Data-Driven Daoist

“Dear sister, why must you look so down? It’s a joyous occasion.” Huang Linxue said. “Even though you upset Senior Brother Qiao greatly, he’s so kind to let you use an immortal elixir for healing. Senior Brother Qiao was not pleased. He only had one of those and he had to use it on a trash like you.”

“… I’m grateful.” Huang Niuniu said, her eyes glossed over.

“He even let you go without further punishment,” Huang Linxue said, cupping Huang Niuniu’s cheeks. “You’ve really made me lose face as your sister here. Aren’t you ashamed?”

“I’m sorry.”

Huang Niuniu wore a pair of newer clothes. However, “wore” was quite a strong term here. The robes were hanging loosely on her body, and she didn’t try to even fix them.

As though someone else had quickly thrown them on her. As though the girl herself no longer cared.

She was lightly bruised. One side of her face was swollen, and there were strangulation marks on her neck. It was a far cry from yesterday though. Even her legs were healed.

“Now, look chipper. You’ll be Elder Brother Wu Di’s woman when we arrive at the sect, and you know he hates maidens who aren’t cute, right?” She fixed up Huang Niuniu’s robe, covering the cleavage.

“Okay,” the girl said. Her voice was raspy. It lacked a soul.

“Well then, you should return to your chambers by yourself, or do you want this heiress to hold your hand like a maid? My, how childish you are. Sister has to leave now, so don’t be too lonely, okay?”

Huang Niuniu remained silent. Huang Linxue giggled, her face blooming like a flower.

“Stay in your chambers until told otherwise. I’ll be your best sister and bring you food every day, okay?” Huang Linxue said. “Put on a smile. You like smiling, don’t you? That’s how you tricked Elder Brother Chu Fei. If only he could hear how you seduced Elder Brother Wu Di, would he still care?”

There was a slight quiver from Huang Niuniu, almost imperceptible. But Huang Linxue must’ve noticed it, and she giggled once more.

“Oh, do you wish to consult the doctor? My, such a bloody wound. Niuniu, step aside, can’t you see you’re blocking the door?” It was as if Huang Linxue had only just noticed Yu Han and Li Yao.

Li Yao opened his mouth, probably to tell them to scram for blocking the way. But even with the pain blinding his senses, Yu Han stopped him with a hand.

“Elder Brother Wu Di is going to challenge that Sima person,” Huang Linxue said. “I’ll cheer for him in your stead. It’s only my duty as a proper sister-in-law to the Wu heir. Apply the lesser salve to those unsightly marks, Niuniu. Didn’t Auntie teach you how to be presentable in front of men? A wife’s shame is the husband’s dishonour. How incompetent can you be?” Huang Linxue trotted off.

“Hey, you wanna bleed out?” Li Yao pushed Yu Han from behind. “Move away, Cow Girl.”

“It’s you,” Huang Niuniu said. There was no blame in her voice. “You’re hurt.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Yu Han said, gritting his teeth through the pain. “She was obviously—”

“Say what?” Huang Niuniu said. She walked to him, then took his hand. “It looks so painful.”

“You…”

“Did someone bully you?”

“This guy bullied himself. Thinks he’s a master with a dagger after a day and a half.” Li Yao scoffed. He didn’t urge Yu Han anymore, but the disdain in his voice as he talked to Huang Niuniu was there.

“Accidents happen. Take this.” Huang Niuniu took out a glass vial. It had a thick liquid inside. “A magical salve. It heals… wounds. I’m sorry.”

“Why apologise?”

“There was… a better one. I took it.” Huang Niuniu said as she pressed the vial into Yu Han’s good hand. “Be careful. Don’t hurt yourself again. I have no more medicine.”

She bowed, preparing to leave.

“Are you an idiot?” Yu Han was shocked. “You need this more than me!”

Huang Niuniu laughed brokenly.

“How can a salve ever heal my wounds?” she said.

Yu Han felt lightheaded. Was it the blood loss?

“Fight back,” Li Yao said, his voice low. “Bite, scratch, scream. Go for his eyes, even if it cost you your life. Because at this rate—”

“Easy for you to say!” Huang Niuniu screamed suddenly. That was the first emotion she had shown. “Easy for you…”

“A coward has no right to cultivate.” Li Yao would not back down. “The moment you accepted your fate, you were already dead.”

Even Yu Han, with Johan’s obliviousness, knew it wasn’t the right thing to say to someone who was tortured and almost raped. But he didn’t stop Li Yao. His eyes fixed on the glass vial. He took the cap off again, slowly.

“You’re right,” Huang Niuniu gasped. “I’m… maybe I shouldn’t be alive.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Bye. Yu Han, was it? Don’t… make that face. I wronged the heavens. I was punished.” Huang Niuniu slowly limped off. Like a zombie, she kept muttering, “That’s right, I shouldn’t have been born.”

Yu Han applied the salve to his wound. It stung for a second, then itched. The wound was still there, but the blood clotted in real time.

“Amazing,” Yu Han said. “They must have the cure for cancer.”

“What’s a cancer? Hot damn, tubs. Hey, there’s some left. Give me some!” Li Yao snatched the vial from Yu Han’s hand and applied the salve to the scar on his face. It didn’t work.

“Might only work on fresh wounds?” Li Yao muttered, giving the vial back. There was still some salve left.

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Yu Han didn’t visit the old doctor. No need to tell anyone that Huang Niuniu had given him precious medicine again. This was the third strike.

On deck, there was a duel going on.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Wu Di laughed as he sidestepped a sword strike from Sima Yan, swivelling his feet around and kicking out. Sima Yan blocked with the wooden sword but was pushed back.

Wu Di punched, forcing Sima Yan to dodge left, but a kick was already waiting.

“Is this all White Lotus trash is capable of?” Wu Di said. “I’m not even breaking a sweat!”

The duel had been going on for a while.

Wu Di had requested it. He wished to exchange pointers with his fellow sect brothers. Everyone knew he wanted to vent after losing the chance to ‘play with’ Huang Niuniu. Qiao Jinhai simply shrugged and said, “Why not?” As if he didn’t care as long as it kept the Profound Talent happy.

After that, during the day, Wu Di would challenge nobles from the White Lotus Kingdom. If someone didn’t want to fight, he would still attack, calling the other a coward. If more than one person fought back or tried to ambush, the noble recruits from Martial Eagle Kingdom would retaliate.

He’d won all the matches.

Soon, other nobles would challenge White Lotus noble recruits. Some challenged the riffraff too.

If a White Lotus noble or commoner beat a Martial Eagle noble, Wu Di would punish that Martial Eagle noble for making his country lose face. But he forbade the other Martial Eagle nobles from retaliating against the winner in revenge.

He’s acting like he’s so honourable. Fucking creep. How can a guy who wanted to rape a girl ever have honour? Is it that kind of machismo thing that’s infected the alpha male pill community back on Earth?

In his life as Johan, although he wouldn’t like Wu Di, he wouldn’t actively speak out either. Let alone do anything.

Yet now, Yu Han burned.

Was it shame? Guilt? Or anger?

No one had challenged Yu Han yet. Maybe they thought he wasn’t worth it. But it was simply a matter of time until someone wanted to vent, or get an easy win, or just humiliate him.

Wu Di finished the duel with a knee to Sima Yan’s abdomen.

“Ugh.” The grey-eyed young master keeled over, losing his grip on his sword.

“Trash.” Wu Di spat on him.

He then pointed at Li Yao. “You, beggar. Come, you’re next. Heard you’re leading the other mongrels from White Lotus.”

Li Yao grinned, cracking his knuckles. “I’ll rip that tongue off.” He was always confident—too confident.

“Ho, you got guts.”

Yu Han couldn’t tell if that confidence was just an act, or if Li Yao truly believed he could beat Wu Di. It didn’t matter.

“Drag it out,” Yu Han whispered. He thought for a bit, then added, “Don’t lose to that pervert.”

Li Yao winked, then stretched his neck with a slow, deliberate motion.

Wu Di got into a fighting stance. It was like one of those martial arts stances from Hong Kong kung-fu movies. Yu Han had seen it seven—no, eight times now.

His legs bent just enough to stay mobile, knees loose and ready to spring like coiled steel. His upper body was steady, fists raised but not clenched, like he was saving all his power for that perfect moment.

There was nothing sloppy about Wu Di’s fighting style—brutal, yes, but precise.

Li Yao stood lazily by comparison, the wooden sword Sima Yan had used hanging loose in his hand. His weight shifted from foot to foot, not quite getting into a stance.

“I’ll let you strike first. Come!” Wu Di’s voice cut through the air.

He always lets the opponent make the first move. As if he wants to show them how hopeless it was to try.

“Your funeral.” Li Yao flashed a grin, then lunged forward.

Li Yao, you’ve seen this before. He’s just waiting to counter.

Li Yao swung the sword like a club diagonally at Wu Di’s shoulder. Not a clean strike, but it would bludgeon if it landed.

“Amateur.” Wu Di sounded almost disappointed. He twisted his upper body ever so slightly, but that was enough to avoid the strike, his knee already going up in response. His left hand moved too. It went for Li Yao’s sword arm.

His fighting resembles Muay Thai. No weapon. Each strike meant not just to hurt, but to incapacitate.And he always tries to disarm his opponent.

“Go dow—ugh.” Wu Di jumped back with a grunt.

In Li Yao’s other hand, there was another object. It was a wooden training knife, shining with polish as it caught the sun. He must have hidden it in his sleeves.

Wu Di’s knee had collided with the tip, hard. That must have hurt.

“You dirty bastard. Have you no honour?” Wu Di raged. His followers echoed his indignation, some taking steps forward as if to gang up.

He expects his opponents to play by the books. No dirty tricks. Is he that naïve? I thought he had experienced war. Yu Han’s focus was on the way Wu Di backed off, slightly favouring the other knee. It didn’t look like a crippling injury, but it had some effect.

Li Yao spread his arms, one hand holding a dagger, the other a sword. He looked fricking cool.

“Sorry fellas. Grew up in the slums. Can you eat honour?” he said.

“You dare bark like that?” The Martial Eagle nobles looked like they wanted to join the fight.

“Stay back, this dog is mine to beat.” Wu Di raised his hand.

Again, this code of conduct. Pretentious bastard. Some kind of Bushido? “Bullshido” is more like it.

The two fighters circled each other.

“How did a mongrel like you even pass the talent test?” Wu Di said, repairing his stance.

“With my martial arts, of course. It’s a special one.” Li Yao twirled the dagger.

“Name it. This Wu Di is a scion of the Swooping Eagle Pouncing Panther style.” Wu Di demanded.

“It’s called suck my dick!” Li Yao roared, charging.

“How dare you!” Wu Di cried, incensed.

The fight dragged out for half an hour, far longer than anyone expected. People started whispering that Li Yao was much better than Sima Yan.

Sima Yan looked stoic, but his fists were clenched.

“A wise man knows when to bow,” Sima Yan said, but the voice reached Yu Han. Pang Jiming with his arm in a crutch wasted no time flattering the young master, but Ma San’s vitriolic gaze was fixed on Yu Han.

At the end, Li Yao was exhausted. He hadn’t sustained many injuries. Wu Di was sweating too, but he couldn’t strike a decisive blow.

Something clattered. Li Yao had dropped his weapons.

“What are you doing?” Wu Di demanded.

“You win.”

“…Are you sane?”

“I surrender.” Li Yao grinned, walking back to the group of White Lotus riffraff.

“Coward!” one Martial Eagle noble shouted.

“Have you no shame?” another said.

More insults followed.

“I know your type. Good. Good. At least one of you trashes can make me break a sweat. You’re the first, and I hope Huang Niuniu will be the second!”

“Haha, that’s right, Brother Wu Di. His stamina just can’t keep up with you!”

“With that cowardly action, he must have been an obedient housewife in his previous life.”

The insults turned into taunts.

A vein bulged on Li Yao’s forehead. “Sorry, fuckers. I ain’t into men.”

The taunts got louder.

So he isn’t totally immune to roasts. Yu Han filed that thought away.

“Tomorrow, we fight again.” But Wu Di didn’t seem dissatisfied. “That’s it for today.” He clapped, as if he had the authority to make everyone disperse.

That night, Qiao Jinhai had an unexpected announcement.

“Stay off the deck. We are about to pass through a storm. It isn’t my responsibility if you fall overboard,” the cultivator said. “And cease the challenges for now. No mishaps shall be permitted!”

He looked troubled. He kept obsessively looking at a wooden token. He’d walk around the ship, go on deck, fly up, and come back while swearing. Something worried him.

The storm hit the ship a few hours later. The ship rocked like a log going down a waterfall. Rain fell against the small window in Yu Han’s room. Outside, all he could see were titanic waves. The ship would climb one, then dive down, like a roller coaster. Surprisingly, the sudden changes in motion were not felt inside the ship. Definitely Xianxia magic.

Was Huang Niuniu trapped in her cell, or did they really let her stay in her chambers?

The rain helped Yu Han sleep better. In the White Space, the only thing he simulated nowadays were Wu Di’s fights.

He took notes. Slowly. Steadily.

Even with preparation, he would surely lose the fight. The base stats were just not there. Yu Han wasn’t delusional. He didn’t have the ability to dodge even one of Wu Di’s punches, let alone fight back.

But there were other ways. All he would need was another chance.

Memory: 15 -> 16

[Mind Origin: 11.00 -> 11.20]

The mirages became more solid, clear, and vibrant. They lasted longer.

Three days later, the storm passed.

“You dare!” Qiao Jinhai’s voice echoed like a volcano throughout the ship.

“I can smell your fear, worm. Delicious,” another voice resounded. Calmer, but chilling, like a beast’s growl.

There was an explosion, as if the ship had hit an iceberg, followed by Qiao Jinhai’s pained scream.

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