Master."
The voice came from outside the room.
Lin Xiaoyu nearly jumped out of her skin.
Her heart stopped for a moment before resuming at twice its normal speed.
Master?
Who was he calling?
Then reality hit her.
Xie Yuchen.
That was her now.
Or at least the body she currently occupied.
Panic surged through her.
What was she supposed to do?
What if the person outside noticed something was wrong?
What if they discovered she wasn't the real Xie Yuchen?
Would they kill her?
Interrogate her?
Throw her into some dungeon?
A thousand terrifying possibilities flashed through her mind.
No.
Calm down.
She was in Xie Yuchen's body.
Nobody would suspect anything unless she gave them a reason to.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to sit upright on the bed.
She crossed one leg over the other and tried to imitate the cold, arrogant expression she remembered from the comic.
The result was probably terrible.
But it was better than screaming.
"Come in."
The voice that left her mouth was low and commanding.
Xiaoyu blinked.
Even she was impressed.
The door opened.
A young man dressed in black entered the room.
He appeared to be in his mid-twenties.
Sharp eyebrows.
Calm eyes.
A sword hanging at his waist.
Unlike an ordinary servant, he carried himself like a trained martial artist.
The moment he entered, his gaze landed on her.
And stayed there.
For several seconds.
Too many seconds.
Xiaoyu's scalp tingled.
Oh no.
He's noticed.
He knows.
I'm dead.
Her palms immediately became sweaty.
Oddly enough, Xie Yuchen's body seemed to react as well.
A strange tension spread through her chest.
Almost as though the body itself was nervous.
The man frowned slightly.
"Master..."
Xiaoyu's heart nearly exploded.
Then the man suddenly let out a relieved sigh.
"Where have you been?"
"...What?"
"We've been looking for you everywhere."
Xiaoyu blinked.
The man continued.
"For two weeks."
The room became silent.
Two weeks?
Her eyes widened.
"Two weeks?"
"Yes, Master."
The man nodded.
"The entire Hei Ming Sect has been searching for you."
Xiaoyu's brain almost stopped functioning.
Had Xie Yuchen disappeared before she transmigrated?
Or had she somehow been unconscious for two weeks?
Nothing made sense.
Trying to sound calm, she asked,
"What is today's date?"
The man looked puzzled.
But answered immediately.
"Third day of the eighth month, Year 318."
The moment the date left his mouth, Xiaoyu froze.
Her pupils contracted.
She knew that date.
She knew it extremely well.
Every reader of the comic knew it.
It was one of the most important dates in the entire story.
The day Xie Yuchen became the Sect Master of the Hei Ming Sect.
Five years before the comic's main storyline began.
Five years.
Xiaoyu nearly fell off the bed.
No way.
No way.
No way.
She hadn't merely transmigrated into Xie Yuchen.
She had transmigrated into the villain before he became the villain.
Before the murders.
Before the betrayals.
Before the bloodshed.
Before everything.
The man observed her strange reaction.
"Master?"
Xiaoyu immediately coughed.
"Continue."
The man bowed.
"As expected, I was right."
"About what?"
"I thought you had run away."
Xiaoyu almost choked.
Run away?
Xie Yuchen?
The power-hungry villain obsessed with becoming Sect Master?
The man shook his head helplessly.
"I know you never wanted this position."
Xiaoyu froze.
The room seemed to spin.
"What did you say?"
The man looked confused.
"I said I know you never wanted to become Sect Master."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Xiaoyu stared at him.
Had she heard incorrectly?
The Xie Yuchen she knew would kill for this position.
Literally.
In the comic, he eventually murdered his elder brother, Xie Tianyu.
Then he eliminated his younger brother, Xie Zichen.
Anyone standing between him and the throne became an enemy.
That was the entire reason readers hated him.
So why was this man saying he never wanted the position?
The man sighed.
"Master, Elder Gu personally fought for your succession before the council."
Xiaoyu's mind exploded.
"Elder Gu?"
"Yes."
The man's expression was filled with respect.
"Elder Gu Liang."
Xiaoyu stared at him.
Gu Liang?
The same Gu Liang?
The man who, according to the comic, would become Yuchen's greatest political enemy?
The man Yuchen would eventually kill?
The comic described them as sworn enemies.
So why—
Why was Shen Wei speaking as though Gu Liang was Yuchen's ally?
The man continued speaking.
"Elder Gu spent months convincing the council elders."
"He argued that you were the most suitable successor."
"He personally ensured today's coronation would proceed."
Every word felt like a hammer striking Xiaoyu's head.
This wasn't right.
None of this was right.
In the comic, Gu Liang supposedly opposed Yuchen from the very beginning.
Yet reality was telling her the exact opposite.
"Master?"
The man frowned.
"You seem different today."
Xiaoyu's heart nearly stopped.
Different?
Had she been discovered?
The room suddenly felt suffocating.
The man studied her face for a moment.
Then he smiled faintly.
"I suppose disappearing for two weeks would exhaust anyone."
Xiaoyu secretly released a breath.
Safe.
For now.
The man bowed respectfully.
"Forgive my manners."
"This subordinate is Shen Wei."
"The one who has served at your side since childhood."
Xiaoyu immediately stored the name in her memory.
Shen Wei.
Xie Yuchen's confidant.
The person closest to him.
The person who probably knew him better than anyone else.
That made him both useful and dangerous.
Shen Wei straightened.
"Master, everyone is waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
The man looked surprised.
"For your coronation."
The words landed like thunder.
Coronation.
Sect Master.
Today.
Not tomorrow.
Not next week.
Today.
In a few hours, she would become the ruler of the most feared organization in the comic.
The future villain's throne was waiting for her.
But Xiaoyu barely cared about that anymore.
Her mind was occupied by something far more terrifying.
The comic said Xie Yuchen wanted power more than anything.
Reality said he ran away from it.
The comic said Gu Liang was his greatest enemy.
Reality said Gu Liang was his strongest supporter.
The comic said the path to becoming a villain had already begun.
Yet everything she had seen suggested a completely different story.
As Shen Wei waited for her answer, a cold thought surfaced in Xiaoyu's mind.
Was the comic wrong?
Or was someone rewriting history right before her eyes?
And if the comic was wrong about Gu Liang...
Then what else was it wrong about?
The answer frightened her more than becoming the villain himself.