How To Survive as a Villain

When General Huang Yue lifted the curtain and stepped into the tent, he saw Yan HeQing solemnly sitting at the low table. A man wearing a silver mask, with his head lowered, was carrying a basin to go outside.

Huang Yue couldn’t help but look at him for a few moments: “Hey? Are you Physician Xiao?”

Xiao YuAn raised his head: “Hmm? Yes, that’s me.”

“I’ve heard about you. Recently, the battlefield is burning, and you’ve been working hard, but why are you wearing a mask? Are you perhaps ashamed to show your face to others?” Even though this was the first time they met, Huang Yue’s reproaching tone wasn’t hidden.

Before Xiao YuAn could answer, Yan HeQing spoke coldly: “General Huang, what did you come to report?”

Huang Yue no longer embarrassed Xiao YuAn, and quickly reported the war’s situation to Yan HeQing. Xiao YuAn took advantage of this, and with the basin in hand, he walked out of the tent.

After he poured the water out of the basin, Xiao YuAn suddenly remembered something after he muttered ‘General Huang’ a few times. Then he turned his head to ask the soldier guarding the tent: “Xiaoge¹, let me ask you, is the General who went in just now named Huang Yue?”

After receiving an affirmative reply, Xiao YuAn frowned slightly.

In the original book, Huang Yue was a General who thought he wasn’t successful enough. As one of the Generals of the Southern Yan Kingdom, he acts with undue confidence of his own ability, and looks down upon others². He’s also arrogant and conceited, always thinking that he’s the most powerful General beside the Emperor, but then, Li Wuding appeared.

Huang Yue depised Li Wuding, because to him, Li Wuding was nothing more than a dirty traitor. However, Yan HeQing thought very highly of him, and discussed everything with him before making a final decision. These acts made Huang Yue develop a grudge towards Li Wuding. The final straw occurred when Yan HeQing gave Li Wuding the position of Great General after he conquered the Four Kingdoms, and unified them into one great Country.

A General, who was once an enemy, was now granted a powerful position. Huang Yue didn’t say anything on the surface, but in fact, he was secretly colluding with his allies; seeking power and wanting to usurp the throne.

Naturally, Yan HeQing cut his head off with his sword, and his attempt of rebellion became a failure.

This man, with his own strength, slightly pulled the second part of this harem novel back to the plot of a historical novel. Even though his death was extremely stupid, this self-sacrifice and high dedication was worthy of respect!

So, in order to express their respect for this cannon fodder, the readers filled three whole pages of the comment section with nothing more than “hahahaha”.

Xiao YuAn hugged the basin, thinking that now that Li Wuding was dead, Huang Yue won’t feel frustrated, or at least, he won’t become a villain, right?

Meanwhile, inside the tent, Huang Yue was analyzing the current situation with Yan HeQing: “Your Majesty, although we have won the battle this time, the enemy’s main General still hasn’t been caught. I think that we should take advantage of the victory and pursue another attack, annihilating them in one fell swoop.”

Yan HeQing frowned: “This victory was a bit too easy. I’m worried that something is wrong.”

“Your Majesty, you must not hesitate!” Huang Yue advised.

Yan HeQing rubbed his eyebrows: “I’ll think about it.”

Huang Yue couldn’t help but retire. He walked out of the tent, and his Deputy General, who had been waiting for him for a long time, greeted him: “General, what’s the situation? Will His Majesty chase down the deserters?”

“Humph.” Huang Yue snorted and gave him a disdainful look: “The Emperor is actually quite indecisive. If he cut the grass without removing the roots, there are bound to be problems in the future. By the way, you should pay more attention to the new physician in the barracks. I have a feeling that his body resembles the former Emperor of the Northern Kingdom. Besides, he’s wearing a mask as if he shouldn’t be recognized. Something is definitely not right.”

“What? But if he really is the former Northern Kingdom’s Emperor, how could His Majesty not recognize him?” The Deputy General stared at him with wide eyes.

Huang Yue, with his hands hidden behind his back, deliberately dragged out his words as he said meaningfully: “I’m afraid that it is because he was recognized, that he can stay around. In the past, the Emperor was indeed-… cough, it doesn’t matter, you just have to pay attention to him. Don’t let him disturb the Emperor’s mind. If it’s true that the Northern Emperor is hiding here, and he tries to take an opportunity to get revenge, then that would be a huge problem.”

The Deputy General cupped his fist, showing that he understood what he should do.

Huang Yue waved his hand: “Watch over him more. Alright, you can go rest now.”

The Deputy General saluted him with respect, turned around and went to his tent. The moon was dark and the wind was high. There weren’t many guards inside the barracks, so when the Deputy General suddenly looked around, he saw no one. At that moment, he silently ran out of the barracks. After running for about a quarter of an hour, he found an ancient tree. The Deputy General took a piece of cloth from his sleeve, bit his finger, and wrote something on it with his blood. Then he buried it under the tree, got up, and went back to the barracks.

Oh nooo he’s suspicious of XYA 😭😭 (completely ignoring the fact that LWD was mentioned bc I don’t wanna cry 😔)

And that Deputy General is sus 👀 … What are you doing? What.. Are.. You.. Doing?

Footnotes

1. 小哥 xiǎo gē; A polite term for a teenager or a young man. Commonly used to refer to male workers, such as couriers or food delivery men, etc.
2. 恃才傲物 shì cái ào wù; It’s a Chinese idiom, it refers to someone who’s proud and arrogant by virtue of his own talents. / Be proud and insolent because of one’s talent. From《南史·萧子显传》(nán shǐ·xiāo zǐ xiǎn zhuàn), “History of the Southern Dynasties: A Biography of Xiao Zixian”, written by (李延壽 lǐ yán shòu) Li Yanshou.