Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 26

The sea-blue sky was pierced by a beam of light, scattering layers of golden dust across the ground.

Inside the tavern, the shopkeeper was instructing a new waiter: if he ever saw that monk again, he must absolutely not let him in.

The waiter had witnessed the earlier scene as well. He turned his head and glanced out the door, then froze. “Shopkeeper, is that the monk?”

The shopkeeper was fiddling with an abacus. Upon hearing this, he looked up, his face contorting. “Who told you to let him in again?!”

At the entrance, Zen Master Guixu offered a Buddhist greeting with a smile: “Amitabha. Please do not worry, donor. This monk has come today to settle his bar tab.”

“Settle the tab?” The shopkeeper adjusted his glasses, grabbed his abacus, and marched up to Guixu, nearly pressing it against his face. “Two years ago, you came to our tavern a total of 231 times, owing 546 taels of silver. Last year, you came 300 times—110 times through the front door, the rest of the time you snuck in after closing. That’s another 829 taels. Adding the 25 taels for the tables, chairs, and bowls you broke over those two years, the total is exactly 1,400 taels of silver.”

Having finished, he extended his palm and rolled his eyes. “Pay up.”

Zen Master Guixu smiled and stepped aside to reveal a person and a sword behind him. “You two, if you please.”

Ling Chenyan’s eye twitched. “It’s truly a testament to the shopkeeper’s mercy that he let you through the front door 110 times last year.”

Guixu looked profound, a curl at the corner of his mouth. “The shopkeeper is indeed benevolent.”

Shopkeeper: “…”

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes, too tired to argue.

Guan Luowei paid the silver promptly and requested a private room. Seeing the money actually recovered, the shopkeeper beamed instantly. He gave them the highest-grade private room and added, “Let me know if you need anything.”

Guan Luowei nodded slightly but made no requests. Zen Master Guixu, however, handed his empty wine gourd to the shopkeeper. “Pardon the trouble, shopkeeper, but please fill this to the brim with your finest Nu’er Hong.”

The shopkeeper instinctively looked at Guan Luowei. Seeing her nod, he took the gourd, huffed at the monk, and turned to fetch the wine.

Inside the private room, Zen Master Guixu sat across from the pair. “My thanks to Your Highness for resolving my predicament today.”

“No need,” Guan Luowei replied. “I only hope you do not forget what you promised me.”

“Of course.”

Earlier outside the tavern, Guixu hadn’t shown a trace of surprise upon seeing them. He had simply told Guan Luowei: “This monk knows why you have come. I can help, but Your Highness must also do me a favor.”

Initially, Ling Chenyan thought the monk wanted something massive; she hadn’t expected the “favor” to be paying his bar tab. She had doubted it was that simple until she heard the amount from the shopkeeper. She had to give Guixu a mental thumbs-up. There were many taverns in Xiling City, but he only targeted this one. No wonder the staff rolled their eyes at the sight of him.

Guan Luowei nodded at Guixu’s words. “In three days at most, once we gather the materials, we will find you.”

“Very well,” Guixu nodded. “This monk shall wait for Your Highness at the Buddhist Sect.”

Guan Luowei sought Zen Master Guixu specifically for the forging of Ling Chenyan’s physical body. She knew that since Ling Chenyan was an outsider soul, the standard method of spirit transformation wouldn’t work. However, forging a physical vessel for her soul to inhabit was possible.

Furthermore, Xiling City happened to have an auction house where she could likely find the materials she needed.

After parting with the monk, Guan Luowei took the silver sword straight to the city’s largest auction house—Lingbao Pavilion.

Lingbao Pavilion was more than just an auction house; it dealt in spiritual tools, pills, and rare specialty products. Essentially, if you could think of it, they sold it.

First Floor: General sales for common pills and tools used by cultivators.

Second Floor: Requires a Silver VIP Card (certified assets of 500,000 spiritual stones). Sells rare herbs and tools not found elsewhere.

Third Floor: Requires a Platinum VIP Card (certified assets of 100 million spiritual stones). Sells top-tier items that trigger wars among cultivators, including artifacts with awakened spirits.

Top Floor: The actual Auction Hall, accessible via a teleportation array from the first floor.

Guan Luowei’s primary goal was to find the remaining six herbs for Ling Chenyan’s body: 7th-rank Yin-Yang Flower, and five 6th-rank items: Dragon-Whiskers Grass, Everlasting Root, Soul-Stabilizing Grass, Ice-Fire Lotus, and Extreme Ice Spring.

Naturally, the first floor wouldn’t have what she needed.

Thinking about the spiritual stones required to even enter the second floor, Ling Chenyan grew worried. She hovered close to Guan Luowei’s ear and murmured, “Master… can we actually go up to the second floor?”

Guan Luowei had noticed the sword acting strange; hearing this, she realized Ling Chenyan was worried about money. She shook her head with a light chuckle. “We should be able to.”

“Huh?” Ling Chenyan said anxiously. “Should? Maybe we shouldn’t go? I think being like this is actually fine.”

Guan Luowei suppressed a smile and didn’t answer. Ling Chenyan, though worried, stayed by her side.

As they watched those ahead of them produce Silver and even Platinum cards, Ling Chenyan felt a bit envious. She sighed to the System: [Alas, why are there so many rich people in the world, and none of them are me?]

System: [Actually, you could get rich on your own.]

Ling Chenyan: [How?]

System: [Stealing.]

Ling Chenyan: *[…] *

Finally, it was their turn. Because weapons weren’t allowed on the upper floors, Ling Chenyan shrunk herself into a tiny sword only a few centimeters long and tucked herself into Guan Luowei’s hair.

She watched as Guan Luowei presented a Black Card. Ling Chenyan felt as if struck by lightning. Wait, if we’re faking it, shouldn’t we use a white one? Who wouldn’t see that a pitch-black card is a fake?!

Yet, to her shock, the cold, indifferent faces of the guards cracked the moment they saw the card. They became visibly tense. One guard checked the card with trembling hands and returned it. “Honored guest, your rank is too high. Please allow me to report to the Pavilion Master.”

Guan Luowei stopped him. “No need. I’ll just browse on my own.”

She took the card back and walked upstairs. The guards snapped out of their daze; one hurried off to report, while the other—despite the alarm indicating a weapon had entered—didn’t dare to stop her.

It wasn’t until they entered the second floor that Ling Chenyan recovered. “Master… that card…”

Guan Luowei tucked it away. “Grandfather gave it to me. I didn’t expect it to be so useful.”

Ling Chenyan: “…” Useful? Those guards nearly fell to their knees.

Ling Chenyan realized the pain of witnessing such “casual” flexing. If a Platinum card required 100 million stones, how much was required for a Black Card? It turned out the Big Villain was a massive tycoon!

On the second floor, they found the 6th-rank Dragon-Whiskers Grass and Soul-Stabilizing Grass. The grass was bought for 150,000 stones, and the other was bartered for with a vendor.

As Guan Luowei wondered whether to find a manager to help look for the remaining four items, a woman hurried toward them.

She wore a fitted qipao, a dignified yet enchanting smile on her face. With every step, she seemed to exude beauty, yet her aura was so composed that no one dared harbor improper thoughts.

Her arrival caused a stir on the second floor.

“Is that… Miss Qingtan?”

“Why is she here? Isn’t she the Master of the Xiling Lingbao Pavilion?”

Miss Qingtan walked straight to Guan Luowei. “Honored guest, I am Qingtan, the Pavilion Master. It is my fault for not welcoming a senior properly. For any items you purchase today that belong to Lingbao Pavilion, I shall provide an additional 30% discount on top of your existing member rate.”

Qingtan spoke gently and considerately, making it easy to like her.

The moment Ling Chenyan saw her, she guessed: [Sys, is this beauty another member of the male lead’s harem?]

System: [How did you know?]

Ling Chenyan went silent. A woman this beautiful, and the master of an auction house? It would be a waste of the original author’s ink if she didn’t have a tie to the male lead.

According to the plot, Mu Yunze likely saved her while she was out looking for medicine for her sister. He defeats the bad guys, heals the sister, and a romance blossoms. Later, the male lead uses this connection to get treasures—including a piece of the Evil-Smiting Heavenly Book.

Ling Chenyan’s eyes rolled. [Sys, I have a bold idea.]

System: [How bold?]

Ling Chenyan: [I want to steal all of Mu Yunze’s harem members before he meets them. Make him lose everything.]

System: [I suggest you ask the Big Villain first if she’s willing to help you support your ‘concubines’.]

Ling Chenyan: [What concubines? You say it as if I have a primary wife.]

System: [Isn’t the Big Villain one? Aren’t you the publicly recognized ‘Young Madam’ of the Demon Race? That scene that day was grand—drums, firecrackers, flags, a sea of people.]

Ling Chenyan: *[…] *

Author’s Note:

Ling Chenyan: The ‘Steal the Women’ plan is grounded once again.