NOVEL WEB Chapter 8 - If only Qin Yan were there
The girl knelt on one knee, her right hand gripping the sword, her body covered in countless wounds. The excessive burning of her spiritual essence had caused blood to flow from her seven orifices, leaving her on the brink of death.
She lifted her hand to wipe the blood from her mouth, only for new blood to surge forth. With a faint smile, she spoke each word, “Stubbornly resist?”
As the sword’s tip sank into the ground, the blood on the blade trickled down the hilt. A golden rune, faintly visible, began to glow. The rune’s patterns of gold and red intertwined and instantly spread, forming a barrier centered around her. The barrier engulfed the entire Crescent Moon Sect, instantly trapping the remaining enemies within, constantly draining their blood essence.
“Ah!!!”
“Stop! This is an ancient dark spell!”
They tried to flee towards Li Xiang but were turned to ash by the array in mid-air.
It was over.
The array was complete, and Li Xiang fell.
“Cut—”
“Great acting. Everyone worked hard. Go take a rest.”
Jiang Zi knelt on the ground, her head bowed, maintaining her character’s state, unmoving.
“Jiang Zi!”
Holding up her skirt, Tang Yuan ran towards her and squatted down in front of her.
“Jiang Zi! You were amazing. You brought Li Xiang to life!”
Tears as big as beans fell from her eyes. Jiang Zi’s gaze was empty and lifeless, as if she had sunk into a world of self-loathing, lost in endless despair.
“Jiang Zi?”
Tang Yuan sighed, kneeling beside her. She gently embraced her and soothingly stroked her hair.
Jiang Zi’s arms wrapped tightly around Tang Yuan’s waist, with a force as if she wanted to merge into her.
Tang Yuan stayed silent, allowing her to hold on.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Zi finally spoke, her voice hoarse and exhausted. “If only Qin Yan were there.”
If Qin Yan were there, would Li Xiang have lived?
If she were there, would junior sister have lived?
Hearing her murmured words, Tang Yuan grasped her shoulders and gently pushed her away. “Sister, there’s no use dwelling on what-ifs. Everyone has their fate and script. When it’s time for a scene to end, it ends. You can’t just add scenes at will.”
Jiang Zi slowly emerged from her self-loathing state, and hearing this made her feel both amused and helpless.
She removed Tang Yuan’s hands from her shoulders and embraced her tightly once more.
But fortunately, she had found her again.
Her junior sister.
Tang Yuan patted her back gently. “Alright, alright, let’s stop kneeling here. My knees are sore.”
Jiang Zi released her and looked deeply at her before standing up and pulling her to her feet by the wrist. “Let’s go.”
She’s not sure if that was just a dream. In that dream, she had a dainty junior sister who was lazy, greedy, and smug. This junior sister would always pester her to buy pretty dresses and beautiful jewelry.
And when asked to go training to improve her cultivation. She would always refuse, giving grandiose reasons.
“I’m not going. What if I dirty my pretty dress?”
She was so obsessed with her appearance.
Yet, the last time senior sister saw her, her white dress had turned into blood-stained rags, her body was covered in mud, her appearance was ruined, and she was in a pitiful state.
In the dream, she was as imprisoned by the plot as she was now, unable to control her own fate.
“Tang Yuan.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you believe in past lives?”
Tang Yuan answered without hesitation, “No.”
Jiang Zi lowered her head and looked at her, “Why not?”
“There’s no such thing,” Tang Yuan quickened her pace, walking ahead. “Let’s not dwell on such hypotheticals.”
【This is an atheistic world, so there is no such setting as soul transmigration.】
The reason she doesn’t believe is because such a setting doesn’t exist in this world?
Jiang Zi’s smile remained faint as she watched the ends of Tang Yuan’s hair sway with her steps.
“Tang Yuan.”
The girl turned back to look at her. “What’s up?”
“Remember to change your clothes. You’ve got blood on your clothes from hugging me.”
“Ah?! I was wondering why there was a weird smell. So dirty!”
Tang Yuan immediately dashed off, her assistant hurrying after her with a change of clothes.
Jiang Zi looked down at her own attire, which was even more of a mess.
It seemed she wasn’t cut out for acting either; Tang Yuan’s mysophobia was quite something.
As expected, on the tenth day, after finishing all the scenes, the crew wrapped up the shoot.
“We’re done! We’re done! Tonight’s dinner is on me!”
“Director, you’re so generous!”
Tang Yuan joined the crowd, cheering along with them. She looked around but couldn’t find Jiang Zi.
Where had Jiang Zi gone? Maybe she went back to the hotel to pack?
Tang Yuan bid farewell to everyone and headed towards the elevator.
Her room was right next to Jiang Zi’s. When she reached her floor, she walked straight to Jiang Zi’s door and knocked.
“Jiang Zi, are you there?”
After a short while, the door opened. Jiang Zi was wearing a pure white dress with her hair styled in two braids and no accessories in her hair. Her look was a far cry from her usual casual style of an oversized t-shirt and cargo pants.
(TL: Jiang Zi’s casual style)
Tang Yuan stared at her outfit blankly, uncertainly calling out, “Jiang Zi?”
Jiang Zi didn’t respond, her expression dark and sullen, clearly in a bad mood.
Tang Yuan: “I don’t care what you are. Get off Jiang Zi right now!”
【Give me back my cool, aloof t-shirt-wearing handsome! What’s with this sudden transformation into a romance drama heroine!】
Hearing her inner outburst, Jiang Zu was momentarily stunned. In her heart… she was a cool, aloof type?
Tang Yuan took a deep breath and calmly closed her eyes.
She almost forgot that Jiang Zi was originally a tragic heroine character. As long as the male lead’s protagonist halo remains unchanged, the plot of this small world will continue to advance under the protagonist’s halo.
In the original plot, Tang Yuan did not leave the crew in order to torment Jiang Zi. Jiang Zi faced exclusion within the crew, was pranked during scenes, and even had her harness tampered with while performing stunts. Luckily, It was discovered in time and prevented injury. In short, filming days were like walking on thin ice for her.
When the shooting wrapped, Chu Yu personally came to pick her up and even hosted a wrap party, which was Jiang Zi’s first meeting with Chu Yu’s friends.
The drama was about to intensify.
Tang Yuan extended her hands and pushed Jiang Zi into the room. “Sister, have you finished packing? I’ll help you.”
【This wrap party is bound to be a Hongmen Banquet. How could I miss it?】
Jiang Zi complied and returned to her room with her. She pointed to the white suitcase. “It’s already packed.”
Tang Yuan surveyed the room and, seeing that there was nothing left to pack, stopped.
She made herself comfortable, sitting on the bed and pulling out her phone to play with.
Her assistant had already packed her things, so she sent a message letting her know she didn’t have to wait for her to go back together.
After sorting, she looked up at Jiang Zi with a smile. “The director said there’s a wrap party tonight. Are you coming, Sister?”
Jiang Zi’s lips twitched slightly as she offered an out. “I’m not going. I have plans tonight.”
Tang Yuan, already aware, asked knowingly, “A man?”
Jiang Zi nodded, ignoring the sinister gleam in Tang Yuan’s eyes. “Yes, a man.”
Tang Yuan tilted her chin, starting to make unreasonable demands. “I’ll go with sister.”
“Alright.”
“Huh?” The response was so swift that Tang Yuan didn’t quite catch on.
“We’re friends.”
Jiang Zi said, understanding that Tang Yuan, not bound by the plot, was a bug that could help her escape the plot’s shackles.
Jiang Zi then approached Tang Yuan, standing directly in front of her. She bent down to get closer, her gaze tender. “Tang Yuan, what do you think of my outfit?”