Villain System: Stealing the Protagonist's Harem and Luck

Chapter 112: This is a Ruthless Man; The Bitter Flesh Strategy Works Quite Well

Why didn’t he dodge?

What was he thinking? Returning the blade… was it to repay the debt of the bone he stole years ago?

Yue Mingkong’s mind went blank. She stood frozen, her heart constricting as if an invisible hand were squeezing it.

She hated Gu Changge. She hated his indifference, his cruelty, his ruthlessness. But seeing him slashed open like this… she couldn’t bear it. No ordinary person could endure such pain without screaming, yet Gu Changge’s face remained as tranquil as a still lake. Not even a frown marred his brow.

“Sigh…”

Yue Mingkong turned her head away, unable to watch. Her heart was in chaos. This was a blood feud between cousins; she had no right to interfere.

Gu Changge… what is your game?

Have you truly changed? Are you trying to atone? Or is this another scheme?

But how could he know Xianer would pull back at the last second? If he guessed wrong, he would be dead. Is he gambling with his life?

Or… is he simply trying to pay back the debt?

Yue Mingkong clutched her sleeves, her expression melancholic. Her usual mask of imperial coldness had shattered completely. She needed to calm down. She needed to think.

Hiss!

“This is a ruthless man…”

In the void above, the Elders watching the scene sucked in cold breaths. Their eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.

They asked themselves: Could I do that? The answer was no. Gu Changge hadn’t dodged. He hadn’t defended. He took the strike head-on with his physical body.

If Gu Xianer hadn’t withdrawn most of her power at the last moment, that blade would have cleaved Supreme Peak in half, along with Gu Changge.

“Gu Changge… I still underestimated you.”

The Grand Elder sighed, watching from the shadows.

He disliked the boy, but he had to admire his sheer nerve. To use one’s own life as a bargaining chip… this was a man destined for terrifying things. Among the younger generation, no one could compare.

Even the Grand Elder couldn’t see through him.

“Gu Changge… you…”

In front of the palace, Gu Xianer was paralyzed. Her eyes were wide, filled with horror and confusion.

He could have dodged. She had pulled back her power. Why didn’t he move? Why didn’t he resist?

He said he was returning the blade to me?

If she hadn’t stopped, he would be dead. Because of her.

Why? What is the reason?

Is this… his goal? To make me feel this way?

Her mind was a mess of static. Gu Changge’s calm gaze terrified her more than any anger could. If he had screamed at her, cursed her, or fought back, she would have felt better. But he did nothing.

This silence made her feel like the sinner.

She had almost killed him.

Gu Xianer stood there, dazed, her mind buzzing. She didn’t even notice when Gu Changge pulled the blade from his shoulder or when he turned and walked back into the palace without a word.

She looked lost, her icy arrogance replaced by a profound, trembling bewilderment.

Yue Mingkong sighed and walked over to comfort her, though her own heart was just as tumultuous.

Inside the Palace.

The moment the doors closed, the tranquility vanished from Gu Changge’s face.

The pain was horrific. He frowned slightly, his mind racing with calculations.

Finally, a strange smile touched his lips.

The Bitter Flesh Strategy.

To make Gu Xianer believe him—or at least doubt her hatred—he had to take that hit. It was a necessary gamble.

Of course, he wasn’t suicidal. He knew he could survive it. Even if she hadn’t pulled back, he had enough lifelines to keep himself from dying. But the fact that she did pull back confirmed his theory.

She was soft-hearted.

In Yue Mingkong’s timeline, Gu Xianer’s tragic end was inevitable. A protagonist with a soft heart could never defeat a true villain.

“Silly little girl…”

Gu Changge shook his head and inspected his wound.

The bleeding had already stopped. His physique was monstrously powerful; the flesh was already knitting itself back together. The black blade carried a strange, destructive energy that withered vitality, but his Forbidden Demonic Art devoured that energy instantly.

This injury would be fully healed in an hour.

However… Gu Changge wasn’t about to let that happen.

Hum.

He circulated his spiritual energy and deliberately tore the healing wound open again.

Blood gushed out. The flesh twisted, looking even more gruesome than before. He manipulated his aura to mimic the lingering effects of a curse, preventing the injury from closing.

Gu Changge nodded in satisfaction.

If you’re going to act, you have to commit. He couldn’t waste the opportunity Gu Xianer had handed him on a silver platter.

He glanced at his shoulder. The blade had cut deep, cracking several bones.

His Dao Bone—the one he had stolen—had cracked superficially. It was just a visual trick; the bone was far too strong to be broken by a Conferred Lord Realm cultivator. He repaired the cracks instantly with a thought, hiding the restoration under the gore.

After all, that bone had a purpose. He needed Gu Xianer to dig it out herself one day.

Footsteps echoed outside.

Gu Changge composed his expression.

Yue Mingkong walked in. She had sent Gu Xianer away to rest.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice complex. There was a trace of genuine concern, stripped of her usual icy demeanor.

Seeing his gruesome state, she couldn’t maintain her hostility.

Gu Changge looked terrible. The wound was deep enough to see bone, and blood soaked half his robes. Yet he sat there calmly, as if discussing the weather.

“Not bad,” Gu Changge chuckled weakly. “Mingkong, you actually care about your husband? I’m flattered.”

He rummaged through his storage ring, pulling out various Spirit Pills and pretending to treat himself. The contrast between his casual tone and the horrific injury was jarring.

Yue Mingkong fell silent. “Xianer’s blade contains destructive power. Ordinary healing pills won’t work.”

“Is that so? No wonder it hurts.” Gu Changge feigned realization, though he still looked unbothered.

Buzz!

He flared his aura. Divine light erupted from his body, and his blood energy roared like a dragon. It was a display of terrifying vitality that made Yue Mingkong’s eyes widen. Even injured, he was a monster.

But then, he frowned.

The divine light tried to knit the flesh, but the wound rejected it, tearing open again.

“Indeed strange,” he sighed, looking helpless. “This might take a while to heal.”

A faint fragrance wafted toward him.

“Don’t waste your energy. You need to force the destructive power out first,” Yue Mingkong said, shaking her head.

She walked over to him. Her face was cold, but her eyes betrayed her distress. She took out a silk handkerchief and began to gently wipe the blood from around the wound.

“Since when did Mingkong start caring so much about me?” Gu Changge asked, a playful smile on his pale lips.

“Since when?” Yue Mingkong didn’t look at him, focusing on the wound. “It’s just that you never felt it before.”

Gu Changge paused. He let out a soft, melancholy sigh.

Yue Mingkong caught the sound immediately. She looked up, frowning.

“Why are you sighing?”

“Nothing,” Gu Changge smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his eyes.

“After all… I am a person without a heart. It is normal that I wouldn’t feel it.”

It sounded like a joke. But it was the truth.

Before the system awakened, he literally had no heart—only the Demonic Heart that consumed emotion.

He threw the blame onto the Demonic Heart. It was his second biggest secret after the Forbidden Demonic Art, and it seemed Yue Mingkong didn’t know about it in her past life.

I’ll have to create a chance for her to ‘accidentally’ discover it, he schemed.

“Without a heart…” Yue Mingkong murmured, her hands stilling.

“Yes. Your heart is made of iron and stone.”

It seemed like a normal retort, but she felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside her.

She fell silent, remembering the past, and sighed softly.