Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 41

“I’m willing to accept her Demonic Qi,” Hu Li declared.

Just as Min Yaxing had said, Hu Li was now positioned as the female lead. Even if she didn’t want to follow the plot, she would inevitably reach this point sooner or later.

Therefore, rather than running away, she decided to face it head-on.

Especially since it was for Gu Sheng.

“In that case, let’s begin,” Ye Qingtang said.

Hearing Hu Li’s words, Ye Qingtang withdrew behind the screen, flipped a page in the booklet, tore off the bottom sheet, snapped her fingers, and the paper split in two, falling into Hu Li and Gu Sheng’s hands.

“Just follow the instructions on the paper,” she said before turning and hurrying out of the room.

Outside, a waiter arrived with the two bowls of noodles Hu Li had ordered. Ye Qingtang took the bowls, dismissed the waiter, and headed toward the room where Shang Miaoyun and Min Xiuhe were staying.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Hu Li and Gu Sheng stared down at the identical instructions on their respective sheets, their faces flushed crimson.

The paper read: “The Faceless Demon’s Demonic Qi is highly toxic. To dispel it, a cultivator who has absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth for many years must transfer Spiritual Power from their Spiritual Meridians into the Spiritual Meridians of the person afflicted by the Demonic Qi.”

“Furthermore, through various experiments, it has been discovered that the most effective method for transferring Spiritual Power is for both parties to remove their clothing and bathe together in a medicinal tub.”

Gu Sheng: …

*******

Her gaze fell upon the cramped medicinal bath, her heart a tangled knot of emotions.

Hu Li clutched the paper tightly, her own feelings no less conflicted than Gu Sheng’s.

[Stop dawdling! The water’s getting cold.]

[You’ve already done the deed. What’s the big deal about taking a bath? Are you getting shy now?]

[I’ve asked this question countless times, but I’ll ask it again: Fox Spirit, are you… unable to perform?]

[Li Li is perfectly capable, but only in bed.]

[Context-dependent. It counts.]

[Li Li, don’t hesitate! Sheng Sheng was injured by the Faceless Demon because of you!]

*******

“For me?” Hu Li tore her gaze away from the comments and fixed it on Gu Sheng, frowning. “So you were injured by the Faceless Demon because of me?”

As she spoke, she crumpled the paper in her hand and took a step closer to Gu Sheng. “If they hadn’t said anything, would you have ever told me?”

Gu Sheng lowered her head, refusing to answer. Instead, she rose, walked to the medicinal bath, and dipped her hand into the water to test the temperature. “Who’s undressing first—you or me?” she asked Hu Li.

She glanced at the still-hesitant figure, knowing the question was rhetorical.

Without waiting for an answer, she withdrew her hand from the bath, turned swiftly, and let her clothes fall onto the screen. In the next instant, she had submerged herself completely in the medicinal bath.

******

Gu Sheng leaned against the edge of the bath barrel, her entire body obscured by the misty steam.

Hu Li stared at the scene, momentarily stunned, before her vision was flooded by comments:

[Confirmed: Li Li can’t handle this.]

[Hesitation leads to defeat; decisiveness leads to freebies.]

[The Fox Spirit insists on Gu Sheng making the first move. No wonder she always gets tricked.]

[Even though Gu Sheng’s intentions toward Li Li are somewhat ulterior, at least what she offers is genuine.]

[Li Li, stop standing there like an idiot! Get in the barrel already, okay?]

Hu Li swiped away the comments, took a deep breath, and walked behind Gu Sheng. She shed her clothes and slowly lowered herself into the medicinal bath, pressing herself against Gu Sheng’s back until they were almost inseparable.

Sensing Hu Li’s stiffness, Gu Sheng pondered for a moment before slowly reaching behind her to grasp Hu Li’s hand. She pulled it around her waist and said, “Let’s begin.”

Hu Li murmured in response, closed her eyes, and began chanting. She gathered the Spiritual Power from her Spiritual Meridians, concentrating it at her fingertips, and gradually transferred it into Gu Sheng’s body.

The process of transferring Spiritual Power was excruciatingly slow. It wasn’t until the inn had grown noisy again, and another day had slipped by, that it finally concluded.

The water in the bath barrel had grown cold. Hu Li emerged, shivering slightly, and quickly grabbed her red dress to put on. She then handed the black dress to Gu Sheng.

*****

Gu Sheng took the black dress, cast a Cleaning Spell to cleanse the medicinal residue from her body, and quickly put it on.

Outside the room, Ye Qingtang, accompanied by Shang Miaoyun and the now-awake Min Xiuhe, had just arrived. She knocked lightly on the door. “Are you both ready?”

Hu Li, standing closest to the door, exchanged a glance with Gu Sheng. She retrieved the scarlet Dangling Pearl Hairpin from her Storage Bag, casually swept up her disheveled hair, and opened the door. “Ready,” she replied simply to Ye Qingtang.

As she spoke, Hu Li stepped aside to let the three women enter.

However, apart from Ye Qingtang, the other two stood frozen in place, staring at Hu Li and then at Gu Sheng, who emerged calmly from behind the screen. No one spoke.

The awkward silence hung heavy in the air for a moment. Finally, Min Xiuhe blurted out, “Junior Sister, you’re something else!”

The icy tension thawed slightly, only to be replaced by a different kind of toe-curling embarrassment.

“Senior Sister, what are you talking about?” Hu Li asked, puzzled. She followed Min Xiuhe’s gaze to Shang Miaoyun, then to Gu Sheng, and finally understood.

[Perfect! I knew they’d mix up the dresses.]

[Hu Li definitely swapped them on purpose.]

[And Gu Sheng didn’t even notice.]

[Maybe Gu Sheng wanted to switch too.]

[If you’ve already swapped bodies, what’s one more dress?]

[This dress swap was perfect! Everyone knows about their relationship now.]

[Question: If you were a Fox Spirit, how would you explain to your fellow disciples that you and your wife just took a bath and accidentally swapped dresses?]

[Option 1: Tell the truth—you only bathed together, nothing more.]

[Option 2: Confess you’re red-black colorblind, seeing red as black and vice versa.]

[Option 3: Go all in—tell them you’ve already slept together. What’s a dress swap compared to that?]

[Option 4: …]

********

Hu Li immediately blocked the stream of ridiculous suggestions in the comments. She turned to Shang Miaoyun and Min Xiuhe, who were standing outside the door, and gave a wry smile. “If I said we just accidentally swapped dresses, would you believe me?”

Shang Miaoyun glanced up at Hu Li and shook her head slightly.

The smile on Hu Li’s face stiffened momentarily before she turned to Min Xiuhe. “What about you, Senior Sister?”

Min Xiuhe hesitated, then cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered, “Did my mother give you some other trick?”

She had heard from Shang Miaoyun that Hu Li and Gu Sheng’s relationship was still in the ambiguous stage. But now, it was clear to anyone with eyes that their progress had far surpassed mere ambiguity.

******

Earlier, Min Xiuhe had noticed Min Yaxing and Hu Li seemed to be getting along well. She instinctively suspected that her mother, the “emotional guru,” had given her junior sister some secret advice—a technique she hadn’t shared with Min Xiuhe herself.

“Other advice…” Hu Li met Min Xiuhe’s eager gaze, paused, then nodded. “That’s right. Lord Demon Venerable did say something to me in private.”

Min Xiuhe raised an eyebrow. “What was it?”

Hu Li smiled. “Hesitation leads to defeat; decisiveness leads to… well, you know.”

Min Xiuhe’s pupils constricted slightly, as if a fog had suddenly lifted from her mind.

She grabbed Shang Miaoyun, who was about to enter her room, and said to Hu Li, “We’ll discuss the Demon Abyss tomorrow.” Then she pulled Shang Miaoyun toward the Underground City’s famous Matchmaker Temple.

“There’s a Matchmaker Temple in the Underground City?” Hu Li asked Ye Qingtang after the remaining three had settled back into their circle.

Ye Qingtang rummaged through her storage bag as she replied, “Rumor has it, a Demon Cultivator who specialized in matchmaking built it.”

Hu Li raised an eyebrow. “Demon Cultivators do that too?!”

Ye Qingtang shrugged. “Everyone’s just trying to make a living. There’s no shame in it.”

Just then, she finally found a small jade-green porcelain bottle.

Ye Qingtang opened the bottle, sniffed the contents to confirm its identity, then sealed it again and placed it in Hu Li’s hand.

*******

“This is the Azure Heart Pill,” Ye Qingtang explained. “Take one every five days. It will protect your heart meridians and prevent you from being further corrupted by the Faceless Demon’s Demonic Qi.”

Hu Li lowered her gaze to the porcelain bottle, her eyes lighting up with surprise. “So, if I finish these, the Demonic Qi will be gone?”

Ye Qingtang pursed her lips, glancing at Gu Sheng, who was silently sipping tea. “If it were that simple, I would have just given her these pills in the first place.”

Hu Li fell into an awkward silence.

Gu Sheng glanced at Ye Qingtang, set down her teacup, and asked, “Do you have a way to remove the Demonic Qi from her body?”

Ye Qingtang shifted her gaze from Gu Sheng’s teacup to pour herself a cup of tea, her voice confident. “Of course I do.”

Gu Sheng’s hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, tightened into a fist.

Ye Qingtang continued, “However, I haven’t figured out the exact method yet.”

Hu Li couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “So you don’t have a way, then?” she retorted bluntly.

Ye Qingtang froze mid-sip, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Once I escape the Demon Abyss, rest assured, I’ll find a way to remove this Demonic Qi from you within half a month.”

With that, she shifted the topic, propping up Gu Sheng’s wrist to take her pulse.

After a long moment, her brow suddenly furrowed. Something’s wrong, she thought grimly.

*******

Ye Qingtang retrieved her silver needle pouch, took out a needle, and pricked Gu Sheng’s fingertip, drawing a single drop of blood into a teacup. She then used a spell to disperse the blood.

As the blood dispersed, it released a faint floral fragrance.

Ye Qingtang sniffed carefully, then pulled out a medical record booklet from her Storage Bag. She flipped through the pages three or four times before finally turning to Gu Sheng. “You’ve been poisoned.”

“Poison?!” Hu Li, who had been half-asleep, snapped awake.

Gu Sheng’s gaze also shifted at the news.

“What kind of poison?” she asked.

“The Fox Clan’s ‘Fragrant Bloom’,” Ye Qingtang replied. “Ordinary people wouldn’t come into contact with it, but my father once took a Fox Clan concubine who had been poisoned with it.”

Gu Sheng glanced at Hu Li, who shook her head vigorously, indicating she knew nothing about it.

Gu Sheng turned back to Ye Qingtang. “Do you have an antidote?”

Ye Qingtang shook her head with a sigh. “This poison was concocted by the Fox King himself. There’s one ingredient I haven’t been able to decipher, so I can’t create an antidote.”

She then asked Gu Sheng, “But… didn’t you know you were poisoned?”

Gu Sheng lowered her gaze. “No.”

Ye Qingtang looked thoughtful. Gu Sheng added, “I need to speak with her alone. You should leave first.”

Ye Qingtang exchanged a glance with Hu Li, nodded, and rose to leave the room.

******

In the room, only Gu Sheng and Hu Li remained.

Gu Sheng turned to Hu Li and asked, “What’s going on with this poison?”

Hu Li lowered her head. “I don’t know.”

“Was it planted by the Fox King?”

Hu Li’s head sank even lower. “I still don’t know.”

Gu Sheng paused. “Then what do you know?”

Hu Li nervously twisted her fingers, her voice barely audible. “I don’t know anything.”

As a transmigrator, she hadn’t inherited the original owner’s full memories and had no knowledge of this poisoning plot from the original story. How could she possibly know anything?

Gu Sheng pressed her lips together, staring at the silent Hu Li. Seeing that the other woman genuinely seemed to know nothing, she reluctantly conceded. “Fine. We’ll discuss this after we leave the Demon Abyss.”

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