The world seemed to be put on mute — all the noise and chaos froze in an instant.

Gu Qingyan’s eyes flew open, and in his pupils was reflected Pei Xuan’s smug yet playful smile.

A storm surged in his heart. Gu Qingyan’s lips trembled slightly, but for a long moment, he couldn’t get a word out. His heart pounded violently in his chest, making it even harder to breathe than when he’d just been strangled.

Finally, he forced out a sound from his throat, laced with disbelief and confusion.

“You… what are you doing?”

Pei Xuan didn’t answer. Instead, like he had gotten a fascinating new toy, his fingers continued to trace the now reddening marks on Gu Qingyan’s neck.

He chuckled softly, his fingers trembling slightly — Gu Qingyan could clearly feel the vibration through the touch.

“Still hurts?”

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Gu Qingyan grabbed the hand wandering over his neck. “It doesn’t. Pei-ge, we should leave here quickly. If they come back, it’ll be dangerous.”

Pei Xuan’s gaze dropped to their interlocked hands.

“Can you stand?” Pei Xuan asked.

“I can.”

Gu Qingyan pushed against the ground to stand, but before he could straighten fully, he staggered.

“Ah!”

He cried out, not from falling — but because Pei Xuan had suddenly scooped him up in his arms.

Gu Qingyan felt slightly embarrassed. His body was too fragile; every time he used his abilities, he needed several days of rest.

He patted Pei Xuan’s shoulder and said, “I can walk on my own.”

“Oh, really?” Pei Xuan looked at him with a teasing smile. “But I think someone’s legs have gone soft. Not exactly suitable for walking right now.”

Gu Qingyan’s face flushed red, like a startled little deer. He quickly lowered his eyes to hide his emotions.

Pei Xuan’s gaze drifted to his pale neck — slender and fragile, as if it could break with the slightest touch.

He paused mid-step, his gaze narrowing. “Be good. Put the dagger away.”

Gu Qingyan no longer hid it. The dagger flashed coldly, its sharp edge pressed against a vital spot. “You’re not my Pei-ge. Who are you?”

“Heh—”

Pei Xuan chuckled. The vibration in his chest traveled through their close contact, reverberating in Gu Qingyan’s chest.

He didn’t resist. Instead, he leaned into the blade, lowering his body. “If I’m not Pei Xuan, then who else could I be?”

He moved too quickly. Even though Gu Qingyan tried to retract the dagger in time, it still left a shallow cut.

Pei Xuan didn’t seem to care about the wound. His fingers trailed lightly across Gu Qingyan’s neck. “Don’t be difficult.”

The threat was unmistakable.

Gu Qingyan felt something was seriously wrong. Pei Xuan had always been cold, aloof, and unapproachable to most people.

But to him, Pei Xuan was cold on the outside and warm inside. He would never give him this kind of dangerous feeling.

Pei Xuan stared at him with amusement, clearly enjoying his concern. His eyes sparkled with interest.

In the distance, the sound of hooves interrupted them. Pei Xuan looked toward the noise.

“Someone’s coming.”

Gu Qingyan’s eyes lit up. “It’s Xia Liu and the others!”

They must have sensed something was wrong in the city and come out to rescue him.

“Give me my Pei-ge back, or I won’t be polite anymore.” Gu Qingyan suspected this was the work of the Taiping Sect, and the drug’s side effects hadn’t worn off.

Pei Xuan raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening. “And how exactly will you not be polite?”

“You… What the hell are you?”

Gu Qingyan’s mind was racing with guesses — dissociative identity disorder? A second personality? Possession? Some kind of hypnotic spell?

He was absolutely certain: the man before him was Pei Xuan — and yet not quite Pei Xuan.

“Shhh.”

Pei Xuan pressed a finger to Gu Qingyan’s lips. Gu Qingyan could feel the slightly rough calluses — the hands of someone trained in martial arts.

“If I were you, I’d keep this a secret. Bury it forever.”

Gu Qingyan furrowed his brows tightly, scrutinizing the man before him.

“My lord, are you alright? Were you hurt?” Zhang Huaimin dismounted quickly and asked anxiously.

Pei Xuan replied calmly, “I’m fine. Just a surface wound.”

“It was the Taiping Sect. Xia Liu, take Qingyan back to the city. Zhang Huaimin, bring a few men with me. We’ll wipe them out.”

With that, Pei Xuan lifted Gu Qingyan onto Aoshang’s back.

Gu Qingyan looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Pei Xuan looked up and — surprisingly — gave him a smile and a “shh” gesture.

Before Gu Qingyan could respond, Pei Xuan swung up onto his horse and galloped off with Zhang Huaimin and the others — in the opposite direction of the city.

Gu Qingyan’s expression kept shifting. This turn of events was far beyond his expectations, and he didn’t know how to respond.

Xia Liu rode up and took the reins. “Young Master Gu, let’s head back to the city. Lord Pei knows what he’s doing. He’ll be fine.”

“But…” Gu Qingyan couldn’t shake his worry — not for Pei Xuan’s safety, but for his condition.

Yet how could he explain to Xia Liu, your lord seems possessed — the Pei Xuan you know isn’t the real Pei Xuan?

Xia Liu, mistaking his concern, smiled. “Lord Pei has traveled far and wide and faced countless battles. If he’s going after them, he must be confident in a complete victory.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Gu Qingyan hesitated for a long moment, then cautiously asked, “Xia Liu, don’t you think Pei-ge’s acting… strange?”

Xia Liu didn’t understand. “Strange? You mean he might’ve suffered internal injuries and is just holding it in?”

“No, it’s just…” Gu Qingyan didn’t know how to explain.

Xia Liu blinked. “Young Master Gu, did you see Lord Pei kill someone?”

He gave a simple, goofy smile and helped explain for his master: “So many corpses are indeed frightening to you, but it was a helpless measure.”

“You don’t know how cruel the Taiping Sect is. They’re brazen and often assassinate imperial officials. Countless innocents have died at their hands.”

“Anyone from the court who encounters the Taiping Sect must be completely wiped out, to prevent disastrous consequences.”

Gu Qingyan listened and understood that Xia Liu was afraid he would see Pei Xuan killing, especially killing so many in one go, so she was worried.

But he wasn’t afraid of Pei Xuan — he was afraid of a Pei Xuan who wasn’t really Pei Xuan.

Xia Liu smiled and said, “Young Master Gu, don’t believe those rumors outside. Though Lord Pei is ruthless in killing, he never kills the innocent wantonly. Those people fear him and hate him, so they slander him behind his back.”

“Of course I don’t believe it,” Gu Qingyan nodded, trying to suppress his unease for now.

“Xia Liu, since Lord Pei is the heir of Duke Lu, why does he have to run around everywhere like this, so hard on himself?”

Shouldn’t a second-generation noble like him be living comfortably in the capital enjoying life?

“How would I know? I guess Lord Pei has ambitions in his heart and doesn’t want to be just a spoiled rich kid.”

Gu Qingyan fell silent in thought.

He recalled the first time he met Pei Xuan — Pei Xuan was lying unconscious in the wilderness.

After waking up, Pei Xuan never explained why he had fainted there.

Also, the strange marks on Pei Xuan’s body — flashing gold, black, and red — looked eerie no matter how you looked at them.

Gu Qingyan wondered if Lord Pei even knew something was wrong with his body.

If he did, would the people around him also know?

If Zhang Huaimin could know what Gu Qingyan was thinking right now, he would surely slap him on the shoulder and call him brother.

He was the only one in the world who understood him.

From the very first glance at Pei Xuan, Zhang Huaimin knew something was off.

Riding hard on horseback, Zhang Huaimin put distance between himself and the people behind, and approached Pei Xuan.

But a look from Pei Xuan stopped him, and Zhang Huaimin casually asked, “Lord, are you feeling unwell?”

Pei Xuan looked at him coldly.

Zhang Huaimin instinctively touched his nose, thinking he was overthinking.

But soon, he realized he was not.

His lord was really not right. After discovering signs of the Taiping Sect, Pei Xuan launched a massacre.

Zhang Huaimin and a dozen brothers couldn’t intervene. Every Taiping Sect fanatic was slaughtered without exception.

His heart pounding, Zhang Huaimin swallowed hard and said, “Lord, maybe we should keep some alive for interrogation.”

Pei Xuan calmly wiped the blood off his sword on the corpses: “Stubborn fools. Kill them all to settle it.”

“This…” Zhang Huaimin was terrified.

Though Pei Xuan was nicknamed the King of Hell, his subordinates knew Lord Pei was fair and never killed recklessly.

“Do you want to teach me how to do my job?” Pei Xuan asked coldly.

Zhang Huaimin almost knelt: “Your subordinate dares not.”

Pei Xuan sneered, “Go find them. Drag out every single coward hiding away. Leave none alive.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zhang Huaimin signaled, and his men dispersed to dig through the Taiping Sect’s nest in Qingzhou Prefecture, searching every inch.

But Zhang Huaimin himself didn’t disperse; instead, he followed Pei Xuan step by step.

Suddenly, Pei Xuan stopped.

Zhang Huaimin quickly stepped back three paces to keep distance.

Pei Xuan sneered: “What, afraid I’ll kill you?”

“If you want to kill, I’ll just stretch out my neck and wait for your blade,” Zhang Huaimin hurried to say.

“Tch.” Pei Xuan clearly didn’t believe him, and even found Zhang Huaimin’s reaction boring.

Seeing no reaction from Pei Xuan, Zhang Huaimin quietly asked, “Lord, it hasn’t been a year since your last episode, why again…”

Pei Xuan suddenly turned his head.

Those cold, merciless eyes, completely devoid of any human emotion, startled even the experienced Zhang Huaimin, who swallowed the rest of his words.

Pei Xuan’s voice was icy: “You don’t seem very eager to see me.”

“Your subordinate dares not, I’m just worried about your health,” Zhang Huaimin hurried to explain.

He feared that if he delayed, his own life might not be safe.

Pei Xuan didn’t even look at him: “Worry? You all would rather see me disappear than worry about me.”

“But this time, it wasn’t my idea. Someone used the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach Flute to control the worm inside Pei Xuan’s body.”

“If I hadn’t come, that kid would have long since been dead and his body scattered.”

Zhang Huaimin was terrified: “Ten-Thousand-Year Peach Flute? How is that possible?”

Lord Pei’s deepest secret — only a few in the world knew. Besides, the Ten-Thousand-Year Peach Wood was supposed to have been completely burned. How did the Taiping Sect get the flute?

“We need to hurry back to the capital and inform Duke Shouguo,” Zhang Huaimin said.

Pei Xuan’s face was indifferent and unconcerned, but he brought up another matter: “That kid is interesting. No wonder Pei Xuan likes him. I like him too.”

Zhang Huaimin’s face turned almost green: “Lord, the relationship between Lord Pei and Young Master Gu is not what you think.”

Hearing this, Pei Xuan laughed: “Whose feelings do you understand better, mine or yours?”

Zhang Huaimin knew how cruel this lord was, feeling anxious, tried to defend Gu Qingyan a little.

But Pei Xuan’s expression darkened: “What are you waiting for? Go find those people.”

“Yes.” Zhang Huaimin was startled.

Unfortunately, they still arrived too late.

The Left Protector had long escaped, leaving only small fry of the Taiping Sect at the station.

Gu Qingyan returned home wounded, which scared Zhang Nian badly.

His eyes red with worry, he said, “If I had known earlier, I would have followed. Brother Gu, no matter where you go next time, you must take me with you.”

Gu Qingyan comforted him: “It was an accident. Who would expect such bad luck?”

“But Brother Gu always gets into trouble, I’m worried,” Zhang Nian sniffled.

Gu Qingyan wanted to argue but thought about his many achievements and nervously touched his nose.

He felt he wasn’t wrong — it was definitely like a Conan effect from the system, trouble followed him wherever he went.

Gu Qingyan sighed, “See? I’m fine now. It just shows my luck is strong. Every time I get into danger, I turn it into good fortune.”

“Besides, Lord Pei’s skills are much better than yours. With him around, nothing can happen to me.”

Hearing this, Zhang Nian’s little head drooped.

Gu Qingyan, afraid he would feel bad, quickly explained, “I’m not saying your kung fu is bad. You’re still young, just a kid. In the future, you’ll definitely be even stronger than Brother Pei.”

“Really?” Zhang Nian looked at him.

Gu Qingyan nodded repeatedly. “Of course! You’re ten years younger than Brother Pei. When you grow up, Brother Pei will be old, so you’ll definitely be able to beat him.”

Zhang Nian immediately became happy.

Xia Liu cleared his throat beside them, reminding, “Young Master Gu, when our lord was ten years old, he could defeat anyone in the capital.”

Gu Qingyan gave him a sharp look — he had just comforted Zhang Nian, and now Xia Liu was ruining it again.

Xia Liu looked innocent, thinking to himself, If Lord Pei knew what Young Master Gu just said, how would he feel inside?

Gu Qingyan changed the subject: “A Nian, my waist and back hurt badly. Hurry and take me to the best medical clinic in the city.”

As soon as Zhang Nian heard this, he didn’t hesitate and quickly supported him out.

Xia Liu, worried, wanted to follow.

Gu Qingyan gave him a glance: “It’s fine with A Nian here. You go help Brother Pei.”

Seeing this, Xia Liu thought Gu Qingyan was probably fine and just playing with the kid.

Gu Qingyan hurried to the clinic. His body was indeed weak and exhausted, but what troubled him most was his anxiety.

There was definitely something wrong with Pei Xuan. The Chi Tiger Seal hadn’t worked; he seemed like a completely different person.

He had to find a way to turn Pei Xuan back.

On the way back just now, Gu Qingyan had already found a solution in the system.

[Parasite-Expelling Pill: 1000 points]

[Taking one pill can expel parasites inside the body, wiping out all bugs.]

Since the Gu worm was also a parasite, Gu Qingyan only needed to gather enough points to exchange for the pill and then force-feed it to Pei Xuan. That would immediately bring him back to normal.

Thinking of Pei Xuan’s current state, Gu Qingyan shuddered sharply — something was seriously wrong.

When Pei Xuan smiled, it felt like his heart was being grabbed, making Gu Qingyan extremely uncomfortable.

He glanced at the system; everything was ready except for the points.

The only thing he could do now was to keep improving his skills and earn lots of points. Ideally, he wanted to save up eighty or a hundred thousand points so that next time something like this happened, he wouldn’t have to worry.

[Host: Gu Qingyan]

[Age: 16]

[Points: 238]

[Occupation: Student]

[Reputation: 68]

Since the last time he accumulated 1000 points, Gu Qingyan’s skills had stagnated.

He analyzed that either he lacked talent and could only improve up to this level, and going further would be a waste of time,

or the system’s teachers were only at this level, so he needed to keep checking in and look for better teachers.

Gu Qingyan planned to test searching for teachers first, aiming at the best clinic in Qingzhou Prefecture.

“Brother Gu, we’ve arrived at the clinic,” Zhang Nian reminded.

Gu Qingyan got off the carriage and stepped on the check-in point.

[Discovered Qingzhou Prefecture Rende Hall check-in point. Consume 10 points to check in?]

Gu Qingyan’s heart leapt with joy — 10 points proved his guess was correct.

Ordinary clinics only required 2 points to get beginner skills.

10 points only appeared when gaining high-level skills like “Receiving Royal Favor.”

Gu Qingyan rubbed his hands together, eager to try, and stepped firmly.

[Successfully checked in at Qingzhou Prefecture Rende Hall, acquired Advanced Medical Skill.]

Gu Qingyan’s anxious heart finally settled; he succeeded.

He smiled, knowing that as long as he could keep learning, he could get enough points and the shop wouldn’t be just for show.

No matter what problem Pei Xuan had, he would find a solution.

“A Nian, I’m feeling better. Let’s go somewhere else to walk around,” Gu Qingyan called out to Zhang Nian.

With his purpose achieved and feeling fine, there was no need to waste time inside.

Zhang Nian didn’t quite agree. “But your body—”

“I’m fine. Just need to rest.”

Gu Qingyan smiled, “Besides, I’m hungry now. Let’s go to a restaurant and eat something good.”

Zhang Nian had no choice but to obediently follow.

Gu Qingyan climbed into the carriage, quickly opened the system map, and tried to find usable check-in points among the dense points in Qingzhou Prefecture.

Places he had checked in before had their golden arrows turn green, meaning they couldn’t be checked in again.

Gu Qingyan filtered based on experience: higher-level skills usually came from larger stores.

Unfortunately, after browsing for a while, Gu Qingyan discovered a problem.

There were many skill check-in points, but most cost only 2 points.

Two points meant ordinary skills, similar to what he had learned before. Checking in there wouldn’t help.

Gu Qingyan carefully selected a restaurant and gained cooking skills, and also chose calligraphy and painting.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on Hongshan Academy.

The bright check-in point highlighted the presence of Hongshan Academy.

[Discovered Qingzhou Prefecture Hongshan Academy, consume 10 points to check in?]

Gu Qingyan raised his eyebrows slightly. Although the Lu family had fallen, Hongshan Academy still stood firm, remaining the most prestigious academy in Qingzhou Prefecture.

He heard that most teachers in the academy were graduates of the imperial examination, even some jinshi (advanced degree holders), making the teaching quality top-notch.

The 10-point cost also proved Hongshan Academy’s reputation was well-earned.

Gu Qingyan couldn’t help but recall when he had saved Lu Yanchi, the Lu family had also given him a letter of recommendation, but unfortunately, it was no longer useful with the passage of time.

Although the recommendation letter was useless, getting instruction at Hongshan Academy was not a problem.

Gu Qingyan looked at the distance and decided to put the idea aside for now, planning to consider it after the academy exams.

“Too few,” Gu Qingyan was dissatisfied. Qingzhou Prefecture didn’t have many advanced skill points.

With fewer skills, his point-earning speed would be slow.

Gu Qingyan stroked his chin, eyes landing on his reputation.

“There’s this way too.”

Gu Qingyan thought about last time when his reputation skyrocketed after winning the top spot in the prefectural exam and experiencing the Qingzhou Pavilion poisoning case.

If he could win first place in the prefectural exam again this time, he would get the “Triple Crown.”

In Qingzhou Prefecture, the “Triple Crown” would be a big deal, and how much reputation would that bring?

It seemed he had to study hard to try and win first place, to gain the “Triple Crown” title.

Gu Qingyan planned to use two approaches to earn points.

Zhang Nian watched his big brother’s changing moods with worry.

He didn’t understand why Brother Gu said they were going to the clinic but didn’t go in after arriving, wandering around the city instead, saying they wanted to eat but not entering any restaurant — it seemed like he just liked wandering.

Zhang Nian vaguely remembered that when they were in Lingchuan County, Brother Gu also liked to wander around the city aimlessly.

He even went to the red-light district and had entered the charity mortuary twice.

Zhang Nian was troubled, thinking, Other scholars like to compose poetry and write couplets, so why does my Brother Gu just like to roam around?

Gu Qingyan had made up his mind and was about to close the map when he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

On the otherwise normal map, there appeared a small black dot.

“What’s this?”

Gu Qingyan zoomed in on the area. The black dot was outside Qingzhou Prefecture, and it was actually moving.

He reached out and lightly tapped it.

[You have discovered Pei Xuan. Already signed in today, cannot sign in again.]

Gu Qingyan’s eyes widened. What the heck—Pei Xuan?

How did Brother Pei appear on the map? And it was a black dot, moving—there was no doubt it was a living person.

Gu Qingyan frowned. He had never before seen Pei Xuan appear on the map.

No, that wasn’t right.

In the past, Pei Xuan wasn’t in Qingzhou Prefecture either.

The map Gu Qingyan had access to was small, only Qingzhou Prefecture and Lingchuan County were lit up; everything else was gray and unreachable.

The two times Pei Xuan appeared in Qingzhou Prefecture, Gu Qingyan was too happy and never opened the map.

Could it be that as long as Pei Xuan was within the range of Gu Qingyan’s map, he could check Pei Xuan’s location?

Once he left the map’s range, his trail was lost.

Gu Qingyan’s expression grew strange. If so, it was like he had planted a tracker on Pei Xuan.

Feeling a little annoyed, he covered his face. It wasn’t that he had some strange habit of stalking people—this was a built-in system feature.

[You’re a perfectly fine system, why so creepy?]

[Isn’t this just like stalking?]

[I’m telling you, this is wrong—it’s an invasion of Pei Xuan’s privacy.]

Well, what if in the future Pei Xuan gets married, has kids, even takes a bath or goes to the bathroom, and Gu Qingyan can still see it? That would be too weird.

“Brother Gu, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Nian asked worriedly, “Your face is so red. Are you running a fever? Maybe we should still go to the clinic.”

Gu Qingyan coughed lightly to cover up, “Nothing, I’m just too hot.”

“We’ve walked around enough and must be tired. Let’s go back.”

Before Zhang Nian could say more, Gu Qingyan smiled and said, “I’m tired and want to go back to sleep and rest well.”

Zhang Nian quickly drove back.

Gu Qingyan looked at the system map, his expression still a bit complicated.

The pitch-black sign-in point was moving. Even though the map only showed a marker and not a real person, Gu Qingyan could vaguely see Pei Xuan’s activities through this small black dot.

Judging by the direction, they had already dealt with the Taiping Cult people and were heading back.

At least he was definitely safe.

Back at home, Gu Qingyan went straight into his room, planning to lie down and farm some points.

But as soon as he stepped inside, a sense of danger surged.

A sinister, faint laugh came from somewhere: “Shh, don’t shout, or your little bookboy will lose his life.”

Gu Qingyan’s scalp tingled; goosebumps stood on end.

It was the Left Protector of the Taiping Cult.

How did he get into the room?!

“Are you here to kill me?” Gu Qingyan swallowed hard, his mind racing for ways to save himself.

The Left Protector chuckled softly, “You’re so special, how could I bear to kill you?”

“Tell me—how did you save Pei Xuan?”

“Tell me obediently, and I won’t kill you. I’ll even share a secret with you in exchange, how about that?”