The Villain Is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 5

“Mm, I came to watch you.” Xia Zhitao nodded. She glanced at the rope tied in a dead knot around Zhang Lan’s waist and could not help feeling puzzled. “How are you planning to pass the trial?”

“Oh, this?” Zhang Lan looked down and casually tugged at the rope. “I’ll jump down, then climb back up along the rope.”

The white-robed Master and the bearded Grandmaster had also noticed them and walked over together. Qin Zhi frowned. “What was this newcomer’s name again…? In any case, there’s something rather strange about her.”

“She was already at Foundation Establishment when she arrived, so her aptitude is decent,” Qin Zhi said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, she can’t circulate her spiritual energy.”

Zhang Lan completely ignored Master Qin Zhi. She secretly tugged on the corner of Xia Zhitao’s robes and quietly shuffled closer to her.

“That can’t be. Why can’t she circulate her spiritual energy?” The bearded Grandmaster was extremely surprised. Avoiding the other disciples, he sent Qin Zhi a voice transmission through his spiritual consciousness. “Could Zhang Lan possess a human-cauldron constitution?”

Qin Zhi: “…”

Human cauldron, my ass.

She shook her head firmly. “No. If she truly had that constitution, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“This newcomer is fairly intelligent. She excels in all her written lessons and assignments,” Qin Zhi said. “She simply can’t get her spiritual energy to circulate.”

Xia Zhitao could no longer hold back and cautiously asked, “What happens if she can never use spiritual energy…?”

The bearded Grandmaster hesitated, but Qin Zhi answered without the slightest mercy, “She either gets off the mountain or goes to the outer sect.”

Xia Zhitao froze and instinctively looked toward Zhang Lan. Her junior sister was rubbing against her shoulder, her voice unconcerned.

“As long as I pass the trial, won’t I be able to become an inner disciple just like Tao—ahem, just like Senior Sister?”

Seeing the newcomer’s casual attitude, Qin Zhi grew displeased. Pointing toward the cliff, she reprimanded her, “That’s easy to say. If you don’t return before at least half the others, you can pack your belongings and leave the mountain tomorrow!”

Zhang Lan was clearly startled by her master’s rebuke. She could not help shrinking backward before turning to look at Xia Zhitao, her large, unblinking eyes utterly pitiful.

Why are you looking at me…?

Her junior sister stared at her with watery eyes without saying anything, immediately placing Xia Zhitao under immense pressure.

She allowed Zhang Lan to cling miserably to her shoulder and hesitated for a long time, unsure what to do. In the end, she could only tentatively say, “Then… do your best, Junior Sister?”

That was precisely what Zhang Lan had been waiting to hear. The storm clouds over her small face instantly cleared. She nodded vigorously and said earnestly, “I will!!”

She straightened up and began walking toward the cliff while pulling the rope behind her. Xia Zhitao had more or less guessed what her junior sister intended to do, but she still felt uneasy.

“This is too dangerous.”

“Why are you dawdling?” Qin Zhi said helplessly. “Go if you’re going.”

Zhang Lan nodded. She turned and gave Xia Zhitao a sweet smile.

“Wait for me.”

Xia Zhitao opened her mouth, but the words at the tip of her tongue never came out. She could only watch Zhang Lan grip the rope and stand at the cliff’s edge.

Her small figure stood beside the endless abyss. The bitter wind howled around her, whipping the corners of her robes into disarray.

Xia Zhitao tightly clenched the corner of her clothes. She unconsciously stepped forward, suddenly wanting to grab Zhang Lan, but it was already too late.

Zhang Lan released the rope in her hand and took a step forward.

With nothing beneath her feet, she abruptly plunged into the abyss. Her figure gradually blurred within the bottomless darkness until it disappeared completely.

As the rope was pulled after her, the bundle lying on the ground rapidly dwindled. Finally, the end of the rope snapped taut with a loud crack around the protruding rock.

The rope was stretched so tightly that it looked ready to break at any moment. Xia Zhitao hurried forward and carefully used her spiritual energy to protect the rope from which a life now hung.

“She’s actually quite clever. Doing it this way has made her faster than many of the others.” Compared with Xia Zhitao’s nervousness, Qin Zhi appeared much calmer.

She glanced down at the disciples who were carefully constructing “stairs” with their spiritual energy. Touching the rope with the back of her finger, she said evenly, “That girl should have reached the bottom by now. We’ll see how she gets back up.”

Time passed second by second. The outstanding disciples Qin Zhi had praised began returning one after another.

They flew upward on their swords and stopped respectfully before Qin Zhi, presenting with both hands the wooden plaques distributed by the Grandmaster at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Zhi examined the plaques to confirm their authenticity, then looked at them with satisfaction.

“Not bad.”

“Thank you, Grandmaster!” they said, bowing gratefully before moving aside.

Although they all stood obediently and did not dare speak, they could not hide their excitement.

The first two to return were a young man and a young woman. Both had mastered sword flight to perfection, making it impossible to determine who had arrived first.

“Wangze, Wangyan,” Qin Zhi said with a smile, “I know you two enjoy competing, but even I can’t decide who won this time.”

Judging by their names, the two disciples tied for first were actually siblings?

Xia Zhitao studied them curiously. The older brother, Wangze, smiled helplessly. His younger sister, Wangyan, pouted and glared angrily at him before muttering something beneath her breath.

The third disciple was a woman named Mu Si. Unlike the conspicuous Wang siblings, she restrained her aura and quietly stood to one side.

After those few took the lead, more and more people returned. Many of the disciples who had descended the mountain were already back, and their number was gradually approaching the halfway limit Qin Zhi had set.

Xia Zhitao stared intently at the cliff’s edge, her heart rising into her throat. Beside her, Qin Zhi continued counting at a leisurely pace, her voice increasing Xia Zhitao’s sense of urgency.

“Forty-seven, forty-eight. Half of one hundred disciples leaves only two places remaining.”

Already?

Where was her junior sister? What would Xia Zhitao do if Zhang Lan failed to claim one of the final places?

Whether Zhang Lan passed the trial had no effect on Xia Zhitao’s personal interests. If she truly failed, Xia Zhitao would even be spared the trouble of worrying about her during future trials.

Yet for some reason, Xia Zhitao suddenly began to panic. Her thoughts were a mess. She lightly bit her lower lip, her breathing growing rapid.

At that moment, another disciple came up.

She was gasping for breath, the spiritual energy within her nearly exhausted. Clutching a grappling hook formed from spiritual energy, she struggled to pull herself over the edge.

“Forty-ninth. Congratulations.”

Qin Zhi announced it unhurriedly. Her voice was as calm as ever, but to Xia Zhitao, it sounded like a clap of thunder exploding beside her ear.

“Only one place remains.”

The forty-ninth disciple released a long breath. Ignoring her disheveled clothing and dripping sweat, she sat directly on the ground and gasped heavily.

Things were looking bad for her junior sister.

Overcome with anxiety, Xia Zhitao ignored the surprised gazes of the others and hurried to the bearded Grandmaster’s side.

“Grandmaster, there’s only one place remaining. Zhang Lan…”

The bearded Grandmaster shook his head helplessly and spoke quietly to Xia Zhitao.

“Although I was the one who brought Zhang Lan into the sect, if she cannot pass Master Qin’s trial, there is nothing I can do.”

“But—but,” Xia Zhitao argued anxiously, “Junior Sister entered the sect late. She had far less time to cultivate than the other disciples. Isn’t that unfair to her—”

“Zhitao,” the bearded Grandmaster interrupted.

“There is nothing I can do. Although the circumstances are indeed unfavorable to Zhang Lan, if I make Qin Zhi accept her as an exception, wouldn’t that be unfair to the other fifty disciples who failed? Wouldn’t it also be unfair to the disciple who truly returned in fiftieth place?”

He released a long sigh and patted Xia Zhitao’s shoulder, his voice solemn.

“Although the Yashan Sect is the foremost immortal sect beneath heaven, it has never accepted those without ability. And is that not how everything in this world works?”

Xia Zhitao knew she had spoken out of turn. Lowering her head, she said, “I’m sorry.”

Because her back was turned toward the cliff, Xia Zhitao could not see what was happening behind her.

She vaguely heard Qin Zhi hurry forward, her normally level voice suddenly rising in surprise.

“…Fiftieth. Congratulations.”

“What perfect timing.” The fiftieth disciple brushed the dust from her sleeves. Her voice was clear, bright, and full of energy. “Good thing I moved quickly.”

That voice could not have been more familiar.

Surprised and delighted, Xia Zhitao spun around and saw Zhang Lan standing perfectly unharmed not far from the cliff.

Unlike the other exhausted disciples, her expression was normal, her breathing steady, and her complexion positively radiant.

“Hmph.” Qin Zhi gave a faint laugh and returned the plaque to her. “You were merely lucky.”

Zhang Lan shrugged noncommittally. “Master, you promised that as long as I passed the trial, you wouldn’t be able to drive me away, right?”

Qin Zhi inclined her head slightly. “Naturally.”

The rope had only been for show. Zhang Lan had carelessly tied it into a dead knot earlier, and now she could not undo it no matter what she tried.

While she was still wondering what to do, a sudden weight struck her shoulders as someone threw themselves into her arms.

Zhang Lan froze completely. Forgetting even about the rope, she stammered blankly, “S-Senior Sister?”

Xia Zhitao pulled her fully into her embrace, wrapping her arms around Zhang Lan’s slender, pale neck. Her voice was both anxious and annoyed, though above all, it was filled with joy.

“Honestly… You came back. That’s all that matters. You came back safely.”

Zhang Lan allowed herself to be held. Her little face remained pale and her expression composed, but the jade-like tips of her ears had already turned bright red, as though scorched by flames, radiating waves of heat.

“I made it back in time, didn’t I?” Zhang Lan whispered, sniffling.

Xia Zhitao sighed and released Zhang Lan’s shoulders. She stood directly before her, her posture straight, truly displaying some of the dignity of an elder.

She earnestly lectured, “You cut the timing far too close. I waited for so long that I thought you wouldn’t make it. You know what the consequences would have been. If you were assigned to the outer sect, getting back into the inner sect would be incredibly difficult.”

Her junior sister blinked without speaking, obediently listening to her.

Was she actually taking any of this in? Children in their teens inevitably had their own ideas.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Zhitao added another reminder.

“Next time, listen to your master’s instructions and set out with the other disciples. That way, you’ll have plenty of time and won’t need to rush.”

Zhang Lan answered with complete seriousness, “Mm.”

Then she raised her head slightly. Her thick, long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes sparkled brightly.

“Senior Sister, are you… worried about me?”