The Vicious Beauty Faked His Death Three Times [Transmigration] - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Caught Red-Handed

This was the second time Lin Qinghan had been truly incensed since his soul-transmigration.

The previous match hadn’t been strenuous for him; Su Nianhuan’s speed was merely a byproduct of her spiritual tools. The original host was an Eagle Demon with exceptional vision; as long as he observed carefully, he could easily find the patterns. Moreover, the original host’s innate talent was top-tier even within the Demon Race.

Cultivation for demons and humans differed. While both absorbed the essence of the sun, moon, and heaven to advance, humans possessed a “Divine Form” from birth, making their cultivation more pure and their breakthroughs easier. In contrast, demons evolved from various creatures; though they could gain intelligence and a human form, they could never fully strip away their origins. Lingering demonic thoughts would disturb their minds constantly, making them prone to Qi deviation.

Only a rare few demons could completely separate themselves from their original bodies to cultivate a true Divine Form, transforming their original physical frame into a “Natal Spiritual Tool”—achieving a state of “Demon and Tool as One.” The original host was one of these few. The Black Bone Fan was forged from the host’s own skeleton, making it naturally more powerful than whatever tool Su Nianhuan had scrounged up.

This was the source of Lin Qinghan’s confidence in cooperating with Ling Yanhe and fighting Su Nianhuan.

However, in a match Lin Qinghan hadn’t taken seriously, Ling Yanhe had ruthlessly sabotaged him. Minor pranks he could overlook, but just as Su Nianhuan launched a swift, lethal strike and he raised his arm to block, Ling Yanhe triggered the Symbiotic Gu. The heart-wrenching pain caused his grip to slacken for a split second—he was nearly decapitated.

The man wanted him dead.

Lin Qinghan’s eyes darkened, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Even if Ling Yanhe killed him today, it wouldn’t improve his current situation; rather, it would make it more precarious. There was no reason for the man to shoot himself in the foot.

Once the initial surge of fury passed, Lin Qinghan calmed down. He narrowed his eyes at the man. In those deep, dark eyes, he saw playfulness and temptation, like an abyss inducing the gazer to leap. The man was anticipating something.

Suddenly, Lin Qinghan had an epiphany. He summoned the system in his mind and opened the panel.

Current Trust Level: -10.

Seeing the number, Lin Qinghan’s heart sank. Madman.

This stunt served the same purpose as his own schemes: Ling Yanhe was testing him, trying to tear away his mask to see his true face. To do this, Ling Yanhe was willing to gamble with Lin Qinghan’s life. If he had actually succumbed to the strike, it would only prove he had no value to Ling Yanhe. Why would Ling Yanhe care about the life of a useless pawn?

A total lunatic, Lin Qinghan thought as he stared into those profound black eyes. Perhaps he didn’t even notice it himself, but upon realizing this, his heart actually gave an excited, tremulous throb.

Lin Qinghan released his grip on the man’s collar. Not only that, he even considerately smoothed out the lapels.

“I like it. I like everything the Young Master gives me.” After saying this, Lin Qinghan paused, seemingly weighing his words, before offering a helpless smile. “Just… please don’t feel the need to do so much for me. I am only at peace when the Young Master is safe.”

As expected, the fingers hooking his lapel let go. Ling Yanhe leaned back into the wheelchair, losing interest in further verbal sparring.

Lin Qinghan straightened up and stood calmly by the wheelchair. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the expressions of Shen Miaomiao and Ye Chaoyan. Seeing they hadn’t said anything, a flicker of amusement crossed his eyes. Those words were meant for the two girls; the illusion of “devoted master and servant” he had spent half a month building couldn’t be allowed to crumble. He wasn’t sure if Ling Yanhe could use his protagonist aura to flip the script later, so he preferred to maintain the status quo and keep everything in his own hands.

Whether they believed him or not was secondary; everyone has secrets, and he believed they understood that. As for Ling Yanhe—his motives were clear now, and he’d just have to be more guarded in the future. Moreover, Lin Qinghan didn’t think he could stay hidden forever; his true self would eventually be exposed. It was just a matter of time.

As for today’s calculated betrayal, he would pay it back, stroke by stroke, slowly. They had plenty of time to entangle with one another. With this thought, Lin Qinghan’s anger vanished, replaced by a sense of pleasant lightness.

On the other side, Su Nianhuan felt the exact opposite.

She sat paralyzed on the stage, the indifference in Lin Qinghan’s eyes leaving her unable to react. Though she was a concubine’s daughter, she had achieved Qi Refinement at ten and reached early Golden Core at fifteen. No one in the Su family’s direct line could match her. At the Sihai Pavilion, she had used her “Flower Goddess Step” to climb to ninth on the leaderboard—a rising star of the trials.

Yet today, she had lost to an anonymous, lowly slave. Even with high-grade tools and pills that temporarily boosted her realm, she had lost pathetically. She had given her all, while her opponent remained composed throughout, clearly never taking her seriously. If not for that mid-match glitch that forced him back two steps, she would have lost even more embarrassingly.

“The Su family is nothing special if they can’t even beat a nobody.”

“I’ve disliked Su Nianhuan for a long time. She’s always so arrogant; finally, she’s been knocked down a peg.”

“Heh, didn’t she get those results by relying on the Ling family’s second son? She’s just a trickster. I see no real talent.”

“Personally, I think that gentleman has the air of a genius. So calm—that’s true strength.”

Watching the people who once cheered for her turn their disappointment into praise for another, Su Nianhuan’s face turned cold. Why should she be ridiculed for losing her rank while another stepped over her to take her glory? He was just a lowly servant. She wouldn’t accept this. She stared at the masked man below, consumed by a single thought: One day, I will rip that mask off and trample him into the dirt.

“Huan’er, are you hurt?” Ling Yuan shoved through the crowd to help her up. “He must have used some foul trick to deceive the arena’s formation. How could a slave like him compare to you?”

“Don’t be sad. Brother Yuan will win this round for you and make them kowtow to you.”

A flicker of disdain crossed Su Nianhuan’s eyes, but when she looked at Ling Yuan, she put on a pitiful, fragile expression that instantly ensnared him. He began bragging recklessly. “Don’t worry. I’ll go to the treasury and get more pills for you. I guarantee within three days you’ll be back in the top ten—no, the top three!”

Seeing his fawning smile, Su Nianhuan’s eyes reddened as she buried her face in his chest, her voice sobbing, “Thank you, Brother Yuan.”

Ling Yuan hugged her tight, his panic replaced by the joy of winning a prize. He led her off the stage, feeling like he was walking on air. “Rest assured, as long as you stay with me, I will never mistreat you.”

Su Nianhuan didn’t respond, merely resting her hand on his back. As he held her tighter, the disgust on her face became impossible to hide. She didn’t like Ling Yuan—she loathed incompetent men like him—but now that her reputation was stolen, she didn’t know if she could still get resources from the profit-driven Su family. For now, she had to hold onto Ling Yuan.

“Hmph, a concubine’s daughter is just a concubine’s daughter—useless.” In a corner, a girl in pink with a lotus-patterned pouch grumbled. The boy beside her watched the pair coldly before speaking: “Let’s go. Report this to the Family Head.”

The girl stood up excitedly, grabbing her sword. “Finally, I have something on her! Let’s go, I need to tell Father immediately.”

On the observation deck, a man in red with a refined air watched the arena with interest.

“Hall Master, Miss Su lost. Her points are reset. Do you need me to manipulate things behind the scenes?” his guard asked.

The man in red didn’t look at him, simply tossing a celestial fruit onto the table. “No need. She’s just slightly pretty, not a true beauty. Now that she’s found a new ‘patron,’ why should I interfere?”

His gaze moved to a corner of the hall, his enchanting fox-eyes filled with playfulness. “Besides… I’ve found someone far more beautiful than her.”

A new round began. The crowd was already hyped up, staring at the two on stage.

“Lin Yan.”

“Ling Yuan.”

“Please.”

The formation activated. Ling Yuan struck first. He possessed a mid-grade Thunder Spirit Root, and his sword-swing carried the momentum of thunder, aiming straight for Ling Yanhe’s face.

Just as the blade was about to touch the ghost mask, a thin wire blocked the tip, stopping the sword dead just millimeters from the mask. Ling Yuan’s face changed. He tried to force his way through that seemingly insignificant wire, only to find his blade suddenly ensnared by dozens of other wires. He couldn’t move.

Impossible! I took the pills, my cultivation should be at the late Golden Core stage! How can he block my sword intent?

Ruthlessness flashed in Ling Yuan’s eyes. He attacked again, but was blocked by a canopy of wires. Not only was his offensive neutralized, but a wire sliced off a lock of his hair and left a bloody trail on his face.

The crowd gasped. Lin Qinghan, watching from afar, wasn’t surprised. In the original story, Ling Yuan was a mediocre talent—a paper tiger propped up by his mother’s pills. He climbed to rank five only because the true geniuses were taken by the Lingxiao Sect, and because he had a ridiculous number of spiritual tools.

The Ling family ranked fourth, but they were the sole producers of Gu worms in the immortal world. They were incredibly wealthy. Their treasury was deep enough to last Ling Yanhe until the end of the book. Technology changes lives; thus, even a hollow shell like Ling Yuan could rank high.

But he was no match for Ling Yanhe. Early on, Ling Yanhe struggled because his “Heavenly Demon Bone” didn’t align with his spirit root, keeping him at the Qi Refinement stage despite having Golden Core-level power. But dealing with a paper tiger was easy—even if the opponent had cheats, Ling Yanhe had the biggest one: the Protagonist Aura.

Sure enough, Ling Yuan’s face grew more distorted as he failed to gain an advantage. Seeing the man in the wheelchair looking almost sleepy, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. While pretending to wipe blood, he slightly twisted a ring on his left hand.

Instantly, the entire arena was shrouded in black mist, obscuring everything.

“What’s happening?”

“This has never happened before!”

Lin Qinghan remained calm amidst the panic. Seeing the ghostly shadows flickering in the mist, he muttered, “Fool.”

Using a Demon Race “Ghost Ring” against Ling Yanhe, who literally possessed a Heavenly Demon Bone, was like delivering oneself to a tiger’s maw.

“Oh? Such faith in your Master?”

The surroundings suddenly went silent; only a man’s chuckling, teasing voice could be heard. A pair of beautiful hands reached out from behind Lin Qinghan, slender fingers brushing over his shoulder. Crimson sleeves fell on either side of him, as if pulling him into an embrace.

Just as those fingers were about to slide toward his earlobe, a pitch-black bone fan pressed directly against the man’s throat.

The sting at his neck made the man freeze. Before he could react, he saw the person before him tilt his head back. He could barely glimpse a sliver of frigid, murderous intent within those beautiful eyes through the cold mask.

“I didn’t think the famous Hall Master of the Sihai Pavilion… was a wandering lecher.”

As the cold voice reached the man’s ears, the arena formation shattered. The man in the wheelchair was already turning his head toward them.

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