A Born Villain

Three days later, at dusk, at Willow Pavilion.

Willow Pavilion was once again filled with singing and dancing.

Yu Qinglian was performing onstage, playing the pipa with astonishing skill.

Today, she had also used some of the Infatuation Path's techniques.

Her already stunning face now carried a touch more melancholy and vulnerability.

It stirred the audience's desire to protect her, and they stared at her, their eyes fixed. Some even felt a strange heat rising in their lower bellies.

"Damn, Willow Pavilion's really got the heat turned up tonight!"

"Why does Yu Qinglian's performance look so damn fiery today?"

"I really can't hold back anymore. If I could sleep with her just once, I'd gladly shave ten years off my life." A man with his robe hanging open and his chest bared couldn't help shouting.

Most people who came to Willow Pavilion fancied themselves romantic, not lecherous. They shot the man a look of disdain and quietly edged away from him.

Still, they agreed with what he'd said.

The words were crude, but the sentiment was true. In fact, they were far too crude.

Suddenly, an uproar broke out below the stage.

"Uh, sir, customers aren't allowed onstage during a performance."

"Get lost! I'll go wherever I damn well please. Who do you think you are?"

At that moment, a tall man reeking of alcohol, his eyes half closed and his steps unsteady, strode forward in fine clothes. He slapped the madam blocking his way and sent her flying, then walked toward Yu Qinglian with a lecherous grin.

Startled, Yu Qinglian rose in alarm. The strings in her hands snapped with a shrill twang.

"Who are you? What are you doing?"

"Who am I?" The man's sleepy eyes blinked as the corners of his mouth twitched.

"I'm Li Baoyu!"

"And what am I doing? You little bitch, I came up here to fuck you!"

"Li Baoyu? Who's that? He's got some nerve, causing trouble at Willow Pavilion."

"His status isn't ordinary. He's the son of the owner of Green Pine Martial Hall!"

"The owner's son! His father's a Seventh-grade martial artist?!"

A Seventh-grade martial artist was considered one of the strongest in Jiaqing County, a remote border town.

Even the county magistrate had to show him some respect.

"Li Baoyu's close to the county magistrate's son, Zhang Xun. They're sworn brothers, too."

"Hah, sworn brothers? Birds of a feather."

"Zhang Xun? Didn't I hear that Zhang Xun was going to marry Yu Qinglian?"

"Hah, a county magistrate's son marrying a courtesan? At most, he'll take her as a concubine."

"Zhang Xun's got plenty of concubines already—at least a dozen. But he really is a debauched yet loyal fellow. He treats his brothers well. Whenever one of his men gets into trouble, he's always the first to step in. And every time he takes a concubine, he lets his men have a turn with her..."

"What about Yu Qinglian, then?!"

"Ah, there's nothing to be done. His connections are too powerful. You can't afford to offend him. You wouldn't ruin your own life over a woman, would you?"

Li Baoyu chuckled stupidly, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

A close observer would have noticed a strange, dusky-purple glow flickering in his half-lidded eyes.

It was Lin Yi's Corpse Puppet Path technique.

The Corpse Puppet Path was exactly what its name suggested: it turned corpses into puppets and sent them to fight. Its essence lay in one word: control.

But this control wasn't limited to corpses. Living people could be controlled, too, though it was much more troublesome.

With no soul inside a corpse to fight for control, manipulating it was as easy as moving one's own arm.

With a living person, one first had to plant a "Corpse Puppet Seed" inside them, then wait until their mind was muddled before seizing control of their body.

Even when they were clearheaded, subtle suggestions could influence their emotions and thoughts.

That was the insidious, uncanny nature of the Corpse Puppet Path. But the technique had its limits: a Corpse Puppet Seed couldn't be used on anyone whose cultivation was equal to or higher than one's own, or it would easily be detected.

Yet the situation now had taken Lin Yi by surprise.

Although Li Baoyu was dead drunk, his subconscious was still active. In theory, controlling him should have met some resistance. But once the Corpse Puppet Seed took effect, his subconscious had cooperated with every movement without the slightest objection.

In other words, Li Baoyu had already harbored these filthy thoughts. Lin Yi had merely helped him lower his last defenses.

Li Baoyu staggered closer, the lecherous grin on his face so revolting it made one's stomach turn.

Yu Qinglian furrowed her brows slightly, unable to stop a trace of regret from rising in her heart.

She regretted asking for too little payment.

Willow Pavilion rarely faced this sort of situation.

The establishment had its own bouncers, and they had all come out.

But Li Baoyu's status was no ordinary matter.

The weight of a Seventh-grade martial artist was too great.

An entire Jiaqing County couldn't stand up to him.

Who would dare lay a hand on him?

Anyone who dared touch Li Baoyu today would have their entire family planted in the ground like scallions tomorrow.

All for that little monthly stipend. Why risk your life when you didn't have to?

That had led to a strange situation.

The bouncers stood ready around them, most exchanging uneasy looks, but not one dared step forward.

Yu Qinglian glanced at the cold faces around her. Though she had expected this, a trace of sorrow still rose in her heart.

"Heh heh, little bitch, just come with me. My father is Li Qingsong. If you're with me, I guarantee you'll live well from now on..." Li Baoyu snorted with a laugh.

Lin Yi, controlling Li Baoyu, was at a loss for words.

That line hadn't come from Lin Yi. Li Baoyu's own subconscious had added it.

Lin Yi couldn't understand how anyone could be so blunt, spitting out a textbook villain's line without a moment's hesitation.

Was this what it meant to be born a villain?

Yu Qinglian was quite the actress, too. Her eyes reddened in an instant, and she put on a frightened look as she retreated again and again.

"I... I'm a respectable courtesan at Willow Pavilion. I only sell my art, not my body."

"Heh heh heh, who cares?" Li Baoyu roared with laughter.

"My father is Li Qingsong. In Jiaqing County, I am the law! I am the heavens!"

"I, Li Baoyu, do whatever I want. Who dares stop me? Who can stop me?"

The crowd below the stage froze.

He was insanely arrogant!

Was he trying to rebel?!

Yu Qinglian froze.

Hearing the wild arrogance in Li Baoyu's words, she couldn't help but stare.

She knew Lin Yi was controlling Li Baoyu from the shadows, and she couldn't help grumbling to herself.

Was Little Lin being a bit too deliberately showy?

Lin Yi felt utterly wronged. Heaven and earth could bear witness: all he'd done was make the man walk onto the stage. Everything else was Li Baoyu's own performance.

"I, Li Baoyu, am putting this out there today: I'm taking Lian Niang, and nobody's stopping me. Anyone who gets in my way, I'll send them to meet their ancestors. Even if the emperor himself came, he couldn't stop me. That's what I say!"

With that, Li Baoyu lunged at Yu Qinglian like a ravenous wolf pouncing on its prey.

Yu Qinglian's face blanched, but she nimbly dodged aside.

At the same time, however, several bouncers who often followed Li Baoyu had already surrounded her.

Yu Qinglian took a deep breath and gave the crowd below a long look, despair showing in her eyes.

"I'll go with you."

"But doing it in front of everyone would make you no better than a beast. Come with me to the back courtyard..."