The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 15.2

She didn’t dare turn around, nor did she dare look at Yuan Shao’s face.

“Master, if I made a mistake, how would you punish me?”

Yuan Shao thought for a moment. “Since you realize your mistake, it means you have remorse. As long as you haven’t done anything immoral or harmful to others, it can be forgiven.”

“A very, very serious mistake,” Chi Jinnian added. “Would you punish me harshly and then expel me from the sect?”

Yuan Shao answered, “I would punish you.” Then she turned over, lying flat on the bed.

Chi Jinnian lowered her eyes, having gotten her answer. But the quiet air was interrupted again as Yuan Shao added, “You are my disciple. If I failed to teach you well, then I am also at fault. So, if blame is to be assigned, it should first fall on me, your inadequate master.”

Chi Jinnian turned her head in surprise, just as Yuan Shao turned to face her. “Once master and disciple, always master and disciple, isn’t that so?”

Hearing this, Chi Jinnian felt as if she had swallowed a calming pill. Afraid that Yuan Shao might see the joy in her heart, she quickly buried her face in the quilt. Unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips, she smiled freely where Yuan Shao couldn’t see.

She didn’t care whether, from Yuan Shao’s perspective, this half-hidden gesture was excitement or shyness.

Chi Jinnian was lost in thought, convinced that her efforts these days had been worth it. At the very least, Yuan Shao’s attitude toward her had softened. As long as she could quickly bring Yuan Shao to the Water Mirror, where the male and female leads would meet, she could retire triumphantly and happily return to her life as a privileged second-generation official.

Filled with this joy, Chi Jinnian’s breathing gradually evened out as she drifted into sleep.

Leaving Yuan Shao alone, quietly awake, staring at the embroidery on Chi Jinnian’s quilt, was her little disciple really this happy to share a room with her?

Outside the window, a dark cloud obscured the bright moon, turning the night sky ominous. Wei Yang led his men to the vicinity of the Water Mirror and indeed found traces of an intruder.

It seemed to be someone from the Upper Cultivation Realm, already at the Harmony stage but not yet forming a Golden Core.

Wei Yang signaled his subordinates to stay put while he pursued alone. Once he drove the intruder out, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar.

Fueled by the resentment he had accumulated toward Chi Jinnian, Wei Yang followed the trail of energy.

A fierce wind rose around him. Wei Yang chased all the way to a willow tree, where the energy suddenly vanished.

Just as he was about to investigate further, a sharp “whoosh” cut through the air. Wei Yang instinctively dodged to the side as a transparent arrow embedded itself where he had just stood. A closer look confirmed it the very thing that had sparked the enmity between him and Chi Jinnian: the Frost Arrow!

Wei Yang turned toward the direction the arrow had come from. Amid the howling wind, he squinted and could barely make out a figure perched on a tree branch tall and upright, but the face remained obscured.

During the day, Wei Yang had been teased by Chi Jinnian, and now the person opposing him was also related to Chi Jinnian. His anger instantly peaked. Ignoring the howling winds around him, he drew his sword, leaped up, and slashed at the treetop.

The person in the tree showed no sign of panic. In just three moves, they knocked Wei Yang down.

An icy arrow pressed against his neck. Before him stood a young man with his hair tied in a jade crown, dressed in flowing white robes. His light sleeves fluttered in the wind, his entire demeanor ethereal, as if an immortal descended from the heavens.

He spoke, his voice deep and melodious, like the sound of a flute: “You’re from the demon clan. Is my master in your hands?”

“Who is your master?”

A bolt of lightning split the night sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap. In that brief illumination, Wei Yang could clearly see the delicate features of the person before him.

Indeed, his brows and eyes were like a painting elegant and handsome.

With one hand pressing against Wei Yang’s vital point, he slowly answered, word by word: “The Evergreen Sect Yuan Shao.”

Another flash of lightning followed, this time revealing Wei Yang’s stunned expression.

Outside the window, rain began to patter down. Inside the room, Chi Jinnian seemed disturbed by the thunder, tossing and turning restlessly in her sleep. Before long, she had rolled over and buried the blanket beneath her.

Her movements caused Yuan Shao’s wrist, tied with a red string, to twitch slightly, rousing her from her slumber.

It was raining, and the night was cold. Seeing her little disciple curled up on the floor, shivering while the blanket lay trapped beneath her, Yuan Shao quietly got up and approached Chi Jinnian. She gently tugged the blanket free and draped it over her.

In her dream, Chi Jinnian was holding a soft, adorable white rabbit. Its fur was smooth, but suddenly, it wriggled free and hopped away.

“Don’t run!” Chi Jinnian instinctively reached out to grab it.

Her arms stretched and then retracted, wrapping tightly around the arm that had just adjusted her blanket.

“Don’t… don’t go,” she murmured in her sleep, clinging stubbornly to Yuan Shao’s arm. She even nestled her cheek against it, rubbing lightly against the shoulder. “Stay, keep me company a little longer.”

Yuan Shao stiffened at the sudden pull. She tried to ease her arm away, but the girl immediately followed, refusing to let go.

Seeing Chi Jinnian sleeping so soundly, Yuan Shao couldn’t bear to wake her. Resigned, she abandoned the bed and let her cling on.

As if sensing the “little rabbit’s” discomfort, Chi Jinnian instinctively shifted backward, making space and even sharing a bit of her pillow.

Yuan Shao took the opportunity to rest her head on it. The soft red pillow carried the faint fragrance of her disciple’s hair.

Up close, she watched the sleeping girl peaceful as a well-behaved kitten, eyes shut and motionless. But the tranquility lasted only a moment before Chi Jinnian’s head lolled onto her shoulder.

Yuan Shao froze. Warm breaths now tickled her neck, sending faint shivers of tingling sensation through her.

In that moment, Yuan Shao realized Chi Jinnian hadn’t lied to her.

Sleeping on the floor really wasn’t cold at all.