Chapter 103. So It Turns Out It’s a Battle of Wits Among Villains?

Chapter 103. So It Turns Out It’s a Battle of Wits Among Villains?

Lin Nuo’s villain script failed again, and not only that, it automatically switched to another bizarre script.

The development of this matter had completely exceeded his expectations—an outcome he could never have imagined in a million years.

Listening to Master Zhao’s words, Lin Nuo deduced two major pieces of information:

1. Yu Zheng is the villain.

2. He became the righteous figure thwarting Yu Zheng’s villainous plans.

Yu Zheng had placed the black-scaled stone into the alchemy furnace in advance, intending to trigger an explosion through the high temperature and spiritual energy environment inside the furnace, killing all the Xuanyun Sect disciples present. Just before the black-scaled stone was about to explode, he planned to leave the alchemy room, take the path through Yufeng Valley, and find a nice spot to watch the explosion.

Isn’t this his plan?

It’s as if villains think alike, all wanting the same thing.

However, that was precisely the problem.

Lin Nuo, being oblivious, directly placed the black-scaled stone inside, resulting in two black-scaled stones appearing.

What would happen with two black-scaled stones?

Originally, one stone could trigger an explosion during the alchemy process, but if there were two, the triggering conditions and difficulty would skyrocket—one alchemy furnace couldn’t possibly detonate two black-scaled stones!

No wonder he hadn’t seen the alchemy room explode! No wonder everything was calm! Turns out this guy had put in the black-scaled stones beforehand!

And here he was, blabbering on for half a day, engaging in a battle of wits with a villain? He wasn’t even a true alchemy master of the Xuanyun Sect, but rather a double agent like Mu Yiting, pretending to be good?

No, not a double agent—since he used the black-scaled stone, he must be a terrorist!

Goodness, we’re all villains—why the rush to stab each other in the back?

Lin Nuo’s mental state was crumbling. His meticulously planned scheme to blow up the protagonist was smoothly progressing, only to turn into this mess!

This didn’t happen in his previous life!

Damn it, why?!

Lin Nuo wanted to cry but had no tears. This was two villains squabbling, yet none of the Xuanyun Sect disciples were lost. The black-scaled stones were expensive—could he get them back, worth one gold coin each?

Master Zhao’s expression turned serious as he unsheathed his sword and approached Yu Zheng, scolding, “Yu Zheng, how could you betray the trust and generosity of Xuanyun Sect? Speak! Who instructed you to do this?”

“Hahaha.”

Yu Zheng laughed disdainfully,

“I took what I needed. If I’m to die, so be it. You can do whatever you want.”

“You really are quite obstinate. We’ll take him back for trial.”

Several elders then took the weakened Yu Zheng away.

As Yu Zheng passed by Lin Nuo, he glanced at him.

“You’re not actually…”

Yu Zheng hesitated, not finishing his thought about [the one watching me].

“Skill inferior to mine; you won.”

Lin Nuo: ???

What the heck? What do you mean I’m not? Finish what you were saying! What do you think I am?!

Yu Zheng was taken away, leaving Zhao Master and Lin Nuo alone.

Master Zhao grasped Lin Nuo’s hand, smiling kindly, “Lin Nuo, you have achieved great merit again. This time you’ve saved many fellow disciples. If the black-scaled stone had exploded, the consequences would have been unimaginable. It’s minor to lose a corner of Tianling Mountain, but a catastrophe would have befallen our disciples, causing devastating losses to our sect. Xuanyun Sect values rewards, and I will surely commend you for your great contributions today.”

Lin Nuo: …

Commend my foot! Can’t you spare me the humiliation? Why not punish me for having the black-scaled stones?!

Who the heck wanted to save you? I just came over to blow up the protagonist, Su Kexin—how did it end up like this?

Damn it, if I had known that Yu Zheng was going to use black-scaled stones to blow up the alchemy room, I might as well have gone back to bed and slept, instead of turning into a heroic savior after all this hassle.

“Lin Nuo, let’s go back. Your two junior sisters are waiting to thank you. As a man in this world, you should receive admiration from the fairer sex,” Master Zhao laughed heartily, stroking his beard.

Lin Nuo: …

Please, just stop. Being thanked by the protagonist? What a nightmare.

……

Reluctantly, Lin Nuo followed Master Zhao back to the alchemy room. When he returned, the place was buzzing with voices, filled with discussions.

No one seemed to notice the potential crisis; everyone was focused on alchemy. Only this man named Lin, unnoticed, bore the heavy mission of saving everyone.

Now that everyone knew the details, they felt a chill run down their spines. They never expected that death could be so close, as if just a moment ago, they had been happily celebrating their achievements, and the next moment, they would plunge into the depths of hell.

How terrifying! Who would have thought that the amiable alchemist, Yu Zheng, could be so ruthless, wanting to destroy them all?

The group was still in shock, unable to shake off the recent terrifying explosion.

“It’s Lin Nuo! When did he go out?”

“I don’t know; the elders just took Yu Zheng back. Could it be because of him?”

“Very likely! We owe our survival to him!”

“How terrifying! Master Yu Zheng actually wanted to kill us…”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Lin Nuo, who felt like he was being paraded before the crowd, just one step away from having rotten vegetables thrown at him.

Following Master Zhao’s lead, Lin Nuo returned to his alchemy furnace.

Next to the furnace stood two radiant young women.

“Senior brother, senior brother, are you okay?”

Seeing Lin Nuo’s return, Su Kexin was ecstatic, shaking hands, patting his forehead, surveying him from all sides, as if she wanted to strip him down to check for injuries.

Lin Nuo: …

Am I okay? You’re fine, Su Kexin, but I’m in big trouble! What on earth am I going to do about this mess?

Lin Nuo noticed two black-scaled stones on the table in front of the furnace, the surface of the stones cracked, still warm with flames. This condition was due to high temperatures but had not reached the point of a catastrophic explosion, so they were still ignited.

This flame wouldn’t extinguish in a short time; not even spirit techniques could put it out immediately—it would need time to extinguish naturally.

So it’s true. Two black-scaled stones, sharing resources, resulted in neither being able to explode.

Their golden core refining failed, after all, there were two black-scaled stones inside. How could that golden core succeed?

And Mu Yiting, at this moment, was paying attention to Lin Nuo, having also been saved from the brink of disaster. Even if she had resisted Lin Nuo before, now she couldn’t help but care about him.

She absolutely didn’t expect Yu Zheng would place a black-scaled stone in her alchemy furnace, trying to blow her up.

How could they be on the same side and have him take such mad measures against her?

She understood that the underworld was full of deception and treachery, but she never thought that Yu Zheng would dare to target her, the fourth daughter of the Mu family, trying to drag her down to the underworld along with those righteous disciples of the Xuanyun Sect!

This was akin to burning the bridge after crossing—insidious, extremely insidious! Her heart felt icy at the family betrayal.

However, there was someone who warmed her heart.

That was him, Lin Nuo, a man who seemed indifferent yet silently saved her.

Perhaps he truly was, as Su Kexin said, cold on the outside but kind-hearted within.