How To Survive as a Villain

Xiao YuAn was slightly startled: “But you… Gongzi, your eyes haven’t recovered yet.”

Yan HeQing replied indifferently: “It’s alright. I just ask for Guniang to point out the direction towards the Southern Yan Kingdom’s army to me after we go down the mountain.”

Xiao YuAn didn’t know how to answer and was stunned for a long time. While bending down to pick up the fruit pit on the ground, he thought: ‘So, the Third Female Lead’s plot was skipped just like this?’

It was thanks to him that it got skipped? By trying his best to figure out how to recreate the original plot, and pretending to be Lin Shenling…? In the end, it was a good thing, because in the original plot, Yan HeQing, in a half-blind state, had a bed-scene with Lin Shenling. How could Xiao YuAn replace her place in that paragraph?!

“Ah, yes, then tomorrow morning, I’ll send Gongzi down the mountain.” Xiao YuAn said with some hesitation.

Yan HeQing thanked him again, dropping his eyes afterwards, no longer willing to speak.

Xiao YuAn, while walking out of the cabin to look for the last medicinal herbs for the last decoction he’ll give Yan HeQing, lamented that this meeting was a short-lived illusion.

At dusk, a white mist rose from the medicine pot, and the bitter, astringent fragrance of the medicine spread everywhere. When Xiao YuAn saw that the medicine was almost ready, he took a small red fruit from his clothes, and ate it. He then poured the medicine into a porcelain bowl and put a cloth on top of it to keep it hot.

When Yan HeQing heard the noise of someone entering the cabin, he turned his head, only to see how his whole world kept on being gray and hazy. Although several days had passed, Yan HeQing still couldn’t adapt to this semi-blind state. After squinting and blinking uncomfortably, he heard the woman say: “Gongzi, the medicine is ready.”

Yan HeQing hmmmed and reached out to the mist until he felt that the medicine bowl was placed in his hand. Yan HeQing lowered his head and tried to take a look at it, as if he was in trance. After a few seconds of staring at nothing but grey mist, the medicine bowl in front of him gradually showed up, and the fog in front of him gradually dissipated.

Xiao YuAn stood aside and waited for Yan HeQing to finish drinking the medicine to put away the bowl. He covered his mouth and yawned, stretching his back and rubbing his neck in boredom. Suddenly, the sound of the bowl falling to the ground and shattering startled Xiao YuAn, making him look up.

For a moment, Xiao YuAn felt that when he and Yan HeQing looked at each other, their eyes met for a brief second.

Because of this sensation, Xiao YuAn stepped back abruptly.

But the next moment, Yan HeQing’s eyes suddenly went out of focus again. When the bowl fell, the medicine splashed all over his body, so he stretched out his hand in a daze; as if he wanted to pick up the shattered bowl, but he groped around for it, since he couldn’t see it.

Xiao YuAn calmed himself and felt that just now, what he thought he saw, was his own delusion. After all, if Yan HeQing’s eyes really had recovered, the first thing he would do after seeing Xiao YuAn would be to chop him to death. Xiao YuAn took a few steps forward and pushed back Yan HeQing’s hand: “Gongzi, let me take care of it. You need to be careful to not cut your hand.”

“Yes…..” Yan HeQing’s voice trembled a little, as if he was suppressing his panic, not wanting to speak more than necessary.

Xiao YuAn didn’t notice Yan HeQing’s change in attitude, he just busied himself in picking up the broken pieces of the bowl with a cloth, wrapping it up and taking it outside the cabin. He also brought in the clothes that were drying outside and walked back into the wooden cabin, handing them to Yan HeQing: “Gongzi, this is the armor and clothes that you were wearing when you fainted. You can change out of those clothes, they’re soiled with medicine, and you don’t need them anymore. After all, I will send you down the mountain tomorrow.”

Yan HeQing took the garment and clutched it tightly between his hands. His expression was momentarily upset, and for a moment, his brows were filled with regret.

Xiao YuAn remembered that Yan HeQing didn’t let him help change his clothes before, so he turned around to walk out of the cabin; but at that moment, he suddenly heard Yan HeQing shouting behind him: “Wait a minute!” Xiao YuAn turned around, completely confused. Yan HeQing softened his voice, controlled his eyes to not look directly at him, and then stammered: “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. This mountain and its forests are so rugged, and I’m still injured, so if we happened to encounter any wolves, tigers or leopards, I wouldn’t be able to fight them off and protect us. I’m afraid that we’ll find something unexpected, so…. Why don’t we wait until I’m completely healed, and then we make some proper plans. What do you think?”

‘Huh?? How come you suddenly figured that out?’

Xiao YuAn originally had thought the same thing, but since Yan HeQing had now realized the problem of rushing when his body wasn’t yet healed, he simply went along with it, and said: “Alright.”

Yan HeQing breathed a long sigh of relief, and the annoyance between his eyebrows subsided a little.

“Gongzi, you can still change your clothes, I’ll come back later.” Xiao YuAn said as he walked out of the wooden cabin.

“I….” Before Yan HeQing could say anything, he realized that Xiao YuAn had already walked away.

Xiao YuAn, who was outside the cabin with his arms folded, was yawning while counting the stars. After waiting for about an incense stick¹, he thought that no matter how hard it was to change his clothes while being half-blind, Yan HeQing should be ready by now. So, with that in mind, he pushed open the door and walked in.

Through the broken wooden windows, the moonlight gently caresses the corners of the cabin. The wooden boards and wooden stumps that could barely make up a place that could be called a bed, and sitting there, Yan HeQing was lowering his head while bitterly clutching his half-open clothes and belt. The half-open clothes revealed his perfect body, which looked like it was carved out of the most beautiful Jade, shockingly covered with several scars. When he heard the sound of the door opening, Yan HeQing turned his head over, looking at Xiao YuAn with his eyes still as blind as ever, and with a careful tone of voice, he said: “Could… could you help me?”

‘Huh?’

Xiao YuAn felt that something wasn’t right. After thinking about it for a few seconds, he asked: “Should I help Gongzi apply the medicine?”

Yan HeQing nodded his head: “Yes, thank you.”

Xiao YuAn was extremely shocked.

‘Why–why–why–why is he suddenly following the script now?’

Just a few moments ago, Xiao YuAn was thinking that it was a good thing that he didn’t have to follow the Third Female Lead’s route! Why was Yan HeQing suddenly slapping him in the face?!

YHQ: *doesn’t follow the script*

XYA: it’s my fault!

YHQ: *after getting his sight back for a few minutes, enough time to see it was XYA helping him all along* uwu I cwan’t dwess myself, appwy the mewicine fow me, I’m bwind uwu 😔😇😢

XYA: ……

Footnotes

1. 一炷香 yī zhù xiāng; It’s a method of time calculation from ancient China. In ancient times, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is about two quarters of an hour, which is about 30 minutes.