The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 32

Cang Lanyan didn’t immediately respond. The jellyfish remained clutched in Yin Ya’s fingers, its tentacles still wrapped around her wrist, showing no sign of wanting to return.

Yin Ya assumed Cang Lanyan’s change in expression was due to anger, upset that her spiritual power had escaped her control. Finding it amusing, she deliberately squeezed the jellyfish. “What’s this? You’re a clingy little thing, aren’t you?”

“Cang Lanyan,” she said, lowering her voice and suppressing its tremble, “let me handle this.”

Yin Ya hummed in acknowledgment, watching Cang Lanyan roughly pluck the jellyfish free instead of summoning it back with magic. “Isn’t it your spiritual power?” Yin Ya asked, unable to resist. “Why won’t it obey you?”

“You gave it its own will,” Cang Lanyan replied calmly, her gaze steady but her words carrying an undertone of reproach.

“I didn’t do anything to it!” Yin Ya retorted, pursing her lips. Seeing the jellyfish’s tentacle still reaching toward her, she reached out and hooked it with her pinky finger. “I’ve got to run. I’ll play with you again later.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Yin Ya saw Cang Lanyan close her eyes, her brow furrowing slightly, as if impatient with her interaction with the jellyfish. Sensing her mood, Yin Ya tactfully fell silent, carried the empty takeout box out of the bathroom, and carefully closed the door behind her.

Little did she know that, the moment she left, another commotion erupted inside.

Pale mint-green water splattered everywhere. The merfolk in the bathtub had long abandoned its reserve. One hand gripped the jellyfish, which remained blissfully unaware of its “misdeed,” while the other hand formed the seal of the Heart-Clearing Incantation.

As the fifth incantation dissipated, Cang Lanyan stared at the jellyfish in her hand, a realization dawning on her. She now understood why the God had repeatedly resisted her innermost wish instead of gladly accepting it.

In truth, she shared more similarities with the God than she’d realized. Her “allergy” might even be worse.

And this loss of control by her other “self” was unprecedented, unheard of for millennia.

This aspect represented her primal instincts, devoid of reason. To fully control it, she feared the only solution was to merge with it.

Without merging, she would never understand why her other “self” had lost control, nor why it harbored such a deep affinity for the God.

Apart from that, if she allowed her “self” to voluntarily fall into the God’s hands, the highly vigilant deity would quickly realize that this weak jellyfish was a part of her.

Even if confessing would make the God abandon its contact with the jellyfish, she didn’t want to reveal this weakness.

In the end, Cang Lanyan transformed the jellyfish into a ball of spiritual power, cupped it in her palms, placed it over her abdomen, and gradually merged it into her dantian.

A piercing pain quickly spread throughout her body, but her face remained expressionless as she calmly waited for the fusion to complete.

After listing all the common medicines and their effects she knew, Yin Ya stopped typing, feeling she might have gone overboard.

Cang Lanyan was a god, and also formed from Merfolk Tears. She should be able to heal even broken bones, let alone minor ailments.

But then she thought, if she ever caught a cold and couldn’t get out of bed, it wouldn’t be so bad to have the big villain help find and prepare medicine.

After all, the big villain couldn’t kill anyone, and there were no strange medicines at home. There was nothing to fear.

She continued writing happily, feeling satisfied with her work. After saving and printing the document, she bound it and placed it on the reference materials shelf.

After organizing the files, Yin Ya went to check the bookshelf.

Cang Lanyan’s learning speed was astonishing. In just two or three days, she had no problem reading books written in simplified Chinese characters. Yin Ya even noticed that her own English proficiency review materials had been flipped through. However, English was still a foreign language, and to truly learn and use it effectively, one had to start from the basics. The vocabulary and dialogues.

But the Great Villain had no immediate need for English, so Yin Ya set that aside for now. She picked up the backup phone on the table, unlocked it, and began downloading various legitimate video streaming apps.

Whether it was TV shows, movies, or documentaries, these were all channels for Cang Lanyan to understand human culture, social interactions, and living environments.

As a lifelong homebody writer who wasn’t familiar with Linjiang City, even if she took Cang Lanyan out, there were limited places they could go. It was better to let films and shows introduce her to the world.

After downloading the software, Yin Ya logged into each of her member accounts. Then, she downloaded the official reading app from the website where her serialized novel was published, creating a new account and estimating that she’d need enough credits to read two million words.

She didn’t download any other reading apps because she was most familiar with and trusted the style of novels on her own website. At least the signed works on their various channels maintained a certain quality, so she generally wouldn’t encounter sleazy, low-quality trash.

As for whether her book would still be visible… her earnings were no longer enough to place it on the homepage’s bestseller list. Unless some big shot villain could precisely locate the channel where her book was listed, they’d never see it.

After finishing everything, Yin Ya checked the time before shutting down her backup phone. Seeing it was nearly 4 PM, she carried her computer back to her bedroom, changed into her outerwear, and decided to go buy some mint for Cang Lanyan.

Before leaving, she specifically knocked on the bathroom door.

“Cang Lanyan, I’m going to buy some mint.”

Normally, regardless of the situation, Cang Lanyan would respond or ask to come along. But this time, the bathroom was eerily quiet.

Yin Ya had already changed her shoes, but Cang Lanyan still hadn’t responded. A nagging unease settled in her heart, making her restless.

“Cang Lanyan, I’m opening the door,” she called out, her hand already on the doorknob.

If Cang Lanyan made even the slightest sound, Yin Ya would immediately turn around and leave, not wanting to disturb her.

But the prolonged silence made Yin Ya’s heart sink. Without hesitation, she flung the door open.

Cang Lanyan was still in the bathtub, her eyes tightly shut, hands resting on her belly as if she had simply fallen asleep. Yet blood seeped from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and the mint-infused water had turned a faint crimson.

The sight sent a jolt through Yin Ya, reminding her of a murder scene she’d once seen in a movie. Her face paled.

Though she knew Cang Lanyan couldn’t die, panic surged through her. She rushed forward, reaching out to check for a pulse.

There was a pulse, but it was faint.

What had happened? Had something gone wrong during her cultivation? Or… was she trying to commit suicide?!

Yin Ya had never faced a situation like this before. Her imagination ran wild, and a cold dread gripped her. Shouting Cang Lanyan’s name, she fumbled for her phone and called Cen Xiang, her hands trembling.

“Hey, Er Xiang! Can you get here right now? Please? Just once?” The moment the call connected, she got straight to the point, her voice trembling with tears. “Cang Lanyan fainted! She’s in the bathtub, and there’s… there’s so much blood!”

Cen Xiang was clearly startled by the news, letting out an immediate “Holy shit!” before the sound of hurriedly gathering belongings came through the phone. “Don’t panic! Just drain the water and get her out first! I’ll be there in… fifteen minutes at most! Ya’zai, don’t be scared!”

Even though Yin Ya was genuinely terrified, she had to steel herself and act quickly.

She swiftly drained the water, grabbed a towel, and while drying Cang Lanyan, checked her for injuries.

As she moved Cang Lanyan’s body, she suddenly remembered something she’d read in a book: roughly, that you shouldn’t move someone who’s had a cultivation accident, as it could lead to qi deviation. After confirming Cang Lanyan had no obvious external injuries, she left her in the bathtub, padding the bottom with several towels.

After all that, Cang Lanyan still hadn’t woken up, and her fish tail remained unchanged. Fortunately, the bleeding from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth had subsided. Yin Ya removed her down jacket to cover Cang Lanyan’s body and wiped away the blood with tissues. After a few wipes, she noticed the bleeding had stopped.

Hearing a knock at the door, Yin Ya hurried over. She checked the peephole to confirm it was Cen Xiang before opening the door and letting her in.

“What… what happened?” Cen Xiang gasped, still catching her breath from running. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she saw a merfolk lying unconscious in the bathtub, surrounded by wads of bloodstained tissues in the nearby trash bin. She couldn’t help but gasp again.

“I don’t know either!” Yin Ya leaned against the doorframe, suddenly realizing her legs were trembling from shock. “I gave her some mint, and she was typing away! But when I went to leave, I found her like this!”

“No, no, I’m not asking about blame!” Cen Xiang waved her hand dismissively. “I just can’t imagine who could have hurt her. She must have done something herself! Think about it, what kind of mischief could she possibly get into?”

“I really can’t think of anything!” Yin Ya was on the verge of breaking down.

Both of them were panicking, unable to speak clearly. It wasn’t until they finally calmed down that they began to sort through the situation.

“First, you need to understand that your arch-villain isn’t going to die,” Cen Xiang said calmly, analyzing the situation. “There’s no need to panic. We just need to wait for her to wake up on her own. Second, have you noticed anything unusual about her today?”

“Unusual…? Well, she ate cereal with me, and I think she might be allergic to it,” Yin Ya said, trying to remember. “Her voice sounded really uncomfortable. It was low and strained, like she couldn’t breathe. It was like how you feel after running an 800-meter test.”

“Even if she’s allergic to cereal, that couldn’t cause her to bleed from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth,” Cen Xiang said, dismissing that possibility. “What else? Was anything else related to her around today?”

“Now that you mention it… I remember there was a jellyfish,” Yin Ya said. “But I’ve seen that jellyfish before; it’s harmless. Even when I squeezed it hard, Cang Lanyan didn’t react at all.”

“What’s the relationship between that jellyfish and Cang Lanyan?” Cen Xiang asked.

“I think it might be a surveillance device for Cang Lanyan?” Yin Ya guessed.

“…Is there anything else?” Cen Xiang pressed.

“It’s gone,” Yin Ya said, shaking her head. “You know I woke up late today. I don’t know anything that happened earlier, not even if she went out this morning.”

“Then the key to the case must be the jellyfish!” Cen Xiang exclaimed, slapping her palm against her forehead in a classic anime-style moment. “But… are you sure it doesn’t serve any other purpose besides surveillance?”

Yin Ya was stumped. She pondered for a moment, vaguely recalling that when she had rubbed the jellyfish, Cang Lanyan’s expression had suddenly changed.

What kind of change was it?

She couldn’t quite put it into words. At the time, she’d thought Cang Lanyan was suppressing anger over losing control. But now, upon careful reflection, it didn’t seem like anger at all, but rather…

Yin Ya suddenly remembered the expression on Cang Lanyan’s face that day when she accidentally pressed the sunken spot beneath the fish’s tail while hugging it. It was the same kind of suppressed emotion.

“Ya, kid? Why aren’t you talking?” Cen Xiang asked, noticing Yin Ya’s sudden daze and the loss of her usual sparkle. She shook Yin Ya’s shoulder.

Yin Ya snapped out of it, immediately covering her mouth and bolting out of the bathroom like a frightened deer. A thousand groundhogs screamed in unison within her heart.

What have I done to Cang Lanyan?!

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