Chapter 148: Textbook Villain, Long Qingyue

Unexpectedly, Long Qing’er did not avoid her as she had before.

Whether it was because she was in a good mood after her breakthrough or because she had other thoughts, Ye Wenxin could not tell.

“Internal demons? You have internal demons, and you’re still laughing?” Ye Wenxin listened, feeling increasingly speechless; internal demons were not something cultivators took lightly.

Once they appeared, they could easily become a bottleneck in cultivation or even lead to Qi Deviation. Most cultivators feared internal demons, but Long Qing’er’s casual tone made Ye Wenxin suspect that she might have lost her mind during her cultivation.

“I can only laugh. My internal demons… I’m afraid I won’t be able to overcome them in this lifetime.” Long Qing’er smiled bitterly but found a more comfortable position in Ye Wenxin’s embrace.

The scent on Ye Wenxin’s body reassured her, and Long Qing’er even had the thought of wanting to stay in this embrace forever.

“Is it Her Highness the Eldest Princess?”

“Mm,” affirmed Long Qing’er. It seemed the good mood from before immediately turned sour upon mention of the two words ‘Eldest Princess’.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Eldest Princess was a legend, a Zhuge¹ among women, especially in her proficiency in spirit talismans, where she had no equal. During her years of becoming the Eldest Princess, her stories were widely circulated, and she contributed to making the Golden Age Dynasty into a great country.

However, precisely because of this, the Eldest Princess had to be vicious in her methods.

Her cruelty when it came to Long Qing’er in particular, was enough to move anyone. This came directly from the Eldest Princess’s mouth, so Ye Wenxin felt that it was inevitable for Long Qing’er to develop internal demons.

“Sleep.” Ye Wenxin did not know how to comfort this poor child. While she was the Eldest Princess’s best friend, she could not intervene in their family affairs, so Ye Wenxin could only offer this.

Long Qing’er responded in the same way, and then the two of them spent the night in silence, not discussing the matter further.

Time passed quickly, and on the eve of the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament, the entire Azure Wings Sect mobilized to welcome more distinguished guests. Baili Mu, who was quite familiar with people from various sects, was excited beyond words, while Fatty continued to introduce beautiful women and impart life trivia to Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin naturally recognized many familiar faces, each of whom she had crushed underfoot countless times. Missing limbs and broken legs were common occurrences, and treated as a source of pride.

Surviving in the hands of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng was enough to make them proud.

But if they knew that Ye Wenxin let them off on purpose, she wondered if it would infuriate these experts.

However, Ye Wenxin’s mind was not on these so-called experts. Like most people, she was waiting for that legendary figure.

The Golden Age Dynasty’s Eldest Princess, Long Qingyue.

Only Long Qingyue could have such a grand fanfare and attract everyone’s attention.

If Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng was the template for the final boss, then Long Qingyue was definitely the textbook villain. Sometimes, her methods would petrify Ye Wenxin with fear.

Long Qingyue had harmed countless people, but she maintained a friendly relationship only with Ye Wenxin, as they were not only fellow Earthlings but also the only ones in this world who could take shelter in each other.

“Speaking of which, didn’t someone say that the Demon Lord had an affair with the Eldest Princess?”

“Hogwash, how could our Eldest Princess have anything to do with the Demon Lord? They must only have a cooperative relationship.”

As various rumors circulated, Ye Wenxin just felt a headache. She felt unlucky to be caught in the crossfire. She and the Eldest Princess had neither any ambiguity nor cooperation; they were simply true friends, discussing things unrelated to this world.

Unfortunately, Ye Wenxin could not say this out loud. She could only smile and blend in with the crowd, waiting for the Eldest Princess to arrive.

Instead of Long Qingyue arriving, the crowd grew larger. Long Qing’er in particular, had dressed up meticulously and was standing in front of the great hall with a group of Secret Guards.

Dressed in blood-red robes, with light makeup applied, she looked incomparably lovely, like a rose blooming with life.

Ye Wenxin felt that Long Qing’er was more like a little chili pepper, infecting those around her while also ravaging others’ mental limits.

Although Long Qing’er was still young now, given time, she would surely stand proud among the heroes as an empress.

This statement did not come from Ye Wenxin but Long Qingyue herself. Obviously, she had both love and hate for her outstanding niece.

Remembering the expression on Long Qingyue’s face when she said this, Ye Wenxin’s lips curled up slightly, and then she felt a gaze fixated on her.

Looking again, Long Qing’er was staring at her. Because they were in public, their eyes only met briefly and did not linger.

“Her Highness Princess Long is truly a gem of the heavens. Big Sister, was she just looking over here?” Fatty was jittery with excitement, unaware that Her Highness Long Qing’er he referred to, had dragged Ye Wenxin to become her sleep companion for the past three days.

Although Baili Mu was somewhat aware of the situation, every time she recalled Ye Wenxin’s near death expression, she just covered her mouth and chuckled, without speaking about the events of the past few days.

“You must’ve seen it wrong. There are so many people here; maybe Senior Sister Qing’er saw someone familiar.” Ye Wenxin continued to talk nonsense with her eyes open, but she retreated slightly, preparing to let Fatty’s huge body block her line of sight as much as possible.

Her Bone-shrinking Technique could change her entire body, even the changes in every muscle, but the changes were not exactly the same each time. Ye Wenxin relied on her instincts to change, subconsciously using the Demon Lord’s appearance as her initial form.

So Ye Wenxin still retained some traces of the Demon Lord.

Although it was only some, it was enough to make Long Qingyue notice the peculiarities. Ye Wenxin planned to play hide-and-seek with Long Qingyue, so she naturally would not expose her identity so quickly.

“Big Sister, you’re not as tall as me; maybe…” Fatty misunderstood Ye Wenxin’s actions and ‘kindly’ squeezed out of the way, giving her a better position.

Ye Wenxin responded with an “Mm” and a smile that did not reach her eyes, feeling somewhat complicated inside.

“Isn’t this Miss Wenxin?” Su Mei appeared out of nowhere and greeted Ye Wenxin amiably.

Ye Wenxin suppressed her displeasure and pretended to pleasantly greet Su Mei.

“Miss Su Mei, are you here to join the fun too?” Ye Wenxin noticed Su Mei edging towards her, obviously coming over to greet her specifically.

Ye Wenxin cursed inwardly but maintained a friendly act.

As they said, life was like a play, and it all depended on acting skills. On this journey, Ye Wenxin’s acting skills had become increasingly sophisticated.

Fatty and Su Mei were acquainted, while Baili Mu showed some curiosity upon seeing her for the first time. Ye Wenxin briefly introduced them, but with Su Mei’s assertive interaction, she could naturally continue her game of cat and mouse.

Su Mei still felt somewhat smug, completely unaware that Ye Wenxin was manipulating her. She exchanged various greetings with Ye Wenxin, her friendly demeanor resembling the green tea girls Ye Wenxin was familiar with on Earth.

Su Mei portrayed herself as innocent and harmless in front of others, but was actually quite calculating behind their backs, and she most loved to toy with emotions.

Thinking of this, Ye Wenxin’s gaze shifted downward. She did not see any sign of Gu Aotian.

“Where’s Brother Aotian?”

“Oh, him? I don’t know where he went.”

Su Mei answered with a smile, looking very puzzled. Upon closer inspection, Ye Wenxin noticed that Su Mei had dressed up carefully today, even carrying a sachet with her, fully armed for the occasion.

Ye Wenxin chuckled. For some reason, she was amused to see Su Mei trying so hard to show off her scheming side.

“What’s so funny, Miss Wenxin?”

“I’m curious. Miss Su Mei, did you dress up so finely today just to impress Brother Aotian?” Ye Wenxin pointed to Su Mei’s attire, deliberately pausing in her speech.

Though it sounded like banter, her words carried more sarcasm than anything else.

“Brother Aotian and I are just ordinary friends, there’s no romantic interest between us.” Su Mei immediately showed hints of nervousness and shyness, her actions and expressions seemed rehearsed countless times, earning Ye Wenxin’s admiration for Su Mei’s dedication.

“Does Miss Su Mei have a sweetheart then?” asked Ye Wenxin. She was genuinely curious about who could be unlucky enough to catch Su Mei’s eye.

“No, I just heard that the Eldest Princess was coming here and got curious, so I came along with Aotian to take a look.” Su Mei smiled, explaining her true motive, which made Ye Wenxin laugh even more.

Su Mei was a bit annoyed but still smiled as she asked, “Miss Wenxin, what’s so funny?”

“You really took those trivial remarks about the Eldest Princess and the Demon Lord seriously?” Ye Wenxin finally understood that Su Mei’s attire was for seducing Long Qingyue.

But when she thought about Su Mei’s appearance, even all dressed up, she could at best be considered an attractive woman. To catch Long Qingyue’s eye, she would have to be on Ling Jue or Fairy Fengya’s level.

“How could I take such remarks seriously? I just think that Her Highness the Eldest Princess is a role model for us women, and I should treat meeting her seriously.” Su Mei denied having such thoughts, but the slight avoidance in her eyes betrayed her crazy idea.

After all, although the rumors about Eldest Princess Long Qingyue and Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng were false, the Eldest Princess had never had any romantic partners. So everyone speculated that there might be something between them. But as their identities were too special, it only stayed ambiguous without being confirmed.

Perhaps because of this, Su Mei harbored some wishful thinking, assuming that with her looks and Iceborn Constitution, she might catch the Eldest Princess’s eye.

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Footnotes:

1. – Referring to Zhuge Liang (181-234), courtesy name Kong Ming, a prominent figure during China’s Three Kingdoms period. He was a politician, strategist, and inventor. He’s recognized as the most accomplished strategist of his era. His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname “Wolong” or “Fulong” (both meaning “Sleeping Dragon”). ↩︎