The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 22

Yin Ya hadn’t expected her to suddenly move so close. She instinctively leaned back, her back nearly pressed against the chair.

The faint scent of alcohol made her heart skip a beat.

Could the Big Villain be drunk? That didn’t make sense. The Big Villain’s spiritual power was water-based, and practitioners of water spiritual power were supposed to be able to neutralize alcohol, making intoxication practically impossible.

But that last sentence… There was an inexplicable hint of resentment in her tone, exactly like someone speaking truth under the influence of alcohol.

Noticing Yin Ya’s instinctive recoil, Cang Lanyan frowned and reached out to grip her chin.

This time, her grip was firm. Yin Ya hissed softly in pain, the sound so faint that it barely registered, yet Cang Lanyan’s keen senses caught it.

“Two days… and I still can’t tell if you’re weak or strong.” Cang Lanyan tossed the documents in her hand onto the table and looked down. “You keep trying to hide your identity. What are you so afraid of?”

She leaned in close, the scent of chocolate and rum still lingering in the air, yet her teeth and mouth were perfectly clean.

This wasn’t the first time Cang Lanyan had asked her, “What are you really afraid of?” Yin Ya had obediently answered before, but this time she clenched her jaw and lowered her head, remaining silent.

In truth, she felt her previous facade had been utterly useless. The Big Villain must have been testing her at every turn, refining her suspicions with each attempt.

Her supposedly solid disguise was probably already riddled with holes in Cang Lanyan’s eyes, wasn’t it?

So, struggling further would be pointless. It was better to say nothing, leaving the Big Villain to guess on her own. That might even buy her a little more time.

“You can’t tell me?” Cang Lanyan pressed, “Or you simply don’t want me to know?”

“… Does it matter?” Yin Ya forced out the words.

“Of course it does,” Cang Lanyan replied, her fingers tightening, forcing Yin Ya to look up. “If you can’t tell me, it means you’re bound by some restriction. Not only I, but no one could learn the truth. But if you don’t want me to know, it likely means what you’re hiding is closely tied to me.”

Yin Ya was startled, her entire body feeling like it had plunged into an icy cave. Her gaze instinctively avoided Cang Lanyan’s, her heart racing and her thoughts tangling into a chaotic mess.

She had never been good at social interactions, let alone dealing with this kind of interrogation. Even if she tried to lie, she doubted she could convince anyone.

And now she was facing a mastermind villain whose intelligence far surpassed her own.

Under Cang Lanyan’s piercing gaze, Yin Ya couldn’t utter a single word, frozen by both fear and uncertainty about what to say.

Was the villain trying to force her to reveal her identity? Yet the atmosphere didn’t quite feel like an interrogation. From the aura alone, Cang Lanyan didn’t exude much pressure; instead, she seemed more like someone lodging a complaint.

Steeling herself, Yin Ya decided to remain silent. She closed her eyes, shivering as she shrank back into her swivel chair, anxiously awaiting Cang Lanyan’s next move.

The hand gripping her chin remained, but the silence deepened.

The longer Cang Lanyan remained motionless, the more Yin Ya’s anxiety intensified, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap into her throat.

“Your Excellency, God, what are you waiting for?”

Just then, a hypnotic voice, as gentle as a tide, burrowed into her ears.

“Waiting for you… to get your revenge on me,” Yin Ya blurted out, her mouth moving involuntarily.

The moment the words left her lips, her hands and feet went cold. This is it, she thought. I’m really finished.

“Revenge?” Cang Lanyan repeated the word, her tone curious. “What grudge could we possibly hold against each other?”

Perhaps because she had cornered Yin Ya, Cang Lanyan’s voice carried a hint of amusement, as if she were in a good mood.

Yin Ya kept her eyes closed, letting her mouth speak freely: “No grudge.”

“Is that so?” Cang Lanyan pondered for a moment before pressing further. “Then have you ever done anything to wrong me?”

Under the influence of Word Magic’s hypnotic and guiding power, Yin Ya involuntarily recalled the first time she had added a scene for Cang Lanyan.

It was a solo memory sequence, a midnight flashback to Cang Lanyan’s youth. During her 300th birthday celebration, marking her coming of age as a human, the South Sea Barrier she maintained had weakened due to insufficient spiritual power. The Hui Tribe, which had been eyeing the South Sea for centuries, seized the opportunity to invade in a single, devastating strike.

The Merman Clan had always been gentle and unassuming. Protected by the Barrier for three centuries, they had grown even more carefree, indulging in love and affection. But when the Hui Tribe struck, even their carefully trained soldiers were slaughtered and forced into retreat. Their once-peaceful home was transformed overnight into a sea of corpses and blood.

Only Cang Lanyan, born from a Merman’s tear and possessing innate spiritual power, could stand against them.

However, when the Hui Tribe stormed the altar, Cang Lanyan was still coalescing into human form within the Sacred Tree. To protect her and the Sacred Tree, the Clan Leader and seven Elders sacrificed themselves, even burning their own souls to provide her with the spiritual power needed to complete her transformation.

As the last Elder offered his soul and collapsed on the altar, a blue radiance shot forth from the Sacred Tree, instantly killing all the Hui Tribe members near the altar. Though still unfamiliar with her new body, Cang Lanyan single-handedly repaired the Barrier to its original state, then led the remaining Merfolk in a counterattack, trapping the surviving Hui Tribe members within the Barrier.

In the end, the Merman Clan repelled the invaders. But the seven Elders who had known Cang Lanyan and spent three centuries by her side—all of them had perished in that final battle, their souls burned out and bodies obliterated, leaving not even a single tear behind.

After the war, Cang Lanyan became an object of veneration and worship for her people.

She walked from the altar where the Sacred Tree grew to the clan’s hall, ascending to the position of Clan Leader and facing the people she had sworn to protect.

The terrible price paid in that defensive battle compelled Cang Lanyan to use a secret method to suppress her emotions and desires. In the shortest possible time, she shed the childish naivety of her thoughts and transformed into an emotionless War God whose sole concern was the welfare of her clan.

Now, looking back on that plotline, Yin Ya could find plenty of points to criticize. But at the time, pressed for time to meet her update schedule and secure the full attendance bonus, she had dashed off six thousand words on this scene without even fully outlining the story. It wasn’t until the next day, reviewing her previous work, that she regretted it bitterly.

Apart from the author herself, no one else knew that the original Cang Lanyan was merely a peaceful Guardian God. Though born with destiny and responsibility on her shoulders, her nature was pure and innocent. Her transformation into a Big Villain in the later stages of the story was entirely due to her lack of worldly experience, making her an unwitting pawn for the malicious Elder of her clan.

However, the next day demanded another update. Editing during serialization was a major taboo, and with the pressure to meet deadlines, she had no time to revise. She could only brace herself and keep writing.

Thus, driven by her own biases, Cang Lanyan’s character became increasingly complex, evolving from a carefree “beautiful fool” into a tragic, powerful, and beloved Big Villain.

“…I’ve done it.”

The admission dragged Yin Ya out of her memories. Her lips continued to move in sync with Cang Lanyan’s Word Magic.

“No grudges, no resentment, yet you’ve done something to hurt me.” Cang Lanyan suddenly released her grip on Yin Ya’s chin. In the next instant, Yin Ya felt a sudden, forceful pressure against her chest. “Could it be… that love turned to hate?”

“I don’t hate you!” Yin Ya blurted out. “No one loves you more than I do!”

The moment those words left her lips, Yin Ya froze. Then, terror struck, and her eyes snapped open.

Cang Lanyan clearly hadn’t expected this answer, and her gaze turned complicated again.

“No, I…” Yin Ya never imagined Word Magic would coax out such words. Even though this “love” wasn’t the same kind of love, Cang Lanyan, being both ancient and a merman, would undoubtedly take it seriously!

But before she could start defending herself, she remembered Cen Xiang’s recent warning:

“Don’t deceive her feelings.”

If she denied the “truth” revealed by Word Magic, wouldn’t that be a form of deception?

“I—I love you superficially!” Yin Ya quickly corrected herself, scrambling for a reasonable explanation. “You can think of it as… I’m attracted to your beauty, but I have no intention of trying to reach your heart, so…”

So what? Yin Ya had talked herself into a corner. Should she warn Cang Lanyan not to take her words seriously, or reassure her not to take them to heart?

…Neither seemed quite right.

Afraid of saying more and making it worse, Yin Ya decided to play it safe. She closed her laptop and was about to find an excuse to make a hasty retreat when she was blocked by a row of spiritual power tendrils.

“You think you can just confess and run?” Cang Lanyan’s finger tapped lightly against Yin Ya’s chest, her voice low and mysterious. “It’s not that easy.”

Perhaps because she’d just been on the phone with her color-obsessed childhood friend, Yin Ya suddenly worried that Cang Lanyan was about to kiss her.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Cang Lanyan leaned closer.

Snow-white hair brushed against her ear, tickling her and making her instinctively shrink back. Then she felt something prick her scalp. She reached up and touched a cold, firm object—its shape vaguely resembling… a fish fin?

Realizing what Cang Lanyan was doing, Yin Ya froze in terror. Trapped with nowhere to run, she raised her hands protectively in front of her, helplessly enduring the gentle caress of Cang Lanyan’s hair and ear against her skin.

The scent of rum and mint mingled in the air, making her feel strangely breathless.

What… what was Cang Lanyan trying to do to her?

Since the Merman Clan wasn’t the main focus of her story, Yin Ya hadn’t bothered to research their customs or interactions when developing her world. But even without that context, these actions were far too intimate!

Throughout her life, Yin Ya had never been this physically close to a same-sex friend. Though Cang Lanyan’s body temperature was low, the places she touched felt like they were slowly heating up, the warmth spreading from her ear all the way to her cheeks.

Apart from the heat spreading across her skin, Yin Ya also felt an inexplicable urgency, though she couldn’t tell if it was due to her nerves.

“W-wait!”

She barely lasted a minute before stammering out a protest. “I really have no intention of going any further with you. Please…”

Before she could finish, a cool sensation brushed against her lips.

A soft pressure parted her closed lips.

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