TBR CH1

When that black book suddenly appeared in Gu Shishu’s sleeping palace, there was still one hour left before his subordinate would rush in to report that a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect had trespassed into the Demon Palace.

One hour later, he would meet the child of fate in this world—the protagonist Shen Nian, who, as a transmigrator, naturally carried an aura that made him universally adored.

And he, as the paranoid and unruly villain of this world, would uncontrollably fall in love with him.

The transmigrator Shen Nian was bound to a system called the “Villain Redemption System,” which provided him with a cheat-like advantage.

Every smile and frown of his was distorted into an irresistible temptation. With just a simple smile, everyone would involuntarily develop goodwill toward him and accept everything he did without question.

Additionally, the system supplied him with information, allowing him to precisely understand the villain’s tragic past and carry out so-called redemption missions: comforting the villain, tolerating the villain, understanding the villain, and at the right moment, uttering that crucial phrase—”But I’m not afraid of you”—to pierce through the villain’s closed-off heart.

By following this process, Shen Nian hardly had to put in any effort to become the sole beacon of light in the hearts of numerous powerful figures.

He had already won over the demonic yet alluring ruler of the demon race, the domineering emperor of the human realm, and had amassed countless treasures and spiritual medicines—enough to elevate a cultivator with no abilities to a high realm.

And the Demon Lord Gu Shishu would be his final conquest in this world. He arrived with full confidence.

The role Shen Nian decided to play was that of a pitiful victim persecuted by his jealous peers in the Celestial Realm. He had been maliciously pushed off the Execution Immortal Platform, only to unexpectedly fall into the Demon Realm and, through a stroke of luck, stumble into the Demon Lord’s palace.

This closely mirrored Gu Shishu’s past experiences. Shen Nian believed this would resonate with him, allowing him to smoothly enter his heart as he had done before.

Everything should have gone according to plan—

If not for the inexplicable appearance of a black book in Gu Shishu’s sleeping palace, a book that recorded everything in complete detail.

When Gu Shishu first opened the book, he did so out of curiosity. However, as he read further, he gradually sensed that something was amiss.

The protagonist’s pure and beautiful smile made his heart skip a beat—

Impossible.

The protagonist trespassed into the forbidden grounds and stumbled upon him being tormented by inner demons from his tragic past—

Trespassing into a forbidden area? That naturally warranted death.

The protagonist tearfully said, “My heart aches for you. I can be your only light”—

Is my sword not fast enough?

Reading through the entire book, he deeply realized just how thoroughly his villainous persona had collapsed within its pages. The sheer absurdity of it all left him utterly bewildered.

Yet, the descriptions of other details were remarkably accurate, even containing long-buried secrets that only he himself knew.

Could this truly be real?

As a cultivator, he understood that the world was full of endless possibilities. However, the so-called “system” mentioned in the book seemed excessively powerful, continuously siphoning the fortune of this small world and channeling it into Shen Nian, who effortlessly garnered infinite favor with every action.

Deep in thought, he flipped to the last page of the black book and saw a line of golden text.

“This journey violates the world’s laws and is intolerable by the Heavenly Dao. To remove this obstruction, please dismantle it.”

The text radiated a familiar divine aura—one all cultivators would recognize. Gu Shishu, in particular, knew it well. For defying the heavens, he had once suffered the descent of the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation, each strike merciless, nearly reducing him to ashes.

After much hardship, he had clawed his way up to become the foremost being beneath the Heavenly Dao, almost standing on equal footing with it…

And now, the Heavenly Dao wanted him to work for free to expose the true nature of the transmigrator? Did it think he had forgotten his past suffering?

Gu Shishu let out a cold laugh, closed the black book, and tapped its cover threateningly.

“What’s the payment?”

The book trembled reluctantly, seemingly expressing resistance. Only after some hesitation did it finally open a page, where a few crooked words were scrawled:

“During your next tribulation, the lightning punishment will be halved. Deal?”

“Make it all go away.” A proper villain should always negotiate.

This time, the book remained silent for a long while, as if it had lost all vitality.

Gu Shishu seriously contemplated whether he should summon demonic flames and burn it to ashes. Just then, his long-overdue subordinate finally rushed in and reported loudly:

“Lord, a Qingcheng Sect disciple has mistakenly intruded into the Demon Palace and has been subdued. Do you wish to inspect the matter personally?”

The black book could no longer hold back. It frantically flipped its pages before halting in defeat on a new one, hurriedly scrawling the word:

“Deal.”

Then, as if throwing a tantrum, it snapped shut.

Gu Shishu chuckled softly. It seemed the Heavenly Dao had some sense after all.

He turned to his reporting subordinate, his tone indifferent, carrying the authority of a ruler:

“Kill him. Why bother reporting?”

The book quivered again, as if it had something to say. Gu Shishu pressed down on its cover, preventing it from voicing an opinion.

If dealing with a protagonist blessed with great fortune were so simple, the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t have come begging him.

Gu Shishu knew this well, but he wanted to test the waters first.

Yet, his subordinate’s expression grew complicated. He hesitated, as if he had something to say, but dared not openly defy Gu Shishu. After a few moments of silence, he unexpectedly knelt down.

The subordinate who had come to report wore a conflicted expression, as if he had something to say but dared not openly defy Gu Shishu. After a few seconds of silence, he unexpectedly knelt down.

“I beg the Demon Lord to retract the order. He… that person did not mean to trespass. Moreover, he is an inner disciple of the Qingcheng Sect. This subordinate deserves death, but he should not perish.”

Gu Shishu had never expected that the first one to break ranks would be his own subordinate.

His gaze darkened as he looked at the kneeling figure before him. This man had always been loyal, having been raised within the demonic sect since childhood to become a competent subordinate. Yet today, for the first time, he had unexpectedly defied orders.

Sensing the Demon Lord’s gaze, the subordinate’s previously straight back involuntarily hunched, as if realizing that he had just done something foolish.

However, an image of the young man’s stunning profile flashed through his mind—his tear-streaked face, delicate as pear blossoms in the rain.

“Nian Nian is so kind and pure,” he thought. “If the Demon Lord sees him, he surely won’t bear to harm him either.”

Besides, what did it matter if he had to die for him?

Thus, he remained kneeling, lowering his head even further.

Gu Shishu was notorious for his mercilessness and would never tolerate defiance from his subordinates. He let out a cold laugh, intending to order the man to leave and receive his punishment—never to appear before him again.

However, just as he was about to speak, the black book beneath his palm suddenly flipped open, breaking free from his grasp.

The pages rustled violently. Instinctively, he glanced down, only to see the text freeze upon a particular passage.

This passage, written in languidly affectionate prose, depicted how he doted on Shen Nian in countless ways—spoiling him so indulgently that he might as well allow him to sing and dance freely within the sect’s forbidden grounds.

In the book, Gu Shishu even had him pinned against a wall, murmuring an unbearably cliché line in a tone laced with three parts affection, two parts indifference, and one part carelessness—“Little demon, you can have my life.”

…Heavenly Dao, you win.

Gu Shishu’s dark and unreadable expression froze into sheer mortification and a pounding headache.

He raised a hand to his forehead, covering his eyes, unable to bear looking any longer.

Under the overwhelming aura of the protagonist’s universal appeal, he had behaved like some lovesick, unrecognizable fool. To criticize his subordinate now would indeed be hypocritical.

He could only sigh and wave dismissively at the love-struck fool before him. “Get lost. I’ll go myself.”

Not only had the subordinate avoided death, but he hadn’t even received any punishment.

For a moment, the man’s eyes were filled with disbelief, which quickly transitioned into euphoric relief at having escaped unscathed.

But then, an unsettling thought crossed his mind—

“The Lord is about to meet Nian Nian too. That person is so beautiful… Surely, the Lord will fall in love with him as well.”

“When that happens… I won’t be able to have Nian Nian all to myself anymore.”

Gu Shishu noticed that his subordinate’s departure was rather sluggish. With a frown, he glanced at him and saw his dazed expression. He merely assumed the man was still in shock from his brush with death.

Little did he know, his subordinate’s mind was already filled with a melodramatic, mistaken-identity-infused love triangle straight out of a tragic romance novel.

If he had known, Gu Shishu would likely have enlightened him—

That so-called pure and innocent Shen Nian had already successfully won over the Yao King, the Human Emperor, and other formidable figures, skillfully managing multiple relationships at once. And now, he was setting his sights on his next conquest—Gu Shishu himself.

But Gu Shishu didn’t understand.

No—he had to understand.

The black book in front of him closed with satisfaction, as if feeling proud that it had spared Gu Shishu from committing another unnecessary killing.

…Perhaps he really should burn it.

This thought carried a hint of his unwillingness to face his own absurdly romanticized portrayal, mixed with extreme embarrassment. Gu Shishu decided to silence the book—permanently.

A dark flame ignited at his fingertips, ready to incinerate everything. He lifted the book, prepared to destroy it, but the book seemed to recognize its impending doom. It flailed desperately, pages flipping wildly, fluttering like a frantic butterfly.

The sight was almost comical.

The black book understood the importance of strategic retreat. It refused to meet its demise here, unlike the warrior Xiang Yu at Wujiang River.

Resolutely, it tore itself apart.

Or rather, a single page dramatically detached from the book, drifting gently before Gu Shishu. Upon it, hurried golden script read:

“Do not burn! There is only one copy. Additional information exists.”

This was nothing more than an empty promise, a vague temptation. Gu Shishu sneered and lifted the book, his tone almost amiable as he inquired:

“And what, exactly, can’t you tell me right now, hmm?”

Still, its response had served its purpose. A book formed by the Heavenly Dao could only have one copy—this suggested that the Heavenly Dao itself had suffered significant depletion of power.

And what else could be the cause? Surely, it had to be the so-called transmigration system and its overpowered, fate-defying protagonist.

At this thought, Gu Shishu felt a fleeting sense of camaraderie with the Heavenly Dao. But he wasn’t looking for a direct confrontation with it—his real aim had simply been to use the threat of fire to make it stop dictating his every move.

Now that he knew there was only one copy, destroying it would be foolish.

With a reluctant sigh, he gazed at the book, filled with records of his yet-to-happen humiliations, and tried to make peace with it.

Well, he had read worse stories before… He could just pretend the fool in the book wasn’t him.

With a soft whoosh, the dark flames at his fingertips extinguished.

He picked up the book, performing a size-reducing incantation to shrink it down before tucking it into his sleeve.

The miniaturized book spun awkwardly in place, seemingly unaccustomed to its new form.

“Let’s go,” Gu Shishu said, a smirk curving his lips.

Those who knew him well understood—whenever the Demon Lord smiled like that, someone was bound to suffer.

“Time to meet this so-called chosen one of the world… What was his name again?”

“Ah—Shen Nian.”