Didn't Expect You to Be Quite Popular with the Ladies

??

Gu Yan was utterly stunned right now.

He stared at Xiao Leng, who had suddenly taken over the body in front of him, and fell into deep thought.

So... switching personalities was this simple?

All it took was for Qingqiu to faint subjectively?

Huh? Then why do I feel like this is bound to cause trouble sooner or later?

Xiao Leng slowly stood up from the ground, wiping the corner of her mouth.

"Hey..."

Gu Yan couldn't help but speak up. Watching Xiao Leng's actions sent a shiver down his spine.

He knew she was using Leng Qingqiu's body, but the personality was Xiao Leng's.

The way she carried herself gave him an inexplicable sense of guilt, making him deeply uncomfortable.

"........Hmm?"

Xiao Leng seemed to notice Gu Yan's unease. As she lowered her hand, the corner of her lips curled slightly. "What's wrong, furnace?"

"Wasn't it you who messed up my body?"

"I'm just cleaning up the aftermath now."

And indeed, Xiao Leng was handling the aftermath.

After taking over the body, she could feel the surge of power more vividly.

The sheer exhilaration of this power boost put her in an extremely pleasant mood.

Heh~ This is the effect of a furnace. Truly worthy of being one~

So this is what the other me gets to experience all the time?

How...

Meanwhile, Gu Yan's eye twitched at Xiao Leng's words. "What do you mean, 'messed up'...?"

"Can you not make it sound like I did something terrible?"

Xiao Leng glanced at him with amusement, then chuckled softly. "If it wasn't terrible, how else would I be standing here?"

Gu Yan: "......"

Well, that shut him up.

To be fair, Gu Yan hadn't known that Qingqiu fainting could bring out Xiao Leng.

If he had... *cough*... he wouldn’t have pushed Qingqiu so hard earlier.

"Ran out of words? If you’re done, care to explain the current situation?"

Xiao Leng seemed to relish Gu Yan’s speechless frustration. She reined in her smirk and swept a cool gaze over him.

"Explain how you ended up tainted with Nether Aura."

?

Gu Yan slowly formed a question mark in his mind, looking at her in surprise. "You can even sense that?"

Xiao Leng raised her chin slightly, pleased with herself. "Heh, the Nether Clan is a delicacy for the Night King."

"Those thirteen shadow beings lurking in your silhouette are radiating Nether Aura without restraint."

"Do you think my perception is just for show?"

Since Xiao Leng seemed to know everything, Gu Yan figured he might as well ask more.

So, he raised his hand slightly.

Whoosh!!

The surroundings darkened instantly. Gloop—gloop—

Shadowy figures of varying shapes slowly emerged from the darkness on the ground.

Thirteen in total, lined up from left to right.

Each possessed strength at the Grandmaster level.

Xiao Leng eyed the shadow beings behind Gu Yan with interest, her lips curving. "Interesting. A furnace like you couldn’t possibly subdue Demon General-tier shadow beings on your own."

"Someone must’ve helped you..."

She stepped closer to Gu Yan.

He instinctively backed away. "Hey—"

"Don’t move."

Xiao Leng frowned, and Gu Yan froze reflexively.

? Why can’t I move?

She’s not even Qingqiu, for crying out loud.

Gu Yan sighed at his own conditioned response. Maybe it was because he’d known Xiao Leng for over a month now.

His wariness had dulled over time, leading to these involuntary reactions under certain circumstances.

Meanwhile, Xiao Leng reached out and lightly traced her fingertip along Gu Yan’s cheek. The touch lasted no more than a breath.

When she withdrew her hand, she rubbed her fingers together, her expression turning icy.

She lifted her gaze, pinning Gu Yan with a frigid stare. "You slept with her?"

"?"

"What do you mean, 'slept with her'?"

"What are you talking about?"

Gu Yan was completely lost.

"Oh."

"My mistake, then."

Xiao Leng nodded, then smirked, giving him a once-over. "Didn’t expect you to be such a lady-killer. Though the 'lady' in question is... an unusual specimen."

Seeing Gu Yan’s bewildered expression, she clarified:

"Even though there’s no red mist here, you’re still tainted by traces of it."

"Do you know how red mist is formed?"

Red mist—wasn’t that Lin’s innate ability?

Gu Yan shook his head. "What do you mean? Isn’t it just the Nether Clan’s signature skill?"

Xiao Leng nodded. "It is innate, yes. But activating it requires certain conditions."

"Specifically, vast amounts of spiritual energy and blood."

"For this particular Nether clansman, the easiest way to amplify spiritual energy is through heightened emotions."

"And for the Nether Clan, the simplest way to heighten emotions... is..."

Here, Xiao Leng licked her lips and mouthed a word at Gu Yan with deep implication.

???

Hiss—

Gu Yan sucked in a sharp breath.

He immediately denied it, pointing at himself with utmost seriousness. "Hey, hey, hey! I absolutely did not do *that* with that Nether clansman!"

"I’m a pure love kind of guy!"

Come on, I’m someone who values purity and loyalty!

Xiao Leng found his reaction even more amusing. She tilted her head, grinning. "Oh? Furnace, why so defensive?"

"You’re acting suspicious~"

Tch.

Gu Yan clicked his tongue in frustration, glaring at Xiao Leng—this infuriating alternate personality. "Fine, fine. I won’t argue with you. Let me just explain the situation."

He took a deep breath and spoke seriously:

"I... have become the Nether Clan’s sovereign now!"

"Mm-hmm. And?"

"And... well, I set up a trap with ancient qi to lure the sect warriors here, planning to eliminate them in this place."

"Under whose identity? The Night King? Or the Nether Sovereign?"

"Under whose..."

Gu Yan trailed off awkwardly under Xiao Leng’s increasingly amused gaze. "Originally, the plan was for me to make an appearance as the Night King."

"But..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Leng cut in:

"But now you’ve become the Nether Sovereign. Even though I can’t fathom what’s going on in that head of yours..."

"Let me guess—you wanted to introduce a new enemy to set the stage for some spur-of-the-moment scheme?"

She crossed her arms, smiling. "Am I right, furnace?"

Gu Yan swallowed his words and nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Though before that, I’d like to know—how much do you actually know about the Nether Clan?"

"And what exactly are the Four Sacred Beasts?"

Xiao Leng chuckled lightly. "Of course. When have I ever refused your requests, furnace?"

Gu Yan immediately felt uncomfortable all over. He looked helplessly at the other person and said, "Can you not talk like that? We’re supposed to be allies, at least. Don’t use that tone... well, to tease me."

Gu Yan couldn’t think of a better word, so he forced himself to say it despite the discomfort, which only made Xiao Leng laugh even more.

"Tease? Little brother, this is what teasing really looks like..."

"Tch, stop using Qingqiu’s body to get handsy with me. Just tell me about the Nether Clan already."

Gu Yan was thoroughly exasperated by this second personality.

"Heh, fine. I’ll only tell you what I know..."