The Demon Lord is My Dark Moonlight [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 24

“Running away is one thing, but you want to take me with you?”

Sensing Gu Jinli’s intent through her shoving and pulling, Shen Chigui’s expression darkened. She had come here specifically to catch a fugitive; she had no intention of joining the escape. This stutterer is far too naive!

“Since you’re so ‘hospitable,’ I suppose I shouldn’t refuse.”

The corners of her lips curled into a sinister arc. It was as if a switch had been flipped; Shen Chigui stopped struggling against the embrace.

Instead of pulling away, Shen Chigui changed her stance, spreading her arms to counter-grapple and pin Gu Jinli against her.

In a swift, practiced motion, Shen Chigui pulled a coil of rope from her pocket. While the two of them were still in their “tight embrace,” she deftly wound the rope around Gu Jinli, binding her as securely as a festive zongzi dumpling in three or four moves.

A stunned Gu Jinli: “…”

Seriously, if this brat had a rope the whole time, why did she only take it out now?!

*****

No matter how unwilling she was, resistance was futile at this stage. Gu Jinli was dragged along, neatly bundled, as they moved quickly down the familiar mountain path.

Deep into the night, aside from the moon hanging high in the sky, the mountains felt as vast and dark as a bottomless pool of stagnant water. The air was thick with a sense of gloom and foreboding.

“…”

Huh? What’s that?

As she was being dragged back by the female lead, the resentful Gu Jinli noticed a strange flicker of light. It was a faint, wavering glow floating through the mountain trees—strikingly obvious in the pitch-black night.

As they drew closer, the lights moved in an orderly fashion, like a fiery dragon snaking its way toward them.

Crap!

Judging by the area and number of torches… it was a search party from the village! There was only one reason the villagers would be out in force in the middle of the night.

Her heart did a heavy “thud.” A terrible premonition washed over her. Her escape had likely been discovered! There was no other explanation for this.

But… how did they find out so fast?!

******

“Over here! She’s here!”

“Wait, Xiao Qi, why are you here too… did you catch her?”

“Quick, over here! We’ve got them!”

As the “fire dragon” drew near, dozens of familiar faces came into view—all villagers. There were nearly twenty of them.

“As long as she’s found! The sacrifice is the day after tomorrow; we can’t let her run off!”

The Village Chief pushed through the crowd with a torch. He took one look at the two girls and understood the situation. “Xiao Qi has done a great deed this time. You’ll be rewarded after the sacrifice.”

What?!

Gu Jinli’s eyes widened in shock. No way! Why?! This person who had sabotaged her escape plan and forced her back into a death sentence was getting a reward?

Gu Jinli could not accept this! She was absolutely fuming! She had been so close to freedom, only to have this brat interfere. With the sacrifice only two days away, the village would surely guard her with extreme vigilance now. She wouldn’t get another chance. She was trapped.

“Sh-sh-she… she-she-she…”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. This scene of Shen Chigui stepping over her “corpse” for a reward was all too familiar. It felt exactly like her life outside the illusion, and it made her whole body shake with rage.

Human potential can be irrational; in this moment of life-or-death fury, Gu Jinli’s mind cleared. Her severe stuttering momentarily vanished, replaced by a sudden, sharp lucidity.

“Sh-she is… she’s my accomplice!”

When emotions hit the breaking point, the voice naturally rises. In the silent mountain air, Gu Jinli’s shout reached every ear clearly.

“She! She… she betrayed me!” Gu Jinli cried.

Paired with her righteous indignation and eyes that looked ready to spit fire, her words suddenly became incredibly persuasive.

“What?!”

Normally, no one would take a stutterer’s words to heart. But now, faced with the possibility of a conspiracy, the villagers had to be cautious.

“Is what you say true? Xiao Qi was your accomplice? She betrayed you?”

What is going on? Did these two have a falling out?

“Th-th-that’s right!”

Gu Jinli nodded without hesitation, her gaze toward Shen Chigui as sharp as a dagger. She had made up her mind: if this girl was going to force her into being a sacrifice, then the girl was going down with her! If one person goes to hell, two can go together.

There was no reason she should be the only one suffering! As for lies? She could spin them on the fly.

“Sh-she… she g-gave me… the c-cake! Said… said we should r-r-run together!”

Looking as serious as could be, Gu Jinli’s speech grew more rapid and fluent as her desperation mounted. “L-l-later, she s-saw the torches and… and turned on me!”

Her body was bound, but her mouth was free. Gu Jinli was determined to drag Shen Chigui into the mud.

“Is this true, Xiao Qi?”

With so many villagers watching, the Village Chief couldn’t just brush it off. He had to maintain the appearance of fairness.

“Of course not.”

A clumsy lie was easy to see through, but the sheer “mutually assured destruction” in Gu Jinli’s eyes was striking. Shen Chigui didn’t get angry; instead, she let out a short laugh, finding the situation unexpectedly amusing. “Why would I ever go with a little stutterer? I’m not the one being sacrificed.”

It made perfect sense. Only the person chosen as the sacrifice would have a motive to flee. Shen Chigui’s words hit the mark, immediately swaying the villagers back.

“Right, Xiao Qi isn’t the sacrifice, why would she run? The stutterer must be slandering her.”

“Who knew the stutterer had such a devious mind…”

******

The clumsy lie was too easily punctured. The villagers didn’t believe her, and her plan to drag the lead down seemed to crumble instantly.

But…

“I-I-I… I have p-p-proof!”

Gu Jinli wasn’t about to give up. She lifted her head, her voice loud with “unreasonable” confidence. “Sh-she has… a cake in her r-robes! She… gave it to me! I… I couldn’t g-get one myself!”

Sensing their lingering doubt, Gu Jinli gritted her teeth and made a wild gamble: “Sh-sh-she… she l-likes me!”

Closing her eyes, she shouted: “Sh-she w-wanted… to be… with me! Th-th-that’s why… we ran!”

What?!

The implication was clear: Xiao Qi liked Xiao Wu, couldn’t bear to let her die, gave her a cake, and tried to elope—only to turn on her when the search party arrived?

The villagers understood, but they almost wished they hadn’t. It was so utterly scandalous and absurd that their heads started to spin.

“Xiao Qi is a girl! Xiao Wu is also a girl!”

Two girls liking each other? That way? The villagers’ gazes toward Shen Chigui shifted instantly. Gu Jinli’s nonsensical fabrication had delivered a massive shock to this backward, traditional village. They were speechless.

“Shut up! What nonsense are you spewing?!”

In the span of a few sentences, her reputation had gone up in smoke. Liking her? This little stutterer? What a vivid imagination… Shen Chigui wasn’t laughing anymore. Her face darkened, and the lightheartedness from before vanished.

“I would like you? You’re dreaming!”

Even if she were blind, she wouldn’t have any interest in this stutterer. And she certainly wasn’t blind!

“L-l-liar!”

Gu Jinli pouted, her eyes welling with tears as she bowed her head in “sorrow.” This display of vulnerability only served to prove her “grief” and reinforce her story.

Immediately, the crowd began to whisper.

“I heard that this afternoon, Xiao Qi and Xiao Wu were kissing.”

“Yeah, I heard that too. I thought it was just kids playing around.”

“Now that I think about it, Xiao Wu is ten, and Xiao Qi should be about the same… they’re getting to that age.”

“Actually…”

The murmurs started low, but soon grew loud and certain. The story was just too juicy, and since Gu Jinli had bitten Shen Chigui earlier that day, it was the perfect “evidence” for the village gossip mill. This was human nature: give them a spark of scandal, and they’ll build a bonfire of assumptions.

“Enough!”

What a farce! A tiny stutterer had managed to stir up such a mess. The Village Chief snorted, his expression unreadable as to whether he believed it or not.

“Look at the time! Stop this gossiping!”

He swept a cold gaze over Gu Jinli, his face stony as he held the torch high. “Tie Xiao Qi up too. Bring them both back! Lock them in together for these two days. We’ll settle this on the day of the sacrifice!”

Things had already reached this point; debating the truth was meaningless.

The most important matter now was the sacrifice in two days. To ensure everything went according to plan, the villagers decided it was safer to just tie them both up.

“Village Chief!”

Shen Chigui’s face was ashen. She never imagined things would spiral this way because of that little stutterer. As she watched the villagers obediently bring out ropes and approach her, her gaze grew increasingly terrifying.

A few minutes later, Shen Chigui and Gu Jinli were both bundled up like zongzi, tied one behind the other in a single string.

“…”

Watching the female lead get tied up just like her, Gu Jinli felt a surge of pure satisfaction at the sight of her rival’s rare state of disarray. She grinned, her eyes brimming with a mixture of mockery and schadenfreude.

She knew her lies wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny, but what did that matter? Better to catch an innocent person than to let a culprit slip away. With the sacrifice looming, the villagers were being extremely cautious.

“I won’t be tied up forever!”

From the moment her hands were bound, Shen Chigui’s sinister gaze remained fixed on Gu Jinli. She was clearly fuming, her eyes radiating a murderous aura. She vowed she would make Gu Jinli pay for this.

“Heh.”

Completely ignoring the threat, Gu Jinli simply rolled her eyes. They were both prisoners now; she wasn’t afraid of her.

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