After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Invitation

◎ Rival’s Teasing, Jealousy Surges ◎

Hearing the very familiar voice, Du Lianxin paused for a moment.

Shen Anlan was actually seeking her out?

The voice message didn’t specify the details, only asking to meet at the Mingxian Tower in Luoxia Fang City, near the sect.

After her rebirth, Du Lianxin had resolved to stay away from Shen Anlan and never repeat the mistakes of her previous life.

Now that the other party had invited her to meet, should she go?

Given Shen Anlan’s distant nature, she wouldn’t invite someone to meet without a reason. Could something have happened that concerned her?

Thinking of this, Du Lianxin immediately decided to leave.

She did want to stay away from Shen Anlan, but if she were to miss out on important news closely related to herself, the loss would outweigh the gain.

…

An incense stick later, Mingxian Tower in Luoxia Fang City.

Du Lianxin arrived and immediately saw Shen Anlan sitting by the window on the second floor. Clad in a light purple dress, her brows were etched with a clear, cool aloofness.

Their eyes met in mid-air. Shen Anlan’s gaze was deep, mixed with an emotion Du Lianxin couldn’t decipher.

Not far from Shen Anlan sat a beautiful and alluring woman in a scarlet pleated skirt. She was the infamous Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect, Feng Ruo.

According to the events of her previous life, when Feng Ruo first approached Shen Anlan, she concealed her identity, claiming to be an unattached rogue cultivator.

It wasn’t until Shen Anlan was harmed by the Demonic Sect and her cultivation crippled that this woman’s identity was completely exposed.

Whether in the past or this life, Du Lianxin couldn’t understand why Shen Anlan would choose Feng Ruo.

If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have had this doubt.

In her previous life, she saw the dying Shen Anlan in the Ninefold Ice Domain—blind, her Dantian destroyed, her meridians severed. The scene was beyond miserable.

And all of this happened because of Feng Ruo.

From the start, Feng Ruo had concealed her identity and approached Shen Anlan to use her to steal the Clear River Sect’s heirloom, the River Chart and Luo Book.

Du Lianxin only realized these truths just before her death, perceiving them in the ethereal realm.

Feng Ruo’s plan failed. After being exposed by Shen Anlan, she became enraged and struck out, severely injuring her.

With such deep enmity between them, how could they possibly be together?

Why would Shen Anlan still choose Feng Ruo? Could she also be a complete “love-brain”?

This thought flashed through Du Lianxin’s mind, followed by a self-deprecating smile.

Regardless of whether the other party was a “love-brain,” it had nothing to do with her in this life.

Thinking of the purpose of her trip, Du Lianxin suppressed the complex thoughts in her heart, averted her gaze, and subtly made her way to the second floor.

Feng Ruo saw her and stood up with a charming smile, moving gracefully. A gust of fragrant air rushed toward Du Lianxin.

Du Lianxin instinctively disliked this woman. Seeing her approach, she frowned slightly and leaned away, avoiding the hand Feng Ruo extended.

Seeing this, Feng Ruo’s smile remained unchanged. She continued forward, grabbing Du Lianxin’s right hand and pulling her forward.

Du Lianxin was no match for her strength and was instantly restrained, unable to resist. She was carried forward by a great force and tumbled directly into Feng Ruo’s arms.

The strong, unfamiliar body fragrance overwhelmed her nostrils. Her face immediately flushed bright red. She wanted to struggle but was further embraced around her slender waist.

Given the events of the previous life, Feng Ruo was her love rival. She hadn’t expected to be teased by her upon their first meeting in this life.

Unable to break free, Du Lianxin could only angrily scold, “You demonic woman, let go of me!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the grip around her waist tightened.

Feng Ruo’s voice, laced with unclear meaning, sounded beside her ear: “Meeting for the first time, yet Miss Du calls me a demonic woman. That doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”

The hand wrapped around the girl’s waist was very restless, the fingertips continually rubbing against her.

Du Lianxin’s body was naturally sensitive, and she was now consumed by shame and anger. In her agitation, she blurted out, “Whether it’s appropriate or not, Senior, you know best!”

As soon as this was said, rationality instantly returned. She thought, Oh no.

This was tantamount to openly telling Feng Ruo that she knew her true identity.

What should she do next?

Would Feng Ruo kill her to silence her?

This woman had already formed her Golden Core. In terms of strength, she was two major realms higher than Du Lianxin. If she really intended to kill, Du Lianxin probably wouldn’t be able to escape.

Just as she was desperately thinking of a countermeasure, the grip around her waist suddenly loosened.

Shen Anlan had made a move, rescuing Du Lianxin and pulling her behind her. She looked towards Feng Ruo with eyes devoid of emotion.

“Fellow Daoist Feng, your action was a bit excessive.”

The girl was gone from her embrace, the warm, soft jade no longer there, and Feng Ruo felt a twinge of regret.

She was naturally attracted to women, especially beauties like Du Lianxin—thin-skinned, easily flustered by teasing, and quick to blush.

If they were at the Demonic Palace, she would definitely find a way to lure her to her bed.

In addition, Du Lianxin’s words just now had caught her attention.

Calling her a demonic woman so persistently, the tone was very certain, as if she knew her real identity.

Feng Ruo was increasingly curious about this girl she had just met. She didn’t harbor any murderous intent to silence her; she just wanted to lure her to her side even more.

Unfortunately, she currently had a mission and needed to play the role of a competent rogue cultivator.

Well, there will be plenty of time in the future. She didn’t believe that with her methods, she couldn’t win the girl over.

With a turn of thought, Feng Ruo looked at the expressionless Shen Anlan, smiling apologetically.

“I apologize for disrupting Fellow Daoist Shen’s business. Now that Miss Du has arrived, why don’t we set off immediately for Donglin Town?”

Du Lianxin was completely confused. Shen Anlan’s voice message hadn’t mentioned any specifics. She had little memory of Donglin Town from her previous life. What were they going there for?

Just as she was about to ask, she saw Shen Anlan turn around and proactively explain the situation.

“Yesterday, the sect received a secret report from an affiliated force saying that evil spirits were causing trouble in Donglin Town. I was ordered by the sect master to investigate and found a large-scale illusion formation had been set up there.

That formation is somewhat unique. To completely break it, we need to bring in a cultivator with the Golden, Wood, Fire, and Earth spiritual roots and a cultivator with the Wind spiritual root. Among the people I know, only Junior Sister Du meets the first requirement, so I took the liberty of inviting you.

After the mission is complete, I will give Junior Sister the appropriate compensation: one hundred thousand spirit stones. This trip carries a certain risk, so it’s not compulsory. If Junior Sister is unwilling, I will seek out another fellow disciple.”

After speaking, Shen Anlan looked fixedly at the girl before her, awaiting her reply.

In fact, she could have explained this directly in the voice message and asked for Du Lianxin’s opinion.

The reason she invited her to the Mingxian Tower was entirely out of a personal desire.

She wanted to see the girl.

These days, she constantly thought of Du Lianxin subconsciously and couldn’t fully concentrate on her cultivation.

Because of that strong intuition, Shen Anlan had initially decided to avoid anything related to the girl until the mystery was completely solved.

However… she found she couldn’t do it.

Even if she consciously told herself not to think about it, she would still occasionally recall the small details of their brief interaction after she saved the girl.

Sometimes, she even wondered if she had a deep connection with Du Lianxin in a past life.

The Heavenly Dao is impartial. Cultivators practice to defy fate. After death, their souls dissipate into the world, unlike mortals who can re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Shen Anlan thought that if there really was a past life, she and Du Lianxin must have both been mortals. She didn’t know what their identities were in that life or what their ultimate fate was.

Seeing the girl again now, looking at the familiar face that had appeared many times in her memories, her thoughts raced, and she found it hard to remain calm.

Du Lianxin listened to Shen Anlan’s words and hesitated for a moment before nodding and agreeing to the trip to Donglin Town.

Setting aside personal feelings, Shen Anlan’s character was consistently well-regarded. When carrying out missions with fellow disciples, she faced dangers together and would never abandon a fellow disciple to flee alone.

Of course, the most important reason Du Lianxin agreed to the trip was the generous reward.

She was currently short on spirit stones, and the amount of one hundred thousand was sufficiently tempting for her.

One had to know that in her previous life, the highest amount of spirit stones she had ever possessed, even until her death, was no more than two thousand.

As the common currency for cultivators in the Grand Profound Realm, spirit stones could buy any cultivation resource if there were enough of them. For Du Lianxin, who was now solely focused on cultivating and increasing her strength, they were simply too important.

Seeing her agree, a rare smile appeared on Shen Anlan’s cool and aloof face.

Watching this from the side, Feng Ruo seemed to understand something and scoffed inwardly.

So the rumored cool and heartless favored daughter of heaven also has someone she cares about. This point could be well exploited.

She was also interested in this little beauty, Du Lianxin. The outcome in the future would depend on their individual skills.

Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo had both formed their Golden Cores and could fly.

Du Lianxin was only at the Qi Condensation stage. Not only could she not fly, she couldn’t even fly on a sword, only travel on the ground.

To save time, Shen Anlan planned to take Du Lianxin with her to the destination.

However, as she walked towards the girl, she was stopped by Feng Ruo, who reached out a hand.

“Fellow Daoist Shen, the journey is long, and it’s rather inconvenient to hold someone the whole way. I just happened to acquire a flying boat artifact a while ago. Why don’t I take Miss Du along?”

Shen Anlan frowned slightly.

She also had a flying artifact, but she hadn’t thought to use it just now, only considering keeping the person close.

She had always known Feng Ruo’s preferences. Given the other party’s nature, such attentive care for Junior Sister Du, coupled with her actions upon their first meeting, was likely…

Considering the possibilities, Shen Anlan pursed her lips, her voice turning much colder.

“There’s no need for Fellow Daoist Feng’s assistance. I also have a flying artifact and can take Junior Sister Du myself!”

With that, Shen Anlan flicked her sleeve, and a delicately crafted, semi-gourd-shaped artifact immediately appeared.

Seeing this, Feng Ruo gave her a deep look, her smile unchanged.

“Since that is the case, I was being presumptuous. However, this artifact has quite a large space. Fellow Daoist Shen wouldn’t mind if I join you, would you?”

Shen Anlan glanced at her and said flatly, “With Fellow Daoist Feng’s strength, flying the whole way is no difficulty.”

“Oh my, once we reach Donglin Town, we’ll have enemies to deal with. It’s best to conserve spiritual energy where possible. Fellow Daoist Shen is always generous. Surely you wouldn’t be so stingy today?”

Upon saying this, Feng Ruo covered her mouth with a smile. Without waiting for an answer, she flashed over to Du Lianxin’s side, skillfully wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist, lightly tapped her foot on the ground, and smoothly leapt onto the flying artifact…