Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 109: At This Moment, the Manga Artist Is Crying and Working Hard in the Hospital (Two-in-One)

The unlit room was utterly silent.

The moonlight outside, like water, streamed into the room, falling on the two people by the window.

"Can’t sleep?" Yu Xiao asked.

He naturally pulled over a chair and sat down beside Li Li.

Without his usual clumsy act, his movements were extremely smooth.

Before she knew it, he was already seated next to her.

His tone wasn’t the usual dull one either.

Under the silvery moonlight, Yu Xiao’s golden hair slightly curled, as if shimmering with silver light.

He turned his face to look at Li Li, his round red pupils seemingly reflecting the moonlight.

Thoughts swirled in her mind.

The quiet environment was conducive to thinking, and it was also conducive to her performance.

"Are you done with your business?" Li Li didn’t look at him, staring at the scene outside the window, her gaze unfocused. "Even the sea isn’t as vast as your concerns."

Had he decided not to pretend with her anymore?

Or was her speculation wrong, and Yu Xiao and Shuang Buyan were not entirely the same person?

The manga had emphasized close-ups of Yu Xiao’s changing expressions, meaning the manga artist was very likely to follow Yu Xiao’s storyline.

This night, Yu Xiao coming to her was highly likely to be drawn by the manga artist.

It was time for her to perform again.

Li Li pondered the attitude she should have, then naturally let her resistance show.

Setting aside her omniscient perspective, setting aside her detached stance as an observer in this world, and using the perspective of ‘Heige’ to immerse herself in thought.

At the beginning, she wouldn’t suspect the Prophet.

She should have a thick filter for the Prophet until she deduced that Yu Xiao was Shuang Buyan.

So she would be very resistant to him.

These two people absolutely couldn’t be the same person, whether for her, for Yiming, for Tide, or for the Former Ability Guild.

"Really?" Yu Xiao mumbled, then said with a bit of enthusiasm, "Then you can’t sleep. Want a glass of milk?"

"Not thirsty." Li Li rejected concisely.

"Or maybe eating something will make you sleepy. How about—" The golden-haired youth continued beside her.

"Not hungry." Another rejection.

Yu Xiao looked a bit hurt: "Do you have something against me?"

Li Li’s expression grew colder: "Congratulations, you noticed a bit late."

Yu Xiao: "...Don’t say that. Even I would feel hurt."

He showed a doubtful expression, as if recalling where things went wrong, leading to her rejecting him now.

Li Li didn’t look at him.

She slightly tilted her head back, leaning against the recliner’s backrest.

Her slightly long black hair slid down the backrest and shoulders with her movement, her tilted jawline connecting to her neck, disappearing into her slightly high collar.

She closed her eyes, as if dozing off.

This was a gesture of refusing to communicate, like erecting a defensive fortress.

Li Li knew how she should react.

If she knew Yu Xiao was Shuang Buyan, she would be suspicious, she would find it strange.

Why was Shuang Buyan still alive? Why had Yu Xiao stayed by Yiming’s side, subtly guiding him, yet never meeting with Sang Feiling, Hua Yizhi, or other members of the Former Ability Guild?

Sang Feiling had been imprisoned in Zhusheng City for six years.

If Yu Xiao had acted, how could a high-rank domain-type ability user fail to save her?

In those six years, Sang Feiling was disfigured and had her legs severed.

From a free-spirited Traveler, she became a disabled person confined to a wheelchair.

She trusted the Prophet so much.

If the Prophet was truly alive, why didn’t he save her?

To maintain the accuracy of the prophecy? If that was really the reason, Li Li would truly laugh.

The Imperial Family and the Prophet were definitely opposed, and Lin Ran and the Prophet were also opposed.

Lin Ran disliked the Prophet, and many of her words carried subjective bias, so Li Li wouldn’t fully accept them.

But if Yu Xiao could have acted and didn’t, how could Li Li possibly trust this person?

Unless he could give a reasonable explanation.

The air was quiet for a while, then Yu Xiao said: "You’re acting like a sulky child right now."

"Then what are you? A nagging mother?" Feeling mocked, Li Li sneered, "Need me to help you change your gender?"

"Looks like it’s true." Yu Xiao shrank back, as if genuinely intimidated, then said, "Did I upset you somewhere?"

His gaze drifted upward, as if recalling: "We haven’t met many times, have we?"

"Right." Li Li said faintly.

Indeed, they hadn’t met many times.

The first was their initial encounter in Jiao Huang.

The second was in Four-Way City, where Yu Xiao was tied up on stage while she stood silently behind An Heyu as a Bounty Hunter.

The third was in Ranmu City, where Yu Xiao was chased by a big dog and ran into her.

Later, their interactions did become more frequent, but even counting on both hands, the number of times could still be tallied.

However, according to ‘Heige’s’ character design, six years ago, they should have met many times, whether one-sided or not.

Yu Xiao’s round red eyes stared at Li Li for a while, then he said with certainty: “I get it. We should have been very familiar before.”

Should have?

On the other side, her fingertips tapped lightly.

Li Li opened her eyes and turned her head.

Incomplete memories? Or did he truly not know someone like her existed?

Since she was here to bluff and had never actually met the Prophet Shuang Buyan, she couldn’t deduce the situation from this statement alone.

“You have crimson eyes too.” Under the moonlight, Yu Xiao saw the hue of those dark pupils clearly.

Two pairs of crimson eyes, similar yet with subtle differences, met.

One with black hair, one with golden hair.

The quiet moonlight filtered through the window’s bars, forming beams of light that fell between them, as if tiny specks of dust floated in the rays.

“So what?” Li Li said.

The golden-haired youth’s expression softened.

He lowered his voice and said slowly: “Then I should indeed be very familiar with you. I was just thinking, if they were black, they’d suit you better.”

Her eyes were originally black, and Yu Xiao knew that.

But this ‘Yu Xiao’ didn’t?

It was as if the two Yu Xiaos had split, forming two distinct individuals.

One was the usual Yu Xiao, standing by Yiming’s side, guiding him, pretending to be less clever, doing everything with a purpose.

The other was this one before her, not seeming to pretend, with normal human emotions and even a tendency to help others when idle.

Trust him?

Was this one Shuang Buyan, and the other just Yu Xiao?

For some reason, they were one entity, but Shuang Buyan clearly had missing memories, lacking Yu Xiao’s.

Her thoughts circled in her mind, but Li Li didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned back again.

She slightly pulled herself out of that immersive acting, so regarding this, her thought was—

No, she wanted crimson eyes.

They were cooler.

She was going to be an emotionless cool guy, thank you very much.

Perhaps realizing Li Li truly didn’t want to talk to him, Yu Xiao paused, moved the chair back, and left the small balcony.

Just when Li Li thought Yu Xiao had really gone, he came back.

He was holding a cup of hot milk, which he enthusiastically handed over.

“Here.” He passed the hot milk to Li Li’s hand, and after she hesitantly took it, he stood up and said: “I’m serious about hot milk helping you sleep.”

Li Li held the just-right temperature of the hot milk, lowering her eyes.

“Staying up late isn’t good. Sleep early.” He was preparing to leave this time.

After opening the door, he smiled and said finally: “Hope next time you’ll give me a better look, sulky kid.”

Without giving Li Li a chance to retort, he closed the door, causing a breeze, as if he couldn’t hear her sarcasm and had won.

Li Li looked at the hot milk in silence.

Actually, ever since she felt Yu Xiao had stopped pretending, she hadn’t smiled, her face expressionless.

She genuinely found it odd for Yu Xiao’s youthful face to say these things, like an adult’s soul in a child’s body.

But it seemed that might actually be the case.

As she was thinking, she lifted the cup and took a sip of the hot milk.

Three seconds later, she put the cup down and rushed to the bathroom.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the milk; she just felt nauseous.

The faucet sensed the heat and warm water flowed out.

Li Li splashed her face, thinking this was the first time she’d suffered so much.

Just then, her phone vibrated.

It was An Heyu.

The manga had stopped when An Heyu’s disguise was revealed, but time in the manga world hadn’t stopped.

Li Li figured he had probably already had a good talk with An Huyu by now.

And indeed, An Heyu said: “Huyu really didn’t care whether I wore a skirt.”

“Isn’t that great?” Li Li reached out, brushing back her wet bangs.

How nice.

The Mother Hen finally avoided social death, not having to face his younger brother’s devilish questions like: Big brother, why did you wear a skirt?

Li Li had actually prepared a Plan B.

If An Huyu was still fixated on why his brother wore a skirt, she’d have An Heyu answer: Because friends walk through life together, and we all agreed to cross-dress.

Then have An Heyu counter-ask: Would you cross-dress for your best friend?

Use a deadly question to shut An Huyu up, and the topic could be brushed off.

But Li Li figured, given An Heyu’s personality, even if he told the truth, he wouldn’t follow her Plan B.

After all, when he heard the plan, An Heyu’s expression was quite colorful.

“But we could also calm down and talk properly.” An Heyu’s voice sounded exhausted. “I don’t want him involved in Tide’s dangerous matters. I didn’t stop him from joining Tide because I didn’t want him in danger. How many times has it been—today, yesterday, the day before? Without us, he’d definitely be seriously injured. But he thinks I’m controlling him again. I don’t know how it happened, but we ended up arguing.”

...That sounded very An-clan brothers.

Li Li’s hand, brushing her hair, paused.

She had thought An Huyu had matured, that An Heyu had learned to let go, and that, reuniting after so long, they could at least have a proper conversation.

“Then what?” she asked.

“Then...” An Heyu paused. “Huyu cried really hard, hugging me and crying. He said he was sorry, that he shouldn’t have argued with me, and asked if... I could not leave him.”

“Ah.” Li Li felt this was right.

They couldn’t just light up like firecrackers and go off the moment they met, crackling and popping.

She said: “That’s good. Stay with him for now. Your brother’s crying won’t stop easily.”

As she spoke, she walked out of the bathroom, glancing at the small balcony, the table beside the recliner, and the now-cold milk on it.

A beam of moonlight fell at her feet, making the somewhat empty room’s layout clear in the darkness.

“No, I’m on my way back,” An Heyu said. “Dan and I are at the newly opened food street. Lots of specialty foods. Dan’s planning to bring back some of his favorites for you to try. Anything you want to eat? We’ve already avoided orange juice fish, lumpy pork belly, vinegar oil fruit...” He listed the foods he’d tried to feed Li Li over the past few days, only to be firmly rejected.

“What are you secretly saying to Heige? Give me the phone,” Dan’s voice rang out.

“Wait, I haven’t finished talking—”

An Heyu didn’t end up bickering with An Huyu, but instead started tussling with Dan over the phone.

Li Li: “…Nothing, don’t bring my share.”

Just hearing those foods once was enough to kill her appetite!

After a while, An Heyu secured his phone and continued speaking to Li Li: “One last thing. You asked me to keep an eye on that youth named Yu Xiao. From his behavior this afternoon, there’s definitely something off.”

“I feel like he might have some mental issues. His demeanor and actions when he arrived and when he left were like two different people,” An Heyu said. “Whether it’s his expression or behavior, the difference was stark.”

“Mental illness? Or an ability effect?” An Heyu mused.

Hearing this, Li Li said faintly: “Got it.”

After hanging up, Li Li took a few steps, then suddenly realized the system prompt hadn’t sounded yet, meaning the update quota hadn’t been reached.

The manga would definitely continue with An Heyu’s side of things, possibly with flashbacks to Four-Way City, and she had a hunch her side would get a panel or two.

Plus, more events would happen until the update quota was met…

Could the manga artist finish drawing all that?

Li Li recalled the Ranmu Arc, when the manga artist worked overtime to meet deadlines.

May you keep drawing in the hospital.

Stay strong, manga artist.

…

Two days later, the struggle between Tide and the Princess reached its final step.

Both sides clashed in the final battle at the city’s edge.

Li Li initially didn’t participate.

With An Heyu and Dan helping, Tide’s combat strength wasn’t too far behind.

Phantom crows circled in the sky, the wind growing fiercer.

Sang Feiling, supporting herself on her wheelchair, slightly raised her head, looking at Sang Feiyuan in the air.

This was one of the battle zones.

S-rank ability users Sang Feiyuan and Sang Feiling were the only two present here.

They would decide a victor here, and the winner would move to support other zones.

Identical abilities clashed in the air, the wind scattering surrounding dust.

Their green hair fluttered in the breeze, their eyes locked on each other, never shifting.

“I’ve never understood what kind of magic that Prophet had to make you betray your family,” Sang Feiyuan’s voice carried through the fierce wind to Sang Feiling’s ears.

“You can’t understand me, so naturally you can’t understand Sir,” Sang Feiling replied.

Her time with Tide these past days had brought life back to her numb, pale face.

She even seemed to return to the past, casually joking with the younger members.

“This society is sick. Every day, people are killed for no reason. The strong make rules but don’t follow them, while the weak’s cries and pain go unheard,” Sang Feiling said, reaching out toward Sang Feiyuan. “I know what you’re angry about. You’re angry that I abandoned you, betrayed you, left you to walk a different path.”

“Hmph, as if,” Sang Feiyuan scoffed. “You’re just a traitor.”

“See, there you go again,” Sang Feiling said. “Have you forgotten how Qu Yan killed the dog you raised as a child? You said in front of Qu Yan, ‘It’s just a dog,’ but went home and cried under your blanket.”

Sharper wind blades grazed their skin, drawing thin lines of red blood.

“That was then,” Sang Feiyuan said. “Have you forgotten what happened to your face, your legs?”

His expression turned sinister: “I did that, didn’t I?”

“I betrayed the Empire, after all. Being able to survive with just my legs crippled is already pretty good,” Sang Feiling said. “You worked hard to secure that outcome, didn’t you? Every time you got new information, you’d rush to the prison to tell me, like you were taking credit.”

“…” Sang Feiyuan was momentarily speechless.

He rarely fell silent, but after a while, he said: “You’ve really changed.”

His gaze grew deep, looking at her face, no longer youthful and radiant: “Back then, you’d pull off my blanket, drag me to find Qu Yan, and beat him up in front of me. You’d say, ‘Whoever bullies you, hit them. We Sangs fear no one.’” His tone shifted: “And now? What are you doing? What are you enduring for?”

The fierce wind uprooted nearby plants, and the dust kicked up was instantly blown away.

“As I just said,” Sang Feiling said slowly, her scarred half-face softened by her gentle gaze.

“You’re angry because I left you. But countless civilians—non-ability users, weak ability users—face far sadder partings every day, things they shouldn’t have to endure.”

“I want a world where, on my travels, I no longer see fields of sorrow and numb, grieving people, but faces brimming with smiles, looking forward to tomorrow. That’s all I want.”

She raised her eyes, meeting Sang Feiyuan’s uncomprehending gaze: “I’ve always been this way, I just realized it with Sir’s guidance. Back then, I beat up Qu Yan not just because you were crying hard, but because I was upset that he abused his ability and harmed life.”

“Utter nonsense,” Sang Feiyuan said.

“I didn’t really want to face you,” Sang Feiling sighed. “But Tide is short on manpower right now.”

She suddenly flashed a bright smile, just like when they were kids: “From childhood to now, you’ve never beaten me, Sang Feiyuan.”

Sang Feiyuan froze, then said darkly: “With the way you are now?”

The wind lifted Sang Feiling from her wheelchair, her long skirt swaying in the breeze, her green hair like vibrant algae.

Sang Feiyuan’s form descended swiftly with the wind, and in an instant, their figures left only afterimages, clashing repeatedly in the air.

They abandoned the clash of abilities and chose hand-to-hand combat.

The hand-to-hand combat favored by the Sang clan nobles.

Precisely controlled wind turned Sang Feiling’s hem into sharp blades.

She was like an elf roaming the mountains, or a deer leaping through the forest.

Their experience from countless past battles made them intimately familiar with each other’s habits, and their struggle showed no clear winner for the moment.

At that moment.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion came from the southwest, followed by the collapse of a tall building in Tan City.

Flying debris even reached their area.

The wind did not stop, but the two of them, in unspoken agreement, turned toward the source of the sound.

One worried about Tide’s companions, the other concerned that an incident in Tan City might harm the princess.

They exchanged a glance and declared a truce.

They rushed toward the rising mushroom cloud, while a black crow flew above their heads, its crimson pupils reflecting the scene beneath the thick smoke.

“S-rank?” An Heyu, still wearing his red hood, no longer concealed his face, and his astonishment was evident. “Something’s wrong.”

Behind him, Dan emerged from the layers of thick smoke, her brows filled with ferocity. “He broke the strawberry hairpin Heige gave me.”

Nearby, Yiming also spoke. “It was like he suddenly became a different person.” He said gravely, “Even his ability seemed to change.”

Before them, beyond the collapsed building, a purple-haired noble stood, blood threads dancing to dispel the smoke-filled air, perfectly protecting the Princess Wuyu by his side.

An Heyu murmured, “Qu Tao? No, something’s wrong. His ability doesn’t have this kind of destructive power.”

“Compared to Qu Tao, this ability is more like…” His voice trailed off, his face full of disbelief.

An Huyu, still in a slight cold war with his brother, couldn’t help but ask, “More like who?”

Princess Wuyu spoke, looking calmly at the opposing group as she always did. “Let me introduce, this is the head of the Qu clan, Qu Ting.”

An SS-rank ability user, the head of the Qu clan nobles, now using the body of a younger clan member to come beyond the Floating City.

The purple-haired ability user revealed a kind smile. “I must thank you all. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the sky outside the Floating City.”

“Last time it was Lin Ran, and now it’s finally my turn.” He chuckled, but this young body carried the demeanor and posture of an elder, completely devoid of the faint bloodthirsty aura the younger Qu clan members unwittingly exuded.

But everyone knew he had killed more people, and more cruelly.

Yet no one present cared about that. What they cared about was:

“An SS-rank ability user!”

This was an opponent they had no chance of defeating at their current stage!

But one person didn’t care about that.

The white-haired boy, as if fearless, spoke with resolute force. “Correction, there’s no breathable air around the purple-haired guy!”

He couldn’t directly alter the state of an ability user of a higher rank, but he could defeat them by modifying the environment around them.

“This junior is quite fierce,” said the purple-haired noble, Qu Ting, still situated in the Floating City.

Princess Wuyu said noncommittally, “He’s a subordinate of the illusionist.”

“Oh, that illusionist who’s got you running around? The one who killed little Yan?” Qu Ting chuckled. “What a coincidence.”

Unable to breathe was deadly for the non-ability user Princess Wuyu, but standing beside her was Qu Ting, an SS-rank ability user.

Even though he wasn’t physically present, he still possessed power that S-rank users could hardly match.

And his ability’s trait was counter-damage.

In an instant, the thin air was dispersed by the blood threads with a casual sweep, and the ability’s initiator, Dan, had red blood flowing from her eyes.

Then, blood poured from her nose, mouth, and ears.

But this stubborn mad dog, heedless of her now-unresponsive senses, continued in a hoarse voice, “All exposed liquids in this area should vaporize.”

With her words, the blood threads dancing in the air seemed to shift slightly, their edges flowing.

The next second, Dan could no longer hold herself up and collapsed to the ground.

He clutched her mouth, but bright red blood still flowed ceaselessly, staining the light pink skirt he wore that day.

The ability had failed again.

“Tsk tsk tsk, since we’ve crossed paths, why not send a gift to that… what was it?” Qu Ting said.

“Illusionist Heige,” Princess Wuyu corrected earnestly.

“Alright then, a gift for the illusionist.” Qu Ting could only follow the princess’s words, then looked at those before him—people he could easily kill—and also saw Tang, attempting to heal Dan with an ability.

He explained kindly, “Two attempts to attack, and my ability will continuously destroy his organs. No one can save him.”

“In less than ten seconds, he’ll be dead,” Qu Ting said cheerfully.

And at that moment.

“Dan, I’m going to rewind your state to when you left this morning, got it?”

A black crow flew out from the forest behind them, then coalesced.

Amid the flurry of black feathers, the figure of a black-haired youth gradually solidified.

Li Li brushed her mask, the hem of her black trench coat billowing, then strode to Dan’s side.

In Tang’s astonished gaze, she bent slightly, meeting Dan’s barely focused heterochromatic eyes.

An illusory voice entered his mind.

Fingers clad in fingerless gloves danced, and with a snap, the wind rose, blowing through the white-haired boy’s hair and the red blood flowing from him.

In an instant, the state reset.

"Rewind?" Tang murmured.

Behind them, in the forest, Sang Feiling and Sang Feiyuan had just arrived, while in front of them, the golden-haired youth stood by a tree, his red pupils gazing at the black-haired youth ahead, who wore a faint smile.

With a flick of her wrist, a brand-new strawberry hairpin appeared in Li Li’s palm.

She casually clipped it onto Dan’s hair, patted his head, and then straightened up.

"Sorry, what were you saying just now? I didn’t catch it." She tilted her face, looking at Qu Ting with a provocative smirk.