Chapter 36 Part 2

She knew there was no deceiving him any longer.

Strands of Devil Cultivator aura began to seep from her body.

By the time Wuji Daojun arrived to help capture her alongside the Shen Family Head, Madam Liu abandoned all pretense.

She let out a few peals of laughter. In the next instant, a thick surge of Devil Cultivator aura erupted from her. The layer of beautiful skin she wore began to melt away, and countless wisps of black qi leaked out from beneath.

The Shen Family Head stared in stunned disbelief, his eyes wide.

The Sect Leader struck at that moment, but she was prepared.

The black mist came without warning and vanished just as swiftly. In a mere instant, it dissipated completely.

Even the Devil Cultivator aura vanished without a trace.

~~~

Hearing this, Jiang Ruan couldn’t help but ask, “She just got away like that? Did she really escape?”

Jiang Ruan feared it might have been a feint.

The Sect Leader understood her implication.

“I have investigated thoroughly. She truly escaped.”

Jiang Ruan frowned in puzzlement. “So what exactly happened? Was Madam Liu a Devil Cultivator all along, or did she become one midway? Or… was some Devil Cultivator controlling her body?”

It wasn’t unreasonable for Jiang Ruan to consider that last possibility—the circumstances were highly suspicious, especially with Madam Shen as a precedent.

What if Devil Cultivators truly had such means? Something akin to body possession.

Otherwise, how to explain her lurking for months, only revealing her Devil Cultivator aura at the very end?

Devil Cultivator methods were varied and manifold; it wasn’t impossible for one to fit Madam Liu’s situation.

And then…

“Even you couldn’t deal with her?”

Jiang Ruan asked, her voice laced with worry.

A trace of gravity shadowed the Sect Leader’s expression as well.

“We still don’t know Madam Liu’s exact situation for the time being. Devil Cultivators have been absent from the world for so long, yet now they suddenly appear…”

He trailed off thoughtfully.

Though Jiang Ruan didn’t know the precise reason, she could vaguely guess at something.

She suspected it was because the “storyline” had begun.

It was known that Nan Qingyun and Lu Ning were highly likely to form the protagonist-antagonist duo (though a dual-female-lead setup wasn’t out of the question).

Now both had come to the Mirror Moon Sect to take a master, and Nan Qingyun’s background was already entangled with the Devil Cultivator line.

With Nan Qingyun grown up and her goals tied to Devil Cultivators, it was only natural for them to appear frequently along this timeline.

After all, the plot was starting.

Yet Jiang Ruan had no way to obtain clues about the plot itself—these were merely her guesses.

Guesses she couldn’t voice aloud, of course.

Jiang Ruan could only say, “In any case, we need to stay vigilant, right? We don’t know what the Devil Cultivators’ goal was in infiltrating the Shen Family, but since it’s happened once, there might be a next time.”

She lowered her voice. “Sect Leader, I have a feeling the Devil Cultivators won’t let this go easily. They must be plotting something.”

After arriving in this world, Jiang Ruan had learned about Devil Cultivators as well.

Ever since the last great war between the Righteous Path and the Devil Cultivators, the Devil Cultivators had suffered a crushing defeat. Hunted down relentlessly by the Righteous Path cultivators, they had no choice but to resort to forbidden techniques and go into hiding, vanishing from the world for many years.

But that hardly meant they were content to accept their fate.

This emergence might well be the spark that set everything ablaze.

A storm was brewing.

If Jiang Ruan could foresee it, then the Sect Leader certainly could as well.

“The Righteous Path will indeed need to devise a response,” he said.

The Shen Family affair had also drawn to a close with Madam Liu’s flight.

Only…

“What about Madam Shen? What of her condition?”

The Sect Leader replied, “Now that the truth has come to light, we can confirm that Madam Shen is not suffering from illness, but from deliberate sabotage. Still, her symptoms will require a medical cultivator’s intervention.”

“The question now is whether she should remain in the Shen Family to recuperate, return to the Liang Family, or be brought back to the Mirror Moon Sect.”

Shen Dai and Shen Qing naturally placed no trust in either the Shen Family or the Liang Family.

The threat might have been neutralized, but the incident had ultimately received the Shen Family Head’s tacit approval. Shen Dai and Shen Qing could no longer put faith in their father.

As for the Liang Family…

After suspecting collusion between the Shen Family Head and the Liang Family, they could no longer trust them either.

“Can we bring my mother back to the Mirror Moon Sect?” Shen Dai asked.

It would be safest if they tended to her personally.

The Sect Leader inclined his head. “The Mirror Moon Sect has ample space; accommodating one Madam Shen poses no issue.”

Gratitude shone in Shen Dai and Shen Qing’s eyes.

“We choose to bring Mother back to the Mirror Moon Sect. Thank you, Sect Leader.”

The Sect Leader shook his head.

At that moment, he noticed Shen Cong, whom Jiang Ruan and the others were holding.

“This is…”

Jiang Ruan glanced back, only then realizing Shen Cong was still there.

He had been listening to their entire conversation. Overwhelmed by the revelations concerning Madam Liu, his face had drained of color as he struggled to process it all. He had been too stunned to resist or lodge a complaint with the Sect Leader.

Now mentioned by name, Shen Cong jolted back to awareness.

He had no chance to accuse Jiang Ruan. Instead, he rushed to the Sect Leader’s side and demanded, “What do you mean by all that? Devil Cultivators? How could my mother possibly be involved with Devil Cultivators?”

Earlier, while conferring with Jiang Ruan, the Sect Leader had succinctly recounted the events—and he was certain Shen Cong had overheard.

Now, the Sect Leader simply regarded him with gentle patience. “It’s precisely as I described.”

Shen Cong erupted in fury. “Impossible! Utterly impossible! My mother can’t be a Devil Cultivator. You must be framing her!”

Jiang Ruan couldn’t resist a cool, sardonic jab. “Oh, sure, right. Did our Mirror Moon Sect Leader conspire with your father to frame her? We even had to drag some Devil Cultivator in from nowhere, force him to play along by leaking his aura right at Madam Liu’s quarters—all to smear the Shen Family Head’s obscure concubine. What an elaborate plot.”

Shen Cong went deathly pale, his lips quivering, but no rebuttal came to mind.

Seeing him like that, Jiang Ruan touched her nose sheepishly once she’d calmed down.

Had she been a touch too biting just now?

Shen Cong had no connection to the Devil Cultivators, after all.

And with Madam Liu being his mother, his panic might simply stem from familial concern.

But that moment of reflection lasted only a second.

The next instant, Jiang Ruan reminded herself: there was no need to pity arrogant wrongdoers.

Nor to torment herself with doubt.

The Sect Leader nodded, overlooking Shen Cong’s impertinence. “The Shen Family Head witnessed it all with his own eyes. He wouldn’t deceive you.”

“My mother… a Devil Cultivator?” Shen Cong muttered.

The Sect Leader turned to Jiang Ruan.

She didn’t catch on at first, but after a beat, his mild gaze conveyed the message.

Jiang Ruan blinked, cleared her throat softly, and discreetly released her hold on Shen Cong.

Lost in turmoil, he didn’t even notice.

Or perhaps he no longer had the capacity to.

His mind was wholly consumed by the Sect Leader’s words.

Jiang Ruan withdrew her hand, resuming her guise as the picture of innocence.

Unwittingly, her eyes met Lu Ning’s.

Though puzzled by Jiang Ruan’s earlier expression, Lu Ning kept staring.

She discovered that Jiang Ruan looked… utterly adorable, no matter the expression.

With the Shen Family matter more or less settled, it was time to return to the Mirror Moon Sect.

As Shen Dai and Shen Qing prepared to escort Madam Shen away, Shen Cong called out to stop them.

Shen Dai turned, fixing him with an icy stare.

“You can’t take her,” Shen Cong said.

Trailing behind Shen Dai and Shen Qing, Jiang Ruan waved dismissively. “Come on, let’s go. Why waste time debating with him? It’s just breath down the drain.”

At Jiang Ruan’s words, the strain on Shen Dai’s face visibly softened.

She pursed her lips and smiled. “That’s true.”

Shen Cong gritted his teeth, desperate to charge forward, but Jiang Ruan blocked his path.

Jiang Ruan eyed him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Shen Cong snapped, “Those are people from our Shen Family! Why should we let them take her to the Mirror Moon Sect?”

Jiang Ruan stared at him in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? That’s their mother. She can take her wherever she pleases.”

Shen Cong shot back, “She was born into the Shen Family, and she’ll die as a ghost of the Shen Family!”

Perhaps it was all the pent-up frustration in his heart, and Shen Cong was simply seizing on any excuse to vent.

Or maybe the shock from Madam Liu’s situation had hit him too hard, driving him to lash out subconsciously at others—ideally at Shen Dai and Shen Qing.

Ideally, so they too would be denied what they wanted, just like him.

Only then might he feel a little better.

This time, Jiang Ruan was genuinely stunned.

She saw no reason to hold her tongue. “Don’t tell me you’re so bitter about losing your own mother that you can’t understand someone else wanting to whisk theirs away from all this drama?”

Shen Cong’s face froze, turning ashen white like a corpse.

Jiang Ruan shoved him aside and held back from saying anything more cutting.

“Bye.”

Once they returned to the sect, the Sect Leader left to deal with the Devil Cultivator situation, while Shen Dai and Shen Qing busied themselves settling Madam Shen, contacting the Liang Family, and finding a Medical Cultivator.

Jiang Ruan didn’t intrude.

That left just her and Lu Ning.

Jiang Ruan sighed. “Who would’ve thought a simple trip to buy a Spirit Pet would turn into all this.”

This side mission had accidentally morphed into the main one.

Lu Ning nodded, her gaze dropping to the Spirit Pet cradled in her arms.

Jiang Ruan reached over and patted its head.

“Cute little thing.”

Lu Ning shifted closer, making it easier for Jiang Ruan to pet it.

Watching her, Lu Ning said, “If you want to pet my Spirit Pet anytime, just come find me.”

Jiang Ruan grinned. “Will do.”

After bidding Lu Ning farewell, Jiang Ruan walked alone with the System.

Unable to hold back, the System analyzed the earlier events. “Host, I’m certain Madam Liu is part of the plot.”

Jiang Ruan nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

The System pressed on. “But what’s her purpose for being planted in the Shen Family?”

Jiang Ruan shrugged. “No clue.”

One person and one system strolled along, lost in thought.

The System sighed. “It’s so tough without the plot for reference.”

Jiang Ruan couldn’t help chuckling.

The System quickly added, “But don’t worry, Host! I’ll get it repaired ASAP.”

Jiang Ruan’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she nodded. “Sounds good.”

A moment later, the System ventured, “Host, why did you have to get involved back there?”

“Did you sense the Devil Cultivator’s hand in it?”

Jiang Ruan shook her head. “I’m not quite that perceptive. It was just…”

She halted, then plucked a nearby flower at random and held it up to the System.

“See this?”

The System blinked. “What about it?”

Jiang Ruan’s eyes curved playfully. “It’s a real flower.”

The System looked puzzled.

Smiling, Jiang Ruan gestured to their surroundings. “And this is the real Mirror Moon Sect.”

She pointed to herself, then in the direction Lu Ning had gone. “Real people.”

Jiang Ruan drew in a deep breath and smiled at the System.

“So yeah, this is a real world, and I’m really living in it.”

“Since I’m alive here, why not do what I can?”

Jiang Ruan continued, “I’m truly grateful you brought me back to life. That’s why I’ve decided to live in this world for real—not just for the ‘protagonist,’ but for me too.”