Suddenly Misses Watching the New Year’s Gala Again...

When Su Yang woke up, he was already in his room in the Lively Spring Garden.

His awareness was still stuck at the moment before he fainted in the cave. When he opened his eyes and saw the familiar environment around him, he almost thought that he had transmigrated again before his brain was truly awake.

Di Ling, who had been watching him by his bedside, immediately came forward to check his meridians the moment she heard him make a noise.

After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief and soothed, “The Apparition of the Frozen Lake has been tamed by you. From now on, you will get twice the result with half the effort when you practice the cold nature mental skill, which is a blessing in disguise. But please keep in mind that once you break through the Blooming of the Nine Glacials, you shouldn’t practice any more cold nature skills. Otherwise, the Apparition will take a deeper root, and it may affect your lifespan.”

He supported himself, completely disregarding this new 'Apparition' passive skill. Instead, he asked anxiously, “Where is Gu Feidi?”

She smiled. “Shizun had him stay in the Hidden Pearl Pavilion to teach him herself. This terrible event was very unfortunate, however, it also blessed both of you with a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is actually something to rejoice in.”

Hearing the familiar place’s name, he was stunned for a moment.

As the gears in his head turned painfully slow, he asked in a daze, “...The Hidden Pearl Pavilion?”

She confirmed, “There is a deep valley in the mountain behind the House of Jade, and the Hidden Pearl Pavilion is located in that valley and where Shizun spends most of her time in seclusion. When you two disappeared from the bottom of the Jade Mirror Lake, I think the whirlpool pulled the two of you to the valley by accident and you were found by Shizun.”

He raised his hand and gave himself a hard facepalm. 

—The Hidden Pearl Pavilion!

Why didn’t he think of that? With Gu Feidi’s protagonist halo, stumbling upon an alternative path to survive under the lake shouldn’t be a surprising find for him.

So that was how Gu Feidi accidentally trespassed in the Hidden Pearl Pavilion in the script and triggered the key plot of studying under a secret-powerful master!

He was frustrated with himself. It was all because of his laziness, not only did he not read the original source, but he also didn’t read through scripts that he wasn’t a part of. He only caught a word or two from the crew and vaguely knew that there was such a thing as the ‘Hidden Pearl Pavilion’.

However, this key plot wasn’t about him, in fact, he had nothing to do with it. It was Xu Yunzhan, the protagonist’s best friend, who accompanied Gu Feidi into the sub-plot of the Hidden Pearl Pavilion. 

In conclusion, he stole Xu Yunzhan’s part.

In the script, after Gu Feidi and Xu Yunzhan found the pavilion by mistake, they experienced a near-death event that bloomed into an unbreakable friendship. No matter how much the ‘Evil Sect’s Young Master’ tried to drive a wedge between them, their trust in each other did not sway even the tiniest bit. 

So if he stole Xu Yunzhan’s part…is it possible that this slip-up would cause some sort of sympathy feeling with Gu Feidi? 

He held his hurting head and groaned. 

—If he knew that this was how the Hidden Pearl Pavilion plot triggered, he would never have accepted the invite for this nuisance of an ice play, even if he had to kill himself by jumping off the tallest building structure in the House of Jade.

“Please don't be upset.” Di Ling encouraged, “You got the Apparition that resided in the Jade Mirror Lake. Your training will only advance by leaps and bounds in the future. Why Shizun had Gu Feidi stay is because of her newest mental skill manual. The mental skill is Righteous Sun, very unsuitable for you but the opposite for Gu Feidi. Please understand that Shizun did not favour him and discriminate against you.”

He raised his head and said helplessly, “I am not resentful or jealous of Gu Feidi, I am just…”

Staring into her unfocused dark eyes, he couldn’t continue. He could only improvise to a more ambiguous meaning, “...Angry with myself.”

She comforted, “At the Jade Mirror Lake the day before yesterday, you first saved Xu Yunzhan, and then returned to the lake to save Gu Feidi bravely without the slightest hesitation. You have done your best. Now if you think about it, the two will be in your debt, so don’t be angry with yourself.”

Tsk, that is also a problem.

Instead of comforting him, it turned his headache into a migraine. 

Over the past six months, he has been extremely restrained and deliberately ignored Gu Feidi because he didn’t want to earn favour with the leading group, so as not to affect the end plot of eradicating the Evil Sect.

But what happened at the Jade Mirror Lake was really a frightening incident. He saved people without a second thought and that was exactly how he had been taught since childhood. Not to mention he didn’t want to see the leading group lose anyone because of the accident. He didn’t have time to ponder on what the original would have done. Now that he thought about it, after this plot point, he probably needed to earn some unfavorable points from the leading group in order to wipe clean this ‘savior title. 

Once in the Hidden Pearl Pavilion, Gu Feidi shouldn’t be coming out until he finished his apprenticeship.  

Therefore, he needed to start with Xu Yunzhan and Pu Lingyun to lose favourable points.

He then asked about the other’s condition. He learned from Di Ling that Xu Yunzhan needed bed rest from bruised muscles and broken bones. Fan Xi and Pu Lingyun hadn’t broken from their fever. It sounded like they wouldn't be coming out of their courtyard until after the new year. Chi Tong just woke up and requested only Luo Yin to take care of them, thus kicking everyone else out of their residence. 

For the sake of minding the injured and the sick, he must wait until the end of the year before starting his plan to earn negative favour. 

For the rest of the year, he should continue his seclusion and study the Blooming of the Nine Glacials.

After a little less than half a month, New Year’s Eve arrived. 

Su Yang finally took part at the dinner gathering with his fellow disciples for New Year's Eve, where he met Xu Yunzhan and Pu Lingyun again at the dinner table.

After the frozen waterfall incident, Pu Lingyun seemed much calmer than before. She even learned how to suppress her temper and came forward to express thanks toward Su Yang.

There were no traces of hostility on her face or hint of reluctance. She cupped her fists and expressed her gratitude, “Although this is long overdue, I still want to thank you. Thank you very much for saving my cousin and Xiao-Shixiong. There are no words that can express my appreciation for what you have done…”

“Who says I want your words of gratitude?”

Su Yang lifted his chin and deliberately curled his mouth. He said in a malicious tone, “I didn’t save you. I saved Xu Yunzhan and Gu Feidi. Since Gu Feidi can’t be summoned right now, that’s not the case for Xu Yunzhan. Shouldn’t he be the one showing his gratitude to his savior?”

As soon as he finished, the whole dining hall turned silent. 

Pu Lingyun froze on the spot. She clenched her hands into tight fists and held back the urge to throw rebukes back.

With a soft cough, Xu Yunzhan got up using his uninjured arm. The other arm was kept close to his body, protected by the splint. He moved beside Su Yang.

A falling ice fragment of the waterfall injured his shoulder blade, and the fracture on his bone was very deep. Old Qi restricted his arm movement. Of course, he hadn't completely recovered as not even half a month had passed. He patted Pu Lingyun on the shoulder with his free hand and motioned her to return to her seat. 

“This one thanks to the Young Hero Su for saving his life.” He wasn’t able to cup his fists and could only bow slightly. “If there is any way that I can repay you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Su Yang glanced at Xu Yunzhan’s injured arm and exaggeratedly made a cold sneer from his nose. He demanded pompously, “Since you can still use your right arm, sit next to me and serve me food.”

Before Xu Yunzhan has the chance to say anything, Mo Yun at the opposite side of the table frowned first. 

“Su Yang.” Mo Shixiong said solemnly, “In a critical situation, each of you should watch out and care for one another as fellow disciples. Is it necessary to create an inconvenience? Yunzhan thanked you and showed his gratitude. But it’s really bitterly disappointing that you take such kindness by tormenting and humiliating him.”

Inside, Su Yang clarified, I purposefully made it bitterly disappointing to others.

However, it was unnecessary for Xu Yunzhan to serve him meals. Seeing that his goal to increase his dislike had been achieved, he put on his Young Master facade and rolled his eyes slowly. “Since Mo Shixiong pleaded for you, you can go back.”

After causing such a scene, a faint awkward air filled the atmosphere at the dinner table.

Because of the wound on Chi Tong’s neck, Old Qi forbade them from drinking. Not able to enjoy to their heart's content, Chi Tong took Luo Yin back to their residence to spend their New Year’s Eve after eating a few random dishes. Xu Yunzhan and Pu Lingyun spent their night together as a family at Li Shijie’s courtyard. Fan Xi, who always enjoyed large and lively crowds, wanted to pull Su Yang along. He said Di Ling and Mo Shixiong would also come along to Li Shijie’s residences. The more the merrier he chirped. 

But Su Yang firmly turned down this collective gathering—as he decided that he would not participate in any group activity in the House of Jade from now on!

This single incident at the Jade Mirror Lake caused his pitfall on the Hidden Pearl Pavilion sub-plot. If there was another New Year’s Eve event that would make him go further astray from the original script, he may never get back to the real world!

So he took a jar of wine from the canteen and went back to the Lively Spring Garden. He hopped on to the roof and lay on the gray tiles to look at the starry night sky. 

At the end of the month, there was no moon in the sky, so the stars looked brighter. He enjoyed the wine in his arms in boredom. Suddenly, he missed watching the New Year’s Gala that he criticized all the time. A special program that was broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese New Year, which contained variety shows such as music, dance, comedy, and even drama performances.

He was too young to recall his parent’s accident, spending the majority of his life living with his grandmother, who spoiled him very much. Fortunately, the household had enough money for the two of them to live comfortably with no financial difficulty. 

But since his grandmother passed away, he had no more close relatives. On New Year’s Eve, he had no one to accompany him to watch the TV program.

No material luxuries could fill the emptiness in his heart, and he didn’t like to go out and deal with people. In the end, he uploaded dance videos on a video platform and got his first fans' group. 

Afterward...

Afterward, he was recommended by the platform to participate in a talent show and became famous overnight. The Arch-Rival’s live-drama crew recruited him and he got half a foothold into the entertainment industry. 

He never expected to transmigrate alone into this world after a drunken evening. 

He should have nothing to complain about as this was life, but he couldn't help feeling aggrieved. 

—Why did it have to be him? Transmigrated into a foreign world with no friends in sight, where he had to rely on his own to continue the plot, playing a hazardous character role. Everyone was against him. He had to improvise his lines. He had to mend scenes and parts that were out of character. Even getting bullied by the stone forest array, as it kicked him while he was on the ground doing his best. Why did the array have to break the plotline, making the story go askew from the original script. 

The more he thought about it, the faster he drank the jar of wine. Until he chugged down its entire contents. He pushed the empty jar down from the roof, and it rolled and shattered into pieces as it landed on the ground with a loud bang. 

“May everyone have peace year after year—!” He shouted toward the sky. 

He searched around the leather belt on his waist and drew out his soft sword. Using the Cherished Flower Steps, he landed in an open space in the middle of the courtyard. A circle of plum trees were planted around the open space. They bloomed in a vivid red, making the entire courtyard vivacious. Unfortunately, there has been no snow lately, making the surrounding ground pitch black, not contrasting the red plum trees’ beautiful appearance like a layer of white snow would. 

He curled his lips as he shook his blade and began to practice the Divide Lotus Technique.

After a long practice session, the jar of wine that was poured down into his stomach prior began to travel in his bloodstream as his heart rate increased from his movement. Under the alcohol’s influence, the technique he performed had changed slowly, until they unconsciously became the movements from Drunkard’s Drooping Whip, his favorite dance sequence during his loneliest year.

Yantan Divine Sect’s Divide Lotus Technique was like a dance. The sword strokes were more toward the gentle and reserved way, containing no heavy sharpness as it aimed to kill people in silence. Drunkard's Drooping Whip had a melody with strong tension and perfect rhythm for offensive dance. Throwing out fierce whiplashes, a gentle elegant action also with deadly strength. He used the sword that could also be a whip and performed a series of motions without the slightest ill intention. 

He even subconsciously injected his internal energy into his strikes. Where the sword edge crossed, red plum blossoms were severed from their branches, creating an illusion of red rain. As if blood was splashing all over the ground, but instead of the scent of iron, the plum fragrance surrounded the whole area. 

He danced repeatedly for a very long time. Until the intoxication finally got to him, as he held onto a plum tree closest to him in a daze. This particular plum tree had half of its flowers cut off. But he paid no mind to it as his legs softened and he knelt under the tree.

He tossed his sword to the side, hugging the plum tree trunk and lending his forehead against it. Suddenly, he began to shed tears inexplicably. 

He was so confused that he didn’t even know why he was crying. He held the tree tightly and cried and cried until he fell asleep. 

Outside the gate, Xu Yunzhan looked away and whispered, “...Looks like I can’t express thanks to him today.”

Di Ling beside him sighed, “What he said at the table today may not have come from the bottom of his heart.”

Xu Yunzhan chuckled. “If he really wanted me to repay with gratitude, or intentionally humiliate me, he could have come up with more excessive demands.”

Finishing that, he took another glance at the sleeping Su Yang under the blossoming plum tree and agreed, “Feidi was right, he is indeed very simple...”