Villain System: Stealing the Protagonist's Harem and Luck

Chapter 123: Am I, Gu, Wrong for Being Warm-Hearted and Caring About the World?

Gu Changge’s intervention left Ye Langtian momentarily stunned. However, catching the subtle, knowing tilt of Changge’s smile, the Ye Clan successor quickly caught the hint. He decided to give Gu Changge face and ceased his interrogation of Chi Ling.

“Thank you, Brother Gu, for the timely intervention,” Chi Ling said. She hadn’t expected Gu Changge to step forward on her behalf. She cast a grateful glance toward him, to which he responded with a polite, reassuring smile.

For a moment, the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Maiden was at a loss for words, but her impression of Gu Changge reached a new peak of favorability. Had he not intervened, she likely would have been besieged by the collective scrutiny of the other young supremes. The weight of the Demonic Art controversy was far too heavy for her to withstand alone; regardless of her personal doubts, her individual voice was simply too weak to shift the tide of suspicion. Unless she could unmask the true inheritor here and now—an impossible task—she was powerless.

Understanding this, Chi Ling let out a soft, helpless sigh.

With Gu Changge’s presence looming, the other young supremes dropped the subject, though their internal convictions remained unchanged. To them, Ye Ling was the only logical culprit. He had been a sworn brother to Bai Lie, yet on the night of the murder, the two had reportedly clashed—a fact the Nine-Life Heavenly Maiden, Yin Mei, could testify to. Then came the brutal slaying and Ye Ling’s subsequent disappearance. The timing was too perfect, the absence too damning.

If he’s innocent, why hasn’t he shown his face? The thought was universal. Only a man with a guilty conscience hides in the shadows.

However, observing Gu Changge’s subtle defense of the man, they chose to remain silent. On the grounds of the Daootian Immortal Palace, there was no profit in offending their host over a scapegoat. They assumed Changge was simply being a gracious diplomat, sparing the Vermilion Bird successor from further embarrassment.

“Brother Gu, I shall take my leave first,” Ye Langtian announced, rising to depart with Ye Liuli and his retinue. Attending today’s ceremony was already the highest mark of respect he could show. In truth, he was drowning in pressure. As the lead of the Ye Clan, he had to answer for the crimes of a collateral member before the White Tiger Clan and the rest of the world. If he failed to handle this properly, the Ye Clan would face a firestorm of righteous indignation that even an Immemorial Immortal Clan couldn’t easily suppress.

The other young supremes followed suit, bidding their farewells. To them, the opening of the Immortal Ancient Continent was the priority. They didn’t fear Ye Ling; they believed Bai Lie had only fallen because he was caught off guard by a “brother.”

Gu Changge watched them leave with a pleasant smile. “Take care, everyone.”

Inside, he was perfectly at ease. The “Black Pot” was now firmly secured to Ye Ling’s back. With the successors of these major orthodoxies convinced of his narrative, any defense Ye Ling’s few friends might offer would be drowned out. His own identity as the true inheritor was safe, giving him the perfect window to grow.

The Heavenly God Realm is strong for my age, he mused, but there are still God Kings, Quasi-Saints, and Saints to contend with. The Immortal Ancient Continent should be a graveyard of ancient corpses… perhaps even immortal ones.

A dark glint flickered in his eyes. The “Immortal Spirit” was about to emerge, a prize he had been coveting for a very long time. He also suspected Ye Ling was still lurking within the Daootian Ancient City. A Son of Providence always had a hundred ways to mask his aura and change his face—essential tools for the “pig-eating-the-tiger” trope.

He’ll definitely try to sneak into the Immortal Ancient Continent, Changge thought. Good. It’s much easier to shift the blame if the scapegoat is actually in the room.

“Since it’s my first time visiting,” a clear, crisp voice interrupted his thoughts. “Could Dao Brother Changge accompany me for a stroll? The Daootian Immortal Palace is vast and captivating; its divine peaks and immortal mists are truly a sight to behold.”

Chi Ling stood beside him, her cold arrogance replaced by a look of expectation. Though she appeared petite, she was a peer of his in age and possessed a meticulous mind that far surpassed many of her contemporaries. Her request wasn’t romantic; she simply wanted to see if she could find an ally in him. After all, Changge had also voiced “doubts” about Ye Ling’s guilt.

“Since the Heavenly Maiden asks, I am naturally more than happy to oblige,” Gu Changge replied. He suppressed the urge to laugh. It was almost too easy; she was coming to him.

“I appreciate your patience, Dao Brother Changge,” she said with a small smile as they began to walk.

As they strolled through the mist-shrouded peaks, Chi Ling looked like a young girl beside him—appearing even more like a “little sister” than Gu Xianer.

This sight did not go unnoticed. High on a distant ridge, Gu Xianer watched them, a sour, uncomfortable feeling rising in her chest. Her aloof face twisted in a brief struggle before she turned into a streak of divine light, fleeing back to her mountaintop. She resolved to train harder, to break into the Conferred King Realm, and to finally crush the man who treated her like an afterthought. Their debt was far from settled.

“Judging by your words today,” Chi Ling asked tentatively as they walked, “do you have some insight into the forbidden Demonic Arts?”

She recalled how Ye Ling had fought beside her in a secret realm to secure the Creation Fruit. He had been a loyal comrade then, and she couldn’t bear to see him condemned.

“Only a little,” Gu Changge replied with a playful, enigmatic smile. “I’ve seen fragments of ancient records describing its horrors. It is a blight upon the cultivation world, a scourge that every righteous cultivator must join to purge. That much is common knowledge.”

“I see. You truly are a man of high principles, Dao Brother Changge,” Chi Ling noted. The more they talked, the more she felt his “concern” for the world was genuine. He had raised points of suspicion she hadn’t even considered, reinforcing her belief that Ye Ling was being framed. With the support of the Successor of the Daootian Immortal Palace and the Young Master of the Gu Family, Ye Ling might actually have a chance to clear his name.

“I wouldn’t call myself a man of high principles,” Gu Changge said, a trace of “worry” clouding his features. “I simply do not wish to see the common people plunged into the fires of war. The Demonic Arts are too terrifying. Once they manifest, they leave nothing but a trail of blood and ruin. In such a crisis, how can we stand idly by?”

He shook his head and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Perhaps I am overthinking. Throughout history, these calamities have always been snuffed out by the Great Sects. But seeing Brother Bai Lie end up like that… it’s hard not to feel a sense of shared sorrow.”

“Your righteousness is truly admirable,” Chi Ling sighed, her face full of genuine respect. In this era, how many geniuses actually cared for the stability of the world?

“You flatter me, Lady Chi Ling. To be honest, I initially suspected Ye Ling myself,” Changge continued, launching into a “detailed analysis.” “But on second thought, we haven’t seen any of this with our own eyes. Ye Ling was bold enough to challenge me openly; a man with such a competitive spirit and confidence rarely hides behind such wretched arts.”

Chi Ling nodded fervently. Gu Changge’s words, though perhaps a bit exaggerated, felt sincere to her. He had stood up for her when she was isolated, and now he was speaking sense.

“To be honest, Ye Ling’s character is exactly as you described,” Chi Ling said emotionally. “With your help, I’m sure he can wash away this stain on his reputation. Perhaps the two of you could even become friends one day.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Gu Changge replied, his eyes gleaming with interest.

“A warm-hearted man like you? Anyone would be lucky to call you a friend,” Chi Ling said, a rare, genuine smile breaking across her cold features.

Gu Changge fell silent, his inner voice sneering. He didn’t know if Ye Ling was “confident,” but he knew Chi Ling was a perfect cliché. Based on her story of how they met, she was already well on her way to becoming a loyal member of the protagonist’s harem.

She wants me to help clear his name because she thinks I’m a reliable, righteous companion?

Fine then.

Am I, Gu, wrong for being warm-hearted, caring about the world, and being so very helpful?