This Is What a Villain Is Like

"Ming the Kid, what happened? Why the sudden, panicked escape?"

"Weren’t you able to rescue that disciple from the Jasper Pool Sect?"

"I stalled for so long to help you, yet I never expected you’d be the one to run into trouble this time."

In the dead of night.

In a neighborhood of low, green-brick and tile-roofed houses in Anyang City.

Ye Ming suppressed all fluctuations of his aura. He also disguised himself, transforming into an ordinary man with a sallow complexion. He did his best to quiet his breathing and make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

He let out a long sigh of relief only after confirming that the terrifying woman wasn’t pursuing him.

This was the slums of Anyang City. It was simple and crude, filled with green-brick and tile-roofed houses that stood in stark contrast to the distant, brilliantly lit palace pavilions wreathed in mist and clouds.

Hearing the surprise in the Old Ghost’s questions, he couldn’t help but give a bitter laugh and quickly shared his suspicions.

"Don’t even ask. It was unbelievable."

"The woman we ran into on the Blood Red Plateau that day... was the same one who was just chasing me down..."

"Thankfully, I cultivate Eight Steps to the Clouds. She couldn’t seem to lock onto my position and lost my trail. Otherwise, getting away would have been far from easy."

Ye Ming’s expression was grim, a lingering fear creeping in as he spoke. If that woman had managed to stop him, he probably wouldn’t have escaped unscathed. He would have lost a layer of skin, at the very least.

But what terrified and astounded him even more was Jiang Lan’s power.

The man was infamous throughout Great Xia as a useless, debaucherous scion. Who could have imagined that he was hiding his true nature so deeply?

He still had a vivid memory of the terrifying phenomenon that occurred on the Blood Red Plateau.

’Thankfully, something was holding him back, making it inconvenient for him to act. Otherwise, I would have never gotten away today.’ The thought sent waves of fear and horror through Ye Ming.

After hearing Ye Ming’s account, the Old Ghost was silent for a long time before sighing. "That fellow uses the facade of a wastrel to deceive the world. His true strength... is actually unfathomable."

"You were truly lucky today. If that guy had made a move, you might not have gotten away."

Ye Ming completely agreed with this and felt no resentment.

On the contrary, he felt extremely fortunate, thinking he’d been lucky on both occasions.

The day he encountered Jiang Lan on the Blood Red Plateau, something seemed to be wrong with Jiang Lan’s body. He had been forced to use a Law, and was unable to pursue, leaving him to do nothing but watch Ye Ming escape.

And today, Jiang Lan had been perfectly fine and at the height of his power, but he’d been in the Drunken Immortal Residence, a place with too many eyes. The circumstances had prevented him from acting, allowing Ye Ming to escape unscathed.

’The heavens are on my side.’ Ye Ming took a deep breath to calm himself.

He had experienced many such life-and-death crises, often narrowly escaping with his life.

Yet it always felt as if some unseen providence was protecting him, allowing him to turn peril into safety every time.

"You really are a lucky bastard. To encounter such a terrifying young prodigy and escape from right under his nose twice," the Old Ghost chuckled.

"Only now, you’ve basically gone and provoked him yourself. Once Jiang Lan finds out who you are, he definitely won’t let you off the hook."

"And that female disciple from the Jasper Pool Sect might get dragged into this because of you."

Hearing this, Ye Ming felt a pang of guilt, but he still replied, "I only sent her a voice transmission. I doubt she’d be foolish enough to tell anyone."

"Even if I couldn’t get her out safely, she can’t possibly be so ungrateful, not after I risked offending the Prime Minister’s son just to help her..."

"Heh, who can ever say for sure when it comes to the human heart?" The Old Ghost gave a noncommittal chuckle, his world-weary tone filled with deep feeling.

Ye Ming nodded. "I’m a little worried now that Zhu Yun might be implicated. But I was careful. I only said I was a friend of the future Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect."

"I didn’t mention Zhu Yun’s name directly, so there’s no way they could suspect her."

...

News that the son of the Prime Minister had survived another assassination attempt, this time at the Drunken Immortal Residence, quickly spread like wildfire through Anyang City.

Only a few days had passed, and the son of the Prime Minister had been targeted again.

Just like the last attempt in Yu Yi City of Jiangling County, he had been attacked the very same day he arrived in Anyang City.

The news naturally caused a massive sensation.

All the great Noble Families in Anyang City felt their scalps tingle with apprehension.

After all, Jiang Lan’s status was unique. As the current Prime Minister’s only son, to be targeted by one assassination attempt after another made it hard not to suspect that some hidden power was targeting the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Of course, many people were secretly delighted, feeling immense satisfaction. They had long been displeased with the arrogant, domineering scion who threw his weight around.

It was just a shame that the Righteous Warrior who tried to assassinate Jiang Lan had apparently failed and was forced to retreat.

That night, Anyang City’s lockdown Grand Array was activated. Talismanic light flowed as a vast aura surged, like a furious wave crashing against the heavens.

Everyone could see the shield of light above them, shimmering like jade-green waves. Even an expert at the Sixth Realm would find it incredibly difficult to break through.

The four gates of Anyang City were immediately sealed shut, strictly forbidding anyone from leaving.

One patrol team after another rushed out, fanning across the various districts to conduct a thorough search.

Unfortunately, Anyang City was simply too large, with a population of tens of millions. Finding an assassin who was concealing their form and aura was a task tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.