My Female General Is A Villain (GL) - Chapter 10

He Jiaojiao frantically searched her memory, trying to recall any major events that happened at the Old Madam’s birthday banquet.

She felt a jolt of panic but forced herself to stay calm.

She called out to System 19 in her mind again and again, but the system seemed to have crashed, with no response at all.

Why was it giving up on her at a time like this?

He Jiaojiao gathered her skirt and broke into a clumsy run, but this body was in terrible shape. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps before she was panting heavily.

Suddenly, a small girl stumbled and threw herself into her arms. The girl’s clothes were soaked in bl00d. She clung to He Jiaojiao’s sleeve as if she had found a lifeline, pleading with her to save her.

Several black-clad assassins with swords appeared, chasing after the girl. Seeing that He Jiaojiao and the child were just two defenseless women, they stopped running and began to slowly close in on them.

He Jiaojiao’s vision went black for a moment, and she almost fainted. The saying goes, “When heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man, it first chastens his mind and exhausts his muscles.” She shielded the little girl behind her, trying to look calm and collected.

“One, two, three…”

“Sis… Sister… what are you counting?” the girl asked, her voice trembling from behind her.

He Jiaojiao patiently replied, “I’m counting how many of them there are.”

“Sister… how many can you beat?” the girl asked, and a flicker of light, and her voice was no longer shaking.

He Jiaojiao shook her head, whispering, “Well, I can’t beat even one.”

“Then why were you just…?”

He Jiaojiao sighed, feeling helpless. “I want to remember all of them, so I can settle the score with them in my next life.”

“Oh… Sister, what do we do now?” The girl looked worried, but she wasn’t as scared as before.

“In a moment, when I tell you to run, you run, okay?” He Jiaojiao kept the girl behind her, backing away as she gave her instructions.

The girl’s eyes were firm, and she nodded twice.

He Jiaojiao took a deep breath to steady her nerves and spoke in a firm voice. “Who are you people? Why are you causing trouble at the General’s manor? Do you know the penalty for this? Cutting off the heads of your entire clan wouldn’t be enough!”

“We’re people who live with our lives on the line. If we were afraid of trouble, we wouldn’t have come. Blame your own bad luck.”

“Why waste so many words on him? Someone who’s about to die doesn’t need to know so much.”

He Jiaojiao felt her heart pounding in her throat, a level of fear she had never experienced before.

Seeing them advancing quickly, she yelled, “Wait!”

“My father is General He Su! If I die here today, none of you will escape! He will skin you alive and tear you to pieces!”

“I remember now. You’re the He family’s second miss, aren’t you? We’ve been looking for you. We’ll send you off on your way to the underworld.”

What? Their target was her?

What a ridiculous plot twist. The book never mentioned this.

As the men charged toward her, it was a life-or-death situation. She had to try anything. A flash of inspiration hit her, and she pointed behind them, shouting, “Dad! My dad’s here! My dad’s here! You’re all going to die! You’re all going to die!”

Before the last word left her mouth, she turned and grabbed the girl’s hand, running as fast as she could. The girl stumbled, nearly falling, but He Jiaojiao held on, helping her keep pace.

The girl said in a small, aggrieved voice, “Sister, you didn’t say ‘run’ yet.”

He Jiaojiao was out of breath. This body was too weak to handle this. Still, she managed to answer, “It’s… It’s fine. In… in a crucial moment… you can just skip it.”

Just as she expected, the men were fooled. They exchanged glances, and by the time they realized what was happening, He Jiaojiao and the girl were already a good distance away.

But this was a temporary solution at best. She had no martial arts skills and was in terrible physical condition. They caught up to her in no time.

“Screw it,” she thought. “I’m done. If I die, I die. What a terrible book and terrible NPCs, making me run a half-mile in the snow.”

(In novels, NPCs (Non-Player Characters) often serve specific roles, such as tormenting the protagonist or existing solely to advance the plot.)

******

A flash of steel. The blade came down from above, so fast she had no time to react. He Jiaojiao had never seen such a scene before. In fear, she squeezed her eyes shut and covered her head with her arms. In the nick of time, she heard a loud “thump!” It wasn’t the pain of a blade cutting through flesh; it was the crisp sound of a sword hitting the ground.

It was followed by a man’s scream.

She opened her eyes in surprise and lowered her arms. The vicious assassins who had been swinging their swords a moment ago were now lying at her feet, and the bl00d spraying from them splattered onto her clean dress, making it look like winter plum blossoms in full bloom.

Terrified, she took a deep breath, and the smell of bl00d stung her mind.

She glanced to the side and saw a figure move with incredible speed. It was so fast that she almost thought she was mistaken.

Yuwen Jue and Yuwen Jinhuan, who had just arrived, rushed forward to check on her.

“Miss He, are you all right?”

He Jiaojiao then realized Yuwen Jue was talking. So they were the ones who saved her.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Jinhuan, who was kneeling on the ground searching the bodies, looked serious. “Brother, these men have the same mark. Look.”

The tiny, hard-to-spot symbol was on the nape of their necks: a half-moon.

He Jiaojiao had no time for any of that. She only had one question. “Third Prince, do you know where my father, mother, and grandmother are? Are they in danger? Are they hurt? And…”

She had finally found a family. A father and brother who had her back, a mother who cared, and a grandmother who spoiled her. Even if it wasn’t real, she was grateful for it.

Please, please, let them be okay.

Seeing her worried, tearful expression, Yuwen Jue quickly comforted her. “Don’t worry, Miss He. They’re all safe. With General He and Vice General He there, your family will surely be alright.”

He Jiaojiao’s heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled.

Yuwen Jinhuan walked over, her eyes full of disdain. “Everyone in the He manor is looking for you, and yet you’re worried about them. If you can’t fight, don’t run around and cause trouble. Now we have to protect you.”

Okay, okay, what could she say? She was the villainous supporting character, and her cuteness wasn’t for He Jiaojiao to see.

“Huan’er! Don’t be rude!” Yuwen Jue snapped. He then turned to He Jiaojiao. “My sister is a little too direct with her words. Please forgive her.”

Jinhuan clearly wasn’t happy. “Brother! You’re taking a stranger’s side again! And a malicious…”

Yuwen Jue quickly grabbed her arm and gave her a look that forced her to shut up.

“What about Pei Ji? Is Pei Ji… with my father and mother too?” He Jiaojiao asked, full of doubt.

She already knew the answer.

Just as she expected, Yuwen Jue paused and shook his head.

Of course. No one in the entire manor took her seriously. In a life-or-death situation, who would care about someone they didn’t pay attention to on a normal day?

People only cared about those they loved. Who would be concerned about the life or death of someone who lived in a woodshed, ate scraps, did the maids’ laundry, and was tormented by her own wife?

If she died, she died. All she would be is dirt in the ground, and no one would remember her the next day.

He Jiaojiao took the little girl’s hand, about to entrust her to the two royals, but the girl held on tightly, refusing to let go.

He Jiaojiao knelt down and gently stroked the girl’s head. “Don’t be afraid. They’re very powerful brother and sister. They won’t let you be in danger. They’ll take you somewhere safer.”

The girl lowered her head in silence. After a long moment, she wrapped her arms around He Jiaojiao, lightly patting her back. “I’m not scared, so you shouldn’t be either, Sister. When you finish your important task, don’t forget to come back and find me.”

“And my name is Miaomiao.”

He Jiaojiao froze. The warmth of those small hands on her cold neck covered her in comfort. The tears in her eyes threatened to spill over; she was surprised by the emotional power of the moment.

“I promise,” He Jiaojiao said with a smile.

Yuwen Jue’s expression softened. This He Jiaojiao was so different from the one he knew.

The original He Jiaojiao never said “thank you,” wouldn’t have cared about a stranger’s life, and wouldn’t have remained so calm in a crisis. This new He Jiaojiao was polite, kind, and resilient.

Yuwen Jue thought to himself that perhaps people have a change of heart after a near-death experience.

“Huan’er, take good care of this child. I’ll go with Miss He to look for him.” Yuwen Jue saw what she was thinking and offered to help.

He Jiaojiao gave him a grateful look. The male lead was truly the male lead, with a sense of righteousness that leaped off the page.

Without waiting for Jinhuan’s inevitable outburst, He Jiaojiao took off running. As long as she ran fast enough, she wouldn’t have to hear anyone’s complaints.

*******

The sight that greeted her was of bodies scattered everywhere, terrified guests running in a panic, and black-clad assassins killing with cold efficiency. The scene was chaotic and out of control. The crimson bl00d stained her eyes, and He Jiaojiao felt her stomach churn, but she forced down the nausea.

She saw Pei Ji standing in the very center of the chaos, motionless and expressionless, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Amidst the heavy snowfall and howling wind, the coldness in Pei Ji’s eyes intensified. Her plain hair ribbon fluttered in the snow, and a few drops of bl00d spattered, landing between her brows. Her brow twitched, and a faint smile touched the corner of her eye.

It seemed the more intense the screams were, the more excited she became.

Those who had trampled on her, mocked her, and hoped she would fall into hell were now like terrified poultry, with only panic in their eyes and looking utterly pathetic.

She reached out a gaunt hand, and a snowflake fell into her palm, then two, then three… Her indifference was jarring and out of place.

The scene was pure chaos. He Jiaojiao, under the protection of Yuwen Jue, ran and yelled from a distance, trying to warn her not to stand in such a dangerous place.

But her voice was swallowed by the noise, and she could barely hear herself.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed, stinging her eyes. She blinked and looked away for a moment. When she looked back, she saw a sword covered in scarlet bl00d being thrust toward the figure in the center.

“Pei Ji!” He Jiaojiao screamed. “Danger!”

He Jiaojiao didn’t know how much strength she put into that scream. She only knew her throat was raw and sore.

Pei Ji turned at the sound, only to see the familiar, lightly made-up face of a woman running toward her, full of panic and fear.

Before she could even react, she was knocked to the ground by a soft embrace. A scent of jasmine cut through the thick smell of bl00d.

In the lamplight, she could see the bl00d-stained sword stopping just an inch from the back of He Jiaojiao’s head, which would have surely taken her life.

Fortunately, Yuwen Jue had intervened in time, preventing a tragedy.

Pei Ji lay on the ground, motionless, looking up at the pitch-black, star-studded sky, lost in her thoughts.

The bloodlust in her heart suddenly quieted down, finding a moment of peace.