Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 33

From that day forward, until the night before the Bonfire Baptism Festival, Ling Chenyan was never allowed back onto the bed.

Ling Chenyan had tried her best. She attempted to weave elaborate lies, but every time, the Big Villain would simply give her a fleeting glance and ask a single question—”Is that so?”—before ignoring her entirely.

Later, she changed tactics. Rather than trying to hoodwink the Big Villain, she tried to convince the System. Obviously, that failed too. After witnessing the power of that silver-purple lightning once more, Ling Chenyan never tried to reason with the System again.

This cold shoulder persisted until the day of the Bonfire Baptism Festival.

The festival lasted for a month and was held in a massive convention hall in Xiling City. As long as one held a ticket, they could enter and participate at any time. The hall was gargantuan, capable of holding over a hundred thousand people with room to spare. With various vendors and restaurants inside, it was incredibly convenient. Many outsiders who hadn’t managed to rent a room in Xiling simply brought tents and stayed in the hall’s camping area.

Ling Chenyan and Guan Luowei set out in the evening. They were supposed to leave in the morning, but Guan Luowei had shown zero intention of speaking to Ling Chenyan all day. However, Ling Chenyan was dying of curiosity, so she put on a brave face, tugged at Guan Luowei’s sleeve, and whispered: “Master, it’s getting late. Aren’t we leaving yet?”

Guan Luowei was tending to some greenery by the window. Hearing this, she tilted her head slightly and glanced at the girl’s hand.

Ling Chenyan let go immediately, looking at her pitifully. “Master…”

Guan Luowei truly couldn’t withstand that look. She sighed in her heart. Although she didn’t acknowledge her verbally, she gave a slight nod, put down the plants, and walked out the door without a word.

Ling Chenyan didn’t mind the attitude at all. She followed her out excitedly, looking at the twilight sky with a heart full of anticipation for the bonfire party.

Soon, they reached the entrance of the hall. Two guards stopped them, and Guan Luowei handed over two tickets. After inspecting them carefully, the guards looked up and froze.

Of the two women before them, one was cold and elegant, the other lively and lovely. Those two faces were rare masterpieces of beauty, even in a cultivation world where handsome men and beautiful women were as common as cattle.

What a pity…

One of the guards looked as if he were sighing with regret as he signaled the others to let them in.

Ling Chenyan didn’t miss the intense flash of amazement and subsequent regret in the guard’s eyes. She was puzzled for a moment. She wanted to ask Guan Luowei but felt too embarrassed, so she asked the System in her heart.

The System replied: [The original text mentioned that at this festival… umm, there’s an unwritten rule. When two people arrive together and one person pays for both tickets, they are assumed to be a Dao-couple.]

Ling Chenyan: [What?! Does the Big Villain know this rule? If she does, was she doing it on purpose or by accident?]

System: [Judging by the original text, she probably doesn’t know. While she came here in her past life, it was to hunt a demon. She knows the official rules, but not these hidden social ones.]

Ling Chenyan: […Fine. Wait, what about the protagonist?]

System: [Actually, your experience just now was very similar to the male and female leads. In the original story, the male lead didn’t know the hidden rule, went in with the female lead, and was mistaken for her Dao-couple.]

Ling Chenyan: [Don’t talk nonsense, that’s just a coincidence.]

System: [Mm-hmm, sure, sure.]

The venue inside the hall was even larger than she had imagined and divided into many areas. In the center was a massive martial arts arena, with seats rising in tiers around it. On the other side was another stage, smaller than the arena. According to the news she’d gathered on the way, that stage was for performers during the bonfire party.

Everything around her was fascinating. Amidst a cacophony of noise, the Bonfire Festival officially began.

Bonfires were lit all around, brightly illuminating the entire area. The air was thick with joy and clamor. People from all over the cultivation world spontaneously formed circles of different sizes, watching the performances on stage.

The performers started with those arranged by Lingbao Pavilion, but later, people were chosen at random from the crowd—this was the time for individuals to show off their charm. To heighten the mood, Lingbao Pavilion provided free drinks, though they were low-quality; if one wanted premium spirits, they could buy them from the vendors.

Ling Chenyan and Guan Luowei found a circle and sat around a fire. Most people in this circle didn’t have Dao-couples, but everyone was respectful and didn’t sit too close to one another.

Ling Chenyan and Guan Luowei sat together. There were women sitting on either side of them. Perhaps because Ling Chenyan looked more approachable, the woman beside her, Chen Juan, struck up a conversation. They chatted occasionally, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Guan Luowei sat to the side. After glancing at the program on stage with a lack of interest, her gaze fell on Ling Chenyan, whose face was flushed and who was laughing happily.

She didn’t know what the woman beside her had said, but Ling Chenyan was laughing so hard that the light in her eyes was practically overflowing. She reached out with a delicate fingertip to wipe away a tear from laughing so hard, then turned back to keep talking to the woman.

She had seemingly forgotten Guan Luowei’s existence entirely.

Guan Luowei’s gaze darkened slightly as she stared at the woman named Chen Juan.

At this moment, Chen Juan was happily chatting with Ling Chenyan. She said: “Actually, my family owns a mine, so I like to travel in my spare time to see the local customs. This is my first time at the Bonfire Baptism Festival; it’s quite interesting.”

Ling Chenyan smiled. “I’m from out of town too, here with my… partner.”

“Oh.” Chen Juan nodded thoughtfully. She poured two bowls of wine, handed one to Ling Chenyan, and leaned in to whisper: “Is that cold beauty next to you your partner?”

Since a while ago, she had felt the cold woman’s gaze landing on her from time to time, carrying an eerie light. She wasn’t vain enough to think such a beauty liked her, so there was only one other possibility.

“Bingo.” Ling Chenyan took the bowl of wine and whispered back into Chen Juan’s ear with a giggle: “But she’s the quiet type. She doesn’t like interacting with people much.”

“Mm…” Chen Juan nodded in deep agreement. “I can tell.”

Ling Chenyan burst out laughing. She glanced at the silent, chilly Guan Luowei, then turned back to Chen Juan. “But even though she looks cold, she’s actually very kind and gentle.”

Chen Juan gave the “ice mountain” woman an incredulous look, shrugged noncommittally, and once again made Ling Chenyan laugh so hard she patted Chen Juan’s shoulder.

The scent of pear blossoms drifted from the girl. Chen Juan couldn’t help but sniff a bit more. She was about to ask what shampoo she used when she suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

Chen Juan looked up and saw the icy woman staring at her with a gaze that could freeze blood.

Chen Juan: “…” You call this ‘kind and gentle’?!

She silently put some distance between herself and the girl, offering a sheepish smile. “You came with your partner; it wouldn’t be good to ignore her by talking to me all the time. Shouldn’t you go check on her?”

“No need.” Ling Chenyan raised her bowl and drained it in one go, sounding a bit aggrieved. “She’s been mad at me lately.”

“Ah, I see,” Chen Juan said. “It’s best to clear up misunderstandings quickly, or the accumulated friction will hurt the relationship.”

“Sigh, I want to explain too.” Ling Chenyan held out her bowl for a refill. Chen Juan poured her a full bowl. Ling Chenyan continued: “But I can’t explain.”

Chen Juan: “?” Do you even know what you’re saying?

Ling Chenyan saw her expression and knew she didn’t get it. She shook her head. “Sigh, you wouldn’t understand.”

Chen Juan shook her head helplessly. She really didn’t understand, but she felt like that woman’s gaze was about to slice her into a thousand pieces!

Unaware, Ling Chenyan was about to drink her second bowl when a shadow fell over her. Both looked up to see a handsome young man standing before Ling Chenyan, scratching his head. He said with a blush: “Fair maiden, could I… could I exchange communication details with you?”

Having finished a bowl of wine, Ling Chenyan’s face was quite red. She looked at the man, stunned, and realized she didn’t have a communication device. She gave him a small smile and declined: “I’m afraid not. I don’t have a device.”

The man was rejected, but his face turned even redder. He stammered “No problem” and ran away, leaving a bewildered Ling Chenyan watching him flee.

Ling Chenyan didn’t understand why, but Chen Juan, who had witnessed it all, did. Looking at the girl’s flushed cheeks, moist eyes, and adorable, dazed expression, she almost couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her face. But remembering the “partner,” she stopped herself. “You have no idea how cute you look right now.”

Ling Chenyan giggled. She acted humble, but couldn’t resist stealing a glance at the Big Villain from the corner of her eye.

Guan Luowei’s expression was calm, showing no change at all.

So, she looked back and continued chatting with Chen Juan.

Guan Luowei’s fingertips tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened, before she finally let out a slow breath. Her gaze was sharp as she looked at the slightly tipsy girl.

The pair were simply too attractive. The bonfire party had only been going for a short while, with only three or four performances finished, yet many men had already asked for their contact info. Ling Chenyan dismissed them all with the excuse of having no device, while those who approached Guan Luowei were usually scared off by her gaze before they could even speak.

Chen Juan watched the twelfth man get rejected and sighed. Whether out of envy or something else, she said: “That’s the twelfth one. With so many people, not a single one caught your interest?”

Ling Chenyan gave her standard reply: “No spark.”

Chen Juan sighed with regret. Just as Ling Chenyan finished her third bowl of wine and was feeling quite woozy, another shadow fell over them. Ling Chenyan instinctively prepared to decline, but looking up, she saw a tall, long-legged, and exceptionally glamorous woman.

The woman smiled at Ling Chenyan and said: “Little sister, would you be interested in adding me as a contact friend?”

Chen Juan expected the usual rejection, but Ling Chenyan nodded like a chicken pecking rice, her face as red as a cooked shrimp. “Yes, yes! But I don’t have a device.”

Chen Juan: “!!!”

She turned her head to look at the cold woman, only to see the wine bowl in Guan Luowei’s hand covered in a dense web of cracks.

Chen Juan desperately winked at Ling Chenyan, but Ling Chenyan was so drunk she was seeing double. All she knew was that a pretty lady wanted her “WeChat,” so she naturally didn’t receive Chen Juan’s signal. She looked up at the woman woozily and grinned sillily. “You’re so pretty.”

The woman laughed, pulled a brand-new communication device from her spatial bag, and winked. “This is a gift for you. That way, we can be friends.”

Ling Chenyan was completely wasted by now, seeing several heads in front of her. She sillily tried to reach for the device, but her hand didn’t know where to go and just wandered forward randomly.

Chen Juan felt she couldn’t breathe. Watching the girl’s hand reach toward the woman’s face, she thought that even if the cold woman didn’t intervene, she had to stop this girl.

Please, the look that ice mountain is giving this airhead is definitely not a ‘just friends’ look!

At the same time, the glamorous woman was stunned by Ling Chenyan’s movement. Once she recovered, her smile became even more suggestive, and she even leaned her face closer to the girl’s hand.

At the critical moment, a slender hand grabbed the girl’s wrist, pulling her back. Then, a pair of ice-cold eyes glared at the glamorous woman.

Guan Luowei’s cultivation was at the pinnacle of the world. Her Great Transcendent stage pressure surged forward like an overwhelming wave toward the woman, forcing her back several steps until she spat out a mouthful of blood.

The woman was shocked, but she wasn’t willing to give up such prime prey. She narrowed her eyes at Guan Luowei. “And who are you?”

Guan Luowei looked at the girl who had fainted in her arms, then looked up at the woman, her voice bone-chillingly cold:

“I am her master.”