Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Meeting Early — Under the pear blossom tree blooming most brilliantly in the outskirts of Yangshuo…

Just as they entered the outskirts of Yangshuo, they encountered a fierce battle.

The residual cold of early spring had not yet dissipated when a group of civilians leaving the city ran into a riot of evil ghosts. By the time Sect Master Su arrived, several people were already heavily injured, being tended to by Su disciples.

“Father!” Su Qingyang called out from afar. He instructed Qingzhi to stay back, drew his sword, and charged forward.

Lyu Shurao felt his blood boil the moment he saw Su Xun. The whip in his hand was already crackling with light, but Su Qingyang shouted: “Lyu Shurao! How is your recovery?! Come and help, quickly!”

Seeing the innocent citizens lying on the ground wailing in agony not far away, Lyu Shurao’s heart tightened.

Fine. The greater good comes first.

Personal grudges can be settled later.

These evil spirits specifically targeted the spiritual energy of the Baoshan Sect to feed upon, and their powers were formidable. Even with the combined efforts of the Su father and son, it was not an easy fight. As a murky ghostly aura coiled around their sword blades, Su Qingyang sensed danger—suddenly, a deep violet light swept across. Like a hurricane fueling a prairie fire, it completely dispersed the black mist on the swords!

Su Qingyang: “Lyu—”

A purple whip followed a figure in purple falling from the sky. Lyu Shurao swung his long whip with a hunting whistle, and the intense violet light swallowed all surrounding light, whether dark or fair.

Light faded, shadows remained; the ghosts fled in all directions, leaving everyone with a floating shimmer of gold in their vision.[1]

Su Qingyang, fighting off dizziness, pointed at him: “What’s your deal… ordinary spiritual energy in the cultivation world glows blue, why is yours purple? And when did you become this strong?”

Lyu Shurao retracted the whip into his wrist and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know either.”

Turning around, he saw Su Xun looking at him with a complex, unreadable expression.

Keep staring. Once Su Cheyue returns, it’s only a matter of time before he ‘places righteousness above family’ and deals with you.

A disciple ran over: “Sect Master, the injured people…”

Lyu Shurao looked closely—wasn’t this Li An, the one who was always in a hurry to get reincarnated back when he was caring for the Second Young Master? It seemed he’d been promoted to the Sect Master’s personal attendant.

Su Xun said: “Take them all back to the sect and have the medical cultivators treat their wounds.”

“Yes!”

“A-Yao, you’re finally willing to come back.” Su Xun approached with a gentle smile. “Where is Che-er?”

Lyu Shurao met his gaze neither humbly nor arrogantly. “The Second Young Master is not here.”

“Not here?” Su Xun narrowed his eyes slightly. “What do you mean by ‘not here’?”

“Before the Winter Solstice, you lured him away from the sect. I exhausted all efforts but couldn’t find a trace. Now that I finally see you, you tell me he isn’t here?”

“Sect Master Su did indeed ‘exhaust all efforts.'” Lyu Shurao ground the words out between his teeth.

Su Xun paused. “Lyu Shurao, what are your intentions? Where have you hidden the Second Young Master of the Su family?”

“And what are your intentions? Why must you insist on placing him in such a dire and miserable situation?”

Li An scolded from the side: “Young Master! How can you speak to the Sect Master like that!”

Su Qingyang couldn’t understand a word of their exchange, still trying to mediate: “Father, if you have words to lecture him with, it can wait until we return to the sect. The injured civilians cannot wait.”

Lyu Shurao said nothing and went to help support the wounded. This place wasn’t far from the Baoshan Sect. Once they arrived, Li An actively directed several disciples to take over the injured and bring them to the medical hall.

Lyu Shurao had a young man leaned against his left arm and an old woman slung over his right shoulder. When a disciple with an unfamiliar face took the woman from him, the old woman was still intermittently mumbling her thanks.

At that moment, the object in his sleeve suddenly lit up. Stunned, Lyu Shurao flipped his sleeve to check. It was the key the donkey-masked man had shoved into his hand during the chaos at the riverbed.

Why didn’t it light up earlier or later, but exactly now?

“A-Yao, you’ve worked hard.” Su Xun still wore that same smile. “Go back to the Moon-Resting Pavilion. We will talk about Che-er’s matter later.”

Lyu Shurao did not respond. He walked back alone to the Moon-Resting Pavilion—the place where he and Su Cheyue once lived together.

The transition between winter and spring is a magical time. In the pavilion, the red plums had not yet fallen, while the white pear blossoms had already emerged. Red and white alternated, like snow falling on a heart—burning yet lonely.

Lyu Shurao leaned under a tree, broke off a few pear branches, and with a few nimble movements of his slender fingers, skillfully tied a string of white blossoms.

Just as he finished, his sleeve lit up again.

This time he could no longer ignore it and headed back out.

Subconsciously, he walked to the Baoshan Sect medical hall. For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about how the key had glowed the moment he handed over the injured earlier.

He raised his hand and pushed open the door to the medical hall.

The hall was pitch black and terrifyingly silent, save for the key in his sleeve flashing tirelessly.

“Elder? Elder? Is anyone here?”

Lyu Shurao walked all the way in, passing the front and middle halls. At the rear hall, the key glowed so intensely that it slipped from his sleeve and hit the floor with a clack.

He looked down. The light emitted by the key projected a bright area, in the center of which was a symbol resembling an array. As soon as the key touched the ground, the array activated. The floor split in two, revealing a long, seemingly endless set of stairs.

A cellar? Why would the medical hall have a cellar? For storing pills?

Just as he hesitated whether to go down, a cry for help echoed from below.

“Help… save me…”

Shocked, he wasted no time and rushed down the long stairs. He saw a blood-stained man collapsed on the ground.

Lyu Shurao propped him up and recognized him as the injured young man from earlier today: “Why are you here? How did you get here? What is this place?”

The young man’s breath was shallow, and he only repeated, “Save me.”

“Is there anyone else?”

Lyu Shurao carried him up the stairs. The moment they reached the ground level, the hall doors burst open, and a group of people ran in with swords drawn.

“Lyu Shurao!”

The lamps were immediately lit. Su Xun, leading a crowd of Baoshan disciples, surrounded him.

“What are your intentions, breaking into my Baoshan medical hall in the dead of night!”

Someone pointed at the man on his shoulder and shouted: “Isn’t this the citizen who was injured today! Why is he here? The blood on him…”

Lyu Shurao froze, his first instinct to look back at the cellar.

It was closed.

The stairs, the array, the key. They had all suddenly vanished.

“Lyu Shurao! Answer this Sect Master!”

Lyu Shurao placed the young man on the ground and first infused him with spiritual energy to maintain his vitals. He sneered: “Uncle has quite the eyesight. In the pitch black just now, you were able to recognize me instantly.”

Su Xun paused. Li An said from the side: “Master Lyu, what are you actually doing here? This person… did you beat him into this state?”

“Why would you do this?!”

…Isn’t this frame-up a bit too blatant?

“Of course not,” Lyu Shurao said. “There is something wrong with your Baoshan medical hall.”

Su Xun’s face darkened: “What could be wrong with the medical hall?”

“There is an array and a dungeon. This man was just trapped inside.”

Li An said: “Nonsense! Where is the array? Where is the dungeon?”

Lyu Shurao wanted to curse. In his haste, the key must have fallen through the crack as the floor opened. He had been so focused on saving the man that he left the key below.

“It wasn’t me. There is someone else here responsible.”

“Do you think anyone will believe that? Everyone present is a disciple born and raised here; only you are an outsider!”

“It’s simple. If I wanted to harm him, why would I be using my spiritual energy to save him now?”

Li An said: “Just a performance!”

Suddenly, the young man on the ground let out a painful scream. The spiritual energy Lyu Shurao was feeding him felt like fire. He crawled back, trembling: “Don’t touch me! Don’t burn me!”

Lyu Shurao: “What’s wrong? I’m not burning you!”

“Look, everyone!” Li An shouted. “His spiritual energy… the color is different from ours. It’s ghostly purple!”

Lyu Shurao looked. It was indeed purple mixed with a bit of blue. He had assumed spiritual energy was like blood types—different for everyone. What was there to make a fuss about?

“Lyu Shurao.” Su Xun’s triumphant voice came from the center of the crowd once more. “Your spiritual energy is indeed problematic.”

“I have already used the power of the whole sect to inform Sect Master Lyu of this via Thousand-Mile Voice Transmission. He will arrive in Yangshuo shortly.”

---

Lyu Qingsong arrived at the Baoshan Sect, burning with anxiety. He headed straight for the main hall.

“A-Yao!”

Lyu Shurao, dressed in purple, was being held by two disciples, standing straight beneath the steps. He refused to kneel. When these people tried to restrain him last night, his whip had almost left his wrist.

It wasn’t until he had injured several disciples and Su Qingyang arrived, shouting: “Lyu Shurao! Stop! These are the disciples who followed me to help Xifeng Ferry back then!”

Those words made Lyu Shurao think of Su Cheyue.

He was different from Lyu Qingsong; he wasn’t someone who would endlessly back down for the sake of a past favor. But he thought of these disciples—most were left to Su Cheyue by Su Chen; they were the foundation of the Baoshan Sect.

When Cheyue recovered and returned to reclaim his position, these people would be his left and right hands, the backbone for him to protect the world.

…I cannot hurt them.

“Sect Master Su, how can you bind my son!” Lyu Qingsong’s eyes were bloodshot, and he trembled with urgency. Lyu Qingcheng followed behind him, rubbing his back: “Brother, don’t be anxious.”

Su Xun sat on the dais, watching coldly. Even Su Qingyang couldn’t help but plead: “Father, there is no need to go as far as binding and detaining him…”

“Shut up.” Yang Yuan sat beside Su Xun and whispered, “The woman you brought back from the mountain yesterday—have you sent her back yet?”

Su Qingyang faltered: “I—”

“Nonsense! Keeping an unidentified woman by your side every day, what does that look like! How will your mother find you a good match in the future!”

“I will discuss this with you later.” Su Xun turned to Lyu Qingsong. “Sect Master Lyu, I didn’t want to go this far, but Master Lyu’s actions these past few months are truly suspicious. He hid Che-er away, and after returning alone, he attacked people in my sect under the cover of night…”

Lyu Shurao said: “I didn’t do it, Father.”

After hearing Su Xun’s words, Lyu Qingsong seemed to remember something and pulled a letter from his robe: “After you left, Cheyue sent a letter—”

Lyu Shurao’s brow relaxed. Duan-you slid from his wrist as he reached for the letter—

“Stop him!”

Before Yang Yuan’s voice could fade, several people lunged forward to grab the thin piece of paper. Someone drew a sword, and after a few flashes of cold light, the shredded letter fell to the floor like feathers.

Silence filled the hall.

“Madam, please forgive me!” Li An knelt, propping himself up with his sword. “I… I was too hasty. I wanted to know where the Second Young Master was hidden…”

Lyu Shurao’s hands were tied behind his back. He stared blankly at the scattered fragments on the floor, murmuring: “Cheyue…”

He suddenly lifted his eyelids. This was the precursor to his anger.

“You brought this on yourselves.”

A deep violet light suddenly erupted throughout the hall. The two disciples holding him were whipped away by Duan-you. Li An screamed as the wrist holding his sword was nearly snapped by the whip!

“A-Yao! Stop!” Lyu Qingsong stood in front of him, manifesting Zhanquan!

Yang Yuan stood up in a panic. Su Xun remained seated and said: “Sect Master Lyu, you’ve seen it with your own eyes. Do you see clearly now?”

Lyu Qingsong was in disbelief. When A-Yao was young, his spiritual energy was slightly different, but not to this extent. After one trip away, his cultivation seemed to have been washed clean; this color and power were clearly…

“A-Yao…”

Lyu Qingsong hesitated for a second, but ultimately sheathed his sword. He stepped forward, holding Lyu Shurao by the shoulders and looking him up and down: “A-Yao?”

“Father,” he looked up, and Lyu Qingsong saw that the corners of his eyes were red. “I didn’t do it. I don’t know.”

“They destroyed Cheyue’s letter. It was the first time he wrote back to me. The first time anyone ever wrote back to me…”

He had written so many letters to Lyu Yizhou, begging him to look back. The handwriting had been immature and full of pleading, but Lyu Yizhou never once replied.

He needed that reply so badly.

“Lyu Shurao, I ask you once more,” Su Xun’s voice was stern. “Where did your spiritual energy come from? Who are you conspiring with, and where did you hide Che-er?”

Su Xun had long coveted the “Desire-Seeking Bead” inside Su Cheyue. Since Su Cheyue’s current physical condition was unknown, Lyu Shurao could not tell anyone his location.

Lyu Shurao began to smile slowly: “I don’t know.”

“Good.” Su Xun put on an air of righteousness. “Take him to the Stalactite Terrace.”

“Sect Master Su!”

“The evil aura on him is too heavy; he must be cleansed at the Stalactite Terrace.”

No, I can’t go. I still have to pick up Su Cheyue. Only thirty-six days left…

“How could the evil aura be too heavy?!!” Lyu Qingsong, usually steady, began to break down. “What kind of place is the Stalactite Terrace? Will my son be hurt?!”

Su Xun looked over and said gently: “Sect Master Lyu, there is no need to worry. The Stalactite Terrace of the Baoshan Sect is a place to purify the spiritual core. Our disciples often go there to rest after returning from exorcisms.”

“Is that true…” Lyu Qingsong was extremely anxious. Lyu Qingcheng comforted him: “Brother, A-Yao has indeed been different since he returned. If the Baoshan Sect truly has a way to clear his heart, it’s better to settle this quietly rather than letting the whole cultivation world find out…”

Lyu Qingcheng had fought with the Su family before, yet now even she spoke like this. Lyu Qingsong’s persistence felt even more powerless.

Why?

Why exactly? What is wrong with my spiritual energy?

He admitted he had lost control of his emotions just now, and his power was out of hand. The cultivation the system returned to him was indeed quite powerful…

Would it also hurt Su Cheyue?

If that was the case, then…

He could endure for a few days. Just a few days, and then he would set off. He would go to Pingluan a little early.

“I don’t agree! Sect Master Su!”

Lyu Shurao’s thoughts were a chaotic blur. By the time he came to, he had already been brought to the Stalactite Terrace.

Above was a stalactite cavern, below were gurgling stream stones, hidden in a green ravine under the vast sky.

“Young Master, do you remember this place?” Li An followed behind, clutching his injured wrist and smiling maliciously.

“A few months ago, you tricked me into practicing here, causing me to be bruised all over by these stalactites. Later, you left the sect without permission and got me punished by the Sect Master. I can finally have my revenge.”

Lyu Shurao looked at him and scoffed: “Do you think I’ll be a useless waste like you?”

Li An flared up in anger, studied him for a moment, and then sneered: “Lyu Shurao, you think you won’t be?”

With a gesture of his command, Lyu Shurao was hoisted up.

In an instant, the stalactites above surged violently, changing shapes, while the water below rose sharply. Attacked from both sides, Lyu Shurao was immediately caught in the middle.

“The Stalactite Terrace moves heaven and earth based on a person’s breath. The more unstable the spiritual breath, the easier it is to be injured by the stones.” Li An’s petty, triumphant voice echoed from outside. “Young Master Lyu, your spiritual core is in riot. Enjoy yourself here.”

The sharp tips of the stones were like rasps, stabbing and prodding from all directions, mercilessly piercing his flesh.

He bit his lip tight, his long lashes trembling, but he didn’t make a sound.

“To Second Young Master Su Cheyue:

I hope this letter finds you well. Please don’t be mad at me.

I’m back in Yangshuo. Eldest Brother is safe, and the disciples in the sect are well.

I’m staying in the sect for a few days. I passed by the Stalactite Terrace where you used to spend time, and I was accidentally bumped by it. It’s fine; it doesn’t hurt.

Thinking of how you used to practice here every day, working so hard… you are truly amazing.

Eat well and sleep well at the He Mansion. Focus on your recovery. Don’t be mad at me. Stay safe and happy at all times.

I’m sorry, I can’t write this by hand this time.

In thirty-five days, I will bring you home.”

[Congratulations, visitor. Male lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased. The amount of decrease is… abnormal. Please wait for statistics.] [Congratulations, visitor. Male lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased…] [Congratulations, visitor. Male lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased…]

The system was broadcasting non-stop. Finally, it began to detect that the Hatred Value was dropping. Starting from the last value he remembered—100—it kept falling.

In the intervals of pain, Lyu Shurao thought with relief.

At least it’s falling.

---

Two days later.

The disciple guarding the Stalactite Terrace heard a weak voice.

“Can I… come out now?”

The disciple was startled. Was this the clear, bright voice of the spirited Young Master Lyu?

He hesitated: “Young Master, how do you feel?”

The voice inside responded hoarsely: “…I’m alright.”

It didn’t sound like he was “alright.”

“I need to go pick someone up…”

“The Sect Master has ordered that without his command, you cannot come out…” Not only could he not come out, but Sect Master Lyu had tried to visit several times and was turned away.

There was silence inside for a moment, then a low laugh: “Where did he get the confidence to think I’m staying here because of his ‘orders’?”

The disciple was shocked. “Young Master—”

The violet light erupted again. The Stalactite Terrace, which had been tightly bound by stone and water, suddenly split apart. A tall shadow flew out, swinging a long whip!

The disciple saw nothing clearly—the overwhelming spiritual energy and the flying stones from the Stalactite Terrace nearly injured him. By the time he recovered, the Baoshan Sect was already in chaos.

“Catch Lyu Shurao! Don’t let him escape!”

“The Sect Master has ordered! He must be brought back!”

Su Qingyang led men to block the mountain gate. When he saw the person who broke through, his expression froze.

“Eldest Brother, let me go.” Lyu Shurao held his whip, gasping for breath, but his eyes were brighter than stars.

Su Qingyang couldn’t bear it: “You are too heavily injured. The Stalactite Terrace actually…”

“I’m fine. I promised Cheyue I would pick him up myself.”

Su Qingyang said: “Tell me where he is. I’ll go in your place. Stay in the sect and recover.”

Lyu Shurao shook his head weakly: “No.”

He seemed to rarely say “no.” These past few days at the Baoshan Sect, facing different people and different orders, he had refused them all cleanly. A sense of liberation welled up in his heart.

The feeling of following one’s own will was so good. He felt like he was finally learning a bit of Su Cheyue’s later-stage personality—following his heart.

There were still thirty-three days left. Even if he was injured, if he traveled slowly, he could still make it to Pingluan Town. He would make it in time.

The first time at Zhuohua Palace when he fought Jiang Zhiqing, he said he’d be back before dawn, but he broke his word.

The second time at the He Mansion, he said he’d stay with Su Cheyue until he recovered, but he broke his word again.

But Su Cheyue didn’t truly blame him; instead, the Hatred Value dropped again and again.

This time he had promised to pick him up; he couldn’t lie to him again no matter what.

The footsteps of the disciples behind him were closing in. Lyu Shurao said: “Eldest Brother, if you don’t move, don’t blame Shurao for fighting his way out.”

Though worried, Su Qingyang had no other choice. He stepped aside a few paces and warned: “Be careful on the road. I’ll wait for you both to return.”

Lyu Shurao turned and smiled at him, blood still staining his teeth.

Su Qingyang suddenly remembered that the last time he was this heavily injured, he had also been present.

Last time, this time, every time—it was all for his brother, Su Cheyue.

Lyu Shurao rode his whip, heading straight for Pingluan. Spring had arrived, and the road was filled with pear blossoms—thousands of trees, bright and pure white.

After flying for a while, his strength began to fail.

Injuries really are a hindrance. Fortunately, he had left early. Even if he had to walk or crawl, he should be able to make it, right?

Duan-you made an emergency landing under a pear tree. Lyu Shurao leaned against the trunk, anxiously circulating his qi to adjust his breathing.

A pressing path ahead, and pursuers behind.

He couldn’t let Su Cheyue see him like this.

After a while, he felt less dizzy. He stood up and went to a nearby lake. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to wash away the blood scabs from his wounds.

He sat there for a long time to recover before continuing forward.

Suddenly the wind blew, pear blossoms swirled, and Lyu Shurao lost his footing, stepping back half a pace.

An embrace caught him from behind, and he was instantly surrounded by the scent of pears.

Before Lyu Shurao could even breathe, he was pressed against the tree.

He couldn’t stand straight and could only lift his eyes. He saw those familiar features—phoenix eyes looking down at him, pale lips in a straight line, the curve of the philtrum perfectly shaped.

Amidst the revival of spring, under the most brilliantly blooming pear tree in the outskirts of Yangshuo, thousands of miles away from Pingluan.

Their meeting had come thirty-three days early.

Lyu Shurao was instantly shocked into alertness: “Su—”

Su Cheyue stood right in front of him, his white clothes fluttering like an elegant orchid or a jade tree. He opened his lips slightly and said only two words:

“Duan-you.”

The whip emerged from Lyu Shurao’s sleeve, coiling around him with extreme gentleness, binding him against the trunk.

Lyu Shurao’s heart suddenly felt like ten thousand deer were charging through it. He couldn’t tell if it was nervousness, fear, or some other emotion, and he didn’t have time to distinguish it.

Because in the next instant, Su Cheyue cupped his face with one hand, and his lips descended like falling petals.