I Am the Fated Villain – Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Old Folks of Peach Village; Gu Xian’er’s Sweetheart!

[Upper Realm, Outer Domain]

[Deep within the Land of Abandoned Immortals]

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

A chaotic mist shrouded the eight cardinal directions, as majestic mountains towered over the world and pierced the sky, covering the horizon.

Accompanied by an endless canopy of Ancient Trees stretching further than the eye could see.

Fierce beasts of all types roamed around these lands, exuding a shocking Qi and Vitality, like mythical creatures from the Immortal Period.  

No cultivator would dare casually pass through this area.

As even those residing outside the Land of Abandoned Immortals might still be torn apart by them. 

Moreover, this place was full of poisonous miasma, which would strike any cultivator that inhaled it with incurable illnesses and diseases. Thus, over time, this place naturally became a land that even the immortals had abandoned.

Little to no cultivators would ever come here to practice.

However…

In the depths of such a cursed land, laid a small, but peaceful village.

There were very few villagers in this village, with only about a hundred men, women, and children of all ages, all with simple and naïve faces.

Yet everyone there also possessed astounding Qi and Vitality, even stronger than most cultivators.

And at the entrance of this village, stood a tall and gorgeous Peach Tree, raining down shining peach blossoms, each as crystal clear as jade. Chains of laws and order intertwined. Chaotic fogs immersed the surroundings into a mysterious realm of possibilities.

“Xian’er, that lass has been gone for far too long, and we don’t even know how things are going on with her now. The old cripple said he’d go out to solve the issue, yet he hasn’t come back either…”

“The old cripple’s sword art is unparalleled. Is there anything he can’t solve with a single slash? If there really is, then it’s no big deal either, since he could always just slash twice.”

Under the Peach Tree, several old folks were gathered together, either smoking cigarettes or sipping tea, looking rather leisurely. 

However, their appearances were very strange.

Some were blind, or had broken limbs. One had no ears, and another was mute.

They all possessed some sort of physical disability.

At this moment, it was a blind man who was speaking, sighing with his arms behind his back.

He was worried about Gu Xian’er, who had been away from the village for a while now, knowing full well about that deep, blood-stained hatred and grudge she carried.

The people here were completely cut off from the outside world, unable to peer into anything that’s happening outside of the village. They could hardly even receive any information from there.

Having said that, if they weren’t worried about Gu Xian’er, it was more than likely that none of them would be curious about the outside world in the first place.

“Xian’er shoulders our collective inheritance. Is there anyone from the outside capable of harming her? Not to mention, she also has the protection of the Peach Tree, so let’s not blindly worry.”

An old man with a broken arm spoke up next. He smiled with a single-toothed grin, seemingly very confident about the Peach Village’s heir.

“I’m not worried about this. I’m afraid that Xian’er’s worries from before might end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, and that she might end up bringing home some random sweetheart.”

This time, the Peach Village’s Village Chief butted in. 

He looked well enough like a normal person, neither deaf nor mute, nor lacking any limbs.

But those in the know knew that he actually lacked a soul.

The man was simply just a flesh body without any spirit.

His words made the old folks’ faces turn ugly. This was because the Village Chief’s words were almost strangely prophetic, always being correct nine times out of ten, and that his prophecies were always difficult to swallow or had bad connotations, making people call him a ‘crow’s mouth*’. 

[*: In Chinese, if someone has a 乌鸦嘴 (crow’s mouth) it means when they open their mouth, what they say will come true (usually unlucky events)]

Since the matter involved Gu Xian’er, this made them feel all the more choked. Like the cabbage they had been growing for a long time were to have suddenly been eaten by a pig. 

“Someone’s coming!”

At this moment, the expressions of the several old folks abruptly changed, as they felt the branches and leaves of the Peach Tree shaking rapidly.

They all looked towards the mountains in the distance, where what looked like a rainbow was now crossing the sky and travelling quickly to their location.

— — —

[At the entrance to the Peach Village]

“Eldest Master, Second Master, Third Master, Fourth Master…”

A group of three stood in front of the old people from earlier. It was exactly Gu Changge, Yaoyao, and Gu Xian’er, who had flown all the way to the infamous Land of Abandoned Immortals.

Gu Xian’er had taken the initiative to mention this place before Gu Changge even asked for it.

And although the Abandoned Land was full of dangers, it was not a problem for the three of them to pass through here without a care, taking into account their cultivation bases.

[Notes: Like how the author uses ‘Black Dao Bottle’ for ‘Great Dao Treasured Bottle’ when just mentioning it casually, he is using ‘Abandoned Land’ for ‘Land of Abandoned Immortals’.]

Not to mention the fact that the big red bird besides Gu Xian’er knew the path well, and was an expert navigator, making sure there were no surprising twists and turns in their entire journey.

At this moment, Gu Xian’er’s brows and eyes were curved into crescent moons, as she happily began greeting her masters one by one. 

A group of villagers from Peach Village had also appeared, a strange collection of men, women, and children alike, surrounding the entrance of the village, livening up the scene.

They were all very happy about Gu Xian’er’s return.

Several aunties even pulled Gu Xian’er aside to gossip and ask questions, hugging her profusely, and teasing about the relationship between her and the young man she had brought along.

Gu Changge, on the other hand, was just standing quietly at the entrance of the village.

A strange colour flashed in his eyes while he watched the towering Peach Tree.

In his opinion, this Peach Tree in front of him and the Peach Tree that the system had prompted him about did not actually look much different at all.

It’s just that the destructive energy had been toned down, and that it felt more tranquil and natural.

As he observed the Peach Tree, the Peach Tree also observed him.

Although, to be honest, it was probably looking at the Yaoyao standing beside him.

The branches and leaves shimmering with countless shades of colour, as an infinite brilliance shone through the murky sky, circulating in an endless, mysterious rotation.

Having said that, Gu Changge also felt that its state of being was not quite right. Although it seemed as if it could sense the origin of connection between Yaoyao and itself, the Peach Tree did not seem like it remembered or even knew her.

Perhaps, in that chaotic Heavenly Thunder Tribulation that destroyed Heaven and Earth, it had really suffered a catastrophe, and lost a majority of its memories.

Moreover, Yaoyao herself seemed to have noticed their strange connection as well.

“Master…”

She was a little scared of this situation, and so she hid behind Gu Changge like a little puppy.

“Your Master is here, don’t worry.”

Gu Changge comforted her a bit. He believed in his own judgement that this mysterious Peach Tree wouldn’t do anything detrimental to Yaoyao, who shared a connection with it.

In fact, when Yaoyao inevitably encountered this Peach Tree, it might be able to actually improve her situation instead. After all, the little girl had always been troubled by the fact that she couldn’t cultivate.

“Xian’er, who is this man?”

After reminiscing with her several masters, Gu Xian’er was just about to introduce Gu Changge, but was suddenly cut off by the Village Chief’s question.

With scrutiny in his eyes, he looked Gu Changge up and down like a criminal inspector.

“Don’t forget what us masters have told you. When traveling outside, you must always be careful. These good-looking men like to lie to naïve girls like you the best.”

Another old woman with a hunched waist spoke up, glaring intensely at Gu Changge. This disciple of theirs was really a handful. Going out for so long, just to return without notice, even bringing along a strange man back to the village?

It was good enough that they didn’t directly investigate the origin of this young man. 

After all, it was still Gu Xian’er who brought him to the village, so it’d be rude for them to do so.

The rest of Gu Xian’er’s master also had uncomfortable expressions. They looked at Gu Changge with cautious eyes, as if guarding against a thief, not looking away from him. 

Did they fear that he would abduct Gu Xian’er or something?

Gu Changge chuckled.

The old folks chittered in whispers. 

‘The Village Chief was just saying something about being worried that Gu Xian’er would bring back home a sweetheart, and see what had happened now?’

‘This crow’s mouth, can he not say anything good?’

It was not that they didn’t want to see Gu Xian’er ever getting together with a boy, but that they, as her masters, must carefully observe the boy so as to prevent their disciple from being deceived.

“Is Xian’er finally planning to bring home a husband?”

At that moment, an old lady spoke out with a smile, feeling that the man in white clothes in front of her was a perfect match for their Xian’er. A chiselled, handsome face, like the finest of divine jades; coupled with the aura of a young immortal, god-like and unparalleled in confidence.

It was simply a match made in Heaven!

[Kshn: I did not approve of this. Don’t drag me into it.]

Hearing this, the Gu Xian’er who was about to introduce Gu Changge sputtered out of shock.

Her face reddened like a ripe tomato, and she flapped her arms like an angry bird, “Master! What’re you saying, things are not—we’re not what you’re thinking…!”

She didn’t know why her masters and aunts would randomly guess in such a wild direction.

‘C-could it be that I really look like a good match for Gu Changge?’

‘However, we… are just cousins! Nothing more!’

Gu Changge, tired of watching this farce unfold, spoke in an indifferent expression, “My surname is Gu, seniors, please don’t think too much.”

“Surnamed Gu?”

Hearing this, the village chief and the others were stunned for a moment, as their hard expressions softened into a calmer one. Since he is surnamed Gu, it meant that this young fellow was from the Immortal Gu Family behind Xian’er.

They seemed to have been overthinking…

“Yes. This one is surnamed Gu, named Changge, I pay my greetings to all the seniors.”

Gu Changge nodded and answered plainly again, his expression not changing a bit.

“Oh, so its Gu Changge, us old folks accept your gree—wait what!?”

“Gu Changge?!?!”

“You’re the one… the Gu Changge who dug out the Dao Bones of Xian’er when she was a child?”

Hearing this, everyone at the entrance of Peach Village was stunned for a moment.

Then their expressions changed, thinking they had surely heard it wrong.

Utterly shocked and in disbelief.

‘How dare he come here?!’

Especially the Village Chief and other masters, their complexion turned gloomy in an instant.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure emerged, so monstrous that terrifying visions started appearing in the sky of Abandoned Land. The stars collapsed, turning into dust and powder, shocking millions of miles around!

And this was even with the intentional suppression of their energies.

Such powerhouses had already reached an unfathomable level of cultivation, capable of destroying everything in the world!