Villainous Master (18)
How could Ning Jingyu possibly be the villain? She was clearly the hero who killed the previous Demon Lord and protected the Three Realms!
However, the system would not deceive her…
Song Xuyi was stunned.
The system did not notice Song Xuyi’s strange expression and kept chattering: “You don’t know, this evil villain, as soon as we arrived in this world, she cast a spell to block me from seeing you intermittently and made it impossible for me to contact you. For so long, I’ve watched you take a thief as your master and become increasingly anxious…”
Song Xuyi could no longer hear what the system was saying.
Grief, shock, sorrow…
Too many emotions crossed her mind. Just as she had not yet recovered from the grief of Ning Jingyu falling into the blood pool, she was hit by another shock. Song Xuyi felt her mind go blank, and memories of her interactions with Ning Jingyu over the years surfaced—
In hindsight, all of this had traces to follow.
The Ning Jingyu she knew was never one to care about worldly matters. From the very beginning, Ning Jingyu’s actions didn’t actually resemble those of the righteous path. It was Song Xuyi who assumed she was the hero who saved the Three Realms and thus thought of her as a righteous person…
But even if Ning Jingyu did not love the common people, she had never caused trouble for them while living in seclusion all these years. Why would she become the villain in the system’s narrative?
……
But what’s the use of pursuing this now? The person is already dead.
Song Xuyi lowered her head, sniffling, almost unable to control the tears in her eyes. She never thought that the invincible Ning Jingyu would fall into the Dream Demon’s formation. She didn’t know what happened to Ning Jingyu in the illusion, but her mind kept replaying the last scene of Ning Jingyu before she fell into the blood pool—
——Even when stabbed, Ning Jingyu couldn’t bring herself to crush the fake Song Xuyi’s throat.
Song Xuyi knew better than anyone why Ning Jingyu was caught—the fake Song Xuyi had her aura and appearance.
Maybe Ning Jingyu might have betrayed the world in the future, but she had never betrayed her, and it was because of her that Ning Jingyu fell into the blood pool.
Grief spread in Song Xuyi’s heart. She bit her lower lip tightly, and the tears eventually fell uncontrollably, drop by drop…
“Xuyi, you—”
Seeing Song Xuyi like this, the system belatedly stopped its chatter.
Song Xuyi was kind, ambitious, and always greeted people with a smile. Despite facing incredibly powerful villains each time, in the system’s view, Song Xuyi was actually stronger inside than any villain, as if nothing could lead her astray, making her the perfect task performer.
But for this reason, the system always felt it couldn’t grasp Song Xuyi’s thoughts.
This was the first time the system saw Song Xuyi so emotionally exposed.
It made Song Xuyi seem more like a real, living person.
In a daze, the system had a feeling: During the process of completing tasks, was the task performer also exploring her true self?
But the system couldn’t ponder this issue now. Shocked by Song Xuyi’s tears and feeling a deep sorrow, having traveled through so many worlds together, the system had long regarded Song Xuyi as its closest friend.
“Xuyi, Ning Jingyu is indeed beautiful and good to you, but she is just a passerby in this small world. We will meet more people in the future…” The system’s voice carried a hint of guilt, unable to even convince itself: Was the villain who looked the same in every world really just a passerby?
Song Xuyi kept her head down, not saying a word.
Meanwhile, not far away, the Demon Lord also snapped out of her joy from successfully killing Ning Jingyu and turned to look at Song Xuyi—
“Ning Kui was right, you are indeed Ning Jingyu’s weakness!” The Demon Lord’s eyes were filled with undisguised jealousy as she looked at Song Xuyi, maliciously sizing her up before drawing her sword and thrusting it toward Song Xuyi: “You caused your master’s death, why don’t you follow her and die too?”
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Unexpectedly, her attack was stopped about five steps away from Song Xuyi, unable to advance…
“How is this possible?” The Demon Lord’s eyes widened. Song Xuyi, who had been wiping her tears and preparing to fight back, also frowned: Normally, if Ning Jingyu had died, the formation she left behind would have dissipated. Why was Ning Jingyu’s formation still effective?
Could it be…
Song Xuyi’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, and she hurriedly looked up at the blood pool ahead—
Unnoticed, the blood pool had begun to bubble, and a vortex appeared in the center, gradually expanding. A wind suddenly arose…
Protected by the formation, Song Xuyi couldn’t feel the oppressive demonic energy, but outside, the Demon Lord was almost unable to stand, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
“How is this possible?!”
The Demon Lord’s eyes widened in horror, and the system in Song Xuyi’s mind let out a terrified scream, once again cutting off contact—
But Song Xuyi couldn’t care about the surrounding changes. Her heart was in her throat, her mind blank, eyes fixed on the blood pool.
The sky suddenly darkened, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Thick bolts of lightning struck the center of the blood pool—
This was the sign of a great demon appearing in the world!
Song Xuyi held her breath, watching the blood pool boil like hot water. Soon, a crack appeared in the middle: a section of jade-like white arm, black hair as dark as a raven’s feather…
The Demon Lord beside Song Xuyi let out a scream, fell to the ground, her fate unknown. Song Xuyi was stunned for a moment, then saw an absolutely beautiful figure rise from the blood pool…
The person before her still seemed to be Ning Jingyu, yet also seemed to have become someone else, her entire being now exuding an enchanting aura. She moved with captivating grace, as radiant as a bright pearl, her beauty irresistible…
Until Ning Jingyu walked up to her and touched her face, the cool touch of Ning Jingyu’s fingertips woke Song Xuyi as if from a dream. Her face instantly reddened to the tips of her ears, and she hurriedly lowered her head, opening her storage bag to find clothes for Ning Jingyu—
“Master, I didn’t mean to look at you! I’m just so happy to see you’re still alive…”
Song Xuyi stammered an explanation, closing her eyes in panic, feeling deeply ashamed. She didn’t even know what she was saying, but she didn’t expect to fall into a cold embrace.
Ning Jingyu hugged Song Xuyi, resting her chin on Song Xuyi’s shoulder.
Song Xuyi’s body stiffened, and she subconsciously opened her eyes, glimpsing a patch of white skin. Her head heated up, and she quickly closed her eyes again, not daring to look further.
Surrounded by Ning Jingyu’s familiar fragrance, Song Xuyi felt as if she was being roasted by fire, her whole body unbearably hot. Her mind kept replaying the captivating scene of Ning Jingyu emerging from the water, but she didn’t dare move, tense and stiff, almost missing Ning Jingyu’s words—
“Xuyi,” Ning Jingyu’s cool breath brushed against Song Xuyi’s ear as she lifted Song Xuyi’s scattered hair behind her ear and wrapped an arm around Song Xuyi’s waist, sighing slowly, “Now that you know my secret, what should I do with you?”
A tingling sensation shot up from her spine. By all rights, Song Xuyi should have felt fear, especially given the overt threat in Ning Jingyu’s words. Yet, perhaps the sight of Ning Jingyu gripping the blade before falling into the blood pool had left such a profound impact on her that she found she couldn’t muster any fear toward Ning Jingyu.
“Master has shown me immense kindness. No matter what happens, I will always stand by Master,” Song Xuyi lowered her head, recalling the image of Ning Jingyu’s bleeding hand, feeling a pang of sadness.
“Immeasurable kindness?” Ning Jingyu let out a light laugh, her tone dubious, “Even if I have long since fallen into demonic ways? To stand against the Three Realms?”
Song Xuyi hadn’t expected Ning Jingyu to be so forthright, causing her body to stiffen, lips pressed tightly together.
Seeing Song Xuyi’s reaction, a shadow passed through Ning Jingyu’s eyes.
In the illusion, she had relived scenes from her childhood:
Her mother being drained by Ning Kui, her own pursuit of Ning Kui leading her into the Black Water Pool where she endured torment from demons, struggling to survive for a long time, and finally being besieged by demons, fighting desperately to reach the blood pool, and reluctantly falling into it…
Ning Jingyu prided herself on her resilience but never dared to recall the seven days and nights in the blood pool: her skin corroded and regenerated, only to be corroded again, her entire being in constant, excruciating pain, her mind endlessly replaying the scene of her mother’s death…
Ning Jingyu didn’t know how she had endured it.
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When she opened her eyes again, she had become the heart of the Black Water Pool formation, unable to cultivate spiritual power by traditional methods and could only absorb demonic energy.
But Ning Jingyu was content with this.
Ning Jingyu had transformed into the predator, feeding on demonic energy, unmatched by any of the demons in the Black Water Pool. Her natural talent allowed her to learn many demonic techniques while absorbing demonic energy.
It was then that she once again sensed Ning Kui’s presence.
Ning Jingyu followed Ning Kui’s aura out of the Black Water Pool. With the formation heart’s departure, the demons’ restraints weakened, creating the subsequent breach in the Black Water Pool.
To defeat Ning Kui, Ning Jingyu hastily consumed too much demonic energy, which one day erupted violently within her. In a life-or-death moment, it was Zhao Lin who saved her.
Ning Jingyu promised Zhao Lin one wish. Zhao Lin, intending to thwart the former Demon Lord’s devastation of the Three Realms, did not believe the bloodied Ning Jingyu she had saved could fulfill it. She casually wished, “I want to kill the Demon Lord.”
Later, Zhao Lin was brutally defeated by the Demon Lord, left barely alive with broken bones, nearly killed. Ning Jingyu fulfilled her promise to Zhao Lin: she killed the Demon Lord, consumed the Demon Lord’s demonic energy, and erased Zhao Lin’s memories of her, placing her in a remote area to heal.
Afterward, Ning Jingyu returned to the Xuanshu Sect to begin secluded cultivation. She claimed to be healing, but only she knew she was digesting the demonic energy within her.
During this process, Ning Jingyu discovered that to continue living, she had to consume large amounts of demonic energy. When the world’s demons weakened, and there wasn’t enough demonic energy to sustain her, it would mark her end.
Sometimes, Ning Jingyu entertained thoughts of wreaking havoc in the Three Realms. As long as Ning Kui was unfound, she couldn’t die. If the Three Realms turned into a demonic realm, she would have endless demonic energy to sustain her…
Yet more often, Ning Jingyu felt an emptiness, as if something was missing from her life.
Until Song Xuyi appeared in the illusion.
At first, just like in her memories, she taught Song Xuyi swordsmanship, and Song Xuyi taught her how to enjoy life. They lived a carefree life on Luoyun Peak, away from worldly concerns.
But it seemed the Dream Demon sensed her unusual feelings for Song Xuyi, altering the course of events: Song Xuyi went down the mountain to visit her family, fell in love with the top scholar next door, and insisted on being with him…
In the dream, Ning Jingyu was furious, doing everything to thwart their relationship. Yet the more she obstructed, the stronger their bond grew.
Caught up in her own struggles, Ning Jingyu’s demonic identity was exposed, inviting condemnation from all sides.
When she executed her plan to shed her mortal coil and became the new Demon Lord, word came from the Immortal Realm that Song Xuyi was to marry the scholar.
In the illusion, upon hearing the wedding news, Ning Jingyu realized her feelings: she wasn’t worried the scholar wasn’t suitable for Xuyi, but was jealous that the one by Xuyi’s side wasn’t her!
……
At the end of the illusion, she stormed Xuyi’s wedding, faced countless cultivators’ resistance, and was covered in wounds. Yet, when Xuyi looked at her, there was only fear and loathing in her eyes, no longer the trust and admiration of the past.
That was not how Xuyi should look at her.
Ning Jingyu sensed something strange about the present Xuyi. However, the sight before her pierced her deepest, hidden pain. Without thinking, she instinctively pulled Song Xuyi to leave, only to be met with a sinister smile and a blade stabbed into her chest.
……
In a rage, Ning Jingyu broke through the illusion.
She heard Song Xuyi’s call, understanding she had fallen into the Dream Demon’s trap. Yet, facing the real Song Xuyi, her emotions surged rather than subsided. The desire to possess Song Xuyi, to be with her forever, reached its peak…
In that moment, Ning Jingyu fully grasped her yearning for Song Xuyi.
Aside from the extinction of all demonic energy, nothing in this world could kill Ning Jingyu.
Ning Jingyu hadn’t expected this to be exposed so quickly before Song Xuyi…
After emerging from the blood pool, looking at the silent Song Xuyi beside her, a shadow crossed Ning Jingyu’s eyes once more, recalling the scene of Song Xuyi confronting her with a weapon when she first arrived at Luoyun Peak: Could it be that Xuyi is destined to stand against her?
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Countless methods to forcibly keep Xuyi by her side flashed through her mind. Ning Jingyu’s eyes grew darker, but unexpectedly, a pair of soft, delicate hands trembled as they grasped her wrist—
“Master,” Song Xuyi’s face flushed to the tips of her ears, unable to look directly at Ning Jingyu’s enchantingly beautiful face that drove her aesthetics wild. Summoning her courage, she carefully clasped Ning Jingyu’s cold, jade-like hand, intertwining their fingers, and softly spoke, “Even if Master stands against the world, I will stay with you—”
“But, Master…” Noticing Ning Jingyu’s intense gaze turning towards her, that burning sensation surged again. Her heart pounded so fast it almost leapt from her chest. Song Xuyi felt her body weaken, barely restraining her shyness to continue, “I love these Three Realms very much. Could you, for my sake, give the Three Realms a chance? Let me accompany you to make the Three Realms a place you love…”
……
Song Xuyi continued to speak, but Ning Jingyu was already too distracted to listen.
She stared unblinkingly at her disciple’s flushed cheeks, quivering lashes, the shy, moist eyes about to spill tears, and the cherry-red lips… The smile on her lips widened bit by bit. Something within her shattered quietly, filling her with unprecedented joy.
This was the most beautiful sound Ning Jingyu had heard in her life.
The author has something to say:
“Xuyi, I am impressed. In this situation, you can still keep your composure. You are truly the epitome of Liu Xiahui, a paragon among gentlemen! I admire you—”
“As for Xiao Ning, rest assured. Ahem, in future activities represented by an ellipsis, you will hear even more beautiful sounds—”
LP: Re-translated on June 09, 2024
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She have raise the child well. Now she shalleat the child