After Transmigrating Into the Book, I Picked up the Protagonist-Shou

Xie Shuci sat on the doorstep, with an ancient-looking house behind him. 

On the table, there was an incense burner emitting wisps of white smoke. Xie Shuci himself was dressed in a light blue robe, resting his chin on his hands, his gaze surpassing the moss-covered eaves and looking towards the sky, where various shapes of white clouds drifted. He let out a long sigh.

In simple terms, he transmigrated.

Just a short while ago, as a content creator in the “Chuuni Zone”[1] of a small content-sharing platform, who had been on hiatus for half a year, he finally had a conscience awakening and found a novel material to make content on. One moment, he was mocking how the two protagonists in the novel were worthless, and the next moment, he collapsed on his computer desk and passed away.

As a young man who voluntarily asked his parents to cut off the financial support at the age of eighteen, Xie Shuci felt he died unjustly and at a loss. 

However, ultimately, it was his own fault for staying up late for several nights, which led to a sudden heart attack and his demise. So, young people, avoid staying up late.

After lamenting in his heart, Xie Shuci didn’t feel too sentimental. He had no contact with his parents in eight lifetimes,[2] and he didn’t have many friends around him. On the internet, however, he had met a bunch of chuuni youth who loved to say “Being on hiatus leads to transmigration.” Well, he had been on hiatus for half a year, and Xie Shuci had indeed transmigrated.

Thinking about this, Xie Shuci couldn’t help but sigh again.

Looking at the top 500 pure love novels on a certain online platform, Xie Shuci had almost never missed a single one. Others who transmigrated either became the protagonist or the villain, at the very least, they became named NPCs. As for Xie Shuci, he transmigrated into a character who appeared only once in the entire book, a character that couldn’t even be considered cannon fodder and was dead in just three lines of text:

“How ruthless and cruel is Xiao Xun?

When he was young, he wandered in Bianzhou and was mocked by a disciple of the Little Immortal Sect.

With a raise of his hand and a fall of his knife, the disciple’s head fell to the ground.”

Xiao Xun was the protagonist Shou in the book, and “the disciple” who died was Xie Shuci himself.

These three lines were particularly clear in Xie Shuci’s memory. He even cursed this idiotic protagonist. 

In the book, the protagonist Shou and Gong fought and loved until they finally appreciated and respected each other.

“Appreciate and respect my ass!” Xie Shuci cursed.

The protagonist Shou named Xiao Xun, who was humiliated by the original body with just a few words, ended up chopping the original body’s head off. How petty-minded could someone be?

Furthermore, Xie Shuci had read halfway through this book, and not only was the protagonist Shou petty-minded, but he also had a very dark inner self. He belonged to the kind of person who would scrape a layer of your flesh if you accidentally bumped into him.

Xie Shuci really didn’t understand what there was to appreciate and respect about him. If Xiao Xun was placed in modern society, he would undoubtedly be a psychopath, meting out real punishment and handcuffs.

As Xie Shuci was lost in his thoughts, a fellow disciple passed by the gate and, seeing his dejected appearance, couldn’t help but stop.

Xie Shuci had a gentle and sunny appearance, with big, bright eyes and fair, delicate skin like a girl’s. However, the contours of his face were relatively strong, not lacking in a sense of heroism.

The disciple stared at him for a while, shook his head, and comforted him, “Junior brother, take care of yourself from now on.”

Xie Shuci was taken aback, looking at him in confusion.

After a moment, he nodded, remembering.

On the day before Xie Shuci transmigrated, the original idiotic host of his body had drugged another young master from a different sect and almost fucked him. When the young master woke up in fury, he brought his fellow sect brothers to demand justice. The two sects had been in turmoil for about ten days, and in the end, Xie Shuci, after transmigrating, voluntarily proposed to be expelled from the sect.

Xie Shuci did this to avoid burdening his fellow sect members and to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible. 

After all, during the years of the protagonist Shou’s and his love interest’s love and struggle, the two of them caused chaos and implicated many sects and aristocratic families. Xie Shuci just wanted to find a place to live and protect his own life.

He felt anxious, worried that he couldn’t escape the plot’s arrangements, and would eventually be killed by the protagonist Shou. 

He was a coward who cherished and loved his life. Moreover, after experiencing death once, he treasured his own life even more.

*

The next day, Xie Shuci groggily set foot on the path of being expelled from the sect. 

He carried a small bamboo basket on his back and led a white horse named “Immortal Crane,” while being watched by his fellow sect brothers as he left the sect.

“Junior brother, take care!”

“We will take good care of our master and mistress for you.”

“Brother, without our master and mistress from now on, you must change for the better, and don’t…”

Xie Shuci turned his head, looking at these fellow sect brothers whom he had known for only a few days. A warm current flowed through his heart. In this unfamiliar world, as soon as he regained his senses, he embarked on a solitary journey. Facing these reluctant and concerned words, Xie Shuci’s nose felt sour.

He held back his tears and shouted to everyone, “Brothers, wait for me to achieve something in the future. I will definitely come back to see all of you! Wait for me!”

Upon hearing these words, the faces of those disciples, filled with reluctance, froze. One after another, they hurriedly entered the courtyard, closing the door with a loud “bang,” as if they hadn’t heard him.

As if silently saying, “Then you’d better not come back.”

Xie Shuci, “…”

Damn it! I knew you were just pretending. This Young Master wasted his emotions.

As a new generation of chuuni youth, Xie Shuci coldly snorted. According to the typical characteristics of transmigration stories, he would surely achieve great things in the future. Maybe they’ll regret not being able to see him when that time comes! Just wait for it, you guys!

Xie Shuci walked forward, leading the horse, with two large bundles of luggage on its back. He glanced down and saw that these were all gifts given to him by his fellow sect brothers the night before his departure. They contained various treasures and spiritual medicines. Xie Shuci turned his head back to look at the closed gate, took a sniffle, and muttered softly, “Forget it, I forgive you.”

When he succeeded in the future, he would still come back and see his fellow sect members.

Speaking of which, Xie Shuci’s situation was different from typical transmigration stories. On the first day he transmigrated, he examined his body. There was a scar on his left arm and a cinnabar mole below his waist and abdomen. This was his original body. However, he only inherited a small portion of the original host’s memories.

In this world, there were two types of people. One was ordinary people who couldn’t absorb spiritual energy, and the other was cultivators who could absorb and cultivate spiritual energy.

Perhaps due to the saying that hard work pays off, these cultivators, after thousands of years of trials and tribulations, gradually formed various sects and schools, protecting the ordinary people around them.

The small sect where Xie Shuci belonged was one of the insignificant sects in the western region of Bianzhou. As cultivators, who could absorb spiritual energy, were extremely rare among the ordinary population, regardless of the size or cultivation level of a sect, they were considered precious.

The original idiotic host took advantage of his status as a cultivator to cause trouble among the people and offend many civilians and disciples from other sects. But speaking of which, the original host had no talent whatsoever. His talent was at the bottom among cultivators of the same age. Compared to ordinary people, he could only absorb and gather spiritual energy.

Perhaps due to being a naive calf not fearing the tiger, and with a curiosity about this world, Xie Shuci decisively left the small sect without much consideration.

However, he hadn’t realized yet that the original body had offended so many people in the past, and before he had the protection of the small sect, but now who would protect him?

Of course, Xie Shuci couldn’t think too much about it now. He still planned to make a name for himself in this world.

Xie Shuci led the white horse, wandering along a forest path. He walked leisurely, contemplating how he would support himself after leaving the sect.

His understanding of this world was minimal. The original host’s memories were limited, and he hadn’t even read half of the book. His attention had been focused on the protagonist Shou. It would be great if he could become some kind of great hero, but Xie Shuci had a sense of practicality. It was not as simple as it seemed. Society and all that. He thought about it and concluded that being a great hero would just amount to being a delivery boy. After careful consideration, doing business seemed more suitable.

Xie Shuci had tried starting his own business after coming of age, even though he didn’t have any startup capital. In the end, he ended up working part-time in social media.

“Just wait! I, Xie Shuci, will definitely achieve great things and become the world’s richest person!” Xie Shuci arrogantly shouted to the sky.

By the way, Xie Shuci had been a chuuni for a long time. His nickname on the small website was “Little Master Xie,” and he had been teased by his fans.

Xie Shuci was about to mount the horse when he suddenly heard the sound of leaves being pierced by a sharp weapon. A gust of wind swept through from above, causing the leaves to rustle, creating an eerie atmosphere on the quiet forest path.

At the same time, Xie Shuci felt a murderous intent, and he keenly sensed that the killing intent was not directed at him. His body, being a cultivator, still retained its sensitivity.

Without time for further thoughts, fearing trouble, Xie Shuci concealed himself to the side while leading the white horse. The white horse raised its hooves, seemingly also startled. However, the white horse was intelligent and didn’t make a sound.

At that moment, a slender figure leaped from the treetops, lightly stepping on the branches, creating a faint sound. Xie Shuci held his breath and looked up. It was a white-robed youth, slender and elegant, resembling bamboo. Xie Shuci’s eyes were fixed on the half-clear profile, forgetting to look away.

“Holy shit—” Xie Shuci murmured.

He thought this kind of scene could only be seen on television.

The youth exuded an ethereal aura, with his white robe fluttering in the wind. His high bun of black hair danced in a disorderly manner. Xie Shuci only saw a half-profile, but that alone left him amazed.

A drop of water fell on a leaf in front of Xie Shuci, appearing as red as cinnabar. Xie Shuci’s heart trembled, suddenly realizing something. He looked up and indeed saw that the youth’s left shoulder was soaked in blood, continuously dripping down.

The youth was entirely white, except for that striking red.

The white-robed youth flew past over Xie Shuci’s head, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned back. A young face, innocent yet cold, appeared in Xie Shuci’s line of sight. What made Xie Shuci’s heart tighten was the youth’s pitch-black pupils, resembling a sinister beast. When their gazes collided, the youth’s eyes held a hint of malice, poised to strike, as if the next moment would reveal venomous fangs lunging towards him.

The terror of that single gaze was enough to startle Xie Shuci awake from a dream even years later.

In an instant, Xie Shuci tensed his body, unable to appreciate the picturesque scene or the youth’s androgynous face.

Xie Shuci felt a wave of murderous intent, this time directed at him!

The fervor and enthusiasm in Xie Shuci’s heart turned bone-chilling in that moment.

[1] Chuuni (a term used to describe content or individuals with a “chunibyou” or “8th-grader syndrome” style). Chuunibyou is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers.

[2] He’s just exaggerating the time.