How to Be the Perfect Junior Sister to a Reborn Villain - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

After being sealed for eight long months, the exit to the Sanglin Secret Realm outside Xuancheng finally opened.

When the secret realm first appeared, rumors spread that it held the inheritance of a powerful cultivator. Those rumors drove countless cultivators into a frenzy, fighting, killing, and robbing each other just for a chance to enter.

But thousands of years later, the place had already been ransacked countless times. The so-called inheritance was nowhere to be found, and the spiritual energy inside wasn’t even much denser than the outside world. The most you could find now were a few low-grade spirit plants.

With the myth of the inheritance long broken, the Sanglin Secret Realm had become nothing more than a training ground for low-level cultivators.

Only rogue cultivators and disciples from small sects bothered to come here now. Those from major sects couldn’t even be bothered to look at the place.

Inside the realm, Yan Jiuzhi had managed to raise his cultivation to the tenth level of Qi Refining, three whole stages higher than in his previous life.

There wasn’t enough time for him to attempt Foundation Establishment, so he could only leave it at that.

Outside the secret realm stretched a vast, open wilderness. The area bustled with people, cultivators coming and going, trading and chatting. Yan Jiuzhi scanned his surroundings, confirmed his direction, and was about to leave when a seemingly honest, good natured man stepped in front of him.

“Fellow cultivator, I’m an attendant from Baolai Pavilion. Would you be willing to sell your harvest from the secret realm to our shop?”

The man’s face looked plain and simple, even a bit shy.

“We buy everything,” he added quickly, rubbing his hands awkwardly. “I just started working at the shop and haven’t managed to collect anything yet. If you sell to me, I’ll give you a better price. How about it?”

His tone was humble, his expression pleading, and his eyes full of hope.

Yan Jiuzhi sneered inwardly. Heh… It’s been so long that I almost forgot about this scum.

In his previous life, he had been a naive little cultivator—trusting this very man without hesitation and boarding the carriage headed toward Xuancheng with him.

The moment he got on, he’d been drugged unconscious.

When he came to, he was locked up along with several other victims. The group planned to sell them all.

Among the captives had been a young lady from a noble family who’d run away from home.

Her family raised a huge uproar searching for her, turning the entire city upside down.

In the chaos that followed, Yan Jiuzhi had managed to escape.

But by the time he returned to the Yunxiao Sect after selling off his goods… it was already too late.

His gaze darkened. Human traffickers like these… all deserve to die.

Suppressing his rising anger, he smiled easily and said, “Sure, let’s go.”

Killing a few traffickers wouldn’t take him much time or effort anyway.

The man was caught off guard by how easily he agreed. He had expected a long round of persuasion.

He hadn’t even taken out the fake Baolai Pavilion token yet, and this kid already believed him?

One look at that faded blue robe told him this boy was living in poverty a green, inexperienced cultivator.

His eyes flicked over to the youth’s face, exquisite and ethereal as if carved by the heavens. His heart burned with greed.

This one could fetch a fortune!

“Come, come! Just over here. I’ve got a few more customers to gather. We’ll take the carriage into the city together heaper that way.”

The man’s smile was warm and accommodating, the perfect image of a considerate shop clerk looking out for both his employer and his clients.

He led Yan Jiuzhi down a small path toward a carriage parked in the woods.

Along the way, he chatted incessantly, casual on the surface, but clearly probing for information.

“Little brother, is your home far from here? Our Baolai Pavilion sells all sorts of affordable goods. I’m new, but my older brother’s been there a while he can give you a discount. You could even bring some local specialties home for your family and friends.”

“Just a small, remote place,” Yan Jiuzhi replied lazily. “We’ll see when we get there.”

The carriage was parked on the edge of the forest, where the trees grew dense and few people passed by. The dirt road beside it was cracked and overgrown with weeds, but still passable for a wagon.

From a distance, Yan Jiuzhi saw other people already boarding—poor-looking, low-level cultivators, just like he remembered.

He counted the traffickers’ accomplices: two at the Foundation Establishment stage, one at Qi Refining, and the one beside him, Qi Refining level five.

That was another reason he’d fallen for their trick in his past life. The man had looked simple, honest, and weaker than him. What could go wrong?

Reality had slapped him hard for that mistake.

This time, he’d slap back harder. He wouldn’t just return that strike; he’d wipe them all out.

“Boss, this young man’s coming with us to sell his goods. I’ve already agreed on a good price for him.”

The “honest” man bowed obsequiously to a tall, thin man with a mole on his cheek.

The two exchanged a knowing glance unspoken communication that only partners in crime would understand.

“Good, good. Since Old Seven brought him, I’ll make sure he gets the best price,” the tall man said with a hearty laugh.

His cloudy eyes lit up with greed as he looked at the stunning young cultivator before him. He’s hit the jackpot this time.

The burly man gestured eagerly. “Come on, brother, hop on and wait inside.”

Then he turned to his accomplices, pretending to fuss. “How many more are we waiting for? Let’s not make my young friend wait too long.”

“No need, we’re all set. Once he’s on board, we can head straight out.”

The tall man beamed at Yan Jiuzhi with a falsely sincere smile. “Don’t worry, young man. Baolai Pavilion is always fair and honest. You won’t find a better deal anywhere else.”

Yan Jiuzhi smirked inwardly. What a convincing performance.

His fingers tightened around his sword hilt as he stepped onto the carriage. The motion seemed casual, but his mind had already calculated every position, every weakness.

The tall man was the strongest among them, having reached the Foundation Establishment stage seven.

All four traffickers stood near the carriage door, clearly guarding against escape.

The tall man held a handkerchief soaked in drugged powder, pretending to help Yan Jiuzhi up. But the moment his hand brushed the youth’s arm. His throat was cut.

For a long moment, bl00d didn’t even flow. The man’s smile froze on his face, his eyes wide with disbelief as he fell backward, watching the beautiful youth before him blur into shadow.

His final sight was the dim, overcast sky above his eyes open, unclosing even in death.

Yan Jiuzhi didn’t pause. The next strike came in a flash, his blade gleaming with condensed killing intent, driving straight through the chest of another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The man didn’t even have time to draw his weapon before his heart was shredded to pieces.

The two Qi Refining traffickers barely had a chance to react before cold sword light swept across their throats.

The entire fight ended in seconds. All four bodies hit the ground almost simultaneously, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Even at death’s door, the “honest” one couldn’t comprehend how the naive boy he’d lured in turned out to be a reaper in human form.

Yan Jiuzhi calmly wiped his blade on their clothes, then took their storage pouches and weapons.

His senior brothers and sisters still didn’t have flying swords or storage bags; these would suit them perfectly.

The horses neighed in panic, hooves stamping frantically. If they hadn’t been tied to a tree, they would have bolted by now.

Yan Jiuzhi stepped onto the carriage’s footboard and lifted the curtain.

Inside lay six young men and women, all of them good-looking.

One of them, judging by their breathing, was only pretending to be unconscious.

Yan Jiuzhi paid them little attention. His goal had always been to slaughter those vile traffickers; saving the captives was merely incidental.

After cutting the spirit-binding ropes from their bodies, he turned without hesitation, stepped onto his flying artifact, and vanished into the sky in a streak of light.

As for what came after, someone else would take care of it.

The girl in the pink dress had already opened her eyes the moment her bindings were released. She caught only a fleeting glimpse of the young man’s face, so striking and flawless it didn’t seem mortal.

He had saved them without uttering a single word, and then simply left?

She hadn’t even had the chance to thank him. After a moment’s pause, she fished a small jade talisman from the inside of her collar and sent it shooting into the sky a distress signal.

This time, she wondered grimly, which member of her own family was behind this?

The sun was setting in the west, casting a gauzy orange glow over the road outside Ang City. Several carriages rolled swiftly along, their canopies gilded with hues of gold and red under the evening light.

Li Xi returned in triumph, five entire wagons filled with food, clothing, and daily necessities heading back toward Yunxiao Sect in a flurry of energy and excitement.

She wasn’t “robbing” her family, per se, cough, she just went home to ask for living expenses.

Life at Yunxiao Sect had been wonderful these past two months.

Her senior brothers and sisters treated her warmly, and both her master and the elder were kind and easygoing.

Each day she cultivated, practiced swordsmanship, and studied medicine, it was far more fulfilling and interesting than being cooped up at home like a proper young lady.

Back then, she could only read and write; as for embroidery forget it.

The moment she picked up a needle and thread, her mother would start lecturing her about “the three obediences and four virtues,” those dreadful, suffocating rules for women.

She’d rather face her old tutor’s flying beard and glares than sit and embroider flowers like some delicate doll.

No, thank you never again.

Now that she could cultivate, her days were exactly what she’d always dreamed of—free, light, and blissfully unburdened by any talk of marriage. Perfect in every way.

Well… except for one little thing.

The sect was poor. Painfully poor.

And with all their recent charitable clinics, things had gotten even harder.

Li Xi had never been one to handle hardship gracefully.

Now that she’d reached the second level of Qi Refining, wasn’t it only right to report her success to her father?

Her father’s beard had bristled with fury when she showed up, but he still ended up preparing five full carriages of supplies for her.

Not that she’d taken them for nothing, she’d helped discipline the family’s troublemaker in return.

Li Nan was a walking disaster, and she was the only one in the household who could actually keep him in line.

After a round of her “iron fist,” her little brother had finally behaved himself.

If he dared cause trouble again, she’d come right back and straighten him out.

When the carriages finally arrived before the Yunxiao Sect gates, Li Xi noticed a young man in blue robes standing there, hesitating half-stepping toward the entrance, half-holding back.

Li Xi tilted her head curiously.

Who’s that supposed to be?