The Substitute Female Supporting Character Sees the Bullet Screen

Chapter 77



Nie Yinzhi's shapeshifting skills had become increasingly adept, and for a while, she was particularly enthusiastic about transforming into different forms to experience various lives and test Gu Jiang's discernment.

As a result, the Nie family often found their son-in-law cradling strange little creatures in his arms.

One day, Gu Jiang was napping under the crabapple tree in the garden, the swing swaying leisurely, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.

This swing had been upgraded to a luxurious version by Nie Yinzhi after she lost a tug-of-war with Gu Jiang over it. The seat was wide and soft, padded with cushions, and could comfortably fit both of them.

Suddenly, a thin vine sprouted from beneath the swing's frame, climbing up the carved base and quickly growing lush, covering the entire swing frame. Tender green branches began to creep toward the swing seat.

Gu Jiang was deep in sleep and didn't wake up even when the swing stopped moving. Eventually, the fragrant woodbine nearly engulfed him, blooming with clusters of small white flowers like hydrangeas, their scent overwhelming.

The floral aroma tickled Gu Jiang's nose, finally rousing him. He opened his eyes to see a cluster of delicate flowers right in front of him and couldn't help but laugh.

He was completely bound to the swing by the woodbine vines, which wrapped around his body, tied his arms, and covered him entirely, blooming triumphantly in the spring breeze.

"Can even plants shapeshift now?" Gu Jiang, unable to free himself, decided to just lie back and enjoy it.

As soon as he spoke, his breath brushed against the flowers near his face. The blossoms trembled and quickly retreated, the entire vine shaking.

Gu Jiang raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What's wrong?" Why such a strong reaction?

Nie Yinzhi, being a flower at the moment, couldn't answer him.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Jiang gently twisted his wrist, freeing a bit of space. His long fingers reached for a cluster of flower buds nearby, cupping them in his palm. His fingertips brushed against the layers of petals, pressing into the flower's core.

The delicate white petals immediately closed up, and the woodbine vines binding him suddenly dissipated. The flowers and leaves left a faint shadow in his vision, and in a blur of crimson moonlight, he felt a weight on him as someone fell into his arms.

Nie Yinzhi propped herself up on his shoulders, her cheeks flushed and eyes glistening. This was her first time transforming into a plant, and she had no idea that the flower's sensory connections would be so sensitive. She scolded him in embarrassment, "Idiot, what are you touching?"

Gu Jiang looked innocent. "I was just touching the flower. What's wrong?"

Nie Yinzhi: "..."

Gu Jiang lifted his hand, his fingertips damp. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. "What kind of nectar is this..."

Nie Yinzhi quickly covered his mouth, refusing to let him continue. She grabbed a handkerchief and furiously wiped his fingers, her face burning with renewed heat.

She felt like she was about to combust.

Gu Jiang hugged her, laughing so hard that the swing creaked and groaned. He was thoroughly amused.

"So happy, huh? Then laugh a bit more," Nie Yinzhi huffed, angrily starting to tickle him.

Despite being a powerful demon lord who feared nothing, Gu Jiang was ticklish. This was discovered during a dual cultivation session when Nie Yinzhi accidentally brushed her knee against his armpit, causing him to collapse in laughter on top of her.

"Hahaha, Ah Yinzhi, stop it, please..." Gu Jiang gasped for breath, grabbing her wrists. "I admit defeat."

By the end, the Red Leaf Blade had formed a barrier around the garden, sealing it off for quite some time before reopening.

In the afternoon, after having lunch with their parents, Nie Yinzhi dragged Gu Jiang out to go shopping. A new shipment had arrived at the Rouge Shop in the southern part of the city, and she wanted to check it out. Just as they stepped out, they encountered someone loitering near the Nie residence.

At first, Nie Yinzhi didn't recognize the person, but the water-blue sword aura emanating from the blade on his back reminded her.

The once-youthful boy had grown into a tall and sturdy young man. An Huai stood awkwardly, bowing to her with a cupped fist. "Senior Sister Nie."

"An Huai?" Nie Yinzhi was surprised. Seeing his demeanor, it seemed he had come specifically for something.

Nie Yinzhi led him to the flower hall, where servants served tea and pastries. An Huai, now at the Golden Core stage, had already achieved fasting and didn't need to eat, but he picked up a peach blossom pastry from the plate and took a bite.

The pastry didn't taste as good as he remembered. He hadn't had a truly delicious peach blossom pastry in a long time.

Noticing his distraction, Nie Yinzhi asked, "Is there something you need from me?"

An Huai snapped out of his reverie and explained his purpose. "I heard the Ruan Family possesses a Dreamweaving Technique that can craft dreams. However, due to the loss of their spell manuals, even the Eldest Son of the Ruan Family can no longer create complete dreams."

He paused, his calm black eyes showing a hint of emotion, and spoke with hope, "Back in the Sword and Blade Forest, I suspected that you, Senior Sister Nie, must have used the Dreamweaving Technique to enter Xiao Ling's dream." He stood up and bowed deeply. "I would like to ask you to weave a dream for me."

Nie Yinzhi helped him up. "Is it about Bai Ying?"

An Huai nodded. "Yes." Bai Ying had never appeared in his dreams, and he missed her dearly.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Nie Yinzhi looked at him, refraining from offering the usual condolences about the dead. After a moment of thought, she said, "Dreamweaving can indeed create dreams, but An Huai, can you handle the disparity between dreams and reality? Do you have enough connections in the real world to anchor you? When you achieve your desires in the dream and see the person you long for, will you still want to wake up?"

"Being too immersed in the past and dreams can easily breed inner demons if you're not mentally strong and rational," Nie Yinzhi warned. "I hope you consider these consequences carefully before coming back to me."

After seeing An Huai off, Nie Yinzhi lost her enthusiasm for shopping and sent Ah Huan and Cheng Bi to fetch the rouge she had ordered.

Her personality was quite the opposite of Gu Jiang's. When she was in a bad mood, she preferred to busy herself with something to distract her thoughts, and Gu Jiang became her ready-made target for mischief.

"Do you want to have a dream?" Nie Yinzhi asked him earnestly.

Without even opening his eyes, Gu Jiang knew what she was up to. "You want to practice on me?"

Nie Yinzhi was silent for a moment. "...How do you always know everything?" She pursed her lips. "I've never properly woven a dream before."

Gu Jiang lay down on the soft couch, assuming a posture of complete surrender. "Go ahead."

Nie Yinzhi sat beside him. "You haven't told me what kind of dream you want."

"Anything is fine," Gu Jiang replied, entirely indifferent.

Nie Yinzhi's eyes sparkled as she teased, "Aren't you afraid I'll create a super scary dream to terrify you?"

Gu Jiang chuckled. "If you can manage it."

This was too insulting! Nie Yinzhi rolled up her sleeves, took out a small notebook, and began sketching out the dream's content. After some preparation, she retrieved a small golden bell.

By the time she was ready, Gu Jiang had already fallen asleep. Nie Yinzhi sat cross-legged, the ethereal sound of the bell guiding his consciousness into a dream.

Her own consciousness followed the bell's chime into his mind.

---

In ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‍the twilight of a wild mountain forest, a young nobleman in luxurious robes stumbled forward in a desperate run. Behind him, the shouts of burly men carried a menacing aura.

The boy slipped and fell, tumbling down a steep mountain path. Dazed for a moment, the pursuing bandits closed in, their harsh cries jolting him back to awareness.

"Where did that little brat go?"

Gu Jiang couldn't immediately figure out where he was, but the killing intent behind him spurred him to flee instinctively.

One of the pursuers shouted, "Over there! I see him!"

The ground shook with heavy footsteps and the clashing of blades as they closed in. Gu Jiang ran until his pampered body neared its limit, his mind foggy. He thought he must be dreaming.

The faint chime of a bell in his ear suppressed his urge to wake up, and for a brief moment, he considered breaking free. But he willingly let the bell's sound lure him back into the dream's despairing scenario.

He was the son of a merchant, and at fifteen, he had begun learning the family trade. This was his first journey with the caravan, but they had been ambushed by bandits who killed and looted.

Gu Jiang, a frail young man with no strength to fight, had been escorted to safety by others, but now he was alone. Exhausted to the point where every breath felt like a stab in his chest, he could hear the pursuing bandits closing in. Just as he felt there was no way out, a village appeared ahead of him.

Pale, eerie mist hovered around the village, which was shrouded in darkness. A crow perched on a withered tree at the village entrance, cawing ominously. The entire place radiated an unsettling aura.

But with the shouts of the bandits drawing nearer, Gu Jiang had no choice but to muster his courage and venture inside. He stumbled through the desolate village until he crashed into a house. Inside, white funeral banners hung everywhere, and a massive golden nanmu coffin stood in the center of the room—it was a mourning hall.

Gu Jiang instinctively wanted to flee, but when he turned and saw the bandits closing in, he steeled himself and hid inside. The mourning hall was dimly lit, and he tripped several times over the white silk draperies. In his panic, he knocked into a table corner and passed out.

When he woke again, it was midnight. The mourning hall was now illuminated by two white candles flickering on the altar, their flames swaying in the cold wind that howled like ghostly wails.

Behind the fluttering white curtains, a figure dressed entirely in white knelt on a cushion, her long black hair cascading to the floor. She seemed to be engrossed in something, and a sticky, unsettling sound reached Gu Jiang’s ears, sending chills down his spine.

Though terrified, the young nobleman couldn’t resist his curiosity and craned his neck to peek. He saw four or five corpses lying on the ground, blood pooling around them. The woman in white sat amidst the bodies, her slender fingers plunging into one of the corpses’ chests. With a sharp twist, she pulled out a still-beating, bloody heart.

The sticky sound Gu Jiang had heard was the sound of her extracting the heart.

He gagged, and the woman suddenly looked up. Her enchanting peach-blossom eyes met his, and a smile played on her blood-stained lips.

Gu Jiang’s heart nearly stopped. He scrambled backward in panic, but in the next moment, white fabric enveloped him, and the woman appeared before him in a flash, gracefully settling onto his lap.

Her blood-soaked hand, icy cold, reached out from beneath the thin white fabric and caressed his cheek. “Oh dear, you’ve seen me,” she said, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. She leaned in, her face almost touching his, and licked the blood from her lips. “What shall I do now, little lord? Should I just eat you?”

As she spoke, her cold fingers slipped into his loosened robe, pressing against his chest.

---

Nie Yinzhi withdrew her consciousness from Gu Jiang’s dream, her palm still resting over his rapidly beating heart. A smug smile curved her lips as she watched him, waiting for him to wake.

Gu Jiang slowly opened his eyes, his phoenix-like gaze still clouded with sleep. “That’s it? It ended so quickly? Sister, what happens next?”

Nie Yinzhi: “…” She huffed. “I haven’t thought of the next part yet.”

For seven days, Nie Yinzhi had been practicing on Gu Jiang, weaving him a series of dreams: a young nobleman fleeing danger only to encounter a village ghost, a scholar falling in love with a fox spirit, and a stoic monk being seduced by a demoness.

Gu Jiang had become utterly addicted to sleeping and dreaming, so much so that he even stopped going fishing with his father. He constantly pestered Nie Yinzhi to hurry up and write the next part of his dreams.

Nie Yinzhi: “???” Are you treating this like a drama series, you brat?

On the tenth day, An Huai returned. He requested only one dream: Bai Ying, her sleeves tied up, carrying a small basket on her back, and hiking up her skirt as she walked through a vast field of medicinal herbs to check on the plants she tended.

This was her daily routine. Some of the herbs in the field were delicate and required daily nurturing with spiritual energy. An Huai sat outside the garden, watching her silently. There was no conversation between them, not even a meeting of their gazes.

Nie Yinzhi crafted the dream based on his memories and sealed it into a mirage pearl. With a wisp of consciousness, the dream would come to life as he slept.

An Huai carefully placed the pearl into his pouch and handed over a treasure he had obtained from a recently awakened secret realm as payment.

Then, alone and carrying his sword on his back, he disappeared into the end of the long street.

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