Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 49

The sickening crackling sound of bones snapping and twisting assaulted Meng Xuexiao’s eardrums, like the relentless clatter of abacus beads being knocked off one by one, then painfully screwed back on.

Utterly horrifying.

He desperately wanted to know what was happening outside, but Huai Sui’s hand remained firmly clamped over his eyes, leaving not even a sliver of a gap to peek through.

Deprived of sight, his hearing grew hyper-sensitive. Every sound crashed against his nerves like a falling weight.

Did he truly not know what had just happened?

No, deep down… he did.

Meng Xuexiao couldn’t deceive himself.

Those cracking sounds were the unmistakable sound of bones being bent and broken. He could almost visualize the massive Giant Ape contorting itself into a mangled heap inside the crate, like a deflated balloon.

The mere thought of this scene sent a chill through Meng Xuexiao’s body. His lips trembled slightly as his teeth clamped down on his lower lip, stifling any sound.

His pale pink lips, now bitten crimson, resembled a blooming rose in a withered garden.

When the cacophony finally ceased, Meng Xuexiao felt as if he’d been dragged from water, his clothes clinging to his skin, barely daring to breathe.

In the next instant, the hand that had been covering his eyes finally showed signs of moving.

The hand moved slowly, like a cold snake slithering across his face.

“What’s wrong, Brother? You don’t look well.”

Whether intentional or not, Huai Sui’s fingers didn’t fully leave Meng Xuexiao’s face. Instead, they parted just enough to reveal half of his eye through the gaps.

The darkness vanished, and the sudden light momentarily blinded Meng Xuexiao. His eyes widened involuntarily, a physiological mist forming over them.

He blinked slowly, pressed his lips together, and said sluggishly, “…You’re mistaken. I’m fine.”

In the end, he chose to pretend he knew nothing.

He couldn’t decipher Huai Sui’s true intentions. Was he merely indulging in his twisted amusement, relishing Meng Xuexiao’s terrified expression? Or was there something else?

He could only rely on his instincts for self-preservation.

Huai Sui stared at him for a long time. Meng Xuexiao couldn’t be sure if he’d caught a fleeting hint of regret in the other’s eyes.

“Alright,” Huai Sui said, removing his hand from Meng Xuexiao’s face and gesturing toward the Giant Apes nearby. “Take that thing away.”

The Giant Apes, subordinates of the Kitchen Steward, now huddled like quails, each clutching a box. The boxes looked battered, scored with claw marks, and a viscous liquid seeped from the cracks, soaking into the ground.

Meng Xuexiao could barely imagine what was inside.

“Understood! Lord Duke and Tribute Lord, please rest well. We won’t disturb you any further!” The Giant Apes didn’t dare say another word, terrified they hadn’t fled fast enough.

Meng Xuexiao instinctively wanted to call them back.

Normally, the Giant Apes were the most terrifying creatures in the Manor, their bestial faces twisted into grotesque snarls. He usually avoided them at all costs, but at this moment, he longed for their presence.

If they left, he would be alone with Huai Sui.

As if reading his thoughts, Huai Sui beckoned him over with a cheerful grin, “Tribute Big Brother, why don’t you come explore this place with me later? It’s my first time here, too!”

One sentence completely cut off his retreat.

Meng Xuexiao’s heart sank.

He hadn’t indulged Huai Sui’s twisted whims earlier, and now Huai Sui was punishing him with even crueler methods, making him regret his defiance.

Though he knew this was inevitable, at this moment, regret truly gripped him.

If he had simply followed Huai Sui’s wishes from the start, none of this would have happened. At worst, he would have been briefly frightened. Now, he had no idea what Huai Sui might do to retaliate for his earlier resistance…

Meng Xuexiao felt like a lamb roasting on a spit, helplessly enduring the scorching heat without knowing when he would be burned to death.

This psychological torment was far more terrifying than witnessing the Giant Ape’s demise.

Now, he had no choice but to submit to Huai Sui’s demands…

He didn’t even know if it was too late…

Meng Xuexiao clenched his fist so tightly that his entire arm trembled.

He lowered his gaze, like a lamb finally resigned to its fate. From this angle, Huai Sui could even see the whorl of hair on the crown of Meng Xuexiao’s head.

The hair around Huai Sui’s crown still had a slight curl, like a lamb’s newborn fleece—fluffy, soft, and endearingly innocent.

As if… he were completely at anyone’s mercy.

Huai Sui watched the fish take the bait, and his earlier irritation instantly eased.

He licked the corner of his mouth, grabbed Meng Xuexiao’s wrist, tilted his head, and leaned against Meng Xuexiao’s arm, grinning widely, “Then, let’s go.”

Huai Sui seemed to have a destination in mind, walking without hesitation, which only deepened Meng Xuexiao’s unease.

What is Huai Sui thinking? Has he truly calmed down?

The place he’s taking me… could it be another hellhole?

Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, footsteps approached from ahead. It was the Giant Ape, the same one who supervised the maintenance of the Human Livestock tributes. Meng Xuexiao had learned much of the proper etiquette for Human Livestock from this creature’s rigorous training.

The training was brutal. Many Human Livestock had their skulls cracked open with a whip for even minor mistakes. Meng Xuexiao still remembered it vividly.

This Giant Ape was Huai Sui’s greatest nightmare here.

If Huai Sui’s grip on his wrist had previously felt like a hot potato, it now burned like a scorching iron, threatening to sear his flesh to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

He was currently holding hands with Huai Sui!

According to the Manual of Human Livestock taught by the Giant Ape, the status of human livestock was even lower than that of food on a table. They were forced to trail behind Alien Beasts, hunched over with their heads bowed, never daring to look up.

This system was more feudal than feudalism itself, nearly surpassing the Three Bonds and Five Constants in its absurdity…

If ordinary Alien Beasts treated human livestock this way, how much worse would it be with Huai Sui, whose status far exceeded that of the Giant Ape before him and even the Manor Lord of this estate?

Of course, there were exceptions. If a high-ranking Alien Beast chose to relax the restrictions on human livestock, they would naturally be granted freedom and spared punishment.

But Huai Sui speaking up?

How could that man possibly speak up?

He brought me here just to torment me further, didn’t he?!

That pervert who revels in watching others’ despair and terror!

Meng Xuexiao immediately stopped, refusing to take another step. He reached for Huai Sui’s fingers, which were gripping his wrist.

But Huai Sui held him tightly, his hand like an invisible shackle binding them together.

He stood Meng Xuexiao bolt upright in the Giant Ape’s path, as if afraid the creature might miss them.

What a blatant invitation! The Giant Ape must understand perfectly. It’ll join Huai Sui in tormenting me.

Meng Xuexiao had witnessed this before. To please the current Manor Lord, the Giant Ape’s younger brother, who had brought him here, the ape had dragged a human girl into the lord’s underground cavern for a performance. To amuse the lord, it had even participated personally.

When the girl emerged, she was no longer human. One of her breasts had been cut off, her intestines spilling out. As her corpse was dragged away, the intestines swung back and forth.

Meng Xuexiao couldn’t decide which was more gruesome, the way Huai Sui had killed the giant ape in the box earlier, or this. But… he definitely didn’t want to end up like that, his face mangled beyond recognition for public display.

As the giant ape closed in, Meng Xuexiao could even feel the hot breath from its nostrils. The young man’s pupils constricted to pinpricks in an instant.

He began shoving Huai Sui with desperate force.

Though his rational mind told him it was futile, who would stand idly by and wait for death when it was staring them in the face?!

Meng Xuexiao squeezed his eyes shut and pushed with all his might.

“Smack!”

Huai Sui’s smile hadn’t even faded from his lips when his head snapped sideways, completely unguarded. A clear, pale handprint suddenly marred his youthful face.

Faint, yet glaringly obvious.

The giant ape had witnessed the entire exchange, but it wasn’t until Huai Sui’s head snapped sideways that it fully registered what had just happened.

Wait… who had just been slapped?

Their King’s own younger brother?!

Blinking, it immediately spotted the unmistakable handprint.

Shit! It’s real!

“How dare you strike the King’s own brother?!”

The Giant Ape’s breathing grew labored, its chest heaving as it struggled to inhale.

Staring at Meng Xuexiao, it desperately wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him violently.

Its intelligence network was quite reliable. It had long heard from the kitchen Giant Apes that Meng Xuexiao was a tribute, but it never imagined he would cause such a scene!

He had already become a tribute, second only to the King and above all others. Why couldn’t he be patient? If he behaved well, he could have anything he desired!

Now his arrogance had backfired, hadn’t it?

“You! Seize the one who struck Lord Duke immediately! Then await the Duke’s judgment!”

Having learned from the Kitchen Steward’s gruesome fate, the Giant Ape handled Meng Xuexiao with caution.

Its subordinates swarmed forward, deliberately targeting non-lethal areas. Some even hesitated, afraid of injuring Meng Xuexiao, their movements awkward and almost comical.

But just as their claws were about to touch Meng Xuexiao, Huai Sui slowly raised his face. The midday sun gradually illuminated half of his features.

The vibrant colors seemed to have lost all warmth, so cold they felt almost icy.

The palm print on Huai Sui’s face looked jarringly out of place, like a vengeful ghost crawling out of hell, brimming with ominous warning.

Knowing that the Red Line lay just ahead, the Giant Ape froze in its tracks. Its subordinates were even more cautious, tucking their hands behind their backs and hunching over like scolded chicks.

Damn it!

Could Huai Sui really care so much about this tribute? So much that he didn’t even mind losing face in public?

Damn… They hadn’t been careful enough!

Desperate to salvage the situation, the Giant Ape hastily ordered a bag of small ice packs.

As if cradling a precious treasure, it presented the ice pack to Huai Sui with a servile smile, “This will reduce the swelling quickly!”

The Manor Lord’s welcome banquet for Huai Sui was about to begin, and Huai Sui surely wouldn’t want to attend with a slap mark on his face. After all, for a Lord of his stature, maintaining appearances was paramount!

The Giant Ape felt a surge of smugness. His actions were like offering a pillow to someone who’s already dozing off!

Then he saw Huai Sui’s smile return, his lips stretching almost to his ears, half of his sharp fangs bared beneath his lower lip—a predatory signal that, combined with the palm print on his face, was utterly terrifying.

The kind of terror that would frighten even Alien Beasts!

With a “Thud!”, the ice pack the Giant Ape was holding dropped to the ground, ice cubes scattering across the floor. They melted into water, soaking his pant legs completely, but his wide eyes remained unfocused, oblivious to the sensation!

Ah… no, is it not needed?!

Then at this moment… he truly didn’t know what to do!

The next instant, he saw Huai Sui turn his head to look at Meng Xuexiao.

Huai Sui’s smile lingered, but when he turned to Meng Xuexiao, his lips softened, no longer stretched to his ears. He looked surprisingly like a normal neighborhood younger brother, his fangs retracted.

He licked the inside of his aching cheek, then nuzzled against Meng Xuexiao in a playful embrace, “Brother, you’re so mean!”

Though he was complaining, his hand gently caressed the palm-shaped mark on his cheek, not as if tending an accidental wound, but rather as if savoring a memento.

“But—” Huai Sui’s voice rose at the end, “Even when you’re angry, Brother, you’re still so cute!”

The Giant Ape, “……”

The Giant Ape, “??!”

“Fuck!”

Anyone who had climbed to its position wasn’t stupid.

At that moment, it seemed to suddenly realize something…

Holy shit, could it be that it and its subordinates were just part of Huai Sui and Meng Xuexiao’s game?!