Rebel Against the Villain: He Raises Me, I Corrupt Him - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the days that followed, Netherworld Hall gained a special “resident.”

Gu Guo-this was the name Jing Yong had casually given to that Ginseng Fruit.

The meaning was simple and straightforward: take care of the fruit, then eat it.

Though the infant had taken human form from a spirit fruit, everything about her was no different from an ordinary baby-if anything, she was even easier to raise.

Every day she ate, slept, and relieved herself on schedule. She never cried or fussed, and she never fell ill. The female cultivators finally dared to relax; at least for now, their lives weren’t in danger.

Jing Yong had intended to leave her entirely to the servants, but the problem was precisely that.

The Ginseng Fruit seemed to have already “recognized its master.” If she didn’t see Jing Yong for three days in a row, she would start to droop, fading until she was at death’s door-only to revive the moment she saw him.

“Tsk. What a nuisance.”

Jing Yong was sick of it, but for the sake of the enormous opportunity awaiting him eighteen years from now, he had no choice but to check on that fruit once every three days.

At first, he was indifferent-he would stand outside the door, let her glimpse him from afar, and leave.

But as time went on, Jing Yong realized the fruit seemed to feel an unusual closeness to him.

Or rather… in all of heaven and earth, only he could make that little fruit be something other than an ordinary piece of produce.

Whenever she saw him, the Ginseng Fruit would either babble happily and reach out with her tiny hands, or gurgle and show off the fresh green leaves sprouting from the top of her head.

More than once, she even dared to point at him, as if complaining that he’d come too late.

That baseless, one-sided affection made Jing Yong deeply uncomfortable-yet, for some reason, it also moved him.

In a world where everyone feared him and hated him, this little thing was the only living creature that smiled at him.

Not for profit. Not to ingratiate herself. Simply because… she saw him.

“She doesn’t know who I am, and she doesn’t know what I’ve done,” Jing Yong thought. “A beast born from a spirit fruit-what could she possibly understand?”

And yet, without him noticing, he stayed longer and longer each time.

From standing outside the door.

To standing inside.

To occasionally reaching out and poking that soft, chubby cheek.

That small life always smiled at him, eyes fixed only on him, as if he weren’t the bloodthirsty, brutal Sovereign Lord of the Demonic Sect.

As if he were her only anchor.

…

“Sovereign Lord, Northern Domain Qingyun Sect has declared war on our sect, boasting that they’ll purge this calamity and bring peace to the common people,” a subordinate reported.

Jing Yong sat in his study, reading a scroll. At the words, a cold glint flashed through his eyes. “Prepare for war.”

Three days later, among the Azure Cloud Sect’s more than three hundred members, not a single one survived.

Blood soaked through the stone steps at the mountain gate, ran into the streams, and dyed the land red for miles.

Jing Yong stood in the gore without the slightest ripple of emotion.

He turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something. His brow tightened faintly.

“It’s been three days since I last saw that fruit.”

A thread of unease flickered through him, and he immediately shook it off. “She’s just an infant transformed from a spirit fruit. If she dies, she dies. What’s there to worry about?”

Even so, on the way back to Netherworld Hall, Jing Yong unconsciously sped up.

By the time he returned, it was deep night.

Covered in bloodstains, he should have changed first-yet as if guided by some unseen force, he went straight to Gu Guo’s quarters.

He shoved the door open, only to see the swaddled infant with a deathly pale face, eyes shut, utterly lifeless. The leaves that had just sprouted atop her head were shriveled and blackened, like they’d been drained of all moisture.

The female cultivators assigned to watch over her were so frightened they went limp, dropping to their knees and trembling.

“So-Sovereign Lord, spare us! Your Highness Gu Guo hasn’t eaten or drunk anything since yesterday. The physician came and said she’s sick from longing. We truly had no way…”

Jing Yong didn’t bother with their explanations. He strode to the swaddle and bent over the tiny life.

Under his gaze, Gu Guo seemed to sense something and cracked her eyes open.

Those once-bright eyes were dim now, but the instant she saw Jing Yong, they stubbornly lit up-and then-

She rolled her eyes at him.

In that moment, Jing Yong could almost hear her thoughts: So you finally came back. One step later and I’d have died.

For a beat, he didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry.

Without meaning to, he reached out and lightly touched Gu Guo’s palm with a finger.

Gu Guo immediately grabbed it, then slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, her complexion visibly improved. Her leaves unfurled, her pale cheeks regained their color, and her breathing steadied.

Jing Yong stood there in silence for a long time, letting Gu Guo hold his finger.

“Starting tomorrow, move her residence to my side hall,” Jing Yong said at last, his voice still cold.

The servants in the room exchanged glances, but none dared question him.

[Current Survival Rate: 19%]

[Current Blackening Rate: 98%]