I'll Bully the Man You Like Right in Front of You!

In the vast, empty valley, all was silent except for the faint sound of shoes stepping on the sand.

This was the darkest moment of the night, and also the darkest moment of the sister's life.

Tao Yaoyao thought to herself.

She affectionately linked her arm with Zi Yiyi's with one hand, while in the other she carried a Golden Paper lantern, just like Zi Yiyi's, to light the way ahead.

She felt that she should be like a lamp in the darkness, illuminating the way forward for Zi Yiyi.

She wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin, so she could only walk slowly in silence, trying to delay the impending fate of her best friend.

She pressed her delicate pink lips tightly together, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

"After I leave, you'll probably have to work harder. I'm sorry..."

It was Zi Yiyi's clear voice that broke the silence first.

Tao Yaoyao had always thought Zi Yiyi's voice was beautiful, like a cuckoo proudly perched on a branch, possessing a natural nobility. Unlike her own childish voice, which, despite being twenty-one, still sounded like a child's and offered no appeal...

"I should be apologizing to you... Although we've served Hua Jing, First Seat together all these years, you've actually done more work. I've been running off to Crimson Rainbow Venerable every few days, not to learn swordsmanship, but just to go out and play, to slack off... I'm so sorry..."

As she finished speaking, Tao Yaoyao choked up, barely able to hold back her tears, her heart overflowing with guilt.

The two personal attendants rarely leave Hua Jing, First Seat's side at the same time, so they usually take turns accompanying him. Hua Jing, First Seat also has many official duties and rarely stays on the sacred mountain, when he does, it's for a long time.

"I... I actually don't like exorcising evil spirits at all... Evil spirits look so disgusting, I hate them so much... If it weren't for Hua Jing, First Seat raising and nurturing me, I wouldn't have taken exorcising evil spirits as my duty... But you're different, you have much more faith than I do, so I always think, since you love exorcising evil spirits anyway, then let you do it, and I can slack off... I'm sorry, I'm so bad, sob sob..."

"It's alright. You can't force everyone to be so enthusiastic about fighting evil and upholding justice. I'm happy to do it," Zi Yiyi said gently.

Her gentleness only made Tao Yaoyao feel more devastated. Even though it was Zi Yiyi who was about to be punished, Tao Yaoyao cried her eyes out while talking to herself, recounting her past sins.

From that moment on, they were from two different worlds. She felt she had to speak her mind; if she didn't receive forgiveness from her best friend of twenty-four years, she would live with regret for the rest of her life.

"I can actually tell that Lord Huajing likes you more, sob sob. I always get secretly jealous, and then I deliberately say sweet things to win his favor, and I always give Lord Huajing gifts without telling you..."

"What's wrong with that? Not everyone can be as gloomy as me. Besides, Hua Jing, First Seat has always been indifferent to things other than evil spirits and won't care about these things."

"And then there's the son of the Spiritual Treasure Sect Master... That time when the two of us accompanied Lord Huajing to the Spiritual Treasure Sect as guests, that young sect master fell in love with you at first sight and secretly sent me a whole book of love letters, asking me to pass them on to you. I thought he was so ugly, so I took it upon myself to reject him, sob... I said some really harsh things about him, please don't blame me..."

Zi Yiyi raised an eyebrow, finally understanding why the young sect leader's expression was always rather unpleasant whenever she saw him later.

In truth, righteous cultivators stand tall between heaven and earth, using Mystic Qi to cleanse their marrow and refine their meridians. Even if they are not exceptionally handsome, they are rarely ugly. As the son of a prestigious sect, how could the young sect master of the Spiritual Treasure Sect be 'ugly'?

The reason Tao Yaoyao refused so ruthlessly was that when she received the thick love letter with great pride, she suddenly learned that it was for her best friend. She felt a huge sense of disappointment, so she was angry and refused the young sect leader on behalf of Zi Yiyi without any mercy.

"I should thank Yaoyao for rejecting him on my behalf; otherwise, I would have been even more embarrassed and at a loss if I had to refuse him to his face."

Her understanding and generosity made Tao Yaoyao feel incredibly guilty, and tears streamed down her pink cheeks, dripping onto her high breasts and forming a dark puddle.

Tao Yaoyao continued to confess her crimes, such as revealing that the dress given to her wasn't one she had managed to snatch, but rather one that was included in a buy-one-get-one-free deal...

Such examples are too numerous to mention.

In fact, Zi Yiyi thought these were all trivial matters and didn't feel any resentment, let alone forgiveness. On the contrary, she felt that their relationship was more vivid and real.

Although Tao Yaoyao is a little mischievous and clever, she is ultimately her best friend whom she has always treated like a younger sister. The joy and warmth they have shared growing up together make this flaw seem insignificant.

"There's one last thing... Actually, before Hua Jing, First Seat and I entered the valley, I saw you picking out a dress to meet the Divine Child. So, while you were taking a bath, I secretly sprinkled some aphrodisiac powder into that dress... Waaah, why didn't you wear that one in the end! If you had, maybe you and the Divine Child would be Cloud-Turning Rain-Covering right now! You wouldn't have ended up in this valley, waaaah..."

"I didn't..."

Zi Yiyi instinctively wanted to explain that she hadn't chosen the dress specifically to see You Su, but then she thought that at this point, what was the point of not being honest?

"I just decided in the end that the dress probably didn't look good, so I changed to another one."

"He's blind! How could he tell if you're pretty or not?!"

Tao Yaoyao stopped her tears, her rosy cheeks puffed up in anger, as if she was angry that Zi Yiyi's anxiety and indecisiveness had ultimately led to the failure of her scheme.

She genuinely believed that with that alluring powder, two people with little to no affection could still consummate their relationship.

"So what if he's blind? Didn't he just see me?"

Zi Yiyi smiled gently.

Tao Yaoyao froze upon seeing this, then spat and cursed:

"You're insane! He is indeed much better looking than that young sect leader of the Spiritual Treasure Sect, but is it really worth it for a man?!"

Zi Yiyi shook her head. "Why would you think that? I'm not that stupid..."

Recalling her first meeting with You Su, she hadn't taken You Su seriously then, but now she was smug about being noticed by the young man.

She couldn't quite describe how she felt. Just as Hua Jing, First Seat analyzed, her inability to resist the temptation tonight wasn't for You Su, or rather, not entirely.

This feeling of liking was probably quite faint; she didn't have much contact with You Su. It was only after spending time together in Moxie City that she felt this blind boy was both gentle and reliable, seemingly radiating light, and also very handsome...

After returning, the name You Su lingered in her mind, prompting her to subconsciously search for information about him. But the more she learned, the more she felt like a firefly, unable to compete with the bright moon.

She had been stuck at the Water Condensation Realm for two years and knew that her talent was nothing special on the Divine Mountain. Even Tao Yaoyao, who was two years younger than her, had caught up with her in cultivation.

"You still say you're not stupid! You're clearly doing this for him!"

Tao Yaoyao felt increasingly guilty and tears welled up in her eyes again. "I was supposed to go to Moxie City that time, sob sob. If only I hadn't been lazy, you wouldn't have run into that damned divine child, sob sob..."

Zi Yiyi gently wiped away her tears, "Do I look like someone who's so love-struck?"

Tao Yaoyao opened her big, watery eyes and nodded firmly without hesitation.

Zi Yiyi looked embarrassed, then gently pinched Tao Yaoyao's tender little face to 'vent her anger'.

She rarely made such intimate gestures because she wanted to be like the Hua Jing, First Seat she admired, indifferent to everything except evil spirits.

"I think you're the one who's love-struck. You'd run a thousand miles for a pastry you like, so you'd probably run ten thousand miles for a man you like."

Tao Yaoyao wasn't angry at Zi Yiyi's retort. Instead, she buried herself in Zi Yiyi's arms and burst into tears, her tears quickly soaking Zi Yiyi's chest.

"Waaah! Don't go!"

Zi Yiyi always spoiled her, treating her like an older sister, but she always thought Zi Yiyi was too rigid and boring. However, she didn't expect that she would realize that beneath Zi Yiyi's serious nature, there was also a lively and interesting side.

Infected by her emotions, Zi Yiyi also felt a lump in her throat.

Her throat bobbed, but no sound came out. Only then did she realize that she was being suffocated by Tao Yaoyao's overwhelming 'warmth'.

She quickly pushed the girl away slightly before she could catch her breath:

"Even if they don't leave today, they should leave tomorrow..."

Tao Yaoyao wasn't stupid; she knew that this 'tomorrow' didn't refer to the actual tomorrow, but rather to some day in the future.

This broke her heart. Although she was just a maid, she had always regarded Zi Yiyi and Hua Jing, First Seat as the two most important people to her. But Zi Yiyi's words carried a strong sense of destiny, as if Zi Yiyi had never been from the same world as them.

"You knew all along...?"

"I have a rough idea..." Zi Yiyi lowered her eyes, "What happened tonight was actually a test that Hua Jing, First Seat deliberately set for me... That's why even though you said beforehand that you would be the one to meet the Divine Child, Hua Jing, First Seat refused you. Actually, she has always been very indulgent towards you..."

Tao Yaoyao's long eyelashes trembled. "You already guessed it... why did you still..."

"Why go into the valley?" Zi Yiyi smiled calmly. "I only just guessed it... But some things are irreversible even if you know them beforehand. This shows that deep down, I really want to go into the valley and get something I can't have."

"You said it wasn't for men, so what do you really want?!"

Tao Yaoyao felt that her best friend was becoming increasingly unpredictable; she had always been such a reasonable person before. She said, annoyed, "..."

"Although we are just maids, Lady Huajing treats us very well, just like, just like a real mother... She basically gives us whatever we want, so how could we possibly want so much?"

Tao Yaoyao was more than half a head shorter than Zi Yiyi, so when she was angry, she could only look up at her.

Zi Yiyi ruffled Tao Yaoyao's hair and asked in return:

"It seems that Hua Jing, First Seat is also testing you?"

Tao Yaoyao pursed her lips, choosing not to hide it, and nodded.

"It seems that Yaoyao has passed the test of Hua Jing, First Seat."

Zi Yiyi gently tidied the delicate and lovely girl's messy bangs as if giving her a reward.

"That's why I don't understand! What's so difficult about it? I just really wanted to eat, and just as I was about to pick up the plate of sweet cakes, I suddenly remembered I had to lose weight, and I couldn't eat anymore. You see, how easy it is to resist temptation!"

Upon hearing Zi Yiyi pushed the girl away a bit, then looked her best friend up and down.

She was plump and round, with full flesh and bones, yet possessed an extremely youthful face.

To be honest, she is a bit 'chubby'... but it's a healthy kind of plumpness, soft and fluffy everywhere. It's just that because Tao Yaoyao is relatively short, she looks more like a baby with 'chubby' cheeks.

Zi Yiyi still couldn't understand how such a girl could be associated with a dashing Sword Cultivator. Was she like that well-fed fat cat in the Evil Warding Department, able to nimbly leap like an eagle when touched by someone else?

"You've never thought about losing weight before, so who said you're fat?"

"It's that He Kongyue, the eldest son of the He family! I ran into him a few months ago when I passed through Falling Star Valley, and I greeted him. He said I'd gotten even fatter, which really made me furious!"

Tao Yaoyao was fuming, Zi Yiyi felt like her clothes were about to burst open.

"Young Master He is a man of refined manners and handsome appearance, how could he insult you for no reason? What did you say when you greeted him?"

"No, I was just teasing him about how he looked a bit thin and pale since he hasn't seen his sweetheart... I didn't lie, why is he holding a grudge? How petty!"

Tao Yaoyao stuck out her little tongue indignantly, looking absolutely adorable.

But a wave of sadness washed over her, and tears welled up in her eyes again. The thought that she would never be able to vent about others with her best friend like this again made her realize how precious this moment truly was.

"Why talk about such a hypocrite!"

Tao Yaoyao felt that calling him a 'hypocrite' wasn't entirely wrong; if someone likes men, isn't that being a fake man?

Zi Yiyi suddenly stopped in her tracks, Tao Yaoyao looked up. Her eyes were no longer filled with darkness; she could see the torches lit by the cultivators stationed on the outskirts of Falling Star Valley, like flickering sparks.

Unbeknownst to her, she and the 'prisoner' she was personally escorting were nearing their destination.

Even though she had slowed her pace considerably, she still felt that this moment had come too quickly.

She bit her lower lip tightly, her cheeks trembling slightly, yet she couldn't hold back her tears. Then, she tried to pull Zi Yiyi back, angrily saying:

"The book only said that women can't hold back their tears below the knee, but it didn't tell me they can't hold back their tears on their face either, waaaaah..."

Zi Yiyi's eyes twitched. Tao Yaoyao would occasionally say some crude things that made her feel embarrassed, which was extremely incongruous with her youthful appearance.

She used to restrict her younger sister from reading those inappropriate books, especially those about relationships between men... but now she's too lazy to care anymore, after all, Yaoyao is just young-looking...

"I'll take you back to Lady Huajing to apologize! She'll definitely forgive you! Let's go kill Mind-Wishing Buddha together, and everything will be back to normal!"

The girl grabbed Zi Yiyi's arm, stubbornly trying to pull her back.

But Zi Yiyi remained motionless, gazing into the depths of the valley as if to meet those white eyes in gaze.

She finally looked away, then sighed and pulled her hand away from Tao Yaoyao's:

"What's gone is gone; everything will never be the same again..."

Tao Yaoyao listened with a sense of despair, her lower lip trembling as if she were stuttering.

"Lady Huajing doesn't distrust you; she tested me too... How could she distrust us? Don't overthink it..."

Zi Yiyi simply shook her head.

"What do you want?! I'll find it for you! Why do you have to ask for that damned Evil Demon? Why?! Waaaaah..."

Looking at her hysterical best friend, Zi Yiyi felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if being stabbed with needles.

She suppressed the rising regret; it was all her own fault, but also something she had willingly accepted.

Her murmur carried on the wind; this was the answer she had come to understand tonight:

"I've always regarded Hua Jing, First Seat as my role model, wanting to become as unique as her, and I've always demanded that of myself. But... people are ultimately different. I'm of mediocre talent. If it weren't for being Hua Jing, First Seat's personal attendant and having these resources, I probably wouldn't even be at the Condensing Water Realm by now..."

I didn't realize this before, and I thought it was all my own achievement. But it wasn't until I met the Divine Child that I realized how insignificant I really am. Rather than saying I like the Divine Child, it's more accurate to say I admire people like her who shine and give off light on their own. I want to become like that person.

Hua Jing, First Seat is the brightest light I've ever seen, and Yao Yao is shining too. I know you can resist the temptations of Evil Demon, but it's not as easy as you make it out to be... People only get hungrier, and temptations only get stronger. Those who can withstand it are people with great willpower. You are remarkable.

"Hua Jing, First Seat is right. Lately, I've felt increasingly inferior, yet I can't let go of my pride. I'm caught in a struggle between feeling unworthy of my position and yet considering myself extraordinary. It's ridiculous, isn't it? Even I think so."

Tao Yaoyao listened in a daze, only then realizing that Zi Yiyi had kept so many thoughts buried deep in her heart.

"I've cultivated so diligently, my aspirations are so lofty, and my will is so firm, why can't Heaven favor me and let me become just as dazzling? I'm so unwilling, so resentful. Now that I think about it, this must be my inner demons..."

The Hua Jing, First Seat was very kind to me. I knew she must have seen through my inner demons, and she orchestrated all this to help me overcome them. But I still failed her test. I succumbed to my inner demons and sought power from the Mind-Wishing Buddha. Actually, when I knelt in worship, I already knew that the lump of pink flesh was fake. Even if I killed it, I would still be a being of Evil Follower.

But I still chose to pray to the true Mind-Wishing Buddha for power; I am beyond redemption. Hua Jing, First Seat must be very disappointed in me... But I truly have no other choice. Perhaps with Hua Jing, First Seat around, my cultivation would be even higher, but I can already see my future..."

"What future? Do you really have to become as powerful Hua Jing, First Seat? So what if you're not naturally gifted? So many cultivators with less talent are working diligently in the Evil Warding Department! What's wrong with doing what you can!"

Tao Yaoyao couldn't understand her best friend's obsession. She felt that her friend seemed like a different person, but at the same time, she felt that her friend, who had always been serious about everything since childhood, hadn't changed at all.

"Is it within my power...? But I feel that my power should not be limited to this. I don't want to live an ordinary life like this... I have always regarded Lady Huajing as my role model since I was a child, and even fantasized that one day I could surpass her! This is my real inner demon!"

Do you remember when I was ten years old, before I had even broken through to the Channel Opening Realm...? That day, Hua Jing, First Seat took me away. I thought she was going to send away someone as dull-witted as me, but she just led me by the hand into a black jellyfish. Inside, there was a chaotic shadow. Looking at that shadow, I even remembered myself beating in my birth mother's womb...

The Hua Jing, First Seat told me that this is the only portrait of the Lord of Dreams in the world, and even though it is blurry, no one can look directly at it! Only she can! She also said that this is her nemesis for life, and she was born to drag Him down from His throne and kill Him!

She told me that I was not very talented, but if I could resist the bewitching influence of that shadow, she would keep me by her side and acknowledge that I would be the one to kill Him with her!

Finally, I persevered... I was overjoyed. Before I turned ten, I was filled with anxiety and insecurity, but from that moment on, I knew that I was worthy to stand alongside the Hua Jing, First Seat! From that day on, I officially embarked on the path of cultivation!

The Lord of Dreams is no longer just her nemesis, but also mine! From the moment I realized this noble mission, I have strived for it day and night! How could I possibly relinquish it now! Heaven bestowed upon me a destiny, yet denied me the corresponding talents. Since I cannot fulfill this mission through normal cultivation, I will find another way!

"You're insane... you're really insane..."

Tao Yaoyao stumbled back a few steps, as if she were meeting her taciturn best friend for the first time, only to discover that such a passionate heart was hidden within her slender and elegant body.

"You couldn't resist the spell of the Lord of Dreams at all! He planted this seed in your heart when you were ten years old! That's why you're kneeling before the Mind-Wishing Buddha today! That's evil! Those who associate with evil never have a good end..."

"In front of me...?"

Zi Yiyi murmured to herself, then raised her head and looked back into the depths of Falling Star Valley. She took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and said with unparalleled confidence:

"No, you're wrong. I was already awake long before Hua Jing, First Seat reminded me. It wasn't that Mind-Wishing Buddha chose me; I actively chose Mind-Wishing Buddha! One day, I will definitely be able to fulfill my mission!"

She raised her head one last time, gazing into the depths of the valley, her eyes burning with an inextinguishable flame. Her words were like a dream, spoken to no one in particular.

"I will absolutely not be seduced by any evil spirit... not even the Lord of Dreams!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a strong wind arose, and dust flew everywhere.

Her long, black hair danced in the wind, and her graceful skirt fluttered in the breeze.

Tao Yaoyao looked at this peerless Fairy with unparalleled beauty and knew that she was about to embark on a path completely different from her own, a path filled with filth and teeming with insects.

But these stains only dirtied her clothes, not her heart.

"You can leave now."

"Yaoyao..."

"Before you leave, remember to use Technique Method to trap me here."

"I..."

"Go! Weren't you just shouting so confidently? What are you babbling about now! If you go back to the Evil Warding Department like this, do you think you'll still have a chance to walk this path?"

"..."

"Hey! You just wait and see! From now on, eliminating evil and protecting the righteous path isn't just your mission, it's mine too! You're Evil Cultivator now, and one day, I'll bring you back! Then, right in front of you, I'll bully the man you like!"

"I... thank you..."

"Get out of here!"

Deep in the valley, a slender figure in purple was reflected in those pure white eyes.

She drifted away with the wind, fading into the distance...

I like this ordinary yet stubborn girl~