From autumn into winter, Li Chenyuan and Qiu Yunru were sent out on cultivation missions together. Seeing as they now both had golden cores, they had become valuable assets to the sect who could complete higher-level missions, such as capturing spirits in the homes of wealthy people, conducting exorcisms, and even fighting high-ranking demons.
All the while, Li Chenyuan grew more and more desperate. He clung to his shige's side like a kitten on every mission, following his lead and complimenting him. He even tried to act pitiful at times!
This was because he had gotten certain advice from Fu Jia.
One evening in the dining hall while Qiu Yunru was away on a mission, Li Chenyuan approached the two women and slammed his food down next to them moodily.
"What the hell?" Lei Ruolan muttered irritatedly through a mouthful of dumplings. "What's wrong with him?"
Li Chenyuan grumpily stirred his soup with a dark look on his face. "..."
"Oh!" Fu Jia gasped into her hand, peering at him excitedly. "Are you lovesick?"
Li Chenyuan's face reddened like a tomato, and he dropped his spoon. "...How did you know?"
Fu Jia giggled, waving her hand. "It's easy. Your eyes are downcast, but you look frustrated, and your cheeks are flushed. Plus, your eyes have that look!"
Li Chenyuan gripped his soup bowl with white knuckles, looking at Fu Jia worriedly. "Is it that obvious?"
"No, I'm just skilled at these kinds of things! Aren't I?" Fu Jia elbowed Lei Ruolan playfully.
Lei Ruolan choked on her dumplings with a red face. "...Mm."
"Do you need advice?" Fu Jia leaned over the table, her deep blue eyes gleaming. "I'm sure I can help you out! What's the problem? Is it one-sided? Are they taken?"
"...One-sided." Li Chenyuan stirred his soup gloomily. What a dramatic kid! "And h--that person has been being cold to me lately."
"Oh, no! That's too bad! What kind of person are they?"
"..." Li Chenyuan was silent for a long moment, his lips closed tightly. "...It's a man."
There was silence for a moment.
Suddenly, Lei Ruolan got up and left.
"Where is she going...?" Li Chenyuan muttered. "Is she really that disgusted?"
Seconds later, Lei Ruolan returned with a few golden coins. She slipped them into her sleeve expressionlessly.
"No fair!" Pan Fa shouted from the other side of the dining hall, causing heads to turn. "Lei-shijie, you know I'm poor!"
"He lost a bet," Lei Ruolan said dismissively, continuing to eat her food as though nothing had happened.
"Anyways!" Fu Jia interjected, sensing some tension in the air. Li Chenyuan was really looking a bit scary with that furious expression...She leaned across the table again with an impish smile. Such a mischievous smile on a pretty face! "If it's a man, then don't you know what men like the most?"
"No...?" Li Chenyuan muttered, annoyed. "Women...?"
Fu Jia shook her head. "That's not it. Men like feeling big and strong! So, if you act pitiful and cling like a damsel in distress, giving him the opportunity to save and protect you, then he'll certainly fall for you!"
Li Chenyuan frowned. "Really...?"
Was that true? If someone clung to him like a leech and was always getting into trouble, that would only annoy him into wanting to kick them off a cliff!
"Trust me!" Fu Jia said firmly. "It always works!"
______
So, Li Chenyuan had clung even harder to Qiu Yunru's side. He even did things he would never do otherwise--getting in the way of demons, tripping over nothing, just so his shige would catch him!
"Li-shidi..." Qiu Yunru sighed one night. He had just captured a ghost in a Spirit-Holding Bag, after saving Li Chenyuan from its grasp.
The way Li Chenyuan had gotten captured by the ghost was odd, and it wasn't the first time--it was maybe even the seventh time this had happened in a month! Li Chenyuan and Qiu Yunru had been wandering the grounds of a mansion, seeking out the ghost with their swords drawn. As soon as that ghost had appeared, Li Chenyuan had run forward, tripped over the ground, and fallen right into its grasp!
He couldn't shake the strange feel that Li Chenyuan was doing this on purpose...For what reason, he couldn't imagine. But whatever the case was, it was interfering with his own training and progress, and putting both of them in danger! "You have to be more careful. Are you feeling sick? You keep falling so easily..."
Li Chenyuan brushed himself off, looking sheepish. "I should practice my footwork more often. I must have gotten clumsy. Thanks to Qiu-ge for saving me."
Qiu Yunru sighed again, brushing some dirt off Li Chenyuan's shoulder. "Maybe you should spend some time back at the sect and continue your training. I worry that you'll get hurt." Of course he couldn't say, I worry you'll get one or both of us killed, and you're really holding me up here! So he picked something more generous to say. Even after all this time, he had a benevolent image to upkeep, after all!
Li Chenyuan paled and shook his head violently. "I'm all right, really! I'll work on it. Qiu-ge shouldn't worry about me."
Thankfully, after that day, Li Chenyuan stopped tripping around on air so much. But at any time of day, he could still be found trailing Qiu Yunru's shadow like a puppy following after its master, knowing only one way to go.
______
In all this time, Qiu Yunru was working very hard.
If he wanted to achieve his dream soon, he would have to reach that barely-attainable level of Nascent Soul. It would likely take him years to get there--maybe even a decade--and the longer it took, the more opportunities he would have to get severely injured or even die. Thus, he spent each day training hard, and he used every mission as an opportunity to hone his skills and gain points in the most efficient manner possible.
That Required Extreme Difficulty from before was left in the archives of his menu, and he slowly forgot about it. As long as his game menu wasn't pestering him and threatening to kill him if he didn't figure it out, what need was there for him to focus on it? There hadn't been any other sightings of such groups in a while, and no one tried to poison him or kidnap Li Chenyuan on another mission, so it didn't seem to be a big problem. Besides, this game had been so glitchy ever since he had transmigrated here. Who even knew if it would ever come back to haunt him? The menu itself had probably forgotten!
The harder he trained through the months, the less he thought about Li Chenyuan and that terrible future. He still made sure to be kind to his shidi and keep him safe to earn points in his favor in case he did become a monster, but he also turned his focus to himself. As long as he was kind enough and kept enough distance, then he should be safe, right?
Qiu Yunru had always been a little oblivious to certain social cues, even in his past life. He didn't notice that the more he pulled away, the harder Li Chenyuan clung. Since he had a goal in mind, other things became like background noise! So naturally, Li Chenyuan grew moodier and moodier, while Qiu Yunru secluded himself in training more and more, until everyone on Li Hua mountain could sense that there was something wrong between the two.
There was one upcoming event that he had his sights set on in terms of upgradability:
The Nine Sects' Cultivation Tournament!