Chapter 2

Had she arrived in the book a little earlier, she might have been able to cultivate herself from childhood into a pure, untouchable lotus.
But the story had already begun, and the two were already at odds. It was that kind of sectal "friendship", "what you don't have I do; when you die, I rejoice."
Jiang Yu's palms grew clammy; she nervously rubbed at her sleeve, sniffed, and cast a sidelong glance.
Shen Anzhi's raven‑feather lashes lifted slowly, the corners of his eyes tilting; a shadow gathered in his gaze as it met hers.
A sudden, inexplicable dizziness washed over her; she clenched her damp fist and froze in place, unable to move.
At that instant, blood rushed to her head.
If the cliff hadn't collapsed, would Shen Anzhi really have tried to kill her then?
Shen Anzhi was the first to subtly divert his gaze; at her odd reaction he let slip a faint, disdainful smile.
Today Jiang Yu hadn't complained once, nor had she bossed him around. The mocking smile never left his lips; his eyes were cold and imposing.
"Alright", what on earth is Senior Sister scheming…
Gu Shuyu, knowing Shen Anzhi's temperament, warned, "Junior brother, do not let a grudge grow between you and Junior Sister Jiang."
Shen Anzhi's steps froze; he turned to meet his senior sister's slightly suspicious look and, with a composed, gentle air, replied once, yet his gaze only sharpened.
Noticing Gu Shuyu's worried glance toward Jiang Yu, his brows creased; the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye seemed to chill. He subtly paused and turned to Jiang Yu, asking calmly, "Senior Sister Jiang, why not stop and rest for a while?"
It wasn't really posed to her.
Jiang Yu raised her sleeve to hide her cheek, wiping the sweat from her brow and the wetness from her eyes; mere hiding wouldn't solve the root of the problem.
"Fine." Jiang Yu said, annoyed and awkward, and sat opposite Shen Anzhi. She had to secretly keep a close watch on him in case he was plotting something.
Gu Shuyu naturally positioned herself between the two. She had seen their private bickering before, small, measured quarrels rather than anything grave.
Every time she mediated their disputes it was a temporary fix, not a cure.
Jiang Yu had originally been the spoiled darling of the Jiang family in Fengyun City and had a childhood sweetheart. Gu Shuyu's expression softened unconsciously; she produced some rations from her sleeve and handed them over, "Junior sister, you look pale, if we encounter wolf demons later, stay behind us."
"All right, Senior Sister." Jiang Yu smiled, took the meat bun and bit into it.
Gu Shuyu was undeniably the story's ideal heroine, someone worth clinging to.
Having just endured life's sudden upheavals and near‑death chaos, she chewed and swallowed almost mechanically. "Sister, how many wolf demons are there this time?"
"The demon aura is ahead. Judging by the footprints and the compass reading, there are quite a few wolf demons." Gu Shuyu produced a brown‑and‑teal compass from her sleeve; its silver needle pointed steadily forward.
"Oh." Jiang Yu ate listlessly.
Every move she made was under Shen Anzhi's observation. Abruptly she spoke up, and the man opposite jumped in surprise and said, "Senior Sister Jiang, there are fruit around, I’ll pick some for you."
"Thanks for the thought, junior brother, but I'm already full."
She shoved the last bite into her mouth. Jiang Yu's face showed nothing, but inside a litany of resentments began to murmur, tracing grievances back to her ancestors.
Someone who'd come for her life, she dared to take his fruit, yet she didn't even have the life to eat it.
"Senior Sister Jiang, are you still unwell today?" Shen Anzhi lazily lifted his eyelids, his tone teasing.
Jiang Yu sprang to her feet. "Thanks for your concern, junior brother."
Leaning half against a tree, Shen Anzhi rolled a coin between his fingers and tugged at the corner of his mouth; a flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. "Senior Sister Gu looks pale, why don't you stay here…?"
Alarms blared in Jiang Yu's head; her bright eyes narrowed at Shen Anzhi, determined not to show weakness. She turned to Gu Shuyu, " Senior Sister, I've rested enough, I can go with you."
Gu Shuyu nodded slightly. "Alright, let's go."
The three set off again; before long the wolves howled.
Fierce gales roared, trees were uprooted before her eyes, and demonic spells streaked into the ground as ribbons of light.
In an instant, it all happened too fast.
Shen Anzhi, languid and casual, pinched a coin between his fingers. With his breath it flew out and in a blink turned to golden light, spiraling to strike several wolf demons' heads, piercing them and delivering brutal blows before returning to hover above the back of his hand.
Wolf demons splattered blood and flesh as they fell, only to rapidly reform and stand again, over and over. Their eyes glowed green as they endlessly climbed broken branches, opening bloodthirsty maws to howl in unison.
The sight of the wolves' fangs, more horrifying than any horror film, made Jiang Yu, who had sworn minutes ago she wouldn't flinch, tremble at the gore around her.
Jiang Yu, a college student who'd never even killed a fish.
Maybe she could manage a fish, but skipping the newbie stage and fighting demons was like a level‑one battling level‑ten monsters, she wasn't some godlike prodigy.
Jiang Yu hadn't inherited the original's memories. In this day and age, if you transmigrate into a book you at least get a golden gift, how was she supposed to survive without one?
With a thunderclap out of nowhere, the wolf demons' steps faltered for a moment.
Suddenly her mind cleared; the chaotic plot in her head snapped into order, the tangled storylines arranging themselves neatly within her consciousness.
Jiang Yu dared not hesitate and shouted, "Senior sister, the ancient texts record that these vengeful wolves can spawn endless clones, their only fatal weakness is their eyes."
Shen Anzhi brandished his Copper Coin Sword and drove it straight into the wolf demon's eye. The wolf demon immediately lost the will to move, collapsing into a foul-smelling pool of blood.
Shen Anzhi turned back suspiciously, squinting at her; there was a barely noticeable curiosity and puzzlement in his eyes.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
The earth cracked like a spiderweb; a fierce wind whipped up a blinding spray of shattered stone, and with each step backward the rupture spread precisely toward them.
Jiang Yu lifted her skirt to run, but the ground suddenly gave way and she felt, for free, that brief lift of weightlessness as she flew up.
True enough, the most expensive things are the ones that come free.
"Ah, " she shrieked, her flailing palms striking something soft and yielding as she plunged headfirst into the bog.
The resentful wolf leader stood on the bank, smugly admiring his trap: "The Dead-Bone Pool, a burial place for bones. Mortal cultivators, you will die as you deserve."
When trapped in a bog it's best to stay still. Jiang Yu looked up, forcing her breaths steady and bracing her limbs. But the mire sank fast; in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea it rose from her waist to her chest, and it kept swallowing her.
"Jiang Yu! You're being unreasonable!"
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shen Anzhi's handsome face, furious enough to spit blood, only a fist away from her.
He was tall with long legs, so he sank faster, only his head remained above the surface.
His pale, chiselled face showed a few embarrassed flushes; his earlobes were tinged rose, his cheeks a sweeping pink.
If looks could kill, she'd already be riddled to dust.
That furious?
The place she had just struck couldn't possibly be...
Shen Anzhi unleashed his magic but was instantly swallowed by the Dead-Bone Pool; blood welled from his features and he looked terrifying, like a death-hungry specter set on devouring her.
The Dead-Bone Pool's demonic qi invaded their bodies; Jiang Yu likewise began spitting blood from nose and mouth, stars exploding in her vision as she emitted tiny, stifled whimpers.
Her soul left her body once more; darkness settled before Jiang Yu's eyes.
Suddenly, a familiar woman's voice drifted to her ear: "You have only one last chance to rewind."
Jiang Yu groggily lifted her heavy eyelids again, only to hear someone snort; she saw the white bed curtains drooping overhead and, when she looked toward the sound, met Shen Anzhi's dark, shadowed gaze.
Jiang Yu gave a wry, speechless smile and withdrew her gaze.
When words failed utterly, laughter became the only release.
Well, isn't that just great.
She...had gone back again.
Other protagonists slip into books as easily as drinking water; she was different, losing her life came as effortlessly as breathing with ease.
Fine, I'll behave, please spare me.
She shot an annoyed look at Shen Anzhi, wanting to rip a hole right through the fake smile on his face.
She shifted, forced a dry laugh, and leaned her head back against the headboard by the wall.
Shen Anzhi frowned slightly and, with an unreadable expression, studied her unusual behavior. "Awake, Senior Sister Jiang?"
"Mm," Jiang Yu replied automatically, her thoughts racing.
According to the original owner's account, the so-called failures were actually the result of time rewinds?
From what that voice said, she only had one rewind left...she couldn't afford to squander it.
She forced herself to calm down, clear her thoughts, and glanced around the room surreptitiously.
So what trouble has she found herself in this time?
She steadied herself and took in the simple, plain furnishings: a half-open window letting in a few slants of dying sunlight, which cut fine streaks of light across the mottled wooden table. Her gaze then settled, deliberately avoiding him, on Shen Anzhi.
His cool, shadowed gaze swept over Jiang Yu as his fingertips toyed with the copper coin.
Assigned by Senior Sister Gu to look after her, he was displeased. Shen Anzhi swallowed his irritation, flattening his mouth, and said without warmth, "Senior Sister Jiang, with a cold you're not suited for fighting, rest more. Stay at the inn this time and don't join the demon hunt. You'd only be a hindrance."
Glancing at his expression, Jiang Yu, wanting to confirm her suspicion, asked, "Junior Brother, what kind of demon are we hunting?"
He seemed taken aback by her foolish question; Shen Anzhi's eyes narrowed, a chill hardening in his gaze. "We agreed to hunt a wolf demon in half an hour. Have you forgotten?" If she went, it'd be a chance to act...
Shen Anzhi shot her a glance.
Jiang Yu coughed lightly. "Just checking, of course I remember."
His probing gaze settled lightly on her, and that barely-there appraisal felt like a tangible chill digging into her.
On his face, though, he wore an expression of upright, harmless propriety.
Jiang Yu feigned calm, clutched the blanket and leaned her head against the headboard, trying to make herself as small as possible. Though she inwardly resented his presence, she had to act nonchalant.
Strange...
Shen Anzhi, impassive, appraised her. "Senior Sister Jiang, you seem...different today."
Jiang Yu clenched her fists tightly.
Shen Anzhi was hypervigilant and suspicious, his intelligence verging on the uncanny.
According to novel logic, survival, 'lay low and survive', was paramount; she must preserve her characterization.
"What's different?" she snapped, stiffening her neck and grinding her molars. "Demon hunting is dangerous. You should be glad you get to look after me. Consider it an honor."
When she finished, he said nothing, just continued to stare at her with unmoved coldness.
Her once-raised chin and haughty air deflated by half.
Shen Anzhi toyed with the copper coin between his fingers. She glared at his round, bright black eyes, like a scrappy little red sparrow, all flapping claws and noisy chirps, very annoying.
He gave a low laugh, something inscrutable flickering through his eyes.
At the sound of familiar footsteps, he reined in a trace of his revealed malice.
When Gu Shuyu arrived she only heard the tail end of Jiang Yu's words. She watched Jiang Yu's hypocritical 'concern' for him, while the junior brother, as dull as ever, didn't notice.
Could it be that all their tussling hid a sister's concern for her junior brother...?
Gu Shuyu wore a knowing expression as she handed over the medicine bowl. "Junior sister, drink this."
Jiang Yu pinched her nose and gulped the bowl of pitch-dark medicinal broth without a moment's hesitation. She sucked in a breath; the bitterness churned her stomach and she couldn't help a dry heave.
Shen Anzhi turned his head. "Senior Sister Jiang, rest properly at the inn."
At this moment he was obedient, like a cat tucking away its claws, behavior he only showed when Gu Shuyu was present...
Jiang Yu looked down reflexively, murmured agreement, and her mind kept racing.
In the original, from Shen Anzhi's perspective, Gu Shuyu was unlike anyone else in the book. When he was ten and at his wits' end, it was she who rescued him from the monsters.
She was depicted as the pure, early moonlight of his heart, the senior who brought him back to the Crane Sect. But after he turned dark, Shen Anzhi personally killed her...
That damned author.
That said, in the novel Jiang Yu was portrayed as the affluent young lady of Fengyun City, rich beyond measure, she lacked nothing in silver and gold.
Pampered by her family from childhood, she nevertheless had poor talent, unable to absorb spirit qi to form a core, her cultivation progressed painfully slowly.
This earned her whispered pity and criticism, twisting her into a fiercely competitive person.
As for matching Gu Shuyu's cultivation, the original chose the bluntest method, spending spirit stones, throwing money until she bought her way into the nation's top sect, the Crane Sect.
Nowadays, half of the Crane Sect's resources came from investment by Fengyun City.
The original portrayal didn't spare her: besides loving and secretly comparing herself to Gu Shuyu, who was five years older, Jiang Yu had a terrible constitution.
Like when she faced that wolf demon before, if she ever confronted a ghost or demon alone in the future, she'd be almost completely defenseless.
It appeared the plot had already reached the part where the original, driven by jealousy of the heroine and incapable of victory, directed her spite onto Shen Anzhi early on.
In the early stages "she" never treated Shen Anzhi kindly, either beating him or berating him. She did no good deeds and missed no opportunity for harm.
Either she ordered Shen Anzhi to wash her clothes, or she bossed him around doing this and that; for sport she even had her lackeys bind him, humiliate him with words, and whip him with a long lash.
In later parts, she had no power and relied on reckless self-destruction, making enemies of everyone singlehandedly. Even Gu Shuyu, who grew up with her, grew deeply disappointed and intentionally distanced herself.
And after Shen Anzhi was framed and the world turned against him, he went dark and became a demon. Looking casually at the captured original, he said: "Senior sister's human-skin lantern, where would you like it hung?"
After that, he had Jiang Yu's tendons severed, strangled her to death, and made her into a human-skin lantern to light, an utterly miserable end.
Choked, human-skin lantern, such blunt terms summed up her grim fate.
This is the oppressive aura of a yandere black-lotus character.