Blame the Villain – Chapter 85

Villainous Master (7)

A person who is beautiful and knows it, using their beauty to act ruthlessly, is an extremely frightening type of person.

Right now, Ning Jingyu was vividly proving this point to Song Xuyi.

Especially for someone like Song Xuyi, who is captivated by appearances, Ning Jingyu was continuously triggering all of Song Xuyi’s aesthetic sensibilities. All of Song Xuyi’s principles crumbled in the face of Ning Jingyu’s appearance.

If Ning Jingyu were to tell Song Xuyi to die at this moment, Song Xuyi felt she would jump off her flying sword without hesitation…

Such beauty is truly too tempting, leading one to crime!

However, Ning Jingyu quickly withdrew all her allure and returned to her previous state of noble aloofness, exuding an ethereal and cool demeanor, as if the Ning Jingyu that Song Xuyi had seen earlier was merely an illusion.

After Ning Jingyu transformed back, Song Xuyi also breathed a sigh of relief, shyly clutching her pounding heart and shrinking into her cloak, wrapping it tightly around herself.

Having an extraordinarily beautiful master comes with this downside: you can’t help but lose composure. Even though she is my master, I want to protect her with everything I have, give her all I possess, just to see her smile.

But my master, she has seen so much of the world, she probably wouldn’t care about my small attentions…

……

Song Xuyi felt shy and, for a moment, didn’t dare to meet Ning Jingyu’s gaze. She didn’t notice the thoughtful look in Ning Jingyu’s eyes directed at her.

Ning Jingyu was fully aware that she had lost her composure.

Very few people in this world knew that she possessed the skill of enchantment. However, seeing her little disciple so mesmerized and distracted by that succubus, Ning Jingyu felt a suffocating frustration and instinctively released her enchantment skill to teach her disciple a lesson.

Seeing her little disciple enchanted by her as intended, Ning Jingyu snapped back to reality and was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. In her moment of righteous anger, she had forgotten about the side effects of the enchantment skill: those who are enchanted will involuntarily develop feelings for the one who cast the spell, leading them to act irrationally and be blinded by desire.

Her disciple is still so young. If she were to…

Ning Jingyu never considered herself a moral person, but this didn’t mean she acted without restraint or relied on enchantment to control others. If her momentary righteous anger ruined her disciple’s life…

However, upon closer inspection, Song Xuyi’s eyes remained as clear as ever. They reflected shyness and amazement when looking at her, but lacked the lascivious obsession Ning Jingyu had seen in others before.

This could only mean one thing: her little disciple’s feelings towards her were extremely pure, without any trace of impurity.

Ning Jingyu felt a wave of relief and grew even more satisfied with Song Xuyi. She was well aware of her own beauty, which had long attracted the pursuit of many cultivators, one reason she chose to live in seclusion. Yet, she had unintentionally found a treasure, a disciple with a pure heart.

Such a disciple deserved to be treated even better.

Seeing Song Xuyi blushing all the way down to her neck, Ning Jingyu couldn’t help but find her increasingly pleasing to the eye. She leaned over, gently tidied Song Xuyi’s wind-tousled hair, and straightened her cloak’s collar. Observing her little disciple biting her lip and not daring to look up, Ning Jingyu felt a joy in her heart, as if a little bird had flown out of her chest, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud, speeding up her flying sword…

They returned to Luoyun Peak.

Days flowed by like a gentle stream, passing slowly day by day. Song Xuyi resumed her repetitive cultivation routine. Everything seemed unchanged, yet somehow, things felt different.

Song Xuyi no longer dared to urge Ning Jingyu to cultivate. Instead, she resorted to subtly buying books for Ning Jingyu, such as 《Avoiding Arrogance and Impatience》, 《How Complacency Cost Me the Chancellor’s Position》, and 《Caution in Every Step》, hoping that Ning Jingyu would become more cautious. However, Ning Jingyu seemed uninterested in these books and instead enjoyed the storybooks that came as gifts with them…

Left with no choice, Song Xuyi would ask the disciples who could leave the mountain to bring back storybooks each month. She didn’t dare to say they were for her master, so she claimed they were for herself.

Song Xuyi’s cultivation advanced rapidly, and by her fifth year at Xuanshu Sect, she had already established her foundation.

When the news spread, the entire cultivation world was shocked!

Aside from Ning Jingyu, whose foundation establishment time at Black Water Pool was unknown, Song Xuyi was considered the youngest cultivator to establish a foundation in the history of the cultivation world!

Despite the joy in her heart from being the center of attention, Song Xuyi also felt increasing anxiety: she knew very well that her achievements were largely due to Ning Jingyu’s help.

Her master treated her exceedingly well, which only made Song Xuyi feel more inadequate and constantly think of ways to repay her master’s kindness.

Song Xuyi used to cook delicious meals for her master, but now Ning Jingyu’s culinary skills have far surpassed hers. Song Xuyi no longer dared to show off her own skills and instead tried to help in other ways. Whenever she found something useful or tasty, she would save some for Ning Jingyu. She went to great lengths to collect jokes and storybooks from within the sect and the Three Realms to amuse Ning Jingyu. Whenever she mentioned her master, it was always with high praise. As a result, the entire Xuanshu Sect began to tease Song Xuyi, calling her the famously filial disciple.

Song Xuyi didn’t mind this teasing. She felt that she truly benefited the most from this master-disciple relationship, and everything she did for her master was worth it.

Life in the Xuanshu Sect was peaceful and joyful. In Song Xuyi’s sixth year there, news spread across the Three Realms: the once-in-twenty-years Grand Immortal Sect Competition was about to be held.

The Grand Immortal Sect Competition is a contest among all the immortal sects in the Three Realms, divided into three groups based on cultivation level: one group for Foundation Establishment stage, one for those in the Golden Core stage, and one for those in the Nascent Soul stage.

Generally, Foundation Establishment disciples are relatively young. To encourage these newly initiated cultivators, the major sects of the immortal world jointly set up a secret realm. This secret realm contains countless treasures and weapons suitable for cultivators, but it suppresses one’s cultivation, allowing only those below the Golden Core stage to enter.

Each time the Grand Immortal Sect Competition is held, many extraordinarily talented individuals emerge, making it a focal point of attention across the Three Realms.

Song Xuyi didn’t expect to be chosen to participate in the Foundation Establishment stage competition, especially since she had only recently established her foundation and her level was not yet stable. However, since the sect leader had arranged it, Song Xuyi quickly agreed after some consideration: the Xuanshu Sect had treated her well over the years, and now that the sect needed her, she felt she should step up.

What Song Xuyi didn’t anticipate was that Ning Jingyu would agree to lead the team to the competition, considering Ning Jingyu usually seemed to disdain lively events.

Originally, the sect had planned for the sect leader’s disciple, Zeng Li, to lead the team. Zeng Li had been the champion of the Golden Core stage competition a few years ago and was typically very stable and obedient. However, for some unknown reason, Zeng Li had a disagreement with the sect leader and suddenly went into seclusion. No one expected the task of leading the team to fall to Ning Jingyu.

What Song Xuyi didn’t know was that, as she had guessed, Ning Jingyu initially refused to lead the team. However, the sect leader knew Ning Jingyu’s soft spot. She didn’t dare to force her, but casually mentioned in Ning Jingyu’s presence, “Xuyi is sixteen now, the age when people in the mortal world start discussing marriage. This Grand Immortal Sect Competition will gather many talented young men. Xuyi is very likable, so who knows, maybe she’ll bring back a husband for us…”

Ning Jingyu immediately froze.

She spent the entire night thinking. The mere thought of her disciple being with some random young man made her incredibly angry. However, she realized that romantic relationships between men and women were natural and she had no right to interfere…

By dawn, Ning Jingyu finally found a way to convince herself: she had put great effort into finding such a diligent and talented disciple. If Song Xuyi were to get caught up in romantic entanglements, it would surely affect her cultivation. Having invested so much effort into nurturing Song Xuyi, it was only natural for her to keep a close watch on her disciple to ensure that she didn’t waste her talents!

With this seemingly legitimate reason in mind, Ning Jingyu, wearing a sour expression, went to the sect leader at dawn to retrieve the team leader’s token.

The sect leader was delighted to see her wish fulfilled, but poor Song Xuyi remained completely oblivious to what was happening.

Song Xuyi really didn’t want to read those storybooks. She could more or less guess Ning Jingyu’s thoughts. Plus, those on a mission in the small world couldn’t indulge in romance. So, Song Xuyi decisively and confidently wrote a 《Letter of Assurance》 to Ning Jingyu, promising to sever all romantic ties and focus solely on cultivation in the future, to put Ning Jingyu’s worries at ease.

Ning Jingyu exclaimed, “Why suddenly give me this?” but there was a noticeable smirk on her lips. She even carefully stored the letter of assurance in her spiritual treasury.

Song Xuyi’s move effectively prevented any further tantrums from Ning Jingyu until the departure.

Soon enough, the time for departure arrived.

Song Xuyi agreed to the journey for another reason: they would pass through the territory of the Song family. Song Xuyi wanted to visit her family and provide them with life-saving talismans. Additionally, she planned to remind them to invest in properties elsewhere, so that if the demon clan attacked, the Song family would have a place to escape to.

When Song Xuyi mentioned wanting to visit her family on the way, Ning Jingyu didn’t refuse.

However, Song Xuyi didn’t expect Ning Jingyu to transform into an ordinary-looking maid and accompany her back to the Song family.

Song Xuyi, understanding the situation, bought a bunch of storybooks for Ning Jingyu on the way. A visible smirk appeared on Ning Jingyu’s lips.

Song Xuyi wasn’t worried about the team being leaderless after Ning Jingyu left. After all, the sect leader knew Ning Jingyu wasn’t good at managing things, so she had arranged a reliable peak master as the deputy leader. The reason Ning Jingyu was chosen as the leader for the Grand Immortal Sect Competition was simply to intimidate the increasingly arrogant Xun Sect, ranked second in the sect hierarchy, using Ning Jingyu’s presence.

Upon seeing their daughter, who had been away for six years, the Song family was overjoyed. The female lead, Song Xi, had grown up to be clever and cute, bearing some resemblance to Song Xuyi when she first entered the sect. Ning Jingyu glanced at Song Xi and gave her a talisman as a gift.

This talisman can withstand a fatal injury for Song Xi once, a rare treasure. Song Xuyi was surprised but accepted Ning Jingyu’s kindness, instructing Song Xi to carry the talisman with her at all times.

The time for this journey was tight; Song Xuyi could only stay at home for one night. The next morning, they had to depart again. Song Xuyi utilized her time efficiently, arranging everything with her family. Since Song Xuyi was now part of an immortal sect, her parents believed she knew some information unknown to others and didn’t doubt her words, following her instructions obediently.

When Song Xuyi returned to her room, it was already midnight. Ning Jingyu sat in her room flipping through the new storybooks Song Xuyi had given her, casually glancing at Song Xuyi and remarking, “Your mortal sister seems clever, but she’s prone to romantic entanglements.”

Song Xuyi hadn’t expected Ning Jingyu to read faces. Thinking about the plot summary where Song Xi and the Third Prince chased each other, she nodded in agreement, unable to resist asking curiously, “What about my fortune?”

Ning Jingyu gazed deeply at Song Xuyi. Song Xuyi’s spiritual body was enveloped in a thin mist, making it impossible to discern her destiny. Remembering the scene where she crushed Song Xuyi’s throat and the strange entity in Song Xuyi’s mind, Ning Jingyu finally smirked, “You and I are destined.”

Even if Song Xuyi had the fate of a short life originally, so what? As her disciple, there are ways to defy fate and change her destiny!

Song Xuyi chuckled. She didn’t doubt Ning Jingyu’s words and sweetly replied, “Meeting my master is indeed the luckiest thing in my life,” before starting her meditation practice.

However, the smile at the corner of Ning Jingyu’s lips slowly faded away.

She seemed to gaze at the storybook in her hand, but after half a day, she hadn’t read a single word. Unable to resist, her eyes drifted towards Song Xuyi, who was meditating with closed eyes.

What if… Xuyi knew her true identity, would she still be so glad to become her disciple?

Ning Jingyu suddenly felt an unprecedented panic in her heart.

The family’s visit went smoothly.

On the second day of Song Xuyi’s departure, the entire family gathered at the door to bid farewell. Coincidentally, there was a lively celebration next door, as the newly appointed top scholar paraded on horseback. The handsome scholar’s gaze repeatedly fell on Song Xuyi. To lighten the mood of parting, Song Xi chuckled and said, “Sister, Wang Er has been talking about you lately! When you were little, you said you wanted to marry Wang Er. If you hadn’t become an immortal, you two would probably be a perfect match…”

Song Xuyi just smiled and passed by, but Ning Jingyu’s eyes beside her suddenly deepened…

The author has something to say:

I also want to give Xiaoning a book: 《On Self-cultivation by Reaping What One Sows》, with Song Xuyi’s written 《Letter of Assurance》 tucked inside.

But… I dare not.

LP: Re-translated on May 20, 2024