When a Yandere Cannon Fodder Meets a Dark, Twisted Villain - Chapter 52

In that fleeting moment, Shu Mo clearly captured the dark glint flashing through the little fox’s eyes… It was a look of hidden possessiveness and covetousness.

She was far too familiar with such a gaze—so familiar it was practically etched into her marrow.

Her fellow disciple, Kong Qing, would reveal a similar look every time she gazed at Ning’er…

That exceptionally talented Zhao Mingfang from the Qishan Sect had also openly displayed an affinity for Ning’er during the Three-Sect Discourse…

And then there was Sheng Huan, the formidable Sixth Princess of the Tiansheng Dynasty. Though she appeared upright and magnanimous, beneath that unconventional level of concern and tenderness she showed Ning’er, did she not also harbor a hint of being “determined to win”?

These looks had once kept her on high alert, and more than once, they had triggered the deep-seated possessiveness buried in her heart.

Now, after finally clearing the clouds to reach a mutual understanding with Ning’er, how could she allow yet another pair of eyes to attempt to approach, or even bewitch, her beloved?

Hearing Shu Mo’s words—laced with displeasure and certainty—Shi Yining was momentarily stunned before the realization hit her.

She recalled that when she was first abducted to the Demon Realm by Hu Ying, the woman had indeed spoken some ambiguous and suggestive words. At the time, she hadn’t paid it much mind, thinking it was merely the usual taunting and psychological games a demon cultivator played with an enemy.

Now that Hu Ying had reverted to her original form as a little fox and was bound by the Spirit-Binding Rope, she looked so small and pitiful that Yining hadn’t immediately connected the two versions of her.

Before she could speak, the little fox—bundled tightly with only its furry head sticking out—turned its eyes coldly toward the woman beside her. Those round, dark eyes now held an undisguised sneer, devoid of their previous submissiveness.

“So what if I do? And so what if I don’t?”

Hu Ying’s voice remained crisp, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness. “As far as I know… Immortal Shu Mo and Ning’er are neither Dao-companions bound by a Heart-Linking Covenant, nor are they sisters of the same sect. That being the case, what right does Immortal Shu Mo have to interfere with Ning’er’s choices and will?”

Upon hearing this, Shi Yining’s face darkened, and she immediately scolded, “Hu Ying! Do not be disrespectful to Mo’er!”

Her words were filled with an indisputable protective instinct. She could understand that Hu Ying was controlled by the Demon Lord and that her past actions were driven by circumstance, but that absolutely did not mean she would tolerate the little fox speaking insolently to Mo’er.

“Heh…” Hu Ying chuckled as if she had heard something amusing. Her gaze drifted between Shi Yining and Shu Mo with a sort of insightful mockery. “Ning’er is in such a hurry to protect her… Is it because you’ve forgotten how this ‘Immortal Shu Mo’ used to treat you?”

She paused deliberately, observing Shi Yining’s expression before continuing slowly: “The cold shoulders, the attitude of keeping you thousands of miles away, the past events that left Ning’er heartbroken, lost, and even in mortal danger… Has Ning’er forgotten it all? Or do you wish to deceive yourself and act as if none of it ever happened?”

Shi Yining’s brows furrowed. She felt a wave of revulsion toward Hu Ying’s divisive rhetoric, and her voice turned significantly colder. “In the past, there were many misunderstandings between Mo’er and me. By now, those misunderstandings have been resolved.”

“Is that so?” Hu Ying drew out her words suggestively, a dark light flickering in her fox-eyes. “Resolved… Are they truly entirely resolved? I think… not necessarily!”

She shifted her tone. “A few days ago, with the help of the Demon Lord, I was fortunate enough to recover the memories of my past life.”

She intentionally slowed her speech, locking her gaze onto Shi Yining, not missing a single subtle change in her expression.

“Doesn’t Ning’er feel even a little curious? Don’t you want to know… after you perished in your previous life, how your precious Immortal Shumo—this Young Sect Master of the Yuehua Sect—treated the Xuanqing Sect? That was the sect where you grew up, the place you gave so much to, where the elders you cared for resided. Don’t you want to know their end?”

These words struck like a sudden thunderclap in Shi Yining’s ears. Her heart sank instantly, and a chilling sense of foreboding seized her.

She instinctively looked at the cold, ethereal person beside her, only to see Shu Mo’er’s lips pressed thin and her eyes as dark and deep as the night. She did not immediately offer a rebuttal or an explanation.

Hu Ying took in their reactions, her lips curling into a triumphant, icy smile.

“See…” Her voice was airy, yet it felt like a poisoned needle. “Immortal Shu Mo still has secrets from Ning’er, doesn’t she? To not even be honest about something this important… what kind of ‘resolved misunderstanding’ is that?”

The air seemed to freeze at that moment, a piercing chill rising from all around.

Shi Yining looked at the silent Shu Mo, then at the provocative Hu Ying. Her mind was suddenly a chaotic mess of turmoil.

Did Mo’er… truly hide something so important from me?

According to Hu Ying, did Mo’er attack the Xuanqing Sect after I died?

No… she wouldn’t. Mo’er had no reason to do that…

But… why isn’t Mo’er denying it?

Just as Shi Yining’s thoughts were spiraling into a tangle of doubt and unease, Shu Mo finally spoke. Her voice was low and strained, carrying an almost imperceptible trace of pleading. “Ning’er… this matter is complex. It isn’t something that can be explained in a few words… Wait until we return, and I will explain everything to you in detail…”

She tried to reach out to touch her beloved’s sleeve, her jade-like fingertips trembling slightly.

“Explain?” Hu Ying sneered, her voice sharp and piercing, filled with blatant mockery and malice. “Why wait until you return? Wouldn’t it be better to make it clear right now? Or is it… that Immortal Shu Mo is afraid? Afraid that once Ning’er knows the truth, she will hate you? That she will leave you?”

The dark light in her fox-eyes flashed incessantly as her speech quickened, each word cutting like a blade. “Since Immortal Shu Mo doesn’t want to speak, doesn’t dare to speak… then I shall speak for her!”

Hu Ying drew out the final note, making the atmosphere increasingly suffocating.

“In your past life, after you died, Ning’er… this ‘Immortal Shu Mo’ of yours used her magic to lay waste to the gates of the Xuanqing Sect!”

Shi Yining’s pupils shrank in shock.

Hu Ying’s voice sounded as if it had crawled out of the deepest pits of hell. “Ning’er, your Master, Sect Leader Qin Wu, and your fellow junior sisters… they were all injured by her sword! Though she did not take their lives, the sect’s defenses were shattered. Immortal Shu Mo came and went as she pleased—to the cultivators of the Xuanqing Sect, such humiliation was likely a fate worse than death!”

Watching Shi Yining’s face turn instantly ashen, Hu Ying continued to cruelly strip away the truth.

“Since then, Xigui Peak—the place where you grew up—was forcibly occupied by this ‘Immortal Shu Mo’ alone! The junior sisters who originally lived there were all heartlessly driven to other peaks. Later, she even designated the entire Xigui Peak as a forbidden zone, decreeing that no one else be allowed to set foot there! After Sect Leader Qin Wu was injured, she found the changes to the sect impossible to accept. She refused medical treatment from her peers and wouldn’t even take elixirs. It wasn’t long before she passed away!”

Every word from Hu Ying’s mouth hit Shi Yining’s heart like a heavy sledgehammer.

Stiffly, and in utter disbelief, she turned her head to look at the cold, ethereal person beside her.

“Mo’er…” Shi Yining’s voice was agonizingly dry, trembling with a broken cadence. “Is what she said… true? Did you… did you truly attack the Xuanqing Sect? Did you hurt Master and my sisters?”

She thought that as long as Mo’er denied it, even without an explanation, she would believe her. She would dismiss it all as Hu Ying’s slander. But… Mo’er nodded.

She clearly saw the agony and struggle surging in Shu Mo’s eyes.

Shu Mo did not deny it. She only gave a heavy, almost imperceptible nod. This tiny movement dealt a crushing blow to Shi Yining.

Shu Mo slowly reached out her hand, wanting to pull her into a comforting embrace as she usually did. “Ning’er, I—”

“Don’t touch me!”

Shi Yining recoiled several steps, dodging her touch.

She looked at Shu Mo’s pale hand frozen in mid-air, trembling slightly, and then at the pain overflowing from the other’s eyes. Her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe. In this instant, the rising disappointment, the anger of being deceived, and a deeper, inextricable grief intertwined, leaving her with only one desire: to flee.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm, though her voice carried an undeniable distance. “Mo’er… I… I want to be alone.”

With that, Shi Yining turned to leave this suffocating place.

“Wait!” Seeing her departure, Hu Ying immediately spoke up, her tone returning to that seductive, submissive quality. “Ning’er, don’t leave me here alone. They won’t let me go… I know quite a lot about the past life… Shu Mo hides things from you and won’t speak… but I won’t~ Don’t you want to know more?”

Hearing this, Shi Yining’s departing footsteps came to a jarring halt. Her shoulders rose and fell slightly with her fluctuating emotions.

Logic told her she shouldn’t trust this scheming, divisive fox. But the shocking facts just revealed, coupled with Mo’er’s admission, caused a desperate thirst for the truth to grow like wild weeds in her heart.

The hesitation lasted only a second. Shi Yining spun around, flicked her sleeve, and a wave of soft spiritual energy swept the bound little fox off the ground and into her arms. Then, with a burst of power beneath her feet, she transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

Shu Mo stood frozen outside the defensive array, her eyes fixed on the receding figure of her beloved. Her face was as white as paper, her heart twisting like a knife was turning in it.

Shortly after, the sisters Ruo Ying and Ruonian flew down and landed nearby. They had seen the situation clearly. Ruo Ying, being the impatient one, frowned and asked bluntly:

“Regarding the Unfeeling Gu from the past life, and the truth behind your attack on the Xuanqing Sect… did you not tell Fellow Daoist Shi any of it?”

Shu Mo slowly withdrew her gaze from the horizon. Her eyes were hollow, and a smile of extreme bitterness tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“After coming to this Taixuan Dao Realm, I only explained the circumstances of our four encounters back at the Yuehua Sect… As for the Unfeeling Gu, I only mentioned it briefly and didn’t state it in detail… and as for the rest, I hadn’t yet found the time to tell her…”

Hearing this, Ruo Ying stamped her foot in frustration. “Then why are you still standing here like a wooden post? Go after her! Can’t you see that brat Hu Ying’s intentions for her? It’s practically written on her face! If you’re too late, Fellow Daoist Shi really might be stolen away by her!”

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