CHAPTER 2: Life of a Villain
The rain of the night dropped against the wooden roof of the carriage with tapping sounds. Tap… tap… tap…
The wheels rolled through mud that had been made after the rain hit the soil, it was a bumpy and shakey ride. The carriage went over rocks that were on the ground every few seconds. Thud… krk… thud…
For a moment, that was all yin zhe could hear. Just the sound of the rain falling on the rooftop of the carriage, he could also hear the sound of the horses breathing hard, and the wheels dragging through wet dirt.
He kept lying on the cold wooden floor of his cage while thinking, his eyes were half-open, and his breathing was slow and steady.
"Tsk… this sound again…"
His ears felt dull, like everything was wrapped in cloth. But when he focused, he could hear more.
Yin Zhe could hear the sound of rain falling on wet leaves. Splat... Splat... splat...
The sound of wind pushing through branches.
Weeezzzzzzz... Wizzzzz.... Whissss..
His ear also heard a strange rumble from far away, it felt like a beast/animal was moving in the dark.
He tilted his head and tried listening even closer.
"These sounds... I think... I can clearly imagine the outside of this carriage with these sounds"
Yin Zhe's mind began to break everything apart like a small puzzle.
"The way the wheels kept bumping, going up and down..." Yin Zhe mumbled to himself.
thud… thud… thud.. the sound outside continued
Yin Zhe tilted his head to the other side like he was uncomfortable "this means the road wasn't flat. Probably a forest path."
He licked his dry lips and continued mumbling "The sounds of the horses were short and heavy... This would only mean that they were tired from running in the mud..." He suddenly paused with a realization.
"Which also meant they had traveled a long distance.. shit.. I'm a long way away from home" Yin Zhe bit his lips and winced.
"The extra cold air brushing in through the cracks meant it was night." Yin Zhe thought.
The smell of wet grass and old bark told him it was a deep forest, not a farm road.
"And finally the rain…"
He touched his face and felt cold drops slipping through the cracks in the roof.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
These drops were what had woken him up from his unconscious state.
"That means… we're far from any town," he whispered. "No lights… no voices… just pure forest."
He let out a weak laugh.
"Tsk… smart guy… calculating small things won't save me from death... tsk.. thinking about my pathetic life how do I even dare to call myself smart"
He rubbed his forehead and let his thoughts spill out.
"I need to get stronger… and fast. If I stay weak, I'm finished. Hmph… all those people I bullied… all those geniuses I offended and suppressed with my family status… they won't let me live... They'll kill me with any chance they get"
Yin Zhe could feel his chest tightening.
Throughout his pathetic villain life, he had pushed around anyone he didn't like. He had thrown insults at genius and high ranking cultivators. And with his family backing he did give a damn. He had taken anything he wanted. Nobody could stand up to him. He'd always scared off people with his family name and status.
He shivered and whispered with a shaky voice.
"If those people find me now… with no guards… no clan name around me… they will not ask questions. They'll kill me the way you kill a fly. Like pang... I'm screwed"
His hand trembled as he grabbed a handful of his dirty and messy hair.
"Crap... damnit… damnit… how do I survive this?"
He pulled on his hair forcefully, while shaking his head.
"I'm far from home… I've got no cultivation pills… no weapons… no money… nothing. Nothing to fight with. And I'm locked up in this f*cking wooden cage"
His voice cracked again.
"This will be my end… I even have a villain bounty hanging on my neck... I'm the kind of "must defeat villains" in anime and web novels"
His lips trembled as he kept mumbling in a shaky voice.
"And it's not just me. My whole family is hated. Neighboring sects hate us but respect us for our power and will align with us with any opportunity they get. The same can be said for Nearby towns and cities. Including nobles. Everyone hates me specifically for ruining the name of the Yin clan. Anyone who sees me… will try to assassinate me."
His eyes started getting teary. He pressed his forehead on his knees, mumbling and cursing himself.
"I'm screwed…"
His shoulders shook slightly.
"I need a goal… something that will keep me alive… I have to get stronger no matter what… I just got my Earth memories back… I don't want to die this early in this world… the only way to avoid death is if I'm too strong to kill.."
His fingers dug into his hair harder. He winced hard.
"sub... Sub… sub..."
He broke down quietly, pulling his hair while crying. His breath trembled like a scared kid hiding under a bed.
Clang.
A soft metal sound came from the next wooden cell. It sounded like shackles.
A voice followed.
"Hey. You're awake?"
It was a warm voice of a young man, rough, but not aggressive. "I'm Bao Zi. What's your name?" the voice asked.
Yin Zhe turned his head slowly. And he saw that the voice belonged to the bald guy from earlier. He just sat there watching Yin Zhe with curious eyes. Waiting for a reply. Lightning streak through the sky. Crackle!!!... The light flashed through the cracks and hit Bao Zi's face, showing his thick eyebrows and the scar on across one of his eyes... there was a weird and gentle smile splattered on his face.
Yin Zhe blinked twice.
Blink... Blink...
He could understand every word Bao Zi hard just said but.
Part of his mind spoke the language of Earth.
Another part, the part of him born in this world naturally spoke the language of this world too.
His thoughts at that very moment were:
"Oh my God… Bao Zi? Bao Zi? Is this guy a bomb? His name sounds like he's going to explode… what kind of name is this? Bao Zi… Bao… Ci… like Boom Zi…? Tsk… what kind of fate is this?.. his name means bomb..."
He kept thinking in circles until Bao Zi frowned a little.
Bao Zi leaned closer to the wooden bars that separated them.
"Hey… can you hear me? Do you understand me?"
Yin Zhe didn't answer.
So Bao Zi tried again, this time he spoke very slowly.
"What… is… your… name?"
Yin Zhe stared at him. His eyes were empty for a moment.
Then he sighed and wiped his tears from earlier with the back of his hand.
"…Yi... Yin...Yin Zhe... My name is Yin Zhe"
The moment he said his own name.
PING.
A bright screen popped up in front of his face.
"Ahhh! What?!"
He kicked backward from shock, hitting the wooden wall hard.
THUD!
He felt it on his butt.
"Oww! My ass! Ouch.. tsk.. tsk.."
The noise made the other prisoners turn to look at him.
one of the prisoners named Wen Chong spoke up. "Hey what's wrong with that kid?"
"Did he get hit on the head too hard?" Tian Zuo asked
Wen Chong spoke up"perhaps a screw had loosen from his skull and he has gone nuts... Look at him... he crazy?"
Even Bao Zi peeked into the cell again.
"Hey… are you okay? Why are you shouting like that?"
But Yin Zhe didn't answer. He just kept staring at the void in front of him.
Because the glowing screen was still right in front of him.
The screen was Floating in front of him. It Followed his eyesight. Staying right where he looked.
He slowly reached out a hand to touch it. The screen didn't move.
"Hmmm… what tha… no way… no way… this is…"
His heart started beating faster.
"A system…? Am I dreaming?"
He pinched his cheek. He winced The pain felt real. Even His fingertips stung.
He whispered again.
"It's the system… it's actually a system… like in novels and anime … tsk… you could have come years ago, you crappy idiot system."
He let out a shaky laugh.
"I've got a system… hahaha… late timing, but fine… I'll take it… I still wonder what took you so long to show up.. is it related to my earthly memories?"
Bao Zi who was in the side watching the fella. Then raised a brow.
"What system?... Hmmm in fact what's a system.. Bro… who are you talking to... what are you talking about?"
Yin Zhe turned to him with wide eyes. Like he was surprised.
"wait so you're saying you can't see anything floating in front of me at all?"
Bao Zi stared at him like he was watching a goat dancing.
"…Are you alright? Maybe your head is still spinning. You look and act… weird."
Inside Bao Zi's mind:
"Surely This boy isn't normal… maybe he hit his head too hard… this guy might be stupid or nuts…"
But Yin Zhe ignored him.
Because the screen had lit up again, brighter than the first time.
Lines of text formed slowly like glowing handwriting.
[Congratulations to Host Yin Zhe for unlocking the System by unlocking his memories]
He froze. The rain outside kept falling.
Tap… tap… tap… drip.... Drip... Drip
And the glowing words stayed in front of him,