Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: The Battle Begins — Pinky Swear

Lü Shuyao wore an expression of pure innocence. “How would I know where she is? I was minding my own business looking for someone up there when you triggered the mechanism and I fell down. Forget Qinzhu—I haven’t even seen a single mosquito.”

Jiang Zhiqing shot him a cold glance and summoned the Dao-Spirit Rope. Lü Shuyao sensed trouble; just as he tried to swing his sword, he raised his arm and immediately hissed through gritted teeth in pain.

Dammit, it’s not phantom pain!

There really was a gash on his arm!

Now look at them: one crippled, one injured. Their combat effectiveness was zero.

Seeing him struggle against the pain, Jiang Zhiqing effortlessly tied the two of them together. “I don’t know what happened between you two in the illusion, but it seems the Second Young Master has done me a great favor.”

Inside the illusion, the only one who could truly wound Lü Shuyao was Su Cheyue.

The two said in unison, “Shut up.”

Jiang Zhiqing walked to the spot where Lü Shuyao had fallen and pressed the mechanism again.

A large opening suddenly appeared at the top of the ice cavern. Just as Jiang Zhiqing was about to fly out, Lü Shuyao suddenly whispered something to Su Cheyue.

“…The Pearl… really summoned the soul?”

“What did you say?” Jiang Zhiqing turned back.

“Nothing at all.” Lü Shuyao immediately changed his tune, his face shifting back to a fragile, innocent look. “Just go already.”

Jiang Zhiqing turned away suspiciously, but Lü Shuyao began buzzing like a bee again: “Wait until… wakes up…”

Jiang Zhiqing, losing patience, marched back. “What on earth are you saying?!”

Lü Shuyao nervously moved to block the ice coffin. “It’s really nothing!”

Jiang Zhiqing didn’t believe him for a second. With a palm of spiritual energy, he shoved them aside, then turned around to gently drape his arms over the ice coffin, leaning down to check: “Huichen?”

Lü Shuyao seized the opportunity and roared: “Qinzhu, Sword Come!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a whirlwind swept through the opening of the ice cave. The sound of wind whistled past their ears; before anyone could see clearly, the two people tied on the ground were instantly sucked upward.

Lü Shuyao had just used his entire lung capacity to shout, only to immediately inhale a huge mouthful of dust. By the time they returned to the first floor of the palace, his pretty features were scrunched together from choking.

“I’m sorry, Master…” Qinzhu retracted her sword, her face full of guilt. “I didn’t think this move would be so powerful…”

Lü Shuyao: “F***ing… cough… badass.”

“What?”

“Qinzhu, did you always know you were this strong?”

“Sometimes when practicing with the other sisters, I can’t quite control the moves… after that, I didn’t dare use them much…” Qinzhu said weakly.

Though she hadn’t been in the palace long, her spiritual root was exceptionally brilliant. However, since the rules established by Chang Huichen, the Zhuohua Palace never forced disciples to break through realms or condense cores, let alone arrange disciple assessments. No one really knew the true extent of any female disciple’s cultivation.

Reflecting on it, Jiang Zhiqing truly had a severe split personality. On one hand, he continued what Chang Huichen had done—recruiting disciples, running things in an orderly fashion, ensuring they were fed and clothed, and leading their practice.

On the other hand, he used their essence to nourish his lover who had been dead for years.

“Have you ever sparred with your Eldest Senior Sister?”

Qinzhu shook her head repeatedly. “How would I dare draw a sword against Eldest Senior Sister?”

Lü Shuyao thought to himself: Luckily you didn’t, otherwise, how could Jiang Zhiqing have tolerated you until now?

He celebrated the addition of a new combatant.

Even if this combatant was currently a bit dazed.

“What exactly is going on, Master? You told me to wait up here and follow your orders, but as soon as you appeared, you told me to draw my sword.” Qinzhu looked at his face with concern. “Master, your face is bleeding.”

She looked around anxiously at the mouth of the ice cave where the gale was dying down. “Where did the Palace Master and Senior Sister go?”

“No time to explain,” Lü Shuyao struggled against the ropes. “Can you untie this? Can you get out of this barrier?”

Qinzhu blinked and nodded. “This is the Zhuohua Palace Spirit Rope; all initiates learn the incantations for tying and untying. As for the barrier… the Palace Master summoned me tonight, so I already have the barrier token.”

Lü Shuyao: The ultimate support! No, the ultimate Main Carry!!

“Get us out of here first!”

Qinzhu shrank her neck, her oval face flushing red under Lü Shuyao’s urging. “But… the Palace Master said no one is allowed out after the Hour of the Pig (9 PM).”

Lü Shuyao pressed his hand to his forehead. “Your Palace Master is in trouble; we must go out now!”

Qinzhu jolted. “Really? Isn’t the Palace Master in the bedchamber??!!”

Lü Shuyao: “He hasn’t been there for a long time. Fairy Qinzhu, my saving bodhisattva, quick, take us out. Life and death depend on this move!”

Terrified by him, Qinzhu hesitated for a few seconds before opening the barrier. Ignoring the pain in his arm, Lü Shuyao swiftly slung Su Cheyue onto his back. With Qinzhu supporting them from behind, the three of them rushed out.

…

Qinzhu was right. After the Hour of the Pig, with no one allowed out, the Zhuohua Palace was as silent as a graveyard.

“Master… where are we going to find the Palace Master?”

It was Qinzhu’s first time breaking the curfew, and her voice trembled with fear. The atmosphere of Zhuohua Palace at night was starkly different from the day, making her feel momentary estrangement.

Lü Shuyao thought for a moment; he needed to hide the person on his back so they could fight in peace. “Where is the safest? The valley? The pavilion?”

Qinzhu said, “The valley is lush and complicated, easy to hide but hard to find. The disciples’ pavilion has many people… Should we go to the pavilion first and ask the other sisters for help?”

There is strength in numbers, but how could he quickly explain to all the female disciples that their Eldest Senior Sister wasn’t their sister, their Palace Master wasn’t their master, and that they were in danger—grave danger?

With Su Cheyue’s weight on his back and the wound on his arm throbbing, Lü Shuyao said without thinking, “Su Cheyue, hold onto me. Wrap your arms around my neck, and grip tight with your legs.”

“…”

Lü Shuyao met a wave of silence and turned his head in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

“My legs have no strength. I can’t grip.”

“…” Lü Shuyao decided instantly. “Then we go wherever is closest!”

Qinzhu led them to the disciples’ pavilion. The East and West buildings looked identical. Qinzhu asked, “Which side?”

Lü Shuyao asked, “Which side do you live on?”

Qinzhu pointed to the right, but her gaze drifted to the left. “But Muling and Manman are over there…”

Lü Shuyao suddenly remembered: those who had been “night-summoned” by “Chang Huichen” lived in the East building. Qinzhu lived in the West.

Being night-summoned meant having their essence drained by Jiang Zhiqing, and…

Lü Shuyao snapped his gaze to Qinzhu’s forehead.

“Did Jiang Zhiqing paint that makeup on you?”

Qinzhu paused. “N-no… Senior Sister only paints the floral tilaka for disciples who have been night-summoned. We painted this ourselves just for fun.”

Before he could even let out a sigh of relief, Qinzhu, out of concern for her friends, had already run to the East building to knock on the door. “I should tell Manman and the others—”

The moment she touched the door, it creaked open on its own.

Qinzhu went inside to search for a while, and when she came out, she looked utterly lost. “Didn’t they say no one can go out at night without an order? Why are they all gone…?”

Lü Shuyao’s heart sank.

Immediately after, they heard a rustling sound from behind and turned around.

“…Muling?”

Led by Muling, a line of women appeared in the freezing dark night, dressed neatly, floral tilakas on their foreheads and smiles on their faces. They stood behind them silently.

“…”

“Lü Shuyao,” Su Cheyue whispered in his ear, “It’s the Soul-Attracting Makeup.”

Lü Shuyao focused his gaze. The expressions on these disciples were eerie; rather than smiling, their lips were peeled back. Their eyes were deep black but lacked luster—the pupils had expanded so much there was no white left, like dark blots of ink from a judge’s pen in hell that wouldn’t dissolve.

“…Possessed by evil spirits, just like Rourou.”

Lü Shuyao wanted to ask how it was “just like.” At least the one possessing Rourou put on an act and appeared as a pleasant girl on the surface. These ones… weren’t even acting. They were just out to terrify them.

“What is the Master looking for?”

When “Muling” spoke, Lü Shuyao almost dropped Su Cheyue in fright! Luckily, Su Cheyue had listened to him; his arms were wrapped around his neck, and although his legs couldn’t grip, his waist was pressed as close as possible. Otherwise, he would have fallen, and a fall would surely have added more Hate Points…

Amidst his wandering thoughts, Qinzhu said with a sob in her voice, “Muling? Muling, why does your voice sound like that? Did you drink boiling water by mistake and hurt your throat? Muling…”

Upon hearing this, “Muling’s” grinning lips snapped shut, her black eyeballs bulging as if they might fall out. “What did you say? Is my voice ugly?”

Unaware of the situation, Qinzhu tried to comfort her. “It’s not exactly ugly… it just… sounds a bit painful?”

“Then it is ugly!” “Muling” raged. “You say my voice is ugly? You say my voice is ugly!”

“I will make you just like me. If you had swallowed a branding iron like I did, you’d sound a hundred times worse!” It dragged out a charred, raspy sound and slowly reached out a hand. “Come, I’ll treat you to a branding iron.”

…This ghost probably died a miserable death when it was alive.

Qinzhu looked at Muling, then at Lü Shuyao, a giant question mark written across her face.

Lü Shuyao stared at Muling. “Is all this hospitality necessary?”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a living person. We have even more ‘hospitality’ in store.” It didn’t touch the ground, its body drifting slightly to the side to reveal dozens of different heads behind it. “They have many more specialties to entertain you with.”

“Qinzhu, help the Second Young Master into the pavilion.”

Qinzhu asked, “Master, what about you? Do you have things to talk about with Muling?”

Could you call this “talking”?

Lü Shuyao gave a few distracted hums, forgetting that he had just dubbed Qinzhu the “Main Carry.” He hadn’t actually intended to let a naive girl lead the charge.

Su Cheyue was helped onto the sword by Qinzhu. Lü Shuyao turned his head; a streak of dried blood ran down his right cheek like a stroke of red ink on a flawless face. Framed by the golden light of his Zhanquan Sword, he looked strikingly gorgeous and vivid—an image Su Cheyue couldn’t ignore even if he closed his eyes.

He watched for a moment, as if just remembering that the person who had drawn this ambiguous debt of blood was himself.

“What are you looking at?” Lü Shuyao laughed, the movement causing the bloodstain to crinkle near his eye with an enchanting charm.

[System: Congratulations, Visitor! Male Lead Su Cheyue’s Hate Points have decreased by 100. Current Hate Points: 500. Keep up the good work!]

Su Cheyue was momentarily speechless.

They locked eyes for a while before Lü Shuyao suddenly asked, “Su Cheyue, back in the ice cave, why did you say you believed me?”

Su Cheyue’s words hovered in his throat for a moment before he chose a more convincing reason.

“The Desire-Seeking Pearl.”

Lü Shuyao nodded. “Qinzhu, go.”

“…You will come back, won’t you, Lü Shuyao?” Su Cheyue asked.

With the long sword hovering in the air, Lü Shuyao looked up at him once more. His hair was still like black satin, his eyes brighter than stars, and he still didn’t like to smile.

He nodded. “Cheyue, give me a smile,” he said. “Consider it compensation for those two sword wounds you gave me.”

Su Cheyue didn’t smile. Instead, he pressed, “When?”

Lü Shuyao thought for a bit. “Before dawn.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

“What is your collateral?”

Lü Shuyao smiled. “Pinky swear. If I lie, I’m a little dog.”

“If you keep your word, as a reward, I want the Second Young Master to smile for me.”

Su Cheyue looked at him a while longer. Lü Shuyao laughed and said, “If you don’t leave now, I’ll have to protect you and get scratched by them again.”

“This time… they might actually scratch me to death.”

Su Cheyue’s eyelashes fluttered a few times. He turned his head to Qinzhu and said, “Let’s go.”

“Muling” suddenly lunged forward, her mouth wide open, the inside of her throat a charred black void.

Lü Shuyao thought, How pitiful, and raised his sword. The golden edge of the Zhanquan Sword flashed; the spirits became even more excited, wailing and clamoring incessantly. Lü Shuyao’s right hand was injured and slightly dislocated, so he couldn’t put strength into it. He simply switched the sword to his left hand. Though his moves were a bit shaky and crooked, the effect wasn’t bad—at least he could fend off the weaker ones.

The higher the original spiritual power of the possessed disciple—like Muling—the stronger the magic power of the ghost after possession.

Lü Shuyao had to admit that playing the hero was cool in theory, but in practice, he was just swallowing his broken teeth and enduring the bitterness alone.

“You can’t even beat me, and yet you want to turn the tide all by yourself?”

A male voice echoed from the sky, so gentle it could be described as elegant.

Lü Shuyao didn’t even have time to look up. He spun around and slashed the gaping mouth of another ghost. “You finally showed yourself.”

Just from the voice, he didn’t need to look to know that Jiang Zhiqing had shed his powdered disguises and reverted from his sister’s persona back to himself.

Twelve years had passed since the illusion’s timeline; he should have grown into a mature, handsome man through the accumulation of years.

And judging by his appearance, he had.

But his words and actions were extreme, fierce, and as ugly as a savage beast.

Jiang Zhiqing said, “Young Master Lü is quite cold-hearted. These girls are in the bloom of their youth, yet you slash their faces like this. How will they ever show themselves to others again?”

Lü Shuyao said coldly, “You know they are girls in their prime. Jiang Zhiqing, how could you lay a hand on them?”

If the original host of a possessed person is still alive—like when the raccoon ghost possessed Rourou—any injury triggers the original host’s survival instinct to fight the ghost within until it is forced out.

But these evil spirits showed no signs of struggle with the original hosts; instead, they clung to these husks like death itself.

Just as a person dies from losing too much blood, these girls had likely withered and died after Jiang Zhiqing finished draining their essence.

So Muling and Manman from the other day were likely just holding onto their last breath of life specifically to injure Qinzhu and stop her from entering Chang Huichen’s palace.

Looking at these girls who once bloomed like flowers and were now unrecognizable, and at the Zhuohua Palace that was once warm year-round and was now covered in fallen petals and ruins, Lü Shuyao couldn’t help but close his eyes.

He could feel his heart bleeding.

“Didn’t I kindly remind you that once night falls, the bedchamber is the only safe place?”

These poor women had lost their souls and were painted with Soul-Attracting Makeup. By day, they were emotionless puppets; by night, they became unwilling evil spirits.

“You think these ghosts recognize a master? Even when Palace Master Chang uses the Soul-Attracting Makeup to call them out, he has to fight a bloody battle before they stop! You are hurting others and yourself!”

As if a prophecy had been fulfilled, half of the ghosts attacking Lü Shuyao suddenly twisted their bodies and began attacking Jiang Zhiqing. Jiang Zhiqing frowned, summoned his sword, and began dodging. “I only wanted Huichen to sense the summons and return sooner! But you insisted on disturbing and enraging them!”

“Which one of them is him? Tell me, which of these monsters that attack anyone on sight is him? You’ve made his Zhuohua Palace foul and stagnant; he won’t want to come back at all!”

“Shut up!”

The scene was chaotic. As they fought, the two “men” became entangled, their swords clashing and sticking together, locked in a struggle so tight that not even a ghost’s claw could get between them.

The ghosts: ?

The ghosts: …

Once humans start infighting, they can make even gods and ghosts feel out of the loop.

On the surface, Lü Shuyao’s moves were disciplined and formal, but internally he was roaring: System! System, get out here right now!!!!!

System: [What is it, Visitor? What happened?]

Lü Shuyao was brave when he had to be, but when it was time to show weakness, he didn’t hesitate for a second: I can’t beat him! I can’t beat him! Give me a cheat code already!!!

What is the point of having a cheat if you don’t use it?

System: [I am very sorry…]

Lü Shuyao: I don’t want “sorry,” I want “cheat”!!

System: [Visitor, do not panic! Recite the command immediately!]

Lü Shuyao: “…” What was it again??