This Villain Ch.100

Chapter 100: Zhou Shi? Who?

Feng Xuexiang opened his eyes to see a world that was dark and blurry.

Beneath him was a circular mirror platform, surrounded by “mud” covered in shallow water, with clusters of purple “water lilies” in the distance.

It was a very familiar place.

His mind was in chaos, and after a long time, fragmented images began to emerge:

A cozy, narrow balcony, where someone was holding a watering can, watering the potted plants;

An orchard filled with the scent of unripe oranges, where someone stood on a branch, picking a yellow-green orange and handing it down to him;

By the golden stream flowing at the foot of a snowy mountain, they held hands and walked upstream, picking up thin layers of snow on the rocks;

Suddenly, artificial snowflakes fell overhead, and when he turned to look, that person stood beside him, smiling, with the noisy calls of penguins echoing in the background;

That person sat on the edge of the bed, shirtless, drying his hair;

In the morning, still a bit sleepy, he leaned against the sink brushing his teeth;

Skillfully chopping vegetables, he reprocessed the vegetables he had messily chopped and tossed everything into the pan to stir-fry;

A hand picked up a dead leaf butterfly from a pile of frost-bitten leaves, saying that even this kind of butterfly was beautiful;

…

“Yu Shi.” The name escaped Feng Xuexiang’s dry lips.

But as he recalled this name, those images that once made him smile began to fade from his mind.

Like the waves erasing patterns on the sand.

“Yu Shi… Yu Shi…” Feng Xuexiang staggered as he tried to stand up from the mirror platform.

With a sense of panic and pain, he pressed hard on his head, struggling to find the figure that filled his memories.

—Feng Xuexiang.

A voice called out to him, and Feng Xuexiang quickly turned around, seeing Yu Shi.

Yu Shi stood at the edge of the platform and said, “My name is Yu Shi.”

Feng Xuexiang’s face lit up with a smile of surprise and joy, and he opened his arms to him, but in the next second, Yu Shi disappeared.

In an instant, Feng Xuexiang saw him again, standing on the other side of the platform, ready to step into the muddy lake, reaching out his hand and saying, “Hold my hand.”

Feng Xuexiang hurriedly tried to grab his hand, but grasped only air.

The illusory figure from his memories vanished once more, only to reappear in the distance, trudging forward through the mud, his back turned to Feng Xuexiang.

“Don’t go, don’t go!” Feng Xuexiang fell off the mirror platform and chased after the fading shadow.

The mud beneath him was thick and heavy, clinging to his body, burning his skin.

A voice whispered in his ear:

“Is this mud hurting you?”

“…Don’t touch the mud anymore.”

“…I’ll carry you… Don’t touch the mud, or it will hurt.”

“I’ll find a way… to get you out of here.”

“Aren’t those butterflies hurting you? I’ll catch them all first…”

But those voices were scattered by the wind, drifting further and further away.

Feng Xuexiang’s difficult walk turned into a desperate sprint, yet the distance between him and the figure ahead grew wider, until finally, he could no longer see his silhouette.

The muddy lake expanded, and he ran for what seemed like an eternity. His body felt as though it was burning, the pain unbearable, yet he didn’t stop.

He was gripped by an urgent sense of loss.

He couldn’t stay here any longer; he couldn’t forget; he had to leave this place!

“Yu Shi.” The name escaped his lips repeatedly, almost as if by instinct, as Feng Xuexiang ran forward. The wind blowing from behind whipped his hair and clothes, like countless hands trying to drag him back.

“Get away!” Feng Xuexiang shouted in frustration, breaking free from the gale. He plunged into the purple “water lilies,” stepping over the swirling mud.

Butterflies filled the air, landing on him, gnawing at his flesh.

Amidst the excruciating pain, Feng Xuexiang saw that illusory figure appear again in the distance.

The figure removed his clothes, trying to drive the butterflies away from him.

Feng Xuexiang could no longer distinguish between memory and reality, truth and illusion. Seeing that figure felt like reaching the destination after a long journey; he chased after it desperately, wanting to get closer.

But when he finally got close, the figure vanished.

Feng Xuexiang was on the brink of madness from this constant feeling of loss. The chaotic memories in his mind were like sand in his hands, slipping through his fingers faster the tighter he tried to hold on.

“Yu Shi…”

He didn’t see that figure again. His now hollow shell held only one thought: keep moving forward, leave, go back.

But where was he supposed to go back to?

“Yu Shi…”

Who was Yu Shi?

His flesh burned as if it were on fire, his cheeks and hands torn and bloodied by the butterflies’ bites.

Yet there was another force, one that continuously sustained him.

Feng Xuexiang had a moment of clarity—it was the jade scroll’s power.

This power was gradually replacing and suppressing the original butterfly illusion.

He kept moving forward, relentlessly, toward an unknown direction, never stopping even when the pain drove him to the brink of insanity.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking when he began to feel cold.

*

“How’s Uncle today?” Jiang Mang asked as she once again visited her Aunt Xue Xiu to check on Feng Xuexiang.

Not many people usually came to Xue Xiu’s place, but ever since Feng Xuexiang was sealed here, her niece had started visiting twice a month.

“You’ve come again. You really care about him.”

Jiang Mang: Of course! Even though I call him uncle, emotionally, he’s more like a best friend’s boyfriend.

However, she didn’t dare to voice such a rebellious thought.

“We’re family, after all. It’s only right, and besides, we have quite a connection,” Jiang Mang responded casually, knowing her Aunt Xue Xiu was just making small talk.

“So, how is he? Still the same as usual?”

Xue Xiu gave her an unexpected answer: “No, in recent days, he has been very restless. His power fluctuations are strong. If this continues, I might not be able to keep him sealed.”

Jiang Mang: Oh my goodness! How can you say something so serious so calmly?!

“Are you saying that Uncle might wake up earlier than expected?” Jiang Mang asked.

Xue Xiu nodded.

Jiang Mang was stunned. It wasn’t even summer yet; it was still spring! If he wakes up this early, could it be because he’s eager to see Zhou Shi?

“Is it really okay for him to wake up early? He was already interrupted once before,” Jiang Mang said, unable to hide her concern for Zhou Shi.

If Uncle wakes up before fully recovering, it could cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, like a premature baby—there’s always a bit of worry.

Jiang Mang rarely got close to Feng Xuexiang’s chrysalis, but this time, she moved closer and tried to persuade him sincerely, “Don’t rush to come out, Uncle. Make sure you’re fully recovered first. This isn’t something to hurry!”

“If you end up looking strange, it’ll be even harder to win someone back!”

Crack.

A thin layer of ice covering the chrysalis suddenly cracked.

Jiang Mang’s expression almost cracked as well, and she immediately took three big steps back. “Aunt! He’s really coming out!”

After saying this, she bolted out the door. “I’m going to contact Zhou Shi.”

*

Yu Shi was in the yard, weeding the garden. After the weather had warmed up a bit, the flowers in the yard had started growing quickly, and so had the weeds. No matter how much he pulled them out, they just kept growing back.

Hearing Jiang Mang’s words, he removed his mud-covered gloves and looked at the calendar hanging under the porch.

There was still at least a month to go until the summer solstice, the date circled on the calendar.

“Alright, I understand.”

*

Three days later, Feng Xuexiang emerged from his chrysalis, waking up earlier than expected.

This was the only time in many years that he had awakened on his own.

Seeing the Feng family’s spirit demon break out of its chrysalis for the first time was a huge shock for Jiang Mang.

She had always been a little afraid of this uncle, and now she was even more reluctant to get close to him.

Even though Feng Xuexiang cleaned himself up after waking, sitting on the bed in clean, white clothes, Jiang Mang couldn’t help but remember the sight of that enormous chrysalis writhing and cracking open when she looked at his beautiful face.

The butterfly wings that squeezed out from the cracks were indeed beautiful and dreamlike, but the sight of pale, wet flesh pushing out of the chrysalis was a bit too much for her to handle.

The empty chrysalis crumbled into a fine dust ten minutes after he broke free.

The two dreamlike wings also disappeared, leaving behind a Feng Xuexiang who looked normal but even more pale and fragile than before.

He looked at them with eyes filled with curiosity and confusion, silently observing his surroundings.

Jiang Mang, a bit anxious, asked, “Do you still remember us?”

Feng Xuexiang’s gaze settled on her, and after a moment of seeming reflection, he said, “I have some impressions.”

“I don’t like you very much,” he added bluntly, even offering Jiang Mang a slight smile, with a beauty that seemed untouched by the ways of the world.

Jiang Mang thought to herself: You’re really straightforward, huh.

“Then, what about Zhou Shi? Do you still remember him?”

“Zhou Shi…” Feng Xuexiang looked puzzled. “Who is that?”

Jiang Mang’s gaze immediately softened with pity.

*

As soon as news spread that Feng Xuexiang had awakened, a group from the Feng family came to take their spirit demon back.

Of course, Second Brother Feng, who had been stifled under Feng Zaiyin’s authority, personally showed up, but Feng Zaiyin had arrived even earlier. The two parties met at the Xue family’s place, sitting distinctly apart from each other.

Xue Ruoya, who didn’t have a favorable opinion of the Feng family, thought none of them were good people, except for Feng Zaiyin, who at least had some decency and decent cultivation among the younger generation.

She still remembered how Feng Zaiyin’s mistakes had once implicated Feng Xuexiang, and she advised Feng Xuexiang not to pay attention to these people and to stay at the Xue family’s house for the time being.

“Now that the old man from the Feng family is gone, no one can force you. Why go back at all?”

Feng Xuexiang replied, “No, I remember I still have something I need to do.”

It was something urgent; he remembered he had to gather all the jade scrolls. And then he could… do what, exactly?

He couldn’t recall, but he knew he had to act quickly—there was no time left.

Seeing that she couldn’t convince him, Xue Ruoya became a bit annoyed. “Fine, Father and Sister only brought you back out of concern, but since you’re awake now, go wherever you want. We can’t stop you.”

When Feng Xuexiang insisted on leaving with Feng Zaiyin and the others, Jiang Mang hesitated.

She wanted to say that she had already called Zhou Shi, and if Feng Xuexiang didn’t wait, who knew when they might see each other again?

No matter what, they should at least meet once.

But then she remembered that Feng Xuexiang didn’t remember Zhou Shi. Even if they met, it probably wouldn’t lead to anything, and this realization gave her a headache.

What a mess this was.

Jiang Mang followed behind Feng Xuexiang, escorting him to the front to meet Feng Zaiyin and the others. She was surprised to find that Zhou Shi had already arrived and was talking with Feng Zaiyin.

He had a suitcase by his feet, as if he had just arrived. He looked paler than he had at the start of the year, but still lean. It was reassuring to see that his spirit seemed strong.

Feng Zaiyin and Second Brother Feng had brought many people with them, and the entire reception room was filled with a tense atmosphere.

Despite the crowd, Feng Xuexiang’s attention was immediately drawn to the young man standing in front of Feng Zaiyin.

With sharp features and a head of neatly cropped short hair, the young man was striking. A familiar name hovered at the tip of Feng Xuexiang’s tongue, almost slipping out.

“Oh! Zhou Shi, you’re here!” Jiang Mang said from behind.

Yu Shi, who had been speaking with Feng Zaiyin, looked over at them.

Feng Xuexiang paused, and a strange vision appeared before his eyes.

He seemed to have transformed into a small butterfly, fluttering onto this man’s finger, reluctant to leave, and was lifted close to the man’s face.

From the butterfly’s perspective, this man’s face appeared bright and gentle.

Feng Xuexiang stood still, and everyone who noticed him fell silent.

After a brief pause, Second Brother Feng spoke up first. “Perfect timing. Old Ninth is coming back with us. Zhou Shi, you should come along too and take care of him like before.”

He hinted, “No matter what, we will definitely not treat you unfairly.”

Yu Shi broke his gaze from Feng Xuexiang and replied, “No need. I’ll stay here at the Xue family’s residence.”

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