Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess

In Prince Qi's mansion, Mu Qinglan looked at Bai Yuyu across from her, her gaze slightly puzzled.

Why are you always at odds with your grandfather?

Bai Yuyu sat opposite, scratching her face, turning her head and saying softly, "Grandfather thinks I've been silly since I was little and definitely won't amount to anything. I want to give him a shock."

"..."

Mu Qinglan was silent for a moment. What a plain and simple idea.

In the storyline, the Duke Bai's mansion was inaccessible in the early stages, and by the time players were qualified to interact with it, this huge family had already been reduced to ashes.

Only a few side quests mentioned it.

So her knowledge about it wasn't very deep.

But based on what she knew, it was definitely enough to scare someone. It was just a matter of to what extent.

"Let me tell you a secret!" Bai Yuyu looked around and whispered sneakily: "Don't tell anyone."

"Just between us." Mu Qinglan also became serious.

"!"

Ah Qi widened her eyes, hiding in the shadow, making her presence even less noticeable.

"I actually have an innate destiny trait, but mine is different from others. It needs to be activated after birth, and the activation condition is..." Bai Yuyu took a deep breath at this point.

"Moon essence power?"

Mu Qinglan knew the answer but deliberately asked to set her up.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Bai Yuyu's eyes lit up. "Mu Mu is so smart. It needs a treasure with moon essence power to activate."

"Though ordinary ones aren't hard to find, I've only known about this recently. There's no rush, I just want to find a good one!"

Mu Qinglan 'understandingly' nodded:

"So, little Bai went to Fragrant Mountain last time for this weapon?"

"Mm-hmm." Bai Yuyu nodded.

"When Grandfather told me about this, he had no expectations at all. I want to shock him. Can Mu Mu give me some advice?" She held Mu Qinglan's hand, swinging it back and forth.

There were actually many people she could seek advice from, as most of Bai Yuyu's friends were around her age, with rich experience in rebellion.

But she still felt that Mu Mu was more reliable.

Mu Mu was her lucky star. You ordinary friends shouldn't even try to compare.

"You don't necessarily have to say it directly. Effects revealed inadvertently are the best." Mu Qinglan smiled faintly.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what I mean!"

Bai Yuyu got excited, thinking that Mu Mu was truly her best friend, immediately understanding what she meant. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelꜰire.net

These two days happen to be the first half of the middle ten days. In a month of thirty days, divided into three ten-day periods, the family holds martial demonstrations in the first half of each period. If I make a grand showing at the demonstration, wouldn't that already imply that I've obtained that item?

As she spoke, she explained the martial demonstration format to Mu Qinglan.

In Heyang, many prosperous large families followed this pattern: three competitions a month to encourage family disciples to strive forward.

Of course, Prince Qi's mansion, with its sparse population, certainly didn't have such a rule.

Little Bai's train of thought had already jumped to her acceptance speech.

Her eyes curved into crescent moons with happiness:

"Mu Mu, what do you think I should say when Grandfather asks about this, to scare that annoying old man who always thinks I'm stupid?" Little Bai said, punching the air vigorously, grinning from ear to ear.

A grand display of filial piety, everyone.

"Just keep it together, don't break character and laugh."

Mu Qinglan thought for a moment and said. When Bai Yuyu was happy, the silliness on her face was almost overflowing. No matter how shocking her achievement, paired with this silly look, the impact would be greatly reduced.

She had a sort of harmless beauty.

Hearing this, Bai Yuyu furrowed her brows. She instinctively wanted to raise some objection, but after thinking, she accepted the advice.

Not laughing was fine. It was a small matter.

Compared to making her grandfather's jaw drop, keeping a straight face for a day was nothing.

"By the way, is Mu Mu interested in visiting my home? Today is the day of the martial contest!" Bai Yuyu invited.

It made perfect sense. Mu Mu had just given her advice, and now she could put it to use. So inviting her to witness her grandfather-tricking journey was only natural.

Mu Qinglan shook her head. This wasn't necessary:

"I have something to do. I need to go to the National Advisor's mansion shortly."

"To see your new friend?" Bai Yuyu raised an eyebrow. For some reason, she was particularly keen on this topic.

Why... would you think that... Mu Qinglan was a bit speechless, explaining: "I have some business with Sect Leader Ning. Don't always think so much."

The title "Sect Leader Ning" carried considerable intimidation within Heyang City.

After all, although the Imperial Spirit Sect wasn't very prominent and its headquarters wasn't in Heyang, it was indeed Great Xia's number one sect, having made indelible contributions to expanding territories and resisting foreign races.

Mentioning her name, even if Little Bai didn't want her good friend to be stolen away, she could only let it go.

"Then good luck, Mu Mu."

Bai Yuyu made an encouraging gesture and said nothing more, turning and running off.

Mu Qinglan shook her head:

"This girl, did she really come to me for advice?"

○

The sun was high in the sky.

A carriage wobbled to a stop at the side door of the National Advisor's mansion.

"What business does Qinglan have with me?" Ning Shuyu brewed a cup of tea, sitting upright, glancing slightly at the visitor across from her: "Princess Mu rarely comes without a purpose, and since becoming a registered disciple, you haven't visited me much."

Mu Qinglan obediently said: "I was wrong, Sister Ning."

Showcasing brilliance when needed, being humble and yielding when appropriate—this was her secret to being likable.

"Wrong about what?"

Ning Shuyu held the cup handle with her jade fingers, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Wrong in that this junior didn't, like others, come to Sister Ning for help when encountering difficulties." Mu Qinglan smiled gently, subtly putting on a little act.

"The way you say it..."

Ning couldn't help but laugh, saying nothing more: "Let's get to the point. From what you're saying, is this trouble something our little genius can't solve on her own?"

Mu Qinglan nodded, then shook her head, her expression seeming somewhat hesitant:

"I don't know if it should be called a difficulty..."

Thud.

Ning Shuyu put down her teacup, her expression becoming more serious. A registered disciple was still a disciple, and she was willing to answer the questions of her little disciple who didn't particularly try to please her.

"Go on."

"Well..." Mu Qinglan chose her words carefully, "I went to a secret realm yesterday, and when I came back, I felt a bit dizzy. My spells also don't flow as smoothly as before..."

"And I get drowsy more easily..."

She was telling the truth, except that the effects caused by [The Moon Lady's Lingering Thoughts] weren't as significant as she described.

However, with the mark on her, as long as she wasn't too outrageous, she could say what she wanted.

Ning Shuyu wasn't too concerned at first, only asking: "Which secret realm?"

"The one at Fragrant Mountain. There were three sixth-rank fierce ghosts inside, quite frightening." Mu Qinglan answered honestly.

"Sixth rank?"

Ning Shuyu was stunned for a moment.

She knew about the secret realm at Fragrant Mountain to the west of the city, but wasn't it said that the phenomenon was quite weak, at most posing a small threat to seventh-rank experts? How could it be?

Were they talking about different secret realms?

Or was that secret realm not simple to begin with?

The secret realm hadn't been open for very long. The imperial court personnel had already withdrawn. Apart from Prince Li's subordinates who had camped outside the secret realm for over a month, there were only jianghu wanderers, most of whom had died. Naturally, news hadn't traveled that quickly.

However, Shen Yao had also sent people over. By tonight at the latest, Ning Shuyu would likely receive the information.

"Are you sure it was the Fragrant Mountain secret realm? The one with moonlight? Not some other accidentally opened secret realm?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, that one."

Ning Shuyu's expression became grave for a moment.

In the vast majority of cases, the phenomena formed when treasures emerge to create secret realms are directly proportional to their rank and difficulty.

In situations where things don't add up, aside from coincidental factors, the higher probability is that someone is behind it!

"Someone has targeted my disciple?"

Ning Shuyu's beautiful eyes flashed with killing intent, her heart slightly angered. Her reputation for being protective wasn't just talk!

"Let's go to the Dragon Flower Pavilion. I'll check you thoroughly." She resolutely said.

The Dragon Flower Pavilion was the residence of that second-rank divine dragon, and also the safest place in the National Advisor's mansion.

She was confident in her abilities.

But when it came to matters involving treasures, history, and the like, it was most prudent to consult the old being. After all, she had only lived for a little over forty years, her life experience was far shorter than that of the sect-protecting divine dragon who had outlived several sect leaders.

Coincidentally, that dragon also owed Mu Qinglan a favor, so asking for her help was reasonable.

○

National Advisor's mansion, Dragon Flower Pavilion.

The wheelchair ground over a rarely trodden path, with the wind rustling through the forest, yellow leaves covering the ground.

Sunlight poured down generously, yet couldn't bring any warmth.

"I heard this is the divine dragon's residence?" On the way, Mu Qinglan showed interest and actively initiated conversation.

She knew about this place, but as a player, she had only seen its CG and never had the chance to enter it even in the game.

"Yes, she's usually inside. Quite a homebody."

Ning Shuyu smiled.

"Doesn't she have friends? Wouldn't she be lonely?" Mu Qinglan appeared concerned on the surface, but inside she was secretly thinking about other things.

Hearing this, Ning Shuyu shook her head:

"She's lived like this for years. I'm not worried about her. However, she does have a good relationship with Jiang He, after all, she watched her grow up."

"I see."

Mu Qinglan understood, extinguishing her bold thoughts.

Indeed, a dragon with hundreds of years of experience, unless truly naive, could be utilized to some extent through foreknowledge in certain matters. But truly trying to domesticate her as a pet was definitely far-fetched.

Can't think about it, can't think about it.

"I'm going to her place just to ask about the secret realm, after all, she knows more about these things than I do." Ning Shuyu explained.

"Mm."

They entered the Dragon Flower Pavilion. After asking Mu Qinglan to wait briefly on the first floor, Ning Shuyu went upstairs to find the dragon.

Soon, she came down with a serious expression.

"?" Mu Qinglan gave her a curious look.

"It's as I thought." Ning Shuyu sighed in relief: "You've just been targeted by someone, used as a medium for revival through a thin soul mark."

"This..." Mu Qinglan appeared appropriately shocked, showing a trace of fear.

Seeing her expression, Ning Shuyu also sighed and explained:

"I had this suspicion before, so I went to ask Ao Xue if she knew the background of the secret realm you mentioned. Now I know—it's the Moon Lady's secret realm, a lineage skilled in soul techniques."

"Soul?" Mu Qinglan inquired.

She knew many things, but if Ning Shuyu could explain in detail again, filling in the gaps, she would be quite willing to listen.

"You know about ghosts, right?"

"Yes, I do," Mu Qinglan answered: "The secret realm was full of ghosts, including three big ones."

At the mention of ghosts, Ning Shuyu slightly frowned, sighing: "Ghostly entities themselves are considered a profession, alongside demons and devils."

"But unlike them, the character for 'ghost' itself explains their abilities, while the character for 'soul' involves some of the mysteries of the priest profession. Therefore, some spectral entities without much intelligence can be controlled by them."

The priest profession was one of the Twelve Paths, specializing in spiritual attacks, with very few practitioners and strict inheritance requirements.

The Moon Lady was a third-rank priest, but she had died over a hundred years ago.

Her strength barely remained at one-tenth.

The chain quests related to her were also connected to this profession. If people knew, they would be fighting desperately to obtain the Moon Lady's mark—this was a rare profession that few knew about!

Unfortunately, Mu Qinglan didn't need it.

"Are you saying that the ghosts in this ruin were controlled by someone?" Mu Qinglan deliberately provided a lead.

"Yes, the master of that ruin was a priest. Ao Xue says it was most likely the Moon Lady, an old entity active over a hundred years ago, at her peak roughly third rank." Ning Shuyu pouted. A third-rank daring to covet her little disciple? Seeking death!

She continued:

"But you don't need to worry. Now that we know what we're dealing with, it's easy to solve. The hardest problems are those without any clues."

"I just need to prepare a soul-cleansing technique."

Mu Qinglan nodded slightly, saying gratefully: "Then thank you, Sister Ning."

She had many solutions for the Moon Lady's mark, but the only one she could currently access who would help without asking for anything in return was this protective National Advisor sister.

She's so good to me, so in the future, I definitely can't let her die.

"?"

Hearing this, Ning Shuyu glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, hinting.

"Teacher."

Mu Qinglan sweetly corrected herself.

"Good disciple." Ning Shuyu was satisfied and went out to prepare.

The soul-cleansing technique didn't require preparation, but to prevent the old entity from becoming desperate, she needed to prepare something targeting souls, just in case.

For her, the difficulty of killing a third-rank remnant soul was not much different from killing a dog. She just had to be careful of desperate measures.

Soon, a formation was drawn out.

"The Soul Suppressing Formation, a technique from the formation lineage of Strange Art Practitioners,"

Ning Shuyu casually said, both setting up the formation and teaching:

"Although we are not Strange Art Practitioners, formations and spells have commonalities. When studied to a profound level, some simple formations can be learned and used."

I understand, I understand. So top-tier players can learn skills from other professions, right?

Mu Qinglan felt she understood.

After a while.

"Are you ready?" Ning Shuyu asked caringly. Mu Qinglan's health was poor, so she had to be especially concerned about her condition.

"Yes."

Mu Qinglan nodded, looking at the increasingly bright formation light around her, her face showing no fear.

If this could be easily resolved in the game, she had no reason to fail.

"Pay attention, I'm starting now."

As soon as the words fell.

Ning Shuyu took half a step, her toe precisely stepping on the formation's core. She gently waved her hand, and strands of light blue spiritual power, almost solidified, dispersed from her sleeve, slowly intertwining.

Weaving into a net that looked dense but was absolutely inescapable.

Dong!!!

Mu Qinglan's heart trembled slightly. Her ears were stunned by the sudden bell-like roar, and she couldn't help but purse her lips, staring fixedly at the empty space in front of her.

She could feel that after the bell sound, a formless gaze seemed to be exposed.

Like ink dropped in water, giving a jarring, startling feeling!

"So this is the Moon Lady?"

Mu Qinglan was slightly shocked, not expecting this entity to be quite strong! But it was useless! The helper she found was even stronger!

"Stay!"

Ning Shuyu's face was cold and stern, her jade hand slowly pointing.

A blue light flashed, and through the connection of the Soul Suppressing Formation, it tightly entangled that unwilling, venomous gaze.

Hiss—

A violent dissolution sound, like fire poured on butter, suddenly rang out in the room.

The source of the venomous gaze was pulled from the void, transformed into a reluctant fierce ghost, struggling vigorously.

But the blue light bands in the air didn't leave any possibility for resistance!

The two forces crossed.

Invisible air waves surged, blowing Mu Qinglan's clothes with loud flapping sounds, her hair dancing wildly, as if advancing against a storm, almost unable to keep her eyes open!

The terrifying intimidation pressed on the air, making Mu Qinglan's heart involuntarily cold, her limbs icy and unresponsive.

'Second rank…'

Mu Qinglan's eyes lowered slightly. While somewhat frightened by the strength of this power, she was also somewhat intoxicated, somewhat coveting this terrifying force.

This was something she couldn't experience in her previous life...

Some things lost, some things gained.

"Vast Sea, Merge!"

As the words fell, the blue light bands in the air seemed to go berserk, rushing madly toward the fierce ghost, wrapping it into a blue light ball, binding it tighter and tighter, smaller and smaller...

After a long time, silence returned to the air.

Only the system notification remained.

[The 'Moon Lady's Lingering Thoughts' has dissipated. Gained 50 experience points, blue destiny trait 'Moon's Bane']

Mu Qinglan was still somewhat immersed in the earlier display of power.

"She didn't even seem to use a spell..." Mu Qinglan's gaze flickered. Had high-rank transcendents reached the level of simplifying the complex?

Thinking this, she looked at the system panel again.

[Moon's Bane (Blue): Slightly increases damage against "moon" powers.]

[Note: Only obtainable when participating in killing transcendent beings related to "moon" while crossing a major boundary]

An acquired destiny trait... Mu Qinglan sighed in relief.

She had indeed obtained it. The trip wasn't wasted.

Although the experience gained wasn't much, fitting her role as a mere contributor, a multiplicative slight damage increase was undoubtedly worth it.

The moon has always had mystical connotations.

Powers containing "moon" weren't few in the transcendent world.

On the other side.

Seeing that Mu Qinglan hadn't fainted and seemed immersed in the power of the earlier confrontation, Ning Shuyu couldn't help but feel secretly proud.

Little devil, always acting so precocious.

She wouldn't be impressed without showing some real power.

"Master doesn't even need to use spells?" Mu Qinglan asked the question she was most curious about. Players couldn't do this even at high levels.

"When you've mastered those spells to the point where they're second nature, and your rank is high enough, it's more or less like this. For high-rank spells, I still need to chant incantations." Ning Shuyu explained and advised Mu Qinglan not to be too ambitious, but to focus on building a solid foundation.

"I remember everything you say."

Mu Qinglan smiled sweetly, speaking in a likable manner.

"Hmph!"

Ning Shuyu gave a light snort, but her tone was quite pleased:

"Always playing it smooth. If nothing's wrong, go back and practice. With your talent, if you're left too far behind by the time Jiang He comes out of seclusion, I'll have to criticize you."

"That won't happen, that won't happen."

Mu Qinglan said obediently, thinking to herself, next time, perhaps it would be appropriate to reveal her seventh-rank status?

Hehe, what era is this? Who still practices traditional cultivation?

System, level up!

As the two returned from Dragon Flower Pavilion to the backyard, chatting and laughing, they suddenly heard a knock at the door, followed by a servant girl who respectfully entered, whispering something into Ning Shuyu's ear.

Ning Shuyu listened, glancing at Mu Qinglan, her gaze intriguing.

"Someone's looking for you."

"Who?"

"The little girl from the Bai family." Ning Shuyu said with a half-smile, her expression seeming to say, you've attracted quite a few young girls.

"Her?"

Mu Qinglan held her forehead. What's wrong with little Bai now?

She couldn't have failed to impress her family with the strategy she gave, could she?

"You young people chat first. I won't stay. If you still feel unwell, come find me. Don't try to be too strong."

Ning Shuyu put down her teacup, had the guards let the visitor in, and left.

Mu Qinglan watched her leave, smiling as she bid farewell.

After she left, Mu Qinglan carefully checked her condition.

Her whole body indeed felt much lighter. Snapping her fingers, her spell casting was more fluid. There were no abnormalities on the system panel. It seemed this matter was now concluded.

Speaking of Bai Yuyu, she also remembered the acquired destiny trait she had just obtained.

Increased damage against "moon" powers.

"Is this specially designed to counter little Bai?"

She couldn't help but laugh.

She wondered if she would have the chance to get destiny traits like "water's bane" or "ice's bane" in the future. "Shadow's bane" wasn't necessary; she had Shadow Flow, already crushing those less skilled in shadow techniques than her.

But Zhu Yan had already been contracted by her [Mechanist's Unity], providing amplification when nearby and making betrayal difficult.

So there was no need to think too much about it.

"Hmm, [Mechanist's Unity] will give me another contract slot when my mechanist profession levels up. Who should I contract next?"

Mu Qinglan began to worry.

In terms of ease of manipulation, the easily manageable Constable Shen would be the priority, followed by little Bai, and finally Jiang He.

This was also ranked according to the order in which she had met them.

Miss Zhu Yan, who was inwardly self-deprecating yet successfully managed by her, was an unreplicable accident. Even a bad woman like Mu Qinglan couldn't figure out how to apply these methods to others.

She couldn't really destroy someone's family and life just to get them under her control, could she?

That would be a bit too disgusting.

She didn't need to turn these adorable girls into villain bosses first.

As she was thinking this, the door was pushed open with a bang, followed by clamorous Little Bai rushing in with a panicked face, looking like it was the end of the world.

"Mu Mu, my grandfather wants to meet you!"

"Hmm?"