Chapter 24: The Pain That Breathes-I Became the Female Villain in a Male-Oriented Novel(Sichuan Pepper)

The various peak masters were investigating the failure of the Profound Stone, and in doing so, they thoroughly examined the dossiers of all the disciples who had entered. If it hadn’t been for the coincidence of Qiao Yu being involved, Wen Jinge entering, and Ai Fengling paying attention, Jiang Zilin’s transgression might have gone completely unnoticed.

Outside, chaos reigned, while inside the illusion, those involved remained oblivious.

“Dodge!” The little clay figure shouted.

If it was an ordinary arrow, Wang Xi could have healed Qiao Yu’s wounds, but if it was an arrow formed of profound energy, she truly had no experience. The use of profound energy was intended to deliver a lethal blow, injuring Jiang Zilin enough to leave him unable to harm others for a while.

Yet, she had miscalculated.

But so had Jiang Zilin.

Qiao Yu was unharmed—in fact, he felt better than ever in this state. The effect from the earlier elevation had faded, leaving him feeling cold, but his cultivation seemed to have improved.

So he uttered words that Wang Xi would never forget for the rest of her life: “Can you shoot me again?”

Wang Xi was stunned, and the usually quick-witted Jiang Zilin, poised to mock, was speechless as well.

“It feels very pleasant,” Qiao Yu said, though his brows were furrowed. “Just once more, that’s all!”

Wang Xi had never thought her arrows could drive someone mad; she grew uneasy. “Senior Brother, are you alright?”

“Hurry!” Qiao Yu grabbed Wang Xi’s hand, guiding the arrow to his heart. “Just like this—draw the bow, quickly!”

“Senior Brother…” Wang Xi hesitated, but as she questioned him, her hands moved to draw the bow. “Are you really alright?”

“So you’re out of options now? Planning to stage a mutual slaughter?” Jiang Zilin leaned against a tree, confident he would claim their lives and their jade tokens. “Don’t worry, I’ll take your tokens before you die.”

Thwack!

The bow was drawn to its limit and released!

Draw, release!

Draw, release again!

Wang Xi lost count of how many times she’d drawn the bow. Qiao Yu didn’t die—not only was he alive, she could vaguely see a vortex of energy swirling above his head…

Was he about to ascend again?

She shot arrow after arrow, torn between envy and jealousy.

All of this was, of course, noticed by Jiang Zilin. Soon enough, the smile faded from his face.

“Sister, step aside.”

“Oh.” Wang Xi’s hands were sore from drawing the bow, but finally Qiao Yu called for a stop.

“Senior Brother?” Wang Xi was puzzled, because what Qiao Yu held in his hand wasn’t a sword, but a blade, which he brandished directly at Jiang Zilin.

Jiang Zilin was momentarily stunned, then laughed. “Is this all you can do?”

“My master said, my grandfather said, and even Senior Song Ren reminded me—I won’t die so easily,” Qiao Yu said, his own laughter growing as wild as Jiang Zilin’s. “So, I won’t let you off.”

…

The red worms gradually retreated, leaving only five skeletons on the ground, their attire barely revealing their identities.

Wen Jinge gathered the scales. Light returned to the land, but the hole in the earth remained—dark and gaping, as if leading to another unknown world.

The barrier was gone. The demonic aura was gone. Wen Jinge looked at the five skeletons, the words of Beimo Ling before her soul dissipated echoing in her mind: “I will return!”

It sounded oddly familiar, though she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it.

No matter—it hardly concerned Wen Jinge whether she returned. All Beimo Ling needed to remember was that it was Qiao Yu who killed her.

“Since you can’t leave, I’ll send you back myself!” Wen Jinge picked up their bones one by one, tossing them into the pit. When no one was watching, she looked at the hole thoughtfully. “This seems a bit inconsiderate!”

Muttering to herself, she pulled out a pile of clothes from her spatial ring, tore them into strips, and used branches to fence off the hole, erecting a flag: “Evil spirits within! Proceed with caution! Personally verified—extremely dangerous!”

“Farewell, seniors!”

Wen Jinge didn’t have a jade token with her, believing everything was flawlessly handled. She didn’t expect the trouble inside the illusion to be far more than she imagined, nor that her senior brothers and sisters were meticulously investigating every anomaly behind each jade token.

The primary focus was Qiao Yu, and as Song Qian—who had encountered Qiao Yu at the outset—lacked a jade token, every image-capturing crane available was summoned to reconstruct her movements.

Shan Hongxing was glum, weighed down by worry.

Bai Teng glanced at Liang Si standing behind Ai Fengling, then at Ai Fengling himself. Among their sect, only Ai Xiaoqi and Wen Xiaowu were particularly close. Although Liang Si, Wen Xiaowu’s disciple, was usually a bit wooden, he wasn’t without personality. But the one standing behind Ai Fengling now looked more like a puppet than a person.

“Did Wen Xiaowu know something would happen in there?” Fan Zifan pondered aloud as he pointed at the sign she had left. He felt as if he’d forgotten something important about this place. “Didn’t our master say this entrance needed repairs while he was alive?”

Huo Yongfei nodded, the memory returning. “Before our master passed, he did tell us to go inside. After you and I took over the sect, there was so much to do, we forgot. That’s my oversight.”

“I’m not blameless either,” Fan Zifan shook his head, anxiety written all over his face. “How long until that Demon Lord is unleashed?”

“Ten years at best, a hundred at most—who can say? The karma of our master’s generation couldn’t be altered; what can we, the next, possibly do?” Song Huan pointed at the hole in the image stone, then at Wen Jinge’s retreating figure. His eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait, what’s she doing? Quick, fetch the divination disk—I think I remember a formation now.”

“If Senior Sister went in, she’ll be fine.” With things in such chaos, Ai Fengling felt it didn’t matter whether the truth was concealed. Aside from their late master, no one dared reprimand his senior sister, and she hadn’t gone in to favor any disciple but to secure the barrier.

“She…” Huo Yongfei smiled helplessly. “She’s actually learned divination.”

“Senior Sister is always exceptional,” Ai Fengling replied, his faith in Wen Jinge absolute, even though she always seemed unreliable.

“You! Just wait until you’re sold out and counting the money for her!” Shan Hongxing rolled her eyes. “I don’t see what’s so good about her.”

“She can make money!” Song Huan’s mind always worked in tangents, his intelligence flickering in and out. Pointing at Wen Jinge’s departing form, he shouted, “Wow! That’s Senior Sister Wen!”

Everyone: …

“Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?” Song Huan was confused. He pointed at his divination disk, then at the ugly man in the image stone. “I’m right! That’s Senior Sister Wen. I’ve seen her use those steps before—she said it was a demon-suppressing technique. I was just too slow to learn when she demonstrated.”

Everyone: …

“It really is Senior Sister Wen, you must believe me!” Song Huan grew increasingly anxious. “It’s just disguise, not some profound energy technique! She used to go down the mountain in disguise to sell medicinal cabbages all the time!”

Fan Zifan took a deep breath. Sometimes, even breathing could be a kind of pain.