The Villain Loaded My System

Chapter 80.1

In the darkness, perception and other senses are infinitely magnified.

Gu Xiyu could vaguely see Wei Chiyan slowly walking up to him, cloaked in darkness, and could feel the aura emanating from him. The haze from suddenly waking up at midnight slowly dissipated, but he was not affected by the oppressive feeling coming from Wei Chiyan. He was only a little curious as to why he was suddenly like this.

Gu Xiyu’s slender wrist was suddenly grasped by a warm, strong hand, and the pain of the pressure on flesh and bone made Gu Xiyu frown gently. He didn’t break free, only asking patiently once more, “What’s wrong?”

The force of the grip on his wrist increased.

“Which of the words you said when you were with me are true?” Wei Chiyan’s voice was soft, as if he were just mumbling casually, but Gu Xiyu was stunned to hear the panic underneath.

Wei Chiyan didn’t wait for his answer nor let him go, and he continued: “The world is so big, but it’s so hard to have someone to talk to.”

Almost everyone who approached him had impure intentions, those who could be trusted were quickly taken away from him, and those who were thought to be trustworthy …… turned out to be his enemies.

When he was 12 or 13 years old, he still had some expectations from his eccentric mother. He believed that he deserved to be hated because he was physically handicapped. To compensate for this, he needed to do better in other things, be more knowledgeable, and not be jealous of his brother.

However, the better he did, the worse his mother treated him, and disgust was written all over her face, which he found very confusing at the time. Later on, there were occasional moments when his mother suddenly treated him better.

“Yan’er, these are cakes made by the royal kitchen, I asked someone to bring you some. Didn’t you always like these sweet treats the most?” Little Wei Chiyan was flattered to see his mother, who was usually difficult to see and was always distant from him, smile lovingly and speak so softly.

He was naturally pleased.

At that time, his mother stayed in his courtyard for a long time, and when she saw him finish eating the delicious food, she stroked his head and said, “Is Yan’er happy today?”

The young and innocent Wei Chiyan nodded, “Yes, I am.”

The gentle and beautiful woman coaxed him, “Then, can you do one thing for mother consort later?”

Although Wei Chiyan did not understand, as long as he could make his mother happy, he would definitely agree: “Yes!”

Later, he found out that his younger brother, Yuchi Sheng, had accidentally caused trouble in the palace, not only breaking the glazed treasures that had just been brought in from the southern border but also injuring the emissary who was escorting the tribute. When the emperor came to question him afterward, his mother pushed him out to take the blame, asking him to confess his guilt no matter what His Majesty said and help his brother.

In the end, Wei Chiyan was flogged and sentenced to a month’s confinement. Not only did he have to copy books, but also had to kneel in front of the imperial study for one full hour every day at noon.

There were several other times like this, and as long as his mother was good to him, he would take the blame for all the trouble Yuchi Sheng had caused. The number of times he was pushed out was so great that he was gradually chilled by the thoughts and punishments that were meted out to him, and he completely gave up on the so-called affection.

With such blatant favoritism from his mother, Yuchi Sheng also despised him and often ridiculed him: “You must be a man of great sin; that’s why you were born imperfect, destined to be bullied and humiliated, and only ever an inferior!”

Then he met Murong Heng.

Murong Heng was a rather thoughtful prince. The two did seem to have a good relationship, but it was based on mutual benefits and assistance.

No ambitious prince would be willing to serve as a zhizi in an enemy kingdom. Murong Heng saw through his resentment towards the people in the palace and knew that he did not want peace in the Yao Kingdom, which is why he had a deep friendship with him. Although the other party didn’t have harmful intentions towards him because of their shared interests, the trust between the two would be stronger, but –

It was still a friendship built on mutual benefits.

Now even Chen Wei……

Wei Chiyan suddenly had a headache, and the thoughts that were strung together were scattered in his head like a broken thread, irritating every sinew of his brain.

This world—what exactly was there in this world that he could miss? What was he waiting for? It was clear that there was …… nothing.

A slight tug at his palm brought him back to his senses, and he knew he should have grabbed the hand harder, yet he was a little reluctant to do so.

Any harder, and he might hurt the young man, and if he hurt him, he might run away.

This was a time of feudal superstition, and everyone thought he was blind in one eye because he had done something evil to deserve the punishment of heaven. He used to doubt the ridiculous past-life origins because of his inner feelings, to the point where he was on the verge of being brainwashed by those around him into thinking that he was really a sinner.

Until Gu Xiyu rekindled a glimmer of hope in him, deluding him into thinking that he didn’t really deserve to die.

Wei Chiyan’s head was in chaos, and he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. He only had an obsession with keeping the person in front of him by his side. The tone of his voice was strong, but with a hint of splitting humility: “What do you want from me? I’ll give it to you as long as…”

“…… as long as you can stay.”

Gu Xiyu was baffled by Wei Chiyan’s sudden abnormality and suddenly recalled that Wei Chiyan had become suspicious of Chen Wei a while ago. So, he probably discovered something, right?

He was pondering how to answer the question without irritating the man now, when there was a chaotic sound of footsteps from the corridor outside the inn. It was sometimes heavy, sometimes light, like the fluttering steps of a man who had gone mad or was not in his right mind.

By the faint light coming from the distance outside the room, Gu Xiyu could see two silhouettes through the paper window. They were walking past with their hands on each other’s shoulders.

It looked like a pair of good friends who had been drinking heavily.

“Brother Cheng, you…hiccup …it was worth the meal tonight, those girls are really pretty!”

“Hey, you’re my best buddy, if I have anything good, I’ll share it with you first!”

“We’ll have to go again tomorrow, I’ve already told Xiang Xiang hehehe ……”

“Go, go, definitely go. However, I am so happy tonight, I don’t know if the business that I talked with Brother Cheng about earlier… ”

“Business? No problem! We can continue to talk now, of course, but it would be better if there was good wine to drink while we talk!” He was half drunk, but still full of desire to keep drinking.

His friend was very cooperative: “Of course, of course, I’ll help you to your room, and I’ll have the wine brought over later!”

Wei Chiyan also heard the slowly disappearing voices.

Gu Xiyu was a little more awake at this point. Wei Chiyan stroked his cheek in the dark, while the other hand was fondly squeezing the side of his waist, and his tone was solemn: “Yes, drinking is good during a conversation, it can improve the relationship.”

So, the room was lit up again in the middle of the night. On the table were the fruit wine and glasses that Wei Chiyan had ordered to be prepared; his expression was serious and grave.

Gu Xiyu felt that he looked like he was preparing for something bigger than just talking.

Before the conversation could even begin, Wei Chiyan had drunk several glasses, his eyes dark and cloudy.

Gu Xiyu knew that his physique was not suitable for drinking, and this body could not drink for health reasons. If he really drank as hard as he did, not to mention the fact that it could cause some problems, he would definitely get drunk in a few glasses.

He was a little apprehensive, a half-drunk person can easily have drunken sex. If something were to happen to this broken body… Anyway, the man in front of him didn’t seem like the type who was sympathetic when it came to that aspect of things.

A few rounds later, the man at the table finally noticed that he was the only one in the room who was drinking, and with a frown, he poured a glass and put it in front of him.

Gu Xiyu was silent for a moment and was just about to reach out to take it when he saw the other man take the glass back.

His demeanor looked the same as usual: “No, you can’t drink it, it will harm your health.”

Gu Xiyu’s movements stalled, and he lowered his eyelids slightly, just enough to cover the shallow, startled ripples in his eyes.

Wei Chiyan took the initiative to finish the drink for him before placing the empty wine glass in front of him again and saying seriously, “Just smell the wine.”

Gu Xiyu: “……”

He looked down at the glass that didn’t have a drop of wine left in it, and while the man was coldly and elegantly sending another glass of wine into his mouth, he opened his mouth to answer his question from long ago: “I don’t remember everything I’ve said to you, but one thing is definitely true.”

“The fact that I like Wei Chiyan was true in the past, is true now, and will remain true in the future.”

“If you ask me what I want from you, I only have one request, and that is to let me go so that I can go and see him.” Although it was just a suspicion that Ah Wen, the fortress master, was Wei Chiyan in disguise, the likelihood was already about ninety percent.

But in Commander Gu’s case, even if there were evidence to make it 100% true, he would not make any important moves if there was a one percent chance of failure.

Unless Wei Chiyan admitted his identity to him and he was also able to get proof from the people in the palace, he could …… only to cooperate with him in the sham.

The man’s eyes were already showing signs of drunkenness. Gu Xiyu saw him smile slightly, the curve of his mouth had a tenderness that he had never shown before, and it seemed to come from the heart.

The cold, aloof man was softer than usual, and it was killing him.

“To get what you want, you always have to pay a price or make an exchange.” The man narrowed his eyes as he held his glass, his only exposed eye staring straight at him as he moved closer to him and said, “Let me kiss you and sleep with you once, and I’ll let you go to him. How about that?”

Gu Xiyu pushed him away before their lips touched.

He got up from the chair and took a few steps back, questioning angrily, “What are you doing?!”

Gu Xiyu took a deep breath and tried to put on a very chaste look, glancing at the window on the side and saying in a cold voice, “I said that I would not do these things with anyone other than Wei Chiyan.”

It had come to this point, so if this fortress master was really the Great Demon, he would have to admit his identity, right?

But the fortress master didn’t even mention anything related to Wei Chiyan, instead, his expression looked a lot calmer and soberer after being pushed.

The man straightened his slightly disordered lapels, and after rearranging his clothes, he suddenly spoke to him in a light voice, “The woman I saw on the street the other day, the one called Mu Qingwan, is your imperial sister, right?”

Gu Xiyu was surprised, not expecting that the identity of the heroine had already been discovered. He gently gripped his sleeve and did not reply, which was a tacit acknowledgment.

He was only curious as to why the fortress master had brought up Murong Qingwan at this time. Of course, he did not want to speculate on such things as whether Murong Qingwan had already fallen into the other party’s hands.

Only after a short interval did the man sipping his wine then say to him, “She should have caught your trail and come to this inn.”

“Go your way.” The fortress master’s tone was very calm, and he could not hear any nostalgia. “If you go down now, you can probably meet up with them.”

Gu Xiyu was shocked, and he even suspected that his move of quietly throwing silver to Murong Qingwan had also been seen by the other party.

But he didn’t say anything and hadn’t even admitted his identity yet, only giving him the chance to leave. He was a different person from the one who strongly wanted him to stay just now.

Gu Xiyu was again a little uncertain, could it be that everything was just a coincidence, that the fortress master was really just a fortress master and not the Great Demon?

He raised his hand and gently touched his heart, trying to be firm that the familiarity would not deceive him, but the data was telling him otherwise.

As he hesitated, the man spoke again in a deep voice, “Get out before I’m too sober to regret it.”

Gu Xiyu looked at him for a long time, and finally opened the door of the room and walked out, not taking any extra things at all.

The room was slowly replaced by silence after he left, the space he originally occupied was slowly replaced by loneliness. Wei Chiyan turned the empty wine glass in his hand, on one hand, he was empty because Gu Xiyu had left, on the other, he was filled with the joy from him saying that he only liked ‘Wei Chiyan’.

His whole body felt like it was about to split, yet he was unusually sober, and his eyes were slightly red.

He had lived for twenty-seven years and had spent every moment of his life hating his name, which symbolized the son of the royal family, and loathing what he was. This was the first time he was glad that his name was Wei Chiyan and glad that he was Gu Xiyu’s target.

Wei Chiyan suddenly smiled and whispered, “Gu Xiyu, this is a promise you made yourself, and when we reunite someday…there should be no more excuses.”

He rarely went to the palace, and there was a reason he did not want to be this third prince. No one liked or cared about him, so there was no need to occupy this identity.

Now… it was time to go back.

——-

“Imperial… brother?!”

The fortress master was right; Murong Qingwan did find Gu Xiyu with Yuch Rong’s help. After asking several people, Yuchi Rong gave her the results, saying that the last person who saw Gu Xiyu said he was at this inn.