Senior Sister Is Too Weak and Cannot Take Care Of Herself (Transmigration) - Chapter 31

The opponents for the fourth round were still decided by drawing lots.

After seeing her opponent, Tang Huan breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like her luck had finally turned since she came to the cultivation world. Wang Mengyao had told Tang Huan about this opponent: he was mainly a defensive cultivator and not very aggressive. As long as Tang Huan’s footwork was fast enough, she would be able to break through his defenses and win. The anxiety that had been gnawing at Tang Huan all afternoon finally subsided. After all the grueling practice she’d put in, her footwork had improved significantly, giving her a seven or eight-out-of-ten chance of winning against this man. The male cultivator clearly understood this, too, and his face instantly fell when he saw that his opponent was Tang Huan.

Tang Huan’s match was scheduled fourth. The disciples who made it to the fourth round were all exceptionally skilled, and watching them compete was an excellent way to learn. After Tang Huan drew her lot, Wang Mengyao called her over to sit next to her. Wang Mengyao had already found a spot with a great view and had even brought snacks and refreshments. In an atmosphere like this, only Wang Mengyao, who didn’t seem to care much about her cultivation, could be so calm.

The first pair to compete was Shi Yingying, whom Tang Huan had met once before, and a male sword cultivator. Shi Yingying was still dressed in black, exuding a cold and aloof aura that told others to keep away.

“Hmph!” Wang Mengyao snorted when she saw Shi Yingying appear, angrily biting into a pastry.

“Do you have a problem with Shi Yingying?” Tang Huan turned to Wang Mengyao and asked. Wang Mengyao’s reaction had also been strange when they had seen Shi Yingying at the party hosted by Bai Feng.

“It’s not really a problem. Just ancient history,” Wang Mengyao said, frowning as she thought for a moment and bit her lip. “She’s actually quite pitiful. Her family lived near the Demon Realm, and her parents were both killed by demonic cultivators. Luckily, my father got there in time and saved her.”

“I was always sick when I was little, right? My dad, desperate for a cure, thought it was because I didn’t have any friends. At that time, she was crying every night after her parents died and looked so lonely. So my dad would often take me to go play with her…”

“I was young and naive back then. I thought she was pretty, so I always pestered her, but she didn’t seem to care about anything except practicing swordplay. It took all my effort to even get her to smile at me. My dad realized her personality was too cold for her to be a good friend, so he gradually stopped taking me to her cave. But I would sneak over to find her.”

“Later, I found that she was having nightmares every night, so I gave her my Soul Condensing Pearl.” Seeing Tang Huan’s eyes widen, Wang Mengyao scratched her head in embarrassment. “You have to promise not to tell my dad about this.”

“Anyway, later, I found fragments of the Soul Condensing Pearl in her cave. She said she accidentally broke it while practicing, and her expression was still as cold as ever. She didn’t even say sorry,” Wang Mengyao lowered her eyes. “I learned my lesson. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself again, so I’ve been distant from her ever since.”

“In short, it’s all in the past now. I just can’t stand her when I see her!” Wang Mengyao smiled at Tang Huan, shifted her gaze, and looked up at the stage.

Shi Yingying had already started fighting her opponent. Her moves were incredibly sharp and precise. Her sword intent was unstoppable and without any hesitation, a clear sign that she had practiced thousands of times until it became muscle memory.

In a way, Shi Yingying’s style was a bit like the red-robed Qin Su in Tang Huan’s dreams. Not that their techniques were similar, but the mercilessness in their movements was eerily similar, as if their swords were everything to them.

Tang Huan thought back to the red-robed Qin Su’s graceful posture, and she couldn’t help but feel a little dazed. When she came back to her senses, Shi Yingying had already forced her opponent to retreat. Wang Mengyao was watching the match intently, her body tense, a pastry in her hand that she had not yet taken a bite of.

Seeing the way Wang Mengyao looked, Tang Huan sighed. Wang Mengyao seemed to hate Shi Yingying so much that she was probably so intent on seeing Shi Yingying lose that she even forgot to eat her favorite food. Wang Mengyao had said with a casual tone that everything was in the past, but Tang Huan didn’t think she had moved on. The Soul Condensing Pearl wasn’t just an ordinary pearl. When Wang Mengyao was little, her soul was unstable, and she almost died. Her father had gone to great lengths to get the pearl from a Buddhist cultivator and put it on Wang Mengyao’s neck, and only then did her health improve.

Back then, when Wang Mengyao said she lost the Soul Condensing Pearl, Elder Wang searched the entire Tianxuan Sect for it. Later, the elders said that because the pearl was gone, Wang Mengyao started having nightmares again. No one knew that Wang Mengyao had given the Soul Condensing Pearl to someone. The fact that Wang Mengyao was willing to give such a precious thing to Shi Yingying showed how much she must have loved her back then. But the more she loved her then, the more she probably hated her now. Tang Huan had never seen Wang Mengyao have such a strong reaction to anyone before.

But Wang Mengyao’s hope was likely in vain. Shi Yingying’s opponent was not in the same league as her, and Shi Yingying would probably defeat him soon. Among the disciples in this generation, only Ren Jingmu and Shi Yingying were strong enough to compete for first place. Tang Huan had secretly hoped that Shi Yingying would defeat Ren Jingmu to humble him, but after hearing what Wang Mengyao said, Tang Huan didn’t want to see either of them win.

Tang Huan was right. It wasn’t long before Shi Yingying’s opponent couldn’t withstand her dense, web-like sword moves and was sent flying off the stage.

Shi Yingying stood on the stage with her sword on her back. Even though she had just won the match, her expression was still as calm and indifferent as ever. She symbolically cupped her hands to her opponent, glanced at the stands, and then turned and left the stage. Shi Yingying didn’t stay to watch the rest of the matches and went straight back to her cave.

“Mengyao, she seemed to have looked at you just now!” Tang Huan said, frowning at Shi Yingying’s retreating back. “What do you think she meant by that? Was she challenging you?” Tang Huan was sure she hadn’t been mistaken. Shi Yingying’s gaze had indeed landed on Wang Mengyao.

“It was probably a coincidence,” Wang Mengyao said with a frown, clearing her throat. “Let’s not worry about her. Just thinking about her makes me unhappy.” With that, Wang Mengyao put the rest of the pastry into her mouth and went back to her cheerful and carefree self.

But Tang Huan couldn’t let it go. She had long considered Wang Mengyao a good friend and couldn’t stand to see her being bullied. Thinking this, Tang Huan couldn’t help but remember what she had heard when she first arrived in this world. The little squirrels had been gossiping about how Shi Yingying had lost her parents’ belongings and had an inner demon. At the time, Tang Huan had just thought the disciple was a filial child and had planned to find a chance to tell Shi Yingying where her parents’ belongings were. But now, she had completely abandoned that idea.

She couldn’t tell Shi Yingying, but she could tell Wang Mengyao to make her happy. Tang Huan made up a lie, saying she had overheard the elders talking about Shi Yingying’s inner demon. Wang Mengyao was clearly interested. She even forgot to eat her pastry, her eyes wide as she looked at Tang Huan. “How can a person who is so dedicated to swordplay have an inner demon? Her mind is as tough as steel.”

“I heard she lost her parents’ belongings,” Tang Huan whispered in Wang Mengyao’s ear. “She was so mean to you. Maybe this is punishment from the heavens.”

“I actually saw it once,” Tang Huan said, recalling what the squirrels had said about the location of Shi Yingying’s parents’ belongings. She leaned in closer to Wang Mengyao’s ear. “The box containing her parents’ belongings is actually in the rat nest’s garbage heap, not far from her place. It’s likely that a careless squirrel accidentally threw the box away when it was cleaning up her cave.”

“It’s karma. Otherwise, how could she not have found it when it was so close to her?”

Wang Mengyao’s eyes flickered. She lowered her head and whispered, biting her lip, “She’s afraid of mice. My dad said that back then, the demonic cultivators threw her into a pile of demon rats. She was bitten all over, and she barely survived…”

The surrounding noise was too loud, and Tang Huan didn’t hear clearly. “Huh?” she asked, but Wang Mengyao just smiled at Tang Huan, poked her arm, and changed the subject.

“Nothing.”

“Look, the second match is starting!”

The next two matches were both exciting. Unlike Shi Yingying’s cold demeanor, the winners of the next two matches looked incredibly happy. Their high spirits showed off their youthful vitality, which made Tang Huan’s heart race.

With Wang Mengyao’s encouragement of “Ah Huan, you can definitely win,” Tang Huan walked onto the stage. Her actions over the past few days had changed a lot of people’s minds about her, and when she walked onto the stage, a wave of cheers erupted from the crowd. An elder even smiled and patted Tang Huan’s shoulder. 

“Tang Huan! You’ve grown up. Just as they say, people change in three days. You’ve truly astounded everyone.”

Tang Huan felt a little relaxed as she walked onto the stage. She already had a good idea of her opponent’s fighting style, so all she had to do was give it her all and fight as fast as she could.

As she stood on the stage, a gust of wind brought the scent of purple periwinkle flowers and scattered them onto Tang Huan’s shoulders. That familiar feeling of Senior Sister watching her came over her again, and Tang Huan couldn’t help but straighten her back. Unlike Tang Huan’s relaxed demeanor, her opponent clearly knew his chances of winning were slim. His face was full of anxiety, and he had already taken a defensive stance.

With the elder’s call to “begin,” Tang Huan drew her sword and began to attack. Her body moved so fast it looked like a blur. She was soon beside her opponent, who used a large hammer to block Tang Huan’s attack. Tang Huan was pushed back two steps by the impact, but she quickly spun around and attacked him from another direction. As a gust of wind blew, Tang Huan vaguely caught a strange herbal scent as she got closer to her opponent.

Tang Huan frowned but didn’t think much of it. She continued to attack, focused on being fast. Soon, she forced her opponent to retreat a few steps. Tang Huan’s fighting spirit was at its peak. Just as she was about to attack again, a strange yet familiar surge of heat erupted inside her.

What is this?!

The feeling was so familiar, but Tang Huan couldn’t figure out where she had gotten it. Tang Huan’s eyes went wide. She tried to fight the surge of heat inside her, but at that moment, her opponent, who had been retreating, suddenly attacked.

They’re doing this in front of everyone! Bai Feng is so vicious that she would drug me with something like this at a time like this! Tang Huan gritted her teeth. She had never hated Bai Feng more than she did at this moment.

But hating Bai Feng was useless now. While fighting, Tang Huan tried to endure the unbearable heat inside her. She felt like she was in a steamer. The hand holding her sword became weak, and her consciousness started to fade. Tang Huan gritted her teeth and dug her fingernails into her palm to regain control. But it was no use. Tang Huan’s speed continued to slow down. She was not paying attention, and her opponent hit her shoulder with his hammer, sending her flying to the ground.

All the strength was drained from her body. Tang Huan bit down hard on her lower lip, unable to find the energy to stand up again.

The crowd erupted into an uproar.

“—Stop!” Just in the nick of time, a loud shout came from the sky. No one had expected the sect master, who had been watching the match calmly, to suddenly change his expression and cry out. The sect master quickly flew to the stage on his sword, grabbed Tang Huan’s arm, and gave her opponent, whose eyes were flickering, a sharp look. Then, he flew toward Baiwu Peak with Tang Huan in his arms.

*******

The entrance to Qin Su’s cave on Baiwu Peak was already open and the white-robed Qin Su, whom Tang Huan had thought was in seclusion, was standing in the courtyard with her lips tightly pressed together, looking at the sect master with a deeply serious gaze.