After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 14

After Yin Ruolan left, Wen Banxia looked around her empty room and suddenly felt it was too vacant and lonely. She stepped out again and headed to a tavern outside the demon palace, ordering a jar of wine to drink alone.

Xiao Qiu’s memories of her were now pitifully few. Even when Wen Banxia brought up the past, though Xu Jingqiu responded, there was a certain carelessness in her tone.

And why not? Xu Jingqiu had been reborn anew. What did the past hold for her besides pain? Nothing at all.

Perhaps it was for the best that she forgot. Not remembering those sorrowful events was a blessing only the beautiful moments remained, now cherished by Wen Banxia alone as her solitary memories.

But were such memories still complete?

Wen Banxia smiled bitterly, downed another bowl of wine, and couldn’t help but sigh. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, a trace of resentment lingered within her. What would change even if Xu Jingqiu remembered everything?

It would already be an act of immense generosity if Xu Jingqiu didn’t hate her.

At this thought, her grip on the wine bowl tightened, almost crushing it. If only there were no such thing as fate would they have still ended up like this? Even if they could only be ordinary sisters, at least she could have stood by Xiao Qiu’s side.

Instead of watching her walk away with someone else, growing more distant with each step.

There seemed to be some commotion outside, but Wen Banxia paid it no mind. After finishing her wine, she placed a spirit stone on the table and turned to leave.

Xu Jingqiu’s sleep lasted a bit longer than usual. The next day, Wen Banxia deliberately wandered by her place but only received a wary and hostile glare from Yin Ruolan, without catching a glimpse of the person she longed to see.

After wandering around outside, Wen Banxia returned to the tavern with a box of peach blossom pastries. She had come here for Xu Jingqiu in the first place, and with Xu Jingqiu still asleep, she truly didn’t know what else to do.

But today, her drinking was far from peaceful.

Sitting across from her was someone who acted as if they were old acquaintances, wearing a familiar smile and an unchanged face. Wen Banxia dropped all pretense, her eyes icy cold. “So you’re back. Truly unexpected.”

Ai Yanran smiled faintly and nodded nonchalantly. “Is that so? Well, it was you all who joined forces to kill me. But it’s fine, I don’t mind.”

With that, Ai Yanran suddenly leaned forward, closing the distance between them, a crazed grin spreading across her face. “Because I love you all equally!”

Wen Banxia showed no reaction, calmly taking another sip of wine before replying indifferently, “Hah, only you would believe such nonsense. Why have you come to find me?”

Ai Yanran retracted her manic laughter, reverting to her usual gentle and approachable demeanor. “I’ve come to discuss a collaboration with dear Banxia, of course!”

“Wen Banxia. Call me by my full name or ‘Young Sect Master,’” Wen Banxia said coldly, suppressing the urge to kill. “We are not familiar. It seems now, heh, you’ve finally dropped the act.”

Hearing this, Ai Yanran feigned hurt. “I thought we were already quite close. How can you say that? I’ve always treated you all with such sincerity.”

Wen Banxia suddenly felt as if talking to a madwoman made her just as insane. With a flick of her sleeve, she stood up to leave, only to be stopped by the voice behind her: “Actually, the reason I came to seek cooperation with you is related to Xu Jingqiu.”

“What do you want?” Wen Banxia immediately summoned her spirit sword, pointing it directly at Ai Yanran. Fortunately, the tavern was nearly empty today, with only the owner anxiously glancing over, worried about his tables and chairs being damaged. No commotion had been stirred.

Ai Yanran maintained her insincere smile: “Don’t you like her? It’s just that you only realized this feeling after she left, isn’t it? What you feel for her isn’t sisterly affection at all. You’ve liked her since a very, very long time ago.”

Wen Banxia didn’t deny it: “So what? What does it have to do with you? Isn’t part of the reason we ended up like this because of you?”

Ai Yanran: “Oh, don’t say that. If it weren’t for me, would you have ever realized these feelings?”

Wen Banxia let out a cold laugh and pressed her sword forward slightly: “You actually have the nerve to say that.”

“Don’t you want her to belong entirely to you? To you alone.” Ai Yanran chuckled softly, her voice tinged with a bewitching allure. Unnoticed, her pupils had turned purple.

Wen Banxia sensed the familiar, hypnotic influence and silently steeled her mind, pretending to be affected as she lowered her sword: “Do you have a way?”

“Of course, I do,” Ai Yanran whispered. “You already know, don’t you? About her memory loss.”

Inside the Demon Palace.

By the time Xu Jingqiu woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. She had indeed slept for quite a while. Perhaps it was because Wen Banxia had prompted her to recall the past earlier, but she actually remembered a few things from before.

Shaking her head, Xu Jingqiu pinched the bridge of her nose and deftly tossed Xiao Bai, who was still fast asleep on top of her into his little nest. She then got out of bed and noticed the peach blossom pastries on the table. Her mouth instantly began to water.

She glanced at Xiao Bai’s head and noticed a patch of missing fur, clearly plucked by someone.

Xu Jingqiu: “…”

She had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

The door creaked open softly as Yin Ruolan entered. Hearing the noise, Xiao Bai drowsily lifted his head. The moment he saw her, he instantly woke up, let out a disdainful “hmph,” and turned to face the corner, presenting his backside to her.

But Yin Ruolan paid him no mind, her attention entirely focused on Xu Jingqiu. “You’re awake? Would you like something to eat?”

As she spoke, Yin Ruolan waved the package in her hand. “There are some red bean buns in here too. You can have whichever you like.”

Scolding herself inwardly, Xu Jingqiu asked, “Can I have both?”

“You can, but only half of each,” Yin Ruolan replied, setting down the red bean buns and unwrapping them with a serious expression. “Eating too much isn’t good for your health.”

Xu Jingqiu’s face fell instantly, and she muttered under her breath without thinking, “You sound exactly like her.”

Yin Ruolan immediately grew wary. “Who?”

Xu Jingqiu snapped back to reality. “Huh? Who who?”

Yin Ruolan hesitated for a moment, then said with a sour tone, “No one. Hurry up and eat.” With that, she swiftly took away half of the pastries to prevent Xu Jingqiu from sneaking extra bites.

Xu Jingqiu quickly freshened up and then sat at the table, slowly savoring the food. At first, Xiao Bai maintained an attitude of “I couldn’t care less about this,” but eventually, unable to resist the temptation, it crouched by the table, watching eagerly.

Even under such intense scrutiny, Xu Jingqiu felt not the slightest pang of guilt. The little creature was just putting on an act, it simply couldn’t resist indulging its appetite.

Casually picking up an empty paper bag, Xu Jingqiu used her ability to decompose and reconstruct it into a spirit stone, which she then tossed to Xiao Bai. Delighted, Xiao Bai immediately snatched it and scurried back to its nest to gnaw on it.

Watching this person who would rather use her ability than part with her sweets, Yin Ruolan couldn’t help but chuckle softly. She sighed helplessly and ruffled Xu Jingqiu’s hair. “You really have a sweet tooth, don’t you?”

“Is it that good?”

Xu Jingqiu pushed the last two pieces toward Yin Ruolan and thought for a moment before replying, “It’s alright. I just like it. Someone used to buy it for me often. Over time, it became a habit. Sometimes I wonder if eating this might help me remember something from the past.”

There were times when she genuinely wanted to recall who that person was, who her parents were, and where this ability of hers came from.

She was certain that before losing her memories, she had been an ordinary person. Yet, she knew nothing about that life, and no one else seemed to know either.

Yin Ruolan took the two pieces of dessert and took a small bite. Though it was sweet, it carried a faint bitterness on her tongue, mirroring the melancholy in her heart.

Later, a soldier suddenly arrived to report that a delegation from Penglai had arrived at Heiyun City with urgent matters to discuss. The delegation was waiting outside the city gates, but their leader had already entered the city after registering and was now whereabouts unknown.

Yin Ruolan had considered the possibility that they were here to collect a debt, but so what? They wouldn’t find any evidence, and even if they did, she would never hand anyone over.

If Penglai wanted a fight, she was more than willing to oblige.

“Let the delegation in and arrange for them to be ‘properly’ accommodated,” Yin Ruolan said calmly. “As for their leader, we’ll go meet them ourselves.”

The soldier understood her meaning and nodded before taking his leave. Xu Jingqiu, however, was still a bit confused.

“We? I’m going too?”

Yin Ruolan nodded. “To prevent them from bringing up the marriage alliance again. I already have someone in my heart.”

After helping Xu Jingqiu with her makeup and personally styling her, Yin Ruolan set out with her, also instructing Xiao Bai to revert to its original form.

“This should serve as a bit of a deterrent,” Yin Ruolan explained matter-of-factly.

But Xu Jingqiu felt that she was just being possessive and didn’t want her holding Xiao Bai. Still, she didn’t object. Facing Xiao Bai’s silent protest, she simply said, “You’re on your own.”

Xiao Bai: “Hmph.” It reluctantly transformed back to its original form.

When they arrived at the meeting hall, they were surprised to find Wen Banxia there as well and the other person turned out to be Ai Yanran!

With just one glance, Xu Jingqiu confirmed, “It’s the original one, not one of the later replacements.”

Yin Ruolan nodded to indicate she understood. She exchanged a subtle glance with Wen Banxia before leading Xu Jingqiu to sit beside her. As expected, she noticed Ai Yanran’s forced smile stiffen.

After that came the hollow pleasantries. Yin Ruolan directly took out the remaining half of the dessert and began feeding Xu Jingqiu while perfunctorily responding to the conversation.

This exchange successfully left both parties with rather unpleasant expressions.

“…” Ai Yanran took a deep breath, composed her expression, and forced a polite smile. “Actually, the main reason for our visit is that we have discovered a secret realm, one that lies neither within human territory nor within demon territory.”

“So, you want us to send troops as well, is that it?” Yin Ruolan looked at her coldly. “But why should I dispatch anyone? Just based on your flimsy words?”

“After all, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

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