The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 27.2

But Yuan Shao dared not let Chi Jinnian notice. She stepped behind Chi Jinnian, untied the ropes binding her hands, and then moved to shield her. Throughout this, she avoided letting Chi Jinnian see her face directly.

Wei Yang, sprawled on the ground, staggered to his feet. He wiped the blood from his lips with his thumb and let out a cold laugh. “Heh, you really haven’t changed at all, Chi Jinnian. Still as despicable as ever.”

These words didn’t faze Chi Jinnian, but Yuan Shao, standing in front of her, darkened her gaze. For a moment, her arm trembled. Suppressing her physical discomfort, she summoned another energy ball in her palm and glared coldly at Wei Yang. “My disciple is not for you to judge.”

Wei Yang sensed that the energy ball in Yuan Shao’s palm was no ordinary matter. He thought to himself, What’s going on? Didn’t she lose all her cultivation? Could it be that Chi Jinnian deceived me about this too? Did she never actually feed Yuan Shao the Heart-Losing Pill?

Before he could finish the thought, Yuan Shao’s energy ball shot toward him, and the two immediately engaged in a fierce struggle.

Freed at last, Chi Jinnian quickly released Su Tingxi, unable to resist adding a cold snort: “Thank you, Senior Brother, for holding back earlier and not exposing my identity in front of our master.”

This remark made Su Tingxi feel somewhat embarrassed. In truth, he had already questioned Chi Jinnian’s identity as “Yuan Shao’s disciple,” though he hadn’t revealed her status as the “young mistress of the demon realm.”

Had Chi Jinnian continued to press the matter, he wasn’t sure whether he could have kept the secret or if he would have blurted everything out in a fit of anger.

Once Su Tingxi was freed, Chi Jinnian noticed his downcast expression and urged him, “Don’t just stand there go help Master!”

Only then did Su Tingxi snap back to reality and join the fight against Wei Yang. This time, however, he deliberately refrained from using the Ice Arrow.

With the male and female protagonists working together, dealing with a villain like Wei Yang was naturally a simple task.

Just as they had subdued Wei Yang, Chi Jinnian stepped forward and stopped the glowing orb forming once again in Yuan Shao’s palm. “Master, please don’t!”

Yuan Shao turned at the tug on her sleeve, her dimmed eyes gradually brightening as she recognized her young disciple.

Chi Jinnian held onto Yuan Shao’s wrist and pleaded, “Master, today is the Qixi Festival. In honor of this auspicious day, could you spare his life?”

“But he just threatened you.”

Before Yuan Shao could finish, Su Tingxi, who was restraining Wei Yang, interjected with dissatisfaction, “Chi Jinnian, have you forgotten the feeling of being hung over a boiling oil pot? What are you trying to do now?”

Chi Jinnian gently tugged at Yuan Shao’s sleeve. “Master, he didn’t actually throw me into the oil pot. Look, I’m not hurt he was just trying to scare me. Since he let me go, could you spare him this once? Just this once.”

After all, Wei Yang hadn’t caused any real harm to Yuan Shao or Su Tingxi. Moreover, Yuan Shao was not one to take lives lightly; she usually settled for teaching a lesson, and for more serious offenses, she would hand the culprit over to the upper cultivation realm for judgment by the various righteous sects. However, this was the first time her young disciple had pleaded with her and for another man, no less. This left Yuan Shao feeling a pang of discomfort in her chest. Despite her reluctance, she released her grip, and the glowing orb in her palm dimmed and vanished.

“I need some fresh air,” Yuan Shao said, turning away and walking out of the room alone, as if giving silent consent.

Seeing this, Su Tingxi also released Wei Yang and followed her out. But just as he reached the door, he paused, summoned the Ice Arrow, and placed it before Wei Yang. “Since this belongs to you, I’m returning it. From now on, we have no ties and owe each other nothing.” With that, he turned and followed Yuan Shao out.

In an instant, only Chi Jinnian, Wei Yang, and the two mice in the corner remained in the room.

Wei Yang, however, was displeased. He had always prided himself on winning fairly and never resorted to begging for mercy. Today, he had been spared only because of Chi Jinnian’s intervention, and he couldn’t accept it. He snarled, “Chi Jinnian! I don’t need you pretending to be the good person here! I know exactly what kind of person you are! I take full responsibility for my actions this has nothing to do with you!”

“Wei Yang.” Chi Jinnian stepped forward, her head lowered. “I know that deep down, you’re a good person. After all, we grew up together since childhood. In my youthful ignorance, I did many terrible things to you, yet you endured it all and never retaliated. Today, I want to apologize on behalf of my past self.”

With that, Chi Jinnian bowed deeply to Wei Yang.

In truth, Wei Yang had once been a spirited young man, but he had his achievements stolen from him, losing what he valued most. Anyone in his position would have been upset. Over the years, Wei Yang had countless opportunities to seek revenge, yet he never inflicted any real harm on the original Chi Jinnian.

Chi Jinnian believed that aside from her status as the young mistress of the demon realm, there was also a sense of magnanimity in his restraint.

This gesture, however, left Wei Yang wide-eyed. Truly, given enough time, one could witness any marvel Chi Jinnian was apologizing to him and even bowing!

Chi Jinnian straightened up and continued, “Wei Yang, please don’t hold onto the past. I said before that I owe you one, and I mean it, I won’t go back on my word. If there’s ever anything you need from me, as long as it’s within my power and doesn’t violate my principles, I won’t refuse.” After saying this, she suddenly lifted her gaze, fixing Wei Yang with a resolute look. “However, you must not lay a hand on Yuan Shao.”

“Chi Jinnian, are you so desperate to obtain Yuan Shao’s inner core that you’d flaunt it before the Demon Lord? Don’t be fooled by her seemingly abundant spiritual energy, she hasn’t even built her foundation yet. During our earlier exchange, her moves lacked the necessary force. If you’re planning to extract her inner core, you’ll have a long wait,” Wei Yang said disdainfully.

But Chi Jinnian remained unfazed. “Wei Yang, I’m forbidding you from touching her not because I want to take her core. I genuinely want to protect her. No one can harm her not you, and not even my father.”

“Why is that? Don’t tell me you’ve grown fond of calling her ‘Master’ and have started taking this act seriously!” In Wei Yang’s eyes, Chi Jinnian had always been a shortsighted fool, but today, for the first time, he felt he couldn’t see through her.

“No reason,” Chi Jinnian replied. “Simply because she is Yuan Shao, I won’t allow you to harm her. Wei Yang, do you understand?”

For some reason, when it came to harming Yuan Shao, Wei Yang detected a flicker of killing intent in Chi Jinnian’s eyes. It was the first time in all their years of interaction that she had made him feel such pressure. Wei Yang turned his face away, taking a long moment before nodding slightly.

At that, the shadow on Chi Jinnian’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a bright smile as she turned to leave. But after only a few steps, she seemed to remember something and walked over to the corner, where she caught the two mice with one hand.

The two mice, realizing their lives were entirely in Chi Jinnian’s grasp, hurriedly begged for mercy: “Spare us, noble lady!”

“So it was you two who scared me earlier, wasn’t it!”

Meanwhile, outside, Yuan Shao stood with one hand behind her back, gazing alone at the moon in the sky. The night breeze brushed against her, drying the cold sweat that had formed at her temples. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned sharply, only to see Su Tingxi.

Yuan Shao blinked lightly, remaining silent as she continued to gaze up at the moon. Yet, the flicker of disappointment in her eyes did not escape Su Tingxi’s notice.

“Master,” Su Tingxi stepped forward. He knew that earlier in the room, in a moment of anger, he had said many harsh words to Chi Jinnian, further alienating Yuan Shao, who already held a less-than-favorable impression of him. He wanted to explain himself but found no words, lowering his voice instead. “Master, I’m sorry for my outburst earlier. But please believe me, it was just a momentary fit of anger. I never intended to disregard my junior sister’s life. I just… spoke without thinking. Could you.”

“Show me your palace bell,” Yuan Shao interrupted him abruptly.

Seeing Yuan Shao’s attitude soften slightly, Su Tingxi quickly untied the silver bell from his waist and presented it with both hands. “This was personally refined by you, Master. You said it symbolizes being a disciple of Miaoyan Palace. As long as the silver bell is with me, you can sense my location.”

Yuan Shao held the bell in her hand, staring at it for a long while. Though the bell chimed softly, she showed no reaction. “It seems that with my cultivation lost, the bell no longer recognizes me.” With that, she returned the bell to Su Tingxi. “Since it symbolizes my disciple, keep it safe.”

Those words brought a smile back to Su Tingxi’s lips. His master had told him to safeguard the symbol of her disciple, proving that she still acknowledged him as her student! She hadn’t abandoned him as long as she still recognized him, that was enough!

Before Su Tingxi could even retie the bell, Yuan Shao seemed impatient and turned to head back into the house. “Why is it taking so long to finish talking!”

When she wasn’t around, did her little disciple have so much to say to another man? What could they possibly be discussing for so long? What were they talking about!

Just as Yuan Shao reached the door, she heard a series of agonized screams. This time, it was the plump and skinny mice who had stolen oil on the Weasel Mountain, now hanging over a pot of boiling oil. Chi Jinnian stood in the corner, holding the other end of the rope, occasionally letting it drop abruptly.

“Spare us, warrior maiden, spare us. Ah!!”

“You two bullied me earlier now I’ll let you experience what it’s like to hang upside down over boiling oil and freefall!!”