The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 37

The Merfolk circled her slowly, its sky-blue tail swaying gracefully, occasionally brushing against her tail fins.

“Did you do this?” Yin Ya demanded angrily.

“The dreams induced by Merfolk’s Delight are unique to each person,” Canglan Yan said, shaking her head. “This is a vision of your own heart.”

She swam behind Yin Ya, opened her arms, and pulled her into a fearless embrace. Leaning close to her ear, she whispered with a soft laugh, “I never imagined you saw yourself as my kind.”

Yin Ya was shocked and immediately struggled to break free.

But this place seemed different from reality. Her rules held no sway over Canglan Yan. Moreover, her hands and tail were shackled. Even if she escaped Canglan Yan’s grasp, she would remain trapped.

“Let me go!” she shouted. “Get me out of here!”

“This is your domain,” Canglan Yan replied. “Whether you leave is entirely up to you. I have no power here.”

Yin Ya immediately tried to think of “leaving,” but Canglan Yan needed only a light touch to shatter her painstakingly gathered focus.

“Don’t touch me!” Yin Ya snapped, her tail flicking angrily. She aimed a swipe at Canglan Yan’s tail, but the other woman easily dodged it.

“Your dreamscape remains remarkably stable,” Canglan Yan remarked, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if amused. “There’s been almost no change between last night and tonight.”

“Why are you even spying on my dreams?!” Yin Ya demanded, frustrated but powerless against the Old Spirit.

“This is my first time using Merfolk’s Delight, so I naturally need to keep a close watch,” Canglan Yan explained calmly. “It’s said that many victims become trapped within their dreamscapes, either lingering in a world of comfort or, like you, bound by their own secrets.”

“So… you’re here to guide me?” Yin Ya quickly deduced.

“Not entirely.” Canglan Yan narrowed her eyes, leaned closer, and effortlessly pinched Yin Ya’s chin. “In dreams, it seems the rules no longer apply.”

Yin Ya startled, but before she could push Canglan Yan away, two cool, soft lips pressed against hers.

An arm encircled her completely, and an irresistible kiss descended, ruthlessly probing her defenses.

Yin Ya couldn’t break free from the Merfolk’s embrace, nor could she focus enough to think about leaving.

In her daze, the memory that had brought her peace the night before gradually resurfaced.

Back then, Canglan Yan had been far more aggressive than she was now, yet Yin Ya hadn’t resisted. Instead, she had recklessly indulged in the dream, sinking deeper into the abyss with her.

“What exactly…”

Yin Ya finally managed to speak when Canglan Yan pulled away, but her words were cut short as her voice was silenced again.

Breathing seemed unnecessary in the dream, but as the kiss lingered, Yin Ya began to feel a faint sense of suffocation. Instinctively, she tried to take control, desperate to escape the discomfort.

To her surprise, Canglan Yan didn’t resist, allowing Yin Ya to clumsily reciprocate.

Yet Yin Ya’s mind was now filled with doubts.

Though she had never been in love and the romance she wrote was merely fantasy, she understood that mutual satisfaction was rare. Both partners needed to find what they desired or lacked, both physically and emotionally.

It wasn’t surprising that Canglan Yan satisfied her. After all, this character, from her appearance to her personality, had been crafted around Yin Ya’s ideal of “perfect.” Even though Canglan Yan wasn’t the protagonist, she had been Yin Ya’s favorite from the moment she appeared.

But why was Canglan Yan satisfied by her?

Yin Ya’s looks and figure were unremarkable. She was physically weak, timid, afraid of socializing, and prone to emotional outbursts. What exactly about her could possibly attract Canglan Yan?

“Why are you satisfied?” Yin Ya asked quickly as they parted again.

“I don’t know,” Canglan Yan replied tersely.

“You must know!” Yin Ya grabbed her hand.

Perhaps it was the dream’s peculiar nature, but even surrounded by seawater, the chains on her wrist clinked with every movement.

“Then Your Excellency the God’s allure must be too strong,” Canglan Yan said blandly.

“That’s a cop-out!” Yin Ya shouted, refusing to let it go.

“You’re always giving me the runaround too,” Canglan Yan retorted, seizing Yin Ya’s fingers. With a flick of her fishtail, she leaned in close. “If you can’t be honest, why should I be?”

Yin Ya felt both furious and humiliated under Canglan Yan’s condescending gaze. She yanked her restrained hand free and lunged upward, biting down hard on Canglan Yan’s shoulder.

A disdainful snort came from above. “Is the prickly hedgehog getting impatient?”

“You black-hearted white fox!” Yin Ya spat the moment she released her bite.

“We’re two sides of the same coin,” Canglan Yan said calmly, pinching Yin Ya’s cheeks as she watched her struggle with pursed lips. “Just a reminder: you shouldn’t rush to leave. Unless your memory has been suppressed, every sensation you experience in this dream will carry over to the waking world.”

“When you wake up, your mouth will feel numb, and your limbs will ache.” Canglan Yan glanced at the chains, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Even though these are mental shackles you conjured yourself, the effect remains the same.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Yin Ya grabbed Canglan Yan’s arm and twisted it hard. “Why didn’t you warn me earlier?”

“I saw you seemed to be enjoying yourself,” Canglan Yan said with a sly wink. “I didn’t want to spoil the fun.”

Yin Ya rolled her eyes dramatically and glared at her own fish tail and the chains binding her. “Why is my dreamscape like this?” she muttered, genuinely puzzled.

“You should ask yourself that,” Canglan Yan said, conjuring a crystal throne and transforming her tail into legs. She sat regally, deliberately provoking Yin Ya. “I didn’t ask when I entered your dream last night. If I’d known, I would have asked then.”

Since she couldn’t leave immediately, Yin Ya steeled herself and decided to continue their “mutual torment.”

“I have a question,” she said. “I’ve only heard of the Merfolk Tribe in legends and biographies. Is it true that you’re easily ensnared by love and become trapped by it?”

“Being consumed by love is part of our nature,” Canglan Yan replied truthfully. “Perhaps when the gods created us, they enhanced our sensitivity to and dependence on love. Every Merfolk I’ve known, from birth to death, has been inseparable from love. But a tribe that exists solely for love is doomed to extinction.”

“So, you developed spells to weaken and sever this dependence?” Yin Ya asked tentatively.

Canglan Yan smiled but remained silent, clearly unwilling to elaborate on the topic.

“So, what state are you in now?” Yin Ya asked. “At first, you seemed to not care about anything, as if you had a goal but didn’t mind if you didn’t reach it. Like a willow catkin drifting in the air, with no place to land. After what happened today, even though you’ve kept your distance, I can feel…”

She paused, unable to find the right words, and simply voiced her current thoughts: “I think you have a heart now. You’re a Merfolk with real emotions.”

She was serious. Though Canglan Yan had been awkward today, completely lacking her usual flawless perfection, it gave Yin Ya the feeling that “this person is truly alive.”

The Canglan Yan she knew before had seemed more like a perfect and powerful puppet, devoid of emotions and unable to understand the feelings of others.

Everything she did had a clear purpose, and she would stop at nothing to achieve it.

“Is that so?” Canglan Yan said lightly.

“Yes!” Yin Ya nodded. “Personally, I think it’s terrifying to have no desires. If you don’t want anything, what’s the point of being alive?”

The words had barely left her lips when realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

This is why Canglan Yan seeks death so desperately.

As the author who created Canglan Yan, I should have understood this long ago!

Yin Ya immediately looked at Canglan Yan, only to see the Merfolk sitting regally on her throne, wearing a gentle smile she had never seen before.

“If you understand this principle, why did you curse me with immortality?”

Having frantically escaped the dream, Yin Ya hadn’t yet recovered when pain suddenly surged through her limbs.

The Old Spirit, cunning as she was, hadn’t lied. It turned out that escaping the dream was as simple as wanting to leave.

But the side effects of forced withdrawal were far more severe than she had anticipated.

Though she saw her familiar star-patterned quilt instead of the suffocating deep sea, Yin Ya still felt no relief.

The bedroom’s overhead light was on, its harsh glare reflecting off Canglan Yan’s face.

“I knew it was you all along,” Canglan Yan said, her voice calm, even amused. To Yin Ya, it sounded like a death warrant. “From the moment I saw you write down the rules.”

Yin Ya huddled deeper under the quilt, clinging to her last shred of security. Pain and terror made her breath come in ragged gasps, her heart pound wildly, and tears spill uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry!” she stammered, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I…”

“Of course you wouldn’t dare tell me,” Canglan Yan interrupted smoothly. “You know my secrets better than anyone else. That’s why you fear me more than anyone else. You’d rather abandon your divine status and humiliate yourself by serving me faithfully than reveal the truth.”

“I’m sorry…” Yin Ya was terrified. She instinctively pulled the quilt over her face, her voice muffled to a near whisper.

This time, it was truly over. Cen Xiang’s jinx had struck again. Even without reading the novel, Canglan Yan had easily unmasked her.

The Major Antagonist cared nothing for novels. Once she confirmed Yin Ya was the Creator God who had granted her immortality, that was enough.

The blanket was suddenly yanked away. Yin Ya screamed, clutching her head and trembling violently.

“I was wrong! I know I was wrong!” Her mind had completely shut down, leaving only apologies and pleas for forgiveness. “You can make me do anything! I…”

“Quiet,” Canglan Yan interrupted.

Yin Ya immediately fell silent, curling into a ball and gazing at her through a misty haze of tears.

“I’ve never understood how a God as weak and cowardly as you could exist,” Canglan Yan sneered, her hands sliding beneath Yin Ya’s back and thighs. Through the fuzzy pajamas, she effortlessly lifted Yin Ya into a horizontal carry with a slight exertion of force.

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