A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 2

After dealing with those brats, Liu Sanye returned to her potato field. Seeing that it was getting late, she hurriedly started digging up potatoes. Once finished, she had to rush back to prepare dinner.

As she dug, she reminisced about her life before the transmigration.

A month ago, she had been reading in a library when she somehow stumbled upon a book without a cover. The book was wrapped in burlap, as thick as a brick, and looked completely out of place among the other volumes. Driven by curiosity, Liu Sanye flipped through a few pages and discovered it was a fantasy novel. She originally intended to read just a few pages, but somehow became completely engrossed.

Forgetting to eat or sleep, she spent five consecutive days finishing the coverless book. Upon finishing it, she felt a sudden bout of dizziness and collapsed onto the table, unconscious. When she woke up, she had transmigrated into the world of that book, becoming the wicked female supporting character who opposed the heroine at every turn.

Liu Sanye clearly remembered a line of text that appeared on the cover of that book just before she fainted: “Steal Bai Tong’s luck (Protagonist Aura), and you may return.”

So, as long as she stole the heroine’s luck, she could leave this world? Liu Sanye fell into deep thought, for she had no idea how one was supposed to “steal” luck. Furthermore, she didn’t know if stealing it would truly allow her to go home.

Competing with a heroine for her luck was incredibly difficult. Recalling the scene later in the book where the heroine slashed the original Liu Sanye’s throat with a sword, her neck felt cold, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

At dusk, Liu Sanye returned home carrying a basket of potatoes. Just as she opened the bamboo gate, Bai Tong, who had finished hanging clothes at one end of the yard, approached her leaning on her wooden branch.

Bai Tong’s eyes were tightly shut. Her hair wasn’t as messy as before; she had clearly tidied it with water and her hands. The wound on her forehead remained, but the blood had been washed away.

She silently took the potatoes from Liu Sanye’s hands and went aside to wash them without saying a word. From beginning to end, Bai Tong showed no expression; it was hard for Liu Sanye to decipher her emotions.

Following their usual routine, Liu Sanye handled the stove while Bai Tong added fuel. A silent understanding seemed to exist between them; neither spoke, as if they were living in a silent film.

The only difference today was that Bai Tong seemed a bit clumsy. She couldn’t find the opening of the stove properly. When adding dry grass and firewood, sparks would suddenly fly out, burning her hand several times. Even when burned, Bai Tong remained silent. Had Liu Sanye not been observing closely, she wouldn’t have noticed.

Their home had no fire tongs. In the past, Bai Tong would use her blind cane as a poker, but today, she seemed to treasure her “cane” dearly.

Liu Sanye thought about it and soon realized the reason. Does she know I cut that branch for her? Is her protecting the branch an indirect, subtle way of expressing her gratitude?

Having read the original work, Liu Sanye understood the heroine’s personality somewhat. She put down her ladle, wiped her hands on a rag, and walked toward Bai Tong.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Bai Tong’s hand—which was reaching for dry grass—suddenly stopped.

Knowing Bai Tong had a strong sense of self-defense, Liu Sanye didn’t get too close. Instead, she reached into the haystack behind her and pulled out a stray, withered branch.

Liu Sanye placed the withered branch in Bai Tong’s hand and said, “Use this.”

Looking at her up close, Liu Sanye noticed Bai Tong’s hand was burnt bright red. She frowned and couldn’t help but add: “I think it might be better if you soak that in well water.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Tong’s long eyelashes trembled slightly. Liu Sanye thought Bai Tong would ignore her again, but to her surprise, the girl spoke. However, what she said gave Liu Sanye a fright.

She said: “The pot is about to burn through.”

Startled, Liu Sanye remembered the fire in the stove had been burning while she hadn’t put any oil in the pot yet. If the pot burned through, her “Ogress” mother would surely beat her to death!

Liu Sanye rushed to the stove to add oil. In her haste, some water got into the lard, causing it to crackle and splatter violently. To make matters worse, the shredded potatoes she had cut hadn’t been washed yet! She had to wash the potatoes quickly while dodging the hot oil, leaving her completely overwhelmed.

What Liu Sanye didn’t notice was that after hearing all the clattering and banging, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Bai Tong’s mouth. She seemed to be imagining Liu Sanye’s frantic state.

This was the first time Bai Tong had smiled in the six months since her family was destroyed, even if it was very faint.

Of course, it only happened that once. Bai Tong didn’t speak to Liu Sanye again after that; in fact, she didn’t say a single word to anyone for the rest of the month.

Bai Tong’s taciturn behavior made Mother Liu very angry, and as a result, Bai Tong was frequently disciplined with a rod. When Liu Sanye was reading the book, she thought Bai Tong was too stubborn and lacked flexibility—would saying a few flattering words really cost her anything? Now that she had transmigrated and seen Bai Tong being beaten with her own eyes, her view of the heroine shifted from “stubborn” to “stupid.”

Mother Liu didn’t like Bai Tong, but since her son was a simpleton who couldn’t find a wife in this small village, she had to keep Bai Tong as a child bride. However, what Mother Liu didn’t expect was that a month later, an Immortal Master from the Hegui Sect would arrive in their village and want to take Bai Tong away!

If the Immortal Master took Bai Tong away, wouldn’t all her efforts in raising her be in vain?

The Hegui Sect was the premier immortal sect in the Eastern Province. In the past, they would emerge from the mountains every hundred years to recruit a batch of outer disciples. However, in recent years, the sect’s Nascent Soul elders had passed away one after another, leaving the sect in an awkward period of transition. To stabilize their position as the number one sect, the recruitment cycle had been shortened to every fifty years.

The years of expanded recruitment were all for the sake of finding a few “Nascent Soul seeds” among the disciples.

Because the village where Liu Sanye lived had been the subject of a prophecy by the founder of the Hegui Sect, the Ancestor Hegui, it was said that a “Chosen One” with heaven-defying luck would emerge here—someone who could single-handedly revitalize the declining sect.

Consequently, the Hegui Sect visited this village more frequently, roughly every ten years. However, the village’s feng shui didn’t seem very good, and they usually returned empty-handed.

This time, Bai Tong’s luck was good; she happened to run right into it.

When the people from the Hegui Sect arrived to test spiritual roots, the usually busy village suddenly became lively. A crowd gathered where the Immortal Master was. Most people hoped to be chosen to become immortals. How wonderful would that be? No worries about food or clothing, free and unfettered. So, before dawn, a group of people squeezed into line to wait for the testing. The village was deserted, with only Liu Sanye left in the yard playing with the chickens, ducks, and geese.

On this bright, sunny day, Liu Sanye sat on a small stool holding a piece of foxtail grass, teasing several newborn ducklings that were “too young to fear the tiger.” One or two ducklings flapped their wings and hopped up to peck at her hand. Liu Sanye smiled at the sight: “I’ve never seen such fierce ducklings. Are you really ducks? I suspect you’re ‘Idiot Geese’.”

The livestock at home were very unfriendly to her. Even though she had fed them for two months, they still treated her like an outsider—especially the little yellow dog, which refused to eat anything she fed it. Every time it saw her, it barked incessantly, and this time was no exception.

Looking at the barking dog, Liu Sanye wasn’t angry; she just sighed. Looking up at the clear blue sky—so different from her hometown—her mind was filled with a thousand thoughts. She said, “So, I really am an outsider after all.”

She thought back to the words on the book cover.

“If I steal Bai Tong’s luck, can I really go home?”

Liu Sanye had been pondering this question for two months. She had been torn: first, fearing the accuracy of the information; second, feeling pity for Bai Tong and being reluctant to steal from her.

But on second thought, the heroine was about to move to a new “map.” If she didn’t decide now, she might lose her chance forever. Whether the information was accurate or not, she had to try. As for what would happen to Bai Tong without her luck… whatever, she was just a character in a book. Her luck wasn’t more important than Liu Sanye going home.

Having reached this conclusion, Liu Sanye stood up abruptly. “Even if I fail and die, it’s better than living with regrets.”

She didn’t want to live her whole life in this world where she had no family!

With that, she stood with one hand on her hip and pointed to the sky with the other, swearing to the animals: “Don’t worry, I will definitely steal the heroine’s luck and return to my own world. I’ll give your master back to you then.”

Liu Sanye marched toward the place where the Immortal Master was testing spiritual roots, without a hint of hesitation.

Interestingly, the little dog’s barking gradually died down. Liu Sanye had talked to herself for so long that the dog had grown tired of barking.

The village had few people to begin with; even with everyone gathered, it wasn’t as crowded as a random street in her hometown.

The sun was directly overhead, but no one left. They were all blocked up in the Village Chief’s large courtyard, waiting for the testing. Being short, Liu Sanye couldn’t see the situation in front, let alone the so-called “immortals.” However, she clearly saw a celestial crane elegantly perched ahead, preening its feathers. It was impossible to miss because it was simply massive!

This crane gave Liu Sanye a true sense of what it meant to “stand out like a crane among chickens.”

She wasn’t the only one shocked; the other villagers were also shouting in awe like they had never seen the world.

“Wow! What a huge crane!”

“How can a bird be this big!”

“So this is a celestial crane!”

Liu Sanye looked up at the crane and found it much taller than the tallest tree here. Its feathers were white as snow, glittering under the sunlight. She stared with her mouth agape for a long time until her neck grew sore.

“It’s really big…” The uncultured and vocabulary-deficient Liu Sanye eventually managed this lament.

While she was marveling, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead. The villagers began to whisper and gossip.

“Oh, why is she here?”

“Who is this? Does our village have someone like this?”

“Isn’t this the wife Liu Ercao picked up?”

“Oh, it’s that little blind girl.”

Liu Sanye knew exactly who had arrived just by listening to them. It was the heroine!

In the original novel, the heroine’s spiritual roots were destroyed, making it impossible for her to pass the test. But she had the Protagonist Aura! Relying on her tenacious spirit, she caught the eye of a senior sister from the Fire Spirit Peak and successfully entered the Hegui Sect!

Holy crap, after being oppressed for so long, the heroine is finally going to have her first “badass” moment!

Unable to hide her excitement, Liu Sanye used her small stature to her advantage and squeezed into the crowd.