Chapter 3:
Looking at the sn.o.bby and endearingly tiny appearance of the future great sir villain, Ling Xia couldn’t help but chuckle.
No matter how twisted and vicious this villainous boss was in the novel, right now he was still a child, only a bit more on the sensitive and suspicious side.
In other words, as long as there was someone to guide him correctly, there’s a strong possibility for that tragic future to be averted… …
Ling Xia’s eyes immediately sparkled; could it be that the reason he transmigrated was for the purpose of rehabilitating the villain, thus saving this entire continent and world?
Actually, before he started working, he wasn’t such a stay-at-home person. In college, he had worked as a home tutor, came into contact with very difficult and hard to deal with brats, and even read a few education and psychology related books.
Thinking positively like this, Ling Xia immediately felt pumped up, realizing abruptly that there was hope for him to return back home.
In some ways, Ling Xia and Song XiaoHu really did share a few similarities.
Song XiaoHu, feeling a bit unsatisfied with Yu ZhiJue’s earlier response, called after him a few times, but the other continued to walk away without looking back. Feeling a bit nervous, he turned his large eyes towards Ling Xia and said, “Elder brother Ling, please don’t be angry.”
Ling Xia rubbed the other’s hedgehog-like hair, stood up once more, and laughingly replied, “Of course I’m not angry.”
Yu ZhiJue was very particular and difficult, so if he had easily been able to accept a stranger as his older brother, now that would have been weird.
Since he understood the situation more, Ling Xia could no longer ignore the filth that covered his body. In fact, even the simple action of standing up would cause strange smells to reach his nose. Pulling Song XiaoHu up as well, he asked, “Where is there a river?”
Currently, it was near the end of spring, so the water was still a bit chilly.
Song XiaoHu brought Ling Xia to his and Yu ZhiJue’s secret base, a place normally concealed from view. Without any hesitation, Ling Xia stripped off his dirty clothes, threw it to the ground, and while s.h.i.+vering, jumped into the river.
Song XiaoHu’s body contained fire elemental energy and thus resisted the cold, so even faster than Ling Xia, he had already dived in and started trying to catch fish.
It took great difficulty to wash this body clean, and straightening out the tangled ma.s.s of hair alone cost Ling Xia almost an hour of hard work. He also washed both of their dirty clothes, before hanging them to air dry on tree branches near the sh.o.r.e.
The river was very clear, and the distinct reflection of a teenager with bright eyes, a straight nose, and red lips could be seen. Ling Xia was a bit startled; to think that this mob character actually had the setting of a brainless pretty boy.
Song XiaoHu also dazedly paused, then said with a smile, “Elder brother Ling is really pretty.”
Although Song XiaoHu was still a child that liked to play, living in the mountains since he was young gave rise to strong survival skills, so very quickly, he caught a foot-long fish with his bare hands. He wanted to immediately cook and eat it, but Ling Xia saw that his body was still dirty, so he had no choice but to push him back into the water to properly wash everything clean.
Song XiaoHu was very ticklish, therefore every time Ling Xia touched him, he would burst into laughter, splas.h.i.+ng Ling Xia with water again and again.
Even so, the soaking wet protagonist was all the more charming and lovable, with his slightly dark skin, hearty and robust look, and dimples that emerged with every smile. He was definitely the type that’s really popular with the elderly.
As they were cooking their haul of fish, Yu ZhiJue also lurked on over from who knows where. Looking at their appearance, his face immediately flushed red with outrage, and sputtered, “Song XiaoHu, that… …Ling Xia! Do you not even know how to put on clothes?”
Song XiaoHu crossed his legs and with a mouth full of food, loudly proclaimed, “I’m not afraid of the cold.”
“… …Who cares if you’re cold or not!” Yu ZhiJue icily shot back. Nevertheless, he still sat down, grabbed a fish, and took a bite. With a straight back and fastidious movements, his etiquette when eating was actually quite refined.
Ling Xia couldn’t help but feel amused. These two who would b.u.t.t heads in the future, although their personalities clashed like fire and ice, in actuality, they complemented each other quite well.
Song XiaoHu was pretty skilled in cooking fish, and it was plain to see that Yu ZhiJue also ate with comparative satisfaction.
From the start, Ling Xia stealthily observed Yu ZhiJue, and seeing him finish the fish, immediately handed another over. Seizing this opportunity to rub elbows, he offered, “This one’s done.”
Only now did Yu ZhiJue spare a cautious glance to size Ling Xia up, and he too paused, just like Song XiaoHu had earlier. After all, the contrast between Ling Xia’s current appearance and his previous messy and dirty, r.e.t.a.r.ded beggar look was way too large. However, when his line of sight went lower, his feigned look of indifference abruptly broke down. “What in the world is that? So disgusting!”
While saying so, he unconsciously moved a few steps back. That offended look of loathing made Ling Xia feel a bit confused; it’s as if he saw something vulgar… …
He followed Yu ZhiJue’s gaze and looked down, promptly catching sight of his lower half, and was temporarily rendered speechless.
This body was already thirteen or fourteen years old, so naturally it’s entered p.u.b.erty.
Ehem, well, the Yu ZhiJue in the novel, probably on account of being scarred by that father-mother pair, incredibly abhorred anything to do with the birds and the bees, and all the way up until he died, was suspected to be an inexperienced greenhorn. In the book, there were a few girls who liked him, especially one of his female subordinates who’s infatuation came second to none. And the result? In the end, that cold-blooded villain went as far as to kill this cannon-fodder girl by using her as a human s.h.i.+eld, the nerve of him!
Countless male readers were full of jealousy and spite, and could only hate that they weren’t able to simply slap the villain dead!
Nevertheless, isn’t this just some pubic hair? You little brat, after two or three more years, you’ll grow it too… …
Aye aye, not only did the villain’s outlook on life need careful reeducation, his twisted outlook on romance also needed remedial teaching.
Song XiaoHu was slower on the uptake, but also swept his gaze across Ling Xia’s lower half, then immediately asked curiously, “Elder brother Ling, why does yours look different from ours?”
Under the two brats’ gazes, one full of disgust and the other full of curiosity, Ling Xia’s face twisted in distress and embarra.s.sment, automatically moving his hand to cover up his private parts. (… …)
p.u.b.erty education in these ancient times was too heavy responsibility to bear.
Up until he put all his clothes back on, Yu ZhiJue continued to look at Ling Xia with a very uncanny gaze, and those clear-cut eyes might as well have been glaring daggers. He moved even farther away, leaving Ling Xia all the more speechless.
For the sake of this great sir villain not to hate him even more from now on, Ling Xia could only sigh, then explained, “This is something normal that all men will possess after reaching a certain age. Conversely, not having any would be strange.”
Song XiaoHu’s bout of curiosity had visibly pa.s.sed, and with his attention quickly captured by a pa.s.sing b.u.t.terfly, didn’t even respond after hearing Ling Xia’s explanation.
On the other hand, Yu ZhiJue listened intently, but his expression remained unnatural. With the revulsion in his eyes on the verge of bursting, he restated, “It looks really disgusting.”
Ling Xia carefully observed Yu ZhiJue’s profile and marveled at how neat and delicate it looked, almost like a girl’s. Suddenly, he thought of a frightening possibility.
Once, a long time ago, there was a reader who wrote a long and lengthy post in the discussion boards t.i.tled, “The Possibility of Yu ZhiJue Being Female”.
The person who wrote this was, without a doubt, male. He persisted in believing that there was no way a guy could have such a temperament, and furthermore, to not even respond when beautiful women threw themselves into his arms, wasn’t that just too strange? On top of that, the way the author described him as full of wiles and provocative in appearance was also suspicious. Therefore, he concluded it was very likely that Yu ZhiJue was a cross-dressing girl, which also explained his peculiar feelings towards the protagonist.
Of course, after that, the female fans shot him down so hard he might as well have been riddled with holes.
Thinking of that unfortunate guy’s commentary now, Ling Xia trembled in antic.i.p.ation.
f.u.c.k! It couldn’t be that this was actually the truth?!
Thinking of the possibility that Yu ZhiJue, destroyer of the world, could in fact be a girl, Ling Xia felt himself becoming really, really… …excited!
This kind of killer plot twist is a real kicker, you know?
A girl, a female, a lady…. …an overbearing, domineering queen!
Subconsciously mimicking Song XiaoHu’s way of address, Ling Xia inquired, “Ah‘Jue, aren’t you going to wash?”
Yu ZhiJue glanced at him indifferently and let out a short hmph, but didn’t move.
Ling Xia clutched his hands in excitement, itching to immediately confirm his suspicions.
…Of course, many years later, after getting pushed down into bed by the villain over a thousand times, the unfortunate mob would lament with a face full of tears: How lovely and wonderful it would have been if the villain was really a girl ahhh!!!
When he finished eating, Yu ZhiJue carefully washed his hands and face, then narrowed his eyes and said, “XiaoHu, earlier in the market, I heard that ShaoYang[1] Sect will be recruiting disciples in YouMing soon.”
Song XiaoHu’s expression instantly sobered and became serious, and the child-like aura that surrounded him disappeared into thin air.
Ling Xia paused; the two in front of him now, now this was the protagonist and villain who always strove to become stronger and achieved their ambitions through their own strengths!
In the novel , the system of cultivation differed from the more traditional framework. Aside from cultivating the five elementals, the various sects in the world also practiced body cultivation, sword cultivation, energy cultivation, divergent-skill cultivation, and as well as what orthodox cultivators held in contempt, dark-arts cultivation.
Body cultivation, sword cultivation, and energy cultivation were similar to their traditional counterparts, but divergent-skill cultivation and dark-arts cultivation methods were a lot more convoluted.
Body cultivation mainly improves one’s health and physique, sword cultivation polished one’s sword techniques, and energy cultivators, above all else, focused on stimulating the power elementals in their bodies and strengthening their mental fort.i.tude.
Divergent-skill cultivation encompa.s.sed power elemental cultivation and dimensional cultivation, along with many others. For example, the protagonist had pure fire and lightning elemental energy and his dimensional cultivation also reached XuanHuang[2] tenth stage near the end of the story, while the villain possessed the comparatively colder, yin-based water element and a dimensional cultivation on par with the protagonist.
The methods in dark-arts cultivation were even more complex and full of abnormalities. Later on, when Yu ZhiJue followed his father’s footsteps and chose to cultivate the dark-arts, all kinds of bizarre skills got introduced one after another, like the Puppet Technique and the Terminal Modus Formation that were used to destroy the world. Their overwhelming levels of power and arrogance really reached the skies!
The ShaoYang Sect Yu ZhiJue mentioned earlier was one of the more famous sects in this remote region, and their requirements for recruiting disciples was also relatively low. Of course, it couldn’t even hold a candle next to any of the five largest sects in this world.
However, in regards to the protagonist and villain who couldn’t even be considered novices yet, this sect held an incredible amount of appeal.
In the novel, while the protagonist and the villain did undergo a few trials during their time here, this sect could only be considered a small stepping stone of theirs.
Song XiaoHu looked towards Ling Xia, a glimmer of expectation s.h.i.+ning in his large eyes, and asked, “Elder brother Ling, do you know about the ShaoYang Sect?”
Ling Xia naturally does, and knows even more about how easily the villain wiped them out in the future.
Their experiences in that place couldn’t really be considered interesting, and the treatment they received was also very biased. However, when it came to these two brats, going there to learn first-hand was indeed a very good option. The protagonist would meet the first member of his harem there, too.
But the most important fact, which Ling Xia suddenly realized, was that these two brats would go there regardless of whether or not he objected.
Even though Song XiaoHu looked innocent and carefree on the outside, he was an extremely obstinate person on the inside, and Yu ZhiJue even more so. As long as they resolved to do something, no one could easily change their minds otherwise.
Moreover, their desire to become more powerful was also backed by a conviction stronger than anyone else’s.
While recalling the plot, Ling Xia nodded his head and replied, “Although I haven’t heard of them before, but based on the name, it should be a pretty strong sect right?”
Actually, Song XiaoHu doesn’t know a single thing about this world’s leading sects, having only heard some rumors about ShaoYang Sect during his stay in this small town, and so in his ignorance, naturally imagined a sect with unrivaled strength. However, Yu ZhiJue had witnessed a battle to the death between two of this world’s most powerful, and therefore didn’t much care for ShaoYang Sect at all.
Because everyone in YuNü Sect considered his birth to be a disgraceful humiliation, his existence and escape were both meticulously hidden from the outside world. But secretly, they never gave up on hunting down and crus.h.i.+ng this bane of a vile sp.a.w.n, and it was because of this that Yu ZhiJue ran so far, hiding away in this ordinary small town that lacked spiritual power. He had secretly learned a few cultivation methods prior to escaping, but it was merely incomplete, superficial knowledge. In any case, he also knows that going to a large, well-known sect would be very dangerous.
[1]: roughly means youthful sun, it’s a pretty nice sounding name
[2]: roughly means the color of the heavens and earth; I a.s.sume this is the name of one of the stages of cultivation, tbh I’m not very knowledgeable in cultivation terms