a smile from the villain ( ASV)

Chapter 30: Magic Mirror

“What is it?” Qin Kaiyi’s tone remained wary.

“You’ll know when you do it,” Yan Gu persisted in his enigmatic manner.

“If something happens to me… don’t even think about obtaining that thing you desire,” Qin Kaiyi issued a veiled threat. Although he trusted that Yan Gu wouldn’t harm him, a lingering discomfort remained.

“Relax, relax,” Yan Gu feigned a pitiful expression, eliciting goosebumps from Qin Kaiyi.

“I’ll trust you this once,” Qin Kaiyi grumbled. “Can you change your face?”

“Change to whom?” Yan Gu blinked. “Your little shidi?” His face contorted, instantly transforming from Qin Kaiyi’s familiar features into an unfamiliar, frostily handsome visage.

“Who did you change into?” Staring at the sharply defined angles of the unfamiliar face, Qin Kaiyi felt utterly disoriented.

“Your little shidi,” Yan Gu forcibly twisted that face into a wretched expression. “Is it handsome?”

“Change back to my appearance,” Qin Kaiyi requested, supporting his forehead. “Don’t meddle with my little shidi.”

“You’re so difficult to please,” Yan Gu scoffed, relenting and reverting to Qin Kaiyi’s original face.

In truth, Qin Shi’s and Shen Feixiao’s features conveyed distinct impressions. Both could be deemed handsome, yet their descriptions diverged:

Qin Shi appeared gentle like jade,

while Shen Feixiao exuded an icy demeanor.

One embodied a modest gentleman, the other an indifferent cultivator. Qin Kaiyi fretted that if Yan Gu assumed Shen Feixiao’s likeness, it might cast a shadow over his relationship with Shen Feixiao later. Thus, he insisted on the reversion.

“Is this the black brick?” Qin Kaiyi stood before the wall Yan Gu had indicated. His gaze rested on the intricate patterns of the black brick, and he hesitated. “Nothing will go wrong, will it?”

“Definitely, will not,” Yan Gu replied with abnormal decisiveness.

“Then I’ll believe you this once.” Qin Kaiyi glanced at Yan Gu and took a deep breath before placing his hand on the black brick.

However, the moment his hand touched the wall, Qin Kaiyi realized he’d been duped once more by that wretched Yan Gu. How could it be damn okay? If it were okay, would demonic energy flow from his arm like running water? If it were okay, would his hand cling to the wall like glue, refusing to budge?

As Qin Kaiyi’s hand remained glued to the wall, he pondered whether demonic energy was the universe’s way of saying, ‘Oops, you’ve been pranked!’ 🤦‍♂️

“What’s happening?” Qin Kaiyi’s anger erupted. “Didn’t you claim it would be fine?”

“Um… this is fine,” Yan Gu stretched out a hand and scratched his head. “It’s just a bit of demonic energy. Calm down, calm down.”

“Calm down your sister!” Qin Kaiyi growled. “You lied to me again, Yan Gu! I want to kill you!!!”

“Not thinking that Qin Kaiyi would react so much,” Yan Gu looked awkward. He observed for a while before guiltily admitting: “It wasn’t like this before… oh! I remembered!”

“What do you remember?” Qin Kaiyi grumbled.

“The Treasure Pavilion has been buried in the ground for too long,” Yan Gu explained. “The available energy it could use is almost depleted, so…”

“So?” Qin Kaiyi pressed for more information.

“So it will probably absorb some energy,” Yan Gu continued. “How much? I don’t know.”

“Yan Gu.” Qin Kaiyi’s frustration mounted. “I want to cover your face in blood.”

“…” Shen Feixiao couldn’t hear Qin Kaiyi’s conversation with Yan Gu, so in his eyes, Qin Kaiyi thought for a while, then walked calmly towards the wall on the right.  Qin Kaiyi’s mask proved its worth. Without it, his malevolent expression would have betrayed his racing heart. But now… Shen Feixiao frowned at Qin Kaiyi, who had placed his hand on a black brick. “What are you doing?”

Seeing that Qin Kaiyi had long ceased to make sense, Shen Feixiao fell silent. He remained seated on the ground, his gaze fixed on Qin Kaiyi. The latter pressed against the wall, and to Shen Feixiao’s surprise, it gradually turned transparent. He rose from the ground, his expression inscrutable, and approached Qin Kaiyi.

Shen Feixiao extended a finger, touching the cool surface of the wall. It seemed to shift into a projection, emitting a faint sound. Qin Kaiyi, too, noticed the transformation.

“… What is this?” Qin Kaiyi frowned, his curiosity piqued by the unusual phenomenon.

Yan Gu, who had orchestrated this spectacle, wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead. He had miscalculated—the wall had drained far more of Qin Kaiyi’s energy than anticipated. If it had absorbed all his energy, Yan Gu would have to reconsider his options. Thankfully, fate was on their side, allowing Qin Kaiyi to survive the ordeal.

“Look closely,” Yan Gu grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. “You’ll be interested.”

Qin Kaiyi regarded Yan Gu with suspicion, then shifted his gaze to the wall. As it grew increasingly transparent, he drew a deep breath. To his astonishment, the wall projected an image: Tang Shayun and Yan Buxuan leading their team through the Sword Forest.

“This…” Qin Kaiyi’s heart sank. He sensed impending danger.

“Haha, I didn’t expect this woman to possess the Kuisha,” Yan Gu chuckled, his tone darkly amused. “I haven’t had a full meal in ages…”

“Will they survive?” Qin Kaiyi inquired, watching the team edge closer to peril.

“Fifty-fifty,” Yan Gu replied nonchalantly. The lives of these cultivators mattered little to him; what truly intrigued him was the treasure Tang Shayun carried.

“…” Qin Kaiyi furrowed his brow. Despite these people having no connection to him, he didn’t wish to witness their demise firsthand. After all, he remembered… the Sword Forest was a place of merciless death.

As anticipated, the killing began.

The Sword Forest consisted of thousands of razor-sharp blades suspended in the air. These were no ordinary swords; they were the very blades that had decapitated countless monsters and cultivators. Imprisoned within a vast array, they awaited their next victims. Anyone who stepped into this array would find their hearts pierced by these myriad blades—a grand spectacle orchestrated by Xue Xian himself.

“Under what circumstances can the array be halted?” Qin Kaiyi inquired casually. He wasn’t contemplating saving those unfortunate souls, but preparedness was always wise.

“Do you intend to rescue them?” Yan Gu’s voice remained cool.

“… You overthink things.” Qin Kaiyi dismissed Yan Gu’s attitude.

“Hahahaha… Your entire Xue family is insufferably meddlesome,” Yan Gu chuckled, his words dripping with venom. “Nauseating to the core.”

“Yes.” Despite Yan Gu’s taunts, Qin Kaiyi harbored no anger. His gaze remained fixed on the team entering the Sword Forest, and a sudden loathing for this world welled up within him.

Yan Gu spoke the truth.

In this unforgiving realm, no one could truly save another.