After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 2

Clearly, her speech hadn’t done much. Xie Yu looked like she had seen a ghost, struggling to get up and leave.

“Pardon me.” Gong Dongling pinched a Immobilization Seal, instantly pinning Xie Yu to the bed. “Once the medicine is changed, I will give you the justice you deserve.”

Thus, Xie Yu could only watch helplessly as Gong Dongling took out medicinal powder and bandages from her storage ring. Gong Dongling leaned over the bed, her “peach blossom” eyes curving into crescents as she reached her slender, scallion-like fingers toward Xie Yu’s collar.

Cold fingertips accidentally brushed against Xie Yu’s burning neck, leaving a trail of crimson in their wake.

Watching Xie Yu turn her head and close her eyes to hide her panic, Gong Dongling found it somewhat amusing: “What? Is this the first time someone has undressed you? You’re so shy, you’re making me feel like some lecherous scoundrel bullying a virtuous lady.”

“You!…” At those words, a flush of embarrassment rose to Xie Yu’s cheeks. She gritted her teeth in indignant shame.

Gong Dongling untied Xie Yu’s belt and pulled the fabric away from her shoulders.

Beneath were wounds wrapped in gauze, many of which were seeping blood like red plum blossoms scattered on snow.

Gong Dongling stopped teasing. She focused on unwinding the blood-soaked bandages, reapplying the powder, and wrapping new gauze around her.

In her past life, it was always others taking care of her in the hospital. She hadn’t expected that today, she would use the nursing methods she had learned through observation on someone else. Perhaps this was the meaning of a second life.

Thinking of this, a small smile danced at the corner of Gong Dongling’s mouth.

Once she settled Xie Yu, she intended to do all the things she couldn’t do in her previous life.

Xie Yu had opened her eyes at some point. Her body was stiff; she felt that the sensation of skin-to-skin contact during the dressing change was… strange.

She stole a glance upward and happened to catch the moment her Senior Sister smiled. Something in the depths of her heart seemed to stir.

But before that emotion could sprout, it was crushed by her deep-seated dislike for Gong Dongling. Xie Yu’s gaze instantly turned cold.

It’s just an act. It wasn’t that she hadn’t believed in this Senior Sister’s hypocritical mask before, but it had only resulted in her sincere heart being trampled upon.

A voice seemed to scream in her mind: Is everyone not the same? No one loves her… Xie Yu’s eyes darkened further, like a pool of ink, as a thousand emotions surged within.

Just then, a gentle voice interrupted her chaotic thoughts: “Does it hurt? The medical cultivator who gave me this powder said that while it’s effective, it’s quite painful when applied.”

Xie Yu pursed her lips. Only after a long silence did she mumble, “I’m not afraid of pain.”

No one had ever asked Xie Yu if it hurt.

She was born with dull senses; her perception of pain was never clear. Whenever she got injured during training, she would just sleep it off for a few days, and she’d always be fine when she woke up. Some said her life was “cheap”—tenacious like a weed.

Besides the hideous whip marks, Xie Yu’s body was covered in various old scars, some deep and some shallow.

Seeing this, Gong Dongling’s eyes darkened, but she asked nothing.

Every scar was a memory of Xie Yu’s suffering or humiliation. There was no need to poke at her wounds again.

An awkward silence persisted until Gong Dongling finished dressing Xie Yu and lifted the immobilization spell.

Xie Yu was no longer as agitated as before. She stood up silently, looking down with a frown at the delicate butterfly knot the woman had tied around her waist.

She felt a bit of disdain for it.

Likely due to physical exhaustion, her body swayed slightly. Turning her back to Gong Dongling, she finally spoke in a strained, awkward voice: “I won’t thank you for anything you’ve done! And I don’t need you to give me ‘justice.’ Just don’t pester me anymore. I don’t want to see you.”

Gong Dongling’s smile didn’t fade: “As you wish, A-Yu.”

Watching the girl limp out the door, Gong Dongling finally turned her gaze to a small bottle in her palm. The bottle was white porcelain, yet it glowed with a faint red light.

A bit of red powder spilled from the rim. The moment it touched her fingertip, it actually scorched her skin, sending up a few wisps of smoke.

“So it’s this stuff?” she murmured to herself.

Inside the Hall of the Daoist Master, a crowd had already gathered, mostly consisting of managers and disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall.

A few days ago, the Law Enforcement Hall had sentenced Xie Yu to forty-nine days of solitary confinement for “poisoning a fellow disciple.” To have her released after barely four days required an explanation.

Master Daofa sat high on the main seat, his expression grim and his brow furrowed in deep thought.

“Disciple Gong Dongling requests an audience.” The voice wasn’t loud, but to the keen ears of the cultivators present, it was like a thunderclap, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze.

Gong Dongling had been summoned by Xu Ruozhen’s transmission talisman. This was within her expectations; after making such a massive change to the original plot, there was bound to be a reaction.

She entered the hall, but her gaze lingered on a feminine, long-haired youth standing below the Master’s seat. The youth was strikingly beautiful and seductive, with phoenix eyes, a pointed chin, and pale skin. Most notable was the deep red cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, which looked like a flicker of demonic fire.

This youth was Ji Yuran, a transformation of a “Demonic Lotus” that served on Mount Buzhou.

The lotus was originally a Buddhist Golden Lotus, but it had been stolen by the ancient Demon Emperor Chi You and tainted with demonic qi. After returning to the righteous path, he had to cultivate in the spiritual springs of Mount Buzhou for a thousand years to undergo a “Tribulation” to purify his filth and return to the Western Paradise.

Perhaps only Gong Dongling knew that Ji Yuran’s “Tribulation” was a Romantic Tribulation, and his target was Xie Yu.

That’s right—Ji Yuran was the famous male lead of this book, a classic psychopath who expressed his “love” by torturing the female lead both mentally and physically.

Half of the melodramatic suffering in this “stand-in” novel came from Ji Yuran’s sudden bouts of insanity and his indecisiveness between the White Moonlight and the Stand-in.

At this point in the Grand Competition plot, Ji Yuran still viewed Xie Yu with disdain and mockery, treating her as a mere toy. He hadn’t developed those “deep, agonizing feelings” yet, so he naturally wouldn’t help her.

According to the plot, however, he was supposed to appear when Xie Yu was on the brink of death to save her.

Yes, even if Gong Dongling hadn’t saved Xie Yu, the power of the plot and the “Protagonist Aura” would have eventually forced them together, turning this life-or-death accident into their initial bond.

Gong Dongling had stolen the male lead’s role because, having read the whole book, she knew Ji Yuran was a scumbag. If Xie Yu stayed with him, it would be a miracle if she didn’t blacken.

To save the heroine, the first step was to strip this scumbag of his “Male Lead” status and help Xie Yu escape the manure pit.

Ji Yuran, of course, had no idea his status was plummeting at this very moment. He was currently staring at Gong Dongling with interest, wondering how she would deal with Xie Yu.

“Why does the Master’s disciple have such grand airs? Making us wait so long!” An old man with white hair and a beard huffed, speaking sarcastically.

This was the Second Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, Elder Yu. He was the most arrogant of the bunch and was deeply disliked by the disciples of Mount Buzhou.

Facing such blatant hostility, Gong Dongling remained polite and composed: “Elder Yu, please calm your anger. It was indeed wrong of Dongling to arrive late and make everyone wait. However, I had a specific reason for the delay. I hope the Elder will not take offense.”

She displayed the object she had been holding—a small bottle with a faint, shimmering firelight on its surface.

It was the same item she had taken out after Xie Yu left.

“It’s Heat Poison!” someone recognized it and cried out.

Xie Yu had been convicted because Heat Poison was found on her sword.

Normally, Heat Poison wasn’t a particularly powerful toxin, but it was the perfect counter to “Cold Qi.” It was highly specific. It was the collision of this Heat Poison with the Cold Qi in Gong Dongling’s body that caused her old illness to flare up, leading to her collapse on the spot.

Because she couldn’t explain the poison on her sword, Xie Yu had been defenseless and sent to confinement.

Gong Dongling, however, knew the truth perfectly well. During the competition, the original owner couldn’t defeat her Junior Sister (who had lower cultivation). Afraid of being surpassed, she had used a “mutually destructive” tactic.

As a result, Xie Yu was beaten and confined, earning a reputation for poisoning her peers.

The original owner, however, reaped what she sowed. She underestimated the virulence of the Heat Poison and was essentially burned to death by it, allowing Gong Dongling to transmigrate into her body.

“Where did you get this Heat Poison?” the Elder asked, suspicious. Could she have poisoned herself?

Xu Ruozhen remembered Gong Dongling’s casual remark from the day before, and his frown deepened.

Gong Dongling was a “work of art” he had painstakingly cultivated. He did not want to see her destroy her own future. He secretly prepared a “Silence Spell” in his palm, ready to shut her mouth if she started to incriminate herself.

The cultivators present held various expressions, all ears for what she would say next.

“This poison is…” She paused on purpose to build suspense. “I obtained it from a demon core dealer. They told me that Fire Ghouls carry this poison in their bodies.”

Fire Ghouls were low-level monsters that plagued the human world. Though relatively weak, they were numerous and were often hunted by outer-sect disciples for training.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of topic.

The Elder who had scolded her earlier stroked his beard and asked, “Are you saying Xie Yu bought the poison from a dealer?”

“Elder, let me explain slowly.

Fire Ghouls propagate by splitting their main bodies. The original Fire Ghoul—what we call the Fire Ghoul Mother—has Heat Poison within its demon core. Coincidentally, Junior Sister Xie Yu’s last training mission was to the mortal realm to eliminate Fire Ghouls. This explains why Heat Poison remained on her sword.

Because few people know that Fire Ghouls carry this toxin, and even fewer know which one is the ‘Mother,’ she naturally wouldn’t know where the poison on her sword came from.

Thus, it seems Junior Sister was indeed wrongly accused.”

Gong Dongling’s voice was soft yet powerful, paced perfectly to be convincing.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ruozhen’s expression softened. He had truly feared she was going to burn bridges—not just because his “cultivated tool” would be ruined, but because certain secrets related to him might be exposed…

The representatives of the Law Enforcement Hall looked a bit embarrassed, realizing they had made a wrongful judgment but unable to save face.

Gong Dongling saw his discomfort and didn’t push:

“If I hadn’t believed in my Junior Sister’s character, I wouldn’t have gone through ancient texts to verify this. Besides, Heat Poison isn’t fatal; the blame lies with the Cold Qi in my own body for creating such a misunderstanding. Not only did it implicate my Junior Sister, but it also caused the Elders and brothers of the Law Enforcement Hall so much trouble. I will personally visit the Hall another day to apologize.”

These words were music to their ears. The Law Enforcement Hall members no longer felt like they were being slapped in the face.

The Elder nodded in satisfaction, taking the “exit” she provided: “It was all just a misunderstanding. No need for apologies. However, your Junior Sister did endure a whipping for no reason because of your illness; you should take good care of her.”

“Dongling will keep that in mind.”

But before her voice could fade, a lazy, drawling voice spoke up from the side.

“In the end, this is just your speculation. How can you prove Xie Yu actually killed a Fire Ghoul Mother during that mission? They are so rare—perhaps only one in a hundred thousand. How could it ‘coincidentally’ die under Xie Yu’s sword?”