After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Scheme

◎ Re-encounter with Xianzi, Affairs of the Pill Peak ◎

Returning to her cave dwelling, Du Lianxin rested briefly before heading to the peak’s summit, preparing to report the encounter with the enemy during this mission to her Master.

However, upon reaching her destination, she was informed by a fellow disciple on guard that her Master had left yesterday and had not yet returned.

Du Lianxin had no choice but to turn back.

Midway, a crane’s cry suddenly reached her ear from a distance.

She followed the sound and saw a woman riding an immortal crane, her skirt billowing. It was Gu Xianzi, the daughter of the Pill Peak Master.

The woman seemed to have come specifically to find her. She steered the immortal crane to hover not far in front of Du Lianxin and lightly descended to the ground.

Gu Xianzi stood with her arms crossed, looking at the girl before her.

“I heard from my Junior Sisters and Junior Brothers that you returned with Senior Sister Shen, and Senior Sister even personally escorted you to Talisman Peak?”

Du Lianxin had already anticipated the current situation. Her expression remained unchanged, and she responded calmly with a simple “Yes.”

Seeing her demeanor, the anger in Gu Xianzi’s heart intensified.

“Hmph! Don’t think that this is enough to win Senior Sister Shen’s favor. Senior Sister always treats fellow disciples equally and doesn’t show favoritism to anyone! I guess your outing with Senior Sister was mostly due to a sect mission?”

Du Lianxin nodded: “Senior Sister Gu’s guess is correct. Senior Sister was previously ordered by the Sect Master to resolve the matter in Donglin Town. There was an illusion formation there that required a cultivator with Four Spiritual Roots of Gold, Wood, Fire, and Earth to go, and I happened to meet the requirements.”

Hearing this, Gu Xianzi lifted her head, her expression shifting from anger to joy.

“I knew it! Senior Sister Shen would never specifically go out with anyone! Sending you back now is merely because you were helpful.”

After a while, she seemed to have thought of something. She took a step forward, lifted her slender wrist, and lightly pinched the girl’s chin.

Du Lianxin was forced to lift her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Gu Xianzi didn’t speak, only staring at the girl’s face with an ambiguous look for a moment. Then, driven by a strange impulse, she rubbed her thumb across the girl’s full lips.

Du Lianxin’s mind went blank. Upon realizing what was happening, she immediately retreated several steps, her cheeks once again flushing crimson.

“Senior Sister Gu, what are you doing?”

The soft touch beneath her thumb vanished, and Gu Xianzi was somewhat displeased. Seeing the girl’s reaction, she became even angrier.

“Why are you dodging? I won’t eat you!”

She was a little frustrated. She had come to find trouble with Du Lianxin after hearing the news. She didn’t know how it had escalated to the current situation.

Seeing the girl remaining silent and not responding, Gu Xianzi stomped her foot.

“Don’t overthink it. I like Senior Sister Shen. It’s impossible for me to be interested in you!”

With that, she immediately turned to leave, but her hurried steps made it look like a panicked retreat.

Du Lianxin was somewhat amused and bewildered.

Due to the events of her past life, she held no ill will toward Senior Sister Gu. Even though the other party regarded her as a potential love rival, she didn’t care, only intending to avoid her in the sect as much as possible.

When they met this time, she had expected Senior Sister Gu to give her a hard time. She hadn’t expected the outcome to be like this.

After this incident, perhaps this Senior Sister wouldn’t deliberately come looking for trouble with her in the future?

Gu Xianzi sped all the way back to her own cave dwelling.

Because of her abnormal behavior, the maidservant worried that she had suffered a grievance outside and quickly reported the situation to the Pill Peak Master.

Before long, a woman with half-white hair and wearing a black gua gown arrived. Seeing her daughter sitting on the couch with flushed cheeks, the slight worry on her face immediately turned into confusion.

“Xianzi, Peony said you ran back to your cave dwelling and acted abnormally. Did you meet someone outside?”

Hearing this, Gu Xianzi immediately glared at the maidservant.

“All day long, all you do is run to report to my mother!”

The maidservant dropped to her knees with a thud. “Young Mistress, I…”

Gu Lin raised her hand to interrupt her subsequent words. “Xianzi, I ordered her to pay attention to your situation and report to me if anything seemed amiss. She was only following orders. Don’t make things difficult for her.”

“Hmph!” Gu Xianzi turned her head to face the other wall, showing her displeasure.

Seeing this, Gu Lin sighed softly. “Xianzi, your mother is just worried about you. You haven’t answered my question. Did you meet someone outside? If you were bullied, you must tell your mother.”

Gu Xianzi buried her face in her knees and mumbled: “Mother is overthinking. With my status, who would dare to bully me?”

“Then why are you like this?”

“Oh, Mother, don’t ask anymore. It’s nothing!”

Gu Lin was experienced. Seeing her daughter’s reaction, she slowly realized the truth.

“Is it Shen Anlan?”

Hearing the all-too-familiar name, Gu Xianzi was a little depressed.

“It wasn’t Senior Sister Shen. I haven’t seen her for days. Mother knows Senior Sister never liked me.”

“Then who was it?”

As she asked this, Gu Lin suddenly remembered something Peony had mentioned a while ago: that her daughter had secretly gone to find an outer-sect cultivator named Du Lianxin.

Later, she heard that this woman was accepted as a disciple by Liu Shuangdai of Talisman Peak and was now a core inner-sect disciple.

Thinking of this, Gu Lin looked at her daughter, who still had her face buried in her knees, and asked again: “Could it be that Du Lianxin?”

Gu Xianzi subconsciously looked up, her face filled with astonishment. “How did Mother know?”

A meaningful smile appeared on Gu Lin’s face. “Indeed, I guessed correctly. Does Xianzi have feelings for her?”

“Of course not!” Gu Xianzi was a little exasperated and immediately jumped up from the couch.

“How could I like her? She’s so weak, and her strength is low. She just has a pretty face. How can she compare to Senior Sister Shen!”

Gu Lin clearly didn’t believe her. “Is that so?”

Gu Xianzi stomped her feet repeatedly. “Of course it is! I… I would never like her, no matter who I liked!”

Gu Lin’s face still held a smile. She knew her daughter’s temperament. If she pressed further, her daughter might truly become angry out of embarrassment. She had primarily come to find out if her daughter had been bullied. Now that she knew the truth, her objective was achieved, so she simply turned and left the area.

Gu Xianzi felt more and more ashamed and angry the more she thought about it. She looked up and saw the maidservant gazing at her with a curious expression, and immediately snapped: “You disloyal brat! All you do is stare! What are you looking at?”

Seeing that she was about to get angry, the maidservant quickly lowered her head and admitted her fault.

“Young Mistress, I’m sorry. It’s all Peony’s fault.”

Gu Xianzi listened to the sobbing sound reaching her ears and impatiently waved her hand.

“That’s enough. I didn’t even punish you, but you start crying after just two scoldings. If people outside see this, they’ll think I did something to you!”

Hearing this, the maidservant immediately understood that she had safely passed the current crisis.

The Peak Master did not know about the feud between the Young Mistress and Du Lianxin, but she was fully aware. Coupled with the news she had just received yesterday, to atone for her mistakes, she offered a suggestion.

“Young Mistress, I have investigated Ye Qiuwan’s whereabouts. She is currently in Wangchuan Ridge. Should we try to lure Du Lianxin there?”

Gu Xianzi frowned upon hearing this. “Who is Ye Qiuwan?”

The maidservant quickly explained: “Young Mistress, have you forgotten? Ye Qiuwan is that female cultivator from the outer sect who likes Du Lianxin! Didn’t you always view Du Lianxin as a thorn in your side, afraid that she might become involved with Immortal Shen? At that time, I suggested that we facilitate the relationship between Du Lianxin and Ye Qiuwan, completely severing any potential romantic connection between the former and Immortal Shen. You even specifically instructed me to keep an eye on Ye Qiuwan’s movements.”

Hearing her say this, Gu Xianzi finally remembered the incident.

Should I really do that?

She hesitated. The image of the girl’s full lips unconsciously flashed in her mind. She instinctively rubbed her thumb.

“Don’t go looking for Ye Qiuwan!”

The maidservant was puzzled: “Why? Does Young Mistress not want to sever the potential romantic tie between Du Lianxin and Immortal Shen?”

Gu Xianzi said without hesitation: “Of course I do!”

The confusion on the maidservant’s face deepened. “Then why, Young Mistress…”

Gu Xianzi said matter-of-factly: “Even if I want to sever the romantic tie, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Ye Qiuwan.”

“Uh… Does Young Mistress have a more suitable candidate?”

“Yes!”

“Who is it? Does Peony need to pay attention to that person’s whereabouts?”

“Far away in the sky, yet close at hand.”

“Huh?” The maidservant’s mind went blank. At that moment, she seemed to have realized something. Her face paled, and she immediately crossed her arms and took half a step back.

“Young Mistress, Peony does not like women. I beg Young Mistress to think of another way.”

Hearing this, Gu Xianzi’s eyebrows shot up. “You brat, what are you thinking!”

The maidservant showed a look of confusion. “Wasn’t Young Mistress asking me to seduce Du Lianxin?”

Gu Xianzi couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Du Lianxin is beautiful and graceful, not inferior to me at all. Now look at yourself. Do you think you can succeed?”

The maidservant felt a little wronged. Although the Young Mistress was speaking the truth, it was too hurtful!

“Young Mistress, then your intention… could it be… yourself?”

Seeing the maidservant’s expression of disbelief, Gu Xianzi got angry again.

“What? Peony, what’s with that expression? Am I not capable? Whether in terms of cultivation, status, or position, I am more than worthy of Du Lianxin!”

The maidservant’s head was spinning. “But… didn’t Young Mistress always like Immortal Shen?”

“That’s right!”

“Then you are…”

“I will find a way to seduce Du Lianxin. She naturally won’t like Senior Sister Shen anymore.”

“No, Young Mistress, are you planning to ride two boats?”

Gu Xianzi reached out and knocked the maidservant’s forehead. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Peony cried out in pain, quickly covering her head and retreating a few steps. “Young Mistress, I don’t think I was wrong, was I?”

“Of course you were wrong!”

Gu Xianzi frowned and corrected her: “I haven’t received a response from Senior Sister Shen. You also know that it has always been my one-sided pursuit of Senior Sister. Senior Sister has already rejected me. Given Senior Sister’s cold and heartless nature, she probably won’t seek a Dao Companion.”

The maidservant listened, thoughtful, and then raised a new question.

“If Young Mistress truly wins Miss Du’s heart, and she becomes attached to you, what will you do?”

Gu Xianzi imagined the relevant scene, an arc unconsciously appearing at the corner of her mouth.

“It wouldn’t be a loss for me to truly be with such a beautiful person. Anyway, Senior Sister Shen is like a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water, completely unattainable.”

By this point, the maidservant finally detected a hint of something amiss.

Was her Young Mistress transferring her affection?

A long time ago, the Peak Master saw the Young Mistress frequently running to the Falling Cloud Peak, where Immortal Shen resided. When asked, she learned that the Young Mistress liked the same s3x. She tried bringing some beautiful women to the peak, hoping to divert the Young Mistress’s attention and prevent future heartbreak.

However, all those beauties were chased out by the Young Mistress with a dark face. For this, the Young Mistress even had a huge argument with the Peak Master.

Now, the Young Mistress was actually thinking of actively seducing someone. If she said she didn’t have a single bit of affection, it would probably be unlikely.

Peony thought, if Du Lianxin had been among those beauties back then, what would the outcome have been?