After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Setting the Stage

“Eliminate the threat?” Yan Huaixi murmured the words, followed by a light chuckle.

Jiang Li was bewildered by the laugh. Did I say something wrong?

“I know everything you’ve told me,” Yan said, her eyes curving slightly with a hint of nonchalance. “If she ever truly becomes a threat, you won’t need to ask—I will kill her myself. But for now… she is just a rabbit who hasn’t learned how to bite.”

Jiang Li wanted to argue that even a rabbit had a non-zero probability of killing someone, especially the “rabbits” raised by their colleague Bai Xiao, which could snap a cultivator’s neck with ease. However, she realized the Master’s attitude toward Yingxia was different from what she’d imagined. It wasn’t the way one looked at a lover, but more like a favorite pet much like how Bai Xiao adored her rabbits and cats.

“But can she be trusted?” Jiang Li persisted, noticing the Master’s expression beginning to sour. “She’s an enigma, and your situation isn’t safe. Even if she is weak, if those behind her use her to lower your guard…”

“She bears the Puppet Seal,” Yan Huaixi interrupted, her finger tapping rhythmically on the table. Each tap felt like a weight dropping on Jiang Li’s shoulders. “Her life and death are subject to my whim. If I wished, I could take direct control of her soul.”

“I see. Then I am relieved,” Jiang Li exhaled. The Puppet Seal was a terrifying trump card. Once planted, it meant the Master was ready to prune that person at any moment.

Yan Huaixi looked at her as if she were a fool.

“If Bai Xiao were here, I wouldn’t have to explain so much. Look at the bigger picture. Yin Duo and Yan Zheng have joined forces; that is a major problem for me. If I didn’t have Yingxia to act as a buffer and play her part on Yan Zheng’s side, how much of a chance do you think we’d have fighting both sides at once?”

Jiang Li lowered her head in shame. Given the Master’s severe injuries, the odds were abysmal.

Yan glanced at her and looked away. In truth, her own thoughts used to mirror Jiang Li’s. Even now, a single word from her subordinate could prick her nerves. It all boiled down to the fact that the trust between her and Yingxia was paper-thin. If the day truly comes when she betrays me…

“In the future, if she must be killed, her value must be squeezed dry first,” Yan said, her voice dropping to a whisper with a trace of a smile. “As for trust? I only need to make her believe that I trust her.”

Trust was the ultimate luxury for Yan Huaixi. Since the age of eight, anyone she had trusted had tried to kill her. The fact that she could grant Yingxia even a sliver of it was a miracle. She hoped the cautious, soft-hearted “rabbit” would trust her completely that would be the best outcome.

But if the worst happened… could she actually strike?

Yan looked at her pale palm. There had been several times when, in a fit of rage, she could have easily snapped Yingxia’s neck. It was no thicker than a rabbit’s. Yet, every time, she had stopped at the last second.

The answer that used to be unshakable was beginning to waver. She clenched her hand into a fist. “Does that put your mind at ease?”

Jiang Li shivered under the gaze. She realized she had been an idiot. How could the Master fall for a honey trap from a stranger? She figured she had been fooled by the Master’s recent “gentle” behavior. Bai Xiao was right—I should just listen to the smart people.

“I understand. I won’t ask such stupid questions again,” Jiang Li reflected.

Suddenly, Yan Huaixi’s eyes sharpened. She walked toward a shelf of flower pots near the wall. She expanded her divine sense, sweeping the entire courtyard, but found nothing.

“Strange,” she muttered.

“What is it? An enemy?” Jiang Li tensed.

“…My barrier was touched.” Yan tapped the air, and a ripple appeared in the invisible ward. But it was intact. No signs of a breach. Was it an illusion?

She sent a sliver of divine sense into Yingxia’s room. The girl was there, eyes closed, cultivating normally. It’s impossible for a beginner like her to touch my barrier and vanish without a trace, Yan thought, hiding her doubt.

“Did you notice anyone?” Yan asked. Jiang Li shook her head.

Yan frowned. “Did I overthink it?” She looked at the shadows on the wall. “You said Bai Xiao likes her cats. If she had a cat that liked to scratch people, and you poisoned it, how would she react?”

“I’d be dead!” Jiang Li cried. “That stingy woman would chop off my hands! She’d probably make me try every torture method in her repertoire!”

Yan smiled. “Exactly. So, remember: don’t touch my rabbit.”

Jiang Li froze, then nodded quickly. The rabbit is a pet with a purpose. “I understand. I’ll tell the others to keep their hands off her.”

“Let Bai Xiao explain it to the others. If you do it, you’ll just make it worse. Only you, Bai Xiao, and Duan Ning know the truth. If word leaks, I’ll know it came from one of you three.” Yan’s voice turned icy and cold the voice of the true Master of the Sect of Longevity.

Inside her room, the “cultivating” Yu Yingxia opened her eyes.

Her face was ashen. Having spent the last few minutes as a “Soul Ball” rolling uncontrollably through walls and barriers, she felt violently motion-sick. She had scrambled back into her body just in time, nearly vomiting the moment she reattached.

She had heard enough.

She looked at her trembling fingertips. Fear, she realized. She had heard Yan Huaixi admit that she was just a “rabbit” to be used, a pet under a Puppet Seal whose soul could be puppeted at any moment.

She looked at her manual. Yan Qingxu had titled this technique “Soul Departure,” but a hidden note in the margins read: (Also known as the “Soul Stealth” technique. As long as you hide and stay still, no one will ever find you.)

Yingxia couldn’t laugh. A profound loneliness washed over her. Why didn’t I ask the Founder how to break a Puppet Seal?

She slapped her cheeks to wake herself up. Fine. If Yan Huaixi wants to play a game of ‘fake trust,’ I’ll play along. If she wants to believe I trust her, I’ll make her believe I’m absolutely devoted.

It was a rabbit’s revenge. She would act so perfectly that the “Predator Cat” would be the one to lower her guard. She would coax Yan into removing the seal herself. And then… she would pay back the debt of being saved, and then she would run as far as possible.

The next morning, the gate was knocked. Yan was out, so Yingxia opened it to find Fang Yuetong the “Samoyed”—looking hungry and adorable.

“Come in, Miss Fang.”

Fang had brought gifts: jewelry, pills, and spiritual tools. She also packed a container of sweet soup to take back. She mentioned it was for a “new friend” she met yesterday—a girl who missed her hometown.

Yingxia’s alarm bells rang. “The girl you were with yesterday, Nie Xuan? Is she back?”

Fang shook her head. “No, she went to look for someone else. But she helped me find… things in the mountains.”

Fang’s expression turned grim. With Nie Xuan’s wolf-like sense of smell, they had found mass graves of failed “living corpses” right under the Tianqiu Sect’s nose. Traitors were definitely within the sect. Fang didn’t tell Yingxia the details, wanting to protect her from the danger.

Yingxia sighed. She felt bad for Nie Xuan, but she couldn’t reveal Yang Xunzhou’s location yet.

Later, Yan Huaixi returned. She saw the gifts on the table. “From Fang Yuetong?”

“Yes. She feels bad about eating here so often.”

“Keep them. They can be sold for stones.” Yan walked behind Yingxia and reached out, removing the simple wooden hairpin from her hair.

As Yan’s fingers brushed her neck, Yingxia’s entire body stiffened. Yan didn’t suspect anything; she just thought Yingxia’s neck was a sensitive spot.

“The hairpin I promised you,” Yan whispered. “It took a while to make.”

It was a beautiful piece, similar to the one the original host had used to kill. Yingxia hid her dread behind a perfect mask. No she did more than hide it.

Yan held up a mirror. “It’s beautiful,” Yingxia smiled brilliantly.

As Yan went to take the mirror back, Yingxia “accidentally” brushed against Yan’s hand. She tilted her head, her cheek grazing Yan’s palm soft, light, and lingering. Yan’s fingers twitched involuntarily.

Yingxia looked up with eyes full of pure, joyful devotion. “Thank you, Sister~”

For the first time, Yan Huaixi was stunned. Her heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable emotion spread through her chest. My little rabbit is finally acting spoiled.

“Did you sneak some sugar in the kitchen this morning?” Yan asked, her thumb tracing Yingxia’s cheek, her smile deeper than usual.

“I’m just happy,” Yingxia whispered, her voice suddenly dropping into a tone of fear and reverence. “Unless… the Master thinks I’m being presumptuous?”

Yan placed a finger over Yingxia’s lips. She stared at them for a second before softening her voice. “Didn’t I tell you to see me as a sister? What are you afraid of? A sister won’t eat you up.”

Yingxia bloomed into a radiant smile. Her peach-blossom eyes seemed to have a magnetic pull.

Jiang Li, passing by the door, was nearly blinded by the scene. She quickly looked away. I never noticed before, but Yingxia’s ‘beauty trap’ is terrifying. Only a cold-blooded Master like mine could stay focused.

She looked again. Yingxia was leaning against Yan, whispering and smiling with a hint of coquettish charm.

The Master is incredible, Jiang Li thought with awe. She hates being touched, yet for the sake of the ‘plan,’ she’s enduring this intimacy and even acting like she’s falling for it. What a performance! Even I’m starting to believe it.

She walked away, shaking her head with a look of pity for Yingxia. If that girl actually falls for the Master… she’s going to have a tragic end.

Yingxia caught that look of pity. She went back to her “acting,” her eyes sparkling with hidden intent.

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