The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 5

In the darkness, someone seemed to be standing in front of her, the faint scent of tea lingering at her nose as gentle hands wrapped around her shoulders.

The anticipated pain never came. Instead, three deafening roars echoed across the sky.

The thunderous booms were ear-splitting. Only when the surroundings had fallen completely silent did Chi Jinnian cautiously open her eyes a sliver and what she saw left her utterly stunned…

She was sprawled on the ground, with Yuan Shao shielding her beneath her body, one arm protectively draped over her shoulder. The ground still crackled with residual dark-purple currents from the heavenly lightning, sending faint tingles through Chi Jinnian’s fingertips.

Ahead, the previously “charred” Huang Er was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by a deep crater. Within the pit, green and purple arcs of electricity still flickered, accompanied by sizzling crackles and Huang Er’s piercing screams.

Clearly, he had just been struck by those three bolts of heavenly lightning!

The violent thunderclaps left Chi Jinnian’s ears ringing, and Yuan Shao’s tight embrace made it hard to breathe. She tugged at Yuan Shao’s sleeve, signaling for her to let go. “M-Master…”

Yuan Shao slowly opened her eyes, only then realizing that in her haste, she had nearly crushed her little disciple.

“Are you alright?” Yuan Shao quickly withdrew her hand, resuming her usual aloof and pristine demeanor.

Chi Jinnian knew full well that she hadn’t been the one to unleash the lightning talisman, it was more like some mysterious force had blown it outward. Could this be the legendary “protagonist halo”?

“No, it was Master’s good fortune. This disciple merely basked in your luck,” Chi Jinnian replied honestly.

Yuan Shao didn’t know how to respond. In that moment, she hadn’t thought much only that, as a master, she ought to protect her disciple, even if this particular disciple was shrouded in suspicion.

Seizing the moment while Huang Er was still dazed, Chi Jinnian grabbed Yuan Shao’s hand and, just as before, pulled her down the mountain.

But after only a few steps, they came across two mice one plump, one scrawny slumped on the steps, utterly exhausted. At the sight of the two women, the scrawny one hastily helped the plump one up, and then, still in their rodent forms, they dropped to their knees with a thud.

“Heroes!” The two mice kowtowed in unison before presenting two cat-embroidered coin pouches with their tiny paws. “We were wrong!”

“Heroes, we had no choice! At home, we have an eighty-year-old mother bedridden with illness, and a two-year-old still nursing! We ”

“Can mice even live to eighty?” Chi Jinnian muttered to herself. “And shouldn’t humans be weaned by two? Yet mice are still nursing at that age?”

Yuan Shao, however, ignored these trivialities and let the two rodents continue.

“We, mice of the demon realm do live a bit longer, but.” Tears welled up in their eyes. “But we’re just poor mice! We didn’t mean to steal your lamp oil!” The plump one burst into loud sobs. “Look, we have to carry these heavy bags all the way through the night market below and trek northwest until dawn! It’s not easy for us either! Waaah…”

The thinner one gently patted the chubby mouse’s back, comforting him: “Uncle, don’t cry anymore. It’s all my fault. Don’t worry, I’ll cut off my own tail and sell it, no matter what, we’ll get Grandma her medicine first!”

Rat… poison? Are you sure it’s medicine and not something deadly? Chi Jinnian muttered inwardly. But it was Yuan Shao who stepped forward first: “No matter what, stealing is wrong.”

“Yes, yes, it’s all our fault. We were blinded by greed and stole from the wrong people, two heroes like you!” With that, the fat mouse kowtowed loudly to Chi Jinnian and Yuan Shao.

The thin mouse also clasped his paws together in supplication: “Please spare our lives! My uncle is in poor health, he can’t handle explosions or lightning!” He then pushed the jar of sesame oil toward Chi Jinnian. “Here’s all the oil, not a drop missing. We return it to you, heroes. Please spare us!”

So they had seen the explosion and lightning earlier and were here to beg for mercy! Just as Chi Jinnian was about to speak, Yuan Shao cut in: “These things don’t belong to us. You should return them to their rightful owners.”

“But…” The two mice exchanged uneasy glances. Were they really expected to haul this heavy sack all the way back up the mountain? That would be the death of them!

“Do you have a problem with my shifu?” Chi Jinnian’s hand drifted toward her pouch of talismans now empty.

The sight of this gesture terrified the mice, and they immediately kowtowed again. “The immortal is right! We’ll go now! We’ll return it right away!”

With that, the two mice hoisted the heavy storage sack onto their backs and trudged step by step back up the mountain.

Before long, they encountered a large group of weasels gathered around a pit halfway up the slope. The weasels’ eyes locked onto the mice, their previously drooping tails suddenly standing on end.

They looked ready for a fight.

The two mice gulped in unison. Without waiting for the weasels to speak, they hurled the storage sack forward and turned to flee, shouting over their shoulders: “The two ladies told us to return this to you!”

As luck would have it, Huang Er, who had just crawled out of the pit, his body still crackling with residual electricity, was struck square on the forehead by the flying object. With a loud thud, he was knocked right back into the pit.

Dazed, unsure whether he had been knocked out or electrocuted, he suddenly caught the scent of sesame oil. Then, he felt something wet on his paw.

He licked it, definitely high-quality sesame oil, freshly pressed from morning-harvested sesame seeds. Wait… sesame oil?

Oil? Electricity!

The weasels were about to attempt rescuing their boss from the pit again when flames suddenly erupted from the hole, accompanied by a piercing shriek and the faint smell of something burning.

“Boss!”

The charred figure at the bottom of the pit coughed out several mouthfuls of black smoke. He tried to speak but found his voice completely gone. Clenching his still-smoking fist, he could only think one thing:

Chi Jinnian, I will kill you!

Meanwhile, as Chi Jinnian and Yuan Shao left Huang Er’s territory, Chi Jinnian faintly heard his shrill scream once more.

But she didn’t look back at all, striding forward without hesitation. Following the clues from the two mice, she led Yuan Shao straight toward the northwest, heading for the Demon Realm. After all, as the young mistress of the Demon Realm, most of its inhabitants would likely recognize her. Fortunately, with the Qixi Festival approaching, there were many mask vendors along the way. Using the excuse of concealing their identities to prevent Huang Er from tracking them, Chi Jinni bought masks for both herself and Yuan Shao.

The masks were carved with two swallows, covering the area around their eyes. The lower half featured a beaded veil that tinkled softly with each step, the pearls producing a delicate chime.

Though the Qixi Festival hadn’t arrived yet, some young men and women on the streets had already donned masks in advance, so Chi Jinni and Yuan Shao didn’t stand out. As they traveled northwest, the architecture and decorative styles around them gradually shifted.

Chi Jinni guessed they must have entered the Demon Realm.

While Huang Er’s mountain was dotted with starlight, the Demon Realm was bathed in the light of dawn. It was as if an invisible barrier encased the Demon Realm, isolating it from the outside world.

However, she didn’t head straight home. Instead, she first stopped at a trading house called Yihui Hall.

“Master, wait here for a moment,” Chi Jinni said, settling Yuan Shao in a seat in the hall before walking alone to the counter.

“Shopkeeper!” She briskly removed the bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the counter. “Name your price for this!”

The jade bracelet was of mediocre quality, neither particularly translucent nor vibrant. Streaks of white, cotton-like flaws ran through it, and its green hue was faint, almost negligible under sunlight.

Though Chi Jinni knew little about jade, even she could tell this bracelet wasn’t worth much. A colleague had once boasted about a new bracelet her husband gifted her,one worth half a house in the city’s third ring. That bracelet was nothing like this one. It had been flawless, so clear that the skin beneath was visible through the jade.

Her colleague had said, “Now that’s top-grade jade.”

At the time, Chi Jinni had remarked, “So green!”

But not long after, that same colleague discovered her husband had been unfaithful, the other woman wore a similar bracelet.

The bracelet in Chi Jinni’s hand was much the same. It had been given to her by Su Tingxi, the male lead of the story and Yuan Shao’s eldest disciple. Back then, the original Chi Jinni had fallen for Su Tingxi at first sight, just as he had defeated a group of ant demons. Ants, by nature, hoard things, and this bracelet was merely one of Su Tingxi’s many spoils.

He had taken all the other treasures, except this bracelet. He had no interest in such trinkets, preferring magical artifacts and elixirs over expensive jewelry. Besides, the bracelet wasn’t even attractive, so he had discarded it. The original Chi Jinni, however, convinced herself that Su Tingxi had left it behind as a gift for her, too shy to say it outright.

Something others had abandoned, she had picked up and treasured, carrying it with her always, never letting it leave her side.

The elderly shopkeeper adjusted a monocle over his left eye, furrowing his brows as he scrutinized the bracelet for a long while. How much could this thing be worth? Well, it was still jade 300 spirit stones, perhaps. Once he had a figure in mind, he removed the small, telescope-like eyepiece.

“How much are you asking for?” Perhaps from straining his eyes too hard while examining the bracelet, the shopkeeper’s vision blurred slightly. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, double-checking to ensure he wasn’t mistaken. “You… you are, you’re the young”

“Never mind who I am,” Chi Jinnian quickly interrupted the old shopkeeper. “Just name your price and make it a good one!”

The shopkeeper immediately grasped her meaning. Normally, this young mistress would often take things without paying, casually tossing out a line like, “Send the bill to my father,” before swanning off. But who would dare demand payment from the Demon Lord?

Today, however, Chi Jinnian wasn’t planning to take the item for free, she was resorting to outright extortion instead!

“Young”

Ahem! Just as the shopkeeper was about to address her as “Young Mistress,” Chi Jinnian’s sharp cough cut him off.

The shopkeeper wasn’t slow on the uptake. With a quick glance behind Chi Jinnian, he realized she didn’t want the person accompanying her to know her identity. He swiftly changed his tone. “How about, five hundred spirit stones, miss?”

“Five hundred? Are you joking? It should be at least… five thousand!” Chi Jinnian multiplied the price tenfold.

This left the pawnshop owner utterly dismayed. “This… miss, you must see that this bracelet… it’s hardly worth such a sum!”

Lowering his voice, the shopkeeper grumbled, “To be frank, you know the quality of this piece better than anyone. For anyone else, I wouldn’t offer more than three hundred spirit stones, that’d be charity! But five thousand? That’s just”

Seeing the shopkeeper’s distress, Chi Jinnian reassured him, “Don’t worry, just give me three hundred. The rest will count as a loan, I’ll pay you back later. How’s that?”

The shopkeeper felt a lump of frustration rise in his chest and couldn’t help but speak the truth. “Young Mistress, you still haven’t repaid the previous ‘loans’, and now you’re adding more? This humble shop runs on thin margins. Please, consider ”

“How much do I owe you in total?”

“Oh no, no, no! It’s an honor to serve the Young Mistress. How could we speak of debts?”

“Enough talk. Just give me the total sum!” A few measly spirit stones shouldn’t be a problem for someone like Chi Jinnian, the heir of the demon realm!

The old shopkeeper’s face twisted in misery, his expression pitiful. “You see, I’m getting on in years. How could I possibly remember every single transaction? But let’s start with the most recent ones”

“At the start of the month, you fancied a gold hairpin, five hundred spirit stones. Mid-last month, you took a liking to a crystal flower vase, seven hundred spirit stones. Late last month, you picked out a set of pearl jewelry twelve hundred spirit stones.” Without even glancing at the ledger, the “forgetful” old shopkeeper rattled off each debt with startling precision, his tone betraying none of the feigned sorrow on his face.