Chapter 5: The White Moonlight Changes Color
Rain had lessened a bit than before.
Chu Huaixu had been a game companion for so long, and a virtual male model, ranked second on the must-hire list, he was long accustomed to them desiring his physique.
He had encountered many lustful women, which had shifted his mindset.
“Heh, women,” he secretly mocked in his heart.
An alchemy cauldron?
Is that what you want?
At first, when Chu Huaixu saw the woman holding an oil-paper umbrella, he was slightly startled.
After all, who knew if there were female contestants in the Patrol Bureau?
But upon a closer look, he felt this woman seemed vaguely familiar.
And the more he looked, the more familiar she appeared!
It was absolutely an NPC he had seen in Borrowed Sword!
After she spoke, even her voice felt familiar, stirring vague speculation in his mind.
Of course, that wasn’t the focus right now.
The current situation was what mattered most—Could she possibly want to absorb me?
He had played so many games and read countless online novels—how could he not know what an alchemy cauldron indicated?
The top-tier alchemy cauldron?
Me?
“Damn, am I giving off such a model vibe right now? Did she identify me at a glance?” Chu Huaixu began doubting himself inwardly.
Could it be that being in the industry for too long made his aura a bit dirty...
She could smell the worldly dust from so far away?
I haven’t been that flirtatious recently...
In fact, the most unbelievable part for Chu Huaixu was that these lines usually came from men lusting after male demons or women lusting after male demons—and if the woman before him really was her, how could she speak with such startling boldness?
“Could it be that those rumors about her are all true?” Chu Huaixu felt he might be in for a huge revelation.
A massive reveal involving one of the most important female characters in Borrowed Sword!
“Don’t think I can’t recognize you just because you’re wearing a veil,” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.
“One of the four World Protagonists in Borrowed Sword—Han Shuangjiang!”
...
Every game certainly has its own story and background.
Where there’s a story, there must be protagonists.
In some of the main storylines, these World Protagonists often play a pivotal role, propelling the tide of the era forward.
A common complaint in many costume dramas is that as soon as someone slightly covers their face, no one recognizes them.
But in reality, if someone you know well puts on a mask, you can still identify them.
Han Shuangjiang—true to her name—was born on the “Frost Descent” solar term.
She was not only a World Protagonist in Borrowed Sword but also one of the top favorite female characters among players.
Among the four World Protagonists, she was the youngest.
And yet, she exuded the strongest “big sister” vibe.
She gave off a regal, cold beauty.
Combined with her incredibly long legs, some perverts couldn’t help but shout out loud, “Sister, step on me!”
They’d even brag if she actually did step on them.
From her figure, the eyebrows and eyes visible beyond the veil, and her tone, Chu Huaixu was one hundred percent certain she was Han Shuangjiang.
In his mind flashed that earth-shattering scandal endlessly discussed on the game forums.
Back when the incident broke, some threads had tens of thousands of replies just arguing!
Since Borrowed Sword allowed high freedom, players had to explore much of the important information themselves.
Some players had obtained news from unknown sources claiming that Han Shuangjiang was sold into the brothel as a child and groomed to become the next top courtesan.
People like this had childhoods completely unlike ordinary folks.
Their curriculum surely included the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—but also, and in great proportion, classes on physiology and hygiene.
What high-level technicians needed to study before starting work, they had mastered in theory.
They understood everything, and they could do everything.
They could make you... feel very good.
Put simply, it was an inner charm.
Once these girls came of age and their bodies matured, they would begin applying what they had learned.
In the Xuanhuang Realm, whether in the Mirror Country or the Moon Country, sects often had their own businesses.
Only, in the Mirror Country, businesses paid less tax to the court and more to the sects.
In the Moon Country, it was the opposite.
Generally, these brothel-type places were industries owned by the likes of the Joyous Sect or Harmony Sect.
Sometimes, even low-level cultivators in these sects might suddenly be in the mood for fun—or urgently need money—and go work at those places.
At such times, there truly were mortals who embraced the motto “to die under a peony flower is romantic even in the afterlife,” waving their silver notes, begging to be drained, scrambling to become an alchemy cauldron, unafraid of shortening their lifespan.
It was said: cultivators working shifts tasted divine.
A year before Han Shuangjiang was about to be launched as the courtesan queen, she was, by chance, discovered by someone from the Joyous Sect who realized she had unexpected talent for cultivation, and she was taken back as a Saintess candidate.
Soon after, a major upheaval occurred.
The Joyous Sect was a subsidiary sect of Spring and Autumn Mountain, one of the four great sects of the Mirror Country.
Spring and Autumn Mountain was as famous and powerful as the Dao Gate.
As a subsidiary sect, the Joyous Sect violated several major taboos.
First, tax evasion!
Second, not just tax evasion—they were utterly lawless in secret.
For example, though they had agreed to only provide partial services to mortals, they dared to offer the full package in secret, damaging their bodies at the root—utterly egregious!
As a result, their sect’s official “operating license” was revoked by the higher sect, and they were directly cast into the ranks of heretical cults.
Such dual cultivation sects were originally meant to pair up Dao companions who mutually progressed, serving as each other’s cauldron, replenishing yin and yang—you absorb mine, I replenish yours.
This was not illegal.
However, once the difference in cultivation between the two grew too wide, the weaker one would completely become a cauldron, and their foundation would be damaged!
For low-level cultivators dealing with mortals—so long as it wasn’t excessive—the worst that would happen was a few days of weakness, maybe a kidney injury.
But some transgressors from the Joyous Sect were simply too greedy.
—How dare you secretly extend sessions!
After this scandal exploded, the Joyous Sect was officially removed; some cultivators were imprisoned, and some fled...
As a candidate Saintess, Han Shuangjiang had only just been taught the sect’s core cultivation method, “Entwined Joy,” for a few days.
Her theoretical level was now much higher than it had been in the brothel—she’d gone from vocational to academic.
Later, no one knew what happened, but she managed to escape the sect.
After two major incidents, her body remained pure as ice and clean as jade.
Only the temporarily “useless knowledge” kept growing!
That stunning woman left, becoming the unattainable yellow moonlight in the hearts of many young sect disciples—a memory they could never see again, only keep locked in their hearts.
...
“When that gossip first came out, I didn’t believe it either,” Chu Huaixu thought as he stood in the rain.
“But now that you opened your mouth and mentioned alchemy cauldron, it’s really hard not to believe.”
Isn’t that just confirming it yourself?
Back then, if this news had been confirmed, her popularity among male players...
—would’ve skyrocketed even more!
Who doesn’t love a contrasty woman?
Han Shuangjiang looked at the handsome man with a fox-like face before her, feeling a bit puzzled—why had she spoken her mind so recklessly?
But she had to admit, the heavens had indeed given this fox-faced man an impeccable exterior.
The Joyous Sect didn’t lack handsome men or beautiful women.
But if this man went there, he would probably crush even the male disciples!
Still, after saying it, even Han Shuangjiang felt awkward on her own behalf.
Little did she know Chu Huaixu was too busy enjoying the gossip and would never look down on her.
After all, she hadn’t officially started—while he was a real male model...
However, the look he gave her did carry a hint of amusement.
Meeting that playful gaze, Han Shuangjiang, aware she had said the wrong thing, mocked inwardly:
“Heh, men.”
Just then, as the two stood silent, a soft laugh echoed from above in the rainy night sky, followed by a voice from on high:
“Huh? Who’s that fool still standing in the rain?”
As soon as the voice rang out, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang both jerked their heads up and looked toward the night sky.
They saw someone walking through the air!
The next moment, not a single raindrop fell on Chu Huaixu.
But it wasn’t because the rain had stopped.
No—or rather, it had stopped!
Within this range, every raindrop falling from the sky froze in midair!
...