The male supporting character was actually myself.

Even it was shocked at this point!

The cat covered its mouth with its tiny paws in shock. "No way? The female lead is eighteen years old, but she's not even as tall as the table, only about sixty centimeters? Is she a dwarf?!"

"Let alone Xiao Jiangchen, a powerful and ruthless man who married eighteen stunning concubines, having extremely high standards. Even a normal person wouldn't be tempted by this short, thin, malnourished girl with blond hair."

He frowned slightly. "Two-dimensional is fine, but three-dimensional is just plain perverted."

"Ugh, how disgusting!" The little white cat felt a chill down its spine. This setting alone made the cat very uncomfortable. "The script team made some really ridiculous logical flaws in order to highlight the changes in the female lead."

Alright then, I'll honor my bet and find a suitable opportunity to become a catgirl.

Another melodramatic soap opera has been thrown into the mix. I'm sure the host will be able to punish evil and turn the tide!

The storyline is being integrated; the host is preparing to merge into the world...

3, 2, 1, let's go!

As the light screen disappeared, Jiang Chen found himself riding a horse and leading a large army toward the city gate not far away.

[Mission: Find Zhang Xiyue, the shortest and thinnest woman among the beggars, and bring her back to the Marshal's Mansion after she has eaten and drunk her fill. Reward: One-time use C-grade item x1]

Almost at the same time as entering the mission world, the main system mission was released.

At the same time, he had already received the current plot point in his mind.

The world was already at peace, and the original owner, having distinguished himself in battle, was appointed as the most powerful warlord in the country. Now that everything was just beginning, and the need for battle was gone, Commander Xiao's life consisted of marrying concubines, indulging in hunting and other pleasures—a life of unbridled elegance.

There was indeed a group of about fifty or sixty refugees not far away.

In the chilly spring, the refugees wore tattered coats and trousers with dirty cotton showing through.

Some people wore straw sandals, and some were even barefoot. Their faces, necks, hands, and feet were exposed to the elements, and they had many small cracks from the cold. They hugged tree branches as walking sticks, and with their unkempt hair and broken bowls, they slowly moved forward.

"Why are you hunting at this time of year? Is the scriptwriters crazy?" He glanced behind him with slight disdain, where rows of neatly dressed soldiers in clean uniforms stood in stark contrast to the group of refugees.

The cavalry moved much faster than the refugees. Just as they were about to reach the city gate and saw that the refugees had no intention of entering the city, Jiang Chen pulled on the reins, stopped, and gestured to his adjutant to bring the refugees over.

"Sir, what are your orders?" The refugees were clearly afraid of the government troops. A large group of people were so frightened by being surrounded by a dozen soldiers that they didn't even dare to run away. They huddled together, trembling and barely daring to breathe. The old man at the head of the group knelt down and kowtowed twice, asking tremblingly.

The fluffy dumpling immediately spotted the dazzling protagonist's aura in the crowd.

The stench was so strong it gave it a headache, so it could only cover its mouth and nose with its paws and point to remind the host: "Host, the thinnest, smallest, shortest, and most poorly dressed one is the female lead. Oh my god, even in this freezing weather, this smell is unbearable. No wonder the best supporting actor role has to be played by the host."

Without a mission compelling them to take her in, a normal person would at most pity her and give her some money and food. Who the hell would fall in love at first sight and take her home to pamper exclusively? Only someone with a serious screw loose would do that!

Chapter Two: He's Not Human!

Jiang Chen looked in the direction it was pointing to and frowned.

To be honest, in the real world, her height is only comparable to that of kindergarten children; anyone in the senior class would be taller than her.

Scriptwriters, please don't write about love at first sight. Even if you write it as the best supporting actor seeing a pitiful child and wanting to take her home to adopt her, that would be more plausible. How could the original owner, a domineering general who was 1.86 meters tall and had been fighting on the battlefield for years, fall head over heels in love with her at first sight and be unable to extricate himself?

I really want to bring over those beasts from the scriptwriting team and let them see if they can be moved by such a little beggar.

"Where did you come from?" He frowned slightly, covering his mouth and nose with his gloved hand to avoid the pungent smell making his nose sting. "And where are you planning to go?"

The refugees were trembling with fear. The women, their hair disheveled and still covered in bits of firewood from the night's stay, stood timidly with their heads down, not daring to utter a sound. The men, meanwhile, stood on the periphery with their hands tucked in and necks hunched.

Surrounded by a dozen soldiers on horseback carrying guns, everyone was silent and terrified, but the female lead, Zhang Xiyue, stood expressionless in the crowd, like a proud peacock looking down on ordinary people with disdain.

"Ha, mere humans... If I hadn't been injured by that damned spiritual spring and forced to reincarnate, and hadn't been unlucky enough to be born in such a wretched place, where I haven't been able to recover to my peak condition due to insufficient nourishment, how could I tolerate being reduced to this state and being bossed around by a lowly human?" She glared back indignantly, but unfortunately, she was too short and tripped over something the next second, almost falling to the ground in a rather embarrassing manner.

Jiang Chen was in a good mood after subtly giving the female lead a hard time and then retrieving his soul weapon.

The elderly man who had already knelt down at the head of the group replied tremblingly, "Sir, we are poor people who fled from Shijiapo, forty li away from Yunshao City. Our area has been plagued by bandits since last autumn, committing all sorts of atrocities such as burning, killing, and looting!"

Our village was relatively safe, being nestled deep in the mountains. But just as everyone was preparing for the New Year celebrations, bandits brazenly stormed into the village. Not only did they rob young women and wives, but they also killed many people and set the village on fire. We were lucky to escape.

Our family business was ruined, and there weren't many people left. Those who could seek refuge with relatives and friends had all scattered. The rest of us huddled together for mutual support, begging for food along the way.

There's nowhere else to go, so I thought about heading south. I heard that area is more stable and prosperous; if I could find a job and earn some food, at least I wouldn't starve.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

The script didn't mention any bandits at all. The best supporting actor directly rescued the female lead from her suffering, making her glamorous and privileged treatment stand out in stark contrast to the other refugees to highlight the satisfying feeling.

It would be really enjoyable to see things from the female lead's perspective.

After all, those who occasionally had conflicts and frictions with the female lead during their escape deserved to continue suffering, while Zhang Xiyue soared to great heights thanks to her favor.

He sneered inwardly, a clumsy twitch at the corner of his mouth.

I'd really like to see what the scriptwriting team is all about when they create scripts.

"The village was looted and burned by bandits, and you didn't even ask anyone to stand up for you?" Jiang Chen pointed with his riding whip at the imposing city gate ahead and asked, "You didn't even dare to go into Yongning City when you passed by? What? Is my reputation, Xiao Jiang Chen's reputation, that bad?"

The old man trembled and dared not reply. Only then did the other refugees realize that the soldier was none other than the famous General Xiao, and they were immediately terrified like a flock of quails.

Zhang Xiyue narrowed her eyes and looked at him with cold arrogance, thinking to herself that she had long heard that Xiao Jiangchen, who was the most powerful, was brave and extraordinary, and now that she saw him, he was indeed handsome.

With his striking eyebrows and bright eyes, he was a handsome and distinguished man. At most twenty-five or twenty-six years old, he was able to sit on the throne of a great general, which was quite outstanding among ordinary people.

Such a mortal is still not worthy of my respect.

That immortal and indestructible spiritual spring is the only one worthy of spending a lifetime with me!

"General, we are all honest farmers, we don't know who to turn to for help." The old man trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down his face.

Who doesn't know that the powerful Marshal Xiao lives in Yongning City?

So when they first fled, he told the children that they should not go into the city even if they starved to death, and that they should take advantage of the cold weather and the lack of people outside the city to hurry to the next town.

After all, forty miles of the village was under the control of Commander Xiao. The burning, killing, and looting of the village was a minor matter; what was serious was if word got out that Commander Xiao was incompetent. If the refugees begged along the way, wouldn't that tarnish the commander's reputation? He just wanted to have food to eat and survive; he didn't want to get into trouble and die a horrible death.

"Oh? Liang Laoxi of Yunshao City is your local official, yet he turns a blind eye to the bandits appearing in his jurisdiction and lets the displaced people flee on their own?"

Jiang Chen glanced into the crowd, pointed at Zhang Xiyue with pity, and said, "Whose child is that? She's only two or three years old and has already been offended like this. If you have to keep fleeing all the way, wouldn't it be a dereliction of duty for me, the commander-in-chief?"

Judging from his gentle tone, he didn't seem like the type to kill someone to silence them. Someone mustered up the courage to speak up and explain, "General, she's a freak, not a two- or three-year-old child!"

I'm eighteen years old this year.

The Zhang family is the poorest family in our village. We didn't see any of her family members when the bandits were active; now she's probably all alone.

The other refugees' faces darkened when the village's oddballs were mentioned.

"When she was first born, we couldn't see anything wrong with her, but gradually we could see that she was different from other babies. She wasn't very big and had a strange temper. She would try to bite people whenever she saw them."

"I heard someone saw her eating raw rat meat and drinking chicken blood!"

“If it weren’t for the old village chief’s kindness, we wouldn’t have dared to go with her.”

"He looks strange and has an even stranger temper. He looks down on everyone and can't even speak properly."

"That's right, she's short and can't keep up, yet she still yells at others, so nobody dares to argue with her..."

…………

The refugees whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with disdain as they looked at Zhang Xiyue.

Ever since the Zhang family had this daughter, the village has never had a good time; it's either been flooded or droughted.

The villagers initially felt sorry for Zhang's sickly child and didn't think much of it, even telling their children not to bully her. But a few years ago, a fortune teller came to the village, glanced at her, and was terrified, claiming she was a reincarnated monster and should not be messed with!

The villagers were superstitious, and they were both shocked and frightened when they heard about this.

But everyone was worried about being harmed by monsters, so no one dared to say anything openly. Who knew that this girl would become arrogant and domineering in the village based on the fortune teller's words, and the villagers had to avoid her.

Strangely enough, some mischievous children who didn't believe in the superstition set traps to play tricks on her, but in the end, they all suffered tragic ends with broken hands and feet. From then on, no one dared to mess with the Zhang family's freak.

Before the Lunar New Year, the village of Naoxiangma was burned down by a fire. Among those who escaped, none of them noticed where Zhang Xiyue had come from. The old village chief felt sorry for her and took her with him.

“Being short is probably due to dwarfism or something like that,” Jiang Chen said loudly after hearing some discontented comments. “But drinking blood is something no ordinary person would do. Whether it’s just a rumor or not, we don’t know.”

How about this...

He looked at his adjutant and ordered, "Take them into the city and open a large hot spring pool at Taoyuan Hot Spring."

Also, have the clothing store send over some suitable new cotton-padded clothes and shoes. Once they've all washed up and changed into their new clothes, take them to the Fuguiju Restaurant and order the best feast so the villagers can eat and drink to their heart's content. Put it all on my tab, and the accountant will settle the accounts at the end of the month.

Jiang Chen specifically pointed out Zhang Xiyue and instructed her: "This girl probably has some kind of illness. To prevent any accidents, when you get back to the manor, have two strong old women help her wash up and change her clothes. Once she's cleaned up, bring her to my private room at the Fuguiju Restaurant. I have some questions for her."

He warned the old women to be careful, lest they get bitten.

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant accepted the order and left.

Jiang Chen ignored Zhang Xiyue's resentful and vicious gaze, spurred his horse, and slowly entered the city gate. He sent his subordinates back to camp first, while he went straight to the Fuguiju Restaurant, ordered the best food and wine, and sat in a private room reading the script while waiting for Zhang Xiyue.

"Host, why are you just doing the mission obediently?" The fluffy little dumpling was jumping up and down anxiously. "Zhang Xiyue is a man-eating monster! Shouldn't we hurry up and find a way to change the plot and get rid of her?"

"Do you know Zhang Xiyue well?" he asked curiously.

The little white cat was stunned for a moment, then tucked its ears in and meowed, "Isn't it clearly written in the script? He's a heartless and wicked villain!"

He waved his finger in disagreement, saying, "We can't just look at what's written in the plot; we need to look at the problem comprehensively in order to better solve the follow-up issues."

First, from Zhang Xiyue's perspective—there's no problem with her eating people.

Don't forget that she is not human. Different species cannot be bound by human moral concepts to restrain a monster.

"Imagine an immortal soul; if it could be guided to punish evil and uphold justice, then Zhang Xiyue would be a benevolent monster to the entire human race..."

Before he could finish speaking, the fluffy little thing blinked its deep blue eyes as if it had remembered something, and exclaimed, "Ah, I understand! It's exactly the same as the vampire count! Does the host want to observe it carefully and modify it properly?"

"That's right, I want to get closer to Zhang Xiyue to figure out what she's really like."

If we can educate and guide her to turn over a new leaf, there are so many evil people in the world, we are not afraid that she will occasionally fall for one or two.

If they are truly heartless and beyond redemption, then we need to consider implementing Plan B.

In the original storyline, Zhang Xiyue's desire to regain her power and eat people was a normal desire for a demon; the one who was wrong was Xiao Jiangchen.

As a sycophant, he even pushed his concubines out to be devoured by his beloved, and then came up with some ridiculous reason to say that they were noisy and bullied Zhang Xiyue.

Isn't that obvious?

There was no matriarch in the Marshal's mansion. Zhang Xiyue wasn't even a formally brought-in concubine; at most, she was a young woman with an ambiguous relationship. What had the concubines done wrong? Whether they were noisy or belittling her, wasn't it all to win the Marshal's favor and survive better in the deep mansion?

He was the one chosen to be carried in through the door;

He was the one who was disliked.

When he likes someone, he calls her "sweetie," but when he doesn't like her anymore, he uses the lives of living people, including the lives of women he used to like, to please his new love.

Zhang Xiyue is a monster, not a real person; Xiao Jiangchen is truly not human!