A Smile from the Villain - Chapter 62

Seven years passed in the blink of an eye. These seven years may be very long for ordinary people, but for cultivators, it was too short. When Qin Kaiyi came out of seclusion, he couldn’t believe that so much time had passed. 

The people around Qin Kaiyi didn’t seem to change at all, whether it was Yan Gu or Ziyang Pei. Yes, for these monsters that had lived for tens of thousands of years, seven years couldn’t leave any traces on them. 

“Are you out?” Ziyang Pei didn’t have much of a reaction to Qin Kaiyi’s exit. Seclusion was commonplace for him (T/N: lit.: a simple home-style meal for him). Not to mention seven years, he had even gone into seclusion for seventy years before. 

“En.” Qin Kaiyi didn’t say much when he came out of the secret room. He now had a very bad impression of Ziyang Pei. Although he didn’t find a way to suppress the poisonous insect in his seclusion, his state of mind had greatly changed. He seemed to care less about many things. 

Qin Kaiyi didn’t know that this was the effect of the natural demonic body restraining heart demons, and he thought that people in the Core Formation stage would all be the same. In these seven years, Qin Kaiyi went from the middle stage of the Core Formation period to the late stage. Ordinary people would take at least several hundred years to do this, but Qin Kaiyi had a natural demonic body and resided in a place that gathered spiritual energy. Furthermore, he cultivated demonically, so his speed was naturally beyond the reach of the ordinary. 

But Qin Kaiyi couldn’t compare with Shen Feixiao no matter how much of a genius he was–six months before he exited seclusion, Shen Feixiao reached the Nascent Soul stage. 

Once his Nascent Soul formed, Shen Feixiao’s status shot straight up. Not only did he break away from the ranks of the disciples, he even became the youngest elder of the Lingshan Sect. The fact that he formed his Nascent Soul before thirty shook the cultivation world. No one had ever formed a Nascent Soul so young, not even Xue Xian, the founder of the Lingshan Sect. 

When he heard this news, Qin Kaiyi wanted to sigh. He could only helplessly attribute Shen Feixiao’s anomaly to the protagonist’s halo being against the natural order. 

“You will go to the Kaiyang Gathering this time.” Ziyang Pei looked at Qin Kaiyi, who had come out of seclusion, with a complicated expression. He knew that the moment Shen Feixiao formed his Nascent Soul, Qin Kaiyi would not be able to escape from the palms of his hands. (T/N: 手心, the heart of one’s hands, can also mean one’s control) 

“Kaiyang Gathering?” Qin Kaiyi felt Ziyang Pei’s decision was strange. “I’m going?”

“You will go representing Hua Lian Sect.” Ziyang Pei’s voice was very cold; he suppressed all the tumultuous emotions in his heart. “There’s no problem is there?”

“…” Qin Kaiyi was silent for a while, trying to recall the contents of the original work regarding Qin Shi and the Kaiyang Gathering. He ended up empty handed. How come he only remembered that that guy Shen Feixiao met his fourth wife at the Kaiyang Gathering and found another golden finger? He couldn’t remember Qin Shi playing a role.

“What? Anything you want to say?” Looking at Qin Kaiyi’s hesitating expression, Ziyang Pei couldn’t tell how he himself was feeling. When thinking that he was personally sending Qin Kaiyi into Shen Feixiao’s hands, he still felt some hesitation… But as soon as he saw Ziyang Shi’s appearance when being tortured by the godly poisonous insect, he severed that bit of softness within him. After all, in this matter he owed Ziyang Shi. 

“No.” Qin Kaiyi knew that he did not have the right to refuse. The poisonous insect in his golden core was Ziyang Pei’s greatest tool to control him. He didn’t want to experience that kind of heartrending, lung-splitting pain again.

“Then get ready to go, the competition will start in a month.” Ziyang Pei gave his last command, then left Qin Kaiyi sitting alone on a stone bench. Qin Kaiyi silently picked up an apple from a fruit tray and began to gnaw on it. 

“Yan Gu, are you there?” Qin Kaiyi called gently.

“En?” Yan Gu’s voice was full of tiredness, like he had just had a long sleep.

“I always have a bad hunch.” Qin Kaiyi pursed his lips. “Is there really no way to take out the poisonous insect?”

“…” Yan Gu was quiet for a while before saying, “This should be an insect Ziyang Pei newly developed, specially prepared for controlling demonic cultivators. If you want to get rid of it, I’m afraid you’ll need the mother insect.”

Qin Kaiyi sighed. That mother insect must be with Ziyang Pei. It must not be easy to get it.

“Is there any distance limitation in controlling this insect?” Qin Kaiyi suddenly thought of this and asked.

“En? Distance?” Yan Gu frowned and thought for a moment. “There must be a distance limit, but I don’t know the specific distance, however… if you leave this continent, Ziyang Pei will definitely not be able to control you.”

Qin Kaiyi heard this and sunk into silence… Although leaving the continent was a good choice, once the system gave a task, it would be difficult to complete. If he had bad luck he might even be wiped out…

Thinking of this, Qin Kaiyi showed a bitter smile.

“Forget it, I know you won’t agree.” Yan Gu observed Qin Kaiyi’s appearance, looking as if he had some bitterness he couldn’t express, and said helplessly, “Don’t worry about those things. If I were you, I would think carefully about how to deal with the Kaiyang Gathering. “

“What else can I do, just play it by ear bei,” (T/N: 呗 = bei = unenthusiastic add-on to a sentence) Qin Kaiyi replied. “Even if I don’t win, going to buy some soy sauce is fine.” (T/N: buying soy sauce = none of my business, just passing by)

“…” Yan Gu listened to Qin Kaiyi and didn’t say the words stifled in his heart–not winning is really not a problem, but the problem is that Shen Feixiao might participate in the Kaiyang gathering. At that time, what will you do? 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days later, Qin Kaiyi was ready to set off. Ziyang Pei delivered a sword to Qin Kaiyi. According to Ziyang Pei, this sword was made by the most powerful swordsmith of the year and drank the blood of tens of thousands of people. Ordinary defense items had no way to withstand it. 

Qin Kaiyi expressed serious skepticism about this statement. He looked at the seemingly ordinary long sword in his hands. He felt that this guy Ziyang Pei was conning him, but fortunately Yan Gu was still relatively knowledgeable. He directly told Qin Kaiyi that Ziyang Pei was really not lying… Of course, he didn’t reveal the entire truth. This sword was incredibly fierce. If one’s will was a little weak, he would be devoured by this sword. 

Qin Kaiyi couldn’t tell what was in his heart upon hearing this. Should he be happy that Ziyang Pei regarded him so highly, or should he be sad that Ziyang Pei regarded him so highly…

But before Qin Kaiyi found an answer to this question, he was already on the road.

Kaiyang was a bit far from the Hua Lian Sect, and according to Ziyang Pei, it would take about seven days to arrive by sword even using all of one’s might. Qin Kaiyi didn’t dare to delay anymore. It was clear to him that the later he arrived to the competition, the more dangerous it would be. This was because he could encounter other contestants from different sects on the road, and without the protection of Shuihua Lianqiong’s formation, if he bumped into a Nascent Soul cultivator then he would become someone else’s meal… 

It turned out that Qin Kaiyi’s luck was really not very good. After rushing for four days, he was very unfortunate to encounter a wave of zombies approaching–just kidding, what he encountered was a disciple from another sect.

Because he practiced Yan Gu’s method to conceal his cultivation, Qin Kaiyi’s leaked qi appeared to be the same as a cultivator in the fasting stage’s. Furthermore, his food and clothing expenses all hinted at him being a fat sheep. With his clean and handsome appearance, Qin Kaiyi finally had the fortune to encounter his second bitter virginity crisis in this life… 

Le Dong was a disciple of the Hehuan Sect. This time he was ordered to attend the Kaiyang gathering by the sect head. His status in his sect was not low, and his quality of life was naturally high. Since he was used to spending his days surrounded by beautiful people, he was in a bad mood after rushing on the road for six whole days. 

However, his bad mood disappeared the moment he saw a certain person approaching. (T/N: 烟消云散, lit.: smoke melted away and clouds dispersed). Le Dong couldn’t help but light up when he saw the man who just entered the door and sat opposite him. 

Hehuan Sect was originally known for its beauties, and as a disciple who was valued by his sect head, Le Dong had experienced a lot. However, the person in front of him still made it difficult for him to look away.

This man didn’t seem like other enchanting and charming beauties. He dressed in black clothes with beguiling silver-threaded lotus patterns. The man’s appearance was not soft or feminine, but rather displayed the refinement and bright handsomeness of a modest nobleman. Coupled with his elegant temperament which seemed above the world of mortals, people could not help but exclaim in admiration. However, without knowing why, Le Dong didn’t feel respect or admiration upon seeing this person. Instead, he inexplicably wanted to shatter his calm expression, press him under his body, and leave obscene marks on that white jade flesh. He lusted to watch this man cry and beg for mercy… (T/N: 求饶 has two meanings–beg for mercy/beg for forgiveness). 

Some people are inherently unsuited for decency. Le Dong took a sip of his tea and his eyes flickered, watching this man who was only in the fasting period of cultivation. He already had an idea in his heart… in his Hehuan Sect, once a member took a fancy to a person, he would not rest until that person was in his hands. 

“This brother.” (T/N: 兄台, xiōng tái. Polite way of addressing someone your own age). Qin Kaiyi was eating dry food when he heard a voice ringing above his head. He looked up and saw a handsome face. 

“What’s the matter?” Qin Kaiyi looked at the man in doubt.

“This humble one is called Le Dong.” As if embarrassed, the man first made a self-introduction: “I’m a disciple of the Nai Tongcheng Sect.”

“En? What’s the matter?” Qin Kaiyi still didn’t understand what this person wanted to do.

“Well… I don’t know if brother is going to attend the Kaiyang gathering?” Le Dong asked quietly.

“Why should I tell you?” Qin Kaiyi became suspicious when he heard this. Although he didn’t go out often, he still knew the concept that one who is unaccountably solicitous should be hiding evil intentions. 

“Okay.” As if he didn’t have a choice, the man who claimed to be Le Dong sighed. He did not speak further with Qin Kaiyi and turned back to his own seat with a little bit of indignation on his face. 

Qin Kaiyi didn’t expect this person to be so easy to get rid of, and he was stunned for a while… Was he really thinking too much?

But Qin Kaiyi didn’t know that even though Le Dong returned to his seat with a look of indignation, his heart danced with delight. Without batting an eye, he watched Qin Kaiyi pick up his tea from the table and take a sip.

That’s right, in the few breaths’ time it took to speak with Qin Kaiyi, he used the unique skill of the Hehuan Sect to put a knockout drug in Qin Kaiyi’s tea. This drug was colorless and tasteless, and would make someone lose his abilities and mobility. Le Dong rarely used love drugs, because love drugs were really insulting to the disciples of the Hehuan Sect. After all, with their adept techniques, why would they be afraid that their partners would fail to be aroused?