The Villainous Supporting Character Ended Up with the Female Lead - Chapter 8

It was her—it really was her.

Yun Weiyan abruptly stepped back, her entire body tensing as she barely dared to breathe.

She could feel every inch of her skin, even the tip of her heart, trembling slightly.

Regardless of the hatred that had once existed between them, Yun Weiyan had to admit that Yun Hanmian’s image was deeply etched into her soul.

At the other end of the bridge, Yun Hanmian stood amidst the bustling crowd, her tall, slender figure as striking as ever.

Over the past four centuries, through countless sleepless nights, Yun Weiyan had relentlessly questioned her heart What exactly did she feel for Yun Hanmian?

Love?

It seemed her heart had never truly stirred.

Hatred?

Yet every time she had called her Sister, the word had come from the depths of her soul.

Yun Hanmian… Yun Weiyan murmured unconsciously, her gaze fixed blankly on the familiar figure across the bridge.

The lantern she held cast a faint glow through its translucent paper, its yellow-white light obscuring her features in the inky darkness.

Xu Zijin turned to look at her junior sister, only to notice the faint glimmer of tears in Bai Ke’s eyes. In the dim light, she thought she saw a tiny, crystalline teardrop trembling on Bai Ke’s lashes.

Junior Sister Bai, is she… sad?

This realization startled Xu Zijin. Could her junior sister be feeling sentimental, missing her senior sisters from the Outer Sect?

Xu Zijin cautiously observed the subtle expressions on Yun Weiyan’s face, pondering them for a long time before finally reaching out to embrace her.

Her arms remained stiff, afraid to truly touch her junior sister’s robes.

Yun Weiyan tilted her head in confusion, staring intently at Xu Zijin.

I… I, Junior Sister Bai! From now on, I’ll take care of you just like your senior sisters used to…

Xu Zijin’s voice trailed off, growing softer until Yun Weiyan barely heard the last words. Before Yun Weiyan could fully process the sentence, Xu Zijin pressed a jade pendant into her hand.

I found this thirty years ago when I was representing Floating Beam on business in Shangxuan. It was near Kunlun Mountain.

Kunlun Mountain is a sacred peak, so I believed this pendant had a fated connection to me. I’ve carried it with me ever since. Strangely enough, ever since I found it, my cultivation has progressed smoothly without any obstacles.

The surrounding area buzzed with activity as cultivators came and went, passing by them in droves.

Xu Zijin lowered her head, opened her mouth to speak, but ultimately left her words unsaid.

Yun Weiyan clearly saw the resistance in Xu Zijin’s eyes.

Host, this jade pendant comes from the Kunlun Spirit Vein and contains extremely pure spiritual energy. Are you sure you don’t want it?

I despise things I dislike, no matter how valuable they are. I’d treat them like dirt.

Under the bright moonlight, the jade pendant in her palm glowed like a divine artifact, its flawless white jade radiating an intense spiritual aura.

Yun Weiyan tilted her head back and smiled at Xu Zijin. In that moment of distraction, she reattached the pendant to Xu Zijin’s waist.

A faint, refreshing fragrance lingered in the air. Yun Weiyan glanced down and noticed that Xu Zijin had hung the sachet she had given her on her sword sheath.

Yun Weiyan’s expression darkened. She suddenly recalled the sword tassel she had once made for Yun Hanmian.

She had plucked flowers from the thousand-year-old pear tree on Crane-Viewing Terrace and combined them with Jade Terrace’s signature Golden Silk, painstakingly sewing it together stitch by stitch over half a month.

Because she had secretly worked on it at night, she often dozed off during lessons, earning harsh reprimands from her tutor.

Later…

Yun Weiyan couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Later, Yun Hanmian had feigned acceptance of the tassel, only to pass it on to Yun Guiyi as a borrowed gift.

Her sister, always projecting an image of pristine virtue to the world, while her true nature remained hidden, known only to Yun Hanmian herself.

【Host, I’ve just checked the database. You’ve now transformed into Orchid Grass, and your aura is completely different from before. Moreover, you’ve already altered your appearance to resemble Bai Ke.】

The System suddenly switched from its usual cold, detached tone to the soft, gentle voice Yun Weiyan was most familiar with.

【The Female Lead hasn’t yet broken through the late stage of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man. As long as you don’t deliberately activate the Love Gu, she won’t discover you for now, okay?】

Yun Weiyan  ?

Tongzi, have you been infected by a virus?

While silently facing Xu Zijin, Yun Weiyan mentally discussed their next move with the System.

The immediate priority was to successfully achieve Core Formation and swiftly restore her cultivation to its peak.

But now, Ye Yazi stood before them, Yun Hanmian lurked behind, and Xu Yue remained sandwiched in between.

【Host, I warned you long ago not to provoke Floating Beam. Those who walk by the riverbank often get their shoes wet】

The System earnestly urged Yun Weiyan to abandon Xu Zijin, sneak out of Anyang City, and find another candidate.

With countless cultivators in the Cultivation World, surely they could find someone even more suitable than Xu Zijin?

The System had recently been reflecting on its own behavior. After eavesdropping on several of Floating Beam’s lectures, it had experienced a sudden epiphany.

Yun Weiyan responded better to gentleness than force. After all, they were now in the same boat—if Yun Weiyan truly courted death, the System would suffer the consequences as well.

Thinking this, the System’s voice grew even softer and more coaxing.

Host Please? Tonight, while everyone’s distracted by the Lantern Festival, let’s sneak out of Anyang City.

Yun Weiyan could no longer tolerate the System’s strange behavior tonight. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and immediately silenced it for three days.

Having finally secured a connection with Xu Zijin, how could Yun Weiyan possibly abandon it now?

A sudden wave of frustration washed over her. She slowly walked toward the bridge where Yun Hanmian stood, Xu Zijin quietly following behind.

As the figure ahead grew clearer, Yun Weiyan’s heart felt like it was being pierced by countless silver needles, each stab sharp and agonizing.

No one truly understood her, not even the System that had been with her the longest.

She had been inexplicably transported to this world, forced by the Heavenly Dao to accept her fate.

Even after rebirth, she had been reborn as a plant spirit—the least favorable form for cultivation—and had to painstakingly advance through the Qi Refining stages, step by step.

Yun Weiyan stopped behind Yun Hanmian, the evening wind mercilessly whipping at her cheeks. She raised her gaze to meet the back view that so often haunted her dreams.

In the deep night, their figures overlapped, creating the illusion of two lovers locked in an inseparable embrace.

Yet the mere arm’s length between them felt like an unbridgeable chasm, a cosmic divide separating two fundamentally different lives.

In her previous life, Yun Weiyan had lost everything her cultivation shattered, her disciple betraying her, her reputation ruined, and everyone clamoring for her death.

Yet, ten years later, Yun Hanmian, the Heavenly Dao’s favored daughter and the world’s protagonist, remained as radiant and glorious as ever.

It’s alright, it’s alright, Yun Weiyan repeated to herself inwardly.

If her fate was to be entangled with Yun Hanmian, she would rather be the Female Lead’s eternal nemesis than be completely trampled underfoot.

An endless, deathless feud.

Yun Hanmian was studying the lantern in her hand when she suddenly sensed a burning gaze fixed on her from behind.

Could it be Yun Weiyan? she mused casually. If so, it would save me the trouble. I’ll just kill her again with the Jade Rainbow Sword.

Her Master had said that after being infected with the Love Gu, the Gu Master’s soul must be utterly destroyed to prevent the Gu poison from resurfacing.

Yun Hanmian vaguely suspected that her Master wasn’t merely a senior expert from the Cultivation World but likely someone from the ascended Immortal Realm.

She narrowed her eyes, gazing at the bustling scene across the street.

Groups of cultivators in their sect robes were either laughing and joking or gathered around stalls, browsing through the wares.

The vibrant lights reflected the prosperity and peace of the mortal realm.

Yun Hanmian set down her lantern. None of this concerned her the world she had yearned for since childhood lay beyond the trials of Thunder Tribulation and ascension.

Ancient texts recorded A thousand strands of affection, entwined and poignant, embedded within the soul—this is the Love Gu.

Originating from the Ten Directions Secret Forest Swamp, this Gu poison had once been used by Miao Territory women to win the hearts of their beloveds. The poison’s potency varied shallow for those with genuine affection, deep for the heartless.

The Gu poison had already seeped into her very marrow. Yet, inexplicably, whenever she thought of Yun Weiyan, her once-dull memories seemed to bloom with vivid color.

Yun Hanmian sighed deeply and turned to meet Yun Weiyan’s gaze.

So, it’s not her?

A flicker of disappointment crossed Yun Hanmian’s heart. The woman before her was worlds apart from the Yun Weiyan she remembered.

Yun Weiyan had never concealed the arrogance in her eyes, like a divine bird soaring through the heavens, carefree and unrestrained.

This woman, however, possessed a plainness in both appearance and demeanor, like a wildflower blooming in the wilderness—resilient, unyielding, and eternally renewing.

Ah—

Xu Zijin spoke before her junior sister could, asking on Yun Weiyan’s behalf, This, this immortal maiden…

A half-fox mask concealed Yun Hanmian’s aloof face, revealing only her exquisite lower half. Her thin lips parted slightly

Fellow Daoists, do you have urgent business with me?

Xu Zijin hastily explained, My junior sister and I saw your mask from across the street, by the bridge. When we got closer, we realized it was from the same vendor as ours.

Yun Hanmian remained puzzled. Xu Zijin nudged Yun Weiyan, signaling her to step forward and explain more clearly.

Yun Weiyan nodded to Xu Zijin and took a step forward, her nose nearly touching Yun Hanmian’s lips. Their warm breaths brushed against each other’s cheeks.

Yun Hanmian lowered her gaze, staring blankly at Yun Weiyan. The unnervingly close proximity made her uncomfortable.

The last time someone had been this close to her was ten years ago, when she had killed Yun Weiyan with a single sword strike.

A pair of warm hands wrapped around her neck. She instinctively wanted to recoil, but then she heard an utterly gentle voice

Careful.

Yun Weiyan’s hands slowly caressed Yun Hanmian’s cheeks, her delicate skin brushing against the cold mask. Her eyes were filled with tender affection.

Just now, like you, Sister, I bought a lantern from that small vendor and received a mask as a gift. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it was made of inferior materials.

Yun Hanmian’s breath caught for a moment. Subconsciously, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity toward the ordinary-looking woman before her.

The woman’s fingertips gently brushed through Yun Hanmian’s hair as she removed her fox mask.

Wearing this mask for too long might harm your complexion, Sister. With your peerless beauty, it’s best not to wear it.

After removing the mask, the woman handed it to Yun Hanmian.

As Yun Hanmian instinctively reached out to take it, she felt Yun Weiyan’s warm fingertips lightly scratch her palm.

She glanced at the unfamiliar woman, only to see Yun Weiyan’s lips curve into a smile, her eyes crinkling as she said, I hope you enjoy the Lantern Festival, Sister. May our paths cross again.