After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 26

After saying this, Gong Dongling also felt that she was too worried about Xie Yu’s safety. Concern had made her lose control, and she should not have let her emotions show so clearly. She silently took half a step back and looked at Xu Ruozhen’s expression.

He merely smiled casually. “Ling’er doesn’t want to drink the medicine? Then don’t drink it. We can just pour it away.”

After saying that, he loosened both hands, letting the porcelain bowl filled with scalding medicine fall to the floor with a crash. In an instant, the ice-crack-pattern porcelain bowl, worth a thousand gold, shattered into pieces. The medicinal soup splashed high, spraying straight across Gong Dongling’s exposed instep.

Gong Dongling instinctively flinched from the burn, then forced herself to endure it, only secretly hiding her reddened foot beneath the hem of her skirt.

Xu Ruozhen witnessed all this, yet said nothing.

This was a punishment he had deliberately given Gong Dongling. Was raising a disciple not just like keeping a little pet? When obedient, give it a piece of candy. When spoiled by favor and acting arrogant, beat it back into place. Only in this way would the little pet understand its position.

“If not for me today, no one would have rescued you from Qiu Yan at all,” he said unhurriedly, his voice like a cold poisonous snake, icy and damp.

“I have taught you everything I learned in my life, given you countless pills and magical artifacts, yet even now, your cultivation is only at the middle stage of Golden Core. You were even knocked out by that little bit of sleeping drug, unable to compare even to that useless Xie Yu. Tell me, if you left me, how many days could you survive in this cruel cultivation world?”

“Do not blame Master for being strict with you. It is only because Ling’er has truly been too disobedient lately and has chilled Master’s heart. If you obeyed me in everything, how could I bear to harm even a single hair of yours?”

“Everything you have was given to you by me. Only by obediently knowing your place can you avoid suffering.” The corners of Xu Ruozhen’s mouth lifted slightly, making him look especially gentle, but the words he spoke were filled with warning.

Amid Xu Ruozhen’s cold words, Gong Dongling felt as if this body’s conditioned memories had been awakened. She was trembling uncontrollably. Aside from the foot that had been scalded by the hot medicine, her entire body felt as if it had fallen into an ice pit, cold sweat breaking out all over her.

If it were herself, she would at most be wary of Xu Ruozhen’s cultivation. She would not be hurt by those words.

But this physical reaction was undoubtedly because, before Gong Dongling came here, this body had been punished, even beaten and scolded by Xu Ruozhen, leaving behind a severe shadow.

Gong Dongling could not help recalling the plot of the original novel. In the book, the original owner clearly had feelings for her master that she should not have had, while Xu Ruozhen often stopped the original owner from crossing boundaries. But looking at things now, their roles seemed to have been reversed.

A faint guess gradually formed in her heart.

Could it be that, while Xu Ruozhen was raising the original owner, he had always been manipulating her, making the original owner, whose mind had not yet matured, begin to admire and depend on him in a sick, twisted way—until she could never leave him again?

What could be confirmed was that the original owner’s distorted personality had been cultivated by Xu Ruozhen himself.

If she broke away from his control, what would Xu Ruozhen do to her? This question hung in Gong Dongling’s heart, and the answer was already self-evident. He would continue using the old methods of mental control, brainwashing her through punishment and belittlement.

“Master, you are right. This disciple knows her mistake.” She lowered her head and pretended to admit her fault sincerely, intending to stabilize Xu Ruozhen for now.

Xu Ruozhen was all too familiar with Gong Dongling’s current frightened and guilty appearance. After all, the slightest punishment would make her uneasy and aware of her own situation.

“It is also because Master has been too busy lately and had no time to look after you that this estrangement has formed.” His words did not contain the slightest hint that he thought he was at fault. His focus was on the second half. “So I have decided to take you traveling for a while. It just so happens that we can send the Xuanji Grass to Immortal Lord Nandou and have it refined into a pill, resolving the cold energy in your body as soon as possible.”

“Trav… traveling?” Gong Dongling’s shock was plain to see. But when she met Xu Ruozhen’s gaze—clearly smiling, yet especially chilling—she swallowed the refusal back down and forced out an extremely strained smile. “I understand. Thank you, Master, for thinking so much on my behalf.”

Right now, she was living under someone else’s roof. Aside from temporarily compromising and showing weakness, she had no other choice. This entire Buzhou Mountain was Xu Ruozhen’s territory, and in front of outsiders, she was his good disciple. How could she possibly escape?

While she was planning for herself, she suddenly heard Xu Ruozhen say, “Ling’er, you were worried about Xie Yu’s situation earlier. I did not tell you before as punishment, but now I can tell you.”

Gong Dongling looked up and met Xu Ruozhen’s expression. She saw inquiry in his eyes too. It seemed he had deliberately brought this up to see what attitude she had toward Xie Yu.

No matter how anxious she was, Gong Dongling knew she absolutely could not let Xu Ruozhen stretch his claws toward Xie Yu again.

She deliberately looked unconcerned. “When was I worried about Xie Yu? My Xuanling is in her hands. Xuanling is the sword Master gave me, and Master knows how important it is to me. I asked about Xie Yu only because I was afraid Xuanling might be lost.”

Xu Ruozhen remembered that after Xuanling recognized two masters, Gong Dongling had nearly slit her own throat in despair. With a hint of charity, he said, “If you still want it, I can have Xie Yu bring it over. After all, when you go traveling, you cannot be without a weapon you are used to.”

“But,” he suddenly paused and looked at Gong Dongling meaningfully, “I want to know what Ling’er feels toward Xie Yu.”

Looking at the pit before her, Gong Dongling gritted her teeth and finally said, “I only pity her and sympathize with her. After all, she is my junior sister. If I bring her outside, she can’t embarrass me too badly either. Otherwise, people will say I deliberately suppressed her until she became like this.”

Xu Ruozhen finally calmed down and summoned Xie Yu in front of Gong Dongling, ordering her to bring Xuanling back.

After Xie Yu killed the giant python, she left the illusion realm. Without wasting any time, she returned directly to her shabby residence to cultivate.

Calling it cultivation was not quite accurate. She was merely accepting the transmission of that power, integrating it until it became her own, and disguising it as spiritual power.

When she received Xu Ruozhen’s summons, she had just completed one round of cultivation. Her appearance seemed to have changed slightly. Her figure was a little more slender and tall, while the slightly baby-fat contours of her young face had become sharper. A hint of hostility appeared, only to be withdrawn by Xie Yu again.

Xu Ruozhen would not summon her for no reason. Most likely, Senior Sister was looking for her. Thinking of this, her heart settled for a rare moment.

To show that she had just returned from the illusion realm, she put on the torn, disheveled clothes she had worn there and set off for Xu Ruozhen’s hall at the fastest speed.

The hall’s furnishings were the same as before, except the glazed vase she had shattered had been replaced with another decoration. Even so, it awakened those unbearable memories in Xie Yu’s mind. That day, she had come with the prescription, wanting to offer it to Xu Ruozhen, only to accidentally overhear their secret conversation…

At this moment, Xie Yu’s heart had long since turned fully toward Senior Sister, so she would only count this debt on Xu Ruozhen’s head.

After deliberately leaving Xie Yu waiting for a long while, Xu Ruozhen slowly walked out from the inner hall. A strange smile rested on his face as he looked Xie Yu up and down. “You wouldn’t have thought your senior sister was the one who summoned you, would you? From the moment she woke until now, she hasn’t asked a single thing about you.”

Xie Yu’s eyes remained fixed on the inner hall, completely ignoring Xu Ruozhen’s petty provocation.

Xu Ruozhen gave a cold snort and shifted his gaze to Xuanling. “Things that are not yours cannot be obtained through wishful thinking.”

His words carried another meaning. Xie Yu turned her face and looked at Xu Ruozhen indifferently, unmoved by his sarcasm. She did not care how outsiders mocked or provoked her. As long as she knew in her heart that Senior Sister was thinking of her, she could control her emotions.

Seeing that she was impervious, Xu Ruozhen finally swept his sleeve and left. Only after Xie Yu watched him walk far away did she push open the door and enter the inner hall.

But the moment Xie Yu stepped in, someone pulled her into a corner.

Sensing the familiar aura beside her, Xie Yu softened all over. She held Gong Dongling’s hand in return where it tugged at her sleeve and called softly, “Senior Sister.”

Gong Dongling had finally seen Xie Yu, and her heart was filled with complicated feelings. She only felt warmth spreading through her cold palm. “A-Yu, are you all right? Did you suffer any injuries?”

As she asked, she immediately saw a long tear at the left shoulder of Xie Yu’s clothes.

Carefully opening the fabric, she saw that the wound had not yet scabbed over. Not only was the deep cut terrifying, even the entire shoulder had turned black. Looking closely, she could see black mist filling the blood vessels around the wound, as if something was continuously corroding it.

“You were injured by demonic energy?!” Gong Dongling’s voice trembled. Just seeing this wound made her imagine Xie Yu being beaten until she could not fight back when facing Qiu Yan.

Xie Yu shrank back her exposed shoulder, unwilling to let Senior Sister look. “It’s nothing serious…”

“If we waited any longer, your arm would be crippled! Why don’t you cherish your own body?”

Seeing Xie Yu frown from the pain, Gong Dongling’s heart ached even more. Mist rose in her eyes. A-Yu had never feared pain. How unbearable must this demonic corrosion be to make her react like this?

“When I couldn’t afford herbs before, I never treated my wounds. I only let them heal on their own. Ever since Senior Sister appeared by my side, someone has bandaged them for me. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled too much by Senior Sister these days. Now I can’t even endure this little bit of pain.”

Xie Yu smiled bitterly. Her nostalgic gaze lingered on Gong Dongling’s face. After mustering great courage, she finally spoke, aggrieved like a child. “Senior Sister, I think I can’t leave you anymore…”

Gong Dongling froze in place.

In her impression, the reserved A-Yu rarely revealed her feelings in front of her. She always hid her thoughts and considered others in every way. But now, she looked into Gong Dongling’s eyes like an injured little beast begging for comfort and said, wronged, “I can’t leave you anymore.”

Gong Dongling nearly lost control of her emotions, but reason still made her shake her head in the end. “A-Yu, not yet.”

Gong Dongling did not tell Xie Yu that Xu Ruozhen was forcing her. She did not want to drag Xie Yu into this matter. Seeing that A-Yu was safe was enough for her.

Watching the light in Xie Yu’s eyes gradually extinguish, Gong Dongling’s breath also caught.

“It has nothing to do with Senior Sister. I’m the one without the ability to protect Senior Sister properly.” Xie Yu revealed a brilliant smile to hide the crack in her heart. She took out Xuanling and returned it to Senior Sister. “This is Xuanling. It has finally returned to its rightful owner.”

“Take this and buy a new sword.” As Gong Dongling accepted Xuanling, she handed Xie Yu a storage ring. It contained the tens of thousands of spirit stones she had earned from selling pills at the black market last time. Although it was not enough to buy a divine sword like Xuanling, it could buy a handy temporary sword for urgent use.

Gong Dongling had also secretly placed the Xuanji Grass inside the storage ring, hoping A-Yu would understand her painstaking intent after seeing it and keep the Xuanji Grass safe.

As for Xu Ruozhen, she would insist that the Xuanji Grass had disappeared. In any case, when they reached Immortal Lord Nandou, he could only let the matter drop.

Xie Yu originally did not want to accept it. But just then, the door was pushed open, revealing Xu Ruozhen’s unpleasant expression. He frowned as he looked at the two standing so close together. “Does returning Xuanling require this much time?”

“We’re almost done,” Gong Dongling said first, gripping Xuanling in one hand while secretly handing Xie Yu some gauze and medicine powder with the other.

Xu Ruozhen took in all her movements. With a cold snort, he turned away, but he had no intention of closing the door. This was urging Xie Yu to leave.

Xie Yu silently put the things into her sleeve. The pressure around her dropped terrifyingly low. Ignoring the fact that Xu Ruozhen was still standing at the door, she took a step forward and tightly pulled Senior Sister into her arms. She took a deep breath of Gong Dongling’s scent, feeling the folds in her heart smooth out a little. Only then did she lift herself onto her toes and whisper by Gong Dongling’s ear, “Senior Sister, wait for me.”

By the time Xu Ruozhen turned his head, Xie Yu had already released Gong Dongling, leaving only Gong Dongling struggling to suppress the heat rising in her cheeks.

Over the following period, two pieces of news swept through all of Buzhou Mountain.

The first was that after the dungeon, the Elders’ Council, and the victims’ testimonies reached their judgment, Qiu Yan was indeed confirmed to possess Demon Clan blood. However, he insisted that he was not a spy sent by the Demon Clan and had only wanted to cultivate the righteous path.

Lacking evidence, the Elders’ Council could only imprison him in the dungeon under the crime of being a remnant of the Demon Clan. In this lifetime, Qiu Yan would likely never see daylight again.

Everyone said Qiu Yan’s master, Daofa Zhenren, was truly pitiful. He had painstakingly taught a disciple for more than ten years, only for everything to come to nothing in the end. They also praised his noble character of being impartial and firmly refusing to shelter a remnant.

As for Qiu Zijian and Qi Tuo, the two cultivators severely injured by Qiu Yan at the time, although they survived, their spiritual roots were heavily damaged. They would likely never again walk the path to immortality. After waking, they aimed all their hatred at Qiu Yan, hoping he would be executed before the resentment in their hearts could be appeased.

Debts had their debtors, grudges had their culprits. Qiu Zijian and Qi Tuo could no longer cultivate. In this cultivation world where the weak were prey to the strong, their situation was difficult, and they did not dare make more enemies.

They feared Xie Yu’s power, so they took the initiative to cover up everything related to her that day and insisted only on Qiu Yan’s crimes.

The second matter was also related to Daofa Zhenren. His mediocre little disciple Xie Yu had actually won first place in the latest inner court junior competition, cutting through many Golden Core cultivators with only Foundation Establishment cultivation.

The people of the inner court had either once looked down on Xie Yu or had watched her being bullied without reacting. Now that they saw her leap up to become a dark horse, they all felt somewhat ashamed and had no face to interact with her.

But not only did Xie Yu not hold grudges, she remained as humble and gentle as ever when facing them.

Only then did everyone realize that Xie Yu was not Gong Dongling’s replacement, but a rare and excellent cultivator who was strong yet still hardworking. Even her appearance, which people had repeatedly said resembled Gong Dongling’s by a few points, now surpassed Gong Dongling herself.

“Gong Dongling is nothing but a flower vase, and she isn’t even as beautiful as Xie Yu.” For a time, such words became the thing most discussed in private.

But when Xie Yu heard such remarks, she became angry in a rare display. She even broke Buzhou Mountain’s rule against casual fighting between disciples, beating those people until they apologized and begged for mercy in the direction of Senior Sister’s residence.

When the disciples recalled the killing intent that rose from Xie Yu that day, their hearts clenched sharply. They were grateful they had never said anything similar.

Gong Dongling was Xie Yu’s reverse scale. No one could touch her.

This common understanding gradually took root in the hearts of Buzhou Mountain’s disciples.

They did not even dare discuss where Senior Sister Gong, who had disappeared for quite some time, had gone.

“Junior Sister Xie Yu, I helped you find out what you asked about last time.” A disciple stood a little farther away, gazing at the figure ahead, his eyes filled with astonishment and infatuation.

That female cultivator’s figure was especially tall, slender, and well-proportioned. She wore a low-key grayish-blue fitted outfit. Her long hair, which had always fallen loose over her shoulders before, was now tied high with a jiao-dragon belt. Her ponytail lifted in the wind, just like her eye-catching, flamboyant personality.

“Zhenren’s destination for this trip is Immortal Lord Nandou’s Wuwang Island… Also, Senior Sister Gong is indeed going with him.” The disciple told Xie Yu the information piece by piece. When he mentioned Gong Dongling, he even specially observed Xie Yu’s expression for a moment.

Xie Yu turned around and smiled. “Thank you, Senior Brother Ye. I’ll be going on a long trip for the next few days. If anyone asks about my whereabouts, please tell them I’ve gone into seclusion.”

Ye Xiuxian looked surprised. “Junior Sister wouldn’t also be planning to follow them to Immortal Lord Nandou’s place, would you? If Zhenren finds out, he will punish you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to look for Zhenren. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. You only need to help me conceal my whereabouts.” Xie Yu’s smiling brows and eyes did not change, but there seemed to be a different emotion in her gaze.

…

Gong Dongling had been grounded by Xu Ruozhen for several weeks. Although she did not often see his nauseating hypocrite face, she was bored out of her mind. She could not refine pills either, so she could only itch with longing as she repeatedly read that alchemy book, hoping that after reading it a few more times, she could memorize things like Xie Yu did.

She knew absolutely nothing of the outside news. She could only patiently wait for the day they set off to travel, so she could breathe a little fresh air outside.

When the day of departure arrived, to her pleasant surprise, she saw the treasure-seeking rat she had not seen in a long time. The treasure-seeking rat seemed to have been locked up for too long as well. The moment it got outside, it grew extremely excited, jumping up and down.

It recognized Gong Dongling at once and hopped straight onto her, nestling near her shoulder while squeaking.

The treasure-seeking rat had also been borrowed from Immortal Lord Nandou, and Xu Ruozhen planned to return the little rat when they arrived.

Gong Dongling still loathed Xu Ruozhen as much as ever, but she did not dare show it too obviously. She could only slowly fly on her sword, keeping a far distance from Xu Ruozhen’s sword in front. Out of sight, out of mind.

Although she and Xie Yu had not seen each other for some time, fortunately, the system had not sent any blackening alerts. At the very least, this proved that Xie Yu had not encountered any accidents.

“System, can you help me evaluate when Xu Ruozhen will finally let me go? If I’m grounded like this, how am I supposed to save our female lead?!” Gong Dongling asked the system gloomily in her heart, her face drooping.

【According to the original character setting, he will keep you by his side for at least two more months before gradually feeling reassured. If you do anything inconsistent with your character setting, Xu Ruozhen will likely adopt stricter methods of control,】 the system answered honestly.

“Two months?! If you want me dead, just say so.” Gong Dongling rolled her eyes. Moreover, she had already given the Xuanji Grass to Xie Yu. Xu Ruozhen still did not know about this. If he found out, the confinement room would definitely be arranged for her.

Either way, it was death. She might as well run. At least she would not have to suffer this anger!

Thinking of this, Gong Dongling began carefully planning how to escape.

She did not care at all about staying in Buzhou Mountain. There were hardly any normal people in that entire sect. She might as well take Xie Yu and leave this mire together.

After all, she knew alchemy, and Xie Yu could exterminate demons. Surely, they could support themselves somehow. Once Xie Yu grew strong enough to stand on her own, Gong Dongling would gloriously retire and never again have anything to do with these brain-dead villains in this lifetime!