I'm A Minor Villain In A Martial Arts Novel (38 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3

“Father wouldn’t possibly take any interest in that wretched creature,”

And what about Nangong Lin’s reputation? She was known as the one who neglected her martial arts training.

Nangong Jintian despised nothing more than someone lacking both talent and diligence.

Even if she had no talent, had she shown effort, Nangong Jintian might have spared her a glance.

“But that’s already a meaningless assumption.”

After all, Nangong Lin’s image of laziness was carefully crafted by him.

Martial circles showed no leniency simply because one was young.

Nangong Xianzong’s eyes turned red.

He knew Nangong Jintian well.

His cold-hearted father would surely pay no heed to Nangong Lin—talentless and insignificant.

“He’ll ignore her.”

Nangong Lin’s matters were trivial.

Such trivialities wouldn’t incur his father’s hatred.

In fact, it might even be better to use this chance to ensure Nangong Lin faded completely from his father’s sight.

Nangong Xianzong opened his mouth.

“I must go see Father.”

[This is the timeline separator]

It’s warm.

I tightly hugged the object in my arms. It had been so long since I’d felt warmth like this.

“It should definitely be cold winter.”

Yet I no longer felt the biting chill. I squirmed slightly, gripping even tighter.

[You brat! Let go!]

I blinked.

It was because of the sudden voice ringing in my ears.

“What’s this?”

[Let go, I said!]

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The first thing I felt was the softness of the blanket.

“Soft?”

I blinked blankly.

The blanket in my room was always coarse beyond compare. Feeling such softness was strange.

[To think this absentminded brat is my chosen descendant. Looks just like a dumpling…]

“Dumpling?”

Dumpling? Objectively speaking, Nangong Lin was undeniably adorable.

Though she sometimes wore her hair in buns, that was just her hairstyle—not proof she resembled a dumpling.

[Hmph! No matter how much you deny it, you’re still a cute dumpling. A bit too cute, in fact.]

I couldn’t tell whether those words were an insult or praise.

More importantly, where exactly was this voice coming from?

My arms tensed involuntarily.

Then, a cry rang again in my ears.

[Didn’t I tell you to loosen your grip!]

I looked down at the short sword nestled in my arms.

“Could it be…”

The sword was talking?

[Yes, that ‘could it be’ is exactly right! The sword you’re hugging—that’s me.]

Even having reincarnated into a novel, was this really possible? A talking sword?

“When Ji Tianwu held this sword, there was no such setting.”

I stared oddly at the blade in my hand. It truly was a worn-out short sword—

so rusted and neglected by the Nangong Clan that it seemed ready to be thrown away.

There was a reason Ji Tianwu treated it like a mere antique.

Aside from emitting a faint warmth, the sword had no other use.

And now, that very sword was speaking to me.

[The offspring of Nangong… so small and frail-looking?]

“Who are you, Uncle Dagger?”

[What? What did you just call me? Uncle?]

I looked down at the sword in my hand with an odd expression.

The short sword trembled as if furious.

In Heavenly Demon Sovereign, the dagger often trembled—was it always from anger like this?

After all, Ji Tianwu habitually called it a useless object, so anger was understandable.

[Uncle Dagger? Do you even know who I am?]

“Who are you, then?”

[If I were to say it outright… ugh, never mind. What on earth am I doing with a child like you?]

I heard the sound of Uncle Dagger clicking his tongue in annoyance.

[I can’t say much, but in the past, I was a formidable martial expert! The best in the world, they called me.]

His claim of once being a great martial expert didn’t strike me as particularly credible.

Still, I nodded.

Only then did Uncle Dagger seem to calm down.

[By the way, brat, why did you collapse?]

“I collapsed from hunger and fever. I often pass out like this.”

[What? How can a child of Nangong collapse from hunger? And they left you alone while you had a fever?]

Uncle Dagger’s voice was filled with disbelief.

To other children of the Nangong Clan, this would have been unimaginable—but not to me.

[And why is your body in such terrible shape! Haven’t you learned martial arts?]

“No one ever taught me martial arts. After my father passed away, my uncle took me in. He said I had no talent and forbade me from learning swordsmanship.”

[What? He told you not to learn the sword because you lack talent? Where in this world does such nonsense exist!]

Though I didn’t understand why, Uncle Dagger sounded immensely furious.

He trembled violently, then suddenly fell silent.

With Uncle Dagger quiet, the last scene I remembered resurfaced.

“This isn’t the time to be idle. That was definitely Grandfather.”

My face turned deathly pale.

Nangong Jintian of Heavenly Demon Sovereign—my grandfather.

Except for the time when my father disappeared, I’d never even seen him and had nearly forgotten he existed.

Yun Ling always warned me about him.

The martial world was ruthless.

A realm where power was everything.

And among them all, Nangong Jintian stood at the very apex of the pyramid.

In Heavenly Demon Sovereign, Ji Tianwu often described Nangong Jintian as a man without blood or tears.

[Nangong Jintian had no weaknesses. Ji Tianwu sometimes wondered if he even had blood—

because he seemed so cold, as if not a single drop would spill even if stabbed.]

“I shouldn’t have drawn his attention.”

Even in the original story, Grandfather never particularly favored Nangong Lin.

To be precise, he likely outright disliked her.

My ultimate goal was survival—and to survive, it was best not to catch Grandfather’s eye.

“He’ll find me suspicious. I might even be cast out.”

At that moment, I’d been rummaging through the storage shed.

Looking feverish while wandering an old storage shed must have appeared highly suspicious.

Moreover, I was smaller and weaker than the other Nangong children—

with a frail frame and thin body,

wholly unsuited to be a martial artist.

“Plus, my reputation is already ruined.”

Because of rumors spread by Nangong Xianzong, people believed I skipped training out of laziness.

Just as Yun Ling said, Nangong Jintian might well judge me as worthless.

“Should I convince him it doesn’t cost much to keep me around? I’m confident I eat very little.”

I sank into deep thought.

Should I flee the Nangong Clan right now?

But an eight-year-old child had no chance of surviving the bitter winter alone.

“Even if I escaped the Nangong Clan, I’d freeze to death soon after.”

Just then,

a commotion erupted outside.

“Father, it’s nothing serious. Lin has always played strange pranks. This is likely just another one of those.”

“That’s right. During the Clan Master’s absence, Lin has caused us trouble more than once or twice.”

I blinked blankly.

The familiar voice belonged to Nangong Xianzong. He asked the others as if seeking agreement.

“There’s no need to call a doctor. You all know Lin’s behavior, don’t you? Isn’t that so?”

“Indeed, that child does act quite strangely—it seems plausible.”

“Is it truly necessary to waste the Clan Master’s time?”

There was only one person Nangong Xianzong would call “Father.”

My grandfather, Nangong Jintian, was coming toward where I lay.

Despite everyone’s words, Grandfather gave no reply.

Creak…

The door opened.

At the sight of the person entering, I held my breath.

Grandfather and the clan elders had come to see me. He looked no different than I remembered—

as if time had spared him alone, still radiating an imposing aura.

Behind Grandfather stood the Nangong Clan’s martial artists—most of them distant relatives of mine.

“Did they interrupt a banquet to come here?”

If I’d been an ordinary child, I might have believed they’d ended the banquet out of concern for me.

But aside from Grandfather, everyone else wore expressions of nothing but irritation.

Several even glared at me with clear annoyance.

Behind Grandfather stood my uncle, Nangong Xianzong.

Seeing him, my body stiffened involuntarily.

I clutched the sword in my arms even tighter.

Again, I felt the sword tremble.

[Brat, don’t tighten your grip… What’s wrong? Why are you shaking?]

I couldn’t answer the sword’s chatter.

Grandfather’s icy eyes fixed on me. Staring intently, he slowly opened his mouth.

His gaze was aimed precisely at my arms.

“You’ve grown thin.”

His words filled me with dread.

“Why does a child of the Nangong Clan look so pitiful?”

Most Nangong children were sturdy and robust, raised under strict, systematic care from a young age.

But I’d received no care at all—often not even enough food. No wonder I looked so wretched in Grandfather’s eyes.

“Why were you collapsed in the storage shed?”

Before I could answer his question, Nangong Xianzong rushed toward me.

“You’ve awakened!”

I shrank back, inching away timidly. Nangong Xianzong’s face was filled with apparent worry as he looked at me—

as if he truly cared about my well-being.