The reason why the great villain was so detested even during his growth period was something Yu Sui Sui knew a thing or two about.
Years ago, the Cultivation World was not as prosperous as it is now.
Back then, the Demons held sway. They were inherently cruel, believing in the supremacy of strength, and under the leadership of Xie Rong Jing’s father, Xie Mian, they committed every atrocity imaginable—burning, killing, and plundering, leaving trails of corpses wherever they went.
Although the human Cultivators united to resist, Xie Mian was simply too powerful. The major sects could only shut their mountain gates and hide. This state lasted for nearly a hundred years until, seven years ago, they finally succeeded in surrounding and killing Xie Mian, exterminating the Demons.
After the Demons’ defeat, the Cultivators stormed their stronghold. Among them, the Tian Zhao Sect’s leader, Yu Qianqiu, overruled all objections and took Xie Mian’s son—the ten-year-old young Demon, Xie Rong Jing—back to the Tian Zhao Sect to raise and educate him.
No one didn’t hate the Demons. Among the Tian Zhao Sect’s disciples, many were unfortunate souls whose families and fellow disciples had been brutally harmed by the Demons. After the Demons were eradicated, this hatred naturally transferred to Xie Rong Jing.
…
“He’s injured!” someone in the crowd shouted: “Beat him to death!”
At the same time, Yu Sui Sui also caught a whiff of that faint scent of blood. Xie Rong Jing’s wounds had never healed, and standing in one place for too long caused the bloody aura to spread.
“Listen to me, his Meridians are shattered—he must be severely injured. If he dies, it won’t be on us,” another male Cultivator spoke up: “My son was only thirteen when he was killed by the Demons. Today, I’m going to beat this beast to death to avenge my son!”
“That’s right! Beat him to death!” a young disciple cried out loudly: “At such a young age, he’s already slaughtering fellow disciples. A beast like this is nothing but a scourge alive!”
“Beat him to death! Beat him to death!”
The hundreds of Outer Sect Disciples still working glared fiercely, forming a dark, oppressive human wall that encircled Xie Rong Jing and Yu Sui Sui.
Yu Sui Sui stood in front of Xie Rong Jing: “He’s already been punished in the Law Enforcement Hall. You can’t take the law into your own hands.”
“Who are you?” another tall disciple asked.
Before Yu Sui Sui could answer, he had already given her a disdainful once-over: This female Cultivator was quite pure and beautiful. If she weren’t mixed up with the Devil Seed, he wouldn’t mind finding a Dao Companion among the Outer Sect.
After all, he was almost a Triple Realm expert and very likely to enter the Inner Sect next year. Being with him would be her good fortune… What a pity.
Thinking this, his words were equally rude: “Messing around with the Devil Seed, she must be a little slut trading on her looks for Cultivation Resources. Beat her up too!”
“Senior Brother Hu, wait.” Someone beside him tugged at his sleeve: “Looking at her attire, she doesn’t seem to be from North Peak…”
Prompted by this, Senior Brother Hu hesitated. He had never seen the dress Yu Sui Sui was wearing before, but it certainly didn’t look ordinary.
But the words were already out, and the feud was surely set. The disciple surnamed Hu had a quick wit: “Hah, this dress is available in the clothing shops at the foot of the mountain. I’ve bought one as a gift before—it only costs two Spirit Stones.”
His scheme was quite clever: If this female Cultivator had no background, all the better. If she really was an Inner Sect senior sister, it was even more important to get everyone to attack her together, so that if blame were to be assigned, he could drag a crowd down with him.
Why was she being scolded for no reason?
Completely baffling.
But this face wasn’t hers, and being with Xie Rongjing wasn’t due to personal preference either. To put it bluntly, she had just transmigrated and didn’t feel much connection to this identity, so she didn’t have strong feelings about it.
What she was more amazed by was: Ah… clothes of this material are actually this cheap?
“Where is that shop? Do they sell men’s clothing there?”
She decided to go shopping there when she had time, and incidentally buy a few sets of clothes for Xie Rongjing to change into.
Looking at his current clothes stained with both rainwater and blood—as a member of the villain preparatory society, this really lacked style.
Senior Brother Hu couldn’t answer that, and then he noticed: the fellow disciples around him were all looking at him with wary eyes.
Regretful and angry, he thought: A woman who can be with the Devil Seed is indeed no easy character!
“Senior Sister.” Other outer sect disciples, unable to figure out Yu Suisui’s background, cautiously bowed: “We were rude earlier. May we ask why Senior Sister has come to North Peak?”
Want to know? I’m just not going to tell you.
Yu Suisui wasn’t buying this act. We’re just ordinary fellow disciples, don’t pry so much.
She didn’t like them much, and her tone was quite distant: “Please move aside, you’re blocking the way.”
Xie Rongjing had been standing quietly the whole time, maintaining that faint, strange smile on his face, his gaze firmly fixed on Yu Suisui.
When people cursed at him or threw things at him, he lightly sidestepped to avoid them. Other than his initial greeting, he didn’t give those people another glance, keeping his eyes unwaveringly on the young girl in front of him throughout.
Her hair was half-dried by the post-rain wind, and the hem of her white dress fluttered along with it, like an unreal dream.
Making one unable to resist wanting to shatter it.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, Yu Suisui couldn’t help but feel a chill on the back of her head.
Great. Hostile outer sect disciples in front, an abnormal major villain behind.
What a fulfilling afternoon 🙂
To be honest, she didn’t like either side much, but if she had to choose one, she’d still pick Xie Rongjing.
Yu Suisui’s little white flower mode activated. She turned around and patted Xie Rongjing’s shoulder reassuringly: “Don’t be afraid, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Mm.”
Xie Rongjing obediently curved his eyes.
The outer sect disciples: …
Did they hear that right? She wants to protect that Devil Seed?
One dares to say it, the other dares to believe it.
They stubbornly refused to let Xie Rongjing and the other leave, and the situation reached a stalemate.
The original book had barely mentioned Tian Zhao Sect, and the original owner rarely ever left her residence, so Yu Suisui didn’t know many details: for example, inner sect disciples who came to North Peak were all aloof and would never bother with these outer sect disciples.
They would first announce their background, then ride clouds and mists amid the outer sect disciples’ reverent and humble gazes.
Yu Suisui didn’t announce her background, didn’t ride clouds and mists, and wasn’t aloof, so they were somewhat uncertain about her identity.
Seeing that people not only hadn’t moved aside but were also getting restless, Yu Suisui began seriously considering: How could she take Xie Rongjing away from here?
The original owner wasn’t highly cultivated and didn’t have wide connections. Fortunately, this was within the sect, and she could still use the Young Lady title.
Speaking of which, what lines should one say at times like this?
[“The Young Lady of Tian Zhao Sect has arrived, who dares block my way?”]
That’s a bit too chuunibyou.
Why aren’t they leaving yet? Do I really have to say this…
So embarrassing…
Seeing her grim expression, some impatient cultivators could no longer restrain their restlessness, tentatively using Spirit Energy to erect an earthen wall before the two.
Such a rare opportunity to pummel the Devil Seed—perhaps even kill him… This Devil Seed was sinister; normally, they couldn’t gain any advantage over him. If he were allowed to recover fully, he might become unkillable.
Boom—
A two-meter-high mound shot up right past Yu Sui Sui’s toes, startling her.
The Outer Sect Disciples’ eyes lit up—this was just a simple earth-based Spirit technique, and this female cultivator couldn’t even counter such a move. Clearly, she wasn’t anyone important.
In that case, there was no need to worry.
“What are you all gathered here for!”
Just as they were about to take further action, a thunderous voice exploded across the clearing.
A white-robed affairs manager hovered mid-air on his sword, surveying the scene below. “Sect Rule Thirty-Four: No provoking disturbances. Speak up—who started this? Go receive ten lashes.”
With perfect synchronization, everyone except Yu Sui Sui pointed at Xie Rong Jing.
“The Devil Seed again.” The white-robed manager waved impatiently. “Why are you still standing around? Get back to your duties. As for you…” He glanced at Xie Rong Jing. “Go receive your punishment. Had I known you hadn’t had enough yesterday, I’d have given you extra lashes.”
Yu Sui Sui: ?
Wait, that’s it?
This is way too careless. If I scattered rice on the ground, even a chicken would investigate better than you.
She voiced her confusion, “It wasn’t Xie Rong Jing who caused trouble. Aren’t you even going to investigate?”
“Who are you to tell me how to manage affairs? You go get a few lashes too—” The manager noticed who was speaking and nearly fell off his sword. “B-B-Big… Big Miss!”
Yu Sui Sui seldom went out, so the disciples didn’t recognize her, but he, as an affairs manager, certainly did.
The sect leader’s daughter was not someone a lowly Outer Sect manager like him could afford to offend. Affairs Manager Ma trembled in fear, kneeling and kowtowing over a dozen times.
The Outer Sect Disciples who hadn’t left yet were dumbstruck, dropping to their knees in a dark mass. Those who had attacked the Big Miss kowtowed harder and harder until their foreheads bled profusely.
As for Senior Brother Hu… He rolled his eyes back and fainted outright, collapsing stiffly to the ground, with no one bothering about whether he lived or died.
They say the great villain Xie Rong Jing changes his expression faster than flipping a page, but these people weren’t far behind. Impressive, impressive.
Yu Sui Sui sighed softly. She bore no grudge against these people and hadn’t come to North Peak to trouble them. After requesting a mount from the manager, she left with Xie Rong Jing.
The two drifted along on the Flying Sword—half a meter wide and one meter long, it only required Spiritual Qi to fly, usable even by a Sound Cultivator like her. Considering the great villain’s leg was inconvenient, she had specifically asked the earlier group for two soft cushions.
With a means of flight, their journey faced far fewer obstacles.
Flying high above, the disciples on the ground couldn’t strike or block them, only glaring daggers at him, powerless to do more.
But given Xie Rong Jing’s exceptional talent for drawing hatred, she didn’t relax until they stood before his residence.
There shouldn’t be any unexpected incidents now. All was peaceful.
Xie Rong Jing’s dwelling was not quite what she had imagined.
Yu Sui Sui’s imagined residence for a villainous preparatory society member: pitch-black, filled with eerie decorations, talismans that could summon skeletons at the slightest mishap, and other things one would expect in a demon’s lair.
In reality, compared to the person himself, his dwelling was surprisingly ordinary.
It was just a typical Outer Sect Disciple room, with a small courtyard, a bedroom, and a cultivation chamber. The only unusual aspect was that, due to his status, no other disciples within several miles were willing to live near him.
Xie Rong Jing pushed open the door, staring unblinkingly at Yu Sui Sui. He had been watching her intently the entire way here. When there were people around, it didn’t feel particularly strange, but with just the two of them, the atmosphere suddenly turned eerie.
…See, another unexpected situation had arisen.
How could she have forgotten: even if no one provoked him, Xie Rong Jing himself was an unusual mission target.
But since she had already come this far and walked such a long way, it would feel like a waste not to apply the medicine and finish the task properly.
It was like playing a single-player game, progressing 99% of the storyline, only to have the power go out right before the boss fight without saving—equally frustrating.
Perhaps because, although Xie Rong Jing was strange, he had never shown any aggression toward her, and now he had only shifted from his considerate mode to silently staring at her… Yu Sui Sui mustered her courage and poked him with a finger.
“Go take a bath and change your clothes first. I’ll help you apply the medicine afterward.”
Although Xie Rong Jing hadn’t accepted the Bi Ying Paste, this versatile medicine was something the original owner always kept in her Storage Bag, so it was readily available.
She remained inwardly cautious, ready to retreat if the situation turned sour. To her surprise, he was unexpectedly obedient. Before long, he emerged from the inner room wearing a grayish-white robe, his ink-black hair loosely draped over his shoulders.
The process of applying the medicine went much more smoothly than expected. The doctor was a bit amateur, but the patient was highly cooperative. When Yu Sui Sui needed to treat his left hand, he offered it without hesitation; when she needed to tend to his back, he obediently turned around. Some wounds were so deep the bone was visible, yet Xie Rong Jing remained silent throughout, not uttering a single sound.
The sun set in the west, dyeing half the sky crimson with purple evening clouds.
Yu Sui Sui bandaged the last wound, even tying a bow on it.
Done! Perfect.
If she headed back now, she would just make it in time for dinner.
The meals at Tian Zhao Sect were quite good—she wondered what delicacies were prepared for tonight.
Thankfully, she had her Flying Sword. She still had a bit of a shadow about crossing the Moon Condensation Bridge on foot.
Xie Rong Jing did not try to keep her, merely watching calmly as she cheerfully closed the door behind her.
His expression remained unchanged throughout, as if carved into a semi-permanent mask.
As the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance, a dusty gray crow landed on the windowsill.
The area was close to the mountains, and birds occasionally stopped by. Normally, Xie Rong Jing paid no attention to such small creatures.
But today seemed different.
Dragging his broken leg, he walked over, seized the unsuspecting gray-black bird, and slowly tightened his grip. As blood seeped from between his fingers, a gentle, delighted smile gradually spread across his face.
“She wore white, and I wore white.”
“Why, why are you black…?”
“It’s all your fault.”