication stone to try and contact Qiu Li and Gao. After a while, he finally connected, and hearing Qiu Li’s voice, the tension in Long Tian’s heart eased completely.

Clearly, the mastermind intended to execute their plan flawlessly, leaving no room for doubt. Upon discovering Long Tian tracking the hired thugs to their base and setting up a trap outside to prevent their escape, they immediately chose to break the plan, opting to eliminate both the thugs and Long Tian.

Had Long Tian perished in that attack, and been found among a group of wanted criminals, who knew what malicious rumors might arise?

In any case, Pi Yang, Qiu Li, and Gao were merely pawns used to frame Long Tian; even if the thugs took their money afterward, they would likely find it hard to escape with their lives.

“What happened here?” Not long after, the city guards arrived, led by a crystallized cultivator.

Long Tian displayed his badge as an outer disciple of Tianluo Sect, and the guards’ attitude instantly shifted to one of respect.

Outer sect disciples are not valued within the sect, but outside, no matter what kind of disciple, as long as they are from the Tian Luo Sect, they will receive attention, similar to students from a prestigious school.

“My name is Long Tian, and I’m out drinking with friends when I stumbled upon a few guys acting suspiciously…” Long Tian’s ability to talk nonsense is not weak, and after being checked by the guards, these few guys were indeed on the wanted list, although they’re dead, they can still be exchanged for a reward, and increase the kingdom’s contribution value.