I Really Am A Villain

“So, we’re basically under house arrest,” Xu Zimo said with a grin.

“That’s fine,” Xie Changliu replied. “The fewer ghosts we meet, the less chance we have of slipping up. Let’s just see if that General Hepburn has the ability to find Sunflower City, that would make things easier for us.”

After arriving at their assigned courtyard, the Long-Tongued Ghost left them alone.

Xie Changliu took out a vial of Hundred-Ghost Liquid and dripped some onto both of them to keep their yin energy from dissipating. It wasn’t foolproof, but it helped them blend in.

“Let’s rest for now,” Xu Zimo said. “That General Hepburn will definitely come looking for us again soon.”

By all logic, Sunflower City, being tied to the legacy of the Ancient Wood God Jumang, should have been well-known. Yet not a single person seemed to have heard of it. That alone was strange.

The next several days passed quietly. The two of them stayed in the courtyard, not venturing out for over a week.

Then, one morning, General Hepburn arrived with a man cloaked in black.

“Come with us,” Hepburn said without preamble.

“Where to?” Xu Zimo asked.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Hepburn replied, unwilling to explain further.

He and the black-robed man led the way, with Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu following behind as they left the mansion, and even passed beyond the walls of Yama City, heading east.

“Lord Hepburn, at least tell us where we’re going,” Xie Changliu asked.

“Based on what you told us,” Hepburn said with a smirk, “we looked into the matter of Sunflower. Would you like to hear what we found? It’s quite interesting.”

“I’d be honored to hear it,” Xie replied.

“Sunflower is, in fact, a city,” Hepburn said.

Xu Zimo and Xie exchanged a glance but remained silent.

“Long ago, this world was home to a divine being,” Hepburn continued. “The Wood God, Jumang, the Ancient God who embodies life itself, once lived here.”

“Could it be that Sunflower City is connected to Jumang?” Xie said, feigning surprise.

“When Jumang vanished, the Flower of Death began to bloom across the forbidden land. What do you think?” Hepburn asked suddenly, his tone cryptic.

Even Xu Zimo was caught off guard.

He had only mentioned the Flower of Death to use Hepburn’s resources to locate Sunflower City. But if Sunflower was truly linked to the Flower of Death, then things were far more complicated than he’d thought.

Hepburn seemed ready to continue speaking, but the black-robed man beside him gave a few deliberate coughs. Hepburn immediately stopped talking.

“If you already found Sunflower City,” Xie asked suspiciously, “why bring us along?”

“We looked into your backgrounds,” Hepburn said coolly. “There’s no record of either of you in Yama City’s registries.”

He didn’t need to finish the thought, his meaning was obvious.

These two weren’t truly Hexben’s subordinates, nor residents of Yama City. That meant they could be spies sent by another Ghost Monarch.

The Ghost Monarchs were far from united, after all.

Xu Zimo wasn’t concerned. It seemed Hepburn suspected they worked for another Ghost Monarch, but it never even crossed his mind that they weren’t ghosts at all.

The group continued on in silence, each harboring their own motives.

After passing through several ghost cities, they eventually arrived at a vast desert of yellow sand.

There were no signs of ghostly activity here; the place was barren and uninhabited, a borderland shared by both ghosts and gods, but of little use to either side, so neither faction maintained a presence.

After walking for some time, the black-robed man suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” Hepburn asked.

“Show yourself,” the man said coldly. “You’ve been tailing us long enough. Since there’s no one else around, this is as good a place as any to settle things.”

Hepburn’s expression changed instantly as he scanned the surroundings.

The desert wind picked up, whirling into a blinding sandstorm that darkened the sky.

From within the storm came the sound of chains scraping against one another.

A figure emerged, a man dragging an enormous chained hammer behind him. His arms were wrapped tightly in bandages, his hair sparse, his face gaunt, with a sharp hawk-like nose.

“Green-Celestial, it’s you,” the black-robed man rasped.

“Daylight, and you’re still hiding under that black robe, Nether-Prime? What are you afraid of?” the man laughed.

At that, the black-robed man’s identity became obvious, Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime.

“Are those two yours?” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial asked, glancing at Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu.

The black-robed man pulled back his hood, no longer concealing himself. His face was covered in twisting red markings, so dense that they nearly erased his features, a sight that would unsettle even the bravest soul.

In his hand, he held a five-element staff, pulsing with the powers of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.

“Where are you headed?” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial asked.

“Nowhere special,” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime replied calmly. “Just wandering.”

“I heard you’ve been digging into the matter of Sunflower City lately,” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial said bluntly, not bothering with pretense.

“Your information network is impressive,” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime said with narrowed eyes. The aura from his staff began to surge stronger and stronger. “But what I investigate is none of your concern.”

“Oh, it’s not my concern,” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial said with a smile, “but as luck would have it, I’ve been doing some digging too, and I found some very interesting things. Shall I read them out to you one by one?”

“What do you want?” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime asked after a short silence.

“Those two,” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial said, pointing at Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu. “Let’s split them, one each. How about it?”

“They’re not yours?” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime frowned.

The situation was clearly becoming tangled, and even he couldn’t tell how many parties were now involved.

“Enough talk,” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial said impatiently. “Yes or no? If you refuse, I’ll just take them by force.”

“You can try,” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime said coldly, lifting his staff. Frost gathered at its tip, and with a single gesture, half the sky froze solid.

“Come then!” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial roared, leaping into the air. The chain hammer flew forward, the hammer and chain separating midair, the hammer hurtling toward Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime, the chain snapping toward Xu Zimo to pull him in.

With a thunderous boom, a wave of icy air swept across the desert. The hammer and chain froze mid-flight, encased in thick frost.

Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime grabbed Xu Zimo by the shoulder, trying to pull him to his side.

Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial snorted and gave the chain a sharp jerk. A burst of brute force shattered the ice instantly.

Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime flipped backward, seizing the other end of the chain. The two Ghost Monarchs locked in a deadly tug-of-war, their immense powers colliding in violent bursts.

“Let go,” Ghost Monarch Green-Celestial growled. “This will only end with both of us ruined.”

“You first,” Ghost Monarch Nether-Prime sneered.

Before either could back down, another explosion tore through the air.