Title: After the Villainess Awakens
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 13 - My nickname is Nianci. It's the name my mother gave me (3)
Leng Mushi didn't like it when others praised her for her kindness. She couldn't help feeling upset when she thought about her mother. She silently refuted; I don't want to be compassionate. I just have no other choice. They have to escape in order to bring back reinforcement to save me.
Soon, she sighed again and looked at the painted skin demoness.
"Fenlian?"
(T/N: Fenlian's name can be read as powder/pink lotus.)
The demoness bashfully smiled and said, "It doesn't sound like the name of a good girl, right? I used to be a courtesan."
She looked at Leng Mushi. Her gaze was very soft, but the red nails holding Leng Mushi were rapidly growing. "Do you look down on courtesans?"
Leng Mushi: "..."
She held down Fenlian's increasingly sharp nails and shook her head like a rattle drum.
"How could I?! It's not their fault. They have no other choice. Moreover, they're so multi-talented. Courtesans are so helpless. They're just selling a performance. How could I look down on them?!"
Leng Mushi truly meant her words. She and her friends used to go out to idle their days away. She often disguised herself as a man and went to brothels. In her opinion, courtesans were women that had fallen on hard times and couldn't escape their fate because they had been sold into slavery.
Back when her family was rich, she would help women in that situation if she could and wouldn't allow her friends to humiliate those courtesans. But, she couldn't save anyone, including those helpless women that had no one to rely on.
Fenlian stared at Leng Mushi for a long time and didn't find any trace of disdain in Leng Mushi's eyes. Her sharp and long nails slowly returned to normal, and she began to reveal her past including how she had become a demoness.
Her story was more or less the same as what was written in novels. Humans that became demons all had their difficulties. Some of those experiences were exceptionally bitter.
Fenlian's story wasn't an exception. She was once a famous courtesan. Many high officials and nobles spent a lot of money to see her. If she hadn't been deceived by a man, she would have been able to save enough money while she was young to redeem herself after she got old and live out her golden years in luxury.
But like other foolish women in the world, she fell in love with a charming "immortal" that knew a few cultivation tricks.
"You said that he promised to take you as his concubine, but later went back on his word and forced you to drink Bone and Flesh Dissolving Medicine? That's how you became like this?" Leng Mushi had started off just pretending to care, but as she listened, she got angry too.
"He's worse than a beast!" Leng Mushi was outraged. Her father was a bastard. Her mother had been so bitterly deceived by him. Before getting married, he had promised he wouldn't take concubines. But in the end, he brought back concubine after concubine. She hated men like him.
Seeing Leng Mushi's strong emotions in reaction to her story, Fenlian couldn't help crying. She didn't look like a demoness at all. On the contrary, she looked like a helpless woman.
While wiping her tears, she said, "It hurt so much. Do you know how it feels for your organs to slowly turn into a bloody pulp? I feel so much resentment and hate!"
Leng Mushi didn't know what that felt like, but she knew what it felt like for her face to be corroded. In comparison, Fenlian was more miserable than her, so she stretched her hand out and patted her shoulder.
Fenlian leaned on her shoulder and faintly said into her ear, "Don't be too angry. After looking for him for a long time, I finally found him and got my revenge!"
Leng Mushi didn't say anything. She thought of Fenlian's puppets. The skins of those puppets must have come from Fenlian's victims. Sigh, even though she was pitiful, humans and monsters had different paths.
"He had already suffered retribution before I got there," Fenlian said, "His enemies had killed countless people. They killed everyone in his residence. By the time I got there, those killers were forcing him to reveal where he kept a secret treasure. He wouldn't tell them. He had been tortured badly. I couldn't let him die. I want to be the one that kills him."
Fenlian said, "I devoured those killers and killed him."
Her tears slowly became tears of blood. "But I've become like this. I can't live anymore. I…"
"Have you never killed anyone else except for that man and those killers?" Leng Mushi suddenly asked.
Fenlian's tears stopped. She froze in surprise for a moment before answering, "After I devoured those people, I was in stupor for a while. When I woke up, I met you. I saw those three immortals. Humph! Those immortals are sanctimonious. None of them are good people! I transformed into an inn to lure you inside. Sure enough, you were fooled. Haha."
Leng Mushi watched her laugh and cry and suddenly asked, "Don't you think what you have now is better?"
"What?" Fenlian doubtfully looked at her.
Leng Mushi said, "You devoured killers and killed your enemy. Even cultivators wouldn't care that you killed people that have done evil. As long as you stop hurting people, no one will have a reason to want to kill you. And you're so powerful… don't take things too hard."
"I…" Fenlain moved her lips. She didn't understand.
Leng Mushi grabbed her arm, slapped it, and minutely analyzed, "Look, you're a powerful demoness now. You killed your mortal enemy. Why get stuck in the past? Why not look towards a wonderful future?"
"That scumbag bastard got his comeuppance. He's not the only man in the world. Not all men are bastards. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you found another man? A good one!"
Fenlian was instantly enlightened.
Leng Mushi continued to say, "Besides, think about it, you're so powerful. If you find a man and the relationship doesn't go well, you can keep looking. Anyways, demons have a long lifespan. There's no brothel madam that can restrain you. If you're careful and don't do evil, without any evil karma staining you, you'll be free to roam the world. Who knows? You might have a cultivation epiphany one day and ascend to a higher realm. There are examples of demons that have ascended…"
Leng Mushi saw that she was moved. For the sake of her life, she tried her best to persuade her.
"You're already been a courtesan before. Why can't you move on and find a new lover?"
Fenlian's eyes widened. She gaped, but the grievance in her eyes was gradually replaced by the same brightness as Leng Mushi's eyes.
"Besides, I can tell that man isn't a real immortal just by listening to you. Real immortals are beautiful and have excellent morals and formidable strength. It wouldn't be difficult for them to do it seven times a night. Even if there are occasionally immortals with evil intentions, that immorality will lead to improper cultivation practices that will cause them to self-destruct…"
"Ah!" Fenlian hugged Leng Mushi "Ah!"
Fenlian kept saying, "Ah ah". Leng Mushi felt like she was hugging a silly goose instead of a powerful demoness.
After a while, Fenlian finally stopped screaming. She was so emotional that she shed tears.
She patted Leng Mushi's hand and said, "You're right! Find one for me!"
Leng Mushi: ... Huh?!