After the Villainess Awakens

Leng Mushi was still delirious. She couldn't give Xiao Mian a proper answer and just kept struggling against him, as if she had endless energy.

Twice, Xiao Mian felt her quiet down and tried to let go, attempting to talk to her and bring her back to her senses. He was rewarded with two bites that nearly drew blood.

Strangely, not only did Xuan Zhu not return to the Cang Sheng courtyard, but the Second Elder, who should have been busy refining medicine, was also nowhere to be found. Xiao Mian had no choice but to hold Leng Mushi tightly and lie on the bed.

The person in his arms was restless. Xiao Mian's arms were sore and numb. He was also afraid of hurting Leng Mushi. After all, with his build, if he pressed on her for too long, Leng Mushi's injuries would be aggravated once she regained consciousness and the effects of the medicine wore off.

Therefore, Xiao Mian had no choice but to turn over while holding Leng Mushi, letting her lie on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder.

This way, she wouldn't be crushed. Xiao Mian wasn't afraid of the weight. He was certain that Leng Mushi must have taken some kind of pill that caused this. While waiting for the effects to wear off and for someone from Cang Sheng courtyard to return, Xiao Mian, with nothing else to do, started to circulate his spiritual power and cultivate.

The spiritual power in Cang Sheng courtyard was even purer than in Tian Xu courtyard where he lived. Xiao Mian used his spiritual power to repeatedly wash and refine his meridians, bit by bit, inch by inch.

Time flew by. It was still morning when he arrived, but when he opened his eyes again, it was already dark outside.

The people from Cang Sheng courtyard still hadn't returned, and Leng Mushi, who had been in his arms, seemed to have fallen asleep.

He tried to turn and put her down. Leng Mushi didn't lash out and bite him. Xiao Mian lay on the bed and let out a sigh of relief.

He should get up and leave, but he couldn't help but grab Leng Mushi's wrist, sending his spiritual power into her body to check on her condition.

It was very stable. The two strange, colliding, and chasing forces had all subsided, and her meridians didn't seem to be damaged.

Xiao Mian slowly exhaled, placing her wrist on her waist. Leng Mushi lay flat on her side next to him. The ever-burning lamp in the room was dim. Xiao Mian raised his hand and infused it with a bit more spiritual power, then looked at Leng Mushi.

She looked exhausted, her lips pale. Xiao Mian pulled the blanket over her, stopping when he reached her neck, his fingers lingering on the purple-red mark.

He had noticed it when he entered the room during the day. At that time, he was furious, thinking that she had been bullied. But it wasn't until now that he had the opportunity to carefully examine the mark.

It looked like a bite, the purple color indicating poison.

What could have bitten her in this room?

Xiao Mian looked towards the eaves outside the window. There were demon spiders hanging there. It must have been them.

So, before leaving, Xiao Mian set up another layer of barrier around Leng Mushi, specifically to block the demon spiders.

The Second Elder, disguised as Xuan Zhu, didn't return until late at night. When he came back and was about to get into bed, he noticed the barrier around Leng Mushi and let out a chuckle.

He didn't even bother to change back to his original form. He directly broke the barrier and lay down to sleep next to Leng Mushi.

Early the next morning, Leng Mushi opened her eyes and saw Xuan Zhu's face. She calmly propped herself up on her arms. As Xiao Mian had expected, after the effects of the medicine wore off, the pain from yesterday's impact and sprain all came back to her body.

Leng Mushi hissed as she lifted her clothes and pants to examine her bruises. She glanced at her master. This time, he didn't grab her hair and pull her up to find healing medicine for himself.

Leng Mushi clearly remembered that yesterday, after she took the pill and went crazy, her master tied her up, causing her to be bitten by a vengeful demon spider.

However, she thought, at least the old man still had a shred of conscience. After she lost consciousness, he didn't just go to sleep and ignore her like he did the previous few times. Instead, he brought her to bed and let her sleep well.

Looking at Hua Yanyue in Xuan Zhu's form, Leng Mushi sighed softly, thinking that maybe her master wasn't completely heartless…

"What are you looking at me for? Go and record your reaction to the medicine. I went out later yesterday, so it was Xiao Mian who witnessed your reaction after taking the pill." Hua Yanyue had changed back to his original form while getting up. He yawned and looked at Leng Mushi. "What, did you think I was the one who carried you up?"

Leng Mushi wanted to attack her master again.

But after Hua Yanyue handed her the recovery pill, she barely managed to hold back. She had agreed to meet Xiao Mian by the cliff today. Why did he come to her yesterday?

She hoped she didn't do anything outrageous, after all, she had no memory of yesterday…

Leng Mushi picked up the Law Stone she had placed on a high spot to record her reactions after taking the medicine. Then, using the little spiritual power she had, she infused it into the stone and activated a self-taught retrospective formation to review the recording of her reaction after taking the medicine yesterday.

After that, Leng Mushi felt a chill down her spine.

The recording floated above the Law Stone, playing in mid-air. Leng Mushi watched as she jumped up and down in the image, biting Xiao Mian without any regard for her image. Xiao Mian was chased by her all over the room. The corner of her mouth twitched, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

The funny part was that Xiao Mian looked so pitiful.

The sad part was that he definitely wouldn't meet her today and wouldn't keep his promise to help her test the medicine.

After all, three days ago, she had boasted to Xiao Mian, in order to trick him, that the pill would only cause various strange reactions for a short period of time and would not affect her mind or behavior. Yet, when Xiao Mian came to find her, she had acted like a monkey with a vicious dog's head.

"Master, you should have stopped him! I finally managed to trick him into agreeing to test the medicine for me. Don't you also want to know what effect these pills would have on someone who's not a good-for-nothing like me?" Leng Mushi said to Hua Yanyue with a cold face, her tone full of complaint.

The relationship between them was very different from that of other masters and disciples in the sect. From the first time Leng Mushi couldn't bear the torment brought by the medicine and pulled Hua Yanyue's hair, the master-disciple facade between them had completely shattered.

Now, although she still called him Master, they were more like partners.

She promised to help Hua Yanyue test the medicine and take care of the demonic beasts while he was away from the sect.

In return, Hua Yanyue promised Leng Mushi that if she couldn't learn alchemy in the end, he would give her a bunch of advanced pills after he found what he was looking for and returned to the sect, and then stuff her into another Elder's courtyard to become an inner disciple.

Switching masters midway was very difficult for others. Xiao Mian and Leng Tianyin had been begging Tian Xuzi for so long, but he hadn't budged. No one would offend Hua Yanyue for a disciple with poor aptitude.

However, if Hua Yanyue himself didn't want a disciple anymore, then no matter who he gave her to, even if Leng Mushi wanted to go to the sect leader Zheng Ping's side, Hua Yanyue could make it happen. So, again, no one would offend Hua Yanyue for a disciple with poor aptitude.

Therefore, after the master and disciple duo reached a friendly agreement, their relationship became more relaxed and unrestrained. Leng Mushi only remained respectful in words. When it was time to fight, even if she couldn't win, she would still fight. Hua Yanyue basically didn't refine pills or use spiritual power on a daily basis. Most of the time when the master and disciple had disagreements, it was hand-to-hand combat.

Thus, hearing Leng Mushi's complaint, Hua Yanyue lightly turned over and got out of bed, bypassing her and walking towards the cellar. He said, "I couldn't stop him. Your lover came to you in a hurry, afraid that I would eat you. I transformed into Xuan Zhu at that time and told him to leave, but he seemed to see me as a rival in love…"

Speaking of this, Hua Yanyue stopped by the cellar and turned to wink at Leng Mushi, the corner of his mouth hooked up in a wicked smile. "I wasn't here yesterday, and he didn't touch you? Didn't even kiss you? Your clothes are messy. This kid has so much self-control? Or is he just timid? Tsk tsk tsk…"

Leng Mushi watched him go down to the cellar, speechless, thinking, you know nothing. Xiao Mian is the male lead, and the male lead must be a righteous gentleman. Even if her clothes were messy yesterday, even if she wasn't wearing any clothes, he would still be a saint. After all, the male lead can only have physical contact with the female lead.

She had long forgotten about the time she had blown air into Xiao Mian's belly with her mouth.

After finishing all the food in the food box that Xiao Mian brought yesterday, Leng Mushi wiped her mouth and entered the underground pill storage. From a large water tank that took two people to encircle, she casually scooped out a handful of top-grade healing pills and ate several as if they were candy.

"Don't eat yourself to death," Hua Yanyue said, without turning his head, busy working on the pill furnace. "How many times have I told you, the effects of that medicine don't stack. It's useless to eat too many."

Leng Mushi turned and threw a pill at the back of Hua Yanyue's head. Hua Yanyue caught it with his backhand, put it in his mouth, and chewed. He nodded. "It tastes good, kind of like candy. The taste of the Ephemeral Flower is so sweet… It's hard to imagine that it grows on white bones, its name is flower, but it's actually a bone spur transformed from maggots."

Leng Mushi was already used to Hua Yanyue's wickedness. He was either torturing people or disgusting them. If someone else slapped you, they would give you a sweet date. If he slapped you, he would follow it up with another punch. No wonder he had no disciples.

However, Leng Mushi still silently remembered what Hua Yanyue said. Even if she couldn't walk the path of alchemy in the end, she was still frantically absorbing everything Hua Yanyue allowed her to come into contact with.

She had even memorized thousands of medicinal herbs used in alchemy and their individual uses these days. Hua Yanyue would often blurt out things like that, and although he never formally taught her, Leng Mushi had a vague feeling that he was teaching her.

A master could lead the way, but cultivation depended on the individual. Her spiritual roots were bad, her spiritual power was weak, and if she rashly tried to refine pills, she would definitely be blown up. But she had already memorized hundreds of prescriptions and was constantly developing new medicines with Hua Yanyue.

Even if her talent and spiritual roots were not good, she would try her best.

Leng Mushi didn't notice Hua Yanyue secretly observing her. Hua Yanyue saw Leng Mushi's lips moving slightly, repeating what he said about the Ephemeral Flower. He curled his lips in satisfaction and continued to put the medicinal herbs into the pill furnace.

"Today's medicine, should we try the Red Snake Blood? Your lover injured the Red Snake yesterday," Hua Yanyue said. "Ask your lover to come back earlier. If you can persuade him to test the pills refined from this Red Snake Blood, I can give you a handful of pills that can cleanse spiritual roots. It will be a bit painful, but maybe your waste spiritual roots can still be saved…"

Leng Mushi's movements paused. She was extremely tempted, but right now, she had to go see Xiao Mian and appease him.

She took another handful of healing pills, crushed them into powder, mixed them with water to make a paste, and then nervously put the medicine bottle in her pocket. She climbed out of the pill storage, ready to see Xiao Mian.

The journey went surprisingly smoothly today because the injured Red Snake didn't ambush her.

Leng Mushi left Cang Sheng courtyard and went straight to the cliff. However, she waited there for a long time, but Xiao Mian didn't show up.

"It's over, he must have changed his mind." Leng Mushi put the Law Stone in the grass, released the Pink Lotus, and lay down on the ground with a blade of grass in her mouth, her arm blocking the sunlight. She muttered anxiously, "What should I do…" Did she have to go to Leng Tianyin and find a way through her?

"I don't think he will break his promise. Maybe something came up. He was bitten like that… yet he didn't let go or tie you up. It's not easy to find someone so silly."

Leng Mushi laughed upon hearing this. The Law Stone's voice came faintly, "You'd better hide well. When Xiao Mian finds you, he will definitely chop you in half."

Leng Mushi waited for the Pink Lotus to retort. She liked to make the Law Stone and the Pink Lotus fight. She enjoyed the show. The Law Stone was very indifferent at first, and Leng Mushi once thought that it wasn't a human soul. But after spending a long time with her, it became more talkative and emotional.

Leng Mushi now felt that it might also be a sealed human soul.

However, Leng Mushi didn't wait for the Pink Lotus to reply before the sunlight above her head was blocked by a shadow.

Feeling the light dim, Leng Mushi opened her eyes to see Xiao Mian standing upright beside her, looking down at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you okay?"

The two spoke at the same time. Leng Mushi smiled with narrowed eyes, sat up, took the blade of grass out of her mouth and threw it away. She asked tentatively, "Xiao Gege, I'm sorry, I wasn't in my right mind yesterday… How could I do that to you? I tried to remember, but my memory is very jumbled. But I feel like I can't breathe thinking about how I hurt you…"

Xiao Mian's expression didn't change, but the fingers hanging by his side curled up slightly.

Leng Mushi apologized profusely, saying all the right things. Finally, Xiao Mian sat down next to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, she had coaxed him back.

"Xiao Gege, are you really okay?" Leng Mushi moved closer to Xiao Mian and asked again, her eyes subtly glancing at his chest.

"About yesterday… how much do you remember?" Xiao Mian was a little embarrassed and turned slightly to avoid her gaze.

Leng Mushi took out the small medicine bottle and said to Xiao Mian, "Not much, it's all fragmented. But I remember biting you."

Leng Mushi said, "Xiao Gege, this is the wound medicine I asked for from Master this morning. It's very effective. Let me apply it for you."

Xiao Mian had indeed suffered quite a bit. His morning lessons were painful, and he was too ashamed to go to the Fang Cao Hall for treatment. His spiritual power could only alleviate the pain, after all, he was not a true expert, and he was still mortal.

But the injury was in such a shameful place that he couldn't tell anyone, so he could only endure it himself.

He was originally a little annoyed because of the pain and the embarrassing location of the bite, but after Leng Mushi had spoken so many soft words, he wasn't angry at all.

"Forget it, give it to me, I'll apply it myself." Xiao Mian said, "I didn't mean to be late this morning. It's just that the sect is planning a preliminary test for the entry disciples in three months to test what they have learned in these months and their Dao Heart, so I…"

Leng Mushi's heart sank. She thought Xiao Mian was going to say that he wouldn't have time to see her in the future and would use this very legitimate reason to break his promise to test the medicine for her.

However, she heard Xiao Mian hesitate slightly and say, "It will be difficult for me to find time during the day, so why don't we meet at night? If you're afraid…"

"I'm not afraid!" Leng Mushi hugged Xiao Mian's arm as if she was hugging a sturdy tree.

"I'm not afraid of anything, I'm just afraid that Xiao Gege won't see me." Leng Mushi rubbed her cheek against his arm affectionately. "Xiao Gege, I'll be waiting for you by this cliff every three days at night."

The midday sun was a bit strong, and Xiao Mian felt inexplicably hot. He struggled slightly, avoiding her face, and then said reservedly, "Okay."

Leng Mushi's happy face bloomed like a flower. This flower faced Xiao Mian, emitting a faint "poisonous gas" that made him dizzy and confused. He was coaxed into taking the pill Leng Mushi brought.

Then, when the effects of the medicine kicked in, he pulled out all the grass on the cliff.

The Law Stone diligently recorded the inhumane drug trial. After Xiao Mian fainted, Leng Mushi stripped him of his clothes and applied medicine to the swollen wounds on his chest caused by friction. The Pink Lotus came out and made "tsk tsk" sounds from the side.

"It's so swollen, it's almost as big as me."

It was indeed a bit unbearable to look at. Judging from the teeth marks, they wouldn't go away without special treatment.

This wouldn't do. She had to think of a way, otherwise it wouldn't be easy to explain to Xiao Mian and Leng Tianyin in the future.

"You were so cold just now," the Pink Lotus transformed into a small butterfly, flying around Leng Mushi. "As if you've never been in love…"

Leng Mushi slapped it away and muttered, "I was never in love."

She applied medicine to all the bite marks on Xiao Mian's chest, back, shoulders, and neck, and fed him a healing pill. Only then did she sit down on the grass and wait for him to wake up.

The sun gradually slanted westward, and she became drowsy. When Xiao Mian woke up, he first saw Leng Mushi curled up in a ball, her head buried in his arm, seemingly asleep.

He felt a chill on his chest. He looked down and his mind went blank. His clothes were open, exposing his chest!

He quickly sat up in a panic and covered himself, looking at Leng Mushi with the same expression as a young girl married to an old man on their wedding night, wondering if she should stab him to death with a hairpin.

As if sensing something, Leng Mushi sat up in a daze, rubbing her eyes. Her voice was lazy from just waking up. She asked, "Xiao Gege, are your injuries better?"

Xiao Mian frowned and quickly adjusted his clothes.

Then he deliberately moved sideways to feel it. Indeed… it was much better.

But he was so embarrassed that he didn't know how to face Leng Mushi. Seeing her dazed look, he stood up first and ran away before she was fully awake.

Leng Mushi had achieved her goal. She picked up the Law Stone that had recorded Xiao Mian's reaction after taking the medicine and put it in her pocket. She went to the Wu Gu Hall for dinner, planning to go back after eating.

Then she bumped into Leng Tianyin in the Wu Gu Hall. It was truly the ubiquitous female lead and the plot.

Leng Tianyin was obviously doing well in the inner sect, just like the plot described. She was surrounded by a group of young female disciples, and even Zhu Rong was among them.

That was her love rival, silly girl.

Leng Mushi's desire to follow the plot was getting lower and lower. Honestly, the burning pain of her soul wasn't unbearable. And she felt strangely refreshed after each burning pain, like the relief after finally going to the bathroom after many days.

She couldn't explain it, but compared to taking Hua Yanyue's strange pills, it was nothing.

Therefore, she didn't intend to pay attention to Leng Tianyin's clingy gaze that seemed to want to get close to her.

She just focused on eating.

However, if Leng Tianyin had any sense, she wouldn't still be delusional about having a sisterly relationship with her.

After taking a bite of her food, Leng Mushi looked up again to find four or five young girls surrounding the table.

"Are you Tianyin's elder sister? I heard you're under the Second Elder. Are the things he teaches difficult?"

A young female cultivator with almond-shaped eyes, who looked to be only about thirteen or fourteen years old, asked curiously.

"Elder Sister, how have you been?" Leng Tianyin asked.

Leng Mushi didn't say anything. She glanced at them and continued eating.

"Why aren't you talking? We're all curious about what you've learned from the Second Elder." Zhu Rong said, "Nian Ci, tell us."

She felt that she had a bond with Leng Mushi because of the box of Fiery Cloud Beast meat, but she didn't know that her dried meat had made Leng Mushi too embarrassed to face Yi Tu Xingzhou until now.

With so many pairs of eyes staring at her, Leng Mushi couldn't eat anymore. So she looked up and started trying to scare them.

She casually talked about the demon spiders and the Bone Crusher Lizards, which scared them all pale. They hadn't officially gone out to train yet. Only Zhu Rong's face remained normal. She glanced at the others with disdain and continued to ask questions with great interest.

The girls chattered non-stop, and their excessive curiosity made Leng Mushi uncomfortable. She barely ate anything before she found a chance to slip away.

Leng Tianyin chased after her, calling "Elder Sister." To Leng Mushi, it was scarier than the Red Snake chasing her with its mouth wide open.

Leng Mushi ran back to Cang Sheng courtyard as if she was being chased by a dog. As soon as she entered the door, she heard a loud "bang" from inside the house.

Hua Yanyue was activating the furnace.

The demon spiders on the small house were shaken and fled in all directions. Hua Yanyue's creepy laughter, "Jie jie jie jie," rang out as the medicine was completed - Leng Mushi stood at the door, unsure whether it was better to go out and have a sisterly chat with Leng Tianyin, or go in and try the new medicine that was bound to keep her up all night.

After thinking for less than two breaths, she decided to go and discuss sisterly love with Leng Tianyin -

But before she could take a step out the door, Hua Yanyue's whip wrapped around her waist and dragged her back into the house.

"Bang!" The door slammed shut.

Another wonderful night began.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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