Chapter 2:
After shamelessly staring at the roasted pancake for a few seconds, Ling Xia glanced at Song XiaoHu, then boldly helped himself and silently started to eat. Earlier, when his thoughts were running wild, he finally recognized the strange name of “ErDan”[1] and recalled this body’s ident.i.ty!
The beginning of this sham novel described in great detail the deep friends.h.i.+p the protagonist and villain formed during their childhood, naturally for the purpose of building the foundation to their future love-hate, mutually destructive relations.h.i.+p. Included in that was also a few scenes containing a certain mob character.
What caused the protagonist and villain to awaken to their respective powers was the shock from a pathetic mob character’s death, and that dim-witted but strong-as-an-ox mob character’s name was precisely “ErDan”. Along with the protagonist, they were homeless children who begged in the streets and had spent a period of time weathering the joys and sorrows of life together. He was basically the protagonist’s loyal hound! Moreover, this embarra.s.sing and weird name of “ErDan” was actually given by the protagonist… …
It looks like his current ident.i.ty was this pitiful and mentally challenged loyal hound.
While recalling the plot, Ling Xia ravenously devoured his food to the extent of even swallowing the portions stained with dust. He silently comforted himself with the fact that, fundamentally speaking, this was a roasted pancake bearing the authentic fingerprints of an outstanding, powerful genius!
Seeing Ling Xia eat with such relish, the one wearing the sacred halo of the indestructible protagonist, Song XiaoHu, happily exclaimed, “ErDan, eat a bit slower, don’t choke… …”
Before he even finished speaking, Ling Xia clutched at his throat and started to cough in distress. That roasted pancake may have looked fine, but it was very hard and tough, clearly something left out overnight!
Song XiaoHu quickly brought over the cracked bowl that was in the corner, urging, “Drink some water.”
It was very obvious that the boy was already accustomed to this body’s clumsiness.
On the other hand, Yu ZhiJue’s face was full of contempt, stepping back a few meters in disdain and wrinkling his delicate eyebrows. “Can this r.e.t.a.r.d possibly get any dumber? Can’t even eat food without choking!”
Ling Xia gulped down a few mouthfuls of cold water, s.h.i.+vered from the chill, and thumped his stifled chest for a breath. He cursed in his heart; sure enough, compared to the born-in-a-good-family protagonist, the villain was already crooked even as a child! Not even an ounce of gentleness or consideration!
He squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the hazy image reflected in the bowl’s water. This face was dirty enough to compete with Song XiaoHu’s, but it was clear his facial features were conventional and his eyes were animate, contrary to his imagined dim-witted, dunce-like person with crossed eyes and a crooked mouth. He looked to be about four or five years older than Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue.
Secretly letting out a sigh of relief, then continuing to stuff hard roasted pancakes into his mouth while drinking cold water, Ling Xia looked at the future final boss villain and silently mused over his backstory.
As for Yu ZhiJue’s childhood experiences, it wasn’t something the good-for-nothing author spend a lot of words describing. After all, he isn’t the protagonist, but it could be inferred that he definitely faced all kinds of tragic ordeals, neither cherished by his father nor loved by his mother.
Yu ZhiJue’s father was a pract.i.tioner of devilish cultivation methods, the infamous fiend Yu TianXing. His mother, YuNü[2] Sect’s previous Divine Priestess Yu LingLong, was forced by his father, which lead to Yu ZhiJue being ignored and abused in various ways ever since birth. Sometime later, that love-hate couple fought and ended up departing for heaven one after another. The young Yu ZhiJue, who witnessed this entire affair, escaped from the snowy peaks of the holy mountain they were on, and after wandering the world for a long time, arrived at a mundane, small town—Long Fei, where he then met the protagonist.
Even towards the pure-hearted and honest protagonist, Yu ZhiJue never truly opened his heart. Although under the protagonist’s influence, he wasn’t that gloomy and cold-blooded as a child, but after they turned thirteen and had gone through a few incidents together, his feelings of jealousy towards the protagonist rapidly began to grow.
It’s worthy to note that the book established Yu ZhiJue as a once-in-a-hundred-years prodigy in terms of apt.i.tude, and in the early stages, he surpa.s.sed the protagonist by leaps and bounds. After all, he did inherit powerful genes. But in the later stages, he was easily surpa.s.sed by the always happy-go-lucky protagonist, so of course his heart and mind became more and more unstable.
After that, following a series of ridiculous misunderstandings and due to interconnected fighting, they slowly drifted apart, until it led to their complete falling out. Eventually, Yu ZhiJue became more and more cruel and vicious, before finally destroying the world… …
However, no matter what’s said or done, looking at the steamed bun-faced boy clenching his fists and pretending to look cool nearby, Ling Xia was unable to a.s.sociate him with the terrible villain in the novel, so much that he even thought in his heart: Aah, this is obviously just a c.o.c.ky but endearing little brat!
Yu ZhiJue quickly noticed Ling Xia’s strange gaze. With a look full of disgust, he turned his head and coldly asked, “What’s a r.e.t.a.r.d like you looking at?”
“… …” How he wanted to give those cheeks a good pinching.
Ling Xia slowly got up from the ground, and was very pleased to discover that he was taller than the two brats by over half a head.
He looked down at the pair in front of him, and in a very serious manner, extended his index finger and wagged it back and forth. “Don’t call me ErDan or ‘r.e.t.a.r.d’ anymore, my name is Ling Xia!”
No matter how amazing and overpowered, or fear-inducing and terrifying they would become in the future, at this moment, the two tender, steam bun-faced brats briefly shared the same expression of: ==
Ling Xia’s crestfallen feelings due to transmigrating out of the blue immediately changed for the better.
That’s right, even if he’s thrown into this deceptive alternate world with its high mortality rate, looking on the bright side, at least there’s a chance he could meet the G.o.ddess of his heart! Ling Xia endeavored to pull himself together.
It was evidently very easy to fool the young, pure-hearted, and optimistic protagonist. Obediently sitting cross-legged across from Ling Xia on a pile of straw, he quickly accepted Ling Xia’s explanations, blinking his eyes while listening very intently. Ling Xia pulled out a few clichéd scenarios from dramas, like being kicked out by his step-mother, then hitting his head and temporarily losing his memories, etc.
Full of sympathy, Song XiaoHu sighed, “Looks like having a mother doesn’t necessarily mean happiness… …But even so, I still want to find my family.”
Ling Xia looked at the protagonist’s dumb and cute, saint-like face that was covered in dirt and spotted like a calico cat’s. Sure enough, in this world, saint-like qualities was the most stunning part of a person’s character… …
That’s right, the protagonist’s primary goal was to find his parents and train his martial arts to develop various forms of strength. Becoming apprenticed to a master, collecting harem members, defeating the villain, or finding sidekicks and comrades were all secondary objectives.
Yu ZhiJue listened skeptically, clenched his fists, and gave Ling Xia a glance before asking, “Then, shouldn’t you remember where you were originally from? How did you come by to this place?”
Almost imperceptibly, Ling Xia suddenly felt a faint yet uncomfortable feeling of oppression.
He paused, and looked over Yu ZhiJue once more.
In contrast to Song XiaoHu, Yu ZhiJue’s star-like eyes were full of wariness and antagonism. The crimson mole under the corner of his eye made his skin seem even fairer than jade, his long and smooth, ebony hair was neatly tied behind his head, and perhaps due to being malnourished for a long time, he seemed a bit weaker and thinner than the hearty and robust Song XiaoHu.
Ling Xia quickly came back to his senses; Yu ZhiJue was the villainous boss who would destroy the world in the future after all! Just a moment ago, he was unconsciously treating him as just a child… …The story he told earlier was so full of holes, only something capable of fooling the simple-minded Song XiaoHu at most!
Moreover, after the protagonist is given some time to mature, he probably won’t be so simple-minded and easy to fool either. It should be noted that although this sham novel was neither obscure nor popular, in the discussion boards, the female fans had gleefully fantasized about and written a lot of meta and fics featuring Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu, mostly where the innocent-on-the-outside-but-brutal-on-the-inside Song XiaoHu topped, and the kind-acting-but-maliciously-dark-two-faced Yu ZhiJue bottomed (… …)
Ling Xia promptly moderated his carefree sitting position, arranged his features as naturally as possible, and portrayed with all his might an expression of intensely wracking his brain. “Even I don’t really remember anymore, only that my dad’s surname was ‘Ling’ and was called ‘Ling ZhiYuan’, and my hometown had ‘Fire’ in its name or something similar.”
Hearing it spoken like this, Yu ZhiJue began to believe him about 70% to 80%. The previous “ErDan” had wandered to this small town a few years ago, no one here knowing where he had come from, so if Ling Xia had made up a very detailed story, conversely, he would have been suspicious. Letting out a single, noncommittal grunt, he then turned his head away; in the end, there’s no way he’d be interested in some dirty r.e.t.a.r.d.
Besides, if it wasn’t for Song XiaoHu taking care of the idiot, he definitely wouldn’t have spared this kind street beggar even a single glance.
Song XiaoHu didn’t notice Yu ZhiJue’s wariness at all, simply revealing his cute dimples and laughed, “Then Er… …Ling Xia, why don’t you treat me as your family from now on?”
Ling Xia nodded his head and smiled, responding, “Of course, then you’ll have to call me big brother. I’ve long since thought of XiaoHu as a younger sibling.”
He was secretly pleased; this was the protagonist after all! The amazing and mighty protagonist! It’s best to worm into his good graces now and secure a powerful backing hahaha!
Song XiaoHu blinked, smiling so widely even his throat could be seen, and called out in a crisp, clear voice, “Elder brother Ling!”
Ling Xia felt so smug, his ego almost shot into the stratosphere. He couldn’t help but reach out to pat the top of the protagonist’s head, rubbing with gusto the short and spikey, hedgehog-like hair.
On the other hand, Song XiaoHu started to feel a bit embarra.s.sed. During his entire journey, from leaving the mountains to arriving here, finding someone who was polite or willing to give him a steamed roll was already considered quite fortunate. Most just scorned and avoided him for being dirty. When had anyone ever treated him so intimately like this? Even if his temperament was sanguine and carefree, he also dearly yearned to find a family, so right now, the corners of his eyes unconsciously started to sting a bit.
Yu ZhiJue was already gaping, stupefied by this reverent and affectionate brotherly scene before his eyes. His friends.h.i.+p with Song XiaoHu was purely because he thought the other’s potential was very high, and thus possible to get along with. That’s it. Their interactions were also on the nonchalant side; when has he ever behaved this intimately before?
Completely satisfied, Ling Xia withdrew his hand and s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Yu ZhiJue, looking at him with an expectant expression. Becoming the older brother figure to both the protagonist and the villain, this is what life was truly about! What’s more, he’s been wanting to poke the villain’s cheeks for a long time now!
Sure enough, the innocent-on-the-outside-but-brutal-on-the-inside Song XiaoHu immediately caught on to his thoughts and turned to Yu ZhiJue, urging, “Ah‘Jue[3], hurry up and greet big brother.”
Ling Xia was already doubling over with laughter inside, watching Yu ZhiJue expectantly with stars in his eyes.
As a result, the great sir villain’s face that was full of wariness just a moment ago rapidly turned red in embarra.s.sment.
Yu ZhiJue angrily bit back, “Call him ‘elder brother’ all you want, what does that have to do with me?”
He glared ferociously at Song XiaoHu, then with a flap of his sleeves, left.
[1]: roughly means Second Egg, it’s a pretty dumb-sounding name imo
[2]: roughly means Beautiful Fairy Maiden, so unsurprisingly, it’s a female-only sect with a lot of beauties
[3]: Ah‘ (阿) a prefix usually added to the last part of a person’s name to make an endearing or familiar nickname; for example, Ah‘Jue would refer to Yu ZhiJue