After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 3

The person who suddenly spoke was Ji Yuran. There was a trace of careless amusement on his face, making it look as though he had only asked casually.

But no one in the hall dared treat his words as a passing whim. After all, he was a “divine object” from the heavens. Once he cultivated to perfect merit, he would return to the heavens. Naturally, they had to worship him properly. What if, after returning above, he still remembered your good or bad deeds? Wouldn’t that be disastrous?

Gong Dongling met his eyes. Seeing that he had disrupted her plan, her expression grew even warmer and more pleasant.

She laughed inwardly. She had known this lunatic, who feared nothing more than peace under heaven, would jump out to cause trouble. Did he think she had made all this up?

But every word she had said was true!

Before the major plotline of the sect competition came the part where the female lead shone brightly despite her ordinary body and low cultivation.

Xie Yu had gone with a group of outer sect disciples to train and exterminate demons. In the end, they had accidentally encountered the fire ghost mother. Xie Yu had stepped forward, stood in front of the other disciples, and defeated the demon.

As someone holding the script, could Gong Dongling be so easily slapped in the face by all of you?

In that case, all her preparations had not gone to waste. Gong Dongling stood to the side at ease, the corners of her lips lifted as she quietly waited for the main character to enter the stage.

At that moment, a disciple standing in the corner stepped forward at some point. He seemed to have made a great decision. Gritting his teeth, he shouted,

“I’m an outer sect disciple who went out training with Senior Sister Xie Yu last month. I can testify that we did indeed encounter the fire ghost mother. Because we underestimated the enemy, we were nearly devoured by it. Senior Sister Xie saved us! Because of that, Senior Sister was severely injured…”

When everyone’s eyes focused on him, his face turned red again, and he lowered his head in shame.

“Why have we never heard any of you mention this before?!” the elder thundered.

When disciples encountered a special demonic beast during training, they were supposed to report it to Buzhou Mountain immediately so corresponding merits, faults, rewards, and punishments could be recorded. Yet nearly a month had passed, and not a single person had mentioned it.

The disciple lowered his head even further. “I’m sorry. At the time, everyone underestimated the enemy and failed to fulfill their duties properly. We suffered heavy losses. On top of that, the demonic beast self-detonated its demon core before it died, so there weren’t any spoils to make up for it. If we reported it, many people would be punished… So the team leader discussed it with everyone, and we covered the matter up…”

“You… you rebellious disciples!” The old man’s white beard trembled with rage.

“Enough. This matter ends here. Since the truth has already come to light, there is no need to continue wronging an innocent person.” Xu Ruozhen, who had been seated high at the head of the hall all this time, suddenly spoke, directly putting a final verdict on the matter.

Daofa Zhenren was an honored enshrined cultivator of Buzhou Mountain, and his words carried great weight. Once he spoke, no one else said anything.

“Ling’er, come with me. The poison in your body hasn’t been fully cleared yet. As for the rest of you, disperse early. The Law Hall hasn’t even handled its own affairs properly, yet you rushed to my hall to demand an explanation. That is rather inappropriate.” His expression was displeased. After leaving behind those words, he turned to leave with a sweep of his sleeve.

Gong Dongling was startled, then quickly picked up her pace and followed him.

The disciples gradually dispersed, and Xie Yu’s figure emerged from the corner.

She was wearing the grayish-blue uniform commonly worn by Buzhou Mountain disciples. A section of wrist exposed beneath her sleeve was wrapped firmly in several layers of gauze, and at the end of it, someone had carefully tied a bow. Against her simple, dull outfit, it was especially eye-catching.

Having just witnessed a discussion about her own charges, Xie Yu was filled with complicated emotions.

The reason Xie Yu had always firmly believed the heat poison incident was connected to Gong Dongling was because, during their match, she had personally seen Gong Dongling casually flick her hand, as if sprinkling something onto her sword. Afterward, heat poison had been found on Xie Yu’s sword.

But that clear and logical explanation just now made her doubt for the first time whether she had truly wronged Gong Dongling.

On the other hand, Xie Yu had indeed killed that scourge with her sword before. However, the fire ghost mother had self-detonated its demon core at the very end. Her sword had never touched the demon core, so logically, it should not have been stained with heat poison either…

What confused her even more was why Gong Dongling had prepared so much just to return justice to her.

While she was still unable to figure it out no matter how she thought about it, a group of people walked toward her head-on. They were all tall and sturdy, each wearing a different expression. Xie Yu’s breath instinctively caught. She wanted to step back and avoid them, but her body bumped into the wall.

A voice called out to her. “Senior Sister Xie.”

The moment she heard that form of address, Xie Yu fell into a brief daze. It seemed no one had ever addressed her so respectfully as “Senior Sister” before.

As soon as she looked up, she recognized them. They were the outer sect disciples who had gone with her to the mortal realm to exterminate demons last time.

Their faces were full of guilt. The team leader spoke first. “Senior Sister Xie, I wonder if you still remember us. We went out together to train and exterminate demons. Senior Sister once saved us… Although the truth has come to light today, we still feel that we owe Senior Sister an apology.”

“Didn’t everyone agree before not to report it?” Xie Yu’s face was pale. At some point, she had begun to fear dealing with so many people, and even her voice was a little faint.

“If Senior Sister Gong hadn’t reminded us about this matter, everyone would have already forgotten Senior Sister’s kindness completely. We even caused Senior Sister to be punished. In the future, if Senior Sister needs help with anything, just tell us. If we can help, we absolutely won’t spare any effort!”

That person was sincere. Seeing that she was not used to this, he did not pester Xie Yu. After making his promise, he left with the group.

“What exactly do you want…” Xie Yu looked at the bow on her wrist, her eyes somewhat lost.

“Zhenren, you didn’t call this disciple here because of the poison, did you?”

When Gong Dongling had entered this body, the heat poison had already been resolved by the system. It was impossible for Xu Ruozhen not to have detected that.

This was clearly just an excuse to bring Gong Dongling out.

His footsteps paused. He turned back, and unlike his impatience from earlier, his face now carried a trace of helplessness, as if he were facing a child throwing a tantrum. “Ling’er has truly become much more distant from Master lately. We master and disciple were never like this before.”

As he spoke, Xu Ruozhen reached out to touch Gong Dongling’s head, but she turned slightly and avoided him.

“This disciple is nothing but a medicine jar. I wouldn’t want to pass my sickly aura to Zhenren.” There was no hint of disgust on Gong Dongling’s face. She remained as smooth and proper as ever, as though she were sincerely considering Xu Ruozhen’s well-being.

But inside, she felt an intense discomfort. A thought faintly surfaced in her mind. Did this “Master” really feel only a master-disciple bond toward the original owner?

The more tense the situation, the calmer Gong Dongling became as she considered how to respond. She was not someone who liked showing her emotions, yet she was also able to pick up useful information from the faintest clues in the other person’s behavior.

In the original novel, this master and disciple were partners in crime. The original owner feared Xu Ruozhen, yet also relied heavily on him. As for Xu Ruozhen’s feelings toward the original owner, they seemed more like control…

Of course, Xu Ruozhen did not believe her words. But as the lofty and revered number-one sword cultivator under heaven, his pride prevented him from making any further move.

“Good. Very good. Truly wonderful.” He gave a cold laugh, his eyes locking onto Gong Dongling.

The disgusting feeling of being stared at by a venomous snake made Gong Dongling even more uncomfortable. She suddenly remembered how, back in the confinement room, Xu Ruozhen had released his pressure on her. He had clearly known she would be injured, yet he still did it, merely to punish her for insisting on saving Xie Yu.

And that made Gong Dongling realize even more clearly that with her current frail body and weak cultivation, Xu Ruozhen could do whatever he wanted to her!

She lowered her head respectfully. “If there is nothing else, this disciple will not disturb Zhenren any longer. I will take my leave first.”

With that, she turned to leave, but someone suddenly grabbed her wrist hard. Gong Dongling’s expression turned completely cold.

“Ever since you returned from the Far North, you seem to have harbored resentment toward Master. Shouldn’t we have a proper talk? Or could it be that the person who appeared after being missing for so long is not my disciple at all, but someone whose body has been possessed?”

“What do you want to talk about?” Gong Dongling lifted her eyes. There were no extra emotions in her cold gaze. Only now did her true self finally show.

Xu Ruozhen was startled for a moment as well. When he came back to himself, he suddenly remembered that in his impression, during all her gentle and friendly moments, her smile had never seemed to reach her eyes.

Seeing that Gong Dongling had lowered her stance, Xu Ruozhen’s mood seemed to ease slightly. He was no longer as aggressive as before. Instead, he gave a bitter smile. “What are you resenting Master for? Is it still because of Xie Yu?”

“During the two years I was missing, I struggled to survive in the Far North, waiting bitterly for Master and my fellow disciples to come find me. Though I was disappointed again and again, I never gave up. In the end, I relied on that faith to leave the Far North and, after countless hardships, finally returned to Buzhou Mountain. And what was waiting for me? The feeling of having been completely replaced!

“I can ignore the fact that she looks like me. I can ignore the fact that she carries my sword. I can ignore that I am no longer the cherished little junior sister. But I cannot ignore being replaced by someone else in all your hearts.”

Fortunately, Xu Ruozhen loved filling in the blanks himself, providing Gong Dongling with material to work with. In order not to be suspected of possessing this body, she could only build a new persona for herself and learn from the original owner’s usual tricks.

So she was only throwing a tantrum out of anger. That was normal. After all, he understood his own disciple. In her heart, no one was more important than the master who had raised her from childhood, Xu Ruozhen thought.

“I never knew… Xie Yu had hurt you so deeply. If Ling’er still hates Xie Yu, I can sever my master-disciple relationship with her.”

Sever the relationship?!

How could he say something so unconscionable? Gong Dongling felt the veins in her forehead jump, her temples throbbing with anger.

“How is it Xie Yu I hate? What I hate is the way all of you gave up on me! None of this has anything to do with her. Xie Yu should not become the sacrifice in our conflict! None of you have ever understood my feelings.” This anger made her emotions flare up in a rare burst of irritation.

What was the most disgusting thing in this novel?

It was that while they treated Xie Yu as a substitute, they also shoved all their guilt and mistakes onto her!

Because they felt uneasy inside, they bullied Xie Yu again and again, using the excuse of venting anger on Gong Dongling’s behalf. But was it really Xie Yu she hated?

What did it mean to want to have it both ways while pretending to be righteous? This was exactly it.

“Fine, fine, fine. I won’t sever it. In any case, Master’s feelings toward you have never changed. I will always treat you as the person closest to me. As long as we master and disciple are of one heart, we won’t let anyone drive a wedge between us, right?” Seeing that Gong Dongling was truly angry, Xu Ruozhen instead softened his voice and began coaxing and brainwashing her.

“Master and disciple of one heart? How come I’ve never seen Master share his heart with me?”

A bright, hearty voice rang out. A sapphire-blue figure flashed past Gong Dongling’s eyes and landed on the ground in an instant.

He turned back and gave Gong Dongling a sly smile, then blinked.

Only then did Gong Dongling recognize him.

This person was Eldest Senior Brother.