The prophecy says that Gu Yan killed Leng Qingqiu

The room was dimly lit by a faint glow.

On either side of the crystal table, Gu Yan and Xiao Leng sat on small sofas.

A tray of tea and snacks, freshly delivered by the maid, rested between them.

Of course, Gu Yan had picked it up at the door.

Xiao Leng curled her lips into a faint smile as she watched him. "Why so quiet?"

"Is it because I’m too beautiful?"

Gu Yan glanced at her before replying slowly, "Just a little surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Yeah. Usually, you’re the one calling me out."

"Oh? So my taking the initiative once has moved you that much?"

Well, this conversation was going nowhere.

Gu Yan poured her a cup of tea and asked bluntly, "Moved? What’s there to be moved about between us?"

"If anything, the moment you show up here, I’m too nervous to even move."

Xiao Leng eyed the teacup, then gave him a meaningful look. "This cup... has the other me used it?"

Gu Yan, who had just picked up his own cup, quickly set it back down. "Disposable. For guests. One-time use only."

"Oh."

"Enough with the 'oh.' What did you come here for this time?"

At that, Xiao Leng sighed dramatically, her brows knitting into a delicate frown. "What... can’t I visit you without a reason?"

"Cauldron, I... I’m lonely too, you know."

"The other me gets to enjoy the daylight, but I... I can only slip out of her body like this, careful not to be noticed."

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

Her lips trembled slightly as she lifted her gaze, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Cauldron, you’re the only one willing to keep me company. I just wanted to talk."

"Is even such a small request too much for you?"

Gu Yan cut her off without hesitation. "Stop acting."

"Xiao Leng, just tell me what you want."

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

Xiao Leng’s pitiful expression faded into blank indifference.

She stared at him coldly. "Heartless man."

"?? How am I heartless now? Cut down on the dramas, will you?"

"Hmph. It’s not me who watches dramas—it’s the other me."

"Qingqiu? Watching TV? Don’t lie to me."

"Tch. Suit yourself if you don’t believe it."

After a few more minutes of bickering, Xiao Leng finally got to the point.

She snapped her fingers lightly.

Whoosh!

A black hole appeared, and from it tumbled a small black cat.

"Meow?!"

Ye Ye, utterly bewildered, had been teleported straight from her nap into Xiao Leng’s grasp.

"First, I wanted to check how you’ve been taking care of Ye Ye."

Xiao Leng lifted the cat by the scruff of her neck, inspecting her.

Noticing the faint glimmer of intelligence in the feline’s eyes, she nodded in approval. "Seems well-fed."

Then, she cradled Ye Ye in her arms, stroking her gently.

Ye Ye was still processing the situation.

What just happened?

Why was she suddenly yanked from sleep into the arms of her mistress?

Gu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Only the highest-grade cat food for her."

"For Ye Ye, the highest-grade isn’t cat food."

Xiao Leng’s cryptic remark hung in the air.

She didn’t dwell on it, though, and continued, "The Power of Night has stopped corroding the other me."

"Soon, its influence on her will vanish completely."

Gu Yan froze.

He had suspected the Night King’s dagger affected the mind, but hearing it confirmed sent a chill down his spine.

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness he’d taken precautions—otherwise, Qingqiu might have ended up just like in the original storyline.

Xiao Leng seemed to sense his relief. Calmly, she added, "The fact that the other me is no longer affected by the Power of Night... is because of you."

"If you hadn’t appeared, she would have followed the destined path and become the Night King."

"Destined path?" Gu Yan frowned, not quite following.

Xiao Leng turned her head slowly, locking eyes with him. Word by word, she enunciated, "Absorb Leng Ling’er’s heart’s blood. Become the Night King. Destroy the world."

Thud!

Gu Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at Xiao Leng in shock, while her lips curled into a dangerous smirk.

What the—?

How did Xiao Leng know this?

This was the original plot!

Gu Yan realized, belatedly, that he had never truly understood Xiao Leng.

Smoothing Ye Ye’s fur, Xiao Leng chuckled. "Be grateful. Your presence has rendered this prophecy obsolete."

"Prophecy?"

"Mm. Remember Xiao Xie?"

Xiao Xie was that ancient cursed tome—the one that granted wishes at a price.

Gu Yan nodded. "I know of it."

Xiao Leng’s eyes gleamed with amusement. "This prophecy was foretold by Xiao Xie."

"Otherwise... why do you think it sought out me and the other me?"

"Why do you think we were chosen to become the Night King?"

Wait—his brain was overheating.

Gu Yan took a deep breath. "Are you saying... the dagger that turns someone into the Night King... actually belongs to that cursed tome?"

"Correct."

"But before, you told me you didn’t know how the Night King came to be!"

"At the time, I didn’t. But after visiting the forbidden zone, as your bond with the other me deepened, my perception expanded."

Gu Yan still didn’t get it. "Your perception? Does Qingqiu have this too? And what does emotional closeness have to do with perception?"

Xiao Leng shook her head, smiling. "I refuse to answer the latter."

"But the former... I’ll tell you this: the other me only knows what I allow her to know."

"Because..."

She leaned in, closing the distance between them until their breaths nearly mingled.

Holding Gu Yan’s desperate gaze, she murmured, "I am the current master of the cursed tome."

"When the incident happened years ago, a second personality—me—was created within Leng Qingqiu’s mind. Devoid of emotions, I became bound to the tome, while the other me was bound to the Night King’s dagger."

"My role was to stabilize the host personality, ensuring she followed the prophecy to become the Night King."

"But you... shattered that prophecy."

"And in doing so, you birthed a new one..."

As she spoke—

Whoosh!!

The cursed tome materialized in midair.

Its pages flipped wildly before stopping abruptly.

Gu Yan’s eyes locked onto the freshly revealed prophecy:

[Gu Yan kills Leng Qingqiu.]

[Gu Yan annihilates the world of martial artists.]

[Gu Yan succeeds.]

After seeing these three prophecies displayed before him...

Gu Yan... was stunned.