Help! I'm the Plot Device: Just Here to Save the Heroes

When the World Glitched

Li Jie froze, stunned. Then his gaze snapped to Yuanzhou.

“…You…”

Yuanzhou calmly set his bowl down, the faintest smirk curling his lips.

“Zhao Yuanzhou,” Li Jie’s voice cracked, “tell me you aren’t aware of this.”

Yuanzhou rose slowly to his feet. No denial came—only silence thick enough to suffocate. Then, in a sudden flash, steel gleamed.

Li Jie gasped as pain seared through his abdomen. He looked down—Yuanzhou’s dagger was buried deep in him. Blood poured hot against his hands as he clutched the blade’s hilt, his knees giving way.

“Why…” he rasped, eyes wide with disbelief, “…why did you do this?”

Yuanzhou leaned close, lips brushing Li Jie’s ear in a mockery of intimacy.
“You thought I saw you as my friend?” His chuckle was low, venomous. “You are nothing but a beast in human skin. Did you truly think you belonged by my side?”

He twisted the dagger. Li Jie coughed blood, the taste bitter on his tongue. With a sharp motion, Yuanzhou ripped the blade free and shoved him to the floor.

An armored soldier stepped into the chamber, bowing low. He extended Yuanzhou’s sword with both hands.

“Your Highness.”

Yuanzhou accepted it with practiced ease. At the threshold, he paused, not bothering to look back.
“Finish him.”

“Yes, sire.”

The soldier advanced. But even on the edge of death, Li Jie was not broken. With a surge of defiance, he lunged for the soldier’s blade. Steel clashed—Li Jie drove the weapon through the man’s neck. Blood sprayed hot as the soldier crumpled.

Breathing ragged, Li Jie whispered, “Zhao Yuanzhou… in place of trust, you gave me betrayal. I will not forgive you.”

🧶

The chaos outside swelled. Flames rose, screams tore the night. The Shadow Clan’s proud village was turning into a slaughterhouse.

Li Jie stumbled into the courtyard, barely holding his wound. Soldiers clashed around him, bodies falling one after another. He fought desperately, killing two more before collapsing against a wall.

Arms suddenly wrapped around him.
“Jie’er!”

It was his mother—her hair disheveled, her eyes brimming with tears. She pulled him close, trembling.
“Listen to me, you must go!”

“No—Mother, I won't leave-!”

Her hand pressed hard over his wound, blood soaking her palm. “You go! I’ll hold them back.”

Two guards appeared at her signal, grabbing Li Jie beneath the arms. He struggled, coughing blood.
“Mother!”

“Live,” she choked out. “That is my only wish.”

Dragged away, Li Jie turned his head one last time. Through the burning wreckage, he saw Yuanzhou—standing tall in the middle of corpses, drenched in blood, laughing as he cut down man after man like a beast unchained.

Rage flared hotter than his pain. Zhao Yuanzhou… I swear. With my own hands—I will kill you.

The flight ended at a cliff’s edge, the river raging far below. Imperial soldiers cornered them, steel gleaming in the firelight. The guards fought valiantly but fell one by one.

Li Jie, half-dead, raised his sword with shaking hands. Even wounded, he struck down two before a blade cut across his chest. His vision swam.

A final strike came—he staggered back, feet slipping. For an instant, he saw the stars above.