This Villain Ch.64

Chapter 64: Little Butterfly is idealistic. Old Four is materialistic.

“Really? You weren’t lying to me, were you?”

“Really, I don’t like lying.”

“Even if you disappear, will you come back next time?”

“I’ll come back. I’ll come every day.”

After receiving this assurance, Feng Xuexiang, though still holding onto him tightly, sounded much more normal, at least he wasn’t grinding his teeth anymore.

Yu Shi waited a moment and said, “It’s about time you let go of me, right? There are still many butterflies left, and if we want to catch them all, we need to hurry.”

Speaking of the butterflies, Yu Shi asked, “I encountered some danger outside. It was your butterflies that helped me, right?”

Feng Xuexiang, leaning against his shoulder, shook his head, then nodded.

“It wasn’t the butterflies, it was me.”

Yu Shi understood: The butterflies are you, and you are the butterflies.

Yu Shi spoke sincerely, “I need to thank you for helping me, I’m really grateful.”

Feng Xuexiang replied softly, “No need to thank me.”

Those chaotic things dared to invade his domain, trying to take what was his, but they weren’t even worthy of becoming the muck here.

Yu Shi asked, “But how did you know I was in danger, and how could you send the butterflies to help me?”

Feng Xuexiang hesitated, his voice softening, “I’m not sure, I just knew.”

Fortunately, Yu Shi didn’t press further. He simply reiterated that they needed to start working and asked Feng Xuexiang to let go.

Finally, Feng Xuexiang released him, his expression fragile and uneasy. Following closely beside him, his eyes red, he confirmed, “You’ll come every day, and you won’t make me wait too long, right?”

Faced with such an anxious employer, Yu Shi decided to address the problem from another angle: “Are you feeling too bored? If you’re bored, I can find something for you to do.”

He thought that if Feng Xuexiang could immerse himself in something, like doing work, he wouldn’t be so emotionally volatile.

Feng Xuexiang looked confused. “Do what?”

Yu Shi pulled out several wooden boards from the mud. “You could try putting these together.”

Make a wooden raft.

After assigning the task, Yu Shi went to catch butterflies, filling a large bag with them using his net.

The bag was already quite full of butterflies. Yu Shi peered inside, confirming that the butterflies he had caught earlier were still alive and well. Relieved, he continued adding more to the bag.

However, unable to detect anything unusual with his eyes alone, he decided to check in with Feng Xuexiang: “Feng Xuexiang, I’ve caught so many butterflies—are you still feeling okay?”

“I’m fine,” Feng Xuexiang replied, focused on arranging the pile of wood Yu Shi had given him. His hair was so long that it touched the ground, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Suddenly, he turned around with a smile. “Yu Shi, I’m done!”

Yu Shi thought to himself, ‘That was fast—he’s got some skill.’

He walked over to see that Feng Xuexiang had simply arranged the wood pieces by their different shapes, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Yu Shi: “…”

“What I meant was to assemble them into one solid piece,” Yu Shi said, putting down his net to demonstrate how the wood could be joined together.

For the pieces with holes, he removed some wire or rope to bind them together. For those without, he suggested carving grooves and using a mortise and tenon technique to connect them.

“Like this. Understand?”

“Got it.”

“So, have you learned it?”

“I’ve learned it.”

“Good, then go ahead.”

Feng Xuexiang took the knife Yu Shi handed him.

This knife, stained with blood that wouldn’t wash away, had, in Feng Xuexiang’s childhood memory, once been used to kill someone.

It had been deeply buried in the “mud,” and Yu Shi had just dug it up.

He not only picked it up but also sharpened the blade on the edge of the platform, making it even sharper.

He said to him, “The intricate patterns on the edge of this platform make it pretty good for sharpening knives.”

Raising the knife, he struck the wooden board, sending wood chips flying, and Feng Xuexiang smiled.

The wooden board he was chopping had once been part of a beautiful little coffin lid—one he had almost ended up in.

Yu Shi had casually hacked away at the bright patterns on the board, stripping away more than half of them. Following his example, Feng Xuexiang started chopping away as well, his smile growing wider with each strike.

When Yu Shi returned and saw this scene, he thought, ‘Does he actually enjoy chopping wood? He looks so happy doing it.’

Though Feng Xuexiang had mimicked Yu Shi’s chopping, the pieces of wood didn’t fit together properly.

Feng Xuexiang thought, ‘No problem, I just need to tie them together with wire,’ and turned his gaze toward a piece of wire mesh.

This wire mesh, also pulled from the mud, had once been part of a cage. What was kept in that cage? He couldn’t remember.

But as he tore the wires off the mesh, destroying the cage, he felt an odd sense of joy.

These remnants of his past, buried in the mud, still caused him pain, but Yu Shi could transform them into something entirely different.

Unsurprisingly, Yu Shi found that Feng Xuexiang had made a mess of the wood. The two pieces he had barely managed to connect fell apart with a slight shake.

Feng Xuexiang, who had been so happy just moments ago, now looked dejected as he tried to piece the fallen wood back together.

“It was put together just fine a moment ago,” he said, sneaking glances at Yu Shi’s reaction.

Yu Shi crouched down to help him pick up the wood and said, “I saw that. You did well; it just wasn’t very sturdy. I’ll help you reinforce it.”

He hadn’t expected his employer to be much help in the first place. As long as Feng Xuexiang didn’t cause too much trouble, that was good enough for him.

Despite not finishing the task, Feng Xuexiang was immediately cheered up by the praise.

“You see, this mortise hole is slightly too big, so the piece tends to fall out. If you wedge a small piece of wood in there, it’ll reinforce the connection,” Yu Shi explained carefully, his tone gentle and patient.

It reminded him of the times he used to do crafts with kids.

Feng Xuexiang rested his chin in his hand, his eyelashes drooping as he watched him.

Yu Shi paused his explanation. “Are you feeling sleepy?”

Feng Xuexiang replied, “…Mm.”

Yu Shi said, “Then go ahead and sleep. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Suddenly, Feng Xuexiang’s eyes snapped open, fixing on him.

His eyes were so dark that when he showed an innocent, confused, and pitiable expression, he seemed pure and naive, unaware of the world.

But when he was silent and expressionless, his overly beautiful face combined with those pitch-black eyes created an eerie, unsettling feeling.

“Yu Shi, I can trust you, right?” He gently grasped Yu Shi’s hand.

Yu Shi held his hand in return and raised his hand to give him a high five. “Yes.”

…

Once, twice, three times… ten times, twelve times… twenty-two times.

Just as Yu Shi had promised, he came back time and time again.

Despite how many times he had come, every time he appeared, Feng Xuexiang reacted with the same excitement and joy.

He was just like a butterfly, fluttering around him in circles.

“Ashi, what are we doing today?”

“Today, I’m going to catch the rest of the butterflies.”

There were so many butterflies, and Yu Shi had been catching them diligently for such a long time. Now only a few were left, standing out clearly on the dark green lotus leaves.

He put them all into the large bag, which wriggled constantly as he secured it tightly.

“Alright, we can leave now.”

Feng Xuexiang watched as Yu Shi placed the wooden raft they had assembled together onto the water, then put the large bag filled with butterflies on top. He asked, “Am I supposed to get on this raft too?”

Seeing him eager, like a child ready for a spring outing, Yu Shi shook his head. “No, for now, I’ll carry you.”

Yu Shi had reinforced the raft several times, adding buoyant materials like empty bottles and foam underneath. However, in the thick mud, it was difficult to move; they needed to reach slightly deeper water.

“Come on,” Yu Shi said, turning his back to Feng Xuexiang and leaning against the platform.

When he didn’t feel any movement behind him, Yu Shi asked curiously, “Don’t you want to leave?”

Feng Xuexiang leaned down and wrapped his arms around Yu Shi’s neck. Yu Shi hoisted him up and reminded him, “Lift your feet a bit, don’t let them touch the mud, or it’ll hurt.”

Carrying Feng Xuexiang on his back, Yu Shi walked forward, holding onto a rope with one hand, dragging the raft behind them.

After making so many trips to catch butterflies, Yu Shi had packed down the mud by a couple of inches. The things hidden within the mud had been thoroughly unearthed by him.

In the end, many of the items Yu Shi found, Feng Xuexiang couldn’t even remember what they were.

But no matter what they had been, Yu Shi would turn them into something new, repurposing them into tools or materials.

Feng Xuexiang rested against Yu Shi, listening to his breathing. He stayed silent for so long that Yu Shi eventually asked, “Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared… Ashi, are you tired?”

“Not really, I’ve been working out recently, so carrying you for a while is easy,” Yu Shi replied. He then felt a warm hand touch his cheek.

Fingers brushed against his neck, tickling him. He flinched slightly, and Feng Xuexiang withdrew his hand. “But Ashi, you’re sweating.”

Feng Xuexiang looked at the moisture on his fingers and brought them close to his lips, licking them lightly.

“It’s normal to sweat,” Yu Shi said, not noticing Feng Xuexiang’s actions as he kept his eyes forward, calculating the distance they had left to cover.

Feng Xuexiang, returning to his usual talkative self, initiated the conversation, “Ashi, why did you bring the butterflies you caught along with you?”

“They were trapped there too. If the world outside is bigger, they can be released into it,” Yu Shi replied, without having thought too deeply about it—he had simply felt it was the right thing to do.

“……”

Feng Xuexiang stared at the back of Yu Shi’s head, his fingertips playing with the ends of Yu Shi’s hair. “Ashi, do you know how I got my name?”

Yu Shi never let a conversation drop awkwardly, and although he had his suspicions, he asked cooperatively, “How did it come about?”

“My mother is from the Xue family. When I was little, she really wanted to return home, so she named me Xuexiang.”

“‘Feng’ is from my father, ‘Xue’ is from my mother, and only ‘Xiang’ belongs to me.”

“And you, Ashi, why is your name what it is?”

“My name was given by my eldest brother. He said my ‘Shi’ represents reality,” Yu Shi explained, his voice calm and even, blending with the splashing of the muddy water beneath his feet.

“Reality, or seeing through reality?” Feng Xuexiang mused, raising his hand to cover Yu Shi’s eyes.

“Put your hand down; I can’t see the path,” Yu Shi said, shaking his head.

Feng Xuexiang laughed, lowering his hand and rubbing his forehead against the back of Yu Shi’s neck. “Haha.”

Yu Shi’s breathing gradually grew heavier and more rapid, and the sound of the water splashing beneath his feet became louder as it reached up to his waist.

Feng Xuexiang leaned against his shoulder, his pitch-black eyes fixated on the sweat dripping down Yu Shi’s cheek and neck.

“Alright, you can get onto the raft now.” Yu Shi gave Feng Xuexiang a gentle lift from his back, helping him onto the raft.

The raft wobbled slightly in the water, and Yu Shi steadied it with one hand, supporting Feng Xuexiang with the other. “Sit tight.”

“Ashi, you should get on too,” Feng Xuexiang said, pulling at him.

“This raft can’t carry both of us,” Yu Shi replied, holding the raft steady. “Don’t worry, I can swim. This water won’t be a problem for me.”

Yu Shi began pushing the raft forward, parting the dark green lily pads as they moved.

Feng Xuexiang sat on the raft, gripping Yu Shi’s hand tightly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly ahead. But as the raft drifted on the water for what felt like an eternity, Feng Xuexiang saw nothing. The surroundings grew darker, as if they were approaching the edge of the world, only to find that there was nothing there.

A deep fear began to rise within him.

“There’s light ahead; we should be close to shore,” Yu Shi suddenly said, causing Feng Xuexiang to grip his hand even tighter.

But he couldn’t see any light.

They finally reached the shore. Yu Shi saw that the world was bright and clear. Although there were no signs pointing the way, the presence of a path underfoot meant they could keep moving forward.

“Let’s go.”

Feng Xuexiang, however, gazed into the endless darkness ahead. He held onto Yu Shi’s hand, allowing himself to be led forward into the unknown.

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