I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 72

Climbing the stairs, the mountain peaks were covered in snow.

Ruzhong Mountain was perpetually snow-covered, with snow falling for half the year. In the deep winter, large patches of mist would often drift by, making it impossible to see the distance.

Xuan Ji flew upward on her sword against the wind. She knew of a small path that avoided the constant wind and snow. This heavy snow served as a crucial protective barrier in winter, preventing outside intrusion.

The winding, narrow goat track led through the woods. After landing, Xuan Ji put away the Demon Subduing Pestle.

She had initially thought that using such a divine artifact for the first time would be a burden, but she found that the object was exceptionally gentle toward her. Not only did it not deplete any of her spiritual energy, but it was actually replenishing it.

It truly lives up to its name as an ancient divine artifact. Her Junior Sister had found a treasure.

The small path was silent; not even the sound of a bird could be heard. Xuan Ji looked around and realized that no one had passed this way for a long time. Presumably, the soldiers did not know about this route.

After walking along this path for about half an hour, Xuan Ji heard noises and a heavy scent of blood coming from not far away!

Xuan Ji: “!!!”

She quickly ran over and found that a massive pit had been dug in the back mountain at some point. Inside the pit lay several corpses scattered haphazardly. She recognized all of them—they were the ornamental cranes belonging to the sect.

A dozen or so celestial cranes lay in the pit, lightly covered by soil, with half a claw or a head sticking out, their eyes wide open in death, looking up at the people above the pit.

Xuan Ji: “…”

What exactly are these people doing on the mountain?

At the same time, on the practice square of the back mountain, hundreds of people sat cross-legged. They were dressed in thin clothes, sitting on the ground, which was already covered in snow. Some of the weaker ones had collapsed, unconscious, and it was unclear whether they were alive or dead.

“Count them. How many have died?”

A man with a pinched voice spoke to the stationed soldiers. “Throw the dead ones into the pit in the back mountain. Keep the living ones freezing. They can come inside once they agree to talk.”

“Yes, sir!”

The man glanced at the white-bearded old man sitting in the front row and said helplessly, “Why are you all so stubborn? We are asking you to hand over the suppressed item to be used as a medicine ingredient for His Majesty. This is a tremendous honor!”

“Impossible.” The old man’s lips were purple, but his voice was still loud and clear. “If the demon suppressed in the sect a hundred years ago is released, it will endanger the surrounding populace. You cannot harm the common people for your private desires!”

“What business is the lives of others to you? Why do you dying men need to worry about them?”

“If you are willing to tell me the location of the suppressed demon, I will take it as your consent. Then I’ll say a good word to His Majesty, and you will not only be famous but also become wealthy. Why do you constantly reject our kindness?”

The old man shook his head firmly, then closed his eyes, sitting motionless in the wind and snow.

Seeing his dismissive attitude, the man pouted in displeasure, flung his sleeve, and turned to leave. “If you want to freeze so badly, then continue freezing! It will help you clear your head!”

The wind and snow were shut out of the room. Inside the main hall, the surrounding braziers burned brightly, heating the massive room fiercely.

“Your Majesty…”

The man knelt down and bowed his head to the white-browed old man sitting on the upper seat. “They are very stubborn and still refuse to disclose any information about the entrance.”

“Still not willing to speak?”

The old man’s eyes were sunken and his skin was purple. Even though he wore magnificent purple-gold robes, he couldn’t hide his age. Any ordinary commoner would have long been buried. He was currently sustaining his life with millennia-old medicine, but at an age when his lamp was running out of oil, no one knew how much longer he could last.

A careless gust of wind and snow on Ruzhong Mountain might just extinguish him.

“Your Majesty,” the man looked up at him, “Why don’t we just bomb this mountain? The demon must be hidden within. We can blast it out, capture it, extract its heart blood, and your medicine will be complete!”

The old man lightly coughed twice and said, “Then, as you say, bomb this mountain flat.”

“By your command—”

Xun Fangyun wrapped her arms around Mang Ke’s little bottom, rubbed her small head, and kissed her little face.

“Mhm…” Mang Ke was a little dizzy from the rubbing. She extended her hand to push Xun Fangyun away in protest. “Have you kissed enough!”

Xun Fangyun: “Almost.”

With that, she leaned in and kissed Mang Ke’s forehead.

Mang Ke angrily patted her head and said, “It feels like you’re eating a bun, not kissing your wife.”

Xun Fangyun was delighted and replied with a smile, “What’s the difference? I’m kissing you either way, not someone else.”

“Kissing children is illegal!”

“But I’m kissing my own child. Which yamen would dare arrest me?”

“Mhm… Pervert!”

After a bit of playful bickering, Xun Fangyun finally got down to business.

“You lent the Demon Subduing Pestle to your Senior Sister. Aren’t you afraid she’ll use it to stab me later?” Xun Fangyun recalled what the artifact looked like in Xuan Ji’s hand and felt that if they fought now, the outcome would be uncertain.

All things have a counter-force. The Demon Subduing Pestle was created specifically to subdue the Demon Race.

Before, it subdued Xun Fangyun. This time, who knew who it would subdue?

Mang Ke shrank her neck at the question. “Senior Sister is going to rescue people. She probably won’t stab you.”

“Besides,” Mang Ke puffed out her little chest, “if Senior Sister stabs you, I will be the first to step out and shield you from the sword!”

“There’s no need for that.” Xun Fangyun poked Mang Ke’s nose with her fingertip. “You just need to grow up safely.”

Xun Fangyun held Mang Ke in her arms, stood up, and opened the door. “Let’s go up the mountain and watch the excitement. I have a feeling there will be a fierce battle this time.”

Mang Ke clutched her clothes and said dully, “If this were an immortal-hero video game, this is where the main trio goes up the mountain to fight the tiger.”

“You’re right. There must be supplies before a great battle.”

“And essential divine weapons~”

“Alright,” Xun Fangyun stopped arguing with Mang Ke, extended her hand, and drew a circle in the air. Using the circle as the boundary, a black transfer portal opened. “Let’s go find your Senior Sister first.”

Wind and snow swirled. In the back hall of Ruzhong Mountain, Xuan Ji was crouched on the roof beam, watching the people below moving things back and forth.

She was about to observe more closely when she felt a gust of wind behind her. She turned around and saw a familiar figure holding a child standing silently behind her.

Xuan Ji: “…”

Mang Ke was delighted to see Xuan Ji and reached out for a hug. However, when she looked down and saw that she was standing on the roof beam, she felt dizzy and collapsed, shivering, into Xun Fangyun’s arms.

Xun Fangyun patted Mang Ke’s shoulder. She had forgotten that the girl was afraid of heights.

“Why are you here?” Xuan Ji was not angry at Xun Fangyun; instead, she felt a strange sense of relief. At least Mang Ke was safer with her than with herself.

“To see you,” Xun Fangyun said, patting Mang Ke’s shoulder calmly. “Did you find the people?”

Xuan Ji was silent for a long time. In fact, she had found her Grandmasters; they were all sitting in the square, freezing. Xuan Ji was alone, and she wasn’t sure if she could fight against thousands of soldiers.

Seeing Xuan Ji’s silence, Xun Fangyun knew she had likely found them but couldn’t rescue them due to some problem.

She looked at the soldiers moving things out of the back hall and asked, “Do you know what they are trying to do?”

“Bomb the mountain,” Xuan Ji said coldly. “They are going to flatten Ruzhong Mountain and release the demon beast suppressed within.”

Mang Ke poked her head out, clutching Xun Fangyun’s clothes. “They can’t bomb it! If they bomb the mountain, won’t our sect be destroyed?”

Xuan Ji looked at the soldiers. “But what more can I do?”

Do I have to kidnap the old Emperor to rescue my Master and Grandmaster?

But she was only one person…

No, now it seems she has some help.

Xun Fangyun seemed to realize Xuan Ji’s intentions. She hugged Mang Ke and said, “I’ll lend you some people.”

Xuan Ji stared at her. “Where would you get people?”

Xun Fangyun said, “By now, do you still not know who I am?”

Xuan Ji: “…”

“The Demon Lord,” Xun Fangyun said. “The person who can destroy the heavens and the earth.”

Xuan Ji: “…Heh, talk is cheap. Show me some real skill.”

Xun Fangyun nodded, reached out, and grabbed a handful of luminous scales in the air, scattering them over the entire back hall.

The scales were tiny and ethereal. As the soldiers breathed, they seeped into their mouths and noses, penetrating deep into their bodies.

“That’s it?” Xuan Ji stood with her sword, unimpressed.

Xun Fangyun said nothing. She snapped her fingers near her ear. The group of people who had just inhaled the scales suddenly fell to the ground, scattered all over the back hall, wobbling like the walking dead.

Xuan Ji smelled a rotten stench. It was an odor emanating from within—the soldiers’ internal organs were slowly decaying…

“Malicious,” Xuan Ji pinched her nose and frowned. “Aren’t you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself by harming people like this?”

“I don’t particularly like to do things myself,” Xun Fangyun said. “And didn’t I just say that I would lend you some people?”

—Ding-a-ling—

For some unknown reason, a faint, ethereal ringing sound came from the back hall. The people who had fallen to the ground all stood up, but their limbs were clearly weak, and their swaying movements suggested they were not truly alive.

“A gift for you. Do you like it?” Xun Fangyun smiled.

Xuan Ji gritted her teeth. “A morbid sense of humor.”

“Glad you think so,” Xun Fangyun said, turning her head with Mang Ke in her arms. She told her, “The top half is up to you. The bottom half is up to me.”

Xuan Ji was taken aback, then realized she was referring to the demon beast suppressed in the mountain.

“You… are you really going?” Xuan Ji said. “That creature has been suppressed for a hundred years and has a terrible temper. If you go, I’m afraid…”

“I, who was pinned down by the Demon Subduing Pestle for tens of thousands of years, didn’t lose my temper. Does it dare challenge me?”

Xun Fangyun was unfazed. “Besides, I haven’t even confronted you about suppressing a demon beast of my race. Now you want me to back down? Too late.”

Xuan Ji grumbled softly. “I didn’t say anything. I’m just worried about my Junior Sister.”

“Correction,” Xun Fangyun said. “The Junior Sister is mine now.”

With that, she patted the little bottom of Mang Ke, who had been pretending to be dead, and leaned down to ask, “Isn’t that right, wifey?”

Mang Ke raised her head, gritting her teeth. “If you say so, then it is.”