Little Xuhan,

sitting under a tree

K, I, S, S, I, N, G!

That's right. There is no girl's name in the rhyme. Of course, that also doesn't mean he was making out with himself, which is impossible even for an immortal unless they have a homosexual clone. Simply said, he had facepalmed and had no wish to remove his hand from his lips fearing that he would scream out with frustration if he was careless.

Today, he, Han Xuhan, had awakened the memories of his previous life. In that chaotic situation, he hadn't had any time to carefully sort out his thoughts.

Now though, he had been transferred to a big mountain peak housing a few unimpressive-looking huts and a small run-down palace. Apparently, he was accepted by the Crimson Snow sect's elder Daheng as an outer court disciple. However, Xuhan had a sneaky suspicion that there was something wrong with this arrangement. He had been waiting for nearly half an hour in front of the elder's pavilion. Not a single soul, not even another outer court disciple, had appeared outside all this time.

Have these people fallen asleep while meditating?

Anyhow, this was also a good thing for him. He still needed to calm himself down and assess the situation. Just as the omnivorous lord Bear Grylls had quoted, "improvise, adapt, overcome!".

Yes, that was the crux of the matter. How did Xuhan know that guy from earth?
As it so happened, Xuhan was an earthling in his previous life...

Usually, an adventurous earthling who has been reborn in a fantasy-esque world where they can become powerful would be extremely worked up and excited about the boundless adventures that await them.

Xuhan, however, was very, very familiar with the world system of xianxia novels. It was the norm for reborn earthlings to get cheats so that they can just axe the whole thing and become a god after a few volumes of mass killing, screwing and adventuring. He himself would have followed a similar path as well...provided that he had a cheat, which, he did NOT.

Which led to the reasoning that he, Han Xuhan, was not destined to be a protagonist.

So what, you ask? What is wrong with being a side character?

As far as Xuhan was concerned, any side character with secrets like himself was predestined to die at some point during the protagonist's ascension. Even if he didn't die, there was a good chance of being crippled for life or something of a similar caliber of misery. After all, most authors didn't like to maintain the mysterious circumstances around an unimportant character since it'd be too taxing. There was a high chance that he was a predecessor of the main protagonist who could serve as a warning sign to the protagonist.

Setting his disbelief over his reincarnation aside, Xuhan was forced to reconsider his seemingly ominous fate.

The more he considered, the darker his future seemed, his expression becoming sourer and sourer.

He still didn't have much knowledge about this world of cultivation. The generic rules may not always hold true in reality. This instilled a tiny spark of hope inside his heart. Maybe a real xianxia world wouldn't be so bad...

After much consideration, Xuhan decided to observe this world first before coming to a conclusion. He would have to start from this mountain peak of Crimson Snow sect, the Black Sheep pavilion...

Wait, what?

Black sheep???

Xuhan refocused on the words written on the small plaque above the door of the shabby palace. He had just noticed it a few moments ago. Now that he had slightly calmed down, it dawned on him that the name of this palace was very odd...

Jerking his head around, he looked for a sign at the official entrance of the mountain peak, and noticed a small sign board there that said-

WELCOME TO THE BLACK SHEEP MOUNTAIN PEAK.
ELDER DAHENG GREETS THE GUEST.

Xuhan fell into a daze. If the authorities were aware of what the title meant, did that signify...

"So I have been categorized as a black sheep by the sect," Xuhan muttered finally.

"Yes, glad to see you figured it out by yourself. Spares me the effort," a cool voice affirmed his comment from his side.

"What the-"

Leaping a few feet away, Xuhan saw a girl standing not far from him with a calm expression. Was she here to escort him to the elder's residence? What was the point of sneaking up on him? To teach him the gulf between a cultivator and a mortal to intimidate him into submission? Going by the generic xianxia logic, all females were waifu materials for the constantly horny male protagonists as long as the author wasn't into BL stuff. There were many types and subtypes as well, starting from the tsundere senior sister to peerless yandere beauty with high cultivation level. Which sort is this one?

Within seconds, countless bizarre and creepy thoughts flashed through Xuhan's mind, his experiences with this sort of tropes speaking volumes.

Seeing him speechless, the girl assumed that he had become a bit fearful of her and nodded to herself.
Seems like this new junior brother of hers was good at adapting to the situation.

"After assessing the situation, I assume you have an idea of your position in the sect. Now hold that thought and come with me to meet master. The master-disciple ceremony should be completed before you start off as an official disciple here."

Saying her part, she turned around with a flick of her sleeves and walked speedily toward the shabby palace without waiting for Xuhan.

"Yeah, definitely the icy beauty type who appears at the start of every cultivation novel to ridicule the main character before either falling for him by chapter 20 or getting killed by him by the end of the volume due to a conflict of interests," Xuhan muttered to himself and followed her from a distance.

After all, he was not the protagonist. The chances of this senior sister picking a beef with him were very low as long as he kept his mouth shut and eyes controlled. Xuhan would ensure that he maintained a healthy distance from every outstanding person he met unless he was desperate. Everything and everyone special in a xianxia world spelt trouble. For a powerless shrimp like him, a xianxia world was too terrifying a place to poke his nose around in others' business.

While sorting out the strategies he planned to let himself survive this world, Xuhan entered the shabby palace following his soon-to-be senior sister whose fate he could almost predict by now.

It was actually rather homely inside, seemingly cared for by its occupants. He noticed a few servants working inside every now and then, all of whom emitted the intimidating aura of low-level cultivators, making him gulp in nervousness.

Even the servants are stronger than me!

His senior sister seemed to have been greatly satisfied by his nervous response to this sight as she smiled faintly. Even more awkward than before, Xuhan followed her to a large room devoid of any furniture other than a comfortable-looking rug with a man sitting on top of it in the middle of the room peacefully.

"Master, another black sheep has joined the herd," the girl said before retreating with a snicker.

Xuhan's face twitched, but he stopped himself from saying anything and opted to observe his soon-to-be master instead.

He was a middle-aged man, rather handsome with his grey sideburns and shoulder-length hair with irregular black and white streaks. But the biggest problem here was that his master's name was Daheng, which meant big giant. But this guy seemed to be on the scrawny side. Was this really the elder Daheng, master of the black sheep mountain peak?

"Yes, I'm elder Daheng, no need to keep wondering about my physique any longer. I didn't name myself, " the man suddenly spoke rather incisively.

Coughing loudly to alleviate the stifling atmosphere, Xuhan put on a gratified smile and greeted the elder.

"No need to bother with the pleasantries. Let's get down to business. I was informed of your results in the bloodline test, so I'll skip the aptitude test and just accept you as a disciple of the outer court. Now let's commence the master-disciple ceremony. We shall keep it simple. Pour me the tea first. I'm thirsty. "

Elder Daheng waved his hand and a kettle and two teacups appeared in front of him. Xuhan was familiar with this as well. Immediately he did as he was told and earnestly handed the full teacup to the elder.

Taking a sip from the cup, the elder raised an eyebrow at him curiously.

"Have you forgotten? You need to bow three times as well. That'd be enough. "

Xuhan froze. Due to his memories of his previous life on earth, he felt a strong opposition in his heart when it came to bowing his head in front of someone. He hadn't been an atheist in his previous life. Other than a creator-level figure, he was extremely unwilling to bow in front of anyone.

Fuck, none of the xianxia novels he read in his previous life had any issues with the cultural differences...but not bowing would make me seem like a typical arrogant asshat. What do I do ?

Seeing his hesitant look, the elder's brows furrowed.

"Do you not want to be a disciple here?"

With a complicated expression, Xuhan answered his query. It was best to explain his issues rather than lying through his teeth. Elder Daheng knew Xuhan's 'speciality '. Trying to wriggle out of this would only result in a cliched disaster.

"In my previous life, bowing to someone was a taboo...so I, erm..."

Elder Daheng sighed.

"Fine, you reincarnated lot are always full of weird issues like that anyway. From now on, you are a black sheep of the sec-cough...a disciple of the black sheep mountain peak. Your senior sister over there will take you to the outer courtyard where others like you reside. Take your identity token and sincerely do your job and maybe, one day you'll become someone with significant power. Come to me only if you suffer a major setback in cultivation. I do not appreciate being interrupted between my cultivation sessions. Now off you go."

Xuhan was grateful that he hadn't been forced to bow at least. This master of his didn't seem half bad; in fact, going by xianxia logic, this was already a high-tier master who at least didn't seem the type to sell out or abuse his disciples for personal gain.

A good start, definitely a good start!

Xuhan obediently followed his senior sister who didn't look very pleased with his conduct and wore a frosty demeanour on her face.

Getting out of the palace, they entered a formation of small huts in the surroundings at various parts of the mountain peak. Taking him to one of the empty huts, his senior sister handed him a heavy pouch and finally spoke.

"Everything you need to know is inside. If you have any urgent problems in the future, find me or any other seniors around here. Remember to do your daily duties or you'll be punished. Don't slack off."

Then she turned around and before Xuhan had even opened his mouth to thank her for the help, she flitted off into the distance with extraordinary speed, making him gasp in shock inaudibly.

Cultivation really seemed so amazing from a real-life point of view instead of novels or cartoons!