Chapter 58: The Elixir
After the meteor shower ended, Bai Jingxue saw Luo Nianshang descending from the sky.
But hadn’t Luo Nianshang been locked in her room?
Bai Jingxue, her emotions now under control, glanced at the Sword Saint’s chamber, then back at Luo Nianshang, who was sitting on the roof, her gaze distant.
The female lead always made a grand entrance. She was undefeated. Bai Jingxue had never seen her looking so disheveled.
Her usually serene brow was furrowed, dark circles shadowed her eyes, and she kept sighing, her head resting on her hand.
Lü Qingyan also noticed Luo Nianshang’s unusual state. She nudged Bai Jingxue with her nose, whispering, “Is the female lead okay?”
Something was definitely wrong. She looked exhausted, as if she had been overindulging in certain activities. But this was Luo Nianshang, the epitome of propriety and restraint. That couldn’t be the reason.
Lü Qingyan, ever the helpful soul, suggested, “Shouldn’t we comfort her?”
Bai Jingxue agreed. They were adorable. A few rolls on the ground, some cute meows and barks, and they could charm any human.
Luo Nianshang sighed again, her head resting on her hands as she contemplated life.
Bai Jingxue climbed onto the roof, meowing softly. Normally, this would have elicited a pat from Luo Nianshang, but not this time. Luo Nianshang continued sighing.
This was strange.
She jumped onto Luo Nianshang’s head, patting her with a paw.
Luo Nianshang finally reacted, pulling the cat down and holding her up, a weak smile curving her lips. “Your cultivation is progressing well,” she said.
“Meow.”
Luo Nianshang shifted her position, her hands clasped behind her back, then let out another sigh, her gaze fixed on the moon.
“I’m not pure anymore,” she murmured.
The cat and dog, huddled beside her, their ears perking up, their eyes widening, were stunned.
Lü Qingyan, her reactions always dramatic, assumed the original plot had kicked in. Luo Nianshang had been defiled by the male lead.
“Damn it!” she barked, her voice filled with rage. “I’ll tear him to shreds! That disgusting creature doesn’t deserve to be the male lead! I can’t stand it!”
A string of curses followed, the kind that would be censored on television.
Bai Jingxue, though seemingly calm, was also furious. She was so angry she didn’t know how to react.
Once her brain had processed the information, she lashed out, her claws tearing through the roof tiles.
Luo Nianshang, startled by their violent reaction, quickly scooped them up, her voice soothing. “What’s wrong?”
“Meow!” “Woof!”
“You’re the pure one! It’s that disgusting man who’s impure!”
Luo Nianshang couldn’t understand. She petted them gently, then noticed the sympathy in their eyes.
It was a familiar feeling. The last time someone had looked at her with such concern had been her masters.
Her weariness faded, and she guessed what they were trying to convey.
She squeezed their cheeks gently, smiling. “Are you worried about me?”
The cat and dog nodded in unison.
Luo Nianshang chuckled. “I’m fine,” she said. “I was just reading those storybooks. They were a bit… overwhelming.”
So that was it. The cat and dog simultaneously sighed with relief.
But they were also surprised. The Sword Saint was reading those books? The ones with the explicit illustrations?
That must have been quite a shock. But if they remembered correctly, those stories were all about women.
Oh dear.
Bai Jingxue, noticing the dark circles under Luo Nianshang’s eyes, felt a surge of sympathy. She hoped Luo Nianshang wouldn’t awaken any strange desires.
What was that book called again?
The Domineering Sword Saint’s Fierce Love: My Runaway Bride?
Such a cheesy title, but it sounded intriguing.
Bai Jingxue wagged her tail. She was a simple cat. She loved cheesy stories. She wanted to read more!
Then she realized something she hadn’t considered before. The author of that book was She Yuwei.
Which meant it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The “fierce love” part was concerning enough, but who was the “bride”?
But wouldn’t this deviate from the original plot? Although deviating from the original plot was a good thing.
Bai Jingxue, after much deliberation, decided to share her concerns with Lü Qingyan. “Remember that ‘fierce love’ novel?” she asked. “If it comes true, who’s the bride?”
Lü Qingyan, seeing Bai Jingxue’s delayed reaction, tilted her head. “You just realized that?”
Bai Jingxue nodded. “I was too focused on She Yuwei,” she said.
Lü Qingyan had read the book. Remembering its contents, she burst out laughing.
Bai Jingxue, confused, wondered if the “fierce love” story was actually a comedy.
She waited patiently for Lü Qingyan to calm down, then demanded an explanation.
Lü Qingyan wiped the tears from her eyes, struggling to contain her laughter. “The ‘bride’ in that story uses a dozen different disguises to get close to the protagonist,” she said. “It turns into a chaotic one-to-many relationship, and then everything falls apart.”
Bai Jingxue’s ears perked up. She was intrigued.
Seeing that Lü Qingyan was about to continue, she quickly covered the dog’s mouth with her paw. “Stop,” she said, her voice firm. “No spoilers.”
Lü Qingyan nodded, then resumed her laughter, rolling around on the roof.
Luo Nianshang, watching the happy dog, couldn’t help but smile. “You’re so carefree,” she said. “I wish I could forget everything that’s been plaguing my mind.”
Frustrated, she picked up a broken roof tile, tossing it into the air. It transformed into a shooting star, vanishing into the distance.
Bai Jingxue, watching the woman-made meteor, wondered if the previous meteor shower had also been Luo Nianshang’s doing.
As expected of the female lead. Even her methods of stress relief were extraordinary.
Luo Nianshang suddenly stood up, her eyes brightening. “I just need to keep myself busy,” she said.
Bai Jingxue tilted her head. “Meow?”
Luo Nianshang looked down at her, then crouched, petting her head. “Do you two want to transform?”
Before they could nod, she continued, “There used to be an elixir that could allow demons to transform prematurely. It’s lost now. I don’t remember much about it, but I can try to recreate it.”
This was good news. Bai Jingxue rubbed against Luo Nianshang’s palm, her purrs unusually loud.
Luo Nianshang’s heart melted at the cat’s adorable sounds. She petted Bai Jingxue again, her mood lifting.
She suddenly felt a surge of motivation. She didn’t need sleep at her level of cultivation. She might as well start working on the elixir now.
She vanished in a blink, leaving behind a trail of shimmering ice crystals.
Bai Jingxue stared at the glittering particles, her mind racing. “Are we finally going to transform?”
She had assumed it would take longer, but it seemed the Sword Saint possessed a hidden treasure. The fact that she hadn’t mentioned it before suggested that recreating the elixir would be difficult.
Lü Qingyan, nudging Bai Jingxue with her nose, was also excited. She had been longing to speak again.
And once she transformed, she could hold Jingxue’s hand, kiss her, and do all those intimate things they had done in their past life.
She giggled, her anticipation growing.
But then she remembered. They had broken up.
Her ears drooped. She had been spending so much time with Bai Jingxue that she had almost forgotten they were no longer together.
She glanced at Bai Jingxue, who seemed to be lost in thought. “What do you want to do once you transform, Jingxue?” she asked.
Bai Jingxue turned to face her, confused by the dog’s hesitant tone. She yawned, stretching languidly, then snorted. “Cultivate, of course,” she said. “Then I’m going to kill the male lead.”
Lü Qingyan’s ears perked up. She liked that idea. “Me too! Me too!” she exclaimed. “I’ve hated him for a long time!”
Lü Qingyan held grudges. The male lead had almost killed Bai Jingxue. If it hadn’t been for her quick thinking, summoning the spirit wolves, Bai Jingxue’s fate would have been grim.
The cheerful dog suddenly transformed into a vengeful beast.
She began to brainstorm ways to torture the male lead, but she couldn’t come up with anything truly cruel.
Whatever. She would just beat him up, then chop him into eight pieces.
That would be satisfying enough. She wagged her tail, nudging Bai Jingxue. “Killing him with a single strike is too merciful,” she said.
Bai Jingxue chuckled. Villains always talked too much. They loved toying with their victims, prolonging their suffering, only to have their victims escape, grow stronger, and return for revenge.
A swift death was the best solution.
She suddenly felt sleepy. She had ripped a hole in the roof, creating a direct path to her room below.
She yawned again, then jumped, landing gracefully on her bed.
She couldn’t understand why she was so tired. Golden Core cultivators didn’t need much sleep. And her dantian felt empty.
It had been like this ever since they had left She Yuwei’s room. She hadn’t done anything strenuous, but her spiritual energy wouldn’t replenish.
Her eyelids drooped, her mind slowing, and then she remembered.
The male lead in the original story had experienced side effects when he had used She Yuwei to alter the future: lethargy and temporary loss of spiritual energy.
Had she truly changed someone’s destiny?
But she was too tired to think.
Lü Qingyan, seeing that Bai Jingxue was asleep, jumped onto the bed, settling beside her.
She leaned forward, kissing Bai Jingxue’s cheek, then quickly withdrew, pretending to be asleep.
She peeked, opening one eye, and seeing that Bai Jingxue hadn’t reacted, her gaze softened. She kissed Bai Jingxue again. “Goodnight, Jingxue,” she whispered. “Sweet dreams. And you better dream about me.”
She snuggled closer to Bai Jingxue, their bodies pressed together.
She finally fell asleep, her dreams filled with Bai Jingxue.
The girl in the school uniform sat on the back of her bicycle.
Even in her dream, Lü Qingyan could hear her own heartbeat.
No, she wasn’t hearing it. She simply remembered how her heart had pounded that day.
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