After Constantly Courting Death, I Became the White Moonlight - Chapter 1

The distant mountains had yet to fully swallow the setting sun, but the cold moon, as pale as frost, already hung at the treetop. Twilight hovered, not yet fallen, while dark clouds wrapped around crimson afterglow like ink droplets bleeding on xuan paper, gradually soaking through it.

The dying sun cast a blood-red glow across the world, dyeing the mottled white walls beneath the eaves and the delicate side profile of the young girl standing beside them.

Ning Ning stood alone before a low, modest house. After hesitating for a moment, she softly murmured in an almost inaudible voice, “Then… I’ll go in now.”

No one responded.

Not even the system in her head, which had gone completely silent after giving its task—playing dead as usual.

Fine then.

Bracing herself against the cold evening wind, Ning Ning pulled her collar tighter, then reached out, her palm lightly pressing against the half-open brown wooden door.

…

The reason she had ended up like this was, from beginning to end, a complete accident.

After all, getting transmigrated into a novel she’d once read could never be considered “within expectations.”

The novel was titled “Sword Shatters the Firmament” (《剑破苍穹》). Just from the simplicity of those four characters, one could sense the pure, unabashed air of a classic power fantasy—unapologetically high-octane, dramatic, and shamelessly over-the-top.

And the writing and plot lived up to that title. If one were to give this novel a few alternate subtitles—much like how the character for “fennel” can be written in four ways, here’s what they might be.

…

1. “Do Reincarnated Sword Immortals Dream of Their Natal Swords?”

The male lead, Pei Ji, was the reincarnation of an ancient sword master, his body fused with a celestial sword and bursting with potential.

Though he had lost the memories of his past life, he still rode that thick, golden-fingered plot armor all the way to the top, ultimately becoming the strongest sword cultivator of the current era and ascending to immortality.

…

2. “A Thousand Years of Solitude”

Of course, as everyone knows, power fantasy protagonists must suffer intensely early on to make their comebacks more satisfying. Tragic backstories are mandatory.

Pei Ji was the illegitimate child of a demonic cultivator and a mortal woman. His father—basically a human seed-dispenser—vanished after a single night of passion and never reappeared throughout the whole novel.

After giving birth to a so-called “bastard,” Pei Ji’s mother naturally had little love for the child who had ruined her reputation. She frequently used him as a scapegoat for demonic punishment and subjected him to all kinds of abuse.

Such a twisted childhood forged Pei Ji’s withdrawn, cold, and ruthless personality. Even after joining a sword sect and leaving his mother behind, he remained a lone wolf with no real friends.

…

3. “The Harem Wants Me to Confess: Love is War for Cultivators”

Though Pei Ji was a lone wolf, that didn’t stop 99% of the female characters from falling for him.

Supposedly, he was unimaginably handsome. Whether it was the aloof and ethereal senior sister of the sword sect or the seductive demonic enchantress, one look at him and they’d “involuntarily blush and feel their hearts race.”

Was it because he was a human space heater, or did all these women suffer from varying degrees of heart disease? Ning Ning had no idea.

What she did know was that Pei Ji personally crushed every romantic subplot to pieces and ascended alone at the end of the novel—transcending love, untouchable, untamed.

He was, in a word, too cool to date.

…

4. “Sacrifice of Tool Character X”

Now this was a deeply tragic and emotionally heavy topic.

Ning Ning could only wipe the metaphorical tears from her heart—because after all this setup, we finally arrived at her beloved territory.

According to the power fantasy formula, there must be countless cannon-fodder side characters running around, delivering magical weapons and golden opportunities, some offering unsolicited advice to aid the hero’s growth. Ning Ning belonged to a third kind.

The constantly courting-death, trouble-stirring villainess.

The original character was also named Ning Ning, a direct disciple of sect elder Tian Xianzi. Born into a wealthy merchant family, she was pampered from a young age, growing up arrogant and spoiled.

In this flourishing empire, martial arts, cultivation, Confucian studies, and Daoist techniques all flourished. The sect she belonged to—Xuanxu Sect—was the premier sword sect among them.

She was exceptionally talented, and at the discipleship ceremony, was chosen at first glance by Tian Xianzi to be his personal disciple. Though the elder was reclusive and powerful, he had only four such disciples, including her.

The original Ning Ning had always been smooth sailing, doted on by her sect. But everything changed suddenly today.

Every year during the sect’s Spring Awakening Competition, disciples would spar and showcase their skills. Arrogant and prideful, Ning Ning didn’t take anyone seriously—only to be matched against Pei Ji.

Due to his impure bloodline and suppressed sword aura, Pei Ji performed poorly during the entrance trials and was assigned as an outer sect disciple.

But the protagonist is always the protagonist. His temporary setback was merely the setup for a glorious reversal. Through diligent training, Pei Ji gradually learned to suppress the demonic energy within and awakened a fierce sword aura. No one else knew—only he could feel the change brewing in his body, waiting for the day he could turn the tables.

And the original Ning Ning was the tiger he would defeat.

It was tragic. Truly tragic.

If she had fought with full force, she shouldn’t have lost.

But the original Ning Ning looked down on a mere outer sect disciple, only using half her strength. By the time she realized her opponent’s power, it was too late—she was caught in an unwinnable position.

After losing to him, the proud girl completely snapped.

And that’s exactly when Ning Ning transmigrated over.

According to the plot, she now had to walk the same old path of the classic villainess—continually provoking the male lead, stirring trouble for other characters, and acting shamelessly right up until the story’s grand finale.

And the first step in this grand scheme of self-destruction?

After the competition, she had to visit Pei Ji’s residence in person—and insult him on his face.

The system that brought her here had said, “Think about it. It’s like you were third in your class, and then, during finals, someone who was third-from-last suddenly surpassed you. Wouldn’t that piss you off? Wouldn’t you want revenge?”

Ning Ning had never experienced something like that.

She had always ranked first in her grade.

And she had hardly ever even cursed, let alone bullied anyone.

“You don’t need to feel too guilty.”

The system consoled her.
“Villains are a necessary part of the plot! Think about it—if you don’t bully the male lead, he wouldn’t push himself to train like crazy. Without that, his cultivation wouldn’t soar overnight. And with his personality, if he can’t level up fast, there’s no way he’ll survive in the cultivation world. He’d probably die who knows when.”

Then it emphasized with a final hammer blow.
“He’s Heaven’s Chosen! The male lead of the entire novel! Are you really going to let him die just because you refuse to bully him? How heartless!”

It was sheer nonsense.

But Ning Ning, shamefully, was convinced. She felt like such a wishy-washy little piece of trash.

After all, according to the plot, the original villainess’s malicious actions never actually harmed the male lead. Instead, they inadvertently helped him gain rare opportunities and magical artifacts.

It was always she who suffered the consequences and ended up humiliated.

So much so that, when Ning Ning had read the original novel, the moment the villainess started acting up, she’d immediately think.
Great, time for the male lead to act cool and slap faces again.

Seeing her soften a little, the system pressed on.
“Most importantly, once the mission is over, I’ll help you fake your death and escape, so you can start a new life in this world. You didn’t want to die so easily in your last life, did you?”

After hearing that, Ning Ning fell silent and stopped arguing.

In her original world, she had died from a terminal illness.

At seventeen, she had late-stage stomach cancer, writhing in pain on her hospital bed—unable to move or speak, even breathing was a burden.

The system was right—she truly didn’t want to die so early and so meaninglessly.

Ning Ning wasn’t someone who liked to overthink. She immediately nodded and said,
“Alright, boss! Thank you, boss! I’ll work hard, boss!”

And so, she arrived at the residence of the male lead, Pei Ji.

Unlike the private courtyards reserved for personal disciples, outer sect disciples lived in shared dorms, three per room. This had led to Pei Ji being bullied relentlessly by his roommates for a long time.

He came from extreme poverty, growing up in a small rural village with very little knowledge or experience. Worse still, Pei Ji had demonic energy in his body, he was the offspring of a demon cultivator. The cultivation world was full of bloodline discrimination.

They mocked him as a filthy half-breed and often beat him senseless. As for Pei Ji suddenly standing out in the recent sect competition…

It was currently the evening banquet, so most disciples weren’t in the dorms. Earlier, as Ning Ning stood outside the door, she had faintly heard the sounds coming from inside.

“Spill it! What dirty trick did you use? You’re just a waste—how could you suddenly improve overnight?”

“Let’s search his clothes. I bet we’ll find some cheap, underhanded crap!”

“That brat dared hit me? I’ll kill him!”

Then the voices grew quieter, and she couldn’t hear clearly, only soft sounds that might’ve been punches and kicks.

When everything inside went silent, Ning Ning grew worried that the male lead had been beaten half to death. She didn’t hesitate—placing her palm on the door, she gently pushed it open.

With a soft creak, the crimson hues of sunset poured in, flooding the room like a tide of blood. Under the dim candlelight and broken shadows of the setting sun, she saw the scene inside.

…

There were three people.

A disciple in white stood with his back to her, trembling violently for some unknown reason. When he turned around, his face was full of fear, as if he’d seen a man-eating monster.

A black-haired youth in black robes stood with his sword drawn, the blade pointed straight at another disciple’s throat. As Ning Ning stepped in, she caught the tail end of what he was saying, cold enough to send chills down her spine.

“…I don’t mind killing you.”

Then he pursed his lips and turned to face her. His dark eyes were filled with menace and barely concealed killing intent.

The one cornered by the sword was slumped against the wall, clearly beaten. His right cheek was badly swollen, his clothes and hair a complete mess.

He seemed to be in serious pain, letting out raspy gasps, his voice trembling.

There were supposed to be three people in this dorm. The other two had indeed always teamed up to bully Pei Ji.

Ning Ning remembered that one of them, the white-robed one, was named Nie Zhi. That meant the one holding the sword must be the cannon-fodder villain Shen Anqiao. As for the miserable guy in the corner—

So even the male lead could be this pitiful sometimes.

Which meant…

Ning Ning thought, as a proper villainous supporting character, what should she say now?

“Let me join your group beating?”

“Let go of the male lead—let me, do it?”

She had settled into her character by now. So, when the three of them turned to look at her, she didn’t panic. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and gave a confident smile.

“Why did you stop? Go on, continue.”

That look of disdain, that arrogant tone—

Perfect!

Ning Ning had entered the sect the same year as them and was a direct disciple of Elder Tian Xian, so Nie Zhi immediately recognized her.

“You’re Elder Tian Xian’s…”

How strangely did he look so terrified, like a hungry wolf was chasing him?

Could it be he was just embarrassed to have been caught bullying someone?

Shen Anqiao, the one with the sword, however, remained composed. He furrowed his brows, his eyes sharp and hostile.

“What are you doing here?”

“Cool enough and arrogant enough, he obviously looked like the leader of the local delinquents.”

The guy was quite good-looking, with sharp features and a straight nose—he just looked fierce.

Ningning glanced at him, then pointed at the male lead lying on the ground. “I came for him.”

Noticing the momentary daze in the man’s expression, she stepped forward briskly and walked up to the male lead.

That face—once praised as breathtaking in the original story—was now swollen and bruised beyond recognition. She silently sighed with regret and seriously tried to recall.

How did the original Ningning speak again?

“Oh, got beaten up pretty badly, huh.”

“You know exactly why I’m here. Do you even know your place? A mere outer disciple dares to provoke me?”

“Though we both belong to the Xuanxu Sect, you’ve acted so disgracefully against your fellow sectmate. If not for our shared master, I would have killed you right here for your treachery.”

“Speak up. What tricks did you use?”

The original Ningning refused to believe she could be defeated by an outer disciple, so she naturally assumed Pei Ji had used some underhanded methods—cheating—to gain enough power to rival her.

Ningning chose only the least insulting parts of that monologue, leaving out things like “trash,” “mongrel,” and various inexplicable curses, all of which she found too filthy to repeat.

After rattling off the lines in one go, she added a very in-character cold snort, lifted her fair chin slightly, and glanced at the black-clad young man beside her. “Your turn.”

Ningning’s verbal assault was more for fun than anything. When it came to actual malicious words, that job belonged to this extremely villain-coded guy beside her.

But perhaps… she acted a little too convincingly.

Before the black-robed youth could even speak, the “male lead” curled up in the corner suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. Tears burst out from his swollen, squinting eyes as he sobbed, “It—it was all my fault! Please spare me!”

Ningning: slowly forms a question mark.

Wait a minute.

Male lead, what are you doing?!
Wasn’t it written in the book that you “didn’t beg for mercy even after being burned in hellfire for three days and nights”?
Why are you bawling your eyes out just because I scolded you a bit?

Was she really that scary?

Ningning was utterly baffled by his reaction. Then, through sobs, the other party continued,

“I confess everything—just don’t tell the elders! It was me; I stole Pei Ji’s sword! That’s why he had to use a broken iron sword in the sect competition… It’s all my fault! Please forgive me!”

Pei Ji’s sword.

He stole it?

Wait—this guy wasn’t Pei Ji???

At that moment, Ningning finally understood the phrase “a thousand wild horses galloped through her mind.” She felt like she was going to pass out from shock.

If the one being beaten wasn’t the male lead, then…

She forced a stiff but polite smile and turned her head slightly to get a closer look at the black-robed youth holding the sword.

His chiseled side profile had a cold, porcelain-like hue. With the bloody afterglow of the setting sun casting over him, he looked like flawless white jade tainted with crimson, adding an eerie and dangerous edge.

Her gaze landed on a pair of upturned, phoenix-like eyes. The pupils were deep and shadowed, like a bottomless icy lake.

And just beneath the corner of his right eye—there it was.

A dark red beauty mark.

Mentioned countless times in the novel.
Unique to the male lead, Pei Ji.

Ningning: Cardiac arrest.

Heavens were out to kill her.

She had probably, maybe, mistaken someone else for the male lead.

The guy on the floor was just a cannon fodder villain—Shen Anqiao.

No wonder when she entered, Nie Zhi looked so terrified. He wasn’t scared of her, he was terrified of the suddenly rebellious, sword-wielding, murderous-looking Pei Ji.

So, what’s the plot now?

The male lead, no longer hiding his strength, counterattacks on the spot, defeating the fellow disciple who tried to bully him. And in true villain fashion, he even pointed his sword at the guy’s neck.

Meanwhile she, the author-designated vicious female supporting role, stepped in when the male lead was being humiliated and coldly scolded his bully.

Wasn’t that… the exact opposite of what their roles were supposed to be?

Seeing her expression shift, Nie Zhi—who was standing by—was filled with dread.

He and Shen Anqiao had always been jealous of Pei Ji’s rising fame in the sect competition. Convinced Pei Ji had cheated, they cornered him in his room and tried to bully him like usual.

Who knew Pei Ji would fight back halfway through, knocking Shen Anqiao to the ground?

And who could’ve predicted that Tian Xianzi’s personal disciple would suddenly barge in?

Everyone had heard rumors that this young lady was spoiled and arrogant. Yet now, she’d come all the way to defend Pei Ji? What was this, if not love at first fight?

A talented sword cultivator, disillusioned in both swordsmanship and love, suddenly finds herself captivated by the mysterious youth who once defeated her. She chases him all the way to his room and without hesitation scolds his bullies…

Everyone said that prodigies like her were always obsessed with those who could best them. Maybe those old novels were true after all.

Terrified and amazed, Nie Zhi had already crafted an entire forbidden love story between Ningning and Pei Ji in his head—while the supposed female lead, Ningning herself, knew absolutely none of this.

All she felt was one thing.

She was doomed.

She had promised the system she would fulfill the mission properly.
Yet the story was already off the rails from the very beginning, the plot so broken, even its own mother wouldn’t recognize it.

This couldn’t go on.

A promise is a promise—even if she had to play the evil supporting role, she would do it professionally.

“I didn’t come here just to help you.”

Since the original Ningning had seen Pei Ji before, she couldn’t use “I mistook you for someone else” as an excuse.

Ningning gritted her teeth and said the line. Her ears burned with shame and guilt.
Everything she said was true, but when it reached the ears of the others, it sounded like something completely different.

Seeing the soft flush on the girl’s snow-white earlobes, Nie Zhi trembled slightly.

Blushing while talking, then quickly trying to distance herself from Pei Ji—clearly a classic tsundere. If she wasn’t deliberately here to help him, then why say those things to Shen Anqiao?

Pei Ji remained expressionless, while Nie Zhi seemed lost in thought.

Ning Ning felt the atmosphere was off. Locking eyes with Pei Ji’s dark, brooding gaze still full of hostility, she stubbornly added,
“Listen closely. You only defeated me in the competition today because I wasn’t using even half my strength. Don’t get too full of yourself, I will surpass you eventually!”

These were the original lines spoken by the character she had transmigrated into.

But as soon as she said it, Nie Zhi’s expression shifted even further into one of sudden realization.

He had initially thought Ning Ning only fell for Pei Ji after losing to him. But based on her words now, it was clear this little ancestor had already fallen deeply for him long before.

Just so that brat could win the competition, she held back and only used fifty percent of her strength—fifty percent! To sacrifice even her sect’s honor for love—that was true devotion!

As expected of a core disciple—pure and noble even in pursuit of love.

But if she ever found out that he, Nie Zhi, had once ruthlessly bullied her beloved…

Meanwhile, Shen Anqiao, who was still being held at swordpoint by Pei Ji, had long been reduced to tears. Fearing he might share the same fate, Nie Zhi decided it was best to slip away while the two were busy flirting.

After a moment of thought, he lowered his voice and offered a flattering smile.
“Forgive me for the interruption. May I take my leave now?”

Trying to please Ning Ning, he even added with a flourish.
“You two are truly a match made in heaven—talented and beautiful—envied by all. If I linger any longer, I fear I might intrude upon your deepening bond.”

He spoke with heartfelt emotion, unaware that his words were the ultimate insult to her professionalism—like dancing in a minefield—grinning like a fool about to take off and soar to the sun.

Ning Ning was both furious and aggrieved.

Please, she thought, show some respect for my role as the vicious supporting female! Who wants to deepen feelings with the male lead?!