LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 2:
Chapter 2: The Deception
Lu Ling seemed to feel Bai Ying’s gaze and shrank her shoulders in fear.
As soon as the pill was taken out, the banquet erupted into chaos.
Someone quickly recognized that it was a Gu poison.
Gu poison contained parasitic insects capable of momentarily controlling a person’s mind, making them act according to the will of the one who used it.
“Bai Ying! How dare you commit such a blatant offense?” First Senior Brother Su Yu looked deeply disappointed. “Was the whipping I gave you the other day still not enough? You really need more discipline!”
“Senior Sister! Is… is that really Gu poison? What were you planning to do to Xiao Yu?” Ruan Xinyou asked weakly, tears welling in her eyes.
“I get it now!” Sixth Junior Brother Qin Zijin suddenly slapped his own forehead, as if a realization had struck him. He exclaimed in disbelief, “Senior Sister Bai, your heart is too wicked! I’ve known for a while that you liked Senior Brother Xiao. Were you planning to use Gu poison to control him? To make him confess his love for you in front of everyone? You’re even wearing a wedding dress! Don’t tell me… you actually planned to make him marry you on the spot and force things into a done deal?”
The more Qin Zijin spoke, the more agitated he became.
His words might have been exaggerated, but Bai Ying was wearing ceremonial wedding clothes.
In that moment, everyone believed most of what he said.
Bai Ying looked coldly at everyone in front of her. Her heart was suddenly wracked with sharp pain—pain far worse than the claws of the Nightblade Panther that had once pierced her lungs.
Now…
What more was there to not understand?
It was all a grand scheme.
So he liked her?
It had been a trap all along.
Xiao Yu had deliberately approached her at her lowest, offered comfort when she was vulnerable, and when she finally handed him her heart—he struck her down with cruel precision.
How deep did his hatred have to run to do something like this?
Hahaha…
How absurd…
He had turned her into the biggest joke of all.
A metallic taste rushed up Bai Ying’s throat.
All around, the guests looked at her with disdain.
“This is beyond shameful. Was she trying to ruin Xiao Yu’s whole future?”
“I’ve never seen someone so manipulative…”
“She even wore a wedding dress. Pathetic. Can’t she look in a mirror? What makes her think she’s worthy of someone like Senior Brother Xiao? Just a toad lusting after a swan.”
Listening to these words, Bai Ying’s body trembled uncontrollably.
She stared at Xiao Yu, her eyes bloodshot, desperate to see whether he felt even a hint of guilt or remorse.
But there was none.
Xiao Yu stood there with righteous indignation and declared, “Bai Ying, I will never marry you. If you ever use such disgraceful methods again, don’t blame me for being harsh.”
The crowd erupted in applause.
Bai Ying’s face turned deathly pale.
Someone suddenly threw a bowl of sweet soup, splashing it across Bai Ying’s face.
Sticky syrup drenched her from head to toe, dripping down her hair. She looked like a crazed woman who couldn’t get what she wanted.
The Law Enforcement Hall soon arrived after hearing the commotion.
In the sect, Gu poison was strictly forbidden.
Anyone found possessing it would face severe punishment.
“Come with us to the Discipline Hall,” the enforcer said, moving to arrest Bai Ying.
But suddenly, Bai Ying lashed out like a madwoman, throwing off his hand and hurling a fierce palm strike straight at Xiao Yu.
Let it all be destroyed.
Let this farce come to an end.
Her sincerity, her love, her humble affection and cautious longing—let it all burn…
All her cultivation was channeled into her palm. Spiritual power erupted. That strike was about to land on Xiao Yu.
Qin Zijin hurriedly drew his sword and stabbed it toward Bai Ying.
“Bai Ying! Don’t you dare hurt anyone!”
He only wanted to stop her—but he underestimated how determined she was to kill.
His sword pierced her body directly.
Bright red blood burst forth.
Yet Bai Ying’s hand halted just an inch from Xiao Yu’s face.
Not because she hesitated…
But because her strength was gone.
Back when she gave Xiao Yu the treasure she forged, she had suffered grave internal injuries. Those wounds had been forcefully suppressed until now. She could no longer hold them back.
She looked down at the sword that pierced through her…
And laughed.
This sword—she had once crafted it for Qin Zijin.
…
No one had expected things to go this far.
Bai Ying saw the stunned faces around her, Xiao Yu, and the panic in Qin Zijin’s eyes as he called her name.
But in her own eyes—there was only stillness.
Her thoughts were simple:
Am I really going to die like this?
That’s fine.
At least it’s over.
She had long stopped wanting to live…
—
When she opened her eyes again—
Bai Ying suddenly sat up, gasping for breath.
Her beautiful face was pale as snow, completely drained of color. Beads of cold sweat covered her forehead.
“Bai Ying, you’re awake?”
She slowly raised her dazed eyes and saw Sixth Junior Brother Qin Zijin speaking excitedly:
“Thank goodness. Now I won’t be punished. You don’t know—they almost blamed me for harming a fellow disciple! But it was your fault for not dodging. What does that have to do with me?”
Bai Ying looked around the room. Only First Senior Brother, Ruan Xinyou, Qin Zijin, the Law Enforcement Hall members, and a few curious cultivators were present.
It was only now that she fully realized what had happened…
She had been tricked by Xiao Yu. She had been stabbed by Qin Zijin.
And that wasn’t all.
While she had been unconscious, she had dreamed a long, vivid dream.
She dreamt that, just like today, she was deceived by Xiao Yu and scorned by everyone in the sect.
From then on, she truly became alone. Everyone avoided her like the plague.
Eventually, they even saw her as an enemy. When she finally succeeded in forming her Golden Core, they cut her open and dug it out to give to Ruan Xinyou.
They said the junior sister had hit a bottleneck and only Bai Ying’s core could help her break through. They told her not to be stingy.
After her core was taken, Bai Ying couldn’t accept it and tried to seek revenge.
She lived like a worm, yet still cultivated with all her might. But by then, her fellow disciples had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Unless she reached the Soul Transformation Realm, she had no hope of defeating them.
She didn’t know how much she struggled or how long she trained—she finally entered the Soul Transformation Realm.
But during her Heavenly Tribulation, her heart demon surfaced. She lost to the thunder… and turned to dust.
Bai Ying felt a chill all over her body.
Even now, she could still feel the pain of having her core ripped out.
That was the heart demon of her previous life.
Only after a long time did she realize…
It wasn’t just a dream.
It had really happened.
These were the memories of her past life.
So… she had been reborn.
But she had forgotten everything after being reborn, so everything repeated itself like before.
Thankfully, she had now remembered it all.
Bai Ying instinctively clenched her fists.
Qin Zijin was still focused on clearing his name to the Law Enforcement Hall, not noticing anything else. He grabbed her arm and said,
“Senior Sister, hurry and explain to them it was your fault, not mine.”
Ruan Xinyou’s soft voice chimed in as well.
“Senior Sister Bai, don’t blame Sixth Brother. He didn’t mean it. While you were unconscious, he was busy gathering herbs for you. You were only able to wake up because of his help. Please, don’t hold it against him.”