Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Huaichen and Zhiqing — Raised a Clingy Dog.

Chang Huaichen sat on the bed, sweat dampening his temples. He gasped for breath for a moment, dazed, before slowly lifting the covers to get out of bed.

He didn’t even put on shoes; his bare, white soles stepped through the morning light filling the room.

“Where is he going?”

Su Cheyue was still immersed in the lingering afterglow of joy and regret from seeing his father. Lü Shuyao believed that if Su Cheyue could, he would hold Chang Huaichen down and force him to go back to sleep just to see his father again.

Lü Shuyao said, “People are afraid of being alone after a nightmare.”

As he predicted, Chang Huaichen went to the adjacent room. Jiang Zhiqing hadn’t woken up yet. Chang Huaichen leaned against the desk, silently watching Jiang Zhiqing’s sleeping face.

Jiang Zhiqing’s sleeping posture was entirely different from his gentle nature when awake. He lay on his side, his limbs tightly wrapping the corners of the quilt into his body, as if even in sleep he had to declare that this blanket was his.

It was as if he possessed a hidden, fervent possessiveness and aggression.

It wasn’t until the sunlight slanted across his handsome face that Jiang Zhiqing slowly woke up.

Opening his eyes, he saw Chang Huaichen with disheveled black hair, untidy clothes, and a beaming smile.

Jiang Zhiqing was startled and sat up abruptly. “You—”

Chang Huaichen raised an eyebrow. “Me what?”

Jiang Zhiqing looked around the room. “Why am I sleeping here?”

“Where do you usually sleep?”

Jiang Zhiqing looked a bit embarrassed. “On the floor in the outer room…”

“Mm, at least you know your place.”

Jiang Zhiqing weighed the meaning behind his words and asked, “Is this your home?”

“In a way.”

“Then—then I apologize.” He looked ill at ease.

“Why are you always ‘sorry’ this and ‘apologize’ that? How boring.” Chang Huaichen walked over, tossing an object in his hand. “Open your mouth.”

“What?”

Chang Huaichen grew impatient with his rambling and clicked his tongue, frowning. He simply reached out, squeezed the man’s face to force his mouth open, and tossed the object inside.

“Cough, cough…” Jiang Zhiqing choked until the back of his ears turned red. After swallowing, he reacted: “What… what did you feed me?!”

“Sobriety jerky.”

“…?”

“Sob-ri-e-ty Jer-ky. Don’t you know those words? Why so agitated? It’s not arsenic or crane-top red.”

Jiang Zhiqing: “I was drunk?”

“Terribly drunk.”

Jiang Zhiqing’s eyes widened, and then his gaze dodged Chang Huaichen’s, appearing very unsettled. “Then last night… I… last night…”

“What about last night?”

“What did I… I didn’t do anything, did I??”

Chang Huaichen was amused. “Yesterday you threatened to take my life. Is there anything more serious than that? What are you nervous about?”

Jiang Zhiqing breathed a sigh of relief. “If there was nothing then—”

“Actually, there was something.” Chang Huaichen’s expression suddenly turned solemn.

The breath Jiang Zhiqing was halfway through releasing got stuck again.

“You occupied my bed,” Chang Huaichen pointed to the corner of the quilt Jiang Zhiqing was still clutching. “I couldn’t sleep well and had a nightmare.”

“…”

Jiang Zhiqing: “Apolo—”

“No apologies,” Chang Huaichen folded his arms, narrowing his fox-like eyes which were still drowsy from sleep. “Now that you’ve eaten the sobriety jerky, you can drink with me in the future.”

“…gize.”

Jiang Zhiqing murmured, “…The future?”

“From today, you are punished to enter the Zhuohua Palace to prepare food, sweep the steps, bury fallen blossoms…” Chang Huaichen began counting seriously on his fingers. Jiang Zhiqing froze for a few seconds before giving a bitter smile. “Palace Master Chang is treating me as a manual laborer?”

“Don’t you know how to tidy a room?” Chang Huaichen took it as a given.

Jiang Zhiqing hesitated for a moment. “Can I see my sister?”

“Depends on your performance.”

Jiang Zhiqing: “Fine.”

“So straightforward?” Chang Huaichen tilted the man’s sharp, handsome chin up like he was teasing a pet. “Think carefully. Once you enter Zhuohua Palace, you are Chang Huaichen’s man for life.”

The forced posture of tilting his head caused Jiang Zhiqing’s Adam’s apple to roll uncomfortably. His gaze suddenly became very deep, and when he spoke, his voice was lower than usual.

“…Fine.”

So that was how Jiang Zhiqing became a sweeping disciple of Zhuohua Palace. But this was completely different from what Jiang Zhiqing’s sister, Jiang Zhiqing, had said. The sister was abducted, and the brother was kept through a mix of coercion and deception.

She had romanticized their first meeting.

They walked back to the palace together. Seeing her brother, Jiang Zhiqing was so happy she bowed and thanked the Palace Master repeatedly. Chang Huaichen arranged for Jiang Zhiqing to sweep in front of his sleeping quarters. His range of activity was limited to the area outside the palace barrier, the kitchen, and the valley; he was not allowed to go to the female disciples’ loft without permission.

In the days that followed, Chang Huaichen and Jiang Zhiqing didn’t seem to meet often. Time flowed quickly in the illusion. Chang Huaichen was rarely in the palace. Every time he returned late at night, he looked exhausted, and Jiang Zhiqing was always waiting for him.

Sometimes he waited outside the sleeping quarters, sometimes right by the waterfall.

Chang Huaichen asked him, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet? What are you doing here?”

Jiang Zhiqing would answer, “My tasks aren’t finished yet…”

Lü Shuyao asked Su Cheyue in confusion, “He swept the valley, washed the dishes, even cleared the flowers from the stream and fixed the birds’ nests. What hasn’t he done? Everything is clearly finished, yet he’s been standing here for two hours.”

Su Cheyue observed Jiang Zhiqing. “Perhaps he has something on his mind.”

If he had something on his mind, it should be about his sister. Yet he didn’t stand near the girls’ loft; he insisted on waiting for Chang Huaichen.

Perhaps he had a request for Palace Master Chang?

But every time he finally saw the man, he said nothing. Chang Huaichen would impatiently dismiss him, and he would retreat quietly.

“Raised a clingy dog.”

Chang Huaichen looked a bit regretful; Jiang Zhiqing’s waiting always irritated him. This “dog” seemed obedient, but beneath the endurance, restraint, and adherence to rules, Chang Huaichen smelled an uncontrollable scent of danger.

Until one day in the illusion.

Chang Huaichen hadn’t painted floral designs for his disciples in a long time. On this day, taking advantage of the clear weather, he set up a small table in the valley again. Like a traveling street performer, he smilingly applied makeup to his female disciples.

“Palace Master, what is Master Jiang’s background? How can a man enter Zhuohua Palace?” The girls couldn’t move or open their eyes while the makeup was being applied, so they chatted out of boredom. They didn’t have many taboos when facing Chang Huaichen.

Chang Huaichen nimbly swirled his brush. “Found him.”

“Found him? Where? Some say he’s Zhiqing’s brother, is that true, Palace Master?”

Chang Huaichen clicked his tongue. “How strange. When I ask you to discuss cultivation techniques, you can’t squeeze out a word for half a day. But when it comes to gossip, your imaginations are endless.”

He tapped a girl’s forehead with the end of his brush. “Let me see if you have two mouths or two brains—one for studying and one for playing?”

The female disciple stuck out her tongue. Chang Huaichen asked, “Why ask about him?”

“Nothing, everyone says that since Master Jiang arrived, the food in the palace has improved by more than one level!”

“…”

The disciple didn’t forget to enthusiastically twist the knife: “For example, the old taste was ‘Qi Refining stage,’ but now it’s ‘Golden Core stage’—Palace Master! I used the knowledge you taught us. You can’t say I only know how to play this time!”

Chang Huaichen narrowed his fox eyes, looking like he was forcing a smile. His words were stiff: “Then you girls were truly mistreated before.”

“Is what the disciple said wrong? Does Palace Master not like it?”

The movement of Chang Huaichen’s wrist paused for a moment. He said noncommittally, “It’s alright.”

The disciple boldly curled her lip. “Palace Master is so detached; I’ve never heard you say you like anything.”

“Who said that?” Chang Huaichen’s brush dipped into the pigment on the table. “I like all of you.”

They were chatting happily, so much so that even with his high level of cultivation, he didn’t realize Jiang Zhiqing was approaching.

Jiang Zhiqing dragged his broom, his footsteps heavy as he walked over, his expression grim. When he was very close, Chang Huaichen finally noticed him and said in his usual tone, “What are you doing here?”

With a swish, the handsome gentleman in gray-white robes—his height nearly matching the long sweeping broom—swept all the pigments off the table.

The female disciples present screamed in chaos. Chang Huaichen didn’t react immediately, staring at the vermilion liquid soaking into the dirt. After a long while, he finally looked at the perpetrator.

“Jiang Zhiqing? Did I give you too much face?”

Jiang Zhiqing said, “You cannot paint this on them.”

Chang Huaichen looked at him for a moment and turned to the others. “Everyone, go back first.”

Once the disciples had left, his lips curved, and his voice dropped to a terrifyingly low pitch.

“Who gave you the audacity to try and control me, to try and ruin my business?”

“…You cannot paint this on them,” Jiang Zhiqing repeated stubbornly.

His expression was unnatural; he was trying his best to suppress himself. His gaze was fractured into several emotions: anger, terror, and pleading.

Chang Huaichen said, “Get out.”

Jiang Zhiqing leaned down and grabbed his sleeve. “Stop doing these things. Stop summoning ghosts. What exactly are you trying to do by summoning ghosts? Why do you take in so many women? Are you going to deceive every woman in the world just like you deceived my sister?”

Chang Huaichen didn’t shake him off. His pupils reflected a faint, eerie light. “So what?”

“I don’t want you to be like this.”

Chang Huaichen burst into laughter. “Why should I do as you wish? Who are you to me? You are nothing. You are just my dog.”

Jiang Zhiqing’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

“Get out,” Chang Huaichen said. “If you dare ruin my mood again, I can kill you with a flick of my finger.”

Jiang Zhiqing watched him as he stood up, backing away step by step as if looking at a total stranger, a demon.

After he left, Chang Huaichen threw away his brush and whispered, “I’m really looking for trouble.”

On this day, for the first time, Chang Huaichen stored a memory of his travels outside in the illusion.

He wore the same makeup as the first time he met the Jiang siblings, standing in the darkness dressed in red. The long night was terrifyingly endless. A storm of blood and gore filled the world, making it impossible to tell where or when this was.

The entire city of Huailing, the entire world, seemed to contain only him.

Su Cheyue grabbed Lü Shuyao’s sleeve. Lü Shuyao’s heart jumped, and he turned his head. “What’s wrong?”

Except for the Chang Huaichen in the illusion, vision was lost in such a dark night. Even if he wasn’t blind, he couldn’t see Su Cheyue’s face.

Su Cheyue gripped tighter. “…”

Lü Shuyao understood after a moment of thought and quickly said, “No, it’s just that the night is too dark. I can’t see you either.”

“…Really?”

“Really.” Lü Shuyao lifted Su Cheyue’s hand and pointed at the red shadow not far away. “You can see that, right?”

“…Yes.” Su Cheyue’s strained voice relaxed. “…Let go.”

“I can’t let go.” Even though Su Cheyue couldn’t see him, Lü Shuyao instinctively shook his head. “You can’t see anything here. It’s pitch black. If you wander off, who am I going to ask for you?”

“Besides,” Lü Shuyao let out a soft yawn, “you’re the one who grabbed me first.”

“Lü Shuyao, your courage lately is—”

BEEP. A whistle blew.

Sharp shrieks flooded in from all directions!

Countless voices rose and fell in the pitch-black night—some crying, some laughing, some howling, some pleading. They seemed to have traveled great distances across time and space, dragging along sighs of desperate and helpless exhaustion.

Chang Huaichen’s beautiful eyes were deep as he waited with bated breath. Finally, the wind swirled through the forest, and a dizzying flurry of bloody black silhouettes surged from the horizon, surrounding him in a tight circle.

Lü Shuyao could smell the rot and stench in the air.

“These are the ghosts Chang Huaichen summoned using the Bounty Order and the Yin-Attracting Makeup,” Su Cheyue said.

“…Are they from the Ghost Purgatory?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Su Cheyue said in a heavy voice. “Liu Lulu said the Prison Master was in seclusion; the Ghost Purgatory shouldn’t be able to stir up much trouble at this time. Even if they are from the Ghost Prison, they were forcibly summoned by the two treasures in Chang Huaichen’s hands. In other words,” he flicked his eyes, “they are all high-level evil ghosts.”

Lü Shuyao said, “So this is what he’s been doing during his nights out! Jiang Zhiqing didn’t falsely accuse him.”

“He suffered the pain of ghosts invading his home and losing his family. Does he—”

As if to cut off Lü Shuyao’s words, a sudden flash of light nearly blinded their eyes, which had adapted to the darkness. Both instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. Following that came heart-wrenching roars and screams.

The sound was mixed with that of a sharp sword slicing into something wet, soft, and fleshy.

“Chang Huaichen… you madman!” The evil ghosts spoke with chaotic echoes. Countless blood-shadows swirled around Chang Huaichen, and it was impossible to tell who said it: “Let us go! Stop tormenting us!”

Chang Huaichen gave a low laugh, appearing quite satisfied. “I’ve been hunting you all for so long; you finally remember my name.”

…Hunting?

“What happened to your sister has nothing to do with us—nothing, nothing!”

Chang Huaichen suddenly closed his eyes, his Tao Yao sword glowing with a blood-red light.

“Do not mention my sister.”

The ghosts’ voices were horrifying: “If you won’t mention her, why do you pursue us so relentlessly and strike with such cruelty!”

“Just because I don’t mention it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Chang Huaichen’s voice was lazy, but Lü Shuyao could hear the sorrow behind that weariness. “Nothing to do with you? Wasn’t it you who taught Liu Lulu how to become an evil ghost? There is a barrier of Yin and Yang between the Ghost Prison and the mortal world. How could she have come out on her own?”

The ghosts swooped through the air. The Yin-Attracting Makeup made it impossible for them to resist their innate nature to seek the macabre, and the Bounty Order amplified the desire for power in their hearts. The two treasures worked together to trap them.

“Even so, you’ve already killed Liu Lulu and many other ghosts! Those who helped her back then were killed by you long ago! This is displacement of anger—displacement!”

So, it was on the day he finished avenging his family that he met Jiang Zhiqing.

“Displacement of anger?” Chang Huaichen raised his sword to examine it, his gaze falling on the blade of Tao Yao. The light reflected red in his eyes; it looked like his eyes were red from crying, yet also red from killing.

“Does any single one of you dare to swear upon this sword that you have never harmed a human?”

The ghosts fell silent instantly.

Chang Huaichen laughed loudly. “Since none of you are innocent, there is no ‘displacement.’ Those who helped Liu Lulu have been exterminated, but those who have trespassed in Huailing can never be fully wiped out.”

Hearing this, Lü Shuyao was stunned. “So he…”

He summoned ghosts… in order to kill them?

Su Cheyue: “Did you look closely at his Yin-Attracting Makeup?”

Lü Shuyao nodded. “It’s very similar to what he paints on the female disciples—a red floral design on the forehead. But…”

He didn’t have much of an artistic eye and couldn’t say exactly what was strange.

Su Cheyue said, “I’ve identified it. What he’s wearing now is different from what’s on the female disciples’ foreheads. The petal patterns are completely reversed.”

“Really?”

As they held hands, Su Cheyue’s fingertips moved slightly, his voice solemn: “Lü Shuyao, do you remember? The makeup Jiang Zhiqing was painting on them outside the illusion… was this kind.”