When the Villain is Bound to the Female Lead System

As night fell, the crimson hues of the sunset reflected on the rippling water gradually faded, and the surface of the water was slowly covered with an ink-like darkness. Bolts of lightning, like a dense net, swept across the marsh, with electric arcs skimming the water’s surface like wandering dragons, darting into the thick reeds along the shore.

The reeds by the water’s edge grew lush and tall, their slender new leaves tender and vibrant green, swaying back and forth under the electric arcs. When the lightning subsided, a narrow boat emerged from the depths of the marsh.

A young girl lay asleep on the boat, her face gently brushed by the breeze. The tips of the hanging green leaves lightly tickled her long, thick lashes, causing them to flutter slightly before slowly opening a crack.

Her eyes, still hazy with sleep, gradually cleared after a moment. Yu Yi reached up to push aside the swaying leaves, propped herself up on her elbows, and glanced around.

Her movements caused the boat to rock gently, creating soft splashes of water.

Yu Yi looked down at her hands, paused for a moment, and then formed a hand seal from memory. A burst of spiritual fire erupted from her palm, illuminating the dim surroundings.

She was deep within a thicket of water plants, the reeds’ branches tangled around the boat, preventing it from drifting away with the current. Yu Yi leaned over the side of the boat, holding the flame above the water to see her reflection. The water mirrored a fair face with delicate features and soft, moist eyes.

She still looked to be in her late teens, unchanged from the day she had left this world. The reed thicket also grew clearer in her memory—the marsh, the reeds, the boat—this was the place where she had departed.

Back then, it had been early winter, with light snow falling. Now, it seemed to be spring, with lush greenery and the air filled with the fragrance of flowers and grass.

Yu Yi gripped the side of the boat, trying to stand, but the boat suddenly rocked violently. The sound of splashing water grew louder, and the reeds around her rustled as something rushed toward her.

Yu Yi immediately sharpened her senses. In the next moment, huge waves burst from either side of the boat, drenching her clothes.

Along with the waves came a familiar, cold, and wet sensation. Something invisible slipped under her skirt, wrapping around her ankles and clinging to her skin.

“A-Qiu? Is that you?” Yu Yi reached down to grab the tentacle-like appendage around her ankle, intensifying the flame in her hand as she peered beyond the reeds.

The last sliver of twilight lingered on the horizon. Behind the swaying grass, a tall figure could be seen walking leisurely along the wooden walkway over the water.

Though his steps seemed unhurried, the tentacles coiled around Yu Yi’s boat were already eagerly swarming toward her, crawling over the boat from all directions.

Cold tendrils slipped under her skirt, through her sleeves, and into her collar, eagerly pressing against her skin, almost engulfing her in a nest of flesh, licking, sniffing, and savoring her long-missed sweetness.

The narrow boat, weighed down, sank halfway into the water, creaking pitifully.

Yu Yi was forced to hold onto the tentacles crowding into her arms, shivering as the suction cups on the appendages clung to her skin. Her toes curled as she pushed back, protesting, “Wait, this welcome ceremony is too much… uh… Xue…”

The tentacles showed no signs of restraint, instead writhing more wildly. The high-frequency vibrations of the tentacles mixed with the sound of the waves, filling Yu Yi’s ears.

“A-Yi, A-Yi, A-Yi, A-Yi—”

Yu Yi gasped, suddenly bending her leg to kick away one particularly intrusive tentacle. She glanced toward the figure approaching through the reeds and said through gritted teeth, “Xue Chenjing, control them!”

These tentacles were a reflection of Xue Chenjing’s current desires, acting out what he longed for.

The tentacles peeled away her cumbersome clothing like unwrapping a lotus bud on the water. With so many writhing appendages, Yu Yi couldn’t fend them all off.

Finally, the figure outside could no longer pretend to be detached. He dissipated into a mist, swept through the reeds like a breeze, and reformed on the boat in the heart of the marsh.

Xue Chenjing embraced her from behind, leaning close to her ear. Innocently, he said, “A-Yi, they haven’t seen you in so long. They’ve missed you terribly. I can’t control them. What should I do?”

Yu Yi let out a muffled groan as a tentacle wrapped around her ankle, pulling her leg up onto the side of the boat. She leaned back against his shoulder, her delicate brows furrowed, a hint of tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She shot him a weak glare.

“A-Yi, I’ve missed you too,” Xue Chenjing murmured, tilting her chin up and brushing away the tip of a tentacle that had been teasing her lips. He licked away the moisture on her lips, gently nibbling her lower lip before deepening the kiss.

Yu Yi grabbed the ponytail hanging over his shoulder, managing to whisper between kisses, “We just saw each other…”

Xue Chenjing chuckled mischievously, his lips still pressed to hers. “They haven’t seen you in so long. Every single tentacle is saying how much they’ve missed you. My mind is filled with their voices. I can’t think of anything else but agreeing with them.”

The tentacles under her skirt began to mimic his kisses, growing even more unruly.

The flame hovering in the air flickered violently before suddenly extinguishing, plunging the marsh into complete darkness. Only the warm spring breeze, the rustling reeds, and the crashing waves remained.

This overwhelming welcome ceremony lasted a long time. By the time the first light of dawn appeared, Xue Chenjing finally carried her back to the Bamboo Grove Secret Realm.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Three hundred years had left little trace here. Xue Chenjing had barely changed the layout of the place, and even the wind chime made of bamboo pieces hanging from the eaves was still there.

Crane Senior Brother joyfully flapped over, its wings spread so wide it looked like a cloud drifting closer. Yu Yi stared at the crane, now larger than an ostrich, and exclaimed, “What have you been feeding it? How did it grow so big?”

“Nothing much, just some longevity elixirs from Medicine King Valley,” Xue Chenjing said, glancing disdainfully at the crane. “It didn’t properly absorb the spiritual energy, so it ended up looking like a pig.”

Hearing the insult, Crane Senior Brother raised its sharp beak and, folding its wings, shot toward Xue Chenjing like a cannonball.

Xue Chenjing dodged effortlessly, slipping past the crane and heading into the house, leaving the enraged crane hopping after him.

When the pillar of lightning descended over the marsh, the celestial palace in the heavens also took notice. A beam of white light shot out from a temple and landed on the golden jade bridge behind Heaven's Gate.

Xue Mingyuan steadied himself against the bridge’s jade pillar, looking down.

The Celestial Pool rippled faintly, reflecting the scene of the marsh below. Golden lightning spread across the water, silent yet unmistakable, just like that day.

Xue Mingyuan sent a wisp of his divine consciousness into the water, passing through Heaven's Gate into the mortal realm, where he caught a trace of a long-lost presence.

She had returned.

Xue Mingyuan’s eyes softened, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips, making his gentle features even more serene.

After lingering over the marsh for a moment, he restrained himself and withdrew his consciousness. He calculated the time that had passed and murmured, “So much time has gone by.”

When Yu Yi had left, Xue Mingyuan had watched her go from the heavens. Now that she had returned, he could only observe from afar once more, not daring to intrude. He had long lost the right to intervene in her life and could only watch from a distance.

The Celestial Pool reflected another figure slowly approaching the marsh.

Xue Chenjing sensed his gaze and looked up. His dark eyes, with their vertical pupils, were sharp and full of warning.

Xue Mingyuan had no desire to provoke him and raised his hand to erase the reflection of the mortal realm from the pool. But his hand hesitated mid-air, his lingering attachment winning out for a moment, allowing him one more glance at the figure on the boat.

That single glance was enough to anger his brother. A splash of water obscured Yu Yi’s figure, and Xue Mingyuan heard her ask, “A-Qiu? Is that you?”

This sentence startled him, and the smile in Xue Mingyuan's eyes faded, replaced by a hint of loneliness. He waved his sleeve, and the reflection in the Celestial Pool vanished.

At the end of the bridge, a fellow immortal hurried over, bowing in greeting, and asked, "Divine Lord, was there some disturbance in the mortal realm just now?"

Xue Mingyuan waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing of concern."

The immortal glanced toward Heaven's Gate and sighed, "I thought perhaps a new immortal had ascended."

The celestial realm was sparsely populated, and each divine hall was short-handed. With each immortal handling multiple duties, they were all eager for new ascensions.

Over the past three hundred years, several cultivators had ascended, preventing the vast heavens from becoming too desolate.

As the two walked side by side, Xue Mingyuan smiled gently and said, "The Calamity Bell in the Purple Star Hall indicates that the next ascension will occur in twenty years."

The immortal brightened. "That's soon enough!"

After returning to this world, Yu Yi spent a little over half a month in the Bamboo Grove Secret Realm before heading back to the demon realm with Xue Chenjing. The reason was a letter Xue Chenjing had received, in which Cang Cang urgently requested his return to take charge of affairs.

Xue Chenjing initially wanted to ignore it, but Yu Yi held the letter, reading it over and over. "Cang Cang is getting married! You're her father—how can you not go? But wait, didn’t she get married before?"

Xue Chenjing rubbed his forehead and flicked his sleeve, summoning a stack of letters, which he handed to her. "She’s been married more than once."

Yu Yi opened each letter one by one, all of which were wedding invitations from Cang Cang.

Xue Chenjing pointed to the names of the grooms on the invitations. "Different people each time. If I recall correctly, this is her sixth husband."

Yu Yi examined the letters again and confirmed that each one bore a different name.

During her first wedding, Xue Chenjing, though reluctant, had patiently instructed the Ten Demons to handle the arrangements properly. He even attended her second wedding in person. However, as her weddings became a recurring event, he grew tired of dealing with them and stopped informing Yu Yi to spare her the worry.

Yu Yi held the letter, puzzled. "Were the previous ones not suitable?"

Xue Chenjing shook his head and sighed. "From what I can tell, she genuinely liked each of them."

Yu Yi followed Xue Chenjing back to the demon realm. In the valley of the Ten Ring Mountains, a grand palace complex had been constructed. During Xue Chenjing's absence, Cang Cang and the Ten Demons had jointly ruled the demon realm.

However, demons and monsters were naturally unruly, and power dictated territory. There wasn’t much governance to speak of, except when disputes over territory escalated too far, prompting the Ten Demons to step in and suppress the chaos.

After being nurtured by Xue Chenjing's blood, Cang Cang, bearing the title of Demon Princess, thrived in the demon realm. Her wedding was a grand event, drawing demons, monsters, and spirits from all corners to the Ten Ring Mountains valley. The valley was adorned with lanterns and decorations, and demonic energy filled the air.

When Cang Cang saw Yu Yi, she was so excited that she reverted to her true form, nearly collapsing the wedding hall with her massive, pillar-like tentacles. One of her thick tentacles reached out to embrace Yu Yi, but Xue Chenjing swiftly intercepted it with a slap.

Cang Cang whimpered in grievance, then called over her six husbands, insisting that Yu Yi make up for all the wedding teas she had missed.

Yu Yi sat in the main seat, watching as Cang Cang's various tentacles presented their respective husbands to offer her tea. The scene was both absurd and oddly fitting.

Each of Cang Cang's tentacles had chosen a different husband—some were demons, others monsters, and even a few mountain spirits. Their tastes varied greatly, but each couple seemed genuinely happy.

Xue Chenjing sat on the other side of the main seat, propping his chin on one hand as he mechanically accepted and drank from the tea cups, clearly accustomed to this spectacle.

After the tea ceremony, each tentacle happily embraced its husband, while the two remaining single tentacles wrapped themselves around a pillar, looking lonely. Cang Cang's large head transformed into her human form, and she nestled affectionately against Yu Yi's knee. "Mother, when my last two tentacles find their loves, there will be two more weddings. You and Father must come."

Xue Chenjing was about to refuse, but when he saw Yu Yi nod, he swallowed his words.

After leaving the wedding feast, Yu Yi returned to the tree island Xue Chenjing had created within the realm. The noise of the celebration was blocked outside, leaving the space in serene quiet.

Yu Yi sat in a wicker chair, holding one of Xue Chenjing's translucent tentacles in her hand. She warmed it with her palm until it turned a soft pink, then curiously poked its tip. "Why haven’t you found a bride for yourselves?"

The tentacle coiled around her finger as Xue Chenjing emerged from the house. He cupped her chin from behind, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "They only like you. So, there will only ever be one bride—you."

Alright, the next side story will be the campus AU that everyone’s been asking for!