Is life always this painful

The Crimson-Eyed Carrier Pigeon, a tamed low-level demon beast, served as the medium for correspondence between Li Ang and his contacts.

This particular pigeon was the tavern owner's most prized possession.

Beyond delivering messages, it could also carry intricate spells to assist assassins in their missions.

[Today's Mission: None]

Reading the message, Zhong Yi frowned slightly in disappointment.

"Taking a day off? Does the Assassin's Guild even want to stay in business…"

He burned the letter in his hand and shook his head.

He had thoroughly enjoyed the opening stage—the thrill of completing assassination missions within the mountain villa.

Meanwhile, a new update appeared in the upper-right corner.

[Main Mission: Day Off (On this rare holiday, head to the eastern market district to watch a shadow puppet show.)]

"Alright, alright, whatever you say."

Zhong Yi shrugged helplessly, got out of bed, and prepared for the day.

He had already pieced together the quirks of Li Ang's character.

He poured himself a large cup of goat milk and, before leaving, watered the potted plant on the windowsill with half a jug.

Sure enough, his behavior score shot up.

"Child's play. Nothing I can't handle… I’m the god of role-playing!"

Zhong Yi smugly closed the door behind him and hummed a tune as he walked toward the mission’s destination.

Keeping potted plants, drinking goat milk, enjoying shadow puppet shows…

These refined, almost childish hobbies clashed starkly with the ruthless persona of a cold-blooded assassin.

Yet, it was precisely this contrast that made Zhong Yi find the character fascinating, even endearing.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Li Ang was, in fact, a demonic cultivator.

Zhong Yi arrived at the market and settled into a dim, dilapidated house to watch a lengthy shadow puppet show.

Though he wasn’t particularly interested, the mission prevented him from leaving early, so he sped up time to get it over with.

[Main Mission: Return Home (Before noon.)]

"Home again?"

Zhong Yi blinked.

Fortunately, the deadline was noon, so he took his time strolling through the town.

The daytime bustle far surpassed the liveliness of the previous night.

More NPCs populated the streets.

He tossed a coin to a beggar, who mentioned that a wealthy family had acquired a rare spiritual herb capable of enhancing a mortal’s physique.

He played two rounds of Go with an old man in the market. After winning, the man scowled and gruffly challenged him to a rematch in three days.

He watched the spectacle of a martial arts tournament for a bride, where a valiant female fighter—rumored to be an outer disciple of a prominent immortal sect—dominated the stage.

...

Without exception, these were all side quests.

Or clues leading to them.

The concept intrigued Zhong Yi immensely.

He wanted to explore further, but time was against him. The mission timer entered its final countdown.

Zhong Yi made it back just before noon.

As he reached the fourth-floor landing, his good mood suddenly soured.

Su Di’er, the young girl he’d spoken with the day before, stood leaning against the railing, her eyes red and nose bleeding profusely.

Zhong Yi frowned.

No need to guess—her wretched father was undoubtedly responsible.

"Hey, do you think I could find an assassination mission for her dad at the Assassin’s Guild?"

He muttered to the stream chat, and the idea was met with enthusiastic approval.

Seeing Su Di’er’s pitiable state, Zhong Yi pulled a clean handkerchief from his inventory and handed it to her.

The girl accepted it meekly, wiping away the blood with a look of utter despair.

"Is life always this painful? Or is it just when you’re young?"

The soul-crushing question caught Zhong Yi off guard.

Then, a response option appeared before him:

[Always.]

For pivotal scenes and dialogues from the original film, Lu Ze had implemented special mechanics to ensure players could make choices true to Li Ang’s character.

After a moment of silence, Zhong Yi answered in a low, curt voice, "Always."

Though hardly comforting, Su Di’er’s eyes suddenly cleared.

"Keep it."

Aware that lingering too long would dock his behavior score, Zhong Yi pushed the handkerchief toward her and turned toward his apartment.

"Hey!"

The girl’s lively voice pulled him back.

"I’m heading downstairs to buy a few things… Want me to grab some goat milk for you?"

When Zhong Yi raised a puzzled brow, her lips curled into a radiant grin, revealing pearly white teeth.

"One jug or two? I’m guessing two… Right?"

Zhong Yi nodded.

Delighted, she bounded down the stairs with a spring in her step.

"Silly kid… Didn’t even take any money."

Chuckling to himself, Zhong Yi returned to his room.

The stream chat erupted.

[Bro, that grin of yours is downright creepy.]

[Is that a dad smile or a creep smile? Hard to tell…]

[How’d she know Li Ang always buys two jugs? She’s been watching him!]

[Just off her dad tonight!]

[What kind of talk is that? We’re a righteous sect—should reform him with love!]

[Bring extra throwing knives. That’s our love.]

...

Zhong Yi chatted with the stream while tidying up.

Then, a deep bell toll echoed from the town’s central clock tower.

Noon had arrived.

With the bell’s chime came the sound of uneven, heavy footsteps ascending the stairs.

[Assassin’s Focus] activated instinctively.

[The approaching footsteps are steady—cultivators.]

[Six in total. Two of their movement techniques seem familiar.]

"Cultivators?"

Zhong Yi immediately went on alert, cautiously approaching the door and peering through a specially designed peephole.

It was the [Demon Suppression Bureau].

Yesterday, two of their agents had issued him an ultimatum—until noon the next day—over Ma Wei’s theft of demonic elixirs.

Judging by their demeanor, they’d come to collect his life.

Shi Dan, the central figure among them, popped a red pill into his mouth, his expression twisting into madness.

One agent kicked open Su Di’er’s door while the others brandished an assortment of weapons, storming inside with murderous intent.

"Oh no!"

Zhong Yi’s heart sank.

He glanced around, spotting the idle Crimson-Eyed Carrier Pigeon on the windowsill, and quickly cast a unique spell.

This spell, innate to the pigeon, allowed temporary vision-sharing with its caster.

Guiding the pigeon to the opposite side of the wall, Zhong Yi peered through the window into Su Di’er’s home.

The six agents of the Demon Suppression Bureau were slaughtering her family without mercy!

The eldest sister, barely an adult; the mother, caught mid-bath; Ma Wei, scrambling in terror;

even the little boy hiding under the bed—

all fell to their blades.

The horrific scene sparked outrage among the stream viewers.

[This is the Demon Suppression Bureau!? The so-called righteous faction!?]

[Absolute monsters! They didn’t even spare the child!]

["At least Li Ang doesn’t kill women and children..."]

["Oh no, what about Su Di'er? What if she comes back now..."]

["Lao Zhong, save the sister!!"]

["Go out and fight them!!!!"]

...

Seeing the barrage of suggestions, Zhong Yi was no less eager to rush out and intervene.

But right now, he couldn’t control the character.

After just a short hour of exploration, Zhong Yi had figured out the rules of the illusion.

This current phase was essentially a story mode.

It was a segment of the narrative that Lu Ze wanted the cultivators to witness—a scripted sequence.

In this mode, players had no choice but to act from Li Ang’s perspective.

Outside of this, during free roaming, exploration, or questing, there was relatively more freedom.

Frowning, Zhong Yi watched the tragedy unfolding next door when his gaze suddenly met Shi Dan’s.

"Spotted... me..."

Shi Dan, looking as if he’d just ingested some illicit substance, grinned wildly and flicked a throwing knife, slicing a red-eyed messenger pigeon outside the window into chunks.

Zhong Yi’s vision instantly cut out. Clutching his forehead, he staggered back a few steps.

"Dammit! We’ve been spotted!"

Zhong Yi cursed under his breath.

Still, he wasn’t worried about Shi Dan uncovering his identity as the spellcaster.

Shi Dan’s cultivation level was roughly on par with Li Ang’s—nothing too outrageous.

And indeed, that proved true.

After a string of muttered curses, Shi Dan quickly dismissed the incident.

Just then, a cheerful set of footsteps echoed up the stairs, reaching Zhong Yi’s ears.

His heart instantly leaped into his throat.

It was Su Di'er’s footsteps!

Su Di'er had returned—bringing the goat’s milk she’d gone to buy for him!

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