Chapter 52.2

Jun Zishu and Wei Zinan briefly exchanged glances with each other. Then, after counting down from three, both of them executed their qinggong and sprinted forward.

Wei Zinan was fast. He had already put a significant distance between himself and Jun Zishu on the first step.

However, Jun Zishu did not hurry to catch up. Instead, she matched her pace with Wei Zinan's and steadily followed him.

Sometime later, Wei Zinan and Jun Zishu appeared within Shen Zheyan's vision, the two of them running close to each other. At this rate, Wei Zinan was sure to attain victory.

However, Shen Zheyan suddenly noticed a cheeky smile appearing on Jun Zishu's face. Then, to her surprise, she watched Jun Zishu execute a strange footwork, zoom past Wei Zinan like a sparrow, and appear in front of her in the blink of an eye.

Wei Zinan was also very surprised by this outcome. However, he had no choice but to admit his defeat.

"Don't underestimate my qinggong. It is the technique that I am most proud of," Jun Zishu pridefully said. If she got serious, not even Qian Yun could keep up with her.

The techniques Jun Zishu was most proficient at were qinggong and the utilization of hidden weapons. She could run quickly and throw hidden weapons at her enemies with great precision. Her way of fighting was not at all honorable.

However, Jun Zishu didn't mind even if others called her out for being a coward and dishonorable. The Demon Cult's reputation wasn't good, to begin with. Her fighting style also matched that of the Demon Cult. The Demon Cult's members would typically stand their ground if victory was assured and humiliate their opponents once they achieved victory. If they couldn't win in a head-on fight, they would use poison or other sinister tactics to achieve victory. And if they still couldn't achieve victory at that time, they would let out a few laughs, leave behind a few vicious words, and flee. No matter what, members of the Demon Cult would always achieve a moral victory.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu had thoroughly adopted this fighting style, only fighting when her victory was assured and running away when she couldn't win.

…

Nighttime, bamboo forest:

Jun Zishu and Shen Zheyan arrived at the hidden tunnel they found during the day, removed the camouflage, and took off the lid covering the tunnel's entrance.

Shen Zheyan was the first to enter the tunnel. She climbed down the tunnel using the available ladder and closed the lid on top of her. Then, she tried to see if she could open the lid from the inside. Only after seeing that she could do so did she signal for Jun Zishu to come in.

Wei Zinan had also come along with the two girls. However, he did not enter the tunnel with them. Instead, he stood watch nearby to prevent any unexpected situations from taking place.

After climbing down the ladder, Shen Zheyan and Jun Zishu carefully walked down the sloped tunnel. The tunnel was pitch-black, so Shen Zheyan lit a small bamboo torch to illuminate their path.

When they arrived at the end of the short tunnel, they found themselves arriving at something that looked like a prison. There were four small rooms lined along the tunnel, and each room had an iron grill closing them off. There was also a chair located at the end of the tunnel.

There were no humans or any other living creatures here.

The four prison cells held nothing in them, either.

Shen Zheyan approached the prison cells with her torch to take a closer look. However, she failed to find anything of value.

"Let's go," Shen Zheyan said, and Jun Zishu nodded in response.

Afterward, the two exited the tunnel, closed the lid, and left the forest with Wei Zinan.

"Why wasn't there anything inside?" Jun Zishu complained and let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Did you not find anything?" Wei Zinan asked Shen Zheyan. When he saw Shen Zheyan shaking her head, he couldn't help but feel disappointed as well. "What did you see in there?"

"There were a few prison cells and a chair. Other than that, we saw nothing else. We didn't find any bloodstains, either. However, the smell inside was awful," Jun Zishu was the one to answer this time. Originally, she thought they would find something shocking inside, such as imprisoned people or a pervert in the midst of drinking blood. However, what they ended up finding were disappointment and boredom.

"Is that so? What should we do next, then?"

"We'll stay here for two more days and continue investigating," Shen Zheyan decided for the group. Then, the trio silently walked back to the inn.

When Jun Zishu laid down on her bed at the inn, she suddenly received an update notification for the storyline.

[The database has been updated, Host. It's a rather important plot point this time.]

Transfer it, transfer it. Quickly let me see what it is, Jun Zishu urged.

Immediately, the updated plot point appeared in Jun Zishu's mind.

According to the original storyline, Shen Zheyan and Wei Zinan had also taken notice of the suspicious man burying the shriveled corpse that night. Then, the two had followed the suspicious man to Gui City.

Just like what Jun Zishu had experienced today, Shen Zheyan had her purse stolen in the original storyline. However, Shen Zheyan had noticed Xiao Shitou's actions quickly and caught him before he could run away with her purse. Xiao Shitou was scared silly by Shen Zheyan's sword, and he obediently led Shen Zheyan to Meng Lingxiao.

Afterward, Shen Zheyan questioned Meng Lingxiao and asked if he had noticed any disappearances in the city. Then, Xiao Shitou stepped forward and mentioned the disappearance he witnessed in the bamboo forest.

Simply put, Jun Zishu had stolen Shen Zheyan's original role in the story. Even so, Shen Zheyan had still ended up visiting the bamboo forest like in the original story.

The climax of the plot came next.

In reality, the mastermind behind this incident had always remained close to Shen Zehyan. To be precise, he had set his eyes on her on the first day she entered Gui City. He aimed to acquire Shen Zheyan and drink her blood. Thus, when the opportunity arrived, he drugged Shen Zheyan's and Wei Zinan's meal.

Of course, there was no way the protagonist would meet her end just like that.

After discovering that they were drugged, Wei Zinan quickly reacted and injured himself to keep himself awake. Shen Zheyan also suppressed the drug's effects and fought with the mastermind. Although the ensuing fight was intense, the protagonist naturally emerged victorious in the end. This was also when the climax of this plot point began.

The drug put in Shen Zheyan's food was an aphrodisiac, while Wei Zinan's food contained a sleeping drug.

When Wei Zinan saw that the person he liked had been drugged with an aphrodisiac, restraint was naturally the last thing on his mind. Thus, after finding the antidote for the sleeping drug on the mastermind's body, he had a wonderful evening with Shen Zheyan.

Shen Zheyan had originally been reluctant to the idea of sleeping with Wei Zinan. After all, she had treated Wei Zinan like a brother. However, she had already lost control over the aphrodisiac's effects due to her intense fight with the mastermind before. Thus, she ended up having sex with Wei Zinan.

When Shen Zheyan woke up the next day, she felt too ashamed to face Wei Zinan. So, after leaving a note to Wei Zinan, she picked up her sword and left by herself.

After Shen Zheyan left Gui City, she returned to her sect to calm down for a period before setting off on another journey and meeting the second male lead.

Of course, everything mentioned above was part of the original storyline. Now that Jun Zishu was here, she definitely wouldn't allow things to proceed like normal. She wouldn't allow Wei Zinan to even hold hands with Shen Zheyan this time, let alone have sex with her!

Jun Zishu's lips curled upwards. Not only did she plan to steal the protagonist's role in the story, but she also planned to monopolize the male leads' roles.

Little Fairy, if Shen Zheyan doesn't get drugged and does that with Wei Zinan, will that prevent Wei Zinan from taking on the male lead's role permanently?

[I can't say for certain.]

Little Fairy didn't have an answer to Jun Zishu's question. She was incapable of understanding love and affection between humans since logic often did not apply to these things.

I think it's possible. Shen Zheyan might seem like a kind, sentimental, and upright warrior, but she will never take along people or things she deems will become a burden. She will discard these burdens without hesitation, just like how she discarded me back at that village.

[By your words, does that mean the mission target isn't a kind person?]

No, she is a kind person. I quite like her type. I'd have a headache if she was the Virgin Mary type.

Shen Zheyan was a person who knew how to be kind to herself before others. Although she was a righteous person, her sense of justice wasn't blind.

Jun Zishu let out a sigh of relief and tucked herself into bed.

At this point, Jun Zishu was determined to snatch the roles of the three male leads. However, accomplishing this feat was easier said than done. Currently, two out of the three male leads belonged to the same side as Shen Zheyan. Only Qian Xing stood on the opposite camp. Meanwhile, according to the original storyline, Qian Xing's relationship with Shen Zheyan was filled with love and hate.

A love-hate relationship, huh?

When Jun Zishu tried to imagine the interactions between Shen Zheyan and Qianxing, she couldn't help but grow a little excited.

She will probably be mad at me once she finds out I'm not a good person, right? Maybe she'll even feel sad and heartbroken?

Jun Zishu felt that it would be great if Shen Zheyan could feel heartbroken. Only if the protagonist experienced pain would she remember her.

What Jun Zishu needed to do now was to ensure that her hands remained clean at all times and keep up her image as a good person. Then, when Shen Zheyan realized that she had misunderstood her to be a bad person, she would come to regret her decisions.

Jun Zishu shut her eyes and got ready to sleep. Before falling unconscious, she couldn't help but lament how naughty she was for scheming against Shen Zheyan.

…

Shen Zheyan, Jun Zishu, and Wei Zinan continued staying at the inn for two more days. They had also searched the city for clues and kept an eye on the bamboo forest during these two days. Unfortunately, their efforts came up fruitless.

Because of their failure, Shen Zheyan and Wei Zinan started growing restless. Jun Zishu also pretended to be uneasy. Inwardly, though, she remained as cool as a cucumber.

With the plot summary in hand, Jun Zishu already knew the mastermind's identity. However, she did not plan to get rid of the mastermind first. Instead, she wanted to let that person move the plot along and kick Wei Zinan out of the picture when it was time for the climax.

This is the perfect opportunity to deepen our relationship, Jun Zishu thought.

When the third day arrived, Jun Zishu, Shen Zheyan, and Wei Zinan gathered in Shen Zheyan's room to discuss whether they should leave or continue their investigations.

"What should we do if we still can't find the mastermind, Zheyan?"

"We can't just give up, either. If we simply left without doing anything, what if that person lays his hands on innocent people again?"

"But… There is also the possibility that the mastermind isn't a resident of the city. Maybe he has already left the city without our notice?" Wei Zinan asked.

Shen Zheyan rapped her finger on the table as she pondered what she should do.

At this time, one of the inn's attendants knocked on the door and entered with a food tray. After setting up the dishes on the table, the attendant placed a bowl of rice in front of each person.

Jun Zishu fell into thought as she looked at her bowl of rice.

She knew that the rice was drugged, so the question now was whether she should eat it or not.