Song Qingge threw her phone against the wall in a rage.
Damn queerbait novel!
As an avid web novel reader and proud lesbian, this was the kind of novel she hated the most!
Her online friend, Immortal_Fudanshi, had recommended the novel Alone at the Highest Peak a few days ago, excitedly explaining that there were gay characters in the story, and that she should check it out. She clicked the link he sent and was brought to the novel's front page, and saw that the first tag was BL. Bored after a long day at work, she decided to binge read the novel that night.
But how could she have known that the story was actually a hot-blooded cultivation novel, and that the gay character was actually the villain?!
Alone at the Highest Peak centered around the main character, Jie Luo, on his journey to immortality.
The novel began like many others, Jie Luo's family was wiped out by demonic cultivators, and to get revenge, he found a master at a righteous sect and begged him to take him in as a disciple. The master, Yao Huizhong, had never taken a disciple before, but decided to take him in out of pity.
The master-disciple pair ended up getting along quite well, and soon Yao Huizhong decided to take on another disciple.
This was the start of the protagonists 'harem'. Yao Huizhong's second disciple was a beautiful girl by the name of Feng Wenling. She came from a famous cultivation family who respected Yao Huizhong quite a bit, and they were interested in creating an alliance between themselves and the Fenhui Sect by marrying their daughter to his disciple. But Yao Huizhong didn't want to force anything, and instead offered to take her in as a disciple.
Sect Leader Feng thought this was a great idea. If feelings developed between the children naturally, then great, the marriage could proceed as originally planned. If it didn't work out, then at least his daughter could at least learn some skills from Yao Huizhong. So Yao Huizhong took Feng Wenling in as his second disciple.
Song Qingge quite liked this martial sister, she was well-written for a female character in a BL novel, she was beautiful, gentle, and talented! Just her type!
But in the back of her mind, she felt a bit of pity for Feng Wenling. The setup was too obvious, she would definitely either become the protagonist's white moonlight, or a villainess who would oppress the male lead. She hoped it would be the latter, even if Feng Wenling became a villainess, it was a better ending than dying.
Son Qingge continued reading.
A few years passed, and Jie Luo and Feng Wenling became the promising stars of the Fenhui Sect, occasionally going down the mountain for some small adventures. One day, while investigating a rumor about a ghost running around wreaking havoc, they came across a village that had been completely destroyed. Jie Luo and Feng Wenling searched the rubble for survivors, and Jie Luo managed to uncover a small girl from the rubble, and the two young cultivators quickly took her back to the sect for treatment.
After waking up, the girl revealed her name was Song Qingge.
In reality, Song Qingge suddenly felt she was being pranked, and quickly texted Immortal_Fudanshi, complaining that he made her read a hundred chapters just to tease her. But Immortal_Fundanshi insisted that the name was just a coincidence, and that the gay character was someone else. Song Qingge wasn't completely convinced, but the story was actually fairly interesting, so she decided to keep reading.
Since the little Song Qingge no longer had a home to return to and decent spiritual roots, Yao Huizhong decided to take her in as a disciple. The little Song Qingge was delighted, she was young and had grown quite attached to Jie Luo ever since he had saved her. From then on, the three disciples cultivated together, but their relationship was not exactly harmonious. The little Song Qingge was quite jealous of the close relationship between Jie Luo and Feng Wenling and always tried to get between them. But no matter how much she schemed against her Senior Sister, Feng Wenling never got angry at her.
The present Song Qingge felt a bit sorry for both of them, in this male-dominated novel, they could only fall into typical archetypes and vie for favor from a man who would never love them.
Two more years passed within the novel, and on another mission down the mountain, Jie Luo encountered a group of ruffians bullying a young boy and intervened. After saving the child, he learned the boy's name was Wei Yaozu. Jie Luo asked the boy why he was being attacked, and Wei Yaozu revealed that his family had been annihilated by demonic cultivators, and left without any other option he was forced to live on the streets. The other children in town often bullied and mocked him for being a vagrant.
Jie Luo's heart softened at this explanation, their tragic pasts were similar, and he decided to bring Wei Yaozu back to the Fenhui Sect.
After reading this, Son Qingge became quite excited.
This must be the main love interest! She thought, but her excitement quickly turned into fear.
She had come to really like Feng Wenling, what would happen to her now that the male lead had appeared? Despite her concern, the only thing she could do was continue reading.
After hearing Wei Yaozu's tragic story,Yao Huizhong, who apparently loved to adopt orphans, decided to take him in as his fourth disciple. The little Song Qingge was very upset by this, and made it her mission to bully Wei Yaozu from the moment he joined the sect. But Wei Yaozu wasn't like Feng Wenling, who endlessly tolerated Song Qingge's actions. One day, after years of abuse from Song Qingge, the four disciples had entered a secret realm. Wei Yaozu and Song Qingge were separated from their Senior Martial Siblings, and when no one was around, Wei Yaozu took his revenge. He overpowered Song Qingge with demonic cultivation techniques he had secretly learned and killed her!
Alone at the Highest Peak was written from a third person perspective, so the protagonist, Jie Luo, had no idea about the battle between his junior siblings, or that Wei Yaozu was secretly a demonic cultivator. He only learned that Song Qingge had died after he had exited the secret realm and saw Wei Yaozu exit alone. When questioned by Jie Luo about Song Qingge's whereabouts, Wei Yaozu told a lie as if it was as easy as breathing:
He and Song Qingge had been attacked by a demonic beast, and Song Qingge had unfortunately lost her life.
Jie Lou was inconsolable for days after receiving the news.
The present Song Qingge shivered, this male lead was really twisted! She didn't like the Song Qingge in the story very much, but they shared a name, so she had still felt somewhat attached to her. Even if she bullied the male lead, wasn't killing her a little ruthless? Despite her objections, though, she continued reading.
The death of the young Song Qingge hailed the beginning of the end, while the first part of the story could be described as a lighthearted slice of life, from that point on, the novel took a dark turn.
Not long after exiting the secret realm, news spread throughout the cultivation world that the Demonic Sect was growing in power, and war was brewing between the Righteous and Demonic Factions. Jie Luo, still heartbroken, was determined to fight and protect as many junior disciples as possible. Feng Wenling and Wei Yaozu naturally followed him to the front lines.
The righteous cultivators gathered on the battlefield, but were unexpectedly ambushed by one of their own. Wei Yaozu stabbed his Master in the back, and revealed himself as the Demonic Sects Leader!
The righteous sects fought back as best they could, but ultimately they suffered heavy casualties.
One of those casualties was Feng Wenling.
Song Qingge couldn't help but cry while reading the final scene between Feng Wenling and Jie Lou, where Feng Wenling finally confessed her true feelings:
"Shixiong, to me you were the older brother I never had… I hope you can forgive our Shidi, he has lost his way, but I know he cares for you above all else."
It's too unfair! Song Qingge thought. This beautiful sister died to make way for the main couple, but she never even liked the protagonist… She almost dropped the novel there, but there was only one chapter left, and she had already read over a million words…. so she decided to keep reading.
The story ended with a final confrontation between Jie Lou and Wei Yaozu.
"The Righteous Sects no longer exist, so you no longer need to worry about your reputation!" Wei Yaozu said "Shixiong, we can finally be together!"
"Were you the one who killed Song Shimei?" Jie Lou asked plainly.
"Of course it was me, Shixiong!" Wei Yazu replied happily "She was always trying to keep us apart!"
Jie Lou looked at his junior brother, and, with a solemn expression, drew his sword.
In the end, Wei Yaozu lost his life to the man he loved, and Jie Lou lost everyone he loved.