The first thing Xia Yan did was try pinch his cheek.
Then immediately panics because he couldn't move a single muscle.
Even opening his eyes was a strain, like there was a small mound of sand on each eyelid, making them heavy and itchy and stinging his eyes as they opened. While his flesh no longer felt like it had been hosting a battlefield with fire, the aftermath still felt incredibly unpleasant to bear. Helplessly, Xia Yan closes his eyes and focuses on doing something productive. In this case it was to properly assimilate all the information and memories of Ng Yan.
Ng Yan who he had been in another life.
Or maybe it was Ng Yan who had taken over and is processing Xia Yan's memories.
The end result was the same.
Xia Yan had memories of two lives and in one of them, he was a shitty cannon fodder character in a goddamn stallion novel. The type of ignorant, pampered and greedy youth that not only provokes the hero and his budding harem but even stupidly draws aggro from the villain which results in his undignified death as a human kebab. What was worse, was that in one of the author's rare moments of originality, it was revealed that Xia Yan had only developed such an awful personality directly because of the manipulations of his second oldest brother who had been depicted as a doting brocon. The true cannonfodder scum in the story.
Ng Yan had not read far enough for the major bosses to show their faces too often but he was more or less very familiar with all the Heavenly Cloud Sect drama.
The Heavenly Cloud Sect was one of the top three sects in the middle realm and the leader Xia Jun, unlike many other typical sect masters, had many children. Five in fact. Three boys and two girls. In the latest chapter Ng Yan had read, it was implied a sixth child was even on the way! Truly Xia Jun and his wife were brimming with vitality and love.
However that vitality and love was not split evenly among the children. Three of the Xia children were written to be great, powerful and virtuous, and the other two were... not. Xia Yan and his second brother were of the latter group.
In the chapter after Xia Yan's brutal death, the second brother's viewpoint was shown, revealing the shocking truth. Xia Yan originally had a strong cultivation foundation and innate talent much like his oldest brother and sister. The second brother who had neither talents nor any great achievements couldn't bear to have another sibling to be compared to. Driven by jealousy he had decided to nip Xia Yan before he bloomed, but was too cowardly to do the deed himself.
In the end he decided to do something even crueler than simply killing his cute younger brother off.
Yes. When Xia Yan was only a few years old, his brother snuck up to his bed in the middle of the night and dropped a large sack full of Crimson-backed Obsidian Sleeping Spiders onto his head. The thought was, if Xia Yan survives, his cultivation will be undoubtedly crippled. And if he dies, he dies.
Xia Yan of course survives. After much bitter pain and suffering he falls into a deep sleep because of the spiders' venom which was meant to last forever until death, however by luck a passing shaman took interest in the reward set by the Heavenly Cloud Sect and was cured, though with an irreparably damaged cultivation base. Obviously Xia Yan was desolate and grief-stricken for this loss, not to mention traumatized from the event.
Taking advantage of the young boy's vulnerability, the second brother whispered poison into his ears. The second brother convinced Xia Yan this whole terrible matter was all due to their eldest brother's doing! That he felt threatened to have another genius in the family and wanted to destroy Xia Yan before he had the chance to be destroy him. Since the second brother was on closer terms with Xia Yan, Xia Yan naturally believed him. Because of this, Xia Yan grew into someone resentful and hateful, hating his oldest brother, becoming jealous of anyone more talented, slowly he isolated everyone but his second brother with his attitude, letting himself be pampered and warped to the point he had become. A fattened cow for slaughter.
At the time Ng Yan had highly praised the author for this surprising plot twist based on what had first appeared to be basic cannonfodder. To think that he was only a stepping stone for the more villainous and conniving upgraded cannonfodder! And it was so well written too! Definitely one of the strongest turning points in the story. Like! Like!
Now, as he lays sadly in the paralyzed body of the stepping stone cannonfodder, he curses despairing in his heart. Author, aren't you too cruel? To think I am only a mere stepping stone for the more villainous and conniving upgraded cannonfodder! Too cruel! Dislike! Dislike!
After a few hours of venting angrily in his heart, Xia Yan finally forces himself to calm down and accept the situation at hand. Honestly, while the fate of the original Xia Yan was horrible, the problem was fairly easy to fix.
Second older brother? What is that? Something you can eat?
Whatever it is, it's dead to Xia Yan.
There. Easy.
Satisfied, Xia Yan drifts off to sleep again. At least his bed is very nice. Needs more pillows though.