“June 18th, the Great Xia Calendar. Cloudy with some drizzle.
“I went to Xiaoxiao’s courtyard and told her a story about Romeo and Juliet. The servants and maids around her were moved to tears but not the little rascal. She even asked me who Cousin Romeo was. I gave her a punch and she immediately kept quiet. She cried for quite a long time.
“Diary entry. Sin Level +1
“I scolded Little Douhua today.
“Diary entry 2, Sin Level +1”
…
“June 19th, the Great Xia Calendar. Rainy.
“The story that I told Xiaoxiao yesterday gave me a single point of Sin Level. I seemed to have found a new way to earn Sin Level, and I think I’ve gotten used to the human skin manual’s way. I tried telling Xiaxiao a new story, but she said she’s sick. What a pity.
“I also scolded Little Douhua today.
“Diary entry, Sin Level +1”
…
Two days flew by in the blink of an eye. Luo Hong got bored, so he had been cultivating Phantom Shadow to gather the energy in his dantian.
The maintenance of the human skin manual had ended, and it nudged Luo Hong by giving him a thought.
He flipped the manual to the diary page and saw two new entries on both days. He did not expect to earn 3 Sin Level in the past two days while sitting at home and doing nothing.
To his surprise, scolding Little Douhua and telling Luo Xiaoxiao a story elevated his Sin Level. It gave him the urge to stay at home and do nothing except scold Little Douhua and tell Luo Xiaoxiao stories to earn his Sin Level.
However, he eventually gave up the thought because he knew if he kept shaving the wool from a single sheep, the sheep would eventually go bald.
If he continued scolding Little Douhua everyday, she would eventually be immune to his temper. As for telling his little sister stories, he would eventually run out of stories.
Therefore, it would be too naive of him if he would rely on Little Douhua and Luo Xiaoxiao to reach the peak of his villainous life.
He put his hand on the human skin manual, feeling its smooth cover after its maintenance had ended.
“Now that the maintenance has ended, I wonder what changed.” He squinted his eyes curiously. Of course, he still held a grudge against the little manual because of the comments he found about him.
“Less than 1 Sin Level during two Prize Pool updates? Show me some respect, please!”
He flipped open the first page and the first thing he saw was the previous owner’s emotional prelude.
“Prelude: Please become a good antagonist from today onwards.”
As Luo Hong sighed emotionally, he somehow felt like the words from his senior meant more than they appeared.
The second page was the character statistics page.
The -56 Sin Level stung his heart for a moment.
The third page was the diary, but to his surprise, he noticed a little change on the page. On top of the page was a new line of words.
“Today’s target: 0/2”
There were two blanks behind the words where names should have been written.
Luo Hong squinted his eyes. ‘This might be the newest update to the manual! What is today’s target?’
At the thought of that, a new line of words written in blood appeared in the manual.
“Today’s target: He or she will be your protagonist in your diary, and you will be his or her destined antagonist.
“Note: Sin Level earned from targets are doubled.”
Although it was a simple note, it made Luo Hong’s eyes shine like the stars.
‘Is this the new update after the maintenance?! Does it think I’m earning my Sin Level too slowly? Is that the reason for the new addition?! Why do I feel like I’m being looked down on?’
However, he had to admit that the newest function was practical, at least, to him.
It could greatly increase his speed in earning Sin Level, and through the little maintenance, Luo Hong learned enough about the manual to speculate further.
“This manual…seems to be growing like me! It’s trying to perfect itself. An antagonist is such a vague concept, but with a target, it’s easier to understand.
“After all, the things I do might look like the Antagonist Act to me, but to others, it might turn out differently. That’s also why I’ve been failing in my plans!
“Now, with the newest update, it’s less likely for me to fail now! Now then, this is your own edition, little manual. I didn’t force you to do this!” Luo Hong grumbled because he suddenly realized the reason behind his failures up until this point.
He sat up straight on the chair and propped his elbows on the table with his chin on his crossed fingers as he looked at the human skin manual on the table.
He was thinking about whose name he should write in the manual.
The study room was so quiet that even the little sparks from the burning candle were audible.
After a long while, Luo Hong sighed a breath of relief.
“I can’t think of any now. I’ll just write Little Douhua’s name in one of the slots so that I don’t let it go to waste.”
Shifting his sleeves, he grabbed his brush and dipped it into the ink.
Luo Hong then wrote Little Douhua’s name in the manual: Yao Jing.
“Little Douhua, from today onwards, you are my protagonist and I’m your exclusive antagonist.”
…
At the kitchen, Little Douhua was drenched in sweat as she prepared the soybean pudding for the entire residence as breakfast.
Her beautiful face was painted red by the fire from the stove while her black eyes were fixed on the burning stove and the reflection of the fire in her eyes resembled the sun. She gracefully tucked a lock of hair behind her ears as she worked.
All of a sudden, Little Douhua felt chills run down her back. Her eyes showed fear as she looked around.
“Why do I feel like the young lord is getting mad at me again? Is he trying to scold me again?!”
…
There was still one slot left after writing Little Douhua’s name in the manual, and Luo Hong was having a headache about whose name he should write.
“Xiaoxiao? Am I being a little cruel? She’s just a kid…and it would be a waste.”
“Huh?” It was then that Luo Hong thought of something. He walked to the wooden book rack and took an invitation card out.
“Qinghua Literature Gathering, Hu Zhishui. The name does ring a bell…”
Hu Zhishui had a better reputation than himself and it gave him a bold idea.
Since the manual had been updated with a new function, Luo Hong believed that Hu Zhishui’s name was destined to be written inside.
“Hu Zhishui, the number one philanthropist in Anping County! A great man like him would be the ideal target to earn Sin Levels! Moreover, the literature gathering that he’s hosting is a grand event in the county, and if I can ruin the event, I’ll be able to earn a ton of Sin Levels!”
This was a plan that he had in mind before he joined the bandits. Now, with the bandits dead, he had to reactivate his Plan B.
“20th June. The Qinghua Literature Gathering is tomorrow…
“I’ve drawn the consolation prize on the night of the 17th, and the manual needs five days to update the list. So, if I can get a ton of Sin Levels from the gathering, it will be a great chance for me to greatly advance!”
His eyes grew brighter as he further perfected his plan. He believed and was confident that this plan would work.
“Given my previous mistakes, I should go to the gathering alone and not bring Zhao…That guy’s imagination is beyond control.”
Luo Hong tapped the table with his fingers. “Zhao has been ruining my plans, and with him out of the picture, this will work! Right?”
He somehow felt uncertain about his plan.
“Amitabha, Jesus Christ, please protect me and don’t let me screw the plan up this time!” Luo Hong prayed in his heart.
He lifted his brush, dipped it in the ink, and started writing. In the second slot, he wrote down another name: Hu Zhishui.