Chosen One, how did I end up as the villain?

Deep in the mass grave

Sun Shu walked stiffly through a patch of vines, and ahead appeared a hidden cave, half-hidden by tree branches, with a dim yellow light shining through the gaps.

"There's light. It seems we've arrived."

Feng Yunming glanced around as he spoke, then continued:

"This is a mountain pass with cover all around. This guy really knows how to pick a spot. If no one leads the way, who would find it?"

As if to echo the conjecture, Sun Shu did not stop and walked straight into the cave, paving her way through the branches and leaves.

Seeing this, the three quickly followed.

Approaching the cave entrance.

Qin Huaiyu's nostrils twitched as a strange smell wafted out of the cave. It smelled like decay, but also had a slightly fishy stench, which was very odd.

"Be careful, everyone."

He turned back and gave some instructions, then carefully crawled inside.

But the next moment, an utterly outrageous scene was presented to him in broad daylight.

Shen Wan'er, who was following closely behind, widened her eyes the moment she saw it and stood there stunned.

It was a circular cave, not very large, and the boundaries could be seen at a glance. Torches were stuck in the smooth walls at intervals, illuminating the entire cave.

However, in the center of the cave, there were a dozen or so thick wooden stakes, each with a naked female corpse bound to it by a yellow cloth.

Their bodies were emaciated, reduced to skin and bones, with dark skin and sunken eyes, resembling ancient, dried-up corpses, clearly drained of their life force.

Moreover, each female corpse was in a different posture, some bent over, some standing upright, some upside down... but they all had one thing in common: their legs were spread apart, and their faces still bore the expression of terror and struggle before they died.

Everything suggests what these girls went through.

The joys and sorrows of secretaries.

Qin Huaiyu finally understood where the decadence came from, and he felt a little uneasy. Even if it was a nightmare, there had to be a limit.

There can't be no bottom line!

Shen Wan'er gritted her teeth and pointed at the wooden stake, her beautiful face filled with anger.

"Damn it, damn it!"

"He's absorbing blood energy while simultaneously creating nightmare energy to enhance his cultivation," Feng Yunming said slowly, frowning.

"In this way?" Qin Huaiyu was very puzzled.

Feng Yunming nodded and said:

"In our common understanding, nightmare power is a product of heaven and earth, but as time has changed, some people have discovered a new method for cultivation."

That is to do evil. As long as you do evil, you will generate nightmare power, which can be absorbed very quickly. This has become a shortcut.

Many practitioners are deeply versed in this path, and what we see before us is merely one method among many.

"And like you said, what about both husband and wife?"

Shen Wan'er clearly knew the inside story, but did not understand its essence.

"That was voluntary."

Qin Huaiyu was somewhat saddened, and then continued:

"The essence of evil is that it is based on one party's unwillingness and is an act that is not tolerated by the world."

"That's right, the emotional power of the passive party connects with the order of heaven and earth, generating nightmare power—this is creation!"

After Feng Yunming finished speaking, his gaze turned to the depths of the cave, his brows furrowed.

"We're too late. The strategist must have noticed us and escaped."

Qin Huaiyu discovered the person was missing as soon as he entered the cave.

The strategist manipulated Sun Shu here simply to create nightmare energy to absorb blood essence.

But she was sitting alone on a stone bed in the corner of the cave. It was clear that the main person had run away, otherwise they wouldn't have left such a young woman unattended.

"Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Shen Wan'er's face was very unpleasant, and she raised her eyebrows and said.

"Of course not. It's only been two or three hours since Sun Shu arrived here. With such a short time, the strategist must have left in a hurry and probably left behind a lot of clues."

After saying this, the three exchanged a glance and then went their separate ways.

Qin Huaiyu strode to the center of the cave and carefully examined the nearest corpse.

Although the skin on the woman's body was shriveled, there were no signs of deterioration, indicating that she had died relatively recently, which also coincided with the time of disappearance of the people in the town.

Furthermore, there are various bruises on his body, especially on his waist and abdomen.

That secret agent truly has no sense of chivalry or tenderness towards women; he's a complete psychopath.

And this yellow cloth binding them!

It's silk?

Is it that extravagant?

But why does this yellow chrysanthemum look so familiar? It's like I've seen it somewhere before.

Qin Huaiyu was surprised and pondered to himself. He reached out and touched the yellow paste. The texture was not very smooth and was somewhat rough. It was a low-quality product and should be used to make curtains.

"Huh, what's this?"

His eyes lit up as he flipped open the yellow paste, revealing a deep, dark red mark on the woman's wrist.

There were marks from the straps, and some debris.

Qin Huaiyu quickly pried open the skin on his wrist, and found many upside-down barbs in the marks, which felt very prickly to the touch.

No, this was left on the rope.

Replacing the rope with yellow silk, isn't that redundant?

Or perhaps...

He walked to another female corpse, lifted the yellow silk, and found the same ligature marks.

wrong!

Unconvinced, Qin Huaiyu continued examining each item one by one.

Soon, he was back to square one.

Every single corpse had it, which means these girls had been bound with ropes before they died.

But why did it change to yellow silk? Could it be that the guy has some kind of weird fetish?

"A discovery!"

Just then, Shen Wan'er's voice came.

Qin Huaiyu turned his head and saw her running towards him from the direction of the stone bed, carrying a piece of clothing.

Upon hearing this, Feng Yunming, who was in another direction, also jogged forward.

"Look, this was found on the bed."

As Shen Wan'er spoke, she unfolded the clothes in her hands.

It was a gray robe with black fabric sewn onto the collar, and the whole garment was very loose.

"Monk's robes?"

Qin Huaiyu was startled, and suddenly he thought of the temple.

That's right!

"The body was bound with yellow silk," he said.

Feng Yunming's expression suddenly changed, and he said:

"The temple curtains are made of yellow silk, and with those monk's robes, he's a monk!"

Qin Huaiyu found it hard to believe. The monk was a Buddhist disciple who abstained from alcohol and sex, and spoke of compassion and immeasurable merit every day. How could such a person commit such an evil deed?

"These hypocritical bastards, preaching Buddhism all day long, they deserve to die!"

Shen Wan'er cursed angrily.

"Could there be a mistake?"

Qin Huaiyu pressed his forehead; something felt off. The mark alone couldn't be explained, and then there were these things...

"What's wrong with everything being laid out here?"

After Shen Wan'er finished speaking, she turned to look at Feng Yunming and said:

"Uncle Feng, there's a temple near our town, isn't there?"

"Yes, it's located on the nearby Hidden Spirit Mountain, in a place called Hidden Spirit Temple."

"Whether it's them or not, we'll find out by checking."

Shen Wan'er narrowed her long, fox-like eyes at Qin Huaiyu, giving him an attitude that said, "If you don't agree, you'll be sorry."

...Hey girl, come on! It's a dark and windy night, perfect for a fight between men and women!

Qin Huaiyu glanced at her already quite well-proportioned figure, but honestly said:

"If we're going, it should be tomorrow at the earliest. Let's sort things out here first."

He couldn't bear to look at the woman's corpse on the tree stump.

"Uncle Feng, what do you think?"

"Why!"

Feng Yunming sighed and said:

"I will send people to transport these girls back to their respective homes tomorrow. After all, their parents should be given an explanation for their deaths."

................