Competing with the Male Lead for the Female Lead (Transmigration) - Chapter 14

The great fire in the Lin family burned all night, reddening a patch of the night sky. As dawn approached, a drizzle began to fall. Thick smoke billowed in the rain, and while the fire showed signs of weakening, it was only a slight decrease. The blaze continued to burn in the rain, as if it wouldn’t stop until the entire Lin family was reduced to ashes.

A thick, strange odor, mixed with various smells, wafted from the Lin residence.

On the summit of the back mountain of the Wen family, a solitary figure stood in the drizzle, gazing in the direction of the fire in the city.

The Lin family had suffered such a calamity. Wen Wuning wondered if her own family was involved. She wanted to go down the mountain to see, but she remembered that she was still under punishment.

“What are you doing here again?” Wen Wuning lowered her eyes to look at the ginseng doll sitting at her feet.

A layer of water mist covered Wen Wuning’s hair, and the raindrops on her eyelashes trembled before falling onto her eyelids and trickling down her fair face.

The ginseng doll had come last night and had stayed until now, not leaving.

“Did Junior Sister send you? What did she ask you to do…”

Wasn’t she unwilling to get involved with her?

Wen Wuning murmured to herself, looking down the mountain, not expecting the ginseng doll to answer. Suddenly, she seemed to sense something. Her eyelashes fluttered, her eyes turned, and she stared intently at a certain spot in the forest.

Because of the rain, thick mountain mist obscured her vision, and she couldn’t see anything. Yet, Wen Wuning continued to follow something moving.

About a quarter of an hour later, a slightly heavy exhale clearly reached her ears. A figure suddenly emerged from the bottom of the cliff and landed steadily on the summit.

Lan Feier steadied herself and stood up, looking up.

Their eyes met. Wen Wuning’s heart skipped a beat. Her appearance was unexpected yet not entirely surprising.

The two stared at each other silently for more than ten seconds.

It was Wen Wuning who first asked the pointless question, “Why did you come?”

The back mountain concealed the Wen family’s spiritual vein, a forbidden area for the Wen family. Wen family disciples were not allowed to approach it. Although the back mountain was vast, the spiritual vein was hidden in a specific location. To avoid accidentally entering the forbidden area and causing unnecessary trouble, they mostly stayed at the edge of the back mountain and rarely ventured so deep.

Therefore, Junior Sister hadn’t come to see her by chance but had come specifically.

Lan Feier at this moment looked as if she had just emerged from water, her clothes and hair dripping wet, appearing even more disheveled than Wen Wuning.

Her voice was lower and hoarser than usual. “Something happened.”

Lan Feier’s gaze was deep as she looked at the clean and bright Wen Wuning, like a clear breeze and the bright moon. She couldn’t help but wonder, if Wen Wuning had been there last night, would she have agreed to use the outside disciples as bait? Would she have agreed to completely annihilate the Lin family?

Wen Wuning noticed Lan Feier’s unusual behavior, but her attention was quickly drawn to what Lan Feier had said.

Lan Feier turned to look down the mountain, the wind at the summit making her shiver.

“The Lin family was exterminated, and we also lost some fellow disciples,”

Wen Wuning’s expression changed. She flew down and hurriedly grabbed Lan Feier, asking urgently, “My elder brother and father?! Where are they?!”

Lan Feier looked up at the panicked expression on her face and couldn’t help but smile. Her smile was inexplicable, causing Wen Wuning to pause slightly.

“They’re fine, both of them are doing well.”

Sensing that something was wrong with Lan Feier, Wen Wuning couldn’t help but ask, “What about you?”

Lan Feier gave her a sidelong glance that was both smiling and not smiling. How did it feel to be used as cannon fodder by her father and brother? Lan Feier answered irrelevantly, suddenly saying, “Senior Brother Sheng is back.”

Wen Wuning’s gaze deepened. After a moment of thought, she pulled Lan Feier along and said, “Let’s go back first.”

The warmth from Wen Wuning’s hand reached Lan Feier’s cold skin, causing her to shiver slightly. Her mind cleared a bit. She looked up at this woman who, despite being at the center of the incident, had been well-protected and kept outside of it. She suddenly urged, “Senior Sister, please don’t be impulsive when you face Senior Brother Sheng later. Last night, he saved the entire Wen family and made a great contribution. What he did before, at least in the eyes of outsiders, seems insignificant compared to this. So, Senior Sister, please don’t be impulsive, lest you harm the feelings between father, daughter, and siblings. Be careful and wary of this person in the future. Remember, be careful and wary, don’t be impulsive. You’ll know the specifics after we go down the mountain…”

Lan Feier spoke a jumbled mess, not even knowing what she was saying or why she was saying it. She only remembered that before she finished speaking, the world spun before her eyes, and she fell into a warm and soft embrace.

Cultivators’ bodies were much stronger than ordinary people, and illnesses like colds and flu were almost unheard of for them.

But Lan Feier still very shamefully developed a fever.

Wen Wuning held the person who was burning hot all over, her heart shaken. This junior sister, who usually seemed unwilling to get involved with her, had twice sent the ginseng doll to visit her after she was punished. This time, she had even come in person to inform her of the situation down the mountain, and before losing consciousness, she hadn’t forgotten to urge her not to be impulsive towards Sheng Baihe.

So, she was someone who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Wen Wuning’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, accompanied by falling raindrops. A faint smile appeared in her cold eyebrows.

When Lan Feier woke up, she was already lying in her soft and warm quilt. The rain outside was still pattering down, and there was a faint earthy smell in the air. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Wen Wuning sitting in the room.

“Since you’re awake, drink the medicine.” Wen Wuning approached, holding a bowl of steaming dark broth.

Like an old witch, Lan Feier pouted, pulled the quilt up to cover half of her face, and asked, “No pills? Must I drink bitter soup?”

Wen Wuning sat down by her bed and said calmly, “Soup medicine works faster. Drinking it will make you sweat and you’ll get better.”

“No.” Lan Feier gripped the quilt and shook her head.

“Afraid of bitterness?” Wen Wuning reached out a hand and placed it on her forehead, then pulled down her quilt a bit, saying slowly, “This medicine is sweet.”

Wen Wuning’s tone was clearly calm, but her words and actions inexplicably made one feel affection and indulgence.

“Really?” In Lan Feier’s impression, Wen Wuning wouldn’t lie, especially not such a lie to coax her into drinking medicine. It was too beneath her dignity.

So Lan Feier believed her. She sat up, took the steaming dark broth, thinking that perhaps medicine in this world was truly sweet. She had already transmigrated into a book; what setting couldn’t she accept?

“Drink it all in one go,” Wen Wuning said.

Lan Feier nodded, picked up the bowl, and drained it in one gulp.

The moment her taste buds suffered a fatal attack, Lan Feier’s worldview collapsed!!!

Senior Sister could actually lie! Medicine was never not bitter! Even in another world, it was still the same!

At this moment, someone came in from the door, putting away an umbrella. It was Wen Ran.

Lan Feier had to swallow the bitter taste in her mouth. She lowered her eyes obediently, holding the bowl, and called out softly, “Senior Brother Wen.”

Wen Ran glanced at her and asked Wen Wuning, “How is she?”

“Just frightened.”

What?!!

Lan Feier had a look of utter confusion. Wasn’t she suffering from a cold and fever? Was there some misunderstanding? She looked up at Wen Wuning.

Wen Wuning had already taken the medicine bowl from her hand, got up to put it back, and after placing it down, instructed her to rest well before leaving with Wen Ran.

Lan Feier’s expression was complicated. No wonder she had found Wen Wuning’s attitude strange just now. It turned out that strangeness was the loving care of ‘I think you were frightened.’

Wen Wuning’s descent from the mountain this time was for a reason. Wen’s father didn’t blame her. When she saw Sheng Baihe, she didn’t immediately become agitated. She patiently listened to Wen Ran explain the beginning and end of the matter. After hearing it, she didn’t have a great change of heart towards Sheng Baihe or feel grateful. Instead, just as Lan Feier had said, she ignored him and was careful and wary of him.

Sheng Baihe could sense that although Wen Wuning no longer threatened to kill him, she was still full of hostility and vigilance towards him. However, he didn’t take it to heart. As long as Wen’s father and Wen Ran didn’t interfere, with only Wen Wuning, he wasn’t worried. He even found it a bit of fun.

Wen Ran’s visit to Wen Wuning this time wasn’t for anything special. He just wanted to see the person his younger sister was concerned about. Although he trusted Wen Wuning’s ability to judge people, he was still worried about any possibility. Such was the heart of a concerned elder brother.

After seeing her, he realized she was just an inconspicuous junior sister.

She hadn’t been affected by the Soul-Devouring Flower and died in the Lin and Zhao families’ night raid. His younger sister had already explained that it was due to the white feather flower she had casually given her.

Although Wuning had spoken lightly, the fact that she had casually given away a white feather flower made him uneasy until he had seen this person himself.

“Elder Brother,”

Hearing Wen Wuning’s call, he realized he had been distracted. Wen Ran responded without changing his expression.

Wen Wuning looked at him strangely and asked, “Are we going to retrieve the Lin family’s treasures?”

Wen Ran, who was just worried about not finding a reason, nodded. “I heard that the Lin family hoarded many rare and exotic treasures. I want you to choose first.”

Wen Wuning nodded. “Thank you, Elder Brother.”

What she was thinking was that Lan Feier didn’t seem to have any suitable weapons. Perhaps she could find one for her.

The two siblings chatted about some family matters. When they were almost there, they could vaguely see Sheng Baihe and Wen’s father’s figures through the rain. Wen Ran suddenly whispered, “Don’t force yourself because of this incident.”

Seeing the surprised look on his younger sister’s face, Wen Ran’s protective heart softened. He knew Sheng Baihe was a wolf. Although he seemed deeply in love with his younger sister, he was also entangled with that person from the Lin family. His sister deserved better.

The emotions in Wen Wuning’s heart were hard to describe. “Elder Brother.”

All along, in dealing with Sheng Baihe, no one had been on the same side as her except Lan Feier. Even her father and elder brother were the same. The reason she could tolerate being in the same room as Sheng Baihe now was because she knew Sheng Baihe was very scheming and feared he would harm her father and elder brother.

“Thank you, Elder Brother.”

The painting from the Lin family was very exquisite. Wen Wuning couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise when she saw it.

However, caution was paramount. At the beginning, only Wen Ran took five disciples inside.

Wen’s father, Wen Wuning, and Sheng Baihe, waiting outside, stared intently at the painting. Six hair-thin figures had appeared outside the magnificent palace in the painting, running towards the palace.

A faint, almost imperceptible fragrance drifted over. Sheng Baihe shifted his gaze and looked at Wen Wuning beside him, who was completely focused. He couldn’t help but recall that night. Although Lin Niaoniao had used a trick to deceive him, and that person wasn’t her, if one day Wen Wuning could truly show him such gentle and tender affection, he was afraid he would completely surrender…

Feeling his gaze, Wen Wuning suddenly turned her head sharply. She angrily drew her sword. Sheng Baihe, who had been stabbed by her before, instinctively dodged backward, thinking Wen Wuning was just displeased by his stare. He was about to explain when he heard her roar, “You’re lying to us!”

Sheng Baihe immediately felt something was wrong and turned his head to look at the painting.

The white birds circling above the palace in the painting, which had originally seemed like mere decorations, were now fiercely rushing towards the six hair-thin figures. The birds didn’t look large on their own, but compared to the six people in the painting, they were enormous behemoths. One of the disciples, caught off guard, was directly snapped in half by a bird’s beak.

Lin Niaoniao hadn’t mentioned that the birds in the painting would attack people!

“Elder Brother!”

Just like the entrance incantation, if something went wrong, they should be able to get out by chanting the spell. Elder Brother wasn’t a stubborn person. If he wasn’t coming out at this point, it could only mean the incantation was useless.

Thinking that Sheng Baihe had held back something, Wen Wuning glared at Sheng Baihe hatefully. “Why aren’t they coming out?! You lied to us!”

Wen’s father remained calm. He held down Wen Wuning and glanced at his trapped beloved son, saying, “Listen to his explanation.”