After Transmigrating into a Book, I Became Partners with My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 22

Ding Xiandi met You Fuling’s gaze amidst the shimmering light. “Is it true?”

The other girl tilted her head, a hint of arrogance in her glance as she replied, “It is false.”

Ding Xiandi took back the booklet she had been copying. “As long as it is false. You scared me to death.”

In the past, You Fuling had never understood why so many people felt a sense of helplessness when Ding Xiandi was mentioned. This included the conversations of their peers that she had overheard from a different perspective. They believed that because Ding Xiandi was beautiful, came from a good family, and had an easygoing personality, she should be easy to get along with; however, “should be” is merely a hope.

The classmates Ding Xiandi was close to were constantly involved in romances, yet she remained a lone wolf in that regard, seemingly uninterested in such entanglements. She could chat effortlessly with anyone, yet no one truly understood the real her.

Now that they were so close, Ding Xiandi remained the same. Curious, You Fuling asked, “What if it were true?”

The girl beside her began re-reading the booklet, which detailed a story about a protagonist returning across thousands of years through mystical arts. Without shifting her gaze even slightly, Ding Xiandi replied, “It would be pointless to add that in now.”

You Fuling huffed. “You do not believe it.”

“Do I dare believe it?” Ding Xiandi countered. “We have not exchanged more than ten sentences in our entire lives.”

The original owner of this body had never pierced her ears, but since Ding Xiandi had arrived, she had taken the time to tinker with such things. Her earrings swayed as she spoke. Perhaps she was truly laughably poor; the earrings were pieces of wood she had carved herself, a horizontal and a vertical piece pasted to her earlobes, as if she herself had become part of the wood.

“What do you like about me? I admit I was pretty before, but surely not enough for someone with your background to like me, right?”

Having finished re-reading the story, Ding Xiandi resumed her copying. Having adapted to the rhythm of her left hand, her efficiency had increased. “Do you even know who I am? And yet you like me?”

Something crossed her mind, and her tone turned teasing. “You spoiled young miss clearly do not know how sinister people can be out there.”

If she had tried to evade the topic, perhaps an inexplicable fire would have risen in You Fuling’s heart, but Ding Xiandi did not. She simply did not look at You Fuling, delivering her argument with sound logic. Even knowing that returning home would be extremely difficult, Ding Xiandi’s brow remained unfurrowed, as if she could be content anywhere.

You Fuling sneered. “Then who are you?”

Ding Xiandi tilted her head, her brows curved as she made a face at her. “Not a good person.”

You Fuling was amused by her. Ding Xiandi asked, “Is it that funny?”

“But compared to you.”

“Compared to you, I count as a good person.”

Dipping her brush in ink, Ding Xiandi pushed the manual toward You Fuling. “If you are not copying anymore, help me look through this and see what it requires.”

You Fuling asked, “You believe what is written here?”

Ding Xiandi sighed deeply and rubbed her wrist. “Then you keep looking.”

Her attitude was so excessively matter-of-fact that You Fuling asked, “Why me? How could you?”

“I only have you.” Ding Xiandi squinted, the wound inflicted by Ji Ding aching faintly.

She recalled the reactions of the crowd in class; aside from those who were there to watch the drama, only a few had stood far away. Even if her identity drew jealousy, the risk of manipulating Ji Ding to attack her was high; it was very likely that the runes on the sword were random. Why had the Sword Arts master not noticed?

Her head ached, her wound throbbed, and she was very tired.

Ding Xiandi poked her brush into the inkstone, not forgetting to add, “You know which Ding Xiandi I am.” She said the last half of the sentence softly, so only You Fuling could hear.

“I have asked you many times if you were willing; you had room to refuse.” Ding Xiandi ignored the other girl’s expression, her voice drawn out. “Now, you have no chance to go back on it.”

With no one else around, for a moment, You Fuling had the illusion that only she and Ding Xiandi existed in the world. She pursed her lips. “And after we go back?”

Ding Xiandi asked, “What?”

You Fuling replied, “If we really return, then.”

She remembered how she had died and was suddenly unable to finish the sentence. She was a criminal, yet Ding Xiandi had a bright future.

Compared to Ding Xiandi’s overly simple hair ornaments, You Fuling wore many items that were obviously expensive at a glance. In the Academy, everyone—rich or poor—loved to wear something; Sword cultivators decorated their natal swords, Pill cultivators had countless styles of furnaces, and Dharma cultivators possessed a dazzling array of artifacts. Ding Xiandi had seen the online auctions at the Tianji Commandery; even ordinary-looking items were worth a fortune, not to mention the materials used by Sound cultivators that made Ding Xiandi’s heart ache just looking at them.

Perhaps the poverty of her start as a transmigrated protagonist left her no room for wishful thinking, or perhaps she had never truly realized she would stay here long-term, so she did not care about upgrading her equipment; she only wanted to know the conditions for returning.

Death was a desperate measure; she would not set up a plan she was not sure of. If she really lost everything by dying, would that not be a huge loss?

“We will talk about that when we get there.” Ding Xiandi remained troubled. She finished one copy and handed a new one to You Fuling, showing no sign of pity for the girl’s frailty. “Whether we can leave at all is not even certain yet.”

You Fuling took it, seeming to want to hold her hand, but pulled away instead.

Ding Xiandi noticed and turned her hand over to hold hers. “Is there something you cannot say directly?”

You Fuling thought, I said I liked you, but you did not believe me; now that I do not, you believe me. What difference does it make to say it or not?

You Fuling shook her head. Ding Xiandi let go, but her fingers chased after her again. Their fingers danced back and forth, and they actually played like that for a while.

Ding Xiandi chuckled. “So childish.”

You Fuling looked up, appearing slightly annoyed. “Then why do you not let go?”

Perhaps it was because You Fuling was as difficult to get along with as she had imagined, but Ding Xiandi let go and lowered her head, switching to a new sheet of paper. “Let us talk about going back when the time comes. Right now, we need to find the possibility.”

You Fuling asked, “We?”

Ding Xiandi replied, “Forget it, I will look for these things myself.” She threw her Tianji Commandery token in front of You Fuling. “In two hours, we can go register as Dao companions.”

Only then did You Fuling see her application for Dao companion registration. “Heaven-tier?”

In this day and age, it was common for cultivators to become Dao companions, but the most ordinary pairing required a long wait. Applying through the Tianji Commandery and waiting over a month was a common occurrence.

“If you do not want Heaven-tier, we can change it.” Ding Xiandi said, unable to shake her old tone. “I just saw that the waiting time for Heaven-tier was the shortest.”

You Fuling looked at her. “You expect me to believe that?”

Ding Xiandi replied, “Alright, I have my own selfish motives. Did you not know?”

This face did not possess the beauty of her previous appearance, but a person’s eyes shine because of their spirit. Ding Xiandi’s temperament was enough to clear away the original gloomy shadow in this face; looking at someone for a few extra moments easily led to misunderstandings, appearing even a bit affectionate.

You Fuling did not ask what her selfish motives were. She said flatly, “Heaven-tier Dao companions are very hard to unlink. If we cannot go back, you will be bound to me.”

Ding Xiandi nodded. “Is that something I need to worry about?” She laughed. “You are the genius of this generation; if you get stuck with a useless person like me, what will you do if you regret it?”

You Fuling only needed to look at her a few times to remember the way she had kissed her last night. She involuntarily bit her lip and shook her head. “I think your body is quite good for me.”

Ding Xiandi could not quite grasp You Fuling’s personality, but she knew the girl was thin-skinned; if not for her veil, it would be easy to spot her blushing. People were like this; the easier they were to tease, the more fun they were to play with. Ignoring them had the opposite effect. You Fuling was much more fun than the mansion miss Ding Xiandi had initially imagined.

She was not cold as ice; it was more like she kept a straight face because she did not know how to refuse. Was she a villain for killing her brother? In their family, the biggest villains were their father and grandparents. No one had the right to blame You Fuling. If it were Ding Xiandi, she would have done it even more ruthlessly.

If You Fuling had a healthy body, perhaps she would not have come here and continued this kind of suffering. Ding Xiandi never hid her admiration for this opponent, but she was born without a craving for love. Children not born from parents who loved each other could still grow up strong; she had family affection and friendship. In the end, one would always have to enter a political marriage, so romance was optional and had never been part of her experience.

Ding Xiandi tilted her head. “How so?”

You Fuling said, “You need spiritual power, and I have an endless supply. Is that not perfect?”

She had hated her different body since she was young, and even in another world, she could not be a normal person, but this time was different.

“Sounds like.”

Ding Xiandi nodded. “Getting what you need from each other is not bad. Now the Academy is gossiping that I have attached myself to a major sect, ensuring my food and clothing for the rest of my life.”

Such talk had nothing to do with the old Ding Xiandi, and she laughed aloud as she spoke. You Fuling asked, “Is that not good?”

“I have as much money as you could want.”

Even the material of You Fuling’s Tianji Commandery token was different from Ding Xiandi’s. The two people who used to have everything identical seemed to be heading in different directions here.

“But this look and clothing of yours right now.” You Fuling’s gaze was not contemptuous, but it still held a natural, lonely pride. “It makes me look cheap.”

“I will change them later.”

This was the first time someone had flexed their wealth in front of Ding Xiandi. She was not angry; her gaze swept over You Fuling’s veil. People who had truly been rich and beautiful did not care about such depreciation; Ding Xiandi cared more about other things. The spiritual energy that surged during their kiss earlier had left her wanting more.

“You will give me whatever I want?”

Ding Xiandi hooked her little finger around You Fuling’s. The other girl’s body temperature was naturally a few degrees lower, making her perfect for absorbing energy. She asked with a smile, “And the price?”

Both their parents were merchants, and as heirs to their families’ assets, they would be merchants too. Ding Xiandi knew better than You Fuling that she was more like a manager of family assets, an existence where material value outweighed the individual. They would have to hold onto these things for generations, and they did not know when it would ever end.

You Fuling leaned in slightly. She had always felt that Ding Xiandi was different; she was like a cold-blooded animal with golden scales in the sun, pretending to be warm. She could not say “I want you,” so she only said, “Leave the most precious thing you have to me.”

Ding Xiandi wanted spiritual power. Even if the method in the book was false, she knew her own cultivation would definitely hold her back. If events followed the original story, the road ahead would be fraught with difficulties. She had many obstacles to overcome, and for now, You Fuling was the lighthouse within her reach.

You Fuling just started to bargain when her veil was lifted, and the brush on the table fell, rolling twice.

She was robbed of her breath by a top-tier loser, but because she was considerate of the other girl’s injury, it actually made it easier for her to take what she wanted.

Ding Xiandi said, “Alright.”

“My most precious thing is myself. May I ask, Miss Ashan, can you afford it?”

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