A Cannon-Fodder Alpha Marked The Future Villainess After Transmigrating Into A Novel - Chapter 3

“That day, I saw Ning Yunqing sneaking around by herself, so I followed her to see what she was up to. I kept following her until I saw her enter that mountain,” Lin Qingqing explained.

So that was what had happened.

Xie Jing understood now.

Still, Lin Qingqing truly was shameless. She had clearly been the one following Ning Yunqing, yet she had gone to the original Xie Jing and claimed Ning Yunqing had stolen her mushrooms, deliberately provoking the original character into taking revenge.

The original Xie Jing had also been a hopelessly love-addled fool, blind in both heart and mind.

No wonder she had died so quickly.

Xie Jing looked up at the sky. It was still early. If she entered the mountain now, she should be able to return before sunset. She might even gather plenty of mushrooms.

If Ning Yunqing, an Omega, dared go in, what did she, an Alpha, have to fear?

Besides, back in the modern world, Xie Jing had been a criminal police officer. Field assignments in the wilderness had been nothing unusual for her.

With that thought, Xie Jing adjusted the bamboo basket on her back. Without further hesitation, she strode toward the mountain.

“Xie Jing!”

Seeing her head into the mountain, Lin Qingqing stamped her feet anxiously and shouted after her, “Are you trying to get yourself killed? There are wild beasts in there!”

Xie Jing ignored her and quickened her pace.

Time was limited. She needed to hurry into the mountain and gather as much as she could.

No one normally came to this mountain. Weeds grew everywhere, making the terrain especially difficult to cross.

After walking for a while, Xie Jing already had several scratches on her body.

She could not help wondering how Ning Yunqing had managed to make her way through here.

In this novel’s setting, Alphas were the strongest. Betas were ordinary people without pheromones, while Omegas were the weakest group—naturally frail and dependent on Alphas for survival.

For Ning Yunqing to become the greatest villain in the story, her willpower had to be far stronger than most people’s.

Lost in thought, Xie Jing made her way deeper into the mountain.

The vegetation here was dense. Perhaps because it had rained recently, quite a few mushrooms were hidden beneath the fallen leaves.

Using the knowledge she had learned in the modern world, Xie Jing quickly gathered some that were not poisonous.

Just then, a rustling sound came from behind her.

Xie Jing immediately became alert.

She turned and slipped into a thicket to conceal herself.

If she truly encountered a wild animal, she would be in trouble. She did not have a single useful tool or weapon on hand.

Her heart rose into her throat.

The plants were so thick that she could not see what was approaching unless it came close.

Xie Jing quietly edged outward by two steps.

A woman dressed in patched gray clothing appeared in her line of sight.

The woman’s face was pale, but even that could not hide her delicate beauty.

It was none other than Ning Yunqing.

Xie Jing froze.

They had only just completed the marking that morning, yet they had already run into each other again that afternoon.

As though her gland sensed Ning Yunqing’s presence, it began throbbing excitedly.

Threads of cool tea fragrance tried to break through the suppressant ointment.

Ning Yunqing had not expected to encounter Xie Jing here either.

Her watery eyes fixed warily on her.

“I came here to gather some firewood. There was nothing left on the back mountain,” Xie Jing explained.

Suppressing the restless agitation in her body, she slowly stood and spoke as carefully as possible.

Ning Yunqing pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and walked around Xie Jing toward the other side.

Xie Jing had been completely ignored.

Her gland throbbed twice more before quieting down.

Still, she did not mind.

Ning Yunqing was the villain she had been tasked with saving. As long as they were not openly hostile toward one another, their relationship could improve slowly.

The most important thing right now was to stay alive without straying from the original character’s established personality.

Of course, staying alive also meant filling her stomach.

She had no desire to eat wild vegetables and gnaw on cornbread buns every day.

Ning Yunqing forced her exhausted body to walk quickly for some distance.

Only after confirming that Xie Jing had not followed her did she lean against a tree to rest.

Meanwhile, once Xie Jing saw that she had gone, she crouched down and continued gathering mushrooms.

Whether in her original world or this one, mushrooms were highly nutritious.

Since hardly anyone came here, it did not take long for Xie Jing to fill half her basket.

She decided not to gather any more.

She still had to collect firewood that day, and the mushrooms were already enough to feed her family for two days.

Since rain was coming, they would not be easy to dry anyway. She could return after the weather cleared.

Dry branches were everywhere, so Xie Jing quickly tied a bundle together.

She looked up at the sky and prepared to head back.

Before leaving, however, she could not help glancing in the direction Ning Yunqing had gone.

She instinctively remembered what the novel had said about wild beasts roaming this mountain.

It was manageable during the day, but after dark, even without the threat of animals, a wild mountain with no paths would be difficult to navigate.

Setting aside everything that would happen in the future, Ning Yunqing was currently only a frail Omega.

As an honorable police officer serving the people, Xie Jing could not simply stand by and ignore the danger.

Besides, if anything truly happened to Ning Yunqing, Xie Jing might never be able to return to her original world.

At that thought, Xie Jing turned around and hurried in the direction Ning Yunqing had taken.

She had not gone far when she spotted Ning Yunqing.

The woman was so thin and frail that she resembled a malnourished kitten. At that moment, she was crouched on the ground gathering mushrooms.

“Ning Yunqing!” Xie Jing called loudly.

Hearing her voice, Ning Yunqing raised her head.

The instant she saw Xie Jing, she instinctively fell backward onto the ground and stared at her in terror.

Xie Jing jogged over and reached out to help her.

“It’ll be dark soon. If we don’t leave now, we really won’t be able to get out. I heard wild beasts appear here at night.”

Ning Yunqing bit her lip and pushed herself backward with her hands.

Her gaze was wary, with a ruthless glint suggesting she was prepared to drag Xie Jing down with her if necessary.

Xie Jing could not help shrinking her neck.

Her outstretched hand froze awkwardly in midair, and her mouth opened and closed.

As expected of the villain.

Even before turning evil, her presence was already frightening.

Xie Jing glanced at Ning Yunqing’s bamboo basket.

She remembered that Ning Yunqing had brought half a basket of dried mushrooms to the original Xie Jing that morning, asking for help selling them.

Xie Jing had arrived abruptly during the original character’s susceptible period and marked Ning Yunqing in a daze.

Afterward, she had completely forgotten about the mushrooms.

The original character had lied about helping Ning Yunqing sell them, but Xie Jing was not the original character.

She could use this opportunity to earn some goodwill from the villain.

Private trading was forbidden in this era, but transactions could still be made on the black market. As long as she found the black market, selling the mushrooms would not be a problem.

Later, she could also resell a few things to make money.

Otherwise, she truly feared that before the protagonists had a chance to kill her, she would starve to death in this world.

Xie Jing organized her thoughts before speaking.

“I know what happened this morning was my fault. Look… whatever you want, I’ll definitely compensate you. And I promise I’ll help you sell those mushrooms.”

As she spoke, Xie Jing stole a glance at Ning Yunqing.

Ning Yunqing tightly gripped the grass beneath her and kept her eyes lowered.

Xie Jing could not see what she was feeling, which made her somewhat uneasy.

After a long silence, Ning Yunqing finally raised her head.

Their eyes met.

A flicker of panic crossed her face, but she still enunciated each word clearly.

“No need.”

Her voice was coated in ice.

To Xie Jing, the words sounded as though they had been forced through clenched teeth.

Xie Jing felt somewhat guilty.

Although she had no intention of truly taking responsibility for Ning Yunqing, she still needed to save her in order to return to her original world.

Thus, she forced herself to say, “There is.”

Ning Yunqing did not respond.

The panic from earlier had already faded.

She planted her hands against the ground and tried to stand by herself.

Her arms had barely lifted half her body when her legs gave way, sending her falling back down.

Xie Jing looked up at the sky.

Without giving Ning Yunqing the chance to refuse, she stepped forward, took hold of her arm, and easily pulled her upright.

“Give me the basket.”

As Xie Jing spoke, she took the bamboo basket from Ning Yunqing’s shoulder.

She already had firewood on her back, but the mushrooms the two of them had gathered weighed only around five jin altogether. She could carry them easily with one hand, leaving the other free to support Ning Yunqing.

Ning Yunqing bit her lip.

Feeling the strength around her arm, her body trembled slightly.

It was an aftereffect of being marked.

Whenever she approached the Alpha who had marked her, her body became unusually sensitive. Her gland heated uncontrollably, craving more.

Ning Yunqing instinctively tried to pull her arm free.

But the moment she moved, Xie Jing’s grip tightened around her wrist.

They walked slowly.

Xie Jing had to keep Ning Yunqing’s pace in mind with every step.

Walking seemed difficult for Ning Yunqing, and before long, she was already breathing heavily.

Xie Jing sighed.

When they were almost out of the mountain, she stopped and pulled the cloth-wrapped cornbread bun from the bamboo basket, holding it out to Ning Yunqing.

“What is that?” Ning Yunqing asked.

Her gaze fell on Xie Jing’s hand, still filled with vigilance.

Seeing that she refused to take it, Xie Jing lowered her eyes, grabbed Ning Yunqing’s hand, and stuffed the bundle into it.

“You barely have enough strength to walk. I really don’t know what you were thinking, coming somewhere this dangerous. Weren’t you afraid a wild beast would actually eat you?”

Ning Yunqing’s body stiffened as she stared at the cloth bundle in her hand.

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat it. I don’t want to be eaten by wild beasts along with you.”

Xie Jing’s tone sounded awkward.

For some reason, whenever she faced Ning Yunqing, she felt more than that hateful physical agitation.

A faint soreness also swelled inside her chest.

She turned her face away and walked two steps ahead, looking toward the thick altocumulus clouds on the horizon.

After waiting for a while, she turned back.

Ning Yunqing was still staring blankly at the cornbread bun in her hands.

Xie Jing could not understand it.

Ning Yunqing clearly looked hungry, so why was she not eating?

Was it because Xie Jing had given it to her?

Ning Yunqing bit her lip and slowly wrapped the cornbread bun back up.

Lowering her head, she said softly, “Let’s go.”

Although she had not eaten it, she had not truly returned it either.

Xie Jing did not think much of it and continued supporting Ning Yunqing as they walked toward the village.

Ning Yunqing was the greatest villain in the novel and the biggest obstacle on the male and female leads’ path to success.

The original story described her as possessing endurance beyond that of ordinary people and a remarkably sharp mind for business.

At one point, she had even crushed the protagonists beneath her feet and humiliated them mercilessly.

Why, then, had someone like her inexplicably committed suicide at the end?

Could it have been because of love?

What exactly had happened that the original novel never explained?

Xie Jing’s gaze drifted toward Ning Yunqing’s face again.

There was exhaustion between her brows, but it did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Her skin looked so tender that water could be squeezed from it.

No, it did not merely look that way.

Xie Jing swallowed.

She had tested it herself that morning.

It truly was soft enough to yield water.

As though responding to her thoughts, the gland beneath the thick layer of suppressant ointment began heating slightly again.

Xie Jing hurriedly bit the tip of her tongue.

The pain instantly brought her back to her senses.

She looked away, then could not resist stealing another glance.

When Ning Yunqing seemed not to have noticed anything, Xie Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They were two strangers who had only just been intimate that morning, then had somehow run into each other again that afternoon.

Anyone would feel awkward.

After walking another two steps, Xie Jing spoke in an unnatural tone.

“The weather’s pretty nice today, isn’t it?”