The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 38

“W-what are you doing?!” Yin Ya startled at the sudden movement, instinctively struggling. The aching in her limbs made her hiss sharply.

“Have you already forgotten what you just said?” Cang Lanyan countered.

Yin Ya froze. Her newly rebooted mind quickly recalled the words she had blurted out in panic. “No! It was just my body’s instinct. I didn’t forget!” she hastily corrected.

Despite her words, fear still gripped her as she anticipated Cang Lanyan’s next move.

Where is the Major Antagonist taking me? What does she plan to do?

The thought had barely formed when the scenery blurred.

Cang Lanyan had teleported directly to the ground, gently placing Yin Ya on her own bed. Her movements were surprisingly gentle. She even pulled a tissue from the bedside table to wipe away Yin Ya’s tears.

Yin Ya stared at her, utterly bewildered. The word “considerate” popped into her head, feeling oddly out of place.

After tossing the damp tissue into the trash, Cang Lanyan sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed.

This time, she didn’t avoid Yin Ya’s gaze. But they simply stared at each other, neither speaking for a long moment.

Time ticked by, second by second. Finally, Yin Ya, enduring her physical discomfort, broke the silence. “What do you need me to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Cang Lanyan replied, shaking her head. “Originally, I did want to punish you. But I’m already bound by so many of your rules, I haven’t thought of any new ways to punish you yet.”

Yin Ya: “……”

Of course, she thought. Thinking Cang Lanyan was being considerate was a huge mistake.

“Then… can I ask you something?” Yin Ya asked cautiously. Seeing Cang Lanyan nod, she continued, “Do you… want to kill me?”

“Does the answer to that question matter so much?” Cang Lanyan countered.

“I think it does,” Yin Ya replied, nodding earnestly, her expression growing serious. “I still have unfinished wishes and things I need to do. If you really intend to kill me, could you wait until I’ve finished them?”

Before Cang Lanyan could respond, she added, “I’m not trying to buy time! It’s just… I only get one life. If I can, I don’t want to leave behind too many regrets.”

“You’re really strange,” Cang Lanyan said, her brow furrowing slightly. “When you were trying to talk me out of wanting to die, you were so eloquent. But now you’re acting like you’re ready to die at any moment?”

Yin Ya was stumped by the question. She opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, she could only resort to her go-to four-word response: “I don’t know.”

“Fine, I’m not interested in knowing anyway,” Cang Lanyan said dismissively. “As for whether I want to kill you, use your little brain and think about it. Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant. If I truly wanted you dead, would you still be lying here talking to me right now?”

Yin Ya answered “No” aloud, but inwardly she remained skeptical.

Is this Old Spirit really not trying to kill me, or does she know she can’t kill me but is just putting on a tough act to maintain her persona and keep me under her thumb?

She decided it was more realistic not to assume the best.

Her rebooted mind had fully regained its clarity. Yin Ya quickly forced herself to calm down, outwardly maintaining her meek and submissive demeanor. Taking advantage of not wearing her glasses, she cast a bewildered and fearful glance at Cang Lanyan.

Feigning composure was the easiest disguise.

“So… what about tonight?” she asked tentatively.

“Tell me about the secrets you’ve been hiding,” Cang Lanyan said. “Choose what you’re willing to share.”

Yin Ya was surprised. She’d expected the Major Antagonist to interrogate her again.

After careful consideration, she decided to dig deeper into her “Creator God” persona. “As you suspected, I am the one who created your God. That’s why your portrait is in my computer.”

“But I’m not the kind of ‘Creator God’ you imagine,” she explained. “You’ve read some Human Race books these past few days, like Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber. Humans call them ‘novels.’ I’m just an ordinary person who writes novels. The worlds I create exist only within the pages of my books.”

She emphasized the words “ordinary person.” “That’s why I kept telling you I’m not a God.”

Cang Lanyan listened quietly, without interrupting.

“And… you…” Yin Ya paused. “You’re like Sun Wukong, Lin Daiyu, or Wang Xifeng. You’re a character in a book, but not the main character. You’re the antagonist. Like… like the demons and monsters in Journey to the West who trouble the protagonists. Though it’s not exactly the same.”

“…So what am I exactly?” Cang Lanyan asked, her voice unusually perplexed.

The cultural differences were vast, spanning both time and species. Yin Ya struggled to explain clearly. After a moment of silence, she asked softly, “Would you mind reading the novel I wrote?”

To be honest, when Yin Ya downloaded the novel reading app onto Cang Lanyan’s phone, she never imagined her secret would be revealed.

She even thought the Major Antagonist would never find her book.

…So now, sitting on Cang Lanyan’s bed, opening the app on her backup phone, and searching for her serialized novel, Yin Ya’s emotions were too complex for words.

“Your appearance is quite late in the story,” Yin Ya said after purchasing all the chapters. She handed the backup phone to Cang Lanyan, who was waiting nearby. “Around chapter 70 or later. The earlier chapters are mostly about the protagonists’ romance.”

Cang Lanyan took the spare phone without replying. Yin Ya, used to her silence, resigned herself to lying back down and began massaging her aching wrists and ankles.

While searching for the novel, she glanced at the time. It was around 5:30 AM on February 26th. She hadn’t slept too badly last night.

Cang Lanyan seemed unfamiliar with e-books. After tapping around for a few minutes, she instructed, “Just print it out.”

“Can we do that later?” Yin Ya asked. “We’re out of paper at home. I’ll need to buy some, but it’s too early. The shops that sell paper aren’t open yet.”

She hadn’t expected the Major Antagonist to adapt to e-books. Even many students her age struggled with the concept of paperless reading, let alone an ancient Spirit who had been reading paper books for millennia.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cang Lanyan said, closing the phone and placing it beside her pillow. Her gaze returned to Yin Ya.

Though Yin Ya couldn’t see her expression clearly, she still felt a chill run down her spine.

This time, she didn’t ask any questions. She bit her lip nervously, waiting for the Major Antagonist to speak.

She wasn’t sure how long she waited before Cang Lanyan finally asked, “Why are you so bold in your dreams?”

…Huh?

Yin Ya didn’t react immediately, confusedly asking, “What courage do I have?”

The words had barely left her lips when she suddenly realized what Cang Lanyan meant. Panic surged through her as she tried to backtrack, but the Merfolk, who had been sitting demurely on the bed’s edge just a moment ago, now leaned in, bracing herself with one hand beside the pillow.

“What do you think?”

Amber eyes drew close, Cang Lanyan’s familiar breath deliberately brushing against Yin Ya’s eyelashes.

“You clearly harbor deep affection, yet your words are nothing but lies,” Cang Lanyan murmured. “Is this truly more terrifying to you than me discovering your true identity?”

“…You wouldn’t understand,” Yin Ya said after a moment of silence, shaking her head. She even dropped the honorifics she usually used when addressing Cang Lanyan.

“You fear me manipulating your affections, and even more, you fear becoming dependent on this feeling,” Cang Lanyan continued, speaking as if to herself. “I didn’t understand before, but now I’m beginning to grasp it.”

“That’s only part of the reason,” Yin Ya said, averting her gaze. “Cang Lanyan, didn’t you once say you’ve never formed any bonds with anyone?”

The Spirit Pearl takes human form, forever free from attachments. Beyond speech and movement, it is no different from the Sacred Tree enshrined on the altar.

She still remembered what Cang Lanyan had said not long ago.

“So what?” Cang Lanyan countered.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Yin Ya said, shaking her head. “You’ve never experienced such a bond. Even if I explained, you’d just think, ‘What’s the big deal?’ So…”

She raised her aching hand and gripped Cang Lanyan’s arm, pleading, “So please don’t ask anymore. I’m begging you!”

Unaware of Cang Lanyan’s expression, Yin Ya felt a gentle hand lift the back of her head, drawing her closer to those soft, parted lips just inches away.

Yin Ya instinctively held her breath. But just when she thought she was about to be forced into a kiss, Cang Lanyan released her grip.

“Then let me ask you this,” Cang Lanyan whispered, lowering her voice. “Do you still reject this now?”

Yin Ya opened her mouth, unsure how to answer. The dream created by “Merfolk’s Delight” seemed to possess a strange magic. Originally, she had strongly resisted any intimacy with Cang Lanyan, but after that lucid dream, her aversion had noticeably diminished.

“Becoming a Merfolk bound by chains is no dream,” Cang Lanyan said. “I won’t ask, but if you can’t resolve this inner conflict, it will eventually become your inner demon.”

She paused. “The Merfolk Tribe’s technique to suppress emotions and desires doesn’t work on other races. Though I’ve long suppressed my own, I know the profound impact it has on body and mind. Even Merfolk, born with Spiritual Power, can die from emotional turmoil. How much resistance could a mere Human have?”

Yin Ya bit her lip, knowing Cang Lanyan spoke the truth. Her inability to accept her sexuality would inevitably disrupt her life and might even… cost her her life.

“As I said, I have no ties to anyone,” Cang Lanyan continued. “You needn’t fear I’ll use this to blackmail you or reveal your secret to those you care about in this world.”

Yin Ya startled, looking at her with a mixture of disbelief and hope.

“If you trust me,” Cang Lanyan said, slowly releasing the hand cradling the back of Yin Ya’s head, “you can make your choice now.” Her face remained very close to Yin Ya’s.

The solid feel of the pillow beneath her head didn’t ease Yin Ya’s tension. She felt her heart warring within her: the instinct to rely on Cang Lanyan clashed with the rational suspicion that had been her constant companion. The conflict made her heart race, anxiety and restlessness spreading through her body.

Cang Lanyan, that old spirit, is a walking poison, Yin Ya thought.

She was too dangerous, able to see through people’s hearts and true nature in an instant, using that knowledge to manipulate them for her own ends.

What Cang Lanyan’s ultimate goal was, Yin Ya couldn’t yet fathom. All she knew was that the woman desperately sought death, yet death was something Yin Ya couldn’t grant her.

Cang Lanyan had become a Major Antagonist with no weaknesses.

After this silent reflection, Yin Ya took a deep breath, slowly raised her trembling hand, and deliberately wrapped it around Cang Lanyan’s neck.

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