The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 17

“Really?” Yun Chuanzhi’s eyes widened slightly. She quickly wiped away the residual tears as the image of Bai Fenghe, with her bright eyes and vivid lips, became clear once again.

Bai Fenghe’s heart practically ached with irritation. Loath to say another word, she rose with her damp palm and sat back on the bed. “Can you fetch the water for me now?”

“This slave obeys.” Yun Chuanzhi’s tears stopped instantly. With two wipes, they were gone without a trace, and she turned to trot away.

She had never imagined a few tears would make Bai Fenghe yield. One who understands the times is a wise person; since she only wanted divine power for the sake of her spiritual root, it would be counterproductive to keep sulking now.

Her mood having brightened instantly, Yun Chuanzhi became exceptionally efficient. In just a few moments, she had prepared a cup of spring water steamed with ice lotus petals, a basket of freshly steamed Poria osmanthus cakes from the kitchen, and the rootless water needed for washing the face and hands.

She carried everything to Bai Fenghe and knelt to serve her with fawning diligence.

Bai Fenghe’s hand was still suspended in the air, as if Yun Chuanzhi’s tears were some kind of muddy sludge. When Yun Chuanzhi stepped forward to help wipe it, Bai Fenghe dodged her and reached into the water to wash herself.

Afterward, she used a brocade handkerchief to dry the droplets. Her moon-white palms seemed to glow under the rising sun.

As the tedious morning grooming came to an end, Bai Fenghe finally sat by the window, looking as elegant as a painting, and beckoned Yun Chuanzhi over.

“Have you ever had your potential tested before?” she asked, holding a cup of cold tea.

“Never,” Yun Chuanzhi shook her head.

Bai Fenghe set down the tea and curled her fingers to signal Yun Chuanzhi to come closer. She spread her fingers and placed them loosely over the girl’s head. Slender, thread-like spiritual energy emerged from her palm and sank into Yun Chuanzhi’s hair.

The warm spiritual energy grew and spread like roots, invading Yun Chuanzhi’s skin and blood vessels. After circulating once, it converged toward her spiritual platform.

Bai Fenghe did not show any tender pity for the jade in her strike. Yun Chuanzhi could practically feel the spiritual energy prying open her meridians; it felt like thousands of worms devouring her internal organs. The pain forced her to grit her teeth, and sweat broke out on her forehead.

Color flooded the girl’s face. Her originally pale lips now looked as vivid as if they were dripping blood. Bai Fenghe, seeing her trembling shoulders, felt a malicious impulse and allowed the spiritual energy to invade even more wantonly, until the girl collapsed at her feet in pain, soaking the floor tile with sweat.

Usually, she acts like she’s afraid of pain, bitterness, and exhaustion. It turns out she can endure this much? She hasn’t even made a sound?

Bai Fenghe wanted to test her further, but in her blurred consciousness, Yun Chuanzhi reached out. Like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood, she gripped Bai Fenghe’s bare ankle. The girl’s hand was as cold as ice. Bai Fenghe suddenly held her breath; as she twisted her body to dodge the hand, she simultaneously withdrew her spiritual energy.

Although Bai Fenghe had seen thousands of beauties and occasionally had people throw themselves at her during drunken revelries, the legs and feet were a taboo area that no one had ever touched.

Now that a tiny servant had touched her ankle, the cool, smooth sensation of those fingertips seemed to linger on her skin. Though Bai Fenghe wanted to be angry, she was the one who had tormented the girl into this state, so she ultimately felt in the wrong.

“Your potential is acceptable. Though not top-tier, it’s passable.” Bai Fenghe rose gracefully. Her hands twisted into the shape of a lotus, and as purple light rose in dots, her fingertips separated and closed in an extremely complex gesture.

“Infinite spirit in eternal day, receive the grace of heaven,” she whispered, then tapped the purple light onto the center of Yun Chuanzhi’s brow.

Yun Chuanzhi heard a whistling sound in her head. Then, her spiritual platform felt warm and vast. Her entire body felt as if it had fallen into springtime; the previous pain vanished instantly, replaced by a familiar sense of lightness.

Having a spiritual root was indeed different. Yun Chuanzhi scrambled up from the ground, and as she looked around, everything seemed much brighter.

“Satisfied now? Hurry up and get to work,” Bai Fenghe glanced at her and then sat down. “Baituan, grind the ink for me.”

The iron puppet scurried out from behind the screen. It climbed onto the table using both hands and feet, picking up a grinding stone that was massive for its size, and grumbled dissatisfiedly, “Your personal servant is standing right there. Why are you still working my old arms and legs?”

So, the iron puppet was named Baituan. It was a pitch-black iron lump, yet it had such an unrelated name.

Yun Chuanzhi, having successfully obtained her spiritual root, no longer had a rebellious bone in her body. If told to go east, she wouldn’t go west. She knelt down and happily began wiping the floor.

Baituan turned out to be quite the chatterbox. Seeing that Bai Fenghe was ignoring it, it added, “You actually helped her open her spiritual root? She’s a personal servant. Aren’t you afraid she has bad intentions or will stir up trouble?”

The words were loaded, and Bai Fenghe naturally caught the meaning. She curled her lips into a smile. “Do you think I haven’t thought of that? Her potential is mediocre. Even if she joined the strongest cultivator on Mount Buxi, she wouldn’t achieve much. What is there to worry about?”

Having regained her strength, Yun Chuanzhi wiped the sleeping palace until it was spotless. After receiving Bai Fenghe’s permission, she returned happily to her room and couldn’t wait to test her spiritual power.

It was now just past noon. Heat squeezed into the room through the window cracks, making her sweat. Yun Chuanzhi went out to find an outer-peak servant who was repairing roof beams. After some smooth-talking, she borrowed a set of carpentry tools, locked her door, and began tinkering.

She intended to make a seven-wheeled fan that didn’t require someone to pull a rope. When she couldn’t find usable timber, she simply took the only table in her room and took it apart into thin wooden boards.

Then, using a knife and chisel, she carved out holes and slots and pieced them together. This kind of small task would have been done with a wave of her hand in the past, but now, with insufficient spiritual power and physical strength, it took a great deal of effort.

By the time the seven-wheeled fan took shape, the sky was turning dark. The sunset left only a few orange-red borders hanging like a hat over the distant forest.

Yun Chuanzhi wiped the sweat from her cheek and then silently recited a mental heart-spell. The lengthy spell flowed smoothly from her memory. As the spell ended, a faint spiritual power drifted from her spiritual platform and flowed through her limbs.

When Yun Chuanzhi was in Wujian City, she studied the art of Tool Refining, which aimed to use external objects and the minimum amount of spiritual power to achieve the maximum effect. She injected the translucent, thin spiritual power into the fan, and the wooden blades began to spin.

Cool gusts of wind blew the sweat from her face. Yun Chuanzhi sat comfortably on the ground, feeling that her life now was practically perfect.

Feeling satisfied, Yun Chuanzhi’s hands started to itch. Not having used Tool Refining for a long time, she wanted to make something else. After thinking for a moment, she pulled the stone puppet, which had helped her several times, from her sleeve.

Now that she had spiritual power, how could she forget it?

Puppetry was many times harder than the spell she had just performed. Yun Chuanzhi dipped her fingertip in the water from her teacup and leaned over the little stone man to draw an array, mixing in countless talismans.

She whispered more incantations. As she reached the third level of the spell, dots of starlight lit up the center of the array. The starlight sank into the puppet’s body, and the original purple glow became transparent.

Simultaneously, the stone man’s body began to tremble, as if something inside were trying to break free. Yun Chuanzhi froze for a moment, then remembered something. She hurriedly picked up her carving knife and grabbed the little man to start carving.

I forgot to give the puppet eyes and a mouth. It really has been a long time since I used these arts; I’ve grown quite rusty, Yun Chuanzhi shook her head.

Her technique was skilled. In just a short while, she had carved a tiny mouth and big, round eyes. Then, she tapped it thrice on the head, and the eyes began to roll around.

“Master! Master!”

The voice of the stone puppet was surprisingly sweet. Perhaps she had accidentally drawn the eyes a bit too large. Yun Chuanzhi touched her face guiltily but didn’t want to change it.

As a new puppet with its own thoughts, it needed a name. Yun Chuanzhi sat cross-legged on the floor, staring into the puppet’s large eyes, stumped.

Something too ordinary wouldn’t suit it; something too elegant wouldn’t suit it either. Since that woman’s puppet was called Baituan, then…

“How about we call you Black Egg?” Yun Chuanzhi said to the stone puppet with a grin.

Support