Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 60

As the youth’s voice rang out, those eerie, distorted semi-human creatures suddenly froze in place. The expressions on the human halves of their faces slowly grew dull, and finally, their eyes turned vacant, staring straight ahead with no further intent to attack.

Ling Chenyan, whose nerves had been stretched to the limit, finally relaxed. She looked up at the youth in the sky.

He was tall and slender, dressed in a white robe with gold trim, enveloped in a golden radiance that obscured his features. The wind whipped the hem of his robe, casting messy shadows on the ground. He descended slowly like a savior, and as he moved, the face that had been hidden by the golden light finally revealed itself completely.

That habitually lazy face was, unmistakably, Wenxin.

But unlike his usual self, his face now bore a look of smug pride as he looked down at Ling Chenyan, as if saying, “I’m so amazing, you must really admire me.”

Ling Chenyan’s mouth twitched. She wondered why this guy was here—he couldn’t have followed her, right? A flash of insight crossed her mind, but it moved so fast she couldn’t quite grasp the important detail she was forgetting. She simply asked, “Why are you here?”

Wenxin tilted his head back and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “If I hadn’t come, what were you going to do about these people? Even if this little brat immobilized them, what then? They would have eventually regained their mobility.”

As Wenxin spoke, he shot a sideways glance at Jinjin, his arrogance and disdain plain to see. Before Jinjin could explode, Ling Chenyan patted his head and soothed him, “It’s okay, our Jinjin is already very impressive.”

Wenxin gave a cold snort, clearly dissatisfied.

Just then, Chen Juan and Guyue, who had been separated from the group earlier, rushed over. The girl and the sword spirit were frantic, repeatedly asking Ling Chenyan if she was okay. She shook her head to indicate she was fine. Just as she was about to suggest they check on the town’s situation, Wenxin pointedly coughed twice.

Seeing the group look his way, he even quietly straightened his back. Chen Juan glanced at him, then retracted her gaze. She reached out to take the huffy Jinjin into her arms, asking, “Are you okay? Were you scared?”

Guyue merely gave him a flat look before asking Ling Chenyan, “Boss, what was that just now?”

No one paid attention to Wenxin.

Wenxin: “…”

After enduring the awkwardness for a moment, he finally lost his patience. “Hey! I saved you! Even if you don’t say thank you, what’s with giving me the cold shoulder?”

The group paused. Ling Chenyan looked up at him. “Thank you. You can leave now.”

Wenxin: “…?”

He ground his teeth in rage, but remembering whose seal might be on the one in Ling Chenyan’s mind, he took a deep breath. Suddenly, he struck out. Almost simultaneously, Guan Luowei struck at the same moment.

Their attacks hit a certain point in space from two different directions. With a “pssh” sound, the figure of an old man suddenly manifested in the air.

The old man was haggard, his hair a mess, and he smelled foul—as if he hadn’t washed in years. It was enough to make anyone frown. He spat out blood, his venomous gaze fixed straight on Ling Chenyan.

Ling Chenyan was a bit bewildered. Wenxin, nearby, spoke up first: “So you’re the… evil thing making trouble in this town? No, wait, you aren’t a pure evil creature…” Wenxin narrowed his eyes, his pupils glowing gold. After a moment, his expression turned to one of disgusted realization. “You were once human, but for power, you actually accepted an ‘Evil Crystal.’ No wonder the aura on you is so thick. It seems the creature that gave you that crystal wasn’t low-level.”

Wenxin’s words stunned everyone. Guan Luowei felt a flash of understanding—that black, seed-like object was a “seed” condensed from an evil creature.

Ling Chenyan looked at the old man. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him immediately. Just as she was about to speak, Guyue, who had been silent, cried out in disbelief: “Elder Chenxu?!”

Ling Chenyan froze. She looked at the old man again and, sure enough, saw his beard—newly grown but with slightly singed tips. It was Elder Chenxu. How had he turned into this ghoulish mess?

Before she could think it through, Chenxu’s eyes turned blood-red, identical to those of the evil creatures, and his body began to shift. He stared at them, his voice raspy and manic as he roared, “All of you, die!”

Under their gaze, Chenxu’s body began to swell rapidly, bulging like a balloon.

“Careful!”

Several voices overlapped in Ling Chenyan’s ears. She saw Chenxu rushing at her with a suicidal resolve, the malice and evil in his eyes leaving her momentarily stunned. Did he really hate her that much?

Just as he was about to reach her, a figure stood firmly in front of her. Then, through the gap, she saw Chenxu’s rapidly expanding body suddenly stop. His eyes grew dull and vacant. If it weren’t for his bloated, balloon-like body, Ling Chenyan would have doubted if what she just experienced was real.

Wenxin’s voice drifted over: “Yo, not bad, kid. Your reaction was pretty fast.”

Ling Chenyan looked up and saw Wenxin looking at Jinjin with rare approval, though he immediately added, “But still too green. Still a bit behind me.”

Jinjin turned his face away and huffed, ignoring him.

After a brief silence, Ling Chenyan looked at the red-clad figure standing in front of her. She stepped forward to take her hand. “Highness, are you alright?”

Guan Luowei felt a warmth in her palm. She instinctively wanted to pull away, but upon hearing the voice, she relaxed. She shook her head. “I am fine.”

Ling Chenyan squeezed her fingertips and then looked at Chenxu, her eyes narrowing. “Elder Chenxu was the Second Elder of the Lingxiao Immortal Sect. How could he have fallen to evil?”

The matter was strange in every way, especially Chenxu’s blatant malice toward her at the end.

Wenxin added from the side, “I looked at his memories. They’re chaotic and disordered, full of filth, as if they’ve been shredded. I could only see fragments. But it was indeed his own choice to swallow the crystal to become like this.”

Ling Chenyan’s eyes shifted. “Did you look at the memories of those semi-human creatures?”

Wenxin replied, “I did. No issues there—they simply couldn’t resist the temptation to become stronger and ate the crystals.”

“Then look again,” Ling Chenyan said, looking up at him.

Wenxin surveyed her, then did as she asked. A moment later, his expression turned to surprise. “Their memories are starting to crack. It won’t be long before they shatter completely.”

Ling Chenyan’s gaze flickered. As she thought—while a cultivator’s power would surge after swallowing a crystal, it meant that over time, they would gradually forget they were ever “human.” Their memories would be shredded, leaving only chaos and the impulse to kill. Their moments of lucidity would grow fewer and fewer until they were no different from pure evil monsters. Furthermore, judging by those in the town, the crystals have a transformation period and allow the person who gave them the crystal to control them.

Ling Chenyan stared at Chenxu for a while, processing the information, before slowly looking at Guyue.

Guyue’s eyes had been red with hatred since he recognized Chenxu. He wanted to kill him right then and there, but he knew Ling Chenyan might have a use for him, so he had suppressed the impulse. Until Ling Chenyan looked at him and said, “Guyue, who else was there that day?”

Guyue’s eyes welled with tears. “There was Elder Lingxu, Zhen Xuzi, and the late Elder Guize. That night, it was Guize who controlled my master and forced me to reveal your identities. Right before I lost consciousness, I heard Chenxu say… say they had to kill my master to eliminate any future trouble.” His voice grew raspy and choked. “When I woke up again, the contract between me and my master was broken.”

By now, everyone knew what had happened. Unless his master had initiated the break herself, it meant she was certainly dead. It was no wonder he was consumed by such hatred.

Ling Chenyan looked at him, her gaze darkening. She casually tossed a sword to him. “Kill him.”

Guyue looked at the sword in his hand, momentarily dazed, wondering if he had heard correctly. Kill who? He stared blankly into Ling Chenyan’s eyes, and she repeated, “Don’t you want to avenge your master? Now, kill him.”

Guyue’s soul-body flickered, and his gaze toward Ling Chenyan became intense. He fiercely wiped away his tears. “Thank you! I, Guyue, will remember this!”

He then took the sword and stabbed it into Chenxu’s body, over and over. Piercing, sticky red liquid sprayed out, but Guyue seemed not to feel it, frantically repeating the same motion. It wasn’t until Chenxu’s blood grew cold and his life was completely gone that Guyue dropped the sword. He looked toward Ling Chenyan with a lost expression, said “Thank you” once more, and vanished into the air.

Ling Chenyan silently put away her broken sword, looking at the blood on the ground with lowered eyes. She understood Guyue. If someone killed Guan Luowei one day, she wouldn’t forgive the enemy with dignity and grace. That was why she let him do it.

The smell of blood still hung in the air. Wenxin looked at her with slight surprise. “I thought you’d keep him to confront that whatever-sect.”

Ling Chenyan looked up. She didn’t explain, only rubbed her temple, exhausted from overthinking. Changing the subject, she looked at Wenxin. “Does Her Majesty know you’re here?”

Wenxin froze, then crossed his arms nonchalantly. “Why should I tell that woman where I go?”

Ling Chenyan was stunned. “…So you snuck out.”

“Wait a second…” Ling Chenyan finally realized what was wrong. But before she could speak, Guan Luowei also looked at Wenxin. Unlike Ling Chenyan’s sharp look, Guan Luowei’s expression was incredibly calm—perhaps too calm.

She asked, “Since when have you been following us?”

Ling Chenyan narrowed her eyes and looked at him unkindly. She remembered that strange feeling of being watched lately…

Wenxin thought about it carefully and seriously, then tilted his chin toward Guan Luowei.

“Probably since that night when she was reading erotica in her room?”

Author’s Note:

Ling Chenyan (Eyes wide): Holy crap!

System (Crashed): Oh my god.