The Long-Cherished Wish (2) - The Villain

This time, Yu Xing plays Xiao Jin, a quick and efficient servant in the Fang Mansion.

Xiao Jin is only eighteen years old this year. When he was twelve, something happened to his family, and he was bought by the steward. He has been working in the Fang Mansion since he was a child.

He's done all sorts of jobs: kitchen helper, laundry worker, cleaning...

Because of his consistently good performance and good looks, his treatment became increasingly better, and he gradually gained the appreciation of the master and mistress. Eventually, he stayed by the mistress's side to help with tasks such as purchasing.

Logically speaking, given the situation, he shouldn't have been beaten or scolded by Mama Liang, who was also the young master's nanny.

The strange thing is that Xiao Jin isn't a completely good person.

He is very greedy.

Over the years, taking advantage of his position, he had sold off some of the owners' belongings for money. However, because he did it discreetly, he was rarely discovered. Even if the owners noticed that something was missing, they would not suspect him.

Over the course of a few years, three or four servants were unjustly sold off, while he remained securely by his wife's side, enjoying his ill-gotten gains.

This situation continued until the arrival of the Master.

The Master came to the Fang Mansion a year ago. At that time, the young master had fallen seriously ill. The Fang Mansion's usual Doctor Cui, tried many methods but could not cure him. The anxious master met a very capable Master from somewhere and brought him home.

The Master was very mysterious, always wearing a half-mask that he never took off. As soon as he arrived, he said that the young master had encountered something unclean, and after performing some kind of ritual, he actually cured the young master.

After that, the Master stayed at the Fang Mansion like Doctor Cui. Doctor Cui continued to treat the young master's headaches and fevers, while the Master was only responsible for looking after him.

Since that serious illness, the young master has been very weak. Every now and then, the Master would pray for the young master. The master was a businessman and often went out to do business with his confidants, not returning for ten days or half a month. The madam stayed behind to take care of the young master, and gradually her relationship with the Master became subtle.

This information was already on Yu Xing's identity card; he knew nothing more about the matter between the Master and his wife.

The last time Xiao Jin stole something, he was discovered by the Master.

That time, he tried to steal one of the lady's rarely used hairpins. The lady had bought it and worn it for a few days, but when someone in another household wore a similar one, she became very disgusted with it and never touched it again.

Xiao Jin figured that Madam had almost forgotten about this thing, so he identified his target.

Little did he know that he would sneak into his wife's room that day and be caught red-handed by the Master.

The Master pushed open the door and entered, seemingly having known he was already inside. A smile played on his lips as he seized the opportunity to expose Xiao Jin's weakness. Strangely, he didn't report Xiao Jin to anyone else and even tacitly allowed him to continue his clandestine activities. However, it was unclear what he had said to the madam, which led to Xiao Jin gradually being looked down upon by her.

Xiao Jin had less and less to do, and eventually, his wife transferred him away from her to work as a helper for Doctor Cui.

Doctor Cui had several assistants, and his status plummeted. Because he was disliked by his wife, he was constantly bullied and picked on by others.

That's not all. One day, the Master found him and told him that Doctor Cui was missing a key ingredient in the medicine he was preparing for the young master every day. Although Xiao Jin was dishonest, if he could do things for him, he could return to serve the madam.

Whether he agreed or not, Yu Xing didn't know, meaning that the identity card didn't say, and this crucial information ended there.

It's a total rip-off.

Mama Liang didn't know that he had stolen things before. She only saw that his other servants were being ostracized so badly that she guessed that he had offended the Master, so she protected him intentionally or unintentionally.

In the Fang Mansion, everyone was afraid of the Master because of Master eccentric and somewhat perverse personality, but the madam liked him and indulged him in every way.

Fear is not reverence. There are many people who disapprove of Master but dare not speak out, Mama Liang and Doctor Cui are two of them.

Many people knew about the affair between the lady and the Master, but the master was unaware of it. The previous steward, the one who bought back Xiao Jin, couldn't stand it and exposed the Master to the master. Instead, the master kicked him out on the grounds that he had wronged the Fang family's benefactor. The new steward was completely on the Master's side, so the servants dared not utter a word.

Yu Xing chuckled softly to herself.

Mama Liang is a good person, but she has poor judgment in judging character.

Xiao Jin is definitely not someone worth protecting.

Putting the theft aside for now, did the Master's attempt to recruit him succeed?

If not, at this stage, he is likely to be targeted and killed by the Master because he once came close to the Master's true face. If he has, then he will most likely participate in the process of uncovering the truth from the perspective of a villain.

If you make a mistake in your attitude when facing a Master, you will face exposure and elimination.

This performance was significantly more difficult than the last one.

Whatever Yu Xing was thinking, the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in front of him couldn't understand it.

The boy glanced at Yu Xing with concern and stammered, "Xiao Jin, don't be afraid. It's just the two of us now, so you don't need to be so nervous. Mama Liang won't hear us."

Seemingly worried that Yu Xing be traumatized, he added, "I heard from the ladies who serve Madam that Mama Liang was going out to buy something at noon today. She should have left by now. Xiao Jin, don't be afraid. Tell me where it hurts. You're my only friend now. I... I have enough medicine."

Yu Xing, true to Xiao Jin's personality, pouted and said, "Don't worry, Mama Liang really didn't hit me much. Keep that medicine for yourself; you never know when you might need it."

"Um..." The boy thought for a moment, unsure whether to be moved or to consider the possibility of being beaten up in the future.

Finally, he gave up and stopped insisting. "Okay, but you have to tell me if it hurts!"

Yu Xing gave a casual hum and sat down on her bed.

This is his current residence.

There were four beds inside, naturally for four servants to live in, all of whom were helping Doctor Cui.

Doctor Cui is really busy every day.

The Fang Mansion has a young master who is a long-term patient. Every day, Doctor Cui has to brew medicine under the Master's instructions. The others are fine, only occasionally getting minor illnesses, but Doctor Cui is also responsible for the health-preserving soups for the master and mistress.

Therefore, helpers like Xiao Jin have a lot of work to do every day.

Xiao Jin can't eat lunch today, but he still has to keep working.

Tragically, Yu Xing had no idea what Xiao Jin actually did every day.

He could only wait for the boy in the room to come and ask him to go somewhere to do something, and then improvise.

He sat on the bed, seemingly absent-minded. The boy hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Um, I have to go eat. Do you want me to sneak you a steamed bun?"

No sooner said than Yu Xing's stomach growled at just the right moment.

Yu Xing: "... Yes."

Having received a reply, the boy left the room with light steps.

Yu Xing glanced at it and faintly smelled the aroma of food.

He quietly opened the door and peeked out.

The servants and the master's family certainly didn't eat together. There were several tables in the fourth courtyard, and at mealtimes, all the servants who had nothing else to do would sit together at these tables and eat from the communal pot.

Aside from the servants who personally attend to the master, mistress, young master, and so on, the butler and Mama Liang would never eat here.

Now, they have just set up the tables and chairs, and the dishes prepared in the kitchen are being served. Everyone is immersed in the joy of eating.

The dishes in the large pot stew were not bad; at least among all the vegetarian dishes, you could see some meat broth with oil floating on top.

The steamed buns were piled up on a large plate. He saw the boy from before take advantage of a moment when no one was looking, wrap one in a handkerchief and stuff it into his pocket.

"That's quite interesting." Watching the boy's actions, Yu Xing chuckled and muttered that these people had plenty of food and soup, while he was the only one who couldn't even get a meal. He felt so pitiful. Then he went back to his room and closed the door tightly.

He didn't see Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru's faces. He figured that either they weren't playing ordinary servants, or, just like during the Rookie Tournament, their appearances had completely changed in other people's eyes.

After all, this is a stage with a hide-and-seek element. If someone is recognized by the evil spirit and, with the mentality of sacrificing their teammates to survive a little longer, reports other teams to the evil spirit, then the game is over.

Moreover, he doesn't look like someone who has just turned eighteen at all. If he doesn't change his appearance, how could he possibly go unnoticed with his flamboyant looks?

Yu Xing became increasingly certain of this guess and temporarily shifted his attention away from it.

With so many servants in the courtyard, does that mean he can take this opportunity to search each room and see if he can find any clues?

He quickly dismissed the idea.

It's precisely because he's the only one who can move freely that it's too obvious; it's better to blend in with the crowd and fish in troubled waters.

Moreover, it's possible that Mama Liang is a ghost in disguise, deliberately preventing him from eating, perhaps to test whether he will use this time to do something unusual.

Even though the identity card information has cleared Mama Liang's name, one should still be wary of ghosts.

Perfect timing, now that no one is around to bother her, Yu Xing decided to quietly sort out the timeline of events.

Currently, the Fang Mansion residence is bustling with activity, everyone is normal, and no supernatural events have occurred.

The young master is not dead yet, and there is no such thing as Liu Xue or Liu Bingxian. However, the Master has been here for a year. If the Master wanted to make any preparations, they should have done so by now.

The Master and his wife have an ambiguous relationship, so there must be something strange about the wife. Otherwise, he could have easily secured his position in the Master Fang family by simply using the young master's illness. Forcibly seducing the wife would have been unnecessary and risky.

Even more noteworthy is the young master.

Although he is not dead yet, he has to take medicine every day. Although the medicine is prepared by Doctor Cui, who seems to be fine at the moment, the Master clearly interfered, and that "medicinal guide" is highly suspicious.

Rather than saying the young master drinks medicine every day, Yu Xing believes he is drinking a slow-acting poison prepared by Master every day.

Hmm... although this poison... it's very likely that Xiao Jin helped put it in.

In short, the subsequent development should be that the young master eventually dies, and the Master finds an excuse to instigate the Fang Mansion to hold a wedding for the deceased young master, which leads to Liu Xue becoming a ghost and slaughtering the Fang Mansion.

Therefore, what we should explore now is the Master's pharmacy, Doctor Cui's process of decocting medicine, and what the relationship is between the lady and the Master, and what position the lady takes in this matter.

Just then, there was a double knocking on the window at the back of the house.

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, "Something's up."

He immediately clutched his waist, his face visibly turning pale, and limped to the window, where he laboriously reached out and opened it.

With a barely perceptible sound of a window opening, a pretty girl of about eighteen stood outside, looking at him expressionlessly.

The girl had her hair styled in a maid's bun, but her clothes were exquisite. She wore a pair of red coral earrings, which made her face look like a peach blossom, making her very beautiful.

That expression, however, always seemed to carry a hint of disdain.

Yu Xing weakly raised his head, and with every movement, it seemed as if he aggravated some wound, causing him to hiss.

The girl watched this scene with a hint of understanding in her eyes, but she still spoke in a businesslike manner, "The Master asks you, since you're not eating, why aren't you reporting on the mission's results?"

Okay, that's it, I'm definitely not a good person.

Yu Xing had anticipated this, and let out a painful groan, a few beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. "I'm sorry... I'm not very mobile right now, I'm afraid someone will see me on the street."

The girl frowned. "I heard that you spilled some medicine when you were carrying it today because your hand wasn't steady, and Mama Liang happened to see it. But did that old woman really hit you that hard? How could she hit someone with a face that even a lady likes?"

Half doubt and half surprise were evident in her words. Yu Xing thought to herself that Xiao Jin was quite good-looking, but against her will, she said, "She's that age already, so what I look like doesn't really matter to her. She... ugh, she can't touch me anyway."

I'm sorry, Mama Liang, your reputation has been damaged.

The girl snorted and stopped dwelling on it, "Fine, fine. Considering you're injured, I won't blame you for not reporting it. You did the right thing. It was better to wait for me to come find you than to be discovered on the street."

"Then let me ask you, how's it going with gaining Mama Liang's trust?"

She sized up Yu Xing: "... She must not be very capable, otherwise she wouldn't..."

"Very good!" Yu Xing's face showed eagerness. "She only acted because she trusted me. You don't know, she said in private that the Master is ruthless. If I didn't serve the medicine properly and the Master found out, the punishment would definitely be more severe. Tell me, she said all that, doesn't that mean she trusts me?"

"Hmm." The girl thought about it and felt it made sense.

"Alright, you'd better get rid of A Hu by her side as soon as possible. We need to get the medicinal ingredient quickly. If you can't do it, the Master will replace you, and then your fate will be... you understand?" She wasn't very old, but she seemed quite adept at threatening people. Her pretty face darkened, and she was quite intimidating. "If you can use that old woman's sympathy to get close to her... how about I break your legs and see what happens?"

Yu Xing trembled, her body stiffening, looking both in pain and fear. Finally, she shook her head desperately, "No, no, don't break my legs! I know, it'll be soon, I'll succeed soon! I promise!"

Having achieved her goal of frightening the girl, she left satisfied.

She came from the back; outside was the same lawn as in Liang Erni's dream. The girl walked lightly on it and disappeared in no time.

Yu Xing closed the window, no longer looking like she was in pain all over, and leaned comfortably against the corner of the table.

"It's like a pillow being delivered when you're sleepy, I see..."

He had a pretty good idea of what the medicinal ingredient was.