Chapter 1 - Actually, I Have a Cheat Too

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well. I have decided to pick this novel as well since I am a big fan of the author. "The Legendary Master’s Wife" is one of the first BL novels I've read, and I couldn't help feeling nostalgic after reading this one.

 The next chapter is coming out a bit later today as a small bonus, then the usual release pace will be resumed.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

Volume 1: Jimmy's Secret

 

The Dying Man

 

 

Triss Town.

 

The fading sunset cast its glow on Jimmy's face as he stepped out of the blacksmith's shop, the light painting his cheeks a warm red. His elongated shadow stretched along the wall, twisted and spindly like a thin bamboo stalk.

 

Jimmy slipped his newly bought sword into his belt, his eyes sparkling with excitement. As if struck by a sudden thought, he narrowed his gaze with a calculating glint that darkened his handsome features, twisting his smile with a touch of malice.

 

Soon, he left the bustling street and arrived at an inn.

 

Not half an hour after he entered, three other young men arrived, each dressed in luxurious clothes exuding the opulence of nobility.

 

The three joined Jimmy in his room.

 

"Jimmy, has the plan succeeded?" The second man to enter, Ariel, had close-cropped, golden hair and a boyish yet handsome face. Among the four, he was the most impatient.

 

Jimmy's grin grew wider. "Our plan is foolproof. He'll never see it coming."

 

Hearing this, Ariel's face lit up with excitement.

 

"But be careful," warned Carlos, the most composed of the group and the mastermind behind their scheme. His words held weight among the four due to his high status. "That man is wary. If he had sensed anything amiss, all our efforts would have been in vain."

 

At Carlos's words, Jimmy and Ariel sobered.

 

The last to enter was Cecil.

 

The four confirmed their plan once more.

 

Nightfall quickly enveloped Triss Town, casting everything in darkness. Yet Carlos and the others didn't stay in their room; instead, they headed straight for the northern edge of the town.

 

Triss Town, though called a town, was as prosperous as a mid-sized city, sprawling across the border of two nations. Its thriving trade and well-connected roads made it a bustling hub.

 

To the north lay Tasha Forest, a dense expanse inhabited by magical beasts, drawing adventurers year-round and contributing to the town's wealth. However, at night, Tasha Forest became perilous, with beasts most active under the cover of darkness. Only the boldest adventurers lingered past dusk.

 

As Carlos and his companions approached the forest's entrance, they were hit by the thick stench of blood.

 

The silvery moonlight illuminated a clearing, marking the forest's entrance. Two massive stones, each three meters high, stood sentinel on either side. Normally gray and dull, they now bore patches of dark stains that, on closer inspection, were unmistakably blood.

 

The ground was strewn with the mangled bodies of beasts—missing limbs, slashed throats. One creature lay eviscerated, as if a ghostly hand had torn through its abdomen, spilling its blood and entrails across the clearing. The grisly sight drained the color from the men's faces.

 

"G-Ghost…" stammered Cecil, stumbling backward onto the ground, his face a sickly pale in the moonlight. His horrified eyes were fixed on the left stone, where a shadowy figure stood, a grim and eerie discovery in a place still resonating with violent death.

 

The other three followed Cecil's gaze, their hearts instantly tightening.

 

Carlos and Jimmy drew their swords simultaneously, aiming them at the figure. Carlos, trying to suppress the dread climbing his throat, shouted, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

 

After a brief, tense silence, the shadow moved, stepping out of the darkness. Moonlight revealed a face chiseled like stone, his eyes an abyss of chilling black, glinting with a sinister gleam.

 

The sight of his face made all four men gasp. A cold, crawling sensation raced up their spines, leaving them frozen.

 

"How… how are you still alive?" Jimmy's voice quivered with shock, his expression twisting in horror as though witnessing the impossible.

 

His question snapped the others back to their senses—they knew this man. He was their target, the one who was supposed to have died in the trap they'd set for him in Tasha Forest.

 

Carlos's eyes twitched, unease growing within him. Something felt dreadfully wrong. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the sword the man held—Rex's sword.

 

Blood dripped steadily from the blade, pooling on the grass below in a dark red stain. The soil around his feet was already dyed a deep crimson.

 

Carlos's eyes shot back to the man's face, just in time to catch the twisted smile lingering on his lips, a chilling expression that spoke of anticipated violence. Carlos's chest clenched as he steeled himself, as though bolstered by his own resolve. "We can't let him go!"

 

"Tonight, you'll die here," he declared coldly, staring at the man with the grim determination of one who was already seeing his opponent as good as dead.

 

"Yes, you must die!" Jimmy, infected by Carlos's chilling resolve, finally steadied himself. If anyone in the world had the greatest desire to see this man dead, it wasn't Carlos or the others—it was Jimmy, who had reasons of his own, desperate reasons, to want him gone.

 

Jimmy turned to the others. "Lord Ariel, Lord Cecil, draw your swords! The four of us together—he's already been through a battle; he won't stand a chance."

 

Moved by his words, Ariel and Cecil closed ranks, surrounding the man in a cold, shimmering circle of steel under the moonlight.

 

"Well, looks like you're all ready," the man sneered, raising his bloodstained sword. His cruel smile glowed under the veil of moonlight, making him look even more ominous. "Then die."

 

Hot liquid splattered across Cecil's face before he could react.

 

He touched his face in a daze, his hand coming away smeared with blood. At the same moment, he heard Ariel's frantic shout for Carlos. But wasn't Carlos standing right beside him? Cecil's head turned slowly, and then he saw it—Carlos, clutching his throat, blood spilling uncontrollably between his fingers and staining his chest.

 

Carlos's eyes went wide with terror as he staggered back, falling heavily to the ground. In mere moments, he lay lifeless, his face frozen in a final, horrified expression that sent Cecil into a screaming panic.

 

"I'll kill you!" Ariel cried, lunging forward in rage, his sword aimed at the man's heart.

 

The man swung his sword in a flash, severing Ariel's arm holding the sword in one brutal arc.

 

Ariel collapsed to his knees, howling in agony.

 

"I'm done! I'm done!" Cecil, his spirit shattered, flung his sword to the ground and turned to flee.

 

But a sword shot through the air, piercing his back.

 

Cecil was dead.

 

The man's gaze turned to Jimmy, who stood as the only one left, hands trembling. Half his face was hidden in shadow as the man advanced.

 

"No…this isn't possible…you shouldn't be this strong…" Jimmy muttered, clutching his head as if he couldn't comprehend the grim scene unfolding before him.

 

The man reached out toward him.

 

"Die!" Jimmy suddenly roared, his face contorted with rage as he swung his sword at the man.

 

With a thunderous blow, Jimmy was hurled backward, landing in a heap and twitching once before lying completely still.

 

And the last one.

 

The man's predatory gaze settled on Ariel, who was crawling backward in sheer terror.

 

…

 

Even when he'd been hit by a car, Ge Yan had never felt pain this intense—so sharp it stole his breath away. It had happened so fast back then; he'd hardly registered the pain before he was dead. But this? What was this? Hadn't he already died? Why did it still hurt? Couldn't he just die properly?

 

Ge Yan figured if he lay there long enough, he'd eventually just die, but the pain only grew more intense, like he was being flayed alive. His neck and chest were searing with pain, and when he reached up to touch them, his hand came away soaked in blood.

 

What the—!?

 

And then, an even stranger thing happened. In the still darkness, a faint, ominous sound reached his ears, sending a shiver down his spine. Instinctively, he looked toward it.

 

In the shadows, a tall man loomed, his muscular arm gripping what seemed to be another person. Ge Yan couldn't make out either of their faces, but a horrible realization dawned on him—he had somehow stumbled upon a murder scene.

TOC | Next Chapter

 

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