After Transmigrating into a Book as a Cannon Fodder Character, The System Turned out to be Completely Unreliable! - Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Trap

That black mist seemed to have a spirit of its own and kept circling around Ye Lingxi. It originally wanted to enter her body, but something was blocking it.

Mo Huaishu had also caught up. The black mist seemed to sense something, and it immediately turned and entered Bai Luotang, who was soaking in the medicinal bath.

Bai Luotang turned her head to look at Mo Huaishu, and at that moment, something entered the space between her brows.

Mo Huaishu immediately activated her spiritual power, the blue light glowing, but it couldn’t compete with the resentment of the black mist. She could only watch helplessly as the mist entered Bai Luotang’s body. She panicked completely.

Ye Lingxi saw this and found it very familiar.

Wait a minute, did the script I just came up with get reset again?

Hey hey hey, Author, can you come up with something new?

Ye Lingxi was on the verge of going mad. Things had just calmed down for a bit, and now it was happening again.

“A’Tang!” Mo Huaishu’s anguished cry drew everyone’s attention.

They could only watch as the black mist entered Bai Luotang’s body. Her body started to convulse and twist in agony.

Helpless, Ye Lingxi walked forward. But without the support of her broken sword, her spiritual power had greatly diminished. She could only summon a faint golden starlight.

Lan Mushu had already summoned her Immortal Vine Whip and stood beside the panicked Mo Huaishu. “Senior Sister.”

Mo Huaishu’s expression was very grim. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly and said through gritted teeth, “Get out of her!” She was speaking to the black mist, but the voice that came out was Yu’er’s.

Ye Lingxi frowned. “Why is it Yu’er’s voice?”

Lan Muxu was confused and had no idea what they were yelling about. “Senior Sister? Do you know the person inside?”

Mo Huaishu impatiently replied, “It’s Yu’er.”

“What?” Both of them were stunned.

Lan Mushu glanced at Ye Lingxi behind her and began channeling spiritual power. “What is going on?”

“Her resentment is too deep,” Mo Huaishu didn’t want to waste time explaining. Bai Luotang was in great pain, and it hurt her even more to see it. “Quick, bind her.”

“But it’ll hurt Senior Sister Bai…” Lan Mushu looked down at the Immortal Vine Whip in her hand. It was highly poisonous—how could she use it on Bai Luotang, who was currently in a powerless mortal body?

Mo Huaishu understood what she meant. “But only your Immortal Vine Whip can suppress Yu’er from controlling her body.”

“This…” Lan Mushu still hesitated.

Watching Bai Luotang, who was struggling with Yu’er for control, stagger out of the bath, water dripping to the floor, then falling to her knees, hands pressed against the ground…

Mo Huaishu didn’t wait. She snatched the whip from Lan Mushu’s hand and lashed it out, wrapping it tightly around Bai Luotang. Yu’er, still trying to resist, was pierced as the whip’s thorns grew sharper and stabbed into her body. Her white clothes were instantly stained red.

Yu’er shouted, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll die if you do this?!”

Mo Huaishu said, “Come out, and we’ll talk.”

Yu’er smirked evilly. “You want me out? Impossible. I’ll let you watch as the one you care about most gets consumed by me, bit by bit.”

“Hahahahahaha…” Followed by the classic evil villain laughter.

Ye Lingxi in the back wasn’t even surprised anymore. But she was slightly puzzled—wasn’t Yu’er the one who liked Bai Luotang the most? Why would she be willing to hurt her?

Mo Huaishu pulled her in and raised her chin. “In that case, just stay inside and don’t come out.”

“What?!” Yu’er was shocked. “What do you mean by that?!”

“Exactly what I said—thanks to you entering our Senior Sister’s body.” Lan Mushu called out at that moment, her voice tinged with a playful smile.

Wait, what are they up to now?

Ye Lingxi was confused.

“You thought you could just break out of prison so easily? And happen to land right here with us and enter Senior Sister Bai’s body?” Lan Mushu smirked.

“What?!”

Ye Lingxi, also left in the dark, gasped. Lan Mushu glanced at her.

Ye Lingxi immediately shut up and slapped her own mouth.

Lan Mushu continued, “Our Senior Sister’s life force has been draining away. To stay alive, she had no choice but to absorb demonic energy. Now that you’ve entered her body, it just so happens to stabilize her.”

“You all!”

Mo Huaishu hoisted Yu’er over her shoulder. “Lan Shimei, I’ll return your Immortal Vine Whip later.”

“Alrighty, no problem.” After saying her farewell, Mo Huaishu left, but the Yu’er on her shoulder kept squirming. Mo Huaishu immediately conjured a piece of white cloth and shoved it into her mouth.

Ye Lingxi walked over to Lan Mushu. “What exactly are you all doing?”

“Setting a trap, of course.”

Ye Lingxi: “”

“A trap? Why?” She had just been ready to fight again—she didn’t expect it to end so quickly and abruptly.

Lan Mushu patted her shoulder. “Oh come on, don’t ask so much. Our priority now is to find Bai Ling Grass and that elder.”

Ye Lingxi: “”

From their conversation earlier, Ye Lingxi had more or less figured it out—Bai Luotang’s body was weakening every day. The only way she could keep living was to have someone else reside in her body in her place. But if this kept going, Mo Huaishu wasn’t willing.

“So what exactly is going on?” Ye Lingxi tested the waters to confirm her guess.

Lan Mushu said, “Fine, I’ll tell you.” She probably realized Ye Lingxi wouldn’t give up until she got an answer.

“Our Senior Sister can only be fully cured with the last medicinal herb: Bai Ling Grass. Without it, she’ll still die.”

Ye Lingxi nodded. Just as she thought.

“We discovered Yu’er carried demonic energy, so we planned for her to possess our Senior Sister temporarily to suppress the deterioration.”

Uh…

“Why didn’t you use it before?”

Lan Mushu explained, “The first time our Senior Sister was possessed, I checked her pulse and noticed improvement. I thought my medicine was working, but it wasn’t. Then I asked if she felt any discomfort, and she said no. So I realized there was only one explanation—the demonic energy was extending her life.”

“But isn’t it strange for a cultivator to absorb demonic energy?”

“We’ve thought about that.”

“And you still went through with it?”

Lan Mushu glanced at Ye Lingxi. “We suspected she might be a demon herself. But she isn’t. It’s just that prolonged exposure to demonic energy has altered her body.”

Ye Lingxi couldn’t help but applaud. That female devil had said the same thing before—that absorbing too much demonic energy would attract demons. Bai Luotang’s body had always been weak, a perfect target for possession.

“Now that I know the truth, are you sure you didn’t hurt Shishu just now?” Ye Lingxi recalled the earlier scene.

Lan Mushu replied, “What if we deliberately set up an array?”

Ye Lingxi: “”

She suddenly understood. So she had become just another pawn in their NPC scheme. As expected of the protagonist team…

“Our top priority now is to go find Bai Ling Grass!” Lan Muxu shoved her forward. “Go get ready.”

Ye Lingxi was pushed so hard she almost stumbled. She really didn’t expect to be toyed around like this.

Ye Lingxi stepped in front of Lan Mushu. “We’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Of course—the sooner, the better.”

Ye Lingxi: “…”

She held her forehead. Though reluctant, she figured—if she ran away during the trip, maybe she could just wait for them to reach the ending. After all, they’re the protagonist team; they won’t die.

“Alright, no problem. I’ll go pack right now.” Ye Lingxi took off running like a windstorm. Lan Mushu was stunned.

“Is she in a rush to be reincarnated?”

Ye Lingxi hadn’t moved out of Baicao Sect yet. Most of her belongings were still in her recovery room. She spread a large cloth over the table and began packing everything. Especially the herbs she got from Lan Mushu—those were a must in case of injury.

“This too, and this, and this. I’ll take everything.” Ye Lingxi nearly emptied the room.

The system cat popped out: “Host, are you moving back to Qingyang Sect or something?”

Ye Lingxi said, “Nope. We’re going adventuring this time.”

Spirit Cat: “Adventuring? Adventuring where?”

“To find Bai Ling Grass,” Ye Lingxi whispered to the system.

Spirit Cat: “But… wasn’t that made up by you?”

“Who cares. As long as I can leave, anything works.” She slung her packed bag onto her back with a swing—only to get flattened to the ground. “Agh agh agh! Why is this so heavy?!” she rubbed her butt.

Spirit Cat: “How could it not be? You basically packed the entire room.”

“Did I?” Ye Lingxi looked around. “Oh… I guess I did.”

“So what? Everything outside costs money!” she justified her hoarding.

Spirit Cat: “……”

Ye Lingxi dusted herself off and turned around—only to bump right into Ji Fuyu, who was standing there. He was much taller than her, and his gloomy gaze locked onto her.