Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 3

[Who’s this “Elder Qi”? Why’s he helping Shampoo (Xie Qingyang)?]

[Hell if I know. He wasn’t even in the original novel when I read it.]

[The male lead has to enter Tianyan Sect. Elder Qi’s clearly just a plot device to move things along.]

[Makes sense. Since the fox spirit didn’t help Shampoo, someone else had to step in.]

[But seriously—who is Elder Qi?!]

[I’m following the ethernet cable to ask the author myself.]

******

Elder Qi? Who?

Hu Li crouched in the bushes, holding two twigs like makeshift antennas, watching the comment feed roll endlessly above her head. No matter how long she stared, she couldn’t figure out who this mysterious person was.

One thing, however, was certain—Elder Qi had to be one of Xie Qingyang’s many cheat-code grandpas.

Maybe someday he would even turn out to be a long-lost relative, setting off a heartfelt reunion and handing him a world-shaking golden finger.

Unfair! Hu Li, reincarnated as the soon-to-die villainess, stabbed the twigs into the dirt to vent her frustration.

Unfortunately, that small sound drew the attention of several patrolling Tianyan Sect disciples.

“Crap,” she muttered under her breath, hurriedly slipping the bracelet she had bought from Wanbao Pavilion onto her wrist.

“Hey, look! A red-furred dog! That’s rare,” one of them said, scooping Hu Li up from the ground and rubbing her head. “Must’ve run away from Beast-Taming Peak. Doesn’t look like it’s gained intelligence yet.”

Red-furred dog. Not yet intelligent.

Hu Li gave him a death glare, swiping at his sleeve with her short little paws but her legs were too stubby, which only made the disciple laugh harder.

“Oh ho, she’s mad!” He pinned her closer and ruffled her fur again.

Insufferable!

Hu Li let out a furious bark and lunged to bite him but another disciple quickly snatched her away, leaving her jaws clamping on air. Her titanium-alloy dog teeth nearly cracked from the force.

“Senior Sister, maybe we should just send this red dog back to Beast-Taming Peak,” said the one holding her.

The other looked troubled. “But we’re still on patrol. We can’t leave just yet.”

They exchanged helpless looks, unwilling to abandon their duty or the adorable fluffball in their arms. After a brief internal struggle, they decided to take Hu Li along.

The winter air was bone-chilling. Curled up against the disciple’s chest, Hu Li fought to stay awake, but eventually her heavy eyelids won.

She hadn’t rested properly last night, half-buried in a cold bush.

Now, with these two girls whose only hobby seemed to be petting dogs, she finally felt safe enough to sleep.

She hadn’t been out for long before she suddenly felt herself lifted. Startled awake, she heard someone say….

“Senior Sister Miaoyun, could you take this red dog to Beast-Taming Peak for us?”

“No problem. Leave it to me.”

Half-conscious, Hu Li caught the exchange as her new holder changed.

The girl carrying her had soft features and a round, baby-like face. One of those faces that practically begged to be squished.

But—

Why was her face so red?

Hu Li tilted her head, puzzled, just as the girl muttered to herself, “Shang Miaoyun, it’s okay… you did great. You said six words to your two juniors today.”

Shang Miaoyun.

Six words.

That rang a bell.

In the original novel, Gu Sheng had a sweet, shy junior sister by that name. She barely ever stood out, much like Hu Li herself which was probably why Hu Li had paid her extra attention. She remembered that Shang Miaoyun had a vivid inner world but crippling social anxiety.

Hu Li had even counted once: the longest line Shang Miaoyun ever said in the whole novel was—exactly—six words.

“Little doggy,” Shang Miaoyun said suddenly, petting Hu Li’s head and interrupting her thoughts. “I just remembered. I need to deliver medicine to A’Sheng. Why don’t you come with me?”

A’Sheng. Gu Sheng.

Hu Li yipped excitedly, nodding like a bobblehead.

Perfect! Straight to the heroine! Talk about a lucky break. Someone was literally hand-delivering her to the main lead.

No need to crawl through any nonexistent “dog hole” into Tianyan Sect like the comment section had suggested.

********

Tianyan Sect had nine peaks and nine valleys. Gu Sheng’s residence was on Luoxia Peak, a place called “Wind-Listening Cliff.”

The cliff dropped into a deep gorge bottomless, dark, and dizzying. When Hu Li arrived, she saw a modest courtyard built dangerously close to that edge, beautiful yet terrifying.

“Little doggy, A’Sheng doesn’t like spiritual beasts in her courtyard. Wait here for a while.”

Shang Miaoyun set Hu Li on the ground and drew a small formation beneath her paws. Hu Li found herself trapped in place, unable to move an inch.

She barked a few times in protest.

Shang Miaoyun tossed a bone-shaped treat into the circle and smiled soothingly. “Be good. I’ll be right back.”

Then she gathered her skirts, took a deep breath in front of Gu Sheng’s gate, and stepped inside, vanishing from sight.

Hu Li stared down at the bone treat, speechless.

Did Shang Miaoyun really think she would eat that? Ridiculous. She was a modern human being, not an actual dog.

She raised her paw, ready to kick it away—only to freeze when she caught a whiff of the thing.

Wait… why did it smell so good?

No. No way. She was a fox demon! What fox in their right mind gnawed on bones?!

But that smell… it was irresistible and she hadn’t eaten in over a day.

Dignity, she reminded herself. Human dignity.

She repeated the words over and over but her paws inched closer anyway, her nose twitching.

“It smells amazing…” she muttered, swallowing hard as her eyes practically sparkled with hunger.

Five inches. Three. One.

She leaned closer and closer, just about to take a bite when…

A rooster’s crow split the air. A flash of red swept past her eyes.

Startled, Hu Li stumbled back onto her haunches.

“Cawwww!”

A massive rooster flapped its wings and crowed triumphantly.

Hu Li blinked in shock then noticed something horrifying.

Her treat was gone.

She turned just in time to see the rooster flying toward the gorge—with her bone in its claws.

“You damn chicken!” Hu Li barked furiously. The formation beneath her had been disrupted, so she bolted after it on all fours.

The rooster glanced back with a mocking squawk, then, just as Hu Li leapt to snatch her prize, it swooped higher over the gorge and dropped the bone straight into the abyss.

“Cawww!” It cackled smugly.

Hu Li skidded to the cliff’s edge, teeth bared. “You rotten chicken! I’ll roast you alive!”

She lunged.

The rooster looked down at her from above, tilted its head, and pointed a wing toward the abyss below.

Hu Li’s gaze followed.

Oh no. She was so dead.

That was her last thought before her balance gave out. As she began to fall, she grabbed the rooster’s scaly legs and snarled, “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me, you feathery bastard!”

The added weight threw the bird into a panic. It flapped frantically, struggling to pull them both out of the gorge.

Neither of them had expected her to actually hang on.

“Caw—caw—!” wheezing, the rooster finally managed to carry them both out only to crash straight into a dense bush.

Hu Li seized the moment, clamping her teeth onto its wing. “Sweet and spicy wings! Grilled wings! All mine!”

Her bite was vicious. The rooster screamed and fought back, and the two of them rolled together deeper into the thicket.

They tumbled and thrashed until Hu Li didn’t know which way was up anymore.

******

Meanwhile, Shang Miaoyun exited Gu Sheng’s courtyard, looked around, and froze. No dog in sight.

Panicked, she started asking around.

Night fell quickly in winter. Wind-Listening Cliff sank into shadow, silent except for the sound of the wind.

Then—

“Caw!”

A final, broken crow pierced the darkness.

Moments later, a black-furred blur crawled out of the bushes.

“Ha! Take that, you stupid bird! I win!”

Hu Li lay on her back, panting, tail wagging in triumph.

The rooster had been no match for her after all.

Smirking, she hauled herself upright, limping toward Gu Sheng’s courtyard.

The heroine—finally!

She barked twice, clambered up the snowy bamboo steps, and stared at the door in excitement.

Raising a paw, she was just about to knock then paused.

She looked a mess. What if Gu Sheng took one look and turned her away?

After some deep thought, she struck a pose—lying on her side, one paw propping up her head, hind legs crossed elegantly. A perfect, seductive fox-dog pose.

Perfect.

Hu Li gave herself an approving grin and tapped rhythmically on the door.

Footsteps approached from within.

“Creak—”

The door opened.

Hu Li lifted her gaze, about to behold the heroine’s face….

….only for the comment feed to explode again, plastering itself across her vision.

[Gu Sheng, don’t pick up random foxes. You’ll regret it.]

[Girl, it’s cold—get yourself a fox-fur coat instead.]

[Speaking of which, our factory sells great fox furs! DM me if interested!]

[Fox spirit, stop posing like that! You look like you’re seducing my Sheng-Sheng!]

[Whoa, the ship’s setting sail again—are we even allowed to talk about this?]

[Rare pairs are fine, cursed pairs are not.]

[I just started reading and I’ll ship anything! Keeps me emotionally balanced.]

[Help! Shampoo, your wife’s about to get stolen—do something!]

*******

Hu Li stared at the blinding flood of comments, brain short-circuiting.

Then—

“Are you lost?”

A gentle voice, clear as mountain springwater, rippled through her heart.

Hu Li snapped out of her daze and looked up straight into Gu Sheng’s soft, smiling eyes as the woman knelt before her.

…

Oh no.

Tears of pure emotion escaped from the corners of her mouth.

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