I Raised the Wrong Dragon Protagonist, So I Ran Away

[Status: presumed dead]

[Sorry, I've been stuck and haven't been able to write, and the earnings have been poor, which has left me very anxious. I've found a job to support myself, so there's no telling when I'll be back. I will finish it. I've written nearly 800,000 words and put a lot of time into it, so I can't bear to abandon all that sunk cost.]

Wen Fu was terribly unlucky. Just after he transmigrated into a book, the System was forced offline. He had to search for his target on his own, and eventually settled on a little brat with a strong "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never look down on a poor young man" vibe.

The brat was extremely guarded and kicked and bit Wen Fu from the start. Wen Fu got so angry that he gave the brat a spanking.

Once he'd gotten the spanking out of his system, the brat was scared off.

For now, it was thirty years east of the river, and I'd just beaten up Long Aotian.

In thirty years, it would be thirty years west of the river. Wouldn't Long Aotian crush me with a finger and leave me dead without a grave?

Wen Fu looked at Long Aotian's red-rimmed eyes and hateful gaze, lost in thought.

I could still kill Long Aotian now. It should be soon enough.

But the last thing the useless System said before going offline was, "Please note, Host: if the protagonist dies, you will die too."

Physical salvation was out of the question. He could only try to save him emotionally.

Wen Fu tried to win Long Aotian over with truth, goodness, and beauty.

Unfortunately, Long Aotian wasn't buying it.

He turned around, rolled his eyes at Wen Fu, and said, "Idiot."

Wen Fu clenched his fist: "..."

Then he gave Long Aotian another spanking.

Long Aotian inexplicably became well-behaved.

Wen Fu was amazed. He felt Long Aotian's forehead and muttered, "Why does he seem to have a masochistic streak? He doesn't have a fever."

Wen Fu had finally raised Long Aotian into a handsome young man when the useless System came back online and said, "You found the wrong protagonist."

Wen Fu's heart instantly sank.

To complete the mission, Wen Fu had no choice but to fake his death and run away.

*

With the System's guidance, Wen Fu finally met the protagonist of Taking Heaven, the real Long Aotian.

At the time, the real Long Aotian was a low-ranking outer disciple at a sect, with no rights whatsoever.

After being bullied, the real Long Aotian didn't shout, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!" Instead, he spat after the backs of the senior brothers who had bullied him.

Wen Fu immediately wanted to go back and find the fake Long Aotian he'd raised, Yu Shen.

Wen Fu: I'm feeling a little dizzy. I'm leaving.

Reader's Guide:

1. Character setup: The world can be wonderful, but I'm better; unscrupulous and money-loving; straight male transmigrated into a book x emotionally clueless, without a moral compass, naturally dark and good at pretending to be innocent, yandere male lead.

2. Wen Fu can be genuinely awful at times. He's not a perfect good person; one of his character tags is [unscrupulous].

3. The fake Long Aotian is in charge of killing everyone, while the real Long Aotian is in charge of cackling (just kidding). The real Long Aotian is very capable; he's just kind of a jerk, and that isn't meant as an insult here.

4. This isn't a plot-driven story, nor a typical fake-death, transmigration-into-a-book, wrong-person setup. The plot always serves the romance, focusing on the protagonists' personal development and emotional bonds.

The story has a large ensemble cast, a slow burn, and a long format. It is divided into the mortal world and the cultivation world. The supporting characters will get the roles they need to fulfill the planned story.

5. Later on, Wen Fu and both the fake and real Long Aotian will adventure together in the cultivation world. This isn't a rapid power-up story. Cultivation is just one element that helps move the plot along, not the main focus.

Here's one of my upcoming stories. Interested readers, please add it to your collection to help it get started sooner!

Upcoming story: The Unluckiest of All

[Third-person narration throughout!]

Just like the title says, I'm unbelievably unlucky.

Who gets to transmigrate into a book and become a useless ruler of a fallen kingdom? I didn't get to enjoy a single day of luxury. From the start, rebels were surrounding my palace.

At the time, the previous owner of this body was still soaking in wine and revelry, living a life of luxury and debauchery. He hadn't even had time to take a sip of his wine before he kicked the bucket and I took over.

Before I could even figure out what was going on, the eunuchs and palace maids serving nearby dried me off with towels, hurriedly threw a few clothes on me, and started running.

Halfway through our escape, I realized I was an emperor. I should have countless guards fighting for me. Couldn't I just stay in the palace?

Why was I running?

I told the eunuch dragging me along what I was wondering.

He didn't even look back. He just kept running toward the back mountain with me and said, "Don't ask. Keep running."

There was no helping it, so I kept running with him.

Unfortunately, our legs couldn't outrun those fine horses.

When the rebels surrounded us and looked down at us from horseback,

I thought, That's it. I'm going to die less than ten minutes from the start. I'm so unlucky!

Just then, a young general in shining silver armor appeared like a divine soldier from the heavens. On horseback, lance in hand, he fought his way through tens of thousands of men.

A blazing flame of hope rose in my heart. I was safe now! I called out to the young general, "My dear subject! You have saved me from mortal danger today. I shall make you a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!"

I was speaking with great passion.

The eunuch beside me tugged at my sleeve and gave me a look, signaling me to stop. I didn't understand.

The eunuch stamped his foot. "That's Young Master Xie, the one you once tried to force into the palace as your consort!"

I was struck like lightning. Two words flashed through my mind again: It's over.

I looked up at the young general and, sure enough, saw a pair of cold, disgusted eyes.

I couldn't keep it together. He wasn't here to save me. He was here to kill me.

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Theme: The selfish die for others' sacrifices.