The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 35

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t immediately understand, asking blankly, “A bridal sedan?”

“It’s the carriage a bride rides in during mortal weddings,” Bai Fenghuo explained, seemingly enjoying Yun Chuanzhi’s confusion. She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her slender finger.

What is this fellow trying to say? Yun Chuanzhi snatched back her hair and was about to speak when Bai Fenghuo suddenly silenced her with a “Shh.”

Yun Chuanzhi fell silent, pressing a hand to her mouth as she peered through the sedan’s curtain. The curtain obscured most of the view, revealing only fleeting glimpses of drifting clouds.

Someone seemed to materialize from the air like flowing clouds, landing in the narrow courtyard.

Though they had suppressed their spiritual pressure, their mere presence before Yun Chuanzhi still stirred a faint unease in her heart.

“General, are you certain you sensed Bai Fenghuo’s aura? We’ve searched the entire garden—it’s full of opera performers, but not a single Immortal Cultivator.” A woman’s voice rang out.

“Keep searching,” the woman addressed as General replied. “The Celestial Emperor herself ordered us to capture Bai Fenghuo this time. He’s clearly determined to interfere in Mount Everlasting’s affairs. Regardless, we must find her first.”

At her command, seven or eight sets of hurried footsteps scattered in all directions. Some headed toward the Opera House, while others remained in the courtyard, relentlessly overturning firewood and miscellaneous items.

“What’s this sedan chair doing here?” the general remarked, her interest piqued as she strode toward it. “It must belong to the opera troupe. Look, the curtains are embroidered with mandarin ducks.”

A pair of thick-soled black boots, adorned with floral and avian patterns, appeared in the sunlight outside the curtain. As the general reached out, the two figures inside held their breath. Bai Fenghuo, her eyes cold, raised her palm, poised to strike.

In this moment of extreme peril, another voice suddenly rang out, like a gentle breeze stirring taut strings: “Esteemed guests, this is the rear courtyard of the Welcome Spring Courtyard. If you wish to see a performance, please proceed to the Opera House in the front courtyard and present your Flower-Pin Tickets for admission.”

“Flower-Pin Tickets? Do you even know who we are—”

“A’Tao, silence!” The woman addressed as “General” barked at her subordinate before turning politely to the speaker. “My apologies. We are envoys from Celestial Emperor City, tasked with investigating the massacre of a hundred people in Youji City.”

“Greetings, Immortal Masters,” the gentle voice replied, maintaining its composure. “This courtyard contains only the opera troupe’s belongings. I doubt the person you seek would hide among them.”

“But if even one or two of these items were damaged, we humble actors would have a difficult time explaining ourselves,” the actor said, bowing deeply before the general could reply. Her voice was earnest. “We implore you, Immortal Masters, to move on and spare us mortals any further trouble.”

A long silence hung over the courtyard. Finally, General Tu Yun spoke. “Very well. A’Tao, A’xing, let’s go.”

The Celestial Emperor City’s people had arrived swiftly and departed just as quickly. No sooner had their voices faded than they vanished one after another behind the courtyard walls. The once-noisy rear courtyard returned to its tranquil state.

Yun Chuanzhi let out a sigh of relief. Hearing the actor’s footsteps recede into the distance, she threw back the sedan chair’s curtain and leaped down, gulping in the fresh air.

“I couldn’t even breathe properly! I was suffocating,” she muttered, then reached out to help Bai Fenghuo descend.

Bai Fenghuo ignored her outstretched hands, landing gracefully on her own. Her willow-leaf eyes remained fixed on the direction the actor had disappeared, as if lost in thought.

“The people of Celestial Emperor City are truly strange,” Yun Chuanzhi remarked, wiping sweat from her brow. “The charges haven’t even been determined yet, but they’re already arresting people.” She suddenly turned to Bai Fenghuo. “Could it be you have a grudge against Celestial Emperor City as well?”

Bai Fenghuo continued to gaze toward the Opera House, her voice soft. “I have plenty of enemies.”

“Doesn’t that man’s voice sound familiar?” Bai Fenghuo suddenly changed the subject.

Yun Chuanzhi pondered for a moment. Since arriving at Mount Everlasting, she had remained within the Kun Dan Sect, interacting only with the Immortal Servants. How could she possibly recognize an actor’s voice?

But then a realization struck her. “Was it that performer who sang in the sect a few days ago? The one called the Painted Eyebrow Immortal?”

“Not entirely stupid,” Bai Fenghuo remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Yun Chuanzhi pursed her lips. She reached out and began rummaging through the jumbled clutter in the corner. In Avici City, survival was a daily struggle; such frivolous entertainment as brothels and theaters would have been unthinkable. Now, seeing these theatrical props, she found them strangely intriguing.

Suddenly, she pulled a pair of peculiar shoes from the firewood pile. The soles were barely palm-sized, yet the shoes were remarkably tall, with no space for feet at the top, only worn, frayed straps.

Holding them up, she asked Bai Fenghuo, “What are these?”

Bai Fenghuo approached for a closer look, then picked up a wooden stick and poked the soles with a look of distaste. “This troupe has a play where they bind these to their feet, imitating the foot-binding practices forced upon women in remote, impoverished regions.”

After speaking, the two women exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.

“What should we do now? Present this evidence to the people of Celestial Emperor City?” Yun Chuanzhi asked, laughing at her own suggestion. It was clear those people intended to capture Bai Fenghuo first. Even if they shoved the true culprit’s guilt in their faces, they likely wouldn’t believe it.

Bai Fenghuo didn’t answer. Instead, she drew a bone whistle from her waist, placed it to her lips, and blew. Though her breath flowed into the whistle, no sharp sound emerged.

An invisible wave rippled outward from the whistle. The shadows on the wall coalesced into a living, breathing black-clad figure, who leaped before Bai Fenghuo.

Yun Chuanzhi had long known Bai Fenghuo was secretly protected by Death Warriors, but this was her first time seeing one in action. She gasped in astonishment.

“Did your Master leave these warriors behind?” Yun Chuanzhi asked, her curiosity piqued. She reached out to touch the Death Warrior’s shoulder, her fingers meeting firm, rippling muscle.

As she marveled at the warrior’s physique, Bai Fenghuo suddenly gripped her collar from behind, yanking her back two steps.

“Must you touch everything?” Bai Fenghuo snapped, releasing her collar, her face darkening with displeasure. “Be careful, or I’ll chop off your hand.”

“Sorry,” Yun Chuanzhi muttered, tucking her hands into her sleeves and inwardly calling Bai Fenghuo petty.

Bai Fenghuo pulled Yun Chuanzhi behind her and barked an order: “Fetch the child from that dog kennel outside and hide her well. Remember, don’t kill him.”

The Death Warrior bowed in acknowledgment and swiftly melted back into the shadows clinging to the wall. Bai Fenghuo suddenly turned, her face bathed in sunlight. The light turned her hair to molten gold and made her cheeks glow like white jade.

Though she had changed her appearance, her eyes remained unchanged, still breathtakingly beautiful. Heaven is truly unfair, Yun Chuanzhi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“Hand over your helmet,” Bai Fenghuo demanded.

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t understand her intentions, but she complied. After all, she couldn’t defeat Bai Fenghuo anyway, so obedience seemed the wiser course.

Bai Fenghuo accepted the heavy helmet, twirling it in her hand before suddenly leaning forward. She pressed one hand against the back of Yun Chuanzhi’s head and clamped the helmet onto her head with the other.

“Bai Fenghuo, you—” Yun Chuanzhi tried to shout, but her mouth was instantly covered. The woman’s scalding palms clamped around her, front and back, rendering her immobile and speechless.

It’s over. Yun Chuanzhi realized she had underestimated Bai Fenghuo’s cunning. She had revealed too much in front of her. This device could expose every lie, and now that Bai Fenghuo had seized it, wouldn’t all her secrets be laid bare?

The thought sent a chill down Yun Chuanzhi’s spine. But then the woman spoke, asking a question that completely defied her expectations.

“Can I truly trust you?” Bai Fenghuo’s voice was soft, like a whisper in the wind.

Yun Chuanzhi’s eyelashes fluttered. She exhaled in relief, lowering her gaze.

Bai Fenghuo had already asked this question before, yet now she was using the helmet to ask it again. What kind of betrayal had this person endured to be so wary of others?

“Yes,” Yun Chuanzhi replied.

Without opening her mouth, her voice echoed from the helmet, carried away by the wind.

With her eyes lowered, she missed the sudden smile that flickered in Bai Fenghuo’s eyes.

The hand restraining Yun Chuanzhi loosened, and the helmet was removed. Yun Chuanzhi shook out her hair to dispel the heat, but Bai Fenghuo tapped her forehead. With a surge of spiritual energy, Yun Chuanzhi instantly shrank, reverting to her original appearance.

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t dwell on Bai Fenghuo’s unauthorized use of the helmet, stuffing the oversized headgear back into the chest at her waist. “Aren’t you afraid that general will come after you for using your spiritual energy?”

“The people of Celestial Emperor City are already hunting me. Hiding is pointless,” Bai Fenghuo said, flicking out the hairpin at the back of her head. Her long, raven-black hair cascaded down like ink. In the blinding sunlight, her features blurred into shimmering points before resolving into a face of bewitching, demonic allure.

He grinned, a wild, unrestrained expression, and conjured a blade of light in her palm with a swift gesture. “Perfect timing. This Seat has always loathed hiding.”

The oppressive aura of Celestial Emperor City drew closer. Yun Chuanzhi couldn’t bear to watch her show off any longer. She grabbed her sleeve urgently, pointing at her frail body. “What about me? What about me?”

Bai Fenghuo might be reckless, but she still wanted to live a few more years.

Suddenly, Bai Fenghuo pressed something into her arms, her smile fading as she spoke softly.

“Go find my Senior Sister. Though she hates me, she’s the only person in the Nine Provinces I can still trust—besides you.”

Yun Chuanzhi was baffled. How had she, a lazy and indolent person, become Bai Fenghuo’s most trusted confidante? Before she could process her shock, a silken ribbon wrapped around her and flung her over the courtyard wall, leaving her stumbling to regain her balance.

At the same moment, a purple figure shot skyward like an arrow, its radiance blooming like a daytime nebula. It swiftly converged with several other luminous forms.

Looking up, it was as if the sun and moon shone together, the heavens ablaze with vibrant colors clashing and intertwining in a breathtaking spectacle.

Had Yun Chuanzhi not known that Bai Fenghuo was fighting in the sky, she might have paused to admire the sight. But there was no time for such appreciation. She cursed under her breath and sprinted away.

She hadn’t run this hard in ages, yet twice now she’d found herself doing so for Bai Fenghuo. The irony wasn’t lost on her. Though Yun Chuanzhi typically drifted through life with a laissez-faire attitude, when someone suddenly entrusted their life to her, she felt a sense of responsibility she’d never experienced before.

“Cheng Jinshu, get back to the Opera House now!” she shouted through a megaphone. Fortunately, Cheng Jinshu responded promptly. By the time Yun Chuanzhi emerged from the narrow alley, Cheng Jinshu was already waiting at the entrance.

The crowd, unaware of what was happening, stopped to crane their necks and murmur in confusion. Yun Chuanzhi grabbed Cheng Jinshu’s hand and ducked into the throng, pushing their way through the crowd.

“What’s going on? Why are they fighting?” Cheng Jinshu asked urgently. “Ling Shui has already gone up to help. We…”

“Quick, take me to Mount Everlasting to find the Sect Leader,” Yun Chuanzhi interrupted Cheng Jinshu. “Those cultivators are powerful. Sect Leader Bai can’t hold out much longer alone.”

Cheng Jinshu didn’t dare delay further. As they ran, she activated her Wind Manipulation Technique, and the pair vanished silently into the sea of people.

The once-clear sky had inexplicably drawn down heavenly lightning. Dark clouds pressed down on the city, and in the blink of an eye, torrential rain poured down as if the heavens had sprung a leak.

The citizens of Youji City scrambled for cover, clutching their heads. Those who lived nearby sprinted home, while others crowded under the eaves of buildings along Hidden Sword Street, anxiously watching the rolling thunder overhead.

“This isn’t ordinary rain!” someone shouted, her voice rising and falling with the thunder. “It’s heavenly lightning drawn down by Immortal Cultivators fighting in the sky!”

“I’ve awakened my Spirit Root,” a rogue cultivator selling melon seeds under the Welcome Spring Courtyard’s stage called out. “This isn’t just any Immortal Cultivator battle—those are Venerables in the Tribulation Transcension Stage! One of them must be Bai Fenghuo!”

“The others must be Immortal Masters from Celestial Emperor City!” someone else exclaimed. “Thank heavens they’ve finally come! Hurry and capture that demoness, tear her limb from limb, and restore peace to Youji City!”

Below, the crowd buzzed with speculation, while above, chaos reigned like a boiling cauldron. Above the layered clouds, countless bolts of lightning crackled incessantly, and countless magical artifacts whirled about, emitting deafening hums.

“Sect Leader Bai, cease your resistance,” Tu Yun, the general they had encountered earlier, declared in a thunderous voice, her armor gleaming. “The other envoys from Celestial Emperor City are already on their way. You cannot hold out much longer. We are merely carrying out the Celestial Emperor’s orders to bring you back, not to judge you. There is no need for such fear.”

“Fear? This Seat knows nothing of fear,” Bai Fenghuo retorted, standing amidst the immortals, her purple robes billowing in the wind. She still wore a smile as she wielded a blade of light like a vast net, preventing any of the surrounding magical artifacts from approaching even an inch.

“I wonder what kind of useless trash Celestial Emperor City cultivates. Despite your higher cultivation levels, you can only manage a draw against This Seat when you combine your efforts. Did you all cultivate your spiritual energy by swallowing Immortal Pills?”

Bai Fenghuo’s words dripped with mockery, turning the opposing general’s face purple with rage.

“General, she’s insulting us! Should we use the magical artifacts Her Highness the Celestial Emperor bestowed upon us?” A’Tao, the sharp-tongued woman, demanded shrilly.

Another woman interjected, her voice laced with concern: “No, those artifacts are meant for use after sentencing. They’re bound to cause harm. I’m afraid…”

“The magical artifact only injures, it doesn’t kill,” A’Tao retorted. “She deserves this. What’s there to fear?”

As the two women argued back and forth, General Tu Yun stood silently between them. Her arm, wounded by Bai Fenghuo’s earlier strike, throbbed with excruciating pain as spiritual energy corroded the wound.

“Enough,” she snapped at her subordinates. After a long silence, she waved her hand, summoning a sword-shaped box that floated in the dense, dark clouds overhead.

With another gesture, she opened the box.

Bai Fenghuo faced several Tribulation Transcension Stage cultivators alone. Though her expression remained calm, she was already exhausted. She wiped the bl00d from the corner of her mouth.

At the last moment, she glanced skyward. There, beyond the dark clouds, the sunlight shone clear and brilliant, yet the sky was empty, devoid of any figure.

Bai Fenghuo withdrew her gaze, a bitter smile playing on her lips—half understanding, half mockery. As a terrifying, overwhelming power threatened to erupt from the box, she tightened her grip on the spiritual energy-formed sword in her hand, her eyes blazing with a murderous intent to take them all down with her.

“Bai Fenghuo!” At the critical moment, a girl’s voice, ethereal and dreamlike, drifted from nowhere, like a phantom sound.