Transmigrated Into The Arms Of The Heroine Of A Sadistic Novel - Chapter 26

Lin Yanyu was scrubbing herself when she suddenly saw a sheet of black ink spread across the water. Looking up, she saw Tan Changxin holding a silver hair clasp, letting her long, beautiful hair fall loose and immerse in the water.

The petals scattered in the tub were all white, from a plant called “Snow Jasmine Flower” which smelled and looked like the white jasmine flower of the later world.

Lin Yanyu loved this scent. Seeing Tan Changxin’s black hair fan out in the water, her mood lifted, and a playful spirit arose. She couldn’t resist plucking a few petals of the Snow Jasmine Flower and casually tossing them to float on the hair strands.

Tan Changxin had just placed the hair clasp on the shelf, picked up a horn comb, and turned around, just in time to see the cat spirit finishing her second toss of petals. Lin Yanyu lowered her hand to scoop up more, which prompted Tan Changxin to curiously ask, “Yanyu, what are you doing?”

Lin Yanyu paused, then raised her hand to throw the freshly scooped petals onto her own head.

“Playing!” Lin Yanyu said, feigning calmness. “We Cat Clan members love to mess around during baths. Now that you’re here, I can’t really mess around, so I can only play with petals.”

“Is that so?” Tan Changxin’s gaze shifted to the petals on Lin Yanyu’s head. She reached out to gently brush them, her pinky finger just grazing the cat ear, making Lin Yanyu shiver.

“What are you doing?” Lin Yanyu pulled her neck in.

“Playing with petals,” Tan Changxin imitated her tone, and naturally rested her other hand on the edge of the tub, appearing as if she were “wall-pinning” a term for a romantic/dominant pose) Lin Yanyu.

Lin Yanyu’s eyes widened. She leaned against the side of the tub, instinctively guarding her front with her hands and gripping the clothes on either side. The younger girl was a head taller than her, and unexpectedly utilized this height advantage at this moment.

Feeling that Tan Changxin was indeed only playing with the petals on her head, she didn’t get up to resist. After all, excessive rejection could easily cause displeasure in a companion, and she didn’t want the younger girl to dislike her.

Although Lin Yanyu suspected that the younger girl’s current assertiveness carried a slight mischievousness, she couldn’t bear to put on a stern face and scold her.

Tan Changxin’s fingers gently brushed through Lin Yanyu’s hair, gathering and arranging the petals. From time to time, they would brush against her perked-up cat ears.

The wet black hair hung down onto Lin Yanyu’s hand, and the faint scent of Snow Jasmine was extremely close. Lin Yanyu lowered her head to brush the damp strands away from the back of her hand, feeling a strange itchiness in her fingers, even a sudden urge to play with the younger girl’s hair, to wrap the strands around her fingers or wrist.

Lin Yanyu was startled by this sudden thought. She quickly retracted her hands, hugged her uneasy self, and patiently waited until Tan Changxin’s collar began to slip slightly due to the movement, then said, “That’s enough!”

“Just a moment more,” Tan Changxin replied. She then conjured a water spell, forming a water mirror, and after sitting upright, turned the mirror surface toward Lin Yanyu. “Take a look.”

Lin Yanyu looked into the mirror, seeing a “flower” made of petals “blossoming” on top of her head—a Snow Jasmine Flower.

“How boring,” Lin Yanyu thought.

But she then realized that she was the one who was bored enough to put petals on the younger girl’s hair first, so she couldn’t say it aloud. She even forced a smile and complimented, “It’s quite pretty. You humans have so many novel things.”

Lin Yanyu was only being polite, but Tan Changxin’s heart leaped with joy.

She suddenly dispersed the water mirror, pinched her fingers, and turned the remaining water into a water spiritual essence. It lifted the petals on Lin Yanyu’s head, solidified into an ice flower base underneath, and placed the petals on the water’s surface.

Then, she cast another spell. The surface of the petals instantly formed a thin layer of ice, and the thin ice that formed independently of the petals converged and overlapped layer by layer inward. In a short while, it transformed into an ice flower shaped like a rose.

The water in the tub was clearly still steaming, yet the ice flower remained intact, slowly drifting on the water’s surface with the ripples the two of them caused. Upon closer inspection, even the fine veins on the ice flower’s surface were visible.

Lin Yanyu recognized it immediately: this was a high-level water-element spell that only high-ranking demon exterminators knew. The younger girl was showing off her skills!

If it were in her previous life, she would immediately criticize such a junior, telling them to be humble, that learning is endless, not to show off a slightly powerful spell, and not to flaunt their skills in such a trivial place.

But at this moment, she reached out, cupped the ice flower in her palm, and through the thin ice, stared at the petals which had turned a light brown due to the water vapor, lost in thought.

What should she say to ensure the younger girl wouldn’t feel disappointed or misunderstood?

After much deliberation, Lin Yanyu carefully placed the ice flower on the shelf beside the tub. She raised her eyes to face the younger girl, whose eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Your magic creation is very exquisite, I like it,” Lin Yanyu praised first, then changed the subject. “But… why did you suddenly make such an exquisite ice flower for me to see? First, you condensed ice to form a base, then you created petals, finely carved the veins, and had to maintain a specific low temperature throughout to prevent the ice from melting in this room. This series of spells must have consumed a lot of spiritual energy.”

“A flower is a common token used when pursuing a loved one. I wanted to use such an exquisite flower as an object of pursuit. What are your thoughts?” Tan Changxin said without hesitation, as if she had rehearsed these words countless times.

Lin Yanyu was instantly stunned. Fortunately, Tan Changxin’s spellcasting had given her enough time to think. Facing the younger girl’s direct question, she didn’t get flustered; instead, she immediately calmed down.

“Then I’ll say something from the heart too,” Lin Yanyu said solemnly. “I admit that kidnapping you back to the Demon Realm that day was out of selfish desire. In other words, I did fall for you at first sight.”

Since Tan Changxin came at her with a direct question, she would respond with a direct answer.

Tan Changxin was indeed stunned as well, staring at her blankly, her lips slightly trembling, seemingly with excitement.

Before she could ask a question, Lin Yanyu continued, “But as a Demon Exterminator, you should understand that a demon’s desire comes quickly and goes quickly. As long as nothing happened at the time, the thought won’t resurface later.”

“Then you…”

“I’m naturally no exception,” Lin Yanyu said earnestly. “So, right now, I want to continue interacting with you as a normal friend, rather than letting desire drive my actions. Can you… understand what I mean?”

She had figured it out: since she didn’t intend to start a romantic relationship this early, she shouldn’t touch it. She would suppress it as much as possible.

As for whether to cut off this relationship line, she would have to decide based on the relationship’s development and the younger girl’s acceptance level.

While saying these words, Lin Yanyu consistently maintained eye contact with Tan Changxin, clearly seeing the flash of disappointment in the younger girl’s eyes.

But the next second, she saw Tan Changxin reveal a smile with an ambiguous meaning: “Mm, you restrained your desire; you genuinely want to be friends with me.”

Lin Yanyu nodded. However, before she could elaborate, she heard Tan Changxin ask, “If you only wanted to be friends, why did you form a master-servant blood pact with me? Earlier, you confidently told me, ‘A lifetime is a lifetime,’ but do you truly know what ‘entrusting one’s lifetime’ means?”

Lin Yanyu couldn’t answer. Her lips twitched unconsciously, feeling a little guilty.

She suddenly realized she had been too careless. In her view, the master-servant blood pact was merely a lifelong contract. However, to the people of this world, the significance of the master servant blood pact was much more than just employer and employee.

She was silent for a few seconds. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and she quickly countered by asking Tan Changxin, “Did Feng Funing and Xuan Qing also form a master-servant blood pact?”

The book never mentioned any relationship between the original host’s two mothers other than being Daoist companions. Furthermore, when the main plot began, Feng Funing had been dead for eighteen years, and Xuan Qing had gone mad due to the death of her beloved daughter. Throughout the entire book, no character mentioned any other bond between them, nor was there any opportunity to bring it up.

Tan Changxin was startled, then nodded with certainty: “Yes.”

Lin Yanyu now understood. The reason the younger girl confessed her feelings after only two days of interaction was likely because of the master servant blood pact.

And the reason the Tan Changxin in the original text remained single until the end after the original host’s death, rejecting every matchmaker, was perhaps also because she regarded the master-servant blood pact as a lifelong commitment.

After realizing this, Lin Yanyu was shocked, and her heart began to race. She was momentarily at a loss.

This concept of lifelong commitment was considered a relic in the era she lived in, but in this era, it was probably the mainstream ideology among Demon Exterminators.

It was her fault for forcing Tan Changxin to enter into the pact without understanding the ideological differences between the two eras.

Since she had made a mistake, she had no right to draw a line with the younger girl or cut off the budding romantic relationship, unless she dissolved the master servant blood pact.

After all, she was the one who first provoked Tan Changxin.

Even though the pact was only made two days ago, it was too late. As Tan Changxin said, a master-servant blood pact meant a lifetime. She had clearly entrusted her whole life to Tan Changxin without even knowing it!

Lin Yanyu’s thoughts were a mess. She was completely unaware that her face and neck had flushed crimson with shame.

When she came back to her senses, she found herself being held in Tan Changxin’s arms.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know the master-servant blood pact was so important!” Their eyes met, and Lin Yanyu quickly apologized. “But don’t worry, I promised a lifetime, and it is a lifetime. I will never harbor ill intentions towards you, please rest assured! I can swear…”

“No need, I believe you,” Tan Changxin interrupted, stroking her cat ear. She said gently, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand for now. Just know that I will be good to you, and that is enough.”

Lin Yanyu: “…”

She wished she could dive into the water and drown herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand; she had dug a hole and buried herself in it!

“Then, when you suddenly asked to borrow the illustrated books earlier, was it to study how to be responsible for me?” Since things had come to this, Lin Yanyu decided to lay everything out and ask clearly.

She was currently leaning in Tan Changxin’s embrace, unable to see her expression. She only knew that the younger girl’s breathing was a little unnatural, perhaps because she was shy about thinking of the books’ content.

“Yes, but the many examples depicted in those illustrated books…” After a long silence, Tan Changxin commented softly, “Are too explicit. They don’t apply to us.”

Lin Yanyu thought, It would be a miracle if they did apply, but she verbally agreed, “Then you decide what to do. Anyway, in the human realm, you’re the one in charge.”

She had been single for twenty-three years, and her experience in relationships was basically derived from novels, making her just as inexperienced as the younger girl.

Tan Changxin smiled without a word, patted her back, and let her return to her original spot. Then, she took the wooden ladle from the shelf, scooped up the now-cooling water, and poured it over her head.

Lin Yanyu quickly snatched the ladle, and while forming a fire spell, said, “The water’s cold. Wait for me to warm it up before you wash your hair, or it’ll be bad for your health.”

Tan Changxin was stunned for a moment. Feeling the water temperature rapidly increase, she said a beat too late, “Thank you.”