Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun immediately snuck out of bed, silently slipping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

The bathroom wasn’t one of those frosted glass ones, but rather one with excellent light and sound isolation, which gave Ye Qingyun the confidence to sneak off and do what he needed to do.

Inside, the hotel had provided a razor blade, sharp enough for Ye Qingyun to do what he planned.

He examined the blade and lightly tested it on his finger, instantly cutting a small layer of skin. The sudden sting of pain shocked him, momentarily clearing his scattered thoughts.

No, this was too difficult for someone as weak and delicate as him. He could barely handle descaling a fish, and now he was expected to cut his skin. Did he even have the skill to do this?

Ye Qingyun asked the system: “I’m panicking. Can you block my sense of pain?”

The system hesitated: “I can… but I don’t have enough energy to provide multiple services at the same time. You can only choose two.”

If he blocked his pain, he wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding or hide the scent, which meant Gu Shenyuan would likely find out.

“Forget it then,” Ye Qingyun sighed.

He stood in front of the mirror, deep in thought, lifting his shirt to examine his back.

The tattoo had expanded a little more.

Would this tattoo eventually cover his entire body? It would be best to try now before it grew any larger. If it got bigger, he might never have the courage to attempt this again.

But in reality, he didn’t even have the courage now.

Ye Qingyun wasn’t sure how long he spent thinking before he finally reached behind him to act.

Just as he was about to make his move, he heard a soft sound at the bathroom door. Startled, Ye Qingyun turned his head and saw that the door had been cracked open.

The room outside was dark, and in the faint light from the bathroom, a tall figure stood just outside the door, their black and white eyes shining with an icy gaze, staring straight at him without blinking.

It was Gu Shenyuan.

In that instant, Ye Qingyun felt his legs go weak. He absurdly thought of himself as someone caught trying to secretly abort their lover’s child, only to be busted by the lover at the worst possible moment.

Quickly pulling down his shirt to cover the tattoo, Ye Qingyun blurted out, feigning indignation, “How could you… how could you just open the door without knocking? What if I was showering or using the bathroom?”

Gu Shenyuan ignored his words, coldly asking, “What are you doing?”

Ye Qingyun hid the razor blade behind his back. “N-nothing, just trimming my hair. It’s gotten too long.”

Too nervous to think clearly, Ye Qingyun realized too late how ridiculous his explanation sounded.

Who trims their hair with a razor blade? Why didn’t he just say he was shaving?

Gu Shenyuan opened the door fully and walked in, his face expressionless. In one swift motion, he pressed Ye Qingyun down with one hand and took the blade from him with the other.

“Trimming your hair?” Gu Shenyuan asked.

Ye Qingyun nodded, watching as the sharp blade in Gu Shenyuan’s hand melted into a puddle of water and disappeared in an instant.

Gu Shenyuan pressed down on Ye Qingyun’s hand firmly, guiding him to sit on a small stool. With one hand on Ye Qingyun’s neck, he applied just enough pressure that Ye Qingyun felt like his head might roll off if he squeezed any harder.

Recalling the cold, murderous intent when Gu Shenyuan destroyed the blade, Ye Qingyun felt a genuine threat to his life. Nervously, he asked in his mind: ‘System! If he kills me, will I be able to come back to life? Or is this the end?’

The system was equally panicked: ‘Are you really about to die?! I’ll prepare something right now!’

Would there even be time to prepare?

Ye Qingyun felt close to fainting. He could sense Gu Shenyuan’s power swirling above his head as he desperately searched for a way to get out of this situation.

But before Ye Qingyun could come up with anything, Gu Shenyuan let go of his neck.

“All done. Go to bed,” Gu Shenyuan said.

All done? What was done?

Ye Qingyun stood up in confusion and saw in the mirror that his hair was now a bit shorter.

Apparently, Gu Shenyuan had taken his words literally and trimmed his hair for him. It even looked quite good.

“Your powers can do that? I didn’t even see any hair fall!” Ye Qingyun exclaimed. “So do you cut your hair too?”

“Go to bed,” Gu Shenyuan repeated.

As Ye Qingyun left the bathroom, he glanced back and saw Gu Shenyuan inspecting the items inside.

Every sharp or dangerous object that could cause harm had been destroyed without hesitation.

A strong feeling of dread settled in Ye Qingyun’s heart.

Though Gu Shenyuan hadn’t said it outright, he had guessed what Ye Qingyun had been planning. From now on, Ye Qingyun wouldn’t even be able to touch a blade, let alone attempt to remove his tattoo.

Gu Shenyuan would keep him under constant, airtight protection, watching him closely to prevent him from ever trying something like this again.

Ye Qingyun recalled the content from the post he had read earlier, about the tragic lives of the past human-weapon hybrids after they learned how to love someone.

Gu Shenyuan was incredibly powerful, naturally commanding attention and admiration from all, and should remain above everyone, without weaknesses.

Was he going to just leave it like this? Accept Gu Shenyuan’s protection, pretend nothing had happened, and live a peaceful life?

No, he didn’t want such a false sense of calm.

Ye Qingyun stopped walking and turned around, asking directly, “Is there nothing you want to say to me?”

Gu Shenyuan turned to look at him, his dark eyes deep and silent for a moment before he slowly shook his head.

Ye Qingyun took a deep breath and tried again, “I found some information. The plant used for this tattoo is poisonous. The toxin is in the tattooed area. I need to remove it, or you—you can help me remove it.”

Hearing Ye Qingyun’s words, Gu Shenyuan chuckled, though the meaning behind his smile was unclear.

“Do you not know if it’s poisonous or not?” Gu Shenyuan asked.

Sensing something was off in Gu Shenyuan’s gaze, Ye Qingyun braced himself and replied, “I do, it is poisonous.”

Then Ye Qingyun saw Gu Shenyuan walk over and stand in front of him, his dark eyes unreadable. In a direct, straightforward manner, Gu Shenyuan tore through the lie Ye Qingyun had just told: “Haven’t you already guessed that this isn’t a plant at all… but a tattoo I gave you?”