The Villainess Refuses to Repent

On the high platform, tension thickened like smoke.

The killing intent radiating from Gu Qingyuan was on the verge of breaking loose.

At that moment, Bai Yang finally stumbled up onto the platform, barely managing to stay upright.

"Master…"

Please… save Junior Sister Ye!" He walked straight up to Song Wanníng. His body was covered in wounds, the blood still fresh. He could hardly stand. Yet his eyes burned with stubbornness, as if hoping for something. He used to resent Song Wanníng, hated how she constantly targeted Ye Chuxue out of jealousy.

Later, that resentment turned to hatred. He hated how she let people die, how she had schemed against him, even raised her hand to harm him.

But now… more than hatred, what he felt was fear.

He was afraid of losing Song Wanníng's affection.

Somewhere deep down, he still hoped—if she still cared about him, maybe she would save Ye Chuxue.

Maybe she still saw him as someone worth cherishing, like before.

That hope, however faint, now outweighed even his concern for Ye Chuxue.

Finally, Song Wanníng turned and looked at him properly.

Of her three disciples, every one of them only had eyes for Ye Chuxue.

"Look at him.

Even covered in wounds, all he cared about was Ye Chuxue."

Slowly, she raised her hand and brushed aside the blood-drenched hair sticking to his forehead. Her cold fingertips grazed his skin. Bai Yang froze. Then, a surge of hope welled up in his chest, and his fingers trembled faintly at his sides.

But the next moment, Song Wanníng's hand slid to his left shoulder.

She pressed down.

Hard.

The bloodied wound caved in immediately. A pair of bone-cracking sounds followed.

Bai Yang gasped sharply from the pain, but before he could react, she yanked him closer.

Close enough that he could smell the faint, familiar scent on her body.

"So worried about her?" Her gaze lingered on his face. Her lips curved in a smile. "Why don't you go and become Gu Qingyuan's disciple instead?"

With that, she shoved him forcefully. Bai Yang was flung to the side.

"Senior Brother!" An Ze and Lu Nanfeng cried out in alarm, rushing forward to catch him. Their faces flushed red with panic and anger.

"Senior Brother, are you okay?"

He was already in that state, yet Master still showed no mercy...

Master was heartless.

Utterly heartless!

Bai Yang's face was pale. He said nothing. His head hung low, unmoving.

He took a step back, then another. And finally, he yielded.

He didn't dare to ask anything more from Song Wanníng.

Now, he understood.

He no longer had the right to act willfully.

"Junior Sister Song, if there's anything to discuss, let's do it elsewhere," said the Sect Master of Wentian Sect, stepping forward with a stern expression. He wanted to move this elsewhere before Song Wanníng could say more and ruin the sect's reputation.

After all, Gu Qingyuan was still one of Wentian Sect's public faces.

But Song Wanníng remained seated, completely at ease.

"What's the rush, Sect Master? So what if he's fallen in love with his own disciple? Is that really something that needs to be hidden? If even Gu Qingyuan doesn't care, why should you?"

"Junior Sister Song, watch your words!" The Sect Master's vision went dark with rage.

With just those few sentences, Gu Qingyuan's reputation was shattered. All seven sects and four clans were present. By tomorrow, every corner of the cultivation world would know.

Song Wanníng's expression remained mild.

"He has the gall to ask his former fiancée to save the woman he loves. And I'm not even allowed to talk about it? I'd like the sect leaders present to judge this for me. Am I wrong to refuse to save Ye Chuxue?" She had asked herself that question countless times.

What, exactly, had she done wrong?

She had been jealous of Ye Chuxue. She had disliked her, even hated her enough to wish her dead.

She never pretended otherwise.

But now everyone was pressuring her to save her.

Refusing made her a villain.

Her ex-fiancé condemned her. Her disciples rejected her. Even her fellow sect members accused her of being irrational and cruel.

When she was driven to madness, they stood on the sidelines and coldly declared that it was her own fault—that her fall into darkness was of her own making.

They cradled a rising star in their arms and forgot all that she had done for the sect.

They turned her into a joke.

Even now, Song Wanníng wanted to ask them—

What had she done wrong?

She had never believed she was wrong.

The moment her words fell, several sect leaders grew solemn.

This was an internal matter for Wentian Sect. It would be inappropriate to intervene.

But the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect, Liu Shiyue, suddenly spoke up.

"She's right. Song Daoyou's refusal is reasonable. Who dares say otherwise?" Her voice was cool, but her eyes held sincere respect when she looked at Song Wanníng.

"Gu Qingyuan betrayed her first. And now he dares demand she save someone he loves? That's laughable."

The Sect Master of Qixing Sect tugged gently at Liu Shiyue's sleeve, signaling her not to get involved. But Liu Shiyue merely shot Gu Qingyuan a cold glance.

"Men like him are all the same. Fall for one girl after another, then shift the blame to women when things go wrong. I've seen my share of men like that. But none have had a thicker face than Gu Zhēnjūn"

The other sect leaders exchanged glances. There was resignation in their eyes.

They had truly walked right into Liu Shiyue's crossfire.

Gu Qingyuan's face turned ashen. His grip around Ye Chuxue tightened.

"This matter has nothing to do with Sect Master Liu. I suggest you choose your words carefully. The poison was planted by Song Wanníng. Of course she should be the one to remove it." The girl in his arms remained unconscious, her body light as a feather. It only made his heart ache more.

He had to get Song Wanníng to detoxify her, or it would affect Ye Chuxue's future cultivation.

"Pft—"

Song Wanníng suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha—"

She laughed so hard she leaned over, swaying as if the funniest thing had just happened.

After a while, she finally looked up.

"Gu Qingyuan, you're unbelievable. Me? Poison her?

It was your precious little disciple who convinced that idiot Bai Yang to steal my pills. When the theft failed, they ended up taking the wrong item and grabbed a poison instead. If even one of you had an ounce of integrity, Ye Chuxue wouldn't be poisoned right now."

She didn't spare anyone from her rebuke.

The Sect Master of Wentian Sect felt his face burning. Anger roiled in his chest.

But the Song Clan was powerful. He didn't dare offend her too openly.

The other elders were equally incensed, but none spoke up. Deep down, they felt guilty.

So this is what really happened?

The other sect masters were once again blindsided. Their view of Gu Qingyuan shifted, their expressions growing more skeptical.

If Song Wanníng was telling the truth, then Gu Qingyuan had gone too far.

And the fact that she could still speak to him calmly—that was already an act of grace.

"Chuxue never told Bai Yang to do anything! Stop throwing filth at her!"

Gu Qingyuan's voice turned cold, and his next words slipped out without thought.

"Not everyone is like you, conniving, venomous, and cruel!"

To him, Chuxue was a pure, untouched snowflake on the peak of a mountain.

And Song Wanníng? Her hands were stained with blood. What did she have left?

"Tch."

Song Wanníng didn't even flinch. She dusted off her sleeves and took Li ruò's hand.

"If I'm so venomous and cruel," she said calmly, "then I clearly won't be curing the poison."

"Don't ever kneel to beg me again."