After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by a Crazy and Beautiful Villain - Chapter 50

After a quick lunch in town, Song Linlin led Zhang San and Chi Qianning towards Donghuang Mountain.

Few residents of the town ventured up the mountain, and the route was sparsely populated. The path was merely a small trail trodden by a handful of herb collectors, with dense, overgrown weeds lining both sides.

The mountain was so quiet that there was no birdsong. The only sound was Song Linlin constantly slicing through the vegetation with her sword. The weeds were so thick here that she had no choice but to use her sword to clear a path.

Zhang San nervously hid behind Song Linlin, with Chi Qianning walking last. Looking at the weeds and shrubs taller than a person, Zhang San felt as if their party was being completely surrounded by plants. She couldn’t help but swallow, grasping the corner of Song Linlin’s robe ahead of her, and said, rather inappropriately, “Doesn’t this place feel… a bit too spooky?”

“If we get ambushed here, we might not even see where the enemy is.”

Song Linlin’s hand holding the sword trembled. She wasn’t particularly brave to begin with, and having managed to steel herself to walk at the very front, Zhang San had to say something like that.

She flicked her sleeve, shaking off Zhang San’s fingers, and first cautiously scanned her surroundings. After confirming there were no strange movements, she turned back and spoke fiercely to Zhang San, though her voice was shaking: “You… you, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“There shouldn’t… be anything strange nearby, right?”

In the end, Song Linlin decided not to pretend to be brave anymore. She bolted from the front of the group to the back, hiding behind Chi Qianning. Firmly clutching the corner of Chi Qianning’s robe, she finally felt a sense of security.

Seeing Song Linlin run to the back, leaving Zhang San alone at the front, Zhang San immediately scurried back as well. “Waaah, Song Linlin, wait for me!”

Zhang San then hid behind Song Linlin, leaving Chi Qianning at the very front. Looking at the two commotion-causing people behind her, Chi Qianning felt speechless. In her perception, there was absolutely nothing unusual nearby.

Song Linlin met her gaze and smiled sheepishly, keeping a tight grip on Chi Qianning’s robe. She handed the sword to Chi Qianning and said timidly, “You should lead the way.”

Taking the long sword, Chi Qianning didn’t expect the two behind her to do anything, so she had to walk ahead and clear the path herself. Her sword strikes were much more efficient than Song Linlin’s, significantly speeding up the team’s progress. Soon, they walked out of the thick weed area.

Looking at the woods before them, even though it was the time when the afternoon sun was strongest, Song Linlin still found the place eerie. The tall trees were over ten meters high, and the dense canopy obscured the sky, allowing only sparse light to filter through the gaps in the leaves.

The air was filled with the smell of decaying leaves. Coupled with the gloomy environment, anyone could sense that something was likely amiss here.

Chi Qianning scanned her surroundings. Although she didn’t know the exact location of the Moon Poison Scorpion, its habitat was certainly the area with the densest yin and evil energy. She sensed the aura permeating the air and began to stride in one direction.

“Don’t just stand there, let’s go,” Chi Qianning told Song Linlin and Zhang San behind her.

Seeing Chi Qianning already heading deeper into the woods, Song Linlin naturally didn’t dare to linger there. She immediately trotted to catch up with her figure. “Coming!”

Peering at the scenery ahead, Song Linlin followed behind Chi Qianning, unable to resist linking her arm with the other girl’s. She asked with a mix of curiosity and fear, “Does that scorpion live in this direction?”

“Mm.” Chi Qianning simply nodded, offering no further explanation.

Zhang San, walking at the very back, was constantly looking around suspiciously. She, too, quickly moved forward, pulling on Song Linlin’s arm, and often looked back, fearing that some terrifying demon might suddenly appear behind her.

The three maintained a posture of holding onto each other, with only Chi Qianning walking ahead with the utmost composure. She was now starting to wonder if she should have come alone in the first place and left Song Linlin and Zhang San to wait at the bottom of the mountain.

These two were so dawdling. If it weren’t for them slowing her down, Chi Qianning estimated she would have reached the Moon Poison Scorpion’s lair much earlier.

It took the three of them more than an hour to finally approach their destination. By now, the sun had gradually begun to set, and the surrounding environment became undoubtedly dimmer. The surroundings had also changed; there were no more tall trees, the air was humid, and as soon as dusk fell, many insects crawled out to become active.

They could even see some white bone skeletons on the path, the remains of large animals, and occasionally, a few human bones.

The deeper Song Linlin went into this area, the more unnerved she became. The various insects around them were visibly increasing, and the smell in the air was getting weirder.

Fortunately, the air here hadn’t reached the point of being poisonous; it just smelled strange.

The surroundings became intensely quiet; even the insects, which had been constant noise throughout the journey, had vanished. Song Linlin looked at a large cave entrance not far away, quietly swallowed, and whispered to Chi Qianning, “Is that the Moon Poison Scorpion’s lair?”

Zhang San, now hiding behind Song Linlin, dared not speak at all, especially since it was already evening. The moon had long since appeared in the sky, and visibility was low.

Chi Qianning nodded and instructed Song Linlin, “Prepare two torches.”

“Huh?” Song Linlin stared at her with wide eyes.

The sky was dim now, and hiding here didn’t make them too conspicuous. If they lit a fire, it would be entirely different; wouldn’t that be like a bright beacon in the night? Anyone who wasn’t blind would spot them.

“You plan to go into that thing’s cave in the dark?”

Chi Qianning glanced at Song Linlin, discerning her concern, and shook her head, her tone resigned, “What are you afraid of? Just do as I say.”

“Alright.”

Song Linlin could only nod. Since they needed to collect the Purple Mist Leaves, they definitely had to enter the cave. They had moonlight for illumination outside, but inside, it would be pitch black. It was indeed necessary to make torches.

Making them wasn’t difficult, and Song Linlin quickly finished. Instantly, two bright points of fire lit up in the dark environment, making them very conspicuous.

As the firelight appeared, a strange commotion erupted from the cave. A gigantic, completely black scorpion crawled out of the entrance, its eight legs supporting its body, and its tail held high.

Even observing from a distance, Song Linlin was startled by the creature and couldn’t help but gasp. She turned to look at Zhang San, who was clearly dumbfounded.

Chi Qianning patted Song Linlin’s back, bringing her back from her shock. Even facing the massive scorpion, Chi Qianning remained composed and calm, saying faintly, “Go. Go around it from behind. There are no other living things in the cave.”

“Just… just go straight past it like this?” Song Linlin was still hesitant.

“Mm,” Chi Qianning nodded.

Song Linlin felt nervous but forced a nod, slapping Zhang San back to her senses. “Don’t just stand there, let’s go…”

“Ah?”

Zhang San looked reluctant to go. Song Linlin had no choice but to grab her arm and forcibly lead her forward. With every step, Song Linlin and Zhang San got closer to the Moon Poison Scorpion. Seeing the behemoth up close, Song Linlin’s heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. Zhang San tightly hugged Song Linlin’s arm, unwilling to let go, being mechanically pulled forward by Song Linlin.

Initially, Song Linlin was very timid, but now, with Zhang San—a even more timid person—to lead, she was forced to be brave. Despite being terrified, she resolutely led Zhang San forward, silently reassuring herself that Chi Qianning was right behind them and nothing would go wrong.

In the end, the Moon Poison Scorpion didn’t attempt to attack the two people passing by, allowing Song Linlin to successfully pull Zhang San into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, Song Linlin breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly pulled her arm out of Zhang San’s grasp and urged, “Alright, alright, let’s get to work quickly. The sooner we collect them, the sooner we can leave.”

Staying in such a dark cave didn’t feel good; Song Linlin certainly didn’t want to linger.

She took out two bamboo baskets from her spatial ring, handed one to Zhang San to facilitate the collection of Purple Mist Leaves. After putting on the baskets, they only needed a brief look around. Within the illuminated range of the torchlight, plenty of Purple Mist Leaves were growing.

Zhang San was also a bit shocked. “There are so many here?!”

Song Linlin nodded. A glance showed that these were all money. “Those herb collectors don’t dare to come in, so they just kept growing and growing, I guess…”

“Purple Mist Leaves are poisonous, don’t pick them directly with your hands.” Zhang San was very familiar with this plant and handed a pair of specialized gloves to Song Linlin. “Wear these; they can resist the poison.”

Song Linlin immediately put on the gloves. The two began collecting the Purple Mist Leaves growing on the cave walls in different directions.

The cave was very quiet, with only the sounds of Song Linlin and Zhang San collecting the medicinal herbs. Song Linlin occasionally turned to look at the cave entrance, afraid the scorpion might suddenly run back, and she was also very curious about the situation outside.

She had initially expected that after she and Zhang San entered the cave, there would be sounds of a fight outside. Instead, no sound at all came from outside the cave; it was silent, which made Song Linlin very curious.

Song Linlin couldn’t help but speed up her harvesting. Besides the Purple Mist Leaves, there were other plants growing here that Song Linlin didn’t know the names of. She didn’t care what they were; anything growing in this environment was certainly not ordinary, so she picked all of them into her basket.

When her basket was full, there were still many herbs left uncollected, but Song Linlin was too lazy to bother with the rest. As soon as Zhang San finished collecting, they headed toward the cave entrance.

When they stepped out of the cave, Song Linlin’s expectation was that the outside would be a mess, covered in signs of a fight. Instead, she looked around, and the outside environment was exactly the same as when they had entered the cave.

Chi Qianning was sitting bored on a large rock near the entrance. Her long sword was plunged into the nearby soil, the blade gleaming, without any residual blood.

Noticing the movement at the entrance, Chi Qianning turned her head and looked at Song Linlin. “Finished collecting?”

“Mm.”

Song Linlin nodded, somewhat confused. She approached Chi Qianning, pulled out the sword from the ground, and inspected it carefully. Other than mud and a little green sap left from chopping weeds earlier, there were no other marks on the blade.

Putting the sword away, she couldn’t help but look up at Chi Qianning, asking curiously, “Where is that Moon Poison Scorpion?”

Logically speaking, even if it had been killed silently, there should still be a corpse left behind. Song Linlin looked around and didn’t find any suspicious traces.

“It ran away.” Chi Qianning’s expression didn’t change as she answered plainly.

“R-ran away?”

Song Linlin was momentarily stunned. After a few seconds, she realized that Chi Qianning likely hadn’t even had to make a move; the creature was simply scared away. That was why the outside had been so quiet when she was in the cave.

Since the Moon Poison Scorpion retreated voluntarily, Song Linlin figured Chi Qianning probably couldn’t be bothered to chase it, allowing the scorpion to escape.

Song Linlin nodded, indicating she understood.

It was completely dark now. Looking up, she could see the stars in the sky. Song Linlin frowned. “Should we head down the mountain now?”

Just climbing the mountain had taken a lot of time. In the pitch-black night, it would likely take even longer to descend. They would probably reach the town late at night.

This small town was not like a large city such as Yunxin City. After dark, all the households closed their doors, and they hadn’t rented an inn.

Chi Qianning squinted and looked around. This place was the territory of the Moon Poison Scorpion. No demon dared to come to this area in the entire mountain. Now that the scorpion had fled, only the three of them remained in this spot.

After two seconds of silence, Chi Qianning said, “Let’s pitch a tent here. We’ll spend the night on the mountain.”

Song Linlin nodded, trusting her judgment. She put down her basket and went with Zhang San to figure out how to set up the tent. She naturally wouldn’t dare to trouble Chi Qianning with such a task.

Fortunately, Song Linlin was well-prepared when leaving the sect this time. Considering the possibility of having to spend the night outdoors, she brought a large tent. She had seen Ye Tingran use this thing during her past outdoor training. After puzzling over it with Zhang San for a while, and despite a rather difficult process, they finally managed to set up the tent.

Zhang San, learning that the Moon Poison Scorpion had fled and that they needed to spend the night on the mountain, felt quite novel and began to get inexplicably excited.

Song Linlin started a bonfire. A bonfire provided a much larger illuminated area than a torch. The firelight lit up a large surrounding area, dispelling the darkness and making people feel much safer.

It was a pity there weren’t many small animals nearby. Being within the Moon Poison Scorpion’s habitat, those weaker animals would instinctively stay far away from this area.

Song Linlin could only use some of the dry rations she had brought to cook a pot of dinner. The taste was mediocre, but it was enough to fill their stomachs.

After dinner, Song Linlin took out blankets inside the tent and began making the beds. Zhang San didn’t mind sleeping with Song Linlin and Chi Qianning.

Since they didn’t bring enough blankets, Zhang San slept with one set of blankets, while Song Linlin and Chi Qianning shared a blanket. Having seen Song Linlin and Chi Qianning being close together a lot these past days, Zhang San didn’t express any objections.

It was exceptionally quiet outside the tent, with only the occasional crisp crackle of the bonfire. Inside the tent, Song Linlin lay in the middle of the two. She looked at Chi Qianning, then at Zhang San, feeling a strange sense of oddness, like a small child had been added to an adult bed, making sleep feel uncomfortable.

Last night, Song Linlin had slept while hugging Chi Qianning, but with Zhang San here tonight, Song Linlin felt embarrassed to make any extra movements. She could only stare up at the tent ceiling. In this environment, she suffered from insomnia.

Zhang San was unaffected by the environment. Before long, Song Linlin heard her steady breathing, indicating she was likely asleep.

This made Song Linlin’s heart start to itch again. Since Zhang San was asleep, surely, she could hug Chi Qianning now?

Song Linlin turned her head to look at Chi Qianning. The other girl was lying flat beside her. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. Song Linlin couldn’t tell if she was asleep, only feeling that Chi Qianning looked excessively beautiful even with her eyes closed.

Gently shifting her body, Song Linlin turned to lie on her side, looking at Chi Qianning up close. At the same time, she couldn’t help but reach out, wanting to stroke the side of the person next to her.

Before her warm fingers could fully approach, Chi Qianning opened her eyes first. She turned her head, looking at Song Linlin, who was reaching out to her, with confusion.

Her intention was discovered by Chi Qianning before her fingers even touched her, causing Song Linlin’s reaching motion to pause for a moment, and a hint of embarrassment surfaced in her heart.

However, Song Linlin had gotten used to being embarrassed over time, so this level of awkwardness was nothing. Her fingers finally landed on the other girl’s face, gliding from her cheek to her ear cartilage, and then to her earlobe. Song Linlin couldn’t help but gently pinch it.