Ye Ran didn’t sleep well that night.
Her dreams were filled with the corpses from the forest. Occasionally, Lu Li’s face would also appear, startling her awake each time.
It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that she finally managed to fall asleep.
When she woke again, the sun was already high in the sky. The flying vessel had entered the territory governed by the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect, and it wouldn’t be long before they arrived.
Ye Ran rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked over to her dressing mirror.
The reflection staring back at her looked drained—disheveled hair, weary expression. She looked just like she used to after pulling all-nighters for work back in the day.
But then she snapped her fingers.
The wooden comb on the table slowly rose into the air, brushed through her hair, and arranged it into a simple bun.
Ye Ran picked out a few small, fluffy little ball hair ornaments. After putting them on, her mood lifted. The tired look vanished, and she became radiant and lively.
For this trip, Ye Ran had only brought two sets of clothes. Today, she chose a pale yellow dress. After dressing, she did as she always did—hanging a small bell from her waist.
She had found this little bell at a market. It only made a sound when you purposely flicked it.
The moment she saw it, she fell in love with it. After buying it, she wore it on her waist every day, flicking it whenever she was in a good mood.
By the time Ye Ran finished getting ready, the flying vessel had just landed in the square of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect.
Ye Ran disembarked and followed a few fellow senior and junior disciples back to Flowing Cloud Peak.
Flowing Cloud Peak was the most unique peak in the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Sect was renowned throughout the cultivation world for its swordsmanship. Most of its disciples were sword cultivators. Since swords were frequently used and prone to damage, the sect established a separate peak dedicated to training disciples in artifact restoration—responsible for repairing the disciples’ swords.
The original female lead’s cauldron physique made her unsuited for sword training, so she had joined Flowing Cloud Peak and become an artifact-cultivation disciple.
When Ye Ran first transmigrated into this world, she possessed the original’s cultivation level but knew absolutely nothing about restoring artifacts.
To avoid being discovered, she went full-on study mode, cramming day and night.
Fortunately, she had some talent for artifact restoration. Not only did she successfully learn the skill, but she also performed so well that Elder Li on Flowing Cloud Peak took her as a disciple.
That was how she managed to go with the sect leader to the Xuanji Sect’s birthday celebration.
In the original novel, the female lead hadn’t taken a master and hadn’t gone to the Xuanji Sect. Back then, the male lead had happened to remain at the sect as well.
The two had encountered each other by chance, and the male lead had developed special feelings for her. After that, he paid extra attention to her, and somehow, they ended up having their intimate encounter.
That chance encounter could be said to be the root of all evil.
So when Ye Ran learned about the trip to the Xuanji Sect, she specially brewed two jars of wine to bribe her master, finally getting permission to go.
Successfully avoiding the encounter that led to her meeting the male lead meant she was already halfway to completing her mission.
Now, all she had to do was steer clear of everyone who had been involved with the female lead, and she would be able to complete her mission with ease.
In a good mood, Ye Ran hummed a tune all the way to the mountaintop.
After taking her master, her residence had been moved from halfway up the mountain to the summit.
The view here was beautiful. From the window, she could see an endless stretch of mountains and watch the sunrise.
Ye Ran loved this place. Every time she saw the scenery outside, her mood improved.
But this time, no sooner had she pushed open her door than she spotted a large, fat cat on the table, its butt in the air, sneaking bites of her pastries.
It was the system in its civet cat form. It always loved stealing Ye Ran’s snacks.
Remembering how the system had failed to respond the previous night, Ye Ran narrowed her eyes, a murderous aura emanating from her.
She crept quietly to the table and, catching the system off guard, grabbed it by the ear.
“Playing dead last night, and now you still have the nerve to steal my food?”
“Host, I just lost connection last night! You’ve got to believe your dear system!”
The fat cat’s fur bristled, and its round, unblinking eyes were full of guilt.
“Oh really? Then you can take that up with my palm.”
Ye Ran clearly didn’t believe the system. She raised her hand and aimed a slap at its head.
Realizing the situation was dire, the system darted away. But in its escape, it accidentally knocked over an empty cup on the table.
The cup spun around a few times before landing perfectly on top of a letter.
Ye Ran froze, her attention caught by the letter.
She distinctly remembered there being nothing on the table before she left.
So how did a letter end up here?
Ye Ran set aside her plans to settle accounts with the system for the moment, moved the cup away, and picked up the letter.
She had only transmigrated into the book recently and didn’t know many people. Who could have written her a letter?
Curious, she opened it.
The entire page was densely packed with writing, but the opening line—”I like you”—stood out sharply.
It was actually a love letter!
Ye Ran was taken aback, as if she were holding a scalding hot potato.
As someone with a cauldron physique, receiving a love letter was hardly a good omen.
But unfortunately, she was curious by nature and couldn’t resist reading what the letter said.
She skimmed the lines quickly, taking in the contents at a glance.
But the later content grew increasingly outrageous, filled with explicit and suggestive language, along with bold, perverse phrases like “whip me with a little leather whip.”
Ye Ran’s heart raced with shock.
Even after reading the last word, her pounding heart showed no sign of calming down.
What a thoroughly unbridled harassment.
Who on earth was this perverted?
“Host, this was written to you by the great villain!”
The system had somehow crept up beside her and was pointing its furry paw at the signature.
“What?”
Ye Ran didn’t process it at first. She instinctively followed the system’s paw to the signature.
The name “Lu Li” was clearly written there.
Ye Ran’s hands trembled. Her heart, which had just begun to calm, started racing wildly again—even more violently than before.
She stared fixedly at the signature. Even though she’d nearly bored a hole through the paper, the name “Lu Li” remained perfectly clear.
How could it be the great villain?
Ye Ran couldn’t believe it.
Lu Li was the only character in the entire novel who didn’t love the female lead—only loved killing. How could he suddenly write her a love letter?
Was he trying to warn her not to reveal what she’d witnessed last night? Or was this simply his true nature—perverted enough to enjoy being whipped?
If it was the first guess, that was manageable. She would immediately go pledge her loyalty to the great villain, promising that even if she were beaten to death, she would never reveal his secret.
But if it was the second guess… for now, Ye Ran truly didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t as if she could just grab a whip and go satisfy the great villain.
Her mind was a chaotic mess. She stood frozen, not knowing what to do.
The system, meanwhile, stretched its neck to look at the letter in her hand, its round eyes studying it with great seriousness.
So Ye Ran voluntarily handed the letter to the system. “System, what do you think?”
The system tilted its feline head and thought carefully, looking very serious.
“Host, it’s obvious. He’s an M. He needs you to dominate him.”
“…”
She knew it—this damn system was unreliable.
“Ye Ran! Get out here!”
Before Ye Ran could figure anything out, an enraged voice came from outside the door.
She turned to look out the window and immediately spotted Li Tianyou.
She hadn’t expected Li Tianyou to be so persistent—to actually come looking for her.
Without time to dwell on it, Ye Ran folded the letter and put it away. She decided to deal with the immediate problem first.
But before stepping out, she grabbed the system by the scruff of its neck.
“System, about that love letter just now—you come up with a solution. I want an answer when I get back.”
“Host, aren’t you putting me on the spot?”
The system’s tail immediately drooped, but Ye Ran had already pushed open the door and walked out.
Li Tianyou was standing outside, half his face hidden behind a veil. The moment Ye Ran appeared, his bloodshot eyes locked onto her with murderous intensity, as if he wanted to tear her limb from limb.
Ye Ran, acting as if she hadn’t noticed, smiled brightly at Li Tianyou.
“Oh, it’s Senior Brother Li. Why are you wearing a veil, Brother? Are you too ashamed to show your face?”
Those words successfully reminded Li Tianyou of the humiliation he had suffered the night before. His face instantly darkened.
“Shut up! You made me lose all face, and you still dare bring it up?”
Li Tianyou was shaking with rage.
Last night, he had struggled for hours but couldn’t break free from that Immortal-Binding Rope. It wasn’t until morning that his fellow disciples found him, and many had witnessed his humiliating state.
He had never suffered such disgrace.
Li Tianyou’s gaze grew increasingly vicious. But the moment his eyes landed on Ye Ran’s face, his lustful nature stirred again, and a lecherous look crept back into his eyes.
“But considering that you’re young and foolish, Senior Brother is willing to forgive you. How about this—keep me company for a few nights, and we’ll call it even?”
“Senior Brother, do you never look in a mirror?”
“What do you mean?” A rare hint of confusion appeared in those lecherous eyes.
Ye Ran let out a cold snort. She reached out and knocked the veil off Li Tianyou’s face, then thoughtfully conjured a mirror for him.
Caught off guard, Li Tianyou found himself face-to-face with his own reflection.
His swollen cheeks made his bean-sized eyes look even smaller. The lecherous look in them hadn’t had time to fade, making him look even uglier than usual.
Even he was startled.
After being beaten, Li Tianyou hadn’t dared look in a mirror. Now, seeing his own hideous appearance with his own eyes, he felt utterly humiliated.
His already bruised and discolored face gradually turned the color of pig liver.
“Little wench! How dare you humiliate me!”
Li Tianyou drew his sword and smashed the mirror, then quickly lunged at Ye Ran.
A surge of sword energy rushed toward her, forcing Ye Ran to retreat repeatedly.
She barely dodged the sword energy, but Li Tianyou’s sword followed close behind. Ye Ran had no time to evade. In desperation, she grabbed a sword from a nearby wooden stand and raised it to block Li Tianyou’s attack.
Though it was an ordinary sword, its sword energy was surprisingly fierce—so fierce that it actually sent Li Tianyou stumbling backward.
Li Tianyou stared at his numb, tingling hand, momentarily dazed.
Ye Ran seized the opportunity. She knocked his sword away and slammed the flat side of her blade hard against his face.
The familiar sting brought Li Tianyou back to his senses.
His face twisted with fury. Just as he was about to strike back, the cold, white tip of Ye Ran’s sword was already pressed against his neck.
“Senior Brother Li, don’t be so quick to lose your temper. I’ve already recorded your pathetic state from last night on a memory stone. If you keep bothering me in the future, who knows—I might get so scared that I’ll end up sharing your heroic display with the entire sect.”
With that, Ye Ran withdrew her sword.
The expression on Li Tianyou’s face shifted through an impressive range of colors.
He wanted nothing more than to tear Ye Ran apart, but the sect rules held him back. He didn’t dare act rashly.
In the end, he could only pick up his sword and veil and slink away in disgrace.
“Thank you for that.”
After Li Tianyou left, Ye Ran looked down at the sword in her hand.
It was an unremarkable sword, but she knew it very well.
She had repaired it more than ten times—more frequently than any other sword she had ever worked on.
She hadn’t expected that the moment she returned, this same sword would already be back for repairs.
“Well, since you helped me out, I’ll fix you up first.”
Ye Ran was already quite familiar with this sword. Most of the formations on it were ones she had set herself, so repairing it was second nature to her.
With just a few glances, she accurately located the damaged formations and restored them one by one.
Once all the formations were fully repaired, the previously worn-down sword instantly regained its luster, looking brand new.
“This time I’ve added a few extra formations for you. Hopefully, you won’t break so quickly anymore.”
Ye Ran patted the sword’s hilt and carefully placed it back on the stand.
But as she turned around, a fat cat suddenly appeared underfoot.
The system rubbed affectionately against Ye Ran’s leg and let out a few meows.
“Host, I’ve got it! I know how to help you figure out the great villain’s intentions!”
“Let’s hear it.”
A little surprised, Ye Ran crouched down, ready to pet the cat’s head. But the system dodged her hand, jumped onto the sword stand, and extended a paw to tap the wooden tag hanging from the sword.
“Host, look at the tag. The owner of this sword should be a disciple from the great villain’s territory. You can use returning the sword as an excuse to go see him and find out what he’s really up to.”
“System, you’ve finally been useful for once!”
Ye Ran excitedly ruffled the system’s head, unable to hide her delight.
She knew that approaching the great villain recklessly was very dangerous, but she thought this plan was quite feasible.
Rather than living in constant fear, she should take the initiative and figure out Lu Li’s intentions.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly for days.
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