I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 859: The Master I love and hate the most, why save me?

Observing the departure of the red-clad girl, Song Ming couldn’t help but smile as he noticed her heading the same way. He followed with a group of younger siblings.

However, the girl in red remained silent, appearing indifferent. It seemed she had reached her limit after uttering those few words moments ago.

The girl is also headed to the Netherworld; coincidentally, we are on the same path.

The Netherworld is overrun by demons, posing numerous risks. Going alone might lead to trouble, and having a group ensures safety. We have many people here, all heading the same way. There will be plenty to watch over us…

Girl…

…

The bamboo forest rustled, and thick fog surged, creating a paradise-like atmosphere.

Each bamboo displayed purple lines, and some million-year-old bamboo served as excellent material for crafting flying swords.

Sea of Clouds and Purple Bamboo Forest…

A soft murmur echoed in the expansive bamboo forest.

Chan Hongyi stood in the void, her eyes reflecting complexity like an outsider witnessing these events.

Especially in this familiar bamboo forest, many places bore the marks of her sword practice. The bamboo pavilion where a group discussed her master earlier had been built by her hands.

Yet now, she could only observe the past as an eyewitness.

Watching the red-clad girl depart, observing Song Ming and his juniors chasing after her, the river of time became chaotic in the abyss shrouded in endless dark fog.

She resembled a small boat torn asunder, waves threatening to overturn it at any moment, to submerge it forever.

Even the Immortal King was susceptible to physical and spiritual destruction in such a daunting situation.

Now, her cultivation base had yet to recover to its peak fully, and while she surpassed the Immortal King in certain aspects, she hadn’t quite reached that level.

In that critical moment, Chan Hongyi believed her demise was imminent. The thunderous seas overwhelmed her spirit and soul, shattering the imprint, and her being was instantly obliterated, indeed vanishing from this world.

Strangely, she didn’t feel despair.

On the contrary, an unexpected tranquility enveloped her heart, mixed with a hint of regret. Perishing on the path of seeking truth seemed a fitting choice.

However, Chan Hongyi didn’t anticipate that, as she quietly awaited her death, the entire tumultuous river of chaos suddenly calmed. Even the real thunder descending from the sky vanished.

Immersed in the seabed, her body found support from an invisible force reminiscent of warm arms. A childhood memory surged, and she murmured, thinking it might be a pre-death flashback. Attempting to open her eyes, she encountered darkness, unable to see clearly.

“Master, is that you?” she whispered.

No answer came. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the vast bamboo forest.

She had returned to ancient times, the era she longed to revisit, an incredible feat.

Chan Hongyi’s emotions were intricate. She initially dismissed it as a death-induced dream but realized she had genuinely emerged from the underwater abyss. It wasn’t a dream or hallucination.

Why did you save me again, and why bring me back to this era?

She pondered softly in the void.

My favorite and also my most hated Master.

Gu Changge’s motives eluded her. The long river of time stirred, plunging into chaos once more. This was the other end of the timeline, disturbed by a potent aura. Gu Changge must have entered this temporal river, affecting her and Tao Yao.

But then, why intervene to save her?

“Master, I’ve just realized that I never truly understood you.”

Chan Hongyi confessed, grappling with a complexity of emotions. Sealed in the Demon Burying Abyss, she counted days in silence, marking the passing of time with the disappearance of light beyond the abyss. Again and again.

She counted unnumbered years, spanning the taboo era and several inter-epochs, striving to break free. In the midst of it, she teetered on the brink of madness, consumed by hostility, transformed into a true devil with a sole desire to defy the heavens.

Upon escaping the Demon Burying Abyss, she bathed the upper realm in blood, relentlessly advancing towards Gu Changge.

Love turned to hatred, and Chan Hongyi felt this characterization was apt. However, her temperament stabilized as her cultivation base recovered, allowing her to rein in the hostility.

Though still possessed, she no longer succumbed to a mind consumed by the single-minded urge to kill.

What truth am I seeking…

Chan Hongyi’s form vanished, trailing behind the red-clad girl like a spectator. She witnessed the girl’s journey to the Netherworld and her warnings to the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect not to follow. She observed the interaction with Song Ming, aiming to bring him closer to the red-clad girl.

The red-clothed girl remained cold, ignoring Song Ming and harboring the constant desire to draw her long sword and end him.

Chan Hongyi glimpsed her former self, a touch of tenderness appearing on her face. She had found Song Ming annoying back then but understood he harbored genuine feelings for her despite their brief encounter.

Chan Hongyi didn’t reflect on this then, dismissing him as annoying but not malicious. He even cared for some monsters in the Netherworld on her behalf.

When she disclosed this to her master, it displeased him, leading to minimal contact with the sect’s disciples. An ancestor from Song Ming’s sect arrived, and Song Ming knelt at the mountain’s foot the next day.

Initially considering these memories as hazy, Chan Hongyi realized she had chosen to forget them.

Returning to this era made them vivid once more. As she moved through the timeline, her figure advanced through a fragment of time and space compared to the vast river of time. Yet, for the people in this timeline, it meant thousands or even tens of thousands of years.