The Failed Female Supporting Character [Transmigration] - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The light sword Ruan Lan gave to Feng Qi was a “sister sword” to her own. Although it was nothing compared to the top-tier Qingyun Sword that the female lead would obtain in the future, at this stage, its rank was still notable within the cultivation world.

Since Feng Qi’s constitution prevented her from practicing internal cultivation techniques, Ruan Lan decided to teach her something else. Every disciple of Piao Miao Valley had to learn a set of introductory swordplay, and Feng Qi, who had followed her out for training, was no exception.

Thus, Feng Qi—who had only enjoyed the novelty of her new treasure for a few days—said goodbye to her leisurely life of being carried around. Every day, she had to devote two hours to practicing her sword forms.

For most demons, their original forms provided such an advantage that they almost exclusively relied on close-quarters combat; very few used weapons. Feng Qi was the same—this body simply hadn’t “invested any skill points” into this particular talent.

Fortunately, Ruan Lan was a patient master. Through day after day of instruction, Feng Qi’s swordplay finally began to look somewhat decent.

…

The Journey Through the Mortal Realm

Balancing training with her disciple and her own cultivation, Ruan Lan led Feng Qi from the scorching summer into the bitter winter. They crossed mountains and ridges, slaying dozens of demons and covering about a quarter of the mortal realm’s territory. Curiously, they encountered fewer humans than they did demons.

In truth, a thousand years ago, demonic cultivators didn’t dare to slaughter so brazenly in the mortal realm. Those who succumbed to their inner demons usually fled to the Demon Realm or hid in dark corners of the human world to hunt in secret.

Back then, the cultivation world was at its peak. Great experts at the Transcendence Stage were everywhere, spiritual energy was abundant, and the various sects were harmonious. Cultivators frequently visited the mortal realm to eliminate evil or simply to enjoy the veneration of commoners. The three realms were at peace.

However, as successive Transcendence Stage cultivators failed their ascension, spiritual energy gradually dwindled. The number of cultivators plummeted, leaving the cultivation world severely weakened, and the mortal realm felt the brunt of this decline.

“Master, why haven’t we seen any cities after walking for so long?” Feng Qi asked, gesturing aimlessly with her light sword as she walked. Occasionally, the blade would accidentally brush past Ruan Lan’s side, earning only a flat, indifferent glance.

While the cultivation world hadn’t officially driven the demons out of the mortal realm, the humans hadn’t sat idly by either. The Emperor had long ago ordered commoners from villages to be moved into nearby cities for unified protection. The people Feng Qi and Ruan Lan had met earlier were simply those who hadn’t managed to leave in time.

However, this centralization was a double-edged sword. The number of demons surrounding or already infiltrated into the cities was several times higher than those wandering the wilds.

Initially, Feng Qi thought Ruan Lan’s primary training grounds would be these cities, but she soon realized she was wrong. Ruan Lan seemed to be intentionally avoiding them.

Though she appeared cold, Ruan Lan answered all of Feng Qi’s questions, albeit as briefly as possible. “Avoid them.”

“There are many demons there,” Feng Qi said, subconsciously licking her lips. She had been “fed” well by Ruan Lan lately, devouring many demons, and she was growing greedy.

“Too much trouble.”

Feng Qi lowered her sword and tried to entice Ruan Lan to change her mind. “But if we go there, we won’t have to work so hard to find hidden demons. Besides… I want to see what a human city looks like.”

She meant it. Since transmigrating, Feng Qi had seen nothing but mountains, rivers, and blood. She desperately wanted to see some friendly human faces.

Ruan Lan naturally attributed this to the curiosity of a cat demon. Seeing the expectant look in Feng Qi’s eyes, she remained silent for a moment before compromising. “Fine.” It just so happened she had reached a bottleneck and needed a quiet place to enter seclusion for a breakthrough.

…

Tianyi City

While a city wasn’t Ruan Lan’s ideal place for seclusion, she had to consider her companion’s feelings. Seeing Feng Qi’s joyful smile at her agreement, Ruan Lan justified the decision to herself.

No longer avoiding urban areas, they rounded a mountain three days later and finally saw high city walls. Though the walls were somewhat dilapidated, the gates were guarded by many soldiers. It appeared to be a mid-sized city.

“Tianyi City,” Feng Qi read the plaque aloud, syllable by syllable. She searched her memory but found no record of this place.

Ruan Lan grabbed Feng Qi’s wrist and cast a spell to hide their forms. She then led her calmly past the strict guards and into the city.

The city was fairly bustling, with no shortage of taverns and inns. Although the pedestrians were mostly dressed in coarse cloth, their faces lacked the despair and numbness of the villagers they had seen before.

Ruan Lan led Feng Qi to a corner and released her wrist, letting the spell fade.

“Master, there’s actually a bounty in Spirit Stones here!” Feng Qi noticed a nearby notice board. She was surprised to see Spirit Stones mentioned and read closer.

The primary targets for these bounties were cultivators, and the task was predictable: slaying demons. It seemed mortals were finding alternative ways to secure help from the cultivation world.

Ruan Lan wasn’t surprised. She glanced at the board and then headed straight for the largest inn in the city. “I will be in seclusion for a few days. You may wander the city as you please.”

“Seclusion?”

Ruan Lan gave an affirmative grunt and handed Feng Qi some gold and silver from her storage stone. Feng Qi held the heavy metal, looking at her wistfully. “When will you come out?” What happened to the promised feast of demons?

Ruan Lan pondered for a moment. “About ten days.”

Feng Qi sighed silently. “I hope Master achieves a breakthrough soon.”

“Stay in the city and be careful,” Ruan Lan instructed before turning into the inn.

…

The Encounter Outside the City

Ruan Lan remained in her room for seven days without emerging once. Fortunately, the innkeeper was well-traveled and, thanks to the generous payment, remained unfazed.

The city wasn’t that large. By the end of the first day, Feng Qi had explored every inch of it. After seven days of wandering, she grew bored and decided to slip out of the city in her original form.

On the way in, she had noticed a few demon beasts nearby. Since there were no demon people to be found, a few demon cores would suffice to satisfy her cravings.

In her cat form, Feng Qi had a natural advantage—she was small and agile. Her sharp claws only needed to find a beast’s neck to seal its fate.

The number of demon beasts near the city surprised and delighted her. She spent two days hunting day and night, harvesting several cores, a few of which contained very pure demonic energy.

Feng Qi sat on a rock, lining up the cores she had gathered. She sorted them from purest to most common, smiling as she began to absorb the lowest-grade one first.

Save the best for last, she thought, licking her lips as she eyed the largest core while the one in her palm dissolved.

Her satiety and satisfaction caused her vigilance to drop. A rustling sound came from nearby. The bushes shook violently as a python, as thick as a water vat, lunged toward her.

By the time Feng Qi realized something was wrong, the python had already emerged, its head held high and its crimson tongue flickering menacingly.

“A snake…” Feng Qi froze, her face turning pale. Her only thought was to flee. She genuinely loathed snakes; the psychological terror made her hands tremble so much she could barely hold her sword.

I should have stayed in my cat form, she thought as the python closed in. She backed away step by step. This beast looked to have four or five hundred years of cultivation—roughly equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Logically, she should have been able to handle it. But faced with a snake, all she could do was retreat.

Whether sensing her fear or not, the bracelet on her wrist and the little fox carving she carried both flashed simultaneously.

A red light suddenly blocked the python. Part of the light protected Feng Qi, while the other part acted as a binding, slicing the snake into several segments in an instant.

It’s the little fox Ji Manqiu gave me… Feng Qi wiped the cold sweat from her brow, letting out a sigh of relief. It really was a life-saving treasure. She just wondered how many uses it had left. She looked at the fox carving and tucked it away, deciding she would be a bit nicer to Ji Manqiu if they ever met again.

The python’s inner core was water-attributed, perfect for Ruan Lan. However, Feng Qi was so traumatized by snakes she didn’t even want to go near the corpse.

Should I use demonic energy to dig it out? But is that too risky? What if I expose my identity?

As she hesitated, the air shifted. Ruan Lan appeared beside her, frowning at the python’s remains. “Did you kill this?”

Feng Qi shook her head frantically, looking innocent. “No, I couldn’t beat it.”

Ruan Lan scanned Feng Qi thoroughly. Seeing she wasn’t injured—only a bit pale—she withdrew her gaze. “Why did you come out here?” She walked to the python and extracted the core.

“The city was getting a bit stuffy, so I came for a walk. I didn’t expect to stumble upon this corpse,” Feng Qi said, mixing truth with lies.

“Did you encounter anything on the way? I sensed you were in danger.”

Thinking of the bracelet and the fox that had flashed, Feng Qi said hesitantly, “Maybe it’s because I saw this snake.”

Ruan Lan raised an eyebrow. “You were scared by a python corpse?”

Feng Qi nodded silently.

Ruan Lan shook her head slightly. “When we return to Piao Miao Valley, you should spend some time with your Junior Martial Aunt.”

At the thought of Yu Qi’s mountain full of snakes, Feng Qi’s fur practically stood on end. “Why?”

“Your weakness is too obvious.”

It’s a snake! What am I supposed to do? Feng Qi shook her head rapidly. “I’m not going.”

“Having such a glaring weakness is dangerous if others find out.”

Feng Qi understood the logic, but… after a moment of silence, she asked dejectedly, “Master, do you have a weakness?”

The female lead’s weakness is usually the male lead, right?

“Everyone has a weakness,” Ruan Lan said softly. “But at this stage, I don’t have one yet.”