Chapter 18: Cultivation (II) Part 2

Mi Ba said: [She is a Natural Calamity. As long as she realizes she’s a Devil Being, that power is innate to her. Unless she doesn’t want to abandon her current skin and is holding back somewhat—otherwise, killing you would be effortless.]

Yun Jinxue said, exasperated: Your words are really unpleasant.

Mi Ba: [Thank you.]

The question remained unanswered, and her heart only hung higher in suspense.

Yun Jinxue asked again: What’s the deal with Elder Yan He?

Perhaps tired of having her competence questioned, Mi Ba, wanting to prove she was at least somewhat useful, explained quite plainly: [Her soul was extracted. It was actually a mistake; it wasn’t supposed to be her.]

Inexplicably connecting it to herself, Yun Jinxue said: You didn’t pull Yan He’s soul away to another world for some mission, did you?

Mi Ba said: [Don’t know. Not confirmed yet.]

Yun Jinxue’s heart grew even more uneasy. Didn’t this just prove that this world really could have errors?

What if the one lying beside her really was that major villainess who had lived through every terrible thing, her heart pitch-black to the core? What was she doing right now?

Sleeping in the same bed as the arch-villainess!

Having read the original work thoroughly, the moment her thoughts became disordered, the descriptions of the Senior Sister’s tragic later death automatically transformed into vivid images, playing out in her mind.

The prison, without a trace of daylight. Walls covered in ghastly white torture instruments. The crimson-robed, silver-haired, diabolically beautiful woman standing before her, smile gentle.

Sharp instruments slowly piercing skin, sinking inch by inch, grinding out shattered bone and mangled flesh.

Amid unbearable groans of pain, the woman tilted her chin up, lowered her head, and softly murmured the words ‘Senior Sister’ in her ear.

In that cramped space, sobs and ragged breaths lingered, never fading, blood staining the sky.

“Senior Sister, why are you trembling?” Jiang Yanyu suddenly spoke.

A cold sweat had broken on Yun Jinxue’s forehead. She rapidly pulled back her wildly straying thoughts and tried to steady her voice: “Nothing.”

The system was useless to rely on. Her mind was a tangled mess now. If her guess was true, what should she do next?

Without a sound, a wave of heat suddenly drew near. A hand slipped under the blanket, finding her lower abdomen. A murmur came close to her ear: “Senior Sister.”

The scene overlapping with her imagination made Yun Jinxue’s entire body go rigid. She couldn’t respond immediately.

Jiang Yanyu propped herself up on the bed, her gaze seeming to pierce the darkness and land on her face. “What’s wrong? Senior Sister, are you cold? Or does it still hurt?”

The voice was still youthful, with subtle differences from the murmur in her fantasy. Gradually, Yun Jinxue’s scattered consciousness began to return.

“Nothing…”

The habitual reply. Then realizing her state was off and she needed a reason to cover it up, she added: “The wound actually does ache a bit.”

Jiang Yanyu nodded and slowly drew closer, her warm palm gently rubbing her lower abdomen, as if soothing.

“Sorry, Senior Sister. It’s all my fault for being so careless, bumping into you just now.”

Yun Jinxue suppressed her body’s slight trembling and said softly: “It’s fine.”

That hand on her stomach—if it belonged to the fully realized arch-villainess, right now, a single twitch of her fingers could have effortlessly shattered the Golden Core circulating Spiritual Power within her, leaving her a cripple.

Yet it didn’t. Even after the hand withdrew, she had done nothing at all.

As Yun Jinxue was calming her heart, she heard the young girl’s voice, low and soft: “I once met a wandering Immortal. She told me many things. One of them was about you.”

“She said that in the Cultivation World, there’s a Senior Sister of immense magical power, respected and beloved by all. She even showed me a portrait. It was the first time I’d ever seen such a breathtaking person, so I always remembered, and I could recognize you at a glance.”

She hadn’t expected her to answer this question again. Although this was content not mentioned in the original work, the little villainess’s early-stage description was sparse to begin with. Glossing over such an inconsequential detail wasn’t out of the question.

Sensing her words weren’t finished, Yun Jinxue merely made an mm sound, quietly waiting.

Sure enough, after a moment, Jiang Yanyu spoke again: “When I was little, I never had enough to eat, rarely slept well. I always felt life had no purpose, so I wanted to throw myself into a well.”

“As I stood before the well, I saw the moon reflected within it, shimmering on the ripples. It was so beautiful. I looked up—she was so gentle. I knew she’d always hung in the sky, but it was only in that single instant that I truly became aware of her existence. She awed me.”

“Usually, I had to work during the day, no time for myself. Only at night could I be quiet for a moment. So I’d always go out at night, with my pig friend. I’d hold her, and together, in front of the bamboo grove, we’d watch the moon.”

“Back then, I loved the moon so much. I always wanted to pick her down, put her in my most precious bundle, make her mine.”

“Senior Sister, you are so good to me, just like the moon. You don’t despise my filth, you’re willing to shine upon me.”

“If only I could have met you sooner.”

Yun Jinxue listened attentively. The surging tide in her heart gradually settled within the girl’s increasingly soft voice.

When she had fully calmed down, she couldn’t help but find her earlier, startled-rabbit self a bit laughable.

As the system said, if she had truly been reborn, she absolutely would have killed her at the first possible moment. Even more so with her nemesis Yan Guixing right beside her.

As the most powerful being in this world, what possible scruples could stop her from acting?

The little villainess had gone through those experiences; it was perfectly normal for her personality to have some issues.

At the slightest disturbance, she had been paranoid and suspicious, speculating about a little girl whose heart was fundamentally soft. So lacking in composure, panicking at a moment’s notice, as if the past twenty-some years were all for nothing.

Either don’t be good to others, or don’t overthink it. Moving forward while doubting from the side, like a miser stingy with her affections—what was that?

Yet, even with her state of mind steadied, Yun Jinxue couldn’t find words of comfort to speak.

What a pity, Yanyu. I, too, am destined not to be your moon.

How can I tell you… that what you’ve pursued all your life is merely the moon’s reflection on the water’s surface, shattering at a single touch?

Jiang Yanyu asked again: “Senior Sister… will you hate me?”

These words were practically bitten out from between her teeth, hesitant and irresolute, as if afraid of the answer and wanting to retract them at any moment.

Yun Jinxue’s heart instantly softened. She could never bear seeing a fragile little girl like this, so she immediately, firmly said: “No.”

Even if someday I die by your hand, I will not hate you.

The little girl was delighted. Yun Jinxue could hear her low, soft laughter. Not long after, a bundle of warmth burrowed into her blanket, and the girl’s distinct, cool fragrance teased her nose.

“Senior Sister, I want to hold you while I sleep. I’ll be careful not to bump you again.”

Downy-soft strands of hair brushed against her cheek. Yun Jinxue patted her head and smiled: “So why were you unwilling to sleep with Guixing?”

Jiang Yanyu said: “I’m not used to sleeping with others.”

Yun Jinxue said: “Am I ‘others’?”

The girl buried her face in the crook of her neck, her voice muffled with warmth, as if climbing up her bones: “Senior Sister saved my life, of course you’re not ‘others.’ I revere and cherish Senior Sister in my heart, and only want to be close to you.”

Being held by a warm, soft girl naturally didn’t put one in a bad mood.

Yun Jinxue recalled again those moments she had interpreted as coldness, aggression, or hatred—they now seemed open to reinterpretation as shyness, unfamiliarity, and anticipation.

Her memory traced back to Transcendent Prefecture, stopping at a brightly colored scene. She realized something, her mind suddenly clear.

She asked gently: “Windy, recently you’ve been wanting chicken legs… is it because back in Transcendent Prefecture, I gave one to Guixing, but not to you?”

With their skin almost touching, she naturally wouldn’t miss her reaction.

Jiang Yanyu stiffened for a split second before muttering sullenly: “I wouldn’t care about something like that… so why didn’t Senior Sister give me one?”

Yun Jinxue desperately wanted to laugh out loud. That last shred of doubt in her heart thoroughly dissipated.

The later-stage arch-villainess who killed gods and buddhas alike—she could summon the wind and rain, having everything she wanted. There was no way she’d care about such a trivial detail.

The one who would care about a single chicken leg could only be the little villainess from childhood, who had nothing.

She laughed inwardly until she’d had her fill, then felt a pang of guilt for having doubted her. Lightly patting the girl’s back, she said gently: “I’m sorry. I overlooked you back then. In the future, if you want something, just say it directly, alright?”

Jiang Yanyu nodded: “Mm.”

With things spoken clearly, exhaustion swept over her. Yun Jinxue held the person tighter to stave off the chill, and only then drifted slowly into dreams.

Once she was sound asleep, the girl in her arms raised her head. She let out a cold laugh, turned over, and went back to lie properly in her own blanket.

“Sleep with you? Am I crazy? Just teasing you a bit, and you actually believed it.”

Jiang Yanyu muttered curses, feeling her mood improve with the venting. Only then did she close her eyes, preparing to fall asleep.

But somehow, this bed just wouldn’t warm up.

Her own body temperature was clearly higher than that woman’s, yet she still felt it was warmer over there.

Jiang Yanyu sat up in anger, pinching the tops of both quilts to compare their thickness.

And then she discovered that the quilt Yun Jinxue had prepared for herself was actually thicker.

Jiang Yanyu let out a “Ha!”, wrapped herself back up into a bulky bundle, only her face exposed, squeezing her eyes shut in self-hypnosis.

Strange. Why wouldn’t it get warm?

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, until her mood turned completely foul, Jiang Yanyu abruptly sat up, her expression dark.

In the deep silence of the night, she could hear the woman’s even breathing beside her.

“……”

Jiang Yanyu said nothing. Like a fish slipping through water, she burrowed once more into the other quilt, pressing tightly against the woman’s body, muttering: “Why is this bastard so damn comfortable to hold…”

Before she could even finish her sentence, drowsiness welled up. Jiang Yanyu suspected she’d been drugged. Before she could even get properly angry, her consciousness was already thick with sleep, and she tumbled into the realm of dreams.