Wan Yu finished washing up and returned only to see the room was empty.
He left?
Fixing his gaze on the neatly made bed for several seconds he proceeded to climb the bed and shut his eyes.
His soul was still heavily injured and added to exhaustion, Wan Yu had no spare energy to focus on Xiao Xu's whereabouts.
I will go catch that guy once I've regained my energy.
This was the last thing on his mind before he succumbed to slumber.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Wan Yu was finally aroused from his sleep.
Not yet fully awake, he slowly propped himself up from the bed only to halt when he suddenly felt the blanket on his body slide down due to his movement.
Wan Yu dazedly stared down at the blanket on top of his body.
He doesn't recall covering himself before sleeping...
At the thought of this, a certain person's foolish face suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
Wan Yu's mind was instantly cleared up and he subconsciously looked around the room.
No one was present except for extra items being left on top of the previously empty table.
While still barefooted, he walked toward the table and removed the bamboo woven food cover.
White steam arose from a bowl of congee topped with diced mushroom and shredded chicken meat. A pot of freshly brewed tea sat on the side with a piece of paper placed underneath one of the teacups.
Wan Yu pulled out the paper and saw a crooked line written in the middle.
Don't skip your meal -Xiao Xu :)
His eyes lingered on the last few symbols for quite a while.
Is this supposed to be a drawing of a... Smiling face? Wan Yu pondered.
Putting away the note with a dog-like handwriting, he sat down and picked up the spoon.
There was an enchantment engraved on the table to heat the food so he was not sure how long had these been sitting in his room.
After eating a spoonful, Wan Yu nodded his head in satisfaction. To his surprise, he actually finished the entire bowl even though he has never been a big eater.
In consideration of his thoughtful gesture, Wan Yu decided to make a change in his plan.
I guess I will observe you for a little longer.
Liu Xun would have never guessed that his cooking skill turned out to be his saving grace and accidentally gained the male protagonist's favorability.
If he knew that things could be easily resolved with food, he wouldn't hesitate to recommend himself as a chef to improve his living conditions.
And here, he was planning hard on how to survive as a poor and lonely 10-year-old child.
"After today, I won't have any excuse to go there anymore."
His injuries were not as grave as what Elder Chen made out to be. To put it simply, just like a cold, if left untreated it might kill you.
As proof, Wu Jing did survive without proper treatment. He had a strong self-healing ability probably thanks to him being a descendant of the Dragon Clan.
Dragon and Phoenix Clans were said to be the strongest in the Demon Realm.
The current Demon Lord came from the Phoenix Clan and was said to be unrivaled ever since the decline of the Dragon Clan after the war between Celestials and Demons broke out three thousand years ago.
This event was not fully depicted in the novel nor was Wu Jing interested in knowing about his lineage downfall, therefore, Liu Xun had little knowledge about this matter.
Anyway, the feud between demons had nothing to do with him since he had no intention of going to the Demon Realm.
Even at the cost of being unable to cultivate in this lifetime.
Knowing that he would be at a huge disadvantage in the future, Liu Xun had to find alternative options to improve his power.
Fortunately, unlike Wu Jing who was self-taught during his younger days, Liu Xun was a Wushu practitioner in his world.
[A/N: Wushu is also sometimes called Kung fu, both are names generally referring to Chinese martial arts.]
Cough... Even though his goal was to look cool, he was confident in his fighting skills.
After getting his hands on some manuals to get familiar with the fighting style and technique of this world, Liu Xun would be more at ease with defending himself.
It would be much more efficient to recognize a Master and receive proper guidance but this option was unavailable for a trash like him.
Elder Su was out of the picture since Liu Xun had a bad impression of him. He reckoned that sooner or later this old man would meet his demise from bullying the male protagonist.
As for Elder Chen...
At the thought of his unbelievably handsome face, Liu Xun suddenly felt a pang of pity.
Despite being the male protagonist's Master, Elder Chen's background is shrouded in mystery.
Liu Xun tried to recall the plot and go through Wu Jing's memories multiple times but unfortunately, he couldn't find anything about him.
Only one passage from the novel caught his eye.
[As the night settled, the wind wailed as if mourning for the lost. Sitting down at a dust-free table was a tall and lean figure dressed in exquisite three-layer black and white robes which looked so out of place in this abandoned room.
Wan Yu's handsome silhouette was shrouded in the dark, it was hard to tell what he was thinking at the moment.
"Shizun, it has been a while."
Soon, a small white jar and two cups appeared out of thin air right next to Wan Yu's right hand.
His pale slender hand went to remove the cork from the wine jug letting an intoxicated fragrance escape into the air.
Tilting the jar, a sparkling transparent wine was evenly poured into two cups.
Wan Yu slowly got up and leaned forward to place one cup on the opposite side while holding his long sleeve with his left hand.
He then picked up his cup and lightly chuckled, "Shizun, Disciple has never forgotten your teaching. Disciple knows that Shizun only means the best for me but..."
His voice trailed off, the dark clouds gradually retreated and the moon finally came out of its hiding.
Moonlight bathed the world with its gentle embrace but Wan Yu's breathtaking face was frosty. His almond-shaped eyes were devoid of any temperature. He stared straight ahead as if wanting to see through the other person's mind with his sharp eyes.
"A small hole not mended in time will become a big hole, which is much more difficult to mend. Disciple is doing this for the greater good and will not have second thoughts."
After putting down these words, Wan Yu raised the cup to his lips with both hands. Slightly tilting his head back, he downed the entire wine in one go.
Setting down the empty cup on the table, he turned around and left the room without looking back.
A petal of snowflake flower snuck in from the slightly ajar window and landed on the wine. A small ripple was created and it was not long before the surface resumed its stillness.
From beginning to end, the wine was left untouched and no word was spoken for there was no one sitting there to begin with.]
It was not explicitly stated but it was not hard to tell what transpired.
The male protagonist did mention that he only recognized one person as his Shizun so it was easy to tell that the adult Wan Yu was pouring a drink for Elder Chen.
This scene appeared quite late into the story and the book was never narrated in Wan Yu's POV.
But it was safe to assume that by that time Elder Chen had already passed away. If so, it would explain why he never appeared ever again in the story.
Liu Xun wished he could help but he was powerless to do anything. In the end, all he could do was to pray for Elder Chen's well-being in his heart.
While being lost in his thoughts, he was already halfway to his destination.
The path he was taking did not lead him to his place but a Missionary Hall.
Despite being weak, he could still do some miscellaneous chores that others disdained to do to accumulate some points.
These points could be traded for food, herbs, raw materials, sword manuals, cultivation manuals, daily necessities, and pills.
To avoid attracting attention, Liu Xun combed through Wu Jing's memories and took a detour to avoid other people.
Whenever Wu Jing thought of the Heavenly Sect, it was filled with bad memories but there were a few rare peaceful ones.
Escaping from others' eyes, he would come to this small hill behind the bamboo forest and sit down under the big old tree.
This tree produced orange flowers which was similar to the color of the sunset and thus was called Glory Sunset.
Liu Xun gradually came to a stop under the tree.
The wind gently caressed his skin bringing along the sweet fragrance of flowers and grass.
Closing your eyes, you would be engulfed in the relaxing sounds of the rustling leaves, grass, and footsteps...
Wait. Footsteps??
Liu Xu snapped his eyes open and listened more carefully. After figuring that it was not his hallucination, he internally cursed and wasted no time climbing the tree to hide himself.
Leaning against the tree trunk, he decided to wait for those people to go away before climbing back down.
Just as this thought resurfaced, the sound of someone being pushed to the ground was heard followed by a muffled grunt.
Liu Xun pursed his lips into a straight line.
... Is this another bullying?
"You trash! How dare you rattle on us?!"
"It was merely some pills but you actually complained to Elder Chen?!"
"Goddammit, we got 30 smacks and were locked in the shed overnight because of a trash like you!"
The moment Liu Xun heard those accusations, he abruptly froze. He hurriedly peeked down in disbelief.
Three unfamiliar teenagers with furious expressions were staring down at a young child who was sprawling on the ground.
Unsurprisingly, it was a face he had just seen not long ago.
Liu Xun covered his face with his hands and silently screamed.
Arghhhh, why? Why is it you again?!
What are we?! A north pole and a south pole? Is this why we keep attracting each other????
Do I need to step in again?
Liu Xun strongly tugged his hair until his scalp was aching in pain.
You might think that it is better to let the male protagonist be in debt to him but Liu Xun doesn't think so.
First of all, Liu Xun was not in a situation that allowed him to do as he pleased without caring about making enemies along the way.
The protagonists would always have a way to get out of the sticky situation thanks to the plot armor but a Villain like him could only depend on himself when he got bullied.
Being on good terms with such important characters could go either way.
It was either you won the lottery or accidentally got caught in the crossfire and needed to sacrifice yourself for the plot reason.
It would be okay if he were to be an extra but he was Wu Jing, a demon hidden among humans!
If he were to keep getting involved with the male protagonist, he would attract unwanted attention and the chance of being discovered would increase!
After what seemed to be a century, Liu Xun apologized to the little protagonist in his heart.
Anyway, he is the male protagonist who is destined to achieve great things in the future.
As for him? A Villain with tragic endings and is in constant worry about being staved!
At the very least... He didn't get hi-
This thought hadn't formed yet when Liu Xun saw those teenagers start to stomp on the poor child.
Liu Xun's heart dropped upon seeing the little protagonist curled into a ball desperately trying to protect himself.
He is indeed going to become the invincible male protagonist but that is in the future.
For now, he is just a helpless 7-year-old child...
If a 25-year-old adult like him watches the child being bullied without helping him, what will become of him?
Won't he become even worse than those perpetrators?
While conscience was weighing Liu Xun's mind, one of the teenagers suddenly raised his leg high and kicked Wan Yu right in the stomach with full force.
Knowing that he was about to collide with the tree, Wan Yu braced himself for the incoming pain.
However, the expected pain never came.
His back instead collided with a wall of flesh and was enveloped in another person's warmth.
The world spun and in the next second, Wan Yu found himself safe and sound in a princess-carry style.
Wan Yu: "..."
Did I perhaps get the wrong script?
Wan Yu knew that he was being watched. He deliberately walked out of the bamboo forest alone and gave them a chance to act.
As expected, they took the bait and vented their anger on him.
Wan Yu had his reason for not fighting back.
It was quite troublesome being hit by these annoying things but nothing could stop him from achieving his purpose.
He also knew someone was here but it didn't pose an issue.
Not many like that fool liked to be a nosy.
To his surprise, it indeed turned out to be that fool who once again interrupted his plan.
Twice...
This person was always there whenever he got into trouble.
Instead of feeling moved, a cold glint flashed through Wan Yu's eyes.
Is it a coincidence or intentional?