Raising the Villain in Wrong Way

"When the sparring bracket opens," Wangchen stated, his voice a chilling promise of violence. "Make sure Mo Wuchen is in my block. I am going to break his legs."

Elder Qin looked at his disciple, seeing the absolute, unyielding obsession carved into his features.

He looked back at the screen, where the smiling assassin was currently drying his hair by the fire, entirely unaware that he had just earned the top spot on a Flawless Ice Root’s hit list.

"Very well," Elder Qin nodded slowly, a hint of genuine pity for Mo Wuchen crossing his ancient face. "It shall be arranged as you wish, disciple."

Inside the realm, Lin Ji’an flipped her snake meat skewer, totally unaware that her decision to stay out of the water had not only saved her secret but had also just condemned Love Interest Number 6 to an impending, icy doom.

The morning mist rolling off the Luminous Jade River was supposed to bring a sense of profound, spiritual rejuvenation.

For Lin Ji’an, it brought nothing but a profound, spiritual headache.

The source of this headache was currently sitting on a smooth river stone, coughing delicately into a pristine, white silk handkerchief.

Mo Wuchen, the Shadow Assassin, had apparently decided that his new persona for the day was "Victorian orphan dying of consumption."

Despite being a high-level cultivator whose immune system could likely digest a rusty nail, Wuchen had somehow manipulated his internal Qi to mimic the symptoms of a severe chill.

His flawless, pale skin was flushed with a feverish pink, and his usually vibrant amber eyes were glassy and pathetic.

"I... I apologize for being a burden," Wuchen murmured, his voice a raspy, heartbreaking whisper.

He leaned heavily against one of the burly Class 6 disciples, who looked like he was ready to lay down his life for this fragile flower of a man. "The cold from the fall last night... it has settled in my lungs. Please, Senior Brothers, do not let me slow you down. Leave me here by the river. I shall simply... accept my fate."

He coughed again, a soft, hacking sound that somehow made him look even more devastatingly handsome.

"We can’t leave you, little brother!" Tang Bo cried, clutching his skillet to his chest in distress. "You’ll be eaten by a passing toad! Boss! We have to take him with us!"

"He’s so brave," Liu Liu whispered to Su Wan, wiping a tear from her eye. "Offering to stay behind so we can succeed. We can’t abandon a fellow disciple with such noble morals!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Even Su Wan, who usually possessed a radar for manipulation, was nodding emphatically.

The White Lotus had met her match in the Assassin; she was entirely convinced by his performance.

Lin Ji’an stood by the smoldering remains of the campfire, aggressively packing her iron wok into her spatial bag. She glared at Wuchen.

Wuchen peeked over the handkerchief. For a fraction of a millisecond, the glassy, feverish look in his amber eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, mocking gleam aimed directly at Ji’an.

Checkmate, the look said.

’He is a menace to society,’ Ji’an fumed internally. ’He suppressed his own Yang energy just to fake a fever! The sheer dedication to the grift is terrifying. If I say no, my entire squad will think I’m a heartless monster, and morale will plummet.’

Ji’an sighed, rubbing her temples. "Fine. He comes with us. But Tang Bo, you’re carrying his pack. And if he starts coughing up blood, I’m putting him in a tree."

"Oh, thank you, Senior Brother Lin," Wuchen smiled weakly, allowing the Class 6 guard to help him to his feet. "Your kindness is as vast as the heavens."

"Save it," Ji’an grumbled, kicking dirt over the fire to extinguish it. "Let’s move out. We have thirty hours left, and I still need to find a patch of Moon-Thread Saffron."

The mega-squad, now featuring one highly dangerous, faux-sick hitchhiker, moved away from the riverbank and back into the dense, ancient woods of the Lower Realm.

Ji’an took point, her Black Iron Spatula in hand, while the guards took turns supporting the "frail" Mo Wuchen. Princess Ling’er, whose ankle was much better but still unfit for rugged terrain, was once again secured firmly on Ji’an’s back in a piggyback hold.

For the first mile, it was peaceful. The birds were singing, the spiritual energy was rich, and Ji’an was successfully foraging a decent amount of wild garlic.

Then, the ground vibrated.

It wasn’t a subtle tremor. It felt as though a minor earthquake had centered itself directly beneath their boots.

The birds in the canopy stopped singing instantly, taking flight in a massive, panicked swarm.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Trees the thickness of a grown man’s torso began to snap and fall in the distance, the sounds of splintering wood echoing like cannon fire.

Something massive was moving through the forest, and it was moving incredibly fast.

"Formation!" Ji’an barked, dropping the wild garlic and dropping into a defensive stance. "Guards, circle up! Protect the injured!"

The brush fifty yards ahead exploded outward in a shower of dirt and shattered timber.

Emerging from the dust was a Mountain-Crag Snapping Turtle.

It was the size of a two-story inn. Its shell wasn’t made of keratin; it was composed of jagged, impenetrable spiritual rock that crackled with earth-attribute energy.

Its head, thick and armored with overlapping scales, featured a beak that could effortlessly snap a steel broadsword in half.

The beast locked its glowing, prehistoric yellow eyes onto the squad. It let out a deafening, hissing roar that blew Ji’an’s hair back from her face.

"A Rank 4 Armored Beast?!" one of the Class 6 disciples shrieked, dropping his sword in sheer terror. "What is that doing in the Outer Sect testing zone?! We can’t scratch that thing!"

Ji’an’s mind raced. The disciple was right. A Mountain-Crag Turtle was a territorial beast.

It rarely moved unless provoked, and it certainly didn’t go out of its way to hunt humans unless it smelled something irresistible.