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

(I.e.

The beauty of mountains lies in their elegance; the deep forests are like a sea, with green waves undulating, resembling the waves of the tide when viewed from afar, layer upon layer.

Listen closely to the clear spring flowing, its sound crisp and melodious. Occasionally, a bird will be startled and take flight, its wings fluttering as it soars into the sky, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting.

Qin Huaiyu walked along the mountain path, his brow furrowed in worry.

His identity has been confirmed; he is not Qin Huaiyu of the Qin family. Appearances can change, identities can change, but the marks on his body cannot. There is no birthmark on his chest at all.

No wonder the old man was so kind; he let me go when there was danger.

So they were using me as a shield.

This suggests that he should know my identity is fake, or that he forged this fake identity himself.

But why do we do that?

Is he also plotting against my bad luck?

That shouldn't be the case. He had plenty of opportunities, so why didn't he take action?

Could it be that he'll end up like Yang Dashan...?

And what exactly happened on the day of the memorial service?

According to Du Ming, my changes began at that time, which means that my identity changed on that day.

Therefore, it can be seen that Xishan is the root cause of the incident.

With this in mind, Qin Huaiyu quickened his pace.

Perhaps due to the steepness of the mountain and the dense forest, there was not a soul in sight on the path, making it very quiet.

Without any disturbance, we soon reached the mountainside.

This is an artificially cleared area with several tombs arranged in a circle around each other. Each tomb has an inscription in front of it, and upon closer inspection, they are all members of the Qin family, from ancestors to recent generations, showing that the Qin family line has continued for several generations.

Qin Huaiyu walked around the perimeter, searching as he went.

He had inquired with the servants indirectly and learned that Madam Qin's surname was Qian, and her given name was Cui. She was someone Qin Hai had brought back from outside years ago. The two had secretly pledged their lives to each other but had consummated their marriage before marriage.

It is said that Qian Cui also came from a prominent family, but she was in poor health and died young, passing away shortly after giving birth to her son.

He examined the inscriptions on the steles according to this information, until he stopped in a corner.

There stood a gray stone tablet, carved with knife marks and stained with ink.

"Wife, Dehui Qin Qian Shi, tomb."

"This is the place."

Qin Huaiyu squatted down, his gaze shifting downwards. He frowned slightly. There were some grayish-white ashes on the ground, which looked like the residue from burning paper money.

"There are traces of a memorial service, but..."

He touched the ground; the soil here was unusually thicker than in other places, and there were very obvious footprints, indicating that someone frequently walked here.

That's strange. Who would come to a cemetery so often just for the thrill?

Qin Huaiyu was puzzled. He followed the direction of the footprints, which stretched forward until they reached the side of the stone tablet, and then disappeared into thin air...

An empty cemetery, solid ground, vanished footprints.

...It's come back to life! The dead have crawled out?

But how do you explain the footprints...?

He stood up in confusion, about to go forward and take a look.

Just then, a soft, rustling sound came from below, sounding like footsteps and the rustling of leaves.

"Someone's there!"

Qin Huaiyu immediately found a nearby grave mound and hid there.

It only takes a minute or two.

Sure enough, a middle-aged man dressed in hemp clothing, dressed as a servant, came up carrying a food box.

He looked around and, seeing that no one was following him, he followed the path to Qian Cui's grave.

"Going in and out like this every day is really unlucky. What if I really do run into a ghost one day...?"

"Pah, pah, no, next time we should ask the master to raise his wages. That's not an unreasonable request, is it?"

The middle-aged man shrank back and quickly walked closer to the stone tablet. Then he reached out and pressed the stone tablet, turning it to the left.

"Hiss"

With a screeching sound, the ground to the side shook and then began to shrink, revealing a square entrance about the size of a person in no time.

Seeing this, the man stopped what he was doing, then walked closer to the cave entrance. He looked around and, seeing no one, crawled inside.

The figure disappeared, the hole in the ground quickly closed, and the tombstone automatically rotated back to its original position.

Qin Huaiyu emerged from behind the grave mound, taking in the entire scene that had just unfolded.

No wonder the footprints disappeared; they went underground. What a scoundrel! He even tampered with his own wife's grave. What a loving family!

The person we just saw was dressed in the uniform of a servant of the Qin family.

I want to see what you're up to.

He quickly walked to the stone tablet and turned it using the same method the servant had used. It was very easy; the mechanism started up again, and the hole in the ground reappeared.

Qin Huaiyu turned his head and glanced at the cave entrance. There were downward steps leading down, and light was shining through.

Without hesitation, he quickly followed.

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

地下

There were dozens of bluestone steps, and a burning torch was placed every few steps on the smooth wall, illuminating the underground passage.

Qin Huaiyu descended the steps and followed the passage to an underground cave entrance, where he could clearly hear conversations coming from inside.

"Young master, the food has been brought back."

"Why is it taking so long? I'm starving!"

The complaining voice was crisp and clear, sounding like that of a young person.

"Two people?"

Qin Huaiyu cautiously peeked out, and the moment his gaze locked onto the object, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Inside the spacious stone room, a young man sat at a stone table, enjoying his food.

He wore a blue embroidered robe, had a slender figure, long black hair cascading down his shoulders, and eyes that shone like stars; he was extremely handsome.

In front of him was a huge basin, tens of feet wide and as deep as a person, crawling with countless vicious creatures.

A black three-eyed snake, a spotted spider, a poisonous frog with a venomous growth on its back, and some other unidentified poisonous insects...

They mingled together, intertwined, crawling, their sticky mucus stretching into strings, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

".........A pit of scorpions!"

"Young Master Qin!"

While Qin Huaiyu felt a chill run down his spine, he finally understood the secret hidden in Xishan.

I never imagined there would be someone who looks so much like me. You've switched the real and the fake, old man, you've got some tricks up your sleeve!

But what about this scorpion pit?

He looked at the cave with a puzzled expression.

Upon hearing the questioning, the servant standing guard beside the stone table quickly explained:

"Young master, it was my fault. I was delayed in reporting back to the master."

"oh!"

Young Master Qin raised an eyebrow and asked, "How is the situation at the manor now?"

"The situation has been basically quelled. That person killed Lan'er and the bone carver. All the materials you needed have been used, and you have successfully transformed into a Mystic Master. Now, you are only one step away from restoring your identity."

"Great, that's wonderful!"

Young Master Qin was beaming with excitement. He had been cooped up here for so many days and was almost going crazy. Now that the plan had basically succeeded, he would soon see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Did Father have any further instructions?"

"Yes, the master said to proceed according to plan!"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Qin's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up, looked at the middle-aged man, and said:

"Seventh Brother, Father and I promised you that after this was accomplished, we would take you on the path of cultivation. Now the time has come."

"Really?"

The middle-aged man's rough face was filled with longing, and he said impatiently:

"Young master, what should I do?"

Young Master Qin smiled, then stepped forward and warmly put his arm around Seventh Brother's shoulder.

"It's simple, just follow me."

As he spoke, he pulled the man to the edge of the pit of scorpions.

Do you know why your father kept them?

The seventh brother shook his head.

"Because they are evil insects, full of nightmare power, and they specifically eat people..."

After saying that, before the other person could react, Young Master Qin pushed him down.

Instantly, the venomous creatures in the scorpion pit were startled and swarmed towards Lao Qi. Before he could even scream, his body was already covered by a dense mass of venomous creatures.

"Haha, this is the real plan. You know too much!"

As Qin Shao watched the scorpions devour the creatures in the pit, a near-morbid madness appeared on his face.

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