After Transmigrating into a Novel as the Master, I Was Forced into Love by the Yandere Villain - Chapter 16

Song Ling’er spoke as though no one else was around, her eyes lingering fixedly upon Fan Chen.

“Song Ling’er…”

Observing the young woman’s overly familiar attitude toward him, Fan Chen furrowed his brows and rummaged through the distant corridors of his memory to unearth her identity.

“You’re the Song Ling’er who used to live next door to me when we were kids.”

“Brother Fan Chen, you remembered me~”

Beaming brightly, Song Ling’er stepped closer to Fan Chen’s side and quite naturally hooked her hands around the crook of his arm.

“Brother Fan Chen, not long after you left the village, two immortals came to recruit disciples, and I was fortunate enough to have my spiritual root tested and get accepted into the Ziyun Sect…”

Song Ling’er chattered endlessly about various memories from their childhood, while off to the side, Su Yuanyuan crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze locked unblinkingly upon the hands Song Ling’er had wrapped around Fan Chen’s arm.

Recalling fragments of his past in the village, Fan Chen’s thoughts drifted as he remembered how Song Ling’er used to trail after him like an annoying little tail when they were small.

Looking at her now, fully blossomed into a graceful young woman, he couldn’t help marveling at how much Song Ling’er had grown up.

Song Ling’er recounted her experiences in meticulous detail before casually steering the conversation back toward Fan Chen with effortless subtlety.

Upon learning that Fan Chen had been accepted under the tutelage of Immortal Venerable Changheng, she let out an audible gasp of awe and gazed at him with eyes brimming with absolute worship.

“Brother Fan Chen is truly amazing, actually managing to be taken in as a direct disciple under Immortal Venerable Changheng. Your spiritual root must be incredibly powerful unlike me, who only awakened a single wood spiritual root.”

Bathed in wave after wave of Song Ling’er’s effusive flattery, Fan Chen very nearly lost himself in the sensation.

Fortunately, Shen Wang could no longer bear to watch any further. Letting out a light cough, he forcibly interrupted their ongoing dialogue.

“Since Miss Song has already been rescued, why not make haste and return to your sect? The members of the Heavenly Demonic Sect failed this time, but they will undoubtedly dispatch more men to hunt you down. It would be best for the young lady to take her leave sooner rather than later.”

Peering out from over Fan Chen’s shoulder, Song Ling’er flashed a lively, radiant smile.

“Thank you for your kind concern, Senior Brother, but it’s rare that I’ve run into Brother Fan Chen again, and I still have so many things I want to talk about with him. Besides, I’m certain that even if the Heavenly Demonic Sect comes back, Brother Fan Chen will keep me safe.”

With matters phrased to this extent, Song Ling’er had clearly resolved to latch onto Fan Chen and refuse to budge.

Standing off to the side with her longsword clutched in her arms, Su Yuanyuan watched the scene unfold before her. A wave of awkward, disgruntled frustration compelled her to issue a soft, indignant huff before she spun around and flew off on her sword.

“Junior Sister!”

Seeing Su Yuanyuan storming off, Fan Chen immediately abandoned any lingering desire to reminisce with his childhood companion, frantically summoning his flying sword to give chase.

Two streaks of rainbow light vanished one after the other into the distance, leaving the deserted, quiet forest populated solely by Song Ling’er and Shen Wang.

“This humble servant pays respects to the Exalted Lord~”

Song Ling’er dropped into a deep, graceful bow before Shen Wang, her shifting gaze swimming with intoxicating allure a stark, chilling contrast to her previous lively and adorable persona.

“How are the secret deployments proceeding?”

“Please rest assured, Exalted Lord. The ambushes along the path ahead have already been laid, and that perilous terrain is more than sufficient to trap and isolate them. However… is merely trapping them truly enough to lure out that Immortal Venerable?”

Song Ling’er wore an expression of subtle doubt. Even though Fan Chen and Su Yuanyuan were disciples of Immortal Venerable Changheng,

why would that detached, ethereal Immortal Venerable Changheng possibly abandon the Xuantian Sword Sect and venture out simply because two disciples had fallen into a perilous trap?

“Mn.”

Shen Wang’s brows knitted together in sudden displeasure. Instantly, Song Ling’er collapsed onto her knees, trembling violently as she raised her head with fearful, trembling deference.

“This servant begs the Exalted Lord’s forgiveness for speaking out of turn.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Shen Wang stepped onto his sword and swept away into the distance, leaving a profoundly shaken Song Ling’er drenched in cold sweat and narrowly escaping the gates of the underworld.

The Exalted Lord’s temperament appeared to have mellowed considerably; had this occurred in the past, her mere hesitation would have resulted in her being blasted into ashes on the spot.

Biting her lower lip, Song Ling’er scrambled up to board her spiritual boat, frantically accelerating to keep pace with their trail.

Far away in Tianxia Ravine, Bai Qiuluo suddenly felt a chilling draft brush down his spine, as though someone were actively plotting against him behind his back.

Rubbing his nose, Bai Qiuluo abruptly recalled that the protagonists were slated to rescue a female supporting character named Song Ling’er during this excursion.

This particular female supporting character had grown up alongside the male lead, qualifying her as a textbook childhood sweetheart.

Capitalizing on their shared childhood history, Song Ling’er successfully maneuvered her way into joining the protagonists’ traveling party.

Within the original text, this female supporting character existed primarily to serve as a catalyst to stir up the romance between the male and female leads.

At this stage of the story, Su Yuanyuan had yet to experience an emotional awakening, remaining entirely oblivious to her true feelings for the male lead until Song Ling’er’s deliberate provocations shocked her into realizing that she had fallen in love with her senior brother.

Consequently, after navigating a series of misunderstandings fueled largely by the heroine’s lack of a functional mouth and suffering various grievances, the male lead would step up with overwhelming protectiveness to clear the air, allowing the couple to clear up their differences and happily unite in sweet harmony.

What Bai Qiuluo failed to realize, however, was that not even the original text had ever documented the fact that Song Ling’er was actually an operative planted by Shen Wang, deliberately engineered to drive a wedge between the male and female leads so the villain could exploit the opening and abduct the heroine.

Yet unbeknownst to anyone, Shen Wang’s primary target had long since shifted; his grand designs had pivoted entirely toward capturing Bai Qiuluo instead.

The quartet of travelers arrived in Kuncheng shortly thereafter. Kuncheng was a bustling city shared jointly by mortals and cultivators.

Soaring freely through the air via flight was strictly prohibited within city limits, and launching arbitrary attacks against mortals carried severe penalties.

Any individuals caught engaging in physical altercations within the city would be seized and locked away together within the City Lord’s Manor.

With the formidable backing of the Xuantian Sword Sect standing firmly behind Kuncheng, visiting cultivators universally complied with its established regulations.

They had journeyed to this city after receiving intelligence that an auction hosted within the Kuncheng marketplace featured a rare, millennium-old Frost Flower.

Since their master, Immortal Venerable Changheng, possessed a mutated ice spiritual root, this Frost Flower possessed the properties to nourish and benefit ice-attributed spiritual roots.

While the treasure meant virtually nothing to a powerhouse of Bai Qiuluo’s caliber, it represented a genuine token of filial piety and consideration from his disciples.

The proposal had originally been raised by the female lead, and her two senior brothers naturally raised no objections.

“Kuncheng is so lively!”

Su Yuanyuan gazed around in wide-eyed wonder, completely forgetting the anger that had prompted her to storm off earlier.

Walking right beside her, Fan Chen occasionally paused to purchase various small trinkets and toys to present to Su Yuanyuan as gifts.

Following a short distance behind them at a half-step lag, Song Ling’er maintained her position, interjecting with calculated, green-tea remarks whenever appropriate to subtly drive a wedge between the couple.

To successfully lure the pair toward a desolate valley situated several hundred miles away, she naturally needed to deploy her most proficient tactics.

Shen Wang had vanished from sight the moment they entered the city limits, leaving behind only a brief parting message that he was going ahead to scout out information regarding the Frost Flower.

“Brother Fan Chen, let’s find an inn to settle down in first. The auction begins in five days, and considering how many cultivators will inevitably flood into the city, if we delay any longer, we won’t even be able to secure a place to stay.”

Song Ling’er spoke in a soft, gentle tone, abruptly cutting across the conversation unfolding between Fan Chen and Su Yuanyuan.

Her reasoning was entirely sound and logical, leaving Fan Chen without a single flaw to pick apart.

Meanwhile, Su Yuanyuan who had been chatting and smiling amicably just moments prior felt her expression stiffen instantly.

Song Ling’er had repeatedly interrupted her interactions with her senior brother; even an utter fool would have detected the deliberate malice at play by now.

Not to mention the fact that Su Yuanyuan was merely high-spirited and untamed by nature, rather than genuinely stupid.

“Junior Sister, what Ling’er says makes sense. Let’s find an inn and check in first.”

“Heh…”

Su Yuanyuan let out a cold, mocking laugh, while an indescribable wave of suffocating frustration and annoyance swelled deep within her chest.