"?"
A giant question mark slowly typed itself out across Gu Chengming's mind.
In that instant, the air froze.
Honestly, he had imagined many possibilities.
After all, it was a cultivation method of the Harmonious Joy Sect. Perhaps it would be one of those little succubi draped in gauze with eyes that trailed silken threads of allure, the kind who'd cry "Master, give me a kiss" the moment they met?
Or perhaps one of those coolly aloof, otherworldly yet secretly Charm-Boned, slightly mature fairy maidens who'd go all "woof woof woof"?
At the very least, it should have been a quirky, mischievous demon-gate enchantress with a head full of lewd nonsense, right?
Anticipating these possible character archetypes, Gu Chengming—master of Galgames—had even rehearsed seven or eight sets of countermeasures in his heart.
And the result...
What do you mean "how many heroines are there"? What do you mean "take them all, virgins only"?
As a Galgame master, I really am going to have to conquer you.
[Seeing that you kept silent, the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» grew a little nervous, muttering inwardly: "Oh no, why isn't he saying anything?"]
[It thought, it's over, it's over—could this be a eunuch-fiction protagonist? Then wouldn't all of its skills go completely to waste?]
Reading up to this point, Gu Chengming really couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Aren't you a cultivation method of the Harmonious Joy Sect? By rights, the female cultivators of the Harmonious Joy Sect can hardly be virgins, can they? If that's so, why do you care so much about whether a female cultivator is a virgin?"
Gu Chengming tried to phrase it as tactfully as he could.
Yet had he not brought it up, all would have been fine—but the moment he uttered the words "Harmonious Joy Sect female cultivators," the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» instantly turned disgusted.
[Don't mention those rotten-crotches!]
[Those people of the Harmonious Joy Sect cultivated crookedly—what's that got to do with it? It is the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy», a supreme treasure-canon that reveres the great joy of heaven-and-earth, yin-and-yang!]
[The way they treat dual cultivation like eating and drinking, even as a transaction—it's simply a desecration of the great Dao of yin and yang!]
Speaking of this, the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy seemed to suddenly realize something, and was struck with alarm.
[Wait! You just asked about this...]
[You can't possibly be thinking of dual-cultivating with those Harmonious Joy Sect female cultivators?!]
Seeing this, Gu Chengming couldn't help but be stunned, but before he could explain himself.
The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» got anxious first, as if terrified that Gu Chengming would be snatched away by those Harmonious Joy Sect female cultivators.
[It hurriedly advised: You possess a Charm Bone by birth—don't do something so foolish! Do you know how many drawbacks a non-virgin heroine has?]
[First, those women's bodies have long since been mixed with all sorts of chaotic yang-qi. Dual-cultivate with them, and not only will you reap no benefit, you'll have to expend effort sorting out their meridians—an utterly loss-making deal.]
[Second, every non-virgin you take is as good as taking over the long string of ex-boyfriends, ex-fiancés, and ex-dao-companions behind her...]
[Third, think about it—when you dual-cultivate with her, will she think of some other man? When you commune deeply with her, will she be comparing you to someone else in her heart? Just thinking about such a thing is enough to destabilize one's heart of Dao!]
[It would rather you have a single heroine—even if you spend your whole life keeping to just one heroine—than have you, for the sake of cultivation or collecting, take in those unclean, non-virgin heroines!]
[If you're going to do it, do a pure-love harem! That kind of public bus—we absolutely will not board it! Okay? It's begging you!]
Before Gu Chengming could even voice an opinion.
The «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method», which had been silent all along at the side, now stirred.
When this newly-arrived «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» first appeared, the Zhouli had been holding the greatest vigilance and hostility.
In its understanding, the Harmonious Joy Sect's cultivation methods were lewd ditties and seductive tunes, the chief culprits behind the collapse of rites and the ruin of music.
It had even secretly mobilized its Righteous Noble Breath, prepared to swoop in and deliver a righteous elbow-strike the instant the other party dared to utter a single shameless word, teaching it how to be a proper cultivation method.
And the result...
[The «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method» thought: Isn't this a Harmonious Joy Sect method? How is it even more conservative than me?]
[Though its wording is crude, isn't its thinking precisely "arising from feeling, restrained by propriety" and self-respecting purity? Isn't this opposing licentiousness and exalting fidelity?]
[Its attitude toward the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» shifted from its original loathing and wariness, gradually becoming... somewhat appreciative—even regarding it as a kindred spirit.]
[It paused, then nodded, its voice carrying a few measures of approval:]
[The guarding between man and woman lies in being cautious even in solitude; the way of harmonious joy ought to be the proper order of yin and yang, not the indulgence of lust and disorder of nature. Though the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy is born of a heterodox branch, its heart toward the Dao is a rare and pure one.]
[The «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method» likewise advised: Chengming, it speaks rightly. A gentleman does not stand beneath a teetering wall, nor wade into a filthy current. Such female cultivators of improper conduct and disorderly private lives are indeed no fine match.]
Gu Chengming: "..."
Damn it—though I really want to curse you two as a perfectly matched pair of divine weirdos, the truth is that's exactly what I think too. What am I supposed to do about that?
The days in Jishan Ward returned to peace, yet Gu Chengming did not halt in his cultivation.
The night was deep, all sounds were stilled; only the soft patter of raindrops striking the bluestone slabs beneath the eaves made the quiet feel even more profound.
Within the meditation chamber, Gu Chengming sat cross-legged, eyes half-closed, his breathing long and richly rhythmic.
He was not cultivating the sharp, fierce sword formulas of days past, but rather circulating that «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» he had only recently begun.
As the method circulated, the qi-mechanisms within Gu Chengming's body underwent subtle changes.
Drawn by the newly-born "yang seed" deep within his dantian, his body of second-realm true essence actually began to grow both firm and yielding—like a surging great river, flowing through his meridians not only more smoothly but now bearing a tenacity of endless, ceaseless life.
That "yang seed," though small, was like a greedy whirlpool, ceaselessly swallowing and disgorging the spiritual power within Gu Chengming's body. With every swallow and disgorge, it refined and compressed his true essence with extreme precision.
With each breath in and out, faint white mist swirled from his mouth and nose, like dragons, like serpents.
"Hmmmm—"
Suddenly, an extremely faint trembling hum issued from within his body.
It was not the clashing of bones, but the echo of spiritual power, accumulated to its utmost, striking against a pass-barrier.
Breaking from the ninth layer of the first realm into the second realm is a leap across a great threshold, like a carp vaulting the Dragon Gate—a momentous, dramatic event; but a breakthrough between the layers within the second realm is more like a boat rising with the tide, a naturally ripening process of accumulation.
Gu Chengming's mind was as still as an ancient well, untroubled by ripples. He did not deliberately ram against that membrane, but instead followed the flow, guiding that pure-yang true essence tempered by the "yang seed"—like a trickling stream merging into the rivers and seas—naturally brimming over that invisible levee.
"Crack."
It was as if some shackle within his body had been gently snapped.
The true essence that had originally filled his dantian abruptly collapsed inward in that instant, then erupted outward at an even more astonishing speed—not only thirty-some percent more abundant in total than before, its texture had become crystal-clear and translucent, faintly glowing with a layer of warm, jade-like luster.
Second realm, second layer.
Gu Chengming slowly opened his eyes.
He raised a hand and lightly clenched his five fingers into an empty grip.
Within his palm, a wisp of true essence wandered—now becoming a thread soft enough to wind round a finger, now becoming sword-qi that nothing could withstand—the transitions between them utterly without obstruction.
Ever since attaining entry into the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy», Gu Chengming had been pondering the true effect of this core secret canon of the Harmonious Joy Sect.
Though it was a great Dao method primarily cultivating "dual cultivation," and the Harmonious Joy Sect's disciples mostly relied on mutual supplementation to advance their cultivation, to say it was worthless apart from dual cultivation would be to underestimate far too much the foundation of this great sect's millennium-long heritage.
After several days of comprehension, Gu Chengming discovered that even in a single, unattached state, this method was of enormous benefit to himself.
First was the control over his own qi-mechanism. In the past, when he cultivated the sword, his spiritual power was sharp as a blade-edge—decisive in slaughter, yet inevitably too rigid and thus prone to snapping, and a burden on his meridians as well.
But now, with this «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» harmonizing from within, his sword-qi actually took on a few measures of rounded, fluid circulation.
Second, he found himself becoming abnormally keen to the emotional shifts of those around him. That feeling was most mysterious—it was not mind-reading, but a kind of pull at the level of qi-mechanism.
For instance, whether Elder Yu was truly angry or merely feigning a coy sulk—he need only sense a little to catch, from the aura the other gave off, that subtle ripple of "yin and yang."
"Truly worthy of being a method belonging to the experts at toying with the human heart..."
Gu Chengming reined in his breath, sighing inwardly.
However, cultivation was one matter; how to raise this method's affinity was another problem laid before his eyes.
Although the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» had, these past few days, hit it off fervently with the «Zhouli» owing to their shared values, its attitude toward him had remained stuck at the stage of "hating-that-iron-won't-become-steel."
Based on the personality of this Harmonious Joy Sect method and that whole "take them all, virgins only" theory, Gu Chengming could roughly deduce the way to raise her affinity—
—nothing other than to go conquer a female cultivator she approved of, one pure in body and mind, and establish some kind of substantive intimate relationship with her.
But the problem lay precisely here.
To deliberately conquer an innocent female cultivator, all for the sake of conquering a cultivation method?
And one most likely a woman who had never had a dao-companion, simple and pure of heart at that?
Though Gu Chengming did not consider himself any moral saint, and in his affairs he valued maximizing benefit, this kind of behavior—toying with innocent feelings purely to farm affinity—felt improper no matter how he thought about it. It did not accord with his code of conduct.
A Galgame player's conquests are built upon the premise of not harming a single innocent NPC!
"But perhaps I could approach it from a different angle?"
Gu Chengming sat by the stone table, fingers lightly tapping its surface.
He recalled his experience conquering the «Hundred Bones Resonance».
Back then he hadn't actually gone off to be some Sole-Ruling, Eternal Great Emperor—he'd merely played along with its words, given it the grandeur it wanted, and its affinity had soared all the same.
Likewise with the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method»: so long as the core logic was self-consistent, so long as it could be explained as great righteousness or grand propriety, the other party would not only accept it but might even conquer itself.
So the so-called nature of a cultivation method did not necessarily have to be catered to entirely according to its personality.
"Since what the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» pursues is pure love and conquest..."
"Then does a cultivation method count as a heroine?"
Thinking of this, Gu Chengming opened up the CG interface.
The Huiyuan Sword Formula was hugging that great sword taller than herself, sitting quietly in a corner, lost in a daze.
Sensing the gaze Gu Chengming cast over, she immediately lifted her head, and that pair of clear eyes instantly lit up with light.
"Huiyuan?"
[Hearing this, the Huiyuan Sword Formula grew both nervous and expectant.]
"Though these past days of cultivation have been hectic, and many new companions have arrived, in my heart you have always been the special one."
"After all, you are the one who has walked this whole road with me from when I was at my humblest. Without the foundation you helped me lay back then, there would be no me as I am today."
"No matter how many divine powers I cultivate in days to come, no matter how many secret arts I master, you will forever be my original aspiration."
These words were four parts true feeling, six parts technique.
For a personality as pure and exceedingly attached as the «Huiyuan Sword Formula»'s, they were extremely aggressive.
[The Huiyuan Sword Formula's little face flushed crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye, and substantialized steam even billowed from the top of her head.]
[The most special one, the orig—original aspiration...]
[These few simple words left it dizzy and disoriented; it only felt itself growing light and weightless, as if lying upon the clouds.]
In the CG image, the Huiyuan Sword Formula clutched the great sword somewhat at a loss, wanting to say something yet too bashful to get a single word out, until finally she could only cover her burning face, spin in place several times, then "plop" down onto the ground, both eyes turned into mosquito-coil spirals.
[The Huiyuan Sword Formula's affinity is already maxed out, but at this moment her sense of happiness has overflowed, entering an overloaded "woozy" state.]
And the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy», which had watched this whole scene unfold from the side, now held a rather subtle attitude.
[Looking at the Huiyuan Sword Formula, coaxed so senseless by a few sweet words that she'd lost all sense of direction, then looking at you, the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» felt an extremely complicated emotion well up in its heart.]
[On the one hand, it truly felt the waste—this is far too wasteful! This top-tier line, nominally "reminiscing the past" but in truth "you are the only one," used on any pure-hearted heroine in reality, wouldn't the affinity be maxed instantly?]
[And yet it's used to flirt with a cultivation method that doesn't even have a physical body? What a wanton waste of heaven's gifts!]
[But on the other hand, when it saw the Huiyuan Sword Formula so happy she was about to faint, it couldn't help but secretly marvel—not even sparing your own cultivation methods... such audacity is truly worthy of admiration.]
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» had to admit, this "all things may enter the harem" scope somewhat exceeded its expectations.]
[It felt that you held real promise for the future.]
[«Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» affinity +5]
[Current affinity: 10 / Stranger]
Gu Chengming looked at that figure which had merely ticked up by 5 points and then gone utterly still, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
That's it?
He tried saying a few more pleasant things to the «Qingxin Formula», but the «Qingxin Formula» only kept on cracking melon seeds in silence, and over on the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy»'s side there was no reaction whatsoever either.
"Seems like... a purely verbal offensive only goes this far in effect."
Gu Chengming understood clearly in his heart.
Although this «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» spoke of pursuing pure love, at its core it was still a Harmonious Joy Sect method—an out-and-out connoisseur of the flesh.
Without substantive physical contact or progress in dual cultivation, relying on lip-service alone to farm up its affinity would likely be as hard as ascending to heaven.
"So be it."
Gu Chengming was not discouraged. He stretched and brought this somewhat absurd attempt to an end.
"At least it proved that, though this path is narrow, it isn't entirely impassable. It's just... I'll have to wait for an opportunity."
Since there was for now no suitable target to conquer, then he'd let things take their natural course.
[Having waited at the side for so long, the Hundred Bones Resonance was stunned to see you stop—is it over before its turn even came?]
[The Hundred Bones Resonance couldn't help but feel a little dejected.]
[It had still been waiting for Heavenly Emperor Gu to praise its strength a couple of times...]
Seeing this, Gu Chengming found it amusing, and tacked on a couple of compliments, coaxing old Hundred-Bones happy again.
[Hundred Bones Resonance affinity +5]
Having decided to slow down on the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy for the time being, Gu Chengming began to enjoy a rare stretch of vacation life.
The mornings of Jishan Ward always woke to the long, drawn-out cries of the vendor selling breakfast at the mouth of the alley.
The post-rain sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, dappling the bluestone slabs of the small courtyard.
He had risen early, washed up simply by the live-water well in the yard, and then sat down before the stone table.
Yet after Gu Chengming decided to slow the pace of his conquering, the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy got anxious first.
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» had observed you for a whole day, and was anxious at heart.]
[How is he a slow-witted-type protagonist?]
[It's not that a slow-witted-type protagonist won't do—the problem is, surely he should at least step out the door and run smack into a beautiful girl around a corner, or pick up some damsel-saint in distress, right?]
Just as the «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» was still grumbling away in its heart.
"Creeeak—"
The door of the main room was pushed open, and Yu Wenqiu walked out.
Today, Elder Yu evidently hadn't slept in late as she usually did.
Ever since the Drunken Dream Boat case—perhaps to recover her dignity as an Elder, or perhaps out of some subtle sense of guilt—she had been behaving quite diligently of late.
Today she wore not her usual loose, slouchy everyday robes but a set of trim sword-sleeved combat garb, her long hair bound up high, an exquisite jade pendant hanging at her waist. The whole of her looked dashing and spirited—she'd actually taken on a few measures of the dignified bearing of a Wenjian Sect Elder.
Yu Wenqiu carried in her hand an exquisite redwood food box, and walked over to the stone table with a brisk step.
"Little Gu, reading a book?"
She set the food box down on the table. Though she struggled to keep up an Elder's airs, the hint of craving-for-praise in her eyes simply couldn't be hidden:
"I saw you've been working hard studying your cultivation method lately, so I specially went and queued up at that Hundred Flavors Studio in the East Market to buy a few snacks. I hear their cloud-slice cakes are of great benefit to the spirit-soul—give them a taste."
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy»'s eyes lit up in an instant.]
[Holy crap! Top quality!]
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» cried out in shock: "This languid temperament, this utterly unguarded posture, this beauty of natural-born loveliness that can't be cast aside... Who is this?! Could this be the legendary heaven-sent childhood sweetheart? Or a cohabiting sworn little sister?"]
Gu Chengming, helpless, replied inwardly: "This is my Wenjian Sect Elder."
[So it's a master?!]
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» was not only undisappointed, it grew even more excited.]
Then it asked the question it cared about most, the most central one:
[This Elder—is she a virgin?]
Before Gu Chengming could answer, the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method» picked up the thread with the utmost naturalness.
[The «Zhouli»'s gaze swept over Yu Wenqiu sprawled across the table. Though it had no small complaint about this disheveled, slovenly, idling-her-days-away appearance, on a matter of principle it still rendered a fair verdict.]
[It nodded and said: "Though Elder Yu is idle in conduct and heedless of small details, her primal yin remains unspilled, her Dao-body pure and flawless. From childhood she has cultivated the sword in the mountains, her mind free of distraction—she is indeed a body of ice-clear, jade-pure chastity."]
[Having received an affirmative answer, the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy immediately entered an excited state.]
[The first step of "take them all, virgins only"! It's this beautiful master—as they say, the pavilion by the water gets the moon first.]
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» began drawing up a battle plan for Gu Chengming.]
[An older, idle master of this sort actually often deeply yearns in her heart to be cared for. You must display your manly spirit, yet also be like a spring breeze that nourishes all things silently and unseen.]
[And right now is a golden opportunity! She actively bought you snacks—what does that mean? It means she has you in her heart! At a moment like this you absolutely must not chicken out!]
[Listen to me! Stand up right now, seize her hand, and say: Though the cakes are sweet, they're not one ten-thousandth of you, master...]
[Then ask her whether she wants to dual-cultivate.]
Damn, you really understand cut-to-the-chase conquering, huh?
Looking at that last straight-ball offensive, Gu Chengming simply couldn't hold it together anymore, and just stopped paying the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy any mind.
He understood his own Elder all too well.
What "specially queued up to buy"? More than likely she wanted to eat them herself but was too embarrassed to hog them alone, so she'd bought them back under the banner of caring for her disciple.
"Elder, this Hundred Flavors Studio's cloud-slice cake goes on sale each day at the hour of si, two boxes per person max. It's only the hour of wei now, yet this single box of yours..."
Gu Chengming reached out and opened the food box, pointing at the cakes inside which were clearly halved and cut with jagged, uneven edges:
"How come there's only half a box left?"
"And this knife-work... doesn't seem like the handiwork of the Hundred Flavors Studio's masters. It looks more like someone pried it open by hand?"
Yu Wenqiu, who'd been waiting for praise, stiffened in expression.
Her eyes drifted, and she instinctively tucked her hands behind her back, gave a dry cough, and tried to maintain an Elder's dignity:
"That... on the way back, this Elder ran into a few stray cats. Seeing how pitiful they were, I shared a bit out to them."
"Stray cats?"
Gu Chengming raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the extremely faint trace of white powder at the corner of Yu Wenqiu's mouth.
He didn't expose her, only shook his head helplessly, rose, and walked into the room.
A moment later, he came back out holding a damp handkerchief, lifted his hand, and carefully wiped away the cake crumbs at the corner of her mouth with it.
Yu Wenqiu froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to scold "have you no respect for your elders," yet her body stood obediently before him.
"Sneaking a bite is fine, just remember to wipe your mouth."
"Also, this cloud-slice cake is too dry. From now on, if you want to eat it, tell me first—I'll pair it with a pot of tea for you."
"...Oh."
Yu Wenqiu answered with a slightly guilty sound, and that originally dashing, spirited Elder's posture instantly half-collapsed.
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» had originally thought you'd go conquer according to the method it gave, but after seeing your interaction with Yu Wenqiu, its mindset gradually turned subtle.]
[This silent, nourishing care, this perfectly measured physical contact, and this technique of bit by bit folding the other's daily life into your own control...]
[How does this seem like raising a pet?]
[Thinking of this, it was suddenly struck with alarm—so it turns out you're the one playing the biggest game of all!]
[«Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» affinity +5]
[Current affinity: 15 / Stranger]
"?"
—I didn't do a single thing here, and you can still raise affinity?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Chengming did not notice that Yu Wenqiu's gaze had been resting on him the whole time.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sparse osmanthus leaves, dappling onto that plain, unadorned blue robe of his. It was still that same face she'd looked at for so long, yet at this moment, in Yu Wenqiu's eyes, this kid had inexplicably taken on a few more measures of allure.
That feeling was most mysterious—not purely a matter of the outer skin, but a kind of qi-mechanism pull she couldn't quite put into words.
"Now I'm seeing ghosts..."
Yu Wenqiu only felt her cheeks growing slightly hot. She instinctively shrank back a little, and while nibbling the cloud-slice cake like a hamster, secretly sized up that retreating back.
Was it an illusion?
No, that's not right. As a third-realm sword cultivator, no matter how lax she'd grown in her cultivation, her senses would absolutely not err.
The allure on this kid's body had grown stronger, plain and solid.
Yu Wenqiu's brow furrowed slightly, and through her mind suddenly flashed that jade slip this kid had brought back from the Yayuan a few days ago.
Her heart gave a lurch, and her gaze turned somewhat odd.
"Could it be because of the new cultivation method?"
"You've got some nerve, little Gu—daring to test your moves on this Elder?"
Yu Wenqiu somewhat resentfully bit a mouthful of the cloud-slice cake in her hand, wanting to put on an elder's dignity and scold a couple of words, but as the words reached her lips, looking at Gu Chengming's focused profile, that inexplicable restless heat surged up in her again.
"Forget it. In light of these cakes being rather tasty today."
Blushing, she somewhat guiltily shifted her gaze away, muttering indistinctly under her breath.
"It must be that today's wind is a bit too dry, stirring up this vexed, restless feeling in people. Mm, it must be so."
Inside the carriage heading toward Jishan Ward, though there was only one person, the atmosphere strangely brimmed with fervor.
Ji Yixi clutched that ancient bronze mirror tightly with both hands, like a student gripping their only cheat-sheet before an exam. Upon that face of hers, always cold as frost, there was at this moment an undisguisable hint of nervousness and earnestness.
The mirror's surface rippled faintly, reflecting not her own image but countless blurred, indistinct overlapping figures, while a clamorous, low murmuring buzzed within the carriage.
"Three thousand six hundred tributary branches have all been severed; only this world still holds a variable."
"Since it is a variable, it cannot be measured by ordinary reasoning—you must establish an absolute psychological advantage at the very first meeting!"
Ji Yixi blinked, nodded somewhat slowly, drew from her sleeve a little notebook crammed full of dense writing, and asked with utmost earnestness: "So this is 'Plan A'?"
The voices in the mirror instantly grew excited, chiming in from all directions as they began the post-mortem review: "Based on our review of those failed timelines, it's best to bring along that Commander Wang to display strength."
Ji Yixi gripped her brush, drew a heavy circle around the two words "intimidation," her brow furrowing, and asked in a small, somewhat uncertain voice:
"Wouldn't that come across as rather impolite?"
"This is a game of strategy! To seize the initiative!"
"Oh..."
Ji Yixi answered with a half-understanding sound, feeling it made a great deal of sense, and so earnestly annotated beside that line a note: "be a bit fiercer."
"And then?" she sought instruction humbly.
"And then comes goodwill—tell him we know the secret on his body, let him know we bear no ill will."
Ji Yixi continued writing furiously.
"Finally, directly offer him a promise he cannot refuse!"
"Promise any condition outright! Unconditional trust and entrustment!"
"I ask you—what man in this world could refuse a promise of any condition made to him by an imperial princess?"
Inside the carriage, Ji Yixi looked at that final bolded line in her little notebook—"any condition"—and drew in a deep breath.
She clenched her fist and said to the mirror: "I've memorized it."
"This is the advantage. This is the bargaining chip."
The voices in the mirror let out a cheer, as if they had already glimpsed the dawn of victory.
...
Since the last incident in which the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy's affinity increased.
Gu Chengming had summed up a set of judgment mechanics belonging to the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy.
The so-called affinity gain from physical contact was obviously the fastest.
But apart from that, behavior deemed "playing it really big" by the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy could also get it excited and raise its affinity.
The most typical example was last time's interaction with Elder Yu, which it had judged to be "taming a pet," thereby raising affinity by five points.
By Gu Chengming's conjecture, perhaps the greater the contrast in identity, the more excited the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy would get.
But so far, apart from Elder Yu, no one else had met this standard.
Gu Chengming pondered thoughtfully.
Identity contrast...
Just as he was deep in thought, a knock came at the door.
"Knock, knock."
He rose to answer it.
Outside the door was parked an utterly unremarkable blue-cloth carriage, beside which stood a tall guard clad in black combat garb, a saber hanging horizontally at his waist.
And at the guard's side stood a woman draped in a pale-blue cloak.
Though the hood concealed most of her face, that aura of hers betrayed her identity.
The Great Qian's Second Imperial Princess, Ji Yixi.
"Your Highness?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Chengming's eyes, and he was about to clasp his hands in salute.
But the guard who had stood all along at Ji Yixi's side stepped forward first, blocking Gu Chengming's path.
He did not draw his saber, yet the extremely condensed murderous aura of a third-realm-perfected martial artist bore down upon Gu Chengming's head like a mountain.
"Knowing it is Her Highness in person, why do you still not throw open your main gate?"
Hearing this, Gu Chengming slowly lowered the hand he'd been preparing to salute with, his brow knitting slightly.
He cultivated the «Zhouli», which valued the proper order of high and low rank, true—but this was his home, not the inner depths of the imperial palace.
"If Her Highness has come as a guest, I, Gu, will naturally sweep the couch clean to welcome her."
Gu Chengming stood within the threshold, his form not retreating half a step:
"But if she's come to put on airs, my humble abode is crude—I fear it can't accommodate Her Highness."
"Insolence!"
The guard's expression darkened, and he took a step forward. That terrifying power of qi-and-blood erupted with a thunderous roar—he meant to lay down the rules for Gu Chengming using sheer momentum alone.
However.
Just at the instant that momentum was about to touch Gu Chengming.
"Sssk—"
An extremely faint air-splitting sound came from within the courtyard—the sound of a withered branch slicing through the air.
"Where'd this stray dog come from, daring to bark wildly at the door of my Wenjian Sect disciple?"
The guard's expression changed abruptly.
He felt a chill rush straight to the crown of his head; that momentum originally bearing down on Gu Chengming was instantly cut to pieces.
Not only that—an invisible sword-qi bore straight for his face, forcing him to let out a muffled grunt and stagger back three steps, each step stamping a deep footprint into the bluestone slabs.
Only upon retreating to beside the carriage did he barely steady his form, his face flushed red, his throat rolling once—he had clearly suffered a hidden loss.
He looked up, and saw that behind Gu Chengming, Yu Wenqiu had at some unknown point come to lean against the doorframe.
In her hand she still held that half-eaten candied fruit, on her body she wore that loose, homely everyday robe, her long hair draped down at random.
"If you don't know how to speak, this Elder doesn't mind teaching you on your master's behalf."
Yu Wenqiu bit into the candied fruit. The guard ground his teeth, his face flashing now green, now white, the veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
"It was my failure to discipline my subordinate. I beg you two to forgive the offense."
Ji Yixi had clearly not expected at all that the guard she'd brought along would be so rude.
"Apologize."
"...Yes."
The guard lowered his head, reined in his murderous aura, and said, grudgingly and unwillingly:
"I was too rude just now... I beg your pardon."
The guard retreated behind the carriage, no longer daring to utter half a word more.
Saying this, Ji Yixi seemed to still feel it improper, and took out a pouch of spirit stones, handing it to Gu Chengming:
"This is a token apology for the offense just now—a small expression of my regard. Please accept it, Mister Gu."
Gu Chengming, puzzled in his heart as to what play this was, stepped aside and made a gesture of "please."
Elder Yu, on the other hand, stood on no ceremony whatsoever, beckoning with her hand to take over that pouch of spirit stones.
Seeing this, Ji Yixi too let out a breath of relief, and stepped into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, Yu Wenqiu had long since reined in that frightening sword intent and flopped back onto her swing-frame.
In her hand she still pinched that unfinished fruit, seemingly teasing the orange cat at her feet, but in truth her ears were slightly pricked, that faint, barely-there spiritual sense locked all the while upon Ji Yixi.
Gu Chengming led Ji Yixi to the stone table beneath the osmanthus tree.
"My humble abode is crude, with only coarse tea—don't take offense, Your Highness."
Gu Chengming lifted the purple-clay pot and poured Ji Yixi a cup of spirit tea barely giving off any steam—this was the half-pot Yu Wenqiu had left behind earlier.
Ji Yixi paid no mind to these slights in etiquette.
She extended two fair, slender fingers and rested them lightly on the rim of the rough clay cup, not drinking, only quietly watching the few tea leaves swirling within.
And at that very moment.
[The «Yin-Yang Creation Strategy» asked: A Great Qian imperial princess—is she a virgin?]
Gu Chengming ignored it without a change in expression.
He picked up the teacup, took a light sip, and was the first to break the silence:
"Your Highness's body is worth ten thousand gold. To stoop and lower yourself by coming to this Jishan Ward today—surely it isn't just to drink this mouthful of coarse tea?"
Ji Yixi did not beat around the bush.
She lifted her head, those cool, clear eyes gazing straight at Gu Chengming, her voice plain as water:
"I hope Mister Gu will do one thing for me."
Gu Chengming set down the teacup, his expression unchanged, yet his tone carried a few measures of declining intent:
"Your Highness jests. I, Gu, am but a minor Night-Patrol Guard of the Night-Watch Bureau, of shallow cultivation and limited ability. Beneath Your Highness's command, fierce generals gather like clouds and the strong fall like rain—if you have a task, why need you seek out an idle nobody like me?"
"Besides..."
Gu Chengming pointed at Yu Wenqiu, who was still gnawing on her fruit at the side:
"I, Gu, am at present in secluded cultivation under my Elder, and am temporarily not taking outside affairs. Your Highness had best seek some other capable hand."
The refusal was crisp and clean.
He had only just been through the Drunken Dream Boat case—though he'd gained benefits, he'd also nearly been dragged into a death-struggle among fourth-realm experts.
Now, with the turmoil not yet settled, all he wanted was to lie low at home in peace, writing books and practicing his cultivation. He truly had no wish to wade again into the murky waters of the imperial clan.
Ji Yixi seemed to have anticipated long ago that he would refuse.
Her expression did not stir; she only watched Gu Chengming quietly, then slowly spat out a single line:
"Shangyuan Night. The Drunken Dream Boat. The Great Qian's dragon energy."
These few short words made Gu Chengming's pupils contract slightly.
That he possessed within his body a dragon-shaped qi-seed and had drawn upon the dragon energy was something he'd concealed from Zhou Qingmu, concealed from the Night-Watch Bureau—but he'd never imagined this Second Imperial Princess would actually know of it.
And by the look of her, she not only knew, but might even have known earlier than Zhou Qingmu?
"What does Your Highness mean by this?" Gu Chengming narrowed his eyes.
"I have not told anyone else."
Ji Yixi's tone remained as plain as before:
"Zhou Qingmu doesn't know. The Emperor my father doesn't know. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau doesn't know. In all this world, only I know."
She paused, looking at the wariness in Gu Chengming's eyes, then suddenly gave a slight shake of her head:
"Mister Gu needn't be tense. I am not using this to coerce you."
"I only wish to tell you that the reason I sought you out is not because you are a Wenjian Sect disciple, nor because of your merit in the Night-Watch Bureau."
"It is because of you yourself."
"There are some things only you can do."
Gu Chengming fell silent for a moment, the wariness in his heart not diminishing but in fact deepening.
"Only I can do?"
He feigned a touch of confusion:
"I am but a minor Night-Patrol Guard of the Night-Watch Bureau, of shallow cultivation, only the second realm. Around Your Highness, experts gather like clouds—even that third-realm guard just now can only hold your horse and steady your stirrup for you. What need is there for this humble one's paltry attainments to make a fool of himself?"
"If it's to find a person or investigate a case, the Night-Watch Bureau has its own Archives Hall; if it's for killing, the Black Armor Guard under Vice-Commander Wang are elite indeed. I, Gu, am lowly and my words carry no weight—I fear I cannot bear Your Highness's grave entrustment."
Ji Yixi seemed to have anticipated his refusal long ago.
Her expression did not change; she only watched Gu Chengming quietly, and not until he had finished that whole set of declining words did she speak indifferently: "It is not investigating a case, nor killing a person."
"It is a secret realm."
"A secret realm?" Gu Chengming's gaze condensed slightly.
"When the Grand Progenitor founded the state back then, he once suppressed an ancient ruin beneath the capital region, named the Azure Lotus Sword Realm."
Ji Yixi's tone was plain, as if speaking of some trifling, inconsequential matter:
"That place was once the trial ground of an ancient sword-immortal, but because its killing intent was too heavy, it was sealed by the Grand Progenitor. Every sexagenary cycle the seal loosens, and the imperial clan sends people in to reinforce it, taking a few things along the way."
"But this secret realm has extremely strict limits: cultivation must not exceed the third realm, and within it sword-qi crisscrosses everywhere—anyone but one whose sword-Dao has reached divine penetration dies upon entering."
She leaned forward slightly, and in those eyes, for the first time, carried a trace of extremely earnest emotion.
"Though I have death-warriors at my side, whether in sword-Dao talent or in means of responding to crisis, none of them is your equal."
As she spoke, she stretched out a hand, pressed it lightly upon the stone table, looked straight into Gu Chengming's eyes, and threw out her final stake one word at a time:
"If you are willing to help me this once."
"When you return from the secret realm, I can grant you any one condition."
[Hearing this, the Hundred Bones Resonance stirred at heart: A secret realm?]
[Hearing this, the Yin-Yang Creation Strategy too stirred at heart: Grant any condition?]
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