Not a single person.

A sudden gale stirred, making the signboards of the street taverns creak and sway. Beyond that, the vast town was utterly motionless, a wasteland.

Suddenly, Mu Bai caught a lingering, eerie string melody. He looked toward where the sound came from and saw several girls in colorful clothes carrying a bamboo sedan on their shoulders. Lying on the sedan was a woman in red, snow-white skin, as striking and beautiful as a lotus.

“Beep—”

A piercing sound rang out. His mind went blank for a moment. When he came to, those people were already gone.

“It is our honor to inform you that you have entered the world of the book.” The emotionless voice stated in his mind, “Welcome to this jianghu.”

After dying in the present world, Mu Bai was fortunate enough to receive a chance at rebirth. The condition of his rebirth was—he had to play the role of a namesake character from a novel and live in that world.

Fantasy xianxia, sci-fi apocalypse, supernatural horror… as dazzling genres flashed through his mind, he chose a wuxia novel.

Mu Bai had practiced some martial arts; in a martial world, as long as he didn’t become cannon fodder, he should be able to survive longer.

Besides, the book’s cover seemed familiar—he had read it before, only it had been so long that he could no longer recall the details.

The wine jars piled in the tavern gave off a strong sour stench. Mu Bai frowned and began to recall the plot of the original book.

Fragments of text rose sporadically in his mind.

He vaguely remembered that the book did contain a name identical to his, but he couldn’t for the life of him recall which character it was.

Could it be that he was an expendable cannon fodder?

The system sensed his confusion and helpfully issued a prompt: “The role you play in this book is called Qin Mubai.”

Qin Mubai.

Oh, he remembered—she’s the heroine of this book.

The original novel is a romantic martial-arts story told from the heroine’s perspective.

The heroine Qin Mubaiyuan is the daughter of the leader of the martial sect Qinglian Valley. When she was young she was kidnapped by the Honglian Cult. Unwilling to submit, she attempted to escape countless times, but each attempt ended in failure.

The sect leader lost patience, planted the Red Lotus Fire poison in his body, and abandoned him in a dead town.

Qin Mubai, gravely wounded, struggled out of the Dead Town and was nearly assaulted by ruffians along the way, but was luckily rescued by the senior sister of Qinglian Valley who happened to pass by.

By then the old valley master had already passed away. After returning to the valley, she passed numerous trials and inherited the position of young master, becoming a famed medical immortal throughout the world. Later, while taking revenge on the Honglian Sect, she met and fell in love with the male lead Jiang Cijing… and so on.

Mu Bai’s expression changed; he reached down and felt his abdomen.

Ji’er was still there.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then felt inexplicably puzzled and asked the system, “I have to play the female lead?”

System: “Yes. Please be sure to pay attention to your clothing and behavior to avoid a character collapse that could lead to a timeline breakdown.”

Mu Bai: “But I’m a man, right?”

System: “Perhaps you’ve heard of the cross-dressing boss?”

Mu Bai: “……”

Fine.

As everyone knows, protagonists always laugh last, and a cross-dressing protagonist is still better off than a male cannon fodder.

Mu Bai felt a bit uneasy but still accepted this setup for the time being.

He placed himself in the shoes of the original novel’s heroine, and after a moment’s thought, recalled the plot here—Qin Muba had been poisoned by the Red Lotus Fire and had narrowly escaped from the Death Town.

This is where the entire story begins, and also the starting point of the heroine’s change of fate.

In the original account, she was grievously wounded and, while still in the desolate outskirts, encountered ruffians and nearly suffered assault. Fortunately, she was rescued by the senior sister of Qinglian Valley passing by and taken back to the valley for treatment.

Mu Bai, however, had not a single scratch on him. He patted himself all over, confirming this was still his original body—only his hair had grown to an ancient length, and a jade pendant hung at his waist—the relic of the old valley master of Qinglian Valley, and the only object that could prove the heroine’s identity.

Mu Bai left the tavern and walked out onto the main street, looked around, and pushed open a house door.

The ruined wooden door gave a hoarse creak, and a musty smell hit him in the face.

He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and peered into the room.

Light fell into the room, illuminating the swirling dust. The beams and window lattice were thick with cobwebs; a brass mirror with a tarnished face sat on the wooden table, and the vases and jars a young woman would use were layered with dust.

Mu Bai was only trying his luck; he hadn’t expected the first door he opened to be a girl’s boudoir.

He silently apologized to the room’s owner, stepped inside, and rummaged out a skirt and clothes.

After dressing, he wrapped a scarf around his neck, exactly enough to conceal his masculine features.

Mu Bai leaned toward the bronze mirror and opened several more jars of rouge and powder, smearing them over his face.

He tied up his black hair, arranged a simple bun, and finally pressed his lips to the red paper dabbed with lipstick.

He lifted his face and saw the person in the bronze mirror pale as death, lips bright red.

Creepy as hell.

After packing the remaining skirts and rouge, Mu Bai picked up the small bundle and stepped out the door.

Leaving the Dead Town and crossing the wasteland, he saw a wooden stick on the ground, so he picked it up and held it in his hand.

A system voice immediately sounded: “Warning! Do not behave in ways that conflict with the original character profile.”

The original owner was a gentle and resolute young lady from a respectable family, skilled in medicine but not in martial arts, and certainly not someone who would swagger down the road like a ruffian clutching a wooden stick.

Mu Bai said淡淡ly: “The later plot has me encountering thugs on the road. If I don’t take something to defend myself, what if they take advantage of me?”

The system fell silent for a moment: “Have you looked in a mirror?”

Who would want to take liberties with someone who looks like that? Are they blind?

“I’ve looked. What about it?”

Mu Bai knew his current dignified appearance resembled Ruhua closely, but ugly or not, he couldn’t lose his aura: “Not good-looking?”

The system surrendered: “…Good-looking, good-looking, exquisite.”

Across the path, a shifty-eyed man with two tufts of whisker-like facial hair stepped out from the trees.

He saw a young “woman” approaching from the end of the road, dressed in a plain cloth dress with her hair coiled up. Her features weren’t clear yet, but her outline was excellent—broad shoulders, narrow waist—clearly a beauty at a glance.

The man licked his lips and eased his steps, sneaking closer.

He had intended to take her by surprise while the little beauty was unguarded, but the other suddenly raised her face. It was pasted with so much powder that it was dazzlingly white.

The man froze for a moment, then saw that the “woman,” as if hearing someone’s praise, suddenly grin.

The cheap lipstick on “her” lips ran down along her snow-white silver teeth, staining the gaps between them a vivid red.

Just like the man-eating female ghost from those creepy illustrated tales.

The man was terrified; his filthy thoughts vanished like smoke.

Mu Bai, seeing the lecherous look of the man before him, knew he was the villain from the plot.

He had just lifted the wooden stick when he saw the other person turn around and bolt, only to stumble and fall to the ground.

A wooden stick scares you this much?

Mu Bai stepped forward and tapped the man’s back.

The man shuddered all over, clasped his head with both hands, his legs dragging on the ground and trembling uncontrollably: “Don’t come closer, don’t come closer…”

Mu Bai: ?

This plot feels a bit off.

He lifted his skirt and sat cross-legged. “What are you afraid I’ll do?”

The voice that came out was clear and pure—clearly that of a young man.

Mu Bai sensed something was wrong, cleared his throat, and pinched his voice to ask softly, “I’m just a weak woman—do you really think I could eat you?”

When he pinched it like that, it no longer sounded like a man’s voice—sharp and thin, in short, very unpleasant.

The man startled and lifted his head, only to meet Mu Bai’s face, pallid and streaked with blood-red.

He couldn’t catch his breath, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward.

System: “Warning! Warning! The worldline is about to collapse. Please restore the plot as soon as possible.”

Mu Bai hurriedly reached out and caught him: “Hey, don’t faint, wake up!”

The man, who looked as if he had fainted, was roughly shaken awake. He stared at Mu Bai’s face in a daze for a moment, then could no longer hold back and let out a “Wah!”—yelling at the top of his lungs, “Help! A female ghost is after me”

The sound echoed across the fields, making the distant leaves tremble three times.

A black silhouette like a flying swallow swept through the air.

Mu Bai raised his head and saw a woman in white and blue descending from the sky. She was tall and slender, her black hair neatly tied up, and a slender sword hung at her waist.

The man, seeing her expert lightness skill, immediately treated her like a savior, wrenched himself free from Mu Bai and lunged forward: “Heroine, save me!”

The heroine turned her body and glanced back, lifted one foot, and kicked the man who was lunging at her to the side.

Mu Bai, recalling the original story, quickly realized this was Qin Jiugе, the senior sister of Qinglian Valley in the book; the original female lead had been rescued back to Qinglian Valley by her.

Qin Jiugе’s gaze fell on the mismatched collar Mu Bai was wearing, and she frowned: “Miss, are you all right? Did he molest you?”

The man heard that, immediately sprang to his feet from the ground and pointed at Mu Bai, shouting, “With such a twisted, ugly thing, who would bother molesting her?”

Mu Bai heard this and pressed his knuckles until they cracked.

In the original book, this villain had made plenty of hands-on moves toward the heroine.

He raised his club and struck toward the man’s head.

System: “Warning! Warning! Do not act in ways that contradict the original character of the text!”

The wooden stick froze in midair.

Mu Bai analyzed calmly, pondering for a moment.

After a while, she lifted her skirt and hid behind Qin Jiugo, letting out a burly man’s voice: “Wah.”

“Lady hero, please take my side.”