Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 61

“The blade came so suddenly.”

(Waaah, my comedy novel has taken a dark turn!)
(Li Li’s dead?!)
(I’d trade ten years of my classmate’s singlehood for a Li Li comeback card.)
(If this follows the original plot, it’s the start of the “chasing after his wife” arc.)

Gu Sheng carried Hu Li through a torrent of comments and into a mountain villa.

Inside, Uncle Feng and Feng Xianyue, having received Gu Sheng’s Communication Talisman, were already waiting.

“Young Miss,” Uncle Feng called out, rushing forward as soon as he saw Gu Sheng’s silhouette. But his breath caught in his throat when he saw Hu Li in Gu Sheng’s arms.

“Highness… what happened to her?”

Gu Sheng’s expression remained impassive. “She’s just injured.”

“But—” Uncle Feng protested, his gaze fixed on Hu Li’s chest, which showed no signs of rising or falling. He wanted to speak the truth, but when he met Gu Sheng’s dark, piercing gaze, he swallowed his words, lowered his head, and stepped aside to clear a path.

Feng Xianyue stood beside Uncle Feng, glancing at Hu Li in Gu Sheng’s arms. Her hands clenched into fists before she instinctively grabbed the corner of Uncle Feng’s robe as Gu Sheng passed by.

She and Hu Li might bicker and tease each other, but there was still a bond between them.

“Father, she’ll be alright, won’t she?” Feng Xianyue asked Uncle Feng.

Uncle Feng glanced at Feng Xianyue, then averted his gaze, turning to watch the direction Gu Sheng had disappeared in. He murmured, “Let’s hope so.”

******

In the tightly sealed room, Gu Sheng gently laid Hu Li on the bed and knelt beside her.

She took Hu Li’s now-cold hand, closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, released Hu Li’s hand, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

The Soul Swap Technique exchanges souls, Gu Sheng thought. As long as the soul hasn’t dispersed, there’s still hope.

She glanced down at the blood on her hands, then pinched her fingers together and chanted an incantation. A dark purple magic seal materialized at her fingertips.

The seal gradually took shape, transforming into a dark purple water lily. Guided by Gu Sheng’s will, it floated above Hu Li’s forehead and dissolved into fine purple light that seeped into Hu Li’s body.

At that moment, Gu Sheng felt her soul shudder as a Demonic Seal struck her spirit. Immediately afterward, a stream of dark purple Demonic Qi flowed from the seal and dispersed.

The Demonic Qi slowly extracted itself from the crown of her head, strand by strand.

Connected to Gu Sheng’s soul, each strand’s departure tugged at her consciousness, making her feel as if she were being submerged in boiling water—scorching hot and suffocating.

Gu Sheng was drenched in sweat, but she continued her movements without pause, slowly regaining control of her soul and suppressing the Demonic Qi, preventing it from harming Hu Li’s soul in the slightest.

After about an hour, Gu Sheng had completely sealed the Demonic Qi within her own soul.

*******

Her hand braced against the edge of the bed, her vision blurred. Sweat trickled down from the ends of her hair, dripping into Hu Li’s outstretched palm.

“Li Li, don’t worry. It’ll be over soon,” Gu Sheng said, taking Hu Li’s hand and interlacing their fingers. Her head gradually drooped.

The Soul Swap Technique temporarily stripped the caster of their five senses. Gu Sheng’s vision grew dimmer, until finally, darkness enveloped her completely, and silence filled her ears.

By the next morning, Gu Sheng’s senses gradually returned.

A sharp pain shot through her head as she groggily opened her eyes.

(Has Li Li returned?)
(My heart aches for Sheng-sheng. She completely passed out from the pain.)
(Our poor, star-crossed couple! Barely any sweet moments, just endless suffering.)
(Li Li’s fate is so cruel. Every time she gets close to her wife, her health bar plummets.)
(Help! Author, please update quickly! The readers are about to suffocate from the suspense!)

Gu Sheng’s gaze drifted across the comments before she pushed herself up from the bed and looked at Hu Li.

Hu Li remained in the same position as when Gu Sheng had collapsed, leaning against the edge of the bed with her head buried in her arms.

Gu Sheng reached out to touch Hu Li, but just as her hand was about to make contact, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

She lowered her gaze, first glancing at her own hand, then at the bloodstained dress she was wearing. She rolled up her sleeve.

******

Beneath her sleeve, Gu Sheng’s arm was completely clean, without a single trace of injury.

Seeing this, a foreboding feeling rose in Gu Sheng’s heart.

She remembered that her original body should have been dead. Yet here she was, not only completely unharmed but also able to move freely.

Frowning slightly, Gu Sheng lowered her sleeve and turned a grave gaze toward the motionless Hu Li.

“Li Li,” Gu Sheng murmured, shifting closer and leaning down to gently call her name.

But Hu Li remained unresponsive, still curled up in the crook of her arm, not even lifting her head.

Gu Sheng’s heart sank further. She cautiously reached out again, her hand slowly settling on Hu Li’s arm. With a gentle nudge, she called, “Li Li, wake up.”

Hu Li remained silent. At the same time, with Gu Sheng’s second nudge, Hu Li’s arm slipped off the edge of the bed, and in the next instant, her entire body tumbled to the floor.

Gu Sheng’s pupils trembled slightly. She scrambled off the bed, desperate to lift Hu Li back onto it.

But the moment Gu Sheng’s hand slipped beneath Hu Li’s neck, a faint white light suddenly emanated from Hu Li’s body.

Though the light appeared soft, it radiated a palpable sense of aggression.

*******

The white light instantly flung Gu Sheng away. As Gu Sheng tried to approach Hu Li again, a barrier materialized, sealing her off completely and preventing any possibility of reaching Hu Li.

Within the blinding white light, Hu Li’s eyes remained tightly shut. Her body gradually blurred, as if she were dissolving into the light itself, becoming one with it.

Gu Sheng’s eyes widened in horror as she watched this unfold. She frantically pinched her fingers, chanting spells, desperate to break through the barrier and stop Hu Li from merging with the light.

But the white light grew stronger with each passing moment. Finally, a strand of light shot out and bound Gu Sheng’s hands. Only after Hu Li had completely dissolved into it did the light slowly fade away.

As the white light vanished, Hu Li disappeared with it, leaving no trace behind.

Gu Sheng’s heart stopped. Her freed hands fell limply to her sides, her entire body frozen in place.

After a long moment, she stumbled toward the spot where Hu Li had vanished, as if in a trance. She knelt down, her mind blank.

(Li Li’s dead?!)
(How could this happen? Didn’t Sheng-sheng swap souls with Li Li?)
(The System must have taken Li Li away.)
(The System was recalled the moment Li Li died. It wouldn’t have had a chance to take her.)
(Li Li blocking the Immortal Slaying Nail for Sheng-sheng was her final mission. With the mission complete, Li Li was probably forcibly removed.)
(I think Li Li’s just gone. The Immortal Slaying Nail shatters souls.)

(That must have been Li Li’s soul dissipating.)
(Sheng-sheng, you fool! Li Li’s soul was already unstable from the Immortal Slaying Nail, and you rushed to perform the Soul Swap Technique? Of course her soul would shatter!)
(Even in death, Li Li wouldn’t let Sheng-sheng touch her. Waaah!)

Gu Sheng let the comments swirl around her—some pitying, some sympathetic, some accusatory. None of it mattered anymore.

Her hand slowly rose to the red jade hairpin in her hair. She removed it, clutched it in her palm, and pressed the tip against her neck, slowly piercing her skin.

Hu Li was gone. She would simply go to the Netherworld to find her.

As Gu Sheng thought this, she was about to press harder when Little Coal Ball and Little Rainbow Dragon, who usually nestled in her Storage Bag, suddenly flew out. One lunged to bite at the red string that had inexplicably appeared on Gu Sheng’s wrist, while the other snatched the red jade hairpin from her hand.

A red string? Gu Sheng stared blankly at her wrist, her gaze settling on a single crimson thread that had come loose from the string. Her eyes flickered, then brightened anew.

This thread was the Puppet String she had instructed Ox-Head and Horse-Face to implant in Hu Li’s soul during her first visit to the Underground City. Originally, Gu Sheng had intended to use it to eavesdrop on Hu Li’s thoughts and monitor her every move.

However, due to various circumstances, she had never actually used the Puppet String.

Yet now, unexpectedly, it was proving useful.

Gu Sheng’s thoughts grounded, she swiftly activated the Puppetry Art, probing Hu Li’s soul.

After a moment, her own soul trembled. She discovered that Hu Li’s soul seemed to be obscured by something, preventing her from sensing the girl’s location.

Frowning, Gu Sheng recalled the so-called “System” mentioned in the comments section and understood.

Fine, I’ll just follow the red thread, she thought to herself.

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