After Transmigrating, the Female Lead Went Dark (GL) - Chapter 24

Zhuo Zidan was enraged by Zhou Zhuying’s words, but his reason quickly returned.

He couldn’t let anyone see his true intentions, so he had to withdraw his move and say, “The Saintess has passed the test.”

“Thank you, Elder, for your mercy.” Xiao Xinyue smiled slightly, tidied her clothes, put back on her large red gauze robe, and replaced her phoenix crown, successfully escorting Zhou Zhuying out the door.

By the time they emerged, Zhuo Zidan was no longer there. No one paid much attention, though. Despite his high martial skills, he hadn’t been with the sect long and didn’t hold much prestige in the disciples’ hearts. They were more concerned with the Saintess, with whom they shared many years of camaraderie.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Zhou Zhuying whispered to Xiao Xinyue beside her.

“He wasn’t serious. I’m fine,” Xiao Xinyue replied.

“Oh.”

Zhou Zhuying didn’t feel comfortable asking about Zhuo Zidan and Xiao Xinyue’s relationship. She thought that if her transmigration hadn’t changed the plot, the male and female leads probably wouldn’t have fought. After all, Meng Xiaoxiao said the male lead in the original novel was super protective of his wife.

The stark contrast between the wife-protecting male lead of the original novel and the current male lead who fights the female lead out of jealousy made Zhou Zhuying once again doubt if she had transmigrated into the original story.

But she didn’t know much about the original novel anyway, so whether she was in the original or a fanfiction made little difference to her.

She focused her attention on the wedding. Her heart was both anxious and excited, and she found the whole experience incredibly novel.

She and Xiao Xinyue got into the sedan chair together. The sedan chair, as she had hoped, was a grand sedan carried by eight bearers, with ample room for two people.

The large floral sedan was covered with red gauze curtains, preventing people from clearly seeing their faces but still allowing them to observe the outside world.

“Well?” Xiao Xinyue looked at the Sect Leader with a smile.

The Sect Leader asked, “Will it be too heavy with two of us in the sedan chair?”

“I’m not heavy. I just don’t know if the Sect Leader is heavy or not.”

“I’m not heavy either,” the Sect Leader pouted.

Xiao Xinyue raised a hand and gently pinched the Sect Leader’s stomach. The Sect Leader sucked in her abdomen, then said proudly, “See? I have no excess fat on my stomach.”

After saying that, she extended her wicked claws and thoroughly took advantage of Xiao Xinyue.

“What’s the rush? We have all night for that,” Xiao Xinyue caught her hand and interlaced their fingers tightly, preventing her from touching further.

The Sect Leader’s face flushed. “…”

The female lead’s words are so suggestive! But I didn’t mean that! How could the female lead think I was so eager?!

She tried to pull her hand back but failed, so she let Xiao Xinyue continue holding her hand tightly. She then yawned and leaned against Xiao Xinyue. “The parade hasn’t started yet. Let me sleep for a bit. Wake me up when the parade is over.”

Xiao Xinyue looked at her in amusement but didn’t stop her.

The wedding procession began to travel around the small town, handing out candies, scattering money, and distributing dried fruit, causing about eighty percent of the townspeople to come out and join the festivities. The sides of the road were packed with onlookers.

Since this town was the birthplace of the Moshan Sect, it was usually bustling with people. After the news of the Saintess’s wedding spread, martial artists invited to the ceremony flooded in, making the town even more lively.

The scene today was one of crowds, hustle, and bustle—extraordinarily festive.

Once the Sect Leader fell asleep, not even the gongs and trumpets outside could wake her, let alone the noise of the crowd.

But unlike the Sect Leader’s easy slumber, Xiao Xinyue remained vigilant as soon as the procession left the main streets.

On the joyous occasion of the Saintess’s wedding, many martial artists had poured into the town, creating an opportunity for the Demon Sect remnants. They disguised themselves as disciples of minor, unknown sects, hid in the crowd, and waited for their chance to strike.

“Are you sure the procession will pass through this street?”

At a tea stall, a man with an effeminate face whispered to the man sitting at the table behind him.

“Positive. This will be our only chance to act. If we miss it, it will be difficult to rescue the Sect Leader.”

The man was about to say more when they heard the distant sound of trumpets and suonas (Chinese horns) approaching. Their hearts tightened, and all their attention was focused on the sound. “They’re here!”

The procession drew closer. Most people’s attention was on the scattered money, candies, and dried fruit. Only a few people pretended to pick things up while their eyes remained fixed on the sedan chair.

They could vaguely see two figures through the gauze curtains, one of whom appeared to be unconscious, slumped against the other.

They speculated that the unconscious person was their Sect Leader, and they were immediately furious. Sure enough, those hypocrites of the righteous path are holding the Sect Leader hostage, forcing her to marry the Moshan Sect Saintess! The Sect Leader refused, so they must have drugged her, making her completely at their mercy!

A voice in the minds of the Demon Sect remnants told them, “We must rescue the Sect Leader!”

Seizing the moment, one of them drew a knife and slashed a disciple from a righteous sect in the crowd, causing chaos.

The townspeople, afraid for their lives, scattered. The wedding procession was quickly broken up, and the sedan chair was forced to stop.

At this point, the Demon Sect remnants hiding in the shadows received the signal and charged forward. The Moshan Sect disciples, who had been on high alert, expertly stepped forward to meet the attack.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Zhuying woke up with a start, holding onto Xiao Xinyue tightly.

“It’s nothing. You stay here and don’t move. I’ll be right back,” Xiao Xinyue comforted her, then leaped out of the sedan.

Zhou Zhuying was terrified that the fighting would come their way. Swords and blades have no eyes, and she was afraid of getting hurt. She could only clutch the curtain beside her, ready to flee immediately if the situation turned sour.

Just then, she heard someone loudly denounce Xiao Xinyue. “Hmph! You claim to be from a famous righteous sect, but your actions are utterly despicable! How dare you call yourselves the righteous path? Quickly release our Sect Leader!”

“What dirty deeds have we committed?” Xiao Xinyue asked calmly.

“You are forcing the Sect Leader to marry you so she can become your puppet, allowing you to control the Qianji Sect!”

“Your Sect Leader willingly agreed to marry me.”

“Nonsense! You and the Sect Leader are not meant to be! The Sect Leader has always despised you hypocrites; how could she ever fall for you?! You must have used some method to force her to be threatened and marry you!”

Another person said, “Stop wasting time with her! The Yaoshan Sect is rushing over. Finish this quickly!”

With that, these people fought even more desperately. The effeminate man found a gap and charged straight toward Zhou Zhuying.

Zhou Zhuying watched as Xiao Xinyue was tied up with the others, unable to break away. The man had broken through the encirclement and was already in front of the sedan chair.

Logically, she knew this man was a Demon Sect disciple, on her side, and wouldn’t hurt her. However, emotionally, she did not want to return to the Demon Sect and live a life of being hunted, nor did she want to stand on the opposite side of the female lead.

Therefore, just as the Demon Sect disciple rushed forward, before her mind could fully process it, she spoke coldly: “Stop right there!”

At her command, the man froze, stopping in front of the sedan chair.

Xiao Xinyue had already rushed over, whipping him away, and then lifting the curtain to look at Zhou Zhuying. “Are you alright?”

Zhou Zhuying’s eyes were icy. She ignored Xiao Xinyue and stepped straight out of the sedan.

As soon as she appeared, the man’s eyes widened. “Sect Leader!”

Zhou Zhuying coldly swept her gaze over him. “Tell them all to stop fighting!”

The man hastily ordered the Demon Sect remnants, “Everyone, cease fire!”

The Demon Sect remnants quickly gathered, wary of a sneak attack from the righteous path.

“Sect Leader, you—” The man stared at Zhou Zhuying, seeing that she was fully conscious and clearly not being manipulated. His feelings were complicated.

Xiao Xinyue stood behind her, also staring intently at Zhou Zhuying.

She had to admit that the gaze Zhou Zhuying gave just now reminded her of the Sect Leader’s original demeanor.

The Yaoshan Sect disciples saw that the Demon Sect remnants had stopped resisting and tried to take advantage by striking. Zhou Zhuying noticed this and similarly asked coldly, “Will you not stop either?”

Xiao Xinyue snatched her scabbard and threw it, accurately hitting the descending blade. The Yaoshan Sect disciple’s hand went numb, injured by the shock from the scabbard.

Only then did Zhou Zhuying address the effeminate man. “If you have come to attend my wedding, I welcome you. But if you are here to cause trouble and disrupt things, don’t blame me for turning my back on you.”

The man’s face changed. He instantly knelt before her. “This subordinate would not dare!”

After a moment, he slowly looked up, asking in disbelief, “Is the Sect Leader truly willing to marry the Saintess of the righteous path?”

“Naturally.”

The man said painfully, “How can this be?”

“Why can’t this be? If it weren’t for you useless lot… Hmph!” Zhou Zhuying looked at them with disgust.

If an ordinary person treated their subordinates this way, those subordinates would likely rebel. But being insulted by Zhou Zhuying, these Demon Sect remnants didn’t feel anything was wrong. After all, their Sect Leader had always looked down on them, often calling them useless.

Zhou Zhuying sighed with relief when she saw that she had successfully subdued them.

Phew! Luckily, in the nick of time, she remembered Meng Xiaoxiao’s comments on the Demon Sect.

The gist was that the Demon Sect’s way of thinking was beyond the understanding of normal people. Their sense of right and wrong was twisted, otherwise they wouldn’t commit so many immoral and hateful acts.

And they were largely influenced by the Demon Venerable of the Demon Sect, with the concept of strength above all deeply ingrained in their minds.

Similarly, their sense of hierarchy and class was also very strong. Since the Qianji Sect was created by the Sect Leader, and most of the members were subdued and won over by her, they were used to deferring to the Sect Leader and being used as her slaves and pawns for many years.

Otherwise, after the Qianji Sect was destroyed, they wouldn’t have been so eager to rescue her. Any other villainous group would be considered unworthy of the title “Demon Sect” if they didn’t seize the chance to usurp her position.

Therefore, relying on the Demon Sect members’ absolute obedience to the Sect Leader, she was able to bluff and confuse them by acting with a superior air.

“This is for us?” the man asked, astonished, looking at their Sect Leader.

Zhou Zhuying was afraid she would expose herself if she said more, so she pointed at Xiao Xinyue. “Let my wife speak to you.”

Having said that, she quickly slipped back into the sedan chair. As soon as she sat down, she gripped the fabric beneath her tightly, her heart pounding. That was close, so close! That was absolutely terrifying! Being a body double is no job for a human!

On the other side, Xiao Xinyue had recovered her composure. Suppressing the turbulent emotions in her heart, she said, “May I ask for your esteemed name.”

The man knelt to the Sect Leader, and he respected the Sect Leader. Seeing that the person speaking to him was no longer the Sect Leader, he naturally stood up, his expression arrogant. “You Ronglin, Left Protector of the Qianji Sect. A name personally bestowed by the Sect Leader!”

Zhou Zhuying: “…”

What kind of naming aesthetic does the original host have? So obscure!

Author’s Notes:

Sect Leader: You… You what?

Left Protector: You Ronglin.

Sect Leader: Oh, Rong what?

Left Protector: You Ronglin, Sect Leader.

Sect Leader: Oh, oh, what Lin?