Chapter 1

In the pitch-black, silent cave, two indistinct white figures could vaguely be seen through the hazy mist.

Cold sweat streamed down Qin Zhiyue’s body. She swallowed as she looked at the woman sitting ten feet away, then quietly inched a little farther to the side.

There was no other reason. Although the woman’s eyes were closed and she had not so much as glanced at her, the oppressive aura of a Golden Core cultivator seeped through the air and bore down on Qin Zhiyue, giving her the sense that danger was drawing near.

“Senior Sister…” After enduring it for a long time, Qin Zhiyue finally hugged her knees and called out cautiously.

Xiao Weimian moved her jaw slightly and cast her a sidelong glance through half-lidded phoenix eyes. A sheen of sweat had flushed her flawless, breathtaking face with a hint of pink, lending her an austere, forbidden beauty. But the terrifying scarlet in her eyes frightened Qin Zhiyue so badly that her lips trembled.

“Are you all right? Senior Sister, hold on a little longer… Senior Brother Wen and the others should be here soon!” Qin Zhiyue’s usually languid, listless voice rose with rare urgency.

Xiao Weimian’s phoenix eyes remained half-lidded as she bit her lip and endured wave after wave of heat coursing through her body. It felt as though a furnace had been stuffed into her dantian, the flames spreading from there through every limb and bone until her mind grew hazy. Otherwise, how could she possibly think that the woman before her was giving off such an enticing scent?

Qin Zhiyue clenched her fingers. Whenever she became nervous, she could not stop herself from talking. Given the current atmosphere, however, she kept feeling that if she did not say something, she might not even have the chance to leave any last words.

“I-I-I… should I move farther away? But this cave really is rather small. I’ve honestly done my best already, so please don’t take offense, Senior Sister…” she said stiffly.

“Shut up.”

Xiao Weimian finally rebuked Qin Zhiyue coldly, but the end of her usually indifferent and composed voice trembled slightly, utterly unlike her normal image as an aloof, unattainable beauty.

Qin Zhiyue silently closed her mouth and tried so hard to distance herself that her back pressed directly against the cave wall. The rough stone chafed painfully against her back through her enchanted robes. Suddenly, the ground lurched. Qin Zhiyue’s eyes widened, and before she could steady herself, she pitched straight toward Xiao Weimian.

Oh no!

Qin Zhiyue’s heart went cold. Xiao Weimian was definitely going to fling her away. Everyone in the sect knew their Senior Sister was obsessed with cleanliness. Forget being embraced this tightly—even if someone merely brushed against her sleeve, she would have to burn the entire outfit afterward.

Despite thinking this, momentum still sent Qin Zhiyue’s arms spreading as she unceremoniously crashed into the slender woman in white before her. A cool fragrance followed Qin Zhiyue’s breath into her nose and lungs. It smelled so wonderful that she could not resist taking another deep breath. As expected of Senior Sister.

Huh? Why hadn’t she been thrown away?!

Her body rigid, Qin Zhiyue laboriously raised her head to look at Xiao Weimian. She remained seated in meditation. Above her fair neck was an elegantly shaped chin, her pale, thin lips were tightly pressed together, and her dark brows were faintly furrowed. Her black hair cascaded down her back, while the white jade hairpin atop her head remained perfectly still despite Xiao Weimian’s disheveled state.

Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest. Only after Qin Zhiyue recovered her senses did she realize that Xiao Weimian’s entire body was burning hot. Fine, glistening droplets seemed to cling to her long lashes, and Qin Zhiyue could not tell whether they were sweat or tears. Unconsciously, she leaned closer, her ragged breaths spilling across Xiao Weimian’s lips and cheeks.

Before Qin Zhiyue could clearly see those droplets, she unexpectedly found herself staring into a pair of dark phoenix eyes tinged with scarlet…

She jolted and instinctively fell backward, only for an arm to immediately wrap around her waist. Before Qin Zhiyue could release the breath she had just begun to let out, someone seized her shoulders and pinned her firmly against the cave wall.

Her back struck the wall with a burning pain, making Qin Zhiyue grimace. She was just about to say something when that distinctive cool fragrance suddenly engulfed her. The softness against her lips made her mind explode with a deafening buzz.

Wait, wait—was Xiao Weimian kissing her?!

The hands braced against Xiao Weimian’s shoulders weakened from the sheer force of Qin Zhiyue’s emotional turmoil. In her extreme shock, her lips parted slightly, and Xiao Weimian’s tongue seized the opening to drive straight in, as though she could not wait to swallow Qin Zhiyue whole.

Qin Zhiyue instantly went numb, as though a bolt of lightning had struck ​stolen content​her squarely on the head and shattered her mind along with it, leaving her incapable of thought.

By the time Qin Zhiyue thought to resist, she had already been completely overpowered. She stared into Xiao Weimian’s eyes in astonishment. Undeniably, even when lost in passion, this woman possessed a uniquely alluring and magnificent beauty. She truly deserved to be recognized as the foremost beauty in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, the foremost beauty had a junior brother who had been her childhood friend, and the two of them seemed quite close…

Childhood friend?

Those two words struck Qin Zhiyue like a blow to the head, restoring some of her reason. That was right. Xiao Weimian might be delirious right now, but Qin Zhiyue was not under the gu poison’s influence. She had truly let beauty cloud her judgment.

After struggling with all her might, Qin Zhiyue finally found an opportunity to push Xiao Weimian away. Once free, she tried to bolt forward, only for the frowning Xiao Weimian to fling her to the ground.

The force sent Qin Zhiyue crashing into a rock on the ground. Warm, wet liquid trickled from the back of her head, and her face turned deathly pale from the pain. The nausea and dizziness that followed made her want to retch.

An overwhelming flood of memories surged up from the depths of her mind without warning.

She remembered!

“Xiao Weimian, don’t—”

The rest of Qin Zhiyue’s words were completely blocked by Xiao Weimian’s lips and tongue. Lying on the ground, she struggled desperately. Even when she tried to raise her legs, the utterly irrational Xiao Weimian pressed them down firmly with her body, while both her wrists were lifted above her head and restrained, leaving her unable to move. That enticing cool fragrance had now become a deadly poison.

Qin Zhiyue’s heart pounded as though it were about to burst from her chest. Dense waves of anxiety made cold sweat break out across her body. In another moment, her fellow disciples would discover her taking liberties with Senior Sister, and Senior Sister’s childhood friend would stab her to death with a single sword strike.

It was not that she could foresee the future. Rather, the world in which she, Qin Zhiyue, had lived for decades was actually a novel. Most [read the original at bailiantales.com]ironically of all, it was a novel she had written herself.

It was not that she particularly objected to transmigrating into cannon fodder who died within the first three chapters, but couldn’t her memories have returned more than five minutes before her death? Rushing to meet a deadline could be fatal too, all right?!

Besides, this person was Xiao Weimian. She had never been some harmless, aloof Senior Sister!

How could a cold-blooded lunatic who cultivated the Heartless Dao possibly be easy to deal with?!

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Qin Zhiyue suppressed the emotions in her heart. At this moment, she no longer had the leisure to entertain any romantic notions. Narrowing her eyes, she bit down hard on the tongue still ravaging her mouth. Blood and intense pain brought a faint glimmer of clarity back into Xiao Weimian’s unfocused eyes.

Now!

Qin Zhiyue gathered every last trace of spiritual energy in her dantian and slammed a heavy blow into Xiao Weimian’s vital point. The attack carried unmistakable killing intent. Xiao Weimian’s gaze sharpened, and she thrust her sword at Qin Zhiyue with a backhanded strike, but Qin Zhiyue rolled aside.

Although she evaded the attack, Qin Zhiyue’s face instantly turned pale. She looked toward Xiao Weimian, who seemed somewhat surprised that her sword had missed. Xiao Weimian tilted her head slightly, then carried her sword as she walked toward Qin Zhiyue one step at a time.

“Senior Sister!”

Qin Zhiyue’s expression turned grim. She was merely an outer disciple in the Qi Refining stage. Managing to dodge even one attack already counted as a blessing from her ancestors in the underworld. If the male lead did not arrive soon, she was probably going to die here for real.

Unexpectedly, however, Xiao Weimian did not kill her. A trace of confusion appeared on her cold, aloof face. She then reached out and loosely closed her hand around Qin Zhiyue’s throat.

The touch made every hair on Qin Zhiyue’s body stand on end. Rather than trying to kill her, Xiao Weimian’s gesture seemed more like an attempt to bring her completely under control.

The atmosphere abruptly fell silent. Qin Zhiyue held herself rigid [bailiantales.com]and allowed Xiao Weimian to approach. As that jade-white face slowly drew closer, an eerie chill shot from Qin Zhiyue’s neck straight to the crown of her head.

This was the scene that greeted Wen Yixi and the others when they arrived, inevitably giving him a strangely peculiar feeling.

They were far too intimate. Xiao Weimian had never allowed anyone so close to her before, even if she appeared to be delirious at the moment.

“This… Senior Brother Wen, is Senior Sister all right?” Amid the dumbstruck crowd, a junior sister falteringly asked. She could not even bear to tear her eyes away from the spectacle before her.

“Help! Senior Brother Wen, help me! Senior Sister is trying to kill me! Cough… It hurts, it hurts…” Finally noticing everyone else’s presence, Qin Zhiyue immediately burst into tears and shouted as though she had grasped her last lifeline.

This time, she had not been the one to take liberties with Xiao Weimian, so they probably could not take her life now, right?

But before she could finish speaking, the pressure around her throat abruptly increased. Although it was not enough to stop her from breathing, it still made her suffer. She did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but Xiao Weimian seemed rather displeased.

With a cold expression, Wen Yixi cast Qin Zhiyue an openly disdainful glance. A nameless outer disciple dared spout such nonsense in front of him.

There were at least a dozen disciples present, including Wen Yixi. Every one of them looked worriedly at Xiao Weimian, yet not a single person cared whether Qin Zhiyue might die before their eyes in the next instant.

Qin Zhiyue lowered her eyes slightly and sighed helplessly in her heart. No wonder the cannon fodder in the original novel had been killed by a single sword strike. In the cultivation world, strength reigned supreme. Compared to the extraordinarily gifted Xiao Weimian, a mere outer disciple truly counted for nothing, so naturally, there was no such thing as fairness.

“Senior Sister, wake up… It’s me.” Wen Yixi’s expression softened as he walked toward Xiao Weimian one step at a time, his eyes filled with concern.

Seeing his expression, Qin Zhiyue’s heart sank. Clearly, these people truly had no intention of caring whether she lived or died. She felt Xiao Weimian’s grip tighten as Wen Yixi drew closer, leaving her no choice but to dig her fingertips desperately into Xiao Weimian’s wrist, her face turning blue.

Even through that rare Tianguang silk, Qin Zhiyue could feel the scorching, flame-like heat, forming a stark contrast with her own icy fingertips.

Xiao Weimian had clearly felt the coolness as well. She actually loosened her hand slightly, then pulled Qin Zhiyue into her arms beneath everyone’s gazes. Her beautiful, autumn-moon face slowly nestled against Qin Zhiyue’s chin.

A fierce glint flashed through Qin Zhiyue’s eyes. She suddenly reached out and gripped Xiao Weimian’s chin firmly, smiling faintly at her. A seductive, amorous expression appeared on a face normally considered merely plain and delicate among the immortal sects, making even Xiao Weimian’s vacant pupils tremble.

At that very instant, Qin Zhiyue struck Xiao Weimian’s vital point directly with her palm, then rapidly retreated. Her movements, however, were so ungainly that they were somewhat embarrassing. In a completely unexpected posture, she rolled and scrambled until she reached a safe distance.

Everyone’s lips twitched as they simultaneously felt embarrassed on the outer disciple’s behalf.

“Senior Sister!”

“Senior Sister…”

Amid the cries of alarm, Wen Yixi was the first to rush forward. Qin Zhiyue rubbed her swollen wrist, which had been wrenched out of place, while her gaze followed them toward the center of the crowd. She tugged indifferently at the corner of her lips. Sure enough, once she separated herself from the female lead, it was as though she had moved away from the center of the world. At this moment, not a single person spared her another glance.

Xiao Weimian raised the sword in her hand, killing intent filling her gaze as she looked at her fellow disciples. Unlike her usual cold, silent eyes, this time, she truly would kill them!

Qin Zhiyue wriggled toward the exit. She had no intention of pretending to be a considerate junior sister. If she did not run now, when would she? Just as she finally managed to steady herself outside the cave, she heard a thunderous boom—the entire cave collapsed solidly in on itself…

Fortunately, she had crawled fast enough.

The tension in Qin Zhiyue’s nerves finally eased, and she plopped down on the ground. Patting her chest, she thought that she had nearly been buried beneath it. After all, she was the only Qi Refining disciple present, which also meant she had the highest chance of dying…