The Villain is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Xia Zhitiao saw that the Yashan masters were truly shaken by the Shuijing Lake incident. The barrier they set up was incredibly vast, covering ten meters from the lakeside. Forget disciples, not even a mosquito could fly in.

The distance was too great. Xia Zhitiao strained her eyes for a long while, but she couldn’t make out the person’s face or expression, not even their silhouette was clear.

The person wore a thin black robe, standing serenely by the shore. Their long, flowing hair was caught by the wind, like fine brushwork in ink, with the blue sky as a canvas, sketching delicate branches and leaves.

Yashan favored light colors. The masters and grand-masters wore white robes, and most disciples wore light or bright clothing. Dark colors were rare, let alone a full black outfit.

Xia Zhitiao had been in the sect for so long and had never seen anyone dressed entirely in black. She watched the figure from afar, pondering: *’It must be the one who saved me, right?’*

Human curiosity is boundless. The more you hide something, the more curious people become, determined to get to the bottom of it.

She stood by the barrier for a long time, hesitating, wanting to go in. But her realm was too low. She could only watch helplessly as the black-clad woman circled the Shuijing Lake twice, bent down to touch the water, and then suddenly vanished.

Ultimately, they didn’t meet. Xia Zhitiao was very disappointed, and her curiosity about the black-clad woman’s identity grew stronger.

Taking advantage of her current bottleneck in cultivation, and not wanting to push through to the next stage, she found time to make a special trip to Wanzong Hall, where portraits of all Yashan’s grand-masters and masters since its founding were displayed.

But she searched painstakingly among thousands of portraits for a long time, yet couldn’t find the black-clad woman, or even anyone with a similar attire. In the end, she returned empty-handed.

She always felt that person was very familiar, that she had seen them somewhere, but she just couldn’t remember for the life of her.

Xia Zhitiao’s heart felt heavy, and she was even gloomy during cultivation, prompting Lu Guo to ask, “Junior Sister Xia, are you alright?”

Xia Zhitiao sighed: “Yes, I’m fine… Thank you, Senior Sister, for your concern.”

“You look so troubled,” Lu Guo said. “Is something bothering you?”

Xia Zhitiao deliberated for a moment, then said, “To be honest, I want to ask about someone.”

“Asking about people is easy, just ask me,” Lu Guo said with a proud expression, tilting her head back. “I’m practically Yashan’s encyclopedia. In these thirteen vast peaks, besides the outer sect disciples, there are very few people I don’t know!”

Xia Zhitiao smiled: “Then I’ll trouble Senior Sister.”

“Black clothes, well-proportioned figure, wearing a beast-tooth necklace,” Xia Zhitiao thought for a moment and added, “And very beautiful.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lu Guo’s face changed drastically. She grabbed Xia Zhitiao’s hands, “Junior Sister Xia, have you seen that person in Yashan?!”

Her reaction was too extreme, startling Xia Zhitiao, who instinctively said, “No, I just coincidentally, uh… saw a painting.”

“Junior Sister, are you perhaps confused?” Lu Guo’s expression was agitated. “Given your description, the only one who fits is that utterly wicked, tyrannical, and conscienceless beast, isn’t it?!”

*Who is so powerful that they can make Lu Guo use so many idioms, and all of them entirely derogatory?*

“Huh?” Xia Zhitiao felt increasingly uneasy as she listened, asking bewilderedly, “So who is it?”

“—The Demon Sect Leader, Zhang Kuang!”

Lu Guo’s expression was indignant, as she poured forth: “That despicable beast wears black, is inherently cruel, and who knows if that thing on her neck is even a beast tooth; it might have been brutally pulled out of someone’s mouth!”

Xia Zhitiao was stunned.

Her mind was a jumble for a moment. Lu Guo was listing Zhang Kuang’s wicked deeds beside her, but Xia Zhitiao didn’t hear a word.

If what Lu Guo said was true, then the black-clad woman who saved her, wouldn’t she be Yashan’s number one enemy, the Demon Sect Leader?

*…Zhang Kuang, came to Yashan, and saved me?*

*No, no, what am I thinking!* Xia Zhitiao shook her head hard, trying to shake off this utterly nonsensical guess.

She was the Demon Sect Leader, unrelated to her, with no personal grudge or enmity. Why would she travel thousands of miles to save someone? With just these few small characteristics, it could easily be someone else.

Moreover, she had even mistaken Master Qin’s white robes for black earlier. It was highly possible that she also misjudged things due to the dim light under Shuijing Lake.

*This makes sense now,* Xia Zhitiao breathed a sigh of relief. She echoed Lu Guo’s words for a bit, and once the other calmed down, she resumed her cultivation.

—

A few days later, the trial competition arrived as scheduled.

Countless spiritual pearls lit up, illuminating Yashan brightly. The usually quiet Yashan suddenly became bustling. All disciples were gathered on Yubai Peak.

The trial competition was divided into two parts. The first part was a competition among the peaks, to determine the strongest disciples within each realm. The second part was the initiation trial, where two disciples would lead six newcomers or outer sect disciples into the Demon Beast Forest in a team format.

The White Jade Altar had long been set up with barriers. A perfect circle at the center served as the combat arena. Facing it, the thirteen peak masters of Yashan sat neatly, surrounded by a packed crowd of disciples from all peaks.

“Listen up!”

Qin Zhi looked at the group of little radishes in front of her and instructed, “Today’s competition has twenty rounds and nearly a hundred matches. It’s purely a contest between initiated disciples and does not concern you.”

At these words, the newcomers, who had been nervous, immediately brightened upon hearing they wouldn’t have to compete.

“You don’t need to follow me today. Go wherever you like, just don’t cause trouble,” Qin Zhi rubbed her forehead. “I still need to check on my own disciples.”

After the newcomers uniformly shouted, “Yes,” Qin Zhi waved her hand, dismissing them.

Not all newcomers had senior brothers or sisters to guide them. Wang Yan, pulling her brother, wandered around the arena looking rather bored.

She saw Zhang Lan swiftly packing her belongings, hugging a bundle neatly wrapped in blue silk. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Zhang Lan, what’s that?”

Zhang Lan didn’t even lift her head, saying, “Nothing.”

The other’s attitude was too cold, leaving Wang Yan feeling rebuffed. But she still approached somewhat persistently, asking, “Zhang Lan, Zhang Lan, where are you going—”

Before she could finish, Zhang Lan, in three swift moves, had already packed her things. Hugging the small blue parcel, she dashed away amidst Wang Yan’s shouts.

They were still uninitiated disciples, so their positions in the arena were closer to the corner. Zhang Lan hopped up the white jade steps, her target locked, her destination clear: the waiting area for Shuijing Peak, one of Yashan’s thirteen peaks.

The bearded Grand-master was giving instructions to the Core Formation disciples. From afar, he saw a small girl running over and chuckled, “Oh, isn’t that Zhang Lan?”

He looked up, observing the little disciple he had coincidentally found down the mountain. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became. Stroking his beard, he said, “What, looking for your senior sister?”

Author’s Note:

Bearded Grand-master: *I calculated everything, thinking I picked up a well-behaved disciple down the mountain, but it turns out I picked up an ancestor. That’s fine, but the ancestor even set her sights on the most clever and beautiful girl in our peak. Truly, the world is in decline, and hearts are no longer pure!!*