[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-436":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336723,598,"Chapter 436: A familiar face (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-436",436,"\u003Cp>\"Let’s go find something to eat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were a few nearby restaurants Ghost pointed out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t really in the mood to eat, but I followed him anyway, hoping I could forget ..Even for a little while ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About Danzo, and the endless flood of information I had been drowning in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The restaurants around here aren’t anything special, but they’ll fill you up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ghost said, and I replied carelessly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Anything will do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the poor streets of Belgrad,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were plenty of street vendors and open food stalls scattered around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at them all with a blank face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Food hadn’t appealed to me in a long, long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I decided to just pick one at random.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as we walked a little further ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found myself stopping dead in my tracks as something caught my eye at the end of the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rubbed my eyes quietly, trying to steady myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was exhausted .. Maybe I was hallucinating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no... I wasn’t imagining things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the various food stalls,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was one in particular with a decent crowd gathered around it, thick smoke rising from its tiny stand that still clung to its old traditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serving a line of customers,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fat old man rushed around, taking orders one after another, his thick beard and rough features exactly as I remembered them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ghost stopped too when he noticed me frozen in place, but I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you’re still alive, you damned old man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said with a smile, making my way toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ve found what we were looking for, Ghost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no way I could just pass him by after all this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe he had escaped back then ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the world really was a small place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fate brought me back to you once again, Shaheen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, I stepped into his new restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, without warning,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone inside turned to stare at us as Shaheen dropped his iron ladle to the ground, freezing in place, shocked to see me walking in out of nowhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You look like you’ve seen a ghost... Shaheen, it’s been a while.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said simply, as the old man stared at me in disbelief, Rubbing his eyes repeatedly to make sure what he was seeing was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he quickly started screaming when the leftover spicy food on his hands burned his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting out a muffled cry, his eyes now bright red from the heat, Shaheen spoke through the pain:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frey... ah, hello. I didn’t expect to see you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flustered, the old man took a long moment to calm himself down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go wash your face first, old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’ll be waiting for you at one of your tables .. then we can talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waved him off and took a seat at one of the wooden tables, Ghost beside me, silently observing everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen was still clearly shaken ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>you could see it in the frantic way he nodded before trying to pick up his fallen ladle...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only to drop it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He really was hopeless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I couldn’t help feeling happy to see him alive and bustling, just like always.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took Shaheen a full thirty minutes to gather his courage and finally sit down in front of us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was so late that I almost wanted to scold him for the terrible service.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remembered how places like this, back before my reincarnation, were just as slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that way too, he hadn’t changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when he finally joined us,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>silence filled the air,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the three of us just staring at one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ghost sat between us, shifting his gaze back and forth ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>first to me, then to Shaheen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then back to me again, then Shaheen—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>who was starting to sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence dragged on until I stood up abruptly and slammed the table over him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong with you, damned old man?! Are you my ex-girlfriend or what?! Say something, for god’s sake!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trying to crush him beneath the table,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen grabbed it firmly and shoved back at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You filthy brat! Is that how you treat your elders?! I was actually embarrassed to face you, you know! I wanted to apologize and give you some free food, but now the only thing you’re getting is my hairy old ass!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, so now you’re offering your ass to strangers, huh, filthy old man? No wonder you’ve got all these customers!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your mouth’s gotten bigger, kid. Maybe I should cut it off for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We shouted at each other in front of all the customers, both of us wrestling with the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could’ve easily overpowered him, but I deliberately used the same amount of strength as him, making our ridiculous struggle perfectly even.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after a few more minutes of nonsense,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>we finally set the table down again and sat back in our seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s do this properly, kid.\" He said with a serious face, and I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go on, then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a nod,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen began to apologize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry, kid... for disappearing like that after our last conversation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed his head sincerely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I quickly lifted his head back up with aura control from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need to apologize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see you’ve left the past behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s nothing to regret .. you’ve done what I couldn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen had spent his whole life trapped in the temple, haunted by the ghost of his dead daughter, imprisoning himself within the walls of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he managed to break free from those chains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And here he was now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at you .. your restaurant’s thriving, you’ve got dozens of customers... I’m glad life has been kind to you, old man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said with a smile, and Shaheen narrowed his eyes at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s thanks to you, kid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your words that day gave me the push I needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so... I left without saying a word to you. I do feel a little guilty about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hope you won’t hold it against me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen spoke sincerely, regret lingering in his voice,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>unable to speak the full truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I already knew what he meant,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so I spared him the trouble of saying it aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without realizing it, Shaheen had treated me like a son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe back then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he used me to fill the void his dead daughter left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that’s what built the bond between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was only a temporary escape from reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why Shaheen left me behind when he decided to start over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had stayed by his side, he might never have left the temple at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t blame him for what he did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a necessary step for him ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I respected his decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, we understood each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was what mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen nodded with a soft smile, regaining his usual composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You look hungry. Should I bring you the usual?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked with a grin, and I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah... the usual. For me and my friend here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Got it! Hahaha!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting out his signature pirate-like laugh,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaheen marched back into the kitchen, brimming with energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching him from behind,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t help but laugh quietly too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was truly happy to see him again.\u003C\u002Fp>",1229,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.346Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","56254ff058b6fc53b35edeaeeceeca8f460334068e563596dd3724ce65ca0635","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-437","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-435",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]