After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Suspicion

If she was protective of her food, so be it. After all, this ancestor’s life was tied directly to her own. As long as the woman ate well, drank well, took her medicine, and recuperated until she was healthy enough not to cause Yingxia’s sudden death, Yu Yingxia would indulge her in anything.

However, she didn’t fetch the sweet soup immediately. Based on her understanding of Yan Huaixi lately, once the villain had something sweet, she would refuse to touch the bitter medicine.

In this regard, the “Living Yama” who could stop a child’s midnight crying was harder to coax than an actual toddler. Having fallen for this trick once before, Yu Yingxia softened her voice and said, “My Lord, drink the medicine first. Once you’re finished, your subordinate will fetch the sweet soup immediately.”

Yan Huaixi, leaning against the bed, turned her head to look at Yu Yingxia. The warmth in her eyes turned icy. This time, however, Yu Yingxia wasn’t afraid. This happened at least once a day; Yan Huaixi’s only saving grace was that she never truly got angry over the matter of taking medicine.

Realizing she could no longer intimidate the girl, Yan Huaixi let out a light snort, picked up the bowl with an expressionless face, and drained it in one go.

Since her successful coup at the Changsheng Sect, she had never touched bitter medicinal broth; if she had to take medicine, it was always in the form of pills. She loathed the taste of medicine—it brought back memories she’d rather forget.

Guardian Yu should have known this. Yet, this version of the Guardian—seemingly more obedient than before—was actually becoming increasingly bold. Yan Huaixi began to suspect that this was the girl’s way of testing her bottom line, bit by bit.

If Yu Yingxia knew what the villain was thinking, she would have cried out in injustice. If she could, she would have used pills too! At least then she wouldn’t have to engage in a daily battle of wits and courage. Unfortunately, the original owner had no talent for alchemy, and Yingxia had no such knowledge. Even if she did, all her power had been fed to the system; she didn’t have the strength to fire up an alchemy furnace.

Taking the empty bowl, Yu Yingxia flashed a smile of relief. This smile was genuine. Yan Huaixi felt that the way the girl looked at her was like looking at a child who had finally decided to behave.

Truly becoming more and more bold. Yan Huaixi narrowed her eyes dangerously. It was only when Yu Yingxia brought a spoonful of sweet soup—with an extra scoop of sugar—to her lips that the sharp edges softened. Like a large feline having its fur smoothed, she relaxed.

By coincidence, Yu Yingxia noticed that Yan Huaixi and Fang Yuetong had remarkably similar tastes. Both liked mung bean soup, hated red bean soup, and both meticulously picked out the apricots when drinking fruit-based soups.

Yu Yingxia wondered… was it just her imagination, or did Yan Huaixi and Fang Yuetong actually look a bit alike?

Noticing Yingxia’s expression becoming strange and her movements slowing, Yan Huaixi frowned. “What are you thinking about?”

This increasingly odd and bold Guardian did have some merits. Firstly, her cooking was excellent. Secondly, she could serve as a makeshift incense burner. As Yan Huaixi leaned back, being personally fed spoonful by spoonful, the distance between them was small. In this airtight little room, besides the nauseating smell of medicine, Yan Huaixi could “scent” a faint, ethereal fragrance of peach blossoms.

This was likely why she tolerated the girl’s repeated attempts to coax and trick her into drinking medicine. With Yu Yingxia around, she could block out the pervasive, unidentifiable stench of malice that drifted from elsewhere.

It seemed even this town at the foot of the immortal mountain hid practitioners of great evil.

“I was thinking that you and Fang Yuetong look somewhat alike,” Yu Yingxia blurted out.

“Cough, cough—!” Yan Huaixi seemed to choke. She covered her lips and coughed violently. Yu Yingxia hurriedly set the bowl down to pat her back, but her hand hesitated mid-air out of caution.

She remembered when she first carried Yan Huaixi out, the system said the villain’s “Intent to Kill” had exceeded the maximum value. Though she didn’t know why the woman hadn’t struck then, Yingxia had definitely hovered at death’s door.

Later, when Yan Huaixi first woke from her coma, Yingxia had been applying medicine to her. The newly awakened woman had suddenly seized her throat and slammed her to the floor. Yingxia’s head had hit the ground so hard it still throbbed occasionally. At that moment, Yan Huaixi had looked like a vengeful spirit crawling out of hell. The wounds she had just bandaged burst open, blood dripping onto Yingxia’s face.

In that close proximity, their breaths tangled, smelling of thick blood. Yu Yingxia had seen the churning crimson in Yan Huaixi’s eyes the classic look of a “Qi Deviation” or “Demonic Possession.”

The system was gone then, and Yingxia was helpless. Just as she thought she was about to be strangled, the woman suddenly let go. She had flashed a chilling smile, her eyes terrifying. “Sorry. I thought it was an enemy.”

Yu Yingxia had coughed uncontrollably, tears blurring her vision. Looking at Yan Huaixi, she felt that expression wasn’t a misunderstanding at all! Yan Huaixi was treating her as an enemy!

Back in the present, Yan Huaixi wiped her hand on Yingxia’s clothes after coughing, her disgust palpable. Yu Yingxia snapped out of her memories. Those incidents proved Yan Huaixi loathed her touch, so she kept a careful distance.

However, she didn’t expect to see blood seeping through Yan Huaixi’s fingers after the coughing fit.

Yu Yingxia gasped. “I’ll go find a doct— a physician!”

Yan Huaixi grabbed her. “Don’t go. A local physician can’t treat my injuries, and it would only risk exposing us.”

“But… what if your condition worsens?” Yu Yingxia knew she was right, but the patient’s state was terrifying to behold.

“It’s fine. It won’t be an issue.” Yan Huaixi pulled the corner of her mouth into a smirk. She looked at the worried girl. Yingxia’s expression didn’t seem fake; she looked genuinely concerned about her health.

But isn’t my current condition thanks to her? Why play the saint now?

Originally, as long as Yan Huaixi’s spiritual power remained, she could have actively healed herself. But she had lost consciousness because a massive amount of power was suddenly drained from her. When she woke, her meridians were nearly dry, which was why she was now coughing blood just from speaking a few words.

And the culprit who took her power was this “innocent” looking Yu Yingxia.

As a Soul Cultivator, Yan Huaixi’s perception of souls was acute. She suspected something had happened to this Yu Yingxia. Yet, whenever she gathered a bit of power to peer into the girl’s soul, it was like looking at a flower through a fog. Something was blurring the girl’s soul. On the surface, it looked unchanged, but any deep investigation met a mist.

The old Guardian Yu didn’t have such means. Perhaps someone had replaced her, or someone was controlling her. Which faction was behind this Yu Yingxia? A rival from the Demonic Path? Or that old fossil from the Tianqiu Sect? It certainly wasn’t that little girl Fang Yuetong if she had the brains for this, she wouldn’t still be unaware that her enemy was right beside her.

Yan Huaixi could feel that the Puppet Seal was still inside Yu Yingxia. With a single thought, she could kill her. Therefore, she wasn’t afraid of “nurturing a tiger that would cause trouble,” nor did she mind taking the time to play this game.

Wait until the day this Yu Yingxia bared her fangs. She would pull her claws and teeth, extract her soul, and turn it into an incense pill that smelled of peach blossoms forever!

Yu Yingxia suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She looked back, but the windows were all closed. Why did she feel so cold?

“My wounds seem to have reopened,” Yan Huaixi said calmly, as if she weren’t talking about her own body.

Sure enough, the clothes over her chest were becoming damp with blood. Yu Yingxia immediately dragged the medicine box from under the bed. By now, she was an expert at treating Yan Huaixi’s wounds.

“My Lord, may I re-dress your wounds?”

Yan Huaixi didn’t mind. She unfastened her robes, revealing gruesome scars and a large expanse of snow-white skin. Yu Yingxia’s face flushed slightly. She instinctively averted her gaze before forcing herself to focus on the injuries.

Cough… you’re just treating a patient. Don’t overthink, don’t over-look, or this Living Yama might gouge your eyes out!

The thought of that image made Yingxia shiver, and any stray thoughts vanished.

She carefully removed the soaked bandages. There was a sword wound near the heart—the most serious of all. For some reason, while other injuries healed relatively quickly, this one refused to close and would burst open at the slightest movement. Yingxia’s movements were incredibly gentle, as if she were handling a cracked porcelain doll.

“Why won’t this wound heal? Is the medicine wrong?” Yu Yingxia frowned.

“This was left by that girl from the Tianqiu Sect. There is residual Sword Intent in the wound. Her Sword Intent is domineering; it is constantly tearing at my healing flesh. It won’t heal anytime soon.” Yan Huaixi’s expression was unreadable. “Can’t you see the Sword Intent on my wound?”

Eh? So it was Sword Intent?

Yu Yingxia had felt a sense of discomfort when looking at the wound, like a needle pricking her eyes, but she had assumed it was just psychological distress from seeing such a nasty injury. It turned out to be the lingering Sword Intent!

That must hurt so much…

“Your subordinate is dim-witted and failed to recognize it.” Yu Yingxia carefully cleaned the blood and began to sprinkle new medicinal powder.

The powder stung, but for Yan Huaixi, pain was a lifelong companion. At least she had medicine now. When she was a child, if she was injured, the second Sect Master of the Changsheng Sect would simply throw her into an unidentified liquid full of poisonous creatures.

As she thought of her childhood, the gloom in Yan Huaixi’s eyes deepened. As the powder fell, her body trembled. Then, she felt a soft, gentle breath blowing across the wound.

The coolness seemed to carry away some of the pain. Yan Huaixi turned her head to look at Yu Yingxia. The girl’s lowered eyelashes trembled occasionally; her expression was full of focus and tenderness. Every movement was careful. Though she asked no questions, she adjusted her strength based on Yan Huaixi’s reactions.

Even the murderous aura Yan Huaixi had developed from her traumatic memories began to settle involuntarily. If one ignored the schemes and malice, this moment could almost be considered a rare peace.

Support After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain