After the Villainess Awakens

When Leng Mushi finally entered the gate of the Cangsheng Courtyard, Xiao Mian let out a sigh of relief. It was more exhausting than finishing a life-and-death battle. He completely cleared his face of any expression, turned and walked up the stone steps, ready to return to his own courtyard.

At this time, Leng Mushi poked her head out from behind the grand formation of the Cangsheng Courtyard and called out sweetly, "Xiao Gege."

Xiao Mian stopped and looked back, the coldness on his face unknowingly melted away by the setting sun. He asked warmly, "What is it?"

"Don't forget!" Leng Mushi said with anticipation all over her face, "See you by the cliff in three days!"

Xiao Mian nodded, "I remember, don't worry. Be careful."

He now knew about the creatures kept in the Second Elder's courtyard. Leng Mushi's exaggerated descriptions made the Elder's courtyard sound like a den of monsters, and he was genuinely worried that Leng Mushi would be swallowed by the Crimson Snake.

Leng Mushi ducked back into the formation, and Xiao Mian returned to his own courtyard.

That night, after Xiao Mian cleared the impurities from his body, he broke through.

His gratitude towards Leng Mushi deepened in his heart. This grade of medicinal pill was priceless, and Xiao Mian would never have taken it if he had known its true value. He had assumed it was just an ordinary tonic.

For two consecutive days, Xiao Mian focused on clearing the blockages in his body. The only thing that came to mind during his meditation was Leng Mushi. He wondered if she would be punished by the Second Elder for stealing such a precious pill.

Although she had told him not to worry and that the Second Elder wouldn't remember how many pills she had, Xiao Mian still couldn't settle his mind.

So, after only two days, Xiao Mian couldn't help but go to the dining hall, prepare some food, and head to the Cangsheng Courtyard to see Leng Mushi.

Leng Tianyin didn't have much spiritual power, so she could only cry outside the formation when she visited before. Hua Yanyue knew about it but ignored her.

Now that Xiao Mian was here, he used his spiritual power to hit the barrier while speaking impeccably respectful words, like knocking on a door. She couldn't ignore it and found it extremely annoying.

Xiao Mian was prepared to be punished alongside Leng Mushi. After all, Leng Mushi had stolen the pill for him. In fact, Xiao Mian had wanted to confess and apologize two days ago when he learned of the pill's effects, but Leng Mushi persuaded him not to.

In the past two days, as he cleared the blockages in his meridians, he felt even more strongly that the pill was too precious. He thought that Leng Mushi might be trying to bear the punishment alone because of her deep affection for him, so he couldn't wait for the three-day appointment and came early.

He bombarded the barrier outside for a long time. When the barrier finally opened, it was Xuan Zhu, with an unhappy and irritated expression, who stood in the courtyard.

"What are you doing?" Xuan Zhu asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly, his face full of mischief.

"Senior Brother Xuan Zhu," Xiao Mian bowed slightly, "I'm here to see Leng Mushi."

"My Shimei is busy and doesn't have time to see you," Xuan Zhu blocked the entrance of the Cangsheng Courtyard, not intending to let Xiao Mian in.

Leng Mushi was indeed busy. She had taken the newly refined pill and was in the middle of a powerful reaction.

Xiao Mian frowned slightly upon hearing this and said, "Please excuse me, Senior Brother Xuan Zhu, I just came to bring her some food. It's been two days since she went down the mountain, and her younger sister is very worried about her."

At the mention of Leng Mushi's younger sister, Xuan Zhu thought of her daily wailing and crying outside the barrier, and his expression turned sour.

He looked at Xiao Mian and reached out to take the food box. "Just give it to me, and I'll pass it on to my Shimei."

Xuan Zhu grabbed the food box, but Xiao Mian didn't let go. He looked at Xuan Zhu with a serious expression and said in a low voice, "No need to trouble Senior Brother Xuan Zhu, I can wait inside."

"Do you think this Cangsheng Courtyard is a place where you can come and go as you please?" Xuan Zhu snorted.

Xiao Mian didn't know that Xuan Zhu was the Second Elder himself, nor did Leng Mushi mention this Senior Brother Xuan Zhu when she talked about her experiences in the Cangsheng Courtyard. But Xiao Mian believed everything she said, and the more he looked at Xuan Zhu's current attitude, the more he felt something was wrong.

It was unheard of for an elder to interfere with the disciples of different elders interacting with each other. After all, while fighting would be punished, befriending each other was only beneficial. As fellow disciples of the Tai Chu Sect, they would have to go out on missions together in the future, so the sect encouraged disciples to befriend each other.

But this Xuan Zhu stood at the entrance of the Cangsheng Courtyard and refused to let him in. Xiao Mian felt more and more that Leng Mushi might have been punished, and his heart grew even more anxious. His attitude naturally became a bit tougher.

"What does Senior Brother Xuan Zhu mean by this? Could it be that you want to restrict me from seeing Leng Mushi?" Xiao Mian brought up his own master, "Master has always encouraged me to interact more within the sect. Moreover, Leng Mushi and I have known each other for a long time, and she saved my life. I believe the Second Elder wouldn't be so unreasonable."

Xuan Zhu raised an eyebrow. He was the Second Elder himself. Seeing Xiao Mian so insistent on coming in and seeing Leng Mushi, he remembered the day when the prospective disciples visited the disciples' courtyard. He had trapped Leng Mushi within the barrier, and it was this kid who anxiously took the Fifth Senior Brother's jade pendant to open his barrier, with a heroic look of wanting to save a damsel in distress…

Could he really be his little disciple's admirer?

Xuan Zhu looked at Xiao Mian with an unreadable expression, scrutinizing him from head to toe. He then opened the barrier and let him in.

Xiao Mian carried the food box and stepped into the courtyard. As he passed by Xuan Zhu, Xuan Zhu suddenly said with a hint of schadenfreude, "She's in the house, and she can't come out right now. If you want to see her, go find her yourself. But I advise you, don't untie the rope."

Xiao Mian looked at Xuan Zhu, but Xuan Zhu just smiled at him, dangling the Elder's jade pendant in his hand, and stepped out of the barrier. He walked slowly down the mountain.

The courtyard looked desolate and quiet, but Xiao Mian didn't let his guard down. He switched the food box to his left hand and slowly drew the sword from his waist with his right hand.

He had heard Leng Mushi's words about the difficult demonic beasts in the courtyard, so he was prepared for battle.

Sure enough, the moment he walked towards the house with the food box, as if triggering some kind of restriction, a group of demonic beasts covered in poisonous pus sacs rushed out from the bushes on the side, their cries piercingly loud.

Xiao Mian frowned, raised his sword, circulated his spiritual power, and met them head-on--

It took him some time to reach the door of the small house. As he stood at the door, catching his breath, he flicked his sword, shaking off a drop of blood. It was the blood of the Crimson Snake, the creature Leng Mushi had mentioned most often, which he had just injured in the courtyard.

These creatures were actually suppressed by the barrier in the courtyard, their demonic power insufficient. However, for an ordinary person who had not cultivated any cultivation techniques, they were indeed a threat at every step, and the slightest carelessness could lead to death.

Every word Leng Mushi said to him was true. Standing in front of the small courtyard door, Xiao Mian could still feel the ferocious beasts he had just taught a lesson to restlessly trying to attack him from behind.

Such a place, no wonder he rarely saw Leng Mushi in the Five Grains Hall since entering the sect. Every time she went out, she ate like a starving ghost. For her, wasn't this trip from the small house to the door like walking through the gates of hell?

Xiao Mian couldn't help but feel that sour feeling in his heart again, a feeling of pity. He secretly decided to visit her more often. With that thought in mind, he kept his guard up against the creatures behind him and knocked on the door three times with the hilt of his sword. "Thump, thump, thump."

He didn't know that one person's concern for another began with a strange and inexplicable attention, like a seed planted in the heart. During this period, all the emotions of curiosity, pity, joy, and even anger would make this seed quietly sprout and grow into a towering tree that could not be shaken.

And now, he had begun to confuse the grace of saving his life with the stirrings of his heart.

"Thump, thump, thump," he knocked again.

There was no answer from inside, only strange crashing sounds.

Xiao Mian looked up at the roof of the small house and met the gaze of a demonic spider. He tilted his head, dodging the spider silk shot at him, and then pressed his hand against the door, feeling the double barrier on it.

He put away his sword.

This double barrier, with its added invisibility and suppression runes, was exquisite and unparalleled. Let alone the ordinary demonic beasts in this courtyard, even a real great demon wouldn't dare to touch the restrictions on this barrier, or else they would be backfired by their own demonic power and be reduced to ashes.

As for the demonic spider on the beam, it had very little demonic energy and could be easily killed by ordinary people or mortals, which was why it could wander freely on this barrier without being backfired.

This must be the work of the Second Elder, Xiao Mian couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the strong.

It was rumored that the Second Elder was a genius in alchemy, but few knew that she was actually a genius in the Tai Chu Sect, in every sense of the word. It was just that she chose the most difficult path of alchemy.

This was good. At least Leng Mushi was safe inside this small house.

Xiao Mian put away his sword and knocked on the door again. There was still no answer, and he heard the crashing sound inside again, getting louder and more urgent.

"Disciple Xiao Mian, under the tutelage of Celestial Master Tian Xuzi, is here to visit the Second Elder's newly accepted disciple, Leng Mushi. I hope the Elder will allow me to enter." After Xiao Mian finished speaking, he still didn't get a response. Something inside seemed to have fallen, and there was a "crash."

"Excuse me." Xiao Mian directly pushed the door open.

He had come today to apologize and shouldn't be so presumptuous, but he was really worried about Leng Mushi when he heard the sounds coming from inside the house.

As the door opened, he took two steps inside with the food box in his hand when a figure suddenly rushed out from inside the house.

Xiao Mian was almost dumbfounded. The figure that rushed in front of him was none other than Leng Mushi!

"You… what happened to you?!"

Her thin long robe was half open, revealing glimpses of her graceful figure. Her hair was disheveled, her shoulders and neck were dotted with purple-red marks, her face was covered in sweat, and her sideburns were plastered to her cheeks. She looked like she had just been fished out of the water.

She bumped into Xiao Mian, her hands tied together by a white rope that stretched back into the inner room, to who knows where. When she saw Xiao Mian, her eyes were red with tears, and her mouth was gagged with a cloth! It was… it was as if she had been humiliated!

Xiao Mian was shocked. He thought of Xuan Zhu's strange tone and dismissive attitude earlier, and he felt like he had been struck by lightning.

"Could it be your Senior Brother…" Xiao Mian couldn't say it out loud. He quickly drew his sword and cut the white rope that bound Leng Mushi.

He held onto Leng Mushi, who was bumping into him, untied the layers of restraints on her hands, removed the cloth gagging her, and said soothingly with a frown, "Don't be afraid, I'll take you to see the Sect Master. Just tell him the truth, if you have been bullied by someone in the sect, someone will surely give you justice… ah!"

"Ah--"

"What are you doing!" Xiao Mian was caught off guard by Leng Mushi jumping up and biting his shoulder. A sharp pain shot through him.

He was knocked back by Leng Mushi and bumped against the door, but he still instinctively reached out and caught Leng Mushi, who had jumped onto him, holding her legs in a frontal embrace.

Her body was as hot as if she had been doused in boiling water. As he got closer, a strange fragrance emanated from her skin. Xiao Mian held her in his arms, his mind buzzing.

But before he could blush and feel ashamed, a sharp pain came from his shoulder again. Leng Mushi bit down on him, drawing blood.

"Let go of your mouth!" Xiao Mian put her down and tried to push her away, but after Leng Mushi let go of his shoulder, she found another spot and bit down.

This time, Xiao Mian's cry was muffled. After all, he was almost a head taller than Leng Mushi. Standing barefoot on the ground, her head was right at his shoulder level. Her mouth searched for a good spot to bite and bit down on his chest… in an unspeakable place.

"Ahhh--"

"Let go, let go--"

"Ah!"

"Are you crazy? What's wrong with you!"

The door was closed, and apart from the crashing sounds, the only sounds inside were Xiao Mian's cries. He had never been in such a situation in his life, being bitten all over the room by a living person who couldn't cultivate.

Moreover, he realized that her state was not right, her internal energy was chaotic, two forces were chasing each other within her. He couldn't knock her unconscious rashly, lest the energy flowing rapidly in her meridians, while she was unconscious, injure her vital heart meridian.

And Leng Mushi clearly had no sense left in her. At this moment, her agility was several times that of an ordinary person, like a wild beast.

Xiao Mian was bitten to the point of misery. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore. He hugged her from behind, arms included, and pressed her firmly onto the bed.

Leng Mushi still tried to turn her head and bite Xiao Mian, but he pressed her forehead against the back of her head, making her unable to move.

Xiao Mian lay on her back, panting heavily, using all his strength to suppress her madness. By now, his clothes were disheveled, his hair was messy, and he was a sight to behold.

"Mmmmmm--"

Leng Mushi bit the blanket, still unwilling to give up, and struggled to get up.

Xiao Mian grabbed both her wrists with one hand in front of her, freeing up his other hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead.

He pressed his palm against the back of Leng Mushi's restless head, finally understanding what Xuan Zhu meant by it was best not to let go of her.

He had been bitten in many places, and now it hurt everywhere he moved.

"Did you take some kind of medicine?" He sighed and asked her close to her ear.

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