After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Compatriots

As bowl after bowl of blood and medicine were fed to her, Yu Yingxia’s symptoms began to improve. Once the sensation of being roasted in a furnace vanished, she no longer resisted the metallic taste of the blood so fiercely.

Yan Huaixi, whose lips had been swollen for several days, could finally go out and face people again. Her physician, Jiang Li, spent every day pretending to be blind, walking with her head down for fear of seeing something she shouldn’t and being “quietly dealt with” by her Master.

The poison had been cleared from Yingxia’s internal organs. Combined with the Master’s blood and a steady diet of tonics three times a day, she should have regained consciousness by now. Yet, as the days passed, Yingxia remained in a deep slumber. Jiang Li, who had confidently promised she would wake in three days, grew increasingly terrified.

She felt that if Yu Yingxia didn’t wake up soon, the Master would lose her patience. Despite using every medical trick she knew, there was no progress. Jiang Li began to doubt herself had she made a mistake during the treatment?

Yu Yingxia, I’m begging you, call me your ancestor if you want, just open your eyes!

Unfortunately, Jiang Li’s frantic prayers didn’t reach Yingxia’s consciousness. Having escaped the “furnace,” Yingxia’s spirit was enjoying a period of lazy rest, drifting in a cradle woven by an unknown hand.

What Jiang Li didn’t know was that the person responsible for this prolonged slumber was the very Master standing behind her! As a master of the Soul Path, Yan Huaixi had easily woven a nourishing cradle for Yingxia’s consciousness, though even she hadn’t expected Yingxia to “sleep in” for seven full days.

On the seventh night, a persistent, annoying sound began to haunt Yingxia’s peaceful rest. No matter how she tried to block it out, it wouldn’t leave.

Crunch, crunch. Tear… crunch, crunch.

Part of Yingxia’s consciousness woke up reluctantly. Who is eating potato chips?!

That thin, crispy sound, the crinkle of a plastic bag being torn open… it sounded exactly like someone was sitting by her ear, finishing one bag after another. Wait, am I not in ancient times? How can there be potato chips and plastic packaging?

Yingxia’s spirit snapped awake. Her body remained asleep, but her soul appeared in a dim, empty space. Beyond the immediate area was a thick mist. Beneath her feet was not solid ground, but something like grey clouds. One word jumped into her mind: Chaos.

“Who’s there!” Yingxia spotted a movement in the mist and stood on guard.

A small, blurry figure emerged. As it drew closer, Yingxia realized it was… a book. Specifically, it was the “unreadable” Soul Path manual Sister Yang had given her. It appeared that the two volumes were now merged into one.

Crunch.

The sound was definitely coming from the manual. A book eating chips? Yingxia thought she might be losing her mind.

“Excuse me…” she ventured. “Is there something you want?”

The manual was silent for a long time. Yingxia was about to give up when a soft sigh echoed from the book. It was the voice of a woman.

“We have a bit of fate, you and I. Let me introduce myself: I am Yan Qingxu, the creator of this technique. I wonder if you’ve heard of me?”

Yan Qingxu? Yingxia gasped. This wasn’t a ghost; it was a deity! The legendary ancestor of the Yan family who had ascended to immortality a thousand years ago.

“I greet the Immortal,” Yingxia said respectfully.

The manual bobbed in the air. “No need for formalities. I don’t care about that. Relax.”

Crunch, crunch. The sound returned. Yingxia, having been in this world for so long, felt a pang of nostalgia for junk food. She asked instinctively, “Do they have potato chips in the Immortal Realm?”

Crinkle! She heard the sound of a plastic bag being folded quickly.

The woman in the book stayed silent for an awkward moment before asking, “Do you want some?”

Yingxia asked a practical question: “Can I actually eat them?”

“No,” Yan Qingxu replied flatly. “We are in different worlds.”

Then why even ask? Yingxia thought.

“Ahem… it’s hard to cross between worlds, but not impossible. If you master the technique I left behind, you’ll have a chance to choose to go home when you ascend. I’ll treat you then!”

Yingxia caught the key detail. “Are you… from the same place as me?”

“Smart girl~”

No wonder the Immortal spoke so casually! It seemed the system running this world was indeed full of bugs.

“But I can’t practice Soul Path techniques,” Yingxia said. “I’ve tried and failed every time.”

“Of course you failed. You and I are ‘Souls from Another World.’ We are excluded from the laws of this world. Local techniques follow the Heavenly Dao of this realm, but we are ‘illegal immigrants.’ We’re blacklisted by the local laws. It took me a long time to figure that out,” Yan Qingxu sighed.

“Later, while dodging lightning bolts from the heavens every day, I developed this manual. Only souls from outside this world can practice it. You haven’t tried this one yet, have you?”

Yingxia realized she hadn’t. She had initially failed to understand it and then turned to the “local” manuals Yan Huaixi gave her. She had been sitting on a treasure this whole time.

“It’s not too late. Good luck,” Yan Qingxu laughed. “You’re luckier than I was. I had to endure centuries without a smartphone or junk food before I found a breakthrough.”

A seed of hope sprouted in Yingxia’s heart. “Can I really go back?”

“Absolutely,” the Immortal confirmed.

Returning to a peaceful world was the best news Yingxia had heard since arriving. But… a red figure flashed through her mind. Yan Huaixi was the most vivid part of her life here. Despite the fear, she had grown used to “petting the cat’s fur.”

Do I actually feel… reluctant to leave? Yingxia nearly laughed at herself. Why would she want to keep petting a tiger?

“How did you come to this world?” Yingxia asked.

“Heh, a broken system brought me here for a mission, then gave me no option to go back once it was done. It just dumped me here!” Yan Qingxu sneered. “Useless system!”

Yingxia felt a surge of kinship. “What about you? I don’t detect a system on you.”

“My mission is done, so it left me here and vanished,” Yingxia explained her situation.

Hearing that Yingxia started at a “dead end” and was abandoned by her system, Yan Qingxu took back her earlier comment. This girl had it even worse than she did.

“Anyway, since you aren’t busy with system missions, could you do me a favor?” Yan Qingxu told her a story from a thousand years ago.

The Yan family was legendary in the Soul Path. But back then, a “maniac” appeared. He wasn’t a genius in talent his was mediocre but he had a brilliant, cruel mind. He sacrificed his own clansmen to reverse his talent and became a half-ghost monster. His dark path counteracted the Yan family’s powers. When he was on the verge of success, Yan Qingxu as an outside soul returned and used her “alien” power to suppress him.

She killed him, but his energy was so stubborn she doubted he was truly gone. She left a shred of her divine sense in this manual, designed to wake up only if his power reappeared.

“And now I am awake,” Yan Qingxu said. “Which means that traitor’s power is back. He will hunt the best bloodline of the Yan family to pave his road to immortality with the bones of his kin.”

The mystery was solved. Yingxia realized the traitor was the thing the original owner met in the ruins—the one whose subordinate gave her the “dirty bead.”

“Before I collapsed… that thing left a soul servant to watch me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. The little ghost became the sacrifice that woke me up.”

Yingxia relaxed, then worried again. “But won’t that alert him?”

“Probably, but it was unavoidable. You need to start practicing my technique immediately. It’s the only thing that can stop him.”

Yan Qingxu continued, “I can’t go back now, so I want you to look after the Yan descendants for me.”

Yingxia’s expression became complicated. “I have good news and bad news. Which first?”

“Bad news,” Yan Qingxu sighed.

“The bad news is that the Yan family was massacred decades ago. Only one orphan girl remains.”

There was a long silence. Finally, Yan Qingxu sighed. “And the good news?”

“The good news is that she is very powerful. If she’s in a good mood, I’m actually hoping she’ll look after me.” Yingxia had trouble imagining herself “protecting” the Great Villainess.

“Don’t be so sure. Everything has a counter. Against that traitor, her power will be restricted. Destiny led me to you for a reason,” Yan Qingxu said. “If that child is the last bloodline, he will come for her.”

“I will do my best to help her,” Yingxia promised. Even without the puppet seal, she wanted to help Yan Huaixi.

“No wonder she bleeds herself every day to keep you alive,” Yan Qingxu noted warmly.

Bleeds herself? Before Yingxia could ask, the light from the manual faded.

“Thank you, little sister. I leave my great-great-great-grand-niece to you~” The voice vanished.

The manual fell, and as Yingxia tried to catch it, it felt as heavy as a mountain, dragging her down. After a sensation of weightlessness, the manual turned into a star and entered her forehead.

Yingxia snapped her eyes open this time in her physical body. Her mouth was filled with the bitterness of medicine and the iron taste of blood. She looked up to see Yan Huaixi holding her, a fresh, unhealed wound on Yan’s wrist.

She is feeding me her own blood. Yingxia’s eyes widened.

Yan Huaixi hadn’t expected the girl to wake up so suddenly while still in her arms. It was an inappropriately close position for a “traitor.” With a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, she didn’t know how to pull away without losing her dignity.

She had planned to interrogate Yingxia or set a trap, but the sudden awakening threw her off. Her hand shook, causing Yingxia to choke. Yingxia leaned over the bed, coughing violently.

Yan Huaixi set the bowl down and patted Yingxia’s back, then immediately regretted being so “soft” on a traitor. She tried to pull her arm away, but Yingxia’s weak hand caught her.

“Let go,” Yan Huaixi whispered, glaring.

“No,” Yingxia replied. It was her first time talking back.

Yingxia sat up, leaning against the bed. She pulled up Yan Huaixi’s sleeve and saw the fresh scars on her wrist. For a master like Yan, a normal wound should heal instantly; the fact that these were visible meant they were constant and new.

She traced the scars. Yan Huaixi flinched—not from pain, but from the strange “itch” of Yingxia’s touch. Yan felt her skin burning, and the undisguised pity in Yingxia’s eyes made her heart race. She yanked her hand back and hid it under her sleeve.

“Master, your wounds…”

“None of your business,” Yan Huaixi snapped, her last bit of stubbornness.

Yingxia opened her mouth, but was cut off. She didn’t understand why the “Great Cat” was suddenly bristling.

“Fine, but you need medicine for those wounds,” Yingxia tried to soothe her, but Yan stood up, pulling her sleeve completely away.

“Master?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t die from such a small injury.”

Yingxia saw the gloom in Yan’s eyes and felt the sarcasm in her voice. She felt like she was dealing with a moody cat and had no idea why.

Just then, Jiang Li knocked and entered. She was flooded with relief to see Yingxia awake. “Guardian… you’re finally awake! The Master was worried sick! She fed you bowl after bowl of blood, and I thought my recipe had failed!”

“Jiang Li!” Yan Huaixi barked, too late to stop her secret from being blurted out.

Yingxia smiled slightly. Even a moody cat hides its concern. “And this Miss Jiang is…?”

“A doctor,” Yan Huaixi said, her glare cold enough to freeze Jiang Li solid.

“A doctor? Perfect. Dr. Jiang, do you have any topical ointment? Her wounds need care,” Yingxia said gently.

Jiang Li had prepared some, but Yan Huaixi hated the smell of medicine and usually ignored her own injuries. “I don’t need it,” Yan frowned, but Yingxia had already taken her hand again.

Jiang Li froze, caught between her Master’s “no” and Yingxia’s gentle but strangely authoritative request. She looked at Yingxia the girl’s eyes were soft, yet her tone held a weight that almost matched the Master’s. Is this the same Guardian Yu I know?

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