After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by a Crazy and Beautiful Villain - Chapter 14

“Let’s go, time to head out.”

Song Linlin had specially changed into a set of black night clothes. She pushed open the door of her room and happened to see Zhiyu, who was staying not far away, also just stepping out.

Not many people were going out tonight. Including Song Linlin, there were only four people in total. Too many people posed a risk of exposure. If it weren’t for Song Linlin’s strong insistence on being included, Ye Tingran originally only planned to take Zhiyu and the previously mentioned Liu Zhi.

In the dead of night, the inn was quiet. Song Linlin couldn’t make too much noise, so she only waved at Zhiyu as a greeting.

The two walked downstairs together. It wasn’t until they left the inn that Song Linlin realized Ye Tingran was already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing the two walk out together, Ye Tingran nodded and immediately said in a low voice, “Liu Zhi is keeping an eye on Mu Tong right now. Since everyone is here, without further ado, let’s set off.”

Song Linlin and Zhiyu both agreed, and the three quickly headed towards the suburbs. On the way, Zhiyu noticed that Song Linlin’s waist was empty and she hadn’t brought a weapon.

Zhiyu looked confused and asked, “Junior Sister Song, didn’t you bring your sword?”

“Uh…”

Song Linlin was a little embarrassed. As an inner disciple of a major sect, her personal sword had been chopped in half by someone, and she didn’t even have a spare one. It was truly a laughing matter to admit it.

She rubbed her nose and whispered, “Mine was accidentally broken during the entanglement with Mu Tong yesterday, so I didn’t bring it out…”

“I see…”

Zhiyu nodded. Hearing this, she remembered that she had witnessed that scene herself yesterday. It was just that she was eager to quickly capture Mu Tong at the time, so she didn’t pay much attention to it, and later gradually forgot about it.

She thought for a moment, reached into a small cloth pouch hanging on her waist—which was similar in function to a Qiankun ring, a small spatial artifact—and, as if performing magic, took out a long sword and handed it to Song Linlin.

“Junior Sister Song, you take it,” Zhiyu said in a gentle tone with a faint smile on her lips. She slowly continued,

“This is the sword I used before. I’ve switched to a new one now and don’t use this much anymore. Why don’t you use it for now? You can return it to me after we return to the sect and you find a replacement.”

Song Linlin was somewhat flattered, mainly because with her mediocre skills, having a sword or not made little difference. What if she accidentally broke this one too…

She quickly refused, “No, no! Senior Sister Zhiyu, how can I accept this? You should keep it for yourself.”

“It’s alright,”

Zhiyu didn’t care what happened to the sword. She didn’t withdraw her hand, fearing that the other party would refuse again, and explained, “In any case, we are about to face unknown enemies. You having this sword adds a point to our combat strength and also increases your ability to protect yourself, so we won’t be distracted protecting you.”

“So, Junior Sister Song, please take it for now. Don’t worry about breaking it again; I have other swords.”

“Okay then.”

Song Linlin took the long sword from her. Since the other party put it that way, refusing again would make her seem unappreciative. She smiled gratefully at Zhiyu, “Thank you, Senior Sister Zhiyu.”

“It’s nothing. We are fellow disciples and should naturally help each other,” Zhiyu returned a faint smile.

Song Linlin carefully examined the long sword in her hand. The scabbard was pure white with a fresh light blue at the bottom. The overall look was simple, but upon closer inspection, one could see the exquisite carvings on the scabbard.

The hilt was inlaid with a snowy white tassel-style sword ornament strung with light blue beads. Song Linlin slightly drew the sword. The blade, extended a segment from the scabbard, shimmered with a cold light, its sharpness directly hitting the eye.

Looking closer, a uniquely shaped pattern was etched on the tip of the blade. Song Linlin naturally recognized the meaning of this pattern at a glance.

This was the symbol of the Sword Inquiry Pavilion (Wen Jian Ge). The Sword Inquiry Pavilion had quite a reputation, known throughout the world for its sword-casting standards. The quantity of swords produced each year was limited, and even the most basic models were astonishingly expensive.

Song Linlin couldn’t help but look sideways at Zhiyu in surprise, wanting only to say:

Senior Sister Zhiyu, you are really rich!

She wondered if the breaking of her own sword was a blessing or a curse. After all, that was just a very ordinary model. If it broke, so be it. She was rarely getting to use such a high-class item!

The three quickly moved through the night. Inside the city, apart from a few specific night market streets, other areas were silent. The surroundings gradually became more desolate, and finally, they reached the wood shed where Mu Tong was being held, right on schedule.

Liu Zhi, also dressed in black night clothes, was already waiting there. Mu Tong was tightly bound with special ropes, leaving only his legs free. After all, they would need him to lead the way later, and tying his legs would prevent him from walking.

Ye Tingran simply greeted him. Liu Zhi nodded in response. He looked at the three people in front of him and said, “Since everyone is here, let’s set off earlier.”

“En, without further delay, let’s go,” Ye Tingran agreed with his assessment.

Liu Zhi held the rope tied to Mu Tong, poked Mu Tong’s back with the tip of his sword scabbard, and commanded in a cold, unemotional voice, “Walk, you lead the way.”

Mu Tong showed no resentment, chuckled twice, and said ingratiatingly, “Alright. The four of you don’t need to rush so much; there’s still plenty of time before the appointed hour.”

“Hmph,” Liu Zhi snorted coldly, threatening and scolding, “Don’t play any tricks with me. I’m not as kind as the three junior sisters. If I find anything wrong with you, I’ll ensure your body and soul separate the next moment.”

This statement, coupled with Liu Zhi’s righteous and unyielding demeanor, was highly convincing. Mu Tong dared not say any more.

Mu Tong led the way, with Liu Zhi and Ye Tingran following closely behind, to observe any small movements from Mu Tong and to confront any possible enemies head-on.

Zhiyu and Song Linlin walked at the very end. This position was the safest. Everyone maintained a quiet understanding throughout the journey; no one spoke, and only soft footsteps could be heard.

Song Linlin, facing this late-night trip to push the main storyline forward, would have been scared to death if she were alone. Now, with a group of people together, she felt excited and expectant instead.

She followed beside Zhiyu, trying her best to lighten her footsteps, and gradually moved out of the city gates, heading towards the outskirts.

Along the way, Song Linlin couldn’t help but sigh internally that this small Qingcheng was truly a place where hidden talents reside. Originally, in a place like this, those at the Foundation Establishment stage should be able to walk around unimpeded, given that most people in this world are ordinary folks unable to cultivate.

Yet, this small town consecutively saw the appearance of Chi Qianning and those two demon cultivator powerhouses who were reduced to nothing but dust, and that Luofeng Temple Falling Maple Temple also had a plot boss at the late Golden Core stage, one step away from the Nascent Soul stage, behind it.

What troubled Song Linlin the most, of course, was how her group could possibly defeat a person in the late Golden Core stage. According to the original book’s trope, teammates would naturally die, and the protagonist, Ye Tingran, would break through to the Golden Core stage in this situation, using all her might to successfully kill the enemy.

Unfortunately, Song Linlin felt that she would definitely be one of the dying teammates.

“Everyone, we’re almost there.”

Mu Tong’s voice interrupted Song Linlin’s thoughts. She could only temporarily set aside these unnecessary worries. The most pressing matter now was to capture the person coming for the liaison.

Song Linlin carefully observed the nearby scenery and realized that they had unknowingly circled into a bamboo forest. Ahead of them was an abandoned, dilapidated temple.

The statues inside the temple were already covered in dust, making it impossible to tell which deity was originally worshipped. However, a pile of extinguished firewood could still be seen in the center of the temple, suggesting that someone had stayed there overnight a few days ago.

Mu Tong explained, “This is an abandoned mountain temple. Occasionally, herb collectors who go deep into the mountains and can’t return home before dark will stay here overnight.”

“The meeting point we agreed upon is here. He should arrive in a little while.”

Ye Tingran exchanged glances with the others. Since they were already here, they could only choose to believe Mu Tong for now. She said to Liu Zhi, “First, gag him and tie him to the pillar behind the statue.”

Otherwise, if this fellow shouted loudly when the person he was waiting for arrived, it would certainly alert the person and scare them away. Tying him up was to prevent Mu Tong from seizing the opportunity to escape and report to the enemy while they were fighting the newcomer.

“Okay!”

Liu Zhi led Mu Tong to a pillar and securely tied him there. He then forcefully poured something unknown into Mu Tong’s mouth. After the substance was swallowed, Mu Tong genuinely couldn’t make any sound.

“Let’s find a place to hide in ambush first. Once that person arrives, we’ll seize the right moment and unexpectedly move together to capture him,” Ye Tingran assessed the environment inside the temple and calmly arranged the next course of action.

Seeing that everyone else had found a place to hide, Song Linlin also ducked behind a pile of tall debris. She was a little distance away from the others, as they were the main attackers and naturally chose spots closer to the entrance for easy engagement.

Seeing that no one could see what she was doing from this angle, Song Linlin moved further inside, sat down, and planned to check what Chi Qianning was up to. She hadn’t made a single sound since she arrived, not even a movement.

Slowly lifting her sleeve, Song Linlin was dumbfounded. She saw the silver-white little snake coiled around her arm resting its head against her arm, but its eyes were closed.

What the heck?!

I’m currently going through the tense and exciting main storyline. Why are you sleeping???

Song Linlin couldn’t resist reaching out a finger to poke the little snake’s head. After being poked twice suddenly, the silver-scaled little snake finally showed some movement.

It raised its head, opened its scarlet eyes, and saw Song Linlin pointing her finger at it.

“How can you be sleeping?!” Song Linlin opened her mouth but didn’t make any sound, silently accusing with her mouth shape.

The next moment, the little snake on her arm vanished, and Chi Qianning suddenly appeared beside Song Linlin. She didn’t seem to have a germ phobia and sat casually on the straw spread on the ground.

Chi Qianning yawned, turned her head, looked around, surveyed the surroundings, and then looked at Song Linlin, her voice still a little groggy, “We’ve arrived? Is this the place?”

“Shhh!”

Song Linlin quickly reached out and covered her mouth, looking at her in shock, and immediately poked her head out to look around, afraid that if an unfamiliar voice appeared, the others would all rush towards her.

Fortunately, after peeking for several seconds, there was no movement around, as if Song Linlin had just hallucinated the sound herself.

Song Linlin drew her head back and saw Chi Qianning staring at her, her own palm still tightly covering the other person’s mouth.

Feeling the soft touch on her palm, Song Linlin quietly withdrew her hand. Then, she saw Chi Qianning rolling a very expressive pair of eyes. The other party sighed, her tone suggesting exasperation or helplessness, “The others can’t hear the commotion over here.”

“Oh.”

Having been given an eye-roll, Song Linlin couldn’t openly refute, so she could only utter a soft “oh.” Feeling some moist warmth on her palm, Song Linlin habitually wiped it on her clothes.

Chi Qianning naturally noticed Song Linlin’s action and frowned.

“Heh.”

“What?” Being inexplicably “heh’d” at, Song Linlin looked at the other party strangely.

Chi Qianning grabbed her hand, “What? Are you still disgusted with me? You were practically glued to me this morning and didn’t want to leave.”

“Huh?” Song Linlin really couldn’t understand her line of reasoning and could only follow her lead, saying, “I’m not disgusted with you.”

“Is that so?” Chi Qianning narrowed her eyes, looking at Song Linlin.

Song Linlin, whose wrist was being held, said helplessly, “Why would I lie to you?”

“Then kiss it back.”

After saying this, Chi Qianning lifted Song Linlin’s palm and lowered her head to place a light kiss on her palm.

Feeling the warm touch on her palm, the silver-haired beauty in front of her slightly lowered her eyes. The moment her lips touched her palm, Song Linlin’s entire body froze, not daring to make any movement.

It wasn’t until the other person’s lips left her skin and her lowered red eyes looked up again, staring intently at her, that Song Linlin came back to her senses.

Chi Qianning released the wrist she was holding. The icy touch on her wrist and the warmth on her palm—two different sensations, both brought by the same person.

“Wow! You… you…”

Song Linlin stared at Chi Qianning in shock, her lips slightly opening and closing a few times, but she didn’t know what to say. Her mind stalled, and she was at a loss for words.

After a few seconds of silence, Song Linlin looked at her palm, then at Chi Qianning, and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you a child?!”