Transmigrated Into The Arms Of The Heroine Of A Sadistic Novel - Chapter 72

Early the next morning, Lin Yanyu woke up naturally, her biological clock rousing her even though she didn’t want to open her eyes. Through the sliver between her lashes, she suddenly saw a cat demon sitting beside her bed.

Sensing the aura of the ruler of the demon realm, she murmured sleepily, “Mother,” then closed her eyes again and rubbed her head against the cat demon’s hand.

But the moment the cat demon’s hand stroked her head—against the direction of her fur—Lin Yanyu’s eyes snapped wide open.

Not the demon lord! Her mother never touched her ears the wrong way!

She swiftly caught the cat demon’s wrist, flipped upright, and extended sharp claws from her fingertips, holding them between herself and the stranger.

“Who are you?” she asked warily, her eyes scanning the intruder quickly.

To her surprise, this demon looked almost identical to Feng Xianchen, but more mature. The demon had dark green beast-like pupils, black furry cat ears poking from her hair, and—was that…the Demon Lord’s own robe she was wearing?!

One odd discovery after another left Lin Yanyu stunned. The stranger, however, just looked back at her with gentle eyes, releasing no trace of killing intent or hostility, which made Lin Yanyu even more confused.

To be safe, Lin Yanyu used her spiritual control technique to probe the surroundings—Qin Changxin was still fast asleep, and there were no other traces of demonic energy in the palace chamber. Only then did she relax slightly and ask softly,
“May I ask which of my mother’s subordinates you are?”

The cat demon pointed to her own throat and shook her head.

“You can’t speak?” Lin Yanyu blinked, surprised. In all the writings she’d read and all of Xuanlin’s memories she’d inherited, she didn’t recall any mute black cat demon by the Demon Lord’s side.

And why… did this cat demon’s aura feel so much like her mother’s?

Seeing Lin Yanyu’s puzzled look, the cat demon suddenly grabbed her own tail and stroked it meaningfully.

Lin Yanyu stared at the tail for a moment, thinking hard, before suddenly realizing:
“Oh! You must be Mother’s external incarnation, right? Great demons can cultivate a physical avatar. When not in use, it becomes something small like a tail, and when needed, they can turn it into a full form. You’re her tail, aren’t you?”

The cat demon hesitated for a second—then nodded firmly.

Lin Yanyu nodded too.
Mystery solved. So it was the Demon Lord’s tail that had gained a spirit form. No wonder it couldn’t speak but had the exact same aura—just a slightly altered face. She’d seen this kind of thing before.

She quickly retracted her claws and smiled apologetically.
“I’m sorry for my rudeness earlier. My guard was just too high.”

The cat demon smiled and shook her head, rubbing Lin Yanyu’s head—this time in the right direction.

“Are you here to check whether we slept well? Or to ask what we’d like for breakfast?” Lin Yanyu asked. The cat demon nodded, then shook her head. Communication was clearly difficult, so Lin Yanyu handed her a blank spiritual slip.
“If it’s inconvenient to talk, you can write your message with demonic energy on this.”

The cat demon took it happily—but before she could write, the curtain was thrown open.

Xuanqing entered, wearing a fluffy robe, face full of panic. When her eyes met the cat demon’s, she strode quickly forward, grabbed her hand, and asked in a low voice,
“How could you run off the moment I took a nap?”

The cat demon pressed her lips together, smiling slyly at Lin Yanyu.

“What—am I less important than Lin’er now?” Xuanqing’s voice turned soft and faintly jealous, then, with a complicated look, she introduced,
“This is your other mother—Feng Funing.”

Lin Yanyu: “???”

She froze completely.
“Wait… but wasn’t Senior Feng Funing human? And… isn’t she supposed to be—”

Before she could finish, the cat demon returned the spiritual slip.

Lin Yanyu looked down—and saw three words appear on it: “Call me mother.”

“…Mother,” Lin Yanyu obediently said, still baffled.

Seeing that Qin Changxin was still asleep, Xuanqing promptly scooped up the pleased Feng Funing and hurried out of the room, leaving Lin Yanyu dumbfounded.

Feng Funing—dead for eighteen years—was alive?!

That was wonderful news, but how had her mother revived someone whose soul had already scattered? And turned her into a cat demon on top of that?

No matter how she thought about it, Lin Yanyu couldn’t make sense of it. Hearing Qin Changxin mumble “kitty” in her sleep, she gave up on pondering and lay back down, hugging the girl tightly as she drifted back to sleep.

She slept until noon, and no one came to wake her. When she finally opened her eyes, Qin Changxin was gone.

Yawning, Lin Yanyu changed into one of the outfits Qin Changxin had given her, then used her spiritual sense to locate everyone—they were all gathered in the council hall.

When she entered, she heard Qin Changxin laughing softly:
“I just want to live a peaceful life with Yanyu.”

Lin Yanyu made a small surprised sound, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

“Lin’er, you’re awake? Come sit,” said Xuanqing, beckoning her over. She conjured a plate of steaming plum-flower pastries and offered them. “Eat something—your Aunt Mei made these this morning.”

“Thank you, Aunt Mei.” Lin Yanyu smiled sweetly, taking a pastry and handing another to Qin Changxin.
“Changxin, try one.”

For some reason, Qin Changxin’s cheeks turned pink as she accepted it, taking a tiny bite.

“Human girls are always so gentle,” Xuanqing mused, resting her chin on her hand. “I wonder what Xianchen’s grown up to be like—more like me, or like Ning?”

“To be honest, more like you,” Feng Mingchi said, setting down his teacup. “She was a wildcat as a child—always fighting, never wanted to study spells. After getting beaten a few times in the Lingcang Arena, she finally behaved. By the time I sent her to Kui Xuan Academy, she was so obedient it was almost unsettling.”

Xuanqing and Feng Funing exchanged glances and smiles—but there was guilt in both their eyes.

Sensing that they were about to discuss something important, Lin Yanyu ate faster, gulped down her milk tea from Mei Linghan, and then spoke up:
“Mother, we’ve roughly located the ‘Blood Panther’s’ base in the human realm. My sister and the Zhuang clan’s exorcists have gone ahead to scout Lianzhou, and the Lü family will send support soon.”

“I’ve forgotten much about the human realm’s geography,” Xuanqing admitted awkwardly, glancing at Feng Funing. “Your mother Funing traveled across the realm in her day. If you have questions, ask her.”

Lin Yanyu nodded but looked at Qin Changxin instead.

Understanding her signal, Qin Changxin said,
“Our investigation suggests that the ‘Blood Panther’ has allied with Princess Yun Quexin of the Yun clan in Lianzhou. They plan to construct a so-called ‘Preservation Array,’ but in truth, it’s a resurrection formation—one that sacrifices the cat demons of the Morning Valley as offerings.”

“Sacrificing cat demons?!” Xuanqing’s brows furrowed. “Could it be… he intends to resurrect Zhu Wansheng?”

“Who is Zhu Wansheng?” Lin Yanyu and Qin Changxin asked in unison, exchanging a quick, approving glance for their synchronized acting.

“The orange cat fur cloak Night Yaozhi wears—that was flayed from Zhu Wansheng by me,” Xuanqing said coldly. “That demon shared Xie Xianyi’s ambition—to destroy the barrier between the human and demon realms. If they succeeded, demons could freely enter the human world to slaughter and feast. To a demon, human flesh and blood are… exquisite delicacies.”

Hearing that, Qin Changxin shuddered.

Lin Yanyu saw her tremble and quickly tugged on her mother’s sleeve.
“Mother, you’re scaring her!”

“She’s an exorcist—sooner or later she’ll face such fiends,” Xuanqing said firmly.

Lin Yanyu knew that, of course—but she couldn’t help wanting to protect Qin Changxin. “Then let me sit with her. If she gets scared, she can hug me.”

“You child!” Xuanqing laughed, tugging playfully at the back of her neck. “Fine, go.”

Lin Yanyu immediately darted to Qin Changxin’s side, as if afraid the Demon Lord might change her mind.

Feng Funing, meanwhile, kept smiling—a genuine, radiant smile.

There had been no “second mother” in Xuanlin’s memories, which only made Lin Yanyu more curious about what Feng Funing had been like in life.

“The question is,” Feng Mingchi resumed, “after the Blood Panther resurrects Zhu Wansheng, will he control her—or cooperate with her? They share the same goal, but the Blood Panther trusts no one. He’s never treated anyone—human or demon—as a true ally…”

He stopped, surprised by Feng Funing’s shaking head.
“You think otherwise, Ning’er?”

“Mother means to say—‘But Zhu Wansheng is an exception,’ right?” Lin Yanyu guessed. “Could it be that Xie Xianyi and Zhu Wansheng… had some kind of special relationship?”

“Two maniacs who thrive on chaos? What kind of relationship could that be?” Xuanqing snorted. “Even if there was something, Xie Xianyi isn’t the type to choose love over ambition!”

“Not necessarily. None of us can read another’s heart,” Feng Mingchi said, catching Feng Funing’s meaningful glance. “In truth, we’ve never fully understood the Blood Panther. He’s always kept secrets from us.”

“This isn’t the time for pessimism,” Mei Linghan cut in. “The girls came back to the demon realm in such dangerous times—they don’t need to hear you all brood.”

“You’re right,” Xuanqing nodded. Her two tails, drained of spiritual energy, twitched weakly behind her. “For now, we can only hope the exorcists in the human world do their part. I’d go capture Xie Xianyi myself if I could…”

She paused, gripping Feng Funing’s hand tightly.
“But I promised you, Ning—and I won’t break that promise. My word represents the entire demon realm. If we go back on the truce, it’ll mean war between the two races again!”

“Mother,” Lin Yanyu interjected quickly, “I’ve regained my full soul and made many exorcist friends. You could pick an elite squad for me to lead out of the demon realm! If you don’t trust me, ask Changxin or Uncle—they’ve seen what I can do!”

“Yanyu’s capable. I can vouch for her,” Qin Changxin said.

“I have no objections,” Feng Mingchi added. “If this child weren’t so talented, Changxin wouldn’t have persuaded Chu Hanzhi to lend her a teleportation core.”

Feng Funing, though mute, reached out to touch Xuanqing’s two tails. When Xuanqing turned toward her, she pointed at herself, then at Lin Yanyu, and made a “following” gesture.

Xuanqing froze then instantly drew back her tails, bristling.
“No! You are not going! You’re far too fond of sacrificing yourself. Even if I had nine tails, you’d use them all up!”