After the Villainess Awakens

Leng Mushi carried the unconscious Xiao Mian on her shoulders. As You Zishu got closer and closer, her mind raced. She turned her head to look at the man with vertical pupils who had spoken to her.

"The person I saved is a parasite of the Heavenly Demon, the future Demon Emperor of your demon race. I need help now. If I let you out, do you know what to do and what not to do?"

The man with vertical pupils had been trapped in this Imprisoning Illusion Formation for many years. Unable to use his magic, he could only exhaust his demonic energy. Even survival had become difficult. Naturally, he couldn't maintain his appearance, so he looked as wretched as a beggar on the streets. However, when he met Leng Mushi's eyes, his own glowed with a golden light, looking strangely bright.

"I've been locked up in this place for almost three thousand years. Although I hate these cultivators to the core, the ones I hate are the ones who locked me up in the first place," the man said. "Now, although my cultivation has been greatly depleted, if you let me out, I will definitely do my best to buy you time and never hurt the innocent disciples of your sect. I will remember your life-saving grace and you can rest assured!"

He was quite clever. He didn't care about the Heavenly Demon or the Demon Emperor that Leng Mushi mentioned. He only wanted to escape from this place, which was normal.

If he had immediately submitted to Xiao Mian after hearing only Leng Mushi's words, she would never have released him.

But now there was really no other way. Leng Mushi threw the cloth refined by the Shadow Demon from her storage bag directly onto the demon cultivator's barrier.

In the next instant, the demon cultivator, who couldn't wait any longer, grabbed the transparent cloth and wrapped it around himself. Then, imitating Leng Mushi, he concealed his aura and walked out of the Imprisoning Illusion Formation that had trapped him for more than three thousand years without any obstacles.

He walked over to Leng Mushi with a hunched back, nodded at her, glanced at Xiao Mian, and then instantly rushed towards You Zishu and the others who were about to enter the door.

Leng Mushi quickly stuffed Spirit Concealing Pills into her own mouth and Xiao Mian's. The demons in this forbidden area were all going crazy. None of them wanted to stay here. Seeing that someone had been rescued but they were not being released, they screamed, cursed, and swore at Leng Mushi.

Someone even shouted towards the door, "Someone is escaping! Come quickly!"

You Zishu had heard a young disciple report that "he" had brought someone into the forbidden area, so he rushed over immediately.

That young disciple happened to have just sent You Zishu the documents that needed to be dealt with by the sect. He was on his way back to his own courtyard when he saw "You Zishu" bringing someone into the forbidden area.

He was still wondering, could Senior Brother split himself? He was just burying his head in his study a moment ago, how could he be faster than him to reach the forbidden area?

He didn't suspect anything at first, until he saw Leng Tianyin, the disciple of the Fifth Elder who was guarding the forbidden area. She followed behind Senior Brother, her expression very wrong, as if there were tears in her eyes. She seemed to want to speak but hesitated.

The young disciple remembered Leng Tianyin. With such an otherworldly appearance, no one could help but take a few more glances at her. Therefore, he also remembered that this Leng Tianyin and Senior Brother Yi Tu, who was also under the Fifth Elder, were a couple. Why would she show such a lingering look to Senior Brother?

Could it be that she had a crush on Senior Brother?

Impossible, who would like You Zishu's deadpan face? Waking up in the middle of the night and seeing it would be like seeing a ghost.

Something's wrong!

The young disciple hurried back. Sure enough, You Zishu was still at his desk dealing with sect affairs. As for which one was real and which one was fake, there was no need to distinguish them. The young disciple would never mistake the face that seemed to have been visiting a grave for years.

So he told You Zishu what he had seen. You Zishu immediately took people to the forbidden area and at the same time sent someone to inform the Third Elder, Zhou Lan, that someone had trespassed into the forbidden area.

At this moment, You Zishu had already confronted the man with vertical pupils. After the man left the Imprisoning Illusion Formation and was no longer suppressed, he changed drastically with every step he took. After leaving Leng Mushi's side, within a few steps, his hunched back, which had been suppressed for many years, straightened up.

His hands were empty, but he was not afraid of You Zishu's unsheathed Xue Ling sword. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and a long tail suddenly grew behind him. Leng Mushi's eyes narrowed slightly, and she saw the familiar red tail covered with scales. It collided with Xue Ling with a "clang" sound, but the sharp blade didn't cut into the flesh at all.

You Zishu's move was hasty, and he only used 50% of his spiritual power. He was actually knocked back a step by this evil spirit's tail sweep. The disciples he brought with him didn't have his ability. They were swept away by the demonic wind rolled up by the long tail and retreated several steps back. They pressed their chests and felt a fishy sweetness in their throats.

In an instant, You Zishu had poured all his spiritual power into his second sword move, aiming straight at the vertical pupil demon cultivator's long tail. Xue Ling's sword energy was bone-chillingly cold. Before it even reached the tip of the vertical pupil man's tail, it had already caused frost to appear in the surrounding air.

Leng Mushi, who had taken the Spirit Concealing Pill and was taking advantage of their fight to escape with Xiao Mian, was caught in the crossfire. A snowflake landed on her shoulder and was quickly melted by her body heat. However, this was noticed by You Zishu. He thought it was the evil spirit escaping in stealth, so he swept his long sword and with a flick of his wrist, aimed it straight at Leng Mushi's back.

Leng Mushi was carrying Xiao Mian and was completely unguarded. The sword pierced straight into her back. The protective runes on her disciple's uniform exploded instantly, and her back was instantly covered in frost. You Zishu's sword had cut open her entire back, deep enough to see bone.

However, because of the cold air from Xue Ling, the sword didn't immediately bleed. The frozen skin temporarily stopped the blood flow. From the back, it looked as if the flesh of a person who had been drained of blood had been cut open again.

The effect of the Spirit Concealing Pill also wore off due to the serious injury. Leng Mushi froze where she was and slowly turned to look at You Zishu. The frost between her brows and eyes was swept away by her breath. This time, it was You Zishu's turn to freeze.

He had always been a man of few words. No matter what kind of evil spirits he encountered, he would always fight directly. But at this moment, seeing Xiao Mian on Leng Mushi's back, he opened his mouth and asked in a sharp voice, "Where are you taking him? Are you crazy?!"

Leng Mushi circulated her spiritual power in an instant, dispelling the frost and snow caused by Xue Ling's sword move. She only hesitated for a moment before continuing to move forward with Xiao Mian in her arms, no longer looking at You Zishu or listening to him.

You Zishu raised his sword to chase after her, but was accidentally swept in the waist by the red tail and sent flying. Leng Mushi couldn't hide her figure and was injured again. She couldn't carry Xiao Mian down the mountain from the foot of the mountain as planned, so she quickly ran towards Cangsheng Courtyard with him.

The frost on her back from Xue Ling's sword faded, and blood gushed out. However, Leng Mushi didn't care at all and quickly climbed the stone steps with Xiao Mian.

Along the way, she met disciples coming and going, but they just stared at them in astonishment. No one stopped them. However, just as Leng Mushi reached the gate of Cangsheng Courtyard, the Third Elder was already standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for them.

"Why are you doing this?" The mountain wind blew Zhou Lan's robes and long hair, making him look a little more like an immortal from his high vantage point.

However, facing his compassionate gaze and gentle yet beautiful eyes, Leng Mushi only felt a chill run down her spine.

The long chain in his hand was dragging on the ground. It was the Third Elder's weapon, the meteor hammer.

Leng Mushi pulled the slipping Xiao Mian onto her shoulder again, then said with a pale face and trembling lips, "I just hope that the person I like can live like a normal person for a few days."

Zhou Lan shook his head slightly. "Foolish child."

As he spoke, he pulled the long chain, actually about to make a move. Leng Mushi felt a chill in her heart, but she still reached for her storage bag and took out a few Spirit Sealing Pills that she had refined for the Shadow Sect.

Just as she was about to make her move, there was a sudden roar. A group of oxen, each half the size of a room, fell from the sky and slammed straight into the Third Elder Zhou Lan's thin waist. The Third Elder was caught off guard and was almost cut in half by the impact. He was forced to give way at the last step of the stairs.

Leng Mushi seized the opportunity and quickly threw out the Spirit Sealing Pills, carrying Xiao Mian and rushing towards Cangsheng Courtyard. As she opened the courtyard gate, she saw a plum tree branch carrying the Third Elder's meteor hammer quickly disappear into the bushes.

The oxen hit their target and didn't linger. They followed behind Leng Mushi and entered the barrier of Cangsheng Courtyard.

As the barrier fell, Leng Mushi couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground. Only then did she see clearly that outside the barrier, where she had been standing with Xiao Mian in her arms, was already surrounded by many disciples. They had only just reacted and rushed forward, but were blocked outside by the barrier.

Zhou Lan was helped up, rubbing his old waist, and shouted, "It's okay, don't panic, I can open the barrier!"

Leng Mushi was a little dejected. So it still didn't work? Her abilities were still too weak to protect him for even a few days…

"Ah… damn it, my Elder's jade pendant just broke." Zhou Lan pointed at Leng Mushi with feigned anger. "Don't get cocky, just you wait. I'll send a message to your master right now and ask her to come back and teach you a lesson!"

Leng Mushi's eyes moistened slightly. She looked at the disciples outside who had surrounded her but hadn't attacked, at Zhou Lan who was deliberately jumping around, and at Fen Lian, who had returned to her human form and helped Leng Mushi up. Tears couldn't help but fall from her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered, to everyone.

Back in Cangsheng Courtyard, Leng Mushi took the pills and her injuries healed quickly. The sword wound was actually just a flesh wound… because after You Zishu realized it was her, he had already withdrawn his force. The backlash from the spiritual power even injured him, otherwise he wouldn't have been sent flying by the red tail.

Leng Mushi cleaned herself up and fed Xiao Mian a lot of healing medicine. Only then did she say to Fen Lian, "Go and check on Little Plum. I'm worried he'll be blamed by the Third Elder."

Leng Mushi said, "The Third Elder's jade pendant is broken. No one can enter Cangsheng Courtyard until my master and the others come back."

Fen Lian patted Leng Mushi's shoulder and said sympathetically, "Don't be too…"

She wanted to say "don't be too sad," but then she thought that if Little Plum was dying, she would probably go crazy, so she stopped halfway and just said, "I'm leaving then."

But when she reached the door, she couldn't help but turn around and say, "Next time you activate me, can you think of something decent?! If you turn me into a cow again, I'll ram you!"

After Fen Lian finished speaking, she ran away. Leng Mushi laughed softly, then quickly stopped smiling.

She held Xiao Mian's hand and slowly lowered her head, resting it in his palm, which was finally a little warmer after being fed more than a dozen high-grade healing pills.

His internal organs had been almost completely shattered in the Imprisoning Illusion Formation. Leng Mushi couldn't imagine the pain he had endured. The wound on her back had clearly healed, leaving only a very faint scar, but she still felt a cold wind blowing through her chest. Even when she curled up, she was still cold, except for the warmth from Xiao Mian's hand.

Xiao Mian woke up a few hours later, as the sky began to brighten. He had been muddleheaded these past few days, suffering every day. Countless resentment and hatred rose up in his heart, and dark emotions almost drowned him. He even thought of killing himself to end the pain, to awaken the Heavenly Demon and let it avenge him, to kill all the bastards in Tai Chu Mountain who had locked him up and made him suffer so much.

But every time, on the verge of a mental breakdown, he would think of that one person in Tai Chu Mountain. That person became his reason to hold on.

He had countless hallucinations, hallucinations of her keeping her promise and coming to see him.

But every time he opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness, and all he felt was pain. Xiao Mian couldn't help but wonder if what she said about liking him was a lie from the beginning.

She had used the Illusion Fox to see through him, and everything else after that was just a temptation, a temptation to lure him back to Tai Chu Mountain and make him fall into this situation where he couldn't live or die.

She was too cruel, she had always been cruel, how could she do this to him!

How long had it been, how much time had passed, she hadn't come, she hadn't come!

But just when Xiao Mian was on the verge of collapse, he saw the small patch of moisture outside the Imprisoning Illusion Formation. There was only blood in the forbidden area, there shouldn't be any water.

His precarious consciousness was awakened once again by this little bit of moisture.

She came, she had refined the Spirit Concealing Pill, she must have come.

Xiao Mian clung to this little bit of delusion, not knowing how long he had endured. He felt like it had been a lifetime.

Later, he couldn't hold on any longer and sank into darkness. He saw some things that he didn't want to see and couldn't believe.

The moment Xiao Mian opened his eyes, he saw bright light and felt the pain in his body disappear. He thought he was dead and had gone to the so-called paradise.

But when he looked around the familiar room, even felt the weight and numbness in his left palm, and saw the person curled up beside him with her eyes closed, he sat up abruptly, feeling dizzy and shocked.

"You're awake…" Leng Mushi opened her eyes, looked at Xiao Mian, and moved closer to him in surprise.

Xiao Mian stared at Leng Mushi without blinking, then after a moment, reached out his numb and trembling hands to touch her face.

Touching her was a familiar and deeply ingrained feeling. Tears welled up in Xiao Mian's eyes instantly, and he choked out hoarsely, "You came to see me…"

"You finally came…" Xiao Mian hugged Leng Mushi tightly. His tear-washed eyes, one was still gentle and pure black, the other was as red as blood.

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