Chapter 25: I Look Forward to Our Wedding Day…
“Master, I’m done tidying up. When do we study the cultivation method?” Shen Lanqing casually organized the surface of the room and impatiently found Yun Wuxiang.
Yun Wuxiang tucked the bronze mirror back into his sleeve before he came out. Instead of answering the question about the cultivation method, he asked, “Did you eat breakfast this morning?”
Only upon this question did Shen Lanqing feel the hunger that had been ignored amidst his excitement. “Not yet.”
So the people at Prince Li’s Manor made his disciple starve all morning to drink messy exorcism soups. Those people were treating his disciple as a living medicinal herb.
The air pressure around Yun Wuxiang lowered. “Eat first.”
Shen Lanqing keenly sensed his master was in a bad mood. He nodded obediently, then asked, “Master, is there a cook on the island?”
Yun Wuxiang nodded. “Yes.”
His expression was so natural that when Shen Lanqing saw a large brown bear, over two meters tall, appear in the kitchen, pick up utensils, and toss the wok to stir-fry with fluid movements, his jaw nearly dropped.
Sitting by the stone table under the magnolia tree, Yun Wuxiang spoke to the person clutching the door frame and watching the brown bear cook: “If you have any dietary restrictions or things you don’t like to eat, tell Zongzi in advance.”
His hand placed the vibrating bronze mirror face down on the table.
In the kitchen, Zongzi, having just finished frying a dish, twitched his ears and turned to look at Shen Lanqing.
Shen Lanqing swore he saw an inquiring meaning in the brown bear’s eyes. “Mr. Zongzi, I can’t eat very spicy food, so please use less chili. Also, please don’t add celery or peas.”
Zongzi nodded and continued chopping and frying.
The bronze mirror vibrated even more violently, almost hopping off the table to perform a 180-degree flip.
Yun Wuxiang glanced at his little disciple watching Zongzi cook, formed a seal to build a soundproof barrier, and then flipped the mirror over.
[Why! Why! Why!!…]
[Guanzhu, you clearly have a cook on your island, yet you made me drink plain rice porridge for three days! You even made me find food myself, and after I found it, you disliked me!]
Yun Wuxiang: “You killed chickens to eat?”
[Why not? If the Gu eats, I eat.]
Yun Wuxiang picked up the teapot, filled a cup for himself, and took a small sip. “Since you ate, why should I eat with you? Wasting food.”
[Because the Guanzhu wanted to use me.]
[Weren’t you waiting for me to make a mistake actively so you could make a move on me?]
The tea entered his mouth, spreading a slight bitterness from the tip of his tongue. Yun Wuxiang recalled his thoughts at that time, as simulated by the Heart Demon.
Mhm, seems that was indeed the case. Even if he guessed that Song Yilou was the Great Shaman of the Poison Mist Swamp from the original novel, the him at that time wouldn’t casually use Song Yilou before confirming he was a bona fide bad person.
The old him still had too high a moral sense and poor eyesight. Didn’t Song Yilou display the words “I am not a good person” all over his body, from his eyes to his aura? What was there to hesitate about?
Humans sometimes couldn’t understand their past selves.
Even so, Yun Wuxiang still felt that him before transmigration was what a normal person should look like.
[I even stole cultivation methods in front of the Guanzhu to give you an excuse, yet you actually threw me off the island just like that.]
That was because the World Consciousness woke up. He hadn’t intended to let Song Yilou go. He let Song Yilou sneak into the Library Pavilion intending to wait for him to steal a method so he would have a reason to lock Song Yilou on the island and not let him out.
After recalling, Yun Wuxiang thought the World Consciousness really woke up at a bad time. If he hadn’t let Song Yilou go that time, given this guy’s temperament, he would have provoked him sooner or later, and he could have just killed him directly. There wouldn’t be so many issues later.
[By the way, did the Guanzhu see that cultivation method later? I picked it carefully for a long time…]
The bronze mirror was thrown to the ground.
A stone several times larger than the bronze mirror pressed down on top of it.
Yun Wuxiang gently flicked the finger that had cast the spell. [System, Song Yilou’s mind is too dark.]
[Exactly! He harbored malicious intentions himself, yet suspects the Host.]
3339 agreed. At that time, his Host was still dominated by the Heart Demon externally—a reclusive university student with severe psychological trauma from transmigration. How could he scheme against others?
Clearly, Song Yilou’s own thoughts were dark and nasty, and he imagined the Host to be the same.
[With Song Yilou around, I feel I’ve suffered mental pollution. So can the subsidy be a bit more?] Yun Wuxiang revealed his true purpose at the end.
[Approval hasn’t come down yet. Host, wait a bit; I’ll try adding supplementary application materials first.]
[Okay, thanks for your hard work.]
[It’s my duty. Assisting the Host and safeguarding the Host’s basic rights is a System’s responsibility.]
A faint smile hooked the corner of Yun Wuxiang’s lips. [3339, you are a good system.]
[Of course. I am an Elite System who has assisted several Hosts with full marks and no negative reviews every time.] 3339 put its hands on its hips in the consciousness sea, raising its head proudly.
“Roar, roar…”
Two short bear calls sounded.
Shen Lanqing and the brown bear walked toward Yun Wuxiang, each carrying a food tray.
“Master, the food is ready.” Shen Lanqing placed the food on the tray onto the table as he spoke, sitting opposite Yun Wuxiang full of anticipation. He hadn’t eaten with his master for a long time.
Yun Wuxiang stood up. “You eat first. Wait for me here after you finish.”
Shen Lanqing’s eyes followed him. “Master, aren’t you eating? Mr. Zongzi prepared two bowls of rice.”
Yun Wuxiang shook his head, a meaningful smile flashing across his eyes. He turned and walked toward the Library Pavilion. As he walked, he extended his hand, and the bronze mirror under the stone automatically flew into it.
As soon as he left, the brown bear moved its body and sat in Yun Wuxiang’s original spot. Its massive body blocked the sunlight; the bear-shaped shadow enveloped the entire stone table, covering Shen Lanqing as well.
A pair of bear eyes stared at him quietly.
Shen Lanqing: “…”
“Cough, sorry for the rudeness, Mr. Zongzi. I didn’t know you hadn’t eaten today either.”
No wonder this bear put so much sugar when stir-frying; he thought his master had changed tastes. Turns out it was making it for itself.
The brown bear nodded, picked up chopsticks, and began picking up those dishes with excessive sugar content to put in its mouth.
Shen Lanqing looked at the chopsticks in his hand, picked them up, and silently served himself food.
While one person and one bear ate a silent brunch at the stone table, Yun Wuxiang rapidly searched for cultivation methods in the Library Pavilion.
Previously, when looking for dual cultivation methods, Yun Wuxiang had already roughly gone through most of the books in the Library Pavilion, so he quickly found the methods he needed.
When he returned to the courtyard, he saw his little disciple playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with his chef.
Shen Lanqing looked at his hand gesturing scissors. “Hey, how did I lose?”
Yun Wuxiang: “…”
“Master, you’re back!” Shen Lanqing caught sight of Yun Wuxiang from the corner of his eye. He shot forward a step and asked expectantly, “Can I learn the cultivation method now?”
“Mhm.” Yun Wuxiang glanced at the cleaned stone table. With a wave of his hand, a small mountain of cultivation manuals over a meter high appeared on the table.
“Your constitution cannot cultivate Human race methods. Here are universal methods for all races, plant and wood race methods, and some ghost cultivation methods I found.”
“Now, start with the universal methods. Try them one by one until we find the most suitable one.”
Shen Lanqing nodded actively. “Start now, Master? What should I do?”
Yun Wuxiang flipped his hand, and a meditation cushion appeared. He threw it to Shen Lanqing. “Sit cross-legged properly.”
Shen Lanqing caught the cushion and sat down. “And then?”
Yun Wuxiang opened a manual with calm leisure. “Sit, endure, don’t move.”
Shen Lanqing looked up at his master with blankness mixed with a trace of anxiety. Endure?
He soon learned the meaning of that word. Yun Wuxiang finished reading the manual in his hand in an extremely short time. His gaze fell on Shen Lanqing, and he tapped a finger on his forehead. Zhenqi rushed rapidly into Shen Lanqing’s meridians, beginning to circulate according to the route in the manual.
After just half a small cycle, pain pricked through all Shen Lanqing’s meridians, and he couldn’t suppress a roar of pain from his throat.
Yun Wuxiang quickly cast a Rejuvenation Spell on him. Shen Lanqing felt a gentle warm current sweep through his entire body, wiping away the pain.
“This one won’t do.” Yun Wuxiang threw the manual aside, picked up a new one, and continued the previous operation.
Shen Lanqing didn’t hurt this time. He started trembling all over. “Cold, so cold.”
Yun Wuxiang: “This one won’t do either.” Cast Rejuvenation Spell, switch to another.
“Hahaha, so ticklish!”
“Won’t do.”
“Ah… ah… numb…”
Shen Lanqing couldn’t remember how many times he heard “won’t do.” Finally, when a cultivation method ran a full large cycle in his body without side effects, he almost wept with joy. “Master, this one works!”
Yun Wuxiang ran the method for two more cycles. Feeling a subtle sense of obstruction when passing through a few meridians, he frowned slightly. “Won’t do.”
“Master…” Before Shen Lanqing could finish, Yun Wuxiang had already switched to another method.
Unnoticed, the bronze mirror had slipped out of Yun Wuxiang’s sleeve and rolled to the side, watching their movements. The mirror surface gradually changed from restless at the start to calm.
Inside the bronze mirror.
Song Yilou rested his chin on his hand. “Guanzhu is really focused. But how can you infuse Zhenqi into someone else’s body?”
His gaze swept over Shen Lanqing’s exhausted, numb, and agonized face.
“But I’ll let it slide this time. An auxiliary item for the Guanzhu to research methods—if I ruin the Guanzhu’s results, I’ll be pulled out and killed.”
“Guanzhu isn’t paying attention to me now. Should I go do something?” Song Yilou looked through the mirror at the pile of manuals, then looked far away at a raised rocky hill.
That was where another fragment was absorbing black mist.
The broken bronze mirror aimed, rolled forward, floated up, and landed in Yun Wuxiang’s hand. His elegant, deep eyes swept over the bronze mirror. “Going where?”
[Did the Guanzhu just realize I fell to the ground? I thought your eyes only held that Shen Lanqing.]
[I’m jealous. How can you, as my fiancé, touch other people! Guanzhu, pay attention in the future, or many people will die.]
Yun Wuxiang heard the meaning beneath his words. “People I’ve touched, you want to kill?”
[I’m very obedient. If Guanzhu says don’t move, I won’t move. But other fragments aren’t necessarily so certain. For example, that half fragment—I don’t even know if he still has rationality.]
Song Yilou feigned obedience and cuteness while not forgetting to drag down his other selves.
Yun Wuxiang listened and said calmly, “Is that so? That’s really nice. In the future, if I have a grudge against someone, I’ll just go touch them. Saves me the trouble of doing it myself.”
[I’d be happy to help Guanzhu deal with enemies. But Guanzhu only needs to say the word; don’t use your own hands to touch trash.]
“Aren’t I touching one right now?” Yun Wuxiang shook the mirror in his hand. “Since you’re so obedient, how about you deal with yourself first?”
[Guanzhu, if I die, who will give you information and deal with the other mes?]
Yun Wuxiang’s heart was as still as water, speaking with what could be called Buddhist serenity: “Doesn’t matter. Too many of them. Whatever.”
One Song Yilou could produce over a dozen fragments. Who knew how many more those dozen fragments would split into? The Heavenly Lightning Talisman had been used once; using it had caused Song Yilou to test out over a dozen ways to evade the lightning’s pursuit.
Wait until he gathered enough energy points and settled his little disciple, then he would leave this world hiding Song Yilou everywhere and return to the modern era.
As for after he left, wasn’t there the World Consciousness?
A guy like Song Yilou, who walked crooked paths without restraint, would suffer divine retribution sooner or later.
“Master? Who are you talking to?” Shen Lanqing, who had endured until he was silly, heard his master’s voice through his hazy consciousness.
Yun Wuxiang moved his gaze away from the bronze mirror, swept over his dull-eyed little disciple, and said, “You are tired. Go back and sleep first.”
Shen Lanqing nodded in a trance, standing up shakily. Then he heard Yun Wuxiang’s light yet cruel voice enter his ears: “Continue tomorrow.”
Shen Lanqing fell straight onto the ground.
Yun Wuxiang reached out and grabbed Shen Lanqing’s collar. The body under his hand was heavy, without a shred of self-awareness, eyes closed tight, breathing peaceful.
He fell asleep.
A trace of confusion flashed in Yun Wuxiang’s eyes. “Only tried thirty-two methods. Is it that tiring?”
[Guanzhu, did you try methods one by one like this before too?]
Yun Wuxiang took it for granted. “I tried all the Human race cultivation methods in the Library Pavilion.”
[Did someone help you circulate the methods like this back then too, Guanzhu?]
Yun Wuxiang: “No.”
[…] For the first time, the bronze mirror silenced itself actively.
Song Yilou’s unusual reaction made Yun Wuxiang realize there might be something wrong with his approach. He knocked on the bronze mirror twice and asked, “Naturally, one must choose the most suitable method. What is the problem with trying them one by one?”
[No problem, just easy to die. Suddenly discovered something I hate about the Guanzhu.]
Yun Wuxiang was pleasantly surprised. “What is it?” Speak quickly; he would definitely carry this trait forward.
[You are a genius.]
Yun Wuxiang: ?
[Hmph, I hate geniuses!] Song Yilou suddenly became very childish, like a kid throwing a tantrum.
The person who had been playfully shouting about getting married suddenly said he hated him. Although Yun Wuxiang himself currently had no interest in dating, Song Yilou’s behavior sparked a bit of curiosity.
“Why? Were you struck down by some genius in the past? Who was it?” Such a person exists?
[Let me think, what was that person called when they were alive?]
Yun Wuxiang guessed the cause of death immediately upon hearing this. “You killed them?”
[An accident! No one knows I did it!]
[Although the Guanzhu is a genius, as long as I turn the Guanzhu into a Gu, the talent from when you were human won’t matter. Guanzhu is still my favorite Guanzhu, my favorite fiancé~] The jubilant tone was full of a nearly childlike, innocent, pure evil.
Yun Wuxiang scanned the writing on the bronze mirror and said with an unwavering voice, “Song Yilou, you don’t like me. You just want to satisfy your own desires.”
Like, so want to possess. A very primal desire.
[Guanzhu, who wouldn’t have desires for the person they like? You are the one who can’t tell the difference. I am very clear about my thoughts. Before meeting the Guanzhu, I never wanted to turn someone into my kind so much.]
[Besides, Shunming said we have a marriage affinity line! We will become partners. How could I have a marriage affinity line with someone I don’t like?]
Song Yilou became more certain of his conclusion as he spoke: [Of course I like the Guanzhu.]
Yun Wuxiang: “Shunming is a malicious ghost. You take her words seriously too.”
[If words fit my wishes, naturally I believe them. I look forward to our wedding day.]
Seeing this sentence, Yun Wuxiang once again realized something with absolute clarity.
Regardless of the truth of the marriage line Shunming spoke of, and regardless of what the initial intention was, in Song Yilou’s mind now, he was set on the matter of marrying him. Unless Song Yilou’s own brain suddenly cramped and he changed his mind to give up, no one could change it.
[System, my mental damage compensation.]
[Host rest assured, it definitely won’t be small.] 3339 comforted.
Yun Wuxiang: [Mhm.]
Since he was already entangled, he might as well let Song Yilou display more useful value and help him rack up the amount of the spirit subsidy.
After all, Song Yilou was acting in his true colors, so he wasn’t cheating for the subsidy.
Recommended Reads
![[ABO] After Accidental Marking, I Became Everyone’s Darling](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ABO-225x300.jpeg)
