Fighting The Male Lead For The Female Lead (Transmigrated Into A Book) - Chapter 3

“Junior Sister…”

Lan Fei’er, who had been resting with her eyes closed, heard someone calling her. It was Wen Wuning. Judging from her voice, she should have already endured through the drug’s effects.

Lan Fei’er got up. She frowned slightly and looked down at her left arm. It seemed to be dislocated, probably injured when she and Wen Wuning had been hanging in midair earlier.

Holding her own arm, she exerted force. With a crack, her arm snapped back into place. At the pain, she merely frowned slightly, then picked up her sword and jumped onto the stone pillar where Wen Wuning was.

“Senior Sister.” Lan Fei’er half-knelt beside her, lowering her brows and eyes.

There was light in the cave, though it was not bright. Still, it was enough for Wen Wuning to see the face of the disciple who had saved her.

She looked young and tender, probably only seventeen or eighteen. Her cultivation had only just reached qi refining, yet she had managed to help Wen Wuning escape Sheng Baihe. That truly had not been easy, nor was it simple.

“How many hours have passed?” Wen Wuning asked.

“Uh… I’m not sure.”

…

Wen Wuning, who had just thought this junior sister was not simple, fell faintly silent.

The meridians in her body, which had originally been blocked, were slowly clearing. In about another two quarters of an hour, she should be able to move again.

Once she got out, she would absolutely tear off that hypocritical mask of Sheng Baihe’s!

Sensing the fluctuation in Wen Wuning’s emotions, Lan Fei’er simply lowered her presence in silence to avoid being accidentally caught in the line of fire.

“You saved me this time. If there’s anything you want, just say it.” Wen Wuning was someone who clearly distinguished gratitude and grudges.

Hearing this, Lan Fei’er pondered for a moment, then said, “Senior Sister and I are from the same sect. If Senior Sister is in trouble, I should naturally help. Not to mention, I have always respected Senior Sister the most in my heart. I absolutely couldn’t stand by and watch Senior Sister be humiliated. For Senior Sister to say this instead makes me… makes me…”

Lan Fei’er lowered her head, looking wounded.

These words were half true and half false.

If Wen Wuning thanked her, wouldn’t that be openly telling Sheng Baihe that she, Lan Fei’er, had ruined his good deed?

So for the sake of her little life, it was better to forget it.

Those words made Wen Wuning unable to help glancing sideways, looking twice more at this young junior sister.

Respect—she did not doubt that. The junior brothers and sisters of her generation in the sect all treated her with great respect. But respect did not necessarily mean one could step forward and help.

Because of that, in Wen Wuning’s heart, Lan Fei’er was someone who, despite her young age, valued loyalty and righteousness.

Such a person was worth befriending deeply.

Wen Wuning was not someone who spoke much, so she did not say anything more. She gave a faint, almost imperceptible response and said, “Take out the qiankun pouch from my robes.”

Lan Fei’er obediently took the qiankun pouch from her. Though the pouch looked small, it contained its own space inside and could hold quite a lot of things. Naturally, she did not have something like this.

“Take two Guiyuan Pills. One for you and one for me.” Without waiting for Lan Fei’er to refuse, Wen Wuning continued in an unquestionable tone, “In another half incense stick’s time, I’ll be able to move again. By then, you’d best have adjusted the injuries on your body too.”

Although you saved me, I hate being a burden.

This latter half of the sentence had been prepared to prevent this junior sister from refusing her pills. But for some reason, facing that slightly young and tender face, and thinking back to the line “I absolutely couldn’t stand by and watch Senior Sister be humiliated,” Wen Wuning swallowed those words back down.

Fortunately, Lan Fei’er was also a straightforward person. Since Wen Wuning had already put it that way, she would respectfully obey.

Besides, she had saved Wen Wuning’s chastity. Not asking for much, but taking one Guiyuan Pill should be fair enough, right?

When they had fallen into the crevice earlier, she had scraped herself in quite a few places. The Guiyuan Pill was an excellent medicinal pill for consolidating one’s foundation and nurturing one’s essence. Giving it to a minor cultivator like her, who was only at qi refining, was somewhat exaggerated—like giving a fine ginseng soup to a young person with a cold. But she was not someone who would treat herself badly. After feeding Wen Wuning one pill, she immediately swallowed one herself.

Wen Wuning’s qiankun pouch was still in her hand. Her fingers rubbed over the embroidered pattern on the pouch as Lan Fei’er lowered her head slightly, her eyes hidden in shadow.

When she had taken out the Guiyuan Pills just now, she had sensed the abundant spiritual energy spilling from the mouth of the pouch. Presumably, there were quite a few spirit pills and treasures inside. Wen Wuning still could not move at the moment, yet she had so openly exposed a qiankun pouch filled with treasures.

In Lan Fei’er’s impression, Wen Wuning was not such a foolish person lacking vigilance. Was it because she trusted her, or was she deliberately testing her? If she was testing her, then why?

If it was a test, it was completely unnecessary. Knowing full well that Wen Wuning was the female lead, Lan Fei’er would never cause any unpleasantness with her.

However, the female lead did not seem to know that.

“Senior Sister handed the qiankun pouch to me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you for the treasure?”

After swallowing the Guiyuan Pill, Wen Wuning was regulating her breath. Hearing Lan Fei’er suddenly say this, she first froze, then her expression turned ugly.

If the other party had not saved her life and also refused to let go when they fell into this pit, how could she have so easily exposed her treasures?

Although she had often been unconscious along the way, she still remembered what had happened.

Seeing this reaction, Lan Fei’er naturally understood that Wen Wuning was not testing her. She truly trusted her. Though somewhat surprised, she quickly returned the qiankun pouch to its original place and promptly tried to fix the situation. “What I mean is only that Senior Sister must never do this again in the future. When dealing with others, it’s still better to, uh… keep some caution.”

Wen Wuning’s expression seemed to become even uglier. The way she said that made it sound as if Wen Wuning had no caution at all.

Wen Wuning felt stifled with anger. But if she explained, it would instead let this junior sister take advantage. If she did not explain, she would be mistaken as some naive fool who trusted others too easily.

Lan Fei’er was not bad at reading people’s expressions. Seeing Wen Wuning’s face shift between green and white, she knew Wen Wuning was unhappy. She decided not to stay and make herself uncomfortable. “Then Senior Sister, you rest. I’ll go over there and rest for a while.”

“Hmph! Scram.”

Eh. With a good temper, Lan Fei’er cheerfully scurried back to the neighboring stone pillar.

On one hand, she wondered how her cold, calm, and steady senior sister had become so irritable and quick-tempered. On the other, she conveniently felt a little worried for the male lead.

Lan Fei’er regulated her breath for a while. Thanks to that Guiyuan Pill, not only had all the injuries on her body, big and small, healed completely, her condition had also reached its peak.

The body was the capital of revolution. Now that her body was fine, Lan Fei’er felt much more at ease.

Because of that, she could no longer sit still.

She walked to the edge and looked down. There had to be something else hidden in this cave. If her guess was right, the key should be on that patch of light below.

She would not compete with the male lead for treasures. After all, that could cost her life. But just taking a look should be fine, right?

Lan Fei’er weighed the matter for a long time. She looked at Wen Wuning on the neighboring stone pillar, then looked up at the crevice in the cave ceiling that seemed to have been split open by a giant axe. Then she returned to the center of the pillar and rested with her eyes closed for a while. In the end, she still could not sit still and went back to the edge to look down.

The underground cave was vast and quiet. Aside from the two of them, there seemed to be no other living creatures. But this place did not make her feel uncomfortable.

After one last glance at the neighboring stone pillar to confirm Wen Wuning was still on it, Lan Fei’er turned, bit her sword between her teeth, and climbed down along the edge of the stone pillar like a gecko.

She did not dare go straight down, afraid that there was something wrong with the water. She only wanted to get closer and see whether there was anything under the water.

There were many protrusions along the edge of the stone pillar, so climbing was not especially difficult. But the farther down she went, the colder it became. In the end, when she was only a little over ten meters away from the water’s surface, the breath she exhaled had already turned into white mist. The exposed skin on her body clearly felt a stinging pain, and the joints of her fingers had become stiff and clumsy.

Yet there was still nothing particularly special to discover under the water. Just as she was taking turns moving her two hands, preparing to continue downward, a series of screams suddenly came from the crevice overhead.

Lan Fei’er’s expression changed. She leapt up, made several flying jumps, and landed on the stone pillar where Wen Wuning was. Scooping up Wen Wuning, who was lying there, she did not pause in the slightest. She leapt again, kicking off the neighboring stone pillars one after another as she flew toward the very edge.

The entire sequence of movements was smooth and happened in an instant. In those one or two seconds, Lan Fei’er had already flown twenty or thirty meters, but that still was not far enough. She had no time left. Lan Fei’er made a prompt decision and drew Wen Wuning’s sword, swinging it twice at the stone pillar where they were about to land.

A slanted pit immediately blasted open at the top of the stone pillar. Broken rocks flew everywhere. Lan Fei’er shielded both their heads, dodging the debris, and happened to land right inside the pit.

At the same time, behind them, from the place where they had just been, there came a series of explosive splashes.

Accompanying the sound of bodies falling into the water was a string of screams.

The situation in the water was chaotic, so for the moment, no one noticed the movement on their side.

After Lan Fei’er placed Wen Wuning against the stone wall, Wen Wuning calmly asked, “How many people?”

Lan Fei’er crouched beside her and slightly poked her head out to look. Because there were many stone pillars blocking the middle, she could not see clearly. “Around seven or eight.”

“Which family?”

Lan Fei’er looked more carefully again. At such a distance, with the light so dim, even if she had eyes of fire and gold, she would not be able to see what color clothes they were wearing. Therefore, she shook her head.

“But they probably aren’t from our family. I recognize all the senior and junior brothers who came this time. I can tell who they are just from their build.”

Wen Wuning did not say anything more. She nodded. She truly appreciated Lan Fei’er—this cautious way of doing things, and her decisiveness in moments of crisis.

“Mm!”

Feeling the person beside her suddenly tense, Wen Wuning asked, “What is it?”

Lan Fei’er seemed a little embarrassed. “My sword was left over there.”

Wen Wuning froze for a moment. Cultivators never let their weapons leave their hands. Just now, Lan Fei’er had gone to look for her at the first possible moment, which was why she had left her sword behind. Wen Wuning was silent for a moment.

Those disciples had fallen down in such a miserable manner. Presumably, their cultivation was not even as good as Lan Fei’er’s. Moreover, in another quarter of an hour, she would be able to move again.

After being protected all the way by a junior sister who had only just reached qi refining, it was now her turn to protect her.

Wen Wuning said, “Don’t worry. When the time comes, we’ll adapt to the situation.”

Lan Fei’er had also thought of this, so she was not nervous. Instead, she looked at the people in the water. If there really was something in this water, then after these people made such a huge disturbance, that thing should be coming out.

Everyone in the water had taken a heavy fall. After groping their way upright in the water, each of them started hopping around like spirit mediums performing a ritual.

“Ah! So cold! So cold!”

“Hurry up and get out! This water is freezing!”

“What the hell is this place?! This young master is freezing to death!”

…

The two observing from afar were very calm. But in their hearts, they could not help thinking: What exactly had these people come into this mustard-seed space to do? Deliver their heads on a platter?

Suddenly, both their expressions turned ugly. They looked at each other, and Lan Fei’er saw the fury in Wen Wuning’s eyes. She turned her head toward the crevice in the cave ceiling and also felt extremely irritated. Sure enough, what was meant to come had still come.

A tall, dashing figure drifted lightly down from the crack in the stone, landing exactly on the stone pillar where Wen Wuning had been just now.

Lan Fei’er’s expression grew even uglier. She lowered her body, not knowing whether the fragrance Wen Wuning had left there had already dispersed. If Sheng Baihe smelled it, that would be disastrous.

Lan Fei’er was anxious, and Wen Wuning’s reaction was even stronger. When she turned her head, she saw that Wen Wuning’s aura was unsteady, her eyes cold as stars. If it were any other time, Lan Fei’er definitely would not go up and court disaster. But Wen Wuning acting like this would easily expose them. When the time came, as the female lead, Wen Wuning might not necessarily be in trouble, but Lan Fei’er would definitely meet a terrible end.

“Senior Sister, don’t be anxious.” Lan Fei’er gently tugged at her arm.

How could Wen Wuning not know they could not expose themselves yet? But as soon as she thought about how, if Lan Fei’er had not appeared in time earlier, that hypocrite Sheng Baihe would have succeeded, she became furious beyond measure. The fact that she now could not move her whole body was also his handiwork. How could she not be angry?

The hand gripping her arm tightened again. Wen Wuning shifted her gaze and looked at this young junior sister.

The fear and anxiety between her junior sister’s brows and eyes were very obvious, yet she was still working hard to remain calm. She even had the spare attention to remind Wen Wuning.

Wen Wuning immediately calmed down. When she lifted her eyes again, there was no longer anger in them, only a frightening calm. She said to Lan Fei’er, “You shouldn’t be afraid either.”

She absolutely would not let Sheng Baihe off. She knew what her junior sister was afraid of. She absolutely would not give Sheng Baihe any chance to hurt her.

Lan Fei’er froze. Was her fear showing that obviously? Still, the female lead was the female lead after all. She was not that impulsive or brainless.

Lan Fei’er nodded and conveniently tossed in some flattery. “With Senior Sister here, I’m not afraid.”

She did not know that this unintentional flattery landed perfectly in Wen Wuning’s heart.

From childhood until now, Wen Wuning had never been in such a wretched state. In the past, when she was injured, there had also been people protecting her. But this time was different after all. This time, the one protecting her was a junior sister whose name she had not even known before, and whose cultivation was low.

Although she had never liked owing favors, this favor was not something one or two treasures could repay.

She would remember it forever.

“Hm?” In the distance, Sheng Baihe suddenly looked toward one spot in confusion.

That sound made the two who had just relaxed become alert again.