Level Max Villainous Second Female Lead, Just Wants to Slack Off CHAPTER 71

Chapter 71: The Seventy-First Day of Slacking

The clump of cat fur settled onto Xiao Hei’s head, transforming into a shiny, black wig.

Xiao Hei finally, with a look of profound relief, lowered the paws that had been clutching his head.

He looked at Wen Ying, his expression aggrieved as he whined, “Master, there’s something I never told you. Back when I was sealed in that stone wall, not only was there nothing to eat or drink, but the spiritual energy was incredibly thin. I used what little true energy I had left to paint that mural on the wall… and then, boo hoo! My fur started falling out!”

Ah.

Now that he mentioned it, Wen Ying remembered.

The mural that had caused her to walk straight into a wall…

It was true. Malnutrition could certainly cause a cat to lose its fur.

And who knows how long Xiao Hei had been trapped in that harsh environment…

Thinking about it, as much of a little brat as he was, Xiao Hei was also quite pitiful.

Wen Ying reached out, about to pat the wig on his head in a gesture of comfort, but just then, Xiao Hei looked up, his eyes glinting.

“So… Master, hehe, from now on, could you maybe give me a little extra of your cooking? To, you know, help me supplement my nutrition?”

Wen Ying silently retracted her hand.

She decided to take back her previous thought.

He might be pitiful, but a brat is still a brat.

Despite her thoughts, Wen Ying still ended up giving Xiao Hei a portion of the braised chicken thighs and garlic-sautéed lettuce she had made with Wang Goudan that morning.

Before, as a cat, he was relegated to cat food. Now that he could finally take human form again, Xiao Hei’s eyes practically turned blue at the sight of the fragrant meal.

Of course, Xiao Hei wasn’t getting a free lunch.

Wen Ying also took the opportunity to give him his mission for their trip up the mountain.

Before they set off, Wen Ying also found Lu Xiaojie and had him agree to do the same thing as Xiao Hei.

However, just as they were preparing to head up the mountain, the familiar mission box popped up once more.

【Second Female Lead in a Sweet Historical Romance, Mission Six: Beware of the trap set by Sheng Qing on the mountain, do not let Sheng Qing jump into it!】

Having been through this plot over fifty times, Wen Ying naturally remembered it.

It was nothing more than Sheng Qing digging a pit on the mountain herself, luring Wen Ying up, and then pretending Wen Ying tricked her into falling into it.

By falling, she’d be stuck for a whole day until Cao Ruobing came looking for her late at night. By sharing this hardship, their feelings for each other would naturally deepen.

A tiresome, cliché plot.

Wen Ying had always found this “sweet historical romance” storyline absurd. Cao Ruobing and Sheng Qing were already clearly interested in each other; why did Sheng Qing still feel the need to scheme against the second female lead?

Wen Ying casually swatted the dialogue box away. It did nothing to deter her from heading up the mountain to see Hua Pi and her husband.

All she cared about now was the truth behind Ping’an Town. This mission was already irrelevant.

But as fate would have it, the stronghold was on the same mountain.

So, just as Wen Ying set foot on the mountain path, Sheng Qing, who had been lying in wait, revealed a toothless, eerie smile.

After the last… incident, something she never wanted to think about again, she hadn’t dared to seek out Brother Ruobing.

Therefore, this plan to be alone with him was especially crucial.

It had to succeed. There was no room for failure!

And now, the first step—luring Wen Ying up the mountain—was already a success.

Sure enough, Wen Ying was just as unintelligent as the person she had seen in those memories. A simple letter left on the table was enough to lure her here.

Sheng Qing glanced at the pit she had just finished digging and, without a moment’s hesitation, jumped in.

“Ah—!” At first, it was a feigned cry of fear, but it quickly morphed into a genuine scream of terror. “Ahhh, ahhh—!”

And so, on her way to the stronghold, Wen Ying heard a long, drawn-out scream, its emotion shifting in a complex way.

The familiar cry, Wen Ying could tell, belonged to Sheng Qing.

It seemed Sheng Qing had already jumped into the pit she had prepared.

But that scream… it was a bit peculiar. A little too long.

It had started a moment ago and was still echoing now.

Even Sheng Qing wouldn’t just scream her lungs out at the bottom of a pit.

With a brief investigation, Wen Ying discovered the reason for it all.

At first, Sheng Qing had indeed jumped into the pit with a theatrical flourish.

But she never expected to watch in horror as the “bottom of the pit” rushed past her. She had fallen right through it…

And now, she was in an endless freefall…

The pit Sheng Qing had dug was certainly not that deep, but she… had clipped through the map.

Sheng Qing had fallen straight through the ground… to who-knows-how-many-meters below, into a mysterious world no one had ever reached before.

It seemed Sheng Qing’s plan to spend a night with Cao Ruobing in the woods was now thoroughly doomed.

But what did that have to do with Wen Ying?

Wen Ying just shrugged.

Sheng Qing’s glitch at most served to confirm Wen Ying’s own speculations.

Before entering the stronghold, there was one more thing Wen Ying had to do.

She took out the short flute Da Hei had given her from her sleeve.

Originally, Wen Ying had been hesitating whether she should really ask Da Hei for help.

After all, Da Hei’s identity and allegiance were still a complete mystery to her.

Other than knowing he was a powerful demonic cultivator who liked her cooking, she didn’t even know his name or what he looked like.

But Xiao Hei’s words today had solidified her decision to summon him.

It wasn’t really about needing help; it was about using “help” as an excuse to call him over more naturally.

Xiao Hei knew nothing about the dungeon’s secrets. The only person who might have some understanding of the mysteries within was Da Hei, who had been trapped there and later escaped.

And… why was Da Hei imprisoned in the dungeon in the first place, and for how long?

The dungeon itself wasn’t large, but it held more than a few secrets.

Wen Ying brought the short flute to her lips.

That’s right, Wen Ying not only knew how to sing, but she could also play the flute. And her skill was, of course, maxed out.

Thinking back to the last cycle, when she had leveled her flute skill to the max…

Her cheeks didn’t ache from playing, but the birds and beasts in the area certainly did. They’d barely recovered from her weeks of caterwauling when she subjected them to months of non-stop, high-pitched whistling…

Luckily, the “instrument level” only required proficiency in one, otherwise, before Wen Ying could exhaust herself, the surrounding wildlife would have all gone mad.

Wen Ying didn’t know why, when choosing an instrument, she had, by some twist of fate, chosen the flute.

Perhaps she just thought… the sound was nice?

Wen Ying took a breath and played the short flute.

It was a nameless little tune, one that had probably come to her naturally one day while she was just playing around. She had found it pleasant and committed it to memory.

After the song ended, Wen Ying lowered the flute.

“You were looking for me.” Da Hei’s figure emerged from behind a nearby tree.

His attire was the same as always; Wen Ying was already used to it.

But his voice this time… it seemed a little different from his usual flat tone.

Maybe a little… excited?

Although it was only a slight fluctuation, Wen Ying still heard it.

“Is it about Ping’an Town? Do you need my help?” This time, Da Hei spoke with uncharacteristic verbosity.

“Yes.” Wen Ying didn’t say much either, simply replying, “There’s something I want to ask you.”

Da Hei fell silent, clearly waiting for her question.

“That day in the dungeon, when I ran into the wall, you saw it, didn’t you?” Wen Ying asked.

“Ah?” Da Hei clearly hadn’t expected Wen Ying to ask about something from so long ago, but he still answered truthfully. “Mm, I saw it.”

“Do you know what was inside that wall?” Wen Ying continued.

“Wasn’t there… a box? A talking box,” Da Hei said, a hint of confusion in his voice. “What does that have to do with what’s happening in Ping’an Town?”

So Da Hei had seen everything that day.

“It does.” Wen Ying nodded seriously and began to spin a tall tale with a straight face. “I suspect that in Ping’an Town, there is a spirit that escaped from that box. You were in the dungeon for quite a while; do you know anything else about the seal on that wall?”

It was a tall tale, but not entirely a lie.

A spirit that escaped from the box—Xiao Hei—was indeed in Ping’an Town.

“…I know some things, but not much.” Da Hei was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “The seal on the wall and the barrier in the dungeon were set by the same person.”

He didn’t know much?

He knew a great deal, even who had set the seal.

“So you were in the dungeon for a long time?” Wen Ying took the opportunity to press him.

“Not long,” Da Hei shook his head.

Xiao Hei had been trapped in the wall for centuries, yet Da Hei claimed he hadn’t been in the dungeon for long.

When Da Hei said the seals were set by the same person, Wen Ying had thought he and Xiao Hei were imprisoned around the same time, or that Da Hei had even been there earlier. But… that wasn’t the case?

Could it be…

“Then… since you said it was the same person, do you know who it was?” Wen Ying didn’t have high hopes for this question; she was just trying her luck.

Da Hei was silent for a long time again before finally speaking. “…I do.”

“Who?”

“…Me.”

Da Hei’s answer stunned Wen Ying for a few seconds.

But no matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make any logical sense.

Setting aside the matter of him sealing himself away, if he had really sealed Xiao Hei, how could he not know that Xiao Hei wasn’t the cause of the strangeness in Ping’an Town? How could he have been fooled by her own bluff?

It seemed Wen Ying had met her match—an opponent who could spout nonsense with an equally straight face.

And so, Wen Ying didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she nodded thoughtfully, as if she had come to some profound realization.

If they were going to deceive each other, they might as well go all in.

“I’m heading back to the stronghold now. Are you coming with me?” Wen Ying asked Da Hei.

Now that she had called him here, letting him leave after just a few questions would be too suspicious.

“Mm,” Da Hei grunted in agreement. “I came to help you, after all.”

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