After Transmigrating into a Book as a Cannon Fodder Character, The System Turned out to be Completely Unreliable! - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Lotus Pavilion (Part 2)

Ji Fuyu held her arm. Without her magic, she had accidentally been struck by one of the symbols earlier. Bl00d was flowing freely.

Jing had been treating her wound the entire time. Not only had they failed to retrieve the crystal stones, now she was also injured.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” Jing, now in human form, asked anxiously.

Ji Fuyu winced in pain and replied, “It’s nothing.” Her arm was numb. She hadn’t expected the symbols to strike harder than spiritual power. Now she couldn’t even lift her arm.

She tried to move it, but the pain shot through her, sweat covering her forehead.

Jing, still concerned, increased his magic output. “I’ll inject more magic into you.”

Ji Fuyu grabbed his hand and said, “Don’t waste your strength. Without the symbol’s owner, it won’t come off.”

Jing pulled back her sleeve to check and found a talisman-like paper embedded in her flesh, fused into her skin.

“This…” Jing looked stunned. “Looks like the Wu Clan’s runes are stronger than we thought.”

Ji Fuyu bit her lip. Even before she could exert strength, bl00d spilled from her mouth. “Ugh—”

“Your Majesty!” Jing caught her as her young face turned pale and she fainted.

Jing held her in his arms, calling, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

But Ji Fuyu could no longer hear anything.

“It seems that without her magic, she really becomes this weak.” Jing bit his own finger and smeared the blackened bl00d onto the talisman stuck on her arm. Slowly, the rune loosened, no longer fused into her flesh as before. Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

His bl00d could only temporarily suppress the talisman. To truly remove it, they would need the bl00d of its owner.

Jing looked at Ye Lingxi’s sword and led both of them into the sword’s tassel.

—

The Next Day

As soon as Ye Lingxi opened her eyes, she saw Ji Fuyu sitting in a tree. Squinting against the bright sunlight, she asked, “Did you stay up all night?”

Ji Fuyu glanced down and replied, “I was keeping watch.”

Ye Lingxi answered flatly, “Oh.” Then she looked more closely and realized something was missing from Ji Fuyu. “Where’s the crow that’s always with you?”

Ji Fuyu hesitated a bit and replied, “He went off to play.”

“Your pet just runs off whenever?” Ye Lingxi’s soul questioned.

Ji Fuyu gritted her teeth. “Pet? When was he ever my pet?!” She was furious.

Ye Lingxi raised her brow. “Since when did you care so much about explaining things to me?”

“I… I’ve always been like this, you just never noticed.” She climbed down from the tree.

Ye Lingxi’s face was full of question marks: “????????????????????”

“What the heck…” Ye Lingxi packed up her bedding into her scent pouch.

Lan Mushu had finished packing too. “Let’s head to the Lotus Pavilion.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ye Lingxi agreed readily.

But Ji Fuyu, who was following them, seemed off. Ye Lingxi watched her closely and noticed that the phoenix earring on her ear, which used to be red, was now multicolored.

“When did that change color? Or is it always like that during the day?” Ye Lingxi stared at her in confusion.

Sensing something, Ji Fuyu looked back and saw Ye Lingxi staring at her. She smiled and waved.

Ye Lingxi felt even more suspicious.

While eating, drinking, even going to the bathroom, Ye Lingxi kept staring.

Finally, Ji Fuyu couldn’t take it anymore. “Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked.

Ye Lingxi stroked her chin. “You…”

Ji Fuyu was sweating under the gaze. “What about me?”

Ye Lingxi sniffed the air near her. “You… you’re not Ji Fuyu.”

“What? Of course I am!” Ji Fuyu gave an awkward laugh.

Ye Lingxi backed her into a corner. This woman was way too sharp.

“You’re the crow that’s always with her, aren’t you?” Ye Lingxi said outright.

“How did you know?!” Jing blurted out too quickly, accidentally confirming his identity.

Ye Lingxi gave herself a little high-five. “Knew it! Ji Fuyu would never treat me like that, and she definitely doesn’t reek of the corrosive smell you carry.”

Is… is that a compliment? Why does it sound so insulting?

“So what if I’m not Ji Fuyu, what are you gonna do about it?” Jing folded his arms.

Ye Lingxi replied calmly, “Nothing.”

Jing: “…”

“No matter why you’re pretending to be her, it’s none of my business.”

Jing: “…”

Such a ruthless woman. And we even helped her. Your Majesty, we’re truly not worth it.

“But by the way… what’s your name?” Ye Lingxi leaned in.

Jing leaned back slightly, chuckling awkwardly. “Me?”

“Who else? Or do you want Lan Mushu to find out?” Ye Lingxi teased him the entire way.

Jing looked a bit embarrassed.

“I can’t keep calling you ‘Crow’, can I?” Ye Lingxi said with a grin.

Jing: “…”

Fair enough.

He cleared his throat. “My name’s Jing. I’m Her Majesty’s guardian.”

Ye Lingxi gave him a once-over. “You? A guardian? A crow?”

“Hey! I just told you my name, and you’re still calling me ‘crow’?!” Jing snapped, so loud that Lan Mushu glanced back at them.

Jing immediately shut up and smiled while tugging Ye Lingxi’s arm.

Ye Lingxi: “…”

Lan Mushu, seeing nothing odd, turned back.

Jing let out a long breath. That woman was nothing like this one—her spiritual power was far stronger.

Ye Lingxi flicked her finger against his forehead. Jing yelped, “What was that for?!” clutching his head.

Ye Lingxi looked at her finger with satisfaction.

“Hehehe.”

Jing had a bad feeling.

“So, Jing, how about I hit you a few more times to get a feel for it?”

Jing felt like something terrible was coming. He clutched himself. “What… what are you going to do?”

“What do you think?”

Ye Lingxi smacked him on the head a few more times. “That sound is pure gold!”

Jing clutched his head. “What did I do to deserve this?” Tears welled up in his eyes.

Ye Lingxi felt incredibly satisfied. He had turned into Ji Fuyu’s appearance and let her beat her up without fighting back—how refreshing.

Let’s see how you like being bullied for once. Even if it’s not the real her, it still feels great.

When she turned back, Jing was hugging his head. “Don’t… don’t come any closer.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you. But why hasn’t Ji Fuyu come out?”

Jing, realizing she wasn’t about to hit him again, answered, “Our Majesty was injured by the pavilion master’s talisman.”

“Injured?” Ye Lingxi looked skeptical. “Why were you there in the first place?”

Jing lowered his voice. “Right now, only you guys can save her.”

“Us?”

“Yes. The talisman on her body can only be removed by its owner.” Jing explained everything that happened the night before.

Ye Lingxi was surprised. “Is she okay now?”

“She’s still unconscious.”

Ye Lingxi nodded. “Alright then.”

“You’re willing to help her?” Jing asked.

“It’s not really up to me. We were going there anyway. If she has no magic, of course she’s more vulnerable,” Ye Lingxi replied with conviction.

Jing was touched. “Thank you for helping our Majesty. As expected of the woman our Majesty chose.”

“What was that?” Ye Lingxi didn’t catch it.

Jing replied, “Nothing, nothing. Let’s hurry and go save her.”

“You can’t enter openly,” Jing warned. “You have to sneak in.”

Just as he said that, Lan Mushu charged ahead to force her way in. Jing and Ye Lingxi both yelled, “No!”

But it was too late—Lan Mushu was blasted back.

Dozens of talisman papers surrounded her.

“Oh no!” Jing shouted. “We have to save her!”

Lan Mushu only gave the talismans a casual glance before smiling. With a single whip, she shattered the formation.

“No way?!” Ye Lingxi and Jing both stood there dumbfounded.

Ye Lingxi held up her finger and asked, “You sure these talismans are that powerful?”

“Of course. Otherwise, how could our Majesty have fallen unconscious?”

“But just now, you saw—she shattered it with one whip.”

“That… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Ask her yourself.”

Ye Lingxi: “…”

“Do you think now’s the time for that?”

Jing thought about it. “Maybe not.”

Lan Mushu declared, “Tell your pavilion master to come out!”

“Whoa, that’s bold,” Ye Lingxi exclaimed, rushing forward. If she’d known Lan Mushu was this powerful, she would’ve clung to her thigh long ago. Who knew her bestie was such a hidden expert?

“How did you break that thing?”

Lan Mushu replied, “I’ve known how to do this since I was little. My senior brother taught me.”

“Senior brother?”

“My dream—Su Yunli.”

Ye Lingxi’s memories surged back. She remembered Su Yunli was also trained in runes, though not of the Wu Clan. He created his own system, but it resembled theirs closely.

He rarely showed up and preferred wandering the world.