The Female Lead Always Comes Around [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 24

The outer defenses of Yan Yue Palace had been set up long ago by Wu Yin. They weren’t invincible, but they couldn’t be breached in a single strike. With the palace entrance hidden behind countless traps, no righteous disciple could have found it without a guide.

Ning Shu felt confident in the palace’s defenses. Yet, with the three guardians, Wu Yin, and Rong Xue all absent, a strange unease gnawed at her. The anxiety in her chest grew heavier by the minute.

Fifteen minutes later, Mo Shang returned, his expression grim, carrying a green sachet. Ning Shu recognized it immediately it was Rong Xue’s.

The sachet contained herbs meant to calm the mind, a personal preparation Rong Xue had made for her. Ning Shu had once dismissed it as cumbersome, but Rong Xue had kept it close, using it to soothe Ning Shu’s occasional unrest. If Rong Xue had brought it out now, it was likely something had gone wrong.

“This… I found it at the entrance. Senior Sister, she…” Mo Shang trailed off, unable to continue, his face betraying his worry.

“Rong Xue wouldn’t go out without reason. Someone must have told her something…” Ning Shu began, her brow furrowing. Mo Shang’s face paled as he whispered, “Could it… be a traitor inside the palace?”

Ning Shu’s expression darkened. Before she could respond, a tremendous explosion shook the ground outside.

Mo Shang immediately stepped in front of her, eyes sharp with vigilance.

“Little Palace Master! The righteous have blown the entrance! They’re pouring in by the dozens! Our forces won’t hold for long!” A subordinate rushed in, sliding to his knees before them.

Ning Shu’s face was icy as she listened to the chaos outside. Calmly, she said, “I understand. You may leave.”

For the righteous to have located the entrance so quickly confirmed Mo Shang’s fears.

He glanced at her. “Little Palace Master, they’re strong and numerous. Wu Yin and Chi Ji aren’t here. It’s not wise to fight head-on. You should retreat into the secret passage and wait for their return before deciding your next move.”

Ning Shu understood his thoughts; he wanted to stand and fight with the palace, taking the brunt himself. But as a responsible leader, she could not let her subordinate die needlessly.

Besides, most of the righteous warriors weren’t exceptionally skilled. A determined strike could still succeed.

She had planned everything meticulously, assuming no one would betray her. But now, with someone from the righteous familiar with the palace’s layout, all her traps were useless. With Wu Yin’s whereabouts unknown, and if she hadn’t reserved a contingency, Yan Yue Palace would be devastated.

Mo Shang, knowing this, urged her to retreat into the secret passage to protect her.

Even at the cost of their lives, they were determined to keep the Little Palace Master safe.

A gust of wind swept through. Mo Shang instinctively pulled Ning Shu behind him, fanning a powerful internal force that cracked the main doors in two.

Mist seeped into the hall. Mo Shang immediately withdrew.

Wu Yin entered with a bleeding wound on his left shoulder.

Seeing Ning Shu, he finally relaxed, as if a weight had lifted. “It’s good to see you unharmed.”

Ning Shu tore a piece of her skirt to bandage his wound simply, then asked, “Where were you before? What about the others?”

Wu Yin frowned. “Earlier, someone reported that you’d been captured by the righteous. We set out together, but someone triggered the entrance traps… and we got separated.”

“Senior Sister went out with you, too?” Mo Shang asked, anxious.

Wu Yin nodded, shame on his face.

Ning Shu’s heart skipped. This had to be a trap by the righteous, designed to pick them off one by one.

She didn’t worry about the other two guardians they could protect themselves. But Rong Xue… skilled only in medicine and her beauty, she was practically defenseless. If she fell into their hands… Ning Shu dared not think further.

“Which! Come out and die!”

A flaming arrow struck the main doors. Outside, the cries of “Exterminate the witch! Purge the demon sect!” rang like thunder. Ning Shu stared at the blazing courtyard, her eyes cold, her bl00d boiling with feral rage.

She stepped out of the hall slowly, flanked only by Wu Yin and Mo Shang. Against Li Zhou’s overwhelming forces, they looked pitifully weak.

Li Zhou smiled, pushing Rong Xue forward. “I hear you care for her. Tell me, how much?”

Ning Shu exuded a chilling aura, clutching her sword tightly, forcing herself to appear indifferent. “She’s just a healer. Do you really think she can control me?”

Rong Xue, who had been signaling to her subtly, smiled faintly. She did not want to be a weakness Ning Shu could be held hostage by.

Li Zhou, anticipating Ning Shu’s intention, calmly accepted a dagger handed to him by an aide and slashed toward Rong Xue’s face.

Rong Xue bit her lip, letting out a cry she could not suppress.

“If Little Palace Master thinks she’s unimportant, I’ll deal with her myself. A worthless life isn’t worth your concern.”

He deliberately increased the pressure, and Rong Xue’s cries rose.

Ning Shu’s mind raced with the care Rong Xue had shown her. “Stop!” she shouted.

Rong Xue shook her head. “Little Palace Master, my life is worthless. Don’t yield to him!”

Li Zhou easily forced Rong Xue’s chin aside, tossing the dagger to an aide. “Since you won’t let her suffer, you’ll suffer in her place.”

He waved to an aide in Tian Shu robes carrying a bottle, who cautiously approached Ning Shu.

“Take this. Eat it, or…” Li Zhou tightened his grip on Rong Xue’s neck, eyes fixed on Ning Shu.

The aide trembled as he reached out, holding the bottle before her.

Ning Shu hesitated, and Wu Yin immediately warned, “Little Palace Master, don’t! It could be poison!”

Mo Shang’s face twisted in pain as he urged her to refuse, knuckles white around his fan.

Li Zhou smiled smoothly. “Little Palace Master, have no fear. My reputation is my bond.”

But his eyes were full of malice, impossible to tell where the “demon” truly resided.

Rong Xue’s eyes pleaded with Ning Shu, tears mixing with bl00d on her face.

Ning Shu removed the stopper and swallowed a small brown pill, resolutely saying, “I’ve done as you said. Release Rong Xue.”

Li Zhou’s smile twisted. “Patience. In time, she will be yours again.”

Anger and bl00d surged through Ning Shu. She spat bl00d, gripping her sword for support as her internal vision blurred. Killlust swelled in her chest.

Li Zhou grinned. “Ning Shu, kill them.”

As if under command, her eyes turned crimson. She swung her sword toward Wu Yin and Mo Shang, ignoring their cries.

The three fought viciously. Wu Yin and Mo Shang tried to reach her consciousness, but she was like a puppet, moving only at Li Zhou’s command.

Mo Shang was struck back, coughing bl00d. Wu Yin tried to protect her, but Ning Shu pressed him into a corner, stabbing his shoulder.

“Don’t let them control you!” Wu Yin shouted, gripping her hand.

Ning Shu’s eyes narrowed in pain, the mark on her forehead vivid red. She crouched, trying to block out the commands in her head. Li Zhou’s voice repeated, “Kill them… kill them…”

She raised her sword to her chest.

Li Xiao, having returned from Tian Shu, arrived to find the door empty and rushed to Yan Yue Palace, only to see this scene.

Ning Shu, exhausted and bleeding, crouched in pain, ready to harm herself.

Li Xiao threw her hairpin, deflecting the sword. Ning Shu looked at her, bewildered.

Li Xiao surged forward, but Li Zhou blocked her. “Don’t! Know your place!”

Ning Shu, forced to pick up her sword, approached Wu Yin and Mo Shang, who could no longer defend themselves.

Li Xiao understood and, incredulous, confronted Li Zhou: “You said you wouldn’t use it on the palace disciples!”

Li Zhou shrugged. “She’s strong. How else would you subdue her?”

Ning Shu’s mind flickered between clarity and confusion, agony tearing through her. To spare Wu Yin and Mo Shang, she drove the sword into her own chest.

“Kill me! Please, just kill me!” she cried, but no one would heed her.

Li Xiao, heart aching, struck Li Zhou aside and held her.

“Kill me… please, just kill me!” Ning Shu clutched her sleeve, desperate.

Li Xiao’s chest ached. “Don’t fear. We’ll find a way. Don’t be afraid.”

Li Zhou’s expression darkened. “Since you can’t act, I’ll do it myself.”

Ning Shu’s eyes turned crimson again. To avoid harming Li Xiao, she pushed her aside and fell back. Li Zhou immediately blocked her meridians, immobilizing her.

“A dying person isn’t worth pity. You think saving her would earn her gratitude? The Shura toxin inside her… You put it there at the martial arts convention. Right and wrong cannot coexist. If you won’t act, I will.”

Li Xiao’s eyes burned red as tears fell. “So that’s why she’s in such pain… her heart truly was broken.”

She reopened Ning Shu’s blocked meridians and turned to Li Zhou, determination in her gaze. Her father’s cruelty had reached monstrous depths.

Li Xiao drew her sword, seeking vengeance for Ning Shu and justice for the martial world. Li Zhou staggered, defeated. Before he could speak, Li Xiao’s sword pierced his chest.

“You’re unfit to lead the righteous martial world!”

Li Xiao’s face was cold, bl00d dripping from her mouth. Li Zhou’s eyes widened in shock. “The Maternal Gu remains in me! Even if I die, that witch will not live!”

Li Xiao, steps steady, poured her remaining internal power into Ning Shu.

“I will die with her,” she said.

Ning Shu’s eyelashes trembled. She opened her eyes. The crimson in them had vanished. Li Xiao smiled at her awakening, but Ning Shu’s expression suddenly changed.

“I won’t die with you.” She pushed the sword forward, bl00d on her lips, smiling seductively yet deadly.