Your Exit is Bound to My Defeat

Chapter 9

One year?

He Yunxiao was dumbfounded.

No wonder the injury healed so quickly!

Reducing his lifespan by dozens of times directly, wouldn’t it be natural to injury heal fast?

Originally, He Yunxiao was quite happy about having Chu Xiaoxiao to help implement the strategy to lower Du Yinyun's favorability towards Chu Fan. Now, he couldn’t feel happy at all.

The most crucial problem was, once there was a sincere antidote in front of him, he didn't cherish it. When he lost it, he regretted it deeply. The most painful thing in life is this. If heaven could give him another chance, he would eat the antidote without hesitation, and then ruthlessly bite Chu Xiaoxiao to death.

He Yunxiao regretted fiercely for a moment, then stood up as if nothing had happened.

His mental resilience was unparalleled.

Looking on the bright side, even if he couldn’t find another antidote, he had the reward of “poison resistance enhancement” from Sister Jiang, so he could at least live longer than an ordinary person.

On the downside, he could at least live for another year.

As the saying goes: You laugh at Cheng for dying early, Cheng laughs at you for playing less.

[T/N- This idiom conveys the idea that the value of life lies in its enjoyment and experiences, rather than its duration. This philosophy is echoed in older sayings such as "人笑我太疯癫，我笑他人看不穿" (rén xiào wǒ tài fēngdiān, wǒ xiào tārén kàn bù chuān), attributed to the Ming Dynasty poet Tang Yin (唐寅). This earlier idiom means "People laugh at me for being crazy, but I laugh at them for being too conventional,"]

Anyway, there’s still a year left, so just enjoy ten months of it first.

Dusting off his clothes, He Yunxiao didn’t delay and bought a stick of candied hawthorns after circling two streets.

Fortunately, the seller was very polite and gave all the candied hawthorns to He Yunxiao when he saw who he was.

This made He Yunxiao feel quite embarrassed.

As the son of a marquis, a well-known figure in Yinjing, getting things for free was... simply wonderful!

Unfortunately, the luxurious treatment of a transmigrator didn’t corrupt He Yunxiao’s proper worldview. He insisted on paying, mainly because it wasn’t much money.

If the amount were huge, then his worldview would need to be more flexible.

As a result, He Yunxiao's serious payment made the candied hawthorn seller cry.

The seller said he was a soldier of General He, discharged due to injury and making a small business. He had heard that the general’s son was mischievous, but now seeing him in person, not only was he dignified in appearance, he even paid for things*. It was truly gratifying, and he cried instantly.

[T/N- paying for things ? yesss no way . you pay things? No . Who the hell pay??? Me and boys believe in robbery]

He Yunxiao’s mouth twitched, wondering what kind of image he had in other people’s minds before.

However, for the current him, a bad image was actually a beneficial weapon.

Firstly, the expectation for a bad image is very low, meaning the heroines would prejudge him as being incapable in various ways. This way, as long as he showed a bit of competence, the heroines' impression of him would improve greatly. Moreover, doing good deeds with a bad image had a greater moral impact than doing them with a good image.

So rational analysis showed that a bad reputation was more advantageous than disadvantageous for He Yunxiao now.

Even more terrifying, when the heroines’ favorability towards him and Chu Fan was about the same, he only needed to use his bad image to provoke the protagonist, making Chu Fan hit him. This would create an atmosphere in front of the heroines that the protagonist was “bullying the weak.”

In this way, lowering Chu Fan’s favorability in the heroines' eyes would be very easy.

Being the villain was awesome!

Carrying a stick of candied hawthorns back to Spring Breeze Tower, He Yunxiao suddenly noticed that the atmosphere in the building was a bit off.

The previously arrogant and domineering dandies were now trembling with fear. The lively atmosphere in the building had also retreated, leaving only sporadic cheers during the duels.

Strangely, Chu Fan, who was usually quite quiet, was now surrounded by a crowd, with a brawny man standing like a gatekeeper at the entrance to the second-floor viewing platform.

The former He Yunxiao understood; after all, he was the protagonist, and being the center of attention was basic operation.

But the latter was even more familiar. This person was named Ya Hu, a retainer of Spring Breeze Tower, essentially a bodyguard with eighth-grade martial arts skills, paid well to guard Spring Breeze Tower.

Normally, Ya Hu wouldn’t show up, and few knew of his existence. After all, what’s the point of a burly man hanging out in a brothel all the time?

With Ya Hu’s eighth-grade martial arts, he could handle most people. If it was a big issue, there were also gangs that collected protection fees to deal with it. If it couldn’t be handled, then it was reported to the authorities. Generally, brothels wouldn’t easily report to the authorities as it would greatly affect business.

Swaggering past Ya Hu, He Yunxiao carried the candied hawthorns to the second-floor viewing platform, distributed them to the girls, and suddenly found that Du Yinyun’s favorability towards Chu Fan had increased from 70 when he left to 75 now.

【Du Yinyun’s favorability towards Chu Fan: 75】

After distributing the candied hawthorns to Du Yinyun and several Red-Card girls, He Yunxiao plopped down next to Jiang Wuyou.

Holding a big handful, He Yunxiao proudly said, “Sister, do you want one or all of them?”

He planned to subtly ask about what had happened after he left.

Jiang Wuyou didn’t have time to joke with him, worry on her face, she said, “Yunxiao, tell me, during the 'opening banquet', did you touch that girl?”

He Yunxiao looked confused.

“Which one?”

Jiang Wuyou said angrily, “Which one? How many have you touched, you little rascal?”

“Except for sister, I don’t fancy any others!”

Jiang Wuyou was amused* despite herself, “Even at this point, you still have time to joke? Chu Xiaoxiao. Did you speak rudely to her?”

[P/R- the word amused should taken as mix of anger here . Jiang Wuyou was angry which was against her characteristics. That was conveyed in the original Chinese]

He Yunxiao acted as if it had nothing to do with him, but he had no way to explain, so he just nodded.

 Meeting without exchanging insults would be considered unusually polite.

Of course, He Yunxiao still recognized Yang Qi.

In the original novel, after Chu Fan chopped off He Yunxiao's head in one strike, his father, Marquis Wu Qing, was furious and wanted to kill Chu Fan. It was this Yán Guān*, Yang Qi, with his big mouth, who created momentum for Chu Fan, promoting how Chu Fan was eliminating a scourge for the people, which led Princess Meng Qingqian to personally step in to protect the protagonist Chu Fan.

[T/N- yán guān was basically a government position where you use it to criticise officials, lease for people in the power]

When reading the novel before, He Yunxiao had a decent impression of Yang Qi. But now, seeing him in person, this guy seemed so detestable.

"All those young masters are fawning over Chu Fan, yet you make an enemy of him. Not only that, but you don't seem to care at all," Jiang Wuyou said in a slightly reprimanding tone.

He Yunxiao had his own reasoning.

"If Chu Fan is swayed by their flattery, then he isn't that great. If Chu Fan has firm resolve, then what use is it for me to try to ingratiate myself with him?"

He Yunxiao's words carried a sense of "wu wei" (non-action, a Daoist concept).

Not only did Jiang Wuyou show a bit of surprise, but even Du Yinyun glanced at him.

【Du Yinyun's favorability increased from 65 to 66】

He Yunxiao continued, "Sister doesn't believe me? Then I'll go apologize to Chu Fan right now and see if he's a hypocrite or a genuine villain."

Jiang Wuyou was full of question marks.

The arrogant He Yunxiao would go apologize? Also, aren't "hypocrite" and "genuine villain" pretty much the same thing?

Seeing He Yunxiao preparing to apologize to Chu Fan, Du Yinyun's impression of him improved significantly.

In Qi, a place that highly values etiquette and righteousness, "apology" is a heavy word.

Because "apology" requires putting aside one's pride and lowering one's stance, which is particularly difficult to accept in a face-loving place like Qi.

A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold. Unexpectedly, not only is Young Master He willing to admit his mistakes, but he also has such boldness!

【Du Yinyun's favorability increased from 66 to 68】

"Young Master He."

For the first time, Du Huakui* took the initiative to speak to He Yunxiao.

[T/N- it was in my mind for sometime as you can see Du Huakai and Du Yinyun is one person. My previous translator hadn't used Du Huakai much so I thought I would stick to the Yinyun too but then I faced a glaring problem. Du Yinyun is the real name of the person. Du surname (Chinese, Korean & Japanese have surname infront of their name) and Yinyun Name . In case of the other name "Huakui" (花魁) translates to "Flower Queen" or "Top Courtesan," indicating her status as a high-class courtesan. Therefore, "Du Huakui" would mean "Courtesan Du," while "Du Yinyun" is her personal name . So to maintain clarity and consistency, it will be better to choose the form of reference based on the context. If the context is formal or emphasizing her status, "Du Huakui" would be appropriate. In more personal or informal contexts, using "Du Yinyun" would be suitable. But if you are confused by this then don't worry as she will probably be freed by our protagonist (you know how it goes blah blah blah) so Du Yinyun will be permanent]

"I wonder how you plan to apologize? If there's anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."

He Yunxiao responded heartily, "Earlier, I offended Miss Chu Xiaoxiao, and indeed I was abrupt. But between Chu Fan and me, as martial artists, there's no need for formalities. I will challenge him to a duel, let him have three moves, and that will count as my apology!"

He Yunxiao's martial skills were exceptional, rumored to be at the seventh grade. This was well known among the people at Spring Breeze Tower.

A seventh-grade martial artist letting a ninth-grade martial artist have three moves in a duel?

That was a bit too outrageous!

But He Yunxiao, being extremely handsome, said it with such heroic spirit that it actually seemed very credible!

【Du Yinyun's favorability increased from 68 to 75】

However, none of those present, who were all stunned, knew what He Yunxiao was thinking at that moment.

He Yunxiao: Chu Fan, today if you don't beat me to death, you can forget about leaving!