The crescent moon rose, its reflection shimmering on the clear pond.
This unique beauty was something rarely felt amidst the bustle of the city.
To witness such a scene while admiring the grandeur of nature made the journey worthwhile.
Shu Yunyi, deeply moved, took the last bite of her mooncake and leaned slightly toward Shen Yi, resting her head on his shoulder.
Shen Yi, who had been sipping tea while gazing upward, was stirred by her touch. Without a word, he switched the teacup to his right hand to avoid accidentally scalding her.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Shu Yunyi nuzzled affectionately against Shen Yi and sighed,
"Don’t you think it’s beautiful?"
"Of course it is, but nothing around us compares to you."
Shen Yi wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he spoke.
"Such smooth talk!"
Shu Yunyi couldn’t help but laugh, playfully punching Shen Yi’s thigh through her shawl.
"Who taught you all these sweet words?"
But who could blame her for loving them? Empty flattery was tiresome, but when spoken from the heart, it became endearing.
"It must’ve been you—aren’t you my teacher?"
Shen Yi feigned surprise.
Shu Yunyi curved her lips, her willow-leaf brows softening as she teased in a mock-serious tone,
"I could never teach a student like you, daring to flirt with his teacher~"
The two nestled together, whispering sweet nothings. Shu Yunyi sighed contentedly,
"This is perfect..."
"Mountains, springs, scenery... the moon, fate, and... you."
The flowers swayed in the breeze, their delicate dance tracing graceful arcs against her fluttering skirt—as if the wind itself had taken shape.
Their eyes met under the radiant glow of the full moon, and Shu Yunyi could see her own silhouette reflected in Shen Yi’s pupils.
Lost in the moment, she gazed into his eyes and recited softly,
"The moon in the water is the moon in the sky."
Without hesitation, Shen Yi responded,
"The one before me is the one in my heart."
Her lips, glistening like candied frost under the moonlight, tempted him beyond resistance.
Shen Yi leaned in, capturing them in a tender kiss.
"Mmm..."
Shu Yunyi closed her eyes, surrendering to the sweetness.
Above them, chasing clouds veiled the moon in a gauzy embrace, as if blushing at the sight.
……
The two didn’t linger on the mountain for long, returning within an hour.
Luckily, they had chosen the perfect spot at the perfect time.
Later, drifting clouds obscured much of the moon, dulling the view, and the chilly evening wind prompted Shen Yi to lead Shu Yunyi back, worried she might catch a cold.
Still, they had already captured the most breathtaking moment—making the trip worthwhile.
After washing up with the remaining water from their thermos, they slipped into the tent.
Hanging the camping light overhead, Shu Yunyi knelt to inflate and smooth out the sleeping pad before draping a blanket over it.
While she busied herself with the bedding, Shen Yi curled up in a corner to give her space, scrolling through his phone when a sudden vibration alerted him to a message.
Opening it, he saw a small black flower avatar at the top of the screen—Cheng Jun.
"You’re not home? I knocked for ages with no answer."
The words made his brow twitch. He typed back,
"I’m out. What’s up?"
Cheng Jun, evidently waiting, replied quickly,
"Nothing urgent. It’s Mid-Autumn Festival, so I wanted to give you some mooncakes."
"I made them myself... Hope you like them."
Though the text was plain, emotions lingered between the lines.
Shen Yi fell silent, warmth swelling in his chest.
His fingers hovered before he finally sent:
"That’s really kind of you."
"I’m not home now, but you can leave them there. I’ll pick them up later."
"Thanks."
"Alright then..."
Her brief reply marked the end of their exchange.
"Xiao Yi, the bed’s ready. What’re you spacing out for?"
Shu Yunyi had already changed out of her dress and slipped under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin as she tilted her head to call him.
"Oh—coming."
Shen Yi joined her, stripping down before settling in.
The night wasn’t cold enough for sleeping bags—just the pad and a shared blanket sufficed.
Yet his mind replayed the earlier exchange. Beyond gratitude, a prickling sense of unease crept in.
Fu Nanzhi, Cheng Jun, Shu Yunyi—the threads were tangling. No matter how carefully he maintained the balance, their paths would inevitably cross.
Should he weave his own design now, or wait until the threads snarled beyond repair? The choice was his alone.
These weren’t mere lines but living, feeling people—each loving him in their own way. And thoughts were the hardest to reshape.
His troubled silence didn’t escape Shu Yunyi’s notice.
She nestled closer, her soft, fragrant warmth pressing against him as she rubbed her forehead against his.
"What’s bothering you?"
Shen Yi hesitated before deflecting,
"It’s nothing..."
Shu Yunyi wasn’t fooled. "You’re clearly upset. Tell me—since when do you hide things from me?"
He pursed his lips, on the verge of speaking, but held back, turning instead to kiss her cheek.
"Nothing’s off-limits with you. I’ll explain another time."
Sensing his mood, she didn’t press further, simply wrapping her arms around him.
Her embrace was a haven, melting away his tension.
Shen Yi sank into her warmth, breathing in the comforting scent of her—like fresh-baked bread—too drowsy to open his eyes.
He held her in return, and they drifted off, sharing warmth through the night.
The wilderness offered little privacy, their tent a flimsy barrier. Though few campers were nearby, Shen Yi kept his desires in check, content to simply hold Shu Yunyi as they slept.
At dawn, his internal clock roused him.
Shu Yunyi still lay curled in peaceful slumber. Shen Yi sat up, unzipped the tent, and peered outside.
Dew clung to the fabric, birds chirped lively greetings, and the world brimmed with vitality.
Leaving her to sleep, he dressed, slipped on his shoes, and stepped out.
Nearby, he kindled a fire to boil water for washing up and breakfast.
As the sun climbed, its heat chased away the dampness, drying the surroundings.
He tore open two packets of instant noodles and brewed coffee with the remaining water.
Once everything was ready, he returned to wake Shu Yunyi.
Well-rested from an early night, she blinked awake with a sleepy smile at the sight of him.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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!
