Chapter 5 You can call me Xie Hanwei. Don't treat me like a fool...

Mingjian's desire to destroy Xiao Bumian reached its peak at this moment. In the past, he would fawn over Xiao Bumian like a dog seeing a bone, but when it came to the crucial moment, he was a coward and didn't dare to say a word.

“No…” Mingjian’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he said in a trembling voice, “This is not good.”

Xiao Bumian smiled faintly, "Why?"

He tightened his grip, clearly feeling an uncomfortable suffocating sensation, and his forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, fearing that Xiao Bumian might snap his neck in the next moment if she was displeased.

Why did you kill me?

The cave was still filled with the smell of dust in the air.

Xiao Bumian thought for a moment, "You lied to me."

Mingjian knew his lie had been exposed the moment Lu Heng uttered his first sentence. Since Lu Heng already knew he was Mingjian and not Lu Heng, he must have personally verified it. In other words, he had met Lu Heng.

Mingjian recalled the strange events that had been circulating this morning, and connecting them with Xiao Bumian's words, he immediately understood. He asked, "Was the person who died last night Lu Heng?"

Seemingly recalling the scene of blood mist last night, Xiao Bumian squinted comfortably and hummed in a light tone, "Yes, he was cursing you when he died. He cursed you horribly. Are you happy that I helped you?"

Mingjian: "..."

If someone commits murder, why pin the blame on him?

Naturally, Mingjian wouldn't feel indignant for someone who frequently bullied him. On the contrary, he was quite happy, only regretting that the pills he had specially prepared for Lu Heng were now useless.

"I'm happy." Mingjian nodded honestly.

Xiao Bumian was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled softly, as if he had heard something extremely interesting. He asked curiously, "How come you are different from them? Don't cultivators love to disguise themselves as righteous people? Even if they hate someone, they will still righteously say that you dare to harm your fellow disciples."

Seeing Xiao Bumian's strange expression, Ming wondered if he was sick. Wasn't Xiao Bumian a cultivator himself? Although he looked like a madman now.

“He bullied me, why shouldn’t I be happy that he’s dead? If you don’t kill him, I will kill him one day.”

"Ha." Xiao Bumian's eyes were filled with laughter.

That's an interesting answer.

Xiao Bumian twitched his fingertips. What to do? He was even a little reluctant to kill Mingjian.

Seemingly sensing Xiao Bumian's slight wavering, Mingjian quickly seized the opportunity, "Fellow Daoist, we have no grudges against each other. Now that we've become friends through this fight, why don't we let bygones be bygones and become friends?"

"friend?"

Mingjian nodded. "Yes, friend."

The air was quiet for a moment. Mingjian felt the pressure on his carotid artery ease a little, but before he could be happy, his throat was gripped tightly again.

"No way." Xiao Bumian's smile gradually faded, his eyes turning sinister and terrifying, as deep and cold as a frozen pool. "Do you know where all those who became my friends ended up?"

Mingjian: "..."

He didn't want to know what kind of good outcome he could expect from such a tone.

“You guessed right,” Xiao Bumian said, his voice rising at the end, “They’re all dead.”

Mingjian, not wanting to die, mustered his courage and asked, "What did they do?"

Although he's a madman, it's better than waiting to die.

"Because they all betrayed me." Xiao Bumian didn't mince words. "You lied to me, and you still want to be my friend?"

Mingjian didn't know how he had circled back to this topic, but it didn't matter. It was a good time to explain now so that this person wouldn't go crazy and come back to him in the future. "I didn't do it on purpose. I was just afraid that my secret drinking of the Spirit Water would be discovered."

"So that's why you said you were Lu Heng?"

“Yes, yes,” Mingjian nodded, pretending to relax, “The criminal investigation team came looking for me, but they couldn’t find me. And if I’m not lying to you, I was the one who died last night.”

Xiao Bumian did not deny it. After returning yesterday, he couldn't figure out why this person knew his identity. If that was the case, he might as well just kill him, as the sword spirit had suggested.

I just didn't expect this person to be a complete liar.

"So you're protecting yourself?"

“Yes, it’s all his fault for always bullying me.” Mingjian said fiercely, as if he still harbored resentment towards Lu Heng. “If it weren’t for you, I would have had to endure his humiliation for a long time longer.”

"Oh." Xiao Bumian didn't ask the question anymore. His hand slid inch by inch along Mingjian's neck, and as Mingjian's heart pounded faster, he said with certainty, "But you know who I am."

I can tell he's about to swear.

Is this the gentle villain the system was talking about?

I only saw the villains, not the gentleness.

The atmosphere in the air subtly changed. If Xiao Bumian was merely testing him earlier and his killing intent wasn't particularly strong, he was now certain that if he didn't answer the question correctly, Xiao Bumian would not hesitate to kill him without hesitation.

We must not admit it under any circumstances.

"Hmm?" Ming Jian began to feign madness. "Fellow Daoist is joking. This is our first meeting. How would I know who you are?"

Xiao Bumian said with a puzzled tone, "Yes, I'm curious too."

Those who knew his original appearance were all dead, so how did this person know? Could it be that those people had possessed his body and were plotting to kill him again?

Although Xiao Bumian thought this way, he did not doubt that Mingjian was the one who had been possessed. After all, if they were still mentally sound, they would not have chosen this useless person who could barely be considered a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

He could kill this piece of trash without even expending much effort.

However, he was quite interested in the person behind Mingjian. If he let this male cultivator live a little longer, he wondered if he could find the person who was manipulating him.

Once this thought crossed Xiao Bumian's mind, he no longer wanted to kill him.

He released his grip, the chilling aura emanating from him receding like a tide, and smiled, saying, "I was just kidding. I quite like you, why would I want to kill you?"

Xiao Bumian ignored Mingjian and skillfully lit the candle. The dim yellow candlelight flickered, casting long shadows that danced on the cave walls.

Ming Jian breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling a lingering fear, but he couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He knew best whether he was lying or not; he didn't believe Xiao Bumian liked him, but wanting to kill him was a real thing.

He couldn't quite figure out Xiao Bumian's attitude, and he didn't know if Xiao Bumian believed his story. In any case, at least he was alive now.

Thinking this, Mingjian recalled the inner demon within his consciousness and felt utterly useless. It boasted of its ability to discern heavenly secrets, but in reality, it could fabricate stories effortlessly. If it was truly useless, how could it know that the person before it was Xiao Bumian? Mingjian noted this down in his mind, deciding it was best to act according to circumstances.

[Host, if I hadn't entered your primordial spirit in time, how could you have regained consciousness so quickly?]

Ming's face instantly fell. How dare it say that? It even claimed Xiao Bumian was in love with it, secretly admiring it for years without reciprocation. The truth was, it was being relentlessly pursued and killed by Xiao Bumian.

The system argued, "But he helped you kill Lu Heng. You lied to him; he was just trying to scare you."

Mingjian clearly wanted to destroy this broken system.

Ha, Xiao Bumian is nothing but a madman driven by his bloodlust. It's obvious he'd never fall in love with anyone.

Thinking of this, Mingjian felt as if he had missed some very important information. In a flash, Mingjian suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Just then, the young man sitting on the stone bench, his hand supporting his sharply defined chin, turned to look at him. In the candlelight, the young man's eyes were as beautiful as peach blossoms, his thick, bushy eyelashes slightly curled, like a painting. He asked with a half-smile, "By the way, in this mist, everyone from mortals to cultivators at the Mahayana realm loses their minds and becomes a puppet at the mercy of others. How did you manage to wake up so early?"

It's obvious he's pretending to be dead.

Unfortunately, Xiao Bumian didn't give him that chance. He didn't know why the cultivator in front of him always showed such an expression when he was caught red-handed. His angry but speechless appearance was quite amusing. He kindly reminded Mingjian, "There is a time limit for answering this question."

Mingjian was stunned and choked.

Fortunately, the system finally proved reliable this time: [Host, this mist is Xiao Bumian's domain. He will regain consciousness if he is injured or his soul is unstable.]

Ming followed suit, saying, "Fellow Daoist, I don't know either. However, I had some kind of mental instability when I was young, and I wonder if it's related to that."

Xiao Bumian remained silent for a long time, then said with an air of seriousness, "So that's how it is."

Mingjian's heart, which had been hanging in her throat, hadn't even had a chance to settle down when she heard Xiao Bumian say, "Since you say you want to be friends with me, then I'll tell you my name."

As he spoke, a hint of joy lingered on his brow, and one could vaguely discern the sinister glint and excitement hidden beneath his gentle exterior. His gaze remained fixed on Mingjian's face, as if he wanted to see how Mingjian would react upon learning the truth.

But Mingjian didn't want to know; the more he knew about such things, the faster he would die.

“My name is Xie Hanwei,” Xiao Bumian said.

Mingjian: "..."

No, even though he pretended not to know, couldn't Xiao Bumian at least try to cover it up?

Why not just say he is the Immortal Venerable Hanwei?

Seeing the expression on his face go from shock to stiffness, Xiao Bumian felt a rare surge of irritation, a frustration that usually required bloodshed to suppress. He suddenly thought that perhaps keeping this little piece of trash around wasn't so bad; he could kill him when he got bored someday.

I just don't know how he'll try to brush me off this time.

Mingjian cursed Xiao Bumian several times in his heart, and was about to say something when the system suddenly announced: [The villain's redemption value has reached one percent!]

A note from the author:

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