Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 39

After two months in seclusion in the mountains with An Yuan, Han Changsheng finally took a trip out. The reason? He had ripped all ten pairs of underwear he brought from his haphazard washing and had to buy more. 

Early that morning, he assigned An Yuan a day’s worth of training tasks and left on his own.  

After two months’ absence, he went to a tavern to eat and drink. Eating a whole roasted chicken, half a roasted pig, and a jin of an ox-head meat in one go, his stomach was round and full. He could hardly stand. 

In the valley, he’d only gotten to eat wild fruits. There were many wild vegetables and fruit trees near their home. An Yuan used the wild vegetables to make vegetable mush, vegetable soups, vegetable pastries, and more, and make wine from the fruits. So, Han Changsheng’s diet wasn’t too bleak. But, there were few opportunities to have meat in the mountains. With only a few hare and pheasant, they had to eat sparingly. 

It was good for cultivators not to eat so much meat. But, after two months of wild vegetables, the flavor stuck in his mouth was so bland and egg-like; it was enough to hatch a bird!

Out of the tavern, Han Changsheng staggered towards a shop. Once there, he bought new clothes and sundries and was ready to go back to the mountain valley. 

Just as he was about to leave the city, he heard voices from the other side of the street. “Damn demonic cult! They better hope they don’t meet me! I’d beat them to a bloody pulp.” 

Looking back, Han Changsheng saw a young swordsman dressed in blue robes. Gnashing his teeth, the swordsman swore, “I will chop them up in pieces and avenge my martial uncle!”

He had several companions at his side. One of them patted his shoulder, saying, “Not just you. Regardless of who gets their hands on the demonic cult, they’ll beat them to a pulp! They do many evil things, and will suffer for it!”

Han Changsheng chuckled. Did those guys really think they could beat the Tianning Cult? Lowering his head, he kicked a stone at his feet, wondering if he should teach them a lesson. 

Then, he pondered their words. One of them said he wanted revenge for his uncle. Who was his uncle? Did his followers do something he didn’t know about while he was away from the cult?

Suddenly, he heard a loud “meow” from his feet. Looking down to see a white cat rubbing against his leg, Han Changsheng knelt, then reached out to pet the cat. 

“Icy Blue Water!” A pleasant voice rang out behind Han Changsheng. Turning back, he saw a young man with a reproachful expression. 

Eyes wide, Han Changsheng asked, “Gu. . . How did you. . .?”

When the young man saw him, he hesitated “Hua. . . It’s you!”

Of anything that could’ve happened, Han Changsheng ran into no one other than Gu Mingxiao, the master of the Purple Jade Hall of the Tianning cult. 

After greeting each other, they left the city to find a quiet path to talk.

Holding his little white cat in his arms, Gu Mingxiao looked at Han Changsheng with a funny expression on his face. “Why are you dressed like that, master?”

Touching his face, Han Changsheng smiled and said, “Why don’t you explain why you’re here instead of at Chuxiu Mountain?”

The cat in Gu Mingxiao’s arms kept meowing. It stretched its claws at Han Changsheng, as if he wanted to be in Han Changsheng’s arms instead. Rubbing the cat’s head, Gu Mingxiao said while eating vinegar, “Icy Blue, you little brat.”

Rolling his eyes at Gu Mingxiao, Han Changsheng said, “Hall Master Gu, promise me not to give your cats such ridiculous names in the future.” 

Gu Mingxiao’s ability to name a cat was almost on par in atrocity as An Yuan’s. Han Changsheng had never seen the cat before, but he was afraid it was Gu Mingxiao’s new favorite. Clearly, he’d added another member to the Ice Cat family in the Purple Jade hall. Icy Body and Snow Bone, Icy Purity, Icy Intelligence. . . There was nothing he hated more than that Gu Mingxiao named a black cat ‘Icy Body and Snow Bone’. It rubbed him the wrong way. 

“Why can’t I name them thus?” 

His face Dark, Han Changsheng replied, “As soon as you give any cat a ridiculous name, I feel like it’s my responsibility to beat you up. And, whenever that happens, you end up winning. So, promise me not to call them those heinous names anymore.”

Gu Mingxiao: “. . .”

The cat finally broke free from Gu Mingxiao’s arms and ran to rub against Han Changsheng’s feet. 

Though Han Changsheng bullied Gu Mingxiao’s cats, they all liked him a lot. Even when he shaved all the fur off one of them, it still came to meow at him, never once getting angry with him. Even the cat with the worst temper, “Icy Intelligence”, who bit anyone in sight, didn’t mind Han Changsheng. Gu Mingxiao worked hard to raise them, but they were all closer to the Cult Head, even though he harassed them. 

Irritated and salty at his cat’s obvious preference for Han Changsheng, Gu Mingxiao picked up Icy Blue and said, “I heard from Xiaoqing, Cult Head. Your martial arts have rapidly advanced, and you’ve planned a great scheme to entice people from the righteous Wulin?”

Han Changsheng shivered. In the Tianning cult, only the left and right guards were the easiest to cheat. None of the four hall masters were as easy to deal with, so Du Yuefei was more fond of him. Alas, Gu Mingxiao was difficult to trick. 

Holding the cat in one hand and drawing out a silver flute, Gu Mingxiao spoke lightly, “Would you please give me some instructions?”

Han Changsheng summoned the courage to take out his sword. “Come at me.”

The silver flute was Gu Mingxiao’s weapon. It was far from ordinary, made of diamond and plated with silver. It was very hard. Usually, Gu Mingxiao used it to tame animals, but he could also fiddle it around in his hand and launch concealed weapons. 

Gu Mingxiao didn’t bother putting down the cat, either. Taking the silver flute in his right hand, he pointed it at Han Changsheng and immediately attacked. 

Han Changsheng was casual about it, his sword didn’t even leave its sheath. The head of the scabbard stood against his opponent’s flute. 

“Eh?”

As soon as Gu Mingxiao’s eyes brightened, he released the cat and seriously attacked. 

He was known as the silver flute master, often using it as a sword. It wasn’t as long as its bladed counterpart, so when they collided, the flute was at a disadvantage. However, Gu Mingxiao could make up for his natural weakness with his speed. Besides, the flute could also send out his concealed weapons, impossible for his opponent to effectively defend. 

However, when he fought with Han Changsheng, Gu Mingxiao didn’t dare to use them. In the past, he could suppress him with only the flute. Han Changsheng’s sword was wielded with redundant strokes, flaws easy to breakthrough. 

This time, Gu Mingxiao’s flute didn’t touch Han Changsheng even once. He blocked every one of his attacks. Han Changsheng looked relaxed. This didn’t take much strength for him. 

Taking a step back to look him over, Gu Mingxiao’s eyes widened. “I didn’t expect that you’d make this much progress in three months.” 

“Didn’t Xiao Qing tell you?” Han Changsheng asked, “Have you no faith in your leader?”

“Ha, ha,” Gu Mingxiao laughed. “Faith in you? Ha!”

Glaring, Han Changsheng said, “Hey! Who’s the leader here? You or me?”

Gu Mingxiao was too lazy to prolong the argument. This wasn’t the first time Han Changsheng tried to improve. Once, Han Changsheng used his face changing skills to dress Lu Baibi as himself. He shoved him out and tried to fool everyone else. Xiaobai sparred with Luo Xin wearing Han Changsheng’s face in his stead, and the hall master thought Han Changsheng’s hard work cultivating had finally borne good results. 

Han Changsheng almost fooled them, but because Hua Xiaoshuang came along and said, “You look good with a smile,” Lu Baibi grew furious and exposed himself. 

This time, however, Gu Mingxiao tested the Cult Head himself, and Han Changsheng had improved. 

“By the way.” Gu Mingxiao held up Icy Blue and asked, “You killed the people of the Mingyue Sect?”

“Mingyue Sect?” Han Changsheng asked, “What nonsense are you talking about? I haven’t even heard of them.”

Stunned, Gu Mingxiao frowned, stroking the cat’s head. “That’s strange. I came here to find you.” Taking a deep breath, he took a long look at Han Changsheng. “Xiaoqing and Xiaobai said that you had some grand scheme, so you didn’t want to come back. I came to find out for myself, and when I arrived, I heard people scolding the Tianning Cult for our wrongdoings. A respected elder of Xianyu was sent by the Mingyue Sect and was killed by the demonic cult. I thought it was your ‘grand scheme’.”

Han Changsheng shook his head. “I don’t even know him! How could I have killed him?”

Gu Mingxiao narrowed his eyes. “I heard the elder Xian Yue was assassinated. I didn’t think it was your style. With your temperament, you would tell the world. Henceforth, I followed the disciples of the Mingyue Sect, just to investigate, but I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

Anger flooded over Han Changsheng. Where were the little liars? They dared to mock the way of Tianning Cult? He had to find them and teach some lessons!

“What do you want to do with them?” Han Changsheng asked, “Let’s go to the Mingyue Sect to have a look.”

“Well,” Gu Mingxiao said, thinking, “The Mingyue elder hasn’t been gone for seven days yet, so the coffin hasn’t been buried. Let’s go have a look.”

They reached the Mingyue Sect not long afterwards. Two young disciples patrolled the sect. Knocking them unconscious,  Han Changsheng threw them into the forest. Stealing their clothes, he and Gu Mingxiao dressed to look like them, then swaggered into their front gate.

After finding out where the coffin located, Han Changsheng and Gu Mingxiao came to a stop outside the ancestral hall. They heard someone talking inside, so Han Changsheng poked a hole in the window paper and peered inside.

Several elderly people stood alongside the coffin, likely the sect head and its elders. 

One of the men spoke. “The abhorrent Tianning Cult. At the Wulin conference, we must ask the leader of the Wulin alliance to decide for us. We must call on them  to destroy the cult and seek revenge for the Xian Yue!”

Another worried, “Are we sure Elder Xian Yue was killed by the leader of the Tianning Cult?”

The old man in the sect head’s clothes said, “Wang Yue, if the Tianning didn’t do it, who else could? Isn’t it consistent with the demonic cult’s style to kill and steal secret scripts from Xian Yue’s hands?”

Han Changsheng and Gu Mingxiao looked at one another. Their secret scripts were stolen?

The old man, known as Wang Yue, said, “Apart from stealing the secret script, there is no evidence that Xian Yue was killed by the demonic cult, right?”

Angrily, another elder spoke up, “Wang Yue, what do you mean, no evidence? Why do you always speak for the demonic cult?! Could you be . .”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Exclaimed Wang Yue, “I just don’t want to let the real killer go! And, at the Wulin conference, how can we make them believe the demonic cult killed Xian Yue?”

The room fell silent. 

Pounding his fists against the table, the sect head scolded, “We can’t spread the story that the Mingyue Sword technique was stolen. Once it’s known, our status and reputation would be destroyed!”

Han Changsheng rolled his eyes. Although the Tianning Cult started out stealing all the secret scripts from the Wulin Sects, their martial arts were now beyond the reach of the Wulin people. The Mingyue Sect was a new swordsman sect that had only recently been built up. 

The Tianning Cult doesn’t have any desire to steal your Mingyue sword skills, okay? Don’t put gold on your face!

Han Changsheng looked at Gu Mingxiao, but couldn’t tell what he was thinking.