Volume Three: Those Years I Was a Wangye
Cheesy pick-up lines1
The flood in Wangfu City this time was truly a once-in-a-century event. The rainfall in the past half-month was like a whole year’s worth.
How would people back then know anything about atmospheric ocean currents? They would only think this disaster was Heaven’s punishment, sending down torrential rain to punish them, mere ordinary mortals.
Wangfu City’s geographical location is quite unique. It’s only about five hundred kilometers from the coastal Changhai City2. It happened to be the plum season3, so heavy rain was already continuous. When the coastal air currents drifted over, they were blocked by the two mountain ranges around Wangfu City, Wenghe Mountain4 and Fuyang Mountain5. This caused the rainfall to be more concentrated over Wangfu City, and the downpours were much fiercer and stronger than usual.
The torrential rain caused the water level of the Weng River6 to surge. The current was incredibly fierce, directly overwhelming the Weng River Dam, causing it to collapse. This flooded tens of mu of farmland and drowned many people, cattle, sheep, and other livestock. It was extremely tragic.
There were two main reasons why Wangfu City ended up in such a miserable state: First, the city’s infrastructure was too poor. The drainage system couldn’t handle such a large amount of rainfall, causing water to pile up in the city, damaging wooden structures and leading to houses collapsing. Second, the Weng River Dam was shoddily built due to cutting corners and was in disrepair from age. It couldn’t withstand the impact of the rising river water, so the dam collapsed, destroying everything.
And all of this was caused by the local officials’ inaction and their corruption and law-breaking.
Fang Shangwei and Lai Yi colluded with each other and secretly worked with Ji Ge using deceptive maneuvers7. They had controlled Wangfu City for many years. If anyone tried to sneak out of the city to Jiajing to file an imperial lawsuit8, they would be intercepted and killed on their escape route by assassins sent by Ji Ge.
The disaster this time was too big to hide. The three of them deliberately exaggerated the extent of the disaster so that the Emperor would allocate more disaster relief silver. This way, they could line their own pockets and reap the benefits like the fisherman in the fable9.
Moreover, of the commoners who died in this flood, half truly died from the floodwaters, while the other half died from Ji Ge’s brutal killings. Ji Ge slaughtered the commoners to prevent anyone from spreading the true, tragic state of Wangfu City.
Wen Nuan told everyone the real situation in Wangfu City. Everyone was horrified and dumbstruck.
They really hadn’t expected Wangfu City to be so incredibly tragic and inhumane.
What shocked them even more was the Xian Wang’s clear understanding of Wangfu City’s current situation, almost as if she had lived there before.
Ji Chenwei opened her mouth slightly, then asked, “Wangye, how do you know all this so clearly?”
Wen Nuan smiled without saying anything and looked at Lin Tinghan.
Lin Tinghan said lightly, “It must be from the year Wangye traveled the jianghu, you must have come to Wangfu City then?”
“Tinghan is truly clever, you really get me10,” Wen Nuan said with a smile.
Lin Tinghan lowered her eyes and pursed her lips slightly.
Wen Nuan couldn’t tell if Lin Tinghan’s expression was shyness or speechlessness. With other people around, she couldn’t keep staring at Lin Tinghan, in case it made people think too much and damage Lin Tinghan’s reputation.
“Back when I was traveling the jianghu, I came to Wangfu City and stayed for a while. Wangfu City was already a den of vice11. The commoners here dared to be angry but not to speak out. The local officials wielded absolute power. Here, Fang Shangwei is the king, and Lai Yi and the leader of Ji Ge are just two sharp blades in her hand, eliminating those who disobey or have dissenting thoughts for her.”
Of course, this was all information from the main storyline of the original world. After all, in the year Wen Nuan ‘left,’ the original owner of the body lay as a corpse in a cave, waiting for someone fated to find her body.
Ji Chenwei found it hard to swallow her anger. She stood up and said, “Wangye, now that we know the true situation in Wangfu City, this humble one volunteers to go and kill that villain Fang Shangwei.”
Wen Nuan wagged her finger slightly and said calmly, “No need to be so hasty. I still need Fang Shangwei.”
Qi Hanrong’s willow-like brows furrowed slightly. He pondered, “Wangye, are you trying to lure out the leader of Ji Ge?”
Wen Nuan looked over and smiled. “Young Master Qi is smart. I intend to use Fang Shangwei to bait out the leader of Ji Ge.”
Fang Shangwei must have some secret on the Ji Ge leader, or they must have made some hidden deals. Otherwise, why would an assassin organization, notorious in the jianghu, stoop to working under a local official?
And this secret, Wen Nuan naturally knew as well.
Having the world’s main storyline in hand is just so satisfying!
System picked its nose: 【Of course. With us Systems around, the Host is ever-victorious12, invincible in every battle.】
Wen Nuan: “…”
A few words of praise and it gets full of itself.
【By the way, I forgot to tell you yesterday, the female lead’s blackening value has decreased. It’s currently at 4!】
Wen Nuan’s eyes lit up. She asked in pleasant surprise, “How did it suddenly decrease?”
The System glanced at Lin Tinghan, paused for a moment: 【It just happened suddenly.】
Silly child, being played so smoothly by the female lead and still so happy.
How come even the smartest and most decisive people experience a drop in intelligence when they encounter love?
Human emotions are truly baffling. But a decrease in the blackening value is ultimately a good thing.
As for the Host, well, if she needs to be sold out, she’ll be sold out.
When Ji Chenwei heard Wen Nuan wanted to use Fang Shangwei to lure out the Ji Ge leader, she was both shocked and moved.
Wen Nuan doing this must be for the sake of her and Qi Hanrong’s lives and safety.
She turned and exchanged a look with Qi Hanrong, both seeing emotion and gratitude in each other’s eyes.
“Wangye, how do you plan to implement your next steps?” Ji Chenwei felt this matter should be discussed more thoroughly and they shouldn’t act rashly, to avoid alerting the enemy13.
“Plan?” Wen Nuan paused. “I don’t have a plan. Anyway, I know who the culprit is, so we can just act directly. Why bother making a plan?”
Ji Chenwei: “…Weren’t you going to use Fang Shangwei to lure out the Ji Ge leader?”
“Yeah?” Wen Nuan thought she hadn’t made herself clear, causing Ji Chenwei and the others to misunderstand. “It’s about controlling the key person to issue orders14. We control Fang Shangwei, spread rumors that she exposed Ji Ge to save her own life, forcing the Ji Ge leader to come rescue her or silence her by killing her. Then we…”
System: 【Catch a turtle in a jar. I used it correctly this time, right?】
Wen Nuan smiled: “…This child is teachable.”
The System was delighted.
Qi Hanrong was also surprised by the Xian Wang’s frank decisiveness and said, stunned, “Wangye, just… go straight at it like this?”
Do we really not need to make any detailed plans?
Just get straight to the point15 like this?
“Yeah, of course, we go straight at it! Catch them off guard.” Wen Nuan’s fingertips tapped on the table, making a crisp sound. “In their eyes, This King is just an ignorant and incompetent dandy who only knows about debauchery like ponds of wine and forests of meat. Their defenses against me are all just an act.”
Wen Nuan looked at Lin Tinghan and raised an eyebrow. “Besides, Lai Yi saw me arrive with a beauty in my arms to inspect Wangfu City’s disaster situation. Seeing me continue to seek pleasure and indulge in feasting and revelry in such a terrible environment, they’ll definitely think I’m not worth mentioning, completely useless, and they certainly won’t be very guarded against me.”
Lin Tinghan naturally understood what Wen Nuan meant, but when she heard her say “a beauty in my arms,” her heart skipped a beat unnaturally.
She took a breath and said calmly, “Right now, Lai Yi thinks Wangye and I are in a wife-husband relationship. We can continue to maintain this relationship. It will make them lower their guard and make it more convenient for us to act.”
Wen Nuan nodded. “This King strongly agrees with Tinghan’s suggestion.”
Ji Chenwei’s brow furrowed slightly. “…Wouldn’t it be bad for two women to pose as husband and wife? I’m afraid it would damage Wangye’s and Miss Lin’s reputations. How about letting Hanrong act as Wangye’s Attendant Lord? Hanrong knows Gu arts and bewitchment techniques, he can protect Wangye in times of danger.”
Wen Nuan: “…”
No thanks, she probably doesn’t have the “good fortune” to have the male lead as her Attendant Lord!
Lin Tinghan raised an eyebrow slightly, her eyes narrowing.
She placed her right hand on the table and, right in front of Ji Chenwei, gently snapped off a piece of pear wood. Lin Tinghan broke it off with ease.
She smiled faintly. “Miss Ji, do you think I’m very weak?”
Ji Chenwei shivered and shook her head. “No, no.”
“Then does Miss Ji think I can’t protect Wangye?” Lin Tinghan crushed the piece of wood in her hand.
Ji Chenwei swallowed hard and shook her head. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”
Lin Tinghan glanced at Qi Hanrong and smiled, her lips curling. “Or does Miss Ji think my looks are inferior to Young Master Qi’s?”
Ji Chenwei’s hands trembled as she quickly said, “No, no.”
“Then, can I, Lin, assume that Miss Ji thinks I am more suitable than Young Master Qi to play Wangye’s Attendant Lord?” Lin Tinghan lifted her gaze and looked at Ji Chenwei calmly.
Ji Chenwei nodded frantically. “Yes, yes.”
Wen Nuan looked at the slightly angry Lin Tinghan, glared at Ji Chenwei, and quickly asked the System, “System-buddy, quick, check if the female lead’s blackening value has gone up. Don’t let this idiot raise her blackening value for me!”
The System shook its head: 【No, don’t worry. The changes in the female lead’s blackening value are caused by you; they won’t change because of other characters.】
Wen Nuan: “What do you mean?”
【For example, if Ji Chenwei tells the female lead ‘I hate you,’ the female lead’s blackening value won’t change at all. If the Host tells Lin Tinghan ‘I hate you,’ her blackening value will shoot straight to max, believe it or not.】
Wen Nuan: “…Is that how it is?”
The System pouted: 【Why don’t you try?】
“How do I try?”
The System sent Wen Nuan a treasured manual: 【Try with this.】
Wen Nuan had a strange expression: “《Comprehensive Guide to Sweet Talk》16? What the heck is this?”
【It’s just some little tricks for couples to liven up the atmosphere. Open the book, pick one at random, say it to the female lead, and see how much the blackening value changes.】
Wen Nuan tentatively flipped it open and saw the sweet talk inside. The variety was incredibly complete: some were deeply suggestive, some refreshingly unconventional, some so awkward they’d make you curl your toes, and some were even terrifyingly shocking. It was truly an eye-opener.
“Where did this thing come from?” Wen Nuan thought for a moment. “Is it a product of that department again?”
The System smiled tactfully: 【Merchandise, merchandise. This is the 《Sweet Talk Compendium》, created by pooling the wisdom of many. Many Hosts have relied on this compendium to perfectly complete their missions. It sells like hotcakes over in the Three Realms Space.】
Wen Nuan was skeptical. “Why haven’t I heard of it before?”
The System pursed its lips: 【It was being revised and updated before. The original version had too many forbidden words, which the Main System discovered and banned its publication. It was revised again, and only then did it see the light of day again.】
“…” Wen Nuan was speechless. “So the predecessor of this book was actually a f#cking porn book17, huh?”
System: 【…Saying that… is sort of correct, I guess.】
Wen Nuan was silent for a moment: “…Can you still get your hands on the original version?”
【…】The System looked disdainful, but its voice was low and hushed, 【…I’ll try. I heard someone specifically saved the original resources.】
“Go for it!” Wen Nuan’s eyes showed determination. “The organization values you greatly, you know.”
The System took a deep breath and saluted: 【Please rest assured, Organization! I guarantee I will complete the mission!】
Wen Nuan randomly picked a line of sweet talk, looked at Lin Tinghan, and said, “You’re especially detestable today, did you know?”
Lin Tinghan’s heart skipped a beat. She nervously explained, “Did I do something wrong?”
Ruilin was also alarmed and immediately knelt on the ground. “Wangye, this servant is willing to be punished in Miss’s place.”
Ji Chenwei and Qi Hanrong were also puzzled about what Wangye meant by that. Everything was fine just a moment ago, why did she suddenly detest Miss Lin?
Could it be that Miss Lin’s actions just now made Wangye angry and displeased?
Lin Tinghan wondered if she had done anything recently to make Wen Nuan unhappy.
But thinking it over, the only thing was the argument with Ji Chenwei just now about the Attendant Lord’s identity.
Could it be that Wen Nuan wanted Qi Hanrong to be her Attendant Lord, not her, and seeing her being too forceful and possessive, that’s why she was angry and detested her?
System said: 【Quick, look! The female lead’s blackening value has risen! It’s 4.8 now!】
Wen Nuan said in surprise, “It’s really related to me?”
【Of course, it was like this in the previous two worlds too, wasn’t it?】
Wen Nuan was puzzled. “But You Jiayi also blackened because of her career and family, right?”
When she was cyberbullied and when her mother was sick.
【But the root cause of You Jiayi being cyberbullied and her mother not having money for treatment was all you!】
Thinking about it that way, it makes sense.
If she hadn’t done those things that harmed others without benefiting herself, it wouldn’t have caused the female lead to blacken and the plot to collapse.
【Hurry up and say the second half of the sentence, or the female lead’s blackening value will skyrocket!】 the System urged.
Wen Nuan snapped back to reality, tugged Lin Tinghan’s sleeve, and said teasingly, “It’s because you’re too delightful to people, and one never tires of looking at you.”
Lin Tinghan: “…”
Everyone: “…”
For some reason, those words sounded a bit nauseating!?
The System breathed a sigh of relief: 【Blackening value decreased. The female lead’s blackening value is now 3.8!】
The author has something to say:
Wen Nuan: Cheesy love songs YYDS18!
Female Lead: Stop talking, or I’ll f#ck you.
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