Xu Mu couldn’t help laughing when he heard that. “You’re not very old, but you seem to know quite a lot. What advantages do you have if you marry me?”
He had only been teasing Xiao Qiao. Xiao Gui definitely wouldn’t die—he was the male protagonist, after all.
Zhong Ci wouldn’t die either. She was the female protagonist with a level-ten destiny. The only one who might actually die was the woman called Phoenix.
“I can act cute.”
“Act cute for your grandma! Shut up!”
As he spoke, Xu Mu led the others to a distant hillside, where they hid themselves.
Judging from what had happened, his plan had been half successful.
The intended fight to the death between the two sides hadn’t happened.
Xiao Gui wasn’t stupid. At present, he couldn’t deal with Yue Menglong, so he certainly wouldn’t fight her to the death—unless Zhong Ci died at her hands.
However, the enmity between Xiao Gui and Yue Menglong had been set in stone.
Once Xiao Gui, the male protagonist, reached a certain level of strength, he would definitely come back for revenge.
“Please, Uncle Xu Mu! I promise I’ll never insult you again.”
Xiao Qiao was still crying and pleading with him.
She didn’t know why, but after hearing what Xu Mu had said earlier, she felt that she would always be secondary in Xiao Gui’s heart, forever ranked behind her mother.
But if she got married, she ought to become the most important person in her husband’s heart.
Xu Mu said nothing. His eyes remained fixed on the distant cave. Several minutes later, Xiao Gui and Zhong Ci emerged from it together.
Xu Mu used his perception to search the area but found no sign of the woman called Phoenix.
Seeing this, Xu Mu looked at the people beside him. “Let’s go and take a look.”
He then released his power and approached the cave.
Xiao Gui immediately sensed the qi coming from their direction and hurried over with Zhong Ci.
“Xiao Qiao!”
The moment Zhong Ci saw Xiao Qiao beside Xu Mu, she ran over and hugged her tightly.
She then took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Xiao Qiao’s face.
“Mom, I’m fine.” Xiao Qiao gave her a smile.
“Xu Mu, you’ve really done us a tremendous favor this time. If it weren’t for you, we don’t know what might have happened.”
Zhong Ci thanked Xu Mu, tears welling up in her eyes.
[Affection +20]
“Our original mission was to eliminate the Painted Skin branch, but we never expected Yue Menglong and the sect master of Painted Skin to be here too.”
As Xu Mu spoke, he glanced at Xiao Qiao. “You’re descendants of Yanhuang. Saving you was only right.”
[Affection +10]
Xiao Qiao’s affection for Xu Mu also increased.
“Wife, Xiao Qiao, I’ll send you somewhere safe. After that, I have to come back and rescue Phoenix.”
Xiao Gui’s expression was solemn. “You should understand now why I told you earlier that you shouldn’t have come.”
Zhong Ci fell silent.
She admitted that Xiao Gui was right, but if she had to make the choice again, she would still come.
Phoenix was her daughter—her own flesh and blood, the person she cared about most in this world. How could she remain indifferent while her daughter was in danger?
“You don’t need to worry about us. Xu Mu should be able to keep us safe. You’d better hurry and save your friend.”
Zhong Ci turned to Xiao Gui.
“No! It’s too dangerous. What if they attack you again? I’m stronger than Xu Mu.”
Xiao Gui certainly couldn’t let Xu Mu take his wife and daughter away. Xu Mu had stolen all the credit this time, and he refused to give that bastard another chance.
Zhong Ci nodded slightly. “All right.”
Xiao Gui already owed Xu Mu an enormous debt of gratitude, and he felt too embarrassed to ask Xu Mu for help again.
“Xu Mu, we’ll head back first.”
Zhong Ci said goodbye to Xu Mu before leaving.
Xu Mu nodded lightly.
After watching them leave, Chen Xuan smiled and said, “Brother Mu, there’s still another woman they captured. Should we help her?”
Xu Mu thought of that woman. Her Eye of God required him to be face-to-face with her before he could see her information, so he couldn’t identify her through his perception.
As a result, he didn’t know whether she was one of Xiao Gui’s female protagonists.
After thinking it over, he decided to rescue her anyway. What if she really was a female protagonist?
That would allow him to eliminate even more of Xiao Gui’s destiny power.
“Hide, quickly.”
Xu Mu immediately instructed the two of them.
They hid on the hillside once more. Through Xu Mu’s perception, they saw Yue Menglong and the others emerge from the cave.
The mask covering the woman called Phoenix had shattered, revealing a blood-streaked face.
Although she looked utterly disheveled, the mature charm of her features gave her a kind of chaotic beauty.
Both of her arms hung limply at her sides. They were clearly dislocated.
Hua Ming was gripping Phoenix by the shoulder and forcing her to follow behind Yue Menglong.
“Ai Ping, this whole situation is rather strange. You were fighting Xu Mu, then you knocked him into the yellow smoke, and afterward he somehow escaped.”
Yue Menglong walked ahead with a smile. “Did you secretly tell him how to escape while I was fighting Xiao Gui?”
Ai Ping’s face turned deathly pale. She immediately dropped to her knees.
“My lady, please see the truth! I’m utterly loyal to you. How could I possibly betray you? Xu Mu was deliberately trying to sow discord between us. At my age, even if my mark disappeared, how many years would I have left to live?”
“Hahaha! Get up. Of course I know you’re loyal. That boy’s attainments in formations are extraordinary. He must have discovered the way out himself.”
Yue Menglong laughed.
Only then did Ai Ping breathe a sigh of relief and stand up again.
Yue Menglong looked at Phoenix, her tone laced with mockery. “It seems your place in Xiao Gui’s heart is far below that of those two women.”
“Kill me or torture me as you please. There’s no need to waste your breath. Of course I know I’m not as important as them. Those two are Xiao Gui’s wife and daughter.”
Phoenix’s voice was calm.
But she was surely uncomfortable inside. She admitted that Xiao Gui had once saved her organization and that she owed him a debt of gratitude.
Yet over the past few years, her organization had done everything it could for Xiao Gui.
Whenever Xiao Gui gave them an order, they obeyed without question or complaint.
But when they were escaping, Yue Menglong captured her.
At the time, Yue Menglong had shouted to Xiao Gui that she would kill Phoenix if he took another step.
Xiao Gui hadn’t even paused. He had simply held Zhong Ci and left without looking back.
“Do you think Xiao Gui will come back to save you?”
Yue Menglong continued questioning her.
“I don’t know.”
Phoenix shook her head.
“Then I’ll let you live for one day. If he doesn’t come back after that, I’ll kill you.”
Yue Menglong continued walking. “Let’s hope your life is worth more to him than the Boundary Fire in his possession.”
“Stop dreaming. He absolutely won’t exchange the Boundary Fire for me.”
Phoenix looked at Yue Menglong. “I know him fairly well. He might come to save me, and if I die, he’ll probably avenge me in the future. But he definitely won’t trade the Boundary Fire for my life.”
“Is that so?”
Yue Menglong grinned. “He really is heartless. Why don’t you follow me instead?”
“Don’t bother saying things like that. As a hybrid, I’ve lived in the Inner Realm for many years. Everyone knows the reputation of the Thousand-Skinned Woman. Compared to you, Xiao Gui is practically a saint.”
Phoenix already knew that she would most likely die this time, so she couldn’t be bothered to say anything tactful. “The two people by your side have been with you for so many years, yet you still control them with marks. At least when I followed Xiao Gui, she never controlled me.”
“Shut up!”
Hua Ming slapped Phoenix across the face. “My lady has her reasons for doing this. When did it become your place to criticize her?”
Yue Menglong, meanwhile, said from the side, “Hua Ming, actually, she has a point. When I have the time, I’ll first remove the marks in both your heads.”
She decided to make them an empty promise for now and keep the two of them calm.
As soon as Yue Menglong finished speaking, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Turning around, she saw that Hua Ming, who had been gripping Phoenix by the shoulder, had somehow become Xu Mu.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
