What Do You Mean I’m Supposed to Be the Villain, But Everyone’s Chasing After Me? - Chapter 4:

Chapter 4: Tidy Up the Room, Senior Sister Has a Keen Nose!

The horizon brightened with pale light as dawn melted patches of snow, leaving thin traces of white in the low gullies.

“Don’t worry, I’ll treat you well in the future!” Sunlight streamed in through the window, evenly spreading across Xiao Hongyan’s rosy and radiant face.

Li Changju stared at the woman adjusting her clothes, his expression strange. He muttered, “I… I’m dirty?!” After a long while, he finally realized that everything from last night wasn’t a dream.

Xiao Hongyan turned her head, her clothes still not on, and said coldly, “I am the Nine Phoenix Glazed Pure Body, pure as jade, flawless and without blemish. How dare you say I’m dirty?” Her delicate collarbone, as white as mutton-fat jade, shimmered with a tempting luster, strands of messy hair falling across her chest and covering part of her snow-like skin.

She ordered, “Still not coming over to tie the straps for me?”

Today Xiao Hongyan was in a good mood, so she didn’t argue with him. Instead, she laughed scoldingly.

Li Changju was about to move, but a sharp pain shot through his waist, forcing him to draw in a breath of cold air.

“Forget it, little waste…” Xiao Hongyan chuckled and tossed a spatial ring into his hands, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. “Inside are 30,000 spirit stones and many rare herbs. That should be enough to restore your body. If you use them all up, you can come find me again.”

Li Changju’s eyes widened. “Th-three… 30,000 spirit stones?!”

“How is it? Am I generous or not?” Xiao Hongyan said smugly.

Thirty thousand spirit stones was an enormous sum within the sect. Even True Disciples only received about 300 spirit stones per month as cultivation resources. Yet this madwoman had casually given him such a fortune?

Li Changju’s head spun, suspecting for a moment that she was treating him as a stand-in for Ye Yan. But no, in the original plotline she wasn’t this generous with Ye Yan either!

Xiao Hongyan’s expression shifted back to her usual cold and aloof demeanor. As she stepped over the doorway, she said, “Remember to tidy up the room. Senior Sister’s nose is very keen!” With that, she disappeared from sight.

Li Changju stood there in a daze for a long while before finally regaining his senses.

…

The moment Xiao Hongyan stepped outside, she couldn’t keep up her act anymore. She clutched her slender waist, cursing under her breath. 

“What exactly is Li Changju’s physique? Even I can hardly subdue him!” She panted softly and muttered, “Luckily, I didn’t show weakness in front of him…” Her steps faltered, and she walked forward with a slight limp.

All of a sudden, she felt something different within her body. “I’ve been stuck at the 4th stage of the Hundred Convergence Realm for over a year, but after last night, I actually broke through that shackle. I even feel signs of advancement!” She quickly circulated her qi, confirming her guess, and delight lit up her eyes. Ecstatic, she immediately mounted her flying sword and hurried back to her own cave residence.

…

At the same time, Li Changju stood silently in the middle of his room. The confusion in his mind was slowly swept away by a strange force. As he took a deep breath, the energy inside him surged like a restless stream, gathering at his dantian and condensing into a powerful spiritual force.

The air around him stirred, spirit qi flowing like invisible tides, waves of warmth and heat burning against his skin as if he were standing beneath a scorching desert sun. His aura grew dense and steady, like a towering mountain rising firm and unshakable.

He closed his eyes, feeling the changes in his organs. The force inside him, long suppressed, suddenly broke free like a torrential flood bursting its dam.

“Is this… a breakthrough?” His heart trembled as the world around him grew sharper.

The Essence Refining Realm, also called the Five Elements Body Refinement, required refining the essences of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth within the five organs, forming elemental qi that circulated freely through the body.

Now, nourished by this spiritual power, his five organs seemed to ignite. The essence of the five elements intertwined brilliantly inside him, and he felt every muscle in his body awaken, merging gradually with this power.

As more qi gathered, a vortex formed at his lower abdomen, swirling violently as it absorbed the spirit energy from the surroundings, condensing it into a potent spiritual force. This force shifted between gentle and violent, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat, growing stronger and more exhilarating.

…

Meanwhile, back in her cave, Xiao Hongyan also sensed an unusual fluctuation. The flow of qi matched the aura from Li Changju, resonating faintly with her own. Her brows furrowed in disbelief. “How could this be? Could it be because I absorbed his spiritual energy last night?”

For the first time, she felt that her fate was tied to this man, as if it had all been predetermined. She sighed, but quickly set aside her doubts. 

No matter the reason, this was a boon for her. If Li Changju’s unique constitution could help her cultivation, she would never let the chance slip away. 

With that thought, she sat down cross-legged and entered meditation.

…

At the gates of Jade Peak of the Radiant Jade Sword Sect, a graceful figure walked through the snow, her robes fluttering in the wind.

She wore a frosty Daoist robe, neatly fastened up to her collarbone, her long black hair bound into a lotus crown. Her feet hovered three centimeters above the ground, leaving no trace upon the snow. Her brows were as distant as snow-covered mountains, her gaze as sharp as frost, and at her waist hung the Frost Moon Sword, its tassel tied to a cracked, ordinary jade pendant.

This was the chief True Disciple of Jade Peak, Bai Shuyue.

As she walked through the snow, her cold and indifferent face softened with a faint smile, as though something worth celebrating had just happened. 

Her steps grew lighter.

Suddenly, two beams of light rose from opposite sides of Jade Peak—one golden, one red—soaring into the sky. They spread like clouds, covering the entire mountain in a dazzling glow.

“Someone’s breaking through?” Bai Shuyue stopped, surprise flashing between her brows. The surging auras were powerful, clearly signs of disciples breaking through after years of bottlenecks.

She hesitated only for a moment before whispering, “I should go take a look.”

Before she could move, a familiar male voice sounded beside her. “Senior Sister, it really is you!”

Bai Shuyue lifted her gaze and saw Ye Yan’s follower, Mei Jiji. Her eyes turned sharp in an instant.

Mei Jiji stepped closer but immediately felt a chilling aura sweep over him, forcing him to shrink his neck.

“What is it?” Bai Shuyue’s voice was cold as frost.

Mei Jiji trembled slightly but forced himself to speak, “Disciple comes on behalf of Third Senior Brother Li Changju! I must report that Senior Brother Ye Yan has stolen Senior Sister’s personal clothing, desecrating Senior Sister. Such a crime is unforgivable!”