Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

---

Ye Qingyun could not return; he had been glued to this inexplicable youth. With a blink, he found himself in a strange room.

Looking out the window, it was clear that he was nowhere near a familiar place.

After a brief inquiry, Ye Qingyun learned that this youth was the so-called “God” the villagers had mentioned.

This “God” was surprisingly young and didn’t seem like a very brutal person, so Ye Qingyun began to attempt to reason with him.

Ye Qingyun did not want to inexplicably become anyone’s bride, so he immediately said, “You’ve got the wrong person; I’m not. I’m already married; I have kids who are as big as you.”

The youth’s eyes widened in surprise, then he laughed, “You’re lying! I can feel it; you’ve never had any intimate experiences.”

Ye Qingyun was taken aback, not expecting the youth to see through his unfortunate status as a magician. He suddenly felt speechless.

“You’re so good-looking; it must be true.” The youth reached out, wanting to touch Ye Qingyun’s face, but Ye Qingyun dodged. “It’s alright if you’re scared; we’ll spend a few more days together, and our feelings will gradually deepen.”

Ye Qingyun had no intention of spending more time together and continued to push back, “I have someone I like and I’m pursuing him. We’re not suited for each other.”

“What? Someone’s making you pursue them?” The youth grasped Ye Qingyun’s hand in disbelief. “That person must be arrogant and intentionally stringing you along! Rather than pursue him, why not accept my affection and let me love you? Isn’t that better?”

Ye Qingyun: “…”

“This young person, how could he be so eloquent in matters of love at such a young age?”

No matter how Ye Qingyun tried to explain, the youth wouldn’t let him leave. Given the situation, he couldn’t escape either and had to stay there for the time being.

That night, after a long silence, the system comforted Ye Qingyun: “Since you just happen to like men, why not start a relationship based on marriage first, and if it happens to be a good fit, wouldn’t that be a win-win?”

Ye Qingyun: “… A marriage-first, love-later scheme? This was forced love; this trend is already out of style!”

Ye Qingyun turned over and buried himself in the soft blanket.

He was worried about Gu Shenyuan. With Gu Shenyuan’s current state, if something were to happen, he wouldn’t even have someone to call for help. How could he possibly feel at ease?

He tried to explain to the youth that he had a patient at home who needed care, but the youth directly asked for his home address, claiming he would send someone to help. Thinking of Gu Shenyuan’s appearance, Ye Qingyun feared that those people might take the opportunity to do something to Gu Shenyuan and promptly rejected the proposal, ultimately failing to get the youth to relent.

The system continued to chat in Ye Qingyun’s mind: “Although the final investigation results of the collapsed plot are still pending, I believe that it’s very likely there won’t be any plot for you afterward. You should take this opportunity to enjoy life with the young, handsome wolfdog! I still have plenty of spirit herbs that can bring you the silky experience you desire—”
Ye Qingyun: “Stop!”

The system wisely refrained from continuing the adult topic and comforted him instead: “Rest assured, the protagonist has the protagonist’s halo. If something were to happen to Gu Shenyuan, we would receive an alarm, and I will notify you then.”

This was a last resort; there was even no signal on this planet, and Ye Qingyun simply couldn’t contact Gu Shenyuan. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

In the following days, Ye Qingyun adhered to the principle of not speaking unless necessary and when he did, it was often to throw cold water on the youth’s enthusiasm, attempting to quickly extinguish the boy’s interest in him. However, the youth seemed unfazed by Ye Qingyun’s efforts, even appearing quite content when Ye Qingyun countered his remarks.

One day, the youth took Ye Qingyun out again, claiming it was a pleasant date meant to help Ye Qingyun forget about the person he liked.

The youth led Ye Qingyun to a sea of flowers, encouraging him to tell stories while lying amidst the blooms. When Ye Qingyun ignored him, the youth began sharing interesting tidbits about the planet.

The system chimed in, trying to persuade Ye Qingyun: “Are you not going to have a sweet romance? Just look at how charming he is!”

Ye Qingyun: “Thanks for the invite, but he looks too young. I prefer someone more mature.”

Ye Qingyun stared absently at the flowers by his feet, lost in thought, when he suddenly realized something was off. He turned sharply to look at the youth’s ankle.

A bright green snake was slowly slithering up the youth’s ankle.

This snake had two heads, and both heads were slightly opened, seemingly preparing to bite the youth.

“What’s wrong?” The youth noticed Ye Qingyun’s tense expression and asked curiously.

“Shh—don’t move. There’s a snake on your ankle,” Ye Qingyun whispered. “Don’t be afraid; I’ll catch it for you.”

The youth glanced at his ankle and quietly replied, “That snake is highly venomous. It has two heads, and even if you catch one, the other can still strike back. You might get bitten; it’s too dangerous—don’t worry about me.”

Ye Qingyun was surprised that at such a moment, the youth was more concerned about him getting hurt than about making a fuss to get rid of the snake.

He had a certain sense of loyalty.

Unfortunately, he had come out in a hurry and hadn’t brought the machine that had been used to restrain Pu Tian and the others; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in any danger now.

Ye Qingyun extended some of his mental power to help suppress the snake, slowly reaching out his hand toward it. As he got closer, he swiftly grabbed the heads of both snakes. However, one of them was incredibly strong, quickly breaking free from his grasp and aiming to bite Ye Qingyun’s hand—just then, the sudden surge of mental power applied pressure on the snake, and Ye Qingyun’s other hand caught the other head, tossing the snake far away.

Ye Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief, only to be suddenly pulled by the hand.

The youth’s eyes sparkled with admiration. Ye Qingyun felt that this gaze held a genuine warmth that was subtly different from before.

The youth shook Ye Qingyun’s hand: “Big brother, you’re so amazing!”

Looking at the admiring eyes, Ye Qingyun thought of his younger brother who used to follow him around. He felt a mix of emotions and reached out to ruffle the youth’s hair, persuading him to leave the dangerous flower field and return home.

“There are many venomous snakes on this planet; every year, a lot of people get bitten, and many die from snake bites,” the youth rambled on. “Did you know? I see many couples going out on dates every year, but if a two-headed snake crawls onto one of them, I’ve never met anyone willing to step up and catch it.”

“Oh, you have pretty bad luck,” Ye Qingyun replied, bluntly ignoring the youth’s sparkling eyes. “Since it’s so dangerous, do you need me to help formulate an antidote? The price is negotiable.”

The youth seemed momentarily stunned, unable to respond.

Ye Qingyun continued, “I saved you, so it’s reasonable to ask for a reward.”

“What do you want?” the youth asked. “Gold, silver, jewels, power, strength—”

“I just want to go home; my boyfriend must be worried,” Ye Qingyun interrupted him.

The youth replied matter-of-factly, “No way! Where did you get a boyfriend?”

The atmosphere fell silent, and the two walked in silence until they returned to the house they were staying in.

Before Ye Qingyun entered his room, he heard the youth speak up, “Can you formulate an antidote? For that kind of snake venom.”

Ye Qingyun thought for a moment, then turned around: “I need the venom and a lot of other tools.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you,” the youth said, pointing to a certain room. “What you need might be found there.”

——————

The youth returned to his room, sitting by the window. Before long, a snake crawled up to the open windowsill and obediently made its way onto the youth’s hand.

It was the same two-headed snake that had almost bitten him.

“You know,” the youth mused, resting his chin on his hand, “if he wants to leave so badly, why doesn’t he just let you bite me to death? If I’m dead, wouldn’t he be free to leave?”

The snake obviously couldn’t answer, but the youth didn’t expect it to.

“I like his reactions,” the youth continued. “If his reaction to that paper is as cute, then I’ll choose him this time.”

————

Ye Qingyun entered the room the youth had mentioned.

This room was quite large, filled with many items, and it was… messy.

As Ye Qingyun rummaged through a pile of trinkets, he pulled out a glass bottle labeled with “snake venom,” feeling utterly speechless.

Even if the room contained the tools he needed, finding everything would require searching every corner.

After digging around for a while, Ye Qingyun’s gaze was caught by a book.

“Distribution Map of Regional Flora and Fauna.”

This book looked very useful!

Ye Qingyun opened it without hesitation, only to have a piece of paper fall out from between the pages.

Ye Qingyun bent down to pick it up and saw elegant yet messy handwriting on it.
“I understand now… I finally know the reason why he selects new companions every ten years!”

“Every ten years, his emotional state is completely reshuffled. Even if he liked someone before, after ten years, his feelings for that person will fade. The memories he has with them are just like watching a movie, without the ability to truly empathize.”

“Haha, it’s incredible, but this is the conclusion I reached after investigating several people who were once close to him. I must say, it’s no wonder he’s like a god, detached from all things.”

“But it’s strange; so many people, including myself, have not received the legendary powers supposedly granted by the god. Is it just a legend after all?”

Ye Qingyun furrowed his brows.

The person who wrote this must have been one of the “brides” who were captured in the past. The individual mentioned here must be the youth’s elder. This emotional detachment might be hereditary, which is why this area has maintained this custom for so long.

He hadn’t expected that the youth, who appeared quite normal, would have such a problem.

Below this text, the writer added another note:

“Life here is very comfortable; I don’t want to leave. I need to try to make him fall in love with me again to keep me here.”

Ye Qingyun agreed with this approach.

Changing partners repeatedly is quite troublesome. If two people are genuinely compatible, then rekindling their feelings shouldn’t be difficult.

This side had been written on, so Ye Qingyun flipped to the other side to see if anything was written there. However, the back was stained and dirty, making the handwriting unclear.

Ye Qingyun squinted to decipher it.

“He will never love me again… He told me that if he falls in love with the same person again, all his powers will belong to that person, and he will become an ordinary person. He would never make such a mistake.”

“But knowing this, how long can I live?”

This line seemed unfinished.

A flash of insight struck Ye Qingyun as he closely examined the substance that had stained the paper.

“This wasn’t just anything else; it was… dried blood from many years ago.”

“Anyone who knew this information had likely been killed.”

A cold breeze swept through, and the light in the room seemed to dim for no reason. Ye Qingyun shivered and quickly stuffed the paper back into the book.