After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: The Flaw

Has she known for a long time that I’m not the original host?

Habit, as they say, is the process of gradually accepting the traces of another person staying by your side and letting down your natural guard.

Yu Yingxia was like a frog being boiled in warm water by Yan Huaixi. As the water heated, she had reached a point where, whenever she fell, she instinctively reached out to embrace Yan Huaixi.

Gradually, Yu Yingxia became familiar with controlling her artifact. Her flight was no longer restricted to the courtyard. It was a magical sensation; she tried flying a bit further, the wind caressing her cheeks with a gentle coolness. At the same time, the wind carried muffled whispers into her ears.

“Tsk… that girl is certainly something, isn’t she? She really knows how to act spoiled. No wonder she can coax the Lord into doting on her so much.”

“Tell me about it. It’s just flying on an artifact it’s not like it’s her first time—yet she ‘accidentally’ slips off just so the Lord will catch her. Tsk, tsk. Who knew the Lord had a taste for that? Also, didn’t people say Yu Yingxia was a sycophant with a poisonous heart? She looks like a soft bun to me. Is it an act?”

“Doesn’t look like it to me. I saw her looking after the kids earlier; she’s more popular with them than Hall Master Teng. The Lord wasn’t even there. She can’t be ‘acting’ every single second, can she? If it’s real, I have to give it to her.”

“Hah, if it is an act, I hope she keeps it up forever. If she slips up in front of the Lord… she’ll be in for it. The Lord loathes being lied to more than anything. Remember the last person? His soul was literally shredded into strips.”

“Exactly. And he deserved it. Not only did he kill one of ours, but he dared to wear his skin to approach the Lord. How could the Lord endure that? His soul wasn’t just shredded; she didn’t even let him dissipate. She opened the gates of Abici Hell and sent him down!”

“Heavens, I thought the Lord being able to open Abici Hell was just a legend! So it’s true! Are all the vanished traitors and spies sent there?”

By the time Yu Yingxia heard the end, her face was deathly pale. For a novice who had just learned to fly, a momentary lapse in concentration resulted in her feet slipping, and she plummeted from the sky.

Yan Huaixi had just relaxed her guard for a second when she saw the girl fall. She immediately used the “Shrinking Ground” technique to teleport beneath Yu Yingxia, catching her.

Yu Yingxia’s face was white. Because she had been flying quite high this time, Yan Huaixi assumed she was terrified. She comforted her softly, “Don’t be afraid, I have you. Do you want to rest for a bit?”

Yu Yingxia nodded instinctively. She hadn’t even processed Yan Huaixi’s words; her fingertips, hidden in her sleeves, were trembling. The words “Abici Hell” echoed in her mind.

As expected, Yan Huaixi’s methods went far beyond a mere Puppet Mark; she could even manifest Hell itself. Yu Yingxia couldn’t even manage a bitter smile. Perhaps life had been too peaceful lately. Yan Huaixi had been so good to her—so good that she had begun to wonder if there was genuine affection there. After all, hearts aren’t made of stone, and Yu Yingxia wasn’t cold-blooded. She had allowed her most vital guard to slip.

She shouldn’t have let Yan Huaixi teach her to fly at least, she shouldn’t have let her see that she couldn’t even stand steadily on the brush. She must suspect me by now, right? But looking at her… Yan Huaixi’s eyes held nothing but concern. Then again, if she wanted to strike, she would have done it long ago.

“Let’s stop practicing for today.” After setting her down, Yan Huaixi brushed a thumb across the corner of Yu Yingxia’s eye. It was damp; she must have been truly frightened.

Yu Yingxia was indeed frightened, but Yan Huaixi didn’t realize that she was the source of the fear.

Yan Huaixi’s gentle persona was dangerously deceptive. Yu Yingxia was lost—had she found out or not? If she had, why hadn’t she mentioned it? Was she waiting for a confession, like a cat playing with a mouse before the kill?

Yu Yingxia replayed every horror story in her head, but when she met Yan Huaixi’s worried gaze again, the tension in her heart inexplicably dissipated a little.

My situation… is different from the person who was shredded and sent to Hell, isn’t it? After all, she had never tried to harm Yan Huaixi. At most, she had simply withheld her true identity when the situation was unclear. At that time, she was terrified that a paranoid villain would kill her on sight, so she had walked on eggshells.

Anyway, she was still useful, so Yan Huaixi shouldn’t do anything to her in the short term. The identity of a pawn was secondary anyway. Should I confess? To aim for leniency?

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been dazing off.” Yan Huaixi gently pinched Yu Yingxia’s cheek.

Yu Yingxia snapped back to reality. She opened her mouth, her voice slightly dry. “Sister, if I…”

“Vwoom!”

Suddenly, a pillar of light erupted nearby, piercing the clouds and forming a halo of rainbow light in the sky. Faint shadows of auspicious beasts appeared in the mist. This was a celestial anomaly—a sign that an extraordinary treasure had been born.

The light came from the direction of the Forge Tower.

“It must be your life-bound artifact. Judging by the commotion, it’s a Top-grade Spirit Tool. Top-grade tools have a high ceiling; once you reach my level of cultivation, you can find better materials or fragments of Immortal Tools to fuse with it, allowing it to progress alongside your cultivation. Perhaps… by then, you won’t be far from the Immortal Path.” Yan Huaixi brushed a stray hair from Yu Yingxia’s forehead, her tone suggesting she was certain Yu Yingxia would ascend.

“Me? Become an immortal?” Yu Yingxia had no such confidence. She felt that if she could reach Yan Huaixi’s current level, it would be a miracle. She didn’t hold much hope that she could return home after becoming an immortal.

“Yes.” Yan Huaixi knew how much potential Yu Yingxia had. Originally, she thought Fang Yuetong was the most likely candidate for ascension, but now, having received Yan Qingxu’s inheritance, Yingxia might have an even better chance.

Yan Huaixi herself had been wandering the stage of Dao Integration for many years, yet the path to immortality remained obscured. It wasn’t just her; no one had ascended in a thousand years. All Dao Integration cultivators were stuck, missing a certain “opportunity.”

She decided she needed to work harder; she couldn’t be the one left behind in the end.

“Sister, you overestimate me.” Yu Yingxia felt Yan Huaixi was either being too generous or just trying to make her happy.

“It is you who underestimates yourself. One day, you will understand why I say this.” Yan Huaixi’s lips curled into a mysterious smile. “Come, let’s see how your artifact turned out.”

Yan Huaixi picked her up and flew straight toward the Forge Tower, the speed so great that Yu Yingxia had no chance to resume her previous topic.

As she huddled in Yan Huaixi’s arms, Yu Yingxia calmed down. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious things felt. I’ve left such a glaring flaw; it’s impossible for Yan Huaixi not to have noticed.

She certainly wouldn’t think Yu Yingxia was “acting spoiled” like the others did. Yu Yingxia realized that Yan Huaixi had likely known something was wrong for a long time.

But she had never called her out. Why?

Yan Huaixi’s mind was a labyrinth of nine twists and eighteen turns. Yu Yingxia understood her less and less.

In her hesitation, they arrived at the top of the tower.

Zhao Ying had finished the artifact and opened the tower doors. She was about to report the success when, before she could even step out, she heard the Lord’s voice transmission:

Put your sleeves down.

Eh?

Confused, Zhao Ying looked at her bare arms. Hadn’t I always worked like this? Whatever—best to just do it. The Lord had been acting very strangely since her return; better not to annoy her.

Zhao Ying obediently pulled her sleeves down. Only then did the red-robed figure descend. When Zhao Ying saw the person in Yan Huaixi’s arms, she froze, then sucked in a sharp breath.

Staying in the tower all day, she was unaware of the gossip outside. Seeing the Lord willing to be so intimate with someone was a massive shock. Their relationship seems… exceptionally close?

“Is it a Top-grade Spirit Tool?” Yan Huaixi set Yu Yingxia down. She first stole a glance to see if Yu Yingxia’s eyes were drawn to Zhao Ying. Once certain she wasn’t staring, Yan Huaixi looked at the smith with satisfaction.

“Yes. We were lucky this time, mostly thanks to that wisp of Innate Primordial Soul you provided. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have reached Top-grade. As you requested, I focused on the tool’s capacity for growth and fusion, so it can merge with Immortal Tool fragments in the future.” Zhao Ying was proud; this was her most perfect work in a century.

She presented the spirit brush. The body was as translucent as jade, with a faint, shifting red light glowing within. Holding it, one could feel a refreshing surge of spiritual energy entering the body. Zhao Ying gave it a light flick in the air, and the space itself rippled.

A casual wave carried such power; as a weapon specifically for a soul cultivator, the role this brush could play once Yu Yingxia grew stronger would be immeasurable.

“I rushed as fast as I could. It’s finished just before the opening of the Lost Realm of Souls. However, bonding with a life-bound artifact takes time the higher the grade, the longer it takes. This lady should start soon, or she might miss the opening.” Zhao Ying had heard Yan Huaixi plan to take Yu Yingxia there for training. Hearing that the opening was being moved up, she had feared they wouldn’t make it. Luckily, they had time.

Zhao Ying handed the artifact to Yan Huaixi, who inspected it before giving it to Yu Yingxia.

“There’s an Innate Primordial Soul in this?!” Yu Yingxia’s palms felt sweaty as she took the brush. She recognized the term from the original host’s memories—this was a treasure even more precious than a Spirit Mineral Heart!

“Yes. Since you are a soul cultivator, the Innate Primordial Soul will make this artifact perfectly compatible with your soul power,” Zhao Ying explained professionally.

“But this… is too precious.” As one treasure after another was bestowed upon her, a heavy emotion flowed through Yu Yingxia. She felt she could see Yan Huaixi’s genuine care in her eyes. If not for the “betrayal” plot, she suspected she would have surrendered to these feelings long ago.

Even if Yan Huaixi intended to use her, the debt for saving her life and these treasures meant she could never pay it back not even if she gave her very self.

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