Chapter 15: The Search (IV)

◎A Person Worse Than a Demon◎

“Here come the noodles.”

The stall owner brought three bowls of steaming hot noodles and deftly placed them on the table, saying with a smile, “Please eat slowly.”

Amidst the wafting steam, Yun Jinxue saw the words on the paper and silently read them one by one, sighing inwardly.

Her gaze traveled up from the hand holding the brush to Yan Guixing’s serious and rigid face.

One life. Given the situation Yan Guixing had described, that was understandable.

But even paper and a brush had to be recorded. The book said the female lead drew a clear line between gratitude and grievance, remembering even the most inconsequential kindness. It was indeed so.

Jiang Yanyu was playing with her chopsticks and leaned over to look. “Hey, your handwriting is quite nice.”

Yan Guixing said, “Thank you.”

Although the Yan family never allowed her to study, she had learned to write many characters with her parents before coming here. Coupled with her natural intelligence, what she had learned was completely sufficient for daily use.

Putting down the charcoal and double-checking it once more, Yan Guixing folded the paper neatly along a line and placed it in her chest pocket.

Jiang Yanyu withdrew her gaze cheerfully, scooped several spoonfuls of chili into her bowl, and mixed it with the noodles—a bowl of blazing red.

Yun Jinxue glanced at her, somewhat unable to fathom what was on this kid’s mind.

They had been out for quite some time, encountering many people of all kinds, yet she had never seen Little Villain show interest in anyone.

Now, upon meeting Yan Guixing, she had initiated conversation several times and scrutinized her repeatedly. Why was the little villain so interested in the female lead?

Could it truly be some fated mutual attraction between important characters?

Perhaps it was simply that they were closer in age and had more common topics. After all, their ages were not that far apart.

Yun Jinxue did not dwell on it. She rolled a mouthful of noodles around her chopsticks, blew on it carefully, and put it in her mouth.

Yan Guixing also began eating her noodles. Despite being terribly thin, her hair a mess, wearing the most common rough hemp garment, her movements remained graceful—snowy skin and ink-black hair, possessing a considerable aesthetic sense.

And that little villain beside her had more aggressive features, especially when squinting at people. One always felt they would easily discard their armor and surrender before her.

But in reality, neither of these two were easy to deal with.

Yun Jinxue truly wished she could go back immediately and complain to her close friends about all the amazing things she had done.

In another world, eating noodles with the protagonist and the villain!

Truly a rare experience in life.

Yan Guixing swallowed the noodles in her mouth and suddenly asked, “Were those friends of mine sent by you, Immortal Lord?”

Friends? Who?

Yun Jinxue was immersed in her daydreams and took a long moment to react before realizing she meant the troop of beggar children who had caused a ruckus in the hall.

Jiang Yanyu also looked over, biting the end of her chopsticks thoughtfully.

Cold sweat nearly broke out on Yun Jinxue.

Of course she was the one who’d done it. As for why, the reason was simple.

Since she couldn’t fish the person out according to the original plot, she inevitably had to take some unconventional paths.

As the female lead, the character on whom most of the story’s focus was centered, the descriptions of her life and experiences were naturally very detailed. Everyone she met, every hardship she endured, was laid out clearly, down to the smallest detail.

And in the early period at the Yan family, while being tormented by Lady Yan, doing hard labor with no food to eat—that was actually considered mild.

If Lady Yan happened to be in a bad mood, she would directly throw the girl out of the house, even in the dead of the coldest winter, with no exception.

Once, after being thrown out, the female lead was so hungry she nearly fainted. She was discovered by beggar children on the roadside, who shared half a dried mantou with her, allowing her to recover a little.

After that, whenever the female lead had nowhere to go, she would stay with the beggar children.

She refused to eat stolen food, but she could go to the garbage heap and scavenge with them.

The beggar children saw that she looked as exquisite as jade and frost, yet never looked down on anyone, so they didn’t reject her and were willing to accept her into their group.

And so, just earlier, Yun Jinxue had tempted them with candied treats and stated her purpose in wanting to save someone. Those beggar children then disregarded the danger of being seized by officials and were willing to cooperate fully.

The reason Yun Jinxue had taken such a roundabout path was precisely to blow the matter up, while she and Little Villain, hearing the commotion, would come over only afterwards, thus not arousing her suspicion.

Now that the female lead had asked directly, Yun Jinxue almost choked, her heart getting a little knock.

Fortunately, she had previously agreed with the beggar children to keep it a secret that she was the one who had brought them.

Even if Yan Guixing went to ask later, she probably wouldn’t find anything.

Thinking of this, Yun Jinxue relaxed slightly. “Those people were not sent by me. Are they your friends?”

Yan Guixing looked at her. Those eyes were black and deeply bright. When she quietly observed someone without speaking, they were like a bright mirror, making it impossible to tell lies.

“Yes,” she nodded.

Yun Jinxue added, “The two of us were merely strolling the streets when we suddenly heard a very chaotic noise, so we went to take a look, and then we saw you.”

Yan Guixing blinked. It was unknown if she believed her or not. She lowered her gaze and said, “So that’s how it was.”

Yun Jinxue sighed inwardly. No matter what, it was managed for now.

She stirred the noodles in her bowl absently when she suddenly felt a scorching heat on her cheek. She looked up instinctively and found Little Villain watching her with a meaningful smile.

Yun Jinxue froze, feeling as if she had forgotten something.

She mentally reviewed things, only to belatedly realize a point.

She seemed to have told Little Villain that Yan Guixing was the child of Elder Yan He’s friend.

Then she herself was also an elder of this child. Yet after meeting for such a long time, she hadn’t even said a word of greeting. It was very strange.

Yun Jinxue’s head began to ache.

Dealing with two clever children was too difficult, especially when she was full of lies!

There were pitfalls everywhere!

She hurriedly tried to remedy it. “Guixing, do you remember Elder Yan He?”

Yan Guixing naturally did not remember. She looked somewhat bewildered. “I’m sorry, I don’t know this person.”

Yun Jinxue said, “Right. You were still young then, so you wouldn’t remember. Elder Yan He was a friend of your mother’s. The reason I came here was also that she entrusted me to help bring you back.”

Yan Guixing murmured, “Bring… me back?”

Yun Jinxue smiled gently. “Yes. I also see that you probably don’t wish to stay in the Yan family anymore at this moment. So come back to the Divine Zenith Sect with me, alright?”

She was just about to introduce what kind of place the Divine Zenith Sect was when she heard Yan Guixing say, “Alright.”

Yun Jinxue started. This little girl didn’t even ask where the Divine Zenith Sect was located or what it did, and just agreed like that?

Wasn’t she too gullible?

Thank goodness that in the original story, the person she first met was someone like Elder Yan He—broad-minded, gentle, meticulous, and single-mindedly devoted to the Righteous Path.

If it had been some bad person who came to trick her away, ending the whole story right there—what would they have done?!

Yun Jinxue felt somewhat helpless. She asked, “You don’t even remember who Yan He is, yet you so straightforwardly agree to leave with me?”

Yan Guixing said, “I believe my mother’s friend would not harm me.”

Yun Jinxue said, “But your mother never told you about this friend.”

Yan Guixing pursed her lips slightly and lowered her gaze, her fingertips gently rubbing the chopsticks. “There are still many things that Mother didn’t have time to tell me.”

She had suffered a sudden family tragedy at the age of seven, losing both parents. She had drifted into her uncle’s home to live.

At that young age, the things she could remember were few, and the things she could understand were also few. Her parents’ experiences were certainly brilliant, but they had no opportunity to tell her. Thus, in her memories, besides two gradually blurring faces, there was actually not much more.

This was not what Yun Jinxue intended—to make her recall the past and feel sadness. So she shut her mouth and did not speak of this matter further.

There would be plenty of opportunities to interact and teach later. She would teach her to be more vigilant then.

Jiang Yanyu laughed. “Miss Yan doesn’t need to be so sad. Having parents isn’t necessarily a good thing. I have deep experience with that. Ah, but then, I also have no parents now.”

Yan Guixing: “……”

Yun Jinxue: “……”

What was this crazy kid saying?

Yun Jinxue covered her mouth with one hand and coughed dryly twice. She picked up a chicken leg from her bowl, one she hadn’t touched, and placed it into Yan Guixing’s bowl. “You’re so thin. Eat more.”

Yan Guixing curled her fingers slightly. “Thank you, Immortal Lord.”

Jiang Yanyu had originally been laughing playfully. Seeing this, the smile on her face faded bit by bit until she was completely expressionless.

She withdrew her gaze and poked at the noodles in her bowl, not making a sound.

Yun Jinxue was only thinking about quickly changing the topic and didn’t notice this detail. “Guixing, let’s talk about Lady Yan’s matter. Where was the thing she lost? Where was it lost? Tell me everything.”

Yan Guixing nodded and began to recount.

After listening carefully, one would realize this truly wasn’t any big matter; it could be explained in just a couple of sentences.

First, Lady Yan said a jade ornament had gone missing from the study, and an earring was found under the desk. Since this earring belonged to Yan Guixing, she dragged the person to court.

What happened in the great hall was everything. As a story, it was rather shabby, lacking even a plot twist.

Hearing her finish, Yun Jinxue put down her chopsticks and said, “Don’t worry, I will seek justice for you.”

When they finished eating and brought the person to the Yan residence doorstep, the sun was fierce.

A young servant led them inside. The path was winding and narrow. Layers of green shade kept the open courtyard from feeling bright. The overall place wasn’t large, making it appear dark and shadowed.

Following the path all the way to a residence, as they walked along the corridor, a teacup was hurled out from inside the room, shattering on the ground, spilling tea everywhere.

Immediately after, loud cursing rang out. “Useless! Truly useless!”

Yun Jinxue’s steps paused slightly. She had almost been struck by that teacup just now.

She turned her head slightly and said to those behind her, “Watch out for the broken porcelain on the ground. Don’t step on it.”

The person inside probably heard the voice, as the cursing weakened.

Yun Jinxue walked two steps forward, stepping over the shattered porcelain, and entered the room. Lady Yan was tidying her attire. A maidservant stood at her side, bent low and head bowed, seemingly trembling.

The moment the silver-robed immortal lady entered, it felt as if the room had brightened considerably. One could only feel moonlight slowly flowing, lingering at the tips of her brows and the corners of her eyes, full of a warm, jade-like quality.

Lady Yan had always been unable to stand anyone prettier than herself, especially someone so outstanding. Her tone was thus not very pleasant. “The Immortal Lord is here.”

This was the most twisted, most reluctant utterance of “Immortal Lord” Yun Jinxue had ever heard, but she didn’t mind. “May I trouble Lady Yan to take me to the study to have a look?”

Lady Yan twisted her handkerchief, smoothing the corners, refusing to look the person squarely in the eye. “Someone of your esteemed status, why bother yourself with our own family’s domestic affairs?”

Having spoken to this extent, that lowly brat Yan Guixing was still shrinking behind someone else, not knowing to come forward on her own. Lady Yan was so angry her chest heaved slightly, the corners of her mouth turning downward.

Yan Guixing noticed this expression, and her gaze flickered away slightly.

Usually, after such a look, suffering would befall her.

Yun Jinxue shifted her body slightly, shielding the girl behind her. She smiled lightly. “Subduing demons and vanquishing evil is inherently the duty of immortals, whether it be demons among humans…”

She looked at Lady Yan, her voice deep and restrained. “Or people worse than demons.”