After briefly recounting to Xie Yuyan how she and Ye Feng had first met, Li Mucheng finally managed a faint smile.
However, she naturally left out the part about Ye Feng kidnapping her—though even now, she still had many unanswered questions about it.
For instance, why had Ye Feng kidnapped her in the first place? His motives seemed almost arbitrary, as if he’d done it purely for the sake of it, which left Li Mucheng deeply puzzled.
But after the incident at the cliff, the pieces of Ye Feng’s abduction of her seemed to fall into place in her mind, as if connected by some unseen thread.
Xie Yuyan, observing carefully, caught a fleeting clarity in Li Mucheng’s eyes before it was quickly concealed.
"Xie Yuyan, surely you can trust me now? I genuinely want to work with you to find our teacher. I’ve always believed he’ll be alright!"
"I feel the same way... but I’m terrified. Terrified of facing the truth, terrified that Ye Feng might really be gone forever."
"But don’t we have to face it eventually? You don’t want this shadow hanging over you forever, do you?"
"I hope so... I just don’t know what to do anymore."
Xie Yuyan’s tone was laced with self-reproach. She knew all too well that she was the primary culprit behind the cliff incident. Expecting a victim to forgive the perpetrator? What a cruel joke.
"Ding-dong."
Just as their conversation lapsed into silence, a crisp chime echoed from the manor’s front gate. As the door swung open, Su Yuxin strode in briskly, dressed in athletic wear.
"Mucheng, I went back to the mountains today—"
The moment Su Yuxin reached the sofa, she spotted Xie Yuyan sitting beside her. Instantly, her expression twisted with disgust, her teeth clenched as she glared daggers at Xie Yuxin.
"Xie Yuyan! You’re the one who hurt Brother Ye Feng! How dare you show your face here!"
Hearing Su Yuxin’s furious words, Xie Yuyan bowed her head in remorse. "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have done what I did."
"Sorry doesn’t change anything! Brother Ye Feng is missing because of you! If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have left us like this!"
"......"
"Yuxin, enough. Arguing won’t solve anything."
Only when Li Mucheng intervened did Su Yuxin let out a cold huff and sit down beside her.
Li Mucheng knew Su Yuxin’s hostility toward Xie Yuyan wouldn’t fade anytime soon. Still, given the gravity of Xie Yuyan’s actions, she chose to step in at the critical moment.
"Alright, since you’re back, Yuxin, tell us what you found today."
"Mm..."
Su Yuxin pursed her lips, first shooting Xie Yuyan a wary glance before casting a questioning look at Li Mucheng.
"It’s fine, Yuxin. Xie Yuyan is on our side now. I believe she’ll work with us to find our teacher."
"Hmph... Who knows if she’ll just use me again like before?"
"Yuxin, right now our focus should be—"
Before Li Mucheng could finish, Xie Yuyan suddenly stood up from the sofa, drawing both Li Mucheng and Su Yuxin’s attention.
"Xie Yuyan, you—"
"I’m sorry!"
Xie Yuyan bowed deeply to Su Yuxin, her light blue eyes calm and unwavering.
"Eh?!"
Su Yuxin was the most startled by this gesture. She never expected the usually arrogant Xie Yuyan to apologize to her. After all, Xie Yuyan had always acted as though no one but Ye Feng mattered to her. This complete reversal left Su Yuxin momentarily speechless.
Thankfully, Li Mucheng reacted quickly, nudging Su Yuxin with her elbow to snap her out of it.
"So, Yuxin? What do you think?"
"Ugh..."
Su Yuxin’s face flushed red. With a huff, she stood up as well, stomping her foot in frustration.
"F-fine! I’ll let it go! Just stop with that cold expression, okay? I... I was just mad you tricked me. If you’re really sorry, then I won’t say anything more."
Hesitantly, Su Yuxin stepped forward and helped Xie Yuyan straighten up. Looking up at the taller girl, she extended her hand.
"Let’s work together to bring Brother Ye Feng back."
Seeing Su Yuxin’s earnestness, Xie Yuyan couldn’t help but smile slightly. For someone who had always been a loner, having two allies—even temporarily—felt surprisingly nice.
"Alright. Thank you for giving me this chance."
"You should thank Mucheng, not me."
Su Yuxin quickly retreated to her seat, and Li Mucheng gave a nod, signaling the start of their first official meeting.
"Ahem..."
As the first to speak, Su Yuxin cleared her throat before addressing the group calmly.
"Today, I checked the woods below the cliff. The river’s current is still strong. Based on the search reports from the past few days, the only viable leads would be in areas where the water flows slower. If Brother Ye Feng lost consciousness in the river, those are the most likely spots to find him."
"That makes sense. I’ll direct the search teams to focus on the calmer stretches you mentioned."
Li Mucheng then turned to Xie Yuyan, who seemed deep in thought.
"Xie Yuyan, do you think we’ve missed anything?"
"......"
Xie Yuyan closed her eyes, weighing the possibilities, before speaking.
"Your approach isn’t wrong, but the efficiency is too low. I suggest splitting into two teams—skip the upstream and position one team at each of the calmer sections downstream. Then, place another team at the river’s endpoint. Have both teams converge toward the middle. That way, we cover more ground without missing anything from the past few days, and we’ll find Ye Feng faster."
Li Mucheng nodded thoughtfully, exchanging a glance with Su Yuxin before assigning the teams accordingly.
It seemed her instincts were right—as long as the three of them worked together, they could find a way forward.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
