After the Villain Female Supporting Character Resigned [Through the Book] - Chapter 1

The back mountain of Canglan Sect.

Inside a cramped, shadowy cave came faint, muffled groans of pain, breaking the silence now and then. Each sound echoed against the stone, carried along with the steady drip of water that’s eerily sharp in the oppressive stillness.

A long trail of bl00d snaked across the ground, stretching from outside the cave all the way inward. Damp stone walls were speckled with patches of faintly glowing green moss. At the entrance, slender vines intertwined into a dense, natural curtain, sealing off the cave from the outside world.

Chu Xinian pushed aside the curtain of vines and ducked into the cave.

The stench of bl00d hit her nose at once, thick and suffocating. She frowned slightly, the light in her peach-blossom eyes narrowing as she swept the cave with sharp precision. In the corner, she quickly spotted a faint silhouette curled up against the wall.

She raised her left hand, and in her palm flickered a small blue flame, its glow spilling across the cramped space.

Leaning weakly against the smooth stone wall was Yu Shuyan. She stirred at the faint sound of footsteps, forcing her heavy eyelids to lift. Her long lashes were damp with cold sweat, and beads of moisture clung to her porcelain-white skin.

When she finally managed to open her eyes, there was a fleeting spark of life in them. But once she recognized who had come, her head fell back in resignation, and she let out a low, mocking laugh.

From above, Chu Xinian looked down at the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl huddled in the corner. Her face remained unreadable, yet her heart pounded like a drum.

“San’er, do you think if I get too close, she’ll kill me on the spot?”

Chu Xinian was, after all, a miserable transmigrator. In her twenties, she had been living a brilliant life until a plane crash snatched it away. Somehow, thanks to her stunning looks, she had been “chosen” by a lecherous, face-obsessed system and tossed into a cultivation novel as the classic vicious supporting role who schemed against the heroine from beginning to end.

When the system first explained the character’s fate, she had been ready to die again and wash her hands of the whole mess until it mentioned the reward.

Complete the tasks, and she would earn a chance at rebirth, a return to her original world.

Chu Xinian had agreed on the spot: unconditional obedience.

The system gave a wicked chuckle: [Heh, woman!]

[Host—cough, wife—no, host Chu Xinian, role successfully bound. Memory transfer incoming.]

She closed her eyes, and the original body’s memories surged into her mind like a flood.

This was a novel titled My Cultivation Empire: The Arrogant Male Lead Falls for Me, a female-protagonist story where she played the notorious villainess.

The heroine she targeted at every turn was the sect’s jewel: cold, aloof, adored by all. Like a lotus blooming on a snowy peak, untouchable yet irresistible.

Chu Xinian herself had been orphaned young, rescued by the sect master from a band of mountain bandits. He had given her a name and accepted as his second disciple, yet her nature never changed. Cunning and cruel, skilled in poison and guile, she hid her vicious deeds well enough that even the sect master couldn’t rein her in.

She was beautiful, arrogant, and frighteningly talented in cultivation. Many male disciples tried to win her favor. But the moment the sect master brought Yu Shuyan into the fold, all of Chu Xinian’s privileges and glory seemed to vanish.

She decided the heroine had stolen everything from her. Yu Shuyan became a thorn in her eye, an enemy she was desperate to erase.

Her motto: kill the heroine, kill the heroine, kill the heroine.

But standing against the protagonist only ever led to one end—death.

[Your mission, Host, is…]

Chu Xinian tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, cutting it off with a cold smile. “Let me guess. Play my role, keep scheming against the heroine, until I die?”

The system scoffed. [Please. I’m not that shallow. I won’t repeat the same stale tricks other systems use. Your mission is to protect the heroine. You can’t say no to her, can’t insult her, can’t sneer at her. If she’s hurt, you must be the first to arrive…]

“Wait, wait—hold on,” Chu Xinian cut it off. “I’m doing all the work alone? What about the male lead? Where’d he go?”

The system dodged: [Nice weather today, isn’t it? Hahaha. Anyway, Host, do your best and survive!]

[Information transfer complete. System Sanlang, at your service. Wishing you a pleasant mission.]

Over the past days, she had grown used to “Sanlang.” Sometimes she’d even drop into her sea of consciousness to play cards with him and give progress reports.

“What if I just die here and now?”

[Unlikely. The heroine’s too weak to fight back right now.] The system hedged. [Also… you should call me Sanlang.]

“Fine. San’er it is.”

********

Taking a deep breath, Chu Xinian inched closer to Yu Shuyan and crouched down, reaching out a hand toward her.

“Don’t touch me!”

Yu Shuyan struggled, her brows furrowing in pain. She bit down hard on her pale lip, looking as fragile as glass.

“Junior Sister,” Chu Xinian softened her tone, strangely gentle. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to save you.”

“Save me?” Yu Shuyan gave a bitter laugh, her body instinctively curling tighter like a wary cat facing danger. “Aren’t you here to finish me off, Senior Sister?”

She knew all too well the temperament of her second senior sister. Ever since joining the sect, Chu Xinian had tripped her up again and again.

Yu Shuyan wasn’t the type to compete or fight, but with Chu Xinian’s constant hostility, she had no choice but to stay on guard.

Even today’s attack by a beast locked in the sect’s forbidden grounds… had been thanks to her second senior sister’s “generosity.”

Chu Xinian nudged the system. “San’er, what do I do? She won’t let me near her.”

The system, crunching on melon seeds, answered: [Easy. The original you was a master of poison. Just find something to knock her out.]

“And when she wakes up, she’ll kill me for sure!”

Chu Xinian cursed under her breath. “What use are you!”

The system vanished with a sheepish: [Running away now…]

Well, fine. Worth a try.

She fished around in her storage pouch and pulled out a small packet of powder. Across the front, in neat modern handwriting, were the words: Sleeping pills.

Under Yu Shuyan’s cold, wary stare, Chu Xinian screwed her eyes shut and tossed the powder toward her.

Chu Xinian withdrew the flame flickering in her palm and, with great effort, gathered Yu Shuyan into her arms, taking care not to brush against her wounds. Even with all that caution, the scarlet of Chu Xinian’s robes still became stained with bl00d.

Keeping to a deserted path under the thick veil of night, she slipped quietly back to her own quarters, carrying Yu Shuyan close.

She laid the girl gently on her bed, sliding a soft quilt beneath her to cushion any injury. While Yu Shuyan remained unconscious, Chu Xinian stripped off the shredded outer garment. Once pure white, it was now mottled with bl00d and grime.

The worst wounds lay across Yu Shuyan’s waist and abdomen injuries inflicted by the very spirit beast Chu Xinian’s original self had secretly released. They were savage gashes, deep enough to reach bone. Though she had already sealed them with spiritual energy, the sight still made her stomach tighten.

Beneath the ruined robe, only a thin inner shirt clung to Yu Shuyan’s pale body. After cleaning the wounds, Chu Xinian pulled a small white-jade bottle from her qiankun pouch and sprinkled a pale golden powder over the torn flesh.

The medicine had been crafted personally by her sect master, a balm said to revive even bones from the dead. Chu Xinian had never believed her master would entrust her with such a treasure and had tossed it carelessly in with her poisons. Tonight, its power was finally on full display.

Before her eyes, the gashes along Yu Shuyan’s waist began to knit themselves together. Yet the process was far from painless. Yu Shuyan stirred, murmuring deliriously.

“Shijie…”

At that single word, “senior sister,” Chu Xinian jolted, whispering under her breath, “I’m done for… When she wakes up, she’s going to kill me.”

The beauty on the bed writhed unconsciously, the pain and itch of healing making her shift and twist. Alarmed, Chu Xinian climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her to keep her still.

Beads of sweat rolled from Yu Shuyan’s smooth forehead, down along her temple to her delicate collarbone, disappearing into the soft rise of her chest.

Looking at that flawless profile, Chu Xinian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The heroine is so beautiful… I barely have time to admire her, and yet the original was cruel enough to harm her like this.

Half an hour later, Yu Shuyan finally stilled, drifting into a deep sleep in Chu Xinian’s arms.

A strange, protective warmth welled up in Chu Xinian’s heart. She checked the wounds carefully. It was already healed, with no trace of scars.

With her eyes squeezed shut, she carefully peeled off Yu Shuyan’s bl00d-soaked inner shirt, muttering, “Amitabha, I didn’t mean to look…”

The system’s voice piped up, teasing: [Host, you’re way too timid.]

“Shut up! Close your eyes too! No peeking!” Chu Xinian hissed back.

The ruined inner shirt was beyond saving. She rifled through her own wardrobe for a fresh one, sniffing it to make sure it was new. Judging from its look, it had never been worn.

“Little junior sister probably isn’t a neat freak…” she thought to herself.

[Why don’t you guess?] the system said, eyes ostentatiously shut but still chattering away. [Get it right and you win a prize.]

“…If you could just shut up, that’d be prize enough,” Chu Xinian muttered.

[…Tch.]

When everything was done, she found herself staring at the girl’s sleeping face, dazed. No wonder she’s the protagonist. Even unconscious and wounded, she’s still tens of thousands of times more radiant than any cannon fodder.

[Host, you’re such a face-con.] the system crowed.

“Aren’t you?” Chu Xinian shot back.

Another half hour passed before the system gently reminded its host: [Host, shouldn’t we be sending her back?]

Chu Xinian nodded but then a mischievous impulse struck. She reached out to poke the heroine’s soft cheek, then took a deep breath, pressing her own face close.

“Ahh… let me just soak up some of that heroine aura.”

[Host, I’m pretty sure that’s not the aura you’re after…] the system sighed.

You’re just drooling over a beauty!