The Villainess Always Wants to Cuddle With Me [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 34

The little girl named Xingxing, with her round, lychee-like eyes sparkling, pressed a finger to her lips and shushed.

She glanced around, making sure no adults were eavesdropping, before speaking. “I was kidnapped by a human trafficker and brought here. I managed to escape when he wasn’t paying attention.”

A human trafficker? Kidnapped? Xiuxiu nodded blankly. “Are you safe now?” she asked. She had always heard the adults warn her to listen to her family, or else a human trafficker would snatch her away, and she’d never see her family again, nor would she ever taste candied hawthorns again.

If she has food and shelter, she must be safe, right? Xingxing didn’t quite understand what “safe” meant, but she wanted to reassure her first friend in Pingcheng County. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Yes, I’m safe. I live with an Immortal Sister.”

Immortal Sister? Ling Jun and Jian Qigui, pretending to browse ornaments at a vendor’s stall, strained their ears to listen.

“Do you have enough to eat?” Xiuxiu pulled out five copper coins from her pocket and pressed them into Xingxing’s hand.

“Thank you, Xiuxiu. Sister Xiaoliu is the best hunter in our village,” Xingxing said, though she wanted to return the coins. The situation back home was dire, and children’s sincerity knows no bounds. She gazed at the five coins and accepted them.

The two children didn’t chat for long. Xingxing bought some steamed buns and ran off toward the outskirts of town.

Ling Jun and Jian Qigui, who had been fretting about finding the missing children, exchanged a knowing smile and gave chase.

Xingxing ventured deeper into the winding mountain paths. Ling Jun and Jian Qigui maintained a distance, watching from afar as she disappeared into a dilapidated temple.

From the outside, the temple resembled a lair for demons and monsters in the wilderness. The stone walls were cracked and fissured like crazed veins, making one wonder if they would crumble at the slightest touch.

Stepping inside, however, revealed a stark contrast to the exterior. The ground was clean and tidy, devoid of fallen leaves or withered grass, and the roof tiles appeared largely intact.

Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…

Before they could fully assess the interior, three dark arrows pierced the air with a swift, fierce wind. Ling Jun immediately activated her Ice Lotus Steps, her movements fluid and evasive as she dodged the projectiles. Jian Qigui drew her longsword and parried the arrows with three sharp clangs, sending them clattering to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a longsword struck, and Jian Qigui reacted with lightning speed, parrying the blow. The clashing blades rang out in a fierce, metallic clangor.

The figure before her wore a wide-brimmed hat, obscuring their face. Dressed in the white robes favored by wandering martial artists, the sword’s hilt flashed a fleeting glimpse of azure, its intricate patterns too quick to discern. Before she could study it further, Jian Qigui thrust her sword horizontally.

Clang! The white-robed figure twisted their wrist, the sword dancing in the air as if alive. Though the movements appeared light and effortless, they effortlessly blocked Jian Qigui’s horizontal thrust.

This swordsmanship… it seems familiar…

Ling Jun narrowed her eyes. Aside from her Lightness Skill, she only knew medical and poison techniques. Unable to intervene in this evenly matched duel, she gripped the hidden poison in her sleeve, biting her lower lip.

After parrying Jian Qigui’s thrust, the white-robed figure retreated a step, their wrist twisting again in that impossibly light sword dance. Just as Jian Qigui braced for the next strike, the figure’s form blurred, their footwork swift and elusive as they darted behind her.

But Jian Qigui’s Ice Lotus Steps were no mere practice.

The moment Jian Qigui sensed the white-robed figure move, her steps became elusive, shifting between solid and illusory. The white-robed figure swung its sword in a swift arc.

The blade sliced through empty air.

When Jian Qigui looked up again, she had already moved five steps away from the white-robed figure.

The white-robed figure stood close to Ling Jun, the sword tassel swaying beneath the hilt with each movement—a sight so familiar.

A flash of insight struck her: No wonder this white-robed figure’s swordsmanship feels so familiar!

As she pondered, the white-robed figure let out a soft hum and lunged forward again with lightning speed, swinging its sword. Beneath Jian Qigui’s feet, ice lotuses bloomed and vanished in an instant.

Another strike missed.

It was now clear: this wasn’t a battle between equals. Jian Qigui wasn’t fighting at full strength.

If this were a true enemy, would Jian Qigui be toying with them like this? Ling Jun’s doubts vanished completely. She called out loudly, “Senior Sister Yunyin, is that you?!”

At the sound of her voice, the white-robed figure froze. With a twist of the wrist, the green sword slid back into its sheath. The figure raised a hand to remove the bamboo hat, revealing none other than Yunyin, the favored disciple of Fan Xing, the Right Flank Envoy of Cuiyue Mountain.

Yunyin cleared her throat and pouted. “I wasn’t finished having fun yet. Junior Sister, why did you have to expose me so soon?”

It wasn’t just Yunyin whom Ling Jun had exposed. Jian Qigui smiled silently and sheathed her sword as well.

It hadn’t been that long since they last met—just over a month. Ling Jun stepped forward, the frost behind her rising and melting away in an instant, as if it had never been there. She tugged at Yunyin’s sleeve and asked, “Senior Sister, what are you doing here? Could you be the Immortal Sister Xingxing mentioned?”

A blush crept across Yunyin’s cheeks. “Immortal Sister? That’s just children’s nonsense…”

Xingxing, who had been hiding behind a pillar, poked her head out and shouted, “It’s not nonsense! Immortal Sister is Immortal Sister!”

A chorus of agreement followed: “That’s right!”

Though Ling Jun couldn’t clearly see the children’s faces from a distance, she pointed at Xingxing and said, “The child shouting in the middle—that’s Xingxing, isn’t it?”

Yunyin nodded. “Yes, that’s her.”

“And the ones on either side?”

“The one with the double buns is Liu’er, the eldest at eight years old. The one with the braided pigtails is Xiao’an, who’s five, just like Xingxing.” Yunyin pointed them out one by one.

Seeing the adults had stopped fighting, Liu’er pulled Xingxing and Xiao’an behind her, her expression wary. Yunyin led Ling Jun and Jian Qigui toward the inner room. “Let’s talk inside.”

As they drew closer, Yunyin sighed silently at Liu’er’s reaction. “They’re not bad people,” she explained. “They’re my junior sisters. Why don’t you go play for a while? I need to talk to them.”

Hearing Yunyin’s explanation, Liu’er finally nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. Xingxing and Xiao’an, relieved that the newcomers weren’t dangerous, immediately dashed into the courtyard, tossing a beanbag back and forth.

“Xingxing mentioned she was originally abducted by human traffickers,” Jian Qigui said.

Jian Qigui glanced back to see Liu’er trailing behind them at a short distance. Yunyin nodded. “All three children here—Liu’er, Xiao’an, and Xingxing—were taken by human traffickers.”

“If they were abducted, then Senior Sister rescued them?” Ling Jun blinked her almond-shaped eyes, surprised. She had never known Yunyin would descend the mountain to intervene in such matters.

In the courtyard, Xingxing and Xiao’an spotted Liu’er following Yunyin. Xingxing immediately ran over and tugged on Liu’er’s arm. “Sister Xiaoliu, come play beanbag with us!”

Liu’er was about to refuse, but the children’s earnest pleas, combined with her own soft heart, left her no choice but to relent.

“Yes and no…” Yunyin entered the room and retrieved a simple tea set, pouring cool water into it. “The conditions here are poor, and the tea set is crude. Please forgive the lack of hospitality, Junior Sisters.”

Ling Jun waved her hand. “Senior Sister, don’t worry about it. We’re all sisters here.”

Hearing this, Yunyin smiled. Everyone in the Cuiyue Sect knew that Jian Lingjun was destined to succeed Jian Qiongjun as Sect Leader. What she admired most about her Junior Sister was her lack of formality. Ling Jun never deliberately distanced herself from others, nor did she insist on strict hierarchical distinctions.

“What do you mean by ‘yes and no,’ Senior Sister?” Jian Qigui asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Resuming the earlier topic, Yunyin took a sip of water and continued, “The first person I met was Xingxing. It was the third watch of the night when she ran out of a dark alley, a little girl being chased by an old woman who was shouting and cursing. The night was quiet, and the old woman didn’t dare make too much noise. Something was clearly wrong. Seeing the old woman about to catch up to Xingxing, I acted without thinking and brought Xingxing here. Later, Xingxing told me the old woman was a human trafficker.”

This version differed from the one they had heard at the teahouse. The storyteller’s version likely came from the Old Madam herself. Ling Jun scoffed inwardly. “So after that, the human trafficker spread rumors in Pingcheng County about demons kidnapping children?”

Yunyin nodded. “You’re mostly right. The human trafficker couldn’t openly search for Xingxing, so he resorted to this desperate measure. During that time, Xingxing told me that her good friend Xiao’an was also in the trafficker’s clutches, so I intervened.”

The sounds of three children playing outside drifted in. Jian Qigui glanced back and saw Liu’er acting as the target while Xingxing and Xiao’an stood on either side, playing a beanbag toss game. Jian Qigui asked, “What about Liu’er? She seemed quite different from Xingxing and the others earlier.”

Speaking of Liu’er, Yunyin recalled their first encounter. The lingering hatred in the girl’s eyes reminded her of a cub separated from its wolf pack. She sighed softly and said, “She had already been sold to the Red Moon Pavilion by the trafficker and spent several months there. Even at such a young age, she had to learn poems and songs to please customers. When I first saw her, her body was covered in bruises. She collapsed at my feet and clung tightly to my ankles. A group of burly men was following her, and I immediately understood the situation. I gave them some silver to send them away. Later, I learned that her family had suffered a tragedy—all five members were gone except for her, and she had been sent to that filthy place. Ah…”

Such a similar fate… Jian Qigui lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable.

Hearing Yunyin’s explanation, Ling Jun realized she had only rescued Xingxing and Xiao’an. Does that mean the human trafficker in Pingcheng County is still preying on others? Ling Jun frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. “If that’s the case, did all the children escape from the trafficker’s clutches?”

How could they…? Yunyin knew she wasn’t a great philanthropist. Rescuing these three children had already been a matter of fate; she couldn’t possibly concern herself with the others. Yunyin chuckled and shook her head. “They’ve probably been sold off somewhere else, or they might still be in the courtyard. What’s this, Junior Sister? Are you thinking of getting involved?”

Ling Jun paused, then nodded slowly. She couldn’t quite articulate the feeling, but if she encountered such a situation, intervening seemed like the right thing to do.

Jian Qigui, who had been silent until now, raised her eyes and asked, “Have you considered what to do with the children after rescuing them? If there are many, how will you manage?”

Ling Jun’s eyes lit up. “The Cuiyue Sect could…”

Before she could finish, Jian Qigui interrupted sternly, “The Cuiyue Sect doesn’t harbor idlers.”

The words were harsh, but the truth was undeniable. The Cuiyue Sect had never been a righteous sect, and they certainly wouldn’t meddle in such matters. Ling Jun’s gaze dimmed, her crimson lips pressed into a tight line.

The atmosphere grew heavy. Sensing the tension, Yunyin changed the subject. “Speaking of which, when I left Cuiyue Mountain, the Sect Leader seemed to be in poor health.”