[TCFO] Arc 3 — Chapter 114
The Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (8)
"I heard you're about to die, so I've come to collect your corpse!" Mu Yan looked at the dishevelled Shangguan Qi, his face filled with satisfaction and a hint of schadenfreude, but his eyes still showed concern.
Zhou Min watched the conversation between Mu Yan and Shangguan Qi and couldn't help but speculate that this person might be one of Shangguan Qi's few good friends. However, this person didn't seem to exist in her memories of her past life. Could it be that Zhou Min, because she had focused all her attention on Shangguan Qi, hadn't paid attention to others?
For some reason, Zhou Min suddenly felt a sense of sadness.
In her previous life, it seemed that her world consisted only of Shangguan Qi!
"250, why are you sighing for no reason? Hurry up and kick the male lead down to collect his essence!" The eunuch's urgent voice kept resounding in Zhou Min's mind.
"Shut up!" Zhou Min roared once again, but compared to the previous outburst, it seemed a bit constrained this time. This development wasn't correct. Why wasn't the antagonist getting angry and launching a rampage after she said those words?
"250, don't you understand? In this world, you are the biggest antagonist! Those are just small fries! In front of the big boss, no matter how much havoc you wreak, it's all futile... Even though everything you do is to help the male lead, under the premise that he doesn't know the truth, everything you're doing is what antagonists do and will only earn their hatred!"
"What?! Antagonist?!" Zhou Min was stunned.
"I used to be at least a supporting character, and now I can only be an antagonist? Are you sure you're not mistaken? Then what should I do? I'm the antagonist; how should I act? I was a model young pioneer, diligently building our beautiful country under the party's guidance. As a child, I didn't even dare to change my score on a test paper. And now, you're making me the big antagonist in this world. Are you out of your mind..."
"250, be mindful of your words... Well, your identity isn't something I can decide. That's just how it is for supporting characters! Anyone obstructing the relationship between the male and female leads is considered an antagonist, especially when the instigator is involved. Although it's all a misunderstanding, in the eyes of the male and female leads, her role as an antagonist is undeniable! You have to accept the reality. Right now, the most important thing for you is to quickly collect the essence when the relationship between the male and female leads is about to blossom into true love and then leave. That's the right course of action."
The reassurance didn't bring any comfort to Zhou Min. She felt that things wouldn't be as simple as they described with this unreliable and whimsical system. However, for now, collecting the essence was indeed the main priority!
If someone were to rescue Shangguan Qi and Yin Mei, Zhou Min couldn't help but imagine Shangguan Qi's resentment toward her. Just the thought of it was distressing. Moreover, Zhou Min felt she would need mental compensation if she were to kick him down the cliff again. She needed an insurance mom to ease her troubled heart.
"250, don't worry. I'll help you..." the kind-hearted voice said, but Zhou Min didn't want to believe it. This system had no integrity!
When Shangguan Qi saw Mu Yan appear, he released Yin Mei's hand but didn't move away from the cliff's edge. Instead, he looked at Zhou Min, who had her back turned to him on the horse. Since their initial eye contact, she hadn't turned back.
"However, I didn't expect that the Princess of Zhou would be so careless about her appearance in private. If I'm not mistaken, you just woke up and hastily came out without even bothering to dress properly. Princess, you seem to be in an urgent and pressing matter that made you disregard the demeanour befitting a princess. What could be so urgent that you would abandon your status as a princess?" Mu Yan gradually approached the encirclement of the Flame Gang, looking up at the woman.
With mockery and disdain in his eyes, Mu Yan spoke, "The princess's nobility is not built upon fancy clothes and exquisite makeup. The princess's nobility lies in her inherent pride and arrogance!"
Zhou Min looked at Mu Yan with a slightly cold but proud gaze. It was an instinct engraved in her as the instigator, just like her subconscious martial arts skills—something ingrained in her.
"Then, by setting fire to the Valley of Divine Physicians and spreading rumours, exposing an innocent and defenceless woman to the entire martial world, is that your display of noble pride as a princess?" Mu Yan's sarcastic remarks caught Zhou Min off guard. She glanced away, looking at the dark forest in the distance, not saying anything. It wasn't the right time yet.
Even if she spoke, they wouldn't believe her!
At that moment, several sharp whistling sounds pierced through the air, carrying a trace of chilling light. They passed by Zhou Min's ear, cutting a few strands of her hair, and shot straight toward the figure in white behind her. Zhou Min instinctively tapped her right foot and pounced on the person behind her. Shangguan Qi, realising something was wrong, only had time to extend his hand and push Yin Mei toward Mu Yan.
Before he could react, he suddenly collided with a soft, warm-scented female body that tightly embraced his waist. A muffled groan came from her chest, followed by a scent of blood.
"250, it's now! Push the male lead down... no, no, fall down together with the male lead. Seize the opportunity!" the excited voice roared, and by the time Zhou Min regained her senses, she was already being pulled by the force of the hidden weapon, falling backwards along with the male lead towards the abyss below.
Shangguan Qi placed his hands on Zhou Min's shoulders, feeling the softness of her delicate skin beneath the thin fabric of her veil. He lowered his head and looked at the woman in his arms, only able to see the top of her head.
When falling off the cliff, Shangguan Qi lifted his head and saw the shock on Mu Yan's face and the panic in Yin Mei's eyes, which Mu Yan had successfully caught. Everything happened instantly, and Shangguan Qi himself couldn't even react. When he came to his senses, he was already falling off the cliff with Zhou Min.
The rushing wind filled his ears, and the rapidly descending weightlessness made Zhou Min, injured on her back, feel a buzzing sensation in her ears. Despite being unable to hear anything clearly, she somehow heard the close heartbeat of Shangguan Qi. For some reason, tears rose in the corners of Zhou Min's eyes.
In this life and the previous one, it was the first time that she and he were so close. His embrace was as comforting and warm as she had imagined... But why did she feel like crying so much?
Shangguan Qi was already taken aback and somewhat dazed by the unexpected turn of events as Zhou Min pounced into his embrace, shielding him from the hidden weapons. When they fell off the mountain cliff, and he saw Yin Mei being safely caught by Mu Yan instead of falling with him, for some reason, he felt relieved. However, the touch of Zhou Min's skin beneath the thin fabric made his hand momentarily falter, and his heart trembled. His gaze became complex and challenging to decipher.
