Stepping in for the Heroine to Crush the Protagonist Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 63

As dusk settled, the barbecue stall buzzed with activity, filled with patrons heatedly discussing recent major events.

“Hey, another genius has emerged from the Tianyan Sect. It’s truly enviable.”

“What’s there to envy? We’ve been useless our whole lives.”

“If you ask me, there’s nothing to envy. The Tianyan Sect is cursed; few geniuses there live past a hundred years.”

“True. Remember He Shiqing, the Tianyan Sect’s former top disciple? He entered the Floating Life Pagoda and came out stone-cold dead.”

“Tsk, speaking of He Shiqing, I’m reminded of his junior sister—Sect Master Gu’s useless daughter who colluded with the Demon Race. I heard she’s still alive.”

“Bullshit! Sect Master Gu’s daughter was pierced by the Immortal Slaying Nail. How could she possibly still be alive?”

“Hey, I’m not making this up. I was an outer sect disciple at Tianyan Sect back then, and I was there when Sect Master Gu’s daughter died. The senior brother who collected the body told me someone snatched her away and resurrected her.”

“Resurrected? Impossible! Do you even know what the Immortal Slaying Nail is?”

“Look, I’m telling you, this isn’t some tall tale. Think about it: if Sect Master Gu’s daughter were truly dead, why would Sect Master Gu have searched for her corpse for ten years without finding a trace?”

([Omg, the gossip never ends!])

([Wait, are they actually hinting she’s still alive?!])

Hu Li glanced at the arguing patrons from the counter, took the two grilled skewers the waiter handed her, paid a Spirit Stone, and hopped down to leave the barbecue stall.

Outside, the crowd was thick, no one willing to give way. Hu Li deftly weaved through the throng and stopped by an ancient tree in the shadows.

From the tree’s foliage, the System peeked out, flew to Hu Li’s side, and snatched the skewer she was holding, leisurely devouring it.

Even as it ate, the System kept chattering. “Host, aren’t you angry that they’re talking bad about Gu Sheng?”

For the past decade, rumors about Gu Sheng had never ceased.

Hu Li glanced at the System, bit off the last piece of meat from her skewer, and said calmly, “I’m not angry anymore.”

It wasn’t that she truly wasn’t angry, but after biting so many people over the past ten years, she feared that if she continued, all the profits from Ye Qingtang’s Bright Medicine Hall would be spent on medical compensation.

Finishing her skewers, Hu Li rose and headed toward Bright Medicine Hall.

The System followed behind, stopping in the towering banyan tree outside the rear courtyard after Hu Li entered. It dared not let Ye Qingtang see it, and even less dared it let Min Yaxing, who often came for dinner, spot it.

In the courtyard’s pavilion, cicadas buzzed incessantly.

Ye Qingtang and Min Yaxing sat facing each other across a table laden with Ye Qingtang’s latest culinary experiment.

“Eat,” Ye Qingtang said, placing a chopstickful of the dish into Min Yaxing’s bowl.

Min Yaxing lowered her gaze to the dark, shapeless mass. She swallowed hard, then shakily picked up a piece and slowly brought it to her mouth.

Hu Li sat on a low stool between them, looking up at Min Yaxing and silently mourning for her dear sister.

Min Yaxing took a bite, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead. She fought the urge to spit it out, tilting her head back and forcing the food down.

Immediately afterward, Hu Li heard a strange “gurgle” from Min Yaxing’s stomach. The next moment, Min Yaxing sprang up from the stone bench and hurried toward the restroom.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingtang, clearly accustomed to such scenes, flipped open a notebook, scribbled a few notes, and murmured, “It seems Cloud Gardenia can treat constipation.”

Hu Li heard this and bit her lip to suppress a laugh.

But before she could chuckle, Ye Qingtang turned to her, her expression thoughtful. “I wonder if Cloud Gardenia would work on Spirit Pets too?”

([LMAO poor Hu Li, run while you can!])

Hu Li gasped, seizing the moment Ye Qingtang reached for more food to serve her. She swiftly hopped off the low stool and darted toward the banyan tree whose branches extended into the courtyard.

Inside the banyan tree, the System patted its belly, still savoring the delicious grilled skewers.

Humming a little tune, it thought about the new grilled chicken restaurant that had just opened on the eastern edge of Baoning Town. “Tomorrow night, I’ll have to tag along with my Host and try their new dishes,” it mused.

But just as the thought crossed its mind, the banyan tree suddenly trembled. In the next instant, its Host leaped up from below.

Caught off balance, the System tumbled out of the tree as Hu Li climbed up, landing squarely at Ye Qingtang’s feet.

Ye Qingtang lowered her gaze, staring intently at the System.

Their eyes met, and the System’s heart froze. Trembling violently, it scrambled back up the banyan tree, desperately trying to make itself invisible.

But it was too late.

Ye Qingtang seized the System by the nape of its neck, lifting it off the ground.

“You again, you little Demon Crow,” Ye Qingtang murmured, her voice chillingly soft.

“Since you’re here, you might as well help me test the dishes,” Ye Qingtang said, prying open the System’s beak and stuffing the food she had been carrying into its mouth.

([NOOO, not the test subject again 😂])

The System: “…”

Before the System could react, Ye Qingtang suddenly flung it into the air, tossing it out of the courtyard.

The suddenness of the action startled Hu Li, who was clinging to a banyan tree branch. She watched the System arc perfectly through the air and out of the courtyard, her eyebrow twitching. “A falling turd?”

([💀💀 She did NOT just say that!])

She mourned for the System for three seconds, then burst into laughter, feeling no remorse.

After a good laugh, Hu Li glanced at the pavilion. Seeing that Ye Qingtang had removed the culinary disaster, she slowly climbed down from the tree and sauntered back to the pavilion.

Inside, Hu Li found Min Yaxing had returned.

However, her dear sister’s face was deathly pale, clearly having endured some great suffering.

Ye Qingtang noticed this as well. Suppressing a slight upward twitch of her lips, she flipped her hand and conjured a small wooden box, pushing it toward Min Yaxing.

“This is the Fragrant Clarity Pill,” she explained. “You’ll feel better in fifteen minutes.”

Hearing this, Min Yaxing gazed at Ye Qingtang with teary eyes, thinking, She really does care about me.

Nearby, Hu Li’s gaze swept over Min Yaxing, noticing her expression.

She scratched her fox ears, sighed, and shook her head, muttering, “Love-struck fool,” before settling down at the table to eat the food Ye Qingtang had pushed toward her.

([These three are comedy gold together 😂])

Full and content, Hu Li slumped back on the low stool, rubbing her belly and drifting into her usual daze.

Min Yaxing stood beside her, glancing at her before clearing the dishes. As she tidied up, she said to Ye Qingtang, “Oh, by the way, Gu Sheng is coming here tomorrow.”

Earlier, Ye Qingtang had been so preoccupied with her culinary disaster that she’d almost forgotten about Gu Sheng.

“Fairy Gu is coming?” Ye Qingtang paused in stacking the dishes, looking up at Min Yaxing.

Min Yaxing nodded. “She’s planning to stay in Baoning Town for a few days, so I invited her to the Bright Medicine Hall.”

Ye Qingtang picked up a stack of plates, understanding dawning on her face. “Then I’ll prepare extra food tomorrow.”

With that, she headed toward the kitchen.

Min Yaxing followed close behind.

Meanwhile, Hu Li, who had overheard their conversation, sat frozen on her low stool.

“Gu Sheng is coming to the Bright Medicine Hall?!”

She stared blankly at the pavilion roof, feeling utterly lost.

Nearby, the exhausted System lay sprawled on the pavilion roof, having also heard Min Yaxing’s words.

It poked its head over the edge, meeting Hu Li’s gaze. “Host, you absolutely cannot be with Gu Sheng!”

([Protect our fox!! The lightning arc trauma is real 😭])

Hu Li, well aware of the System’s ulterior motives, curled her lip and retorted, “I know.”

She rose from the stool, hopped down, and resolved to run away from home for a few days.

The next day dawned under a heavy, overcast sky. In the kitchen, Ye Qingtang and Min Yaxing were preparing the evening meal.

Outside the kitchen, Hu Li, a small satchel slung over her shoulder, crept stealthily toward the banyan tree in the backyard.

A ladder, roughly twice her height, leaned against the tree.

Normally, Hu Li only left Bright Medicine Hall during the day, when Chuanbai let her out. But yesterday, Chuanbai’s elder sister had suddenly arrived in Baoning Town, and he had taken the day off to find her lodging.

Ye Qingtang, wary of the trouble Hu Li always seemed to stir up whenever she went out, had been keeping a close eye on her, forbidding her from wandering off.

Thus, under these circumstances, Hu Li had no choice but to seize the opportunity while Ye Qingtang was busy and set her sights on the ladder in the courtyard.

The rungs of the ladder were spaced far apart.

Hu Li took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and placed her foot on the first rung. Using both hands and feet, she cautiously began to climb.

One rung, two rungs, three rungs…

Before she knew it, Hu Li had reached the top of the ladder and was perched on the wall.

She sat on the wall, peering over the edge, her breath catching in her throat.

The wall was undeniably too high.

Earlier, she had thought climbing the ladder would be enough. But now, gazing down at the dizzying height, she decided digging a dog-sized hole at the base of the wall seemed like a much safer plan.

Yet as her gaze fell upon the ladder at her feet, a phrase suddenly flashed through her mind: Easy to climb up, hard to climb down.

The System, its head poking out from the banyan tree beside her, looked up at Hu Li, who was stuck on the wall. It suggested, “Host, come over here, jump onto this tree, and then climb down. Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Hu Li considered the idea and decided it might work.

Pressing herself flat against the roof tiles beneath her, she began inching toward the banyan tree.

What she hadn’t anticipated was that one of the tiles—the very one under her paw—was loose.

Hu Li froze, afraid to move.

The System noticed Hu Li’s predicament. It flew out from the banyan tree, intending to grab her by the back and carry her safely to the ground.

But just then, Ye Qingtang emerged from the kitchen and spotted it immediately.

“What are you up to, Demon Crow?” she demanded, glaring at the System as it approached Hu Li. “Min Yaxing, come control this thing!”

Hearing the call, Min Yaxing stopped what she was doing, stepped out of the kitchen, and glared at the System, ready to banish it with another snap of her fingers.

Seeing this, the System reacted swiftly, darting back into the banyan tree with a whoosh and vanishing without a trace.

Hu Li froze for a moment as the System disappeared, then turned to Ye Qingtang, hoping for rescue.

But the moment she shifted her paw, the loose tile beneath her slipped, crashing to the ground with a sharp crack.

Her center of gravity shifted violently, and she tumbled toward the courtyard wall.

As the wall receded from her, Hu Li’s pupils shrank. She squeezed her eyes shut, curled into a ball to protect her head, and trembled all over.

“This is going to hurt,” she thought. “I probably won’t be able to get out of bed for the next two weeks.”

But just as that thought settled, she didn’t land with the painful thud she’d imagined. Instead, she fell into someone’s arms.

The person carried a faint herbal scent, different from Ye Qingtang’s. This scent was lighter, and Hu Li found it even more appealing.

Hu Li opened her eyes, curious to see which kind soul had been struck by her fall.

But the moment she recognized the person, her entire body stiffened even more.

It was Gu Sheng…

([AAAAAAAAA she fell right into her arms!!! 💕🔥])

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