Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

At night, the full moon hung in the sky.

It had been two days since the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the autumn air was thick with the scent of golden osmanthus. The moonlight, tinged with the same golden hue, gently enveloped the young girl sitting at her desk.

Jian Huan wore a light green dress, her slightly wavy black hair loosely tied with a pale golden ribbon. She rested her head on one hand as she diligently copied a new talisman from a book.

After finishing the final stroke, Jian Huan held up the talisman and admired her work with satisfaction before putting away both the book and the talisman. She glanced at her to-do list for the day, ticking off each item, and realized she had completed all her tasks.

Her dark eyes sparkled mischievously as she looked around, then straightened up and leaned out the window to peer outside.

The spiritual tree outside was lush and verdant, and the distant mountains shimmered faintly under the moonlight.

It was a beautiful night.

But Shen Jizhi hadn’t returned yet.

He currently held three roles—swordsman, artifact craftsman, and the Frugal Man of the Immortal Storage Tower—and was swamped with work. After leaving the sect leader, he had been summoned by the elder of the Sword Hall.

Hehe, isn’t this perfect?

Jian Huan rubbed her hands together with a sly smile, closed the wooden window, and pulled out two books she had bought from her senior sister. She began reading them secretly.

She decided to preview them for him.

Just as she was getting engrossed, there was a knock at the door. A tired young voice called out, “Jian Huan, I’m back.”

“!” Jian Huan quickly stuffed the books into her pocket, patted her slightly flushed cheeks, and called out, “Come in!”

The door opened, and in walked a young man who, despite looking travel-worn, was still breathtakingly handsome.

Shen ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‍Jizhi’s gaze fell on the closed window, and his brows twitched slightly as he asked, “Why did you close the window?”

She usually hated closing windows.

Jian Huan looked up at him, feigning innocence. “I was cold.”

Shen Jizhi: “…”

He glanced at her, his lips quirking in obvious disbelief.

Jian Huan swiftly changed the subject. “What did the sect leader say?”

Shen Jizhi didn’t press further and recounted his conversation with the sect leader in detail.

Jian Huan leaned back in her chair, deep in thought, then tilted her chin toward him. Her dark eyes gleamed like obsidian as she asked, “What do you think your master and Elder Yu Qing are up to?”

Shen Jizhi leaned casually against the desk, holding Jian Huan’s to-do list. His eyes scanned the paper as he replied vaguely, “The lord of Ningzhang City is probably mixed up with demons.”

Jian Huan nodded. She had thought the same.

The last time they had seen Gu Shan and Elder Yu Qing was in Ningzhang City. The city’s lord, a demon spy, had seemingly escaped from Gu Shan’s grasp. However, unbeknownst to most, Gu Shan had planted a trace of his spiritual energy on the lord, letting him go to catch a bigger fish.

Most likely, Gu Shan and Elder Yu Qing were tracking this matter.

They knew this because Gu Shan trusted them and had privately informed them. However, Gu Shan had also warned them that only a few in the Jade Clarity Sect were aware of this and that they must keep it secret.

Now that Gu Shan and Elder Yu Qing had lost contact, they were probably deep in demon territory, making communication difficult.

As for the incident a thousand years ago, when the demon god Hua Dihai tried to steal the Bodhi Tree, Jian Huan still couldn’t quite piece it together.

But it definitely wasn’t good—most likely related to the rise of the demon race.

Currently, Gu Shan, Elder Yu Qing, and Elder Gong were all absent.

And they couldn’t fully trust the sect leader and others.

It seemed that in the matter of the Jiang family, they would have to rely on themselves.

Jian Huan suddenly sat up straight and leaned toward Shen Jizhi. She poked his lower abdomen, right below his navel, and said with a playful smile, “Hey, Shen Jizhi, you’ve got Hua Dihai’s demon core here, and the Jiang family’s Bodhi Pagoda is something Hua Dihai wanted a thousand years ago. So—”

Her eyes curved into crescents, bright and teasing, though a trace of concern lingered beneath the surface. “Shen Jizhi, are you scared about this journey?”

Shen Jizhi looked down, capturing her hand that was poking his abdomen. After a moment of thought, he knelt in front of her.

He placed one hand on the armrest of her chair and tilted his head up, his gaze locked with hers. Softly, he asked, “Were you scared during the final match of your entrance exam?”

The window was closed, but the wind outside rustled the leaves of the spiritual tree, casting dappled shadows on the paper like a shadow puppet show.

His question pulled her back to that night three years ago, during the final match of her entrance exam.

It was on this same hillside, in the small, dilapidated hut that had since been torn down.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She had sat by the window, staring out at the rainy night, secretly afraid and worried.

At the time, she hadn’t known he had called the sect leader. She feared she would fail the next day, that the swords and blades on the field would be merciless, that she might die.

Many people had told Jian Huan that she seemed fearless.

But in truth, she was afraid of many things.

In her past life, she had loved painting but was always afraid she wasn’t good enough.

She wanted to climb the career ladder but was terrified of the evaluations and the obstacles along the way.

She just knew that fear was useless.

Shen Jizhi might not know this.

But she did, because she had transmigrated into this world. The Jiang family was the stronghold of the male and female protagonists—perhaps the most dangerous place in the entire Nine Provinces for her and Shen Jizhi.

But they couldn’t avoid going.

The hidden truths in the original story, Shen Jizhi’s eventual descent into demonhood and death, and the reason she had transmigrated—all these questions needed answers, needed to be resolved.

Going early might mean catching the problem while it was still benign, something that could be excised and cured. Going late, when it had turned malignant, would be too late.

Without needing to say more, Jian Huan understood what Shen Jizhi meant.

She lowered her head, resting her chin on top of his, then tilted her head to lean against him. Her long lashes fluttered as she murmured, “I really liked what you told me back then.”

Her scent—a faint mix of ink and sunlight—filled his senses, reminding him of a warm autumn afternoon, the kind where you wanted to do nothing but bask in the lazy comfort of the season.

Shen Jizhi closed his eyes, burying his face in the crook of her neck. As if he couldn’t quite recall, he asked, “What did I say?”

Jian Huan imitated his tone from memory, speaking with mock solemnity, “Do whatever you want to do.”

Shen Jizhi’s throat moved as he suppressed a laugh. His breath warmed her neck as he drawled, “Mm, okay, I’ll listen to you…”

His trailing words dissolved into a series of soft kisses along her neck.

Jian Huan’s dark eyes shimmered like rippling water. She shivered, realizing what was happening, but it was too late.

She had never really minded Shen Jizhi’s closeness.

As soon as his lips touched her, her body melted into his. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer.

In her dazed state, Jian Huan couldn’t help but think:

He’s kind of like he’s nibbling on a duck neck.

…

Somehow, they ended up tangled together for quite a while.

She had been sitting, and he had been kneeling, but at some point, he was sitting, and she was in his lap.

Their breaths were uneven, their hearts racing.

Jian Huan clung to Shen Jizhi like a koala to a tree, her face buried in his chest, motionless.

Shen Jizhi held her loosely with one arm around her waist, his other hand idly playing with the ends of her slightly wavy black hair.

Neither of them spoke.

Outside, the night deepened, but neither made a move to leave.

After a long while, Shen Jizhi murmured, “I should go back.”

Jian Huan: “Mm.”

But Shen Jizhi didn’t move.

Jian Huan held onto him, as if she had fallen asleep, and didn’t urge him.

After another long pause, Shen Jizhi said again, “I’m going back.”

Jian Huan: “Oh.”

Another moment passed before Shen Jizhi finally loosened his hold and stood up.

Jian Huan sat up, her face flushed from being pressed against his chest. She hopped off his lap.

The two of them stood by the window, staring at each other for a while before bursting into laughter.

After a moment, Shen Jizhi stopped laughing and gently patted her head. He turned toward the door. “I’m really leaving now.”

“Oh.” Jian Huan clasped her hands behind her back and followed him half a step behind, seeing him out.

At the door, Jian Huan suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Wait, I almost forgot.”

Shen Jizhi looked puzzled. “What?”

Jian Huan straightened her face, pulled out the two books, and solemnly handed them to him. “These books are important. Make sure you read them carefully when you get back.”

The two books were titled *Front Joy Talisman* and *Later World Talisman*—likely books on talismans. Shen Jizhi had recently asked Jian Huan about some talisman-related questions, so she must have prepared these for him.

Shen Jizhi smiled and nodded. “Alright.”

As soon as the words fell, the door slammed shut with a loud bang right in front of him.

It closed so forcefully that a small gust of wind even stirred, causing Shen Jizhi's hair, which had been tousled by Jian Huan, to flutter incessantly.

Shen Jizhi's smile froze.

Just moments ago, they had been so intimate, and now she was shutting him out so decisively?

Jian Huan, ah, Jian Huan.

He shook his head helplessly, walking back to his room while casually flipping open the book titled *"The Joyful Talisman."*

Suddenly, it felt as if he had collided with a mountain. Shen Jizhi stopped in his tracks, his usually calm expression cracking slightly, his gaze deepening.

Shen Jizhi: "???"

He stood in the corridor, his tall silhouette stretched long by the moonlight.

After a pause, he pursed his lips and flipped through another book.

Sure enough…

The title of this talisman book was truly something else.

With a light chuckle, Shen Jizhi turned around and walked back, knocking on the door.

He was extremely patient, knocking three times and then pausing for a moment. When there was no response from inside, he knocked three more times…

After a while, there was a soft creak, and the door opened slightly.

Jian Huan peeked her head out, her gaze landing on the book in his hand before glancing at his expression. She whispered, "What do you want?"

Shen Jizhi looked at her calmly and handed her the book. "I don’t need this. Wherever you bought it, return it."

Jian Huan hid her hands behind her back, refusing to take it. She widened her eyes and said, "...You don’t know how to do it, so why not learn?!"

It wasn’t like she would spend money recklessly for no reason. It was just that since it was the first time for both of them, and his… was so… that’s why she had specifically sought out these two books…

Shen Jizhi looked at her with an indescribable expression: "??"

Jian Huan spoke earnestly, trying to reason with him, "When you first started cultivating, didn’t the elders teach you to read more, to be diligent in learning, and to not be ashamed to ask questions?"

"No," Shen Jizhi lowered his gaze, a strand of black hair slipping loose from the ribbon Jian Huan had loosened, faintly obscuring the dangerous glint in his eyes. "They only taught me that reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles."

The words "walking ten thousand miles" were spoken lightly, like the wind through the trees or leaves falling to the ground.

Jian Huan was still pondering how to refute him when the door was suddenly pushed open a bit further, and the tall, bamboo-like figure slipped in.