Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Don’t Be Angry – The point of a cocoon’s protection isn’t for the butterfly to die in its sleep…

Jiang Zhiqing was dead.

Qinzhu’s weeping grew louder. She had no idea what had happened—why Muling and Manman were suddenly possessed, why Lü Shuyao and Jiang Zhiqing had to fight to the death, or why Jiang Zhiqing had embraced his end so resolutely.

“Don’t cry yet…” Lü Shuyao stared at the terrifying, clamoring swarm of corpses ahead, explaining urgently. “Palace Master Chang passed away twelve years ago, and so did Jiang Zhiqing’s sister. Since then, Jiang Zhiqing has been using the souls of female disciples to nourish Chang Huichen’s body. He even split his own soul in two: one half played his sister, while the other resided in Palace Master Chang’s body, acting in a way he believed Chang Huichen would like—the person you saw every day.”

“Do you understand? Muling and Manman were killed by him. Everyone you see now are just possessed corpses wearing that ‘Yin-Attracting’ makeup.”

Laying everything bare was cruel to a survivor, but it wasn’t that he didn’t care for her feelings—there simply wasn’t time for pleasantries.

Qinzhu was so shocked her sobbing stopped entirely.

“Whether you fully understand or not… to put it simply,” he pointed a weak finger toward the swarm, “we have to cut them all down.”

Qinzhu followed his gaze, stunned for a moment. She shook her head in agony, backing away step by step. “No… I can’t do it!”

Those were Muling’s face, Manman’s face—the bodies of her sisters. They were the hands she had held, the cheeks she had pressed against, the shoulders she had slept on…

“I can’t!”

“I know,” Lü Shuyao panted helplessly. “So, I’ll go. You just do one thing: guard the entrance to the pavilion. Don’t let them get inside to hurt anyone.”

He improvised, tearing off strips of his robe that had been shredded by Jiang Zhiqing and handing one to each of the girls present.

“Blindfold yourselves. I’ll leave Zhanquan with you. You won’t even need to lift a finger; if any ghostly qi approaches, Zhanquan will unsheathe itself first.”

“But just in case a fierce ghost actually reaches you, don’t hesitate. Strike hard.” Lü Shuyao thought for a moment. “Just pretend… you’re slicing fruit. Can you do that?”

By covering their eyes, they wouldn’t have to act unless absolutely necessary, and even if they did, they wouldn’t see who they were striking. This was the gentlest way he could think of to handle the final battle.

Qinzhu and the other women, eyes brimming with tears, nodded.

The tide of corpses closed in.

“Young Master… if you leave your sword with us, what will you use to fight them?”

Lü Shuyao gave a warm smile: “I have cheats.”

Cheats… what are those?

She heard Lü Shuyao mutter a long, rapid string of words that sounded like a mantra. Then came an earth-shattering howl of ghosts, the black clouds trembled, and the long night seemed to crack open.

The Young Master’s worries were unnecessary. Not a single ghost could get past him to reach the pavilion.

Until the first light of dawn broke.

Qinzhu couldn’t help but lift a corner of her blindfold to peek. She knew that the scene before her eyes would be impossible to forget for the rest of her life.

…

[Command Complete. Host performance: Excellent. Reward: 80% cultivation restoration.]

“Lü Shuyao.” “Lü Shuyao.”

[Congratulations Visitor! Male Lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased by 100. Current Hatred Value: 400. Keep up the good work!]

…Who was calling him?

His eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. They trembled, struggled, lifted a fraction, then slowly sank back down. His lashes felt like the strings of a puppet being manipulated by someone else.

“…Lü Shuyao. It’s dawn. Are you still not back?”

[Congratulations Visitor! Male Lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased by 100. Current Hatred Value: 300!]

“Lü Shuyao, are you lying to me again?”

[Congratulations Visitor! Male Lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased by 100. Current Hatred Value: 200!]

That voice called his name. With every repetition, the tone grew heavier. It knocked against his ears; the force was heavy when it pierced his eardrums, sounding like anger, but when it settled in his heart, it became very light, sounding like worry.

Lü Shuyao’s soul seemed to have lost its way, wandering deep within his vitals. He hadn’t wanted to leave at first; after days of exhaustion, a long sleep seemed like a fine idea.

But that voice was too distracting. Somehow, sensing the anger in it, he felt the urge to go out and coax the speaker.

How strange. He was always finding ways to coax others—coaxing Lü Yizhou to turn back, coaxing Shen Yun to calm down. On the surface, he did it well and worked hard, but deep down, he had long detested it. If he could hide, he would never give himself over to such thankless, draining work.

But now, before he could even consciously recognize whose voice it was, his emotions had already outpaced his logic, leading him through the haze toward the sound.

Don’t be angry.

He opened his eyes.

Sunlight poured down, stinging his dark pupils. The sun hung at the end of the valley, red as a newborn heart, illuminating the long, painful night of Zhuohua Palace.

The vividness of the scene made him freeze. Behind him, someone spoke with a mix of excitement and faint fear: “Young Master…?”

He turned and first saw the horrific aftermath of the night’s slaughter.

“Young Master, are you… alright?”

Looking up, he saw Qinzhu’s pale, oval face.

“I’m fine.” Lü Shuyao felt somewhat dazed. “All of this…”

Did I do all this?

Qinzhu looked at him cautiously: “Young Master, last night you…”

“Last night, what?”

Qinzhu was startled by his counter-question: “Nothing…” She looked down, her hands covered in blood. “You were right. Muling and Manman were no longer Muling and Manman. Just now… I couldn’t even recognize them…”

Her hem was stained with filth, and dried tear tracks clung to her eyes. She looked as though she had been standing there for a long time, searching.

“Why did everything turn into this in just one night…”

It felt like everyone was gone.

Explanation was futile. When people ask this question, it’s usually not because they are confused, but because they cannot accept the reality. They force themselves to revisit it.

Some regrets happen over a night; some happen in an instant. Only when one stops obsessing over the “why” can all the blessings and sorrows be released into the spring wind.

“Lü Shuyao, can you hear me or not?”

That voice rang out from his chest again. It turned out it wasn’t in his ear—someone had been using a Transmission Spell to talk to him continuously.

Lü Shuyao’s heart stirred. “Where is the Second Young Master?”

The disciples of the East Pavilion had all turned into ghosts; it was now empty. Su Cheyue had been placed on a small couch by Qinzhu. After a night of anxious waiting, his dark hair was disheveled, and his knuckles were white from gripping the bamboo mat. Because he had sent transmissions too frequently, blood had welled up in his chest several times, which he had forced himself to swallow, leaving his lips a faint purple.

When he saw Lü Shuyao walk in, his dull eyes froze for two seconds. Then, like the first sun leaping over the horizon, a generous light wrapped around Lü Shuyao.

He watched him approach. Lü Shuyao’s breathing was heavy, and he was covered in blood, but his dark eyes were incredibly bright.

“Su Cheyue, I’m back.”

Su Cheyue whispered a few words. Lü Shuyao didn’t hear them and leaned down: “What?”

“…” Su Cheyue looked at him, his brow, which usually looked like a refined landscape painting, slowly furrowing.

“What is it?” Lü Shuyao’s tone was panicked. “Are you really angry?”

Angry that he took too long? Or angry that he left him alone here?

Su Cheyue said: “How did you end up in this state?”

“…”

Angry that I came to see him covered in blood and filth?

“I heard you calling me and came over immediately,” Lü Shuyao pleaded. “I was afraid you were angry.”

Su Cheyue turned his head away: “What do I have to be angry about?”

His lips were pulled tighter than a steel string, yet he asked what he was angry about.

Lü Shuyao explained: “You know I only had so much cultivation left. I worked really hard to settle things quickly.”

As he spoke, he leaned against the bedside, resting his head on a corner of Su Cheyue’s white sleeve. Su Cheyue gazed at him blankly for a moment, and by the time he snapped out of it, his fingers had already reached out to brush away the dirt near Lü Shuyao’s eyebrow.

[Congratulations Visitor! Male Lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased by 100. Current Hatred Value: 100. Keep up the good work!]

“…Hm?”

Lü Shuyao was overjoyed—only 100 left! The progress was even faster than he imagined! The light was at the end of the tunnel!!

Su Cheyue was startled and pulled his sleeve away in annoyance. “You broke your word. You’re a puppy.”

“…”

“If you ever show up looking like this again, don’t come to see me.”

“No, this isn’t my blood,” Lü Shuyao thought ruefully. What is he actually mad about?

“It’s not yours?”

“It’s all from those evil ghosts.” Lü Shuyao thought for a moment and pointed to the small red scratch under his eye. “…Except for this bit. This is mine.”

Su Cheyue: “…”

He was the type who would never say “sorry.” His expression darkened as he said, “Go wash up and apply medicine.”

“Oh.”

“Lü Shuyao,” Su Cheyue’s tone softened, showing a hint of hesitation. “Jiang Zhiqing… what happened to him?”

“…He’s dead,” Lü Shuyao said softly.

“Did you kill him?”

Lü Shuyao: “Did you want me not to?” Isn’t the Second Young Master usually the one who hates evil most?

“He harmed so many people; he deserved to die,” Su Cheyue said. “Is that why you killed him?”

Why else would I?

Su Cheyue’s gaze wavered, as if realizing his question was strange. “Never mind.”

Lü Shuyao promptly scurried off. Outside, Qinzhu and a group of disciples were still waiting.

“Why are you still standing here?”

the girls were like a huddle of white rabbits who had lost their home and been frightened; every face was filled with helpless sorrow.

“We… we don’t know where to go,” Qinzhu said.

In one night, the Palace Master was gone, the senior sisters were gone, and the sea of flowers had turned into a river of blood. Their carefree sanctuary had suddenly collapsed. If it were him, he’d probably break down too.

They were actually very strong already. But who can have a temperature-controlled sanctuary for their entire life? They say starting a family is the beginning of establishing oneself, but growing up means becoming a “home” unto oneself—one’s own embrace is the most reliable harbor.

He looked out at the four pavilions and said, “Zhuohua Palace is still here. This is the paradise Chang Huichen left behind.”

Chang Huichen had gone against the tide to create this fairy-tale castle for the women of Huailing, trying to block all danger and malice behind him. That fine brush he used to paint countless floral patterns was both his obsession with a promise made to his sister and a cage of faith he drew for himself.

But whether it’s the keys to the castle or the brush of beauty, they must eventually be handed over to these women.

The point of a cocoon’s protection isn’t for the butterfly to die in its sleep, but for the butterfly to be reborn as it spreads its wings.

“You are all disciples of Zhuohua Palace,” Lü Shuyao coughed, putting on the formal tone he’d learned from novels. “With everyone here, who among you is willing to take the position of Palace Master, to uphold the rules, and continue the lineage?”

…Writing such words makes one’s blood boil with excitement, but actually saying them out loud was so cringey he wanted to dig a hole with his toes.

The girls stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

“Before, we just followed the Palace Master around. Now we have to be the Palace Master…”

“What does a Palace Master do? It seems we never actually knew what he was doing before…”

“A Palace Master has to be very strong, right? If I’d known, I would have listened and practiced my cultivation properly.”

Lü Shuyao said worriedly: “I’m counting on you all. I still have something to ask for Zhuohua Palace’s help with.”

A small arm, white as a lotus root, was quietly raised. The pretty oval face was still smeared with tears and blood, looking dusty, and her almond eyes were still a bit frantic—but within that panic, a seed of determination was growing.

“Young Master… can I do it?”