The Wicked Saintess Who Transmigrated into the Book Will Never Reveal Her Secret Identity

Chapter 73 : Mandrake

Mandrake============================

"How can I help you?"

Jiang Cheng smiled as she spoke, "I can help you find those flowers."

"How do you know I'm looking for those things?"

The young man narrowed his eyes, a flash of coldness passing through them.

"Relax,"

Jiang Cheng replied with a grin, "I didn't investigate you. I just know a lot of things."

"A prophet?" the youth frowned and asked.

"Take it that way if you want,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged casually, "In short, I know their exact locations."

"What?"

The youth was stunned and hurriedly pressed, "You really know their exact locations?"

"Absolutely,"

Jiang Cheng said, smiling, "Besides, neither of us is weak. If you encounter an enemy you can't handle, I can pitch in, too."

"That's not important," the youth shrugged, "I can still handle that kind of trash. After all, I count as an advanced class."

"You say that, but..."

Jiang Cheng shook her head, "The blooming period is coming soon."

"And you wouldn't want any unexpected accidents during your quest for vengeance, would you?"

"Are you threatening me?"

The youth raised an eyebrow, "Though your reasoning is quite solid, so I'll go along with it."

"Excellent,"

Jiang Cheng replied with a smile, "Let's introduce ourselves properly. After all, we'll be seeing each other at the academy from now on. I'm Jiang Cheng, and that idiot over there is Lyle."

"From the Eastern Continent?"

The youth tilted their head.

"Take it as you will,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged, "It's not like I have a home anyway."

A hint of sympathy flashed in the youth's eyes, and her voice softened, switching to a gentle female tone, "Just call me by the name I'm using in disguise now, which is also my sister's name—Noxia."

"Or—as the only and strongest cultivator of this flower at present..."

Noxia lifted her fair hand toward her left shoulder.

As her hand brushed by, a jet-black, enchanting flower bloomed on her shoulder, affectionately nuzzling her fingertips.

"You can also follow the tradition of Flower Capital and call me by this flower's name—Mandrake."

"How beautiful~"

Watching the massive black mandrake blossom bloom on her shoulder, Jiang Cheng smiled.

"No wonder it takes the souls and flowers carried by countless wrongful deaths to produce such vitality."

Jiang Cheng sighed in admiration.

"You seem to talk a bit too much,"

Noxia frowned.

"Well, that's true,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged, "But this just so happens to be one of my favorite flowers in Flower Capital."

"Anyway, head back to the academy. Let's meet up there tomorrow. And..."

As Jiang Cheng spoke, she nodded toward Noxia, "In the future, let's work together on your quest for revenge, alright?"

"Okay",

Noxia nodded, "As you wish. You just have to tell me the exact locations."

With that, she turned around. Mandrake unfurled a cascade of black radiance, and her figure vanished from sight.

(Note: Since Noxia will remain in female attire for this volume, all pronouns referring to her will be 'she' from now on.)

"Hey," turning around, seeing Lyle still staring into the distance, Jiang Cheng asked irritably.

"What are you looking at? Mesmerized by her beauty?"

"No,"

Lyle quickly shook his head, "I'm just really surprised. How can she possibly be a boy?"

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Cheng teased, "Sad because the beautiful girl you liked turns out to be a boy?"

"I said no such thing,"

Lyle rolled his eyes, "It's just... her mannerisms and posture—she's so much like a girl."

"In fact,"

Lyle hesitated for a second before continuing, "She's even more of a girl than you, Jiang Cheng."

"Well, that's no surprise,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged and added casually, "I was never really a girl to begin with."

"If you're not a girl, what are you then—a Goddess?"

Lyle joked.

"Screw you,"

Jiang Cheng shot him a look and kicked him.

"So, what's up with that girl?"

After being kicked, Lyle stopped joking and asked seriously.

"The way she carries herself clearly isn't normal, and the aura of a spirit body is thick on her. I almost thought I was back in the Spirit Realm."

"That's not all,"

Jiang Cheng's tone grew serious too. "There's also resentment, isn't there?"

"Yeah..."

Lyle nodded, "That kind of intense resentment—I've only ever sensed it from butchers or demons who massacred whole villages. When I saw her, I almost couldn't stop myself from acting, but I held back when I realized she isn't deeply evil."

"Heh,"

Jiang Cheng laughed softly, "You really ought to fix this habit of attacking people out of your sense of justice."

"I can't help it,"

Lyle's gaze dropped, "As a hero, I have to take responsibility for certain things."

"In that case, why not just destroy the Breeding District?"

Jiang Cheng shrugged.

"Alright,"

Jiang Cheng interrupted as Lyle tried to explain, "It doesn't really matter. Heroes have to save the world. For that, whatever you do is justified—no one has the right to judge you."

"As for that child's situation..."

Jiang Cheng tilted her head in thought. "It's complicated—hard to explain all at once."

"In short, all you need to know is that she's carrying a lot of others' resentment, and she's seeking vengeance for them."

"I see..."

Lyle nodded slightly, "She really is a pitiful child."

"She is,"

Jiang Cheng said with a beaming smile. "Messed up world like this always breeds these kinds of people."

"Yeah,"

Lyle murmured, nodding. "Vengeance—there's just too much injustice in this world to be avenged."

"Alright,"

Jiang Cheng clapped Lyle on the shoulder, "Instead of wasting time brooding, why not think about something else?"

"What?"

Lyle asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember where the room we were resting in was?"

Jiang Cheng asked a little sheepishly.

"Uh..."

Lyle thought hard for a while before saying, "Funny you mention it. I forgot, too."

"You idiot..."

Jiang Cheng grumbled. "So what now? Where do we stay?"

"Well, now that we're done, let's just leave the Breeding District and find an inn,"

Lyle suggested.

"Forget it,"

Jiang Cheng yawned, "Thinking about this stuff every day is brain-draining. I'm tired and don't feel like walking."

As she spoke, Jiang Cheng raised her hand and pointed at a room nearby. In the next second, accompanied by two miserable shrieks, the people inside were undoubtedly dead.

Then another spell of divine magic was cast. Silently flowing water swept through the room, tidying up what had been a messy floor, with "trash" still on it.

"Jiang Cheng..."

Lyle frowned, "I told you, stop killing people randomly."

"I'm not killing people randomly,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged, "If you don't kill here in the Breeding District, you can't survive. Anyone still alive by now has to be a murderer themselves. Killing a killer hardly counts as random, does it~?"

She finished with a bright smile, stretched, and entered the room.

"Haaa,"

Lyle sighed, forcibly swallowing back his urge to scold her for "twisting logic."

"Whatever, it's not like I can control you anyway."

"Thank you, O great hero, for sparing me~"