When the Villainess Transmigrates as the Heroine of a Sadistic Novel [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Wuxia Arc

The maids in the North Pavilion were kneeling all over the floor. The First Palace Mistress, Jiang Chenyue, sat regally in the hall, her face covered in a layer of frost. The plan worked. Ning Yunqing’s eyes curved as she walked in with a gentle smile. “Senior Sister.”

Jiang Chenyue looked at her sideways. “Did you ever visit the North Pavilion while I was in seclusion?”

Ning Yunqing nodded. “I did indeed.”

Jiang Chenyue gave a cold laugh. She glanced at the trembling maids, stood up, and headed for the stairs. “Follow me.”

The two climbed the stairs to Xie Yushu’s bedroom. Upon arrival, both immediately covered their noses. The smell was even stronger than Ning Yunqing had imagined. Frowning, she asked in confusion, “Senior Sister, how did this gentleman turn into… this?”

Jiang Chenyue huffed. “That is what I should be asking you, my dear Junior Sister. I forbid you from seeing him, so you decide to ruin him, hm?”

This is clearly your hobby, not mine, Ning Yunqing thought. She shook her head innocently. “Senior Sister, you wrong me. Which of your commands have I ever failed to follow? You forbade me from sneaking in, and I remembered it perfectly. If it weren’t for the maids being at their wits’ end when Master Xie woke up, I would never have stepped foot in the North Pavilion. Because I followed your instructions and didn’t come back, you blame me? Is it wrong for me to listen to you?”

“You…” Jiang Chenyue was speechless. Ning Yunqing took two steps closer, reflecting those pitiful, mist-filled eyes right in front of her. The sight made Jiang Chenyue’s heart ache. She sighed. “Fine. You mentioned earlier his name is Xie; could it be the Third Son of the Xie family? Xie Yushu?”

Ning Yunqing nodded. Avoiding that heart-wrenching face, Jiang Chenyue walked to the bedside. Catching a whiff of the “bachelor scent” of the unwashed man, she couldn’t help but take two steps back, murmuring, “We haven’t seen him for only two days; how did he end up like this? He smells like a mountain bandit.”

“Senior Sister,” Ning Yunqing comforted her, “Men are different from women. Most men are probably like this.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Chenyue felt a sense of disappointment. She stared at the handsome face on the bed with a trace of doubt. With a face this beautiful, shouldn’t he be different from ordinary men?

Ning Yunqing’s expression darkened. It was truly annoying to have her lover express admiration for another man right in front of her. Twitching the corner of her mouth, she said with a smile, “Senior Sister, Yunqing has a doubt. I hope I may speak it without you becoming angry.”

“Speak,” Jiang Chenyue said as she walked to the window. Ning Yunqing followed. “Don’t you find it strange, Senior Sister? The Jiangnan Xie family is thousands of miles away. Of all the places Master Xie could go, he happened to come here, happened to run into bandits, and happened to collapse right at our palace gates.”

“Did you speak much with him?” Jiang Chenyue’s voice dropped, her eyes fixed intensely on Ning Yunqing, her expression terrifyingly cold.

Focus on the point! Ning Yunqing feigned fear and explained quickly, “Senior Sister, don’t misunderstand. As the host, I merely exchanged a few words with Master Xie. I did nothing out of line. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him when he wakes up to see if he even knows my name.”

Jiang Chenyue was half-convinced. She asked coldly, “What did you say to him? Repeat it to me.”

“Yes.” Ning Yunqing recounted the previous conversation, adding a bit of “oil and vinegar” to describe Xie Yushu’s strange behavior—pausing before answering, being vague about who attacked him, and asking where he was despite collapsing at the gate. By the end, Jiang Chenyue was frowning deeply.

“Enough.” Jiang Chenyue cut off her sister’s flow of words, giving her a warning look. “You know my temper. If you are lying to me…”

The sentence trailed off perfectly. Ning Yunqing shrank back appropriately, looking at her sister timidly. “When have I ever lied to you? Besides, you are already punishing me the smell in here is terrible.”

“…” Both were women with a penchant for cleanliness. Hearing this, even though Jiang Chenyue was breathing the fresh air from the window, she couldn’t help but cover her nose and walk out. “Go practice.”

Long swords interlaced, startling the flowers and leaves into a dance. Two graceful silhouettes moved across the plum-blossom-covered ground; their white robes fluttering like goddesses descending from the nine heavens.

Following her sister’s orders, Ning Yunqing used the same sword technique as before. Jiang Chenyue broke her moves step by step. Gradually, Ning Yunqing found it hard to keep up. As they reached the final move, Jiang Chenyue’s sword lunged straight for the point between Ning Yunqing’s eyebrows. Ning Yunqing furrowed her brow, steeled her heart, and suppressed the urge to counter. She stood still, rooted to the spot.

A touch of coolness hit her forehead. Warm red blood dripped down from between her brows. Despite having just escaped a brush with death, Ning Yunqing remained indifferent. Jiang Chenyue’s expression softened. She raised a finger to gently wipe away the bead of blood and asked with a slight smile, “Why didn’t you dodge?”

“Because…” Despite the slight injury, Ning Yunqing put on a submissive front and said sincerely, “I believe Senior Sister would never harm Yunqing.”

“Mhm.” Jiang Chenyue looked thoughtful. She flicked her wrist and threw her long sword. Like the wind, the blade flew straight into its scabbard, leaving the sword-holding maid in a daze.

Ning Yunqing frowned, thinking: Is this maid new? She wanted to look closer, but Jiang Chenyue took her hand. “Go to the Medicine Pavilion. I’ll apply some medicine for you.”

Slender fingers applied ointment to Ning Yunqing’s forehead. Although Jiang Chenyue’s expression was indifferent, her movements were extremely gentle. Looking down and seeing her junior sister gazing up at her with such earnest eyes, she felt a surge of joy. In a rare moment of playfulness, she flicked Ning Yunqing’s forehead.

“Ouch! Senior Sister!” Ning Yunqing covered her forehead and let out a mournful cry. Since it was just the two of them, she could perform to her heart’s content to gain sympathy and, eventually, win the beauty’s heart.

“I thought I’d knocked you silly. You were staring at me so intently, you didn’t even blink,” Jiang Chenyue teased. She moved her sister’s hand to check the forehead. Seeing it was fine, she added, “Good, you still know pain. Remember this lesson: if it were anyone else, you must never be so rigid.”

“I will follow Senior Sister’s teachings,” Ning Yunqing replied obediently, while thinking to herself: If it were anyone else, I would have swapped moves and killed them long ago; why would I stand there like an idiot? After a moment, she said, “Senior Sister, after this incident, I’ve realized the vast gap between our skills. I must practice harder. You know I like to be lazy and rely on cleverness; the next time you go into seclusion, could you take me with you?”

“You want me to supervise your training?” Jiang Chenyue glanced at her with a neutral expression, giving an ambiguous answer. “If you truly want to practice hard, why do you need me there?”

“Senior Sister?” So the plan to get closer won’t work? Ning Yunqing felt a bit of regret. She tried to push further, but the Palace Mistress remained silent. Once the ointment was applied, she turned and left.

In the evening, Ning Yunqing went to discuss palace affairs with Jiang Chenyue. Just as they finished, a maid reported that Master Xie had woken up and the smell in the North Pavilion had dissipated. Jiang Chenyue hummed and ordered, “Take the gentleman to bathe and change his clothes.”

Ning Yunqing suppressed a laugh. Maintaining her composure, she used the waiting time to further influence her sister, successfully convincing Jiang Chenyue to take her along to confront Xie Yushu.

“You are awake.”

The chilling voice reached his ears, making Xie Yushu’s heart skip a beat. Seeing two women in white approaching, he was so stunned he lost his words. He thought: The rumors that the two Palace Mistresses of Nether Palace are peerless beauties are not lies.

However, the one speaking has such a cold expression; she lacks the human touch of the one behind her. She will be hard to talk to. Composing himself, he rose and bowed. “Greetings, ladies. Thank you both for saving me. I am eternally grateful.” He wore a shallow smile, one that usually captivated the women of the martial arts world.

Ning Yunqing, as a “fake” woman of the martial arts world, turned her head away. Seeing the faint smile on her sister’s face, her gaze toward Xie Yushu turned two degrees colder. “We haven’t seen you for only a few days; how did Master Xie fall into such a state?”

Is she openly bullying him? It’s clearly because you ignored me and didn’t feed me! Xie Yushu’s lips twitched. Keeping a polite smile, he replied warmly, “It is all my fault for neglecting my martial arts; that is why my body is so weak.”

“So that’s how it is,” Ning Yunqing replied just as warmly. “Master Xie must take more care. The world is chaotic now. If the Jiangnan Xie family frequently loses to common bandits, the martial arts world will laugh at you.”

“…Indeed. Thank you for the reminder, Miss.” Xie Yushu replied, wondering why this “human” girl sounded so strange. She must be worried about me, right?

Hearing the “concern” in her sister’s voice, Jiang Chenyue gave Ning Yunqing a side-long glance, signaled for her to stop, and continued, “I heard you encountered the mountain bandits outside Nether Palace?”

“…Yes,” Xie Yushu replied hesitantly, launching into the story he had prepared. “I saw the scenery nearby was beautiful and decided to wander. I didn’t expect bandits to target me because of my expensive clothes. I was drinking tea at a stall when they surrounded me. They threw a handful of white powder at me, blinding my vision and giving them the upper hand.”

This one is an improvement over the last story, but it’s still full of holes. Ning Yunqing offered a few words of concern and then asked, “According to you, your eyes were injured by the powder. But when I found you, your eyes seemed perfectly fine.”

“This…” Xie Yushu hadn’t prepared for that. He was at a loss for words.

Ning Yunqing looked at her sister and added, “Master Xie, don’t be alarmed. Your eyes were closed at the time; perhaps I saw incorrectly.”

“That must be it,” Xie Yushu laughed awkwardly. The falseness was obvious.

Jiang Chenyue acted as if she noticed nothing and simply said, “Since Master Xie couldn’t see them clearly, then we shall just kill everyone suspicious in the vicinity.”

“…” Xie Yushu was horrified. His own people were among the “suspicious” ones! “Miss…” He wanted to protest, but Jiang Chenyue had already led Ning Yunqing out. “It is late. Rest well, Master Xie.”

As they walked out of the pavilion, Ning Yunqing couldn’t help but speak. “Senior Sister.”

“I know what you want to ask,” Jiang Chenyue said flatly. “Xie Yushu has a problem. But what does that matter? Perhaps he simply heard the rumors and wanted to see us.”

How could there be someone so suicidal? Ning Yunqing was speechless. “Senior Sister…” Before she could start, Jiang Chenyue stopped her again. “I will have people watch him. You need not worry about this. Nether Palace can afford to keep one idle person.”

Is she going to keep him like a pet? Ning Yunqing smiled. “As long as Senior Sister is happy.” Regardless, I won’t let her have her way.

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