When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 92

Volume Four: Those Years When I Was a Master

[Rough and not set in stone: Foundation Establishment → Enlightenment → Integration → Temptation → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Division → Body Integration → Void Glimpse → Mahayana → Void Shattering → Tribulation Transcendence → Supreme Immortal]

Repaying with Myself

At the crack of dawn, the eastern sky had just begun to pale.

Wen Nuan gazed incessantly at the tightly shut door, a knot of anxiety in her stomach. She had no idea if the Six-Yang Pill would have any adverse effects on the female lead.

“An entire night has passed, and you’ve looked over at least a hundred times. Are you really that fond of that heartless little disciple of yours?”

Tan Lin approached with two bottles of wine and sat down in the courtyard pavilion.

He patted the stone stool beside him. “Come, sit for a while. Have a drink. That heartless little disciple of yours will be a while longer.”

After all, the frigid energy of the Abyssal Ice Sword was not so easily dispelled.

“Stop calling her heartless.”

Wen Nuan accepted the cup of wine Tan Lin offered.

“Hah, go on and protect her. The day that little disciple of yours devours you until not even bone dust is left, you’ll be happy then,” Tan Lin said pointedly as he took a sip of wine.

Every time Yu Wan Zhao looked at Wen Nuan, the desire and deep affection in her eyes practically spilled over.

If it were merely the affection between a master and disciple, it would be impossible for it to be so profound.

Unless—

Yu Wan Zhao was harboring improper thoughts, with wicked intentions toward her Shizun.

At this thought, Tan Lin became even more convinced that no one from the Demon Race was any good.

Wen Nuan lifted her gaze. “She’s not a bad person at heart, just a bit childish. Don’t keep bickering with a child.”

“Not a bad person? Childish?” Tan Lin looked speechless, as if he’d just heard the joke of the century. “If she’s not a bad person, then Demon Lord Kuiyuan, who once wreaked havoc upon the mortal realm, must have been a great philanthropist whose deeds moved heaven and earth.”

Wen Nuan was perplexed. “…Why were you two so at odds from the moment you first met?”

“Perhaps because we’re love rivals. Naturally, we wouldn’t get along.” Tan Lin shot Wen Nuan a flirtatious wink.

“Hm?” Wen Nuan’s tone rose, tinged with a hint of surprise.

“I’m not blind. Do you really not know what kind of wicked designs that little disciple of yours has for you?” Tan Lin looked at Wen Nuan, his eyes clear and perceptive. “You know, people always say you’re a woman of few words, cold and aloof. But the truth is the opposite. You’re chivalrous and warm-hearted, incredibly perceptive, born with an exquisite heart.”

He took another sip of wine and stated frankly, “I’m guessing you’ve long known what her feelings for you truly are, haven’t you?”

Wen Nuan simply smiled, drinking her wine without a word.

A silent admission.

Tan Lin heaved a long sigh. “No wonder a beauty like myself could offer you my devoted heart, yet you remained completely unmoved. It turns out I was the wrong gender all along.”

“I like her not because she is a woman,” Wen Nuan corrected him.

“Then what do you like about her?”

Tan Lin’s feelings came and went quickly. After Wen Nuan rejected him for the first time, he had already let go of that fruitless affection.

Although he still enjoyed trading a few risqué jokes with Wen Nuan from time to time, their relationship had always remained proper.

Wen Nuan broke into a radiant smile. “Just because… I like her.”

Liking someone never required a reason, nor did it need to be based on some vague feeling.

But if she truly had to explain to someone what “liking her” meant, Wen Nuan could answer with perfect composure.

“She” was her responsibility and her respect. “She” was her passion and her sense of belonging.

“…” Tan Lin was rendered speechless.

He fell silent for a moment before cursing under his breath, “F#ck!”

Wen Nuan raised her cup and clinked it against Tan Lin’s. “Take the Jade Balance Pill in a couple of days. I’ll stay and stand guard for you while you absorb it.”

Tan Lin’s expression softened with emotion. “Wen Nuan, why don’t you… try being with me?”

Wen Nuan shot him a glare. “Are you looking for a beating?”

“…..”

He took out the Jade Balance Pill and asked, “Did you specifically seek this out for me?”

“…No.”

Back when Wen Nuan entered the Futu Pagoda, she had only discovered the Jade Balance Pill by chance. Operating under the principle that a good item should never be left behind, she had stored the pill in her Spirit Ring. After conquering the pagoda and stunning the world, she left that mission world. How could she have thought about giving Tan Lin the pill back then?

If Yu Wan Zhao’s internal cold energy hadn’t reminded her that Tan Lin could treat it, she would have completely forgotten she even possessed a spiritual pill like the Jade Balance Pill, which was almost comparable to a divine-grade elixir.

Tan Lin, however, assumed Wen Nuan was just being tsundere, feigning indifference. He gave her a coy little tap. “You, you just do good deeds and refuse to admit it. First, you let your little disciple go. To silence the gossiping masses, you willingly endured forty-nine lashes of the Law Whip, the Piercing-Bone Nails, and entered the Futu Pagoda.”

“And now, to give me the Jade Balance Pill, you deliberately used the excuse of treating Yu Wan Zhao’s cold energy to trade for the Six-Yang Pill, making me indebted to you. Oh, Wen Nuan, if you were to wholeheartedly treat someone well, how blissful that person must be.”

Wen Nuan: “……”

And this, she thought, is how misunderstandings are born.

“Alright, enough with the dramatics. Hurry up and take the Jade Balance Pill, or your Nascent Soul won’t be able to hold on much longer,” Wen Nuan said, exasperated.

“Okay,” Tan Lin put the pill away and said with genuine sincerity, “Thanks.”

Wen Nuan smiled. “It’s nothing.”

---

As Yu Wan Zhao swallowed the Six-Yang Pill, its effects took hold. It was as if a hot spring had erupted within her body. A surging heat wave crashed through her, routing the cold energy until it scattered and dissipated in a single blow.

In an instant, she felt as if she were soaking in a warm spring. The water enveloped every one of her meridians, and every inch of her skin felt saturated by the gentle heat.

The current flowed, gentle and meticulous.

Yu Wan Zhao’s consciousness gradually relaxed, feeling the current wash over her body, as if her very bones and muscles were being remade.

Suddenly, a flash of white light shot through her mind.

Yu Wan Zhao’s brow furrowed, and she immediately tried to pursue it, but the light was incredibly fast, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

But as she turned, she ran right into it.

In a flash, time flowed like a shuttle. The moments she had spent with Wen Nuan streamed through her mind, flashing before her eyes frame by frame, as if these scenes had happened only yesterday.

The Hundred Clans Recruitment Assembly, where Wen Nuan, in her flowing white robes, had landed in her sight and been etched into her heart.

On Qinggu Peak, cultivating in the peach grove, drinking tea at the stone table, she and Shizun sat hand in hand, watching the sunrise and the sunset.

During the sect’s training expedition, Shizun had thoughtfully told her to be careful, not to push herself, not to get hurt, and especially not to cry, because Shizun couldn’t be there immediately to wipe away her tears.

When her cultivation advanced, Shizun would forcibly exit her own seclusion to stand guard, diverting the lightning tribulation for her. To protect her, she gave her every treasure and spiritual medicine, afraid that she would suffer, tire, or feel pain.

…

The past flew before her eyes.

Yu Wan Zhao felt like an outsider watching the two figures in a dreamlike illusion, always by each other’s side, like a couple living in seclusion, supporting each other through thick and thin, destined to grow old together.

Yu Wan Zhao couldn’t help but think, if only she could go back. She and Shizun could stay on Qinggu Peak, undisturbed. She would make tea and cook for Shizun, and Shizun would guide her cultivation. Everything would be so peaceful and beautiful.

She had foolishly fantasized that even if they had to be master and disciple for a lifetime, she would be content, even blissful. But now, she feared she would never have the chance to set foot on Qinggu Peak again.

If, back then, she hadn’t agreed to Shizun’s wish for her to join the disciples of the Qianyuan Upper Palace on their expedition to the Shenze Mystic Realm, would any of this have ever happened?

Shizun had meant well, wanting her to go to the mystic realm to gain experience and strengthen her cultivation. But no one could have predicted that this one trip would leave them worlds apart.

The fragments of memory continued to flash. Yu Wan Zhao wiped away her tears, forcing herself to swallow her grievance, her unwillingness, her guilt, and her regret as she continued to watch. During her five years in the Demon Realm, there wasn’t a moment she didn’t think about her past with Shizun. The nostalgia was etched into her very bones, becoming an obsession, a demon in her heart that she couldn’t break free from.

No one could save her.

“Why does she carry a piece of your nascent soul?”

A sudden voice startled Yu Wan Zhao. She looked toward the sound and found that everything before her had changed. The memories of her time with Shizun vanished, replaced by a scene she had never witnessed before.

In the scene, she saw Shizun’s figure and a shadowy form floating in the void. Their conversation reached Yu Wan Zhao’s ears, every word clear.

Especially Wen Nuan’s line: “For the one I love, what’s wrong with dying once?”

Yu Wan Zhao’s gaze sharpened, fixing on the Wen Nuan in the vision.

The Immortal’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You are both women?!”

“Naturally.”

“How can you love each other?”

“With a heart, one can love.” Wen Nuan looked at the Immortal. “It has nothing to do with gender, nothing to do with romance. It only has to do with where the heart lies.”

The scene stopped.

Wen Nuan’s words, “For the one I love, what’s wrong with dying once?” echoed endlessly in Yu Wan Zhao’s mind.

For the one I love?

The one I love!

Yu Wan Zhao was almost certain that the person speaking with Shizun was the Immortal from the South Sea Weiyang Mystic Realm. This meant the scene had taken place when Shizun was receiving the Immortal’s inheritance, and their conversation had somehow been left behind in her spiritual sense¹?!

Then, the “one she loves” that Shizun spoke of was… her?

It wasn’t just the affection between master and disciple. There was no disgust or hatred.

Yu Wan Zhao clapped a hand over her mouth, dizzy with disbelief.

Shizun liked her.

---

Wen Nuan looked at the hopelessly drunk Tan Lin in front of her. In his excitement, he had insisted on performing a dance for her, then ended up hugging a pillar and wiggling around before collapsing into a bush, fast asleep.

“And he has the nerve to drink with me with that kind of tolerance?”

Tan Lin was out cold after just two jugs, while Wen Nuan had downed six or seven and was completely fine.

【Hey, the female lead’s blackening value has dropped! It’s at 0.9 now!】the system announced.

Wen Nuan lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. “Looks like the Six-Yang Pill worked,” she said, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

Now that the cold energy in the female lead’s body was completely gone, she would no longer have to suffer the torment of the Abyssal Ice Sword. Naturally, her blackening value would decrease.

【There’s still 0.9 left. What’s that for?】the system asked, confused.

Wen Nuan exhaled another puff of smoke and watched as the female lead walked out of the room. The morning sun glowed on her, making her sparkle.

She watched her disciple approach, a smile gracing her lips, and said softly, “It’s missing one thing…”

—I love you.

“Shizun,” Yu Wan Zhao came and knelt before her, resting her head on Wen Nuan’s hand that was on her lap, her eyes gentle.

She called out again softly, “Shizun.”

Wen Nuan extinguished her cigarette and stroked her hair. “Feeling better?”

“The Six-Yang Pill was very effective. This disciple is much better.” Yu Wan Zhao looked up, holding Wen Nuan’s hand. “Shizun, feel. Isn’t it warm?”

Wen Nuan caressed her hand. It was indeed much warmer, not icy cold like before.

“Mm, it’s warm.”

“Shizun, you’re so good to this disciple. This disciple doesn’t know how to possibly repay you,” Yu Wan Zhao murmured, her eyelashes trembling.

Wen Nuan chuckled. “It’s nothing. As your master, I don’t ask for anything in return. You are my disciple; being good to you is what I should do.”

“No. This disciple doesn’t want Shizun to be the only one giving. So, this disciple has thought of a perfect way to repay Shizun.”

“Oh?” Wen Nuan said, intrigued.

A cunning light flashed in Yu Wan Zhao’s eyes. “In the storybooks from the mortal realm, there’s a common saying: a debt for saving a life should be repaid with oneself.”

She tilted her head back, revealing her long, slender, white neck.

Vulnerable and enchanting, she openly exposed her weakness to Wen Nuan.

Wen Nuan’s gaze fell, and she could see the slightly open collar of her disciple’s robes, revealing her beautifully shaped collarbones and the scar on her chest.

Yu Wan Zhao clenched her fists by her side, swallowed hard, and said nervously, “So, Shizun, this disciple has nothing to offer but myself.”

She took Wen Nuan’s hand and placed it on the soft peak of her breast, pressing it gently. A shimmer of moisture appeared in her eyes. “This disciple is willing to serve Shizun for a lifetime. Is that okay?”

“Are… are you serious?”

Wen Nuan was genuinely surprised. The softness beneath her palm sent a slight tremor through her body.

Seeing that Wen Nuan showed no signs of disgust or hatred, Yu Wan Zhao grew more certain about the vision she had seen.

Emboldened, she pushed her luck, straightening up to kiss Wen Nuan on the lips, lightly biting her lower lip. “This disciple’s feelings for you can be witnessed by heaven and earth.”

“I beg Shizun, let this disciple serve you and stay by your side. Please?” she coaxed, her voice husky, her eyes shimmering with affection.

Wen Nuan feigned shyness, her lashes fluttering, but deep in her eyes was a look of absolute certainty. “…Alright.”

Seeing Wen Nuan’s bashful appearance, Yu Wan Zhao’s heart surged with emotion. She threw her arms around Wen Nuan, calling out her name with an almost desperate longing. “Wen Nuan?”

Wen Nuan looked up, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes, a far cry from her earlier shyness.

The corner of her lips quirked up. “Mm, your master is here.”

The autumn morning sun was still dazzling. Tan Lin groggily watched the two figures embracing in the pavilion and the look of smug satisfaction rippling across Wen Nuan’s face.

For a moment, Tan Lin thought he probably wasn’t sober yet.

After all, in his memory, Wen Nuan was not the type of woman who would wear an expression of coquettish triumph, a pride tinged with a roguish glee.

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