Two days passed in a flash.
During these two days, Su Ji was restless, and his progress in repairing his Dao Foundation had slowed down significantly.
He couldn't help but constantly recall that fleeting glimpse he had caught.
It made him completely unable to find any peace.
This afternoon, he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, fretting over his cracked Glazed Dao Foundation, when his door was knocked on with a tap, tap, tap.
Su Ji got up and opened the door.
Standing outside was none other than Su Jiu, whom he hadn't seen for two days.
Her beautiful and elegant face looked even more fair and translucent under the afternoon sun.
"Senior Brother."
Su Jiu's gaze was a bit erratic, not daring to meet Su Ji's eyes.
"I need to consolidate my cultivation these next couple of days. Could you... lend me some spirit stones?"
Her voice was very soft, carrying a trace of imperceptible embarrassment.
Su Ji was taken aback and instinctively asked in return, "Didn't I give you half last time? Is it still not enough? Consolidating cultivation requires..."
He stopped abruptly midway through his sentence.
A thought exploded in his mind like a flash of lightning.
Su Ji's brow twitched violently, but he quickly controlled his expression.
He picked up his previous sentence as fast as he could, his tone carrying a bit of exaggerated surprise. "You need that many spirit stones?"
Su Jiu lowered her eyes a bit more.
"Just lend me some. Once I finish consolidating my cultivation, I'll go out to look for some cultivation resources and pay you back double, Senior Brother."
Looking at her like this, Su Ji felt a myriad of mixed emotions in his heart.
He was almost certain that this was the omen.
But he still wanted to confirm it one last time.
Su Ji immediately put on a forthright expression and waved his hand grandly.
"Ah, Junior Sister, you're treating me like an outsider by saying that."
"With the relationship between us two, what's there to talk about borrowing?"
As he spoke, he leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
"How much do you need? Just give your Senior Brother a number."
Su Jiu didn't seem to expect him to be so straightforward. She looked up and cast him a somewhat surprised glance.
"One hundred and fifty top-grade spirit stones."
Su Ji's heart suddenly twitched.
Although he hadn't carefully calculated how much of his fortune was left, he estimated it was around one hundred and fifty stones.
This little fox was trying to squeeze him dry!
Seeing Su Ji fall silent, Su Jiu didn't find it strange.
After all, this was not a small sum.
Given Su Ji's greedy and lustful nature, it would be weird if he agreed so readily.
Unless...
Su Jiu's cheeks grew slightly hot.
Unless she sacrificed some of her physical charm, perhaps it would be possible.
But was she that kind of fox?
Obviously not.
She bit her lip and was just about to say that she would think of another way.
But Su Ji suddenly spoke.
"Alright."
Just one word, clean and decisive.
Su Jiu was completely stunned.
She looked at Su Ji in disbelief, as if trying to find some clue on his face.
Yet Su Ji's face was completely calm, even carrying a bit of the heroic spirit of "Junior Sister, you underestimate me too much."
But Su Ji's heart was bleeding.
He finally understood why he had appeared so sneakily outside Su Jiu's window in the vision from Prying into Heaven's Mandate.
Damn curiosity!
It had trapped him, Su Ji, into being unrighteous and disloyal!
Su Ji slowly took out a bulging storage bag from his robes.
His face was full of heartache, but he forced himself to hand it over.
"Here."
"Junior Sister, you must spend it sparingly. It's not easy for your Senior Brother to earn spirit stones..."
Su Jiu took the bag of spirit stones; it felt heavy in her hand.
Looking at Su Ji's feigned generosity, a warm current surged in her heart, and her previous embarrassment vanished into thin air.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
She thanked him solemnly and turned to return to her own courtyard.
"Ah, wait!"
Su Ji stopped her again.
Su Jiu turned back, somewhat puzzled.
"Does Junior Sister need Senior Brother to help guard your Dao while you consolidate your cultivation?"
Su Jiu's cheeks suddenly flushed red, and she shot Su Ji an annoyed glare.
"I don't need it."
After saying that, she quickly left without looking back. Her retreating figure looked somewhat like she was fleeing in panic.
Watching her disappearing figure, Su Ji let out a long sigh.
He just felt a wave of dullness.
Never mind, never mind.
Just consider it... a bit of an early investment for his Junior Sister's safety.
Su Ji comforted himself like this, then turned around, closed the door, and began to ponder a very serious question.
When the time came, from which angle should he look to see more clearly?
...
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
It was already approaching evening.
Su Ji sat on his bed as if there were nails under his buttocks; he couldn't sit still no matter what.
According to his memory, it was just about this time.
Su Ji took a deep breath.
No, if this thought wasn't smoothed out, he wouldn't even be able to repair his Dao Foundation.
What kind of person was he, Su Ji?
One who repays kindness and is always ready to help others for a just cause!
When his Junior Sister was in trouble, how could he just stand by and watch?
Besides, when cultivators explored the profound gateways of their own blessed lands, their minds were the most relaxed, and they were most prone to making mistakes.
Especially someone with little experience like Su Jiu. What if she suffered from cultivation deviation?
Both emotionally and reasonably, he should go and guard her Dao.
Yes, guard her Dao.
Su Ji found an incredibly glorious and righteous reason for his actions, and the slight awkwardness in his heart vanished instantly.
He stood up, straightened his robes, restored his calm and indifferent expression, and pushed the door open to leave.
He was now very familiar with the way to Su Jiu's courtyard.
This time, he didn't dare to climb the wall and take the back door.
You know, because he had taken the back door so many times, Su Jiu was already used to him taking the back door.
Only by taking the front door this time could he catch her off guard.
Su Ji moved silently, without disturbing even a single leaf.
He stealthily crept right under Su Jiu's window.
Su Ji held his breath and listened carefully.
It was completely quiet inside the room.
He cautiously poked his head out and looked toward the window.
Poke a hole in the window?
No, that would be too obvious and hard to explain afterward.
He rolled his eyes and noticed that the wooden latch on the window didn't seem to be tightly fastened, leaving a nearly imperceptible gap.
Su Ji felt a burst of joy in his heart. He extended his finger, wrapped it in spirit energy, and extremely slowly pushed the gap open just a tiny bit more.
His field of vision gradually unfolded before his eyes.
Then, Su Ji was stunned.
This wasn't right.
It was completely different from the scene in Prying into Heaven's Mandate.
The large, soft bed in the room was completely empty.
Su Jiu... wasn't on the bed?
Not good!
Could he have arrived too late?
Su Ji's gaze quickly swept across the room, finally locking onto the tea table in the center.
Su Jiu was standing right there.
With her back to the window, she was dressed in entirely white clothes, her long hair flowing down like a waterfall.
She looked eagerly poised to try something at the corner of the table.
That wasn't all.
What made Su Ji's pupils shrink sharply was that on the tea table lay the two broken halves of the Lustrous Spear!
When did she pick up this piece of junk and bring it back?
Just as Su Ji was filled with confusion.
Su Jiu moved.
As if she had made up her mind, she gently bit her lower lip with her pearly white teeth and slowly reached out her hand, moving toward that broken half of the spear shaft.
Her fingertips trembled slightly as they touched the cold body of the spear.
A murmur, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, escaped from her lips.
"Su Ji..."
Oh no!
Junior Sister is in danger!
Su Jiu wasn't a spear cultivator at all. If she touched such a fierce weapon, what if she got hurt?
What a sin!
What a sin!
How could he, Su Ji, just stand by and watch such a tragedy unfold?
Su Ji puffed out his cheeks, forcefully smoothing away the inappropriate expression on his face.
A moment later...
To use a common phrase from novels: Su Ji's eyes were now a picture of pure clarity, devoid of the slightest trace of wicked thoughts.
He turned around and retreated to the entrance of the courtyard.
Then, he stopped concealing his presence!
Taking large strides to the door, he raised his hand and pushed it open.
"Creak—"
The wooden door let out a long, drawn-out groan.
"Junior Sister, I just gave it some careful thought..."
Su Ji's voice, laced with just the right touch of urgency, rang out in the room.
Then, the moment he laid eyes on Su Jiu by the table, he flawlessly switched to a look of utter astonishment.
His words came to an abrupt halt.
His voice caught in his throat, stuck halfway.
His acting was masterful, completely seamless and natural.
By the table, Su Jiu whipped around like a startled deer.
When she saw Su Ji at the doorway, her entire body froze.
She was still gripping the broken half of the spear in her hand. The captivating blush on her face had yet to fade, and her eyes were brimming with panic and bewilderment.
The air seemed to freeze in that very moment.
At a visible rate, Su Jiu's cheeks went from pink to deathly pale, and then flushed into a crimson so deep it looked as if it could bleed.
She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to explain something, but could not utter a single word.
In the end, her myriad of emotions culminated in a single tearful whimper.
"Wu~ Su Ji... don't look..."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
