Redeem The Villain [Quick Travel] Chapter 1
byIn the rust-stained Dungeon, several Beastmen who did not belong to this ocean were imprisoned. The iron bars, soaked in seawater for years, were already corroded, and the floor was littered with flakes of rust that had fallen off. The air was a nauseating mix of the smell of rust, the stench of rotting corpses, and the salty seawater. The entire Dungeon reeked horribly.
In the dark corners of the cells, dozens of uneasy eyes occasionally darted toward the motionless Elf by the iron bars. They huddled together, whispering and muttering about something.
“He hasn’t moved all day. Is he dead?”
“Look at his abdomen, is he not breathing?”
“It looks like he really is dead.”
“How long do we have to stay with a corpse? Will the Merfolk come and throw him out?”
Silence fell over everyone.
After a long while, a Deer Beastman adjusted his mood, his gaze casually sweeping over the Elf before he said in surprise, “He’s still alive.”
Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the Dungeon. The iron bars emitted a foul, unbearable stench that made all the Beastmen keep their distance.
Lu Qinian had just entered the body and shivered twice from the cold. He felt the dampness of water faintly sliding across his skin on his abdomen.
Excessive blood loss led to a loss of body temperature. Lu Qinian carefully sniffed, and the overwhelming stench nearly made him vomit.
It was foul, and it hurt.
The bones and muscles all over his body felt as if they had been shattered by a heavy object, causing an excruciating, bone-deep pain. If he hadn’t been completely drained of strength, he would have already curled up and trembled. Unable to bear it, he thought, “Can’t you find me a better body?”
[This is the best one.] System 009’s mechanical voice was cold and emotionless.
Lu Qinian gritted his teeth and said, “How is my current state any different from being dead?”
[The host cannot enter a body that possesses a soul.]
The young Elf was illuminated by the light, his body leaning against the rusty iron bars. The light hit his golden hair, creating several dazzling streaks of gold. His upper body was nearly bare, his head tilted to one side, as if he had been unconscious for a long time.
The only flaw was that his lower right abdomen was still bleeding, and his bright golden hair was stained with crimson blood.
It brought to mind a single phrase: a fallen beauty.
If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, anyone would assume this Elf had long since perished.
Unfortunately, 009 was known as the most heartless system in the Main God Space.
Lu Qinian was in so much pain he was about to pass out. If he heard the system’s assessment, he would surely jump up and declare himself a tough guy.
But this body had lost too much blood, and the prolonged low temperature meant Lu Qinian didn’t even have the strength to lift his wrist, let alone jump up.
“Xiao Jiu, help me with the pain,” Lu Qinian gnashed his teeth.
[Just once.]
As the mechanical voice faded, the intense pain throughout Lu Qinian’s body instantly ceased. The original owner’s fingers, which had been tightly gripping the ground and had turned purple, instantly relaxed, and his entire body finally went slack.
“Did my eyes deceive me? I clearly saw he wasn’t breathing.” The Beastman said in surprise.
The cell wasn’t very large, but thankfully the number of Beastmen imprisoned wasn’t too high. Spread out, there was only enough space for each person to stretch their limbs, not enough to lie down and sleep. Moreover, no one dared to approach Lu Qinian.
Since their imprisonment, the Elf had been carried and dumped by the foulest iron bars. His half-dead state, with the smell of blood mixing into the seawater, was even more unpleasant, leaving a large empty space around Lu Qinian.
“He really has nine lives,” someone muttered.
[Receive information?]
Every Beastman who entered the Undersea had taken a water-repellent potion, allowing them to breathe freely underwater.
The Elf ignored them and raised his hand to press against his still-bleeding abdomen, which only aggravated the wound, causing more blood to gush out.
The blood slid over his skin and dripped onto the ground, mixing with the seawater and spreading outward. It was no wonder they kept their distance; Lu Qinian himself found the smell unbearable.
“Receive.”
As he spoke, the plot instantly flooded his mind.
Three days ago, the newly appointed Merfolk King, Aleksi, was violent, cruel, and a textbook tyrant villain. He was also Lu Qinian’s target for this redemption mission.
Aleksi was not the successor designated by the Old King; he shouldn’t even exist within the Merfolk tribe.
His mother had a beautiful silver-blue fish tail, and no Merfolk could recall her without exclaiming about her beauty. She fell in love with the Old King and soon gave birth to Aleksi amidst his doting affection. Unlike typical love stories, Aleksi was a black-tailed Merfolk.
“Black Tail”—the most inauspicious existence in the Merfolk tribe.
From the moment of birth, a black tail was destined to be executed.
But because he was the King’s child, the delay dragged on. The beautiful silver-blue-tailed Merfolk cried constantly. To give her newborn child a chance to live, she ultimately chose to trade her life for his.
The Old King tragically embraced his deceased wife, then turned and glared with hatred at the young Aleksi.
He was abandoned.
The young Merfolk was driven out of the tribe, forced to hide in the Reef Cave on the outskirts of the community to evade predators.
He scavenged garbage, caught small fish, stole food, was beaten and mocked by younger Merfolk, and was driven away and insulted by adult Merfolk.
Until a red-tailed Merfolk appeared, adding one more thing to his life: “envy.” Envy for his brother, who was also the King’s child, but was cherished and loved.
When the Old King died, and Aleksi’s brother was crowned, the brutal black-tailed Merfolk severed the head with the bright red hair and cut off the vibrant red fish tail.
The black-tailed Merfolk, his hands stained with blood, held the blue crystal crown and slowly placed it upon his own head.
Lu Qinian was engrossed, but the background information abruptly stopped.
He slid down twice, unwilling to give up, but nothing more loaded. He asked, unsatisfied, “Is that all the information?”
Aleksi was a world-destroying villain, yet his background only consisted of a few lines. It didn’t even specify the reason for his cruelty. What did his brother do? Why did he torture and kill his brother?
The information was hidden. How was he supposed to redeem him?
However, the familiar mechanical sound did not appear.
“What’s the situation now?” A sigh, weak and weary, entered the System Space as a thought.
The next second, the original owner’s information poured into his mind.
The body Lu Qinian entered belonged to Thor, the current Saint Son of the Elf tribe. As the Elf with the highest affinity for plants in centuries, he was the future leader of the Elf tribe.
Thor was aloof and cold. Aside from the Elf Tribe Leader, he never paid attention to anyone. When facing the brutal Aleksi, he spoke recklessly at a banquet, pointing out Aleksi’s unworthiness, and was instantly stabbed through by the cruel black-tailed Merfolk.
He was then thrown into this cold Dungeon to await death. Imprisoned with him were the future successors of various other tribes.
“Why did Aleksi lock them up?” Lu Qinian was puzzled. The background information was too sparse, and the original owner’s memories were filled only with the black-tailed Merfolk’s brutality; truly useful information was scarce.
Thor was imprisoned for his loose tongue, but what was the reason for the other Beastmen’s imprisonment?
It couldn’t just be a whim…
Aleksi’s actions would completely offend the other tribes, and a joint punitive expedition was only a matter of time.
He needed to stop Aleksi from destroying the world. As for turning over a new leaf, that was simply wishful thinking.
Lu Qinian’s inquiries went unanswered, so he simply shut up and quietly recovered from his injuries.
The blood on his abdomen had already clotted, and the scab covered the wound, preventing further bleeding.
Lu Qinian’s life was truly saved. He knew that even if the system blocked the pain, without proper treatment for the abdominal wound, he would still bleed to death.
Now, it seemed he had made the right gamble.
The system was slowly healing him while blocking the pain.
Lu Qinian slowly released the hand pressing on the wound, his gaze falling upon the group of people opposite him. His eyes paused when he met the gaze of a pair of brown, fawn-like eyes.
It was the Deer Beastman who had noticed him waking up earlier. Lu Qinian didn’t have the strength to speak, nor the interest to converse with the other party, so he slowly closed his eyes, pretending not to notice.
The Elf Thor’s personality was cold and aloof; actively speaking to others was rare, which conveniently suited Lu Qinian’s current need for rest.
Lu Li’s breath hitched when his eyes met the Elf’s emerald green ones. This was the first time he had seen Thor; he had only heard rumors about the Elf Saint Son from others.
The proud, aloof Elf possessed peerless beauty. His golden long hair was parted by a pair of pointed Elf ears. Even when barely clinging to life, those emerald green eyes were still resilient and bright, and his features were sharply defined, causing Lu Li to stare blankly for a long time.
It wasn’t until a “creak” sound came from the distant iron gate that he realized he had been staring at the Elf for too long.
A loud crash echoed from afar.
A curse followed immediately: “Are you blind, you bastard! You can’t even hold a bucket steady! If you dare knock over the other bucket, I’ll chop off your hands and feet!”
The response was a string of apologies: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“Get lost and deliver the food! Useless trash.”
“Yes, yes, I’m going now.”
The sound of footsteps grew closer. The Beastmen in the cage shrank back, some terrified, wishing they could hide in the floor cracks, others staring blankly. Only Lu Qinian remained unmoved, leaning against the flaking iron bars, the rust staining his pale back red.
The footsteps finally stopped behind Lu Qinian. The voice, which had just been submissive, instantly rose: “Get over here and eat!”
Thinking of how the Merfolk in front of him had just been bowing and scraping, Lu Li muttered his dissatisfaction, “Sycophant…”
Before he finished speaking, the Sheep Beastman next to him tugged his arm. Lu Li instantly clamped his mouth shut and glanced timidly at the Guard. Fortunately, his muttering was very quiet and was interrupted in time, so it didn’t draw the Guard’s attention. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Hurry up, stop dawdling.” As he spoke, the Guard seemed unsatisfied and his gaze fell behind the Elf. He suddenly raised his leg and violently kicked Lu Qinian’s back. “Half-dead thing, still blocking the way.”
Lu Qinian was kicked directly into the mud. The wound that had just stopped bleeding burst open again, and fresh blood gushed out. Cold mud and water clung to his skin. He shivered lightly twice and then remained still.
If he tried to get up now, he would likely be kicked again, so he decided to stay in that position and not move.
The other Beastmen had already approached the iron bars, holding their worn ceramic bowls, waiting for the Merfolk Guard to dispense the porridge. That kick from the Guard made them shrink back again.
The cursing rang out once more: “Why are you hiding! If you don’t want to eat, starve!”
Lu Li, however, was staring intently at Lu Qinian, who lay on the ground, motionless.
Lu Li’s brown eyes flickered, landing on the broken bowl not far from Lu Qinian. After a moment’s thought, he quickly scrambled up, grabbed the broken ceramic bowl, and squatted in front of the Merfolk Guard, holding up two bowls silently, waiting for the porridge.
The Merfolk Guard saw all this. He had just knocked over a bucket of porridge at the door, and there were several more cells to deliver food to. One bucket of porridge was already insufficient. Seeing the Elf lying motionless on the ground, he angrily cursed, “An Elf! If he’s dead, he’s dead! Why should he eat!”
Saying this, he poured half a scoop of porridge into one of the ceramic bowls, then carried the remaining bucket to the next cell, continuously cursing under his breath.
Of the two ceramic bowls, one had less than half a bowl of porridge, and the other was completely empty.
The Sheep Beastman, who was closest to Lu Li, was the first to receive his porridge. His ceramic bowl was already licked clean. Seeing his friend with his head bowed, he knew what the other was thinking and quickly urged, “Lu Li, drink it quickly.”
“But, I want to…” Lu Li looked conflictedly at the Elf lying in the mud.
Sensing the surrounding Beastmen’s eyes on the bowls, the dark-skinned Beastman moved half a step, completely shielding Lu Li.
“Lu Li,” his voice was low, “If there’s no porridge tomorrow, you won’t last much longer.”
During the days of their imprisonment, they had only received this one bowl of bland white porridge daily. Today, there was even less than half a bowl. No one knew how long this situation would last.
The Beastmen in the Dungeon were all prominent figures in their respective tribes, and they all carried a certain arrogance. For a day or two, they scorned the meager rations. But what about half a month, or even a month later?
Lu Li wasn’t stupid; he understood his friend’s meaning. But the hand holding the white porridge felt unusually hot.
He hesitated for a long time, finally saying, “Let him drink it. Without this mouthful of porridge, he will definitely die. I drank my porridge obediently the past few days, so I’m not hungry yet. Besides, that Guard won’t knock over a bucket again tomorrow, and we’ll be able to drink a full bowl.”
The dark-skinned Beastman stared for a long time. In his peripheral vision, he could see the once proud, aloof Elf lying motionless in the mud like dust. Then he looked at the little deer in front of him, at the determination in his eyes.
“Sigh.” He finally sighed and nodded, using his body to shield Lu Li’s actions until the Elf swallowed the white porridge. Then, he pulled Lu Li back to squat by the wall.
Once the Dungeon was completely quiet, in the darkness, a pair of dead fish eyes dimmed, and a small black fish turned and swam out of the Dungeon.
Author’s Note:
———————-
The novel is starting! (Excited scream! Woohoo!)
Darlings, here are some upcoming projects.
1. My Wife Is Not Human [Quick Transmigration] – Same theme as this novel.
2. Supporting Character Gong Also Wants to Fall in Love [Quick Transmigration]
There is a type of novel in this world called “True Fragrance” literature.
The biggest draw of these novels is the regret of the high-and-mighty, the tearful repentance of the romantic rake, and the bitter pleas of the gloomy yandere.
And I am the supporting character in these novels, one of the most insignificant roles in the book.
[I lay the groundwork for the conflict between the Gong and Shou, I charge into the fray for their misunderstandings, and I protect their love. When they need me, I am always there, sacrificing my life. When they don’t need me, I quietly curl up, afraid of losing my life.]
In this second chance, I decide to stay far away from the main Gong and Shou and live my own life.
Supporting Character Gong: I want to fall in love too.