I'm A Minor Villain In A Martial Arts Novel (38 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
Silence fell over the Nangong Clan.
Those who had barely regained their composure began to whisper among themselves.
“Xiong Mian Xuluo is dead?”
“By whose hand?”
There had never been a case where a child captured by Xiong Mian Xuluo returned unharmed.
Xiong Mian Xuluo was a cruel demon who committed atrocities and survived precisely because he was strong enough to do so.
He had even evaded the Wulin Alliance’s pursuit for several years.
How many martial families held grudges against him!
People had unconsciously assumed the two children would never come back.
Even if they did return, they wouldn’t be in any recognizable human state—that’s what everyone believed.
But.
The two children returned.
And they brought back the life of Xiong Mian Xuluo, that demon. Whoever had slain him had accomplished something that would shock the entire martial world.
Nangong Huashu sank to his knees, muttering to himself.
“This… this can’t be…”
He stared at Ji Tianwu with fearful eyes. To any observer, Nangong Huashu looked utterly pathetic. Nangong Jintian slowly stepped forward.
Not toward Ji Tianwu—but toward Nangong Lin. His expression, as he looked down at her, was filled with indescribable complexity.
Carefully, he reached out his hand toward Nangong Lin.
“Your internal injuries are severe.”
Nangong Jintian turned his head.
“Suosuo.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Take Lin and Ji Tianwu to the medicine hall.”
Just as Nangong Suosuo was about to approach Ji Tianwu, he hurriedly spoke up.
“I have something to say. Something important.”
Nangong Jintian’s lips tightened. He closed his eyes briefly.
He appeared to be gathering his thoughts.
“Don’t you need to recover first?”
“It’s fine. Let me stop by the medicine hall briefly, then grant me a chance to speak.”
Nangong Jintian silently nodded.
Then he began to walk away. Ji Tianwu watched his retreating figure with a conflicted expression.
For some reason, Nangong Jintian—who had always seemed so towering—looked smaller than usual today.
[This is the timeline separator]Nangong Huashu knelt before Nangong Jintian. Beside him stood Ji Tianwu, still unwell.
Ji Tianwu began recounting to Nangong Jintian everything that had happened.
“Nangong Huashu threatened me. He said if I didn’t obediently follow him, he’d retaliate against Lin.”
As the story unfolded, Nangong Xianzong’s face turned deathly pale.
“Hua… Huashu. Are all these words true? You’re not lying, are you?”
Nangong Huashu kept his head bowed, unable to lift it. Murong Xi sobbed softly, nestled in Nangong Xianzong’s arms.
Both Nangong Xianzong and Murong Xi stared at Nangong Jintian with fearful eyes.
They dreaded what punishment he might mete out to Nangong Huashu.
Nangong Huashu felt the same fear—but he still clung to a sliver of hope.
Hadn’t his parents always told him,
“You’re the only one who can inherit the Nangong name.”
Besides, the victims were only Nangong Lin and Ji Tianwu—Lin, the foolish girl always ignored by the family, and Ji Tianwu, a nobody whose death would go unnoticed by anyone.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t see his actions as truly wrong.
“It’s fine. I’m Nangong Huashu.”
He was the clan’s sole heir. There was no one else who could carry on the Nangong legacy.
Surely, the worst possible outcome—being cast out of the clan—wouldn’t actually happen.
That’s what he believed.
Nangong Jintian spoke in a quiet voice. It didn’t sound angry at all.
“Huashu.”
At the sound of his voice, relief washed through Nangong Huashu’s chest. But Nangong Xianzong’s face grew even paler.
Nangong Xianzong knew Nangong Jintian well. That quiet tone only emerged when he was truly furious.
“G-Grandfather…”
“What were you thinking when you did this?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“What were you thinking, playing with people’s lives?”
Nangong Huashu couldn’t answer for a long while after Nangong Jintian’s words.
Only after some time did he stammer out a reply.
“I… I was just playing a prank…”
His arms trembled violently.
He couldn’t withstand the overwhelming aura Nangong Jintian ruthlessly projected. Unable to bear it, Nangong Xianzong wrapped his arms protectively around Nangong Huashu.
His own face pale with fear, he barely managed to speak.
“Father, Huashu is still young. Children sometimes make mistakes—please show him mercy… just this once.”
“Is putting someone’s life in danger merely a ‘mistake’?”
“But… but he didn’t intentionally place Lin in such danger, did he?”
“…….”
“Besides, it’s just the word of a beggar—and one Lin herself brought in! That insolent brat is falsely accusing Huashu!”
At Nangong Xianzong’s words, Nangong Jintian’s gaze only grew colder.
“Is that true?”
Seizing his chance, Nangong Huashu tried to respond, intending to twist things so Ji Tianwu would appear to be lying.
“I… it’s unfair…”
But under the intensifying pressure from Nangong Jintian, he realized he’d just made a terrible mistake.
“A father protecting his son… how admirable.”
Nangong Jintian continued, his voice now laced with anger.
“Then who will protect Lin?”
“But she….”
“You, of all people, shouldn’t act like this.”
At Nangong Jintian’s words, Nangong Xianzong shut his eyes tightly.
“Do you remember the day Xian went missing?”
“Father!”
“You owed Xian a debt of gratitude. And that’s precisely why you shouldn’t act like this!”
Bloodshot veins filled Nangong Jintian’s eyes. It was all his fault.
Xian’s death, Lin’s injuries—
Even raising his son so poorly.
He’d always known Xianzong harbored feelings of inferiority toward Xian.
But at some point, that insecurity had grown far worse.
When had it started?
After Huashu was born?
Or after Xianzong married Murong Xi?
He couldn’t tell anymore.
Xianzong’s ambition—to pass the Nangong Clan to his own son—had only grown stronger and stronger.
Beyond control.
It was his own fault for raising his child wrongly.
Therefore…
“It’s all my fault.”
Nangong Jintian felt as though his heart were being torn apart.
The eight years he’d spent away with the Wulin Alliance had, in truth, been a journey to find Xian.
But in the end, he never found him.
Now, he had to accept it.
That his son had ultimately turned to dust. And because of his failures, his granddaughter was now in danger.
Huashu had Xianzong—but Lin had no one.
Those eight years without him at the Nangong Clan…
Nangong Jintian, of all people, knew how crucial those childhood years were.
With emotionless eyes, he declared to Nangong Xianzong,
“So I’ll correct what’s been done wrong—even now.”
Nangong Jintian walked toward Nangong Huashu.
Huashu was now barely able to remain seated.
He lay flat on the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
“Huashu, you are no longer a Nangong.”
Nangong Jintian continued,
“From this moment, your name carries no ‘Nangong.’”
[This is the timeline separator]I had a dream.
It was something from memories now grown hazy.
“Now that I think of it, there was a time like this.”
It happened shortly after I was born.
A time when I still had a father…
My father, Nangong Xian, gently stroked my cheek as if I were precious. I opened my eyes, trying to see his face—but it remained blurred.
“My child. My little one.”
His lips brushed my forehead, spreading warmth through me.
I reached out my hand, trying to touch him, even just a little.
This was my first and last memory with my father.
“It pains me to leave you like this. But I’ll return soon. And when I do…”
I waited for the rest of his words. Whenever life grew hard, I’d recall this moment from childhood.
I’d repeat Xian’s words to myself again and again.
It happened just before he was dispatched to the Wulin Alliance. Back then, he’d clearly said to me,
“I will protect you from any danger.”
He’d carefully taken my tiny hand in his.
“You’re free to live as you wish. If you wish to learn martial arts, learn them. If you simply wish to live peacefully, then do so.”
I could feel the roughness of his hand.
It told me how desperately he’d gripped his sword.
“I’ll take all your pain and suffering upon myself.”
Xian smiled softly.
As if the sight of me before him was too beloved to bear. Warmth radiated from every one of his actions.
“I’ll grow strong enough… so that no one in the martial world dares challenge you.”
It was a promise he couldn’t keep.
After that, I tried hard to forget him. Not knowing was better than knowing.
I even tried to believe I’d never been loved in the first place.
After saying those words, Xian turned away. Watching him go, I squirmed, desperately trying to speak to him.
“Don’t go. Please don’t. You won’t come back.”
But my child’s body couldn’t yet convey my words to him. Xian vanished completely.
Watching his retreating back, I muttered words he’d never hear:
“Father, my heart hurts so much.”
After you left, Grandfather left too. I’ve never even seen Mother’s face.
People said my parents died because of me. That Mother and Father would hate me.
My uncle is truly a horrible man.
The thugs he sent tormented me. Oh, and I have a cousin named Nangong Huashu—he’s truly despicable too.
And then… a demon appeared.
He kidnapped my close friend, and I couldn’t just sit by.
Truthfully, I was scared.
I wished someone would appear and fight in my place. But no one came to help me.
Father… I hate you.
You said you’d return.
You promised to protect me.
You said I was more precious to you than anyone else. I even know it wasn’t your fault.
It was the original author’s doing—what could you have done?
It was fate, set from the beginning.
But Father… you promised to protect me.
You said I wouldn’t feel pain.
Where are you now?
“I miss you.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Give us our dad you jerks. How you dare!!??? I hate them. They separated a daughter and father 😭
Lol this uncle know everything 😂. But I want to see her dad. Please save him immediately
Don’t worry about him people. He is the male lead 😌