After Transmigrating into a Villain, I Conquered the Yandere Demon Lord by Going Crazy - Chapter 5

Xie Lin clutched himself defensively, crying out, “What are you doing?!”

Xiao Jin had already pulled out a medical kit. “Your wound is contaminated with Xie Wuchen’s poison. If you don’t want to die, cooperate.”

It was only then that Xie Lin noticed dark blood seeping through the bandages on his arm.

Gritting his teeth, he untied his outer robe, exposing half of his shoulder.

Xiao Jin’s technique was unexpectedly practiced; cleaning, applying medicine, and bandaging flowed together in one smooth motion.

“Does Senior Brother often treat people’s injuries?” Xie Lin asked out of curiosity.

Xiao Jin’s movements paused for a fraction of a second. “I was frequently injured when I was a child.”

Remembering Xiao Jin’s background as an orphan in the original novel, Xie Lin suddenly felt a strange twinge of emotion.

Just as he was about to say something, footsteps echoed from outside.

“Eldest Senior Brother! The sect master wants you to go… Oh!”

Lin Miaomiao pushed the door open, her eyes widening instantly at the sight of the half-naked Xie Lin. “Did I interrupt something?!”

Fumbling in panic, Xie Lin pulled his clothes back together. “It’s not what you think!”

Lin Miaomiao covered her eyes, though the gaps between her fingers were wide open. “I understand, I understand!”

“Healing through dual cultivation, right? A common practice in the cultivation world!”

Without changing expression, Xiao Jin shoved a book into her arms. “Copy the Mystic Heaven Heart Sutra ten times. I will check it tomorrow.”

Wailing miserably, Lin Miaomiao was chased out the door.

With burning red ears, Xie Lin was tying his sash when his fingers suddenly brushed against a hard object at his waist—

It was the communication talisman that Xie Wuchen had slipped to him in the chaos!

“I’m going to brew your medicine,” Xiao Jin said, picking up the herbs and walking toward the door.

“Don’t wander around.”

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Xie Lin immediately activated the communication talisman.

Xie Wuchen’s icy voice rang out directly in his mind:

“If you want to know the whereabouts of your mother, come to the Soul- (Cliff of Broken Souls) alone.”

“Remember… do not tell that chief disciple, otherwise”

The voice cut off abruptly.

Xie Lin gripped the talisman tightly, his mind in complete turmoil.

The original host’s mother might still be alive?

But the original novel clearly…

[Warning! Inner demon value has risen to 60%!]

The system suddenly blared an alarm: [Memory tampering traces detected!]

“What do you mean?” Xie Lin felt a profound shock rippling through his heart.

[Portions of the host’s memories have been sealed, which are related to the Heart-Devouring Lotus.]

The system brought up a glowing holographic screen:

[Conditions for unlocking: Accumulate a total of 24 hours of physical contact with Xiao Jin.]

Xie Lin: “……?”

What kind of bizarre unlock condition was this?!

Just as he was thinking this, the door was pushed open.

Xiao Jin walked in carrying a bowl of medicine. Seeing that Xie Lin’s complexion was abnormal, he frowned and pressed a hand against his forehead.

“Is it acting up again?”

As the cool palm pressed against his skin, Xie Lin suddenly noticed that the “accumulated time” on the system panel had increased by 0.01 hours.

“Senior Brother.”

Almost as if acting on an impulse he couldn’t control, Xie Lin grabbed Xiao Jin’s wrist. “Do you believe that people have past lives?”

Xiao Jin’s gaze flickered slightly. “Why do you ask that?”

“Well…” Xie Lin frantically scrambled to invent an excuse.

“I had a dream when I was unconscious. I dreamed that we were enemies in our past life, and you killed me with a single sword stroke.”

Xiao Jin’s hand trembled in a way that was almost imperceptible.

Setting down the medicine bowl, he suddenly pulled Xie Lin closer.

“Dreams are the opposite of reality.”

His voice was deep and low. “If there truly is a past life… it must be that I owe you too much.”

Xie Lin’s breathing hitched.

These words were far too ambiguous. Paired with Xiao Jin’s intense, focused gaze, they sent his heart rate spinning out of control.

“The… the medicine is getting cold.”

Flustered, he pushed the other man away, picked up the bowl, and drained it in a single gulp.

The bitterness made his entire face crumple into a scowl, yet he stubbornly put up a brave front. “It’s fine, not too mmph!”

A piece of osmanthus candy was suddenly stuffed into his mouth.

With the air of someone who had successfully achieved his goal, Xiao Jin chuckled. “Liars always say that.”

The sweet flavor melted across the tip of his tongue, and Xie Lin’s nose suddenly began to sting.

In the modern world, he had been an orphan; no one had ever remembered that he hated bitter things.

“Thank you,” he mumbled softly, not daring to lift his head.

Xiao Jin gently ruffled the top of his hair, his touch as tender as if he were handling some rare treasure.

Xie Lin failed to notice the dark, murky emotion flashing through the other man’s eyes.

After nightfall, Xie Lin lay tossing and turning on Xiao Jin’s couch, unable to fall asleep.

On one hand, he was worried about Xie Wuchen’s threat; on the other hand…

The bedding was completely permeated with Xiao Jin’s scent. That cool, crisp aroma of pine wood found its way into every pore, thoroughly unsettling him.

“Can’t sleep?”

Xiao Jin’s voice drifted from beyond the folding screen. The chief disciple was sitting in meditation, the moonlight outlining his upright silhouette.

“Unfamiliar bed,” Xie Lin stubbornly insisted.

Rustling sounds echoed as Xiao Jin walked over to the bedside, looking down at him from above. “Do you need help?”

Instantly, Xie Lin wrapped himself tightly inside the blanket. “No need!”

Xiao Jin let out a low chuckle, then suddenly leaned forward, hovering right above him.

The tips of their noses were nearly touching, and Xie Lin could clearly see the shadows cast by his eyelashes.

“Xie Lin.”

In a rare move, Xiao Jin addressed him by his given name. “Did you know that hosts of the Heart-Devouring Lotus are drawn to one another?”

Xie Lin’s eyes widened.

There was no such setting in the original novel!

“You… you have the Heart-Devouring Lotus too?” His voice trembled.

Without answering, Xiao Jin traced his fingertip over the lotus mark behind Xie Lin’s ear. “Right here it grows hot every time I get close.”

His finger slid downward, stopping right over his heart. “And right here, it beats very fast.”

Mortified and flustered, Xie Lin snapped, “That’s because you scared me!”

“Is that so?” Xiao Jin suddenly grabbed his hand and pressed it directly against his own chest.

“Then why is mine doing the exact same thing?”

Beneath his palm came the powerful, vigorous thumping of a heartbeat, beating at an unimaginably rapid pace.

Xie Lin was frozen in place!

What… what did this even mean?

He attempted to pull his hand back. “Has Senior Brother been possessed by an evil spirit? Should we go find a doctor”

Instead, Xiao Jin abruptly released him and turned toward the door. “Go to sleep. I’m going out to keep watch.”

Once the door clicked shut, Xie Lin buried his burning face deep into the pillow.

This male protagonist was far too skilled at flirting!

Whatever happened to that cold and aloof persona?!

[Accumulated contact time: 0.5 hours]

The system chimed in at the most inappropriate moment: [The system suggests that the host take the initiative!]

Xie Lin: “……Get lost!”

As he tossed and turned, his hand suddenly brushed against a foreign object beneath the pillow.

It was Xiao Jin’s life plaque!

The most vital item belonging to a disciple of the Mystic Heaven Sect, it was effectively equivalent to a second life.

A shock ran through Xie Lin’s heart. Was Xiao Jin… placing his life in his hands?

Outside the window, Xiao Jin stood leaning his sword against a pear tree, gazing up at the starry sky with a silent, gentle smile.

“This time… it’s my turn to protect you.”

Staring at the life plaque in his palm, Xie Lin’s fingers trembled slightly.

A Mystic Heaven Sect disciple’s life plaque was not merely a symbol of identity; it also sealed away a wisp of their true soul.

By placing this object beneath his pillow, Xiao Jin was essentially handing half of his life over to him.

[Ancient barrier fluctuations detected]

The system spoke up abruptly:

[There is a hidden space inside the life plaque.]

Turning the warm, lustrous piece of white jade over and over in his hands, Xie Lin spotted a minuscule crack along the edge.

The moment he channeled his demonic energy into the fissure, the life plaque suddenly burst forth with a blinding white light!

“Ngh”

A massive flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into his mind like a torrential flood.

Xie Lin saw a woman in cyan robes handing an infant to a youth amidst a sea of blazing fire;

He saw Xie Wuchen planting a Heart-Devouring Lotus into the chest of a sleeping child within the dungeons of the nether palace;

Most horrifying of all, he saw Xiao Jin kneeling on an altar covered in blood, his own destiny-bound sword pierced straight through his chest…

“Is this… the future?”

Awakening in a cold sweat, Xie Lin bolted upright, discovering that the life plaque had already returned to normal.

The previous visions had felt far too real, especially the scene of Xiao Jin taking his own life, which left a sharp, wrenching pain in his chest.

The system panel unfolded: [Memory fragments cataloged.]

[Unlocking progress: 15%]

The sound of the third-watch night watchman’s wooden clapper echoed from outside the window.

Clutching the life plaque tightly, Xie Lin realized the appointed hour for his meeting with Xie Wuchen was fast approaching.

Walking stealthily toward the door on tiptoe, he was just about to push it open when the sound of a sword blade cutting through the air drifted in from the courtyard.

Through the cracks in the window, he saw Xiao Jin practicing his sword beneath the moonlight.

The snow-white figure overlapped with the blood-stained robes from his memories, causing Xie Lin’s breath to catch.

What shocked him even more was that every single sword strike from Xiao Jin carried a desperate, mutually destructive resolve, as if he were rehearsing some inescapable doom.

“Have you seen enough?”