Shen Jiuyi replied with an utterly calm expression:
"I wasn't running away. I was just finding the best angle for stargazing."
Lin Yu: "..."
Alright, alright.
She sure comes up with lies quickly.
Who would've thought?
Given Shen Jiuyi's usual unfiltered mouth, even in a dream world, she'd actually lie?
Indeed.
When normally composed people lose their balance, unimaginable "little monsters" can sprout in their hearts.
Lin Yu didn't expose Shen Jiuyi's thoughts.
Calling out her panic now would only amplify the tension.
They'd just entered the dream—no reason to let the dream world collapse so easily.
Lin Yu casually lay down on the grass beside her, gazing up at the star-filled sky.
Damn, it's pristine!
Not a single stray cloud to obstruct the view.
A stargazer's dream come true.
"I see now."
"Xiao Jiu, you picked a great spot. The view here is perfect."
Seeing that Lin Yu didn't seem suspicious and even agreed with her, Shen Jiuyi realized there was no chance of sneaking away now.
She had no choice but to lie down as well, joining him in observing the stars' trajectories.
Lin Yu and Shen Jiuyi were equally skilled in stargazing.
Judging by the celestial patterns across the night sky...
Honestly, Shen Jiuyi was a girl who faced facts.
Even in her dreams, she didn't grant her own fate a single extra twist of fortune.
The constellations here were identical to what they'd seen in the real world earlier that night—just with a few more scattered stars, but nothing that changed the reading.
Lin Yu had already shown Shen Jiuyi plenty of respect back in the bedroom.
But here in the dream...
"Xiao Jiu, can I hold your hand?"
Lin Yu suddenly blurted out, catching her off guard.
Shen Jiuyi turned her head sharply, eyes wide with disbelief: "???"
Yao Yao already saw Lin Yu as the sole savior of her romantic world.
Lin Yu was fully aware of this and hadn't resisted the idea.
Even if they hadn't officially started dating, weren't they practically acting like they were?
And now, out of nowhere, he was asking to hold hands?
Was he planning to sneak around right under Yao Yao's nose?
Of course, stripping it down to the core...
The real reason he dared to ask was...
"Lin Yu, is it just because my fate is—"
This time, Lin Yu cut her off directly:
"Yep, of course it's because of your fate."
Shen Jiuyi bolted upright: "!!!"
So it was true.
In Lin Yu's mind, he really saw her that way!
Someone well-versed in Zi Wei Dou Shu would never dismiss destiny with a flippant "I don't believe in fate."
Clearly, Lin Yu had just been humoring her before.
Lin Yu sat up as well, demanding:
"What's with that look? When you were all over me in my bed—touching, moving, even biting—you weren't like this."
"Actions in the subconscious are pure reflections of one's true nature. Do I really need to explain that to you?"
Shen Jiuyi opened her mouth to retort but found no words.
Because...
Lin Yu wasn't wrong!
What happened in his room was something her usual self would never do.
"Xiao Jiu, after how rudely you treated me, the fact that I didn't report you at Ghost Market Street is already me being generous, don't you think?"
"And now, when I just want to hold your hand, you're giving me excuses?"
Shen Jiuyi: "!!!"
Report her at Ghost Market Street?
Wouldn't that mean everyone in the antique industry would learn about her "born courtesan" destiny?
Those involved in the antique trade often dabble in feng shui and metaphysics.
If this were to spread...
She...
No—
It might even drag Yao Yao into it, making them both targets of their peers' judgment!
This was entirely different from Yao Yao's "lonely star of calamity" fate.
This absolutely couldn't be exposed!
As Lin Yu held out his palm, Shen Jiuyi inexplicably placed her hand in his.
[Ding!]
[Masterful move—voluntary self-sacrifice deepens the Starview Pavilion’s honorary elder’s impression of the destined fate!]
[Reward: 20 spirit stones.]
Lin Yu tightened his grip, savoring the cool, smooth touch.
He even deliberately pulled her closer, kneading her hand repeatedly.
Having chosen to enter Shen Jiuyi’s dreamscape, Lin Yu had no intention of pretending to be some hypocritical gentleman.
Tonight, he’d indulge in a more unrestrained dream.
"Your skin is so well-maintained—so soft... and fragrant!"
As he spoke,
Lin Yu brought her hand to his face, inhaling deeply with intoxicated delight.
The moment he did,
he could clearly feel Shen Jiuyi shudder.
Playing the pervert? He was a professional.
"Why stay so far away? You didn’t hesitate to hide under my covers last night."
"Come, sit closer. Let me analyze your astral readings and predict your fortune for the coming days."
"Self-analysis is never truly objective."
Shen Jiuyi’s eyes brightened—she was genuinely intrigued by his offer.
When interpreting her own fate,
she often skewed ambiguous signs toward favorable outcomes.
After all,
who’d willingly predict their own misfortune?
Perhaps
only Lin Yu’s words could be truly impartial.
Shen Jiuyi braced against the grass, preparing to shift closer.
But just as she rose,
Lin Yu seized the moment to strike.
In one swift motion, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.
"Lin Yu!"
Her icy tone held no real threat.
This was just Shen Jiuyi’s usual demeanor.
Far from anger,
it sounded almost like a coquettish protest.
"Last night in my room, you went much further than this."
"Consider this a small payback—how else do I restore my pride?"
"You didn’t think you could just brush it off, did you?"
Shen Jiuyi’s brow furrowed briefly before her expression smoothed back into indifference.
On second thought,
if this settled last night’s incident, perhaps it wasn’t so bad.
The only thing unsettling her was...
Shen Jiuyi: "Lin Yu, if Yao Yao finds out about this, how will you explain it to her?"
Lin Yu: "I answer to no one. If Yao Yao learns about last night, how will you explain it?"
Shen Jiuyi: "..."
His shameless attitude left her speechless.
Compared to this,
last night’s incident was far harder to justify.
"Let’s get this over with. The sooner we finish, the sooner we leave."
Seeing Shen Jiuyi resign herself to staying put,
Lin Yu boldly wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her slightly, declaring:
"Tsk!"
"Little Jiu, I foresee a blood calamity in your future."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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?!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
