De Guijun was completely shattered, holding onto Ye Zhizhou in despair. "Why has it come to this? If this marriage becomes a reality, your true gender... and why is it the Royal Master? It's all karma. I shouldn't have believed in Royal Master Shayue's words in the first place and raised you as my daughter."
Ye Zhizhou, who had been speculating about his lover's identity, was jolted back to reality and asked in astonishment, "Father, did you dress me as a man because you believed in Royal Master Shayue?"
"It's all because of my blind trust," De Guijun pulled him into an embrace, tears streaming down his face. "When I was pregnant with you, I had several accidents, and there were times when I almost lost you. I was in constant fear, losing weight instead of gaining. Later, your grandfather brought in a reliable wet nurse to improve the situation a bit. After enduring the pregnancy, the moment you were born, that wet nurse passed away! Yanyan, I was terrified. Everyone around me said that the wet nurse had shielded you from disaster and that it wouldn't work a second time... Later... Royal Master Shayue arrived and divined for you. He said that you were originally meant to be a girl, but a mistake was made, and you carried lingering resentment. You had to be raised as a daughter, or it would bring calamity to the family."
Ye Zhizhou's face turned as dark as night upon hearing this. This Shayue was truly good at making up stories! Those accidents during De Guijun's pregnancy and the wet nurse's death were probably his doing. If De Guijun had given birth to a daughter, would Shayue have convinced him to raise her as a son? It was all a major crime of confusing the royal family's gender lineage. Once exposed, De Guijun, his son, and their relatives would all be finished!
"Yanyan, you are my child, and I am willing to die for you. But I still have parents, two younger sisters, and the Emperor... I can't be so selfish. So..." De Guijun's voice trembled, and his eyes welled up again. "When you were little, it didn't matter whether you were a boy or a girl; I just wanted you to grow up happily. But now that you're older, with marriage, official duties, and that final position... I regret it. I've seen through it all. Those so-called Royal Masters and divinations are all nonsense! Later, I found a highly respected monk to read your fortune. He said that you were originally destined for a prosperous life, but because of the gender mix-up, you met an early death... Yanyan, it's my fault. That monk was right, and I ruined you. I was foolish; it's all my fault..."
This monk seemed quite powerful; the original owner did indeed meet an early demise... Ye Zhizhou hurriedly comforted De Guijun and then mentally marked Shayue with a big "X." Those accidents during De Guijun's pregnancy and the wet nurse's death were probably orchestrated by Shayue. If De Guijun had given birth to a daughter, would Shayue have convinced him to raise her as a son? It was all a major crime of confusing the royal family's gender lineage. Once exposed, De Guijun, his son, and their relatives would all be finished!
"Father, it's not that simple," Ye Zhizhou said, still holding back his emotions but regaining some composure. "Now that the imperial decree has been issued, Delan Hall is surrounded, and Mother is determined to have you marry that Royal Master. We don't know what the Royal Master's intentions are or how this marriage was arranged... Father, don't worry. I'll go and write a letter to contact my aunts to see if they can help."
"Don't," Ye Zhizhou quickly stopped him. "Mother's thoughts are unpredictable. It's better not to involve my aunts for now. The marriage is between me and the Royal Master. Father, rest assured. I'll go talk to the Royal Master. Maybe there's still a way to resolve this situation." If the Royal Master was his lover, everything would be perfect. If not, he had ways to make the Royal Master call off the wedding!
De Guijun hesitated, "You... You're going to meet that demon?"
"Father, trust me, it'll be fine," Ye Zhizhou reassured him, using his psychic powers to calm him down. Finally, after persuading him, he left his courtyard, straightened his clothes, and walked toward the palace entrance.
Outside the hall, the priests guarding it all turned to look at him, their eyes fixed and shining. Ye Zhizhou's heart trembled under their intense gaze, but he maintained an air of composure, raised his chin, and calmly said, "Summon your Royal Master; I need to speak with him."
The priests all turned their heads and gestured towards a small bamboo grove not far from the hall.
Ye Zhizhou furrowed his brow. "Is Royal Master Shayao in there? Has he been guarding the hall all this time?"
The priests lowered their heads in silence, behaving as if they were mere gatekeepers.
"...Right," Ye Zhizhou concluded that his lover hadn't fled and that this was his style of doing things. He sighed inwardly, thinking, That's exactly why the original owner secretly admired this fourteen-year-old boy. His ethereal charm, cultivated by the Moonlit Hall, is truly captivating. But was this Rong Guangyan visually impaired to fall head over heels for the protagonist at first sight?
"Is he handsome?"
A soft and gentle voice, like water flowing from deep in the mountains. Ye Zhizhou was caught off guard by the familiar tone, and his ears tingled. He turned to look at the tall man still facing away from him and couldn't help but smile. Then, he extended his psychic powers, thinking he would quickly sense the familiar energy. However, he found nothing. His smile froze, replaced by a puzzled frown. It shouldn't be like this; his lover had a very strong psychic power in his previous life; there was no way he hadn't awakened in this life... Could there be a mistake?
His heart skipped a beat, and he took a few steps forward, circling around to the man's front. He tried again to send his psychic powers towards the man but was surprised when they hit an invisible barrier near the man's brain and couldn't advance any further.
The ethereal beauty closed the book he was reading and glanced at Ye Zhizhou with an emotionless expression. "Are you Cold Smoke?"
This reaction was wrong! The situation with his psychic powers was even stranger! Despite the man's good looks, something was definitely off.
Ye Zhizhou's smile vanished completely, and he scrutinized the man carefully before asking, "Are you Shayao?" This Shayao looked almost identical to the protagonist... The thought crossed his mind that Rong Guangyan might have fallen for Shayao due to the striking resemblance.
"Have you been eyeing Guangyan all this time... Is he handsome?" Shayao's gaze shifted slightly, revealing his perfect side profile and half-exposed collarbone.
Ye Zhizhou was momentarily taken aback, then glanced at Shayao's stunning profile and flawless collarbone. He rolled his eyes with a deadpan expression. "Yes, he's incredibly handsome. I love his freshness; I'm not into older guys." As he spoke, he directed his psychic powers towards Rong Guangyan, who had been standing outside the pavilion with his head lowered.
Shayao finally displayed some emotion on his face, furrowing his brows and calling out, "Cold Smoke!"
Familiar psychic power surged towards him. He gave a cold snort, prepared in advance to halt his psychic power's advance and then launched it fiercely at the other person. He ensnared them, leaped towards Shayao, and sat on top of him, reaching out to grasp his neck firmly. "You're pretending! Keep pretending! Don't want to be with me, is that it? Fine, I'll let you off the hook. The marriage is canceled; we're through!"
Outside the pavilion, Rong Guangyan's eyes widened in shock.
Shayao's body tensed for a moment but quickly relaxed. He hugged Ye Zhizhou tightly, and his eyes displayed complex emotions that shifted several times. Finally, he sighed with resignation. "I'm sorry... Xiao Zhou." In truth, he had already lost when he couldn't resist following Ye Zhizhou to this world. All these pretenses were just self-deception. The entanglement of ten lifetimes, even if each version of himself was incomplete... his hand involuntarily tightened, and a glint of darkness flashed in his eyes. All the fragments of their souls had recognized this person. Since that was the case, they would continue to be entangled.
This bastard did remember me! Ye Zhizhou was even more furious. He tightened his grip, saying with even more force, "Daring to shut me out, huh? What, now that you've remembered, you think you can leave me behind after I helped you nurture your psychic power? Ungrateful wretch! You're heartless and treacherous!"
"I'm sorry." Shayao comforted him, gently stroking his back. He brought his handsome face closer, lowered his voice, and said, "I just... Xiao Zhou, are you tired? I can help you break free from this endless cycle. Let the world be destroyed; what does it have to do with you? I can save your life, you don't need to rely on anyone else. If you want, I can bring everything in these three thousand small worlds to you. Let's leave together, hm?"
"You..." Ye Zhizhou hesitated for a moment, his heart slightly tense. He let go of Shayao and cautiously asked, "Why are you asking me this?"
"It's been ten lifetimes." Shayao raised his hand to touch his hair, emotions swirling in his eyes that Ye Zhizhou couldn't decipher. "Xiao Zhou, aren't you tired? I can help you escape from this endless cycle. Let the world perish if it must; what does it matter to you? I can save your life, you don't need to depend on anyone else. If you want, I can bring everything from these three thousand small worlds to you. Let's leave together, hmm?"
"You..." Ye Zhizhou took a step back, then held his breath for a moment before finally tremblingly asking, "Yun Ke?"
Shayao pulled him back into his embrace and nodded. "Xiao Yang."
"Ouyang Chun?"
"Xiao Cheng."
"Yan Mingyong? Zhongqiu? Qin Mo? Ji Huai..."
"It's all me. I remember everything now." Shayao interrupted him, reaching for his eyes. "Xiao Zhou, thank you. I love you." Before seeing this person, the memories of those ten lifetimes seemed like stories that happened to someone else, vague and distant. But after seeing this person, those deeply buried memories and feelings suddenly became vivid. They cheered and shouted, calling out for their lover's response. Finally, the complete soul was pieced together, but it felt incomplete unless they were together.
Ye Zhizhou's hand trembled nervously, and then he lifted it to firmly pinch Shayao's face. His voice quivered with strong emotions. Perhaps it was because the original host had a well-developed tear duct, but he ended up crying like a baby. "You really remember everything? You bastard, of course, you should love me! If you don't love me, I'll beat you up."
Shayao's gaze softened, and his heart turned tender. He couldn't help but lean forward to kiss Ye Zhizhou's eyes gently. "I'm sorry. I made you suffer in every lifetime."
"You know how hard it's been for me too. You're so overbearing and jealous. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry to complete a mission, you deliberately cause trouble..." Ye Zhizhou pushed him away without any romantic mood, wiped away his tears haphazardly, and asked with a stern face, "I still don't know your real name. Hurry up and tell me, what's your name?"
"Dongfang Shu." Shayao persistently leaned in to kiss him, and his hand slowly reached up to hold the back of Ye Zhizhou's head. "Don't be afraid. You'll be free soon."
Ye Zhizhou was left blushing and dazed by the kiss. He asked in a muffled voice, "What do you mean by 'free'? What are you saying..."
[Warning! Warning! Detected fluctuations in the host's soul!]
Suddenly, a golden light appeared around him, and his consciousness became blurry. His heart tightened, and he hurriedly grabbed Shayao's clothes, saying, "What have you done? I... I feel uncomfortable..."
"Just endure it for a moment; you'll be fine soon," Shayao held his hand and gently touched the space on his wrist. "How can you wear someone else's things on your body? You can only belong to me."
[Host's soul fluctuation is intense. Protection mechanism activated.]
A milky-white barrier suddenly appeared, isolating the golden light. Ye Zhizhou felt his body become lighter and then heavier. His head began to throb painfully. He pulled back his hand and held onto Shayao, trying to ignore the discomfort. He said with great effort, "Are you jealous again...? Be calm, don't act recklessly!"
"I'm not acting recklessly; I'm helping you," Shayao reached for his wrist where the space was hidden.
"Shayao!"
His hand was gripped, and his body felt strange once more. The system notifications kept popping up, and Ye Zhizhou was both anxious and furious. He couldn't hold back and shouted, "Dongfang Shu! Are you an idiot? Are you mentally challenged? I can save myself through my own efforts! If you dare to send my soul away, I'll cheat on you with Tongtian!"
Shayao's hand trembled for a moment, then he tightly held onto Ye Zhizhou's hand. The milky-white barrier shook and then suddenly shattered, disappearing.
"Ho... Host..." A childish voice weakly sounded, sounding pitiful. "I... I'm still young, please spare me..."
Ye Zhizhou: "!!!"