After Transmigrating into a Book as a Cannon Fodder Character, The System Turned out to be Completely Unreliable! - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Clinging to the Wrong Leg?

They had been walking for who knows how long when Ji Fuyu suddenly twitched her ears and raised a hand to stop Ye Lingxi. Ye Lingxi looked at her in confusion. “What is it?”

“Shh, don’t talk. Something’s moving,” Ji Fuyu said sharply.

Ye Lingxi perked up her ears too, trying to listen. But aside from the rustling of wind through the grass, there was nothing.

“What sound?” she whispered—just as Ji Fuyu shot her a glare, instantly silencing her.

“There!” Ji Fuyu suddenly dashed forward.

Ye Lingxi wanted to call out to her, but remembering that look, she swallowed her words and followed her into the tall grass.

She thought it was just an ordinary patch of grass, but after only a few steps—there was a cliff.

Huh?

“Ahhhhh—!” Ye Lingxi was caught completely off guard and panicked. It felt just like the time she was thrown into the snake pit.

Thrown in the moment she entered the scene.

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Help! System! I don’t want to die!”

System: “Sorry, Host. You’ve already used your one-time ‘Help! I don’t want to die!’ emergency rescue.”

“What do you mean?”

System: “It means you only get one chance.”

Ye Lingxi wanted to dive into the system and strangle it. “I’m going to kill you, you stupid data!”

System: “…”

She instinctively shielded her face from branches as she fell—no actual face, but still worth protecting. Just before she hit the ground, someone grabbed her by the collar and lifted her into the air.

Huh?

Ye Lingxi felt like she was floating in place. When she opened her eyes, she realized she really was flying.

“What a pain,” a voice said above.

She looked up—it was Ji Fuyu.

Ji Fuyu brought her safely to the ground. Before she could even steady herself, Ye Lingxi threw her arms around her.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Master!” she gushed.

The child-sized body nearly couldn’t handle the force of her hug. Ji Fuyu coughed lightly. “Enough. Stand properly.”

Ye Lingxi caught a whiff of bl00d on her and was about to ask when Ji Fuyu pushed her away. “Didn’t you hear that?”

Ye Lingxi blinked, confused. Ji Fuyu handed her a small glowing blue orb.

“What’s this?” Ye Lingxi asked.

Ji Fuyu tossed it into her arms. “A magic core.”

Ye Lingxi raised an eyebrow. “Magic core?”

“No way! You already killed one?” she gasped, stunned.

Ji Fuyu nodded calmly. “You think I was going to wait for you to do it?”

Speechless.

She looked down at the magic core. No wonder Ji Fuyu smelled like bl00d. The energy radiating from the orb was intense.

This cultivation novel was a chaotic mess, cobbled together by the author from every trope imaginable. Anything remotely related to xianxia or ancient fantasy got thrown in.

Sometimes even she couldn’t figure out what the author’s names for things were supposed to mean.

Seeing her dazed, Ji Fuyu said, “It’s just a level-ten magic core. Nothing impressive.”

That jogged Ye Lingxi’s memory—her spiritual power had been tested on a level-ten spirit stone. So she must’ve been sent to a test area that matched that level.

But she didn’t have any spiritual power! The test results were from Ji Fuyu’s power. She glanced at the child-sized demon girl beside her—this was her power even after it had been weakened.

If she ever regained her full strength, wouldn’t she end up fighting the female lead? Wouldn’t that make her the villain?

Wait… wasn’t she already the villain? The demon queen sealed away by the Moonlight God? The author didn’t go into much detail, but Ji Fuyu coming out to retrieve her sword clearly meant she wanted to conquer the world.

Which meant… Ye Lingxi had clung to the leg of a villain.

She was doomed.

How could the original female leads ever get their happy ending now?

No—she couldn’t let Ji Fuyu get her sword back. She had to stop her. Then she’d switch to clinging to Bai Luotang instead.

But for now… she still needed her.

“Thank you, Master! You’re absolutely amazing!” Ye Lingxi resumed her best praise voice.

Ji Fuyu looked pleased. “Of course I am.”

Ye Lingxi: “…”

A few compliments and she’s a whole new person.

“So, Master, shall we keep going?” Ye Lingxi asked.

“Of course,” Ji Fuyu replied.

And so, Ji Fuyu led Ye Lingxi back into battle, slaying magical beasts like they were clearing levels in a video game.

Trailing behind, Ye Lingxi kept up the flattery: “Master! You’re Amazing! So awesome!”

Ji Fuyu, basking in the praise, completely forgot her spiritual power was limited.

Eventually, she ran out of energy, collapsed to the ground, and wiped her face. “Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

Ye Lingxi looked at the ten magic cores in her hand and figured this was a good stopping point. Hunting too many would seem suspicious—and might draw the female lead’s attention.

She was already wary of Ye Lingxi, so it was better to stay low-key.

“Master, I think this is enough. We don’t need to keep going,” Ye Lingxi said, noticing how exhausted Ji Fuyu looked—and secretly feeling a bit smug.

Serves you right for treating me like a tool. Now you get to feel what it’s like to be bossed around like a machine.

“Are you okay, Master?” Ye Lingxi ran over, pretending to be concerned. She grabbed Ji Fuyu’s hand and sniffled, “It’s all my fault. I’m so useless—I made you do all the work. Look how tired you are.”

Hope you drop dead, you turtle spawn.

Ji Fuyu blinked, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Is she… worried about me?

She glanced down at their joined hands, then quickly pulled hers back. “As long as you know you’re useless.” She struggled to her feet.

Ye Lingxi fumed inside. Why is she always such a smug jerk?

Would it kill her not to insult me?

Forget it—she’s just a kid right now. No point stooping to her level. Besides, she’s helped me a lot.

Ji Fuyu sneaked a glance at her. Seeing Ye Lingxi didn’t look too happy, she added, “When I have time, I’ll teach you how to increase your spiritual power.”

Ye Lingxi perked up. “Spiritual power? You mean you’ll teach me?”

Seeing her interest, Ji Fuyu continued, “Once you’ve got that down, I can teach you some spells too.”

What the heck?! Did the sun just rise in the west?

System: Maybe she’s just tired of how useless you are.

Ye Lingxi: “…”

Fair point. Her lack of spiritual power was probably dragging Ji Fuyu down too.

And let’s be honest—someone without spiritual power wouldn’t last long. If someone’s offering to teach her, why not take advantage?

Ye Lingxi smiled brightly. “Thank you, Master! Having someone like you is such a blessing!” A few sweet words really could go a long way.

Ji Fuyu froze. Even though Ye Lingxi didn’t have a visible face, somehow she could feel her smiling.

“Is that so? Then once you’ve learned, you’d better serve me well,” Ji Fuyu said, suddenly serious.

Ye Lingxi: “…”

I knew it.

Still smiling, she replied, “Of course, Master. I’ll serve you with all I’ve got.”

And she meant it—at least for now. Once she learned enough, maybe she could help the female leads fight back against Ji Fuyu… assuming Ji Fuyu really did want to destroy the world.

But what if she could guide her onto the right path? Would that change the ending?

System: Maybe.

“Then I’ll try that first—change her mindset, steer her toward the right path. If it doesn’t work, I can always switch to the female leads’ side.” The more Ye Lingxi thought about it, the more she liked the plan.

System: …

System: Host, don’t get too optimistic.

Ye Lingxi replied, “Can’t I even dream a little? What, do you live by the sea or something? Why are you so nosy?”

System: …

System: Fine, carry on. I won’t interrupt.

Just then, Ji Fuyu said, “I need to rest.” Her body was clearly overexerted.

Ye Lingxi held her worn-out sword as Ji Fuyu disappeared back into the phoenix feather.

“Rest well, then.”

It was obvious Ji Fuyu was exhausted. She’d helped a lot, and anything more would feel ungrateful.

Now, all Ye Lingxi had to do was wait for time to run out—and she’d pass the exam.