The passage led deep underground. Not a single ray of light pierced the endless darkness, and waves of sinister cold sank straight into the bones.
Wen Xian walked forward. Every step rang through the narrow passage, the clear echoes filling her with fear and unease.
The darkness seemed like an invisible hand around her throat. It stole her breath while dragging up the memories she had buried deepest in her heart—the ones she never wished to remember.
An image suddenly flashed through Wen Xian’s mind.
A girl of seventeen or eighteen stood before her, dressed in a school uniform. The girl’s face held the innocence expected at that age, yet her eyes were cruel and vicious.
An ugly smile curled her lips as she slowly pressed a curling iron heated to two hundred degrees against Wen Xian’s arm.
The burns on Wen Xian’s body no longer existed, but the wounds in her heart had never healed.
She knew that her hatred would not fade until that girl suffered the same pain Wen Xian had endured.
That girl was the true reason Wen Xian wanted to return to her old world at any cost.
She wanted revenge. She wanted the girl to pay.
That was why Wen Xian had to repay evil with kindness, even though the demoness wanted to kill her.
Feng Lingruan was her only possible way home.
Wen Xian hated this endless darkness. It awakened the fear buried in her heart and stirred up the resentment hidden even deeper.
Perhaps that was good. It meant the girl would always remain fresh in her mind.
Wen Xian would not forget her.
Never.
“Mm…”
Feng Lingruan slowly regained consciousness.
The first thing she felt was pain. Every part of her body hurt, inside and out, so severely that she could hardly breathe. Each breath felt like another knife slicing through her flesh and striking every nerve.
Worse still, the journey was unbearably rough. Every jolt brought fresh agony. At last, she could take no more.
“Can’t you… walk more slowly?” she asked weakly.
The faint voice pulled Wen Xian from her distant thoughts. The demoness had awakened surprisingly quickly. She had barely fainted before coming around again. Her body truly was unusual.
“You should be grateful I didn’t leave you behind. Now you’re making demands? Do you honestly think you’re a queen?” Wen Xian snapped.
Something felt wrong to Feng Lingruan when she heard that voice. She opened her eyes and discovered that the human she regarded as an insect was carrying her on her back.
Where was this woman taking her? Did she intend to deliver Feng Lingruan to the Four Great Immortal Sects for a reward?
“Release this lord! Let go of me at once!”
Feng Lingruan forgot her pain and struggled to escape. She could never fall into the immortal sects’ hands. Death would be better than capture by those self-righteous cultivators.
Her movements almost made Wen Xian lose her balance. Furious, Wen Xian slapped Feng Lingruan on the bottom.
“Stop making trouble! You’re a grown woman, yet you’re throwing a tantrum like a child!”
The slap was not hard, but it made a sharp sound. Its power to humiliate was far greater than its strength.
She dared…
She dared strike her *there*!
Feng Lingruan’s pupils contracted. The tingling sensation filled her with shame and rage. She wanted nothing more than to kill this hateful insect on the spot.
“You bastard! This lord will kill you! I will kill you!”
The passage was narrow, so her voice carried with painful force. Wen Xian felt as though the roar might burst her eardrums. She slapped her again.
“Stop it! Keep struggling and I’ll leave you here. You tried to kill me, but I still saved you. There aren’t many kind people like me in this world! I repaid your evil with kindness, so don’t answer kindness with cruelty!”
The second humiliating slap turned Feng Lingruan’s face bright red. Unable to endure it, she sank her teeth into Wen Xian’s shoulder.
Wen Xian screamed in pain. “You’re a fox spirit! Why are you biting people? Forget being a fox. You should become a dog spirit instead. It would suit— Ah! Stop biting! That hurts!”
Her words only poured oil onto the flames. Feng Lingruan bit down harder. Her hands tightened on Wen Xian’s shoulders, and her nails dug through the cloth and deep into the flesh beneath.
Wen Xian’s miserable screams soon filled the entire passage.
At last, the long tunnel reached its end, where a faint light was visible. Wen Xian forced herself to ignore the pain and hurried out. The first thing she did on the other side was throw Feng Lingruan from her back.
She touched her burning shoulder with one hand. When she looked at her fingers, she saw blood. That doglike fox spirit had bitten her hard!
Wen Xian pointed a trembling finger at Feng Lingruan.
“You heartless, ungrateful woman! I should have left you there to fend for yourself and wait for death!”
Feng Lingruan had struck the ground without warning, and the pain made her frown. Her existing wounds were bad enough, but the hot, tingling ache in her bottom was both infuriating and humiliating.
She had bitten and clawed Wen Xian with all her strength. In return, Wen Xian had used every bit of her strength to slap Feng Lingruan again and again. Feng Lingruan had answered each of those “gifts” by biting and clawing even harder.
Both had hurt themselves worse than they hurt the other. Neither had gained anything.
“Once this lord recovers, I will make you wish you were dead,” Feng Lingruan said coldly. “I will make you kneel and beg before I slice you into a thousand pieces.”
One corner of Wen Xian’s mouth lifted in the smug, crooked grin of an invincible hero. She folded her arms and looked down at Feng Lingruan with open contempt.
“Oh, I’m so frightened! Great lord—no, mighty Demon Lord—you had better heal quickly. Otherwise, I might run away. Nyah, nyah!”
She even pulled a ridiculous face.
Feng Lingruan was furious. She tried to launch another surprise attack with her tails, only to discover that she had no spirit-beast energy left. Her previous attack had failed and made her injuries worse. She could not act recklessly again.
She would let this ignorant insect act proud for a little longer. Once Feng Lingruan recovered some strength, she would drag Wen Xian back to the Demon Palace and torture her day and night. When her anger was finally satisfied, she would chop the human apart and feed her to her demonic pets.
Having enjoyed her victory in the argument, Wen Xian ignored the livid Feng Lingruan. If the situation turned dangerous, she would run at once. How could this badly injured woman possibly catch her?
With that comforting thought, Wen Xian began searching for a way out. At the first sign of danger, she would turn and flee without looking back.
The passage ended in a vast underground cavern. The cave was spacious but completely sealed. There were no other exits.
Wen Xian knocked against every wall, hoping to find a hollow section. The results disappointed her. Solid rock surrounded the cave, so she could not repeat her earlier trick and punch open a path.
A pool lay directly ahead. Pale-blue light shimmered over its surface, filling the dark cavern with a faint glow.
Wen Xian approached and peered down. The shining surface prevented her from seeing what lay beneath, but her instincts told her that the light had to come from a treasure at the bottom.
How could she ignore such a fortunate opportunity? She decided to dive down and discover what great treasure awaited her.
*Hey, system! Stop playing dead. Do you have an ability that will let me see underwater?*
Wen Xian was already burning with curiosity. She urged the system to answer and prove that it could do something besides hide.
[Could you show a little respect when you ask me for help? The villain is right in front of you, yet instead of improving her opinion of you, all you can think about is treasure. If someone like you receives a lucky opportunity here, I’ll send myself back to the factory for a complete reset!]
*Enough nonsense. Hurry up. That fox spirit keeps trying to kill me, so I need to prepare. What if there’s some life-saving divine artifact down there? Then I won’t have to fear her stabbing me in the back, and I can safely work on winning her over.*
The system sneered. Wen Xian had offended the woman beyond measure, so where had she found the confidence to say that?
But the system kept the thought to itself.
Feng Lingruan’s killing-intent score toward Wen Xian had fallen by five hundred. Meanwhile, her humiliation score had risen to a level the system had never seen before. The bar was supposed to stop at one thousand, but the value had overflowed until the system felt it might explode.
The system could never have imagined that being slapped *there* would lower the villain’s desire to kill Wen Xian. Somehow, Wen Xian’s furious attack had produced an unexpected result.
Since the villain wanted Wen Xian dead a little less than before, the system decided to let its host do as she pleased. It did not care about the process as long as the final result remained unchanged.
[Five minutes. I can only let you see underwater for five minutes. If you want the ability permanently, eat swords and earn enough exchange points. Since you saved the villain, I’ll give you five minutes for free.]
*All right, then hurry! What if my wonderful treasure gets away?*
Wen Xian continued urging it. She could hardly wait to jump into the water and see the treasure’s true appearance.
The system fell silent.
It had never met anyone so greedy.
As soon as the system granted the five free minutes, Wen Xian leaped into the pool and dove toward the bottom.
Feng Lingruan was treating her wounds. When she heard the splash and opened her eyes, Wen Xian had already vanished. Only ripples remained on the surface.
“She is seeking death.”
Feng Lingruan’s strength far exceeded Wen Xian’s. Although she was badly injured, her spiritual awareness remained unharmed. The instant she entered the cavern, she had sensed something hiding beneath the water. Its spiritual awareness was equal to her own, preventing her from discovering its true form.
A creature that strong had likely reached the Nascent Soul realm. Yet an insect in the Energy Refining realm had recklessly jumped straight into the water. Wen Xian clearly believed her life was too long.
Perhaps that was for the best. It would save Feng Lingruan the trouble of killing her.
Despite the thought, Feng Lingruan continued staring at the pool. Deep in her heart, she hoped Wen Xian would emerge unharmed as she had before. Feng Lingruan did not notice that her feelings had already begun to change.
Suddenly, the surface churned violently.
Feng Lingruan’s gaze sharpened. Had the creature below already killed the insect? Was it coming to kill her next?
Her entire body tensed.
Then Wen Xian burst from the water.
She scrambled across the ground on hands and knees, rushed straight to Feng Lingruan, and wrapped both arms around her. Her whole body trembled, and fear shook her voice.
“A snake… There’s a snake down there! A huge snake!”
