The Villainess Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 4

It turned out that only a moment had passed since her death…

Yun Chuanzhi had no experience with kissing. Rather than a kiss, it was more like a collision, leaving her lips stinging.

Her water-dampened lips were unexpectedly soft. She lingered there for a long moment before hearing a low curse, accompanied by a dull ache in her chest.

Then she flew straight into a dense fog and quickly lost consciousness.

Yun Chuanzhi fainted, her consciousness drifting like a leaf in a turbulent river, sometimes clear, sometimes muddled.

In fleeting moments, she struggled to distinguish whether she was Cui Ergou, a lowly Immortal Servant in the Qianyuan Realm, or the “Living Yama” of Avici City, who had slaughtered countless lives to survive.

Yun Chuanzhi awoke again, this time not in the dilapidated hut, but in a warm, dry chamber. A gentle rain pattered against the carved window lattice, and she lay on a Luohan bed draped with a plush blanket. A soothing breeze carried the scent of incense, its fragrance calming and comforting.

Had Bai Fenghuo truly spared her life?

Yun Chuanzhi braced herself against the bed’s edge and sat up, but a sharp pain in her chest nearly overwhelmed her, forcing her to lie back down. She sighed inwardly, muttering, “What a mess.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Ling Shui entered, carrying a wooden tray. On the tray lay a jade plate holding a fragrant medicinal pill and a jade-green waist pendant.

“You’re awake,” Ling Shui said, her face impassive as she scrutinized Yun Chuanzhi from head to toe, then back again, before setting the tray down.

“Where am I?” Yun Chuanzhi asked, unable to move and forced to lie flat.

“Spring Encounter Pavilion, the Sect Leader’s private chambers,” Ling Shui replied.

I’m still with Bai Fenghuo? Yun Chuanzhi blinked and asked, “What happened earlier? How long was I unconscious?”

“A few hours, I suppose. It’s dawn now,” Ling Shui said. She seemed eager to ask more, but ultimately answered stiffly, “As for yesterday’s events, I don’t know much. When I entered, you were already face-down in the pond.”

That must have been quite a sight, Yun Chuanzhi sighed inwardly.

After a moment of silence, Ling Shui finally couldn’t resist and spoke again.

“How did you anger the Sect Leader so badly yesterday? I’ve never seen her so furious. She nearly reduced her entire chambers to dust.”

Moreover, the Sect Leader’s lips were even bruised from her rage, yet she hadn’t killed Cui Ergou. Instead, she ordered them to drag the woman away and even bestowed upon her pills and a Sect Badge.

The incident quickly became the talk of the sect. Everyone was curious about what trick this little Immortal Servant had used to make the Sect Leader, who killed without hesitation, show mercy twice.

Yun Chuanzhi dared not speak the truth and could only offer a vague excuse: “Perhaps my words offended him.”

“Oh, right, yesterday Bai Fenghuo… the Sect Leader asked you to teach me how to serve him. How exactly should I serve him?” she suddenly remembered Bai Fenghuo’s words from the previous day and asked.

Ling Shui regarded her answer with skepticism but didn’t press further. “How else would you serve him? Weren’t you taught this when you became an Immortal Servant of Mount Everlasting? Do I really need to explain it again?”

“No need,” Yun Chuanzhi replied with a forced smile. “I was just curious.”

But inwardly, she seethed with anger. Bai Fenghuo had indeed tricked her yesterday—the woman was truly cunning.

As she fumed, Ling Shui had already moved a wooden desk beside her. “You took quite a fall yesterday. Here’s some healing medicine and your Sect Badge as an Immortal Servant of the Kun Dan Sect.”

Yun Chuanzhi paused. “What sect?”

“Kun Dan Sect,” Ling Shui repeated, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Mount Everlasting has five peaks, each governed by a different Sect Leader. Our Sect Leader oversees the Fifth Peak, the Kun Dan Sect.”

Kun Dan Sect… What a name.

Perhaps the cultivator responsible for naming the sect had angered Bai Fenghuo when asking for her input, earning only a curt “Get lost!” This led to the creation of such an… elegant name.

“So, this Sect Badge…”

“Immortal Servants on Mount Everlasting are divided into two types. The first type, like you, are miscellaneous servants responsible for tasks like cleaning. They don’t have Sect Badges and are forbidden from entering the Inner Sect. The other type are proper Immortal Servants, who possess Sect Badges and are permitted to serve the Sect Leader, Sect Masters, and various Immortal Cultivator disciples.”

“These servants receive a much higher monthly stipend and can even attend Immortal Cultivation lectures. If they show talent, they might even be allowed to study cultivation techniques.”

Ling Shui was convinced that Cui Ergou’s brain had been damaged by the Sect Leader’s beating, explaining her sudden personality change and complete lack of knowledge. She explained everything in painstaking detail.

“So, yesterday…” Yun Chuanzhi said, somewhat astonished, “Bai Fenghuo not only spared my life but also promoted me?”

“How dare you address the Sect Leader by name! Show some respect!” Ling Shui snapped, her brows furrowing in reprimand. “The Sect Leader specifically requested your service today. Take this medicinal pill and report for duty immediately after.”

After speaking, Ling Shui turned to leave, but Yun Chuanzhi called out, “Wait.”

“What year is it?”

Poor thing, her mind is so broken, Ling Shui thought, her contempt gradually replaced by pity. She averted her gaze and replied, “It’s the 356th year of the Qianyuan Era.”

Ling Shui opened the door and left, the sound of rain drumming against the eaves growing deafening. Yun Chuanzhi swallowed the medicinal pill, waiting for the agonizing pain in her chest to gradually subside.

After a while, she rose and walked to the window, standing quietly behind the curtain of rain. She gazed at the mist-shrouded mountains stretching into the sea of clouds.

The mountain slopes were tinged with fresh green—five years had passed since her death.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for sentimentality.

Because Yun Chuanzhi was hungry.

When Ling Shui had entered earlier, Yun Chuanzhi was still injured and hadn’t felt any hunger. But now that the medicinal pill had dissolved, nourishing her internal organs, the gnawing emptiness in her stomach finally made itself known.

If her calculations were correct, this body hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice in two full days.

Perhaps because of her harsh childhood, Yun Chuanzhi loathed the feeling of hunger more than anything else. In Avici City, she would rather suffer wounds and bleed than miss a single meal.

Ling Shui had long since departed. Though the room was fully furnished, it contained not a single morsel of food. Yun Chuanzhi searched everywhere but found nothing. She had no choice but to step outside and seek someone to ask.

The mountain weather was notoriously unpredictable. Just moments ago, rain had been pouring, but now the sky had cleared. As daylight broke, the fervent sunlight pierced through the clouds, streaming into the palace through countless gaps. The desolate sleeping quarters, which had seemed so empty yesterday, were now bathed in a bright, transparent light. Even the ceiling murals depicting Yanluo appeared far more benevolent.

The palace was deserted. Yun Chuanzhi paced the corridors several times before finally spotting an Immortal Servant using Immortal Arts to clean the rafters.

The servant sized Yun Chuanzhi up and down before replying leisurely, “The Sect Leader’s sleeping quarters are not for dining. You’ll have to go outside. There should still be some food left at the West Sloping Pavilion on West Mountain.”

Unbothered by the servant’s attitude, Yun Chuanzhi thanked her and headed out of the palace.

Under the sunlight, the mountain peaks no longer appeared as dark and gloomy as they had the previous night. Yun Chuanzhi walked through the mountains, bathed in the warm sunlight, her footsteps treading on soil that was already sprouting new buds.

In Avici City, such vibrant life had only ever existed in her dreams. In her waking hours, she was surrounded by endless crumbling walls, demons and malevolent spirits nourished by miasma, and the constant threat of acid rain and hailstorms.

When she had woken up the previous night, it was already dark, and she hadn’t been able to witness the breathtaking sunrise. As a result, the impact hadn’t fully registered. But now, standing on the mountain ridge, gazing at the layered peaks stretching for thousands of miles, merging with a sea of snow-white clouds, at the Kun Dan Sect’s carved pavilions and ornate buildings perched on a nearby summit, and at the faintly golden, majestic peak of Mount Everlasting looming far behind her, she finally realized with absolute certainty that she had arrived in the “Qianyuan Immortal Realm”—a place she had yearned for in her dreams but never dared to hope for in reality.

Yun Chuanzhi quickly found the West Sloping Pavilion that the Immortal Servant had mentioned. Even before entering, the aroma of cooked food wafted out, causing her stomach to burn with hunger and quickening her pace.

Inside, rows of tables and chairs were arranged, sparsely occupied by diners who had gathered in one area. As Yun Chuanzhi entered, the lively chatter abruptly ceased, replaced by hushed whispers.

“Is that the Immortal Servant who seduced the Sect Leader? How did she survive her wrath?”

“Not only did she survive, but Ling Shui-jie told me she even managed to enter our Inner Sect while still a slave. I wonder what tricks she used.”

“But what kind of pretty face hasn’t the Sect Leader seen? How could a country bumpkin like Cui Ergou possibly earn her mercy?”

“Who knows? My guess is…”

Yun Chuanzhi didn’t bother listening to her speculation. Her mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of hot, steaming food, leaving no room for idle gossip.

She found the cooking area, where meat buns and clear congee were laid out beside the stove. Though the remaining food was scarce, it looked and smelled delicious.

“Excuse me,” she said, reaching for a meat bun in a dish. But before her hand could touch the plate, a gleaming iron ladle shot out from nowhere, striking the back of her hand with a sharp clang.

Fortunately, Yun Chuanzhi reacted quickly, twisting her wrist to dodge the ladle. The ladle clanged against the plate, shattering the white porcelain into pieces.

Frowning, she looked up. The ladle was held by a short, stout woman who glared at her with disgust. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“Isn’t this the dining area for Immortal Servants?” Yun Chuanzhi recognized the man’s deliberate hostility and detached the Sect Badge from her waist, holding it up. “I’m an Immortal Servant assigned by the Sect Leader.”

The woman scoffed, tossing the ladle back into the pot. “A lowly slave like you has no right to dine with us pure-blooded people. Get lost!”

“Don’t try to use the Sect Leader to pressure me. The Sect Leader has taken a fancy to dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Most of them lose her interest by the next day. If every one of them came demanding special treatment, how would we ever get any work done?”

“Get lost! Get lost!” she snapped, shoving Yun Chuanzhi toward the door. Yun Chuanzhi stumbled backward, colliding with the corner of a table and gasping in pain.

Laughter erupted from the crowd behind him. Yun Chuanzhi clenched her fists.

“I’m not asking for special treatment,” she said. “I simply want to eat with the other Immortal Servants.”

The man’s patience had worn thin. She glanced around, grabbed a steamed bun, and tossed it out the door. The snow-white bun landed on the sun-drenched ground, rolling through the dirt.

“Eat up!” she shouted.

Yun Chuanzhi’s eyelashes trembled as she stared at the pitiful bun. The scene briefly merged with hazy fragments of her memories, leaving her momentarily dazed.

The woman reached to shove her again, but Yun Chuanzhi deftly sidestepped, avoiding her touch.

“What if I insist on eating here?” she asked softly.