The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Um, this seems to be a matter of your privacy, so it's not really appropriate for me to make this decision."

Ye Xiao scratched his head awkwardly. To be honest, the old lady's words were quite impressive and intimidating.

Especially since gods and magic exist in this world, it's not impossible for astrologers to be able to glimpse fate.

He looked at the little maid he was leading, thinking that as the oldest demon god who could observe the threads of fate, she might be able to offer some constructive advice.

"Greta, do you think this astrologer is reliable?"

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

However, Greta's eyes lit up at the moment, "I want to have my love fortune told too!"

"..."

Ye Xiao sighed, unsure how to respond, and could only look back at Skadi, "If there's no danger, it should be fine. The worst-case scenario is that this guy will extort a hundred or two hundred from you? It mainly involves privacy and such, so it depends on your personal opinion."

"Regarding privacy..."

Skadi touched her lips with her fingertips. "It should be fine, since you've seen everything about me anyway."

"Could you please not use such a strange way of saying it?"

Ye Xiao's lips twitched.

After a brief discussion, Skadi ultimately decided to continue with the divination.

The old woman held the crystal ball in her hands and began chanting some obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations.

These incantations were not frightening; they exuded a sense of tranquility in their ordinariness, as if they were merely the ancient whispers of nature, gently echoing within the dimly lit tent.

On the crystal ball, Skadi's face, reflected in the crystal ball, began to change like ripples on water. Slowly, a shadowy claw began to climb up half of the girl's face.

The once peaceful and beautiful face underwent a subtle change—the left half remained as innocent and beautiful as before, while the right half had a slight upturn of the corners of the mouth, a distorted expression, a chilling and eerie look, and a slightly manic ferocity.

"Eh!?"

Skadi was startled by her strange reflection in the crystal ball, but Ye Xiao quickly put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't be afraid, it's probably the issue of your family bloodline that we talked about before."

Skadi's somewhat flustered heart finally calmed down in those strong and warm arms. Yes, this probably refers to the mad curse buried in her blood.

The deranged second prince and Erica were defeated, but the curse in the bloodline of the Loren royal family remained. The fifth prince, Holgard, had been traveling for many years but had not yet found a way to deal with the curse, so it remained a hidden problem.

Skadi breathed a sigh of relief; it was a known problem, so it wasn't a big deal.

But the next second, the crystal ball suddenly made a soft "crack" sound, and then suddenly shattered.

The sudden explosion caught Skadi off guard, but fortunately Ye Xiao reacted quickly and placed the back of his hand in front of Skadi to prevent the girl's cheek from being scratched by the flying shards.

"What...what's going on here??"

Skadi was taken aback.

However, the old lady did not reply. She just stared blankly at the broken crystal ball for a while, then slowly raised her head and looked at Ye Xiao with a shocked expression.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Sneak Attack

Ye Xiao noticed the old lady's gaze, and he roughly understood the reason behind it.

The instant the crystal ball cracked, he clearly saw the fleeting reflection of the silver-haired, red-eyed girl on it.

The crystal ball can reveal the deepest image of the soul, and the old lady didn't seem to be exaggerating. In that instant, she accidentally included Ye Xiao, who was standing very close by, in the crystal ball as well.

But why is his soul image... Ella?

He must have transmigrated into Ella's body, so his soul should be Ye Xiao himself.

If the body changes, will the soul change along with it?

Ye Xiao was a little confused. In the instant he realized this, he seemed to have sensed something, but those things were too distant and ethereal, like fragments buried deep in his soul.

But now is not the time to dwell on this. He first glanced discreetly to see if Skadi and Greta had noticed anything.

Fortunately, in order to protect Skadi, Ye Xiao shielded her with his hand, but in doing so, he inadvertently blocked her view.

Greta stood a few steps behind, and judging from her clear eyes, she seemed not to have noticed anything.

This is terrifying... I guess I'll have to be more careful about these kinds of items related to the soul in the future.

Last time at Tianqin Peak, Zhu Jun's shadow magic failed to pull out his soul. He thought it was because the skill couldn't work on clones, but now it seems there might be another reason.

However, it should all end in a close call, as long as the old woman doesn't reveal what she saw.

Ye Xiao first removed the crystal shard stuck in the back of his hand and reassured Skadi, "Are you hurt?"

"It's okay, I'm fine. I'm not a coward anymore."

When Skadi saw the bloody cut on the back of Ye Xiao's hand, she quickly took out a handkerchief from her small bag and wiped away the bloodstains.

Ye Xiao patted Skadi's shoulder lightly, then looked at the old lady, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble. Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

The old lady seemed to only then realize what was happening, nodding, "It's alright... young man, but you..."

"It's good that you're alright, hahaha,"

Ye Xiao interrupted the other person, "This crystal ball seems to be quite valuable. How much compensation should I offer you? I'm truly sorry."

"Ah... I also want to have my love life divined..."

Greta said disappointedly from behind.

What kind of fortune telling are you? You're just a bastard who messes with other people's things.

Ye Xiaoman was speechless. Now he just wanted to quickly come up with enough money to shut the old woman up.

We must be careful not to let the other party say anything outrageous that Greta and Skadi might overhear.

This old lady probably has some real skills; the fact that she could see Ella's reflection at least proves that the crystal ball is definitely not a fake.

"But this is our family's secret treasure..."

The old lady paused, then hesitated, "It will be a bit difficult to repair... but that's not important. Compared to this, you..."

"It's alright, just name your price."

Ye Xiao sensed that the old woman wanted to talk about her own business again, so he interrupted her once more.

"Um, but I should be the one who broke it, so I should pay for it, right?"

Skadi spoke up again.

"Don't worry, Skadi, if I don't have enough money, I'll just take some from the maid."

"Why are you taking my things!?"

The old lady listened to the three chattering and seemed to understand something. She looked Ye Xiao over and whispered:

"...Alright then, young man, may I ask you to come in for a moment?"

Ye Xiao was taken aback. It seemed that the old woman had something to say to him. However, since she dared to speak to him privately instead of running away in shock or reporting to the authorities and the Holy Temple to arrest him, it seemed that her understanding of what she had just seen was not as bad as he had imagined.

After a moment's hesitation, Ye Xiao agreed and asked Greta and Skadi to wait for him outside the tent.

Let's listen to what the other person has to say.

The old lady nodded, first picking up some large crystal shards from the ground, placing them together with the broken crystal ball, wrapping them in a red velvet cloth, and then walking into the curtain behind the table.

Ye Xiao followed her inside, lifted the curtain and then lowered it, discovering a string of secret characters on the curtain that blended with the fabric wall next to it, emitting a faint glow.

“These are runes that create a realm of tranquility. You can think of them as a soundproofing array so that what we say won’t be heard by people outside the curtain.”

As the old lady spoke, she took out a brass bell from a wooden cabinet.

"so……"

Ye Xiao nodded. That was quite convenient. He was worried that Greta's hearing, being that of a deity, was too acute and might overhear their conversation.

But after a short while, he saw the old lady's figure leaning over the cabinet without moving, which seemed a bit strange. Just as he was about to take a step forward to check, he suddenly felt a slight disturbance in the airflow behind him.

Sensing the sudden killing intent, Ye Xiao reacted instantly. Without even turning his head, he reached out and grabbed the wrist holding the short sword, just as a sharp, cold glint was about to pierce his neck.

Swordsmen who have reached the Grandmaster level have perception and reaction abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people. They can instantly construct a threatening movement trajectory within two meters in their brains through other senses without needing to see.

This is also known as "Mind's Eye," a common skill that agile melee classes often learn after experiencing combat.

Ye Xiao gripped the attacker's wrist tightly, turned around, and found that it was the old astrologer.

The other person's eyes were filled with panic, but also with a strong sense of hostility.

"Wait, ma'am, I think you might have misunderstood..."

Before Ye Xiao could finish speaking, the other person suddenly raised the other hand holding the bell in front of him.

"Jingle Bell"

A handful of pale blue powder was smeared on Ye Xiao's face. Ye Xiao couldn't help but let go of the powder, and the other person immediately retreated, their figure seemingly melting away and disappearing into the dark environment.

Ye Xiao sneezed and looked up, only to find himself enveloped in a darkness that seemed like a void.

Even with his view obstructed, he could still hear the old woman moving her feet inside the tent.

Therefore, he was not in a hurry. He casually picked up a short stick-like object next to him and quietly stood guard in place.

Just as the opponent's footsteps suddenly approached from afar, causing a slight ripple in the air, Ye Xiao was able to strike first despite being behind, swiftly channeling his energy into his staff and striking the incoming short sword.

The fierce force poured into the staff precisely struck the gleaming sword, the power like a steel needle piercing the blade, instantly creating a crack in the tough, cold iron.

The short sword shattered the next second, and half of the wooden stick also exploded into dust.

A dull thud echoed in the darkness, and Ye Xiao's eyes, which had been affected by the illusion powder, immediately regained their clarity. Seeing that the old woman was about to raise the bell in her hand again, he casually threw the other half of the wooden stick like a dart.

The broken stick transformed into a straight line, accurately hitting the bell and exploding into a small puff of multicolored powder, which then embedded itself diagonally into the ground.

The bell deflated and fell to the ground. The old lady looked terrified and tried to pull something out of her sleeve, but Ye Xiao had already stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, that's enough, ma'am. If you keep making a fuss, you'll tear this place down and I really won't be able to afford to pay for it."

Chapter Forty: A Broken Mirror Reunited

The old woman trembled as she looked at Ye Xiao and saw that he truly had no intention of killing her, before she finally let out a deep breath.

"You...you actually still have your own consciousness?"

"Of course."

Ye Xiao's lips twitched. "If I weren't myself, why would I care about my own money?"

"call--"

The old lady, panting heavily, sat back down on a small stool next to her. Ye Xiao looked at the old lady and was afraid that she would have a heart attack.

"You... could it be that I've misjudged you? I clearly see that your body is completely possessed by evil..."

"I do have a tiny bit of a problem, but it's not evil..."

Ye Xiao defended his pure soul, saying, "Um, to avoid any misunderstanding, let me ask you first what you saw?"

"Darkness...and chaos..."

The old woman's throat bobbed slightly, and as she spoke, her body began to tremble again. "I have never seen anything so purely dark... just one glance was like falling into an ice cave!..."

Huh? It's not a silver-haired, red-eyed beauty?

Ye Xiao quickly patted the old lady's shoulder to comfort her, "Don't get agitated, don't worry, there's nothing that scary."

"But I shouldn't be wrong, my instincts won't deceive me... that deep-seated fear..."

Please stop using nonsensical words to insinuate my noble soul.

Ye Xiaoman was speechless and about to speak when the old lady's next words stunned him.

“It’s exactly the same as the other girl’s, but the girl was only cursed by that thing… What I just saw was a part of its essence…”

What do you mean?

The curse originated from Ella? Does it mean that the God of Light went mad, causing the blessings remaining in the bloodline of the Loren royal family to turn into a curse?

But Ayla isn't the God of Light, is she? If we insist on saying that Ayla, or Lydia, is a descendant of the God of Life, even if the God of Light and the God of Life are intricately related, Lydia still can't be equated with the God of Light, can she?

Ye Xiao frowned, looking at the trembling old woman, "What do you mean by 'part of the origin'?"

"That darkness, that eeriness, or... I don't know how to describe it,"

The old woman gasped for breath, "The curse that girl suffered originated from that darkness."