I Snatched the Male Lead’s "Cool Novel" Script - Chapter 55

Yang Pei was about to grind her teeth to pieces, but no matter how unwilling she felt inside, in the end, she still lowered that proud head of hers to Yan Yu. “The goddess’s sacred heart saved my daughter. Please forgive my offense.”

“Again with these overly refined words.” Yin Beiqing was just about to express dissatisfaction when Yan Yu spoke one step ahead.

“I hope you stop making these crooked schemes.” She raised her hand and pulled a folded piece of paper from her sleeve, handing it over. “Also, please release my master as soon as possible.”

She had not forgotten that Lin Hegui was still being held in the study as collateral.

“Lin Luo.” Yang Pei called her name.

“Yes.”

Lin Luo gave Yan Yu a complicated look, picked up her sword, and turned to leave.

“Take it.” Seeing that Yang Pei had no reaction, Yan Yu raised the hand holding the paper a little higher. “This is the acupuncture point diagram. Have your people perform acupuncture on the eldest princess once every month. Also, her rehabilitation cannot stop even for a single day.”

“You…” Yang Pei bit her lip and looked at her.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m only being responsible for my patient. I have no intention of forgiving you.” Yan Yu stood and lowered her eyes to look at her. “The Jin Kingdom I envision also has no place for an empress like you.”

After the two of them left, Yang Pei remained kneeling amid the ruins for a long time, unable to move.

She buried her face in the crook of her arm, covering her reddened eyes. The hand holding the acupuncture point sheet trembled uncontrollably from how hard she gripped it.

However, no one noticed that by the side door, a girl in a goose-yellow long dress was hurriedly leaving while holding a box in her arms.

The box was stamped with the Jin Kingdom’s national emblem. Its body was made of Tongyuan wood, a precious container used only for national-treasure-level items.

“Good thing… it’s not too late.”

…

When they went out, the sky had already darkened.

Yin Beiqing silently pulled Yan Yu’s hand and walked forward. If the capital city did not have a pile of broken, troublesome rules about the use of spiritual arts, she would have already picked Yan Yu up with one hand and flown back.

“You’re unhappy?” Yan Yu sensed that her mood was low.

“Mm.”

“What’s wrong?” Yan Yu quickened her steps until she could walk side by side with her, so that when she tilted her head, she could see Yin Beiqing’s face. “Was the fight not satisfying enough?”

This time, she had practically almost blown up the palace, okay?

Yin Beiqing looked straight ahead. The tense line of her jaw made her expression look somewhat cold and hard.

“You already knew she was that kind of person. Why did you still save her daughter?”

That question… really was complicated.

“Perhaps it’s difficult for you all to understand, but in the world I used to live in, even death-row prisoners had the right to receive treatment.” Yan Yu softened her voice so her explanation would be easier to listen to. “Besides, Yang Pei is Yang Pei, and Yang Jing is Yang Jing. They are two different people. No matter who was lying there today, as long as I had the ability, I would have saved them.”

Yin Beiqing stopped and turned to look at her. “Then if the one sick today had been Yang Pei, would you save her too?”

“That would depend on the situation. If she had already raised a knife in front of me, and I was still softheartedly thinking this and that, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?” Yan Yu laughed.

Yin Beiqing’s expression eased a little. “At least you’re not completely stupid.”

“Don’t worry. When it’s time to act, I won’t be softhearted.”

Yin Beiqing seemed to think of something from those words and gave a light scoff. “That’s right. Back when you held a hairpin to my neck, you were much tougher than today.”

“So much time has already passed, and you’re still bringing that up.”

“Of course. That’s because the impression Lady Goddess left on me was far too deep.” Yin Beiqing glanced sideways at her, deliberately emphasizing each word. “Unforgettable for life.”

“…” Here she goes again, being sarcastic.

Yan Yu silently looked up at the sky. At that exact moment, a drop of rain fell from above and landed on her cheek. Her brows furrowed, and she raised a hand to wipe it away. But then came the second drop, the third drop… more and more rain began falling one after another.

“It’s raining,” she murmured to herself.

Perhaps because the dark clouds were pressing too low, Yan Yu kept feeling a trace of unease in her heart.

Beside them, two girls holding hands ran past together. “Why did the sun set so quickly? Hurry, let’s go home!”

Yan Yu was puzzled. Since when did the people of the capital city fear night as well? She remembered the original book mentioning that the entertainment industry here was especially developed, and that the nights were much livelier than the days.

“Seriously, why has the blue moon been coming so often lately? Didn’t it just appear once last month?” the slightly shorter girl complained. “I bought tickets to Lord Lingqi’s concert a month in advance, and now all that money’s gone down the drain! It was so hard to reserve them too!”

Catching a name she knew, Yan Yu raised her head and looked toward them.

Sensing Yan Yu’s gaze, the two kindly reminded her, “Young lady, you should hurry home too. The notice said today’s blue moon is much stronger than the previous one. The number and rank of evil spirits that appear will be nothing like before. You must take it seriously. The lords from the Red Pavilion have been strengthening patrols since last night.”

Notice?

Speaking of which, after she entered the capital city today, she had not gone out at all. Naturally, she had not seen any notice either.

“Thank you. We’ll go back right away.” Yan Yu nodded and thanked the two of them.

After saying that, she took the initiative to hold Yin Beiqing’s hand again and quickened her pace back.

Rainy day, blue moon. She had not expected this rare combination to appear a second time in such a short period.

She remembered the way Yin Beiqing had looked when she saw her on Langdie Valley’s rear mountain last time, and her heart sank. The force with which she held Yin Beiqing’s hand unconsciously tightened.

Because of the blood contract, when there was physical contact, both sides became more sensitive to the other’s emotions.

Just like Yan Yu at this moment. From Yin Beiqing, she sensed an unknown source of suppression and sorrow.

Perhaps she had noticed too slowly. The moment she first realized Yin Beiqing’s mood was bad, she should have thought of this.

Ahead on the road, Yan Yu saw the color of the sunset gradually change from orange-red to blue-green. The sky had already darkened until only enough light remained to barely make out the road.

This blue moon had indeed arrived aggressively. It was as though someone had suddenly opened a barrier over this city. With almost no transition, day turned into night.

Before true darkness descended, Yan Yu quickly raised a hand and covered Yin Beiqing’s eyes, preventing her from seeing the moment that bright blue moon rose.

“Yin Beiqing, don’t look anywhere. Just look at me.”

A tingling sensation brushed over her palm, like a small brush gently sweeping across it. The person whose eyes were covered said nothing, but still obediently nodded.

“However, it isn’t this.” She did not explain what “this” referred to, yet Yan Yu understood instantly.

She took off her own outer robe and draped it over both her and Yin Beiqing’s heads, blocking the rain.

“Be good, Qing’er. Don’t look.”

“Mm.” Yin Beiqing appeared especially docile at this moment. She took the clothes from Yan Yu’s hand and lifted them a little higher, her gaze falling on the top of Yan Yu’s head. “This way, I can only see you.”

“That works… I suppose.”

“Let’s go. You walk, I’ll hold it up.”

The two of them silently hurried along, a taut string stretched through both their nerves, afraid that an evil spirit might suddenly rush out from somewhere.

“Almost there. Once we pass this alley…”

Yan Yu’s voice gradually weakened. She widened her eyes slightly and looked at the enormous Beast Soul deep in the alley, her scalp going numb.

Was she a crow too? Whatever she said really came true!

“Don’t move.” Yin Beiqing pressed down on her arm that was itching to act. “I’ll do it.”

“You’re the one who needs to stay steady. You were just injured.” Yan Yu shook her head. “It’s fine. I won’t fight. I’ll just build a defensive shield, then we’ll run in the opposite direction.”

Although Yin Beiqing had always acted relaxed and indifferent, Yan Yu knew that there was no way she could be completely fine after being hit by Yang Pei’s crow feathers. This person was probably using all her current energy just to maintain a calm expression, all so people would not worry.

Yin Beiqing frowned and was just about to refute when an unfamiliar voice suddenly dropped from above them.

“Back away!”

A tall woman wearing a Red Pavilion uniform met the roaring evil spirit barehanded. Her high ponytail was an iconic red.

Although Yan Yu only caught her from the corner of her eye, she still accurately captured the red Eye Stone on her ear cuff.

—This was the leader exorcist she had glimpsed in passing from the carriage that afternoon.

The thick miasma was arrogantly ignored by the woman. Looking at the evil spirit opening its huge mouth to bite her, she did not dodge. Instead, she tapped her foot against the ground and leapt up, rapidly closing the distance. Her clean, beautiful hands directly grabbed its mouth. With a slight exertion of the muscles in her arms, she actually tore its mouth open by force.

Dark green blood flowed from the wound onto the ground. Before long, it reached Yan Yu’s feet. Yin Beiqing was quick-eyed and quick-handed, pulling her back from behind so she would not be stained by such filth.

“What are you still looking at? We’re leaving.” Her tone was full of displeasure.

“Oh… all right.”

…

They finally made it inside just before the tail end of the blue moon rose. Perhaps because Lin Luo’s earlier arrival to take someone away had been too grand, the shopkeeper had remembered Yan Yu’s face. Seeing her return in such a sorry state, she could not help overthinking.

“Are… are you being hunted?”

“What are you thinking?” Yan Yu laughed despite herself. “It’s just that my friend is afraid of the dark, so we ran back.”

“Oh, that’s good, that’s good. You two are my honored guests. If anything happened, I’d be worried to death.” She clearly sighed in relief and spoke her polite words very smoothly. “Tonight did indeed arrive earlier than usual. They say this is an extremely rare strong blue moon that only appears once in a thousand years. It’s better to be cautious.”

Yan Yu gave an “Mm” and changed the topic. “Is there hot water? My friend needs to bathe.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll have someone prepare it right away.”

After entering the room, Yan Yu took down the outer robe covering Yin Beiqing’s head and pressed her onto a stool. “Hungry? After you bathe, should I order you some food?”

“Not eating.”

“That’s fine too. Then after you wash, sleep early tonight.” Yan Yu poured hot tea for her. “Take off your clothes. Let me look at the wound on your back.”

“It isn’t serious.”

“Take them off.” Yan Yu’s expression immediately turned serious. “I’m not joking with you. No matter what, Yang Pei is still a Special-rank Beast Arts Master. If her poison could be endured and passed over just like that, would she still be worthy of that title?”

“That’s because those people are too weak.” Someone was still stubborn.

“Let me take one look so I can feel at ease, all right?” Yan Yu rubbed her head, applying both softness and firmness. “I’ll go close the window. Take off your wet outer clothes first.”

After these words were spoken, Yin Beiqing’s expression visibly softened. She had probably reacted to that sentence, “so I can feel at ease.”

In other words, Yan Yu cared a lot about her.

Yan Yu knew that she had listened and turned her back, walking toward the window.

Looking down from here, she happened to have a view of the alley where they had encountered the evil spirit earlier. Out of curiosity, Yan Yu stretched her head out and glanced outside.

That woman was still there. Moreover, the number of evil spirits had unexpectedly gathered more and more. In only a short while, a pile of corpses already two people tall had stacked up by her feet.

But there was no trace of fear on the woman’s face. Instead, she had the air of becoming more excited the more she killed. Unlike other Beast Arts Masters, she rarely dodged, as if she was not afraid of the evil spirits’ bites or the invasion of miasma.

She was barehanded the entire time, yet her combat power was more terrifying than some Beast Arts Masters who relied on divine artifacts. There was a beastliness in her that others did not possess, something that could only be seen in evil spirits.

Madness, yet restrained. This was also the only difference between her and those who had fallen into demonic corruption.

“Yo, Lingqi.” A teammate who arrived afterward whistled at her, walked over, and patted her shoulder. “Not bad. There should be at least another hundred or so points here, right?”

The Red Pavilion had established ranks for evil spirits. By hunting evil spirits of different ranks, exorcists would receive corresponding points. Accumulating enough points granted them the qualifications for promotion.

If Yan Yu remembered correctly, this exorcist named Lingqi was the terrifying existence mentioned in the book who, less than a year after entering the organization, had been exceptionally promoted three times from intern exorcist to leader.

Yan Yu suddenly thought of Yang Pei. The reason she was so nervous about her position was very simple. The Jin Kingdom today was already different from before. As a bridge, it had deepened exchanges between countries. This land gathered top talents from every nation. Marriages between elite families and Special-rank Beast Arts Masters produced the next generation with even higher soul power.

Genius exorcists among the new generation were everywhere. Any one of them, if brought up in the past, would have stood at the very top of the pyramid.

This was a year when purple stars lived in clusters. As a former myth, aside from the crown on her head, Yang Pei had already become nothing to fear.

And Yin Beiqing’s opponent would arise from among this cluster of purple stars.

“This side’s finished, right? Hurry and come with me. Xiao Li just sent me a message saying she’s almost unable to hold on.”

“Mm.” Lingqi raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, but she did not immediately follow her teammate’s steps.

As if sensing something, she quickly raised her head and accurately locked onto the window of Yan Yu’s room.

Caught off guard by meeting her eyes, Yan Yu instantly held her breath.

Lingqi’s gaze was like that of a cold-blooded animal that had locked onto its prey, giving Yan Yu the feeling that her whole body had gone stiff and could hardly move.

After a long while, Lingqi curled her bloodstained lips, and excited light burst from her eyes.

“Found you.”