After Transmigrating into a Book, I Became Partners with My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 8

Ding Xiandi blinked. “You won’t let me?”

“Why so distant?”

You Fuling countered, “Are we close?”

Ding Xiandi sighed. “I suppose not very.”

“As long as you know it,” You Fuling replied.

Ding Xiandi, whose belt was still loosely draped, walked toward You Fuling and asked, “What are you angry about? Did I do something wrong?”

She propped her chin on her hand, her wide sleeves sliding down to reveal the injuries on her arms.

You Fuling remained stoic. “Why would I be angry?”

“How should I know why you’re angry?” Ding Xiandi poured herself some tea. “Either way, you clearly are.”

“A-Shan.”

Ding Xiandi spoke the nickname with an intimacy that sounded utterly hypocritical to You Fuling.

“I told you, I am not angry.”

Since she insisted, Ding Xiandi didn’t press further. She steered back to the original topic. “If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. But didn’t you just agree to consider it?”

You Fuling looked at Ding Xiandi, then lowered her gaze the moment their eyes met. “Must it be this way?”

Ding Xiandi didn’t truly understand You Fuling. Perhaps because she had been ill for so many years, this peer she had grown up alongside—always being compared to one another—had developed a very eccentric personality.

As she spoke, Ding Xiandi scrolled through the Tianji Command and noticed some veiled speculations regarding You Fuling.

A natural Spirit-Gathering Body, born into the Golden Core stage—her talent for cultivation was peerless. If she weren’t a member of the Heaven-Refining Sect, she likely would have been targeted as a “human furnace” long ago.

Having just transmigrated, Ding Xiandi felt lucky enough just to have reconnected with You Fuling; she didn’t dare pry too deep. “Did your sect already arrange a Dao companion for you?”

Though the Daoist sects of the Nine Provinces weren’t as strict about companions as they once were, the contracts usually signed were of the lowest grade. High-level Daoist seals would trigger heavenly lightning and were not easily dissolved. Unless two souls were truly bonded, few dared to challenge a Heavenly Contract.

You Fuling’s current status was far superior to Ding Xiandi’s.

Seeing You Fuling grip her teacup with a look of difficulty, Ding Xiandi assumed that was her answer. She chose to apologize. “I’m sorry. I was too excited when I first got here. Now, the entire Academy…”

She leaned her head on her hand and sighed, her finger tapping the Tianji Command. “I’m afraid your sect elders already know that a disciple from my broken-down sect has designs on the peerless genius of the Heaven-Refining Sect.”

She spoke rapidly, much like the Ding Xiandi You Fuling remembered.

“You should have just rejected me then, right? There was no need to faint.”

Searching the “Leisure Chat” forum for You Fuling yielded little, but switching to “Second Senior Sister” revealed plenty of related posts.

Small sects outside the big three were essentially like cram schools in Ding Xiandi’s original world, making no distinction between “legacy,” “inner,” or “outer” disciples. They were like factories; whoever had the talent to raise their cultivation got the prize.

Given the current atmosphere of the Nine Provinces, it felt like being a college freshman already stressing about employment and saving for a house.

Ding Xiandi, who was only seventeen before she transmigrated, started to feel a headache coming on. Not only was her life difficult, but she also had a predestined “Love Tribulation” waiting for her. If she ended up getting stabbed to death by the female lead, she might never make it back.

You Fuling hadn’t expected Ding Xiandi to turn the problem back on her. Her favorability toward the girl, which had already plummeted, sank further. Deciding it wasn’t the time to reveal the secrets of her constitution, she simply pursed her lips. “There is no arrangement.”

The girl who had died in the original world due to emotional agitation still carried those health risks. Her finger brushed a crack in the porcelain cup, her voice cold. “If I don’t agree, will you really go to Ming Jing and…”

Ding Xiandi answered instantly. “No. She’s not my type.”

Ding Xiandi had never been in love. Even if she didn’t know exactly what her “type” was, she knew what it wasn’t. Chemistry was a mysterious thing, and she had always been stubborn about it.

“Think it over. If it’s convenient, we already know each other’s secrets, so we wouldn’t have to play games.”

The girl in the blue-and-white robe poured another cup, only to find the pot empty. “Can you manifest a fresh pot?”

“No.”

You Fuling simply raised her hand, and the teapot flew to the side. Ding Xiandi watched with her chin in her hand. “I’m jealous. Is that glowing stuff spiritual energy? It’s so unscientific.”

The fact that they had both transmigrated was already unscientific enough. Bringing it up now was almost a joke. You Fuling said, “Your constitution is abnormal. You cannot naturally gather spiritual energy. This path will be difficult for you.”

Ding Xiandi nodded. “I’ve started the game on ‘Hell Mode.’ Luckily, the villain hasn’t shown up yet.”

“The villain?”

Whether she wore a veil or not didn’t stop Ding Xiandi from knowing what she looked like. Her face was beautiful, but it lacked a certain human warmth. Combined with the frailty etched into her soul, even the most adorable face would likely seem icy on her.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what that word means? The Demon Race. Though, I didn’t read to the end of the book.” She tilted her head, scanning You Fuling from top to bottom. “You actually fit in quite well here. There’s no sense of displacement at all.”

As soon as she spoke, the cup in her hand shattered.

Ding Xiandi: “…”

The girl beside her turned her head slightly and gave her a thin smile. “You can get out now.”

Both were young ladies from wealthy families, but Ding Xiandi was generally better-tempered. She hummed in response. “Alright, I’m going.”

She realized she didn’t even know how to open the door. She asked You Fuling, “How do you open this?”

Once the door unsealed, she slipped away as fast as she could.

In the inner chamber, the only sound was the splash of the decorative waterfall. You Fuling thought: Why isn’t she angry? Is she going to give up on being Dao companions? Was she never serious about me? Or… does she have a backup plan, or does she really like the female lead?

Ding Xiandi’s expression shifted the moment she stepped outside, just in time to see Mei Chi emerging from the apartment diagonally across.

The junior sister was smiling as she waved goodbye to the alchemist they had met earlier. “A-Zu, come over to my place and play when you’re free!”

It was unheard of for a “Human-grade” disciple to invite a “Heaven-grade” one over. Seeing steamed buns hanging around Mei Chi’s neck and pastries in her hands, Ding Xiandi looked toward the alchemist standing by her door.

While other alchemists put some effort into decorating their robes, this “Senior Aunt Zu” clearly had no such interest. she looked like a bamboo spirit—and a sickly one that might not survive another few years at that.

Noticing Ding Xiandi, Mei Chi didn’t have time to hide the food she had accepted. She guiltily called out, “Senior Sister.”

“I thought you went back,” Ding Xiandi said. She wasn’t sure how to handle Mei Chi. According to the original owner’s records, her relationship with her junior sister was even colder than Ding Xiandi’s relationship with her classmates back home.

Mei Chi loved to eat and usually asked the Second Senior Sister every day if she wanted takeout from the dining hall. The original owner, who lacked cultivation and was constantly mocked for being a “major sect disciple” in name only, had little appetite and usually refused.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, the alchemist spoke up. “I saw her fall outside the door just now, so I brought her in for a bit.”

Mei Chi looked at Ding Xiandi, feeling a bit dejected. “Second Senior Sister, the genius of the Heaven-Refining Sect isn’t even as good as Senior Sister Ming Jing. At least Ming Jing wouldn’t throw me out so violently.”

Ding Xiandi looked around. “Where are the onlookers?”

Mei Chi pointed at the woman in green. “A-Zu chased them away. She’s an alchemist. She has pills that can set people on fire if they hit the ground.”

Ding Xiandi: “…” Are those pills or grenades?

Knowing You Fuling’s rough temper, she asked, “Did you get hurt when you fell?”

“Even though Junior Sister Mei Chi was thrown out, she wasn’t injured, which shows…” The alchemist was interrupted by Mei Chi. “That’s because I have thick skin and divine strength! I wouldn’t get hurt even if I jumped off a mountain, okay?”

Ding Xiandi thought: Are you made of steel? A cyborg?

The alchemist laughed. “Junior Sister Mei Chi does have divine strength, but Junior Sister You also controlled her spiritual energy.”

Mei Chi asked, “Is Senior Aunt Zu very close with her?”

She had just been calling her “A-Zu” affectionately, but upon realizing she knew You Fuling, her sudden shift in formality made Ding Xiandi burst out laughing.

Ding Xiandi also wanted to know more about You Fuling. She followed up, “Does your Moon-Falling Sect have regular exchanges with the Heaven-Refining Sect?”

Compared to the crowds of sword cultivators, alchemists were the smallest department in the Academy.

Zu Jinxi nodded. “I’ve spoken a few words with Junior Sister You.”

On the back of the alchemist’s hand were lines resembling cracked porcelain, like the scars of old wounds. Ding Xiandi was curious but didn’t pry, focusing instead on You Fuling.

“Then does Senior Sister know about You Fuling’s constitution? Her spiritual energy is pure and her cultivation is high, so why does she still look so sickly?”

Mei Chi, who seemed to have a grudge against You Fuling, snorted. “She’s faking it. I saw her swat a Law Enforcement Crane out of the sky once.”

Ding Xiandi found it hard to imagine the frail You Fuling battling a giant metal bird.

Zu Jinxi had heard rumors of today’s farce. She asked, “Do you want to marry her?”

She seemed to have heard something of You Fuling’s constitution. She studied Ding Xiandi for a moment and said, “Your spiritual energies are compatible. You might actually be a well-matched pair of Dao companions.”

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