The Villain Is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 16

Zhang Lan’s eyes suddenly widened. She lifted her head in disbelief and said blankly, “…Se-Senior Sister?”

Xia Zhitao smiled at her, her brows and eyes curving slightly as she comforted her softly. “Don’t be afraid.”

Zhang Lan’s breathing suddenly eased. Her eyes grew even redder. Her left hand was held tightly in Xia Zhitao’s hand, while her right hand hung at her side, anxiously twisting the corner of her clothes.

“Junior Sister Xia, you don’t know this, but Disciple Yuan Shuang found a sound-image stone, and it recorded the entire process,” Huai Ruishi said in a deep voice. “The evidence is ironclad. Why are you still protecting her?”

“Everyone, although I have not spent that much time with my junior sister, I believe in her character.” Facing the crowd, Xia Zhitao spoke slowly, each word clear. “She would never do something like that.”

“Senior Sister, don’t be fooled by her fake obedient act,” one disciple could not hold back and shouted. “She keeps saying she wants a detailed investigation, but she refuses to cooperate at all!”

Huai Ruishi nodded. “We have already seen the fragment inside the sound-image stone. This person harbors evil intentions and used cruel methods. She will certainly be punished severely.”

“That’s right. She even accused the masters of doing nothing earlier and said she wanted to tear down Yashan’s main hall and throw it into the lake.” Everyone began speaking at once, full of righteous indignation.

…Wow. While I wasn’t here, my soft and cute little junior sister was actually this fierce?

Xia Zhitao subconsciously turned to look. At the same time, Zhang Lan lifted her head and was timidly looking at her.

Her face was somewhat pale. Her thin lower lip had been bitten until it showed a few traces of blood, and her eyes were covered in a layer of mist. “Senior Sister, it wasn’t me.”

“Really, really, it wasn’t me.” Her voice was very low, like she was murmuring to herself, repeating it again and again. “I-I would never…”

This child, her little junior sister, actually had such little sense of security. Xia Zhitao comforted her, “All right. What are you so nervous for?”

“If you’re scared, then I’ll say it again for you to hear.”

Xia Zhitao let go of Zhang Lan’s hand. Seeing the other girl’s expression instantly turn tense, she smiled and rubbed her hair, her voice serious. “Listen carefully.”

“Zhang Lan, I believe you.”

“Putting aside whether their so-called evidence is real or fake, from my personal judgment, from the bottom of my heart, and from my intuition—I believe you.”

Seeing Zhang Lan staring at her blankly in a dazed manner, Xia Zhitao could not resist reaching out and pinching her still-reddened little cheek, teasing, “With your timid little appearance, you even tremble when holding hands. How could you possibly do something like that?”

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, and she did not deliberately hide anything. Everyone in the great hall heard her clearly and could not help looking at one another, their murmuring voices quieting somewhat.

Bearded Grandmaster, who had been disconnected for a long while and ignored by everyone, silently coughed. Rubbing his bushy beard, he weakly said, “Actually, well, this child Zhang Lan is someone I knew before. I also feel that there is something suspicious about this matter.”

Xia Zhitao: “…………”

As the grandmaster, you clearly have the most authority here. Yet you stood there watching for half the day before coming out to speak. What were you doing earlier?!

Huai Ruishi, who sat in the higher seat, was silent for a moment before slowly speaking. “Since Grandmaster Hu and Junior Sister Xia have both expressed yourselves this way, then I apologize for my earlier hasty words.”

He stood up. His hair crown was tied high, and his bearing was dignified, with a presence that carried authority even without anger.

“But before reaching a conclusion, I would like to ask Junior Sister Xia to watch the contents of the sound-image stone again together with all of us.”

As he spoke, he lifted his hand slightly, and a disciple respectfully presented a dark green stone. “What does Junior Sister Xia think?”

“Fine.” Xia Zhitao nodded without hesitation. “But it won’t matter how many times you play it. I believe Zhang Lan.”

Huai Ruishi did not respond. Calmly, he covered the sound-image stone with his five fingers. Light immediately spilled from the dark green crystal, and countless points of light leapt out one after another, landing in the spacious great hall and forming one clear image after another.

In the image, Xia Zhitao exchanged more than ten moves with “Zhang Lan,” lost to the other party, was wounded in the abdomen, and was pushed into Shuijing Lake.

The final segment happened to stop on “Zhang Lan’s” face. Every detail was fully revealed. As long as one had seen Zhang Lan before, they could almost certainly say it was the same person.

Xia Zhitao knew where the problem was and inwardly scoffed at it, but this fellow, her little junior sister… seemed to be watching it for the first time too.

Zhang Lan was tense the entire time, panicked and at a loss. By the end, her face had even lost all color. “Th-this, could it really have been me who hurt Senior Sister—”

Xia Zhitao slapped the back of her head, stopping this child’s wild thoughts. “Are you stupid? This person is fake.”

“The image is incomplete. It only intercepted a small portion to mislead everyone,” Xia Zhitao explained to the crowd. “During the fight, I had already discovered something was wrong with that person.”

Huai Ruishi asked, “Then Junior Sister Xia, did you see that person’s true face? Or was there any difference between their voices?”

“This…” Xia Zhitao froze and was momentarily speechless.

The most hateful thing about that person was that they had pretended too well. They had never taken off the mask the entire time, and even the voice had been imitated exactly. Xia Zhitao truly did not know who that person was.

“Junior Sister Xia, then may I take this to mean that you cannot confirm that person was not Zhang Lan?”

Huai Ruishi changed the direction of his words. “You are only acting out of personal affection, and even in a situation where the other party tried to take your life—you still choose to shield her.”

There was meaning hidden in his words, and he was even consciously guiding the blame in a certain direction. Zhang Lan’s face was somewhat pale, and her voice trembled. “Senior Sister…”

“Mm, I’m here.” Xia Zhitao tightened her hold on Zhang Lan’s hand and said softly, “It’s all right.”

Huai Ruishi was pressing hard, and Xia Zhitao could not think of a way to deal with him for the time being. She could only brace herself and say, “It isn’t shielding her. I… I have evidence proving it wasn’t her.”

“Please,” Huai Ruishi said with a nod.

I don’t have evidence. Can I say I’m relying on a woman’s sixth sense…? Xia Zhitao’s expression was calm, but inwardly, she was a little anxious.

Just as she was wondering whether she should make something up, an unexpected group appeared at the entrance of the great hall.

Qin Zhi slowly walked in, followed by a line of disciples.

Wang Yan dragged her brother with one hand, while looking around all the way. When she spotted Zhang Lan with her head drooping like a wilted plant, she said in surprise, “Oh, she really is here!”

Qin Zhi held her forehead. “Wang Yan.”

After being called, Wang Yan immediately stepped forward on her own. The bright fourteen-year-old girl bowed properly. “Grandmaster Hu, Senior Brother Huai.”

She straightened her back, her voice clear. “Zhang Lan shares a room with me. Yesterday, we practiced in the training field the entire morning, and Master Qin was right beside us.”

Qin Zhi nodded slightly, showing her agreement.

Wang Yan said, “Zhang Lan was with me until noon. But while practicing the sword, she was a little distracted…”

“Get to the point,” Qin Zhi interrupted her.

Wang Yan stuck out her tongue and said, “After that, Senior Sister Lu said Senior Sister Xia had gone missing. Zhang Lan panicked, forgot to take her things, and rushed out with everyone to search.”

Xia Zhitao quickly followed up, “When I was struck, it was early morning. Junior Sister should still have been in the training field.”

Qin Zhi barely responded, “That is indeed the case.”

Qin Zhi was much more reliable than Bearded Grandmaster. Since she was willing to help speak up, her little junior sister should be fine now. And just then, another disciple stepped forward.

Xia Zhitao actually recognized her. She was the number one disciple of Zhang Lan’s batch, named Mu Si, but she was very low-key and usually did not speak much.

With an expressionless face, Mu Si said, “One more point. Height.”

At first, everyone did not understand what she meant, but when Mu Si reached out and adjusted the sound-image stone to one of the images, they suddenly understood—

In the recorded image, “Zhang Lan” was similar in height to Xia Zhitao, so when she bent her arm to attack, the dagger happened to stab into Xia Zhitao’s abdomen. But here in the great hall, when Zhang Lan stood up straight, she only reached Xia Zhitao’s shoulder, a full head shorter.

“The height doesn’t match,” Mu Si said slowly. “Not the same person.”

Xia Zhitao turned her head and looked at a certain unhappy little shorty, then could not resist bursting into a “puchi” laugh.

“……” Zhang Lan puffed up her cheeks and looked at Xia Zhitao resentfully.

“All right, all right, I won’t laugh anymore,” Xia Zhitao said, holding back her smile as she comforted her. “I won’t rub your head anymore either. You still have a chance to grow taller.”

“You can rub it if you want,” Zhang Lan mumbled. “Only you can rub it.”

Xia Zhitao was amused. This child was simply the model example of saying one thing and meaning another.

Huai Ruishi was silent for a moment, then said, “I was too aggressive. Disciple Zhang Lan, I apologize to you.”

Now that Zhang Lan had some confidence, she glared at him fiercely. That little movement fell into Xia Zhitao’s eyes and somehow seemed a bit cute.

Huai Ruishi paused, then continued, “I will investigate this matter carefully with the disciples of Jingtang Peak. We will certainly give everyone a clear answer and return innocence to the one who was wronged.”

Huai Ruishi’s words were rather vague. He said they would “return innocence,” but did not directly name Zhang Lan.

Xia Zhitao guessed that he still suspected her little junior sister in his heart. He was only refraining from saying it out loud because of Master Qin Zhi’s face.

.

In any case, they had escaped disaster. Xia Zhitao breathed a sigh of relief and finally let go of Zhang Lan’s hand, which she had been holding the whole time.

“Senior Sister.” Zhang Lan still seemed a little uneasy. She nervously lifted her head and asked softly, “Um, is your injury better?”

Xia Zhitao smiled gently. “It’s much better already.”

Strangely enough, after suffering such a heavy injury yesterday, the spiritual power throughout her body was unusually abundant. It circulated smoothly, faintly showing signs of overflowing. She should be able to break through another realm in a few days.

Her little junior sister breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering her head, she murmured, “That’s good.”

“You, ah, stop crying.” Xia Zhitao felt a little heartache as she looked at her and pinched Zhang Lan’s nose. “Your eyes are so red. You look like a little rabbit.”

Zhang Lan felt wronged and whispered, “I’m not.”

While the two were talking here, Wang Yan dragged her brother with one hand and Mu Si with the other, then ran over. “Zhang Lan!”

Zhang Lan lifted her head and glanced at them, then reluctantly said, “Thank you.”

“You’re thanking us so unwillingly. I don’t even want it!”

Wang Yan put her hands on her waist and said, “So what was wrong with you yesterday morning? One moment you were distracted while practicing sword, and the next, you knocked my sword flying. My wrist still hurts now!”

Zhang Lan paused and did not speak.

Wang Yan did not care and continued talking on her own. “And when Senior Sister Xia went missing, you were gripping Senior Sister Lu’s collar so tightly. Your expression was terrifying, all murderous.”

“Wang Yan,” Wang Ze helplessly interrupted his younger sister. “Enough.”

Wang Yan flattened her mouth, then turned to Xia Zhitao and asked with great curiosity, “Senior Sister Xia, you even fell beneath Shuijing Lake. Who saved you?”

Author’s Note: Zhang Kuang: If Zhitao hadn’t stopped me, your Yashan would already be gone.