Quick Transmigration: Don't Let an Honest Man Become a Villainous Supporting Female Character

Zhi Xuan returned to his room in a daze.

The parrot ghost flew onto his shoulder: "What's wrong? What happened? Did your master beat you up?"

Zhi Xuan shook his head, slumped onto the table, his eyes glazed over: "Master said Miss Ji is a female ghost..."

But how come he didn't know? But looking at his master's angry expression, he didn't seem senile.

The parrot ghost sat on the table, looking at him with a puzzled expression: "She's a female ghost, didn't you know?"

Zhi Xuan stared at it in disbelief: "You know?"

The parrot ghost nodded: "I know, I've known her longer than you have."

Zhi Xuan broke down, accusing, "What happened to our friendship? You didn't even tell me such a big secret!"

The parrot looked at him innocently: "You didn't even ask me."

It thought he knew.

It fled to this courtyard because of Ji Chaoxi. It thought that if a courtyard could accept a female ghost, it could definitely accept it, a parrot ghost.

So none of these people knew that Ji Chaoxi was a female ghost.

Zhixuan looked shocked.

When the door opened again, Xie Qingyan had already straightened his clothes, his collar was neat, and if it weren't for the slight redness in the corner of his eyes, no one would know what he had just done.

Upon seeing Xie Qingyan, Master Changsong trembled with rage: "Do you know what you're doing? Are you trying to destroy your Dao heart and ruin the reputation of the entire sect?!"

Xie Qingyan was the most talented disciple he had ever seen. His studies had never caused anyone any trouble since he was a child. The fact that he would attract the emperor's attention was something that Master Changsong had long anticipated.

But he never expected that at such a crucial moment, just as he was about to enter the palace, Xie Qingyan would do something so unconventional!

Xie Qingyan listened silently to Master Changsong's angry rebuke, and only spoke when Master Changsong finally finished speaking.

"Master, I know that I have violated the rules of the Taoist temple. I have made up my mind that once all the babies in the city have recovered, I will leave Taichu Temple and return to secular life."

"Return to secular life?!"

Master Changsong stared at him in disbelief, staggered a step, and said with heartache, "Do you even know what you're saying? You are a born Daoist, the future National Preceptor!"

"Are you saying you're going to abandon everything for that yin entity that drained your life force? Are you going to waste all the cultivation you've gained over twenty years, risking your life countless times?!"

Xie Qingyan frowned, her voice cold: "Master, Xixi is not a spirit. She is the person I love. Please show her some respect. Even if she is not an ordinary person, she has no conflict with you. You don't need to harbor such hostility towards her."

"This disciple did not give up the position of Imperial Preceptor for Xixi's sake. This disciple did not want to sit in this position from the beginning, and you do not need to put this matter on her."

Master Changsong was so angry that his eyes turned red. He was about to say something when Xie Qingyan interrupted him.

He calmly looked at Master Changsong: "Master, I built the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda on the back mountain by myself over the past twenty years; five years ago, during the great plague, I went alone to slay the demon; when I went to Yangcheng to slay evil spirits, I was struck by three bolts of heavenly lightning."

"Master, you know all this. This is not entirely for the sake of the people, but also for the reputation of Taichu Temple. Master, I have never wronged you for a single moment in these twenty years, nor do I owe Taichu Temple anything."

Master Changsong was surprised that Xie Qingyan was holding a grudge against him. He laughed angrily, "So, for her sake, you're going to sever ties with Taichu Temple?"

Master Changsong's voice trembled with anger: "Do you think the world will still admire you after you take off this Taoist robe?"

Xie Qingyan silently placed the sword on the table: "This disciple does not need to be admired."

He only needs Xixi.

Moreover, the Taoist temple now is completely different from when he first entered it; the current Taichu Temple is merely a tool of imperial power.

If he truly wants to help the people and has a genuine heart for Taoism, he can still do it even if he takes off his Taoist robe.

Seeing that Xie Qingyan was serious, Master Changsong remained silent for a long time.

"Qingyan, think it over carefully again. Keep this sword safe for now. I'll give you another month. Come back to me after a month and we'll talk about this again."

Master Changsong seemed to have aged decades in an instant, and his steps became much heavier.

Several disciples were peeking from a corner, but as soon as Master Changsong left, they quickly slipped away.

"I told you before that there was a ghostly aura in the mansion, but none of you believed me."

"It's not that we don't believe it, it's that we don't. With our senior brother here, I don't think any ghost could be so bold."

"I've never seen Master like this before. Does Eldest Brother really have no feelings for Master or Taichu Temple at all? Is Eldest Brother's heart really that cold?"

Zhi Xuan couldn't help but open the window and shout, "Only cold-hearted people are suitable for cultivating the Dao! Everyone praised our senior brother's steadfast Dao heart before, wasn't it precisely because he was indifferent to emotions?"

"Now you all think that our senior brother has become cold-hearted?"

The other disciples quickly came over.

"Zhixuan, that's not what we meant at all. We didn't blame our senior brother."

"We just feel that since our senior brother has stayed at Taichu Temple for so long, and then leaves just like that, did he never have any feelings for Taichu Temple at all before?"

Zhi Xuan rolled his eyes.

Why should he have any feelings for Taichu Temple? His little dog's ghost was killed by the disciples of Taichu Temple.

Aside from his senior brother and a few other senior brothers who had taught him, he didn't have any feelings for anyone else.

There's a lantern festival tonight, with all sorts of lanterns hanging in the streets, the most common being the "Fish and Dragon Playing with a Pearl" lantern, and lotus lanterns made of silk and glass floating slowly on the river.

The lantern festival was crowded with people. Ji Chaoxi was held in Xie Qingyan's arms as she curiously looked at the trinkets on the stalls.

"Xie Qingyan, look at that!"

Ji Chaoxi tugged at Xie Qingyan beside her, excitedly looking at the lantern that was almost as big as a boat.

Xie Qingyan looked down at her, the warm orange light shining from behind her face, making the fine downy hair around her look golden. Her eyes were filled with the warm light, and her face was full of smiles.

He was a bit irritable because of what happened during the day, but seeing her by his side made him realize that none of that mattered anymore.

He felt a slight tickle on his heart, a subtle itch that kept creeping upwards, making his fingertips tingle.

Just as Ji Chaoxi was about to pick up the lantern next to her to take a look, Xie Qingyan suddenly hugged her tightly from behind. His arms were wrapped around her chest, and his fingertips trembled slightly as he tried to control himself.

"Xixi..."

He called her name softly, with an almost reverent tenderness.

"I like you."

He just wanted to hold her, he just wanted to tell her that he wanted to watch the lanterns with her for the rest of his life, that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

The stall owner kept casting teasing glances at her, and Ji Chaoxi blushed instantly.

Xie Qingyan has said it many times; she knows it.

Several children laughed as they walked past, and vendors nearby were shouting their wares. Xie Qingyan held Ji Chaoxi's hand tightly as they walked toward her favorite food stall.

Amidst the cacophony of sounds, Ji Chaoxi slightly raised her head and tugged at his clothes.

Her voice was soft, yet it clearly reached his ears amidst the sounds of the peddler's rattle and the children's laughter.

"Xie Qingyan, I also... really like you."

Xie Qingyan froze, staring blankly at her, his heart pounding as if he were about to suffocate.

He tightened his embrace, buried his head deeply in her shoulder, and let out a soft, relieved laugh.