After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Encountering Thieves

There lay a trap meticulously prepared for Yan Huaixi.

It was a pity. No matter how many “base” or mischievous thoughts swirled in Yan Huaixi’s mind, she had to stop at a certain point. She knew that until certain words were spoken openly, she couldn’t take things further.

Yan Huaixi originally thought she had enough patience to wait for nature to take its course, but now she realized she couldn’t wait any longer. It wasn’t a lack of patience, but rather a growing fear.

She was certain Yu Yingxia had feelings for her. However, because of her own past blunders, the girl was now walking on eggshells, afraid to harbor “inappropriate” thoughts. Combined with everything that had happened, Yan Huaixi feared that “long nights lead to many dreams.” If Yu Yingxia’s feelings actually withered away under the erosion of time, Yan Huaixi wouldn’t even know where to go to cry.

If it came to that, she feared she really would end up following the tragic fate Yang Xunzhou had written for her.

Thus, she decided to actively resolve the “karmic debt” of her previous coldness. She needed to bring their feelings into the light as soon as possible, lest every time Yu Yingxia spoke, she said something so “obedient” it made Yan Huaixi want to vomit blood from frustration especially since the girl wasn’t doing it on purpose; she likely thought she was being a perfectly well-behaved junior.

Had the secret realm not opened early, she would have addressed this already.

With a trace of regret, Yan Huaixi withdrew her power from Yu Yingxia’s soul. Yu Yingxia finally caught her breath. The aching fullness in her soul had been uncomfortable, but more so was a strange, inexplicable trembling. She felt something was off. If she hadn’t been so convinced that Yan Huaixi couldn’t possibly like her, she would have suspected the move had a hidden motive!

Yu Yingxia raised her eyes, which were filled with a mix of resentment and accusation, only to be shut down by Yan Huaixi’s perfectly serious tone.

“The soul power in the air here is so filthy! How do you dare absorb it? Aren’t you afraid these impurities will haunt you for a lifetime?” Yan Huaixi spoke with grave concern, sounding like an adult lecturing a child who had played with something dangerous.

Yu Yingxia instinctively fell into self-reflection, even feeling a hint of guilt. So Yan Huaixi was checking for impurities in my soul? How could I have misunderstood her!

Utterly unaware of how much she had been “taken advantage of,” Yu Yingxia thought she shouldn’t have doubted her protector. “I’m sorry for making Sister worry. I didn’t do it on purpose once I entered this place, my manual started running on its own. I couldn’t control it.” She apologized like a child who had made a mistake, which only piqued Yan Huaixi’s pity.

Did I speak too harshly? Yan Huaixi immediately softened her voice. “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Yu Yingxia shook her head. “No. This manual is very special; it automatically filtered out the filth while running. The impurities in the air didn’t enter my body.”

“Is that so?” Yan Huaixi was genuinely surprised. Since no member of the Yan family had been able to practice this technique for a millennium, her knowledge of it was limited. She hadn’t expected it to not only smooth out breakthroughs but also actively purify absorbed energy.

Yan Qingxu truly was a legendary genius. It made Yan Huaixi wonder what the requirements for the technique were, and why only an outsider had managed to trigger the Ancestor’s divine sense. She suspected there were secrets she didn’t yet know; perhaps the “rabbit” would enlighten her later.

“Very well. This is the best place for a soul cultivator. The power here is a blend of spirit and soul. Absorb as much as you can; you won’t have the chance after fifteen days.” Yan Huaixi encouraged her to stockpile power, as there was no telling when the realm would open again.

As for the travel, Yan Huaixi would handle it. She had only been here once as a child, sneaking in shortly before the Yan family fell. She hadn’t stepped foot here since. She still recalled that the heart of this realm was the Inverted Soul Tower.

At the very center of the realm lay a bottomless black hole, a vortex that swallowed wandering souls. In the center of this abyss hung a pitch-black high tower, inverted, held in place by eighteen massive iron chains anchored to the rim of the hole. The tower had eighteen levels, mirroring the eighteen levels of hell. It was a place where crisis and opportunity coexisted. If one was lucky, they might find a legendary divine object much like Yan Huaixi had when she gained the “favor of hell” as a child.

Seeing Yan Huaixi lost in thought, Yu Yingxia didn’t disturb her and began observing her surroundings. For other cultivators, the soul-laden air was a crushing pressure, but for her, it was a tonic provided the impurities were removed.

They were currently in what looked like a massive mass grave. The sky was gloomy, and the ground was littered with shattered white bones. Though Yan Huaixi had cleared the ghosts, the place remained eerie.

Having recently learned to control her divine sense, Yu Yingxia extended it outward to scout. Yan Huaixi glanced at her, and seeing no immediate danger, continued using her own sense to lead the way.

Beyond the graveyard, the landscape resembled the “Death Forest” outside void of life. Further in, wandering souls began to appear. Their expressions were vacant, their sanity long gone. Yu Yingxia looked up and saw the massive vortex in the distance. If she wasn’t mistaken, ghost-like entities were being sucked into it!

“Let’s go there.” Yan Huaixi took Yu Yingxia’s hand and pointed toward the vortex.

“It looks dangerous.” Yu Yingxia worried about Yan Huaixi’s old injuries. “Are you fully recovered? Maybe we should stay on the outskirts?”

Yan Huaixi smiled slightly. “I am a Dao Integration cultivator, not a porcelain doll on a shelf. My wounds are healed, don’t worry.”

“There’s nothing on the outskirts but increasingly scary ghosts. We have to go to the Soul Tower trials to find treasures that will benefit you for a lifetime. Come, it’s not as dangerous as you think.”

Yu Yingxia followed obediently. As they left the graveyard, shifting ghostly shadows began appearing among the trees. Yan Huaixi was about to clear the path when Yu Yingxia tugged her sleeve. “Didn’t Sister bring me here for experience and combat practice? Let me do it.”

“Fair enough. These spirits are perfect for you to practice on.” Yan Huaixi lowered her hand. The ghosts on the edge were weak, growing stronger as they moved inward. These current ones matched Yu Yingxia’s level.

Yu Yingxia summoned her life-bound artifact. The mischievous little brush seemed excited for its first real battle. The moment she made her first stroke, she realized the difference of a life-bound tool—their energies were one. The brush was an extension of her hand. As her spiritual energy gathered, the brush amplified it; a single ink-blade flew out, blasting the attacking ghost and several dead trees behind it into smithereens!

Yu Yingxia was stunned by the explosion. “I did that?”

“Very good. But your cultivation is still low; you can’t expend that much energy at once, or you’ll run dry too soon.” Yan Huaixi walked up behind her, holding Yu Yingxia’s hand in a posture that was almost a back-hug.

“Come, feel the flow of my energy.” Yan Huaixi caught a whiff of peach blossom scent before beginning her “serious” lesson.

Being suddenly held from behind, Yu Yingxia stiffened. She had to admit she had feelings for Yan Huaixi; besides her temper, the woman hit every one of her “preferences.” Her heart thudded like a startled rabbit before she suppressed it, reminding herself not to harbor “inappropriate” feelings. Thanks to her recent “desensitization training” of falling into Yan Huaixi’s arms, she managed to hide most of her reaction.

She breathed deeply and focused on the control of Yan Huaixi’s power. Meanwhile, a certain “Bad Cat” felt a bit of regret the rabbit in her arms wasn’t as easy to tease as before. What a pity.

Teaching over, they used the ghosts for practice. There was no faster way to learn than combat. Unless it was a life-or-death situation, Yan Huaixi stayed on the sidelines, though she had to suppress the urge to intervene every time Yu Yingxia took a hit. All she could do was treat her wounds afterward—and then shred the remaining ghosts into fine “mincemeat.”

As they neared the end of the forest, the sound of a violent struggle reached them. In a place like this, “killing for treasure” was common. A man suddenly rushed toward them, screaming for help, his face contorted in terror.

“Hand over the stolen treasure! Or we won’t be polite!” a furious voice shouted behind him.

“Who stole…” The man tried to defend himself, but after three words, his voice failed. He touched his neck, his vision spun, and he hit the ground. He watched his body keep running forward while his head stayed behind.

“Kid sure can run!” The pursuers arrived and spat on the corpse. Because the man was running when he was decapitated, blood had sprayed quite a distance.

The pursuers wore the insignia of the Qian Family, while the dead man belonged to the Wang Family. Yan Huaixi wasn’t close with the Qians and had no intention of joining the fray.

However, the Qian group’s eyes lit up when they saw the two women. The burly man leading the group took two steps forward, only to meet Yan Huaixi’s cold, guarded gaze. He signaled a woman beside him—one with a delicate, gentle face that looked naturally trustworthy.

“Our apologies, ladies. We didn’t mean to startle you.” The woman, Qian Xi, stepped forward and apologized in a soft, soothing voice. “I am Qian Xi of the Liang City Qian family. This man and his team stole a treasure we fought hard for. We tried to talk, but they refused and even killed one of our own, so we had to use force.”

“As an apology for the disturbance, please accept this.” She offered a small storage pouch. Her attitude was exceptionally polite unlike most big family members who wouldn’t apologize even if they accidentally injured a bystander. Most people would have a great impression of the Qian family after this.

“No need. It didn’t affect us. Miss Qian is too polite.” Yan Huaixi declined. Qian Xi’s attitude was flawless, but she was dealing with Yan Huaixi, who remained guarded even toward the person she loved. A stranger giving gifts for such a trivial matter? Yan Huaixi wouldn’t touch it. She squeezed Yu Yingxia’s hand, signaling she would handle it.

“Oh? But I insist… it’s nothing valuable, please.” Qian Xi tried to press the bag into Yan Huaixi’s hand.

Yan Huaixi refused flatly. Seeing this, Qian Xi withdrew the bag but continued, “Are you two traveling alone? No other companions?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I just mean this place is dangerous. If you don’t mind, you can travel with us. Your goal is likely the Soul Tower as well, right?”

“Apologies, but we have other matters. We won’t be going your way. Let’s part here; we won’t speak of this encounter to anyone.” Yan Huaixi “tsked” internally. She wasn’t about to let these people ruin her alone time with Yu Yingxia!

“Wait…” Qian Xi tried to speak again, but Yan Huaixi simply swept her arm around Yu Yingxia’s waist and vanished on the spot.

Once they were gone, Qian Xi heard a faint snicker from a companion behind her. The gentle smile vanished instantly. She turned, and the one laughing the loudest collapsed dead.

“Why are you standing there? Keep moving,” “Qian Xi” snarled. No one dared provoke her now.

“You’re just letting them go?” the burly man asked, wiping cold sweat.

“What else? Do you think the two of us together could keep her here? Dream on!” Qian Xi mocked. “As long as her goal is the Soul Tower, we will meet again. Then, we won’t even need to lift a finger the Master will deal with her.” Her voice drifted in the air, colder than the wandering souls.

Yan Huaixi led Yu Yingxia around the group toward the tower.

“Sister, how much of what they said do you think was true?” Yu Yingxia felt the Qian team was strange, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.

“I don’t know, but I know they were lying. Regardless, these big families have life-tablets; the elders will see how they died. The truth is for the Wang family to worry about.” Yan Huaixi didn’t care about the Southern Region politics, though she knew things would be chaotic soon. She just wanted to be back in the Valley, sunbathing with her rabbit.

“Yingxia, remember: especially in a secret realm, no matter how kind someone seems, keep at least half your guard up. Assume they might stab you in the back. Interest is the ultimate temptation.” Yan Huaixi patted Yu Yingxia’s head. “But don’t worry now. With me here, no one can hurt you. But if I’m ever not by your side, remember those words.”

It was a lesson Yan Huaixi had learned through blood. Yu Yingxia heard the complexity and sadness in her voice and felt a surge of pity. She took Yan Huaixi’s hand, promising she only trusted her in this place.

The gloom in Yan Huaixi’s heart vanished. She loved Yu Yingxia’s trust. Though she knew there was still a barrier between them, she felt it would soon disappear.

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