Flirting with the Villain's Mother - Chapter 45

The corners of Lin Shui’s eyes flushed red.

A thin mist of tears welled in her eyes as she pointed to the flowers blooming on her chest. “Look at me. Can I even be considered human anymore?”

She was still just a child, though her maturity far exceeded her peers. Even as the leader of this escape, she was only fourteen years old. Her constant use of “little girl Shen Su” was merely a way to mask her own fear and trepidation.

Shen Su stared at the chest covered in reddish-brown blossoms, unable to immediately respond.

She could empathize with Lin Shui’s situation. When her own body first began to undergo demon transformation, she had struggled to accept it. But she had Wei Nanyi by her side to comfort her, while Lin Shui and her group had only themselves to rely on.

Shen Su’s throat tightened. She suddenly recalled A’Ling’s heterochromatic eyes and the strange behavior of the Little Mountain Bandits. “Did the snake demon tamper with everyone’s bodies?”

Lin Shui adjusted her clothes and continued carrying Sister-in-law Lin forward. “Yes, but Xiao Ruan and Xiao Hu were the most severely affected. The rest of us are doing better.”

Shen Su knew who Xiao Ruan was—Miss Ruan Tong—but she didn’t recognize the name Xiao Hu.

Before Shen Su could ask Lin Shui anything, Lin Shui preemptively questioned her, glancing warily at the pale and frail Wei Nanyi. “She doesn’t seem like she’s from the village. Where did you rescue her from?”

When they first met, Wei Nanyi had been nothing more than a trembling rabbit huddled in Shen Su’s arms.

To Lin Shui, Wei Nanyi was a complete stranger. Though she could sense Wei Nanyi possessed no spiritual power and was utterly vulnerable, Lin Shui had been deceived before, and her instincts now screamed caution.

Before Shen Su could formulate a response, Ruan Tong’s voice crackled through the token in Lin Shui’s hand: “Rabbit, she’s the rabbit.”

The word “rabbit” instantly put Shen Su on guard.

A golden sword materialized in her hand, held defensively across her chest as she glared at Lin Shui with suspicion. “What exactly is her ability?”

Wei Nanyi’s transformation had even eluded someone with Jiang Ruiping’s cultivation level, yet Ruan Tong had effortlessly discerned the truth. This realization filled Wei Nanyi with dread. She wasn’t strong enough, and Shen Su knew she had to be extra cautious when facing anything that might threaten Wei Nanyi’s life.

“Cough… cough…” Wei Nanyi leaned against Shen Su’s back, her voice barely a whisper. “Miss Shen, perception… her innate ability is absolute perception.”

Lin Shui’s gaze toward Wei Nanyi shifted, now tinged with unease. “How did you guess that?”

Lin Shui and Shen Su were somewhat alike, both reacting to danger like hedgehogs bristling with quills.

Wei Nanyi forced a smile. “Mu Ling’s innate ability is perception, but it’s not absolute. The girl named Ruan Tong recognized me, which means her talent must be even stronger. I’ve never encountered such an ability before, but her power must be absolute perception.”

Mu Ling, the snake demon’s ability.

Shen Su fell silent, and Lin Shui followed suit.

Only when the token in her hand glowed did she resume leading the way. “Follow me. Xiao Ruan will tell you the truth.”

She clenched her palm, and a few scattered flower petals fell from her hand. A massive tiger charged forward—the very same one Shen Su and her companions had encountered before.

Lin Shui helped them onto the tiger’s back. A crimson chain appeared in her hand, wrapping around the tiger’s neck. Yet the tiger showed no signs of pain, obediently carrying them through the forest. Lin Shui rarely tugged on the chain.

Once they were settled on the tiger’s back, Shen Su shifted from carrying Wei Nanyi to half-embracing her as they sat together. Wei Nanyi covered her mouth, her soft coughs echoing through the air. “Miss Lin Shui, you and this tiger are in a symbiotic relationship, aren’t you? Is this your innate ability?”

Shen Su, enlightened by Wei Nanyi’s words, finally realized that while the chain appeared to bind the tiger, the spiritual power flowing from it was actually surging from Lin Shui’s body into the tiger. The chain served as a conduit for Lin Shui to transfer his spiritual power to the beast.

Lin Shui didn’t deny it. “You’re smarter than her.”

Wei Nanyi shook her head. “No, I’ve simply lived over a thousand years longer than Miss Shen.”

Having traversed most of the world’s training grounds and encountered countless cultivators and demonic creatures, Wei Nanyi had also read every book in Approaching Immortals Mountain’s vast library. Naturally, she knew more than Shen Su, but this was a matter of experience, not inherent intelligence.

Normally, Wei Nanyi wouldn’t dwell on such matters, but she disliked Lin Shui using her to belittle Shen Su, even if he hadn’t intended to.

Her coughing grew more violent. The tiger’s breakneck speed sent icy winds whipping against her, and the rough terrain jostled her internal organs relentlessly.

“Are you too cold?” Shen Su heard Wei Nanyi’s worsening coughs. Long fox fur sprouted from her arm, wrapping tightly around Wei Nanyi. The fur gradually enveloped her, its thick layers cushioning her from the jolts and shielding her from the biting wind.

Seeing Wei Nanyi’s lips regain a hint of color, Shen Su felt relieved.

But as the coughing subsided, Lin Shui’s tiger began to run even faster. Shen Su, perched on its back, felt the violent jolting and couldn’t help but draw her Golden Sword. She tapped Lin Shui’s back with the scabbard. “Lin Shui, slow down! Madam is unwell.”

Lin Shui loosened his grip on the chain, and as the tiger slowed, he gave them a strange look. “She’s your madam?”

“No, she’s not!” Shen Su’s face flushed crimson. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

She glanced sideways at Wei Nanyi, who remained with her head lowered, emitting faint, intermittent coughs as if she hadn’t heard Lin Shui’s words at all.

Shen Su exhaled in relief, but a profound sense of disappointment followed.

She couldn’t quite understand what she was disappointed about. Lin Shui, meanwhile, was baffled by her sudden blush. He muttered, “But didn’t you call her ‘Madam’? Even though you’re both women, it’s natural for people in love to marry. I wouldn’t look down on you. Why are you so quick to deny it?”

Shen Su gritted her teeth, the clenching making a grinding sound. “You’re young, but you sure know a lot. But we’re really not like that.”

Hearing Shen Su praise her, Lin Shui proudly lifted his chin. “Of course! My grandmother always said, ‘In this life, you must choose what you love, even if it’s just a dog. It’s better than being with a beast who looks like a human!'”

As if struck by a sudden thought, he turned sharply to Shen Su, his eyes filled with longing. “Have you seen my grandmother? She’s the guardian of the Divine Being’s temple. Everyone in the village calls her Seventh Aunt.”

Lin Shui was indeed the granddaughter of Seventh Uncle and Aunt.

Shen Su suddenly remembered what Lin Shui’s father and grandfather had said. It seemed that among her entire family, only Seventh Aunt still cared for Lin Shui, which explained why Lin Shui also thought of her.

“I saw her. She’s being controlled.”

Lin Shui sighed in disappointment. “I should have brought her with me when I escaped. But I couldn’t. They all bear the monster’s mark. If I’d taken them, none of us would have made it out.”

Indeed, when Shen Su escaped the village with Sister-in-law Lin, they only succeeded because the Jade Pendant concealed Sister-in-law Lin’s aura. Without it, they would have been caught.

Lin Shui and the others were children mutated by the snake demon, lacking the protective treasures Shen Su possessed.

Grasping the Golden Sword, Shen Su suddenly said, “Lin Shui, perhaps we can cooperate.”

“You want to save your families, and I want to kill that snake.”

Hearing the veiled malice in Shen Su’s words toward Mu Ling, Wei Nanyi looked up in surprise. “Miss Shen, don’t be foolish. We’re no match for her.”

Mu Ling’s power had indeed diminished from its former strength, but Wei Nanyi hadn’t anticipated that she had controlled so many people, even transforming nearly half the villagers into mutated beings with considerable combat abilities. Reason told Wei Nanyi that their best course of action was to uncover the truth, then find a way to escape with the children and Sister-in-law Lin. While slipping past the village unnoticed wouldn’t be easy, it offered a greater chance of survival. But Shen Su was determined to confront Mu Ling head-on.

Wei Nanyi still remembered Shen Su’s terrified expression after killing Cui Tao. She never imagined Shen Su could have grown so quickly; the murderous intent in her words was palpable.

Mu Ling’s mocking words to Wei Nanyi still echoed in her ears, and the men’s crude remarks lingered faintly. Shen Su hadn’t yet grown accustomed to killing, but she had always maintained she wasn’t entirely good—nor was she a saint.

She held grudges.

Shen Su raised her hand and tapped the thumb ring on her finger. “Madam, I’m not being foolish. I have my own trump card.”

Shen Su had just tested the Zhenyuan Pill’s effects, her strength doubling instantly, though only temporarily. In a life-or-death battle, this was enough to end an enemy’s life. Moreover, it had no side effects. She also possessed more potent medicinal pills, though those came with side effects.

If she were alone, she wouldn’t risk it. But if these Little Mountain Bandits had already undergone physical transformations, their bodies’ resilience far exceeded that of ordinary people. They could also consume pills to temporarily enhance their combat power, just like her. Furthermore, her thumb ring contained Spirit Tools and treasures left by Shen Yiwen for his descendants. Although controlling these tools with insufficient spiritual power would drain her energy and strain her body, in the face of life and death, such burdens seemed insignificant.

Though Shen Su didn’t yet know what the snake demon had done to these Little Mountain Bandits, it couldn’t be anything good.

This was their own affair.

While they still helped children, they wouldn’t passively wait for rescue when facing danger. They needed to learn self-preservation.

Shen Su believed they must understand this principle; otherwise, they wouldn’t have fled their village for Goddess Mountain.

They could truly cooperate.

Of course, this depended on whether these children could be trusted.

Lin Shui forced a smile. “You might not know the power the snake demon bestowed upon those people. They’ve killed many powerful cultivators. Even though you managed to escape with Aunt Lin, your cultivation is limited.”

Shen Su looked at Lin Shui with sincere determination. “I may not be strong enough alone, but what about you? I have ways to make you stronger. I’m not your savior, and I can’t save you, but I can help you save yourselves.”

Lin Shui was struck by the unwavering resolve in Shen Su’s eyes. She suddenly asked, “Are you a Pill Refiner? The cultivators said even a low-level Pill Refiner possesses the power to make an entire group stronger.”

A Pill Refiner? She wasn’t one, not exactly.

However, considering the Medicinal Pills in her Storage Ring—those left by Shen Yiwen and those given by Jiang Ruiping—she could certainly be considered a Pill Refiner, and a high-level one at that. After all, those pills couldn’t have been refined by a low-level practitioner.

Shen Su nodded firmly. “You can think of me that way, but the cultivators must have told you that relying on medicinal pills to become stronger damages your body.”

“I don’t care!” Lin Shui roared.

Shen Su knew that if she gave Lin Shui a pill right now, he would charge back into the village immediately.

But as a leader, Lin Shui regained some composure after his outburst. He eyed Shen Su suspiciously, then gritted his teeth. “This isn’t my decision alone, but… I’ll help you persuade them! I don’t just want to save people—I want to tear that monster to pieces!”

Watching Lin Shui’s anger ignite, Shen Su silently turned the thumb ring on her hand.

Forgive me, forgive me, she thought. I’m still too weak. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to manipulate a child like this.

Though she was only four years older than Lin Shui.

Wei Nanyi had witnessed the entire exchange. She looked at Shen Su with a hint of helplessness. “Miss Shen, this isn’t right.”

Shen Su was about to defend herself when Wei Nanyi’s gaze slowly shifted to the thumb ring on Shen Su’s hand. A soft sigh escaped her lips. “We should really inventory the medicinal pills Junior Brother Shen left behind.”

Though she verbally disapproved, Wei Nanyi made no attempt to control Lin Shui and Shen Su’s desires.

She had witnessed Lin Shui’s overwhelming hatred and Shen Su’s soaring resentment firsthand. As someone who deeply respected others’ wishes, Wei Nanyi wasn’t good at stopping people. All she could offer were a few words of comfort, and when those failed, she would focus on increasing the chances of success.

Hearing Wei Nanyi mention inventorying Shen Yiwen’s belongings, Shen Su immediately offered a flattering smile. “Then we’ll have to rely on you, Madam.”

Shen Su couldn’t recognize even a few weapons, let alone medicinal pills.

Wei Nanyi nodded, tacitly accepting the task Shen Su had assigned her. After a moment of silence, she added, “Miss Shen, if Miss Ruan Tong doesn’t want to, you must respect her choice.”

Shen Su’s lips curled downward. “Madam, I’m not one to force good people into evil.”

Lin Shui, sitting at the front of the tiger, turned to give Shen Su a deep look, then glanced at Wei Nanyi. “They’ll agree,” she insisted. “They have to agree!”

Shen Su pursed her lips.

She thought Lin Shui seemed more inclined to force good people into evil than she was.

What exactly had that snake demon done to Lin Shui and the others?