Chapter 186: Protagonist 24

Xue Yingying sat across from Gongxi Yue and recounted everything that had happened to her.

She spoke of the plague spreading through Twelfth City, and the Demon General of the Demon Race who had secretly stationed himself in Ninth City.

“There’s more than just the Skin-Painting Demon and the Miasma Demon there. I couldn’t investigate thoroughly,” Xue Yingying said as she handed over a small fish-shaped pendant. “This is Qian’s fish pendant. It was given to me by the person who saved me.”

Gongxi Yue’s face was like frost. She asked, “That Young Master Xiao—do you like him?”

Xue Yingying hadn’t expected her Senior Sister to skip over the Demon Race’s schemes and the mysterious woman who saved her, and instead ask about the Xiao guy she had only briefly mentioned. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she stammered.

Gongxi Yue saw her reaction and immediately knew—she must’ve run into Xiao Shou.

That guy had a System-backed aura that made it easy for women who weren’t on guard to develop feelings for him.

Once they started to like him, the influence would only deepen. They’d become willing to sacrifice for him, their thinking would cloud, and they’d lose the ability to make rational decisions.

As the “feelings” grew, they’d gradually lose their principles and boundaries, doing things that went against their true selves.

Eventually, they’d lose themselves completely.

In the “future” she had seen, every woman Xiao Shou had “conquered” went through this exact transformation.

Thankfully, her junior sister didn’t seem too far gone yet.

“Senior Sister, why are you asking me this? That mysterious woman who helped me also told me not to fall for him. Do you think she might be connected to Young Master Xiao? If so, I’m really ashamed…”

Seeing the dazed, lovestruck look on her junior sister’s face, Gongxi Yue said, “The woman who saved you was likely Wen Xunzhen. As for that Xiao fellow—he and I have a blood feud. He approached you with ill intent. Don’t have any more contact with him.”

“I see…” Xue Yingying tightened her grip on her disciple token.

Her junior disciples had just returned it to her. After she was captured by the Skin-Painting Demon, she had no choice but to give the token to Xiao Shou, hoping he would pass a message to them.

But her juniors told her that the Skin-Painting Demon had used that very token to lure them into a trap.

She couldn’t help but try to find excuses for Xiao Shou in her heart, only to have her Senior Sister tear them apart, leaving her even more ashamed.

Gongxi Yue reached over and picked up the sleeping Qian, stuffing her into her junior sister’s arms.

“From now on, wherever you go, take Qian with you.”

Xue Yingying blinked at the sudden weight in her arms. “Huh?”

“Ah, is it because you’re handling Demon Race matters and you’re worried Qian might be in danger, so you want me to watch over her? Don’t worry, Senior Sister, I’ll take good care of her,” Xue Yingying said, coming up with a reasonable explanation on her own.

Gongxi Yue thought to herself: I only have one daughter, but the number of infected women is growing. I just hope Xiao Shou’s other targets don’t show up all at once—otherwise, even one daughter won’t be enough to go around.

A shadow flickered outside the open door. Gongxi Yue caught a glimpse of silver hair slipping past.

Gongxi Yue: “…”

I was just thinking how it’d be best if you didn’t show up—and here you are. Are you doing this just to spite me?

“Mu Yiling, since you’re here, come in. It’s just my junior sister inside, no one else.”

As soon as Gongxi Yue spoke, Mu Yiling peeked her face in through the door.

“Gongxi, I heard from your junior disciples that you were injured. How are you?” Mu Yiling asked.

Gongxi Yue said, “Come in.”

Having spent years secluded in Snowfall Palace, obsessed with cultivation and out of touch with the world, Mu Yiling was a bit disconnected from reality.

Qian, who had been dozing off in Xue Yingying’s arms, perked up the moment she saw Mu Yiling. She wriggled free and ran toward her.

“Godmother! I want to ride the fuzzy tiger!”

“Tiger! Tiger!”

Mu Yiling deftly gathered the silk sash of her dress to keep her daughter from yanking it off, then casually summoned the white tiger Spirit Beast from her Spirit Beast Bag to entertain the noisy child.

The white tiger let out a disgruntled roar. It had hidden itself in the Spirit Beast Bag ahead of time, but still couldn’t escape being dragged out by the little one to be used as a mount.

Xue Yingying went off with Qian to play with the tiger, making room for Mu Yiling to sit.

Gongxi Yue remained relaxed and familiar in her demeanor, not even changing her meditative posture on the bed as she continued her breath regulation.

“Why aren’t you staying in Snowfall Palace? What brings you here?”

“Two disciples from Snowfall Palace went missing while training in Twelfth City. Master and the others didn’t have time to investigate, so they sent me.”

“I came and found out you were here too, so I dropped by. I didn’t expect you to be injured.”

Hearing Mu Yiling sigh, Gongxi Yue said expressionlessly, “Isn’t it normal for me to get injured?”

Mu Yiling replied, “No. If you’re injured, that means I can’t ask you to help me find those two missing disciples.”

Gongxi Yue: “So that’s what this is about—you want me to do your work.”

Mu Yiling: “Haven’t I helped you look after Qian enough times already?”

Gongxi Yue fell silent.

Mu Yiling sighed. “Hurry up and get better. I really can’t find those two disciples on my own.”

She pulled out a pile of medicinal items and stacked them beside her friend. “See if any of these are useful. Take them all.”

They were all high-quality items, specialties from Dannan Snow Mountain. Gongxi Yue didn’t stand on ceremony—she swept them all into her storage, whether she needed them or not.

“I’ll need at least another day of meditation before I can move. Stay here for now. We’ll act together tonight,” Gongxi Yue instructed. “That Xiao Shou showed up again—he nearly tricked my foolish junior sister. You need to be careful too.”

The aforementioned foolish junior sister looked like she wanted to say something, but ended up sulking as she turned to pet the fluffy tiger and the chubby little Qian.

“Which Xiao Shou?” Mu Yiling thought for a moment before recalling. “Oh, the one who told me stories. You still haven’t killed him yet?”

Gongxi Yue closed her eyes in frustration and focused on her meditation. If she could’ve killed him, she would’ve done it long ago.

As dusk fell, a woman with her hair tied in a high bun and dressed in a deep black gown strode into the Yunyin Immortal Sect’s outpost in Twelfth City.

Several disciples were gossiping about the mysterious Saintess Mu Yiling from Snowfall Palace, a close friend of Venerable Master Bo, when suddenly a fierce-looking cultivator stormed in. They hurried over to ask her identity.

The woman swept her gaze over them, her sour expression growing even more sour. “So it’s just you sorry lot left?”

The disciples exchanged awkward glances.

“Instead of healing your injuries, you’re standing around chatting? How are you supposed to help me get revenge later?”

She carried the sect’s command token, so she was clearly a senior, but none of them knew who she was. After being scolded for no apparent reason, they could only watch as she headed upstairs.

“Who was that? She looked like she wanted to eat someone alive.”

Xue Yingying, carrying Qian’s rations, ran into her in the corridor and cried out in surprise, “Master? You’re out of seclusion!”

The woman gave her a glance, her sour face softening just a bit. “I just came out and already hear you’ve gone missing. Impressive.”

Xue Yingying shut her mouth and followed her master into Senior Sister’s room.

When Gongxi Yue saw the master and disciple walk in one after the other, she raised a hand to her forehead, nearly frowning her beautiful brows into a knot.

“Why is Martial Aunt here too?” Gongxi Yue did her best to keep calm.

Martial Aunt Lang Qingyue, known as the Qixiu Matron of Qixiu Mountain, like her disciple Xue Yingying, was also one of the future targets of Xiao Shou’s affections.

Among her master’s generation of senior disciples, Martial Aunt Qingyue wasn’t the most powerful, but she definitely had the worst temper. Her face was perpetually sour, she rarely spoke to anyone, and never had a kind word for anyone.

She and her disciple Xue Yingying were polar opposites.

Years ago, her beloved Dao Companion died unexpectedly, and since then, Martial Aunt Qingyue had rarely left the mountain, spending most of her time in closed-door cultivation.

Gongxi Yue had been taught by her when she was young and respected her deeply—otherwise, she wouldn’t have tolerated her two nephews.

Lang Qingyue sat down in a chair, set her sword aside, and crossed her arms. “You really do get more troublesome with age.”

“I just came out of seclusion and already ran into people from Medical Valley storming into our sect, demanding answers. They say you took their Valley Master’s daughter, Wen Xunzhen, from Le’er City and refused to return her.”

Gongxi Yue replied, “She’s a living person, not an object. There’s no such thing as ‘returning’ her.”

Lang Qingyue let out a mocking laugh, her tone dripping with sarcasm, though it wasn’t clear who it was aimed at. “Your master drove them off, but Medical Valley’s people made it clear—no more healing for Yunyin Immortal Sect disciples.”

Xue Yingying chimed in, “Don’t most of our injured disciples go to Qixiu Mountain anyway? Who even goes to Medical Valley? What are they bluffing about?”

Gongxi Yue said, “Wen Bailian’s daughter, Wen Xunzhen, is unlucky, but she’s a skilled healer. If there’s a chance, Martial Aunt, you could bring her to Qixiu Mountain. With her around, we won’t need to rely on Medical Valley.”

Xue Yingying nodded in agreement. “I’ve only met her once, but I thought she was great. If she could be my junior sister, that’d be perfect!”

Lang Qingyue said, “Since you both praise her so much, she must be decent. So where is she?”

“…”

Gongxi Yue: “She ran away.”

Lang Qingyue: “…”

Gongxi Yue: “Next time I see her, I’ll just drag her back.”

That girl wasn’t thinking clearly anyway. No point trying to reason with her—it was better to act first.

Lang Qingyue snapped, “You’re a proper Sword Sovereign, not some bandit or kidnapper!”

When her martial aunt started scolding, Gongxi Yue simply closed her eyes and pretended not to hear.

After venting her anger, Lang Qingyue asked about the current situation.

Gongxi Yue explained their plan to raid the Skin-Painting Demon’s lair in Ninth City that night.

Lang Qingyue scoffed, “Yingying already ran off, and you’re still planning to go fight tonight? For all you know, the demons have already cleared out. You’ll be lucky to burn down an empty house.”

She called her martial niece a bandit, but she herself radiated bandit energy.

Gongxi Yue said, “My spiritual energy still isn’t flowing properly—I haven’t fully recovered. The earliest I can go is tonight.”

Lang Qingyue replied, “Then don’t go. The place is full of the injured anyway. Since I’m here, I’ll go instead.”

Gongxi Yue said, “Martial Aunt, it’s better if we go together.”

Lang Qingyue narrowed her eyes. “What, you don’t trust me?”

Gongxi Yue: Honestly, not really.

After what happened with Yingying, Gongxi Yue had come to realize that this damned world had a momentum of its own. No matter what she did, the people meant to meet would still end up meeting.

In the future she’d seen, Martial Aunt Qingyue was seduced by Xiao Shou because he’d somehow obtained a fragment of her deceased Dao Companion’s soul and used the identity of her Dao Companion’s reincarnation to deceive her.

But the details—where Xiao Shou found the soul fragment, how he obtained it, how he merged with it—Gongxi Yue didn’t know.

She was afraid that if her martial aunt went alone, it’d be like throwing a meat bun at a dog—gone for good.

“Martial Aunt, I’ve heard that in the Demon Realm, some can fake the divine soul of the deceased to deceive cultivators who’ve lost their Dao Companions. You wouldn’t fall for some ‘reincarnated Dao Companion’ nonsense, would you?”

After what happened with Yingying, Gongxi Yue had learned her lesson. Some warnings were better given than withheld.

Lang Qingyue’s expression grew darker. “Are you hinting at something?”

She let out a sharp laugh, then picked up a teacup from the table and flung it at Gongxi Yue.

Gongxi Yue instinctively dodged, tilting her head to the side. But just as she moved, something clicked in her mind, and her body froze.

“Ow!”

The lump under the blanket behind her got hit by the cup, squirmed a little, and a small child’s head popped out.

The child looked around the room in confusion, rubbing her slightly reddened forehead.

Lang Qingyue was startled. She hadn’t expected there to be a child sleeping behind Gongxi Yue. “What the hell? Why is there a kid here?”

She’d been in closed-door cultivation for years, and had only just come out when she heard her disciple had gone missing and rushed over. No one had mentioned Gongxi Yue having a daughter.

So when she found out the child was Gongxi Yue’s, she looked at that little face—so much like Gongxi Yue’s—with an expression like she’d just seen a ghost.