Villainous Junior Chapter 40
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 40: Confession
Meng Chen had a dream while sleeping at night.
He dreamed that Xue Lang was wearing a straw hat, carrying a shoulder pole with two large bamboo baskets full of various blooming flowers. He followed behind Meng Chen pitifully saying, "Don't be angry anymore. I'll give you all these flowers, okay?"
He turned around, and Xue Lang hurriedly handed him a bunch of golden sunflowers. The smile on his face was silly yet sincere, even more eye-catching than the flowers in his arms.
He woke up and realized it was already the next morning. Recalling the scene from the dream, he couldn't help but find it both amusing and absurd.
Birds were chirping outside the window, and sunlight leaked through the window cracks. It looked like another beautiful day. After washing up, Meng Chen opened the door and just as he stepped out, he froze.
He saw that the windowsill, the plantain pots, both sides of the small path, and even the stone table in the courtyard were all filled with various flowers - pink, blue, purple... Clusters bloomed like brocade clouds, overflowing with light and color, spreading fragrance in all directions. It was as if the entire spring had blossomed in this small courtyard.
The blue chubby bird, who had been waiting for a long time, flew down from the eaves with a pure white small flower with dewdrops in its beak. Meng Chen took the small white flower from its mouth and found a small note tied to the emerald green thin branch. On the note was written a line of small characters:
[Don't be angry anymore. From now on, I'll only give flowers to you alone, okay?]
Reality and dream merged miraculously. Meng Chen looked at the small white flower in his hand, and his mood immediately became brighter than today's weather.
A few polite knocks of "knock knock knock" sounded on the courtyard gate, and a disciple's voice came from outside. "Senior Brother Meng, are you there?"
Apart from the few people from Tianji Peak, disciples from other peaks rarely came here. Meng Chen was puzzled and immediately went to open the door. He saw a young disciple standing outside - it was Chu Feng, the disciple of the Taixuan Sect Leader.
"Senior Brother Meng." Chu Feng bowed to him in greeting and said, "The Sect Leader asked me to deliver a message, saying he has something urgent for you to attend to."
Meng Chen was somewhat surprised. "Now?"
"Yes," Chu Feng nodded and said, "The matter seems to be very important."
Meng Chen didn't ask any more questions and immediately followed him to Qingzheng Hall. The Taixuan Sect Leader was standing with his hands behind his back, lost in thought. Seeing Meng Chen arrive, he quickly waved him over and said, "I just received a plea for help from the civilians at the foot of the mountain. They said a group of demonic cultivators appeared in the border town and killed several civilians. Didn't we also suspect that demonic cultivators had infiltrated the sect during the martial arts competition? The border town is not far from here, so these two incidents might be related. You are reliable and have high cultivation, so lead a few quick-witted disciples to the border town in the next couple of days to investigate the situation."
After he finished speaking, he noticed that the young man in front of him was motionless, his gaze unfocused, seemingly absent-minded.
The Sect Leader couldn't help but wonder. "Meng Chen? Did you hear what I just said?"
Meng Chen heard it.
Or rather, he only heard the first few words.
Demonic cultivators.
Border town.
In his previous life, this was the turning point of his fate - being sent to investigate traces of demonic cultivators at the border on the Sect Leader's orders, then being framed for killing fellow disciples and falling into the demonic path, being imprisoned in the Taixuan dungeon, and finally stepping towards an irredeemable path.
According to the timeline, this incident shouldn't have happened so quickly, but in this life, something had gone awry. Many things were different from before, including the timing of the demonic cultivators' appearance in the border town, which had been greatly advanced.
Meng Chen seemed to hear the slow and viscous beating of his own heart, one by one, so clear, each beat resounding in his ears.
It still came.
Or rather -
It finally came.
"Meng Chen?" Seeing the young man's expression visibly change, the Sect Leader couldn't help but ask with concern, "Is it because you've just entered the God Transformation Stage and your realm is not yet stable? There's no need to force yourself. I can send someone else—"
"No need." Meng Chen's expression was unusually calm. His jet-black eyelashes formed a sharp line at the corners of his eyes, unexpectedly creating a keen edge. "I'll go."
——
Meng Chen was returning to Qixue Residence from Qingzheng Hall when suddenly a figure rushed out from the side of the road and grabbed him, pulling him along as they ran.
Recognizing who was pulling him, Meng Chen didn't resist and followed the person to Luosong Residence. He then watched as the other person closed all the doors and windows and set up a sound barrier. Only then did they turn around, panting, and look at him intently.
Meng Chen had been lost in his own thoughts, and Xue Lang's sudden actions left him a bit dazed. He paused for a moment before asking, "What's wrong?"
Xue Lang stared at him with an unprecedented tense and serious expression. "Did the Sect Leader just ask you to investigate demonic cultivators at the border town?"
Meng Chen: "How do you know?"
"I saw Chu Feng calling you early in the morning. I was worried and followed, then overheard a bit." Xue Lang said urgently, "Listen to me, you absolutely cannot go to the border town!"
Meng Chen's heart suddenly jolted, and his mind suddenly cleared. He carefully examined the young man's anxious expression and slowly asked, "Why?"
"There's no why. I'm begging you to listen to me this once, okay?" Xue Lang gripped his hand tightly. For some reason, his fingers were trembling slightly. "Meng Chen, I won't harm you. This matter is very dangerous. You must not go!!"
Meng Chen gazed at him for a long time, thinking of something, his gaze suddenly becoming somewhat strange.
"Xue Lang." He felt this thought was a bit crazy, but he tentatively asked, "Do you... know what's going to happen at the border town?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xue Lang's expression froze.
Seeing his reaction, Meng Chen's heart beat faster, and he blurted out. "Don't tell me you're also reborn?!"
Xue Lang slowly opened his mouth, repeating in astonishment. "Also... also?"
They stared at each other, their expressions and inner feelings equally shocked.
After an unknown period of silence, Meng Chen shook his head slightly, as if in disbelief, and muttered, "I can't believe I never noticed..."
He had never realized that Xue Lang also carried memories from his previous life!
This guy... had hidden it too well!
Xue Lang was equally filled with disbelief, his facial expression completely disordered. Meng Chen tried his best to calm his turbulent emotions, took a deep breath, and asked, "What exactly happened? After I... ended my life before, I opened my eyes and returned to the day you entered the sect. Is it the same for you?"
But he remembered that in his previous life, although Xue Lang was severely injured trying to break through the barrier set by Zhongli Jing before Meng Chen's death, he hadn't died.
His heart suddenly clenched. Could it be that after he died, Xue Lang had also taken his own life!?
Xue Lang wiped his face, organizing his chaotic thoughts. His eyes were filled with complex emotions as he looked at Meng Chen with a bitter smile. "What I'm about to say might sound bizarre, but I swear, every word is true."
Xue Lang indeed had memories from his previous life, and not only that, he also had memories from the life before that.
In fact, he wasn't originally from this world at all.
He was an ordinary sophomore college student from the 21st century who one day read a cultivation novel and became hopelessly fascinated with the male protagonist.
The protagonist was named Meng Chen, transcendent and unparalleled in his elegance, with a pure and kind heart beneath his cold and aloof exterior. The author's writing was powerful, portraying Meng Chen so vividly that he seemed to truly exist in another world within the book. The more he read, the more captivated he became, eagerly anticipating Meng Chen's cultivation of the great Dao and ascension to the peak. However, the author, whether due to some mistake or sudden stimulation, dramatically changed the plot. Meng Chen was framed by villains, misunderstood by his sect, then imprisoned by his fellow disciples. They cruelly destroyed his cultivation, severed his meridians, and finally, upon learning that the master who had taught him for years intended to kill his disciple to gain enlightenment, Meng Chen completely broke down. In the end, he shattered like jade and tiles, resolutely taking his own life, ending the story tragically.
When Xue Lang saw the ending at that time, he nearly had a heart attack on the spot. He angrily left hundreds of comments in the comment section, giving the author thousands of negative points. Even that couldn't extinguish the fire in his heart. That night, lying in his dormitory bed, he was so angry he didn't fall into a fitful sleep until four in the morning. When he opened his eyes again, he had already transmigrated into the world of the cultivation novel.
After the initial shock, he was overjoyed. He soon discovered that his body in this world actually had Foundation Establishment cultivation. So the first thing he did was to find a way to join the Taixuan Sect, wanting to quickly tell Meng Chen the truth and get him to leave those deranged lunatics immediately. But when he met Meng Chen, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say what he wanted to say. Xue Lang then realized that this world seemed to have set up a confidentiality mechanism for him, an "outsider" who knew everything. He couldn't utter a single word related to Meng Chen's fate.
But if he simply said to Meng Chen: "You need to leave the sect quickly. Your senior brothers, junior brothers, and master are all psychopaths. They want your life."
Predictably, he would probably be driven out by Meng Chen as a madman.
Before he arrived, Meng Chen had already lived with his master, senior brothers, and junior brothers for many years. From the book, Xue Lang could also see that Meng Chen trusted them completely, treating them as his own family.
And he was just a stranger who had just arrived, bearing the title of junior brother. How could Meng Chen possibly believe such a baseless statement from him?
Xue Lang was utterly frustrated. Seeing that this approach wouldn't work, he had to think of another way. He practiced cultivation day and night, hoping to protect Meng Chen at critical moments. But Zhongli Jing had Mahayan Realm cultivation, even if he had several hundred years, he might not be able to reach that level.
Moreover, he didn't have that much time. The perilous fate was already approaching the unsuspecting Meng Chen step by step.
With no other options, he could only take a different approach. He began to harden his heart and use various schemes and tricks to frame Meng Chen, hoping to get him expelled from the sect and thus away from this den of evil. But despite doing all sorts of bad things, he ultimately failed, and Meng Chen still faced that dark day.
Everything about that night remained vivid in Xue Lang's memory. The sky was as dark as undilutable ink, with torrential rain pouring down. That person was dressed in white, his body ravaged by illness. Even though his legs were crippled and he could only kneel on the muddy ground, his spine remained as straight as ever, his face as white as snow, only his eyes as cold as winter stars.
The Mahayan Realm barrier separated them by an insurmountable distance. He could only watch helplessly as that person finally turned back, gave him an apologetic smile, then resolutely raised his sword to his neck. In the next instant, blood flowers bloomed tragically all over the white robe, flowing into the black earth along with the rain.
That sword seemed to pierce through his heart at the same time. The world lost all color, and he felt he had lost the meaning of existence, bending over in pain almost to the point of fainting. But unexpectedly, when he opened his eyes again, time had miraculously reversed, returning to the moment he had just entered the book world.
With tears in his eyes, he desperately thanked the heavens, while secretly vowing that this time he would be even more thorough in his villainy. Even if he was hated to the bone by Meng Chen again, he was determined to drive him out of the Taixuan Sect as early as possible, allowing him to live safely and freely!
But he never imagined that this time would be completely different from before.
On the first day of joining the Taixuan Sect, he was personally invited by Meng Chen to enter Tianji Peak.
He thought this was an accident, but then Meng Chen personally flew him up to Tianji Peak on his sword, personally escorted him to Luosong Residence, gently gave him many words of advice, and even gave him a paper crane for communication that he had never been qualified to receive in the previous life...
This was wrong.
A voice kept reminding him in his heart, telling him to immediately, immediately stay away from Meng Chen, and absolutely not have any friendly interactions with him again.
Because Xue Lang knew his purpose.
To drive Meng Chen out of the sect, he would inevitably have to play the role of a detestable villain. He hoped Meng Chen would hate him from the beginning, hate him without reservation.
Otherwise, if he accepted that person's kindness to satisfy his own selfish desires, only to suddenly turn around and stab that person in the back later, wouldn't he be just like Yin Chi, Pei Yuze, and the others?
That person had already suffered too much betrayal and hurt. He absolutely, absolutely couldn't leave any more scars on his heart.
So, rather than prolonged pain, it would be better to let the other person despise and resent him from the start.
Even though every time he encountered that gaze of disgust and coldness, it was a torture comparable to being slowly sliced to death.
In this life, Xue Lang had originally made up his mind to stay far away from Meng Chen, as far as possible.
But ironically, this time, every step he took back, Meng Chen took a step forward.
When he acted fierce, Meng Chen responded with gentleness; when he maliciously framed him, Meng Chen stepped forward to take the punishment for him.
The worse he treated him, the better Meng Chen treated him in return.
How could he endure this? How could he bear it?
After all, that was the person he liked.
The person he had carefully placed in his heart, secretly liked for two lifetimes...
"...That's how it is." Xue Lang's voice was hoarse as he concealed some of the emotions he couldn't express, briefly explaining the cause and effect. "Although it sounds like an absurd story, everything I've said is true."
Xue Lang had thought countless times in his life about why Meng Chen's attitude towards him had changed so drastically. Yet he never imagined that the other person would actually be reborn.
It was probably because Meng Chen learned of his fate after being reborn that Xue Lang was finally able to break free from the constraints of the world's rules and tell Meng Chen all the truth in person.
"I also wondered why you could see through Yin Chi and those people's true nature from the very beginning," Meng Chen murmured. "I originally thought it was because outsiders see more clearly than insiders, but I didn't expect you to be such an outsider."
He paused, then asked, "You said this is a world within a book?"
Xue Lang felt a bit uneasy, but could only nod his head stiffly. "Yes."
Meng Chen didn't seem too surprised. After all, he had personally experienced death and rebirth, so nothing could be too bizarre anymore. Besides, it was said that above the Mahayana Realm was the Tribulation, and after passing the Tribulation, one could ascend. Those who ascended would go to another dimension.
Perhaps the world he was in was just one of the most ordinary among the three thousand worlds.
Finally understanding the ins and outs of his past and present life, Meng Chen felt more certain in his heart. However, Xue Lang was reminded once again of the most crucial issue at hand, and immediately said, "So now you should know without me saying much that the border town mission is too dangerous. In your previous life, after you were imprisoned in the dungeon, I also racked my brains trying to uncover the truth, but I could never catch the mastermind behind it all. No matter who it is, they will definitely make a move this time, you absolutely cannot go!"
"Moreover, since you already know the truth, there's even less reason for you to stay here anymore!" Xue Lang said urgently. "Although you've broken through to the God Transformation Stage this time and might be able to deal with Yin Chi and Pei Yuzhe, you still can't defeat Zhongli Jing. Before Zhongli Jing develops the intention to kill, leave this place, go as far away as possible, can't you!?"
Using a mission as an excuse to leave the mountain, get away from Taixuan Sect, go to the south, go to any corner of mainland Shenzhou, couldn't he find a place for himself to survive?
"I understand what you mean," Meng Chen replied after a moment of silence. "I could indeed leave, disappear completely from Taixuan Sect. The world is vast, I would have a place to go. If I'm afraid Zhongli Jing might come looking for me, I could change my name, use transformation techniques to alter my appearance, and change my hiding place every so often. Even a Refining Void Realm expert wouldn't be able to track me down easily."
"But, Xue Lang," Meng Chen raised his eyes, looking directly at the young man, "I don't want to do that."
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life like a hunted stray dog, living in constant fear."
"I don't want to lose my name, change my appearance, and live in a daze, forgetting day by day who I really am."
"I don't want to be a coward who always runs away, frightened sleepless at night by the slightest disturbance, paranoid that someone is coming to kill me."
"I don't want to waste this chance at living again. I want to meet more people, see more places, climb higher mountains, challenge realms I've never reached before."
"So, Xue Lang," the young man gazed at him steadily, with a striking light in his eyes, "before leaving, I must stay."
"Thoroughly resolve all of this, and then I can go out—"
"To live for myself."
