The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 21

The climate of the Fifth Peak truly shifted according to Bai Fenghe’s moods. Just as Bai Tuan was repaired, the rumbling thunder outside significantly quieted. By the time Yun Chuanzhi landed back at Gundan Gate with Bai Fenghe, the wind had swept the clouds away, leaving the blue sky as clear as if it had been washed.

The brilliant setting sun hung halfway down the mountain, casting bright yellow light through thousands of green leaves. It splashed across the ground like molten gold. After the heavy storm, Gundan Gate was covered in fallen flowers and leaves; many immortal servants sighed in relief as they scurried about with brooms.

Bai Fenghe abandoned Yun Chuanzhi and disappeared to parts unknown, leaving Yun Chuanzhi to wander back to her room alone. Having exhausted her meager spiritual energy, she felt a wave of fatigue and collapsed onto her bed the moment she saw it.

“It is no wonder the personal servants by Bai Fenghe’s side change so quickly,” she thought. “Even if she doesn’t take your life, the work is truly exhausting for the heart and soul. They probably run away because they can’t endure it for long.”

Wondering when she might escape Bai Fenghe’s clutches, Yun Chuanzhi crossed her legs, swaying them leisurely as she closed her eyes for a nap.

Unexpectedly, she had just fallen asleep when a series of urgent knocks at the door chased her drowsiness away. She sighed, got up, and opened the door.

There was no one in sight until she looked down and saw a puppet that only reached her knees.

“Bai Tuan? Why are you here?” she asked, squatting down. “Did the Sect Leader send you?”

“Nay,” Bai Tuan’s noisy voice rang out. Its head, no longer stiff in the joints, shook like a rattle. “She told me to say that I came on my own.”

Yun Chuanzhi fell silent at this. Suppressing a smile, she nodded. “Then what do you need?”

Yun Chuanzhi had always loved dealing with puppets. Things made of iron and wood had no hearts, and therefore no complicated schemes. They were interesting to talk to, so she had a bit more patience for them.

“I have come to give this to you.” Bai Tuan pulled a small box made of golden silk phoebe wood from somewhere and held it up to Yun Chuanzhi.

The box was small and exquisite. Although it was made of wood, its grain shimmered like flowing gold under the daylight. Sturdy straps were attached to both sides so it could be worn around the waist like a bundle.

Yun Chuanzhi took the box and opened it, her eyes widening instantly. Inside was a complete set of miniature adzes, chisels, axes, and saws. She didn’t know what material they were made of, but they transformed to normal size the moment she picked them up.

If held in the wind, one could hear a crisp, clanging sound like the singing of a hundred birds.

“You are giving this to me? Where did you get something so precious?” Yun Chuanzhi held an axe, stroking it as she couldn’t bear to put it down. For a puppeteer or a smith, a handy set of tools was more important than a magical artifact for casting spells.

In the past, her tools were handmade by Sister Guiren; naturally, they were gone after her death. To receive such a set now made her ecstatic.

Bai Tuan reached up and tapped its head three times with a metallic clack before finally speaking: “I stole it from Bai Fenghe to thank you for saving my life.”

Yun Chuanzhi curled her lips. “The Sect Leader told you to say that?”

Bai Tuan nodded. “She said if you asked, I should say I stole it.”

“Aren’t you afraid she will dig out your spiritual platform for leaking her secrets like this?”

Bai Tuan shook its head again, a look of helplessness appearing on its pitch-black face. “She says every day she’s going to dig out my tongue to make me quiet, yet when has she ever actually done it?”

That was true. Bai Fenghe threatened her life every day, yet she was still alive and well. Yun Chuanzhi thanked Bai Tuan with a smile and watched the iron puppet bounce away before closing her door.

“That woman Bai Fenghe is sometimes incredibly wicked, yet other times she shows a childlike sincerity. Truly strange.”

Having obtained handy tools, Yun Chuanzhi was no longer sleepy. She sat cross-legged on the floor and began tinkering with new things. Unfortunately, she had already dismantled the tables and chairs in the room to make other items; looking around now, the place was bare, with no useful materials left.

After knitting her brows in thought for a moment, she fixed her gaze on the bedding she had been lying on. She brightened, pulled out her scissors, and cut the fabric and cotton stuffing into a mess.

Using needle and thread to sew them together, and applying a series of incantations and arrays, dozens of soft, white cloth dolls appeared side-by-side at her feet.

With a snap of her fingers, the cloth dolls stood up. The dozens of dolls formed a neat queue; they turned with a wave of her hand and marched forward with a hook of her finger. It was quite a grand sight, resembling a military formation.

Yun Chuanzhi hadn’t been this happy in a long time. She played from the time the moon rose over the treetops until it sank in the west. Only then did she feel sleepy again. Hugging the dozens of dolls, she lay down on the bare bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Before the spring grass dream by the pond could finish, the hibiscus before the steps had already turned lush.

Days on Mount Buxi passed surprisingly quickly. Before Yun Chuanzhi could finish admiring the new green of spring, early summer had quietly climbed the peaks. On an ordinary tall mountain in the mortal world, the change of seasons might not be so obvious, but Mount Buxi was a celestial mountain teeming with cultivators. Nourished by spiritual energy, the four seasons became distinct.

On this day, after Yun Chuanzhi finished serving Bai Fenghe in the morning, she was kicked out of the room. She was never fond of waiting at the door as an immortal servant, so she snuck away again to return to her room and fan herself with her Seven-Wheel Fan.

She lived her days in a bit of a daze, not knowing what date it was, but she could feel the coolness in the wind fading. In its place was an irritating summer heat that left people drenched in sweat.

She happened to bring back half a bowl of red bean ice that Bai Fenghe had left over from lunch. Lying in the cool breeze, she savored it slowly, enjoying a leisurely life.

The sound of Lingshui’s characteristic footsteps regular and gentle, came from outside. The door was pushed open, and Lingshui stood before her with her sleeves hanging down.

She said helplessly, “Cui Ergou, you are being lazy again.”

“What’s wrong? Is the Sect Leader angry?” Yun Chuanzhi sat up abruptly like a startled fish.

“No, the Sect Leader has important matters to attend to and has no time for you.” Lingshui had grown used to her laziness; she used to scold her, but after realizing it was useless, she stopped mentioning it.

She looked at the red bean ice in Yun Chuanzhi’s hands and sighed repeatedly. “You are eating the Sect Leader’s leftovers again. If she finds out, be careful of your punishment.”

“As you said, it’s what she left over. If I don’t eat it, it will just be dumped into the pond to feed the koi. What a waste.” Yun Chuanzhi smiled and took another bite. “Besides, I don’t find the Sect Leader distasteful.”

“But the Sect Leader might find you distasteful if she knew,” Lingshui said with a complicated expression. She eventually looked away to save herself the headache.

“Since the Sect Leader didn’t lose her temper, why did you come looking for me, Sister Lingshui?” Yun Chuanzhi asked, putting down the bowl.

Upon hearing this, Lingshui’s handsome face clouded with worry. She turned and adjusted her snow-white skirt before sitting down beside Yun Chuanzhi. “Tomorrow is the Core Sect Day of Mount Buxi.”

Yun Chuanzhi had heard about this from the immortal servant who died at Bai Fenghe’s hands, so she wasn’t surprised. She only asked, “So what? Didn’t the Sect Master forbid our Sect Leader from participating?”

“It’s just a small matter of internal sparring and competition; I don’t think the Sect Leader would care,” Yun Chuanzhi remarked.

“You don’t understand. If it were a grand event where all the immortal sects under heaven gathered, the Sect Leader certainly wouldn’t care. But when it comes to the internal affairs of Mount Buxi, she cares the most,” Lingshui said cryptically.

She looked into the distance with concern and continued, “I went to look for the Sect Leader just now, but I couldn’t find her anywhere in Gundan Gate. My heart has been hanging in suspense, which is why I came to talk to you.”

“If even Sister Lingshui can’t find the Sect Leader, I certainly can’t,” Yun Chuanzhi said nonchalantly. She picked up the ice from the floor and handed it to Lingshui.

She smiled and said, “You should have some cold sweets too to calm your mind. Don’t worry so much for the Sect Leader. No matter how capable you are, you are just an immortal servant like me. Why be so devoted?”

“You don’t understand.” Lingshui reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, her star-like eyes downcast. “When my family sent me to Mount Buxi, they had high hopes that I would be taken as a disciple to practice as a celestial cultivator.”

“Unfortunately, the disciples on Mount Buxi have been redundant these years, and the various peaks have stopped taking students. I visited four peaks in a row and was rejected by all. Only when I came to Gundan Gate did the Sect Leader accept me.”

“Wasn’t it said that the Sect Leader has no disciples under her?” Yun Chuanzhi asked in surprise.

“Yes.” Lingshui shook her head with a bitter smile. “I only found out the next day that she took me as an immortal servant, not a disciple. But since I was already here, I didn’t dare leave.”

“She must have been threatened and schemed against by Bai Fenghe,” Yun Chuanzhi thought. Bai Fenghe’s beautiful and crafty face appeared in her mind, and she cast a sympathetic look toward Lingshui.

“There is still some of the Sect Leader’s red bean ice left. I’ll go steal it for you; eating something sweet will make you feel better.” Yun Chuanzhi rose with a smile, but as she was about to step out the door, she nearly collided with a woman entering.

The woman wore a short emerald-green silk shirt, her cuffs wrapped with green cloth strips. Her hair was braided into many small colorful plaits tied atop her head, looking full of life.

However, her expression was somewhat gloomy, unlike her usual high spirits.

“Cheng Jinshu? What are you doing here?” Yun Chuanzhi said, clutching her sore shoulder. Why was everyone running to her place today? It was getting quite crowded.

Cheng Jinshu didn’t seem bothered by the bump; she merely brushed the dust off her shoulder with a troubled look.

“I wanted to pretend I didn’t know, but since it concerns you all, I thought it over and decided to tell you,” Cheng Jinshu said, hesitating as she rubbed the cloth strips on her cuffs.

“Tomorrow is the Core Sect Day. Today, several Sect Leaders and their disciples are heading to the main peak of Mount Buxi. I was at the cliff just now and saw my Aunt crossing the Hundred-Zhang Cataract in a rage.”

“She then got into a confrontation with several other Sect Leaders. I heard from others that she took quite a bit of verbal abuse, and now they have started fighting in front of the Mingcun Hall.”

“It’s one against four; I fear she will come to harm!”

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