Achieving A Happy Ending With The Tragic Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 18

The gravel at her feet vibrated faintly, and a dull, distant rumbling echoed from afar.

Su Mi stood tall, her brows furrowing as she gazed into the distance. The dark ink-colored mountains were shrouded behind massive banks of mist, hazy as if veiled by a layer of gauze, showing no immediate signs of anything unusual.

A hundred yards away, the shadows of the forest swayed violently. The whistling wind tore through the air like a piercing arrow, shrill and sharp.

“What’s happening?” Su Mi asked Coal Ball.

Coal Ball hopped twice, trying its best to look into the distance as well.

【It seems a large swarm of unidentified creatures is gathering and heading this way. I suggest you avoid a frontal encounter, Master, my abilities are insufficient to shield you from them.】

Su Mi glanced back at Wanqi Yue. The latter seemed still immersed in her world of being a flower, having not yet regained her senses.

If they truly encountered danger, Su Mi feared she would have to divide her focus just to protect her in this state.

After a brief pause, Su Mi walked quickly back to Wanqi Yue’s side and undid the restraints on her hands. Su Mi no longer cared about whether it was “proper” or not, she grabbed Wanqi Yue’s hand and lifted it to signal her. “From now on, you must not let go, and you must not leave my side. Do you understand?”

Wanqi Yue looked at their joined hands. Her response to Su Mi was a firm, powerful squeeze back.

No matter what state Wanqi Yue was in, she was always willing to listen to her Eldest Senior Sister.

Su Mi led Wanqi Yue around a patch of waist-high shrubs, heading toward higher ground to get a better vantage point of their surroundings.

The higher they climbed, the thinner the vegetation became, and the horizon opened up before them.

During the trek, Su Mi looked up at the sky.

Clouds were beginning to gather, gradually forming the prototype of a vortex. It swirled slowly, much like the stone mirror that had sucked them in originally.

The rumbling in her ears was incessant, even showing signs of drawing closer.

Reaching the heights, the breeze brushed past Su Mi’s cheeks. She narrowed her eyes and could faintly see a dark, undulating mass of silhouettes moving in the opposite direction of the stream.

It was a dense, swarming herd of exotic beasts. They were racing forward in a desperate scramble. Behind them, the world looked as if it were losing its color, a greyish-white void was gradually creeping forward, like a giant beast devouring all life. Everywhere it passed, only a deathly, ashen silence remained.

Some lagging beasts were overtaken by the grey-white line, once touched, they lost all ability to move until their entire bodies turned ashen, merging into the silent, white void behind them.

Meanwhile, weaker beasts were constantly being pounced upon and bitten by their stronger kin, their roars muffled by the thunderous sound of hooves trampling over gravel.

The beasts that killed their own kind emitted low hisses from their throats. Their blood-red eyes shone like brilliant jewels, and their bodies seemed to grow sturdier, allowing them to run even faster.

Su Mi’s expression darkened at the sight. She suddenly turned her head toward the source of the upstream flow. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the ink-colored peaks hidden in the white mist seemed lighter in color than before.

Wanqi Yue was also stunned by the scene. Although her mind was affected by the flower mist, she hadn’t completely lost her senses, and she seemed to have regained a bit of logic.

“Eldest Senior Sister, we need to leave this place.”

“Yes,” Su Mi replied, her voice heavy.

They had previously discussed that this place was likely a double-sided illusion. To construct such a closed-loop illusion where the beginning meets the end, a link is required much like a rope needs a knot to form a loop.

Whether it’s a slipknot or a dead knot depends on the strength of the designer.

The link is likely the weakest point of the illusion because it is a weakness, the designer will protect it most carefully.

Su Mi carefully gauged her current condition. Her spiritual energy was at about 40% she wasn’t sure if she could manage on her own when the time came.

If Wanqi Yue could return to normal sooner, their chances of success would be higher.

The most important thing now was to find the breakthrough point.

She recalled what Wanqi Yue had said about the direction of the patterns on the stone mirror. Combined with the abnormality of the stream, those ink-colored peaks were highly suspicious. They had to investigate.

As Su Mi pondered, the beast tide advanced significantly, and the tremors beneath their feet became more pronounced.

But in the next instant, a strange thing happened. The grey-white boundary that had been devouring life suddenly stopped. The fleeing beasts didn’t notice at first, but some stragglers felt it and let out different roars. Upon hearing this, the beasts in front gradually slowed their pace.

After their long trek, the beasts showed signs of fatigue. They dispersed on the spot, crouching on the ground to rest. From afar, they looked like clusters of dark ore.

The illusion seemed to return to its previous tranquility, leaving behind only that distinct grey-white line of demarcation.

Su Mi’s eyes narrowed. She thought she saw a flash of a golden figure at the tail end of the beast herd, but it vanished in an instant.

It happened so fast she couldn’t be sure if she had actually seen it.

As dusk cloaked the land, everything around them became dark and indistinct.

No matter how much Su Mi wanted to leave, she wouldn’t recklessly scout in the pitch-black night.

Worried that the boundary might move forward again, the two did not leave their vantage point, waiting for dawn before moving on.

Wanqi Yue’s condition had improved significantly. At least after dark, she didn’t shout about wanting to dig holes. However, she became quite lethargic. As soon as night fell, she leaned against Su Mi, saying she was sleepy and that her back hurt.

Su Mi thought it might be necessary to reinforce the spiritual energy on her wound, so she told her to take off her clothes so she could check.

Wanqi Yue agreed readily enough, but she stopped halfway through the motion of undressing.

Su Mi waited for a moment without hearing any movement. When she turned around, she saw Wanqi Yue suddenly falling backward.

She lunged forward to catch her, her heart racing.

“Junior Sister?”

No response.

Wanqi Yue’s head rested against Su Mi’s neck. Perhaps feeling uncomfortable, she adjusted herself to find a better spot.

It seemed she really had just fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Afraid of water, and needing to sleep at night, she really was a delicate Clivia flower.

Su Mi saw that the sash at her waist was already untied and her clothes were loose. The hands holding her suddenly went stiff. However, since they were already half-undone.

She shifted Wanqi Yue so that they were facing each other as she held her.

Su Mi pressed the girl against her shoulder, one hand reaching around her back while her long fingers rested on the waist sash. As if making a grand resolution, she gently pulled away the final bit of fabric.

Next, the plain buttons at Wanqi Yue’s collar were undone in the dark. Though her fingers were a bit unpracticed, they were fortunately nimble.

Su Mi held her without looking at her own movements, acting as if she were merely performing a mundane task.

Her sharp features remained calm and indifferent, though the tension in her straight back betrayed her discomfort.

Su Mi’s movements were light, trying her best not to touch the skin exposed by the lack of clothing. She even used the outer layers of fabric to gingerly slide the last garment off.

She looked down at the wound on Wanqi Yue’s back. While the hugging position didn’t give her a full view, she could see enough. The spiritual energy she had left behind was indeed weakening, she had to replenish it.

To her surprise, as soon as her fingertips touched her, Wanqi Yue leaning on her shoulder, suddenly let out a soft groan.

“Eldest Senior Sister…”

Su Mi felt as if her fingertips had been scorched by Wanqi Yue’s body heat, the warmth spreading from her touch through her entire body.

“Yes?” Su Mi thought she had woken up and stopped her movements, explaining somewhat awkwardly, “I’m just checking your wound.”

Su Mi waited for a long time, but Wanqi Yue said nothing more after that one sentence. So, Su Mi resumed reinforcing the spiritual energy.

Then, the girl on her shoulder spoke again: “Eldest Senior Sister… don’t die…”

The panic and reluctance in her voice caused Su Mi’s hands to freeze.

At this moment, she felt that Wanqi Yue was more than just a mission objective, she was a living, breathing existence.

Since arriving here, Wanqi Yue’s emotions had constantly shifted because of her every action.

Similarly, Su Mi was also being continuously influenced.

“What would happen if I died here?” Su Mi suddenly asked.

【Then your mission would be considered a failure. After the system re-evaluates the ‘regression value’ of this world, it will decide whether a new staff member needs to be sent for a rescue mission.】

Every world regression is a consumption of that world’s resources. Not every world can withstand multiple regressions, so the system prioritizes saving those that are “worth it.”

【Master, there is actually an unofficial tip within the Bureau: The ‘Causality Law’ cannot erase core characters of a world through anyone other than the protagonist. Therefore, as long as you stay by the female lead’s side, you have an 89% survival rate.】

Coal Ball’s words weren’t very subtle, it was essentially suggesting that when danger strikes, Su Mi should use Wanqi Yue as a shield. After all, a world’s luck tends to tilt toward its protagonist.

This was a loophole often used by Bureau employees to increase their success rate. As long as the protagonist’s interests aren’t harmed, the system usually turns a blind eye.

Su Mi didn’t respond to Coal Ball. After finishing her work, she didn’t withdraw her hand. Instead, she moved it to the back of the girl’s shoulder, her long index finger pressing down. After a long pause, she slid it gently, letting threads of spiritual energy vanish into the skin.

In her sleep, countless disjointed fragments flashed before Wanqi Yue’s eyes, most of them stained with blood. She tried to reach out to grab the person standing in the middle of it all, but it was nothing more than a reflection in water.

Just as she looked at her empty palms in despair, something cool and refreshing seemed to wander across her back, bringing an almost unbearable tingling itch. She wanted to pull away, but she couldn’t break free.

She seemed to hear her Eldest Senior Sister’s familiar voice, though she couldn’t make out the words.

No one will die.

Su Mi did not rest during this “night.” After reinforcing Wanqi Yue’s spiritual energy and helping her back into her clothes, she remained vigilant of their surroundings.

As expected, what should have been a two-hour night was shortened to one. When a sliver of white light broke through the dark sky, Wanqi Yue slowly woke up.

When she opened her eyes, she looked a bit dazed, as if she didn’t know why she was there.

“What are you right now?” Su Mi asked her.

Wanqi Yue suppressed her internal screaming, her hand trembling as she waved it. “Eldest Senior Sister, I…”

Seeing her expression, which looked like she had been struck by lightning, Su Mi nodded understandingly. “It seems you are no longer a little flower.”

“…”

Wanqi Yue wanted to die.

But as she looked down and saw the sash at her waist, a look of confusion crossed her face. “Eh? Why is my sash tied the wrong way?”

Su Mi calmly smoothed her robes and said solemnly, “Is it?”