Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Young Master Lu Pushed Young Master Su, Amidst the System’s Persistent Urging…

“Congratulations to the visitor for completing the character mission: Successfully pushing the book’s male lead, Su Cheyue, into the Abyssal Ghost Purgatory.”

The air was thick with the scent of blood. Lu Shuyao lay sprawled at the edge of the bottomless pit, his breathing weak and his body drenched in sweat.

One of his arms hung over the edge of the abyss, mangled and bloody as if it had just been pierced a thousand times; his wrist bone showed faint signs of dislocation. His other hand gripped a silver longsword tightly, the blade thrust deep into the ground.

“I didn’t… it wasn’t me… don’t talk nonsense,” Lu Shuyao muttered his “denial triple-threat.”

The System didn’t waste words: [The countdown for Su Cheyue’s return from the Ghost Purgatory has begun. At that time, the Hatred Value System will automatically activate.]

Staring at his empty, bloody hand, Lu Shuyao whispered, “Game over, total disaster,” before losing consciousness.

…

The rustle of fabric came from above his head.

“A-Yao…”

Lu Shuyao’s eyeballs rolled beneath his lids as he struggled to wake, his eyes snapping open. He stared at the dim ceiling for a moment, parting his parched lips: “…”

“You’re awake? What do you need? Water?”

Only then did Lu Shuyao notice a person sitting beside him—a beautiful woman in a goose-yellow dress, her hair pinned in a low bun with a jade hairpin. She poured a cup of warm water and handed it over, her movements slightly panicked. Her eyes were red as she looked at him: “You finally woke up.”

Dazed, memories slowly trickled back.

He had died in a car accident while chasing his father’s mistress and transmigrated into a book. He had just endured a hellish system mission, and every inch of his body ached.

The unfortunate book he occupied was titled The Coming Desire, a “divorce-trope” cultivation novel his college roommate had recommended with tears in his eyes.

The story follows the immortal world’s number-one gentleman, Su Cheyue. While attempting to rescue his fiancée, Lu Qingcheng, from the Abyssal Ghost Purgatory, he is pushed into the abyss by her nephew, Lu Shuyao. Su Cheyue eventually returns soaked in blood, remains crippled for several months, but then seizes an opportunity to restore his power and cultivation, even mastering the “Desire-Reading Divine Skill.” From then on, he becomes an unstoppable force, crushing hearts and souls on his path of counter-attacking revenge.

The post-transmigration Lu Shuyao: “…”

As anyone who transmigrates frequently knows: being a villain never ends well! You either get killed by the protagonist or get “done” by the protagonist! (Beep—)

After Su Cheyue’s comeback, he re-marries the fiancée who broke off their engagement, kidnaps his nemesis Lu Shuyao, destroys his spiritual core, and whips him day and night. He slits Lu Shuyao’s throat for a blood-letting once every ten days, only saving him once he loses his mind. After years of torture, Su Cheyue uses an alienation scheme to make the original body’s aunt kill him personally, piercing him through with Su Cheyue’s own sword.

…

Lu Shuyao wanted to save himself, but his timing was terrible. The first mission the system issued was to follow the original plot: push Su Cheyue into the Ghost Purgatory, from which no one returns alive.

Lu Shuyao didn’t want to go—he wanted to stay in bed and recover—but the system was heartless. Once the hour struck, it forcibly teleported him. Thus, upon opening his eyes, he saw the vividly described Ghost Purgatory itself.

The Abyssal Ghost Purgatory lived up to its name. It appeared frequently in the book, housing endless ghosts and demons who refused to pass on. Their resentment and malicious desires were so heavy that, over thousands of years, they merged to create a power capable of swallowing heaven and earth. Su Cheyue’s parents had died sealing it. Twelve years later, his fiancée Lu Qingcheng accidentally triggered it, tearing open a terrifying gap.

A true “Hell-mode” start!

…

“A-Yao? A-Yao?”

Lu Shuyao snapped back to reality. The woman before him must be the one Su Cheyue rescued—the original body’s aunt, Lu Qingcheng.

He sat up, took the water, downed it in one go, and asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

“Three days.”

“Where is Su Cheyue?”

As if expecting the question, Lu Qingcheng looked at him calmly: “He fell down.”

“…………”

Right. He pushed him personally. At the time, with blood-mist blinding his eyes and ghosts swarming, Su Cheyue—dressed in white—had stood before him, saying “Junior nephew, don’t come closer, stay back” in a refined, calm voice. Then, urged by the system, Lu Shuyao reached out his hand.

Lu Shuyao rubbed his temples. “What about Dangyan? Su Cheyue’s sword?”

Lu Qingcheng suddenly smiled, her slender finger lightly tapping his palm: “You brought it back.”

The gesture was strangely intimate and unnatural. Lu Shuyao, sensitive since childhood, instinctively pulled his hand back: “…Oh.”

Lu Qingcheng said, “Do you know how tense you were? Even unconscious, you refused to let go of that precious sword.”

Ugh… could he not be tense?

Dangyan was Su Cheyue’s life-bound sword. In the book, the original character stole the sword before Su fell, but his cleverness backfired and gave Su Cheyue a glimmer of hope. Because Dangyan had slain countless demons, it carried a trace of sinister energy; if it had fallen into the purgatory, it would have become a weapon for the ghosts and backfired on the protagonist. By stealing the sword, Lu Shuyao actually gave Su Cheyue a chance to fight for his life using only his spiritual power.

That was why Lu Shuyao gripped the sword like his life depended on it. But while the sword didn’t fall, Su Cheyue did… which meant the male lead would return in glory and hold the villain’s life in his hands!

Torture him! Ravage him! Trample him!

It was a life-or-death question, and he had already turned in a failing grade. Lu Shuyao clutched his head in misery.

“A-Yao, what’s wrong?” Lu Qingcheng leaned closer, concerned. “Are you still unwell? Your cultivation was mostly drained after returning from the Ghost Purgatory…”

Wait, what?! That wasn’t in the original book! The original villain stayed powerful for a while after pushing the lead!! Why was this different?!

“Cough, cough…” Lu Shuyao was so agitated he coughed up a mouthful of blood. A panicked Lu Qingcheng wiped it with her handkerchief: “A-Yao!”

At that moment, the door opened. Lu Qingcheng quickly stepped away from the bed and bowed.

“Big Brother.”

The Lu family was a major cultivation sect second only to the Su family. The Sect Leader, Lu Qingsong, was over forty with frost at his temples, though his features remained sharp from years of cultivation. He stepped forward: “Is A-Yao better?”

Lu Qingsong had no biological children; Lu Shuyao was his adopted son, rescued from a Kunlun Snow Demon in his youth. He treated him as his own, holding nothing back in his upbringing. Looking at his son now, he appeared exhausted, his bloodshot eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Lu Shuyao noted the bloodshot eyes. In the book, their relationship was described as very warm—not related by blood, but closer than kin.

Lu Shuyao rubbed his nose and adopted a humble tone: “Thank you for your concern… Father. I am alright.”

“How can you be ‘alright’?” Lu Qingcheng interrupted. “Your cultivation is clearly damaged.”

Lu Qingsong sighed and raised his palm, manifesting a dazzling longsword. This sword, Zhanquan, was heavier than Dangyan, with a golden spine forged in fire and tempered in Lu-water.

Lu Shuyao didn’t remember much of the plot, but he remembered the weapons. He recognized his father’s sword.

“Take it,” Lu Qingsong handed it over.

“Father?”

“I remember my talent wasn’t outstanding when I was young, yet I had to carry the sect’s honor,” Lu Qingsong said. “My father gave me this sword early on. It has been with me for years. Eventually, this sword would go to one of you. Right now…” His gaze turned loving. “You need it more than Qingcheng.”

Lu Shuyao held the sword in silence. In two lifetimes, this was the first time he had received a gift from a “father.” His eyes grew hot.

“Thank you… Father.”

“Cultivation cannot be rushed. With Zhanquan, it will surely benefit you.”

The scene was too tender; Lu Shuyao couldn’t handle it. The frustration of his failed transmigration welled up, and fearing he might actually cry, he grabbed a teacup and did a “tactical head-tilt” to drink.

Lu Qingcheng laughed. “The cup is empty. Are you drinking air?”

“…” Lu Shuyao hid his face behind the cup. “I… I just woke up. I’m sleepy.”

The two shared a look and, not pressing his nonsense, told him to rest and left.

…

Lu Shuyao adjusted his emotions and hissed at the air: “Come out, we need to talk!”

[Are you calling me, Visitor Lu?]

Lu Shuyao rolled his eyes: “Yeah, ‘System-ic Pain’ (Xi-shi-teng).”

[I don’t understand ‘System-ic Pain.’]

“It’s your nickname.”

[…]

Lu Shuyao clutched his chest. “Baojuan, my cultivation!”

[Who is Baojuan?]

“Never mind. Tell me what happened with the mission!” Lu Shuyao poked the air as if a person were there. “You said follow the plot, then you changed the command mid-way to make me throw the sword in? If I did that, Su Cheyue would be dead! The plot would be gone! You just want me to die so you can clock out early, don’t you?”

The system played dumb: [I don’t understand what you are saying.]

Keep acting.

Lu Shuyao fumed: “I did the mission, and then you triggered a ‘punishment program’? My whole body hurts!”

[That is because the system detected the host attempting to cheat.]

“How was I cheating?”

[Visitor, do you not have any self-awareness?]

He did. He had planned to push the guy down and then pull him right back up. No problem! But the system issued a warning when he tried to pull him up, and the pain punishment kicked in, resulting in Su Cheyue falling for real.

Fine. What’s done is done. The male lead is gone, and his cultivation is trashed. A total loss.

“The mission is done. When do I go back to my world?” Lu Shuyao had his sleeves rolled up; he hadn’t even finished the fight with the mistress before the car hit him.

[Simple. If the visitor survives until the end of the book, you can return.]

“???” Lu Shuyao shouted. “Do you know how long this book is?! It’s longer than a marathon! Longer than a 7-round-a-night guy’s stamina!”

[Please refrain from making impure jokes.]

“I’m a twenty-year-old virgin college student; my jokes are pure filth,” he tapped the bedframe. “You docked my cultivation. Can we get a discount? By the time this book ends, my grandson will have seen the series finale of Detective Conan.”

The system considered: [At minimum, you must stay until Su Cheyue restores his cultivation.]

“But isn’t that when the original body gets killed?”

[Therefore, we have customized a ‘Hatred Value’ for you. You must reduce his hatred of you to zero before he fully recovers to earn your survival.]

It sounded scientifically impossible. Lu Shuyao propped himself up: “How much hatred does he have for me now?”

[The Hatred Value will be announced once Su Cheyue returns. Please wait patiently.]

Lu Shuyao collapsed back onto the bed. I ask you how deep your hatred is, how many points of hate do you have?

[Countdown to Su Cheyue’s return: Thirty-three days,] the system said coldly.