A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 8

By the time Chu Danxue brought Liu Sanye back to Mount Yuwang, the mountain had already been cordoned off by Huajie Sect disciples who had rushed over overnight after receiving the distress signal.

Two white-haired old men from the Huajie Sect saw Chu Danxue return and stepped forward with anxious faces. “True Person, you gave chase last night—did you manage to slay that demon?”

Chu Danxue pondered for a moment before replying, “That demon was heavily injured and wandered into the Miasma Forest. He is dead now.”

The two old men were momentarily filled with a mix of relief and sorrow, their cloudy eyes misting with tears. “At least we have justice for our fallen disciples.”

They moved to bow in gratitude, but Chu Danxue stopped them with a wave of her hand. “There is no need for such formalities, elders. This was my duty.”

She then asked, “That demon seems to have been hiding on Mount Yuwang for many days. Why was there no detection at all?” Mount Yuwang was under the jurisdiction of the Huajie Sect; with disciples coming and going, it should have been impossible for demonic qi to go unnoticed for so long.

One elder sighed repeatedly. “You may not know, True Person, but demonic activity has become increasingly frequent lately. In the Dragon-Transformation Mountain range alone, hundreds of cultivators have been slaughtered. In one extreme case, an entire cultivation clan of over eighty people was wiped out—not a single soul was left alive!”

As he finished, the other elder added, “Our Huajie Sect sent out many disciples to track the killer. Currently, only some inner disciples at the Qi Refining stage remain to guard the sect. If they discovered the demon’s tracks, they likely met a grisly end.”

“The demonic cultivators are actually this rampant?!” Chu Danxue was both furious and shocked. Since the demonic sects were crushed by the Hegui Sect a thousand years ago, the remnants had fled to the Northern Snowy Plains and had rarely set foot in the Eastern Province. Even the occasional demonic cultivator was usually like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone.

Now, they were so bold that they had murdered hundreds of cultivators. Chu Danxue felt this was no small matter; it signaled a potential resurgence of the demonic path. She had to return to the sect and report this to the Sect Leader personally.

After understanding the situation, Chu Danxue realized Jun Yining and Bai Tong were missing. She asked, “Have you seen my Junior Brother and Sister?”

The elder replied, “They are inside. I will take you to them.” He led the way, briefing Chu Danxue and Liu Sanye on Bai Tong’s current condition. He didn’t know much; only that when he arrived last night, Bai Tong had fainted, and the situation seemed dire. Jun Yining had been treating her ever since.

Liu Sanye was filled with shock and suspicion. How could Bai Tong faint? That wasn’t in the original plot! Had her actions last night triggered a “butterfly effect”?

She followed Chu Danxue into the room and saw Bai Tong lying flat on a stone bed, with Jun Yining sitting beside her, channeling energy for treatment.

Terrified that her butterfly effect had killed the heroine, Liu Sanye tugged at Chu Danxue’s sleeve. Chu Danxue patted her head. “Don’t worry, she will be fine.”

She then asked, “Junior Brother Yining, what happened? Why did Junior Sister Bai Tong faint?”

Jun Yining was overjoyed to see Chu Danxue. He wailed dramatically, “Ah! Senior Sister, you’re finally back! Help! I can’t hold on much longer, my spiritual power is almost depleted…”

Chu Danxue immediately pulled several Spirit-Replenishing Pills from her storage bracelet and tossed them into his open mouth.

“What is going on?”

Having regained some energy, Jun Yining replied tiredly, “Sigh, this little girl probably saw her companion get snatched by a demon and suffered a shock, causing her to pass out. At first, I thought it was a minor issue and cast a simple healing spell, but instead of getting better, she screamed in pain. I realized it wasn’t simple, so I gave her a full-body examination…”

Chu Danxue urged him, “Get to the point. Can’t you see Junior Sister Sanye is worried sick?”

Jun Yining looked at Liu Sanye, whose face was crumpled like a steamed bun. His first reaction was: “Oh, you little brat, you were taken by a demon and you’re completely fine? Talk about good luck.”

Chu Danxue: “…”

Liu Sanye: “…”

Feeling the killing intent from both of them, Jun Yining finally remembered his will to live. “Sorry, I talk too much when I’m anxious. Point is: Bai Tong has residual demonic qi in her body. Her spiritual veins weren’t born ‘wasted’—they were shattered by demonic qi!”

“Shattered by demonic qi?” Chu Danxue was stunned. “When?”

“The injury is about six months old.”

“Then what’s happening now?”

Jun Yining explained, “A trace of demonic qi remained in her broken veins. It wasn’t a huge problem initially, but her mental state was so unstable last night that it fueled the demon qi. Now, that qi is rampaging through her veins. Because her veins are so fragile, I don’t dare inject power to fight the demon qi directly; I can only suppress it from the outside.”

Hearing this, that familiar guilt crawled back into Liu Sanye’s heart. She really hadn’t expected Bai Tong to end up like this because of her. Bai Tong is such a fool—a single stick bought her loyalty! I’ve never seen such a dummy!

Out of humanitarian concern for the “dummy,” Liu Sanye asked, “Senior Brother, your medical skills are so good, you must have a way to save her, right?”

Jun Yining stared at her. “I don’t recall telling you I was good at medicine. How did you know?”

Liu Sanye knew from the book, of course—everyone on Green Wood Peak was an expert healer. She lied without blinking: “You’re so handsome, you must be a great doctor. Please, find a way to save her!”

Jun Yining loved being complimented on his looks and beamed. “Little girl, you have an eye for talent. There is a way…”

Liu Sanye’s eyes sparkled. “What way?”

Jun Yining replied, “Use a Silver-Ring Half-Moon Herb to repair her veins. Once they are fixed, that bit of demonic qi will be like a turtle in a jar—easily dealt with.”

The Silver-Ring Half-Moon Herb! Liu Sanye almost performed a “death on the spot” at those words. No kidding!

“Unfortunately…” Jun Yining sighed. “This herb grows in the Northern Snowy Plains, which has been demon territory for a thousand years. Who would dare go pick it? Even I have only seen it in projection crystals.”

Liu Sanye felt her heart sink to the bottom. “Is there no other way?”

Jun Yining shook his head regretfully.

Liu Sanye was dumbfounded. So, I really did play the protagonist to death? She thought of Bai Tong helping her, holding her hand so she wouldn’t fall, and covering her eyes to pass the illusion… such a good person, and she had effectively killed her!

The more she thought, the sadder she got. Guilt wracked her entire body, and just as tears were about to burst out, Chu Danxue spoke.

“Is the Silver-Ring Half-Moon Herb you mentioned… like this?”

As she spoke, she pulled a silver, shimmering, half-moon-shaped herb from her storage bracelet. “I’ve only seen it in books and vaguely recall this is what it looks like. I hope I didn’t remember wrong.”

Jun Yining stared at the herb for so long he almost went blind. So did Liu Sanye.

Jun Yining asked tremulously, “Where… where did you get this?”

Chu Danxue replied, “When I was chasing the demon yesterday, I found a storage bag on the road. This herb was inside. It must have fallen off the demon.”

Jun Yining had an epiphany. “That explains it! The demon must have brought this herb from the Northern Snowy Plains!”

“Don’t dally. Use it to treat Bai Tong immediately.”

“Yes, right away!” Jun Yining took the herb and rushed to treat her.

As for Liu Sanye, she was already on her knees—kneeling before the heroine’s mighty Protagonist Aura. Only one thought remained in her mind: Holy crap, you can even play it like this?!

A storage bag kept on one’s person could actually just fall off? Liu Sanye felt hurt—deeply hurt by the logic of this world.

Fate was truly decided by the heavens. A heroine’s luck was not so easily stolen! At the same time, she realized a truth she should have known all along.

How could anything ever happen to the heroine?! If she ever worried about the heroine again, she was a pig!