Flirting with the Villain's Mother - Chapter 2

The tormenting sobs that had been plaguing Shen Su finally ceased, and Cui Tao, who had gone to hire a sedan chair, returned.

Shen Su’s hand, which had been resting on the horse, dropped limply to her side. Noticing her pale complexion, Cui Tao quickly helped her into the sedan chair. Shen Su hadn’t exactly lied to Cui Tao; after the ordeal she had just endured, she truly felt drained.

Shen Su leaned weakly against the sedan chair’s cushions, her slender, pale fingers curling slightly as she reached for the curtain. She gently lifted a corner, allowing the snow-white landscape to flood her vision.

It was an impossibly pure white.

Despite its frail appearance—its hooves were even smaller than those of ordinary horses—the creature possessed an extraordinary coat of fur: fine, soft, and impeccably white. Its neck arched slightly, radiating an innate, almost bone-deep arrogance.

Shen Su was certain the horse’s ears possessed a special ability, explaining why she had heard its cries. Yet she saw no tears in the animal’s dark, luminous eyes.

Gazing absently at the horse’s delicate, snow-white fur, Shen Su watched as its tail slowly curled toward her. The snowy mane brushed against the back of her hand, tearing a tiny cut in her delicate skin. A bead of bl00d welled up, staining a few strands of white fur crimson, like plum blossoms blooming against a snowy backdrop, carrying a faint chill.

Cold.

Shen Su felt no pain, but the cold gradually spread through her body. A deep, resonant voice echoed in her ears: “From this day forward, you are no longer a Goddess, but a lowly beast. You should experience the hardships of a weak life.”

Who… who’s speaking?!

Before Shen Su could pinpoint the source of the voice, Cui Tao’s startled cry rang out: “Damn beast! How dare you injure Miss!”

Cui Tao looked furious, as if she wanted to tear the horse apart and devour it. She reached for the horse’s tail, her eyes suddenly turning bloodshot with rage, startling Shen Su. Having just arrived in this world, she hadn’t fully adjusted to this reality, so different from her previous life. While seeing Cultivators might have elicited a sense of wonder at the world’s magic, encountering Demonic Creatures inevitably stirred fear of the unknown.

Shen Su differed from the original owner of this body. The original owner had spent most of her energy longing for her birth parents, while Shen Su devoted all her attention to exploring this new world. Though the original owner had lived with Cui Tao for decades without noticing anything amiss, Shen Su had heard and seen things that couldn’t be ignored. She couldn’t pretend to be blind and deaf, yet she couldn’t expose everything now and venture into the unknown.

Perhaps she should be wiser.

Whatever Cui Tao’s motives, going along with her would avoid provoking her. Since Cui Tao was currently angry at the horse, she might as well let her vent her anger. After all, Cui Tao wouldn’t dare kill a horse that had cost so much.

But when Shen Su met the horse’s suddenly dimmed, lifeless eyes, she gently raised the back of her hand to block Cui Tao’s strike. “Cui Tao, I’m fine.”

Cui Tao glared resentfully at the horse, then pointed to the back of Shen Su’s hand. “Miss, you’re bleeding!”

Tiny pinpricks dotted Shen Su’s delicate skin where the horse’s coarse hairs had pierced it, staining the pale flesh with small patches of red. She was indeed injured, but not as seriously as Cui Tao seemed to think.

Shen Su raised her other hand and withdrew an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve. Calmly wiping away the remaining bloodstains, she waited until her hand was once again pale and clean before repeating, “I’m fine.”

Seeing Shen Su’s unwavering resolve, Cui Tao finally abandoned her plan to punish the horse.

Shen Su let out a sigh of relief, her back already drenched in sweat.

She was just an ordinary person, and confronting a demonic creature of unknown origin was hardly a wise move.

Shen Su wasn’t an impulsive person, but this white horse had disrupted her plans. It was truly strange, and after much deliberation, she couldn’t fathom the reason, ultimately attributing it to fate.

However, she had never believed in fate.

Shen Su lowered the curtain. “Let’s go back.”

Cui Tao stopped harassing the horse, but couldn’t resist a parting shot. “Our Miss spent a fortune to buy you! How could you hurt her like that?”

It doesn’t seem so bad after all, Shen Su thought. This demon doesn’t appear malicious. But what exactly is she plotting?

If Cui Tao were an ordinary person, loyal to her, Shen Su wouldn’t mind traveling with her. But knowing Cui Tao was the Demon Queen, she lost her nerve.

She possessed no extraordinary abilities. Whether it was the male and female leads, Jiang Xu, or even Cui Tao by her side, they all posed too great a danger to her.

It seemed she not only needed to avoid those connected to the main plot but also find a way to escape Cui Tao’s watchful gaze.

Bang! As Shen Su pondered her escape, a deafening crash erupted outside the sedan chair, like a heavy object falling to the ground. With the sound came a faint red glow that pierced through the curtain, bathing her snow-white skin in layers of shimmering light.

Shen Su stared in a daze as the red light transformed into tiny, sharp-mouthed larvae. In an instant, the air inside the sedan chair became thick and humid, the silk brocade clinging tightly to her skin, suffocating her with a stifling heat.

The larvae were minuscule, pitch-black, and nearly impossible to distinguish individually. Only their sharp, pointed mouths, each tipped with a long, crimson spine, stood out.

More and more larvae swarmed before Shen Su, their numbers multiplying until her vision was completely filled with the writhing black masses. The buzzing of their wings filled her ears.

Fear surged through her, and she clenched her fists tightly.

She tried to scream, but her throat felt blocked, unable to produce a sound.

Suddenly, the black insects lunged toward her, targeting the back of her injured hand. This sudden attack sent a wave of panic through Shen Su. She took a deep breath and, as the larvae swarmed, pressed her handkerchief firmly against the wound, as if this could somehow repel them.

Acting purely on instinct, Shen Su didn’t expect the handkerchief to work. But as soon as it covered the wound, the larvae before her dissolved into a bloody mist and vanished.

It was far too easy.

If not for the lingering damp chill on her skin, Shen Su would have thought the entire ordeal was a hallucination.

Could Cui Tao have rescued her?

Shen Su recalled the ding sound she had heard when she was yanked out of the illusion in the courtyard—likely Cui Tao’s doing. But this time, she hadn’t heard any sound.

The crimson light that had pierced the sedan curtain had now dissipated.

She exhaled softly, lowered her gaze, and noticed the embroidered handkerchief. A thin layer of frost seemed to settle between her brows. Shen Su pressed her lips together and tied the handkerchief around her hand, completely concealing the wound.

Only after her heart had calmed somewhat did Shen Su feel the pain in her palm.

She opened her hand and saw the red marks she had clawed into her skin in terror. Though shallow, they stood out starkly against her snow-white palm.

The red marks reflected in her ink-black pupils only deepened Shen Su’s sense of misfortune. This novel truly lived up to its reputation as a “cannon fodder abuse” story. Even as a mere background character, she was suffering such ill luck.

Before Shen Su could shake off her lingering fear of the larvae, Cui Tao’s panicked voice rang out from outside the sedan: “Miss! Miss!”

Shen Su lifted the curtain again. This time, she didn’t see the snow-white fur, but Cui Tao standing beside the sedan chair, pointing in shock at the front. Shen Su followed Cui Tao’s gaze and first saw a foot as white as snow, its ankle slender and delicate, each toe like a soft, doughy point, small and exquisite. Yet these beautiful feet were marred by a bloody, mangled sole.

She was barefoot, her soles looking as if they had been trampled over rough, uneven ground countless times. Sharp, jagged stones had gradually worn through the skin and flesh, the rotting flesh and sticky bl00d clinging together in a wretched mess.

Startled, Shen Su lowered the curtain, then lifted the sedan chair’s curtain and stepped out of the already-stopped sedan chair.

Lying horizontally before her sedan chair was a beauty in a white silk skirt, unconscious.

The beauty’s skin resembled the finest jade-white porcelain, translucent and luminous. Her willow-leaf eyebrows arched delicately above closed eyes, and her tender lips were tightly pressed together. Even with her eyes shut, it was easy to imagine the radiant light that would spill forth when they opened. Her face bore faint traces of time and hardship, not aged, but deeply weary, as if worn out by ceaseless travel.

She looked frail and thin, her lips pale and bloodless, as if they might crumble with the slightest touch.

The woman’s wrists, slender and delicate, hung limply at her sides, appearing incapable of lifting even a chicken. Yet her long, slender fingers, pale and graceful, were pleasing to the eye. What should have been a flawless piece of white jade, however, was marred by the same ruinous state as her feet. Bl00d and mangled flesh obscured her palms, the mere sight of which evoked a sharp pang of pain.

As Shen Su gazed at the woman’s wounds, a dull ache suddenly gripped her chest, a familiar sensation eerily reminiscent of the feeling she’d experienced upon hearing that faint sob.

Her eyes darted around, still unable to spot the white horse, but instead meeting Cui Tao’s wide, startled gaze.

The vanished white horse, the sudden appearance of this injured woman—Shen Su couldn’t believe Cui Tao would abandon the horse without her permission. The coincidences were too glaring.

She clenched her fingers, cold sweat beading on her forehead within moments.

Is she a demon too?

The thought had barely formed when Shen Su instinctively flinched back, nearly retreating into the sedan chair.

Her throat tightened slightly as a voice echoed in her mind: Stay away from her!

Shen Su valued her life. She had no desire to approach danger, and in her current state, any demonic creature could easily claim her life—though the woman before her might not even be a demon.

Gritting her teeth, Shen Su was about to turn away when a faint, weak female voice whispered in her ear: “Miss, run!”

The voice was soft and gentle, like a wisp of cloud drifting slowly into her ear. Shen Su instinctively looked down at the beauty lying on the ground. Though the woman remained unconscious and her lips didn’t move, Shen Su was certain the frail female voice had come from her. She couldn’t mistake it—the voice was the same one that had made her heart ache earlier, the one that had sounded like it could crush her very soul.

Perhaps she should save her.

The original owner of her body had preferred solitude, so Shen Manor was located on the outskirts of Fallen Moon City. This spot was already close to the manor, and hardly any passersby were in sight. If she didn’t help, it was unlikely anyone else would come to the beauty’s rescue.

Moreover, the beauty was so stunningly beautiful, and still unconscious. Leaving her here could expose her to danger from malicious individuals.

She looked so fragile, like a piece of delicate jade porcelain.

She looked so pitiful, her palms and soles raw and bleeding, not a patch of unbroken skin to be found.

Shen Su, you should save her.

A gentle breeze brushed past, carrying away the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead. Shen Su slowly exhaled. “Cui Tao, help me carry her into the sedan chair.”

Her heart had softened after all.

The sedan chair wasn’t spacious, and the beauty remained unconscious. Shen Su had no choice but to half-carry her, letting the woman lean against her shoulder.

The beauty looked utterly disheveled, yet she emanated a faint, elegant fragrance. Though subtle, the scent lingered around Shen Su’s nose, mingled with a faint metallic tang of bl00d.

The bl00d came from the beauty’s mangled palm. The only mercy was that despite the severe wounds, no fresh bl00d was seeping out.

Shen Su was still staring at the beauty’s palm when Cui Tao’s muttered words suddenly reached her ears: “How could that horse turn into a beauty? Is she a demon too? That’s impossible! There’s not a trace of spiritual power on her.”

Shen Su lifted the curtain a fraction. It was indeed Cui Tao speaking, though her voice must have been soft, as the seemingly ordinary sedan bearers showed no reaction to the word “demon.”

She released her grip on the curtain.

It seems my ears are quite sharp, she thought.

But Cui Tao’s words raised a deeper question: Was the beauty leaning against her shoulder human or demon? If she were a demon, why would she appear at the horse market? If human, why had she transformed into a horse?

This moment of compassion might have just landed her in trouble.

She sighed softly and murmured to the unconscious beauty in her arms, “I bought you and saved you. You’d better not bring me harm.”