After Transmigrating, the Female Lead Went Dark (GL) - Chapter 30

While Zhou Zhuying’s thoughts were still running wild, Yan Yu Hall appeared before them.

Xiao Xinyue quietly let go of Zhou Zhuying’s hand, brushed the snowflakes from her shoulders, then helped her fasten her cloak properly to cover some of the red marks on her neck.

Zhou Zhuying did not mind Xiao Xinyue letting go of her hand. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, they were merely in a cooperative relationship. If they acted too intimate, it would instead arouse suspicion.

The two of them entered Yan Yu Hall, and everyone’s gazes fell on them one after another.

Zhou Zhuying looked as if she had not woken up, but in the eyes of the sect masters of the various sects, her gaze was cold and arrogant. They could not help muttering inwardly, feeling that today’s negotiations would surely be difficult and dangerous!

When You Ronglin and the others arrived, Cheng Xiyang, the sect master of Yaoshan Sect, took the lead and said, “Since the Cult Leader of the Thousand Mechanisms Cult has already married the Saintess of Moshan Sect, then she has entered our righteous path. From now on, she should also follow the rules of the righteous path. We do not need to mention matters of the past again, but after today, these rules must first be settled.”

Zhou Zhuying said, “I understand the purpose of today’s negotiations. The righteous path wants to punish evil, promote goodness, uphold justice, and maintain order in the martial world, while the Thousand Mechanisms Cult wants the righteous path to release the imprisoned disciples and followers of the Thousand Mechanisms Cult. Is that correct?”

You Ronglin and the others paused, then finally nodded.

The righteous path had attacked Dangu Mountain, and the Thousand Mechanisms Cult had suffered heavy casualties. This was a great hatred.

But in terms of selfish feelings, You Ronglin was not very familiar with most of the disciples and followers, nor did he have the awareness to shed blood and risk his life for them. Aside from the Cult Leader, not even Right Guardian Yue Changgou was worth him risking his life.

Avenging fellow sect members, disciples, followers… or even ordinary commoners was something only those hypocrites of the righteous path cared about. Why would they do such a thing?

They were cold by nature, so in today’s negotiations, they only wanted everyone under heaven to know that their Thousand Mechanisms Cult had not been destroyed, and that they had not submitted to the righteous path. They even wanted to tell the world that even if they had lost, they could still make a comeback and absolutely would not let anyone bully their Cult Leader!

The sect masters of the various sects had originally prepared themselves for a war of words with the Demon Sect, or even a tense standoff. They had not expected that the first to speak would not be Xiao Xinyue, but Zhou Zhuying.

Cheng Xiyang could not help looking at Xiao Xinyue, wanting to know her thoughts. After all, Xiao Xinyue had said that this Cult Leader was fake. Without Xiao Xinyue’s instructions, this fake Cult Leader probably would not have spoken up.

But the righteous path already held the advantage in this negotiation. They could completely raise more demands, such as having the Thousand Mechanisms Cult hand over part of its territory and businesses, or taking the opportunity to weaken the Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s power, dismantling its forces like boiling a frog in warm water. In that way, the Thousand Mechanisms Cult would no longer be able to contend with the righteous path.

What Cheng Xiyang thought in his heart was the same as what most of the sect masters were thinking. However, they all hoped that Xiao Xinyue or another sect master would be the first to propose it.

Now that Xiao Xinyue did not plan to open her mouth, Cheng Xiyang also did not want to be the first to make this demand. In the end, he followed Zhou Zhuying’s words and nodded. “The purpose of our Yaoshan Sect is to uphold justice, eliminate treachery, and promote goodness. When we see injustice on the road, we must draw our blades and help.”

Zhou Zhuying smiled faintly. “That is righteousness.”

Cheng Xiyang only spoke for Yaoshan Sect and had no intention of making decisions for the other sect masters. However, he was rather famous in the martial world, so some sect masters followed his lead and stated their positions.

Only Jiang Fansheng, the escort head of the Weizhen Escort Agency, said, “The Thousand Mechanisms Cult has always acted tyrannically, occupying mountains and blocking roads, collecting high tolls from passing travelers and merchant caravans. This is extortion and plunder! In my opinion, the Thousand Mechanisms Cult should be forbidden from blocking roads and collecting money again!”

You Ronglin oversaw the Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s money, grain, and supplies. The demand from the head of the Weizhen Escort Agency happened to hit his sore spot, and he immediately sneered mercilessly.

“Which checkpoint under heaven does not collect tolls? We were merely doing the court’s work for them. But those mountain bandits were all cleaned up by our Thousand Mechanisms Cult. Without our Thousand Mechanisms Cult, how many merchant caravans and travelers would still have to suffer from bandits blocking roads and robbing them? To put it plainly, it is because the Thousand Mechanisms Cult blocked your Escort Agency’s path to wealth! Stop pretending to be wholly devoted to the public good!”

“You Demon Sect people forcibly occupied official roads, and you still think you are in the right?!”

“Your Weizhen Escort Agency has occupied Guanning Town for more than ten years, often excluding and suppressing other escort agencies. Later, you even openly detained their escort goods, causing Guanning Town to have only your Weizhen Escort Agency for more than ten years. In terms of tyranny, you are not any worse!”

Jiang Fansheng’s face flushed red. He was just about to erupt when Zhou Zhuying yawned. “Are you people negotiating or not? If you’re not, I’m going back to sleep.”

“Saintess, what do you think?” Cheng Xiyang asked Xiao Xinyue.

Xiao Xinyue pondered for a moment, then said, “Escort Head Jiang speaks reasonably.”

Seeing that she was still standing on their side, Jiang Fansheng’s expression eased slightly.

You Ronglin, however, gave a cold snort. He did not refute her, but raised a new demand. “We can stop setting up checkpoints to collect tolls, but these famous righteous sects’ territories must allow our Thousand Mechanisms Cult to conduct business there!”

“Demon Sect people can forget about appearing on our territory!” someone immediately opposed.

You Ronglin said, “You want to enter our Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s territory openly, yet you stop us from entering yours. Clearly, you want to swallow our lands! So this is the righteousness spoken of by righteous path people!”

“Exactly. As long as it is proper business and they no longer do anything harmful, why reject this proposal?” Zhou Zhuying rested her chin on one hand and said leisurely.

“Who can guarantee that they have truly turned over a new leaf?” Jiang Fansheng said.

“If you cannot trust us, then what is there to negotiate?” If not for the fact that their Cult Leader had not yet stated her position, You Ronglin might have been unable to resist flipping the table.

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming more and more tense and heavy, Xiao Xinyue finally said, “Everyone, calm down. I believe that everyone gathered here today sincerely wishes for peace talks. In that case, why not each side take a step back? From now on, whether it is the Cult Leader, disciples, or followers of the Thousand Mechanisms Cult, none of them may commit evil again, nor may they bully others by relying on power. If they violate this, anyone may execute them.

“As long as the Thousand Mechanisms Cult can do this, then after three years, they may set foot in the territory of the righteous path. Otherwise, as long as the Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s name as a Demon Sect is not removed, they will remain our enemies.

“And to avoid conflict between the Thousand Mechanisms Cult and the various sects during these three years, the righteous path will also follow the old rules of the martial world for now and not step into the Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s territory. What does everyone think?”

Zhou Zhuying was the first to state her position. “Everyone of the Thousand Mechanisms Cult, hear my order!”

“This subordinate hears your order!” You Ronglin and the others all knelt on one knee before Zhou Zhuying.

“The meaning of the Saintess of Moshan is my meaning. The rules she sets are the rules I set. If anyone refuses to obey, they will be punished according to cult rules and expelled from the Thousand Mechanisms Cult.”

“The Cult Leader’s order—this subordinate will certainly obey it to the death!”

The various sects: “…”

Why were these Demon Sect people so devoted to the Demon Sect Leader? Did they not struggle even a little? What happened to being vicious and evil?

However, Zhou Zhuying’s words made their hearts relax. They felt that letting Xiao Xinyue marry her had indeed been the correct decision. With her in hand, what did it matter if they took one step back today? In any case, the righteous path did not suffer a loss.

Cheng Xiyang asked, “What about the Demon Sect disciples imprisoned in Moshan Sect?”

“The Thousand Mechanisms Cult will pay to ransom them back,” Xiao Xinyue said. “One thousand taels of silver per person. Twenty-three people in total.”

You Ronglin did not plan to bargain. “Twenty-three thousand taels… Fine, we will pay. But such a large sum of silver will require some time to gather.”

The various sects froze. They had originally thought Xiao Xinyue would conveniently release that group of Demon Sect disciples. They had not expected there to be a ransom move.

The sect masters who had originally been dissatisfied with Xiao Xinyue’s method immediately became happy. Twenty-three thousand taels split equally among the various sects participating in the meeting meant each sect could take at least one or two thousand taels back.

Together with the wealth they had previously seized and divided from the Thousand Mechanisms Cult’s headquarters, it could be said that they had earned quite a lot this time.

They no longer hesitated and all expressed that Xiao Xinyue handled matters very fairly, so they would do as she suggested.

After this matter was settled, the atmosphere in the hall finally relaxed again.

The hand Zhou Zhuying hid beneath her cloak quietly squeezed out cold sweat. Fortunately, she had not gotten stage fright!

Xiao Xinyue gave her a small encouraging look, hinting that she had done very well. Zhou Zhuying could not help revealing a smug little expression.

As their gazes met, the corner of Zhou Zhuying’s eye caught sight of the male lead sitting in a corner, his whole body radiating gloomy energy.

She thought, The male lead can’t have turned dark after having his love stolen, right?

Thinking of this, she shivered.

The male lead and the Demon Lord were probably the ceiling of combat power here, right? If even the male lead turned dark, would the righteous path still have any hope?

Sensing her gaze, Zhuo Zidan glanced over coldly, frightening her so much that she hurriedly moved her eyes away. Yet by coincidence, she met a pair of deep, dark eyes.

It was a young man sitting behind Cheng Xiyang, the sect master of Yaoshan Sect. His face was handsome, his skin fair, and he wore moon-white brocade robes with a jade pendant tied at his waist. He looked elegant and graceful, not like a person of the martial world, but more like a young master from an aristocratic family.

Zhou Zhuying felt that his brows and eyes looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

Yaoshan Sect?

Zhou Zhuying quickly remembered. On the day she and Xiao Xinyue married and paraded through the streets, when You Ronglin and the others came out to snatch the bride, it was this man who had led the Yaoshan Sect disciples over to support them.

His surname seemed to be Liang?

She still remembered that Meng Xiaoxiao’s Moments seemed to have mentioned someone surnamed Liang too, but she could not clearly recall this Liang’s identity or what plot had happened.

While Zhou Zhuying racked her brains to recall Meng Xiaoxiao’s Moments, Xiao Xinyue noticed her distraction, pressed her lips together, and asked quietly, “Why is the Cult Leader looking at Senior Brother Liang?”

Zhou Zhuying heard a sour note in her tone and could not help feeling delighted. She had never expected there would be a day when she could make the female lead jealous!

However, she did not take the chance to act up. Instead, she said, “He looked at me, so I looked at him. Who is he?”

“His name is Liang Kong. He is the eldest disciple of the Yaoshan Sect Master, and also the heir-disciple.”

The Cult Leader instantly perked up. “Zongzi? Sweet or savory?”

Xiao Xinyue paused. That trace of jealousy immediately vanished. Instead, following the Cult Leader’s words, she smiled faintly and said, “Yaoshan Sect is located in Honghu, Hubei, so it should be a plain-water zongzi that is neither sweet nor savory.”

The Cult Leader disliked this. “Zongzi without flavor doesn’t taste good. I like red bean paste zongzi and meat zongzi.”

Xiao Xinyue said, “Is the Cult Leader hungry?”

“Hungry!”

At this moment, Zhuo Zidan stood and said, “Since there is nothing important left, I will withdraw first.”

Xiao Xinyue did not keep him. “Fifth Elder, please do as you wish.”

After Zhuo Zidan left, the sect masters of the other sects saw that the matter had already been settled and there was no need to keep wasting time here, so they also proposed taking their leave one after another.

You Ronglin was also preparing to go raise money to ransom people. Zhou Zhuying called him back and said, “From now on, you will act on my behalf in managing cult affairs. If there is anything, contact me by letter.”

You Ronglin was slightly shocked. “Cult Leader, after we gather the money and ransom our people back, we will welcome you back. With you here, why would I need to act on your behalf in managing cult affairs?”

Zhou Zhuying could not very well say that she had no interest in running an organization, nor did she plan to return to the Thousand Mechanisms Cult.

So she said, “I still have more important things to do. Do not ask too much. Follow my instructions.”

“Yes. This subordinate will certainly handle all cult affairs properly and absolutely not disappoint the Cult Leader!”

Before leaving, You Ronglin mysteriously said, “Cult Leader, you must also take care of yourself… And when we come back, we will definitely bring you a few more beauties!”

Zhou Zhuying: “?”

Why bring her beauties?

Mm, could it be that they saw she was alone in Moshan Sect and too lonely, without maidservants to help her, so they were preparing to send a few over?

That sounded great. She currently lacked people who could help her work!

One to wash clothes; one clever maidservant who knew needlework, or was careful and skillful enough to quickly learn how to use a sewing machine.

No more than that. She could not afford to support them.

She was very satisfied with this clever, protective, and sensible subordinate. She patted his shoulder. “Whether they are beautiful or not is not important. What matters is that their hand skills are good. It would be best if one person could do the work of several!”

Although beauty was pleasing to the eye, if they could not do rough work or fine work, it would still be useless!

You Ronglin’s pupils shrank slightly. “Truly worthy of the Cult Leader!”

Good hand skills—was that not referring to good technique? Otherwise, if they did it for too long and their arms grew sore, or if they could not find the trick to it, how disappointing would that be!

Moreover, she had repeatedly instructed that she wanted one who could match several people. Was this not because she disliked that the Saintess of Moshan could not satisfy her!

Zhou Zhuying had already become immune to his habit of sighing “truly worthy of the Cult Leader” every day. She did not think at all about the deep meaning behind this exclamation and simply treated it as his catchphrase.

Xiao Xinyue, however, heard their conversation thanks to her outstanding hearing. She looked at Zhou Zhuying and narrowed her eyes.

She had pitied this person’s delicate body and feared she would be unable to endure it. She had not expected that Zhou Zhuying was actually unsatisfied. Since that was the case, Xiao Xinyue would have to get serious.

Zhou Zhuying suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

Author’s Note:

Saintess: All right. Next time, I will try my best not to restrain myself.

Cult Leader: ?