Seeing Shen Mu lost in thought, Lin Yuhe’s eyebrows arched slightly, a playful urge rising within her as she leaned in closer.
“Go away. I’m a perfectly healthy adult, not some kid who can’t control his desires. What’s the big deal about thinking about those things?”
Shen Mu admitted confidently. After all, it was normal for a man his age to have some fantasies about intimacy between men and women.
As long as he could firmly maintain his boundaries, it was fine.
“Adult, huh…”
“Then let me ask, have you ever been in love? Do you have a cultivation partner in this world?”
Shen Mu shot her a glare, no longer indulging her. “If you keep asking these personal questions, I’m leaving right now.”
He’s flustered.
Definitely flustered.
Seeing his sour expression, Lin Yuhe roughly guessed the answers to her questions.
“Alright, if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask anymore.”
“Come on, let me take you to explore the other floors and show you the results of my efforts since coming to this place.”
With that, Lin Yuhe led Shen Mu through the Moonshadow Chamber of Commerce, her face beaming with a childlike eagerness to share her accomplishments with a friend.
***
Wanxiang Peak.
Luo Qingling lay quietly on a recliner in the courtyard, her beautiful eyes gently closed, basking in the warm, soothing sunlight.
Her chest, wrapped in a silver-white dress, rose and fell rhythmically, her picturesque face utterly relaxed, as if in perfect comfort.
But moments later, a trace of unease crept across her face, her brows furrowing, the relaxation and comfort fading, as if she were caught in a nightmare.
“No… you can’t do this…”
“I won’t allow it…”
“I absolutely won’t allow it!”
Murmuring in her sleep, she suddenly jolted upright with a cry, her eyes snapping open, filled with panic.
But upon realizing it was just a dream, she let out a long, relieved sigh and rubbed her temples. “Sigh… why do I keep having these ominous nightmares ever since I took him in…”
“Could it be… a premonition?”
A flicker of worry passed through Luo Qingling’s eyes.
But after a brief moment, she cast the anxious thoughts out of her mind.
Whether it was a premonition or not, no matter what, she would never let the same thing happen again.
Calming her thoughts, Luo Qingling took out a cracked, semicircular black ancient jade, gently tracing its disordered, thread-like fracture lines…
“…Is it because of you?”
The jade gave no response, not even the luster typical of jade artifacts.
After a moment, Luo Qingling put it away, stretched lazily, and extended her curvaceous figure, gazing toward the distant horizon.
“Mm~~”
“Speaking of which… it’s about time he should be back, right?”
“Might as well pass that technique to him now…”
***
Night fell.
Shen Mu finally returned to the Heavenly Task Pavilion, submitted his commission, and claimed the meager reward of fifty spirit stones.
Compared to what he’d spent, the fifty spirit stones seemed negligible, but even a mosquito’s leg was still meat.
More importantly, he had successfully obtained the item he’d been longing for, so rounding it up, he’d come out ahead.
The only flaw and surprise was Lin Yuhe.
This fellow transmigrator was truly difficult to deal with. He had no room to resist her and could only go along with her whims.
Moreover, after their heartfelt exchange at the chamber today, she seemed even more interested in him.
Going forward, she’d likely seek him out even more frequently and proactively.
Although today’s time with her showed she bore no malice toward him—more like she wanted someone she could be herself around without restraint—it was a dangerous signal.
The female protagonist wasn’t forming a bond with the male protagonist but instead kept engaging and hanging out with a background character like him. Wasn’t that practically carving the word “death” on his face?
In typical harem novel tropes, a male character who frequently interacts and bonds with the female protagonist, if not a relative, is almost certainly doomed to die in the future.
Very few ever meet a good end.
No way!
He had to do something, or his dream of breaking free and living a carefree, invincible life wouldn’t even start before his death came rushing toward an unknown deadline.
He didn’t want to remain a virgin in this world, without ever experiencing a wife or cultivation partner, only to die pathetically.
Shen Mu silently resolved to have an open and honest talk with her, urging her to keep some distance from him.
At the very least, to avoid others—especially the male protagonist—getting the wrong idea.
***
“Hm, what you’re saying makes sense, but I kotowaru (refuse).”
Outside the gates of Wanxiang Peak, Lin Yuhe, after hearing Shen Mu’s words, immediately and decisively stated her stance.
“I don’t care about other people’s opinions, especially that guy’s.”
Asking her to accept a predetermined fate was absolutely impossible!
Even if the red thread of fate tying her to Jiang Ling was forged from refined steel, she’d find a way to snap it and refuse any arranged romance!
Shen Mu scratched the back of his head, his expression troubled, sighing inwardly: This one’s stubborn and impossible to persuade!
“You can not care about others’ opinions, but at least consider my fate, alright?”
“My role and ending in this story are directly tied to you through karma. If things go wrong, I might not escape that kind of fate because of you.”
“Don’t worry~”
Lin Yuhe stood on her tiptoes, patted Shen Mu’s shoulder, and flashed a confident smile. “This time, I absolutely won’t let you repeat the same mistakes. I promise!”
Heh…
Why do I feel even more doomed after hearing that flag?
***
After his negotiation with Lin Yuhe, Shen Mu returned to his courtyard on Wanxiang Peak with a defeated expression.
Pushing open the door, he collapsed onto the table, his face full of frustration.
“Sigh… what kind of mess is this…”
Is the heavens really out to destroy my dream of immortality and freedom?
The thought of an unavoidable death looming closer, with his chances of breaking free plunging into the unknown, filled Shen Mu with a growing sense of helplessness.
He even entertained the idea of giving up and becoming a salted fish.
But that was just a fleeting thought.
He always believed in one truth: as long as things hadn’t reached their end, there was still a chance to turn everything around.
“It seems… you and that new young miss junior sister get along quite well~”
Her voice arrived before her presence.
A refreshing, elegant fragrance wafted in with the night breeze from the window, and a graceful figure with red-and-white hair had somehow appeared beside Shen Mu.
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