Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist

Yue Lingshan agreed to the plan. She saw the strategic value. But as she did, a small, unwelcome seed of doubt, wrapped in the thorny vines of jealousy, took root in the fertile soil of her heart.

Her mind conjured the image of Liu Ruyan from the Blood Forbidden Ground. The ethereal grace, the melodious voice, the serene temperament that seemed to make the very air around her calmer. She was beautiful, undeniably so, but in a way that was completely different from her own vibrant, regal allure. It was a quiet, insidious beauty, the kind that could steal a man’s thoughts without him even realizing it.

A subtle frown creased her perfect brow, a shadow passing through her bright, beautiful eyes.

’That Liu Ruyan...’ Yue Lingshan thought, her internal voice a low, possessive whisper. ’She’s beautiful, in that quiet, ethereal way. Too beautiful. And I saw how her eyes followed Jian in the Forbidden Ground. She tried to hide it behind her veil, but I saw it. The admiration. The... hunger. It was plain as day.’

She remembered the way Liu Ruyan’s gaze would linger on Wang Jian for a moment too long, the way her voice would soften whenever she addressed him as ’Senior Brother Wang’.

’She is infatuated with him,’ Yue Lingshan concluded with a certainty that made her stomach clench. ’Of course, she is. What woman with eyes in her head wouldn’t be? But Jian... he is mine.’

The thought was fierce, absolute. He had chosen her, saved her, loved her. He belonged to her, and she to him.

’I must keep a close watch on her when she visits,’ she resolved, her fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on Wang Jian’s hand. ’She may act like a pure, untouchable fairy, but I know the hearts of women. She will try to seduce him. She will try to take what is mine. But she will fail. I will not allow it. Jian is mine.’

Wang Jian, sensing the subtle shift in her mood, the slight tensing of her body, simply gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He knew the seeds of jealousy were a natural, even useful, part of the bond he was forging with her. Her possessiveness only deepened her devotion.

He decided it was the perfect moment to push further, to test the boundaries of that devotion.

He let go of her hand and rose from the chair in their small inn room, walking over to the window. He gazed out at the peaceful, moonlit streets of River Bamboo Town, his hands clasped behind his back.

”But intelligence from just one rival sect is not enough, Lingshan,” he said, his voice a low, thoughtful murmur that carried across the quiet room. ”The Crimson Pill Sect’s plans are but one piece of a much larger, more dangerous puzzle.”

He turned back to face her, his handsome face partially cloaked in shadow, his eyes holding a serious, strategic light.

”The most critical information, the sect’s true response to this crisis, the decisions that will shape the coming war... that intelligence will come from within our own walls. From the very top.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

”To truly understand the Mystic Peak Sect’s strategy, to know what the Core Formation Elders and even the Grand Elder are planning... we need an inside source. A direct line to the heart of power.”

He took a slow step towards her. ”We must also invite Senior Sister Chen Ying to this meeting.”

The name hung in the air, cold and sharp.

Yue Lingshan’s subtle frown deepened into a pronounced scowl. Her entire body stiffened, the soft, loving warmth of moments before instantly replaced by a frosty displeasure.

”Chen Ying?” she repeated, her voice sharp with disbelief. ”Jian, are you serious?”

She stood up, her hands finding her hips in a posture of indignant opposition. ”She is the granddaughter of Ancestor Chen! She is the proudest, most aloof woman in the entire inner sect! She walks around as if the very ground is unworthy of her footsteps!”

Her voice rose slightly with her frustration. ”She has barely spoken a dozen words to us since we returned from the Forbidden Ground, and most of those were dismissive! Why in the heavens would she share the Elders’ deepest secrets with two new Deacons she clearly looks down upon?”

Wang Jian simply watched her, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. He let her vent, knowing that her jealousy, her rivalry with the other great beauty of the sect, was a powerful tool.

His mind, however, was in a completely different place, a place of dark, depraved amusement.

’My poor, innocent Lingshan,’ his internal voice was a low, cruel chuckle. ’So fierce, so jealous, and so wonderfully, beautifully clueless. If only you knew. If only you knew that the proud inner sect Ice Queen, your great rival for the title of the sect’s number one beauty, is now just my secret whore.’

He thought of Chen Ying, of her magnificent, voluptuous body, of the way she had broken beneath him, of the shameful, demeaning acts he had forced her to perform.

’A bitch who crawls to my cave at night, dressed in obscene silks and leather, to beg for my cock. She would sell her own Core Formation grandfather and the entire Mystic Peak Sect for one of my top-grade pellets and the promise of my... attention. Secrets? She would hand me the sect’s foundation scripture on a silver platter if I commanded it.’

Outwardly, he let none of this show. He turned on his irresistible charm, his smile confident and disarming as he closed the distance between them.

”Lingshan, my love,” he said, his voice a smooth, placating balm. ”You forget my greatest asset. My true trump card.”

Yue Lingshan’s beautiful eyes narrowed. ”And what is that?” she asked, her tone still laced with sarcasm. ”Your handsome face?”

He laughed, a warm, genuine sound that chipped away at her icy anger. ”That helps, of course,” he admitted, reaching out to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. ”But no. I am an alchemist, my love. An alchemist of considerable, perhaps even unprecedented, talent.”

He saw the flicker of pride in her eyes at his words; she knew better than anyone the truth of that statement.

”And even the arrogant Senior Sister Chen Ying,” he continued, his voice logical and persuasive, ”needs resources. She needs pills and elixirs to cultivate that profound new sword art she acquired. Things that are very difficult to obtain, even for the cherished granddaughter of a Grand Elder.”

He framed her face with his hands, his gaze warm and earnest. ”She will not refuse a connection with a man who can provide her with an endless supply of top-grade pellets of a quality she has never seen before. We will not ask her for secrets, Lingshan. We will trade for them. It is a simple transaction, a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

He could see her mind working, processing his logic.

”She is ambitious,” he added, his final, masterful stroke. ”More ambitious than anyone in the sect. We will appeal to that ambition. She gains the resources to surpass all her rivals, to solidify her position as the sect’s future leader. In return, we gain the intelligence we need to survive. It is a language she will understand perfectly.”

His explanation was flawless. It was logical, strategic, and played perfectly on what little she knew of Chen Ying’s proud, ambitious character.

But it did not soothe the core of her displeasure.

Her rational mind accepted his logic. Her jealous heart, however, rebelled. The thought of Wang Jian having a ”private transaction” with the stunning, voluptuous Chen Ying was a bitter pill to swallow.

She let out an indignant ”Hmph!”

Her cheeks puffed out in an adorable pout. She stepped forward and pinched his waist, her fingers twisting the fabric of his robe. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but it was a clear, pointed expression of her frustration.

”A simple transaction!” she huffed, her voice a delightful mixture of jealousy and exasperation. ”Don’t think for a moment that I can’t see what you’re doing, Wang Jian! You just want an excuse to surround yourself with beautiful women!”

Her words tumbled out in a rush of possessive accusation. ”First, you insist we must meet with the ethereal fairy from the Crimson Pill Sect, Liu Ruyan! And now, you want to have a ’private transaction’ with the icy queen of the inner sect! Do you think I am a fool? Do you think my heart is made of stone?”

Wang Jian, instead of getting defensive, simply burst out laughing. It was a deep, hearty sound, filled with genuine amusement and affection.

He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest, silencing her protests with his lips. The kiss was not gentle; it was fierce, passionate, a whirlwind that stole her breath and her anger, leaving only a dizzying, intoxicating heat in its wake.

He pulled back, his forehead resting against hers, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

”My jealous little princess,” he whispered, his voice a low, teasing rumble against her lips. ”You are adorable when you are angry.”

He kissed her again, a softer, more lingering kiss this time.

”You worry for nothing,” he murmured, his hands sliding down her back to cup her magnificent, curvy buttocks, pulling her hips tight against his. ”Do you truly think those women, those ’tools’, could ever compare to you? To this?” He squeezed her buttocks firmly, making her gasp.

”Having a magnificent, passionate, and incredibly beautiful fairy like you as my woman is more than any man in any realm could ever ask for,” he continued, his voice a deep, sincere purr that melted the last of her resistance. ”They are merely tools for our ascent, Lingshan. Stepping stones on the grand path that you and I will walk together. Always together.”

His words, his touch, his overwhelming presence—it was too much. Her anger and jealousy dissolved like mist in the morning sun, replaced by a warm, possessive, and deeply reassuring glow. He was hers. He had said so.

She sighed, a sound of complete surrender, and melted into his embrace, her body now soft and pliant.

Wang Jian held her close, stroking her hair, a triumphant, loving smile on his face. He had soothed his jealous princess, reaffirmed his devotion, and secured her agreement for his plans.

But as he held her, as he gazed over her head at the moonlit river outside their window, his true, depraved thoughts remained a perfect, hidden secret.

’She is so wonderfully easy to placate,’ he mused, a cold, predatory smile forming in the depths of his mind. ’So innocent in her jealousy. She has no idea.’

He pictured the upcoming meeting. The three of them, together in his cave. The ethereal fairy, Liu Ruyan. The broken ice queen, Chen Ying. And his cherished princess, Yue Lingshan.

’Just wait until the meeting,’ he thought, a thrill of pure, hedonistic anticipation shooting through him. ’After my dear Lingshan is thoroughly loved and tired and fast asleep, I will have both Ruyan and that Chen Ying in my bed at the same time. The shy, curious fairy and the proud, humiliated slave... their contrasting beauties, their shared submission under my command... what a delightful, exquisite sight that will be.’

His smile widened in the darkness.

’A threesome is, after all, the perfect way to forge a lasting... political alliance.’