Chapter 47 – Realist Young Master (2)
In cultivation stories, villains were usually the ones provoking the protagonists first. In this situation, had one of those villains been in Xu Miao's shoes, they would have sent minions to kill Xie Tian, preventing him from meeting with Jiang Lan.
Afterward, Xie Tian would bear grudge against the stupid young master, and the latter would meet his demise after the protagonist obtained enough plot-armor-like skills to slaughter the villain's entire family.
However, Xu Miao was aware of the common plotline in cultivation novels. It would be counterintuitive to provoke a protagonist early on. Instead of openly trying to kill Xie Tian right away, Xu Miao chose to befriend him, creating an image of a friendly young master.
Most protagonists had one particular trait in common. When they owe someone a favor, they never failed to return it tenfold. However, if a villain were to offend them, nothing good would ever happen to that stupid character throughout the story as the offended protagonist would destroy them.
Thus, making friends with a protagonist was a viable option. By giving Xie Tian a good impression of an honest man would be a lot better than showing hostility openly.
"Let's have a seat. I have been hoping to talk to you for a long time," Xu Miao's political smile never faded from his face, "I'll be frank. You see, there seems to be a misunderstanding between us."
"Oh?" Xie Tian didn't know if he should trust this man or not. But from the reception and Xu Miao's friendly attitude, he couldn't find fault of this young master, "What kind of misunderstanding?"
"It's the matter regarding Jiang Lan."
Xie Tian's face changed. He turned solemn, "Please elaborate."
"Of course. First of all, I'm currently protecting Jiang Lan from the hands of Wei Feng."
"Huh?" Xie Tian was confused. Wei Feng's name came out of nowhere.
Xu Miao pretended to look frustrated, "Before I freed Jiang Lan, Wei Feng tricked her and tried to make her his slave."
"What!?"
"I'm sorry. I'm not a good storyteller. Well, let me start over again. When I was transferred to the Silver Phoenix Sect to train under my mother, I heard of an incident from the sect workers."
Xu Miao narrated a fake story regarding Jiang Lan, "One of my mother's debt slaves was reported to be tricked by a certain young master. I investigated into the matter and found out that the slave, Jiang Lan, had loaned a few hundred raw spirit stones from the Wei Clan and our clan with an attached condition that she could pay off the debt by becoming Wei Feng's concubine."
Listening to this point, Xie Tian recalled that Wei Feng used to visit his village and proposed Jiang Lan. The protagonist immediately connected the story, thinking that Wei Feng tricked the girl into marrying him.
Still, Xie Tian found the story odd, "Then, why is she your wife?"
"This is the misunderstanding that I'm trying to explain. Let me finish my story, please."
"Oh, okay."
"Well, Jiang Lan couldn't break through to the second stage and couldn't pass the last year's examination tests. Because Jiang Lan had loaned spirit stones from both Xu Clan and Wei Clan, her parents gave up on her and sold her to our clan as a debt slave to pay for all debts."
Xie Tian nodded. This part of the story was true since he saw it happened.
"Afterward, Wei Feng visited us and tried to buy Jiang Lan from us."
"Oh!" Xie Tian's eyes gleamed. He understood what Xu Miao was trying to say as puzzle pieces began to connect.
"Fortunately, I was there when it happened. Jiang Lan told me that she was tricked by this bastard, so I asked my mother to protect her. I fake-claimed that she had become my concubine and forced Wei Feng to give up pursuing her."
"… I see," Xie Tian was smart. He figured out why Xu Miao said it was a misunderstanding. However, this info was one-sided. Xie Tian wanted to hear this story from Jiang Lan's mouth to compare it with Xu Miao's version.
Xu Miao turned around and looked at Xu Xiuying, who had been eavesdropping the conversation from afar. She grinned and waved her hand. Then, Jiang Lan, who had been standing behind Xu Xiuying, walked toward Xie Tian and Xu Miao.
Jiang Lan didn't have blank eyes like the usual. Her pupils were bright and clear as if she had never been mind-broken. She stopped behind Xu Miao's seat and smiled at Xie Tian.
The protagonist's heart wavered when he saw Jiang Lan's happy face. He remembered this smile. It was the smile that she always gave him when they were together.
Noticing how the two interacted, Xu Miao pushed forward his plan, "Friend Xie, I've heard from Jiang Lan that you're her childhood sweetheart. Also, recently, Jiang Lan messed up and caused a misunderstanding when she visited you. I think you should hear it from her yourself."
"Umm. Okay. Err, hi, Jiang Lan."
Jiang Lan nodded to Xie Tian, "It's been a while, little Tian."
"That day when you ran off…"
Before Xie Tian could finish his sentence, Jiang Lan walked away from Xu Miao and stood next to Xie Tian's seat. She massaged the latter's shoulders and explained, "I'm sorry. That day, Wei Feng sent his men to follow after me. I didn't want to get you into trouble, so I pretended to be frustrated and left that message. If I didn't do this, that bastard might target you."
Jiang Lan winked at Xie Tian, giving him the hint that there was nothing between her and Xu Miao.
Xie Tian's heart shook. As if a mountain had been lifted from his chest, he felt relieved.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Xie Tian's eyes became wet. He turned around to look at Jiang Lan's face, "R-Really?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry."
Xie Tian almost cried from joy. But then, he recalled that Jiang Lan was rumored to be Xu Miao's favorite concubine. Also, Jiang Lan told him that she had a husband.
"What about your relationship with young master Xu? What's this about?"
Jiang Lan bent over and hugged him from behind, "Young master Xu Miao has used his name to protect me from Wei Feng. Or else, that bastard would have continued sending men after me. I'm actually indebted to him."
"I-Is that so?"
"Right now, I can't return home with you yet. But if you can join the Xu Clan, we can be together."
"…"
Xie Tian widened his eyes and turned to Xu Miao. He had many questions to ask the young master, but he couldn't arrange his words.
"Umm…"
Xu Miao seized the initiative and pressed on, "The rumor about us being a husband and wife is something I've leaked to chase Wei Feng away. I have never laid my hands on her."
Jiang Lan immediately confirmed Xu Miao's testimony, "It's true. Young master Xu Miao leaked that rumor, so he could protect me. This is the misunderstanding that he wants to explain."
Xie Tian gulped. If that was true, everything up until now was his misunderstanding.
Realizing his mistake, Xie Tian knelt before Xu Miao, "Thank you for protecting my childhood friend! I, Xie Tian, swear that I will return this favor!"
Xu Miao helped Xie Tian up, "Eh, I've done nothing. To be honest, I saw potential in her, so I recruited her into my mother's sect. Say, friend, wouldn't you consider joining my clan? If you do, I can arrange a place for the two of you to live together, and we can protect you from that bastard Wei Feng. How about it? Would you like to join my clan?"
Xie Tian's face turned solemn. He cupped his fist and answered without hesitation, "The Xu Clan has helped us too much. Let me work for you to repay your kindness!"
When Xie Tian accepted Xu Miao's offer, all disciples, Xu Xiuying, Qi Hong, and Qi Ning looked at them in astonishment.
Xu Miao laughed and patted Xie Tian's shoulders, "Good! Very good! Then, it's settled. Can I call you brother Xie?"
"O-Of course! That would be my honor!"
"Then, you can also call me your brother as well."
"Okay, brother Xu!"
"Good! I'll arrange a place for you. Oh, by the way, there are still two more exams we have to go through. You should rest here with us."
"Sure!"
Seeing the happy face of Xie Tian, Xu Miao leaned to him and whispered, "By the way, Jiang Lan is currently practicing Virgin Yin techniques. She can't do THAT with men, so I hope that you can respect her cultivation future."
When Xie Tian and Jiang Lan followed after Qi Hong and left Xu Miao's sight, the latter's friendly expression became his usual cunning crescent smile.
'All according to Keikaku!' (Keikaku means plan.)
Unbeknownst to Xie Tian, everything went according to Xu Miao's plan.
'Sun Tzu and Michael Corleone once said, "Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer!" Of course, why should I fight him directly when I can befriend him and then backstab this motherfucker later? Aren't MCs vulnerable to their best friend's backstabbing?'
Yin Cauldrons had many uses. The masters could alter the slave's memory, personality, and purpose in life with only a few commands.
Xu Miao had implanted false memory to Jiang Lan. He rewrote a new memory to her that Wei Feng had been pursuing her non-stop and even sent men to abduct her, including the memory about Xu Miao protecting Jiang Lan.
The memory about her being Xu Miao's sex slave was still there, and she was still loyal to him. Moreover, he made her character loyal to the Silver Phoenix Sect. Whatever Jiang Lan would do, she would put Xu Miao on the top of her priority. The sect came second, and Xie Tian came third.
Next, Xu Miao tampered Jiang Lan's life goal and personality. He made the girl fall in love with him, and she would do anything to get his love, including pretending to be Xie Tian's girlfriend.
With this setup preparation, Xu Miao set Jiang Lan free.
When Jiang Lan came back to her senses, she became a new person. The entitled gold digger clung onto Xu Miao, trying to get his love right away.
Xu Miao used this chance to give her a few tasks.
One, Jiang Lan had to cooperate with him to recruit Xie Tian into the Xu Clan, so he could manipulate him or use him later.
Two, Xu Miao wanted her to seduce Xie Tian and learn his secrets. If possible, Xu Miao wanted her to ask Xie Tian for any treasure, skill manuals, or artifacts that he could share. However, she must not steal his items, or he might be offended.
And lastly, Jiang Lan needed to pretend that she still loved Xie Tian and stayed with him until further instructions.
The brainwashed girl followed Xu Miao's instructions perfectly.
'I have one year to kill Xie Tian. Now that he has joined a villain clan, I can start sabotaging his strength and steal some of his plot-armor-like luck. First, I need to check if I can take the shortcuts…'
Xu Miao glanced at his foster mother, 'Can I make her or other elders kill Xie Tian right away? How do I manipulate them?'
…
That day, Xu Miao diverted his fate from a common villainous mob into something else, something that influenced the destiny of other protagonists and villains.