Discussion

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me correctly, so, what do you say? There are quite a few delectable ones from other species as well, it might not seem like much, but sticking it into a red woman with horns is completely different than a human girl" by this point, Edrick had his arm wrapped around Xiao, preventing him from escaping.

"That's a bit… Errr… It's not quite correct to, you know, lose it with a lady of the night…" the young man spoke in a low tone, not wanting anyone else inside to know the sort of conversation he was having.

"Heh, nobody cares how a man loses his virginity, only a woman's virginity is given any value, no one would bat an eye, so you don't need to worry either" Anoteros brought a counterpoint, and Xiao glanced toward the emerald ghost for assistance.

"He's not wrong though- And besides, why are you trying to refuse anyways?! He's offering a free good time with a woman of your choice, just take the win, Xiao! Also, he's claiming it's to make up for your first encounter, so it isn't quite correct to refute him, this guy is a noble, you should accept the offer as a sign that you accept his apology, otherwise, it looks like you are trying to say that you actually still feel slighted about it and that the offer isn't enough for you" explained the old man, who clearly was just trying to get the youth laid.

"Or perhaps you don't feel comfortable with me paying for you? Then how about we share instead? I am certain that we'll become great friends after trouncing a woman as a team"

"What?! Urgh, I mean… That is a nice offer but…"

Edrick cut him off.

"Ah, I see…"

"You see…?"

"...You are into foppoofs? Or perhaps those duookois? Into rococoli or rococoa perhaps? A man of precise and focused taste? I can respect that"

'M-Master, help me! What do these words mean?! I feel like my character is being ruined by the mere implication that I am into these things!" Xiao had not done his homework and had no idea what any of these words meant, they sounded suspicious however, and looking over at the elder, he seemed solemn.

The apparition fake coughed and shook his head.

"These terms… This Edrick and I seem to share more than I initially assumed… You are far from being on his level, Xiao"

'Master Chengzhe, you're clearly not talking about combat prowess, so what are you talking about?!'

"Fret not, Xiao, just say that you are working to get with a specific maiden, claim that you are already caught in a chase- He'll understand"

'I- Fine'

"My apologies, but the thing is that I am currently attempting to seduce a lady already…"

"Huh… That is a shame, what's her name? I assume she is from the sect" Anoteros let go of Xiao, the youth stumbling as he had been slightly picked off the ground.

The script's protagonist did not need to think too hard about this.

"Yin" he responded.

"Ah, that inner disciple girl? You aim high, Xiao… But anyways, in that case, I'll be off into the woods to try and catch that sasquatch, though, if you change your mind, my offer still stands" Edrick laughed and left, leaving a slightly dazed Xiao behind.

'I can't actually believe it… The plot didn't replace that small antagonist, but instead gave him some steroids?' he thought to himself, it was only now that he had gotten the confirmation that Edrick Lucien Anoteros and Zixuan Elt were actually the same person, Xiao had naturally assumed that the character of the early minor antagonist had been replaced entirely, and that Edrick was actually sign of something far worse.

But it seemed like the goliath had not actually known about his lineage or the sword's true power, he had just slugged him in the face, robbed him, and disfigured him for the funsies.

'I should probably stay on good terms with him then… The plot concerning this guy has completely changed, he was supposed to be a forgettable character that never showed up again after being defeated, but for some reason, he had become a freakish mass of muscle and had joined the Myriad-Arm Sect, becoming a special disciple there.

If his memory served well, the Elt, Xing and Zhenniao were supposed to be close allies of one another, so if he was on Edrick's good side, then he might just be able to avoid the plot involving Ting Zhenniao, or things could go much worse.

Unlike the story he read, things didn't move according to an author's will, everyone around him had a mind of their own, and he had yet to encounter any one that was an actual buffoon or was actually easily predictable, they were real people and the script could easily get altered because of it.

Any dumb decisions made in the story were much less likely to occur as the characters would actually think things through now.

This could either work in his advantage, or bury him.

If the poison lady figured out that he was linked in some way to the old clan that had been destroyed, she wouldn't just send a goon, she might just poison him herself, or even enlist the help of the Xing woman and Zixuan as well to murder him.

'I'll just try to be on friendly terms with him, he seems a bit weird and probably prone to violence, but not quite someone that can not be befriended, he seems willing to be friendly too, so hopefully this isn't a ploy to carve his initials onto my face again…'

He didn't have many options, though his best bet was simply to lay low and not get noticed at all by Ting Zhenniao, the fact that he had lost the sword was actually a blessing in disguise as it might have given his identity away.

Really, the only problem was his fierce crimson eyes, but that could easily be brushed off as a coincidence.

"Mmh, you aren't transmitting your thoughts to me, but I can still tell that you are worried about your identity, aren't you? Don't you worry, unless you massively mess up, no one should notice that you are the last heir of the Chen clan, even if your inner energy bears similarity to that of the clan, my presence muddies it, even if those who were directly present to slaughter your family were to lay eyes on you, they wouldn't notice a thing" reassured the old ghost.

'Right… The characters becoming real people also applies to Elder Chengzhe, he is actually much more present and useful than he was in the book…'

He heaved a sigh of relief as Anoteros was headed toward the woods.