It had taken over two months of grueling travel to get from that small mountain village to the town near where Shuoyue had established her stronghold.
Que Tang stood in the middle of the town, her face weathered by the journey. As she watched the bustling crowds, she felt as if a lifetime had passed.
"Why is it that in wuxia novels, the experts and grandmasters can just zip to their next destination like they’ve activated a fifteen-minute teleportation scroll? Meanwhile, I’ve been walking for two whole months..." Que Tang complained, her face covered in dust and her body heavy with exhaustion. "And even though we’re the female lead and the supporting lead of the same story, the difference in our treatment is just too much. In these short two months, Shuoyue went from a re-emerged demonic enchantress to a powerful martial lord occupying her own territory... the 'Golden-Haired Witch.' And me? I’ve just been walking. Constantly walking."
"Meow~ That’s because the Host is playing a tragic character," Little Mushroom replied nonchalantly, nestled in Que Tang’s arms while gnawing on a piece of dried fish. "Besides, once you find the supporting lead and get her to 'sugar mommy' you, everything will be fine. Meow~"
"Am I really that spineless?!" Que Tang’s face remained expressionless, but her mind was a whirlwind of retorts directed at Little Mushroom. If anyone else knew what she was thinking, they would surely think she had lost her mind.
Que Tang slowly made her way to the town’s only inn. After securing a room, she asked the attendant for hot water, bathed, and immediately dove under the covers to sleep, heedless of anything else. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. That useless cat of a system hadn't given her any "cheat codes" for infinite money either; she had to rely on the few silver ingots she had saved up back in the village. Along the way, she had hitched rides with passing merchant caravans or kind ox-cart drivers.
To her dismay, Shuoyue’s base was in the town furthest from their original village. To save money, she had spent most of the journey sleeping outdoors and skimping on food, terrified her travel funds wouldn't last. Now that she had finally reached the town closest to Shuoyue, Que Tang felt a sense of relief and decided to splurge on a good meal and a comfortable night's rest.
Shortly after Que Tang went upstairs, a jet-black steed galloped into town. The rider wore a black cloak that obscured their face. However, the townsfolk seemed to know exactly who it was; they moved aside without surprise, as if accustomed to the sight.
The horse stopped in front of the inn. The figure leaped down with agile grace, and someone immediately stepped forward to take the reins.
"Mistress, here is last month’s ledger for your review." The shopkeeper had been waiting at the door for a long time. Upon seeing the newcomer, he immediately presented a ledger. "I have already arranged a private room for you on the second floor."
"Mm." The woman took the book without saying much.
As the two entered the private room, an attendant immediately brought a pot of tea. Once the woman was seated, the shopkeeper poured her a cup and stood to the side, waiting for instructions.
"Has anyone suspicious entered or left lately?" the woman asked softly, flipping through a few pages of the ledger.
"After you drove back those blind 'righteous' fools last month, only a few disciples remain to scout for information," the shopkeeper reported respectfully. "However, a young lady checked in today. She doesn't seem to have any martial arts foundation, but when asked why she came here, she was hesitant and couldn't give a straight answer."
"A young lady... was there anything unusual about her?"
"Well... yes. She was carrying a small black cat in her arms, and the cat was constantly munching on dried fish."
The woman froze. Her grip on the ledger tightened until the paper crinkled. "She..."
"Enchantress! I know you're in here! Come out!"
Just as she was about to ask more, a shout erupted from downstairs. Her expression turned cold. In the next heartbeat, a large man was sent flying out of the inn.
"Whose dog is barking now? So noisy." A black-haired woman in green robes stood tall in the center of the inn.
"Are you with that enchantress?" the man’s companion shouted, his face pale with anger. "That woman killed many of our brothers from the Water Margin Stronghold! If you know what's good for you, step aside and hand her over, or we'll teach you a lesson too!"
The woman in green sneered. "Nothing but a pack of bandits who prey on the weak, yet you have the gall to call yourselves 'Water Margin heroes'? Even if I don't walk the same path as Shuoyue, I have to praise her for one thing: she killed. Them. Well."
The man’s expression shifted as he exchanged looks with his companions. "You’re asking for death!" He raised a cleaver and charged. In an instant, the inn descended into chaos. Tables and chairs were overturned or sent flying through the air.
The woman in green moved like a spirit among them, handling the attackers with ease. Before long, many of the vengeful bandits lay unconscious on the floor. Just as she spun around, preparing to knock out the last two with her sword hilt, one of the men who had supposedly fainted behind her surreptitiously opened his eyes. He pulled a packet from his robes, preparing to throw the powder at her.
"Ah—!"
The woman in green knocked out the remaining two and immediately turned toward the source of the scream. The man who had tried to ambush her was now clutching a severed hand, having fainted from the pain. Lying next to the hand was a small throwing knife.
She looked up and saw a figure on the upper balcony, their gender indistinguishable beneath their dark clothing.
"Thank you for the assistance," the woman in green said, cupping her hands in a respectful salute.
The black-clad figure didn't respond, simply turning and walking away. Seeing such cold indifference, the woman in green couldn't help but huff. Seeing the inn staff emerge to clean up and invite her to sit, she walked over grumpily, thinking to herself that she would definitely give that black-clad person a piece of her mind if they met again.
"You said that girl is staying here?" the woman asked the shopkeeper again after returning to the private room.
"Yes, in the room right next to this one on the second floor," the shopkeeper replied, though he was puzzled.
"Waiter? Waiter! Could I get a few steamed buns and some vegetable dishes?" Just as the woman was about to ask more, a familiar voice drifted in from outside. The black-clad woman’s body trembled.
"That... is that the voice of the female guest?" she asked, her voice raspy.
"Yes... Mistress, is something wrong?" Even the shopkeeper, no matter how slow, finally realized that the anomaly seemed to stem from that particular guest. He asked cautiously. Though the woman before him wasn't a cruel master, her strictness and lack of humor were deeply ingrained in his mind, making him fear overstepping his bounds.
"...Nothing. You did well. Go to the kitchen and have them prepare several of their best dishes and send them to that lady’s room."
"Yes..."
Que Tang had been in a deep sleep, but the ruckus downstairs had been far too loud. Even she, who had evolved from a delicate beauty to someone who could adapt to any situation, couldn't stay asleep. She happened to be hungry anyway, and since the fighting seemed to have stopped, she weakly walked to the railing to call out. After receiving a response from the waiter, she dragged herself back into her room.
"Sigh, tell me, why is it so hard just to get some sleep?" Que Tang said, feeling deeply wronged.
"Because the Host has an 'incident-prone' constitution. Just like that famous elementary school detective who finds a corpse wherever he goes, things happen wherever the Host goes. Meow~" Little Mushroom was perched on the windowsill, staring absentmindedly at a white cat sunning itself on a distant roof.
"Incident-prone my foot! This is clearly the work of your crappy system, and you know it," Que Tang said indignantly.
"Meow, the Host is playing the female lead, after all. All the best and worst things will happen to you. You should just get used to it." Little Mushroom watched the white cat roll over, stand up elegantly, and give him a disdainful look. He couldn't help but let out a "meow-wu" in response.
Que Tang finally noticed the cat was acting strange. Just as she turned to see what it was doing, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" She hurried to the door and opened it. Two waiters entered, carrying trays piled high with dishes. They quickly set the food on the table and hurried back out.
Que Tang stared at the table full of meat dishes, stunned. She was about to chase after them to say she had ordered vegetables and didn't have the money for a feast of meat when a black-clad figure darted past her into the room. The figure grabbed her, pulled her inside, and slammed the door shut, locking it with a loud *click*.
It all happened so fast that by the time Que Tang regained her senses, she was already in the person's arms. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but the black-clad figure used their free hand to pull back their hood, revealing a familiar face.
"A-A-Ah... A-Yuan?" Que Tang’s eyes widened as she forced the scream back into a name.
Shuoyue’s brilliant golden hair shimmered. She wore the first smile she had shown since Que Tang had vanished. "Ah Tang... you really aren't dead." She pulled Que Tang into a tight embrace, thinking only of how she would never let her leave again in this life. Morality and social codes were nothing but archaic rot.
On that day, Shuoyue had intended to leave, but she couldn't suppress the need to see a body—living or dead. She had returned to the village to ask around, only to find that Que Tang’s remains had never been found. On one hand, she felt a surge of relief; on the other, her hatred for those hypocritical "righteous" sects grew even more intense.
If they wanted something, they should have come for her. What kind of heroes threatened defenseless villagers to get their way? Thus, she killed every one of them she encountered, unless they were truly virtuous. But how much true virtue—where words matched deeds—actually existed in this world? Countless "righteous" disciples had fallen to her blade, and even more from the "evil" sects. Because she had earned the enmity of both sides, she had left her sect and established her own mountain stronghold.
Since then, the title of the "Golden-Haired Witch" had spread through the martial world. She killed based on her own whims, belonging to neither the light nor the dark.
"Ah Tang, since you're here, stay. Your house..." Shuoyue still found it difficult to speak of the past. "It’s no longer fit for living. Let me take care of you. Consider it... repaying my debt of gratitude, alright?" She looked at Que Tang with eyes full of hope.
"Meow. Romance Value has reached 80. Keep it up, Host. You need to reach a Consummation Value of 100 to leave this world."
"...Holy crap, you're telling me this *now*? We've been through how many worlds, and you still haven't fixed your habit of not finishing your sentences?" Que Tang’s face turned grim upon hearing Little Mushroom’s explanation.
"Meow, it's not too late to say it now. The result is the same anyway, baa~"
"Baa your head!" Que Tang fumed internally.
"Ah Tang? Are you... unwilling?" Seeing her expression change so drastically, Shuoyue assumed she didn't want to be with her and let out a bitter smile.
It made sense. She was the root cause of Ah Tang losing her home and becoming a wanderer. Even if Ah Tang hated her, it was only natural. Why would she want to... depend on her?
"Silly A-Yuan... why do you think I traveled all this way to a place I don't even know?" Que Tang bit her lip, her eyes avoiding Shuoyue’s gaze.
Shuoyue looked at her in pleasant surprise. "You're willing?"
Que Tang nodded bashfully.
"I—I will take good care of you." Shuoyue hugged her tightly, refusing to let go.
That afternoon, Shuoyue brought Que Tang back to the stronghold. To the shock of the residents, she had Que Tang stay in her own private quarters.
"This... isn't this a bit much?" Que Tang felt things were moving too fast. Even if she had to "consummate" to finish the mission...
"We used to sleep together all the time, and you never said anything then." In front of Que Tang, the face that was usually ice-cold to outsiders was filled with a tender smile.
"That was because... the place where I lived only had one bed," Que Tang said with a playful glare.
Shuoyue laughed and pulled her into her arms as they sat together on the daybed, leaning into each other with deep affection.
"Did you see my letter back then?" Que Tang toyed with Shuoyue’s fingers. "I went to the town specifically to find a scholar to write it for me. I didn't even know exactly what he wrote."
"Silly girl..." Shuoyue affectionately tapped the top of her head. "How could you be so foolish? You don't know a lick of martial arts, yet you were dumb enough to take everything upon yourself. It makes me..." *How could I ever let you go?*
"Do you remember when I gave you that hairpin? I ran into Mo Wufei in town, and he threatened me. I didn't want to betray you, but I couldn't stand by and watch the village suffer because of me. I had no choice but to resort to that plan." Que Tang played with a strand of Shuoyue’s golden hair, thinking to herself that she’d have to ask Mu Yao to dye her hair like this when she got back. "Fortunately, everything went as I hoped."
"What do you mean 'as you hoped,' you silly girl..." Shuoyue buried her face in the crook of Que Tang’s neck. "Do you have any idea how heartbroken I was? When I thought you were dead, I just wanted to follow you. But then I thought about how those people were still alive, so I decided to get revenge for you before dying with you."
Que Tang fell silent. After a long moment, she tilted her head and reached out to touch Shuoyue’s cheek. "A-Yuan..."
Shuoyue looked at the person she had missed for so long, now sitting safely in her arms and gazing at her with such longing. She could no longer hold back, nor did she want to. She leaned down and kissed her forcefully.
"Meow. Romance Value 100 achieved. Please continue to work hard to complete the Consummation Value!"
Dizzy from the kiss, Que Tang had no time to worry about what Little Mushroom was saying, but she instinctively flipped the cat off in her mind.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 金发魔女 | Golden-Haired Witch | Shuoyue's title after turning "evil" due to grief. |
| 水浒寨 | Water Margin Stronghold | A bandit group named ironically after the classic novel. |
| 推倒值 | Consummation Value | Literally "push-down value," referring to sexual intimacy/progress. |
| 恋爱值 | Romance Value | A metric for the emotional bond between characters. |
| 神行 | Divine Stride | A martial arts technique for rapid travel; often used in games/novels for fast travel. |
| 最终兵器彼女 | Saikano / She, The Ultimate Weapon | A reference to a Japanese manga/anime title. |
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Transmigrated as the Mary Sue: The Villainess's Revenge System | Chapter 93 | The Golden-Haired Witch's Reunion | Novela.app | Novela.app
