The Villain Is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 11

Although Master Qin Zhi had acted rather neurotic and even given her a blade to use against her little junior sister, Xia Zhitao did not take the other woman’s warning to heart at all.

After that dagger “for dealing with demonic cultivators” was thrown into her storage ring, it was buried together with a pile of other messy odds and ends and completely forgotten.

However, because she now had a little junior sister, and because she had to set an example as a senior, Xia Zhitao at least put a little more effort into cultivation and no longer dared to slack off every day.

The body she had after transmigrating could be considered fairly good in terms of innate aptitude. Once she began cultivating seriously, her spiritual rank rose rapidly, frightening Xia Zhitao so much that she even ran off to ask the bearded grandmaster of Shuijing Peak about it.

Who knew that Grandmaster Hu would look at her faintly and say, “Zhitao, if you had come to your senses earlier, you would already be Shuijing Peak’s eldest senior sister by now.”

Xia Zhitao: “…”

Bearded Grandmaster was not actually called that, but his original name, Hu Zi, sounded almost the same as huzi, “beard.” Add to that his bold, unrestrained personality and his face full of thick beard, and the disciples of Shuijing Peak simply called him “Beard” directly.

Xia Zhitao laughed awkwardly twice and said, “Grandmaster, I’ll definitely cultivate properly starting tomorrow.”

“No need to wait until tomorrow,” Bearded Grandmaster said, shaking his head.

Xia Zhitao froze. “Huh?”

Bearded Grandmaster was utterly calm as he said leisurely, “Start today.”

And so, while Xia Zhitao was still completely confused, Bearded Grandmaster led their group of disciples away in a grand procession and brought them to another peak.

Xia Zhitao looked at the white mist spilling everywhere around them and fell into thought. “Master Qin’s Zhihe Peak?”

Bearded Grandmaster smiled. “That’s right. Today, we’re here to use her illusion realm.”

Xia Zhitao: “…”

That perfectly justified attitude—

Grandmaster! Why aren’t we staying properly on our own Shuijing Peak? Why do we keep running to other peaks?

First it was Yubai Peak, and now it was Zhihe Peak. It was as if their own peak was just for decoration, while every day, he brought a whole group of disciples out on excursions.

Bearded Grandmaster showed not a hint of shame on his face. He led the crowd of disciples openly and grandly to one of Qin Zhi’s caverns, his actions so frank and his route so practiced that this clearly was not the first time he had done this.

Only this time, he was caught red-handed.

Quite a few people were standing in front of the cavern. As luck would have it, it was none other than the peak master of Zhihe Peak, Qin Zhi herself, with a group of new disciples of varying ages behind her, preparing to begin the next round of trials.

From afar, Qin Zhi saw Hu Zi and gave him a cold glance. Who knew that Hu Zi had skin as thick as a city wall? He cheerfully brought his group of disciples down and said, “Peak Master Qin! I trust you’ve been well!”

Qin Zhi smiled without warmth. “I was well, until I saw you. Now my head is starting to hurt.”

Bearded Grandmaster simply pretended not to hear. Stroking his beard, he said, “Peak Master Qin, I’ve brought the disciples here this time because I wanted to borrow that, what was it called… that something-something illusion realm of yours.”

“This is a formation left behind by an ancient immortal venerable!” Qin Zhi was furious, gritting her teeth as she said resentfully, “You can’t even remember the name, yet you still have the nerve to come here?!”

Bearded Grandmaster gave a “hehe” laugh and said openly, “What’s wrong with that?”

Qin Zhi usually maintained her noble, cold, and glamorous image, but only Hu Grandmaster could anger her into showing her true colors every single time. The disciples had long since grown used to it, so they kept their eyes on their noses and their noses toward their hearts, pretending not to hear anything.

While the two were still arguing, Xia Zhitao walked forward a few steps and could not help sizing up the cavern before her.

Though it was called a cavern, it looked more like a man-made grotto embedded halfway up the mountainside. Immortal mist curled around it, green bamboo grew thickly around it, as if it were afraid others would not know this was an important site of the immortal sect.

A weathered wooden plaque hung above the grotto, its border patterns finely traced in vermilion. Three ancient, slender characters were carved in the center:

Nanke Ballad.

One Nanke ballad, and when the song ended, the people of the past would never return.

The word “ballad” sounded similar to “kiln,” making it sound like an ordinary stone grotto, yet giving it a few more hints of musical charm. Xia Zhitao did not know what it meant.

Just as Xia Zhitao was pondering this, someone quietly sidled up beside her.

She looked down and saw her little junior sister blinking at her, fingertips tugging at the corner of her clothes. After being discovered, Zhang Lan’s expression turned tense for a moment before she obediently smiled at her.

Her smile looked a little silly, and her movements were so sneaky she looked like a little hamster. Xia Zhitao laughed despite herself and reached out to rub Zhang Lan’s hair.

She had almost forgotten. Master Qin Zhi was still leading this batch of newcomers, so running into her little junior sister was perfectly reasonable.

“Senior Sister,” Zhang Lan said, blinking her dark eyes. “Today is the final trial. Did you come to watch us?”

Seeing the child’s expectant look, Xia Zhitao did not want to dampen her mood, but Bearded Grandmaster was still beside them, so it was better to tell the truth.

Xia Zhitao shook her head. “Grandmaster Hu brought us here.”

Afraid her little junior sister would feel sad, Xia Zhitao added, “I’ve been looking for you lately, but Master Qin Zhi kept stopping me, saying the training was strict and I wasn’t allowed to see you.”

Zhang Lan nodded. Then her expression suddenly turned serious, and she whispered by Xia Zhitao’s ear, “Senior Sister, I think there’s something suspicious about this illusion realm. I’m afraid—”

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Zhi turned her head and saw the two people sticking together again. Her anger value immediately doubled, and she roared sternly:

“Zhang Lan! Get back here!”

Xia Zhitao was startled, but Zhang Lan did not react much. She still clung to her and refused to let go.

“Flirting and being all lovey-dovey with someone from Shuijing Peak—what kind of behavior is that?!” Qin Zhi was so angry her voice rose by two degrees. “Stop clinging to your senior sister. Which peak do you even belong to?!”

Zhang Lan said slowly, “After the trial assembly, I intend to join Shuijing Peak…”

“You’re already thinking about the trial assembly? Thinking you’ll get first place and choose your peak yourself?” Qin Zhi said coldly. “First, don’t even mention whether any peak master would be willing to accept you. With your tail-end results, the trial assembly is still very uncertain for you.”

After all, they were in public, so the master’s words still had to be obeyed. Zhang Lan flattened her mouth, dawdled for a while, and walked back, gathering her sleeves and saying nothing.

Xia Zhitao silently sighed, thinking:

Master Qin, not long ago, you were suspecting Zhang Lan was Zhang Kuang’s illegitimate daughter, and now you actually dare to yell at our Demon Sect princess. How big is your heart?

However, Qin Zhi had clearly been in the middle of her anger just now, and after a while, she calmed down. With a cold face, she stood for a moment, then turned around and began introducing the cavern behind her, looking exactly like a dutiful NPC.

“I have already explained it to you in detail just now, so I will briefly repeat it once more.” Qin Zhi swept her gaze over everyone and cleared her throat. “This illusion realm is called Nanke. It has three layers, and today, I will open the first layer for you.”

“After entering the illusion realm, you will see what you fear most in your heart. It may be something you expect, or it may lie outside your memories. As for the method of passing the trial, it is also exceptionally simple.”

Qin Zhi’s voice suddenly lightened slightly, carrying a teasing smile. “…Walk out by yourself.”

After she finished speaking, the disciples were quiet for a moment. Then a few whispers began to spread.

Wang Yan had ranked near the top in many trials, and her strength was outstanding, so she thought very highly of herself. She was the first to speak. “That simple?”

“It is just that simple.” Qin Zhi smiled and nodded. “What do you think? Want to try?”

Wang Yan gathered her sleeves, eager to head inside, but her elder brother Wang Ze grabbed her sleeve.

Her brother shook his head slightly and said softly to her, “Master Qin has always been quite strict. This is the final trial of the selection assembly. You need to be extra careful.”

Although Xia Zhitao could not hear the siblings’ conversation, her thoughts happened to match Wang Ze’s.

The requirement “walk out by yourself” sounded simple, but if one thought about it carefully, one would discover many eerie implications.

For example, under what circumstances would one be “unable to walk out by oneself”?

Suffering serious injuries, losing consciousness, exhausting all spiritual power, having one’s sword break, having both legs cut off… or perhaps having one’s soul trapped inside a nightmare forever, unable to ever wake again.

Just thinking about it made Xia Zhitao’s spine turn cold, and a chill ran through her.

In the previous trials, such as the cliff-climbing at the very beginning, even if someone accidentally fell, there would still be someone protecting them, so their life would not be endangered. But as for this illusion realm trial, there was no way to know.

“Wang Yan, you need not be in such a hurry.” Qin Zhi deliberately glanced at Bearded Grandmaster and said unhurriedly, “As for all of you senior brothers and sisters, shouldn’t you set an example for the newcomers?”

Beard gave a “hmph” and said brightly, “It would be rude to refuse!”

He pointed at the grotto. “Disciples, go! Let Peak Master Qin see what we’re capable of!”

The Shuijing Peak disciples: “???”

Grandmaster, that’s easy for you to say. Master Qin Zhi is famously ruthless. Do you really think entering an illusion realm is as easy as slicing tofu for fun?

And we’re the ones actually entering the illusion realm. You’re the one staying outside and slacking off without having to do anything, all right!

Bearded Grandmaster ignored the disciples’ resentful gazes and calmly had everyone line up, letting not a single one escape as they entered the grotto.

Strangely enough, the grotto looked narrow and small, as if it would feel crowded with even two people standing inside. But the moment the disciples entered, their figures completely vanished, leaving behind only one or two hollow sounds of dripping water.

Zhang Lan watched helplessly as Xia Zhitao took a step and her figure disappeared in an instant. A surge of unease abruptly rose in her heart, fearful and helpless, as if she had suddenly been pushed off a cliff, empty and with nowhere to land.

As soon as the Shuijing Peak disciples had all entered, Zhang Lan immediately rushed forward first and silently stood at the front of the line.

Qin Zhi did not stop her either. After reminding everyone a few more times, she let the new disciples begin entering the grotto.

Zhang Lan took a deep breath and walked forward. The mist spilling everywhere seemed to gain divine awareness, quietly retreating to both sides and revealing a small path leading to the grotto.

The instant she touched the edge of the formation, bright white light suddenly flared before her eyes, making Zhang Lan unconsciously close them. When she opened them again, the scenery before her had already changed.

She stared at the familiar scene before her, her eyes abruptly widening. Her body seemed to be controlled by someone as she walked forward step by step.

The closer she got, the clearer that figure became.

Zhang Lan could no longer control herself. She reached out, wanting to touch that person, her voice carrying a trace of trembling so faint it was almost undetectable.

“…Stop looking.”