My Brother is the Villain 01

"Zhiyi, you and I grew up together. Would I ever do anything to harm you?" Tang Zhilin furrowed his brows, looking at Fang Zhiyi in front of him.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head with a foolish smile. "Zhilin, what you are doing is wrong."

Tang Zhilin sighed. "I'll ask you one more time. Are you really not coming with me?"

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "I'm not leaving, and you shouldn't either."

But Tang Zhilin left resolutely, only leaving behind a sentence from afar: "When you figure things out, come find me anytime!"

Fang Zhiyi and Tang Zhilin had grown up together, learning martial arts at the same time. With their lowly status, they often went hungry and would steal food together. Tang Zhilin had a sharp mind and was slightly older than Fang Zhiyi, always playing the role of the big brother. Whenever Fang Zhiyi was caught because he was too slow, Tang Zhilin would always stand in front to protect him.

Fang Zhiyi, on the other hand, had a dull personality. Tang Zhilin's assessment of him was that he was a good person, but rather foolish.

This foolishness got Fang Zhiyi into trouble. He naively listened to his martial uncle and went to a restricted area of their sect to fetch something for him. Unexpectedly, he was discovered by the guarding disciples and captured on the spot.

Facing the accusation of attempting to steal the sect's secret treasure, Fang Zhiyi tried to defend himself, but the martial uncle who had previously been so good to him suddenly turned hostile. "When did I ever ask you to steal your master's belongings? Absurd!"

He was clumsy with words and completely panicked in that moment.

"Those who steal the sect's secret treasures shall have their limbs broken and be expelled from the sect!" The elder of the Law Enforcement Hall declared, while his master also looked at him with a dark expression.

Tang Zhilin could have just stood by and watched, but he didn't hesitate at all. On that day, the Xuantian Sect had two defecting disciples. Tang Zhilin caused a massive uproar in the Law Enforcement Hall, injured several disciples, and rescued Fang Zhiyi.

The two fled all the way, finally escaping the pursuit of their sect.

But people still needed to eat and drink. Penniless, the two soon fell into desperate straits. Just then, Fang Zhiyi was called out to. With just one glance, he was captivated. The woman who called him was named Zhu Qingqing, and her eyes seemed to have a bewitching charm.

"Hey, are you a beggar? Come with me, we have some leftovers."

Fang Zhiyi had a full meal for the first time. Of course, he didn't forget Tang Zhilin, so he asked to take some food back for his brother. However, Zhu Qingqing's uncle noticed his footwork and recognized him as a martial artist. Immediately growing vigilant, he sent someone to tail him.

The tracker could deceive the simple-minded Fang Zhiyi, but not Tang Zhilin. Tang Zhilin took action and beat the tracker away.

Faced with Tang Zhilin's earnest advice, Fang Zhiyi still only smiled foolishly.

That night, a group of martial arts experts surrounded the place where the brothers were staying. They did not hide their identities, stating that they came from a grassroots organization called the Dragon Slaying Society. Seeing that the two brothers were highly skilled, they wanted to recruit them.

Faced with the olive branch offered by the other party, Fang Zhiyi was tempted. Mainly because he would be able to see Zhu Qingqing every day, he ignored Tang Zhilin's warning glances and nodded excitedly. Left with no choice, Tang Zhilin had to agree temporarily.

Fang Zhiyi didn't think much of it. Having food and drink here, and being flirted with by Zhu Qingqing, he was very happy despite having to work. Tang Zhilin, however, kept his guard up. Gradually, he realized something was wrong. This group claimed to be enforcing justice on behalf of heaven, but their actions were incredibly ruthless. Let alone government soldiers, even ordinary civilians who got in their way were killed without hesitation, all under the guise of building a future of national peace and prosperity.

Tang Zhilin was not stupid. He told Fang Zhiyi several times that they needed to leave, but Fang Zhiyi wouldn't listen at all. He felt perfectly fine staying there. Out of options, Tang Zhilin had to sneak away by himself late one night. Before leaving, he asked Fang Zhiyi one last time. To his surprise, not only did Fang Zhiyi refuse to go, but he also tried to call for others.

Tang Zhilin could only flee in a panic, thinking in his heart that sooner or later he would have to pull Fang Zhiyi out of there too.

Tang Zhilin's martial arts were superb, which gave him the idea of joining the military. In this dynasty, many cities practiced integrated military and political administration. Only by joining the imperial court could one quickly establish a foothold and climb the ranks. Tang Zhilin's thinking on this was very clear, and he succeeded. Relying on his martial skills, he quickly climbed to the high position of Commander of Fancheng.

And the first thing Tang Zhilin thought of was bringing his brother over, which led to the conversation at the very beginning.

He didn't understand. He had gone through untold hardships to climb the ranks, bearing all the humiliation and exhaustion himself. Why was Fang Zhiyi so unwilling to leave?

Of course he didn't understand, because Fang Zhiyi believed that Zhu Qingqing and her group represented justice, and that what they were doing was truly meaningful.

Having become a Commander and intent on climbing higher, Tang Zhilin naturally came into conflict with Zhu Qingqing's group. He couldn't allow a band of blatant rebels to operate under his nose, so clashes became frequent.

Tang Zhilin led by example, personally taking action every time, and successively injured and captured many rebels from the Dragon Slaying Society.

This behavior also caused Fang Zhiyi to hurl endless curses at him.

Because of Tang Zhilin's actions, his former companions blamed Fang Zhiyi for the problems. They called him Tang Zhilin's lapdog, and some even dumped rotten food on his head. Even Zhu Qingqing grew much colder toward him. Though heartbroken, Fang Zhiyi remained foolishly optimistic, merely hoping that one day he could prove his innocence.

His attitude only angered the people of the Dragon Slaying Society even more. They found various ways to humiliate him, and even subjected him to a lynching after one of their operations was thwarted.

This news reached Tang Zhilin. He immediately set out with his men. However, he didn't find Fang Zhiyi; instead, he captured Zhu Qingqing. Tang Zhilin's idea was simple: exchange Zhu Qingqing for Fang Zhiyi.

But he underestimated the extent to which the Dragon Slaying Society brainwashed its members. They would rather not save Zhu Qingqing than lose their integrity.

What was most extreme was that when Tang Zhilin finally took Fang Zhiyi's feelings into consideration and was about to have the publicly displayed Zhu Qingqing taken down, a hidden arrow shot from the crowd left him stunned. They actually killed their own people? Just like that, Zhu Qingqing died.

It wasn't until he saw his former good brother charge into his tent with a murderous look, angrily accusing him, that Tang Zhilin began to understand.

The Dragon Slaying Society had killed Zhu Qingqing to completely enrage Fang Zhiyi. They had probably seen that Tang Zhilin was unwilling to harm Fang Zhiyi, so they wanted to use Fang Zhiyi's hands to get rid of him.

Tang Zhilin waved his personal guards away and fought Fang Zhiyi himself. He held back at every turn, while Fang Zhiyi's moves were ruthless. The two fought from inside the tent to the outside. Tang Zhilin still didn't give up trying to persuade Fang Zhiyi, but how could Fang Zhiyi, having just lost his "beloved," listen to anything?

The cry of a night owl rang out. Tang Zhilin was somewhat startled, while Fang Zhiyi seemed to have received some sort of command. He suddenly lunged forward and hugged Tang Zhilin's waist tightly, refusing to let go no matter how much he struggled.

"The imperial court is tyrannical! Zhilin, you are aiding a tyrant to do evil! Slaughtering the people and massacring righteous heroes, you have done too much wrong! Atone for your sins with me!"