Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Chapter 78: Perishing together

As the system’s voice echoed within his thoughts, Murong Lin’s expression relaxed.

Tang Can’s decision to abandon the commandments of the Tang sect and choose Lu Hai Miao came as no surprise, and it subsequently caused his protagonist value to plummet.

As a member of the Tang sect, finding himself backed into such a corner bore the weight of not only personal dishonour but also the disappointment of his sect’s forebears.

A hole had appeared in Tang Can’s once unwavering heart.

As the words left his lips, Tang Can felt as though a piece of his very soul had been torn away. Weakness overcame him, as if his very body had lost its conviction.

Indeed, he was the one that had chosen to betray his own conviction.

“Excellent.” Murong Lin nodded in satisfaction, finally releasing the grip on Lu Hai Miao’s neck.

Lu Hai Miao’s eyes were watery.

As she listened to Tang Can betraying his sect’s commandments to save her, a profound sense of agony and pain pierced her heart.

She now understood that she had a place in his heart.

But she wasn’t happy in the slightest.

How horribly must Tang Can be feeling right now? How utterly desolate?

She felt like nothing but trash, utterly useless in aiding the man she loved, and now, she had caused him immense humiliation to save her.

An inferno of anger raged within her, urging her to turn around and attack Murong Lin.

But she was fully aware of the fact that she was never a match for him.

Sensing that Murong Lin had eased the suppression of his spiritual power on her body, Lu Hai Miao could finally move once more.

From the other side, Tang Can stared at her, his expression visibly apologetic yet upset.

And at this moment, Murong Lin reached out his arm, slightly swinging down the thin knife in his hands.

The moonlight gleamed on the blade’s icy surface, a chilling glint that seemed to pierce beyond the flesh.

Half of the thin blade on the knife was still bathed under the moonlight.

Where was the other half?

Tang Can turned his head, his attention drawn to the other half of the blade that was lodged deeply within Lu Hai Miao’s back.

As if she couldn’t sense anything herself, Lu Hai Miao continued to walk forwards, walking out of the blade of the paring knife without ever noticing that she was stabbed.

Tang Can had already taken out his jade tablet at this point, ready to hand over the records of the seven great techniques of the Tang sect’s scripture to Murong Lin.

And once he had noticed Lu Hai Miao’s smile that hung on her face even despite her paling complexion, his heart shattered.

Behind her, Murong Lin maintained his grip on the knife, but a glint of mockery was now flickering within his eyes.

The clean blade showed not a drop of blood, remaining pristine and cold even after piercing into Lu Hai Miao’s back.

This was Di Qing Lin’s knife.

And it was also Murong Lin’s knife.

“Wrathful, selfish”, this was the cold-blooded knife technique.

Even in the throes of her imminent demise, Lu Hai Miao was unaware of the ebbing vitality within her.

She leapt into Tang Can’s arms, tears streaming as she fought to voice her thoughts. But the overwhelming sorrow constricted her throat, making it difficult for her to articulate her words.

She couldn’t comprehend the sorrow and desolation in Tang Can’s gaze.

But she could unmistakably sense that he was saddened because of her.

That meant that Tang Can loved her in his heart.

Elation surged within her at this realization, yet her frail form crumbled powerlessly in his embrace.

Tang Can knelt alongside her, his arms wrapped around her body tightly as he fixed a sorrowful gaze upon her.

Being a member of the Tang sect, he could sense that her organs were crippled by that one invisible wound in her body. They were losing their ability to function.

She was only being kept alive by the relentless flow of spiritual power that Tang Can was pouring into her body.

“Can……you……”

She laid in his embrace as her eyes glazed over gradually.

She felt as though only the two of them were left in this world, and no one else.

There wasn’t her father that was murdered, there wasn’t his master that was being controlled, and there wasn’t that demon.

Desperation surged within her, a yearning to hear the words she had longed for, directly from his lips.

The sentence she had been waiting for, for a long time.

“Can you……say……”

The words tumbled brokenly from her lips.

Powerlessness washed over her exquisite face.

“I like you! I like you, did you hear me? Did you hear me!”

Tang Can screamed as tears streaked down his face, dripping onto Lu Hai Miao’s face.

A radiant smile graced Lu Hai Miao’s features, she finally heard Tang Can say that he loved her.¹

In this exact moment, she felt like a child who had just been given candy. Giggling with a bright smile, she asked, “Why are you…crying?”

Her outstretched arm tried to wipe away his tears as she carefully inspected his face, as if wanting to etch his appearance deep into her mind.

But her arm lost its strength just midway.

And her breathing stopped as well.

As her hand fell back onto her, her heart’s rhythm gradually faded until it reached its final beat. With a tilt of her head, she passed away in Tang Can’s arms.

“No, don’t do this! Not like this……”

Tang Can’s anguished cries echoed through the air as he desperately attempted to rouse the lifeless figure in his arms, but all his efforts proved futile.

Consumed by grief, it seemed as though Tang Can had lost all sense of rationality. He pressed his tear-streaked face against Lu Hai Miao’s lifeless form, embracing her corpse as sorrowful sobs wracked his trembling frame.

On the side were the Poisonous Old Ghost, who was kneeling respectfully and Murong Lin, who had a strange expression.

After hearing the system’s voice that resounded in his mind, his expression changed.

“Ding! The protagonist Tang Can’s ‘Little protagonist halo’ has completely shattered, his protagonist value has dropped by 50.”

“Ding! Congratulations to master for obtaining a villain value of 50, you may use them to purchase items in the system shop.”

“Ding! The protagonist Tang Can’s innate talent, ‘Shrek Monster’s explosion has been detected, please be careful!”

Tang Can’s protagonist halo was completely shattered, but what did the system’s third sentence mean?

The protagonist’s innate talent was exploding?

Was there such a thing?

What was going to happen?

As Murong Lin shifted his gaze towards Tang Can, he was met with Tang Can’s eyes that bore a fiery intensity, filled with a hatred so profound that it seemed to emanate from the darkest abyss. He resembled a vengeful demon, emerging from the depths of hell itself.

A chilling sensation surged up Murong Lin’s spine.

From a distance, a figure rapidly approached. Gasping for breath, he panted heavily, showing the signs of the arduous sprint that brought him here.

Upon arrival, he swiftly assessed the distressing scene before him. His eyes darted between Tang Can, who clung tightly to a lifeless body with tears streaming down his face, and Murong Lin, who wielded a knife in his hand.

He yelled, “Tang Can! Be careful! I’m here to help!”

Tang Can and Murong Lin’s heads snapped up in unison, their attention drawn to the arrival of Jiang Tian Sheng, who had hurriedly run over.

In Murong Lin’s gaze, an icy veil of indifference enshrouded his emotions, while Tang Can’s eyes reflected a tumultuous mix of both viciousness and regret.

Jiang Tian Sheng rushed to Tang Can’s side, positioning himself with his back towards him as he kept a vigilant gaze fixed on Murong Lin. He hastily spoke, “Tang Can! The number of people replaced in the capital is far greater than we initially believed. There are even more individuals concealed in the shadows! We must leave this place immediately…”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence.

Jiang Tian Sheng felt as though his heart had vanished.

He lowered his head and saw a large hole where his heart once was. Indeed, his heart was gone.

And from the looks of it, it was done by someone behind him.

But there was only Tang Can behind him?

Jiang Tian Sheng couldn’t think anymore. As an eighth layer Manifestation realm expert, he couldn’t even attack once before he was ambushed and killed defencelessly.

Murong Lin had a strange expression as he raised an eyebrow, staring at Tang Can, who held Jiang Tian Sheng’s heart in his hand. He watched him place the heart into a hidden weapon as he faced Murong Lin.

“You’re laying your hands on even the past subordinates of your father?”

The transformation that had befallen Tang Can after losing his protagonist halo was beyond even his wildest expectations. He was practically comparable to himself.

Was this a protagonist that had lost their protagonist halo?

Tang Can ignored the corpse on the ground as he wielded the newly created hidden weapon in his hands:

The ‘Buddha Gazes Back’.

This was the strongest hidden weapon of the Tang sect, tainted by the poison of the Poisonous Old Ghost that was capable of killing a Sky Reaching realm expert, and strengthened by the heart of the eighth layer Manifestation realm expert, Jiang Tian Sheng.

A flicker of golden light danced in the air.

Tang Can was reduced to nihility by the backlash of the hidden weapon.

He was dead.

But the hidden weapon continued to advance without rest, shooting forwards.

The golden light advanced as Murong Lin quickly activated his divine senses, pulling the Poisonous Old Ghost before him in hopes of blocking this attack. However, it was futile.

The golden light touched the Poisonous Old Ghost.

The body of the Poisonous Old Ghost was reduced to nihility.

The golden light continued to advance, piercing into Murong Lin’s chest.

Murong Lin’s expression changed dramatically as he laughed bitterly to himself, “I was careless after all.”

He had originally assumed that the strongest weapon in Tang Can’s possession was the ‘Storm Chrysanthemum Needles’. Needless to say, he was blindsided.

Murong Lin’s body was gradually being reduced into nihility as well.

It was truly nothingness, nothing was left.

The battlefield became quiet.

There were only two corpses left on the ground, Lu Hai Miao’s and Jiang Tian Sheng’s.

And at this moment, a wisp of bloody air escaped from this place, shooting outwards.

1. He said like, not love.

Translator’s note

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