Eastern Province.
Beiqiong Kingdom, Wanbeiwu.
Deep within the layers of mountains behind the Virus-Toppling Pharmacy.
A tall and imposing young man stood clutching a bunch of freshly picked flowers. The silver filigree mask covering the lower half of his face accentuated his cold, deep-set eyes, which alone were enough to suggest an extraordinary appearance.
However, there was a touch of tenderness in his despondent and world-weary black eyes, softening his sharp aura. The reserved charisma settled by time was extremely charming.
With steady, gentle steps, he bypassed flowing water, small bridges, and fields blanketed in wildflowers until he reached a specific spot.
A tombstone.
A line of characters was engraved upon it.
“Tomb of my wife, Xin Yingru.”
“A'ying, today is our wedding anniversary. I’ve come for our appointment again.”
Wangquan Chumo knelt on both knees. First, he reached out to brush away the fallen leaves from the tombstone. His fingertips carefully traced each character on the stone, the soft light in his eyes carrying a trace of deep sorrow.
The characters on the tombstone didn't look like they had been carved with a blade; they seemed more like they had been painstakingly worn into the stone by hand. The inner surfaces of the characters were incredibly smooth, as if they had been touched countless times.
Wangquan Chumo solemnly placed the flowers before the tombstone. “Look, your favorite magnolias. They grew well this year. Not just your favorite white ones, but purple and blue ones too. I’ve also been trying to cultivate red and pink ones, though I don’t know if they’ll bloom. If you saw them, you’d probably say I’m meddling with those living things for no reason.”
Today, he was different from usual. He had groomed himself meticulously, shaving his beard and trimming his hair. He wore a suit of brilliant red.
It was the attire of a groom.
Wangquan Chumo knelt before the tombstone, his posture upright yet profoundly lonely. He forced a smile onto his face. “By the way, a junior brother came to me. He’s learning sword techniques from me. The kid has good talent; he has the same spirit I had back then. You know his master too... it’s Wen Bai. She’s as young as she was a thousand years ago, and her temper is still just as bad. She almost never woke up from a drunken stupor here. You have no idea, I was terrified she’d sleep for centuries, so I tried everything I could to wake her.”
As he forced the smile, his expression grew desolate and lonely, and his eyes reddened.
“I tried every method, but in the end... she turned out to be just like the one you met back then, a glutton for good food. If... if you had been there that day, I wouldn’t have even needed to do anything. One bowl of your noodles might have been enough to wake her. After all, she was closest to you back then, and it was because of your noodles that she befriended the three of us.”
He continued to ramble on about various recent events without tiring. Yet, the only response he received was the desolate sound of the wind through the mountains and the cold tombstone before him.
“...A'ying, I miss you.”
Bloodshot veins appeared in Wangquan Chumo’s eyes as he dazed. He crawled on his knees closer to the tombstone, slowly reaching out to lean his body against the cold stone, just as he had once leaned into her embrace.
“I’m sorry. I still have things left to finish. Once I’m done, I’ll come find you. Wait for me.”
A warm tear fell from the corner of his eye onto the magnolias beneath the tombstone.
On a dirt slope on the outskirts of these mountains.
A youth in white was practicing with his sword. His gentle and elegant features had gained a hint of sharpness. As he thrust his sword forward, a gust of sword wind suddenly erupted, shaking the golden ginkgo leaves from a nearby tree.
Gu Linshu looked up at the sky and then toward the barrier in the center of the mountains.
Senior Brother Wangquan Chumo never allowed him to set foot in there. Today, the senior brother was exceptionally different. In the past, his clothes were so grimy they had a shiny patina from never being changed, but today, Gu Linshu had caught a glimpse of him wearing vibrant red. It looked a bit like...
The clothes worn for a wedding.
But he hadn't heard anything about a wedding today.
Gu Linshu looked puzzled. Never mind; perhaps Senior Brother Wangquan really was going to marry his beloved today. If so, should he prepare a wedding gift or something?
Heh, he wondered what Master was doing right now. His sword talent had truly been ignited, and he was no longer as lost as before. Master would surely be happy if she knew.
...
Wen Li led her five disciples out of the cafeteria after they finished eating.
They left behind dozens of shocked Tingyin Pavilion disciples and a group of cafeteria staff.
Two tables hadn't been enough to hold the stack of plates they’d finished, which reached over a meter high.
Consequently, a rumor spread through Tingyin Pavilion.
A new female cultivator had arrived, and she raised five disciples who were incredibly heavy eaters. People suspected they weren't human at all, but pig demons.
They could really eat!
Wen Li took her five children back to her cave dwelling.
She took out a board and used homemade chalk to draw and write on it. The title at the top was a single line.
“The Self-Cultivation of a Villain.”
Wen Li tapped the blackboard. “Come, your first mission: approach Jiang Nianyao and earn her trust.”
“Jiang Nianyao, fifteen years old, female. She is the Young Mistress of the Beast Taming Sect. She is deeply loved by her father, the Beast Taming Sect Master Jiang He, but she has been weak and sickly since childhood. The Beast Taming Sect’s Dao is the art of taming beasts; they not only tame various demon beasts but also engage in the demon beast trade, selling various body parts. They trade frequently with artifact cultivators, pill cultivators, and sword cultivators, meaning they have many allies. Thus, the Beast Taming Sect not only has money but also extensive connections.”
A sect with connections was more formidable than one that was merely wealthy; there was no telling how many favors from powerful figures might be involved.
Hearing this mission, Xie Tinglan, who was irreconcilable with the Beast Taming Sect, leaned against the stone wall with his arms crossed. He frowned and asked for the reason.
“Why?”
“Because her father has money and power,” Wen Li said calmly. “As a qualified villain, you must not only be self-reliant but also know how to utilize the power of others. Whether it's through deception, swindling, or coercion, as long as it brings you unlimited profit, that is what you should do.”
Xin Jiuxian, who was sitting down, looked frozen for a moment as if deep in thought. She slowly raised her hand.
“I have something to say.”
Wen Li tapped the board with the pointer in her hand. “Speak.”
“What is a villain? Is it a bad person?”
At these words, Wen Li explained, “No, a villain isn't a bad person. A villain is an outstanding individual who prioritizes themselves, who is self-loving and self-interested. All villains are destined for great things in the future. When others can’t take advantage of you and call your conduct improper or a wicked path, then congratulations—you have successfully become a villain.”
Upon hearing this, Zongzheng Huangyue’s lips curled slightly. She knew Master was brainwashing them—or rather, brainwashing Old Six.
Because including herself, the four disciples other than Xin Jiuxian had no doubts whatsoever; they took it all in quite naturally.
Xin Jiuxian fell into thought and slowly nodded.
“Then I want to be an outstanding villain.” She couldn't let anyone take even the slightest advantage of her.
Wen Li clapped her hands. “Not bad! You have ambition!”
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