The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 35.3

Seeing Chi Jinnian’s reluctance, Yuan Shao withdrew her hand and resumed her usual dignified demeanor. “I need to go out for a while. Stay put in Yuqing Peak.”

“Master, where are you going?” As Yuan Shao prepared to leave, Chi Jinnian instinctively grabbed her sleeve. The memory of being targeted by a group of people earlier was still fresh in her mind, and the fear lingered.

“In a moment, I’ll extend the barrier at the palace entrance down to the foot of the mountain. No outsiders will be able to enter. As long as you’re within Yuqing Peak, you can move around freely, go wherever you like. There’s no need to be afraid.” Sensing Chi Jinnian’s tension, Yuan Shao’s tone softened once more. “The noodles you cooked yesterday were delicious. Why don’t you go make another bowl for me? By the time the noodles are ready, I’ll be back. How does that sound?”

Though she still felt a bit unwilling, Chi Jinnian could only nod in agreement.

Yuan Shao left Miaoyan Palace and headed straight for Shangqing Peak. At the entrance, she happened to meet Yao Hua, who was gathering herbs in the mountains.

Yao Hua wasn’t surprised to see Yuan Shao. “Has Chengyuan already caused a scene at your place?”

“Nothing escapes your notice, Senior Sister.” Yuan Shao raised her hands in a respectful salute.

“It’s hardly a mystery.” Yao Hua carefully dug out a medicinal herb from the ground and placed it steadily into her basket. As she stood up, she brushed the dirt from her sleeves. “You walked in holding her hand yesterday, the news has already spread far and wide. With his temperament, enduring it for an entire night is already quite remarkable.”

She wasn’t wrong. Chengyuan had always been impatient by nature.

“So, you rushed over here right after Chengyuan left. Has something happened?” Yao Hua asked.

Yuan Shao stepped closer, gesturing for Yao Hua to probe her spiritual consciousness. As Yao Hua’s fingertips touched Yuan Shao’s forehead, her eyes widened in shock. “Your inner core, where is it?”

Yuan Shao shook her head. “It was destroyed by foul play. Not just my inner core, Senior Sister, I’ve forgotten many things as well. But through recent efforts, I’ve noticed that every time my cultivation improves slightly, I regain some of my past memories.”

Hearing this, Yao Hua checked Yuan Shao’s pulse. “You’re only at the Foundation Establishment stage now. This is terrible!”

Yuan Shao, however, remained calm and even tried to reassure Yao Hua. “Senior Sister, there’s no need to worry. I’ve heard that the sect leader of Beichen Palace holds a Winter Cold Conference every five years, inviting Foundation Establishment cultivators from all over to participate. I also heard that you’re on good terms with Elder Xinghe of Beichen Palace. I was wondering if you could.”

Yao Hua and Xinghe shared a complicated history. Initially, like Yuan Shao, Yao Hua had intended to pursue the path of a sword cultivator. But after meeting Xinghe, everything changed. Elder Xinghe had always been frail and ill, confined to the harsh, cold lands of Beichen Palace, where only the endless chill could slow the progression of his illness.

It was precisely because of her acquaintance with Yao Hua that Xinghe once stayed at Changqing Sect for a period. Unfortunately, the climate there worsened his condition, prompting Yao Hua to abandon sword cultivation and turn to healing instead.

She spent her entire life searching for a cure for Xinghe, yet to no avail. She could heal the world, save strangers she had never met, but she could not heal the one who held her heart.

The Northern Star Palace was perpetually blanketed in snow, and Yaohua had once visited it. Even bundled in several layers of cotton-padded coats and cloaks, she fell ill from the cold as soon as she arrived.

Xinghe then escorted her back. From then on, their only connection was through the Winter Cold Assembly held every five years, where invitations were widely distributed by the Northern Star Palace. Yaohua would send suitable disciples to attend.

Yuanshao had once asked her why she didn’t go herself. But Yaohua shook her head: “If he wanted me to go, he should write to me directly, not use the Winter Cold Assembly as a pretext.”

Seeing Yuanshao about to speak, Yaohua hesitated slightly: “But this year’s invitation has already been taken by one of my disciples. She said she wanted to go.”

After a moment’s thought, she reassured Yuanshao: “Don’t worry, it’s just an invitation, I’ll get another one for you. But you must remember not to reveal your true identity. If anyone finds out that Qinghua of the Evergreen Sect has become someone who just reached the Foundation Establishment stage,”

Before Yaohua could finish, Yuanshao replied directly, “Don’t worry, Senior Sister, I understand.”

Seeing this, Yaohua felt at ease. “Speaking of which, this year’s top prize at the Winter Cold Assembly, the Nine Suns Sword, is a treasure perfectly suited for your cultivation. It’s fitting for you to go.”

“Is that so?” Yuanshao casually agreed.

It was this response that made Yaohua suspicious. “Did you only want to go because you knew this year’s prize suits you? Then why else?” As she spoke, she suddenly understood: “Don’t tell me you’re just afraid that Chengyuan might harm your little disciple, so you want to take her out for training!”

Yuanshao, seeing that her thoughts had been uncovered, didn’t deny it. “As expected, nothing escapes you, Senior Sister.”

Yaohua pursed her lips and stared at her for a long while before finally poking Yuanshao’s forehead. “You! What’s so great about that little disciple that you’d go to such lengths for her?”

Yuanshao smiled but didn’t answer. She wasn’t one to boast; she knew perfectly well what made her little disciple special and saw no need to flaunt it.

Seeing that Yuanshao wasn’t willing to elaborate, Yaohua didn’t press further.

By the time she returned to the Miaoyan Palace, it was already past noon. Yuanshao entered but didn’t see her little disciple. Only Su Tingxi, who had just finished sweeping the steps, was in the courtyard.

As he was about to approach, Yuanshao spoke first: “Where is Anian?”

Su Tingxi froze in place. Chi Jinnian, Chi Jinnian, why did his master now speak of nothing but Chi Jinnian? Was there no place for him in her heart at all?

“I don’t know,” he said, his tone sour at the mention of Chi Jinnian. “She’s so fond of playing around she must have gone out again!”

Noticing the edge in Su Tingxi’s voice, Yuanshao spoke sternly: “Since Anian isn’t here, I have something to say to you.”

Su Tingxi perked up at the thought of Yuanshao taking the initiative to address him. But her next words plunged his heart into despair once more.

“Anian is your junior sister. How could you stand by and watch while others bullied her?”

These words made Su Tingxi feel wronged, and his pent-up resentment burst forth at this moment: “Then may I ask, Master, was Elder Chengyuan wrong? Is Chi Jinnian not a demon? Master, don’t you think you’re being too partial to her now? Is everything she says right, while everything I do is wrong? I am also your disciple, why do you always treat me this way? Do you think that’s fair?”

Yuan Shao looked at Su Tingxi, whose cheeks were flushed with agitation, and fell silent for a moment.

Seeing this, Su Tingxi gradually calmed down. “Master, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“You’re right Ah Nian is indeed a demon,” Yuan Shao suddenly interrupted him. “But think about it: when you and I were in trouble in the demon realm, who risked their life to save us? Who prepared the demon realm’s residence and mansion? On Qixi Festival, if it weren’t for Ah Nian, what would have happened? Would you have truly become that demon surnamed Wei’s subordinate? And more.”

Yuan Shao paused, raising her eyes to look at Su Tingxi. “On the day we left the demon realm, do you think you were the only one who noticed that person surnamed Wei hiding in the shadows? Do you think that if Ah Nian hadn’t disregarded her own reputation and made a scene that everyone witnessed, the person hiding in the dark would have given up so easily?”

These words made Su Tingxi abruptly lift his head. So, even though his master appeared calm on the surface, she was fully aware of what had happened in the shadows.

“Master, I’m sorry.” Hearing this, Su Tingxi lowered his head. Indeed, in these critical moments, he had done nothing. Even when his master first lost her memory and opened her eyes, it wasn’t him she saw.

He hadn’t done enough. He had no right to complain about his master’s attitude.

“You haven’t wronged me,” Yuan Shao told him. “You’ve wronged yourself and the title of ‘senior brother’ that Ah Nian calls you.”

With these words, Yuan Shao didn’t linger any longer and returned alone to her bedchamber. As soon as she entered, a bowl of steaming noodle soup sat on the table, as always, with a sun-shaped soft-boiled egg in the center.

Yuan Shao could sense that the palace bell on Chi Jinnian’s wrist was still on Yuqing Peak. It seemed the young girl had gone down the mountain again.

Never mind. Since she wasn’t hungry anyway, she might as well wait by the entrance for her little disciple.

Chi Jinnian didn’t bring Zhang Wei and Li Tao with her but went alone to the back of Yuqing Peak, into a forest. Towering trees stretched straight upward, and the area beneath them was pleasantly cool. She found a suitable spot, leaned against a rock, and took a nap.

With Yuan Shao absent, she didn’t dare to be alone with Su Tingxi. And when Yuan Shao returned, she wanted to give the two some private space, so she hid here to doze off.

By the time she opened her eyes, dusk had fallen. Stars twinkled in the sky, and the moon had climbed out from behind the clouds.

Chi Jinnian rubbed her eyes it was already so late. Yuan Shao must have returned by now.

She quickly got up and headed back. But the forest looked the same in every direction. After wandering in circles for a while, she happened to notice a light ahead and finally spotted the stone steps she had taken up the mountain that day.

What was different was that today, the stone steps emitted a faint glow, standing out prominently under the dim moonlight.

Following the steps upward, as she neared the mountaintop, she saw someone standing at the entrance of Miaoyan Palace from afar. Looking closely, it was Yuan Shao.

What was she doing here? Surely, she wasn’t waiting for her to return?

Chi Jinnian hurriedly ran over. “Master!”

Hearing the voice, Yuan Shao finally turned around: “Finally decided to come back?”

Chi Jinnian scratched her head: “Sorry, Master, I.”

“I fell asleep under the tree and woke up to find it already dark. I got lost again, so. Master, I had no idea the steps of our Yuqing Peak would glow! Thanks to this faint light, or else I’d still be wandering around the mountain.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao chuckled softly, “Is that so?”

Chi Jinnian noticed something was off. She grabbed Yuan Shao’s hand and asked, “Master, did you use your spiritual power on these steps? But how did you know I would get lost?”

Chi Jinnian’s voice grew quieter with each question, the last sentence almost swallowed in her throat, yet it didn’t escape Yuan Shao’s ears.

“I didn’t know,” Yuan Shao said. “But I thought, if I lit up the way home for you, perhaps you’d come back a little sooner.”

Yuan Shao looked at her, holding her hand, fingertips gently stroking the jade bracelet on Chi Jinnian’s wrist. “That way, no matter how dark it gets, as long as you look up, you’ll see at the end of the road, I’ll be waiting for you to return.”