After Transmigrating Into a Pirated Novel to Teach Them a Lesson - Chapter 3

“What about your master?”

Only then did Liu Changning realize that those two words were what had made the person in front of her stop. But what she had just said was completely made up. She had only seen her master once, on the day of the disciple-recruitment ceremony. After that, she had never seen her again.

She could only say stubbornly, “My master is very powerful. Everyone who has seen her is afraid of her.”

Fu Chenxue: “…In what way is she powerful?”

Liu Changning’s hands searched for anything she could use to defend herself. Her lips were pale as she answered, “She is a sword cultivator, and also a Soul Separation powerhouse. If you drain my spiritual power dry, she will definitely come after you.”

A Soul Separation powerhouse.

Fu Chenxue could not help laughing. She held her forehead helplessly. She was only a Golden Core medical cultivator, yet this child had somehow made her into a Soul Separation powerhouse with a random lie.

The person opposite her had not spoken for a while. Liu Changning was extremely frightened, wondering if some flaw in her lie had been discovered.

Fu Chenxue said, “I know you’re very scared, but if I wanted to hurt you, you wouldn’t have survived last night. But you’ve lived safely until now, haven’t you?”

“I’m an unaffiliated wandering cultivator. I found you beneath the cliff,” Fu Chenxue explained to her. “You have many wounds infected with demonic energy. I applied medicine to you. I absolutely had no intention of taking liberties with you.”

After listening to her for a while, Liu Changning asked uneasily, “Really?”

Fu Chenxue wanted to nod, but then remembered Liu Changning could not see. So she smiled faintly. “Mm.”

Liu Changning did not let down her guard. “Then what is going on with the spiritual spring? You… you aren’t trying to drain my spiritual power dry?” As she said this, even her earlobes turned red.

Fu Chenxue laughed out loud. “This spiritual spring is used to treat injuries. Your leg injury can’t be delayed. I carried you inside because you hadn’t woken up. I had no intention of using you for cultivation.”

Fu Chenxue slowly explained everything to her, and only then did Liu Changning understand what had happened.

“Since you’re already awake, you can go in and soak in the spiritual spring yourself.” Seeing that her thoughts were sensitive, Fu Chenxue did not dare get too close to her. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

After saying this, Fu Chenxue really left, leaving Liu Changning where she was.

Liu Changning froze for a long time. In the end, she moved away from the spiritual spring and crawled alone into a corner, hugging her knees as she hid there.

She did not want to go into that spiritual spring. She did not know what would happen inside.

Right now, she could not see anything. She could not bring herself to trust a stranger.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” Fu Chenxue walked back in. “The robe you’re wearing is my defensive magical robe. If you don’t like it…”

Liu Changning hid in the corner. When she heard that voice, her heart almost leapt out of her chest.

Oh no. She had been discovered!

Liu Changning knew all too well what “disobedient” meant. Back in the Demon Realm, because she had refused to hand over the Yubing Sect’s core mental cultivation method, the Ghost Altar’s Altar Master had said that something this disobedient could only be taught a lesson.

Then her eyes had gone blind. Before she lost consciousness, she still remembered the sound of those people laughing loudly. It had been so piercing, so shrill.

Fu Chenxue frowned and walked over. Liu Changning began to panic again. “Don’t come over. I… I don’t want to go in.”

“If you don’t go in, your legs won’t recover.” Fu Chenxue repeated seriously, “I’m not from the Demon Realm. I won’t hurt you. And last night, I already bandaged most of the wounds on your body.”

Liu Changning froze. It was true. She had checked earlier and just now as well. There were only traces of spiritual medicine on her body. If she smelled carefully, there was also a faint, bitter medicinal scent.

This person had bandaged her.

Could it be… that she had misunderstood? This person did not mean to hurt her, but wanted to save her instead?

Liu Changning became somewhat dazed.

Seeing the hesitation on her face, Fu Chenxue said again, “Don’t be afraid. I only want to cure you.”

Cure her?

Liu Changning still did not dare move.

Fu Chenxue reached out a hand toward her. “I know you can’t see. When I found you at the bottom of the cliff, your eyes were already completely crimson.”

“Come.” Fu Chenxue turned her palm upward. “My hand is right in front of you.”

A breath like melting first snow drifted over. Liu Changning’s heart trembled. After hesitating for a long time, she finally reached out tentatively with her fingertips.

Fu Chenxue held her hand and slowly sent a stream of spiritual power into her. “Do you feel my spiritual power? I’m not from the Demon Realm.”

Only then did Liu Changning feel a soft yet mellow spiritual power, layered within the palm of her hand.

Indeed, the people from the Demon Realm’s Ghost Altar could not possibly possess this kind of aura.

Liu Changning calmed down.

Fu Chenxue let go of her hand and asked, “How did your eyes get injured?”

Liu Changning hesitated for a moment before answering anxiously, “It was the people from the Demon Realm’s Ghost Altar.”

“I don’t know what method they used to poison my eyes. Whenever I opened my eyes, I felt terrible pain. After that, all I could see was blood-red.”

So cruel.

Fu Chenxue felt a wave of discomfort in her heart. Then Liu Changning spoke again.

“They were also the ones who broke my legs.”

Fu Chenxue hurriedly said, “Your legs can be healed in the spiritual spring.”

“The spiritual spring?” Liu Changning shook her head. “I am a disciple of the Yubing Sect. I want to return to the Yubing Sect.”

Return to the Yubing Sect?

No, that would not work. The system had said only the spiritual spring could heal her legs.

Fu Chenxue immediately answered, “No.”

Liu Changning froze slightly. Then a look of distrust appeared on her face again.

Fu Chenxue quickly said, “The people from the Demon Realm might still be nearby. If you go out like this, what if they capture you a second time?”

This was true. Even Fu Chenxue did not know whether the people from the Demon Realm were still above the cliff.

When Liu Changning heard this, her expression eased. “Mm… you’re right.”

Fu Chenxue asked, “What is your name?”

“Liu Changning.”

Fu Chenxue thought this was not bad. She had given her real name.

The two of them fell into silence. After a while, Fu Chenxue was about to say something else when she discovered that Liu Changning had suddenly fainted.

Fu Chenxue was startled and reached out to check her forehead—it was burning hot.

After the struggle just now, Liu Changning was already exhausted. With her injuries added on top of that, the fever had come fiercely. Fu Chenxue immediately pulled her into her arms. She tore off a piece of her own sleeve, soaked it in the spiritual spring, and prepared to wipe Liu Changning’s face.

Holding the wet cloth, Fu Chenxue thought that she had already treated Liu Changning’s injuries, so wiping her face should… be fine, right?

In any case, she could not let Liu Changning keep burning with fever like this.

Fu Chenxue carefully wiped her down once. Liu Changning was muddle-headed. After Fu Chenxue finished, she lifted her by the waist, preparing to place her into the spring water.

Too much time had already been wasted today. They could not wait any longer.

She tested the water temperature, then placed Liu Changning inside.

But the moment Fu Chenxue put her in, Liu Changning’s body tilted, and her head sank beneath the water.

!!!

Fu Chenxue hurriedly jumped in and fished her out of the water.

Sure enough, an unconscious person could not control herself. Liu Changning had no awareness. Her entire body was soaked, and her hair had completely come loose.

Fu Chenxue resigned herself to sitting by the shore and supporting Liu Changning’s shoulders.

Water dripped steadily around them. The air was filled with thick moisture. Leaning against the stone wall, Fu Chenxue could still feel the aura flowing from the spiritual spring.

But this spiritual spring… why did it make her feel so uncomfortable? It was as if some force was constantly rejecting her, making her whole body icy cold.

Fu Chenxue found it rather strange. That was not right. She clearly still had the physique of a cultivator now. Logically speaking, the spiritual spring should only strengthen her spiritual power. It should not produce this bone-piercing cold.

Could it be that the original owner’s constitution rejected the spiritual spring, and that this was where the foreshadowing for her being suited to demonic cultivation had been planted…

Fu Chenxue’s face darkened.

Time slowly passed. Fu Chenxue shivered beside the spiritual spring. In contrast, Liu Changning’s complexion grew more and more rosy, as if the spring water really was easing her condition.

Seeing this, Fu Chenxue thought, cold or not, she should heal Liu Changning first.

In the middle of the night, Liu Changning finally woke up. More accurately, she was woken by the cold, because the hand on her shoulder was far too cold, like a block of ice.

She opened her mouth and asked carefully, “Is it you?”

The stone cave was very quiet. Aside from the sound of water, there were no other noises. So Fu Chenxue immediately woke up when she heard this. She had held this posture for four hours, and her body had long since gone numb.

“You’re awake…”

Liu Changning shifted somewhat unnaturally.

Fu Chenxue let go of her and moved a little to the side. “Do you feel any better?”

Strangely enough, after waking up, Liu Changning did indeed feel that her body was not as exhausted as before. The spring water was warm, and it seemed as if a warm current had been circling around her ankles the entire time, relaxing her whole body.

She answered honestly, “Much better.”

Fu Chenxue breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. The system said… No, I mean, I said that if you soak in this spring water for four hours every day, your leg injury will recover.”

Liu Changning hesitated, but still gave a slight nod.

To be honest, right now, she could not see and could not walk. Even if she wanted to return to the Yubing Sect, she would not know how to get back. The person who had saved her did not seem to have any intention of harming her, so she could stay for the time being.

“Um, if you don’t mind…” Fu Chenxue reached out her hand. “I’ll carry you out.”

Liu Changning anxiously groped around in the air for a long while before she accurately found that hand.

That hand was wet from the water, damp to the touch, yet very warm. Liu Changning was lifted into Fu Chenxue’s arms and carried away from the spiritual spring.

The things inside this cave residence were quite complete. It really did seem like a place where someone lived. Fu Chenxue lit the glazed lamp on the stone table, then placed Liu Changning back on the stone bed and covered her with a thin robe. She said, “I usually live alone in this cave residence, so there’s only one stone bed here.”

Liu Changning seemed to understand something and propped up her upper body. “Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Fu Chenxue quickly stopped her. “Why sleep on the floor? Children are still at the age when they’re growing. You need to rest properly.”

Liu Changning said, “I’m fifteen. In a few more years, I’ll be eighteen.”

That was not what Fu Chenxue cared about. She used a small cleansing spell to clean both their clothes and said, “You’re injured. Rest well tonight.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve already passed the fasting stage. I don’t need to sleep for too long. Meditating will be enough.”

“But the floor is very cold…”

Fu Chenxue took out a beast-fur blanket from her Qiankun pouch and lay down casually. “All right. Sleep.”

Although there was some distance between them, Fu Chenxue carried a very clear, cold fragrance. Liu Changning smelled it and felt very comfortable. She began talking to Fu Chenxue.

“Are you a medical cultivator?”

Fu Chenxue hummed in response.

“My master is also a medical cultivator.”

Fu Chenxue smiled. “Wasn’t your master a Soul Separation powerhouse?”

Liu Changning’s face instantly flushed red. She had forgotten the lie she had made up earlier. After a long while, she said gloomily, “Actually, I don’t even know my master.”

This piqued Fu Chenxue’s interest. She needed to hear how the female lead got along with Fu Chenxue. Once they spent more time together, revealing her identity would not seem so abrupt, and it would fit the character setting too.

After all, in the original book, she had not given this master any character details at all.

Liu Changning said, “I only saw my master once. It was on the day of the disciple-recruitment ceremony. After that, I never saw her again.”

Fu Chenxue asked, “She doesn’t teach you?”

This question was nonsense. Fu Chenxue naturally knew that Yubing Sect disciples could only meet their masters after reaching Foundation Establishment.

Sure enough, Liu Changning shook her head seriously. “Yubing Sect disciples all attend classes together. Only after reaching Foundation Establishment will they receive instruction from their masters.”

Fu Chenxue said, “So that’s how it is.”

The two of them were silent for a while. Then Fu Chenxue said, “But since you want to return to the Yubing Sect, once your legs recover, I will definitely take you back.”

Liu Changning froze slightly and asked toward the floor, “Are you telling the truth?”

“Naturally.” Fu Chenxue curled her lips.

“Then when you take me back, you must explain clearly that I am a disciple of Winter Peak.” Liu Changning said anxiously, “Perhaps… perhaps my master has a way to cure my eyes.”

Hearing this, Fu Chenxue felt her heart soften. She could not help asking curiously, “You’ve never even met her properly. How do you know she can cure your eyes?”

Liu Changning relaxed her strength and said miserably, “I don’t know. But my master is a medical cultivator, so she should have a way, right? I… don’t want to be unable to see.”

“I don’t want to be a useless person.”

“Do you remember who harmed you?” Fu Chenxue was touched by Liu Changning’s words and completely forgot that she herself was also supposed to turn to demonic cultivation later. Especially when the female lead said this, her eyes were faintly red at the corners, and the corners of her lips curved downward. She truly looked as if she had suffered an enormous grievance.

Liu Changning murmured, “The Demon Realm’s Ghost Altar Master, Yu Tianji. The last time I left the Yubing Sect was half a year ago. On my way back to the sect, I happened to run into his subordinates. They captured me and forced me to tell them the Yubing Sect’s core mental cultivation method. I refused, so they tortured me in every possible way…”

Fu Chenxue thought, that is not right. The Yubing Sect lost a disciple. Did the sect leader not send anyone out to search?

Liu Changning seemed to guess what she was thinking and said, “Perhaps my junior brothers and sisters looked for me, but no one would have thought that I had been taken away by the Demon Realm’s Ghost Altar.”

“Yu Tianji cultivates the ghost path, and his appearance has long since been ruined. But the core mental cultivation method of Winter Peak in the Yubing Sect can heal the dead and regrow flesh from bone. Yu Tianji forced me to reveal the method because he delusionally wanted to heal his face.”