The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love

Chapter 20.1 - Reader/Protagonist: Don’t make a fuss

Translation and editing by readerz

Du Ze changed the topic decisively. Seemingly calm, he looked around while his face expressed the thought “don’t be silly, this is a time for serious academic discussion.” He asked: “What is this place?”

Actually, when Du Ze saw the piled-up bones after finishing their “mutual cultivation,”[1] he knew that they were at the reverse side of the continent’s undead sea of bones. In the world of “Mixed Blood,” the Chaos Continent was like this: at the center was the Lost Land, the far north is a very cold place, the east is a deadly desert, the south contained the demonic beasts’ forest, and in the west is the boundless sea. In the reverse side of the continent, the western part is also a sea, but composed of countless dead souls. It is a paradise for the undead where their fighting power is greatly increased and the other races’ powers will be restricted.

Although … when he saw the sea of undead souls, what first appeared in his brain wasn’t “in the novel, this is where the protagonist in his undead form arrived,” but rather “this is where the protagonist, in his undead form, and his enemy got it on” - again - finally -? My moral integrity has become really small!

Doujinshi: Blame me.

Remember this? Notice the skulls in the background.

Xiu was not interested in this topic. He looked at the doujinshi and carelessly replied: “I’m not sure … come here.”

That was the same as saying “come here, it’s time for more harmonious health education.”[2]

“I know this place,” said Du Ze, still hoping to change the topic: “This should be the undead soul sea.”

Finally, Xiu’s attention was caught: “Undead soul sea?”

Du Ze was relieved and began to recite lines from the novel: “The western part of the reverse side of the continent is where the land lays buried under piles of bones. The creatures here call it the sea of undead souls.”

“You know a lot,” said Xiu. It seemed like a rhetorical question. Du Ze nodded in a profound way. When the silly Moe person saw that Xiu was smiling, he continued saying “Many things are very interesting …”

Du Ze saw that Xiu was looking at the doujinshi in his hands and his face cracked.

Harmonious topic: I’m back.

Du Ze’s salvation came in the form of movement in the sea of undead souls. It came from the depths, as though something had emerged from the sea and was rushing towards them. The sounds of combat became louder and louder. Even Du Ze could hear it clearly, but when he turned to look at Xiu, the latter seemed unsurprised. Xiu’s eyes narrowed slightly and he appeared to be somewhat unhappy.

Through a gap in the bone heap, Du Ze and Xiu saw two demon girls, one in red and one in blue. Their beautiful faces were the same, therefore they must be twin sisters. The girl in the red dress had a bouquet of white flowers in her arms. The flowers had black stems and white petals were shaped like skulls. The girl in blue was wielding a sword and guarding the other girl. As they fled, they nervously looked behind where a group of translucent demons were chasing them. Under the girls’ feet, bones continuously emerged to hinder their progress.

When Du Ze saw this, he was excited. Not because he saw a pair of beautiful demon sisters, but because he guessed their identities.

Protagonist, your family’s harem members have finally appeared!!!

In “Mixed Blood,” the number of sisters was ever-increasing and the harem was ever-expanding. Among the harem members, there were a few that made the readers’ eyes brighten, like the demon sisters. Firstly, because they are demons, they made the harem more diverse. Secondly, they are twin sisters, which is icing on the cake. Thirdly, the chaste author wrote that the two sisters became the wings of the protagonist. (P.S. If you do not understand, please don’t search the internet for “3P”)[3]

The girl in blue is Violet while the one in red is Alice. They are the Lords of Belial City. In the original plot of “Mixed Blood,” the protagonist had just arrived in the reverse side of the continent when he saw the undead attacking Violet. Naturally, that was a good time for the usual “hero saves the beauty” moment. He then learned a lot about this place from Violet and she also told him that she had a twin sister who was cursed by a Necromancer. She was in the sea of undead souls to collect medicine for her sister.

A Necromancer’s curse was not a problem at all for the protagonist who had unlocked his undead bloodline. True to its mainstream harem novel roots, the treatment that the protagonist gave the sister in “Mixed Blood” embodied the readers’ and author’s moral integrity:

Why do you want to undress?

To save you.

Why are you kissing me?

To save you.

The body is so cold.

I’ll keep you warm.

When the readers started making comments like “hey, hey, hey,” Yi Ye Zhi Qiu replied: “Come on, this is scientific first aid for hypothermia.”

While Du Ze was remembering the plot of “Mixed Blood,” Violet and Alice were caught in a dilemma. Surrounded by spirits, Violet whispered a few words to Alice, who shook her head violently. Violet seemed to be trying to persuade her but there was a commotion coming from the direction of their escape.

“Jie Jie jie …” a dry laugh echoed through the sea of dead souls, making impossible to pinpoint where the sound came from. “It’s really a sisterhood, but you don’t have to worry about being apart. I won’t anyone let go.”

A ring of Necromantic power appeared and a tall, thin figure in black robes entered the circle.

“I would like to apologize if we offended Your Excellency by inadvertently breaking into your territory.” Violet knew that the undead had a strong territorial instinct. If it wasn’t necessary, she wouldn’t have brought Alice to the sea of undead souls. She tried to negotiate with the undead: “We are the city Lords of Belial City. To cure the blood poison plague that is spreading in our city, we need skull flowers. I promise you, in the name of the Lord Belial, that you will be reimbursed satisfactorily.”

“I know, Jie Jie, of course I know - I did not send my collection of blood poison plague seeds in vain.”

Violet thundered: “It was you!?”

“Of course, honey. If I didn’t send you a gift, how would I get you to come to my place?” The black-robed undead shook with Jie Jie laughter: “Welcome to my territory, baby, I am the Lord here -”

Between the calcium carbide[4] flames, Violet’s sword cut off the head of the black robe. Although the robe collapsed and the bones rolled about, that ‘Jie Jie’ laughter did not stop. Violet stared at the robe and pile of bones - the other did not appear in his real body.

Because Du Ze and Xiu’s place is well concealed, the people fighting did not see them. Du Ze’s feelings are complicated. This is like watching a “Mixed Blood” prequel. He and the protagonist arrived just in time to watch as the sister was cursed by the undead mage. Du Ze was in awe of the Great God’s story. In order to let the protagonist execute the “hero saves the beauty” cliche and push down the sister, the background event was being carried out right in front of their eyes. There were no plot holes. The world is really too professional!

So from the time the girls appeared up to now, Du Ze was just repeating in his mind “Watch the plot unfold, watch the protagonist.” He has been waiting for the hero to save the beauty.

Now the sisters were surrounded, but there was no response from Xiu. When the sisters looked like they were going to be taken, Xiu … looked like he was going to fall asleep?

… Protagonist, you are on strike?!

Du Ze cannot help but remind Xiu to follow the script: “Not going to do anything?”

Xiu lifted his head and looked at the scene: “No need.”

Du Ze suddenly realized that there really is no need to save the demon sisters right now. According to the original plot, the demon sisters will be able to escape this time, but one sister will be cursed. When the proper times comes, the protagonist will cure (push down) the sister, so everything will be alright.

His reason told him that was right, but somehow he had a feeling that something was wrong. It was as if a substandard gear had been inserted somewhere in a machine and he couldn’t spot where exactly it went awry. At this time, there is a new change in the script. When Du Ze tried to attract Xiu’s attention he sensed a disharmony in the plot.

- If Du Ze thinks intervention is not needed because of the plot, okay. But why did Xiu say “No need”?

Looking at the demon sisters, Xiu’s purple eyes reflected the girls’ helpless, fragile appearance. Though a rock had been tossed into the water, no ripples were made - the demon girls’ distress didn’t cause any reaction from Xiu.[5]

Xiu feels he doesn’t need to save them because they don’t have any value to him.

1. a euphemism for that thing he just did with Xiu

2. Harmony is a code word for censorship in China since the goal of censorship is “maintaining harmony ” (和谐). Things are also censored if they are “unhealthy.” So all the stuff about harmony is about the forbidden or censored activity that the two just indulged in.

3. This parenthesis was in the original raw but it said “don’t use Baidu to search for dual flight.” I translated the meaning, not the literal words.

4. I have no idea about this since it wasn’t mentioned before.

5. 兴不起一点波澜 - hmm a hard to translate metaphor about waves (ups and downs) and popularity. Edit: Fixed it up thanks to Anonymous.