The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 34

After returning to her room alone, Yuan Shao only realized something was amiss once she had calmed down.

Her little disciple’s words hadn’t been inappropriate so, why had she gotten so angry?

She, was merely her master.

Yet when Chi Jinnian had spoken those words, Yuan Shao had felt as if she’d lost control, as if an inexplicable fire had ignited within her heart all at once. Rubbing her temples, Yuan Shao wondered if her recent cultivation struggles had left her spiritual awareness unstable.

Thinking this, she decided to shut herself in her room and allow her mind to relax as much as possible. Sitting on her bed, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began meditating to regulate her breathing.

This was the Upper Cultivation Realm, where cultivation indeed felt more natural and effortless than in the demon realm.

As her eyes remained shut, scenes from her childhood surfaced in her mind the first time she met her master, being brought back to the immortal sect, receiving her master’s teachings, and the care of her senior sister.

These warm memories, big and small, gradually soothed Yuan Shao’s emotions.

After an unknown amount of time, faint footsteps suddenly approached her door.

Then came that familiar, soft voice.

“Master? Are you resting?” Chi Jinnian stood outside Yuan Shao’s door, holding a tray, and asked gently, “I noticed you didn’t eat much earlier. Was the food not to your taste?”

A long silence followed, with no response from inside. Chi Jinnian bit her lip, mustered her courage, and added, “I made you another bowl of noodles. Would you like to try it? I promise it won’t be too salty this time.”

She waited a while longer, but still, there was no sound. The repeated silence gradually dampened her voice. “Then, I won’t disturb you anymore. Please rest well.”

Chi Jinnian had never seen Yuan Shao shut herself away like this refusing to come out or speak. She couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong to provoke such a reaction.

Recalling the last thing she’d said before Yuan Shao got angry the remark about an “ideal husband” could it be that Yuan Shao had misunderstood and thought she was hinting at Su Tingxi?

Receiving no reply, Chi Jinnian felt awkward and decided not to linger at the door any longer, opting to return to her own small room.

But just as she turned to leave, the door suddenly cracked open a sliver. Through the gap, the candlelight from inside spilled out.

Was this, an invitation to enter?

Chi Jinnian stared at the crack, unable to step forward yet unwilling to leave. After a long moment of hesitation, she decided that since she had come this far, she might as well brace herself and go in.

Placing her hand on the door, she pushed it open.

This was her first time entering Yuan Shao’s room. The furnishings were extremely simple: a bookshelf, a round table, a canopy bed, and a few potted plants on the bedside table.

Unlike the ornate bedroom Chi Jinnian had created for her in the Peach Blossom Spring, this place exuded an air of refined elegance, with even the candles few and far between,perfectly matching Yuan Shao’s serene and graceful nature.

The few candleholders in the room barely dispelled the darkness beneath the moonlight. Chi Jinnian set the tray down on the table and saw Yuan Shao still sitting cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, seemingly uninterested in acknowledging her.

Without another word, she set the things down and prepared to leave.

The tray was placed on the table with a moderate sound, causing the person on the bed to open their eyes.

“What did you bring?” Yuan Shao asked.

“It’s freshly cooked noodles, and I added an egg,” Chi Jinnian lifted the inverted plate covering the bowl, revealing the steaming noodles inside. The broth was milky white and glossy, with a sun-shaped poached egg nestled to one side and two vibrant green vegetable leaves beside it.

Yet Yuan Shao remained unmoved. She cast a faint glance at the bowl in Chi Jinnian’s hands, her expression unreadable, and simply replied, “Leave it there.”

“Oh.” Seeing Yuan Shao close her eyes again, Chi Jinnian felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment. She had made it especially for her, but Yuan Shao had only given it a fleeting glance.

Perhaps Yuan Shao was truly angry with her and found her annoying.

Chi Jinnian replaced the plate over the bowl but stubbornly arranged the chopsticks neatly beside it.

She glanced at Yuan Shao once more and mustered her last bit of courage to ask, “Master, won’t you try it while it’s hot? It won’t taste as good once it cools.”

Yuan Shao didn’t answer but instead asked another question.

“It looks quite good. You seem quite experienced,” she said, her tone neither warm nor cold, making it impossible to tell if she was angry or not.

The question left Chi Jinnian confused. “Ah, are you worried I didn’t cook it properly? Don’t worry, I always make it this way.”

“Always,” Yuan Shao murmured the word. “With so many servants at home, you still cook for yourself. It must be that the person you’re doing this for is very important to you.”

?

The question left Chi Jinnian baffled. In her world, ordering late-night food delivery was expensive, so on nights when she couldn’t sleep from hunger, she would usually get up and make something simple for herself.

“I just occasionally make something for myself when I can’t sleep and don’t want to bother anyone,” Chi Jinnian twisted the edge of her sleeve nervously and looked up at Yuan Shao. “Master, this is the first time I’ve ever made noodles for someone else. Won’t… won’t you really try it?”

The candlelight in the room wasn’t particularly bright, but it reflected perfectly in Chi Jinnian’s sparkling almond-shaped eyes.

Hearing this, Yuan Shao rose and walked directly to the table.

She lifted the inverted plate from the bowl herself and looked inside. A poached egg, its white pristine and yolk tender, lay beside vibrant green vegetables. The aroma wafted up with the steam, filling the air.

The colors were glossy and translucent, and the fragrance was indeed enticing.

“Master,” Chi Jinnian stood to the side, holding out the chopsticks with both hands. “Would you like to try it?”

Yuan Shao didn’t speak but instead turned and left the room. When she returned, she was holding an empty bowl.

She brought all the candlesticks in the room to the table, making the small round table the brightest spot in the darkness.

She divided the noodles in half, placing the poached egg and vegetables on top, then ladled half the broth over them before pushing the bowl toward Chi Jinnian. “Didn’t you say you were hungry?”

Yuan Shao looked at her. “If you’re hungry, eat quickly.”

“But Master, I made this especially for you,” Chi Jinnian looked at the bowl in front of Yuan Shao, which contained only plain noodles and broth, and asked, “Won’t it taste too bland if you only have the noodles?”

Yuan Shao didn’t seem to mind. She picked up the bowl, took a whiff of the soup’s aroma, and brought a few noodles to her mouth. Immediately, she gave a thumbs-up: “Ah Nian, this is delicious. I really like it.”

Seeing that Yuan Shao was no longer wearing a stern expression and was steadily eating the noodles one after another, it seemed her mood had improved.

With that, Chi Jinnian’s anxious heart finally settled.

But Yuan Shao’s bowl only contained noodles, so Chi Jinnian split the poached egg in half and placed one portion into Yuan Shao’s bowl.

“Master, this is a soft-centered egg I specially made for you. I don’t always succeed with poached eggs could you try it and see if it tastes good?”

Yuan Shao stared at the egg in her bowl but couldn’t bring herself to lift her chopsticks.

What had she done today? She had vowed to treat her little disciple well, yet she had only just brought her back and let her go hungry until she had to make her own meal. As her master, she had done nothing and even given her an unwarranted cold shoulder. Now, her little disciple was trying to comfort her…

Yuan Shao fiddled with her chopsticks, stirring the noodles in her bowl back and forth. After a long while, she finally said, “Ah Nian, I’m sorry.”

The sudden apology took Chi Jinnian by surprise. But seeing that Yuan Shao was willing to talk, she set down her chopsticks and asked seriously, “Master, why were you really angry today?”

Yuan Shao gazed at the half egg in her bowl but shook her head without answering.

Seeing that Yuan Shao didn’t want to talk about it, Chi Jinnian didn’t press further. Instead, she moved her stool closer to Yuan Shao, sitting shoulder to shoulder, and wrapped her arms around Yuan Shao’s arm, half-pleading and half-negotiating: “Master, if I ever do something wrong in the future, just tell me directly, okay?” Then, raising three fingers, she vowed, “I promise, as long as you say the word, I’ll correct it right away.”

Yuan Shao watched as her little disciple clung to her arm, her delicate face resting lightly on her shoulder, big eyes blinking, her bright gaze fixed intently on her. Reflected in her disciple’s eyes, the dim surroundings were illuminated only by the candlelight around her. In her eyes, it seemed as if she was the only one present at that moment.

Yuan Shao really liked this feeling. Captivated by the other’s intense gaze, she reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose with her index finger.

“If you don’t eat now, the noodles will get cold,” Yuan Shao said, picking up her bowl again and taking a bite of the poached egg.

As she looked at Chi Jinnian’s smiling face, the egg in her mouth seemed to taste different.

No wonder it was called a soft-centered egg it was truly sweet.

Early the next morning, Yuan Shao pushed open her door and noticed that the door to Chi Jinnian’s room next door was tightly shut.

Still asleep?

Yuan Shao walked over to her door and was about to knock when Su Ting Xi stopped her.

“Master, she’s not here.” The Miao Yan Palace had been empty for a long time, and Su Ting Xi had been sweeping fallen petals in the courtyard early in the morning with a broom. Seeing Yuan Shao come out, he paused his work and replied, “She went out early this morning. Before leaving, she baked two flatbreads in the kitchen. I have no idea what she’s up to.”

Early in the morning? And she brought food? Was she planning to run away from home?

“Did she go alone?”

“No,” Su Ting Xi said. “She took both your and her spirit beasts with her.”

At the foot of the mountain, Li Tao, Zhang Wei, and Chi Jinnian sat side by side in a row, each munching on the flatbreads they held.

“Master,” Li Tao couldn’t hold back any longer and finally spoke up. “You dragged us out so early in the morning just to chew on flatbread here?”

“Exactly!” Zhang Wei chimed in. “Besides, the stone lions are supposed to guard the palace entrance, not the foot of the mountain. And none of us exactly ward off evil spirits!”

Chi Jinnian lowered her head to take another bite of the flatbread in her arms. Compared to these two mice, she was even more reluctant to leave Miaoyan Palace. This was the Upper Cultivation Realm, filled with disciples and cultivators from the Evergreen Sect. Her brown hair made her stand out like a sore thumb. What’s more, she had to wear a mask to conceal her face otherwise, her identity as the young mistress of the Demon Realm would be enough to land her on the execution platform ten thousand times over.

But she had no choice. She had promised Su Tingxi to stay out of the palace as much as possible, giving him and Yuan Shao ample space to interact.

“You just don’t get it! The mountain’s altitude is too high, and the air is thin. It’s much more comfortable down here.” No sooner had Chi Jinnian finished speaking than she heard someone approaching. She quickly hid in the shadows with Zhang Wei and Li Tao.

A group of male disciples appeared, two of whom had been on duty at the mountain gate the day before. They reported to an older man beside them, “Elder, we really did see that demon realm woman here by herself just now.”

The man waved a hand and commanded, “Search the area!”

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Chi Jinnian immediately led Zhang Wei and Li Tao up the mountain via a small path.

Meanwhile, the disciples found nothing and turned to the man.

The two gatekeepers knelt down first. “Elder Chengyuan, we really saw her!”

Another added, “That’s right, Elder. She must have noticed us and run back to Elder Qinghua’s place. If you go up the mountain now, you’re sure to find her!”

Elder Chengyuan thought it over. After all, Yuan Shao had brought her back she could run, but she couldn’t hide. Instead of waiting around like a fool, it was better to confront her directly.

The thought made him suspicious. What on earth had gotten into Yuan Shao during her trip? Not only did she bring back a demon, but she even held hands with her all the way in! Was she afraid the girl would run away or something!