I Snatched the Male Lead’s "Cool Novel" Script - Chapter 2

“Goddess?” Yin Beiqing’s expression loosened somewhat, but she only let out a soft, amused laugh through her nose. “Your dear lover said the same thing.”

Although the male lead could not recite the original text of the ancient prophecy, he had learned Yin Beiqing’s basic information from the system and knew she had always been searching for the goddess who could cure all illnesses.

So after he was captured, he had also used this excuse to disguise his identity and buy himself time to escape.

The reason his lie could be believed so easily, aside from the protagonist halo, also had to do with the worldview here.

In the Jin Kingdom, a general with outstanding military achievements could be granted the title of female general, and a knowledgeable, learned teacher could also be respectfully addressed as a lady. Since the legendary “goddess” was so omnipotent, then even if “she” had the body of a man, naturally, the noble title containing the word “female” could still be applied to him.

“Valley Master, you have misunderstood. He is not my lover.” Yan Yu lowered her head and no longer looked directly at her. She hid the sharpness in her eyes and put on an obedient appearance. “The reason I mistakenly entered your noble valley was because I came to seek revenge on that man. He caused my family to be destroyed and stole my beast pet. I was so angry that I chased him here. I never expected that, in order to save his own life, he would actually falsely claim my identity. If the Valley Master does not believe me, you may let me confront him face-to-face.”

If she added a few sobs to these words, combined with Yan Yu’s naturally pitiful face, she would definitely draw plenty of sympathy.

But she chose a different path. Her tone was very calm when she stated it, making her look extremely composed. Precisely because of this, Yin Beiqing had the patience to ask one more question.

“My subordinate reported that she heard you shouting at the entrance, ‘Yin Beiqing, today I will take the head of you, demon!’ What was that about?”

“…” Thinking about it, it seemed the original owner really did have such a line.

But what could Yan Yu do? She could only lie with her eyes open.

Yan Yu smiled and narrowed her eyes, making her emotions unreadable. “I completely do not remember saying anything like that. My admiration for the Valley Master can be witnessed by the sun and moon. Those words may have been something they misheard.”

Shing— The dozen or so swords were drawn from their sheaths again, but this time, Yan Yu was not as panicked.

She was betting that Yin Beiqing would not let go of any clue related to finding the goddess. Otherwise, someone like her, who could not tolerate even the slightest grain of sand in her eyes, would not have spared the male lead’s life after he tried to steal her Beast Soul Pearl.

“Admiration.” Yin Beiqing savored that word playfully, her fingers tapping against the armrest. “There are quite a few people who admire me. Not many are still alive.”

Correction: there were none still alive at all.

“The things you just said can be found out with a little effort. At the very least, you must first prove your worth before I can have a reason to keep…” Yin Beiqing looked Yan Yu up and down, then reluctantly picked out the only redeeming quality she had. “That pretty face of yours.”

Yan Yu did not speak. She only brought her hands together. Her thumbs hooked, and her four fingers fluttered, forming the motion of a butterfly.

While everyone around them was still confused, Yin Beiqing’s expression instantly darkened like storm clouds. A suffocating killing intent pressed down from above Yan Yu’s head. Yan Yu did not even have time to take another breath before Yin Beiqing had already flashed in front of her. The cold, sharp tip of the bone fan pressed against her throat, the point already piercing a little into her skin.

Another drop of cold sweat slid down Yan Yu’s forehead. She completely believed that as long as Yin Beiqing used even the slightest bit more force, her head would be separated from her body in the next second.

But at such a critical moment, she was actually still able to remain calm. She even felt a little relieved.

Yin Beiqing’s reaction was so intense, which meant she understood the meaning of Yan Yu’s gesture just now. But she was this angry and still had not killed her directly. That proved even more that Yan Yu had made the right move.

All newborns would undergo a test with a sensing pearl to determine whether they were promising seedlings who might become Beast Arts Masters in the future.

For ordinary civilians, the testing orb would only reveal a cloud of white mist. Above that were green, yellow, red, and purple. Black was extremely rare but also the highest level, symbolizing that the newborn’s soul power was extremely abundant and that they possessed extraordinary talent. If cultivated well, they might very likely become an A-rank or even Special-rank Beast Arts Master.

No matter what level it was, the sensing orb would only show one cloud of mist. But Yin Beiqing’s had shown two clouds, both thick, ink-black, tangled together so tightly that they were difficult to distinguish. Even so, they could not escape the eyes of the experienced examiner.

Dual Beast Souls were a symbol of deformity, as well as a symbol of male impurity. Only when a man was unfaithful during conception would such a malformed fetus be created.

In this world, both sexes could give birth, but the way the next generation was produced was not physical pregnancy in the conventional sense.

The process of conception involved fusing both parties’ soul power to form a new Beast Soul Pearl. During the time from formation to hatching, the Beast Soul Pearl continuously consumed the essence, energy, and spirit of its carrier as nourishment. Whoever chose to become the carrier of this newborn Beast Soul Pearl was the one who “gave birth” and “became pregnant.”

However, because this was a female-dominant society, the common situation was for men to serve as carriers. But if a family’s inheritance required a powerful pure bloodline, they would instead focus on cultivating newborn Beast Soul Pearls carried and nurtured by women.

Some noble Beast Arts Master families that had passed down pure bloodlines for generations called Beast Soul Pearls carried by men Leng stones. The meaning was roughly this: inferior goods that could never achieve anything in the field of Beast Arts.

Yin Beiqing’s mother died young, so even though the family was unwilling, in the end, they could only choose her father as the carrier. Who could have known that something like this would happen?

As soon as the test result came out, the guard squad quickly rushed into the Yin family and took Yin Beiqing’s father away. Male impurity was a capital crime, especially since Yin Beiqing’s mother was an honored female general who had sacrificed herself for the country.

Under severe torture, Yin Beiqing’s father refused to admit that he had ever been unfaithful. But that was taken as proof that he was shielding his lover. The next day, his body, after being executed by lingchi, was hung on the city wall as a warning to others.

After her father’s death, Yin Beiqing’s days became even harder. She was treated as the product of lost chastity and impurity, despised and avoided by everyone like filthy garbage.

And that was only the beginning.

When she grew a little older, a prophecy spread from who knew where, saying that a thousand-year calamity would descend upon this continent. Thousands upon hundreds of people would die because of her, nations would fall, and the people would live in misery. And “her” defining trait was dual Beast Souls.

Very soon, countless people came after her, shouting slogans about acting on behalf of Heaven as they tried to take Yin Beiqing’s life.

She escaped death time and time again. Through frequent battles, her soul power became thicker and stronger, and her personality gradually twisted little by little in that kind of environment.

She hated those who hurt and humiliated her. But in the deepest part of her heart, she also pitifully agreed with their words and felt that she was unclean.

Because of this deep-rooted inferiority, Yin Beiqing had never exposed her other Beast Soul.

Everyone knew she had two Beast Souls, but no one knew what her other Beast Soul looked like, except herself.

The giant python Guilian, which Yan Yu had seen earlier, was Yin Beiqing’s first Beast Soul. Her second Beast Soul was a butterfly with a blood-red body and golden markings on its wings. Its name was Jiwu. With a light flap of its wings, it had the power to uproot towering trees. It was very powerful, but it also consumed a great deal of soul power. Unless absolutely necessary, Yin Beiqing would not use it. But as long as she did use it, in order to keep the secret, she would absolutely leave no survivors.

Yet the gesture Yan Yu had made just now clearly showed that she knew something.

Seeing Yin Beiqing hesitate, Yan Yu spoke again. “You have been looking for Lin Hegui all this time, haven’t you? As long as you are willing to spare my life, I will immediately take you to find her. I have had some dealings with her. Perhaps she will do me this favor.”

Perhaps apart from her astonishing memory, Yan Yu’s second skill was lying through her teeth without changing expression.

How could someone who had just transmigrated here possibly have any friendship with Lin Hegui? At most, she had only learned about Lin Hegui’s temperament and preferences from the book. She only said this because she had no choice but to in order to save her life.

Yin Beiqing’s two Beast Souls had opposing attributes. Everyone said she would not survive until adulthood and would be torn apart by the two Beast Souls consuming all her soul power, dying from her body exploding. But she had forcibly endured it until now.

However, the current Yin Beiqing had only tamed Guilian. Jiwu was constantly resisting wildly inside her body at every moment, while continuously absorbing her soul power. This was what had caused Yin Beiqing’s current state to be somewhat weak.

So she could only settle for the next best thing: spit out one of her Beast Soul Pearls and place it inside a treasure artifact to seal it away. Only every seven days, when she shed her skin, would she take it out, swallow it back, and incubate it again. The cycle repeated over and over.

To describe it simply, Yin Beiqing’s body was now like a container on the verge of being burst open by its contents. As the Beast Souls’ power grew stronger, her pain also intensified. Because she had tried all kinds of methods and none of them had much effect, and because her endurance was about to reach its limit, Yin Beiqing had finally set her sights on the legendary divine physician, Lin Hegui.

Medicine in this world was also called Healing Arts. In the Jin Kingdom, there were very few people skilled in Healing Arts, and Lin Hegui was one of the best among them. But she had an eccentric temperament and spent years wandering outside. Money, benefits, and power—none of them could easily tempt her into involving herself in worldly affairs.

If there was anything that could make her act once, perhaps it could only be a personal favor. But it was said that she had always come and gone alone. When had she ever had any connection with this sickly woman?

Yin Beiqing looked sideways at Yan Yu in front of her. Yan Yu’s face was full of confidence, and every word she spoke was forceful and firm. Perhaps it was this calm and certain appearance that made whatever she said sound highly believable.

Even Yin Beiqing, who had seen countless people, had already stepped halfway into the trap.

Recently, the imperial moth inside her body had grown increasingly restless. Even with the seven-day cycle, her body could barely endure it. But if she left the Beast Soul outside her body for too long, it would wither and die after losing its host.

Dying from her body exploding, or losing a Beast Soul—neither option was one Yin Beiqing wanted. After weighing the choices, it seemed that trusting Yan Yu was the only path available.

“How do I know this isn’t a delaying tactic? Once you leave this valley, a huge crowd of your rescuers could be waiting for me outside.”

“This humble woman is already an orphan whose entire family has been executed. I am alone and helpless. Where would I find the ability to call for rescuers? Besides, what slight disturbance in Langdie Valley could possibly escape your eyes?” Yan Yu raised her head, her eyes completely clear. “Please believe me, Valley Master. I truly want to help you.”

It was true that Yan Yu wanted to survive, but she also genuinely felt sorry for the female lead.

If Yin Beiqing had found Lin Hegui from the start and healed her body, if she had not been deceived by the male lead and had not had her Beast Soul Pearl stolen by him, then all those terrible things afterward definitely would not have happened, and she would not have turned dark. As someone who knew the truth, Yan Yu could not possibly watch Yin Beiqing walk step by step down the wrong path.

Yin Beiqing did not speak.

She was thinking, but not about whether Yan Yu’s words were trustworthy. Instead, she was entangled by the sense of contradiction coming from Yan Yu.

No matter how hard Yan Yu tried to disguise herself, Yin Beiqing could not see even the slightest so-called admiration for her. Even when Yan Yu spoke of her dead family, she did not show the collapse and grief that an ordinary person should have. If one had to describe what kind of emotion that was…

Sympathy? Pity?

Even when she said, “Please believe me, Valley Master. I truly want to help you,” she looked at Yin Beiqing with that same gaze.

Yin Beiqing lowered her head and clenched her fist, looking at the knife scar in her palm that had nearly reached the bone. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. This time, even the maidservants could not figure out what she meant, and they did not know whether they should draw their swords or not.

Instead, Yin Beiqing herself withdrew the bone fan expressionlessly. Seeing this, the maidservants slowly put away their long swords. But before the swords could slide back into their sheaths, the two-person-tall stone sculpture standing against the wall on the left suddenly exploded.

The enormous sound echoed continuously through the cave valley. In an instant, rising dust, smoke, and stone fragments blurred everyone’s vision.

Yan Yu coughed in a sorry state and tried her best to crouch lower so her mouth and nose would inhale less dust.

But in the next second, her chin was pinched by an icy hand. Then it was forcibly lifted, leaving her no choice but to meet the deep silver eyes hidden beneath the mask.

Yin Beiqing could completely hold Yan Yu’s chin with one hand. The metal nail guards, two knuckles long, scraped across the tender skin of Yan Yu’s cheek and pressed in hard.

The other party clearly did not seem to be using much strength, yet Yan Yu’s cheek burned with pain. She frowned and bit her lower lip tightly, enduring the cry of pain that nearly escaped her mouth.

Yin Beiqing admired Yan Yu’s stubborn expression with satisfaction. Like this, she looked much more pleasing to the eye than when she had a false, ingratiating smile hanging on her face.

“If I see you pulling your face into another hypocritical smile at me again, I’ll make sure you can never smile again.” She withdrew her hand and patted Yan Yu’s cheek with her palm, her tone light and casual. “But… since you’ve already boasted so boldly, it would be such a pity if I didn’t let you try.”

A sickly weakling who could not carry anything on her shoulders or lift anything with her hands actually still had the leisure to pity others. In Yin Beiqing’s eyes, this was even funnier than hearing that pigs could climb trees.