Chapter Two: Prejudice【5K】
“They say I’m a monster~ but I think they’re worse than clowns~” Luxianbei hummed a little tune, his steps light and cheerful.
Finally, he didn’t have to work overtime to learn how to cook with Qing Ji anymore. Just thinking about it made him feel refreshed and full of energy, as if he could knock out three Miss Rabbits with a single punch.
However, Luxianbei was not on his way to Moon Nest Cave, but rather heading back to Hongyan Retreat.
Although he told Huasang that he still had to see Zhang Hainan before going down the mountain, just a short while ago, on the way to Moon Nest Cave, he had been stopped from a distance by an elder stationed by the secluded cave at the back mountain.
The elder informed Luxianbei that the Chief Priest was meeting distinguished guests from the Siye Association, and if needed, he could relay a message for him.
Luxianbei was a reasonable individual and did not want to trouble the elder he wasn’t too familiar with. After some brief pleasantries, he left the back mountain.
He was definitely not feeling cowardly because he heard that a guest from the Siye Association was visiting Zhang Hainan, worried that the big shots of the Siye Association were too powerful and might discover the secrets he wanted to keep hidden.
Mainly, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t turned off the gas before leaving!
He had a pot of broth simmering on the stove, and if he didn’t return soon it would burn dry. If a fire broke out, the entire Hongyan Retreat, along with the chicken and pig bones in the pot, would go up in flames.
Despite being a calamity-level character with a female authority over dangerous abilities and a maximum temperature comparable to magma, he was still a good kid with a high awareness of fire safety!
…
After about ten minutes, leaving the back mountain, following the mountain path down, and bypassing the nearly ruined Chi Li Hall, Luxianbei finally saw the small building of Hongyan Retreat nestled near the mountain, shrouded by greenery.
Continuing along the cobbled mountain path, he soon heard a clamor in the distance.
“Listen here, you clan of the Pink Fluffy Rabbit! You wicked master harmed my senior sister’s life, and today I’ll make you pay for bl**d with bl**d! Show your true strength with your Kai Yi staff, represent the waves and eliminate you!”
“Grotesque dark god, explode, Scarlet Flame Finger Tiger!”
Accompanying the loud and rough shouts was a shrill scream mixed with intermittent sobs echoing along the mountain path.
Upon hearing the commotion, Luxianbei frowned slightly, his eyes darting around before following the sound. He heard someone crying in pain, indicating that there was something interesting to see!
Though he usually suppressed the impulse to watch this kind of drama that stemmed from his bloodline to avoid unnecessary trouble,
let’s be reasonable, watching some excitement at the gate of Dachunyang Palace shouldn’t cause him to be targeted by strange Siye Association operatives, right?
After walking a short distance following the sounds, Luxianbei quickly climbed up a tall fir tree and crouched on a sturdy branch.
The moment he crouched, his coat subtly shifted, taking on camouflage colors to hide his presence.
Looking down, he saw two burly, muscular men, clearly disciples of Dachunyang Palace specializing in body techniques, one holding a turquoise Kai Yi staff, and the other wearing a red finger tiger, dressed in a flamboyant skirt modified from a Daoist robe.
At that moment, the two men had surrounded a weak-looking boy with pink rabbit ears on his head, tugging at him and occasionally spouting some incomprehensible words.
Luxianbei was like, “What the heck! Is this Dachunyang Palace or some kind of demonic sect?”
Who are these demonic disciples causing this postmodern “campus bullying” here? Wait a minute, he’d seen these three guys somewhere before!
After observing them for a while, Luxianbei suddenly realized that he had indeed seen the three people below.
The one being treated like a punching bag, beaten until his face was bruised, and whose rabbit ears had been pulled raw, was Easy Sihan, an earnest fan of Fu Xinyi who had guided him when he first arrived at Dachunyang Palace.
And the two stout men were those he had encountered a few days ago when he went to Qing Nang Herb Cottage to “borrow” cooking ingredients.
…
When he was at the Qing Nang Herb Cottage, those two had bullied a girl with pink rabbit ears, trying to forcefully take her medicinal herbs.
The girl treated her materials as friends, having carefully nurtured them! A justice-minded friend like Luxianbei couldn’t bear to see such a situation!
So, he had hidden in the shadows and silently gifted each of those two men a free trial card for a charm ability upgrade experience.
Though the core abilities of urban legends without urbanization could only exert about forty to fifty percent of their potential, he wasn’t very skilled in using the charm abilities either.
But it was still doable to influence the two Level C spiritual ability users, causing them to have a slight deviation in self-awareness. For example, making them think they were magical girls.
Then, just as the two men began to confuse their awareness and their actions became bizarre, and the bullied girl had a distressed look on her face, Luxianbei happily took away a significant amount of herbal ingredients used for cooking medicinal dishes.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He helped when that girl was bullied, and he definitely couldn’t let his efforts go to waste.
Doing such things carries a great risk. What if those two seemingly ordinary disciples had ties to some prestigious families, major powers, or ancient demonic beings?
Thus, it’s reasonable to collect a little “fee” as compensation, right?
Looking at the two burly men from afar, Luxianbei frowned and muttered to himself, “I didn’t expect these two guys wouldn’t learn a lesson at all!”
They are habitual offenders.
What happened to your resolve as magical girls, warriors of love? You should love this world properly, you idiots!
After making some complaints, Luxianbei silently climbed down the tree, ready to employ the same trick again, pushing those two men’s self-awareness skew further in an indescribable direction.
To be honest, he felt that this situation was at least half his and Proxy Player Sister’s fault.
If Proxy Player Sister hadn’t set the thought branding to Pink Fluffy Rabbit, or if he had just visualized the pink fluffy rabbit as a blonde, blue-eyed rabbit-eared loli, there wouldn’t be so many issues.
In short, Luxianbei feels it’s entirely the calamity’s fault!
Just as Luxianbei got down from the tree and focused on the two men, an exhausted cry suddenly came from not far away.
“Stop, stop, let go of that boy!”
Another justice-minded companion had appeared, and hearing the voice made Luxianbei and the other three halt in surprise.
Following the sound, they saw a pale girl with slightly sunken cheeks and dark circles under her eyes, looking as if she were a candle flickering in the wind.
Luxianbei observed the girl for a minute, before vaguely recognizing her features. Could it be, just possibly, that it was Fu Xinyi?
That’s right, Fu Xinyi had made it through a week and transformed into a ghostly appearance, finally returning from the underworld to the mortal realm!
I must say, Dachunyang Palace, known as the residence of immortals, really has a hardcore cultivation method. Congratulations, keep up the good work!
Seeing this, Luxianbei who had originally planned to help Easy Sihan hesitated for two seconds and then crouched back down.
Let’s be real, how many young boys haven’t fantasized about an admiration they’ve held for a long time, suddenly appearing to rescue them from a difficult situation?
Luxianbei figured that if he were at Easy Sihan’s age and enjoyed a moment of protagonist-level treatment like that, he’d probably be in euphoria by now.
Intervening at this moment would ruin the atmosphere! He wasn’t so clueless about romance.
Though this Fu sister didn’t look cool and beautiful now, and didn’t have a flashy racing car by her side, as soon as that thought crossed Luxianbei’s mind, he heard a rush of iron hooves pounding nearby.
Then, he saw Big Cousin dashing forth like a streak of lightning, stopping at Fu Xinyi’s side. Alright, there’s the “car,” but Big Cousin’s appearance still left much to be desired.
Luxianbei snickered and made a gesture at Big Cousin, signaling her to be calm, and she nodded in understanding with a massive head nod.
Fu Xinyi glanced at Easy Sihan, curled up on the ground, then briefly examined the imposing mountain guardian beast behind her, her teeth biting, silently lamenting within.
She had only come to the mountain gate upon receiving Huasang’s invitation, only to unfortunately witness the scene of riding the mountain guardian beast at the hands of many Dachunyang Palace disciples.
She always thought that the one truly recognized by the mountain guardian beast was mostly Huasang.
Now that the beast was here, Huasang should also be nearby; she was afraid she was going to be deceived again!
She took a deep breath and looked at the two burly men in front of her, speaking in a low tone, “What are you two doing? Bullying fellow disciples is a serious violation of the sect rules; don’t you know that?”
After pausing, Fu Xinyi scrutinized the bizarre clothing of the two men and added, “Dressing in strange clothes and being improperly attired in public is also a violation!”
“Fu Xinyi, senior sister, we are…”
Seeing Fu Xinyi and the water guardian beast appear simultaneously, the expressions on the faces of the two “magical girls” instantly became colorful, stammering for a while without uttering a complete sentence.
“Senior sister, this guy is the companion of an urban legend. We just…,” one of the men said, a grimace on his face, attempting to explain to Fu Xinyi, “We just wanted to teach him a lesson!”
Upon hearing this, Easy Sihan, now lying on the ground, forced his swollen eyes open and retorted, “I’m not a companion of an urban legend, I’m just, just…”
As he spoke halfway, something caught in his throat.
Though he had been deceived by the Secret Society to come into contact with the item corrupted by the urban legend known as F and was affected, any explanation he had would appear to be weak excuses in the eyes of those with prejudice.
Even if he attempted to explain, someone would say, “Why are you the only one affected, and not others? At the end of the day, there’s something wrong with you, right?”
Those people would only believe what they wanted to believe.
Fu Xinyi frowned tightly at Easy Sihan, fell silent for a few seconds, walked up, assisted him to his feet, and gently asked, “Junior brother, are you okay? Should I take you to Qing Nang Herb Cottage?”
“Thank you for your concern, senior sister,” Easy Sihan replied.
Then, he looked hesitant, his gaze evasive as he said, “But, it’s fine not to go to Qing Nang Herb Cottage; I’ll just rest a bit, so it’s, so it won’t trouble you, senior sister.”
Seeing Easy Sihan like this, Fu Xinyi let out a silent sigh and said, “Alright, then what about these two guys?”
The two men, seeing Fu Xinyi look at them, swung their fists awkwardly in the air, panic suddenly appearing in their eyes, their expressions becoming “colorful.”
Bullying is like this; many times, the bullies know very well they are doing something wrong, but as long as no one stands up to them, they will continue comfortably.
But once a stronger person than them stands up, they immediately scatter like light-sensitive creatures fleeing from strong sunlight.
It was clear that Fu Xinyi, as a once-in-a-century genius of Dachunyang Palace and rumored candidate for the next chief priest, was much more formidable than those two men.
Easy Sihan looked at the domineering Fu Xinyi, then at the two fellow disciples, his eyes trembling slightly. He seemed to see his own bullied state from a few minutes ago reflected in their faces.
The fragile balance between bullies and the bullied was instantly shattered by this piercing sunshine that was Fu Xinyi. The situations of both sides had reversed.
This transformation was like the difference between a Minotaur and a pure love warrior; often, it only subtly matters whether they charge or not.
Easy Sihan, with a complex expression, fell silent for a few seconds, struggled slightly, broke free from Fu Xinyi’s supporting hands, and cupped his hands toward her, saying, “Please, senior sister, don’t hold it against those two.”
Though Easy Sihan had been subjected to a lot of prejudice and unfair treatment due to the rabbit ears growing on his head these past few days, he didn’t want to use Fu Xinyi to retaliate against those people.
He did not wish to see Fu Xinyi, who was like a divine fairy in his heart, do such things.
Moreover, Fu Xinyi couldn’t always be by his side to help him. When she was not around, those people would still bully him, or even escalate their antics!
So, right now, this was already enough.
Upon hearing Easy Sihan’s words, Fu Xinyi puffed out her chest, glared fiercely at the two men, and harshly warned, “Ah! Since Junior Brother Easy has said that, I’ll let you off this time!”
“I warn you, if I see you bullying fellow disciples again, I will send you directly to Zhen Ting Hall to be severely punished according to sect rules!”
“Get lost if you’re feeling guilty!”
As her voice fell, the two men wore expressions of relief, quickly running away.
Once those two “magical girls” had fled far away, disappearing from view, Fu Xinyi turned back to look for Easy Sihan. However, when she did so, she was surprised to find that Easy Sihan had already quietly left without a word.
Looking down the mountain path, all that remained of Easy Sihan was a distant black dot, and Fu Xinyi momentarily felt as deflated as a crumpled bread roll, slumping against a stone by the side of the road.
If it were any other day, regardless of Easy Sihan, she would have insisted on sending those two attackers to Zhen Ting Hall for punishment, but today she was truly too exhausted to do so.
After enduring a week of calamity-level special training, her body had been thoroughly drained. She had managed to hold on until now only by force of will!
Had it not been for the routine monthly disciple exchange meeting this afternoon, Fu Xinyi would probably still be stuck in training.
She had originally planned to rest for two hours and attend the meeting at three-thirty, but didn’t expect to run into such messy situations on her way back to Qiaoyuan Courtyard.
And it wasn’t just once!
She had stepped up several times and hadn’t even had time to eat lunch.
In fact, during her walk from Qing Hui Hall’s training grounds to this point, Fu Xinyi had encountered at least five similar bullying incidents, but this time it was the worst with Easy Sihan.
She found it difficult to understand why, after taking just a week of closed-door special training, the prejudice among her fellow disciples towards those affected by the Pink Fluffy Rabbit had become so severe.
Clearly, the elders had all said that just because someone had pink rabbit ears, it didn’t mean they were followers of the Pink Fluffy Rabbit or that they were wicked.
She found it even harder to understand why, after stepping up to help the bullied fellow disciples, they all reacted similarly to Easy Sihan.
It was as if she had done something wrong.
“Senior sister, are you feeling frustrated? Wondering why you’ve helped, but it seems like you’ve made a mistake instead?”
Hearing a voice nearby, Fu Xinyi was taken aback, turning around to see Luxianbei quietly standing beside her.
“Luxianbei?” Fu Xinyi looked Luxianbei up and down, tilting her head slightly. “I do feel that way, but why is that?”
“Because…” Luxianbei shrugged, expressionless, “If the intense sunlight cannot last long, it is better if it never existed at all!”
What the heck? Fu Xinyi frowned, confused. “Luxianbei, has your way of speaking always been like this?”
She narrowed her heavily-ringed eyes, observing Luxianbei. “I feel like your way of speaking resembles a certain senior I know.”
“Wait, after careful observation, you do seem similar to that senior. The more I look, the more it seems like it! Do you know the senior Jujuzi?”
Sorry for standing here in front of you, but it’s really me, Luxianbei thought to himself, turning his head away to evade Fu Xinyi’s piercing gaze and said expressionlessly, “I haven’t heard of her.”
Fu Xinyi scrutinized Luxianbei for a few more seconds, not finding anything suspicious on his face, then pouted and said, “Alright, if you haven’t heard, then forget it! But what did you mean by what you just said?”
“In simple terms, your method is too straightforward and rough, and can only help them temporarily; once they turn back, those prejudiced people will bully them just the same,” Luxianbei explained.
“You’re a candidate for the next chief priest.”
“Unh!” Fu Xinyi spat, interrupting, “Luxianbei, why are you also following their antics?!”
“Uh, sorry.”
“Forget it, you’re probably just hearing things and don’t know the specifics,” Fu Xinyi shrugged, then changed the subject and asked, “By the way, you just said my method is too simple and harsh?”
“Do you have a better way?”
Luxianbei hadn’t originally thought of any method; he simply saw Fu Xinyi in low spirits, and given her poor physical and mental state, he was worried she might collapse right there, so he came out to see her.
However, when Fu Xinyi asked that, he thought about it temporarily and replied, “With your popularity and influence in Dachunyang Palace, you could actually do something more practical.”
“For example?”
“For example…” A glimmer of cunning flashed in Luxianbei’s eyes, “You could rally your fans to go around with pink rabbit ears?”
“That should be within your capability, right?”
Fu Xinyi said, “I could, but wouldn’t that be really embarrassing?”
