The Reincarnated Villain Can Break the Fourth Wall!

Early the next morning, as the twin suns crawled sluggishly over the edge of the cursed plains, Su Xiaobai and the squad set out.

Their target?

Yaoguang Valley.

Also known by those who feared to speak its name aloud as—

"Valley of the Light."

A place where the soil glowed with forbidden memory. Where legends said the Lost City slept beneath the bones of light-path gods, bathed in an aura that even corrupt Qi couldn't swallow.

Everyone came with different goals.

Su Xiaobai wasn't fooled by the so-called "treasure hunt."

He had already noticed something off. A quiet connection between Shi Yan and Lan Tian—something beneath the surface, like bloodline resonance or repressed sect marriage vows.

Relatives? Allies? Cult siblings with matching trauma tattoos?

Whatever it was, he didn't stop it.

Why?

Because when the heavens gift you a fire, you don't piss on it, you add oil, let chaos bloom, let the storm dance, and then? Walk through it like you lit it yourself.

Su Xiaobai was a villain. Not a peacekeeper.

Besides—

He had his own backers.

The Lin quintuplets, spirit-severing cultivators waited hidden.

He was the army.

Everyone else?

Fodder.

According to Lan Tian's ancient map—allegedly passed down through blood and cursed whispers—the Lost City lay far east, hidden deep inside Yaoguang Valley.

Their path?

A twisted trail of swamps, deserts, and spirit-choking wilderness, all corrupted by residual battlefield Qi, and scattered with mutated demonic beasts that couldn't decide whether they were alive or starving for your soul.

The conflict between empires yesterday had left the land unusually empty.

No side wanted to send their elites into the wilds now.

Too easy to be "accidentally" assassinated by a rogue merc from the other side.

Which meant—more beasts. Less witnesses.

Their group encountered minor threats the first day:

- Two-Fanged Obsidian Serpent—bit through a spiritual shield like tofu, died to Su Xiaobai's sword in two breaths.

- One-Tailed Crimson Sand Scorpion—Yu Feng incinerated it before it could inject its poison.

- And a ghost-bloated coyote that only existed for five seconds before Ku Rong punched it into meat jam.

These weren't normal beasts.

They were corrupted.

Warped by Corrupt Qi, bloated with rot, and completely uneatable unless you wanted diarrhea that liquefied your meridians.

Everyone wore thick armor, not for protection from attacks, but from airborne sickness and rot-borne venom.

And the sandstorms?

They pierced through spirit sense like dull swords through skin—annoying, but effective.

By nightfall, the group was exhausted, gritty, and just spiritual enough to curse loudly at nothing.

They set up tents, drew formation wards, and offered a chunk of their preserved moon rabbit meat to the local spirits—

…before eating it themselves, because who gives up meat that cost eighty spirit stones per strip?

And then—trouble arrived.

His name was Ku Rong.

And he was starving.

He ate.

And ate.

And ate.

He inhaled roasted rabbit, dried fruit, spirit-crusted bread, soul-nourishing herbs—like someone eating their last meal before execution.

"…" Su Xiaobai stared blankly.

One third of the food stores were gone.

"…What's wrong with this bull?" he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Did he starve through his last three reincarnations?!"

Even Yu Feng blinked.

"…Did he eat a whole gourd of peach wine roast?"

Nalan Yufei?

Just watched in silence.

Until Ku Rong slowly turned his head.

His dark red eyes glinted in the firelight, expression blank.

Their gazes locked.

And she immediately pretended to look at the stars.

Note to self, she thought. Never talk about food in front of the demon ox.

..

"..."

"..."

"Here. Take it." Su Xiaobai sighed, tossing a chunk of glistening, roasted spirit chicken toward the butcher.

This damn ox demon… I'll deal with him later.

Because right now? He had bigger problems. Like the mountain-sized hostility in the air. And the mountain-sized appetite right next to him.

He rubbed his forehead as he tapped his ring. From within, a small white farm chicken clucked weakly before being yoinked into Lulu's cleaver zone in his inner world.

Forgive me, little ones. You were raised for a greater purpose...

Moments later, steaming roasted chicken hit the fire.

Everyone stared.

Not at the chicken.

But at Su Xiaobai's spatial ring. Most spatial rings had limits—10 cubic meters, 100 max.

But this?

This thing had a living farm inside.

Someone coughed.

Greed briefly flashed in more than one pair of eyes.

Until Su Xiaobai shot them a lazy, side-eye smile that said:

'Try it, and I'll feed you to my pig next.'

The moment passed.

They resumed eating.

But silently.

Deng Lei cleared his throat.

"Right. According to the map, if we keep this pace, we'll hit the Black Swamp by tomorrow."

He gestured to the parchment glowing with faint ancestral Qi lines.

"That's the last barrier before Yaoguang Valley. One final zone to cross."

He paused dramatically.

"But… there's one major obstacle—"

"Dragon."

Lan Tian interrupted coldly.

Everyone stiffened.

"…Earth Dragon," Shi Yan corrected after a beat, his tone still grim.

Not a dragon in the majestic, "calls lightning and breeds legends" way.

But worse.

An Earth Dragon was a ground-based wyvern, scaled and horned, corrupted and territorial.

At full maturity?

Deity Transformation Realm.

A being capable of leveling mountains, swallowing sects, and digesting Nascent Soul cultivators like vitamins.

Deng Lei hesitated. "…It probably hasn't reached full size."

They all nodded, they were hoping. Because if not? They might as well dig their own graves now to save time.

Then—

"Hmph."

Everyone turned.

Ku Rong, crimson-skinned, hulking, silent until now, snorted.

Su Xiaobai's brow twitched.

"Got something to say, Butcher?"

He looked at the man carefully. There was something in those dead eyes.

Not just brutality.

Regret.

Dark and quiet.

____

When Su Xiaobai first heard Yin Muqing mention that her entire plum spirit race was slaughtered—right before she met the Blood Warlord—he'd had suspicions.

In his past life, his own family did shit like that to train elites.

Break someone's past. Rip out their roots. Don't let them realize you caused it.

Then offer them a sword. A collar. And a purpose.

She… might've been one of those projects.

I'll figure it out later, Su Xiaobai thought.

He wasn't sure yet.

But he was watching.

___

"The Earth Dragon will be mutated."

Ku Rong finally muttered.

Like stating a death sentence.

It wasn't a warning, it was a certainty, and everyone knew he wasn't bluffing.

A heavy silence fell again.

Bad news.

On top of bad news.

On top of dragon-shaped bad news.

"ALERT!"

Lan Tian suddenly shouted.

Everyone froze — Because they didn't need his voice... They had already felt it.

A massive spiritual pressure swept over them like a cold tidal wave.

Chilling, oppressive... Sentient.

A beast's sense.

Scanning.

Tasting.

Integration Realm. Minimum.

And slowly… from the dark edge of the swamp—

It appeared.

A shape.

Massive shiloutte.

And right now?

It was staring directly at Su Xiaobai's back.

He smiled stiffly.

"…Yeah, of course. Of course it's me."

"Great, it's MY turn to get wrecked now, huh?"

Because in every cursed expedition, there's always one guy who the boss monster decides is main character-shaped bait.

And unfortunately for him—

Su Xiaobai looked delicious.

"Don't move!"

Clang!

Weapons were drawn in perfect synchrony—cold steel, blessed wood, cursed bone.

A war cry of warriors ready for war.

And in the middle of it?

Su Xiaobai.

Hands casually holding a grilled chicken thigh, eyes half-lidded with boredom, heart half-dead with cynicism.

The others gestured wildly—Don't move! Stay calm!

Right, he thought, chewing slowly. Let me pretend I'm fine with becoming spiritual beast feces. Truly living the dream.

He didn't flinch, didn't stir, just sat cross-legged under the dark sky, devouring what might be his final poultry leg with philosophical dignity.

Then—it emerged.

From the fog beyond the campfire's reach.

Two pale-white eyes like moons reflected in still water.

Black fur, sleek as shadow silk, absorbing light like it owed it money.

Footsteps? None.

The beast moved like death on velvet paws—completely silent.

The pressure?

Still there. Heavy. Ominous.

Everyone braced—

Until it stepped forward fully.

And then?

"Pew!"

Everyone blinked.

"…What?"

That wasn't a roar.

It wasn't even a growl.

It sounded like someone squishing a spirit rat with a slipper.

A groan. A squeak. A very confused sneeze.

Su Xiaobai turned.

Slowly.

Surely.

And saw—

A cub.

A tiger cub.

Sleek, black fur, little pointed ears, teeth barely showing, tail wagging like a dog with secrets. It padded up to the firelight, eyes locked—not on the people—But on the meat in Su Xiaobai's hands.

"It looks hungry~" came Nalan Yufei's voice, light and cheerful, like she was narrating a fairy tale.

Before anyone could stop her—she skipped forward, crouched down, and offered the beast a skewer.

"Wait! It could be dangerous!" Lan Tian shouted, voice sharp.

But too late.

Nalan Yufei's logic?

Unmatched.

"He would've killed us if he wanted to, long ago."

And that?

Was that adventurous idiot logic that could only come from someone raised in a sterile elven forest full of polite spiritual deer.

Everyone stared.

Tense.

Waiting.

Su Xiaobai just sighed.

'Classic. She's going to die. Definitely going to die.'

It's always the elf. Cute one, curious one, first to pet the abomination disguised as fluff.

But nothing happened.

The little tiger blinked. Sniffed the food. Took a bite.

Purred.

Literally purred.

Like a house cat pretending it wasn't born from void and murder.

Yu Feng exhaled. "…It… doesn't seem dangerous?"

She stepped forward too. Careful.

And now—everyone except Su Xiaobai was slowly approaching it.

Pampering it.

Petting it.

Talking to it like it was a lost puppy.

They checked its Qi flow.

Its spiritual meridians.

Its bones.

Its tail wagging.

And?

Nothing.

No signs of aggression.

Just an overpowered aura with zero offensive output.

Which meant—

Useless.

Adorable.

Team mascot, apparently.

Except.

Su Xiaobai.

He stood far away, eyes narrowed.

Watching.

Waiting.

Mistrusting.

'You think I'm dumb enough to cuddle a walking disaster flag?'

'It's cute, has mysterious power, and wandered directly into our camp like a scripted beast companion introduction scene?'

'This thing's gonna sprout wings and kill someone mid-backstory flashback. Guaranteed.'

While the rest played zookeeper, Su Xiaobai backed up even more.

He tossed the chicken bone behind him, shook his head, and muttered under his breath:

"I'm not dying in chapter 46 because someone wanted to adopt a demonic housecat."