After Transmigrating into a Book, I Became Partners with My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 11

“Get married? Is that what I think it means?”

“It seems the rumors were true. These two have an engagement ordered by their Masters?”

“I told you, even if they’ve declined, the three major sects are still the major sects. Maybe the Star Point Sect has some family secret techniques up their sleeve.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I asked the seniors of our sect, and they’ve never heard of Junior Sister You having a betrothal.”

“If it were me, I wouldn’t be happy about it either. Becoming Dao companions with a piece of trash from the Star Point Sect? How embarrassing to go out like that.”

“Don’t speak so soon. What if her cultivation suddenly skyrockets later?”

“I’d sooner believe I was the Heavenly Dao itself.”

Ding Xiandi had transmigrated as a “pockmarked girl,” not a deaf one. The people around her were discussing this quite loudly. She continued to lean against Mei Chi, her sparkling eyes making her freckles seem less dull.

You Fuling, whose sleeve she was tugging, looked down slightly. “Let go.”

The trial hall was a chaotic mess. Up on the spectator stand was Juan Yuanjia, who was shouting about being wronged and demanding a review of the Law Enforcement Crane’s decision.

The crown of the family successor had been knocked loose by the crane’s talons, her long hair flying about in a state of utter disarray. The mechanical cranes, raised on a diet of ores, possessed cultivation far beyond that of ordinary disciples. Even Juan Yuanjia, who was quite extraordinary herself, struggled to cope. Hampered by the Academy’s rules, she could only argue: “My sword intent can curve! You judged it wrong!”

“You Fuling, why are you joining in the fun?”

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Some people, finding Juan Yuanjia’s disheveled state quite attractive, even activated their Shadow Spirit Stones to record the scene.

Ding Xiandi knew that her current status was worlds apart from You Fuling’s. Unlike Juan Yuanjia, who was forced by her family background to accept challenges, Ding Xiandi relied on her low cultivation to act shamelessly, keeping her name deeply intertwined with You Fuling’s.

Since the day she had unveiled You Fuling, all rumors of the girl being “as ugly as salt” had been dispelled. If Ming Jing’s admirers were the top tier of the Academy before, You Fuling’s suitors could now rival them.

Within a single month, high-grade love letter stationery in the Academy had sold out. During her remedial sword classes, Ding Xiandi often saw the part-time Law Enforcement Cranes flapping their wings through the air, without losing a single feather. As for the “Eldest Senior Sister” Mei Chi had mentioned, she hadn’t seen her once.

Juan Yuanjia was still protesting. Her disheveled look wasn’t ugly, though those from other prominent families felt embarrassed for her, while also being shocked by the true strength of the Law Enforcement Cranes.

You Fuling and Juan Yuanjia weren’t close at all; they were simply prominent figures of the same year who knew each other’s names. Their departments were different, so they never had a reason to speak face-to-face.

Ten thousand years ago, the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces didn’t have specialized “departments.” Famous cultivators would focus on one direction when training disciples, though they would learn a bit of everything else. Today, rogue cultivators outside the Academy learned everything. Some with high cultivation became elders of cultivation clans or the four major mining guilds, yet lacked a specialized skill.

The major sects still trained newcomers according to the old apprenticeship system. Ding Xiandi’s sword major had been registered by the original owner’s Master. She couldn’t imagine what other department Mei Chi could have joined besides the Sword Department.

Alchemists with pure spiritual energy often blew up their furnaces; if Mei Chi entered alchemy, she’d be better suited for opening a pancake shop after graduation. Given what Ding Xiandi knew of her, Mei Chi had a poor memory and wouldn’t remember the runes or arrays of the Law Department. The tools for divination were extremely fragile and would likely be crushed in Mei Chi’s grip. As for the Music Department… better not even consider it.

Everyone else assumed Ding Xiandi couldn’t feel sword intent. She faked her way through every time, but in reality, she felt it even more intensely when she closed her eyes. She had an extraordinary memory; the books she had read in two weeks covered more than ten years of the original owner’s knowledge. But having the knowledge without a foundation was useless.

Now, Ding Xiandi remained silent. She watched as You Fuling brushed off her hand and sat in a nearby seat, saying to Juan Yuanjia, “If I had been a step later, this person would be dead.”

The girl wore a veil embroidered with ominous runes. The veil swayed as she spoke, and the ornaments on her forehead shimmered. Her exposed eyes were so exquisite it was easy to imagine the beauty hidden behind the silk.

Beautiful people don’t always have gentle voices; hers was like ice striking stone—crisp, with a natural coldness. You Fuling’s movements just now had been swift and graceful, yet the two coughs she let out upon sitting down sounded as though she might cough up her very bones, fitting the rumors of her frail destiny.

Juan Yuanjia glared at the Law Enforcement Crane’s black eyes. “Did you hear that? She was so panicked trying to save her lover that she lost her way.”

Mei Chi let out an “Oh ho!” and said, “Second Senior Sister, she said You Fuling is your lover.”

No one else spoke, but Mei Chi’s voice was so loud everyone heard it.

Amidst the endless teasing and laughter, Ding Xiandi smiled at the girl sitting a seat away. “A-Shan, thank you for protecting me.”

Juan Yuanjia was still arguing on stage, and someone had called in the master from outside the trial grounds. As Ding Xiandi moved to sit next to You Fuling, the other’s Eldest Senior Sister squeezed in between them, blocking Ding Xiandi with her long sword.

Ding Xiandi wasn’t angry; she simply chirped a cheerful “Hello, Senior Sister.” She was a world away from her former gloomy self. Ji Ting had spent many private moments grumbling that Ding Xiandi was up to no good.

“As long as you know,” Ji Ting snapped.

Ding Xiandi tilted her head to look at You Fuling, her freckles dancing as she smiled. “Why are you ignoring me? You’re already here.”

The eyes of everyone in the rows around them were glued to the pair, and many had activated their Shadow Spirit Stones. Compared to watching Juan Yuanjia brawl with a mechanical bird, the contrast between the poorest sect and the wealthiest was far more compelling. Everyone wanted to see the outcome.

Mei Chi, occupying the best vantage point, ate her cakes with singular focus. Her cheeks were puffed out, seemingly indifferent to the crowd’s disdain for her “impoverished sect clinging to a genius to marry into wealth,” or the theories that her Second Senior Sister was being used as a cultivation vessel.

Ji Ting turned to see Ding Xiandi’s bright smile despite her wounds. She couldn’t help but emphasize, “We didn’t come here specifically for you, we…”

You Fuling lowered her head, looking at the torn handkerchief in her hand. She said flatly, “A single handkerchief is worth three hundred spirit stones. How are you going to pay me?”

Ji Ting wondered if it was really that cheap, while Ding Xiandi’s eyes went wide. “Three hundred spirit stones? You want me to pay you back?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” You Fuling’s silhouette was thin, exactly as Ding Xiandi remembered.

Ding Xiandi hadn’t contacted You Fuling in a month. Ji Ting had assumed they were in frequent contact via the Tianji Command, but she had been wrong. She had asked her Master for advice, but the wandering Master’s replies were intermittent, only saying “follow your heart”—consistent with her philosophy on taking disciples.

Ji Ting was several years older than You Fuling. Had she wanted to enter the Academy, she could have come the same year as Zu Jinxi. But she cared deeply for You Fuling. Years ago, their Master had found You Fuling in swaddling clothes on the banks of Butterfly Water, brought her to the sect, and then left again. It was Ji Ting who had looked after her junior sister.

The second junior sister was gifted but had innate deficiencies. Her spiritual root was too rare; her body couldn’t carry such a divine gift or the violent absorption of spiritual energy. Had it not been for the Well of Heaven in the Heaven-Refining Sect isolating her from the world, she might have drained the entire sect of its energy.

Sending her to the Academy was a unanimous decision by the sect elders. An ancient spirit vein still existed here, which could nourish You Fuling’s decaying body as she aged, provided she kept her Daoist heart pure.

You Fuling had been in seclusion since childhood. In Ji Ting’s eyes, while other disciples her age had friends to talk to, her sister had to cultivate year after year. While others cultivated to advance, she cultivated to suppress her power. Had it not been for the falling fire that leveled the Well of Heaven cave that year, You Fuling might have stayed inside for another few decades.

Ji Ting had hoped that in the Academy, You Fuling would become more lively with fellow disciples. She hadn’t expected her personality to be so hard to change; she remained a loner, at seventeen more composed than a hundred-and-seventy-year-old master.

Ji Ting thought these fifty years at the Academy would pass like that, until Ding Xiandi popped up. Her previous worries were gone, replaced by something else: everywhere she went, people asked if her sister was engaged to a failure from a broken sect.

This morning, a fellow disciple had even earnestly advised Ji Ting not to interfere, saying it was just fate. Nowadays, even the Old Man under the Moon can’t stop people from marrying and divorcing better to let nature take its course than to oppose it. After all, the more you oppose it, the stronger their bond might become.

Ji Ting found it hard to argue. She looked at the sword cultivator still haggling with You Fuling and couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t even have three hundred spirit stones, yet you want to become my sister’s Dao companion?”

Ding Xiandi had been a wealthy young lady before she died, but after transmigrating, her poverty was visible to the naked eye. Her elegance only showed in small details; she chose the most expensive of Mei Chi’s cakes, which wasn’t necessarily the tastiest.

“Let me see,” the girl in the patched robes muttered. Her silver-plated Tianji Command was visibly dented; Ji Ting would have bought a new one long ago. “Three hundred…”

Ding Xiandi pulled actual spirit stones from her pouch and counted them, adding the electronic stones earned from her part-time jobs. “Total of three hundred and four. Is that enough? There’s four extra.”

Ji Ting was fuming. “You want to be with my sister for a mere three hundred and four spirit stones?”

“Well, it’s not impossible for me to leave her if you give me thirty thousand and four hundred,” Ding Xiandi replied. She tilted her head slightly, looking at the silent You Fuling. “A-Shan, is our relationship only worth the thirty thousand and four hundred spirit stones your sister would give?”

Ji Ting was experiencing “nonsense” for the first time. The girl could spin a vivid tale right in front of her. She strongly suspected that certain comments in the “Leisure Chat” forum came from this fox-like woman!

You Fuling also found Ding Xiandi’s impoverished state novel. “Do you want it?”

Ding Xiandi shook her head. Ignoring Juan Yuanjia’s curses from the stage and Ming Jing’s thoughtful gaze from across the room, she stood up and walked to You Fuling’s side. “Leaving you for a mere thirty thousand and four hundred spirit stones? That’s too little.”

This person was clearly a smooth-talker with poverty written on her face, yet her movements were entirely unconstrained. Ji Ting felt the contradiction; had Ding Xiandi’s “beggar” status not been public knowledge, she would have suspected the girl came from a prominent family like Juan Yuanjia.

“Then what do you want?” You Fuling asked. Her eye shape was completely different from Ding Xiandi’s, one look felt fragile, like spring water, always evoking pity. It also made people afraid to approach. Beautiful things are fragile; if a weak and beautiful person lacks the strength or background to protect themselves, they only invite greed.

The old You Fuling had her family’s backing; the current You Fuling had her cultivation. But Ding Xiandi, for some reason, wanted to break her. This person was the only other person in this world who knew the truth.

They could be friends—or they could be accomplices.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she took You Fuling’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. She looked at You Fuling, acting with deep affection.

“I want you.”

Support After Transmigrating into a Book, I Became Partners with My Mortal Enemy