After Transmigrating, the Female Lead Went Dark (GL) - Chapter 16

As soon as the whip appeared, the Sect Leader became instantly obedient. “Saintess sister, I have plenty of love already.”

Fortunately, Xiao Xinyue was only trying to scare her. Seeing that she was truly intimidated, she put the whip away.

However, the Sect Leader was like a goldfish with a seven-second memory; she never learned a lesson. Seeing the threat gone, she immediately pressed her. “Saintess sister, don’t you use a sword? Where did you get a whip?”

“How can one manage in the jianghu (martial arts world) with only one weapon? My sword cannot be easily drawn; that is for killing. When I am not killing, a whip is sufficient,” Xiao Xinyue said, looking at the Sect Leader with a particularly benevolent (but actually threatening) gaze.

Zhou Zhuying: “…”

The female lead’s Jekyll and Hyde demeanor, oscillating between sweet and dominant, made her entire body ache.

Is this really the beautiful and cool female lead from the original novel? I feel like she has a hidden dark side!

After giving her a scare, Xiao Xinyue brought the conversation back to serious matters. “The Sect Leader guessed correctly. The remnants of your Demonic Sect are indeed gathering. Fortunately, the Sect Leader previously offered me an ingenious plan that has temporarily resolved this pressing issue.”

Sect Leader Zhou: “?”

She had said too many things in her effort to survive and genuinely forgot which proposals she’d offered to use against the Demon Sect.

Xiao Xinyue reminded her. “The Sect Leader suggested that I use your imprisonment to intimidate the Demon Sect remnants and also hoped to cooperate with me, using the Sect Leader’s personal testimony to persuade the remnants to surrender…”

Zhou, the Rebellious Sect Leader, remembered. She still didn’t think there was anything wrong with her proposal, adding, “All that fighting and killing is bad for the image. If it can be solved peacefully, then resolve it harmoniously!” She asked curiously, “So, Saintess sister isn’t worried about that matter?”

“After the news spread that the Sect Leader is in the hands of the Moshan Sect, the Demon Sect’s actions have become somewhat secretive. They are no longer making a big fuss, desperately trying to storm the Moshan Sect. However, they’ve raised a banner, claiming to be trying to rescue the Sect Leader, and are now preparing to act in secret.”

“That is indeed a headache,” Zhou Zhuying commented detachedly, like an outside observer.

Then she quickly realized: The main forces of the various sects are all still at the Moshan Sect. If those few Demon Sect people come to rescue her, they won’t be rescuing her—they’ll be serving themselves up as an after-dinner snack and coming to their deaths!

Besides, the male and female leads are both at the Moshan Sect, which means the Heavenly Dao favors the Moshan Sect. The Demon Sect has no chance of succeeding!

She didn’t want either side to suffer casualties because of her, or worse, for a slight mistake to lead to a widespread massacre. Even if both sides just wanted an excuse to fight, she didn’t want to be that “excuse.”

She grasped Xiao Xinyue’s hand and said sincerely, “Saintess sister, if you have a way to resolve this peacefully, I will obediently cooperate with you!”

“Obediently cooperate…” Xiao Xinyue repeated the words, her gaze slowly deepening from its initial clarity.

As lunchtime approached, the two walked back.

Before reaching the courtyard, Xiao Xinyue suddenly said, “You are not the Sect Leader.”

Zhou Zhuying’s heart skipped a beat, and she missed a step, nearly tumbling down the stairs. Fortunately, Xiao Xinyue was quick enough to catch her.

Zhou Zhuying was still reeling from being so directly exposed about not being the original owner.

She stared blankly at Xiao Xinyue, her mind spinning: Did the female lead really figure out that I’m not the original owner? If I’m not the original owner, do I have no value? How will the female lead deal with the “fake” me?

Xiao Xinyue looked at Zhou Zhuying’s clear eyes, and a fleeting, unidentifiable emotion crossed her heart. She said, “You must say publicly that you are not Zhou Zhuying, the Sect Leader.”

“Huh?” Zhou Zhuying didn’t understand.

Xiao Xinyue’s mind was made up, and her expression became more serious. “I will arrange for you to meet with the sect leaders of the various factions. At that time, you will tell them that you are not Zhou Zhuying, the Demon Sect Leader, but a body double captured by the Demon Sect because of your similar appearance. The real Sect Leader long ago escaped with the Demon Venerable.”

Zhou Zhuying finally understood—the female lead hadn’t discovered the truth that she wasn’t the original owner; she wanted her to pretend she wasn’t the original owner!

But…

“Why?”

Is this necessary?

Xiao Xinyue pursed her lips, looked up, and pressed down on her head. “Don’t ask why. Just do as I say.” She paused. “It gives you an extra way out.”

Zhou Zhuying felt inexplicably reassured by Xiao Xinyue’s plan. She still had doubts. “But will others believe it?”

“They won’t have a choice but to believe it,” Xiao Xinyue was very confident. “Throughout these years, I am the only one among the righteous path who has actually seen the Sect Leader. Furthermore, there is one thing the Sect Leader possesses that you do not.”

“What thing?”

Xiao Xinyue gently pinched her wrist with a complex expression, her voice tinged with an indescribable emotion. “Martial power.”

Zhou Zhuying: Baa baa baa?!

So the reason I couldn’t remember any moves or use any inner energy wasn’t because I lacked background info, but because I simply have no martial power?!

Zhou Zhuying began to doubt herself.

Could my identity after transmigrating really not be the Sect Leader, but merely a body double?

The shock was too great, and the twist was too exciting.

So, who am I?

Wait, did the original novel even have a plot about a body double?

“I might really not be the Sect Leader?” Zhou Zhuying said blankly.

Xiao Xinyue’s hand, which was lightly pinching Zhou Zhuying’s wrist, loosened slightly, moving to directly hold her cold hand. “Whether you are or not, you must pretend that you are not.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhuying felt a sense of relief.

That’s right! If she’s the real Sect Leader, but the female lead wants her to pretend she’s not, it means the female lead won’t kill her for now. If she’s not the real Sect Leader, then there’s even less worry that the female lead will take her life.

Now that her life is safe, why should she worry about whether she’s the Sect Leader or not?!

Having figured this out, she cheered up and even ate an extra bowl of rice for lunch.

Xiao Xinyue went back to work after lunch. Zhou Zhuying wasn’t sure what she was busy with, but she figured it had to do with her plan for Zhou Zhuying to pretend she wasn’t the Sect Leader.

After waiting for a period of time, nothing special happened, and Zhou Zhuying gradually put the matter out of her mind.

Then, one day, an unfamiliar female disciple came to Xiao Xinyue’s courtyard and told her, “The Sect Leader wants to see you.”

Since becoming a prisoner of the Moshan Sect, Zhou Zhuying had never met the Moshan Sect Leader. This was because the Saintess, Xiao Xinyue, had fully handled everything, from the destruction of the Demon Sect to her imprisonment.

She had been under the initial misconception that the Moshan Sect’s leader was the Saintess. Only after a briefing from the meal-delivering disciple did she learn that the Saintess was the next in line, akin to a “Crown Prince.” Because the current Sect Leader, Ling Guqing, was the Martial Arts Supreme and had many responsibilities, the Saintess handled almost all of the sect’s internal affairs.

The sudden request from the Moshan Sect’s leader to see her immediately made her think it was related to Xiao Xinyue’s plan for her to pretend she wasn’t the Sect Leader.

Zhou Zhuying nervously followed the disciple, simulating in her mind how to act convincingly later.

I’m an ordinary person being forced into acting. Isn’t this too difficult for me, Big Tiger (a self-deprecating nickname)?

The unfamiliar female disciple led her down a path she had never taken before. Seeing that they didn’t encounter a single soul along the way, Zhou Zhuying suddenly stopped walking.

The unfamiliar female disciple looked back at her. “Demon—I mean, Sect Leader, why have you stopped? The Sect Leader is waiting for you!”

Zhou Zhuying hugged a tree. “Where is the Saintess?”

“The Sect Leader is the one who wants to see you.”

Zhou Zhuying grew more anxious. “I want to see the Saintess first.”

“You will see the Saintess when you get to the Sect Leader’s residence.”

“Do you think I’m a 3 year old? Even human traffickers don’t use lines like that anymore.”

The unfamiliar female disciple rolled her eyes and said crossly, “Who is trying to trick you!”

“Who am I tricking? Does your Sect Leader live in such a remote place? Look how secluded this path is! If the grass on both sides hadn’t withered, it would probably be as tall as I am! Are you trying to plot something against me?”

The unfamiliar female disciple’s eyes nearly rolled out of her head. “I am a woman!”

“Who says a woman can’t plot something against another woman?”

The unfamiliar female disciple choked, looking at her as if she were insane.

“I don’t have time to waste here with you. The Sect Leader is waiting. Hurry up!” The unfamiliar female disciple impatiently drew her sword. With a clang, the sharp blade scraped out of the sheath, flashing a cold gleam in the sunlight.

Zhou Zhuying let go of the tree and straightened her clothes. “Let me tell you, I’m full of courage, so don’t threaten me. I’m not afraid of you! Do you think I’m coming with you because I’m being coerced? Wrong. I am merely well-mannered and don’t want to keep the Sect Leader waiting.”

The unfamiliar female disciple: “…”

I’ve met talkative people, but never one this loud!

I want to sew her mouth shut, but I can’t actually do anything to her!

The disciple’s eyes were rolling so hard that only the whites were visible when they finally saw a house. The female disciple said, “We’re here.”

“Why is your Sect Leader’s residence so plain? That door is too small, isn’t it?”

“It’s the back door!”

“Entering your Sect Leader’s (residence’s) back door? That’s kind of exciting!”

The female disciple thought her sentence sounded odd but couldn’t quite figure out what she meant. She led her through the back garden, past the moon gate and the corridor, into a quiet courtyard.

Zhou Zhuying was about to speak when she heard a familiar voice coming from inside the room. “…Master, why do you think the disciple’s plan won’t work?”

“She is uncontrollable.”

Zhou Zhuying recognized a middle-aged, ascetic Taoist flavor in the second voice. This must be the female lead’s master, the Moshan Sect Leader, and the Martial Arts Supreme, Ling Guqing. She had quite a few titles, but that’s what happens when someone is truly exceptional!

Xiao Xinyue clearly paused. After a moment, she slowly said, “She has no martial arts, is afraid of pain, and afraid of death. How could she be uncontrollable?”