Chapter 3
In my 2nd life, I was so delusional that I didn't make contact with the MC, because I'd read stories similar to this where someone reincarnated into a novel but they always ended up overshadowing the MC. Well, reality hit me like a brick when i awakened my Qi and found out i had an E rank talent. I didn't want to stay mediocre, so i still tried to cultivate with a free technique you could find anywhere. But then, I found a 'demonic' cultivator's cave abode. I never really got why demonic cultivators were called so. The so-called righteous cultivators casually slaughter and have no respect for human lives, so why is it inhumane when we use that to get a higher cultivation! I don't really differentiate between the two, as both use cultivation for their own purposes, as a means to an end, and reaching whatever their goals are, be it protecting people, getting a harem, meeting expectations, for family or anything else.
Anyways, I should end the rant here, I do need to meet Mr high and mighty, Xie Long, after all.
I strolled over to his home and saw him outside, sitting by himself on a hill for some reason.
I shouted, 'Hey! Aren't you Xie Long, the guy who lives about 2 li(idk if what i found was right, but 1 li = 0.5km) from me?'
I smiled and thought,' Executing the plan..'
'Yes I am. Aren't you, uhhh, Jiang Yi, right?'
'Yep.'
'Can I show you something?' I said.
'Err.. no. I've seen you near those guys who bully me, you're planning something, aren't you?'
'No, you've got it all wrong, I'm a victim like you….
After many attempts as getting him to follow me, he finally relented and accepted.
I led him to a place I used to visit to relax before I left this village. It had a great view, and was not that far from home.
'Whoa, we have a view of the capital, and look at that beautiful ocean! How'd you find this place?' He exclaimed.
I told him how I was exploring the forest near our house(looking to see if there were any secrets, I am in Xianxialand after all, there's hidden stuff basically everywhere), and then came across this.
I also found out that I was right, I found a formation that stopped me from entering, looking back on it, it looked like a bloodline formation, the type of formation that'll block anyone except someone with the same bloodline as the first person to drop blood on it. I'm guessing that's how this guy got the ring.
We appreciated it for about an hour, just relaxing and talking. For a kid, he was surprisingly funny and could carry a conversation, so I'm definitely stopping that ring grandpa from changing him.
Then, we heard a loud hiss. I saw a giant snake in the distance. I stood up…. and ran away as fast as I could, leaving the kid for dead. I'm really weak right now, so I don't even need to explain why I ran away, now do I?
Plus, he's a Xianxia Protagonist, his bullshit luck will probably save him from about anything.
After waiting outside for him for about an hour, he came running out, sporting a quite familiar ring….
'Hey, why'd you leave me for dead in there? I'd never thought you'd be that type of person, Jiang Yi. I'm quite disappointed, I thought you were better than this.'
'Hey, listen, I'm sorry, when I was younger, I had a bad incident with snakes and I'm absolutely terrified of them now. As soon as I heard that loud hiss, I froze up, and then started to run.'
'That's still not a reason to just let me die, you idiot!'
How innocent is this kid to genuinely believe that.. wouldn't there be a big commotion if a snake was just openly chilling, ready to strike in our village?
'I know, but how could I help you if I'm literally so terrified to the point of being unable to move!'
'Well, at least apologise..'
'Ok, I swear to the heavens I won't leave you again, as long as you get rid of that ring.'(doesn't have any real effect if you lie, just heavily important towards people living there)
'Y-you didn't have to go that far, but why get rid of that ring? It looks cool and I want to keep it.'
'I've heard tales of elderly souls stuck in rings pretending to be kind, but really, they're just waiting for a chance to take over your body. They give you techniques to make your body as compatible with their souls as possible, before taking over.'
'Wait, really?'
'Yeah.'
He took the ring and threw it into the nearby lake surprisingly fast after hearing that, I'm guessing he believed me and didn't have any attachments to Ring Grandpa yet.
'Don't tell me that ring had someone in it?'
''Yeah… if I throw it away, would it not be able to possess me?'
'I think so.'
'Well, bye, Jiang Yi!'
'What do you mean bye, we have plenty of time before we have to go home, And I'm gonna introduce you to some other children!'
I took him to the area where my original body met up with his friends, Baomin Yi, Baotu Er, and Tang Xie, AKA Mob 1, Mob 2, Mob 3, and, at the time, Mob 4. But now that I've taken over and failed during my first time, I'll take it all, and live with no regrets!
They were talking to each other, and playing, surprisingly, hopscotch. I didn't even know that existed here. I met up with them, said hello, and introduced them to the MC. They didn't bat an eye when I said he was gonna join our group, so it seemed like author exaggerated when he said MC was hated, it seemed more like he didn't try to put effort into giving the MC friends from the starting village, as if trying to avoid that huge cliche.
It was peaceful, doing mundane things after living through decades of strife and running for my life from crazy young masters.
These children were also very innocent compared to the shrewd young heirs of many great lineages I had seen and partly taught.
It's funny, isn't it? A person who is a few centuries old is finding genuine joy at playing with children. Well, it's surprisingly calming.
Xie Long was having immense fun, and it seemed like the others were enjoying it as well.
Yeah, who am I kidding, the only person here I care about is Xie Long, the others could go die for all I care. Now, I just need to max out my favorability with him, and profit..
It had already reached sunset, and the other children needed to go home, but Xie Long had a bit of time left. We went back to the village and just looked around, before we heard his father calling for him. He gave me a hug and said, 'Thank you, Jiang Yi. This has been one of the best days of my life, and I genuinely had a lot of fun! I owe you a lot for introducing me to those guys.'
He didn't see, but my face during the hug was cold, and I was sneering. You owe me, you say?