Achieving A Happy Ending With The Tragic Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 7

Faced with Yue Qianzhou’s display of goodwill, Su Mi did not respond. Instead, she walked slowly toward the other disciples, pointedly ignoring Yue Qianzhou’s salute.

Wanqi Yue keenly sensed that her Eldest Senior Sister seemed to dislike this man. Although the Su Mi of the past always maintained a cold, “do not approach” demeanor, she had always possessed the etiquette and poise of the Qingyang Mountain’s head disciple. She rarely acted so deliberately dismissive or went out of her way to make someone feel embarrassed.

However, Wanqi Yue felt that if her Senior Sister acted this way, there must be a reason. As a “follower” of the Eldest Senior Sister, she naturally had to follow her lead.

She decided she wouldn’t pay any attention to this man either.

Yue Qianzhou was already displeased by the blatant cold shoulder from this immortal sect’s Eldest Senior Sister. He had intended to find a breakthrough via the target he wanted to get close to, but he didn’t expect the other girl to merely glance at him before ignoring him as well.

For a moment, he could barely maintain the humble and gentle expression on his face, his back teeth clenching slightly.

Fang Yun likely sensed the awkward atmosphere and took the initiative to ease the tension, explaining to Su Mi and Wanqi Yue how this stranger ended up here.

It turned out that after Su Mi and the other left, several disciples felt indignant about the innkeepers’ schemes from the previous night. However, because they couldn’t act out and disrupt the plan, they decided to head downstairs together to see if they could find any new clues.

They happened to see this Young Master Yue inquiring with the shopkeeper about the whereabouts of his younger sister, who had been missing for a year. They overheard a bit of the conversation and saw the shopkeeper’s face darken; he impatiently claimed he knew nothing and even tried to have the workers kick the man out.

Seeing him leave the inn, two disciples quietly followed him, while another went upstairs to report to Fang Yun.

The two disciples who followed Yue Qianzhou asked a few subtle questions, but being young and naive, they were instead the ones manipulated into revealing information. Later, they quietly brought the man back and told Fang Yun what they had discovered.

According to Yue Qianzhou, he had vaguely sensed that Fang Yun’s group was extraordinary, so he revealed his identity and purpose. He claimed to come from a civilian family with a slight knowledge of Daoist arts. His younger sister had snuck away from home a year ago, and the last time her tracks were sensed was in this very place. The family had sent people several times to search for her to no avail, but he refused to give up and had come alone this time to gather information.

The more the disciples listened, the more they felt he was a fellow victim. The disciples who brought him to Fang Yun wanted her to decide whether to “help” him since the Eldest Senior Sister was away, matters were naturally left to the Second Senior Sister.

But Fang Yun did not say much upon learning this. Though she was somewhat swayed, she only stated that the matter should be discussed once the Eldest Senior Sister returned.

Fang Yun asked Yue Qianzhou to rest elsewhere while waiting for Su Mi, but Yue Qianzhou wanted to strike while the iron was hot. He tried to speak more to garner their sympathy, hoping they would agree to let him join their group before the Eldest Senior Sister returned. He hadn’t expected to run straight into Su Mi and Wanqi Yue.

Having found a place to sit after entering the room, Su Mi’s expression did not change much after hearing the story.

Aside from her, perhaps no one else would suspect that such a refined, elegant-looking man was actually a demonic cultivator known for his ruthlessness.

But everyone was waiting for her to take a stand, as the disappearance of Young Master Yue’s sister seemed like it might be connected to the case they were investigating.

Yet, the Eldest Senior Sister didn’t seem particularly moved after hearing the story. For a moment, even Fang Yun couldn’t grasp her attitude.

“Done speaking?” Su Mi asked leisurely.

Fang Yun glanced at Yue Qianzhou and nodded to Su Mi.

Su Mi finally looked up at the Male Lead, her brow furrowing slightly: “Then why hasn’t he left yet?”

As soon as these words were uttered, the expressions of everyone in the room shifted, with Yue Qianzhou’s being the most spectacular.

He hadn’t expected that even after putting on the persona of a gentleman, the type most favored by these immortal sect disciples he would still hit a wall.

This was the second time. Every time, it was this woman called the Eldest Senior Sister who disrupted his plans. He had specifically scouted earlier and learned that the Eldest Senior Sister of Qingyang Mountain hadn’t come down the mountain with the group; he didn’t know why she was here now, ruining his business over and over again.

She was truly a massive eyesore.

Although Su Mi didn’t know exactly what the Male Lead was thinking, she could mostly guess. In her mind, she asked Coal Ball (her system) if she could just kill the Male Lead and be done with it.

【You cannot, Master. Although the core figure of this world is not the Male Lead, you cannot actively erase his existence unless the action is taken by the Female Lead.】

To some extent, the staff of the Management Bureau acted more like assistants to ensure the Female Lead didn’t go astray however, making drastic changes to the major characters of a world came with countless restrictions.

A flash of regret flickered in Su Mi’s eyes.

Yue Qianzhou did not miss that ambiguous trace of regret in Su Mi’s eyes. He mistakenly thought she had finally felt a pang of pity for him in his current state, thinking he might still have a chance.

Fang Yun stepped in again to smooth things over. “Young Master Yue, we are now aware of your situation. You must be exhausted from your journey; why don’t you go and rest first?”

Understanding the situation, Yue Qianzhou did not lose his composure upon hearing these words of dismissal. Instead, he put on an understanding expression and sighed. “My sister has been away for a year. My mother has even fallen ill and is bedridden because of it, yet I cannot ease my elderly parents’ worries. If you immortals find any clues about my sister, I would be eternally grateful.”

His words were earnest, and when he mentioned his mother and sister, he looked lonely and heartbroken. One of the male disciples couldn’t help but feel pity and spoke a word of comfort. Yue Qianzhou immediately sent a grateful look his way and even pointedly looked toward Wanqi Yue’s direction.

Wanqi Yue only felt that this person was looking at her for no reason and found it quite unpleasant, so she leaned closer to Su Mi.

Su Mi, who accidentally witnessed this: “…”

Are you sure I can’t kill this Male Lead? He’s truly disgusting.

【Master, you must remain calm! You really can’t kill him, otherwise the world line will reset, and all your performance points will be deducted.】

Furthermore, Su Mi didn’t even have any performance points yet.

Su Mi simply looked away out of sight, out of mind.

After performing his “good guy” act to his satisfaction, Yue Qianzhou finally retreated from the room. He planned to stay at this inn, but first, he would have to use some “means” to make the shopkeeper agree to let him stay.

After Yue Qianzhou departed, Fang Yun asked straightforwardly, “Eldest Senior Sister, is something amiss?”

To invite a wolf into the house was, naturally, amiss. However, Su Mi had no evidence at hand; speaking out now would not be convincing to the others.

Thus, she simply brushed the fabric over her knees and replied directly, “I just don’t like the look of him. Is that not allowed?”

Fang Yun’s expression became somewhat indescribable: “…It is allowed.”

As long as it was the Eldest Senior Sister saying it, the matter became much more reasonable. After all, back at Qingyang Mountain, there were times when she wouldn’t even give the Sect Leader face.

Su Mi didn’t wish to dwell on it. Instead, she recounted what they had seen and heard at the Medical Immortal Temple to the group.

She took out the yellow protective talisman and placed it on the table. With her fair fingertips pressing down on it, she slid it to the center of the table, and everyone immediately crowded around to look.

Su Mi tapped her finger on the table: “This small array is inconspicuous. If you don’t look closely, it’s hard to detect; ordinary people wouldn’t notice it at all.”

“Eh..I’ve seen this yellow talisman before.” Qiao Wuyu leaned her head forward and pointed at the talisman on the table. “When I was checking the physical condition of that woman who fled the wedding earlier, I saw one on her person. It was crumpled from her gripping it, but I remember the pattern drawn on it was exactly like this one. When she woke up later, she said she wanted to thank me, but she couldn’t find anything on her to give, so she stuffed that protective charm into my hand, saying it would protect me.”

“Fifth Senior Sister, why didn’t you tell us then?” a disciple asked.

Qiao Wuyu rubbed her forehead: “How was I supposed to know back then? It just looked like an ordinary protective charm.”

“And then? Did you keep the charm?”

Qiao Wuyu nodded: “She was in an unstable state, so I just went along with it and took it. I put it in a storage bag on a whim.” She started rummaging through her storage bag but couldn’t find it for a long while.

At this moment, Wanqi Yue, who had been standing silently by the side, silently handed over a white pouch: “Fifth Senior Sister, are you looking for this?”

Qiao Wuyu said in surprise, “Yes, yes, yes! It’s this bag. But why is it with you, Junior Sister?”

“Fifth Senior Sister, did you forget? You complained that you were carrying too many bottles and jars, so you tossed this bag to me to look after.”

Only after hearing this did Qiao Wuyu remember that such a thing had happened.

Fang Yun: “So, whoever has this yellow talisman on them is their target?”

In essence, Wanqi Yue had unwittingly become the target in Qiao Wuyu’s stead.

Qiao Wuyu immediately felt a pang of guilt. She rushed to Wanqi Yue and began fussing over her with warm concern. The latter found such intense enthusiasm a bit hard to bear and cast a pleading “help me” look toward Su Mi.

“…Come here,” Su Mi finally spoke.

Wanqi Yue hurriedly took the opportunity to escape from Fifth Senior Sister’s clutches.

Once Wanqi Yue was over, Su Mi took the pouch from her hand and pulled out the yellow talisman that had been gripped for who knows how long. Upon inspection, it indeed contained a similar array.

“Junior Sister, you dropped something.” What Qiao Wuyu was holding was the medicinal sachet Su Mi had bought. Perhaps out of an apothecary’s instinct, Qiao Wuyu picked it up, leaned in to sniff it, and opened it to look. “There are small amounts of mugwort, calamus, dogwood… why are there so many evil-warding herbs added to this sachet?”

While these items are beneficial to the human body, in folk tradition, they are mostly used to ward off filth and evil.

“Is this city haunted?”

“Maybe someone just has a guilty conscience.”

For now, they could only speculate. If the people at the inn took further action, they might learn more by following the trail. They still had to wait.

Having been out for a while, Su Mi felt a bit fatigued. She prepared to return to her room to meditate for a bit. Before she left, Fang Yun asked how they should handle Yue Qianzhou.

“If he wants to follow, let him follow.”

Keeping this person under her gaze was better than letting him play dirty tricks behind their backs.

After returning to her room, Su Mi sat on the bed to meditate and regulate her breathing, paying no mind to what the Female Lead was doing in the room.

Seeing her unenthusiastic attitude, Coal Ball felt worried.

【Master, since you’re keeping the Male Lead nearby, you should be getting closer to the Female Lead! What if the Male Lead finds an opening?】

【The Male Lead will do whatever it takes to get close to the Female Lead to achieve his goals.】

【Master, Master? Are you listening to me?】

Su Mi didn’t really want to deal with it, but Coal Ball’s constant chattering was preventing her from finding peace. Finally, she coldly threw a “Shut up” at it, and it went silent.

When the hour of the Rat (midnight) arrived, Su Mi suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the faint fluctuation of the talisman on her palm.

The person she had marked with the tracking spell was on the move.

Su Mi immediately got up. Just as she was about to call out to Wanqi Yue, she caught a glimpse of someone slumped over the table nearby.

She walked over, subconsciously softening her footsteps.

The pale moonlight fell upon Wanqi Yue, her long lashes casting a dark shadow under her eyes. She appeared to be asleep.

Su Mi raised her hand, intending to wake her.

But as soon as her hand touched her shoulder, she felt the person beneath her palm shudder slightly. The long lashes trembled open, revealing a pair of eyes tinged with red.

Wanqi Yue’s unfocused gaze slowly centered on Su Mi. It took a long moment before she found her voice.

“Senior Sister… I think I just had a nightmare.”