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

Late night

"Crunch"

A soft yet jarring sound suddenly broke the silence of the inn.

The door opened, and a person tiptoed out.

He looked around suspiciously, like a thief, and seeing that no one was around, he cautiously went downstairs.

Another room

Qin Huaiyu, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

"It really is you. You certainly know how to pick your time."

He quickly got up, left the room, and then knocked on Shen Wan'er's door.

quickly

The door opened, and a sleepy Shen Wan'er looked at Qin Huaiyu standing in the doorway with a puzzled expression.

"It's so late, why aren't you sleeping?" she said with a hint of coquettishness.

"Haven't you always wanted to know who's behind this? Now's the time."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wan'er immediately perked up and hurriedly asked:

"Who is it?"

Qin Huaiyu hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and said:

"Hey, come with me!"

After saying that, he quickly went downstairs.

Seeing this, Shen Wan'er hurriedly followed, but looking at Qin Huaiyu's attitude, she felt inexplicably uneasy.

After leaving the inn

The two leaped onto the roof, and Qin Huaiyu, watching the figure about to disappear around the street corner, chased after it.

As the distance gets closer.

Shen Wan'er gradually recognized the figure: a slender frame, handsome features, and the same narrow eyes—it was her younger brother, Shen Jie.

How could this be? How could this be............

She was struck dumb, her mind reeling. She lost her footing and was about to stumble and fall.

Qin Huaiyu reacted quickly, grabbing her soft waist and helping her up.

"At first, I didn't want to believe it either, but when all the problems arose, the clues all pointed to him."

Shen Wan'er then understood why Qin Huaiyu had always been secretive and reluctant to tell her about the person behind the scenes; it was all to protect her.

She felt as if her heart was being struck by a heavy hammer. She couldn't understand how her younger brother, who had always been a spoiled brat, could be such a complete villain, even though a playboy wasn't exactly a good person.

The caravan consisted of nearly twenty people, along with children from Beian Village, and possibly even their biological fathers...

She didn't want to admit it, but her furtive behavior in the middle of the night forced her to accept reality.

"He's going to the Buddhist temple."

Qin Huaiyu glanced in the direction and nodded. Sure enough, it seemed that was the Nightmare Devourer's stronghold.

"Wan'er, you should go back first. I'll handle this."

"No need, I can handle my own affairs!"

Shen Wan'er's face was expressionless, but the chill emanating from within sent shivers down one's spine.

My younger brother, my own younger brother!

At this moment, she was filled with grief, but the thought of the mortuary also filled her with rage. A complex mix of emotions entangled her, making her like a volcano about to erupt, seemingly calm but with undercurrents surging beneath.

Qin Huaiyu shook his head. Saying anything now would be superfluous; he could only silently follow.

The three of them walked through the street one after the other and arrived at the Buddhist temple.

Shen Jie opened the door as if he were a thief, and then walked straight into the hall.

Yellow silk curtains covered both sides, and two prayer cushions were placed on the ground in the middle. In front of them was an incense table with incense, candles and offerings. The enshrined Buddha was a large Buddha statue, with hands clasped and knees crossed, its appearance solemn and dignified.

Shen Jie glanced around carefully, then leaped onto the Buddha platform. He walked behind the Buddha statue and gave it a hard push.

The Buddha statue moved forward, and a brightly lit opening was revealed beneath the original base. He walked down the steps, and as the figure disappeared, the Buddha statue returned to its original position.

So that's where it was! No wonder I couldn't find it!

Seeing this, Qin Huaiyu and his companion waited a few minutes before leaping down from the eaves and heading straight for the Buddha statue.

He pushed hard, and the seemingly heavy Buddha statue was pushed very easily, showing that the mechanism was very ingenious.

As you move, the cave entrance appears, square in shape, with steps leading up to it, and light shines through it.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wan'er couldn't wait to go downstairs.

"Be careful!"

Qin Huaiyu's expression changed, and he quickly followed.

The underground staircase is very deep, with dozens of steps, and is more than ten meters away from the top. The walls on both sides are very smooth.

Further in was a deep corridor, and you could vaguely see a wider space at the end, with figures moving around.

The two exchanged a glance, then rushed over as fast as they could.

A flash of light appeared, the torches flickered, and when they looked again, the people had silently reached the end.

Wisps of smoke drifted out of the cave entrance.

Qin Huaiyu took a deep sniff, and a strong aroma of roasted meat lingered around his nose.

He peeked out and saw a large underground stone chamber with little decoration. In the center were four simple and ancient cauldrons.

At this moment, streams of black gas, almost tangible, flowed out of the furnace opening and converged towards the center.

There, floating in mid-air was a black, solidified Buddha. It was pitch black all over and about a foot in size. Although it had a fleshy protuberance on its head, its black eyes glared angrily, and it had fangs in its mouth, making it look extremely ferocious.

"Such potent evil energy!"

Qin Huaiyu was somewhat surprised to sense the malevolent power emanating from the Buddha.

Just then, footsteps came from the side of the cave.

He turned his head and saw that Shen Jie was leading four monks toward the alchemy furnace, wearing gray robes and with youthful faces.

"It's him!"

Qin Huaiyu was extremely shocked. He recognized one of the four monks; it was the young monk who had led the way for them outside Yinling Temple that day.

Shen Wan'er, on the other side, also recognized the little monk, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise.

At this moment, each of the four monks was holding a twelve or thirteen-year-old child in their hands. The children's mouths were gagged, and they were making muffled noises and struggling desperately, their little faces turning red.

"This is...no good!"

Qin Huaiyu thought to himself that it was too late to save them. Before the four monks even got close to the cauldron, they threw the four children in like balls.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang"

The cauldron shook a few times and then fell silent.

"Hehe, this is the last batch."

Shen Jie smiled and said:

"Hurry up, all of you. We can't stay here any longer. Those two have discovered our secret. We must leave as soon as possible."

"Didn't you say you could take care of them?"

The young monk sweeping the floor led three monks to the alchemy furnace, picked up the pestle from the side, and smashed it down without the slightest hesitation.

Bang

Blood and flesh splattered all over his face.

"It's all that damn village chief's fault. He killed the Li couple behind our backs, and now that evidence has been gathered, everything has been exposed."

Shen Jie's face was sinister. "The plan was perfect. We ambushed and killed two people in the Buddhist temple. But that old guy was afraid of his life and let them escape in order to save himself."

I tried to silence him and frame Qin Huaiyu and his gang so the villagers would execute him, but then Old Zheng showed up. Those two old bastards deserve to die!

Upon hearing this, the sweeping monk's face darkened, and he said:

"What a pity. This place, which we've built up over so long, has been destroyed in an instant. You'll have to explain what happened here yourself."

"No problem, but this is the most important time. We must leave as soon as possible, otherwise, if we are discovered, neither of us can bear the consequences." Shen Jie frowned.

"Tonight, after we finish refining it, we'll return. The evil Buddha will also be basically formed."

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