Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun looked at Gu Shenyuan in front of him, squinting slightly.

Gu Shenyuan raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t believe I would do this? Hah, I’ve been nice to you during this time, but it was only because I needed something from you.”

Gu Shenyuan pressed on Ye Qingyun’s arm and nudged him toward the group of people, whispering ominously in his ear, “Now that I know everything I wanted to know, you’re of no use to me anymore. You’ve bullied me so much; did you think I wouldn’t seek revenge?”

Ye Qingyun rolled his eyes.

Although he didn’t know who this person was, it was truly despicable how he was tarnishing Gu Shenyuan’s image.

Gu Shenyuan was so handsome, but this person’s greasy demeanor made him seem less appealing!

Gu Shenyuan pushed Ye Qingyun toward the group again. The people exchanged glances between Gu Shenyuan and Ye Qingyun, astonished. “Are you serious? He’s so good-looking; are you willing to trade him?”

“What do I have to hold back?” Gu Shenyuan sneered. “Let’s trade now.”

This group of people was the same Pu Tian had privately contacted beforehand. Gu Shenyuan had already agreed to trade for a beauty, intending for them to take Ye Qingyun away and make him hate Gu Shenyuan.

The group was eagerly rubbing their hands together, waiting for Ye Qingyun to walk over.

“Go ahead and hate me,” Gu Shenyuan whispered behind Ye Qingyun. “It was I who pushed you into the abyss, but who told you to dare disrespect me? This is the punishment you deserve.”

Ye Qingyun: “… This is insane.”

Gu Shenyuan wouldn’t typically waste words like this or be so narrow-minded; he was acting uncharacteristically!

Gu Shenyuan attempted to push Ye Qingyun forward again, but this time, he didn’t budge.

Gu Shenyuan pushed once more, but still, nothing happened.

Gu Shenyuan’s eyes widened in shock.

Ye Qingyun turned to look at him, his expression blank. “Even though I don’t know who you are, with your stupidity, don’t try to act smart; you’re just not capable of it.”

Gu Shenyuan stared at Ye Qingyun in disbelief.

“You didn’t think that I would go out without any protective measures, did you?” Ye Qingyun continued, “You must be ugly, not realizing that people like us, who look good, are always extra careful when we’re out.”

“You call me ugly? You—” The impersonator was on the verge of rage but managed to restrain himself, sneering, “Hah, I am Gu Shenyuan himself. I don’t know what unrealistic fantasies you had about me being a good person, but now you should recognize reality.”

Ye Qingyun didn’t want to waste any more words with such a person and reached into his pocket to rummage around.

The imposter didn’t think Ye Qingyun could pull out any lethal weapons. Instead of stopping him, he stepped in front of Ye Qingyun, pinched his chin to force him to look up, and said, “I, Gu Shenyuan, am indeed the kind of petty person who seeks revenge for every slight. If you disrespect me by even a little, I will repay you ten thousand times. Now, you’re going to be sold to the stinking pirate crew, to be entertained by the whole ship.”

In Gu Shenyuan’s eyes was an utterly repulsive light: “You will be tortured in countless ways by numerous men, using your body—”

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt an invisible mental force binding him, rendering him immobile, and then he was kicked to the ground.

Ye Qingyun stepped on the imposter, coldly saying, “Say that again?”

Ye Qingyun was angry not only because he had been offended, but also because this person had been speaking ill of Gu Shenyuan.

Gu Shenyuan wasn’t talkative, didn’t care about others’ opinions, and didn’t focus on how he appeared in others’ eyes. But that didn’t give anyone the right to tarnish his name.

Ye Qingyun leaned down and coldly said, “I admit I dislike him, but I know what kind of person he is. Who do you think you are, you filthy bug, to use such lowly methods to slander him?”

The person on the ground struggled continuously but couldn’t break free. He shouted at the shocked onlookers, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help me capture him! Do you still want to take him away?”

Ye Qingyun turned to see the group glancing between the imposter on the ground and Ye Qingyun’s face, their expressions shifting between panic and awe, ultimately unable to resist the allure of Ye Qingyun’s beauty as they stepped forward.

“Tsk.” Ye Qingyun frowned.

He was able to subdue the imposter thanks to the binding device he had made.

This binding device was enhanced by his mental power; as long as the targets were not above his level, it was very difficult for them to break free. It should be manageable to bind a few more people. However, when fighting against such people, the most feared thing was their underhanded tactics.

Ye Qingyun pressed down the binding device, and the others moved at the same time as him. These people had been pirates for years, employing various insidious and vile methods in fights. One of them raised his hand and, before his body could move, shot a needle at Ye Qingyun.

A wave of drowsiness instantly washed over Ye Qingyun. His legs went weak, but he still struggled to remain standing. With a cold laugh, he bound each person one by one, confirming they couldn’t break free for the moment, and then strode out of their sight.

Barely turning a corner, Ye Qingyun could no longer hold himself up and collapsed.

But he didn’t fall onto the cold ground; someone caught him.

Ye Qingyun opened his somewhat blurry eyes and saw a familiar face.

This person should be lying on the ground, unable to move!

“You—” Ye Qingyun struggled to get up.

“Don’t be afraid,” the person said softly. “I’m here. Just sleep.”

Though it was the same face as before, this sentence spoken by this person held a level of credibility that made it feel like as long as he was there, everything would be alright.

A heavy wave of drowsiness enveloped Ye Qingyun, and he closed his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep.

Gu Shenyuan carefully adjusted Ye Qingyun into a comfortable sleeping position and temporarily rented a room in a nearby inn for him to rest.

After laying Ye Qingyun on the bed and covering him with a blanket, Gu Shenyuan straightened up.

He looked at Ye Qingyun’s peaceful sleeping face for a moment before turning to leave the room.

“Pu Tian and his pirate crew should no longer exist in this world.”

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When Gu Shenyuan first learned that Ye Qingyun had already disembarked, his emotions were chaotic.

What Pu Tian’s actions meant was all too clear to Gu Shenyuan.

He had challenged Pu Tian’s authority before, so Pu Tian wanted Ye Qingyun, whom he valued, to leave him, hoping to exacerbate the already strained relationship between him and Ye Qingyun.

Chaotic energy surged around Gu Shenyuan, causing the temperature of the air around him to drop several degrees.

He shouldn’t have been thinking about finding the right opportunity to make Ye Qingyun see Pu Tian’s true nature, willingly coming with him. He should have forcibly taken Ye Qingyun away the moment he saw him.

Ye Qingyun would certainly be unhappy and refuse to pass on any more knowledge, but what did that matter? He had plenty of time to gradually soften Ye Qingyun’s attitude.

Gu Shenyuan walked to the exit corridor, and the person in charge of watching the ship tried to stop him, only to fall silently to the ground before he could speak.

Gu Shenyuan disembarked and began searching along the possible streets.

“If anything happened to Ye Qingyun this time, who would he go to?”

“Should he learn from this experience and make the next search for someone more perfect?”

Gu Shenyuan knew rationally that he should do this, but in reality, he felt a subtle resistance.

It wouldn’t be more perfect.

There wouldn’t be another person who, while disliking him, would refuse to drag him down when their lives were at stake, alleviating their danger.

In the end, Gu Shenyuan found Ye Qingyun but didn’t have time to feel joy before his expression darkened at the sight of the imposter standing beside him, disguised as him.

Gu Shenyuan watched as that person crazily smeared his image while attempting to harm Ye Qingyun.

He felt both anger and fear: anger at that person’s intent to hurt Ye Qingyun, and fear that Ye Qingyun might believe what that person was saying.

…Actually, there was one thing that person hadn’t said wrong; he was indeed vengeful, with only a shred of tolerance left for specific individuals.

Then, Gu Shenyuan saw Ye Qingyun kick the imposter to the ground, a look of disgust on his face, declaring that everything that person had said was slander.

…Even if he disliked him, Ye Qingyun was still helping to maintain his image.

How nice.
Gu Shenyuan curved his lips slightly, guarding Ye Qingyun’s safety until he left, before chasing after him.

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When Ye Qingyun woke up, he saw Gu Shenyuan sitting by his bedside.

Gu Shenyuan closed the book and looked over: “You’re awake? Hungry?”

“What the hell, was he hallucinating? How could Gu Shenyuan be there guarding him? This was the treatment only a protagonist could receive!”

“He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t capture Gu Shenyuan.”

Ye Qingyun silently complained in his heart, his gaze sliding over to the wall clock, and he instantly jumped up: “Our time on the ship is over; we need to hurry back—”

“No going back.” Gu Shenyuan’s tone was somewhat firm. He paused and lowered his voice, “We can’t go back. Pu Tian and the others encountered several enemy pirate groups, and now… they’ve been wiped out.”

Ye Qingyun: “…”

Ye Qingyun: “???”

System: “!!!”