The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 34

Yun Chuanzhi’s culinary skills were nothing to boast about. In her past life, ingredients were scarce; most of the poultry or fish she managed to acquire were simply roasted over a fire before being devoured. This chicken soup was, in fact, her very first time simmering a proper broth.

Fortunately, Bai Fenghe didn’t want any additives, so the brewing required little effort. As for the rest of the greens and radishes, Yun Chuanzhi stir-fried them over a high flame, tossing in salt while the fire was at its peak to bring out their natural flavors.

Yun Chuanzhi toiled in the kitchen for nearly an hour. By the time she carried the dining tray out, drenched in sweat, the sun had already leapt above the treetops. Bai Fenghe was seated in the desolate, quiet courtyard with Lingshui standing dutifully behind her. Cheng Jinshu, meanwhile, was squatting by a rockery, sweating profusely as she teased a cricket for fun.

The Jiang Manor was truly dilapidated. The green bricks on the ground were choked with fallen leaves and cracks. Beside a dried-up pond sat a stone table with a pitted, uneven surface. Of the four stone stools, three were broken; the only one left intact was currently occupied by Bai Fenghe.

Yet, even in such a run-down place, the woman remained elegant and noble. She seemed to be a landscape unto herself, her slender fingertips holding a cup of clear tea, her eyes lowered as she took a sip.

Yun Chuanzhi’s footsteps faltered for a brief second before she quickened her pace, stepping over the stone stairs with the heavy tray.

“Ergou, you’re finally done.” Hearing the noise, Cheng Jinshu abandoned the cricket and leaped up, striding to her side to help carry the dishes.

As they brushed past each other, Cheng Jinshu whispered: “Don’t ever leave me alone with those two again. Look at me, the sweat is literally dripping off my chin.”

“You wouldn’t come to help me yourself, so why blame me?” Yun Chuanzhi shot her a sidelong glance, shoved the entire tray into her hands, and then briskly walked over to take a seat.

However, since the other three stone stools were broken, she looked left and right, unable to find a place for her backside.

She slumped her thick eyebrows and stared at Bai Fenghe with wide eyes.

The hand Bai Fenghe used to hold her tea paused. she looked up over the rim of the cup at the girl. The girl stood before her with a dejected, drooping face, looking a bit like the pugs seen at the market earlier.

Cui Ergou, Pug. Bai Fenghe amused herself with the thought and her mood improved slightly. Granting a rare mercy, she waved a hand and magically repaired the stone stool.

“Thank you.” Yun Chuanzhi bowed slightly, then turned back to wave at Cheng Jinshu: “Put it here.”

Witnessing the whole scene, Cheng Jinshu walked forward slowly with the tray, feeling as if she were still in a dream. Her mouth hung open, her words catching in her throat.

She knew Bai Fenghe’s temperament well. Setting aside the past, ever since she became Sect Leader, she had rarely shown anyone a kind face. The cultivators in the sect didn’t even dare to raise their heads in her presence.

But just now, when Cui Ergou asked for help, why was there a faint trace of a smile in the Sect Leader’s eyes?

Cheng Jinshu didn’t dare linger. She carefully placed the tray on the table and retreated to stand beside Lingshui.

“Why are you standing there?” Yun Chuanzhi patted the stone stool beside her, asking in surprise: “Aren’t you going to sit down and eat?”

Cheng Jinshu and Lingshui exchanged a look, both signaling her with their eyes, thinking: Is this girl out of her mind? How could mere rogue cultivators and immortal servants like us sit at the same table as the great Sect Leader Bai?

Bai Fenghe naturally sensed their restraint. She set down her teacup and relented: “Sit down together.”

Having received her explicit permission, Cheng Jinshu and Lingshui finally lifted their robes and sat down stiffly, one on each side.

Yun Chuanzhi saw their discomfort, but she was genuinely hungry and didn’t bother saying anything more. She quickly set out the bowls and chopsticks, gesturing with a smile: “Eat, everyone eat.”

Having said that, she reached her chopsticks toward the glistening green vegetables, but then she suddenly remembered something and formally pulled back.

“After you.” She thoughtfully pushed the dishes toward Bai Fenghe.

“At least you have some manners. Eat,” Bai Fenghe said.

But just as she elegantly picked up her chopsticks, half of the plate of greens had already been snatched away by Yun Chuanzhi.

The tip of Bai Fenghe’s chopsticks hovered in the air. She wanted to voice a lecture, but seeing the girl’s famished state, as if she would die of hunger if she were a second late, she ultimately let it go.

The person in the dream had said this girl was a bloodthirsty tyrant in her past life, but seeing the way she gorged herself every time, she looked more like someone who was terrified of starvation.

Bai Fenghe watched her for a long time. Finally, she actually rolled up her sleeves, revealing snow-white wrists that were almost never shown to the public. She used a spoon to scoop out the tender chicken leg from the soup and placed it in a bowl by Yun Chuanzhi’s hand.

Yun Chuanzhi looked at her in shock, only to receive a cold response: “This Seat does not like meat. It is too greasy.”

Opposite them, Lingshui and Cheng Jinshu didn’t dare to even look up, keeping their heads down and chewing radishes furiously.

The meal ended in this quiet and eerie atmosphere. Yun Chuanzhi, who had been hungry all night, put down her chopsticks with satisfaction. Only then did Bai Fenghe, who had long since stopped eating, speak: “Are you full? If so, follow This Seat to a certain place.”

She flicked her sleeves and stood up, looking back at Lingshui and Cheng Jinshu: “You two come as well.”

In Youji City, on Hidden Sword Street, the commoners were as busy as ants before a storm. Some high-ranking officials even rode in a “Self-Walking Palanquin” that required no bearers, creaking as it moved through the center of the street.

“I’ve always wondered how those things work. I think they’re called Self-Walking Sedans. They have many gears and mechanisms inside, very sophisticated.” Cheng Jinshu pulled Yun Chuanzhi along, marveling at the sight. “There are only three or five of these in all of Youji City now. They are treasures left behind by the Grandmaster.”

“It’s such a pity. Such excellent magical and technical skills from the Grandmaster, yet no one can inherit them today,” she sighed.

It’s just mechanical engineering, Yun Chuanzhi thought secretly. Sister Guiren had taught her the basics of artifact refining. While building such a sedan was complex, if the materials and spiritual power were sufficient, it wasn’t impossible for her.

Yun Chuanzhi kept her thoughts to herself, simply nodding in agreement.

Walking ahead, Bai Fenghe glanced at the sedan and quickly looked away.

The four of them had now disguised their appearances. Yun Chuanzhi, Lingshui, and Cheng Jinshu were dressed as maidservants from a wealthy household, wearing yellow silk dresses of the same material. Bai Fenghe, however, wore a red dress with a veil tied behind her ears, posing as a gentle and dignified lady of a noble family.

After changing her body, Yun Chuanzhi could finally look at others’ shoulders on a level plane. She looked around with a smile, occasionally teasing the pet birds kept outside people’s houses, feeling quite at ease.

“We’ve arrived,” Bai Fenghe said. She stopped beneath an elegant archway. The arch was built into a red wall with a pearwood door set inside. People were coming and going in a constant stream, and as the wind blew, papers flew and swirled all over the ground.

Lingshui looked down and picked one up, reading: “Spring Greeting Garden Flower-Pinning Voucher. Miss, this is a theater. Are we going inside?”

Bai Fenghe looked at the plaque on the red wall and shook her head: “No need. The person I am looking for is not inside.”

“But they are nearby,” she added. “Lingshui, you and Cheng Jinshu walk along this street. If you sense the aura of a cultivator with higher cultivation than yours, inform This Seat immediately.”

As she turned to say something else, Yun Chuanzhi pulled out the megaphone she used to communicate with Cheng Jinshu that day and shook it at Bai Fenghe: “Miss, use this. When we speak, it avoids spiritual power fluctuations, so we won’t be detected.”

Bai Fenghe’s face was hidden by the veil, leaving only a pair of willow-leaf eyes showing a hint of surprise. She gave a soft “Mm.”

“You, come with me,” she said to Yun Chuanzhi.

Outside the theater’s courtyard wall was a narrow winding path covered by fish-scale roof tiles. It was pitch black inside. Bai Fenghe masked her face and slipped in, with Yun Chuanzhi following close behind, holding up her skirts.

“Miss, what are you looking for in here?” Yun Chuanzhi nearly stepped in dog droppings and had to jump to avoid it, clutching her skirts.

“A person,” Bai Fenghe said, her brow furrowed as she covered her nose against the alley’s stench.

“Is it the person who snuck into the room last night?” Yun Chuanzhi asked.

Bai Fenghe didn’t confirm or deny. They soon reached the depths of the alley. The end was a dead end, but because of gaps left during house construction, a secluded open space was enclosed by the courtyard walls on both sides. The eaves overhead provided shelter from the wind and rain. Beneath the eaves were piles of wood, stones, and even old books, which, upon closer inspection, formed the shape of a makeshift shack.

As Yun Chuanzhi bent down to peer inside, she saw a dark shadow bolt out like a gust of wind. She reached out quickly to grab it, but she was no match for Bai Fenghe’s speed. A celestial wind swept past her, and the shadow was already wrapped tightly in a silk ribbon.

“I guessed correctly, it really is a child,” Yun Chuanzhi uttered with a sharp exhale.

The person tied up was only as tall as Bai Fenghe’s thigh. He was withered, dark, and skinny, with nothing white about him except his teeth. He opened his mouth, letting out raspy cries of “ah, ah,” his eyes glinting with a fierce light like a wolf cub from the mountains.

“Keep screaming, and This Seat will cut out your tongue,” Bai Fenghe sneered, looking down with an expression even more terrifying than his.

“Miss,” Yun Chuanzhi carefully raised a hand. “It seems he doesn’t have a tongue to begin with.”

Hearing this, Bai Fenghe flicked a celestial wind toward the boy. His mouth was forced open by an invisible strength. Looking inside, it was a hollow void.

No wonder he was chosen to frame them. He couldn’t speak, and he didn’t look like he knew how to write; naturally, no information could be interrogated out of him.

“Do you know how to read minds?” Yun Chuanzhi asked Bai Fenghe.

“No,” Bai Fenghe replied flatly. A blade of light condensed in her palm. “Since nothing can be asked, let’s just kill him.”

“Wait!” Yun Chuanzhi hurriedly stopped her. She held out both hands, forcing a sheepish smile. “I have a way.”

Others might be fair game, but this child was only seven or eight years old and clearly had a miserable life. If he died at Bai Fenghe’s hands without things being made clear, she felt a slight pang of reluctance.

Moreover, if he died, the trail would go cold.

Yun Chuanzhi unfastened the wooden box Bai Fenghe had given her from her waist. Though the box was small, it functioned like a Universe Bag and could hold many things. She rummaged through it and pulled out a round object that looked like a helmet.

“What is this?” Bai Fenghe asked.

“This is called the Helmet of One Word.” Yun Chuanzhi placed the helmet onto the child’s head. The moment the cold iron touched his scalp, the dark cyan hue faded, replaced by a transparency that looked like flowing water.

“Anyone who wears this will speak without reservation and answer everything they know.”

As she spoke, a faint smile seemed to flash through Bai Fenghe’s eyes. She watched Yun Chuanzhi thoughtfully but said nothing.

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t notice the gaze. She crouched down and asked the boy: “Was it you who snuck into our manor yesterday?”

The boy didn’t open his mouth. He continued to snarl and act tough, but a child’s voice drifted from the top of his head: “Yes.”

The moment the voice emerged, the boy was so startled he stopped shouting. He became like a fish in a frozen lake, mouth agape and unable to move.

Yun Chuanzhi ignored his shock and continued: “Were you the one who killed those people in the city?”

“No.”

“Then did someone instruct you to sneak into the manor and plant the stolen goods to frame us?”

“Yes.”

“Who was that person? Do you know them?”

“I don’t know them.”

Yun Chuanzhi glanced up at Bai Fenghe and asked again: “What did that person look like? Did they have a name?”

The boy maintained his shocked expression until this question was asked. Then, his gaunt face suddenly changed color. His eyes bulged like copper bells, and his tattered clothes shook as his body trembled like a sifter.

“That sister,” he ‘spoke’ tremulously. “She had a face whiter than snow, blood-red eyes bigger than fists, and she was… she was about eight feet tall.”

An eight-foot-tall sister? Fist-sized eyes and a face whiter than snow? A chill ran through Yun Chuanzhi’s heart. She looked at Bai Fenghe; although the other woman said nothing, her expression had also darkened significantly.

“Miss, are there ghosts in Youji City?” Yun Chuanzhi asked softly.

“Rarely,” Bai Fenghe answered briefly. She looked up at the sky, her gaze suddenly turning cold. “Someone is coming.”

She quickly retracted the silk ribbons. Once the child hit the ground, he bolted back into his shack like a mad dog. Bai Fenghe had no time to worry about him. She recited a mantra to seal her spiritual power, masking her aura, and grabbed Yun Chuanzhi, walking quickly toward the light.

Yun Chuanzhi rarely saw Bai Fenghe nervous, so she felt her own heart tighten. She didn’t speak further and simply followed with her head down.

Halfway through, Bai Fenghe’s steps came to a sudden halt. She leaned her back against a wall, and her lips curled into a smirk that was part mockery and part realization: “As expected.”

“What is it?” Yun Chuanzhi asked.

“Those old seniors from the Imperial City,” Bai Fenghe laughed softly, letting her hands hang by her sides. “I haven’t even been convicted yet, and they’ve already rushed to send several Venerables to capture me.”

People from the Imperial City? No wonder Bai Fenghe sealed her spiritual power. The newcomers’ cultivation must be higher than hers; otherwise, with her arrogant and overbearing personality, why would she bother laying low?

At that moment, the megaphone at Yun Chuanzhi’s waist vibrated. Cheng Jinshu’s anxious voice came through: “A large group of cultivators has entered the city!”

In truth, she didn’t need to be told. Even Yun Chuanzhi could sense a massive pressure approaching from the distance. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived at the mouth of the alley.

I’m in the same boat as Bai Fenghe now. If she gets caught, I won’t escape either, Yun Chuanzhi thought clearly.

“This way,” she said suddenly. Ignoring all etiquette, she grabbed Bai Fenghe’s wrist and pointed behind a patch of overgrown weeds. “Let’s hide in there.”

Bai Fenghe’s arm stiffened. Before she could take issue with the hand-holding, she was left speechless by the location Yun Chuanzhi was pointing to.

“A dog hole,” her red lips parted in an exasperated smile. “Cui Ergou, you want This Seat to crawl through a dog hole?”

“Do you want your life or not?” In her urgency, Yun Chuanzhi didn’t care about decorum. She left those words behind and dove through the weeds.

Fine. Great. Wonderful. For a moment, Bai Fenghe didn’t know whether to be furious or indignant. Finally, she bit her lip and endured it, closing her eyes and bending her knees, lowering her noble spine.

She didn’t know how she made it through that hole. She only knew she bit her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood. When she opened her eyes, her sleeve was being clutched by that bold little servant, who was dragging her toward a pile of junk.

“What are you doing now?” Bai Fenghe finally understood the feeling of having rage with nowhere to vent. Her chest felt numb with suppressed frustration.

“Can’t you use your spiritual power? There are cultivators guarding the entrance. We have to find a place to hide and wait for them to leave,” Yun Chuanzhi explained in a low voice.

They were in a backyard used for storing goods, likely belonging to the Spring Greeting Garden. They could faintly hear the warbling singing from the theater. The goods were piled high like mountains: chairs, benches, embroidered shoes, folding fans, and larger set pieces for the stage.

“Here.” Yun Chuanzhi spotted a sedan chair covered with a red curtain. She pulled Bai Fenghe inside. The sedan swayed a few times before settling.

Bai Fenghe said nothing and sat silently with her. However, the interior was smaller than a standard sedan. It was extremely cramped for two women. They sat shoulder to shoulder and leg to leg; Yun Chuanzhi, being lighter, was practically sitting in Bai Fenghe’s lap.

The scent from the woman drifted in front of her as expected. Yun Chuanzhi suddenly felt her earlobes grow hot. She gripped her knees and tried to remain calm: “Miss, the fragrance on you might expose us.”

“I’ve already removed the scent,” Bai Fenghe answered in her ear.

The fragrance sprayed even more richly against her neck. Now, it wasn’t just Yun Chuanzhi’s ears that were red; her whole body was flushed. Although she didn’t understand why her nose could still smell the perfume, she didn’t ask further.

Bai Fenghe leaned back against the cushions. Her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the girl’s bright red ear. The tension in her eyes vanished. She smiled with her red lips, the sunlight from outside the curtain dancing in the depths of her eyes.

She suddenly spoke softly: “Do you know?”

“What a bridal sedan is?”

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