After Redeeming The Beautiful and Tragic Heroine [Transmigration] - Chapter 32

Outside the Demon Prison Pavilion, the sky was just starting to get light.

Yu Yuan remembered that the system had still been in the form of a husky when she left the Soul Annihilation Array. She realized that the flow of time inside the array was different from the outside world.

Two days and a night inside the Soul Annihilation Array was only a mere two hours outside.

Two hours. This meant Yu Qinzhong wouldn’t discover that she had sneaked into the Demon Prison Pavilion.

Yu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. She hooked her finger under the thin string of the Sect Master’s token, swinging it gently while she started to figure out how to return this burning hot potato.

Should she slip it back while Yu Qinzhong was asleep? Or maybe she should toss it into a patch of weeds and let Yu Qinzhong believe he’d lost it himself?

Yu Yuan hung her head low, agonizing over the two options.

Because of this intense concentration, she didn’t notice when Xue Qingshu suddenly stopped ahead, and she walked right into her back.

“Hiss.” A sharp pain spread across her forehead.

Yu Yuan gave a small gasp, and the hand swinging the Sect Master’s token froze.

“What is it?” she asked Xue Qingshu.

Before Xue Qingshu could answer, another person’s voice rang out first.

“What is it? That’s what I should be asking you!”

Yu Yuan: …

Yu Yuan: ?

Yu Yuan: !

She froze for a moment, then quickly realized it was Yu Qinzhong’s voice.

She sucked in a cold breath, poked her head out from behind Xue Qingshu, and looked at the person emerging from the tree shadows.

“F-Father?”

Yu Yuan’s eyes darted away, her eyes were full of guilt reflecting a pale face.

Yu Qinzhong sneered, “You still know I’m your father! Didn’t I tell you not to associate with that Phantom Demon? Why won’t you ever listen! You even pretended to be blind, do you think your father is stupid?”

Yu Yuan couldn’t come up with a reply. She could only lower her head and say, “Father, your daughter admits her mistake.”

Yu Qinzhong: …

He had lost count of how many times he’d heard those four words: “Your daughter admits her mistake.”

Yet, every time, Yu Yuan was exactly the same: sincere in her apology, but absolutely unwilling to change for the next time, specializing in overt compliance but covert defiance.

He knew this deep down, but he was helpless to do anything about her. Therefore, he could only suppress the urge to explode right there and shift his attention, looking toward Xue Qingshu. “Wen Ti, you’re here too?”

Hearing this, Xue Qingshu gave a slight nod and replied, “I went to check on A’Yuan’s studies, found she wasn’t there, and guessed she’d come here.”

Yu Qinzhong: “Is that so.”

He had indeed instructed ‘Immortal Wen Ti’ to keep an eye on Yu Yuan and prevent her from approaching the Demon Prison Pavilion.

He just hadn’t expected that despite all his precautions, she would still slip through.

Yu Qinzhong sighed heavily and then looked at Yu Yuan again. “A’Yuan, where is the Sect Master’s token? Give it back.”

If he hadn’t needed the Sect Master’s token tonight, he might not have even noticed it was missing.

Yu Yuan obediently held the Sect Master’s token out with both hands.

Yu Qinzhong took it, lightly patted her palm, his anger mostly dissipated.

Yu Yuan keenly sensed the change in Yu Qinzhong’s mood.

She cautiously lifted her gaze and tentatively asked, “Father, is this matter over now?”

Yu Qinzhong glanced at her and smiled. “It’s over.”

Yu Yuan’s eyes lit up with delight.

But in the next second, Yu Qinzhong splashed a basin of cold water on her from head to toe. “However, you still have to be punished.”

Yu Yuan: …

Yu Qinzhong put on a smiling face and said unhurriedly, “Starting today, you’ll live in Wen Ti’s Hot Spring Valley. Without Wen Ti’s permission, you are not allowed to leave the valley, not even a single step. If you do leave, I will send your shapeshifting spirit beast to the Beast Taming Peak.”

Yu Yuan: ?!

Sending the system away would be a worse punishment than being sent to the Enforcement Hall.

“Father, are you going to make your daughter live in the Hot Spring Valley indefinitely?”

Yu Yuan wanted to struggle a bit more.

Although she now knew that ‘Immortal Wen Ti’ was Xue Qingshu in disguise, she still wasn’t mentally prepared to live in the same valley as her.

Yu Qinzhong was blunt. “That depends on your behavior. If you keep worrying about that Phantom Demon, then you’ll stay in the Hot Spring Valley, and let your Master keep a close eye on you.”

“Your daughter understands.”

Yu Yuan lowered her head again, looking like a frostbitten eggplant.

Seeing her expression, Yu Qinzhong considered it for a moment and then added, “Don’t worry, I’ll send your younger sister to the Hot Spring Valley with you. The two of you sisters can keep each other company.”

Joy instantly appeared in Yu Yuan’s eyes. “Thank you, Father!”

Far away on Qinglan Peak, Yu Yan sneezed. “Achoo! Which little brat is cursing me?”

*******

Outside the Hot Spring Valley, it was incredibly quiet.

Two disciples, practicing their bamboo flutes for the sect competition, stopped in an open space outside the valley.

The disciple in the blue robe looked around, feeling strange. “Why are there so few people today?”

Normally, there would be at least twenty or thirty people outside the Hot Spring Valley. It was a highly sought-after spot for practicing spiritual tools.

But today, the huge area was deserted, making him feel a bit uneasy.

The red-robed disciple accompanying him was also scanning the surroundings. Hearing the blue-robed disciple’s question, he spoke about something he’d heard a few days ago. “I’m not sure. I heard it has something to do with the Young Sect Master.”

“The Young Sect Master?” the blue-robed disciple was confused. “What does it have to do with her?”

The red-robed disciple withdrew his gaze from the surroundings, lowered his voice, and explained to the blue-robed disciple, “I heard from Brother Jia that the Young Sect Master has supposedly been practicing with her weird, eccentric life-bound spiritual tool in the Hot Spring Valley lately, and everyone is deliberately avoiding the area or something.”

“I see,” the blue-robed disciple realized. “The Young Sect Master always has a cold face and looks difficult to deal with. It’s normal for her to be a bit overbearing.”

The red-robed disciple nodded in agreement, then looked worried. “The Young Sect Master is so overbearing, do you think she’ll get angry if she knows we’re practicing our flutes here?”

Hearing this, the blue-robed disciple optimistically reassured his friend. “It’s fine, it’s just the two of us. If we keep the sound down, she probably won’t notice.”

With that, he raised his bamboo flute, put it to his lips, and prepared to play.

But to his surprise, before he could even play a complete note, a terrifyingly sharp and shrill clarinet sound suddenly pierced the air, drilling into his ears and the ears of the disciple next to him.

Blue-robed disciple: !

Red-robed disciple: !

Both instantly froze in place. Then, as a rush of blood surged up their throats, they exchanged a look and simultaneously bolted.

It turned out that the overbearing one wasn’t the Young Sect Master; it was the Young Sect Master’s life-bound spiritual tool!

********

Meanwhile, inside the Hot Spring Valley.

Yu Yuan was immersed in playing the clarinet, feeling like she was standing center stage in a grand music hall, with a pile of cabbages and radishes in the audience enjoying the moving music flowing from the clarinet in her hands.

She played one piece after another, feeling lost in the music for the first time.

Until a voice from one of the imaginary cabbages interrupted her.

“That belongs to the category of a lethal weapon. Using it in the sect competition is really overkill. You should switch to something else.”

Xue Qingshu looked serious.

Yu Yuan opened her eyes and met Xue Qingshu’s gaze. “Overkill? But wouldn’t it be wrong not to use my life-bound spiritual tool to fight against others?”

Xue Qingshu was about to answer.

Next to them, Yu Yan, who was sprawled on a cloud zither, spoke up, looking dazed. “Sister, there’s nothing wrong with that. Father said we can’t use our life-bound spiritual tools against Outer Sect disciples, so you should really switch to something else.”

Xue Qingshu refused to seal her own hearing, and wouldn’t let her seal hers either.

As a result, Yu Yan had been subjected to nearly half a month of this demonic sound and was emotionally exhausted.

Yu Yuan sat on the cushion opposite Yu Yan. Still feeling unsure, she asked, “What if I run into someone who isn’t an Outer Sect disciple?”

To save her own ears, Yu Yan was frank. “Sister, you’ve been practicing for nearly half a month. Even if you ran into Qin Beilu, she would probably admit defeat.”

Yu Yuan: …

“Even if I practiced for half a year and ran into her, I would be the one admitting defeat, not her.”

With that, she poured herself a cup of tea, drank it, and looked at Xue Qingshu, who was massaging her ears. “Master, how about I play one more piece?”

Xue Qingshu’s hand paused on her ear. She looked up. “What did you say?”

Yu Yuan: “I said, I’ll play one more piece.”

Xue Qingshu was silent.

Yu Yuan assumed Xue Qingshu hadn’t heard clearly and was about to repeat herself.

But then, Xue Qingshu’s voice suddenly echoed in her Sea of Consciousness. “A’Yuan, you don’t need to overthink it. This time, you’ll be facing an Outer Sect disciple.”

*******

After leaving the Demon Prison Pavilion, Xue Qingshu had kept silent about her rebirth.

Yu Yuan hadn’t pressed her.

But now, because she was playing the clarinet, she was willing to expose this information!

Yu Yuan was melancholic: Was her playing really that awful?

She pondered and considered, finally concluding: She was better suited for solitary appreciation.

But getting back to the main point, since the first person she’d face was an Outer Sect disciple, there was no need for her to continue tormenting Xue Qingshu and Yu Yan.

Because all she had to do was thoroughly study the talismans, and she could securely win the first round, absolutely guaranteeing she wouldn’t be one of the last four eliminated.

Furthermore, by winning the first round, she could skip the second round of elimination matches and also escape the ill fate of having to go on a business trip to the Hehuan Sect.

Thinking of this, Yu Yuan pulled out a stack of newly bought talismans from her storage pouch and said to Xue Qingshu, “Master, your disciple suddenly feels a bit tired. So, I’ve decided not to play the clarinet for now and draw talismans instead. May I have your permission?”

Drawing talismans? Yu Yan’s eyes lit up. She looked at Xue Qingshu and nodded so furiously she looked like a pecking chicken, practically screaming the words “Hurry up and agree” with her expression.

Xue Qingshu glanced at her, then lowered her gaze. “Granted.”

*******

In the Hehuan Sect, at the Administrative Hall.

Everyone was bustling with activity, preparing for the sect competition.

At the head of the long table, the disciple responsible for drawing lots drew two long slips from the lot cylinder in front of him and announced, “Qinglan Peak’s Yu Yuan versus Outer Sect Disciple Wei Haoran!”

The recording disciple seated below him prepared to write it down upon hearing the announcement.

But then, a different disciple suddenly spoke up, interrupting. “The Sect Master sent a message half an hour ago, instructing us to match the Young Sect Master with a Core Disciple to give her some experience.”

The recording disciple frowned and asked, “Then what about this Outer Sect Disciple Wei Haoran?”

The first disciple pondered for a moment and suggested, “How about matching him with the Second Young Sect Master?”

The lead disciple responsible for drawing lots had just drawn Yu Yan’s name and the name of a Core Disciple.

Hearing the suggestion, he quietly swapped the long slips for Yu Yuan and Yu Yan and said, “Let’s do that.”

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