Chapter 26: Sparrow Severs the Flying Dragon (Part 2): I Can Hear You Part 3

Composing herself, she brought the brush tip to her collarbone, dipped it in blood, then moved to Shang Shan’s left chest to draw, saying at the same time, “Before coming here, I saw a talisman called the Shared Fate Curse. It seemed interesting, so I memorized it.”

Li Biyuan said, “…What are you talking about?”

The brush strokes left wet red marks along the undulating skin and bones. The unconscious woman sensed the itch and tried to raise her hand to brush away the strange sensation, but the other hand firmly held her wrist.

Mu Qian Tan stared at the brush path. “This Shared Fate Curse binds two souls together in life and death. So from now on, no matter what I do, you’d best not interfere or try to replace my soul—otherwise, the female protagonist will die too.”

“…” Li Biyuan asked, “Really?”

Of course it was fake. What she drew was a variant of the Flying Dragon Stronghold banners she’d seen on the way, layered twice—no normal person could tell what it was, perfect for deception.

Mu Qian Tan put away the brush and examined the dragon-and-phoenix dancing masterpiece on the chest. “You can try.”

“No need,” Li Biyuan said weakly. “I’ve already guessed what you want to do. You’re still not giving up—you want to go after the male protagonist, right?”

As the blood dried, Mu Qian Tan said, “You won’t interfere, right?”

Li Biyuan sighed deeply. “You’ve brought out something like the Shared Fate Curse—what can I do to interfere? But I advise you to think it over. Is the male protagonist’s storyline worth all this effort? In this book world, the best thing he can get is the female protagonist’s love. What do you want with that?”

“No one’s love is the best.” Mu Qian Tan stowed the talisman brush casually. “What I want is his protagonist position. Sounds better than ‘vicious female supporting character’.”

Plus, it avoided the death ending.

A chair scraped against the floor from the other side. Li Biyuan raised her voice slightly. “What about the female protagonist? Her partner would be gone!”

Mu Qian Tan scoffed. “Gone is gone. She doesn’t have to fall in love; she can just get stronger all the way. Why force a man on her?”

“If she’s upset and still wants one, she can find a few more to make up for it. In those stories where men are the absolute protagonists, they marry multiple wives—not just one. Why limit the female protagonist? Once she’s powerful enough later, she can do whatever she wants.”

Li Biyuan had nothing to say, sighing repeatedly. No need to imagine—it was a face full of gloom—but she wasn’t as agitated as before.

It seemed facing Mu Qian Tan, this unconventional transmigrator’s rebellious actions, had built up some resistance in her.

After a long silence, she compromised. “Do whatever. I can’t control you anymore—just don’t target the female protagonist.”

Mu Qian Tan hadn’t expected it to be so easy and relaxed slightly. “Good.”

At that moment, Shang Shan slowly opened her eyes, ripples shimmering brightly in their lake-like depths, fixed on the woman before her. Seeing her awake, Mu Qian Tan released her wrist and pulled her collar back into place.

After a moment, the dizziness from unconsciousness faded. Shang Shan sat up rubbing herself and tugged open her collar to look down. “Why’d you draw on my chest?”

“Cough cough cough…” As if choked by something, Jiang Yuanqi’s face reddened from coughing. He couldn’t help laughing. “You really were drawing….”

He’d watched from behind for a while, only seeing the woman’s hand moving around. Due to the angle, he couldn’t figure out what she was doing. He’d wanted to ask but thought it improper. Now knowing the answer, it was utterly satisfying.

Mu Qian Tan said, “…This is a talisman, not a drawing.”

To make it more convincing, she’d pretended to draw it over the heart and used blood, successfully fooling Li Biyuan. But having it pointed out like this, in that position, did seem a bit odd.

Whatever, it was fine. They were all women anyway. During her most destitute times, she’d even gone to public baths. Just drawing—nothing like losing a piece of flesh.

Jiang Yuanqi didn’t know what he was thinking, but his gaze was quite meaningful, shifting between the two. “A talisman? I’m an expert, but I don’t know what kind requires drawing on the chest?”

In the original work, the male protagonist was a talisman cultivator, truly skilled in this. If he saw it, he’d recognize it as nonsense at a glance.

“You can recognize it? Then take a look.” Shang Shan said, about to tug her collar open again.

Even knowing full well that these two were destined to be a couple by all accounts, Mu Qian Tan still couldn’t tolerate the scene. She reached out and yanked her back, her gaze icy: “Boyfriends and girlfriends shouldn’t be so intimate. Didn’t anyone teach you that?”

Shang Shan truly lacked any such concept. To be precise, she had no awareness of the various constraints and etiquettes of the mundane world, let alone any sense of shame or embarrassment.

Jiang Yuanqi muttered softly: “Actually, I…”

He started but didn’t finish. Mu Qian Tan paid it no mind and released her: “Stay put obediently.”

Shang Shan let out an “oh” and plopped back down. She peered inside again, sniffed lightly, then lifted her gaze with certainty: “It’s still drawn with your blood.”

Jiang Yuanqi asked: “Can you smell whose blood it is?”

Shang Shan said: “Hers, I can, because it’s so fragrant. And her wound’s broken open; it’s bleeding right now.”

Jiang Yuanqi was quite intrigued: “I see. But talismans drawn with blood are often not good things. Aren’t you curious what your senior sister wants to do?”

“What senior sister? She’s my master.” Shang Shan said discontentedly: “Besides, she wouldn’t harm me now. She wants to take me to find Hands.”

Jiang Yuanqi smiled: “Is that so?”

“…” Mu Qian Tan rolled her eyes, removed her mask, and pressed it firmly onto the girl’s face. Irritation flickered in her eyes: “You, shut up.”

She really didn’t have a single ounce of cunning. Anyone could coax the whole truth out of her with a little prodding. She must have survived this long solely thanks to the Protagonist Halo.

Oh, couldn’t ask, or she’d say, ‘I can tell who’s good and who’s bad!’

Mu Qian Tan could already imagine the punchable tone of this Brain-Damaged Dragon.

With her face solidly covered by the mask, Shang Shan whined: “What are you doing?”

Mu Qian Tan let go. The mask nearly fell off, but Shang Shan held it in place and retied it securely on top of her head.

She looked around. Only now did she realize they were in a prison cell. She exclaimed in surprise: “Have we all been caught?”

Jiang Yuanqi teased: “Yeah, how tragic.”

Shang Shan said: “Then are you okay? Sister.”

Jiang Yuanqi’s lip twitched, his smile unchanged: “I’m a brother, you know.”

Shang Shan shook her head: “Impossible.”

Though she’d just been struck down by Mu Qian Tan moments ago, Li Biyuan quickly sank back into admiration of his beauty, drifting: ‘He’s indeed hard to distinguish. No wonder Cat Dragon couldn’t tell.’

It wasn’t just his looks—even his voice leaned neutral. If he wanted to hide it, no one could tell if he was male or female.

Jiang Yuanqi said helplessly: “I really am a brother. Why won’t you believe me?”

Shang Shan dropped a bombshell: “Take off your clothes and show me! I know men and women are different down there! Show me, and it’ll prove it!”

“…” Mu Qian Tan closed her eyes, a faint ache forming at her temple.

“Hey…” Jiang Yuanqi laughed wryly: “Aren’t you the one being a hooligan here?”

Li Biyuan said: ‘I want to be a hooligan! I want to be a hooligan! Good job, Cat Dragon—make him strip! Strip completely! If he’s got the guts, show everyone!’

Mu Qian Tan couldn’t stand the chatter: ‘Haven’t you seen a man before?’

Li Biyuan said: ‘Can’t blame me for being inexperienced. There aren’t any handsome guys like this around me.’

Mu Qian Tan said: ‘We don’t even know his character yet. What’s so lovable about a pretty face?’

Li Biyuan said: ‘This is the Male Protagonist. What character issues could he have?’

Mu Qian Tan scoffed: ‘Hard to say.’

Stories with flawed protagonists—even ones with moral problems—were a dime a dozen. It really wasn’t reliable to judge by identity. Li Biyuan said: ‘Uh… but not this Male Protagonist.’

Mu Qian Tan opened her eyes: ‘You still remember he’s the Male Protagonist. Forgot he’s the Female Protagonist’s guy already?’

Li Biyuan said: ‘No big deal. To me, he’s just a Paper Figurine, from another world across a screen. Just looking, that’s all. Strip, strip—I wanna kiss hubby mwah mwah…’

Mu Qian Tan had known she was obsessed with pretty paper boys, but she hadn’t expected it to flare up like this. Disgust showed on her face; she kind of wanted to dig her out of her mind. Absentmindedly lifting her gaze, she noticed Jiang Yuanqi’s expression was off and studied him closely.

She saw Jiang Yuanqi pressed tight against the prison wall, looking at her with an extremely inscrutable, complex gaze—like he’d seen a ghost.

Mu Qian Tan vaguely sensed something wrong. This wasn’t the first time the Male Protagonist had looked at her like this, as if frightened by something, shocked, or unable to comprehend.

A ridiculous guess formed in her mind.

‘He seems able to hear us talking.’ Even as a mental voice, Mu Qian Tan lowered her tone this time.

Li Biyuan was still lost in his stunning beauty, bursting into laughter: ‘Huh? Don’t joke. No way! You still don’t get how our machines work here—too complicated to explain, so…’

She cleared her throat: ‘Ahem, hey! Hottie! Can you hear me? You’re so handsome; I’ve fallen for you. Remember my name: Li Biyuan. Wood’s Li, jade-green Bi, kite Yuan. Li, Bi, Yuan! Got it?’

Jiang Yuanqi turned his head away, his expression returning to normal.

‘See? He can’t hear.’ Li Biyuan giggled: ‘Our side’s security and privacy are top-notch; don’t worry.’

Mu Qian Tan shifted to lean against the wall comfortably and didn’t reply.

Shang Shan didn’t understand why the “woman” refused to strip and prove her innocence, but she forgot about it in an instant. She scooted to the cage edge, trying to bite through the chains with her teeth.

Those chains naturally couldn’t withstand the steel teeth of the Dragon Clan, but if she just broke out like that, it wouldn’t be good for advancing the plot. Mu Qian Tan said: “Come back.”

Shang Shan clung to the cell door: “What’s wrong?”

Mu Qian Tan said: “There are hundreds of people outside. You just going out like this?”

Shang Shan said: “It’s not like I can’t beat them. And you’ve got my back.”

Only then did she react: “Right, why were you caught too? They couldn’t possibly beat you—you’re even stronger than demons.”

Mu Qian Tan gazed at her calmly and tapped the back of her own hand with a fingertip.

Shang Shan got it instantly: “So Hands are here! I understand!”

She plopped back down happily, pressed her hands to her feet, and asked: “So how do we find them?”

At that moment, Jiang Yuanqi said: “Our goals seem the same. Want to team up?”

Mu Qian Tan tilted her head slightly: “What’s your plan?”

Jiang Yuanqi stepped away from the wall and approached the central bars. He drew on the ground with his finger: “I’ll be direct then. Simple: I’ll first scout the area layout, figure out where those stolen riches are kept, then…”

All sounds turned to buzzing in her ears. Li Biyuan fawned: ‘Oh god, just looking at his face, I can’t hear a thing. He’s too captivating; I’m beyond saving.’

“Cough cough…” His words suddenly faltered. Jiang Yuanqi clenched his fist to his lips, eyes drifting.

Mu Qian Tan’s intuition told her he was about to drop something explosive, so she sat steady in advance.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke: “I can hear you, Li Biyuan.”