A Smile from the Villain - Chapter 58

The place where Hua Lian Sect was located was extremely remote. Although this demonic sect had branches everywhere, the main location had always been a mystery. Only after Qin Kaiyi and Zi Yangpei arrived at Hua Lian Sect, did Qin Kaiyi realize why the main branch had never been discovered. 

The reason was actually very simple. This evil cult that was rejected by the righteous path was located under a bottomless canyon. Even with Zi Yangpei’s strength, he took almost half a day to fly down with Qin Kaiyi. 

Qin Kaiyi didn’t know why the Hua Lian Sect was built here. In his memory, the impression of this demonic sect was really not too deep.

Zi Yangpei apparently saw the astonishment in Qin Kaiyi’s expression. He didn’t find it strange, and instead opened up his expression and smilingly said, “Don’t look at the unmatched remoteness of this gorge, but this is where many spiritual points are assembled. The speed of your cultivation here will be unmatched by your time in the Lingshan Sect. If not for your natural demonic body, why would I bring you here?”

“Is that it?” Qin Kaiyi looked pensive. He definitely felt spiritual qi becoming denser and denser, and this spiritual qi seemed purer than what was naturally produced in the spaces between heaven and earth. 

“Of course.” Zi Yangpei’s face was full of lofty pride. 

After a few shichen (T/N: 1 shichen = 2 hours), they finally flew to the bottom of the valley. Zi Yangpei only then released the hand he had been constantly squeezing in his grip. He straightened out the clothes that had become a little messy due to the high speed of their travel, and hung a smile on his face that looked like a mask. He led Qin Kaiyi towards the depths of the canyon.

Qin Kaiyi knew that the Zi Yangpei in front of him didn’t have the intent to harm him, so he was not too vigilant. He instead observed the strange scenery around him with interest.

He saw that the valley was full of rugged and strange rocks, as if formed by the weathering of bitingly cold wind and rain. A clay-yellow cliff was covered with strange stones. These stones were oddly shaped–some like roaring male lions, others like eagles longing for flight. Though these stones created a sight that clearly should have been formed by natural means, it made Qin Kaiyi, who was walking at the long and narrow bottom of the gorge, inexplicably feel an intense anticipation for war. 

“This is a great battle that happened in the past. It’s the edge of those ancient battlefields.” Zi Yangpei noticed Qin Kaiyi’s unnatural expression, and gave a slow explanation: “Those stone obelisks have the remnants of sword intent left by ancient Daoist immortals from tens of thousands of years ago. It’s good for cultivation.”

Qin Kaiyi listened to this and let slip a surprised look. He didn’t expect that this guy Zi Yangpei could find even this kind of a place. 

Zi Yangpei didn’t care about Qin Kaiyi’s doubts this time, and just fell silent.

“Here we are.” It wasn’t clear how long they walked before Zi Yangpei led Qin Kaiyi to a sudden stop in front of an inconspicuous stone wall. With a wave of his hand, it seemed that he had pulled aside a curtain that was covering Qin Kaiyi’s eyes. Hua Lian Sect’s main helm suddenly appeared in front of Qin Kaiyi.

It was a group of buildings that couldn’t be described by words. The richly ornamented walls and delicate eaves brought the martial elegance and grace of the gardens in Jiangnan and Suzhou. These edifices seemed to be suspended in midair atop the canyon, with their structures appearing to extend to the two sides of the stone walls. The land these buildings occupied couldn’t be seen in its entirety with a glance. These constructions just like this brought a sort of “pretty daughter from a humble family” kind of feeling, firmly rising upwards from their dusty environment. In this incomparably barren, deep valley, this kind of contrast gave Qin Kaiyi a feeling of astonishment that couldn’t be expressed with language.

Zi Yangpei didn’t react to Qin Kaiyi’s country bumpkin-like expression, but instead walked directly towards the building suspended in front of him. The stunned Qin Kaiyi at his back paused for a moment before following after him with short footsteps.

After walking about a hundred meters away from the building, Qin Kaiyi felt an inexplicable force that catapulted from the ground and directly lifted his body to fly towards the Hua Lian Sect suspended in the sky.

Zi Yangpei’s position in the Hua Lian Sect was obviously very high; this could be seen from the start when he returned, looking at the formalities in the greetings of the disciples. As soon as Qin Kaiyi set foot in the Hua Lian Sect, he saw countless men and women kneeling on the ground in Hua Lian Sect uniforms. Those people released the words in their mouths the moment they saw Zi Yangpei arrive: “Welcome back to the sect, Protector Zi Yang.” 

“En.” Zi Yangpei had no special expression. It seemed that he was used to such treatment for a long time. He was even too lazy to say niceties; he just waved his hand and let the kneeling people stand up.

“Shifu.” A young man, obviously one of Zi Yangpei’s apprentices, stepped forward and saluted at him: “Sect Leader welcomes you back after a long time.”

“Where is he?” Zi Yangpei glanced at the disciple under him: “Are you going to form a core soon?”

“Yes.” The disciple lowered his head slightly: “I am indebted to shifu’s guidance, Tao You is only one step away from core formation.”

“Not bad.” ZI Yangpei patted the disciple’s shoulder in a good mood: “Take me to see the leader, Qin Shi, you follow me.”

Qin Kaiyi, who hadn’t seen the vastness of this world before, was very quiet now. He only began to feel regret after arriving at Hua Lian Sect. From the attitude of these people towards Zi Yangpei, he could completely understand his status. And from the actions of those around him, he could observe the strict rules of this sect… From the moment he came here, no one expressed any curiosity or other thoughts about his arrival. These Hua Lian disciples looked very young, but seemed to be sophisticated machines with no thoughts except to obey orders. 

Behind Zi Yangpei, Qin Kaiyi came to one of the most luxuriously decorated buildings in the Hua Lian Sect. The floor in front of this building was not wooden like other places, but was made of white jade. Under the bright sun’s rays it emitted a warm luster. 

The building facing the main entrance’s roof had a carving of a delicate lotus flower made of unknown material. Compared with ordinary lotus flowers which seemed to invite distant looks from afar without allowing for casual touch, this lotus flower held an enchanting charm similar to the kind of aura exuding from Zi Yangpei’s body.

Zi Yangpei’s expression as he stepped on this precious floor was his usual one, but Qin Kaiyi struggled for a long time before carefully walking up… The child of a poor family couldn’t afford any damages ah. 

Under the leadership of Zi Yangpei, Qin Kaiyi walked into the luxurious building in front of him. But the moment he stepped into the hall entrance, Qin Kaiyi was stunned stupid. He stared blankly at the beautiful woman sitting on the Sect Leader’s chair, and he sucked back his saliva like a disappointment. (T/N: as in QKY failed to live up to expectations… I guess b/c he’s a pervert?) 

Ten ah, this younger sister must be a ten ah! Qin Kaiyi, standing behind Zi Yangpei, sighed with great excitement. Look at this head of black hair, look at these slender white legs, and look at this smile more gorgeous than flowers! Wu, everything was perfect except that the chest was a bit flat.

Thinking of this, Qin Kaiyi clenched his fist secretly in his heart–if he managed to marry this Sect Leader, his life would be worth it!

“Big brother, are you back?” The moment the Sect Leader opened her mouth, Qin Kaiyi was a little stunned–huh? That voice really was a bit… neutral ah, and why does she call Zi Yangpei big brother? Could it be that she was the one who Zi Yangpei gave away to Shen Feixiao, Ziyang Shishi? (T/N: at this point it seems Ziyang is his surname, and Pei is first). 

“What? Little Shi (T/N: the character used for Shi here is different from the previous Shi), you don’t welcome me?” Zi Yangpei’s back faced Qin Kaiyi, and he naturally didn’t know of Qin Kaiyi’s disgraceful reaction. His attitude toward the youth he called Little Shi was a little strange. 

“Of course not. As a younger brother, how could I not welcome the elder brother (T/N: respectful form of elder brother, he also calls him 大人, which is a respectful address for one’s superiors)?” Ziyang Shi’s face, which was even prettier than a girl’s, held a smile that was also not a smile: “I don’t know what good things you brought me back this time, brother?”

The dialogue following this Qin Kaiyi couldn’t hear at all, one sentence kept repeating in his ears: as a younger brother, as a younger brother, as a younger brother–mother’s eggs, his dog eyes were really blind, the prettiest younger sister he had ever seen in front of him was actually not a younger sister, but some big guy who probably scratched his feet!!!

What about Ziyang Shishi?? How could she inexplicably become the Ziyang Shi in front of him???

“Oh, my good little brother, you wouldn’t really think that you have the qualifications to control me?” Ziyang Pei’s mocking voice made Qin Kaiyi’s soul, which was about to fly away to the skies, return to his body. Qin Kai Yi numbly came back to awareness and found that somehow Zi Yangpei and his brother were quarreling loudly.

The atmosphere between the two was obviously bad to the extreme. It was unclear what kind of stimulus he had received, but Ziyang Pei didn’t have his usual indifference, and directly activated his poisoned tongue to mock and ridicule the Ziyang Shi sitting on his chair. 

“I naturally know.” Although Zi Yangshi had a woman’s face, his temperament was no better than Ziyang Pei’s. He sneered and looked at this elder brother who finally returned, almost smashing the armrest of the seat: “However, as long as you are still in Hua Lian Sect, don’t forget our agreement–I don’t care who you want to bring back, but you have to clearly understand, our Hua Lian Sect is not a brothel where you can bring back any pampered male prostitute!”

“… Does this count as flying into a rage from humiliation?” Zi Yangpei sneered: “Aside from your face and your mouth, you have no other desirable aspects. Ziyang Shi, I don’t want to quarrel with you so much, let’s just leave it like this ba.”

“You!” Ziyang Shi was so angered by Ziyang Pei that his face became deathly pale. He did not wear the uniform of the Hua Lian Sect, but he wore a short outfit full of a western style and a string of beautiful little bells on his wrist. Because he got up in anger, the bells rang. Those sweet sounds that should have been melodious actually brought up an uncomfortable feeling in Qin Kaiyi’s heart–what is this pampered male prostitute, was this person talking about him?

“…” Seeing that Qin Kaiyi’s expression was wrong, Ziyang Pei didn’t give Ziyang Shi face anymore. He directly pulled Qin Kaiyi, turned around and walked out of the door, and ignored Ziyang Shi’s almost flustered yelling. 

“The clan is unfortunate.” (T/N: usually used to refer to unworthy offspring). Spitting out a few words from his mouth, Ziyang Pei forgot himself and began to complain to Qin Kaiyi: “I really don’t know who he inherited it from, this kind of childish manner.” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi lowered his head and didn’t respond… Ziyang Pei was still in a fit of anger, how could he stupidly look for misfortune. 

At this time, Ziyang Pei, who pulled Qin Kaiyi out of the hall, suddenly seemed to think of something. He sized Qin Kaiyi up strangely, and then said after a long while: “Tell that guy Yan Gu to come out. I have something to tell him.”