I, a Background Villain, Somehow Became the Protagonist - Chapter 2:

Chapter 2: Future Great Emperor Ning Qingxue, I Don’t Want to Die Yet

“What’s your name?”

The young woman did not understand why Mo Wudu would suddenly ask such a question. However, since he had asked, she had to answer. That was one of the rules Mo Wudu had established.

“Ning Qingxue.”

Mo Wudu froze.

Why did that name sound so familiar?

‘Wait… Where have I heard it before?’

Then it hit him.

‘That’s right! She’s from the novel I wrote!’

One of the protagonist’s future lovers was named Ning Qingxue. However, Mo Wudu could not be certain whether this was merely a coincidence. To confirm his suspicion, he asked, “Then do you know my name?”

Ning Qingxue respectfully replied, “Master, your name is Mo Wudu.”

Everything matched.

In his novel, Ning Qingxue’s master was indeed named Mo Wudu. He had shamelessly used his own real name for the character. After all, the novel had already been a failure, so he had stopped caring and simply written himself into it.

Judging from the situation, he had most likely transmigrated into the world of his own novel.

And that was terrible news.

In the novel, Mo Wudu was a villain. Worse still, he was a major villain. Since he had been deliberately written as an antagonist, his ending was easy to predict.

He eventually died at the protagonist’s hands.

Mo Wudu had thought he could happily enjoy his new life in another world. Who could have imagined that he would begin as a major villain destined to die?

His mind immediately began racing. Since he had already arrived in another world, he had to do something to survive. He could not simply sit around and wait for his scripted death.

According to the plot he had written, the reason Mo Wudu eventually became the protagonist’s enemy was Ning Qingxue.

During one of Ning Qingxue’s training journeys down the mountain, she encountered the protagonist. Since Mo Wudu had written a typical wish-fulfillment novel, the two naturally took an immediate liking to each other.

After the protagonist learned what Ning Qingxue had suffered, he immediately swore a solemn oath to seek justice for her and kill Mo Wudu.

Of course, since Mo Wudu had gone as far as giving this villain his own name, he had never intended for the character to be some insignificant extra who appeared for a single chapter before being killed by the protagonist.

As a major villain, Mo Wudu naturally possessed considerable strength.

According to the original setting, Mo Wudu was already in the Golden Core Realm when he first appeared, while the protagonist was merely in the Qi Refining Realm. Although the protagonist possessed the ability to defeat opponents above his own cultivation realm, he was not absurdly powerful enough to kill a Golden Core Realm cultivator while still in the Qi Refining Realm. It was not as though he had cultivated through 2,000 stages of Qi Refining.

Although the Golden Core Realm was only two major realms above the Qi Refining Realm, reaching it still required considerable talent.

Moreover, Mo Wudu had been considered a genius in the novel. He had reached the Golden Core Realm while still in his twenties.

Of course, no matter how talented he was, he could never surpass the protagonist. The entire world’s fortune practically revolved around the protagonist. Even if that guy actively tried to die, it would probably be difficult for him to succeed.

The protagonist’s cultivation speed simply could not be measured by ordinary standards. It had taken him only three years to advance from the Qi Refining Realm to the Golden Core Realm.

In other words, the Mo Wudu of the original novel had only three years left to live.

“Fine, fine. Damn heavens, so this is how you want to play it, huh? Not only did you refuse to give me a cheat ability, you even made me a villain.”

However, a thought suddenly occurred to Mo Wudu.

What if he simply prevented Ning Qingxue from meeting the protagonist in the first place?

Wouldn’t that mean he could avoid dying?

More importantly, the protagonist had only become his enemy because of the abuse Ning Qingxue suffered at his hands. In that case, Mo Wudu simply had to solve the problem at its source.

First, he would prevent Ning Qingxue and the protagonist from meeting. Second, he would completely change the way he treated Ning Qingxue.

With both problems handled, there was no way he could still end up dead with both his body and soul destroyed… right?

Furthermore, Ning Qingxue was one of the protagonist’s future lovers, so naturally, her own potential was anything but ordinary.

While she was still Mo Wudu’s disciple, her extraordinary talent had yet to reveal itself. After Mo Wudu’s death, however, the knot in her heart finally disappeared, awakening her Innate Dao Body. In a single night, her cultivation skyrocketed from the Foundation Establishment Realm all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Her talent was terrifying beyond belief.

If Mo Wudu had not abandoned the novel before finishing it, he had originally planned for every member of the protagonist’s harem to eventually become a Great Emperor.

In other words, the obedient young woman sitting quietly beside him possessed the potential to become a Great Emperor.

‘No, no. I absolutely have to treat her better from now on!’

Even if the protagonist did not kill him, once Ning Qingxue became powerful enough and decided to settle the score herself, killing him would be effortless.

Mo Wudu suddenly regretted ever writing himself as a villain.

Why hadn’t he simply made his character an ally of the protagonist? If he had done that, he could have comfortably lived out the rest of his life without worrying about anything.

Even if he had not been an ally, why did he have to be on the protagonist’s opposing side?

Unfortunately, regretting it now was useless. He could only find a way to save himself.

Mo Wudu cleared his throat and said, “Ahem, Qingxue, from now on, you don’t need to kneel whenever you see me. If you have any questions about cultivation, feel free to ask me. And if you ever run short of cultivation resources, just come to me and ask.”

Something was wrong.

Something was terribly wrong.

Ning Qingxue secretly raised her head and glanced at Mo Wudu. She even pinched her own thigh.

It hurt.

She was definitely not dreaming.

Then why had her master suddenly become a completely different person?

Ever since taking her as his disciple, Mo Wudu had never even taught her a cultivation technique, much less given her any cultivation resources. She had relied entirely on herself, blindly fumbling her way forward until she had barely managed to enter the Qi Refining Realm.

That alone demonstrated just how terrifying Ning Qingxue’s natural talent truly was.

If an ordinary person tried cultivating blindly the way she had, they probably would have suffered cultivation deviation long ago. Yet Ning Qingxue had somehow successfully entered the Qi Refining Realm entirely on her own.

Thinking back, Ning Qingxue had sensed that something was strange about Mo Wudu from the moment she saw him this morning.

Normally, her master barely acknowledged her existence. He would simply sit beneath the peach blossom tree, drinking alone in gloomy silence. Only when he grew irritated by her presence would he tell her to get lost.

Today, however, everything was different.

She had fallen directly into his arms, yet he had not punished her. He had even done something unprecedented and allowed her to sit beside him.

A frightening possibility suddenly entered Ning Qingxue’s mind.

‘Could it be that Master thinks I’m useless and plans to drive me off the mountain?’

Ning Qingxue immediately dropped to her knees and pleaded, “Master, if I’ve done something wrong, you can hit me or scold me. Anything is fine. Please… please don’t drive me away.”

Seeing that Ning Qingxue was about to kowtow to him, Mo Wudu nearly panicked.

How could he possibly allow that?

This was a future Great Emperor!

If he actually let her kowtow to him now, once she became powerful in the future, he feared there might not even be ashes left of him.

Mo Wudu quickly placed a hand against her forehead, stopping her before she could bow her head to the ground. He said, “I’m not going to drive you away. I already told you that you don’t need to kneel before me anymore. If there’s anything you want to say, just tell me directly.”

After saying that, Mo Wudu helped Ning Qingxue back to her feet.

Ning Qingxue felt that something was becoming increasingly strange. Once she stood up, her eyes briefly met Mo Wudu’s, but she immediately lowered her head again.

She had noticed something different in his eyes.

There was a brightness in them now, a spark of life that had never been there before. The gloomy, dispirited look he used to carry had completely vanished.

It was almost as though he had become another person.

Ning Qingxue wondered if she had imagined it, so after a moment, she secretly raised her head and stole another glance at Mo Wudu.

Without the gloomy and dejected air that had once surrounded him, Mo Wudu somehow seemed more handsome the longer she looked at him.

Especially those captivating peach-blossom eyes.

If he appeared before the outside world like this, there would probably be quite a few female cultivators who would find themselves utterly captivated by him.