After Ten Years as a Villain, I Returned 10

Chapter 10

The abandoned building was cold and damp. Wu Shuhao, who had fainted and lost a soul fragment, wasn’t discovered until the next day by a homeless person.

Another one for the hospital.

Wen Linyu, back for three days, had already racked up four victims. A remarkable achievement.

That morning, Wen Linyu sat leisurely at the head of the dining table, enjoying his breakfast. Wen Cheng was the only other person present.

After all, both Wen Hongbo and his wife were hospitalized.

The butler and the servants remained silent, diligently performing their duties, careful not to offend Wen Linyu. He now exuded the aura of someone who could calmly stab you with a knife.

—He had dragged his own mother into the basement. What wouldn’t he do?

However, when he wasn’t around, they still gossiped. Before, it was about how useless and inferior he was compared to Young Master Cheng. Now, they debated the truth of Madam’s claim that Wen Linyu liked living in the basement, and what he had done to provoke such treatment from his parents.

What had Wen Linyu done? Nothing, really. He simply shared a special fate with Gu Chi.

He learned this from the butler after following his teacher’s advice. Coincidentally, he and Gu Chi were born on the same day of the same month, at the same hour, just in different years.

Gu Chi’s parents had given birth to him for their demonic cultivation, and Wen Linyu’s parents were no different.

They had abandoned him with a carefully chosen family, ensuring he lived in constant misery, so they could thrive on his suffering, their wealth and status rising on the foundation of his pain.

Bringing him back wasn’t out of guilt or a desire to make amends, but simply because they weren’t satisfied, wanting to drain him completely.

Wen Linyu had gleaned this information from the white-bearded ghost the previous night, having already suspected most of it.

It wasn’t about what you did. These people were simply evil.

With no interruptions on his way to school, Wen Linyu felt relaxed. His greatest desire had always been a peaceful life, just like any ordinary student, attending classes, eating a full meal, sleeping soundly, and free from abuse and neglect. He didn’t dare ask for more.

Now, he finally had it.

After school, he went to claim his lottery winnings.

Good news, he won. Bad news, not the jackpot, only the second prize.

The second prize was 300,000 per ticket, totaling thirty million for his hundred tickets. Far from his expected five hundred million. He wasn’t sure if the white-bearded ghost was truly incompetent or if those three lives simply weren’t worth that much. He should have grabbed some of Wu Shujie’s hair at school.

Dissatisfied, he went to A City’s famous antique street. He bypassed the upscale shops, browsing the stalls, buying a pile of old trinkets, prioritizing quantity over quality, hoping to squeeze a bit more out of his parents and brother.

Afterward, he went to a nearby night market, exploring the food stalls. The street was vibrant and bustling, a scene he had never experienced before. He strolled leisurely, observing, tasting, filling the void of his past longings.

In the anonymity of the crowded night market, his doe-like eyes, no longer forced into a mask of indifference, lit up with genuine delight at the sights and tastes, sparkling like stars.

Gu Chi, watching Wen Linyu enjoying himself in the mirror, ground his teeth: “Oh, you’re having a good time, aren’t you?”

998, ever the sycophant, began massaging the Demon Lord’s legs with its wings: “As you can see, Master, the host isn’t being bullied. So, shouldn’t we…”

Gu Chi’s response was a heavy “Hmph,” filled with displeasure and resentment.

998 understood the displeasure. It had explained the villain role to Wen Linyu in his own world, not in Gu Chi’s. They hadn’t discussed it in Gu Chi’s world, so the Demon Lord hadn’t known Wen Linyu was going to leave.

The sudden departure was unexpected, and for someone with Gu Chi’s control issues, displeasure and anger were natural reactions.

But what was with the “resentment”? 998, not being human, needed its strategist colleagues to analyze complex emotions. Unfortunately, it didn’t dare open the chat room right now.

Despite his displeasure, Gu Chi continued to watch Wen Linyu in the mirror.

So that’s what his little apprentice looked like.

After ten years of teaching him, how could he still have such a naive expression? Those eyes, completely unguarded, clear as water. He looked so… vulnerable. Had he forgotten everything he had taught him?

So forgetful!

It was just a piece of seaweed rice cake. Why were his eyes shining so brightly? Could it be more interesting than learning how to deal with enemies?

Gu Chi wished he could go there and teach his disobedient apprentice a lesson.

But—

He glared at the chicken.

998 immediately knelt: “Boss, I’m really broke! Please, can we wait until the end of the month? Once I get paid, I’ll send you over immediately, okay?”

The small, pancake-sized chick knelt, its wings clasped together, its feathery face on the verge of tears. It was a comical sight.

But Gu Chi didn’t laugh, and 998 certainly couldn’t. It had arrived in this world with a certain amount of energy, but ambushing Gu Chi had depleted some, bringing Wen Linyu over had depleted more, and sending him back had left it with just enough to escape.

Stabilizing a world was a difficult task, but the reward was substantial. It should have been rich. But it had to wait for the payment to process. Such was the plight of a working-class system.

Gu Chi’s relentless torture of the protagonist had scared 998 into reluctantly offering its escape energy to provide a live feed of Wen Linyu.

With some time still remaining until payday, it knew it couldn’t use up all its energy at once. Otherwise, the frustrated Demon Lord might add “chicken stew” and “kung pao chicken” to his menu.

As expected, Gu Chi, after watching for a while, grew dissatisfied: “I want to see him.”

998 wanted to curse: Are you deaf?! I said I’m broke!

But its voice was still timid and pleading: “Daddy! I really don’t have that much left…”

Gu Chi shuddered: “Disgusting. Hurry up!”

998: You motherf—

Wen Linyu, having enjoyed himself, returned home, took a bath, cultivated for three hours, and fell asleep.

His dream was unusual. He was in a vast white space, not the white of snow, but a metallic white, like a glitching screen, the entire space flickering and unstable.

“Where is this?” he wondered aloud.

As he spoke, a figure materialized in the glitching white void.

Wen Linyu couldn’t see who it was. The image quality was terrible, like a low-resolution video.

“Heh. Just a few days, and you’ve already forgotten me?” Gu Chi asked, still grinding his teeth, contemplating how to punish his runaway apprentice.

“Teacher?!” Wen Linyu’s wary eyes suddenly lit up, brighter than when he had eaten the rice cake earlier.

This slightly appeased Gu Chi’s anger, just a tiny bit.

Then, Wen Linyu rushed towards him and hugged him, burying his face in his chest, his eyes closed, a wide smile on his face, murmuring: “Teacher, I missed you so much.”

He knew this was a dream. So he didn’t have to hold back.

He hugged him tighter.

Gu Chi…

Gu Chi froze, his limbs stiff. His earlier displeasure and resentment vanished, replaced by a warmth spreading through his chest.