The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 33

The courtyard was pitch-black, the courtyard walls and artificial mountain standing silently in the darkness, their blurred outlines resembling rows of human figures. A crescent moon overhead was obscured by thick clouds, leaving only a faint halo around the cloud edges.

“It’s too quiet here,” Yun Chuanzhi remarked, pausing by another side room door to knock. No one answered. “Cheng Jinshu and Ling Shui… could they be dead?” Yun Chuanzhi turned slowly, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Bai Fenghuo had already emerged from the room. Hearing this, she glanced at Yun Chuanzhi with a look that said, Are you an idiot? “They’re both Immortal Cultivators. Why would they need your concern?”

“This Seat cast a spell to put them to sleep. I didn’t want them jumping out at the first sign of trouble and ruining my plans.”

No wonder Bai Fenghuo suddenly wanted me to stay, Yun Chuanzhi thought to herself.

“Where are we going now?” Yun Chuanzhi asked.

“To pay our respects to the deceased,” Bai Fenghuo replied with a smile, her voice soft.

Youji City was built against the mountainside, its terrain rising and falling with the natural slopes. Countless towering pavilions and low courtyard walls crisscrossed the landscape, forming a vast and intricate metropolis. Finding a specific household in such a sprawling city would be no easy task.

Yet Bai Fenghuo seemed to know the way instinctively. In less than half an incense stick’s time, she stood before a grand estate. The two imposing stone lions guarding the entrance made it clear that this residence was worlds apart from the dilapidated Jiang Manor.

Yun Chuanzhi leaped from Bai Fenghuo’s arms to the ground, rubbing the red marks on her neck where the collar had chafed. She tilted her head back, surveying the scene.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the magnificent general’s gate. Crimson-lacquered pillars stood beneath the gate tower, their sweeping eaves curving skyward like the outstretched wings of a divine eagle. Beneath the eaves hung a row of brightly lit lanterns.

The plaque above the gate bore four gilded characters in bold, flowing calligraphy: “Eternal Prosperity.” The flickering lantern light reflected off the gold, creating a dazzling display of shimmering color.

“What audacious arrogance,” Yun Chuanzhi muttered, reading the characters aloud. “This looks like a merchant’s estate.”

The place reeked of wealth from top to bottom.

Bai Fenghuo’s expression remained impassive as she made no reply. She seized Yun Chuanzhi’s collar again and led her through the wall.

Their bodies vanished into the wall like water, reforming on the other side. As soon as they materialized, they were assaulted by the overwhelming stench of iron rust, mingled with a sickly sweet, putrid odor that made them gag.

“Heavens,” Yun Chuanzhi whispered, retreating several steps to avoid stepping in the bl00d.

Bai Fenghuo, standing beside Yun Chuanzhi, also looked unwell. She seemed nauseous, pressing a handkerchief to her nose to ease the discomfort.

“Another massacre,” Yun Chuanzhi murmured, her gaze sweeping over the corpses and bloodstains. A bitter ache welled up in her heart. It had been so long since she’d witnessed such carnage; the sight now felt jarringly unfamiliar.

Bai Fenghuo walked along the bl00d-soaked stone path, carefully avoiding the gore. On either side stood verdant welcome pines, beyond which lay two artificial rockeries. Now, three or four bodies lay sprawled among the rocks, their clothing identifying them as young servants.

One man’s hand still gripped the door latch, yet she had failed to escape. She remained half-crouched against the door, eyes wide with terror.

Yun Chuanzhi leaned down, examining the body by the moonlight that pierced through the thin clouds. The man’s eyes and skin still retained their color, indicating she had died recently. Her complexion hadn’t yet paled, and the bl00d hadn’t fully drained.

“According to You Tan, the victims were drained of their bl00d,” Yun Chuanzhi said. “But these bodies clearly didn’t die from bl00d loss.”

“Hmm,” Bai Fenghuo nodded. She stepped carefully through the filth, extending her palm toward the corpse at her feet. Wisps of purple light emanated from her palm, probing into the corpse’s forehead and spreading through its meridians.

She quickly withdrew her spiritual energy, her brow furrowing deeply. “Their internal organs have been shattered. This person is imitating This Seat’s techniques.”

Seeing Yun Chuanzhi’s confusion, she elaborated, “When I was younger, I favored the Nine Revolutions Soul-Crushing Palm, a technique created by my Master. After her death, I never used it again.”

“So, this person is an Immortal Cultivator?” Yun Chuanzhi asked, lifting her robes as she stepped over the pools of bl00d.

“Not necessarily,” Bai Fenghuo replied, shaking her head. She turned and circled around the second courtyard wall. “This doesn’t resemble the work of an Immortal Cultivator. If they were responsible, all these mortals would have died together, not one after another like this.”

A short corridor led to the inner courtyard, where the scene was even more horrific. Corpses lay scattered across every visible surface, many slain while fleeing, their limbs still twisted in the contorted postures of their final desperate sprints.

Yun Chuanzhi even spotted an infant, not yet a month old, lying lifeless in its swaddling clothes.

What kind of beast could commit such an atrocity, sparing not even a newborn? Yun Chuanzhi’s lips tightened as she gently lifted the child and laid it beneath the shade of an ancient, emerald-green locust tree.

Bai Fenghuo’s gaze lingered briefly on the infant before shifting away without a trace of emotion. She continued, “Nor is this the work of demons.”

“What if the demon’s cultivation is even higher than yours?” Yun Chuanzhi asked.

“Only the most formidable Great Demons in the world could achieve that,” Bai Fenghuo replied. “If such a being were to appear, it would shake the entire Nine Provinces and Four Seas.”

If it wasn’t a demon or an Immortal, it could only be a human. Yun Chuanzhi was astonished. How could a mortal slaughter over a hundred people in a single month? What kind of venomous heart must they possess?

Silently, Yun Chuanzhi chose a corpse whose death wasn’t too gruesome and pulled open its robes. As expected, the character “禾” (Feng He) had been stitched into the fabric with needle and thread.

She carefully covered the body again, sighed, and rose to her feet. “If they ultimately conclude that you were the killer, what will happen?”

“The same as before,” Bai Fenghuo said with a nonchalant smile, standing amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of bl00d. “The three Sects will send all their elites to surround This Seat and force me to submit.”

Yun Chuanzhi gazed at her lips, which were even more vividly red than the bloodstains, then lowered her eyes and walked deeper into the courtyard.

None of the deceased were Immortal Cultivators. It seemed only the ancestral Jade Pendant possessed spiritual energy. Moreover, there were no signs of the mansion having been ransacked. It appeared the perpetrator’s sole motive was to frame Bai Fenghuo.

Finding nothing else of interest, the pair scaled the courtyard wall and left. Instead of returning directly to the Jiang Clan, they transformed into two peasant women and lingered on the bustling streets, pretending to be market-goers.

The sun had yet to cast its full radiance, leaving only a faint glow on the horizon. Even before dawn, vendors were already hawking their wares along the main thoroughfare, their voices rising above the early morning bustle. Yun Chuanzhi haggled with a fruit seller for a long time before finally securing a basket overflowing with vegetables and fruits, along with a plump black-feathered chicken, for two spirit stones.

“Can I borrow a spirit stone?” Yun Chuanzhi nudged Bai Fenghuo with her elbow, grinning. “I’ll make you some soup later.”

Bai Fenghuo frowned and dodged the nudge, then reluctantly pulled a silk pouch embroidered with lotus flowers from her sleeve and tossed it to Yun Chuanzhi.

Yun Chuanzhi opened the pouch and nearly gasped aloud at the sight of it brimming with high-grade spirit stones. Her lips parted slightly as she swallowed her surprise. Beaming, she picked out the smallest stone and handed it to the vendor.

“Give me eight low-grade spirit stones in change,” she said cheerfully, extending her hand.

Her carefully devised strategy was proving correct: by pleasing Bai Fenghuo, she could not only live comfortably but also never want for food or drink.

If Bai Fenghuo were to give her such a pouch of spirit stones every day, she wouldn’t mind enduring her petty annoyances—she’d even let her ride on her shoulders through the streets.

She smiled at the pouch of coins, while Bai Fenghuo stared at her, utterly perplexed.

Why is she grinning like that over a few worthless stones?

A shout suddenly rang out from the end of the long street, followed immediately by the thunderous sound of approaching hooves, like crashing waves or a howling gale. The tall, powerful horses were upon them in an instant. Bai Fenghuo grabbed Yun Chuanzhi and pulled her back against the wall.

Dozens of Walking Gods, clad in verdant armor, strode solemnly through the morning mist, raising clouds of dust in their wake. Several night watchmen eating noodles by the roadside hastily grabbed their bowls and ducked under the eaves to avoid the grime.

“Youji City’s been restless lately. What’s happened now?” a younger watchman muttered, clutching her gong.

“Haven’t you heard? Patriarch Xu and her entire family were murdered,” a white-bearded watchman sighed, chewing thoughtfully. “Forty-five souls—the old, the young, and all the servants—none survived.”

“Murdered again?” The others crowded around, their faces etched with fear. “How many families have fallen now? When will that Demoness stop?”

“Is there no way to stop her? Mount Everlasting does nothing, and Celestial Emperor City ignores us?”

“An envoy from Celestial Emperor City arrives today. Let’s hope they solve this case quickly. Youji City is in a panic. When I left for my watch tonight, my wife clung to me for half an hour, weeping, terrified I’d be killed out here.”

Whitebeard, the night watchman, waited for the crowd to finish their excited chatter before speaking again. “The one who discovered the body was a Zhou, a night soil worker. He’s actually from my hometown. When she went to collect the night soil, no one answered the door for a long time. Annoyed, she banged on it a few more times. Guess what happened?”

“The door swung open, and the shriveled corpse fell right into her arms! Scared out of her wits, she screamed for her parents and wet herself right there!”

As she finished, the crowd gasped in shock. The morning mist dissipated, revealing the golden sunlight, and the long street gradually filled with bustling activity.

Yun Chuanzhi and Bai Fenghuo stopped listening. Carrying their baskets, they walked back to Jiang Manor. As they entered, another arrow shot toward them.

Having learned from experience, Yun Chuanzhi ducked as she opened the gate. The arrow soared over her back and embedded itself in the door with a clang.

This anti-theft mechanism was rather crude, firing only one arrow at a time. It might deter gentlemen, but it wouldn’t stop bandits.

Bai Fenghuo stepped inside, and Yun Chuanzhi moved to open the gate for her. Halfway through, she suddenly bent down, leaning close to the gate to examine something.

“What are you looking at?” Bai Fenghuo, stuck in the narrow gap, finally lost patience and snapped.

“Look at this,” Yun Chuanzhi said, ignoring her. She pointed to the arrow that had missed her. “Two arrows are lodged here.”

Seeing her so earnest, Bai Fenghuo’s anger choked in her chest. She swallowed her rage with a harsh gulp, her body flowing like water through the door crack to stand beside Yun Chuanzhi, looking down.

Two arrows were indeed embedded in the door. One, aimed at Yun Chuanzhi, was lodged near Bai Fenghuo’s chest.

The other, however, was planted straight and strangely just inches below it.

“This mechanism targets the chest. I’m already quite short, and the bandit from last night was even shorter. She must have been a dwarf, or…”

“A child,” Bai Fenghuo murmured.

She had only sensed the intruder’s aura, neglecting to observe their physical stature. But if they could place the waist token atop the cabinet, how could they possibly be a child?

The two exchanged a silent, upward-downward gaze before Bai Fenghuo abruptly changed the subject. “Weren’t you going to make soup? This Seat is hungry.”

“Alright,” Yun Chuanzhi replied, but Bai Fenghuo stopped her as she turned to leave.

“No salt, no scallions, no ginger, no garlic,” she instructed.

Why not just drink plain water then? Yun Chuanzhi smiled inwardly.

But she dared not voice her thoughts. Instead, she sweetly agreed and turned toward the kitchen, where she swiftly chopped off the chicken’s head with a thwack.