Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

No, what on earth is actually happening here? Who exactly are those two girls who just stepped in and helped her?

Chu Yan stared at the scene in absolute, unadulterated shock, his mind racing as a volatile mixture of confusion and intense curiosity completely dominated his thoughts.

He stood perfectly frozen in his tracks, his eyes darting between the retreating figure of the minor noble and the two dominant presences who had just effortlessly altered the atmosphere of the courtyard.

He was entirely, absolutely sure that these two highly specific girls did not make a single appearance during the opening Chapters of the Imperial Academy Arc within the original text of the novel.

So, who exactly were they? Where did they originate from? And more importantly, why did they appear to be remarkably, deeply close to one another, moving with a synchronized, tactical familiarity that suggested a bond forged in blood?

His gaze trailed over the first woman, his analytical modern mind recording the striking, unforgettable details of her character design.

She possessed long, vibrant crimson hair that cascaded down her back like a sheet of pure liquid fire, drawing the eyes of every single youth in the vicinity.

Her eyes were two pools of deep, burning red, and she wore a magnificent crimson dress that hugged her body flawlessly, accentuating a jaw-droppingly curvaceous, mature figure that seemed entirely too dangerous for a standard teenage cultivator.

And that other one, walking directly in her shadow, possessing that long, midnight-black hair streaked with strands of deep purple, a pair of sharp, slitted beast-like eyes, and a highly prominent, fluffy pair of dark cat ears actively twitching on top of her head...

’Wait a single second...’

A sudden, violent realization struck Chu Yan’s consciousness like a bolt of lightning, causing his breath to instantly hitch in his throat as a cold sweat broke down his spine.

’Long crimson hair... Red dress... and always followed by a black haired cat girl... Is that... is that girl actually Huo Yue?!’

He desperately racked his brain, digging deep into the memory archives of the final, apocalyptic arcs of the web novel he had read in his past life.

He remembered with vivid, terrifying clarity that during the grand finale of the story, the protagonist Xu Xiansu eventually came face-to-face against an absolute monster of a woman—Huo Yue, the supreme, unyielding primary wife of the final villain, Shen Haoran.

This girl matches the description on the book!

’If that truly is her...’

Chu Yan’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as his gaze shifted rapidly toward the feline girl standing beside the Flame Empress.

’Then that cat girl standing right there should be none other than Zhu Ziyan, the ruthless right-hand woman of Huo Yue and the legendary beast-tamer who would eventually go on to completely massacre our entire Chu Family by unleashing tens of thousands of rampaging primordial beasts upon our ancestral city walls!’

If that was truly them... if those two figures were indeed the future harbingers of his own transmigrated family’s absolute extinction... then why on earth were they standing here so early in the timeline?

And more importantly, why were they so visibly close and, dare he say, friendly?

According to the original progression of the plot, shouldn’t they be mortal enemies who traded blows across the peripheral regions before ever stepping foot into the capital?

Or did his very presence, his subtle transmigration into the body of the male lead, somehow trigger a massive, unpredictable butterfly effect that was actively unraveling the fabric of the pre-written script?

’Could it be... could it actually be that in this specific version of reality, Huo Yue isn’t the wife of the final villain Shen Haoran? Did the narrative somehow get fracture before my arrival?’

If that was truly the case... if the final villain had been stripped of his most terrifying, world-scorching asset...

Chu Yan felt a sudden, intoxicating surge of intense excitement and raw ambition bubbling rapidly inside his chest.

He stared at Huo Yue and Zhu Ziyan, taking in their impressive curves that would surely invoke the desire of any man.

If she isn’t married to Shen Haoran then... Maybe...

However, at that exact moment of internal triumph, a soft, incredibly melodious voice drifted from behind his shoulder, cutting through his chaotic thoughts like a crystal chime.

”Excuse me, can you please let me through?”

Chu Yan turned around casually, but the moment his eyes locked onto the figure standing a mere pace away from his chest, his eyes widened in absolute, paralyzed shock as time seemed to grind to a halt.

She possessed long, flawless golden hair that caught the morning sun like spun silk, a pair of strikingly bright, incredibly intelligent blue eyes, and she was draped in a pristine, elegant white dress heavily accented with intricate gold embroidery along the cuffs and hem.

She radiated the innate, untouchable dignity of a high-born lady of the grandest lineages.

’It’s her!’ his mind screamed in recognition.

It was Qian Yunxi!

The tragic, ill-fated villainess of the novel and the exact woman who had deeply, hopelessly loved the original version of Chu Yan with every fiber of her being.

Yet, within the toxic progression of the original book, despite her absolute, unwavering devotion to his path, she had ended up getting personally, brutally crippled by Chu Yan himself during a later dispute, her cultivation pathways thoroughly shattered before she was callously thrown into the deepest, most dangerous slums of the capital, where her final fate was left entirely unknown by the author.

But for such an incredibly beautiful, pure girl whose high-tier cultivation was completely crippled, leaving her entirely no better than a defenseless mortal, getting thrown into the lawless, predator-filled slums of an imperial capital... one can already easily imagine her horrific, heartbreaking fate.

The original protagonist group had treated her like garbage just to show off their righteous justice.

”Excuse me?” Qian Yunxi frowned slightly, her soft brows knitting together into a sharp line as she observed the strange, completely frozen expression of the young master blocking the path. ”Can you please step aside and let me through?”

”O-Oh, right, right! Of course, sorry about that,” Chu Yan subconsciously answered, his modern instincts temporarily overriding his aristocratic body as he hurriedly stumbled a step backward, moving completely aside to clear the stone walkway.

Qian Yunxi gave him a brief, elegant nod of appreciation and calmly passed through his position without offering another look.

It was only after the fragrant scent of her perfume completely faded from the air that Chu Yan violently smacked his own forehead with his palm, cursing his own lack of composure.

’Fool! You absolute idiot!’ he berated himself mentally. ’You were supposed to use this exact, perfect moment to smoothly introduce yourself, get to know her, and immediately begin planting the seeds of her romance! Why did you just step aside like a polite modern pedestrian?!’

He quickly steadied his breathing, turning his gaze to follow her retreating back.

He watched as her white gold dress drifted elegantly across the courtyard, moving directly towards the spot where Xu Xiansu, Huo Yue, and Zhu Ziyan were currently standing in a tight circle.

Seeing her trajectory, a sudden, dark realization crossed his mind, and his eyes narrowed in deep calculation.

’Wait... is she walking straight toward the protagonist group? Are they seriously going to fight and trigger the discrimination scenario so soon before the gates even open?’

Obviously, according to the standard laws of the reverse harem web novel genre, as the primary regional villainess of this arc, Qian Yunxi’s sole narrative purpose in this scene was to step up, insult the commoner protagonist, and end up getting thoroughly, publicly humiliated and slapped in the face by one of the hidden male leads to establish the protagonist’s superior moral ground.

Chu Yan snorted coldly, a sharp, protective arrogance flaring within his chest.

’Like hell I am ever going to allow that cliché, toxic humiliation to happen to her in this lifetime,’ he thought fiercely.

Moving with a quiet, calculated grace, he began to follow closely behind her path, keeping his spiritual aura completely masked.

He positioned himself a mere dozen paces away, his muscles tensing as he prepared his internal qi.

According to his tactical plan, the moment the argument reached its absolute peak, the exact microsecond before Qian Yunxi was about to get publicly humiliated or slapped in the face by the protagonist group, he would dynamically step forward, unleash his power, and stop the humiliation, appearing before her like a grand, flawless hero descending from the heavens.

He remembered correctly from the deeper lore of the book from his past life that this exact, protective behavior was one of the fundamental reasons why the original Qian Yunxi had fallen so deeply, pathologically in love with Chu Yan in the book.

As a cultivator originating from the distant Eastern Region, she was also subjected to a savage amount of discrimination from the capital elites, and it was the young master of the Chu Clan who had initially helped her, fought off her bullies, and granted her a place of dignity.

He smiled silently to himself, his hand resting on the hilt of his jade sword.

’Now, we simply wait for the spark to ignite.’

”Lady Huo Yue, Lady Xu Xiansu, and Lady Zhu Ziyan... it truly seems fortune smiles upon us, as we have met once again so soon,” Qian Yunxi spoke, a warm, remarkably genuine smile gracing her beautiful features as she stepped into their circle.

She extended her slender hands and politely, formally cupped them in a gesture of profound respect.

”Drop the ’Lady’ title, please,” Xu Xiansu spoke, a rare, relaxed warmth breaking through her usual icy exterior as she casually waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. ”I’m a commoner with no background, I feel weird being called lady by you.”

”Surprisingly enough, I agree with this girl. Drop the lady, after all, we both are all from the exact same Eastern Region background anyway, so there is absolutely no need for that stiff formal behavior between us fellow villagers,” Said Huo Yue, her crimson hair swaying as she offered a warm, supportive smile that held no malice whatsoever.

”Same here. And it’s wonderful to see your injuries have fully healed,” Zhu Ziyan smiled brightly at her, her dark cat ears twitching in a happy, rhythmic pattern.

Qian Yunxi let out a low, musical chuckle, her blue eyes shining with a deep, relaxed relief. ”Alright then, I shall simply call you my sisters from this moment forward.”

Eh...?

A few paces behind them, hidden behind a decorative stone pillar, Chu Yan’s entire body went completely, utterly rigid.

His hand froze on the hilt of his sword, his jaw dropping open as his analytical modern mind completely and thoroughly short-circuited.

Wait... what? What is this?! Something is wrong... everything is completely, fundamentally wrong!

Why on earth do they look like they get along remarkably well?!

Where is the slapping?! Where is the face-smacking?! Why are the villainesses and the protagonists forming a friendly alliance right in front of my face?!