This Is What a Villain Is Like

The Blood Red Plateau was dim and shrouded, with massive ravines crisscrossing the land.

A thin, blood-colored mist drifted through the Void.

Countless Demon Beasts charged out from every direction, a roaring torrent that kicked up clouds of dust and sent rocks tumbling. The mountains themselves rumbled and quaked.

SHIING!

A blindingly brilliant streak of Sword Qi suddenly slashed down from the horizon like a frozen waterfall.

The very Void seemed to freeze. Wherever the Sword Qi passed, vast swaths of Demon Beasts were instantly frozen solid, then shattered into fine dust with a series of crisp CRACKS.

A slender figure in a simple gauze dress, her skirt fluttering, appeared in the sky. She leaned on her sword, arriving like a Divine Rainbow.

Any Demon Beast that blocked her path disintegrated under a single strike of her sword, turning into a cloud of fine powder before they could even scream.

Soon, a clear path was carved out before her.

Li Mengning moved with a graceful, ethereal air, but a hint of worry was visible behind her serene expression.

Countless sword phantoms swirled around her.

Behind her, it was as if an ancient sword cache had opened. One after another, phantoms of Divine Swords emerged, then streaked across the heavens and earth with an astonishing, unstoppable sharpness that could cut through anything.

She didn’t know why the Blood Red Plateau had suddenly undergone such a drastic change.

Nor did she know why countless Demon Beasts had suddenly gone on a rampage.

She only knew one thing right now... ’That disobedient boy is in grave danger.’

VMMM!!!

The sky filled with sword phantoms that whistled as they slashed forth. A sea of sword light covered everything, extending for hundreds of miles.

Li Mengning’s serene eyes scanned the area rapidly. In her other slender, jade-like hand, she tightly clutched a meticulously cleaned Nine Yin Rourou Lotus.

Suddenly, behind a nearby half-man-high rock, she spotted a familiar figure.

He didn’t appear to be injured, just much paler than before. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Jiang Lan..." Her heart finally settled. She transformed into a streak of light and landed beside him.

"You came?"

A familiar, faint fragrance reached his nose. Jiang Lan glanced at her, asking the obvious.

He could clearly sense that Li Mengning was a little angry. Her face, hidden behind a light veil, showed no emotion. While that was usually the case, she wouldn’t ignore him like she was today.

Normally, if he asked her something, she would at least give a soft "Mhm."

But then again, he had deceived her first. Without any cultivation, never mind venturing deep into the Blood Red Plateau alone, even this sudden Demon Beast tide could have easily cost him his life.

"Don’t be angry. I was wrong."

Jiang Lan smiled, immediately admitting his mistake and apologizing. "It won’t happen again."

Li Mengning’s serene eyes stared intently at his face. Then, she softly spoke a single word, "Liar."

She was indeed a little angry, but not because Jiang Lan had deceived her.

It was because he had knowingly gambled with his life by forcing his way deep into the Blood Red Plateau without any cultivation.

"I was confident. You know me, I’m terrified of dying. I wouldn’t gamble with my life so easily."

As if reading her mind, Jiang Lan said softly, "I may not have much, but I’ve got plenty of trump cards to save my skin."

Li Mengning remained silent, her clear eyes just watching him quietly.

"Alright, next time I go on an adventure, I won’t send you away first."

Jiang Lan felt a headache coming on.

Only after he said this did Li Mengning give a soft "Mhm," then added quietly, "Sects will be arriving here soon."

Jiang Lan understood. That was why he’d waited for her here. He just wondered how many Domain-breaking Talismans Li Mengning had left on her. They were excellent for traveling or escaping.

However, activating a Domain-breaking Talisman required a certain level of power. Since he had no cultivation, they would have been useless to him even if he had them, which was why he didn’t carry any.

’Looks like I’ll have to ask my family for some later.’

"Let’s go..."

Jiang Lan said, then wrapped his arm around Li Mengning’s slender waist with practiced ease, holding her tight.

It wasn’t that he was trying to take advantage of her.

It was just that without the protection of the talisman’s light, his current physical body couldn’t withstand traveling through the Void. The astral winds would tear him apart.

The commotion on the Blood Red Plateau was huge, but no one would ever suspect it had anything to do with him.

Li Mengning gently bit her red lip. A faint blush crept up her flawless, crystalline ears.

Then, the Void before them trembled slightly. A blurry ripple spread out, and the two of them quickly vanished.

Along the way, Jiang Lan caught the scent of blood, which surprised him. It wasn’t the foul stench of a Demon Beast’s blood, but a scent carrying a strange, faint fragrance.

"Are you injured?" he asked.

’The Demon Beast guarding the Nine Yin Rourou Lotus shouldn’t have been a match for Li Mengning.’

"There were two of them," Li Mengning replied.

She had slain two Demon King-level beasts. Although she had sustained a minor injury, her strength was truly terrifying.

Among the young Celestial Prides of her generation, very few could likely withstand a single strike from her sword at this point.

’In the original plot, if she hadn’t been held back by me, and if her Dao Heart hadn’t been wounded by my later death, it really wouldn’t have been easy for the protagonist, Lin Fan, to quickly surpass her.’

’This girl isn’t just talented; she’s also incredibly hardworking. Whenever she disappears, she’s off cultivating.’

"That thousand-year-old Nine Yin Rourou Lotus is a rare Celestial and Earthly Treasure for someone like you who practices the Supreme Profound Secret Skill. After you go through its Refinement, your power should increase significantly," Jiang Lan said.

"You don’t want it?" Li Mengning was a little confused.

Jiang Lan smiled and said, "What use would I have for it? I’m a good-for-nothing who can’t cultivate. Using a Celestial and Earthly Treasure like this on me would just be a waste."

Li Mengning froze, her serene eyes looking straight at him. Then she said very seriously, "You’re not a good-for-nothing..."

In her heart, Jiang Lan had never been a good-for-nothing, not in the past and not now.

"When we get back, you should take the Nine Yin Rourou Lotus and try it," she added in a low voice.

Jiang Lan felt that this Quasi-Saintess was really quite stubborn.

He sighed with a hint of helplessness. "I had you pick this Nine Yin Rourou Lotus so you could refine it for yourself. I’m counting on you to protect me. If your strength doesn’t increase and we run into an assassin stronger than that Lin Fan, who’s going to protect me?"

"Ying can’t possibly follow me around every second, and I can’t seem to shake you off, my little shadow."

Hearing Jiang Lan call her his "little shadow," Li Mengning froze for a moment.

’It’s true, I really am like his shadow. I follow him wherever he goes. Does he not like that?’

"What I mean is, from now on, I can only count on you to protect me, so you have to get stronger."

Jiang Lan knew she was about to misunderstand, so after a moment’s thought, he rephrased it.

Otherwise, who knew how long her mind would get stuck going in circles.

"Mhm..."

"I... I will protect you."

Li Mengning’s mind was still a bit dazed, Jiang Lan’s words "from now on" echoing in her ears...

"Hm?"

Noticing that Li Mengning suddenly seemed a little strange in his arms, Jiang Lan was surprised.

"You... you’re holding me too tight..."

Li Mengning whispered, "I... I suddenly can’t breathe."

By the time the two returned to Yu Yi City in Jiangling County, it was already dusk the next day. The twilight was fading, and the evening clouds were as splendid as maple leaves.