The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

Chapter 3: Substitute Marriage (3)

The parallel worlds system had informed her that if she wanted to return home, she had to complete two missions in the <Demon Hunter> world:

Mission 1: Follow the original Ling Yus plotline and create obstacles in between the feelings of the male and female lead.

Mission 2: Get the female leads brother, Mu Sheng, whos infatuated with the female lead, to fall in love with Ling Yu.

She didnt even want to mention how these two missions were so vehement about Wait. The system suddenly sent her a message in its mechanical voice: Mission Reminder: Mission 1. One-fourth complete. This time, the rest of the mission will be given as an example gift to the host. Mission complete.

Example gift? Miaomiao was momentarily dumbfounded.

Mission 1? Oh right, its to bully the female lead which is to say that before she even needed to create any trouble, the system already helped her do it. The blame was still on her though.

Ling Miaomiao wanted to cry but didnt have any tears to shed. 

The books entire plot went something like this: 

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Jwv obyv eke Nkdt Zw es? Gqvla Nkw Wwuk zlqv, pbl pdlyjkzu okrle yoyu vbl vyzkpxyd awdlp sd vbl oyzzp yde akrrle vbl vyzkpxyd sd vbl essa kdvs rklnlp.

Fbl zlqv vbl wdnsdpnkswp Yw Zys zyukdt kd vbl wdrasvlnvle olpv pkelassx! 

Ykysxkysp lmralppksd vwadle ckvvla: Nkdt Zw oyp csaasokdt y jdkql vs jkzz Yw Zys! [1] ¹ Jsaasokdt y jdkql vs jkzz: Jypknyzzu xlydp pblp plvvkdt wr/nywpkdt psxlsdl vs zspl talyvzu/ekl kdekalnvzu. Gp kd, pbl wplp psxlsdl/psxlvbkdt lzpl vs ynnsxrzkpb bla sod tsyzp. Fsaau cye lmrzydyvksd. 

Sigh, she was secretly in love with Liu Fuyi but there was already a beautiful and outstanding Mu Yao beside him. If Mu Yao were to die after being heavily injured by that demon

if Mu Yao were to die this marriage ceremony wouldnt be so fake anymore and she would become his bride

Miaomiao? Fuyi grabbed ahold of her arm, and moved slightly closer. His face was full of concern, Are you ok? Do you feel unwell? Ling Miaomiao subconsciously maintained a distance between them but remembered all the things that would occur later on and immediately stuck herself closer to him. Her face was pale as she grabbed Liu Fuyis hand.

Liu Fuyi felt uncomfortable and naturally dodged backwards. 

Mu Yao The emotion in her eyes almost completely changed from fright to pleading, Go take a look at Mu Yao! 

Liu Fuyis expression eased somewhat. Then, like he was trying to placate a frightened child, he assuaged: Mu Yao is fine. I drew a talisman on her door 

It was useless by the time Ling Miaomiao entered the book world, the original Ling Yu had already destroyed them. 

As the water mirror was chased till it had nowhere else to go, it charged towards the seemingly defenseless west sideroom. Mu Yao would wake up from her unconscious state, feeling a heavy demonic aura beside her, then she would force her weak body to fight with the water mirror as her strength grew weaker and weaker. 

And when she was on the verge of life and death, Mu Sheng, whod gone out to pick herbs would return 

Thinking of her second missions target, Mu Sheng, Miaomiaos heart shuddered. 

That was the original Ling Yus second husband, but was also her eternal nightmare. 

I feel extremely panicked, Im afraid that Mu Yao is in danger. Can we go over right now? Miaomiao nearly cried. 

As an outsider, the system stipulated that she must enter her role and couldnt expose herself. She could only do two things: Try to patch things up or pass the blame to someone else. 

Liu Fuyi felt that this mayors young misss temperament was quite strange. However, he maintained a warm character as always and only tried to advise her: Its late. You should go back and sleep. Ill go take a look at Yaoer. 

You should go now. Miaomiao still stubbornly continued. 

Fuyi helplessly smiled, Ill first go take a look and see if the Demon Restraining Pagoda has captured the water mirror yet. 

This man wasnt listening to her! Miaomiao roared in her mind. 

Then tell Mu Sheng to quicken his return, Mu Yao is a woman and shes currently injured. You guys cant leave her by herself! 

Liu Fuyi was stunned for a moment before smiling and patting her head, Alright. 

This seemingly intimate action nearly blew Ling Miaomiaos top. Ling Yu was 16 this year yet he was this conceited! He completely treated her earnest advice like the words of a child! 

Liu Fuyi saw Miaomiao give him a death glare and could only helplessly tear apart a communication talisman under her eyes. A Sheng, where are you? Im going to deal with the demon, you should hurry back and look after Yaoer. [2]² A Sheng: Similar to Yao-chan or Yaoer. Basically an endearing way of saying someones name. 

After he finished talking, he put the talisman into Miaomiaos palm, a helpless expression on his face. It was as if his face said: Is this good enough?

This wont work. Miaomiao sighed. If she were to calculate the time theyve wasted already, by the time Mu Sheng rushes back, Mu Yao would have already fought the water mirror.

Its late. Miss Ling, youve done a lot already. Ill send you back to sleep. Liu Fuyi warmly proposed.

After experiencing todays difficulties, Miaomiao felt that Liu Fuyis attitude towards her had changed.

She wrapped her clothes tighter: Lets go take a look first 

Her palm grew warm all of a sudden, the talisman combusting into flames. Under the purple lights, the yellowish talisman paper turned into black ash in the blink of an eye.  

Liu Fuyis expression immediately changed, and in the next moment, both of them heard the sound of thunder shattering through the sky.

Thunder lingered in the horizon, and dark clouds started to drift over. 

Immediately following that was the intense sounds of fighting. In the distance, the sounds of the water mirror on its death throes mixed with the delicate shouts of a girl.

The sound had come from the West Sideroom. From Ling Miaomiaos trembling teeth came a sentence: Its Mu Mu Yao!

Liu Fuyi didnt say anything further and merely turned around, flying over rapidly.

Ling Miaomiao picked up the ends of the dress and tried to follow but the hosts body was really just too delicate and weak. Before she had even taken two steps, her breath started to waver. The ill-form fitting wedding dress was trampled under her feet. She was just slightly careless and caused herself to trip over, falling with a splash into a puddle.

Ling Miaomiao felt dreadful as she wiped off the muddy water. She crawled up in one motion, picked up her dress and started walking towards the west sideroom again.

According to the plot, Ling Yu who was delighted and full of expectations of getting married to Fuyi would see him toss her to the side and dash towards Mu Yao. It was like she fell from heaven to hell in an instant. Dazed, she chased them to the west sideroom only to see the male lead embracing the female lead and repeatedly comforting her. The bitterness and jealousy in her heart nearly reached the horizons.

Everytime Ling Yu appeared in a scene, she couldnt miss out on being present either. 

Under the pitch black night sky, the west siderooms surroundings were as bright as day. From far away, one could see a gigantic pagoda floating in the air with countless rays of glimmering light shooting out from the bottom.

The windows on every floor glowed with a golden light. The delicate pagoda before had become this flying machine-like colossus. It was quite astonishing.

Liu Fuyis silhouette flashed and he entered the courtyard. 

Miaomiao immediately followed up. The west sideroom was brightly lit up by the countless rays of light. The roof was broken and broken tiles and rain fell down through.

The water mirrors shattered pieces were like a current, congealing into a water dragon. It was very pleased with itself as the rays of light reflected off of it, showing a weak and delicate silhouette.

That silhouette was Mu Yao. Her appearance made it clear that she was completely spent, shaking and swaying with countless wounds all over her body.

With how she shook, Mu Yaos situation looked dire. 

Liu Fuyi had not moved, a calm expression covered his face as he drew runes. In an instant, the Nine Mysterious Demon Restraining Pagoda spun and descended, brilliant flames burning the water mirror as the air was rend with an increasingly mournful screech.

Mu Yao didnt have enough strength. She supported her arm as the water mirror threw itself around with its life on the life. In a blink, she was about to make a heavy attack.

In that instant, a goose yellow shadow flew through the air like a whirlwind as it barged over.

That persons wrists spun and twisted and dazzled ones eyes. Suddenly, several sparks exploded on the shattered water mirror. Loud crackling noises erupted as the water mirror instantly blew apart, meteor-like streams of smoke falling towards the earth.

This was the Demon Hunter worlds Mu familys most iconic exploding sparks. It didnt require talismans or runes to use and its power was tremendous.

Ling Miaomiao scampered about as she dodged the pieces of glass falling from the sky. Looking up at the skyusing Exploding Sparks as soon as they arrived, that goose yellow figure must have been Mu Sheng.

He was nominally Mu Yaos younger brother yet he had a perverse infatuation with Mu Yao, acting naive and kind hearted only in front of her. He simply was just putting on a white lily act to attract others pity. When in truth, his personality was dark, vicious and extremely vindictive.

In other words, he was a very deeply hidden scheming Two-faced person. He pretended to be naive but actually concealed a Black Lotus on the inside. Other than his non-blood-related sister, he couldnt care less about anyone else.

Miaomiao felt that this somewhat yandere personality brought with it some tension. It could be considered a breakthrough of sorts for the old hand at romantic fiction, the author, Floating Boat.

However, admiring this character was far different from liking this gloomy youngster in real life.

Especially since that black-hearted author paired the black lotus Mu Sheng up with Ling Yu. Mu Sheng obviously didnt care for Ling Yu. Being rejected after showing his true emotions to his sister, Mu Sheng turned completely blackened and vented all of his anger and resentment onto Ling Yu who had been tripping Mu Yao up in the dark.

He hypocritically got close to Ling Yu and after their marriage, started to torment and torture her unbridledly. He was completely unscrupulous and even poisoned her with a love gu, causing her to be unable to tell anyone else.[3]³ Love Gu: Gu is an ancient chinese art/skill that uses all sorts of bizarre bugs and organisms to control/poison/kill/threaten victims. >.> I dont think I should put example pictures here, yall go google if youre that interested.

Ling Yu, who was trapped in a helpless situation, was quickly tormented to the point that her hair turned grey. She was always in a dazed state. She had reaped what she sowed, she was guilty and earned her punishment.

Ling Miaomiao couldnt help but shiver, her back feeling cold. She subconsciously straightened her neck and looked up.

That smear of goose yellow was like lightning, scattering apart the dark and gloomy clouds. Both fast and severe. His entrance wasnt dark nor was it bright. It was a fresh and beautiful goose yellow.

This Mu Sheng was someone whose outside was akin to sweet frosting. Yet on the inside, a blade lay. 

[1] Borrowing a knife to kill: Basically means shes setting up/causing someone to lose greatly/die indirectly. As in, she uses someone/something else to accomplish her own goals. Sorry bad explanation. 

[2] A Sheng: Similar to Yao-chan or Yaoer. Basically an endearing way of saying someones name. 

[3] Love Gu: Gu is an ancient chinese art/skill that uses all sorts of bizarre bugs and organisms to control/poison/kill/threaten victims. >.> I dont think I should put example pictures here, yall go google if youre that interested.

TL: Entropy here, looking through the chapter while posting, I suddenly recalled how much I wanted to tear my hair out while translating this chapter. Ah, good times. Also, completely forgot it was thursday and that Im supposed to post hehe.