Chapter 2
Xue Xu wasn’t dead yet, but his living state was far more agonizing than death.
Demonic cultivators walked a shortcut paved with blood and lives, often employing sacrificial rituals or soul-devouring techniques. The benefit was rapid cultivation advancement; the drawback, a high probability of being struck by lightning. With his cultivation base intact, Xue Xu could have suppressed the backlash, but now, with his golden core destroyed and his spiritual root damaged, his cultivation path was severed. An endless torment awaited him.
Xue Xu clearly understood this. Glaring at the trembling Wen Linyu, his eyes bloodshot, he spat, “Despicable! Pretending to be weak and vulnerable!”
Wen Linyu glanced at him, then quickly averted his gaze. Blood, so much blood, staining his hands. His voice trembled, fear close to tears: “I wasn’t pretending…”
“My Xue family won’t let you go!” Xue Xu threatened viciously. But in the next instant, a shrill scream ripped from his throat.
Wen Linyu shuddered even harder. He hadn’t looked at Xue Xu, yet the gruesome image of the backlash searing his body was vividly imprinted in his mind. Even covering his eyes didn’t erase the sight.
—Of course, it wasn’t him seeing it, but someone else.
Reveling in the enemy’s suffering was one of his hobbies.
Having enjoyed the spectacle, the voice said with amusement: “Alright, now take care of the other rats.”
Rats? Wen Linyu removed his hands, eyes red-rimmed, and turned to see Xin Ge and his group, petrified with fear.
Seeing Wen Linyu had discovered them, they trembled like leaves. They scrambled to their feet, trying to escape, but their legs gave way, sending them tumbling. Finally, driven by the instinct to survive, they managed to stand and bolt.
However, they barely took half a step before Wen Linyu appeared in their path.
This speed wasn’t Wen Linyu’s doing either. He felt nauseous. Xin Ge and the others felt the same, but from terror.
Xin Ge’s knees buckled, and he was the first to kneel: “G-Great Lord, I-I didn’t see anything! P-Please don’t kill me!”
Following his lead, the others also knelt, begging for mercy, filled with regret.
Wen Linyu’s meek compliance earlier in the classroom had given them the false impression that he was easy prey. Noticing him using a storage ring, they had hatched a plan.
Storage rings were highly sought after, both by cultivators and ordinary people, always in short supply. The one Wen Linyu wore was an expensive model. They wanted to “borrow” some money, so they followed him.
Seeing him enter the forest, they thought their opportunity had arrived.
Instead, they witnessed a murder scene, completely unprepared.
He had killed a Golden Core cultivator with a single blow. Wouldn’t killing them, a few Qi Refinement level nobodies, be as easy as crushing ants for this disguised weakling?
As Wen Linyu raised his hand, despair filled their faces.
But Wen Linyu suddenly stopped, clutching his right hand. He said to the voice: “Don’t! They, they…” He didn’t want to kill, especially not these people whose crimes didn’t warrant death.
“Useless kindness,” the voice commented, but ultimately didn’t force the issue.
To him, killing or sparing them made little difference.
Xin Ge waited with his eyes closed for a while. Feeling no pain, he cautiously opened them to see Wen Linyu lower his hand. Did this mean he was sparing them?
Xin Ge reacted swiftly, kowtowing repeatedly, expressing his gratitude, then fleeing. The others, dumbfounded, followed suit.
As they ran, they feared a sudden attack from behind, a classic villainous trope of releasing hostages only to shoot them in the back as they fled.
Fortunately, they were lucky, escaping the forest alive. Back in the sunlight, they burst into tears, vowing never to engage in such shady activities again.
Logically, Wen Linyu should have left too. But hearing Xue Xu’s moans and seeing the bloodstains, he hesitated, unable to simply walk away.
The voice in his mind scoffed: “Don’t tell me you’re going to save him?”
Wen Linyu shook his head. He wasn’t foolish enough to save someone who tried to kill him, but what had just happened…
Seeing Wen Linyu hesitate before dialing the emergency number, the voice and the cautiously returning little chick fell silent once more.
Wen Linyu went to the police station, and Xue Xu was taken away, not by his family, but by the Demonic Suppression Bureau, a special police department handling cases related to demonic cultivators, demons, and evil spirits.
Xue Xu’s golden core was destroyed, the backlash evident. The laws here differed from what Wen Linyu knew. Although he had provoked Xue Xu first, the demonic cultivator had tried to steal his soul and life, making his counterattack self-defense.
However, he was still reprimanded, as stalking wasn’t commendable behavior.
Wen Linyu was very receptive to the criticism, even writing a self-reflection essay. The butler who came to pick him up was bewildered, especially when Wen Linyu, upon entering the car, apologized: “Sorry to trouble you to pick me up.”
Hearing these words and tone, the driver’s hands nearly slipped off the steering wheel. Through the rearview mirror, the butler could see the driver’s terrified expression. He understood.
The butler hesitated, wondering what their Demon Lord was up to, unsure whether to play along.
Oh well, as long as he was happy.
The butler put on a smile and reported the Xue family’s situation to Wen Linyu: “…Xue Xu isn’t the only one in the Xue family practicing demonic cultivation. In my opinion, his father is highly likely involved as well. And for Xue Xu to have formed a golden core at such a young age, the Xue family might not let this go. Do you wish to handle this personally, or should I arrange for someone to take care of it?”
Wen Linyu, still reeling from the earlier incident, was dazed: “Handle what?”
The butler adjusted his glasses, maintaining his smile: “You jest, of course I’m referring to eliminating the Xue family.”
Wen Linyu’s face froze. He glanced at the police station, stammering: “N-no need, right?”
Now it was the butler’s turn to be confused. He asked hesitantly: “But don’t you despise demonic cultivators the most?”
Was that so? So today’s mission wasn’t Gu Chi deliberately picking a fight with Xue Xu because he disliked him, but because he knew Xue Xu was a demonic cultivator?
Wen Linyu didn’t know. He knew almost nothing about Gu Chi. The system hadn’t told him, and he didn’t dare snoop through someone else’s belongings.
Seeing this, the butler dropped the subject. As the car started moving, he brought up another matter. One of Gu Chi’s subordinates had betrayed him, revealing information. The traitor was currently at home, awaiting Gu Chi’s judgment.
Judgment? How was he supposed to judge? Wen Linyu’s mind was a mess. His ordinary, bleak eighteen years of life had never encountered such situations. He had never had trusted family or friends, although betrayals, those he had experienced plenty.
They plastered his photos everywhere, gossiped about his every aspect, cornered and beat him, stealing whatever they could find on him, looking at him with mockery, contempt, and disgust. In their eyes, he was a useless waste.
How had he dealt with these people and situations? He hadn’t. He couldn’t fight back. Everyone around him had a hand in suppressing him, and he could only endure silently, praying for a different world tomorrow, or perhaps, to never open his eyes again.
Yes, he was a useless waste, so he didn’t know anything.
Wen Linyu’s spirits were low. The voice in his head and 998 had both disappeared. No one offered him advice, no one taught him what to do. When the traitor was brought before him, he was once again at a loss.
The man’s hands were tied behind his back. He knelt low, his back drenched in cold sweat: “Master, I was just drunk, and I only mentioned that you were in Qingyuan. I didn’t say anything else! Please, spare me this time! I know I was wrong!”
“Little Tong?” Wen Linyu shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to people kneeling. He called for 998 in his mind, but received no response.
998 was busy massaging the Demon Lord’s legs, glancing at the flashing messages in the “Sworn Not to Be a Slave System Chat Room” with tears welling in its beady eyes.
Waaaaah, it couldn’t escape its fate!
Wen Linyu waited, but still no voice. He had to figure this out himself. The kneeling man, hearing no response, began to tremble.
After an unknown amount of time, just as he was nearing despair, he heard Wen Linyu speak.
“Drinking too much is indeed not good, and casually talking about me, my matters, is also very wrong.” Wen Linyu stammered, “Are you truly remorseful?”
Hearing the first half of the sentence, the kneeling man thought he was being mocked. He kowtowed twice, his head hitting the floor with a thud: “I truly know my mistake! I deserve any punishment, I only beg you to spare my life!”
“Punishment…” Wen Linyu looked at the man’s groveling figure, unable to think of a suitable punishment. “Little Tong, are you there?”
The little chick plastered a fawning smile on its feathery face, its wings working tirelessly. The Demon Lord, Gu Chi himself, glanced at it.
998 carefully gauged the Demon Lord’s expression, tentatively suggesting: “Hey, how about giving him a couple of slaps first?”
Hearing 998’s voice again, Wen Linyu sighed in relief. He wasn’t alone. He stood up and walked towards the subordinate.
The subordinate remained kneeling, his head nearly touching the floor. From this angle, Wen Linyu couldn’t slap him easily, so he had to make him raise his head.
The subordinate gulped, fearfully raising his head, awaiting his doom.
Wen Linyu, also inexperienced in slapping people, mentally prepared himself before finally gritting his teeth and delivering a slap.
The room fell silent, an eerie silence.
The slapped subordinate was stunned. Did the boss just… caress him? He mustered the courage to look at Wen Linyu, realizing that today’s Demon Lord was different. His eyes were red-rimmed, looking strangely pitiful.
A wild thought crossed the subordinate’s mind as he looked at his bound, bulging muscles and recalled his often-praised handsome face—could the boss have taken a liking to him?
Then, elation. Did this mean he wouldn’t die?!
Emboldened, he spoke: “Thank you for your favor, Master! If it pleases you, please punish me as you wish!”
The butler and the others in the room stared at him as if he were a dead man: Did he seriously just enjoy that?
They were also puzzled. What was wrong with the boss today? Those who betrayed him always met the worst fate. Why was he suddenly acting like a different person? Possessed?
The thought arose, then they immediately dismissed it. Who could possibly possess Gu Chi?
Gu Chi, watching this scene, pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to bear it any longer: “Is this how you be a villain?”
“I know I’m not doing it well, but I don’t know how…” Wen Linyu was slightly afraid of this voice, but also grateful. If it weren’t for him, he would already be dead at Xue Xu’s hands. He added, “May I ask, who are you?”
“Who am I?” Gu Chi almost laughed. Was that even a question? But remembering Wen Linyu’s timid nature, and glancing at the obediently cowering chick, he said with a smile, “I’m the teacher that chicken hired for you. Since you don’t know how to be a villain, I’ll teach you.”
998 quickly chimed in: “Yes, yes, yes! This master is specially hired! You must study hard!”
Wen Linyu, for the first time since arriving in this world, smiled. Relieved, he obediently said: “Hello, Teacher.”
Hearing this greeting, Gu Chi’s mood brightened. Hmm, it had been a while since he encountered such a refreshingly useless little thing.
