The Villain is Soft and Clingy [Transmigration] - Chapter 9
The night was cold and the dew heavy. The disciples of Yashan waited for most of the night on the White Jade Platform, swayed by the biting wind, suffering immensely.
The masters had stood guard for half a day, but the whole affair turned out to be a lot of fuss over nothing. The Yashan barrier remained utterly quiet; not even a shadow was seen.
—Where was Zhang Kuang?!!
Everyone’s eyes were red from staying up late. The person who stirred up all the trouble never even showed up, leaving everyone feeling stood up.
*Bah, what a rotten Demon Sect Leader, no integrity! She said she’d attack Yashan and bloodbath the main hall, but not a single shadow was seen. Probably went off to capture octogenarian men to warm her bed again!*
The ten peak masters likely guessed what happened. After a quick discussion, they gave a perfunctory speech and dismissed the many disciples who had been diligently waiting on the White Jade Altar.
Xia Zhitiao exhaled, nudging Zhang Lan, who had fallen asleep beside her: “Wake up, let’s go back to the room to sleep.”
Zhang Lan’s hair was messy. She sat up, yawned, looking sleepily disheveled, and her voice was soft and sweet: “No…”
“Do you want to sleep here?” Xia Zhitiao pushed her shoulder, quite helpless. “You’ll catch a cold.”
The junior sister had completely slept through the masters’ speeches and didn’t know what had happened. She mumbled, “Where’s that scoundrel Zhang Kuang? Did the masters drive her away?”
*Why is she still thinking about this?*
Xia Zhitiao chuckled, explaining, “Zhang Kuang didn’t show up. We’re safe. Hurry back to sleep.”
The junior sister nodded, yawning repeatedly. After bidding Xia Zhitiao farewell at the fork in the road, she slowly shuffled back to her room.
Unlike the inner disciples, who each had their own room, new disciples had to share, though their room conditions were much better than those of outer disciples.
Because of her dawdling, the three girls sharing a room with Zhang Lan had already returned. They were gathered, sitting together, excitedly discussing something.
Seeing Zhang Lan enter, one of the girls waved to her, saying, “Come, come quickly, we’re discussing important matters.”
Zhang Lan couldn’t be bothered with them. She was so sleepy she walked to her bed, flopped down, and pulled the blanket over her head.
One of them was a little displeased, whispering, “What’s that about? She never talks to us, and now we invite her, and she ignores us.”
Another girl raised an eyebrow, gave a disdainful “hmph,” and said, “If she doesn’t want to talk, fine. It’s not like we’re desperate.”
This person had delicate features and beautiful attire, and her spiritual power was the strongest among them. She was Wang Yan, one of the siblings who had topped the previous trial.
Wang Yan was surrounded by the other two girls, thoroughly enjoying being the center of attention. She glanced at Zhang Lan, who was covered by the blanket, and deliberately raised her voice:
“In my opinion, although Zhang Kuang was intimidated by Yashan’s might today, she definitely won’t give up easily. She’ll surely find a way to make a comeback, right, Xiao Zuo, Xiao You?”
The girl called “Xiao Zuo” quickly nodded, saying, “We still need to be prepared.”
“In my opinion, Zhang Kuang’s delayed appearance is probably due to fear,” Wang Yan analyzed, sounding quite logical. “So she’ll definitely think of some dirty trick to sneak attack Yashan!”
Xiao You was made anxious by her words and nervously asked, “Zhang Kuang is so despicable, what should we do?”
Wang Yan smiled triumphantly and declared, “I have an idea, listen up…”
Before her “ingenious” plan could even be uttered, the person under the blanket suddenly rolled over, interrupting her mercilessly, and muffledly said:
“She won’t come.”
Wang Yan crossed her arms and “hmph-ed,” saying, “Zhang Lan, you’re really naive and childish. The Demon Sect Leader behaves despicably; she’s capable of anything.”
Xiao You added, “Exactly, how can you so easily make such a claim?”
Zhang Lan, still covered by the blanket, impatiently said, “I told you, she won’t come. There’s no reason. Can you two shut up and let someone rest?”
Xiao Zuo asked suspiciously, “The Demon Sect Leader listens to you so much? If you say she won’t come, she won’t?”
Zhang Lan curled up, coldly saying, “Believe it or not, I’m going to sleep.”
Because Zhang Lan had joined the sect late, by the time she was assigned to a room with them, the other three had already formed a small clique, always subtly or openly excluding her.
Zhang Lan never intended to befriend them anyway, so she found it quite peaceful and enjoyed being alone.
The conversation between the three girls, however, was stirred up by Zhang Lan’s few words. Far from quieting down, they became more and more excited, their voices growing louder and louder, making Zhang Lan’s brow twitch. She suddenly threw off the blanket and sat up.
“You guys chat slowly.” She expressionlessly rolled up her bedding and pillow, and angrily walked out.
A cold wind hit her face, making Zhang Lan shiver. She hugged her blanket and looked around, found an empty small forest, and laid out her bedding under a large tree.
“Zhang Kuang, Zhang Kuang, Zhang Kuang,” she grumbled. “What about Zhang Kuang? So what if she couldn’t help but beat someone up? Saying it over and over again, fifteen times, aren’t you tired of it?”
Seeing that no one was around, Zhang Lan covered her head with the blanket and took out a rectangular box.
The box was as black as ink, slender and exquisitely crafted. She carefully opened the lid, her fingertips brushing over the several pills inside, quietly counting: “…seven, eight, nine.”
One of the ten pills had been used by her earlier, leaving nine quietly lying in the wooden box, emitting a bitter medicinal scent.
“I need to be more frugal,” Zhang Lan rubbed her hair in annoyance, mumbling to herself, “Maybe I should cut them in half, but I’m worried the effect will be halved too.”
She frowned, sighing deeply: “Madam Gu Ji looks at me like I’m a piece of braised pork. So annoying, I don’t want to find her.”
The cold wind rustled through the leaves. Zhang Lan, wrapped in her blanket, turned over and huffed indignantly.
“Those little girls are annoying too,” Zhang Lan closed her eyes, muttering, “Always chatting and disturbing the peace. If they don’t let me sleep, be careful, Zhang Kuang might get angry and really attack Yashan…”
—
The affair of Zhang Kuang caused panic throughout Yashan. Everyone was on high alert for dozens of days, but everything remained calm; nothing happened.
Qin Zhi, as the Peak Master of Zhihe Peak, was called to the main hall because of this incident, and was forced to suspend classes, giving the disciples a few days of fun.
But holidays always come to an end. As soon as Qin Zhi returned, she swiftly assigned a pile of assignments, tormenting the disciples until they complained bitterly.
According to Xia Zhitiao’s incomplete statistics, this batch of new disciples climbed Yubai Peak ten times, carried fifty large water tanks of water, and ran three laps around the entire Yashan.
It was truly inhumane.
During this time, Xia Zhitiao and other seniors were called over by Qin Zhi a few times. She saw Zhang Lan looking haggard, her small face not as round anymore, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
*Such a young child, who would torment her like this!*
After everyone had finished training, she quickly approached Zhang Lan while Qin Zhi wasn’t looking, and squatted down to talk to her.
Zhang Lan blinked at her, her mouth pouting, looking like she was about to cry: “Senior Sister…”
“You’ve worked hard, you’ve worked hard,” Xia Zhitiao patted her shoulder, comforting her. “Senior Sister brought you something.”
Saying this, she quickly slipped a square box into Zhang Lan’s arms while no one was looking, then hurried away.
*Senior Sister gave me something just for me!!*
Zhang Lan was moved to tears, clutching the box, completely unwilling to open it. She carefully carried it back.
Only Xiao You was in the cabin; Xiao Zuo and Wang Yan were not there. She saw Zhang Lan hugging a box like a treasure, looking overjoyed, and couldn’t help but lean over curiously: “What’s that?”
Zhang Lan gave her a cool glance and hugged the box tighter: “Mind your own business.”
*If she doesn’t want me to look, then I won’t.* Xiao You turned away, indicating she wasn’t interested at all.
Zhang Lan retreated to a corner and opened the box. Inside, neatly arranged, were four glutinous rice balls, and in the middle, a small porcelain rabbit, with a small card that read “Go for it!”
*Senior Sister is so thoughtful. Senior Sister is so cute. The rice balls Senior Sister bought are especially delicious. Senior Sister’s handwriting is the best in the world.*
That being said, eating them was impossible. Zhang Lan put everything into her storage ring, leaving only the little white rabbit.
She and the porcelain rabbit stared at each other, studying each other seriously for a while, and suddenly she couldn’t quite figure it out:
*Why did Senior Sister give me a porcelain rabbit?*
—*Of course, because you’re white and soft, and as well-behaved as a little rabbit.*
That’s what Xia Zhitiao thought, but she definitely wouldn’t say it aloud, leaving Zhang Lan to ponder for a long time, still not understanding the hidden meaning of her senior sister.
*Never mind, Senior Sister is good at everything anyway.*
Zhang Lan was happily hugging the little rabbit when the wooden cabin door suddenly swung open with a “bang!”
Wang Yan, looking terrified, rushed into the room and yelled at them both: “It’s bad news! Zhang Kuang has attacked Yubai Peak’s main hall!!”
Xiao You’s face instantly drained of color, her voice trembling: “Sh-she really came!”
Zhang Lan, holding the small porcelain rabbit, said incredulously, “Huh?”
“What are you standing there for?” Wang Yan was frantic. She grabbed Xiao You’s arm. “Xiao You, Zhang Lan, hurry up, let’s go to the main hall together!”
“…Wait a moment.”
Zhang Lan didn’t believe Wang Yan one bit. After all, no one in this world knew Zhang Kuang’s true whereabouts better than her.
She cleared her throat and coldly said, “What kind of joke is this? Are you really sure that person is Zhang Kuang?”
“Unreasonable!” Wang Yan glared at her angrily. “I saw her clearly! That person is clearly the evil Demon Sect Leader!”
Zhang Lan put away the small porcelain rabbit, tidied her sleeve, and quickly followed the two.
On Yubai Peak, it was bustling. Numerous disciples were lined up in formation, and a tall, black-clad woman with her long hair tied high stood in front of the main hall.
She smiled faintly, hands behind her back, and declared loudly: “I am the Demon Sect Leader, Zhang Kuang!”
Zhang Lan inwardly *tsk-ed*, her face filled with displeasure:
…Who are you?!