Chapter 30: Transmigrated as the Abusive Story’s Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character p1
Xin Yao stood in a strange, dark space, her eyes wide with shock and confusion, the oppressive darkness threatening to consume her.
A few feet away, in the center of the darkness, stood a small child.
The child was dressed in thin clothes, their long white hair tangled and unkempt, their pale red eyes, hidden behind the strands of hair, gazing at Xin Yao with an unnervingly emotionless expression.
It was a younger version of Pei Yu.
But this small, frail child was nothing like the elegant, aloof, and powerful CEO Xin Yao knew.
Little Pei Yu looked malnourished, her bones visible beneath her skin.
Xin Yao didn’t understand what was happening, but seeing Pei Yu like this made her heart ache.
Her eyes filled with concern, she walked towards the child, kneeling down and gently stroking her face.
“Pei Yu, is that you?”
The simple gesture seemed to startle the child, who took a step back.
Xin Yao’s hand hovered in mid-air, but she wasn’t embarrassed, simply realizing her approach had been too abrupt.
As she withdrew her hand, the child reached out and grabbed her finger.
The small hand gripped her finger tightly, as if afraid she would disappear.
Xin Yao’s heart melted, her gaze softening. Just as she was about to speak, the darkness around them began to recede, dissolving into shimmering particles, like stardust, revealing a patch of bright sky.
And as the darkness faded, the small figure of Pei Yu also began to disappear.
Xin Yao instinctively reached out to grab her, but just as her fingers brushed against the child’s wrist, she vanished.
Xin Yao’s eyes widened in surprise, a gasp escaping her lips. Then, she realized something.
She stood up straight and looked around, the scene before her shifting, as if she had stepped into a movie.
The darkness was gone, replaced by a bright, sunny sky and a vast expanse of trees.
In the distance, she saw the familiar snow-capped mountains, their peaks reaching towards the sky.
The sight made her pause. The mountains looked like the ones Pei Yu had taken her to during her possessive phase.
Before she could dwell on it, she heard voices coming from the forest behind her.
She turned to see a group of hikers, their voices echoing through the trees.
One of them, a young woman with striking beauty, despite her drab hiking gear, caught Xin Yao’s eye.
It wasn’t just her beauty, but her resemblance to Pei Yu.
Then, Xin Yao heard someone call out her name.
“Pei Shuangshuang!”
Pei?
Xin Yao’s eyes widened. Could this be Pei Yu’s mother?
Pei Yu had said she had no family, never mentioning her parents. Xin Yao hadn’t dared to ask.
She hadn’t expected to meet Pei Yu’s mother in a memory.
Listening to their conversation, she learned that Pei Shuangshuang and her friends were planning to climb the mountain.
The next moment, the scene shifted abruptly.
The hikers, halfway up the mountain, were caught in a blizzard. Pei Shuangshuang, separated from her friends, was swept away by the wind, tumbling down the mountainside.
Xin Yao, caught in the swirling snow, also felt herself falling.
The dizzying sensation ended as she landed on the ground, the scene before her coming into focus.
Pei Shuangshuang was unharmed.
She woke up on a stone bed in a cave, her eyes flickering with confusion.
Standing before her was a handsome young man with white hair and red eyes.
He was dressed in a thin black shirt, seemingly impervious to the cold.
Xin Yao, watching from the sidelines, knew instantly. This was Pei Yu’s father.
The next scene unfolded as expected.
The moment Pei Shuangshuang saw him, she fell in love.
She was in her early twenties, young, beautiful, and full of life, like a flower about to bloom. As she recovered from her injuries in the cave, her affections for the handsome young man grew.
He was quiet and reserved, but he was kind to her, even as he tried to keep his distance, his concern for her evident despite his reluctance.
His mixed signals confused and frustrated the straightforward Pei Shuangshuang.
One night, she cornered him, pinning him against the bed.
“Tell me, what are your intentions towards me?!”
Eek!
Xin Yao covered her eyes, peeking through her fingers.
The young man, his heart also stirred by their time together, finally confessed, his voice a soft murmur.
“Pei Shuangshuang, I’m not human.”
He was a thousand-year-old snake demon. They couldn’t be together.
The young woman, sheltered and naive, wasn’t afraid. She thought it was cool!
Like a scene from a fantasy novel, a young woman on a journey encounters a handsome and powerful demon, and they overcome all obstacles to be together.
Pei Shuangshuang felt like the heroine of her own story.
Her youthful passion and ignorance conquered all.
Her fearless love touched the snake demon’s heart, and they shared a night of passion, their love blossoming.
Then, Xin Yao saw Pei Shuangshuang’s belly swell.
Pei Yu was on her way!
The sight filled Xin Yao with a strange sense of wonder. She watched Pei Shuangshuang’s growing belly, her eyes shining with excitement.
It should have been a joyous occasion.
But Xin Yao noticed the snake demon’s expression change as he looked at Pei Shuangshuang’s belly, his voice a low murmur.
“A cursed child… how could this be…”
Pei Shuangshuang, lost in her happiness, didn’t hear him.
“Hmm?”
The young man quickly composed himself, forcing a smile.
“Nothing.”
That night, while Pei Shuangshuang slept peacefully, unaware of what was happening, Xin Yao witnessed everything.
She saw the young man leave the cave in the middle of the night, returning hours later, covered in blood, his injuries severe.
He clutched a small, white, seal-like object in his hand.
He knelt beside Pei Shuangshuang’s bed, gently kissing her belly, then carefully placed the white seal on her skin, the object merging with her flesh.
The usually silent snake demon smiled softly.
“Now, everything will be alright.”
But what would become of this child, a half-demon, born under a cursed star?
Would everything truly be alright?
In the days that followed, the snake demon always smiled when he looked at Pei Shuangshuang, but Xin Yao sensed a deep sadness beneath his cheerful facade.
Pei Shuangshuang, oblivious, basked in her happiness, unaware of the impending tragedy.
Xin Yao’s premonition proved to be correct.
One seemingly ordinary day, disaster struck.
A sword, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, slammed into the entrance of the cave, sending a cloud of snow and ice swirling through the air, tearing a hole in the roof.
Bright sunlight streamed in, startling Xin Yao.
She turned to see a Taoist priest, dressed in a blue robe, his hair streaked with silver, his eyes cold and sharp, floating outside the cave.
“Demon! You dare steal the Sacred Seal of the Snow Mountain!”
Pei Shuangshuang, clutching her belly, was even more terrified than Xin Yao, her eyes wide with shock.
The young man shielded her with his body, his gaze fixed on the Taoist priest.
“Li Henqing, the Sacred Seal is already within her. You can’t retrieve it. There’s nothing you can do.”
The Taoist priest, Li Henqing, his gaze cold and indifferent, replied, “You think you can escape your fate? You used the Sacred Seal to suppress the cursed aura of this demonic offspring, thinking it would last forever, that no one would find her?”
“As the guardian of the Snow Mountain, you stole the Sacred Seal! You deserve to die! And this cursed child, I will destroy her!”
Cursed child? What was that?
Were they talking about Pei Yu?
Because Pei Yu was born under a cursed star, her father, the guardian of the Snow Mountain, had stolen the Sacred Seal to suppress her demonic aura.
But the Taoist priest had found them, and now he wanted to kill them both?
Was this a joke?!
Pei Yu was just a few months old, still developing in her mother’s womb, and they wanted to kill her because of some vague curse?
Regardless of Xin Yao’s thoughts, the battle began, the two figures clashing fiercely.
As Pei Yu’s father fought Li Henqing, he used the last of his strength to create a teleportation array, urging his wife to escape.
What was Pei Shuangshuang thinking at that moment?
She was terrified, her mind reeling from the sudden violence, her legs frozen with fear.
The Taoist priest, seizing the opportunity, lunged forward, his sword aimed at Pei Shuangshuang’s belly.
The sword wasn’t meant to harm her, only to destroy the child within her womb.
But Pei Shuangshuang didn’t know that. She watched in horror as the sword approached, her eyes wide with fear.
It was only then that she realized the true nature of her relationship with the demon, the harsh reality of her fairytale romance.
Just as the sword was about to pierce her skin, the snake demon intercepted it, taking the blow himself.
The Taoist priest, seizing the opportunity, attacked again.
The snake demon, severely injured, couldn’t defend himself and reverted to his true form.
A massive white snake, its body coiling and thrashing in pain, its mouth open in a silent roar, filled the cave.
Pei Shuangshuang, having just escaped one terror, now faced another.
It was the first time she had seen her husband’s true form. She almost fainted.
She stared at the monstrous creature, her heart filled with fear and revulsion.
Was this what he truly was? Had she been living with a monster all this time?
And why were they trying to kill her? What had she done wrong?!
If only she had never met him…
The snake demon, ignoring her fear, quickly recovered and blocked the Taoist priest’s attack, turning to yell at Pei Shuangshuang.
“Shuangshuang! Run!”
Pei Shuangshuang finally snapped out of her daze, scrambling towards the teleportation array.
Without looking back, she stepped into the swirling light and disappeared.
The snake demon, relieved, collapsed onto the ground, his body covered in blood.
With the Sacred Seal protecting his wife and child, they were safe. The Taoist priest would never find them.
Seeing Pei Shuangshuang escape, the Taoist priest knew he had missed his chance.
He wasn’t one to dwell on failure. Like a weary office worker, he simply retrieved his sword and looked at the dying snake demon with a strange mix of pity and indifference.
“You stole the Sacred Seal and opened the array. You won’t live much longer. Why bother?”
The snake demon chuckled, his voice weak.
“After all these years, you’re still so ruthless. But Li Henqing, sometimes I think you’re the pitiful one. You don’t understand what it means to love.”
Li Henqing scoffed. He was human, not a demon. Of course he understood love.
But before he could reply, the snake demon died.
It was the emotionless Taoist priest who buried him, in the snow-covered mountains where he had first met his wife.
Fulfilling his old friend’s last wish.
Xin Yao, having witnessed the entire scene, felt a chill run through her.
While she could move and speak within the memory, she knew it was just a vision. She couldn’t change the past.
The helplessness of watching a tragedy unfold only intensified her sadness.
She hadn’t expected Pei Yu’s past to be so tragic.
But the story wasn’t over.
For Pei Shuangshuang, having narrowly escaped death, it was just the beginning.
Xin Yao didn’t have time to dwell on it. The vision shifted again, and she found herself beside Pei Shuangshuang.
Back home, Pei Shuangshuang’s parents were horrified by their daughter’s condition: pregnant and unmarried, unable to even name the father of her child. It was a disgrace!
But their daughter was clearly traumatized, refusing to speak, her days filled with tears.
Their concern for her well-being eventually overcame their anger and embarrassment. They moved her to their private hospital, where she could recover and await the birth of her child.
Gradually, Pei Shuangshuang regained her composure.
She still loved the snake demon.
And with her recovery came a wave of guilt and regret.
She should have been braver. She should have stayed with him.
She hated herself.
And she started to hate the child growing within her.
This cursed child! If not for this child, her beloved wouldn’t have died!
And then, something even more terrifying happened.
Carrying a demon’s child was a dangerous undertaking. The developing demon required a tremendous amount of energy.
While her father had been alive, he had provided the necessary demonic energy. But now, with his death, the child, deprived of its source of energy, began to draw sustenance from its mother.
Within a week, Pei Shuangshuang was emaciated, her body skeletal and frail.
Her belly, however, continued to swell, the outline of a snake’s tail and tiny hands occasionally visible beneath her stretched skin.
Pei Shuangshuang felt like she was going mad.
The Taoist priest had been right. The creature inside her was a monster!
If not for this monster, the Taoist priest wouldn’t have come.
If not for this monster, her husband wouldn’t have died.
If not for this monster, she wouldn’t be in this state!
As the child grew within her, Pei Shuangshuang would recall the happy days she had shared with her husband, and the memories only intensified her fear and hatred of the child that was slowly killing her.