I Really Am A Villain

Xu Zimo’s arrival was like that of a plague, everyone avoided him from afar.

As he watched those people leave one after another, the old storyteller shook his head slightly, put away the book before him, and prepared to leave.

“Elder, may I ask you a few questions?” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

“Ask,” the old man replied, lifting his head to look at Xu Zimo.

“Why do those people not dare to come near me?” Xu Zimo asked.

“They are all low-level ghost spirits. The yang energy on your body is too strong. If they stay near you too long, their souls will scatter,” the old man explained.

“Do you know if this Nether City counts as a forbidden area?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Nether City is just Nether City, it’s not considered a forbidden land,” the old man shook his head. “If you wish to go to the forbidden area, you’ll need to find the city lord. The entrance is in his hands.”

Xu Zimo asked a few more questions. Before he left, the old man reminded him, “Nether City opens at night and closes at dawn. If you don’t want to be expelled from the city, make sure you find a place to stay before daylight.”

Xu Zimo thanked him, then descended from the city tower. People wearing all sorts of ghost masks brushed past him as he walked. He planned to seek out the city lord of Nether City.

But just as he took a few steps, the sound of fighting erupted not far away.

The once-bustling street was thrown into panic. Several figures came flying through the air.

“Catch that human! The Ghost Monarch will reward you greatly!” shouted a few figures in pursuit.

The one being chased was none other than Xie Changliu.

After they had parted earlier, Xu Zimo had told him to wait in Sunflower City. He hadn’t expected that Xie Changliu would also come to Nether City.

Seeing him being hunted down, Xu Zimo frowned slightly, uncertain of what had happened.

He followed them quietly from a distance. Xie Changliu’s body radiated sword intent as he fought off the Ghost Envoys while searching for a way to escape.

But the city was heavily guarded on all sides, escaping was almost impossible.

The strength of these Ghost Envoys was about the same as Xie Changliu’s, and for a while, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Xu Zimo decided to find a place to settle first.

He went to several inns in a row, but every time he stepped inside, the innkeepers would immediately shut the doors in his face.

To the residents of this place, outsiders with strong yang energy were unwelcome and even dangerous.

At a street corner, Xu Zimo stopped before an inn called Flower Granny’s Lodge.

The proprietor, a blind old woman, didn’t turn him away, though she told him that staying there required ghost coins, the local currency of the Netherworld.

Xu Zimo decided to find Xie Changliu first before worrying about that.

Meanwhile, several Ghost Envoys were still chasing Xie Changliu through the streets of the Nether City.

“Stop him!” one of them shouted. A Ghost Envoy thrust his staff forward, and from the void descended a massive black net.

Xie Changliu’s sword sliced through the air, cutting the net apart.

“This won’t work,” one of the envoys said grimly. “Maybe we should go find the Ghost Monarch.”

“If we can’t even handle a small matter like this, do you think the Ghost Monarch will forgive us?” another snapped.

“Then what do we do? Keep chasing him like this? We’ll cause chaos in the city.”

The group bickered for a while, until one of them shouted, “Aren’t you looking for your wife? Stop and we can talk.”

Hearing that, Xie Changliu froze in place but kept his guard up, watching them warily.

“You want your wife’s soul, don’t you?” one of the envoys said with a sneer.

“Speak from where you are, I can hear you,” Xie Changliu said, taking a few steps back and stopping the envoy from approaching.

“Fine, I’ll be direct,” the Ghost Envoy said. “We of the Spectral Ghost Race come from the Mirage Tides Heaven. In that domain, there exists a Codex of Life and Death. The realm of the dead is vast beyond measure, and the book records every soul that has ever died. If you can look through it, you’ll find your wife’s soul.”

“So what are you getting at?” Xie Changliu frowned.

“Give me the Ghost Monarch’s Soul-Rebirth Pearl, and I’ll take you to the Mirage Tides Heaven,” the envoy replied.

“You think I’ll believe that?” Xie Changliu said coldly. “You’re just a lowly Ghost Envoy. What right do you have to make such promises?”

“Then there’s nothing more to say,” the envoy narrowed his eyes and shouted, “Attack!”

From the void around them, several more Ghost Envoys appeared, surrounding Xie Changliu.

They pointed into the air, and countless black nets rose from the void, merging together into one enormous web that covered half the city.

Xie Changliu swung his sword, but this new net was incredibly tough, his blade couldn’t tear through it at all.

“Boy, since you’re so eager to be with your wife, we’ll do you a favor, kill you, and send you to her,” the envoys sneered darkly.

The net closed in, wrapping tightly around Xie Changliu and holding him immobile.

The envoys extended their hands, releasing torrents of yin energy from their palms. The cold, rotting air spread through the area.

Just then, a blinding surge of blade energy tore through the sky.

“Be careful!” the envoys shouted.

They leapt back as the blade energy exploded, tearing open a vortex in the air.

A massive hand reached out from the vortex and yanked Xie Changliu inside.

The Ghost Envoys could only watch helplessly. Then they turned to one another.

“Someone’s helping him from the shadows.”

“We’re no match for that person. The fact that he didn’t strike us down means he doesn’t want to offend the Netherworld’s forces.”

“It seems we’ll have to report this to the Ghost Monarch.”

Within moments, they reached a grim agreement.

In the bustling streets of Nether City, Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu walked side by side.

“How did you get into trouble with them?” Xu Zimo asked.

“I was trying to find my wife’s soul,” Xie Changliu said after a moment of silence.

“I overheard them say you stole the Ghost Monarch’s Soul-Rebirth Pearl, trying to use it to bargain for your wife’s soul?” Xu Zimo asked.

Xie Changliu’s wife’s yang soul was currently preserved in the mortal world, sustained by the Tree of Life that Xu Zimo had used to protect her.

If they could retrieve her yin soul, she could be revived.

Given how close they were to the Netherworld, it wasn’t surprising that Xie Changliu had acted impulsively.

“Yes,” Xie Changliu admitted without denying it.

“You’re thinking too simply,” Xu Zimo said with a faint, helpless smile.

“What do you mean?” Xie Changliu asked.

“Do you know who rules the Mirage Tides Heaven?” Xu Zimo asked.

Xie Changliu shook his head.

“The Lord of Death,” Xu Zimo replied.

Back at Elder Lord Temple, the old man had given Xu Zimo a list of names, and that one was among them.

“In the entire Mirage Tides Heaven, unless the Lord of Death agrees, it’s impossible,” Xu Zimo continued. “Not even the Ghost Monarch or any Ghost General can do anything.”

“To release a soul back into the living world, such a thing has never happened in the entire history of the Mirage Tides Heaven.”