I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-353

In that instant, in a majestic manor, Tang Wan was still clueless that Chu Hao was going to look for her to have her beg Gu Changge to forgive the Vermilion Bird Empire.

“How did the family lose so much money recently? This is so stupid!” Sitting before a stone table, Tang Wan was checking the message sent by the Tang Family with a scowl. Donning a plain-coloured robe on her glamorous body, she was blessed with beautiful eyebrows and pearly white teeth. Even when upset, she still appeared gentle and classy.

Initially, she was planning to stay behind in the Vermilion Bird Empire to wait for Qin Wuya, her so-called Dao Partner in her previous life, to arrive, as instructed by Gu Changge. However, she unexpectedly received a message from the Tang Family.

Some time ago, her spoiled brother, Tang Tian, found a mysterious scripture. It was of an ancient, mythical origin, and after verifying it, Elders of the family inferred it to be an Immortal Scripture.

At once, the news left the entire Tang Merchants Family stupefied, but they quickly regained their senses and prevented the news from spreading out. Accordingly, the family members who cultivated the scripture experienced breakthroughs in their cultivation levels, including those who were stuck at a bottleneck for years, and that, naturally, greatly benefited the Tang Family.

Nonetheless, that led to the family members focusing on cultivation instead of tending to the family’s businesses, hence causing a tremendous loss in a short time. Because of that, the Old Master of the Tang Family finally thought of her, and summoned her back to the Tang Family Manor to have her take over many of the family’s enterprises.

This was supposedly good for Tang Wan, but due to Gu Changge’s order, she was unable to leave the Vermilion Bird Empire for now. As such, she obviously grew perturbed, intending to come up with an excuse to tell her family that she couldn’t return just yet.

“Lady Tang, is something troubling you? You look rather tense.” All of a sudden, the voice of a man in grey entered her ears and pulled her back from her daze.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that my family is caught in between a rock and a hard place.” Tang Wan said with a smile as the gloom on her face instantly waned.

The man in grey that was standing in front of her, although not quite tall, he seemed rather chivalric and he gave off the impression that he was an accomplished but amicable man.

That man was none other than Qin Wuya, who managed to get close to Tang Wan under a disguise.

He was unable to find where Sky King Zhi Yang was confined, so he gave up and instead, he decided to proceed and fish in troubled waters, while the armies of Purple Mansion and Gu Changge were at war.

Nevertheless, considering that he would have to remain in the Vermilion Bird Empire for a few days, he came up with numerous ways to approach Tang Wan and stay by her side. As Tang Wan was coincidentally recruiting guardians, he took the opportunity and became her guardian. From then on, he grew rather close to her.

“How may I help you, Guardian Qin Ya?” After withdrawing the message in her hands, Tang Wan turned to the man in grey and softly asked.

Unquestionably, she could discern that the person before her eyes was none other than Qin Wuya, one of the people who offended Gu Changge, as he was simply in disguise and changed his name to ‘Qin Ya.’ After all, the familiar sensation that came from the bottom of her soul confirmed it. After knowing that Qin Wuya would come looking for her, she, as instructed by Gu Changge, made it easy for him to approach her.

“Oh, nothing, nothing. I was patrolling outside the courtyard and happened to catch your grimace. Out of curiosity, I came up to check on you. Please forgive me if I was rude to you, Lady Tang.” Revealing a friendly smile, Qin Wuya apologised.

“I see. Thank you for your concern, Guardian Wu Ya.” Tang Wan nodded as she calmly replied.

“Anyway, Lady Tang, would you care to entertain me with your problems? I may be able to lend a hand,” Qin Wuya then asked, feeling somewhat saddened by Tang Wan’s look of despair.

Hearing that, Tang Wan stared at him as she was taken aback by his offer. After a moment of hesitation, since there was nothing to hide, she nodded and confessed, “It’s nothing huge, to be honest. My family just sent me a message, claiming to be troubled. They need me to return promptly, but due to certain reasons, I am unable to leave the Vermilion Bird Empire just yet.”

“I see.” Qin Wuya had a realisation, though his eyes grew somewhat dull.

Truthfully, he was aware of Tang Wan’s relationship with Chu Hao. Essentially, during their first encounter at the port, the man who was standing by her side was precisely the Third Prince of the Vermilion Bird Empire, Chu Hao. And after looking into it, Qin Wuya eventually knew about Tang Wan’s relationship with Chu Hao.

Apparently, they had known each other since they were kids, and since then, they grew up as each other’s closest childhood friends. Obviously, Tang Wan carried affection towards Chu Hao, and the feeling was reciprocal.

In Qin Wuya’s opinion, the ‘certain reason’ Tang Wan mentioned, which forbade her from leaving the Vermilion Bird Empire must be related to Chu Hao. Essentially, the Vermilion Bird Empire was about to fall. It was an outcome even the blind could perceive. After all an Immortal War between millions of cultivators would instantaneously obliterate something as tiny as the Vermilion Bird Empire.

Qin Wuya believes that Chu Hao hoped Tang Wan could use the forces behind her to assist him, but Tang Wan’s family wasn’t so foolish as to help the Vermilion Bird Empire at such a moment. Thus, Tang Wan, unable to forgo Chu Hao, chose not to leave the Vermilion Bird Empire.

Regardless of the truth, those were only Qin Wuya’s opinions. In that instant, he even felt somewhat grateful to Gu Changge. In fact, he never had any fondness towards Chu Hao, and the ruination of Vermilion Bird Empire was something he couldn’t wait to be actualised. Besides, he assumed that Chu Hao was the direct, sole reason for Tang Wan’s agony.

“To be frank, Lady Tang, I think you should put family first at such a moment, since none could stop the fall of the Vermilion Bird Empire…” Qin Wuya hesitantly spoke, intending to persuade Tang Wan into leaving the region and refrain her from getting involved in the matter.

However, before he could finish his sentence, a maid hastily dashed into the courtyard and reported, “Lady Wan, Prince Chu Hao wishes to see you…”

“Chu Hao? Why is he here? No. I’m not going to see him!” Hearing that, Tang Wan furrowed her brows and immediately rejected. Clearly, she had yet to get over with Chu Hao’s vexing attitude.

Not wanting to see him, she had been deliberately avoiding him for days. To her, Chu Hao’s stupidity was incurable, and if he were to go up against Gu Changge, he would only be killing himself.

“Wan’er, I came with an urgent matter, and only you alone can save me.”

Nevertheless, before Tang Wan could finish, Chu Hao appeared outside the courtyard and barged in through the guards with anxiety all over his face. Due to the graveness of the matter, he wouldn’t have barged in regardless of Tang Wan’s desire to meet him.

“Chu Hao, I specifically said that I don’t want to see you, yet you stormed in against my will. Are you disrespecting me right in front of my face?” There was nothing but coldness in Tang Wan’s eyes as she furiously rebuked.

“Wan’er, please calm down and listen to me. I didn’t barge in without a good reason. Right now, you are the only person who can save me and the Vermilion Bird Empire. I know you’re still angry at me. What happened back then was my fault, and I apologise, and I swear I’ll listen to you from now on should any issue arise.” Knowing that his irrationality was the root of the problem, Chu Hao quickly explained himself upon his arrival and blamed everything on himself.

“Do you really mean it?” Upon those words, Tang Wan’s rage slightly faded as she assumed that Chu Hao thought things through and intended to compromise with Gu Changge.

“Every word. No lies.” Chu Hao sincerely nodded.

“Chu Hao?” Coldness flashed across Qin Wuya’s eyes, who had been observing the exchange from the side. He was surprised by Chu Hao’s disregard of the rules and trespass, which made him even more disgusted by Chu Hao.

Instantly, as his body flickered, he blinked to the front of Tang Wan and coldly reprimanded, “How dare you barge in against the will of Lady Tang! Are you challenging us!?”

“Who are you?” Chu Hao questioned with an icy frown on his dashing face, revealing hostile intent, wondering why such a stranger was by Tang Wan’s side in the courtyard. Prior to that, he had never met Qin Wuya, but he could sense that the latter was only in the Enlightened Noble Realm.

“He’s my guardian who’s in charge of protecting my life.” Fearing that the two might start a fight, Tang Wan hastily explained.

Hearing that, Chu Hao visibly calmed down as he swiftly disregarded Qin Wuya. Due to the urgency at hand, he reckoned it was best to have Tang Wan plead for mercy from Gu Changge.

In response, Qin Wuya let out a snicker and refrained from engaging Chu Hao out of courtesy for Tang Wan.

“Speak. Why do you come for me? What did you mean by saving you and the Vermilion Bird Empire?” After heaving a sigh of relief, Tang Wan turned to Chu Hao and asked. At the end of the day, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore Chu Hao’s safety.

“Purple Mansion’s army is now approaching the Vermilion Bird Empire from the sky, and they will be commencing a war with Gu Changge anytime now. And once the war breaks out, the Vermilion Bird Empire would surely be turned into dust. Wan’er, I’m sure you don’t want the Vermilion Bird Empire to fall, right? You must help me! Please!” Chu Hao took a deep breath as he forced himself to calm down and cut to the chase.

“Of course I don’t want the Vermilion Bird Empire to fall, but why do you think I can stop all of this?” Hearing that, Tang Wan subconsciously tensed her brows as the matter at hand was certainly a difficult one, since the Tang Merchants Family wouldn’t dare to upset Gu Changge.

If Gu Changge insisted on dealing with Chu Hao on purpose, he wouldn’t need to go through such lengths. In Tang Wan’s opinion, the war was simply a minor payback from Gu Changge, after knowing that Chu Hao intended to take his revenge on him. Either way, Chu Hao must also be aware of this. If he had let go of his grudge earlier, things wouldn’t have escalated this way.

“No, I’m sure you have a way. If you were to beg Gu Changge, he may forgive the Vermilion Bird Empire. And if he wants me to stand down, as long as he lets Vermilion Bird Empire go, the bad blood between him and I shall disperse like smoke…” After saying that, Chu Hao gritted his teeth, and it was apparent how frustrating it was for him to speak those words.

As he was a prideful man, there was not a chance he would beg and compromise with Gu Changge in the past, but given the circumstances, he no longer had a choice.

“Why did you commit to vengeance if you knew about this…” Tang Wan sighed as she was at a loss for words. Sadly, there was no medicine for remorse.

“Wan’er, please, you must help me! You are the only one who can help me now!” Chu Hao clenched his teeth.

“You want me to beg Gu Changge? But, why would he want to see me? Even if he agrees to see me, what gives me the right to convince him?” Tang Wan bitterly smiled out of helplessness. Judging by Gu Changge’s personality, forget his indifference towards her, even if he bore any intentions against her, he would never listen to her. At the very least, Tang Wan was aware of that.

“Wan’er, I know that you are close with Gu Changge. He may even consider it if it was you who talked to him…” As Chu Hao said those words, he almost crushed his teeth from clenching them. Despite being absolutely humiliated, he was left with no choice but to confess everything he saw back then. He always prayed that he didn’t have to come to this, but little did he expect, this was the very day that he had to spill everything he knew right in front of Tang Wan.

“Back then, after you left the palace, I actually followed you in the dark, and I saw what happened between you and Gu Changge. And I knew you must have done that out of frustration…”

“What…” Upon Chu Hao’s shameless confession, everyone in the courtyard, including Tang Wan and Qin Wuya, were dumbfounded as they couldn’t believe their own ears, especially Tang Wan, who was so impacted that her body trembled and her face turned completely pale.

The secret she desired to hide from Chu Hao the most, was in fact, known by him, and he even knew it all along. And she didn’t expect that Chu Hao was actually hiding in the dark back then, witnessing her every interaction with Gu Changge.

All this time, Chu Hao, despite being aware of everything, pretended as if he was oblivious, and everything she had done must have been pretentious and ridiculous to him. In that instant, unbearable embarrassment took over Tang Wan.

“So you have known all along…” With that in mind, Tang Wan revealed a cold smile, which would grow into an incredibly icy grin.

“So, I’ve always been this sycophantic bitch in your eyes, huh? Yes, you are right. I did visit Gu Changge just to ingratiate him that day, and as long as I gain his favour, not only I, but the whole Tang Family, will get to enjoy eternal prosperity and wealth. As for you, a mere prince of an insignificant empire, what can you offer me? You couldn’t enter the Tang Family even if you wanted to…”

“Wan’er… I know that isn’t the real you! I know you didn’t do it for good reasons!” Chu Hao was dazed. He didn’t expect Tang Wan to react so dramatically to his confession.

Although he wished to explain himself, Tang Wan’s stone cold eyes were glaring at him as if he was a total stranger, and her words were especially piercing to Chu Hao’s ears. Such a scenario, in addition to those words, was the very situation the Vermilion Bird Empire was facing.

“Chu Hao, shut your mouth! Do you still think you qualify as a man?” At that moment, Qin Wuya’s eyes also reddened as he gazed at Chu Hao, and he didn’t expect he would ever get to hear those words.

[Chu Hao is undeserving of Tang Wan’s feelings for him. Despite knowing her agony and frustration, he is now asking her to beg Gu Changge for mercy?] From Chu Hao’s words, Qin Wuya figured out that Gu Changge must be threatening Tang Wan with her family in order to coerce her into obeying him. Even so, from the way Chu Hao was speaking, it seems as though there was intimate interaction between Tang Wan and Gu Changge! Intimate enough for Gu Changge to move for Tang Wan.

Thinking that, Qin Wuya grew even more furious. He had not been there to protect Tang Wan, and now, Chu Hao even came to break her heart.

*Boom!* In that instant, a terrifying aura erupted as Qin Wuya immediately attacked Chu Hao. An overbearing divine ability that covered the sky turned into a golden giant bell and plummeted down, like the current of a waterfall. His strength undoubtedly rivalled that of an Sacred Emperor Realm expert, and he was confident that he could take on Chu Hao without any issue.

“Argh…” Having been assaulted when his guards were down, Chu Hao took a clean blow and was sent flying away, his body almost exploding to pieces. It now appeared incomparably miserable. The buildings and pavilions nearby all instantly exploded and disintegrated.

Qin Wuya’s strike of fury could not be dealt with by an ordinary expert in the Sacred King Realm. If it weren’t for his reluctance to destroy the area, the entire Vermilion Bird Empire would have been completely wiped out.

“Sacred King Realm!? Damn it, who are you! There shouldn’t be such a strong cultivator by Wan’er’s side!” Chu Hao strenuously got back on his feet as he was drenched in blood. Clenching his teeth and shooting Qin Wuya a death stare, he was infuriated. After all, how could he forgive such a sneak attack aimed to kill him?

At once, Chu Hao, too, retaliated, displaying formidable abilities. The might of the Sacred King Realm gushed into the air and aggressively charged towards Qin Wuya. The two Fortuitous Ones ultimately started a brawl, and their abilities were truly frightening and spine-chilling.

Speechless, Tang Wan wordlessly peered at the fight, not knowing what to do.

Right as Chu Hao and Qin Wuya were beginning to fight, an alarming shockwave came from the distant sky. A shocking aura suddenly plunged downwards, causing stars to tremble, as though they were about to fall.

The universe quaked as worlds twisted, and endless battlecries could be heard coming from that direction. None could imagine what kind of war was taking place there as ‘absolute chaos’ wouldn’t even be an overstatement.

A figure with a hazy face could be seen standing on an ancient battleship. With vibrant lights wafting around its swaying, snowy garment, the figure appeared abnormally extraordinary.

“Tang Wan sure didn’t let me down…” Gu Changge revealed an enthralling grin. After receiving a hint from the System, he waved his hand, and at once, the army of million behind him charged towards Purple Mansion’s army.

The great war finally commenced, and it was a fine opportunity to witness the result of Hei Yanyu’s training after all this time. Nonetheless, the Fortuity of the Fortuitous Ones, which were diminishing by fighting against each other, fell into Gu Changge’s possession, and that was rather convenient since he did not expect that to happen.

*Whoosh!* The army of cultivators stormed out like raging waters, and the weakest among them were training-hardened beings in the Partial-Enlightened Realm. Charging out of ancient battleships, they aggressively charged forward with ancient weapons in hand. As heavenly lights and murderous auras engulfed the sky, it was as if the cultivators were beings that returned from hell.

Every mount on the battlefield were pure-blooded creatures bred by various Celestial Ancient Races since they were young, and there were massive runes with godly gleams on their incomparably sturdy armours.

As the cultivators were charging, they conjured out all kinds of arrays. As they were working with one another, their intimidating aura rose to the sky, and even beings of higher cultivation level would be too afraid to fight them.

On the other hand, Purple Mansion’s army was surprised by how domineering Gu Changge’s forces were. He didn’t even give them the chance to react as he commanded his army to charge right away. Their plans of rescuing Sky King Zhi Yang was completely foiled as their whole army was completely overwhelmed by Gu Changge’s forces.

Seeing that, Chu Hao, who was battling Qin Wuya, lost all hope, stunned by how Gu Changge didn’t spare him the chance to save his empire.

“No…” He instinctively roared. His eyes reddened as if he was a beast facing its death.

“Get Sky King Zhi Yang.” Gu Changge stood on the front deck of the ancient battleship with his arms behind his back. Upon his order, a prison cage was swiftly pushed out to the open, and inside it was an unconscious Sky King Zhi Yang, whose entire body was covered in blood.

“If you wish to save him, you may try,” Gu Changge leisurely stated.

“Young Master Gu is extremely frightening at moments like this. He can subdue all souls just by sheer will alone…” Standing far away on the ancient battleship and observing the scene, Xiao Ruoyin felt a chill up her spine as her face turned pale. It was her first time witnessing such a massive, terrifying war. The young man in front of her decided the fate of countless beings, so casually without the slightest change in his eyes.

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

Upon Gu Changge’s words, ancient battleships began to tremble as ancient heavenly arrays emitted vibrant lights. Innumerable intertwining beams that resembled stars form a blinding sword, overflowing with a murderous intent, which would engulf all directions and tear the world apart. He then struck the sword towards Purple Mansion’s army.

Such a sight was truly astounding.

The blinding sword harboured power exceeding the Sacred Realm. It could even disintegrate those in the Sacred King Realm that dared to get close, and all around it would be affected by its might. The Chaos Energy in front of the blinding sword started to billow as the world was split, almost breaking apart.

Instantly, Purple Mansion’s army was annihilated as thousands of cultivators instantaneously disintegrated, turning into ashes.

A shockwave spread out, and countless territories of the Vermilion Bird Empire were quickly broken into pieces, as though they were porcelains.

“No…” Seeing that, the Vermilion Bird Emperor, thoroughly devastated, immediately passed out. Countless cultivators in the distant empires were also dumbstruck by what they saw, falling to their knees.

*Boom!* Out of nowhere, a daunting aura could be sensed coming towards this direction as a stupefying aura suddenly surged amid the vast army of Purple Mansion.

Three Sacred Emperor Realm experts had appeared.

“Gu Family’s brat, don’t you get ahead of yourself!” From the depths, a menacing sword energy as gigantic as mountains and seas appeared, destroying stars in the distant sky with just a trace of its energy. The sword energy was followed by the appearance of a grand figure, whose cultivation level was shockingly in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm!

This Quasi-Nirvana Realm Master was the very last hope of Purple Mansion to save themselves. He was their strongest and ultimate force.