Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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When Ye Qingyun woke up the next day, he found himself lying in the center of the bed in a starfish position, unapologetically invading Gu Shenyuan’s territory. Meanwhile, there was no sign of Gu Shenyuan on his half of the bed.

Ye Qingyun recalled the harsh words he had said to Gu Shenyuan last night about kicking him off the bed if he crossed any lines. Now, seeing his current sleeping posture, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Fortunately, Gu Shenyuan wouldn’t stoop so low as to deal with him, a small fry. Otherwise, one kick could send him crashing into the wall, and he wouldn’t even be able to crawl out.

Ye Qingyun got out of bed and quickly washed up with some water.

According to Ye Qingyun’s original plan, as long as he took care of Gu Shenyuan enough that he wouldn’t be in any life-threatening danger and could release enough abilities to keep himself safe, he could leave Gu Shenyuan and live a carefree, hidden life.

That was the plan; he thought that in a few days, he would be able to break up with Gu Shenyuan!

Ye Qingyun envisioned a bright future, but after two days, he realized something was off.

Gu Shenyuan showed no signs of improvement and occasionally coughed up blood. His already pale complexion grew even more ashen. Moreover, these past two days, he often stole glances at Ye Qingyun. Whenever Ye Qingyun looked back, Gu Shenyuan would quickly avert his gaze, pretending nothing had happened.

If it were anyone else looking at him like this, Ye Qingyun would suspect they had a crush on him. But with Gu Shenyuan acting this way, there was no possibility of him having a crush on him.

Considering Gu Shenyuan’s physical condition, Ye Qingyun thought and thought until he concluded there was only one possibility—Gu Shenyuan was extremely weak and was very afraid he would abandon him and leave, which was why he stole glances at him from time to time.

Ah, this was so tragic. How could he possibly sneak away by himself?

But Gu Shenyuan’s condition couldn’t go on like this. Ye Qingyun thought for a moment and decided to investigate the situation further.

That night, Ye Qingyun drank a nutritional supplement for dinner, looking at Gu Shenyuan with a sullen face: “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you dying?”

Gu Shenyuan glanced at him and quickly shifted his gaze to the ground, softly saying, “It’s nothing, just a minor injury.” He paused before continuing, “Thanks to your care, I’m still alive. I’ll need to trouble you for a while longer.”

This statement was extremely soft-spoken, making Ye Qingyun feel as if his heart was about to shatter.

Gu Shenyuan must be seriously injured to be forced to speak softly to him, the villain! The noble flower had to bow down; if this was the case, he had to find a way to vent all his frustrations on Gu Shenyuan!

Feeling distressed, Ye Qingyun still put on a fierce expression and said, “You know you’re a burden? Hmph, if you want me to take care of you, you’ll have to repay me by being my servant!”

Gu Shenyuan lowered his dark eyelashes, his pale lips and skin almost translucent, giving him an ethereal quality devoid of any human warmth. He softly responded to Ye Qingyun, “Mm.”

“Alright, where are you hurt? Where do you feel uncomfortable?” Ye Qingyun stepped forward.

Gu Shenyuan reached for his abdomen and coughed a few times.

Ye Qingyun asked, “Is it an internal or external injury? Let me take a look.”

Gu Shenyuan hesitated for a moment; only when Ye Qingyun looked at him in confusion did he extend his hands to unfasten his clothing.

Watching Gu Shenyuan’s movements, Ye Qingyun finally realized what Gu Shenyuan had been hesitant about—oh my, he might be the first person in the entire book who could get Gu Shenyuan to willingly undress!

Gu Shenyuan’s future partner would be jealous… but forget it, where would Gu Shenyuan even find a partner?

As Gu Shenyuan undid his clothing, the injured area was revealed—smooth skin, a well-defined waistline, and neatly sculpted abs all laid before Ye Qingyun’s eyes.

Ye Qingyun, who was already oriented towards men, momentarily lost focus seeing those hormone-fueled abs, but quickly snapped back to attention and focused on Gu Shenyuan’s injuries.

Gu Shenyuan’s exterior looked unharmed, completely unlike someone who had sustained severe injuries.

“Internal injury?” Ye Qingyun frowned.

“Mm,” Gu Shenyuan replied, his expression neutral, yet inexplicably making Ye Qingyun feel that he was angry.

It was normal to be angry; Gu Shenyuan probably had never been looked at like this before.

“Tsk.” Ye Qingyun reached out. “Can I take a look?”

Gu Shenyuan hesitated for a moment again before finally nodding.

Ye Qingyun gently pressed on the area where Gu Shenyuan claimed to be injured. The muscle felt great under his hand, firm and elastic, causing Ye Qingyun to sway again for a second before regaining his focus and extending a bit of his mental energy to investigate.

He could sense Gu Shenyuan’s abilities boiling over, rampaging erratically within him, which had caused some slight damage to his internal organs.

“Strange—could it be that some kind of stimulus led to this loss of control over his abilities?”

“On his way to the village, he saw some herbs growing in a nearby forest that could soothe the agitation of abilities; he could pick some for Gu Shenyuan to try.”

With this thought in mind, he left some harsh words for Gu Shenyuan to rest well and then turned to leave the room.

---

Once the door was closed, Gu Shenyuan straightened up, expressionless, and began buttoning his clothes back up.

He was not in any danger; the so-called injury was all self-inflicted. The worsening of his condition these past few days was merely a ploy to have Ye Qingyun spend more time with him.

Gu Shenyuan initially thought he might feel uncomfortable or displeased with Ye Qingyun’s physical contact during treatment, but in reality, when Ye Qingyun’s warm hand touched him, it not only didn’t feel uncomfortable but also brought him a sense of joy.

What displeased him was that Ye Qingyun had looked and touched, yet remained utterly calm.

The way Ye Qingyun had looked at Pu Tian was not like this.

“Ye Qingyun liked men; why did he show no feelings toward him?”

“Was his physique so unappealing that it couldn’t even stir any emotions in Ye Qingyun? Or was it that his appearance simply wasn’t Ye Qingyun’s type?”

These two thoughts swirled in Gu Shenyuan’s mind, making him increasingly frustrated.

He shouldn’t be angry about such things.

Yet he was.

He wasn’t angry at Ye Qingyun; he was angry at himself.

“Useless.”

Gu Shenyuan pressed his furrowed brows, took a deep breath, and stood up from the chair, scanning the room for something to divert his attention.

His current emotions were off; he shouldn’t be so affected by such trivial matters and needed to change that.

Gu Shenyuan noticed a pile of clutter on a desk in the corner, and one notebook was buried at the bottom. He walked over and saw the title of the exposed cover: “Research Notes on the “God.” “

“God?”

Gu Shenyuan recalled that when they first arrived in this village, the villagers wanted to send Ye Qingyun to the so-called “God,” causing his brows to furrow even tighter. He picked up the notebook and flipped to the first page.

Gu Shenyuan quickly skimmed through it and understood the author’s intent behind this research.

The notebook belonged to someone who had been chosen to be sent to the “God” a decade ago. She worried about her future, so she sought information about the “God” from various sources, trying to gather as much information as possible.

“According to my grandmother, this custom started in her grandfather’s generation. She said, don’t expect the God to die because the God is not a person… the God is a bloodline passed down through generations.”

Gu Shenyuan was highly sensitive to the term “bloodline,” and his expression darkened as he quickly flipped through the subsequent pages.

“They can control the climate and environment of this planet, and opposing them means opposing the planet itself, which is undoubtedly seeking one’s demise.”

“My grandmother told me not to be too pessimistic because God treats their companions quite well. She once heard rumors that if someone could be favored by God, they would gain the power granted by God, be immune to illnesses, and live a long life.”
“Truly worthy of being a god’s bloodline, utterly flawless.”

No.

Gu Shenyuan immediately recognized the error in the notes.

He had done extensive research on bloodline abilities, so he was quite familiar with the topic.

Anyone who gained power through their bloodline would also face certain limitations due to it.

For example, he, despite his extraordinary strength, could never betray the one he loved.

Even if he discovered that his beloved didn’t love him back and was only using him, or even if his feelings had long been extinguished, he still could not leave or regret it. Otherwise, he would suffer severe headaches at best and, at worst, self-destruct.

What they had was an irreversible path of love, where everything was held in the hands of others.

Gu Shenyuan had never been the type to be manipulated, so he never believed he would fall for anyone; in fact, he deeply rejected the idea.

Except… except for the unexpected intrusion of a certain someone.

Gu Shenyuan understood the restrictions of bloodline powers; thus, when someone suddenly claimed that there existed a perfect bloodline that only brought power without flaws, he found it completely unbelievable.

As he looked at the words in the notes, he began to drift off in thought about his situation.

If… if the bloodline restrictions of that “God” were similar to his own, and Ye Qingyun happened to find out, what would he do?

“Would he, like everyone else, go to great lengths to win his affection?”

————

Ye Qingyun successfully left the village, following the path he remembered, and reached the edge of a nearby forest, where he found the desired herbs.

He crouched down, carefully picking them.

The process of harvesting these herbs was somewhat troublesome, and he needed to be cautious.

He didn’t know how long he had been there, but after gathering a handful, just as he was about to change locations, he heard a loud rumble of thunder, and heavy rain began to pour down.

Ye Qingyun: “…?”

This rain came out of nowhere!

Looking around, he noticed a medium-sized hole in a nearby boulder and hurried over to take shelter from the rain.

As he watched the torrential downpour outside, he spotted another figure in the rain.

“Come over here; you can shelter from the rain!” Ye Qingyun shouted to the figure.

The figure walked closer, and Ye Qingyun gradually made out the person’s face.

It was a strikingly beautiful youth, probably around sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a loose robe and strolling through the heavy rain.

“Are you calling me?” the youth asked.

Ye Qingyun nodded, moving aside to make room for the youth to shelter from the rain.

The youth walked over and suddenly took hold of his hand.

“You must be my new bride this time,” the youth smiled. “Come with me; we’re not going back. I’ll take you straight to my home.”

Ye Qingyun: “…?”

————

As night deepened.

Gu Shenyuan sat in a chair, waiting, glancing toward the door from time to time, his usually steady brows now tinged with anxiety.

Ye Qingyun still hadn’t returned.