I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-535

All this while, the person Jiang Chen missed and worried about the most was Xiao Ruoyin. Not even his best friend, Niu Tian, surpassed her. Hence, it was why he was incredibly excited and even nearly reunited with her the moment he saw her.

Sure, the Blood King Ginseng was precious and worth a fortune, but to Jiang Chen, it was nothing compared to Xiao Ruoyin.

Sadly, his behaviour earlier was honestly out of bounds, and as a result, not only did he not win any favours with Xiao Ruoyin, but he was even regarded as a frivolous man, a playboy.

Vexed by his own stupidity, Jiang Chen wanted to slap himself in the face. Alas, he was just about to explain himself, Xiao Ruoyin’s fellow disciples ridiculed him, exasperating him and making him turn grim.

Worst yet, they mentioned Gu Changge, and it infuriated him further. He couldn’t help recalling how the man had stolen everything from him and drove all his friends to death.

Gu Changge was nothing more than a man with a facade, yet Xiao Ruouyin naively thought, to this day, that the man was someone good and admired him deeply.

At one point, Jiang Chen wanted to reveal his true identity and come clean with Xiao Ruoyin, but he dared not. After all, who knew just how many Forces wanted to butter up to Gu Changge in the massive Dark Kun City!?

He was certain he would be in deep shit if he dared say those things to Xiao Ruoyin. Hence, he could only swallow it all in, no matter how indignant he felt.

Monk Pu Du seemed to have noticed how humiliated Jiang Chen felt as he went up to Jiang Chen with a smile and patted his shoulder to save him from the situation.

Monk Pu Du turned to the disciples of Skyward Schloss. “If you wish to obtain the Blood King Ginseng, Miss, I can exchange it for a million Spiritual Stones.”

However, right then, the crowd on the third floor was still reeling in Xiao Ruoyun’s words, unable to process what she had just said, as they sized the disciples of Skyward Schloss up. After all, it involved Gu Changge…

[To think this young woman in white is familiar with Gu Changge!]

“From Skyward Schloss… No wonder…”

Many’s countenances turned grave as they just recalled one of Gu Changge’s identities, the Successor of Skyward Schloss. He was the best candidate to be the next Sect Master of Skyward Schloss.

“Since this lady knows Young Master Changge personally, then I’ll buy this Blood King Ginseng with one million Spiritual Stones. But given my current powers, I have no use for them. So why don’t I use this opportunity to give it to you as a sign of us being friends, Miss?” offered a hoary Elder with a smile and brightly lit eyes.

He had been standing in the corner unassumingly the whole time, and as he spoke, he pulled out one million dazzling Spiritual Stones without hesitation, intending to use them to exchange for the Blood King Ginseng.

At that, many in the hall turned grim.

“Damn it you Old Dog!”

“This old man sure is crafty…”

Some cussed, while others regretted not saying something like that sooner.

Sure, it hurt to spend a million Spiritual Stones, but the meaning it represented was different. After all, it seems that this young woman could speak directly to Gu Changge.

To them, using her to get to Gu Changge was worth more than anything, so what was a million Spiritual Stones to that?

Xiao Ruoyin was shocked as well, as it was apparent that even she did think anyone would be willing to spend so many Spiritual Stones to purchase the Blood King Ginseng just to give it to her. The whole situation was far too surreal.

Even Jiang Chen and Monk Pu Du’s expressions were somewhat stiffened.

Of course, Xiao Ruoyin knew it was because her fellow disciples mentioned Gu Changge earlier.

She was from the modern world, after all. So her mind was nimble, and she understood instantly that these people wanted to butter up to her to get to Gu Changge.

[Just a mention of Young Master Gu’s name and these people… Who knows how massive of a wave he’ll cause if he shows up personally…] Xiao Ruoyin mused.

She was actually a woman who knew how to utilise her advantages. Hence the first thing she did after arriving in this strange wuxia world was ensuring her safety. Once she did, she had gradually grown accustomed to the environment.

Followingly, after she learned of Gu Changge’s shocking identity and status, she knew she had to receive his protection if she wanted to live long in this world. Hence, she would often mention how she and Gu Changge would chat all night long, intentionally or otherwise, back in Skyward Schloss.

After all, it was Gu Changge who sent her to the Skyward Schloss. Thus, with time, many Elders and disciples came to believe that she was actually one of Gu Changge’s people, and thus, many Elders would act discreetly towards her and dared not cross her.

Of course, she was smart too. She knew there was a limit to everything, and she worried Gu Changge would get upset if he found out about it. So she would correct them every time people got the wrong idea about her relationship with Gu Changge.

Such a method might seem effective but was actually only making things worse, for to them, she merely explained because she was bashful. Naturally, this was precisely what Xiao Ruoyin wanted. Sometimes she even wanted the entire Upper Realm’s Forces to know that she was one of Gu Changge’s people.

…

“Young Mistress, word is that someone obtained a million-years-old Blood King Ginseng from a stone in one of the stone-gambling halls owned by our Merchant Alliance.” Meanwhile, in a majestic palace in the depths of Dark Kun City, an alluring-looking woman was listening somewhat absent-mindedly to the reporter outside of the hall while propping her chin up.

Behind her, nine white, fluffy fox tails swayed lazily while a fair, slender palm gently brushed against them, making her narrow her eyes lazily and snuggly.

“A million-years-old Blood King Ginseng… If it were in the past, it would indeed stir up quite a few ancient beings.” Yin Mei shook her head at the report, appearing unbothered by the news. “But now that all the Forces are practically within Dark Kun City, A million-years-old Blood King Ginseng isn’t worth too much at all.”

“Have them take note of who the gambler is.” Gu Changge put his teacup down thoughtfully. He had a feeling he would be meeting an old acquaintance.

“Will do, Young Master.” Yin Mei got up and left the hall.

Suddenly, Gu Changge smiled subtly and asked Su Qingge, who was behind him, “Qingxuan, how good of a chance do you think your Family will have in saving your Prime Ancestor?”

Immediately after leaving the Ji Family Residence, he came to Dark Kun City without anyone noticing, while Ji Qingxuan returned to the Chaos Star Territory. Now, the one staying by his side was Su Qingge, or to everyone else, the prodigal damsel of the Ji Family, Ji Qingxuan.

“With your help, the chances will be much higher.” Su Qingge was stumped for a second. Evidently, she didn’t expect Gu Changge to ask her that so suddenly. That said, her answer was still flawless.

Gu Changge smiled plainly and asked no more.

Su Qingge was the real Successor of Demonic Arts, while Jiang Chen, the Fortuitous One, was the Successor of the Demonic Seed that Gu Changge personally molded. And now, both had gathered in Dark Kun City. No doubt things would become exciting soon.

…

Back in the stone-gambling hall, the Blood King Ginseng still ended up in Xiao Ruoyin’s hands despite her persistent rejection, and she didn’t spend a single Spiritual Stone on it.

The hoary Elder beamed gleefully despite aching over the Spiritual Stones he had to spend, as he thought paying one million plus was worth it.

“To think a Blood King Ginseng would come out from here today. Who knows if he’s just really lucky or has some tricks up his sleeves.” The disciples of Skyward Schloss sized Jiang Chen up curiously.

Jiang Chen, on the other hand, had regained his composure. He knew he had to find other ways if he wanted Xiao Ruoyin to know Gu Changge’s true face.

Followingly, Jiang Chen took a gander at Xiao Ruoxi, then began choosing stones after giving the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation a heads up.

Since even Xiao Ruoyin couldn’t make out his true identity now, what was there for him to worry about? Furthermore, now was a good chance for him to make a name for himself when the Upper Realm had gathered their eyes here at Dark Kun City.

[This stone-gambling hall will be my opportunity,] Jiang Chen mused.

Very quickly, the crowd went from shocked to awe and stupefied as glows of various colours illuminated the space and the stones showcased their secrets after another in Jiang Chen’s hands.

Various rare items came out of these stones, and towards the end, even shards of Immortal Crystals, which were super rare, appeared, making many Elders green with envy.

Now, it was apparent that Jiang Chen hadn’t obtained the Blood King Ginseng with sheer luck but that he indeed had talent in stone gambling.

“Don’t tell me a legendary Divine Source Master, who can peek into the secrets of heaven and earth, determine the course of events, explore yin and yang, has reappeared?” Said an Elder with a shaky voice in disbelief as a thought suddenly struck him. “Who are you, young man, to be even more capable than the most powerful Source Master of Dark Kun City?”

The rest of the crowd was stunned by what they were seeing, rendered nearly speechless, even more so, when various treasures came out of the stone one after another as brilliant glows of various colours brilliantly illuminated the place.

Xiao Ruoyin, too, was flabbergasted. She didn’t think the man, with whom she felt a sense of familiarity, could pick out so many treasures in such a short time. Furthermore, every single one of these items was worth a fortune. Some even contained unique properties that could have cultivators fighting over them.

“Can it be that he can see what’s contained within the stones?”

Many latched their eyes on Jiang Chen while Xiao Ruoyin’s gaze shifted.

She knew a thing or two about the stones in the stone-gambling square. Hence, she knew that these rocks had a unique Principle in them, preventing others from spying on its content. A cultivator wouldn’t be able to look into it using their divine sense.

Even if a True Daoist were to use their power, they might not even be able to detect what was hidden within those stones. However, Jiang Chen could accurately pick out those that contained the rarest of rarities every time, like he knew what was hidden in each and every one of them.

Very quickly, the news spread like wildfire, and Jiang Chen caused quite a stir within the small area.