The Handsome, Powerful, and Tragic Master Has Been Reborn [Transmigration] - Chapter 7

Qingji’s movements faltered. She arched an eyebrow at Jun Lianyi, her expression remaining that same picture of playful amusement. “I’ve already told you, your Shizun has gifted you to me as a furnace. Why is it…” She reached out and patted his cheek, looking quite helpless, “…that you simply won’t believe me?”

“Liar!” Jun Lianyi shot back instantly, his voice thick with agitation. “I am Shizun’s only personal disciple, and he has always treated me with nothing but kindness. You monster, stop spewing your nonsense. If Shizun finds out, he certainly won’t let you off easily!”

Qingji let out a cold snicker, her eyes brimming with disdain. “Is that so?”

“Of course! My bond with Shizun is a model for master-disciple relationships in the entire cultivation world. How dare a demon like you question it?” The more Jun Lianyi spoke, the angrier he became. Seeing Qingji’s hand reach toward his lips, his brain flared with heat. Without a second thought, he lunged forward and bit down hard.

However—

“Aow!” A pained yelp rang out, startling the schools of fish in the cave into a frantic scatter.

Looking at her fingertip, which had suddenly flash-covered itself in a layer of tough green scales, Jun Lianyi felt a surge of resentment. He rubbed his throbbing jaw, nearly grinding his teeth to dust. “How is it so hard?!”

“Little Lianyi, biting is very naughty.” A half-smile played on Qingji’s face as she calmly withdrew her hand and sat up straight, readjusting her half-slid robes. She continued, “Since you don’t believe me, why don’t we make a wager? If you win, I’ll let you go. If I win, you stay here peacefully and serve as my furnace. How about it?”

“What kind of wager?” Jun Lianyi looked at her with total wariness, sensing that this snake demon was up to no good.

Qingji gave a mysterious smile and waved her hand, manifesting a water mirror. The image shimmering within was none other than Yunmeng Mountain. Inside Yueqing Villa, Yue Wuji was practicing his swordplay in the courtyard.

Jun Lianyi’s eyes lit up instantly, and his heart skipped an uncontrollable beat.

Taking in his every micro-expression, Qingji hid a giggle behind her palm. “The bet is simply this: whether or not your Shizun will come to save you.”

“You want me to lure Shizun here so you can use me to threaten him?” Jun Lianyi turned to glare at her, sneering. “Do you think I’ll fall for such a trick?”

“You don’t have the luxury of choice.” Qingji’s tone turned frigid as she summoned a spirit butterfly with a flick of her wrist. “This is a Sound-Transmission Butterfly. You need only speak your plea for help into it, and it will carry your actual voice to Yue Wuji at Yunmeng Mountain. If your Shizun truly intends to save you, this butterfly will automatically lead the way for him. I will wait here with you for ten days. If he hasn’t come by then, I win. If he arrives, you win, and I promise not to make things difficult for either of you.”

With another wave of her sleeve, the butterfly fluttered to life and hovered before Jun Lianyi’s eyes.

How could Jun Lianyi be willing? He tried every way to stall or trick his way out of it, but after Qingji saw through every attempt, he was forced to compromise. Sullenly, he whispered to the spirit butterfly: “Shizun, save me.”

Once finished, he glared at Qingji. “Satisfied?”

“I’m giving you this chance not to prove the depth of your bond, but to let you see the truth for yourself. That way, you’ll give up and become my furnace willingly.” Qingji gave a non-committal answer. She released the butterfly and watched it fly off, then gave Jun Lianyi a meaningful look. “Little Lianyi, being my furnace isn’t actually that bad. On the contrary, if you persist in believing your Shizun treats you with a sincere heart, you’re going to suffer a great loss in the future.” She spoke with an air of absolute certainty, like a deity holding the gears of fate.

Jun Lianyi treated her words like thin air. His gaze followed the butterfly, and when he saw it didn’t fly toward the surface but instead dove straight into the water mirror, his eyes widened slightly. Qingji followed his gaze in silence.

Inside the mirror, Yue Wuji reached out and caught the butterfly. With a lift of his hand, the plea for help echoed in his ears. He frowned slightly, but then, with a sharp flick, he crushed the butterfly into nothingness. His face returned to its usual mask of indifference, and he resumed his sword practice as if the butterfly had never existed.

Jun Lianyi’s racing heart stuttered. A sudden, cold wave of disappointment crashed over him. He had thought… he had thought that if Shizun knew he was in danger, he would be worried sick!

A dull ache rose in his chest. Jun Lianyi lowered his eyes, no longer looking at the mirror.

Qingji saw everything, but for once, she didn’t take the opportunity to mock him. She turned and stepped behind the folding screen to change her clothes. Jun Lianyi caught a glimpse of her curvaceous silhouette through the silk; his face flushed, and he quickly looked away.

******

The wait was agonizingly long, but fortunately, Qingji didn’t harass him further. Jun Lianyi had a few days of peace, yet whenever the room grew quiet, he couldn’t help but wonder if Qingji had set a trap for Yue Wuji. He was caught in a painful contradiction: he wanted Shizun to save him to prove he mattered, yet he feared Shizun would be hurt by walking into a snare.

Days bled into one another. Jun Lianyi’s state shifted from conflicted worry to a panicked, hollow fear. Eight days passed. Then nine.

On the ninth day, Qingji returned to the chamber, looking like a victor with a smug smile. She sauntered over to him. “Well? Little Lianyi, it’s already the ninth day. Given your Shizun’s speed, if he intended to save you, he should have arrived on the first day. It’s been nine days and he’s still a no-show. Do you believe me now?”

Jun Lianyi felt a hollow pit in his stomach, but he remained defiant. “It’s only been nine days. The bet was for ten. What are you in such a hurry for?”

He still refused to believe Yue Wuji would gift him away, and he couldn’t accept that his Shizun would ignore his cry for help. Qingji didn’t argue. She simply turned away with a chuckle. “Then I’ll wait. Tomorrow, everything will be clear.”

Jun Lianyi shot her a glare and turned his back to her.

The final day felt longer than the previous nine combined. He clung to a shred of hope. Whether it was the “scum gong’s” importance in the original plot or the meticulous care he had shown Shizun recently, he couldn’t believe Yue Wuji could be so heartless.

There was no sun or moon on the seabed, so he tracked the time by the hourglass on the table. Finally, as the last grain of sand fell and the ten-day limit was reached, the man he had been pining for still hadn’t appeared.

Qingji returned, her mockery now unrestrained. “Well? Little Lianyi, you have to admit defeat now, don’t you? I gave you the chance. Your Shizun chose not to come. It’s time you face reality.”

“Face what reality? This is your domain, and that mirror was your creation. Who knows if you tampered with it just to trick me into becoming your furnace?” Jun Lianyi argued coldly, trying as much to convince himself as he was to refute her.

Qingji didn’t get angry. Instead, she manifested the water mirror one last time.

This time, the image showed Yue Wuji in his bedroom. The room was dim, save for the pool of light around his desk. It was night; Yue Wuji was sitting there reading. Suddenly, he seemed to sense a ripple of spiritual energy. He frowned and looked up, staring directly into the mirror that connected their worlds.

The moment their eyes met, a spark of light returned to Jun Lianyi’s dull gaze. He saw Yue Wuji’s lips move, but after several hesitations, the man bit his lip and looked down. An inexplicable pang of pain shot through Yue Wuji’s heart; the name “Lianyi” was stuck in his throat, yet he couldn’t bring himself to call out.

Finally, Yue Wuji looked away, focusing on Qingji instead. “Why have you sought me out?” he asked.

Qingji smiled seductively, waving a handkerchief at the mirror. “What could I want? I simply wished to catch up with an old friend.”

Yue Wuji’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. The coldness in his eyes intensified, his voice dripping with frost. “If you find your life too long, I wouldn’t mind coming to ‘catch up’ with you personally.”

Qingji’s expression shifted immediately. She laughed it off. “Venerable One, you flatter me. If I truly missed you that much, how could I dare trouble you to travel? I would naturally come to see you myself.”

She cast a flirtatious glance at him, but Yue Wuji was done listening. With a wave of his hand, he shattered the mirror. The room fell silent again, leaving only the flicker of the candle. Yue Wuji stared at the flame, unable to find peace. He reached out and cupped the flame, whispering softly, “A twist of fate… Lianyi, you must not blame me.”

******

Back in the cave, Jun Lianyi’s heart was a mess of conflicting emotions. He didn’t understand why Shizun had looked right through him, or what he could have possibly done to deserve being abandoned in such danger. He wondered… Did Shizun ever truly love him back? He had relied on the original novel’s assurance that Shizun had been moved, but now, he couldn’t see the truth anymore.

“Little Lianyi, you have to believe now that I didn’t tamper with anything, don’t you?” Qingji’s voice cut through his spiral. “You insisted your bond was special, yet he didn’t even spare you a second glance. It seems you have no value in his heart at all.”

Qingji sat on the edge of the bed. Her hand slid onto Jun Lianyi’s chest, coiling like a snake as she reached for his inner robes. “He has always been cold and heartless. Why waste your tears on someone like that? Why not come with me… and enjoy a life of pleasure?”

Jun Lianyi gasped, grabbing her hand to stop her. “Don’t…”

Before he could finish, a wave of frigid, murderous intent suddenly swept through the chamber…

Support The Handsome, Powerful, and Tragic Master Has Been Reborn [Transmigration]