Transmigrated As The Villain's Sword (GL) - Chapter 29

Qingtan’s face paled for a moment, her wide eyes filled with bewilderment and shock. “What do you mean?”

Guan Luowei seemed to be pondering something, her gaze sweeping past her to the servants who remained nearby.

After a brief moment of absentmindedness, Qingtan almost immediately understood Guan Luowei’s meaning. A person’s soul cannot leave the body for too long. If it does, it will either dissipate, leave the mortal realm for the ghost realm, or be devoured by other evil entities.

But, in any case, it wouldn’t be like Qinghan, whose soul had been separated from her body for over a dozen years, yet not only had it not dissipated or left, but it could still remain by her side and affect her. But since such a thing had happened, there was only one possibility: Qinghan’s soul had actually been within Lingbao Pavilion all along, carefully nurtured by someone.

So many years had passed since the incident. Not to mention that Qinghan’s soul had been searched for countless times within Lingbao Pavilion, they had even sent people to the ghost realm several times.

And under such a rigorous search, Qinghan’s soul still hadn’t been found within Lingbao Pavilion. It was hard not to suspect her.

Having understood the reason for the matter, Qingtan immediately looked at Steward Li beside her and said, “Go and find everyone who has stayed in Lingbao Pavilion for more than ten years.”

Steward Li responded with a “Yes” and quickly left.

Qingtan, left behind, sat by the bed with a wry smile, gently tucking the quilt around Qinghan before looking up at Guan Luowei and saying, “Miss Guan, if you search our Lingbao Pavilion inch by inch, can you find Hanhan’s wisp of soul?”

Guan Luowei raised her eyes slightly and said, “Your Lingbao Pavilion has searched for over ten years without success. You should know that person has some special magical artifact that can hide souls.”

Qingtan sighed, just about to speak, when the silver sword beside her suddenly said, “But, why was Miss Qinghan perfectly fine for the first ten-odd years, but suddenly became unwell when my master came?”

Boom!

After a brief daze, Qingtan looked at the silver sword in sudden realization, as if struck by lightning.

Yes, why was everything fine for the first ten-odd years, but suddenly became unwell when she invited Guan Luowei here? Because the person behind it saw that Guan Luowei truly had a way to retrieve the soul, so he was afraid, and he wanted to rush to destroy the soul at this time.

And that day, when Guan Luowei offered to help her, the only other person present besides her was Steward Li.

Almost instantly, Qingtan stood up, instructed someone to watch over Qinghan, and then, without even having time to greet Guan Luowei, left with the guards, her body trembling.

Guan Luowei had obviously known about this for a long time, so when Qingtan got up to find Steward Li, she wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, she looked at the silver sword that had pointed out the key point with a single sentence and raised her eyebrows, saying, “You are quite clever.”

Ling Chenyan giggled, then asked with some confusion, “Master, you should have known that Steward Li had a problem a long time ago, but why didn’t you tell Miss Qingtan?”

Guan Luowei gave her a deep look and didn’t answer, only saying, “Let’s go, we’ll go take a look too.”

••••

When Ling Chenyan followed Guan Luowei to Steward Li’s room, the situation had already been brought under control.

Steward Li was being held down, kneeling on the ground, his head lowered, refusing to say a word. Qingtan, on the side, looked exhausted, sitting powerlessly on a chair, looking at Steward Li kneeling below.

Qingtan had arrived very quickly, but even so, when they got here, Steward Li had already used that treasure to destroy Qinghan’s legs. Qingtan had her men capture him, but facing this old man who had been by her side since she was a child, like her own grandfather, she really didn’t know what to do.

“Steward Li, tell me, why exactly did you do this?”

Steward Li, who had been pressed down and kneeling, had kept his head lowered from the beginning until now, without saying a word to defend himself, nor any words of resentment. Now, facing Qingtan’s weary voice, he finally slowly raised his head and looked at the woman on the chair who seemed to have been drained of all her strength.

Their eyes met, and Steward Li saw deep disappointment and sorrow in those eyes. His body trembled slightly, and Steward Li shook his head, saying, “All of this is this old servant’s fault. Please punish me, young mistress.”

The atmosphere slowly solidified. After a long while, Qingtan slowly spoke, word by word, “Since that’s the case, then expel Steward Li from my Lingbao Pavilion, and he shall never step foot inside again for the rest of his life.”

Qingtan’s father’s Lingbao Pavilion had countless branches in the cultivation world, and he was a philandering man with countless offspring. A daughter like her would naturally not be treated with special regard.

From the time she learned to speak as a child, Steward Li had been by her side, teaching her to speak, to read, word by word. The first word she uttered wasn’t “Mama” or “Papa,” but “Grandpa.” Later, when she grew a little older, Steward Li taught her how to manage and run a business. The first time, under Steward Li’s guidance, she oversaw a market managed by Lingbao Pavilion and made a profit, Steward Li was even happier than she was. That day, he exceptionally drank three cups of wine and praised her to the heavens and earth, saying she was the best in the world.

When she grew a bit older, her face began to attract attention. She remembered the first time she used that face to negotiate a big business deal that her clansmen couldn’t secure. Steward Li severely criticized her. He said that doing business was about attracting with benefits, but if she used her face to do those things, wouldn’t she be demeaning herself and treating herself as merchandise? He said that there were already many criticisms of women doing business, but he hoped she could bear as little of it as possible. He said, “Xiao Tan’er, you must remember, compared to those riches, you are the most precious.”

Yes, perhaps only in Steward Li’s heart was she the most precious one.

But it was this person, someone she would never suspect even to her death, who had imprisoned her sister’s soul under her very nose for decades.

Qingtan considered herself a profit-oriented merchant. Facing such a betrayal, she should clearly torture the person to death, but she couldn’t. She also had selfish motives. She had let go of the person who imprisoned Qinghan. This was her fault.

She had let Qingtan down. For the rest of her life, she would use it to atone to Qingtan.

After giving this order, Qingtan waved her hand, wanting to have someone take Steward Li away. At this moment, the silver sword suddenly spoke.

“Steward Li, if you have anything to hide, it’s best to tell Miss Qingtan now. Perhaps in your eyes, taking all the blame yourself and not telling her the truth is for her own good, but to Miss Qingtan, you are also a very important person. If something happens to you, she will also be very sad.”

The silver sword’s words made Steward Li’s figure pause slightly. He finally couldn’t control himself and looked at Qingtan with trembling eyes, only to see her covering her mouth, her eyes red, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Under his guidance, Qingtan’s emotions were very stable. Even if she was dissatisfied, she would always greet people with a smile. She rarely lost control of her emotions like this, yet such a loss of control had happened today because of a small servant like him.

Steward Li’s throat trembled, and he finally couldn’t help but sigh softly, saying, “Ah, Xiao Tan’er, don’t cry. Your crying makes this old servant’s heart tremble. It’s all my fault. Since you want to know why, then this old servant will tell you…”

Steward Li’s gaze was distant, as if piercing through the distant space and time back to their first meeting.

“At that time, I was just a small steward in Lingbao Pavilion. Suddenly one day, the master found me and said he had a task for me. That task was you. He said he was busy every day and it was too inconvenient to take you with him, but there were few people he could trust by his side, so he entrusted you to me, asking me to raise you until you were eight years old, with a reward of ten million spirit stones. I agreed.”

“The snow was very heavy that day. I saw you for the first time, a tiny bundle wrapped in red swaddling clothes, with big dark eyes and a fair face. Oh, you were so adorable! You weren’t afraid of strangers and even gurgled and laughed at me. At that time, I thought I must raise you well.”

“But the problem came soon. I’m a big man, and you were a little girl who needed milk. How could I possibly produce milk?” Steward Li chuckled as he said this, then continued, “So I sent people everywhere to find wet nurses, but in the middle of winter, there were few wet nurses willing to come every day. So I took you with me, carrying a bag of spirit stones, going from house to house to find one. When you were full, you would open your eyes and smile at everyone. The wet nurses all liked you very much.”

“At that time, I didn’t know that a child’s feeding schedule was different from an adult’s. I fed you three meals a day according to the standards of morning, noon, and evening, but you would wake up in the middle of the night and cry, and no matter how I coaxed you, you wouldn’t stop. Later, when the wet nurse was feeding you, I shamelessly asked and found out that your feeding schedule as a baby was different from ours…”

“Later, when you grew up and started babbling, I taught you to call your father and mother. Occasionally, I had selfish thoughts and taught you to call me Grandpa. I originally thought that if you called your father first, I would tell the Pavilion Master about it, so that he would be happy and perhaps remember you, his daughter. But what I didn’t expect was that the first word you uttered was actually Grandpa…” Steward Li wiped away a tear and smiled, “I was so happy that night. I told those who came to arrange marriages for me that I wouldn’t get married. Having you as my child in this lifetime was enough for me.”

Qingtan listened quietly, as if she had also returned to that day with Steward Li’s narration. A little old man, because she had called him Grandpa as her first word, had remained unmarried and childless for the rest of his life. She wanted to say he was foolish, but when she opened her mouth, she could only let the tears flow down.

Steward Li smiled and continued, “And you indeed didn’t let me down. You were very intelligent. The things I taught you from a young age you could quickly remember, and you rarely made mistakes. Watching you grow up day by day, my heart was both happy and complicated. In the blink of an eye, you turned eight, and I should have completed my task. That day, I told you that your father was coming to take you home. I thought you would be very happy, but you asked me if I would go back with you. I said no, and you didn’t say anything. Afterward, you spoke with the old Pavilion Master, and he flew into a rage and left, paying me the reward as he left and telling me I could raise you or not as I pleased.”

“Ten million spirit stones was enough for me to live a life of comfort, but looking at you, only eight years old, and then looking at Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City being divided up by those people, I ultimately couldn’t bear it and continued to stay by your side.”

Listening to Steward Li’s words, Qingtan thought of the year she was eight when her father wanted to come and take her home. The small child hadn’t fully grown yet, but she could already keep her emotions hidden. Her father said he wanted to take her back to the family so that when she grew up, she could marry a young master from a prominent family. She decisively refused, saying she wanted to stay in Xiling City, that she didn’t want to rely on a man to live, and that her father had never come to see her from childhood to adulthood, so she didn’t need him to care about her.

But in fact, after saying so much, she just didn’t want to leave Steward Li’s side.

“Later, I taught you how to run Lingbao Pavilion. Although you were young, you were good at drawing inferences and would even secretly study hard late at night, not at all like the naughty and childish children of other families. But many times, I wished you weren’t so sensible. I knew you stayed in Xiling City to prove yourself, and I always supported you. Finally, when you were sixteen, all outsiders in Lingbao Pavilion were finally cleared out. But unfortunately, Lingbao Pavilion encountered a crisis that year, and the old Pavilion Master was helpless. If it hadn’t been for the help of a benefactor, Lingbao Pavilion would have closed down that year.”

“In the year of the crisis, I saw you restless and gradually losing weight, so I took you out to relax. Fate is truly wondrous. That day, we actually picked up a child on the street who was almost frozen to death. Xiao Tan’er was the kindest, and naturally couldn’t bear to see such a thing happen, so she took the child back. From then on, there was an extra younger sister.”

“And since you had a younger sister, you finally weren’t like before. Because Miss Qinghan was very wary, she always refused to eat anything given to her by others. And you, to prove that the food wasn’t poisonous, would personally taste everything before feeding it to her. Watching you coax Miss Qinghan reminded me of how I used to coax you. So when you asked me if Miss Qinghan could stay, I agreed without hesitation.”

“I watched you use the same tricks I used to coax you to coax Miss Qinghan, and my heart was filled with both gratification and complexity. Fortunately, Miss Qinghan finally let down her guard against you after your persistent coaxing. And the crisis of Lingbao Pavilion finally passed, and life seemed to be getting better. But what I didn’t expect was that this little girl we picked up casually was so sharp in business matters…”

“She could always come up with many strange and wonderful ideas to improve Lingbao Pavilion. Under the management of the two young ladies, Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City became increasingly prosperous. Later, the master found out about this. He greatly admired Miss Qinghan and invited her to teach his sons how to run a business. Gradually, the master became more and more satisfied with her and even took her as his goddaughter, making you truly sisters.”

“Later, as the two of you gradually grew up, your relationship was also very good. Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City had never had a designated owner, and every time the master ate with you, he would always admire Miss Qinghan more, often joking about handing over the management of Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City to her. Every time the meal ended, I only needed to look at your expression to know that you would definitely stay up late reading again that night. This old servant has no great talent, but I know that Miss’s lifelong pursuit is to have the master recognize you, to recognize the principle that ‘women are also capable’.”

“But because of Miss Qinghan, he turned a blind eye to everything you did. The other forces in Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City were designed and cleared away bit by bit by you since you were ten years old, and it was you who built it up bit by bit. Miss Qinghan’s suggestions were indeed brilliant, but behind all of this, the person who put in more effort was you…”

Steward Li closed his eyes, a tear falling. “So, that night, when the master left Miss Qinghan alone to discuss handing over the management of Lingbao Pavilion in Xiling City to her, I really felt injustice for Miss.”

“That day, I knew Miss Qinghan had an appointment with you, so before you went, I used a treasure I obtained in my early years to forcibly extract Miss Qinghan’s soul, because, as long as she became a fool, you could realize your long-cherished wish…”

Having said this, the reason for Steward Li’s actions was very clear.

The tears in Qingtan’s eyes had dried, only her eyes were still red. She looked at Steward Li’s wrinkled face and choked, “Steward Li, you were confused! A person like Father, how could he really hand over such an important family business to an outsider? Everything he showed, even everything he did, was just a test for Qinghan!”

These were also principles Qingtan had only understood later. Back then, she had also eavesdropped on her father’s conversation with Qinghan. Her mood was low and complicated, and naturally, she didn’t want to face Qinghan, so she had broken their appointment that day. But what she hadn’t expected was that Qinghan would be trapped for ten years because of this.

Steward Li now understood everything. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at Qingtan with loving eyes. “Xiao Tan’er, it’s all this old servant’s fault…”

Qingtan shook her head, just about to say something, when she saw Steward Li suddenly stab himself in the chest, and bl00d spurted out. Steward Li looked at the varied expressions of the people around him, the dagger hidden in his hand fell, and he collapsed to the ground, looking at the woman rushing towards him with teary eyes, a slow smile spreading across his lips. “Xiao Tan’er…”

Qingtan rushed forward, her hands trembling as she held Steward Li. She saw the unspoken words in Steward Li’s eyes: he was saying, don’t cry.

All of Qingtan’s emotions finally collapsed completely at this moment. She sobbed uncontrollably, crying, “Grandpa, Grandpa…”

This cry of “Grandpa,” from the first time she uttered it as a child learning to speak, later Steward Li had told her that there was a difference in status and forbade her from calling him that. So many years later, their bond began with a “Grandpa” and ended with a “Grandpa.”

Ling Chenyan couldn’t help but sob along. She looked at the indifferent big villain and choked, “Cry, why aren’t you crying?”

The corner of the big villain’s lips twitched. She stepped forward, pushed aside the tearfully sobbing Qingtan, and said, “Let go, if you keep holding him like this, he’ll really die.”

Amidst the tear-blurred gazes of everyone, Guan Luowei’s expression was calm, showing no trace of sadness. She even said with some speechlessness, “He might have been too excited, his hand shook and he didn’t
stab in the right place, didn’t hit the heart, there’s still hope.”

Everyone: “???”

Author’s Note:

Ling Chenyan: …choked

Everyone: Silently withdrew their tears.