The Villain Is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 12

On the other side, Xia Zhitao glanced at the person in front of her, then looked at the familiar scenery around her and said speechlessly, “What is going on?”

What happened to “facing your nightmare and inner demon”? Why was it that after she walked into the cavern, she had really only walked into a cavern?!

No matter how she looked at it, this was just an ordinary cavern. Although the light was a little dim, she could still vaguely make out some of the scenery inside.

A ball of white light stood in front of her. Using the tone of a certain online shopping customer-service agent, it said kindly, “Hello, disciple. Because your constitution is special, the formation has failed.”

Could it be because I’m a transmigrator, so this formation doesn’t work on me?

Xia Zhitao: “…Can I give a bad review?”

“I’m sorry,” the light said in an amiable voice. “This is only a consciousness projection and can only respond to specific questions.”

Fine, fine. Xia Zhitao sighed, folded her arms, glanced down at the ground, and asked, “What is this?”

Not far away, several stones, pieces of wood, and some strange talismans had been arranged together into a number of odd circles. They looked like a formation that had been set up.

No matter how one looked at it, this was part of the setup inside the Nanke Ballad grotto. Was this really all right? The illusion formation was completely exposed!

“You should have already seen it. No need to doubt it. That over there is the entire formation.” The light quietly explained, its voice unexpectedly carrying the slightest bit of embarrassment.

“Back then, I didn’t read the ancient records properly. I arranged things randomly and accidentally created an ancient killing formation. Golden Core or Nascent Soul, it kills them all the same. You absolutely must be careful. Don’t kick that little purple stone.”

There are so many things to roast here that I don’t even know where to begin!!

Xia Zhitao’s body shuddered. Silently, she retreated three steps in a row, staying far, far away from that formation, afraid that if she accidentally sneezed, it would lead to some tragic “illusion realm murder case” or something like that…

Her adorable little junior sister was still inside!

That light seemed to come with its own GPS navigation. When Xia Zhitao retreated, the light swayed and drifted after her, faithfully doing its duty. “Disciple, do you have any other questions?”

Xia Zhitao tried negotiating with the light. “Can I go out?”

Unexpectedly, the other party swayed and said kindly, “No. Since you’re already here, it would be such a pity to leave. Let me find something fun for you to watch.”

Xia Zhitao: “…”

Sorry, I’m really not interested.

Clearly, Xia Zhitao had no room to choose at all. White light flashed before her eyes, and she instinctively raised her hand to block it.

When she opened her eyes again, her field of vision suddenly opened wide.

Xia Zhitao discovered that she was standing inside a vast library. Pages were scattered everywhere around her, and countless open books hovered in the air, slowly flipping themselves, making soft rustling sounds.

“This is your sea of consciousness. You can see all your past memories here.” The light sounded smug. “How is it? Fun, right?”

What was fun about looking at her own memories? It was even a little terrifying, all right?

Xia Zhitao was too lazy to complain. Since she was already here, she might as well make peace with it, so she simply began wandering around the realm of her own memories.

This library was even modern in style, with clean, sharp lines and clearly defined geometric outlines. It was a style she liked.

She casually pulled down a book and flipped through a few pages. She saw a tiny version of herself arguing with her younger brother, and they were arguing fiercely. After flipping a few more pages, she saw herself discussing work matters with her younger brother. The two of them were already adults, but their relationship was still very good.

Some things she remembered. Others were rather blurry. Xia Zhitao could not help feeling somewhat nostalgic and wanted to keep flipping through them.

Strangely, starting from a certain period of time, the images and words in the books suddenly became a chaotic mess, as if they had been completely soaked through with water. She could not see anything clearly.

She flipped through several books in succession, and all of them were like this. The missing fragments were all from the same period of time, which made Xia Zhitao suspicious.

On a certain day before she transmigrated, her memories had suddenly begun to blur. Only in the fourteenth year after she transmigrated, after she entered Yashan, did they become clear again.

It was as if this period of time had been forcibly cut out, or rather, locked away. No matter how hard Xia Zhitao tried, she could not recall anything that had happened during that time.

“Is this the ‘lock’ Master Qin mentioned?” Xia Zhitao closed the book and asked the light.

Naturally, the light could not understand her question. It slowly explained, “My true body has long since scattered into smoke and clouds. This is only a consciousness projection, unable to answer your question.”

Xia Zhitao sighed. She closed the book and returned it to its original place.

“I’m done looking. Take me out,” Xia Zhitao said softly.

The light began to surge. The scenery around her started to blur, the colors receding like the tide. The last sound she heard was a sigh-like sentence from that light:

“…As you wish.”

.

When she opened her eyes again, Xia Zhitao found that she had returned to Nanke Ballad.

She steadied herself and walked out of the grotto, only to discover that the space before her was completely empty. All the disciples were gone.

Qin Zhi and Hu Zi were standing not far away, both staring at her in shock.

Xia Zhitao bowed very calmly. “Grandmaster Hu, Master Qin.”

Qin Zhi was so shocked she could barely speak properly. Stammering, she said, “You, you… how is this possible? What is going on with this disciple of yours?!”

Bearded Grandmaster looked innocent. “If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask? What’s wrong with your broken formation?”

Qin Zhi roared, “Hu Zi! Don’t you dare slander my master’s formation—”

Seeing the two peak masters’ reactions, Xia Zhitao inwardly thought, Not good. She had probably come out too early and frightened the two of them.

Sure enough, Qin Zhi gradually calmed down. She took a deep breath and asked, “You’re Xia Zhitao, right? Why did you come out so early?”

Xia Zhitao hurriedly told the truth. “After this disciple entered the grotto, an immortal master’s projection appeared and said the formation had no effect.”

“So that’s what it was.” After hearing her explanation, Qin Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. “Such phenomena have indeed occurred before, such as Buddhist disciples who have severed the seven emotions and six desires, immortal spirits whose spiritual roots match the formation, and so on…”

Xia Zhitao smiled along in agreement. “Then does this count as me passing?”

“If the formation is ineffective, then naturally, you’ve passed,” Bearded Grandmaster said, stroking his chin with some regret. “It’s just a pity you missed an opportunity to directly face your inner demon.”

Xia Zhitao was naturally happy and relaxed that she did not have to undergo the trial, but she still followed Grandmaster’s words and said, “It is indeed a pity.”

She paused, then asked, “Have all the disciples entered the illusion realm?”

Qin Zhi gave a cold, indifferent “hmph.” “That little junior sister of yours really cares about you. She was the first to rush inside. I’d like to see how long it takes her to come out!”

Although Qin Zhi could keep track of the disciples’ condition and how deeply they had fallen into the illusion realm, she herself could not observe the scenes inside. In other words, each disciple’s inner demon was known only to themselves.

Xia Zhitao turned to look at the cold, quiet Nanke Ballad grotto and could not help spacing out a little. She wondered what exactly her little junior sister had seen inside.

.

“…Stop looking. You won’t find her.”

Zhang Lan stood amid boundless, heavy snow. She reached out, wanting to pull the person in front of her, but her fingers passed through the other’s sleeve without touching anything.

Zhang Lan stared blankly at her palm, then suddenly seemed to let go. She muttered to herself, “It’s only an illusion, that’s all. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Snow fell thickly from the sky. It seemed as if cold air slipped into her fingertips and spread recklessly through her body.

Zhang Lan took a deep breath. Without caring whether she would run into anything or not, she closed her eyes and ran forward.

She did not know how long she ran. The snow seemed to stop, and a soft breeze brushed past her cheek, bringing with it faint threads of itchiness. She abruptly opened her eyes, and the tip of her nose happened to catch a pale flower petal.

The previous scenery vanished without a trace. In its place was a magnificent great hall standing at the peak of a mountain, while she herself stood on the stone path before the hall.

The scene before her was far too familiar. She recognized this place.

—Qiling Mountain, the Demon Sect’s main hall.

Zhang Lan steadied herself. She followed the stone path forward in quick steps until she arrived before the great hall. Reaching out, she pushed lightly, and the heavy black stone doors opened in response.

Inside the great hall, the lamplight was dim. Black mist seemed to have taken on physical form, pressing heavily against the air.

Zhang Lan lifted her head and saw someone dressed in black robes, sitting on the high seat with one leg crossed. Ink-black hair spilled over her shoulders, and her voice was careless and indifferent. “You clearly know in your heart that the truth is what it is.”

Facing the Demon Sect Leader, Zhang Lan was not afraid. She said flatly, “How long are you planning to stay in this broken mountain?”

“She’s already dead. Why deceive yourself?” Zhang Kuang said. “It’s nothing but useless effort.”

“…No.”

Zhang Lan’s expression abruptly darkened. She clenched a petal tightly in her hand. “She isn’t dead. She’s still alive and well.”

Zhang Kuang sneered and said mockingly, “Naive. Did you not see clearly that day? That entire place was burned clean, and no one was spared. How could she have survived?”

“—Shut up!”

Zhang Lan shouted sharply, her body trembling slightly from agitation. “You’re nothing but a mere illusion. What right do you have to say that!”

All the people, all the scenery, even the conversations and voices, were nothing more than an illusion created by the white crane clan!

Zhang Lan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m leaving. I’m going to find her.”

Her voice was very light. Rather than speaking to the person in front of her, it sounded more like she was speaking to herself.

“I can’t give up. Even if she doesn’t remember anything, I still want to try.”

Zhang Lan slowly opened her eyes and discovered that she was dressed in black robes, standing dazedly on the high platform.

The great hall before her was empty. Outside the windows, flower trees had been planted everywhere. When the wind blew, they rustled softly, leaving only a cold clarity filling her sight.

All along, there had only ever been one person.

She lowered her head and murmured, “If she grows tired of me, if she thinks I’m noisy, if she thinks I’m in the way… then I’ll leave and come back here.”

.

The disciples walked out one after another. Qin Zhi also brought out several disciples who had been completely trapped, but there was still no sign of her little junior sister.

Xia Zhitao waited until she nearly went moldy. She yawned, and finally, when she saw Zhang Lan appear at the entrance of the grotto, her eyes lit up.

Zhang Lan pressed her lips together and slowly shuffled forward. After taking only a few steps, someone suddenly blocked her way.

She abruptly lifted her head and saw Xia Zhitao standing before her, smiling brightly at her.

Xia Zhitao’s brows and eyes curved slightly. She raised her hand to rub Zhang Lan’s hair, her voice gentle.

“What’s wrong?”