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.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
