After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 19

For some reason, Qiu Yan no longer seemed in the mood to continue fighting with them. With a gloomy face, he squeezed out a few words. “Good. Very good.”

After saying that, he turned and returned to his original spot, staring at them darkly.

After hearing Xie Yu’s words, everyone looked at one another. When they finally came back to their senses, their first reaction was to try to suppress the matter. But Xie Yu had spoken without leaving any openings. If they refuted her now, it would seem as if they were being unreasonable.

She had already laid out the matter and the evidence. If they still stubbornly clung to that baseless accusation that she had secretly entered the illusion realm, it would be inappropriate no matter how one looked at it.

Just then, Ping Lingyun, who had long since found them unpleasant, clicked her tongue and cursed at them. “Are you all idiots? They already said it was impossible. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

A vein throbbed at the temple of Qiu Yan, who had just been called an idiot. “…No one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak!”

“Ping Lingyun!” A male disciple had clearly been provoked. With a furious roar, he looked ready to rush out and fight.

But his companion stopped him. With an indescribable expression, that disciple said, “Putting aside the fact that sect rules forbid fighting outside of formal matches, with your cultivation, you can’t beat that female fiend Ping Lingyun anyway…”

The male disciple spat. Unable to make a move against Ping Lingyun, he could only vent his anger on Xie Yu instead.

“I will definitely find the Xuanji Grass before you! Just you wait.”

After saying that, he and his companion strode toward the Ruoxu Illusion Realm. When he passed by Xie Yu, he deliberately slammed his shoulder hard into her.

But the imagined scene of Xie Yu being knocked aside did not happen. Xie Yu stood motionless in place, while he himself was sent tumbling to the ground by a rebounding force, landing in a complete mess.

The anger on his face gradually turned into humiliation and shock. After all, he had never expected that, with his tall and sturdy build, crashing into the small, thin Xie Yu would feel like crashing into some steady boulder!

“Xie Yu has practiced body tempering! What kind of broken brain does a sword cultivator have to go ram into her?”

His companion gave him no face at all and roasted him directly.

Because Xie Yu’s cultivation had shown no progress before, she had no choice but to find another path. She learned many sword techniques and moves, and had even deliberately followed body cultivators to temper her body. Her physical strength was greater than that of many strong men.

If they were only competing in physical strength and hand-to-hand combat, even some people here with higher cultivation than her could not beat her.

It was only that Xie Yu had rarely fought back when bullied before, leaving them with the impression that she was weak.

After this farce, the way the onlookers looked at Xie Yu changed somewhat. They began to realize that Xie Yu had simply been unwilling to fight back before. If she truly did, it was hard to say who would win or lose.

Gong Dongling no longer paid any attention to these clowns. Instead, she walked toward Ping Lingyun.

“Thank you, Junior Sister, for helping us testify. I wonder if Junior Sister already has companions for this trip. I heard there are many plants, trees, and spirit beasts inside that can cause hallucinations. Going alone is rather dangerous. If you don’t mind, we can travel together for a while.”

“Enough. Stop trying to cozy up to me. Was I speaking up for you? I was mocking idiots.” Ping Lingyun waved her hand, then added, “I’m interested in that Xuanji Grass too. When the time comes, we’ll see who gets it.”

After saying that, she walked into the illusion realm by herself first.

Gong Dongling was not disappointed. Instead, she smiled at Xie Yu. “I wasn’t planning to have her come with us anyway. I was just politely exchanging a few refined words with her. After all, there’s only one Xuanji Grass. How would we split it?”

“I’ll go with you. I don’t need the Xuanji Grass.”

A voice suddenly cut in.

When Xie Yu heard that voice, her face turned pale, and her fingers abruptly tightened.

Ever since Gong Dongling returned, Xie Yu had not seen Ji Yuran again. But even now, she still remembered the merciless way this person had used such a clear, bright voice to say vicious words.

“No matter how many times you ask, my answer is still no. If you still care about your dignity, could you stop coming over to humiliate yourself?” Gong Dongling held her forehead.

Who would have known that Ji Yuran, who had not erupted earlier or later, would happen to lose control today after seeing Xie Yu shrink off to the side like an ostrich? His blood surged upward, and he immediately pointed at Xie Yu and questioned Gong Dongling. “You’re angry with me because of her?! You would rather pretend to get along with her than say even one more word to me?”

As he spoke, he grabbed Xie Yu by the collar and said angrily, “Tell your senior sister yourself. How did I treat you? That’s right, I treated you as your senior sister’s substitute. But that was only because your appearance is somewhat similar. I have never had even the slightest bit of feeling for you!”

Xie Yu was forced to lift her face and look at Ji Yuran.

She knew Ji Yuran was a scumbag, but she had not known he could once again refresh her understanding of how low a person’s bottom line could be. Just looking at those crimson eyes she had once mistaken for the sun, she found it ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

Her fingers curled into a fist. From somewhere, anger surged up inside her, and Xie Yu finally slapped Ji Yuran hard, sending the completely unprepared man straight to the ground.

“You dare hit me?!” Ji Yuran was so shocked that he forgot to get up immediately. Half-lying on the ground, he glared fiercely at Xie Yu and roared.

It would have been better if he had not spoken. The moment he shouted, everyone’s gaze gathered on the disheveled Ji Yuran.

The disciples who had not yet left began whispering. Although they usually appeared to respect Ji Yuran, in their hearts, none of them were truly convinced by him. They only thought he had been born into a good fate. Moreover, this kind of demon creature could actually swagger around inside an immortal sect, yet they did not dare provoke him.

Now, seeing him suffer, they could not help taking pleasure in his misfortune.

Ji Yuran was also burned awake by all those gazes. He hurriedly climbed to his feet and confronted Xie Yu again.

Gong Dongling shielded Xie Yu, who had frozen in place after the slap. In truth, if Xie Yu had not been able to slap him, Gong Dongling would have done it for her.

“I never knew you thought I hated you because of Xie Yu. Then I’ll make things clear today. I hate you simply because of the rotten things you’ve done. Compared with the harm you caused Junior Sister, her slap was far too light.”

Her tone was light, as if she had never taken him to heart at all, as if he were only an irrelevant person.

For a moment, Ji Yuran felt that compared with the humiliation of Xie Yu slapping him in public, Gong Dongling’s attitude pierced his heart even more sharply.

Ignoring all the eyes around them, he tugged on Gong Dongling’s sleeve, forcing her to look at him as he questioned her. “Have you truly never missed our time together? Back then, you stayed by my side as my little study companion. Those years we spent together by Buzhou Mountain’s lotus pond…”

Gong Dongling’s whole body bristled. She suddenly smacked Ji Yuran’s hand away, her face sinking into icy coldness. “Don’t touch me!”

In the past, she had always spoken gently. Even when facing enemies, she argued calmly and logically. But today, facing Ji Yuran, Gong Dongling finally revealed her venomous tongue.

Gong Dongling sneered.

“Speaking of that, I truly regret it now. Back when I was your study companion, I should have forced you to read more books. Instead, I let you grow into this pickled mess. You’re the Buddhist golden lotus descended to the mortal world, yet your mind and bearing are worse than a mortal’s. I advise you to cultivate properly for a few tens of thousands more years, lest the Buddha demote you again and you end up thinking it was my fault for failing to educate you!”

So what if he was the Buddhist golden lotus? She was not going to become an immortal anyway, so why should she fear him? According to the original novel, Xie Yu would touch the threshold of ascension who knew how many years earlier than him!

Gong Dongling knew the story behind all this, but the other disciples did not. They only knew that Gong Dongling was truly a warrior. She had done what they did not dare do and said what they did not dare say!

Not a single person below echoed her, but their spirits stood with Senior Sister in that moment.

Ji Yuran was stunned by the scolding. Ever since he could remember, everyone had respected and revered him, fearing his identity as the golden lotus of the Buddhist Son. When had anyone ever pointed at his nose and cursed him like this?

He stayed silent for a long while, unable to say a single word. He could not even throw out a harsh line to regain face.

Gong Dongling gave a cold snort, took Xie Yu with her, and left, never looking at Ji Yuran again.

Xie Yu’s expression did not look good at this moment. She looked at Gong Dongling worriedly and pitifully. “Senior Sister, after we humiliated him like this, will he retaliate against us…”

“Did that slap feel good?”

Xie Yu reluctantly nodded.

“Then that’s enough. I enjoyed scolding him too. Why worry so much? We’ll stay properly on Buzhou Mountain. Can he hire people to come beat us up?”

Gong Dongling shook her sleeve in disdain, not worried in the slightest.

At that moment, a childish vendor’s call reached their ears.

“Maps for sale! My father’s purely hand-drawn map of the Ruoxu Illusion Realm! One thousand spirit stones each, limited to two copies!”

The instant Gong Dongling heard this, her eyes lit up. She looked ahead and saw a little girl squatting in front of the iconic giant stone at the entrance of the Ruoxu Illusion Realm, cracking melon seeds while casually calling out every now and then.

The disciples walking in front burst into laughter and maliciously teased the little girl. “Yo, out here scamming people at such a young age? And one thousand spirit stones? Why don’t you just go rob someone?”

The little girl ignored them and tucked the two folded maps closer into her arms, as if afraid they would see them.

This only made the idle disciples even more playful. They stepped forward, pretending they were about to snatch the maps.

The girl suddenly stood up. There was not the slightest fear on her face, and she did not look like an ordinary child.

Just then, Gong Dongling cut in one step ahead of them and smiled at the little girl. “I’ll pay two thousand. Sell both maps to me.”

As soon as these words came out, the surroundings burst into uproar. Some disciples who admired Gong Dongling immediately advised her, “Senior Sister, don’t be foolish! These are all scams aimed at wandering cultivators. Whether the maps are real or not aside, no one knows where the Xuanji Grass is. That two thousand will definitely go down the drain!”

The disciples could not be blamed for thinking this way. Every training mission, they would encounter people selling these kinds of hand-drawn maps. Not a single one was accurate. Sometimes they might even lead cultivators into dangerous places. They were truly wicked.

Over time, no one was willing to waste money on them anymore.

This time, the scammer was even worse. She opened her mouth and demanded the sky-high price of one thousand! How did she dare? Maybe she was relying on her young age to gain cultivators’ sympathy.

What was even more ridiculous was that Gong Dongling not only wanted to buy them without blinking, but she wanted both in one breath?

“It’s fine. It’s just a little money, not worth mentioning.” Gong Dongling was very grateful to those kind people who sincerely tried to dissuade her—and still stubbornly insisted on buying them.

The little girl looked at Gong Dongling, accepted the spirit stones, then handed over the two maps. She even stuffed a handful of melon seeds into Gong Dongling’s hand.

Changing her rude attitude from before, she smiled sweetly. “Thank you, immortal sister! Come again next time if you need anything!”

The disciples who had been ignored earlier: Understood. So this is the power of money?