The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 58.1

“Master, I’ll take my leave first.” Wen Mingyu still harbored some resentment and didn’t feel like dining with her master today. After a perfunctory bow, she left in a hurry.

Tang Jing glanced at her retreating figure on the surface but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

She truly couldn’t bring herself to like this little disciple, the female lead. Perhaps some might favor lively, adorable, and willful types, but she had always preferred someone like Senior Shi.

Or, to be more precise, she adored Senior Shi so no matter what they were like, she would love them all the same.

With Wen Mingyu gone and no longer clamoring around her, Tang Jing felt much more at peace. Today, she didn’t cultivate. Instead, she strolled with her hands behind her back until she reached the Ascension Platform.

That was the place closest to the Nether Valley.

Strong winds howled, and her robes fluttered wildly.

Tang Jing stood there, gazing in the direction of the Darkwood Forest, unmoving for a long time.

Hidden behind a rockery not far behind her was a little immortal attendant. Upon closer inspection, one might find this attendant’s face eerily familiar resembling the former head disciple of the Lingyu Sect, Wu Xingyue, who had been expelled from the immortal sect a century ago by the sect master, and later, the Elder Qiuyue who emerged among the demonic cultivators.

After their wedding ceremony, Wu Xingyue had altered her appearance and sneaked back into the immortal sect through a lesser-known path, keeping a close watch on her master’s every move from the shadows.

She stared blankly at her master’s back, tears slowly welling up in her eyes. She turned her head and roughly wiped them away with her sleeve, her eyes red as she continued to gaze obsessively at her master’s figure.

Tang Jing had long noticed the person behind the rockery, but she didn’t expose them. To avoid startling them, she deliberately stood there for a long time before finally turning back.

As she passed the rockery, she noticed the handkerchief the little attendant had dropped. Her steps paused briefly before she continued forward.

Wu Xingyue, who had been watching intently, naturally noticed this as well. Her heart leaped into her throat, but when she saw her master walk away as if nothing had happened, she sighed in relief. Once the figure had gone far enough, she glanced around cautiously to ensure no one was nearby before darting out to retrieve the handkerchief.

In the following days, Tang Jing lived in tranquility, occasionally extending her awareness to observe Wu Xingyue watching her from the shadows.

Or, more accurately, her wife.

The corners of her lips curled imperceptibly.

Wu Xingyue, hidden in the dark, mistakenly thought her master was happy because of that little disciple especially since she was holding the tea set Wen Mingyu had once gifted her.

The mere thought of this infuriated Wu Xingyue. Her fingers dug into the tree she was hiding behind with such force that the trunk creaked ominously, as if it might shatter the next moment.

Startled, she quickly averted her gaze.

Tang Jing, who had been watching her all along, couldn’t help but let her eyes crinkle with amusement.

One day, Wen Mingyu came running over cheerfully, carrying a box of pastries.

“Master, Master!”

Hearing this, Tang Jing looked over, her gaze lingering on the box of sweets for a couple of seconds though no one noticed.

Today, she had scanned the hall and its surroundings with her awareness but found no trace of the little attendant. She wondered if something had happened on Wu Xingyue’s end, keeping her occupied elsewhere.

If she had been here, perhaps Pei Yujun’s plan wouldn’t have succeeded today.

Her eldest disciple probably wouldn’t want to lie on the same bed as her junior sister either.

But this was a crucial plot point, one that couldn’t be skipped. To ensure the success of this storyline, even the unpredictable factor of Wu Xingyue had been temporarily removed.

“Master, what are you thinking about?” Wen Mingyu sat down beside her, placing a box of pastries on the table. She lifted the lid and said, “Come, try some. I specially went down the mountain to buy these peach blossom pastries. Even when my senior brothers and sisters saw them on the way, I didn’t share a single one.”

Looking at the pink, mouthwatering pastries, Tang Jing concealed the depth in her eyes and smiled faintly. “You’ve worked hard, Mingyu.”

These past few days, due to the incident at Chun’nan Manor, Wen Mingyu hadn’t visited her master in a long time. But yesterday, she had finally sorted out her thoughts.

No matter what tricks that demoness used to “marry” her master, few had actually witnessed it. Besides, none of it counted, immortals and demons were fundamentally incompatible. That demoness could keep dreaming; her master belonged to her.

Having come to this realization, she had gone down the mountain early that morning to buy her master’s favorite peach blossom pastries, hoping to cheer her up.

“Master, have some quickly.” Wen Mingyu picked up a pastry and held it out to her.

“Alright.”

The master and disciple interacted harmoniously, the disciple chattering away while the master smiled. The senior brothers and sisters who occasionally passed by had long grown accustomed to such scenes. Though they had once envied their junior sister, their master was strict with them, and none dared to be as close or casual with her. Over time, only the youngest disciple remained by their master’s side.

Tang Jing and Wen Mingyu finished most of the pastries together though, truthfully, Wen Mingyu had eaten the majority.

This was also why Wen Mingyu was the first to succumb to drowsiness and fall asleep.

Meanwhile, the senior brothers and sisters outside the hall had all gone off to cultivate, leaving the vast hall completely empty.

At this moment, two young immortal children stealthily appeared outside the Lingyu Palace. After scanning their surroundings to confirm no one was around, they quickly slipped inside.

Seeing both the master and disciple unconscious, they exchanged a glance and wasted no time approaching.

Tang Jing was feigning unconsciousness, so she could clearly feel the movements of the two young immortals as they carried her.

“Ah Jin, is this really okay?” one of them asked nervously.

Ah Jin replied, “What’s there to fear? Our master ordered this. Besides, don’t you remember? She said if we do this well, she’ll take us in as inner disciples!”

The other young immortal hesitated. “But…”

“But what?” Ah Jin cut her off bluntly. “Think about your parents. They worked so hard to send you to the immortal sect, isn’t it all for you to cultivate? Right now, we’re stuck in the outer sect, learning nothing. If we become inner disciples, our parents will be proud of us when we visit home.”

Though still somewhat uncertain, the other young immortal didn’t argue further this time.

After placing the Lingyu Palace Master and her junior disciple side by side on the bed, Ah Jin clapped her hands and grinned. “Actually, we’re doing them a favor. Haven’t you noticed how much the Palace Master dotes on this junior disciple? She gets whatever she wants.”

Tang Jing detected the hint of jealousy in Ah Jin’s words.

“Yeah, if only I were the Palace Master’s youngest disciple.”

“You wish,” A-Jin retorted without hesitation. “I heard this is the Lingyu Palace Master’s favorite disciple.”

“But I heard the Palace Master favors the eldest disciple.”

A-Jin hesitated because she had heard the same, but she stubbornly insisted, “Well, I still think the Palace Master prefers the youngest disciple.” To support her claim, she added, “Just think about it, the Palace Master treats the eldest and youngest disciples differently. And remember how the eldest disciple was inexplicably expelled from the sect years ago? That just proves the Palace Master didn’t care much for them.”

The little immortal child: “…”

Pretending to be unconscious, Tang Jing almost applauded not for any other reason than because Ah Jin’s argument was so persuasive that even she nearly believed it.

Afraid her companion might ask more questions, Ah Jin quickly said, “Alright, alright, now that we’ve done what we came for, let’s hurry and leave. If someone comes, we won’t be able to get away.”

“Oh, right.”

The two little immortal children left the same way they had come.

Once the bedchamber fell silent again, Tang Jing, who had been feigning sleep, opened her eyes. Turning her head, she saw Wen Mingyu lying beside her and immediately sat up.

Noticing that both of them had been stripped down to their undergarments, she frowned.

The lack of noise outside meant the people coming to “catch them in the act” hadn’t arrived yet.

She quickly got out of bed and put on the clothes hanging on the screen. After dressing, she glanced at Wen Mingyu on the bed, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the other set of clothes and dressed her as well.

Just as she finished, noises came from outside. She swiftly kicked off her boots, climbed back into bed, and lay down beside Wen Mingyu.

If it weren’t for the plot’s demands, she truly wouldn’t have wanted to go through with this. Regardless of how her senior might react, she herself had no desire to be entangled with anyone else, the only person she wanted to be tied to was Senior Shi.

“Shizun was clearly teaching the youngest disciple in the main hall earlier. We searched everywhere outside but couldn’t find them,” said the voice of the third disciple.

“Could they be in the bedchamber?” a deep, feminine voice chimed in.

Hearing that voice, Tang Jing knew Pei Yujun had arrived. The corner of her lips curled slightly.

“Impossible. Shizun never returns to the bedchamber during the day.”

Finally, someone pushed open the bedchamber door. Pei Yujun stepped forward first, a smug smile on her face until she saw the two figures lying side by side on the bed. Her smile vanished, replaced by a frown. She turned and asked, “Is that your Shizun on the bed?”

The third disciple froze, then hurried forward to check. Drawing back the bed curtains, she gasped in shock at the sight. “Shimei?!”

The third disciple never expected to find her junior sister sharing a bed with their Shizun. Remembering the outsider present, she quickly fell silent, dropped the curtains, and blocked the view with her body. Forcing a smile, she said, “Honored Moon Hua, please step outside.”

Pei Yujun, who had gone to great lengths to orchestrate this opportunity, wasn’t about to let it slip away. Ignoring the other’s attempts to stop her, she waved her arm, shoving the third disciple aside, and yanked open the bed curtains. “Didn’t you just say your Shizun never returns to the bedchamber during the day? Then what’s this?” As she spoke, she secretly cast two spells, rousing the unconscious Tang Jing and Wen Mingyu.

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