Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 36

Outside the green tent, Chen Juan stood with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the two dark door curtains. For a while now, people had been entering and leaving the surrounding tents in succession, but no one had stayed inside as long as those two.

Chen Juan wondered if something had gone wrong.

In the midst of her confusion, she saw the curtains lifted by a fair hand, and the two familiar figures emerged one after the other.

Her eyes lit up as she hurried to check their expressions. Guan Luowei still wore a cold, stoic face that revealed nothing, but the Ling Chenyan behind her was a different story.

Her face was so red it looked like it was about to drip blood. Ever since stepping out, she had kept her head low, her fair hands twisting together, clearly lost in thought.

Seeing this, Chen Juan was delighted. Naturally, she didn’t dare probe Guan Luowei, so she took a few steps toward Ling Chenyan and lightly patted her shoulder. “Miss Ling, you’re out?”

Ling Chenyan was startled. Looking up and seeing it was Chen Juan, she let out a sigh of relief. “Why are you still here?”

Chen Juan blinked, a gossip-hungry glint in her eyes. “Miss Ling, ahem, why did you take so long in there?”

Ling Chenyan’s gaze drifted, her expression panicked as she stammered, “There was… an accident. It took some time.”

“I see.” Chen Juan suppressed a smile and didn’t ask further.

Although she hadn’t been inside, she knew a bit from hearsay. Since these two stayed so long, they must have chosen the more time-consuming method of proof. But if there was a quicker way, why choose this one?

Neither of them seemed like the type to be affectionate in public. Therefore, there was only one possibility: their “mark” was indeed in a place that was inconvenient to show.

At this thought, Chen Juan once again gave Ling Chenyan a secret thumbs-up.

Nice. They really play wildly.

At this moment, Ling Chenyan’s mind wasn’t on the competition at all. She kept repeating in her head to the System: [Sys, my sword-self’s first kiss is gone. Sys, my first kiss…]

System: […I heard you. I heard you with both ears.]

Ling Chenyan’s mind was still blank. Remembering how she had forgotten to breathe while they were kissing—nearly leading to hypoxia—she wanted to bang her head against a wall. [Embarrassing. Sys, this is so embarrassing.]

She was a modern person, for goodness’ sake! She’d seen all sorts of R-rated content, yet in a real-life scenario, she actually forgot to breathe during a kiss.

Deeply frustrated, she whispered to the System: [Next time, I’m definitely going to show her what I’m made of!]

System: [There’s a next time?!]

On the other side, Guan Luowei was walking two steps ahead of Ling Chenyan. She heard every word of the girl’s inner thoughts, and the tips of her ears gradually turned red.

Next time… will there be a next time? Well, she was probably just talking nonsense. The girl “talked big” so often that Guan Luowei could never distinguish her true feelings.

Guan Luowei suddenly stopped. Ling Chenyan, following behind, stopped as well, her face flushing as she looked at the person who had turned around.

The woman looked cold and righteous, as if the previous event hadn’t happened at all. She explained, “The previous act was only to pass the test. It was not intentional.”

Ling Chenyan looked away the moment their eyes met. “I know.”

Because she was so flustered, she naturally missed the fleeting spark of hope in Guan Luowei’s eyes.

After a long silence, just as Ling Chenyan was uncomfortably picking at her sleeve, she heard a soft “Mm” from Guan Luowei’s throat.

The boots stitched with silver-gold thread finally turned to leave. Ling Chenyan hurried to follow, her heart slowly returning to peace. Today was only for registration; the matches began tomorrow. Therefore, those who finished registering could choose to leave or stay.

Guan Luowei asked her, “Do you want to stay?”

Ling Chenyan’s mind was a mess. “Mm. I’ll go find Chen Juan for a bit.”

Guan Luowei didn’t stop her. She simply stood under a fiery maple tree, watching the girl’s back as she vanished into the crowd. The leaves on the tree rustled in the wind. Guan Luowei stepped on a fallen leaf, hearing a crunch behind her.

“Aren’t you going to follow her, Miss Guan?”

A woman walked up beside her, smiling brightly as she watched the girl’s receding figure. She turned to look at Guan Luowei and said, “If you aren’t proactive with some things, others will steal them away.”

The voice faded by her ear. Guan Luowei didn’t need to turn to know who it was. “Does Miss Qingtan not need to accompany her sister today?”

Qingtan paused, then replied, “She’s here too.”

As the words fell, a woman dressed in ink-black robes walked toward them, holding a bouquet of flowers. A brilliant, uncontrollable smile was on her face.

Qingtan couldn’t help but smile as well. Before stepping forward to meet her, she whispered to Guan Luowei: “Thanks to your help, Han’er can stand again. Consider this a piece of good news for you…”

Qingtan whispered a sentence in her ear, then fluttered toward the woman with the flowers like a butterfly. Before leaving, Qingtan looked back at the dazed woman under the tree and mouthed: I never misjudge people.

The woman beside her (Qinghan) watched Qingtan’s behavior, her gaze darkening slightly as she stole a glance at Guan Luowei. That look was full of possessiveness.

Guan Luowei watched the two walk away in intimacy, thinking of what Qingtan had just said.

“She finds you special, too.”

Ling Chenyan said she was looking for Chen Juan, but that wasn’t entirely true; she just wanted to avoid Guan Luowei. To her surprise, she actually ran into Chen Juan again in the massive hall.

As soon as Chen Juan saw her, her eyes lit up and she ran over. Ling Chenyan sensed trouble and was about to flee when a hand clamped down on her shoulder from behind. “Miss Ling! Where are you going?”

Ling Chenyan: “…” Avoiding you.

She took a deep breath, turned around with a smile, and struck first: “Miss Chen, why don’t you tell me the stories of your travels in the martial world?”

Chen Juan’s eyes sparkled. She immediately forgot the gossip and began animatedly recounting her experiences. Chen Juan was a fascinating person—vivid in her speech and possessing progressive, open-minded thoughts. When the two were together, they never ran out of things to talk about.

Ling Chenyan found her experiences very interesting. Chen Juan got so into her storytelling that she draped an arm around Ling Chenyan’s shoulder like they were “bros.” “I’m telling you, my hometown is so interesting. If you ever visit, I’ll definitely show you a good time.”

“Sure!” Ling Chenyan was also interested in the “White-Border Town” Chen Juan described and responded with a smile.

In the distance, Guan Luowei watched this scene. Her fingers tightened, and her feet moved toward them of their own accord.

Chen Juan was still talking non-stop when she felt a chill down her back. She shrugged uncomfortably and looked back, seeing Guan Luowei standing behind them, staring at her hand on Ling Chenyan’s shoulder.

Almost instantly, Chen Juan pulled her hand back in terror. “Guan… Miss Guan…”

At the name, Ling Chenyan instinctively turned around. Guan Luowei’s cold eyes met hers.

Ling Chenyan had calmed down quite a bit by now. Her gaze was no longer as shy as before, but she still looked away quickly. “Are we going back?”

A thousand words turned into a single “Mm.” Guan Luowei said, “It’s time.”

The twilight was gradually swallowed by darkness. Ling Chenyan followed Guan Luowei back to the inn with some trepidation. Once the door closed and they were alone, the silence was awkward. Ling Chenyan began to regret coming back so early.

However, the awkwardness didn’t last long. Guan Luowei pulled something from her spatial bag and placed it before Ling Chenyan.

Ling Chenyan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is this for me?”

Guan Luowei nodded.

On the table sat a hexagonal communication device. Unlike others, a hole had been drilled in the bottom, and a tassel embroidered with the character “Ling” (凌) was attached to it. Ling Chenyan couldn’t put it down. When she saw the small “Ling,” her grin widened. “Did you sew this?”

Guan Luowei nodded again.

Ling Chenyan was overjoyed. She looked up sincerely. “Thank you. It’s beautiful. I love it.”

Guan Luowei looked away uncomfortably. After a long pause, she whispered, “If you need anything in the future, you can tell me. Things given by others… might not be safe.”

She was reminding her of what happened the previous night. Ling Chenyan’s face turned red. “I won’t do it again!”

A rare smile appeared in Guan Luowei’s eyes. She watched the girl who was looking down, enamored with her gift. The girl liked wearing playful lotus-pink and tender green; today she wore a tender green dress. Her skin looked as white as snow against the color, her features moving. Those eyes were like melting spring water—a single blink could stir the clouds and create ripples.

Guan Luowei’s heart softened, but she looked away before the girl could look up.

The communicator rang. Guan Luowei walked to the bed and answered it. Tong Di’s anxious face appeared on the screen. “Your Highness, where are you?” he cried. “Something happened!”

Hearing this, both Guan Luowei and Ling Chenyan’s hearts skipped a beat. Guan Luowei asked calmly, “What is it?”

“In several towns affiliated with the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, many murders have occurred recently. Crucially, the evidence points to you…”

Tong Di explained the situation. Shortly after she took the Deceptive God Zither, murders occurred in towns near the Lingxiao Sect. Demonic energy was left at the scenes, and the victims’ spiritual senses were brutally disrupted. According to survivors, the victims suddenly stood frozen before they died, their expressions filled with extreme terror, before their throats were slit with a single strike.

The important factor wasn’t the demonic energy, but the spiritual confusion—being unable to move and simply waiting for death. This method of killing was identical to using the Deceptive God Zither.

And everyone knew who had taken the zither.

Rumors were spreading that the Demon Race, having obtained a Divine Artifact, was testing its power by killing people at random in the cultivation world to provoke a war. The public was demanding the Demon Race hand over the zither and compensate the families.

Guan Luowei knew she was being framed. She tapped her knuckles against the window frame. “Have you found out who’s behind it?”

Tong Di shook his head in shame. “It’s strange. We can’t find any of our own people involved.”

Guan Luowei’s brow furrowed. Before she could speak, someone snatched the device from Tong Di. It was Zong Xian. “Highness, I’ve found traces of the Zither Sect and the Lingxiao Immortal Sect behind this. Please instruct our next move.”

Tong Di’s indignant voice drifted to Ling Chenyan’s ear: “Hey, Zong Xian! Why’d you grab my communicator? Can’t you call her yourself?”

Zong Xian’s dejected voice came through: “I don’t have Her Highness’s contact info.”

Guan Luowei cut them off with a look. “Good job. Don’t worry for now. We’ll talk when I return.”

“Yes!” Zong Xian’s eyes lit up at the praise.

Guan Luowei nodded and turned off the device, without giving Zong Xian her contact info in the end. Ling Chenyan, who had been eavesdropping, let her perked-up ears drop and began fiddling with her new device.

Soon, footsteps stopped behind her. A fair hand took the device from her, pressed a few buttons, and handed it back. “You can use this to contact me in the future.”

Ling Chenyan looked and saw Guan Luowei’s lone contact info on the list. Her smile widened visibly. She kept her head down and asked as if casually, “Why didn’t you give your info to Zong Xian?”

Guan Luowei said flatly, “Having Tong Di’s is enough.”

“What if she can’t reach you after doing something for you?”

“Then let Tong Di contact me.”

“What if she’s in danger?”

The room was silent for a few seconds. Then, Ling Chenyan heard Guan Luowei’s voice, half-smiling: “Do you really wish for me to give her my contact info?”