Transmigration:The Villain Wants A Happy End Without His BeastHusbands-Chapter 26: Your Saviour

Su Ningyan thought his back had shattered when he hit the marble floor.

The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, a sharp cough tearing out of him as pain flared through his spine. His heart raced wildly, and a loud, hoarse groan echoed through the vast space around him.

It wasn’t until he forced himself upright that he truly took in where he was.

Books.

Endless shelves of books and scrolls spiraled upward, disappearing into the heights of the ceiling as if reaching toward the heavens themselves. The architecture was elegant, impossibly grand, the air thick with old knowledge and quiet power.

Ningyan pressed a hand to his lower back, staring upward with parted lips.

"What the hell...?" he muttered. "How did I even get here?"

"You weren’t supposed to land like that."

The careful, familiar voice behind him made his heart jump violently.

Ningyan spun around and froze.

Lan Meishan stood a short distance away, bowing his head in apology. He looked just as he had the first time Ningyan met him. Tall, refined, emerald serpent eyes glowing faintly behind his glasses.

"I apologize," Meishan said softly.

"No... no, don’t come any closer," Ningyan blurted, stepping back and pointing at him. "Stop right there."

Meishan’s eyes widened in surprise. He stopped immediately.

"I didn’t mean to bring you here without your consent," he said quickly, his words careful. "It’s just that... you’re quite popular now."

He attempted a smile, awkward and uncertain, as if he were testing whether it was the correct response.

Ningyan could only stare.

The smile vanished.

Meishan turned away slightly, muttering under his breath, the words too low to catch like he was chastising himself for doing something wrong.

Ningyan watched him for a moment before exhaling quietly.

Lan Meishan was... an oddball.

Most people believed the snake beast prince avoided others out of arrogance, convinced that his obsession with scrolls and isolation stemmed from pride.

But Ningyan knew better.

Meishan was simply terrible at social interaction. He was a shy, overthinking mess who preferred books because they didn’t misunderstand him.

People called him creepy.

Ningyan had always thought he was kind of cute.

He cleared his throat. "A letter would’ve worked, you know. Abduction feels... excessive."

Meishan froze.

Slowly, he turned back, emerald eyes widening behind his glasses in genuine surprise. Then he let out a small, quiet chuckle, adjusting his glasses even though they weren’t crooked.

"I was going to," he admitted. "But Yan Wuhen..." His expression tightened slightly. "The fox is annoying."

Ningyan sighed. "I couldn’t agree more." He stretched languidly.

"This isn’t an abduction, though," Lan Meishan said quickly, walking toward him. "I just wanted to talk."

This time, Ningyan didn’t step back. Meishan, too, kept a respectful distance.

"About what?" Ningyan asked dryly. "The fact that I’m suddenly popular?"

"Well," Meishan said, adjusting his glasses again, "the news of the coreless Phoenix is circulating through the academy. And you stabbed your brother. The clan heir of the Phoenix Clan."

Ningyan grimaced. "He’s not my—" He cut himself off with a tired sigh. "Why does that make me popular?"

"Anyone who breaks the rules becomes popular," Meishan said with a shrug. "Rules aren’t broken often, so when they are..."

"I get it now." Ningyan sighed and moved away, leaning back against a shelf. He pulled his flute from his pocket, idly turning it between his fingers.

"So what do you want?" He glanced at Lan Meishan, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

"After we met, I did some research," Meishan said brightly. "I can help you activate your core."

Ningyan stiffened. He pushed himself away from the shelf. "Really?"

Meishan looked absurdly proud of himself. "Yes, but you’ll need to strengthen it quick enough to reach the second stage of cultivation."

"Beast awakening?" Ningyan frowned. "But how is that—"

He froze, horror creeping into his expression. "Please don’t tell me you’re talking about demon Qi. I can’t—"

"why are you so certain that you can store demon Qi with a damaged core?" Meishan interrupted, genuine curiosity in his eyes.

Ningyan wanted to say I read it somewhere, but instead he only sighed. "I just know."

"Then you should also know this," Meishan said calmly. "A damaged core can be patched. Temporarily."

Ningyan’s breath caught.

"But," Meishan continued. "You must be careful afterward. If your core shatters again, you may lose your sanity and never return."

The library suddenly felt colder.

Was Ningyan willing to take that risk?

"How?" he asked quietly. "How is that even possible?"

Meishan broke into that same foolish grin. "There are secret texts. Forbidden methods. With my assistance, I can cleanse the negativity."

Ningyan swallowed hard. "So all I need is to enter the second stage of cultivation and make sure my core doesn’t shatter again?" He hesitated. "That’s it? There’s no catch?"

Lan Meishan raised a brow.

"I don’t think so," he said calmly. "I want to help. And if we succeed, it will be a win for both of us. An experiment fulfilled."

"An experiment," Ningyan repeated dryly. "Of course."

"Just think of me as your saviour," Lan Meishan said, closing his eyes with a polite, satisfied smile.

Ningyan swallowed. "I’ll think about it."

"Of course!" Meishan clapped his hands lightly, opening his eyes again. "I can give you a few books to help you understand what you’d be walking into. But once we succeed, you’ll need an eloquent trainer."

"Thank you," Ningyan said, forcing a smile.

Lan Meishan turned away, already moving, and Ningyan followed him through the vast library. Shelves towered above them, endless and oppressive.

Ningyan rolled the flute between his fingers, unease coiling in his chest.

"What if it doesn’t succeed?" he asked. "What if the process fails?"

Lan Meishan stopped.

He reached for a shelf and removed two scrolls and a book from the same narrow space.

"You lose your sanity," he said, his voice flat and emotionless.

Ningyan’s entire body went cold.

Then Lan Meishan turned back, smiling.

"But there’s really nothing to fear," he added gently. "I never fail. You’re in safe hands."

He handed Ningyan the books.

Ningyan let out a thin, nervous laugh and took them, hugging them tightly to his chest. "Thank you."

Lan Meishan nodded. "I know I might come on strong, but I truly mean well. You’re rare. And you seem like a good person."

Ningyan huffed a laugh. "You’re helping me because I’m rare and seem like a good person? That’s cheesy."

Lan Meishan pouted. "You don’t believe me?"

Ningyan did believe one thing.

Lan Meishan was brilliant. Dangerous. A man who treated lives like hypotheses. Cute, yes but that only made him worse.

"Take me back," Ningyan said simply.

"Okay."

Green light flared around Meishan’s hands as he waved them gently. A portal opened beneath Ningyan’s feet, and the floor vanished.

He sank through and landed cleanly on his feet on the stone bridge where he’d first met Lan Meishan, breathing hard, the books and scrolls still clutched tightly to his chest.

"Well," Ningyan muttered shakily, "that was anticlimactic."

Wait.

His eyes widened.

"Did he say... Yan Wuhen?"