Chapter 0: The Duoyu Stele Appears
Qin Gou once said that if Lin Youqing found herself in a desperate situation with no solutions, she could open this brocade pouch.
Lin Youqing had kept his words in mind. So, when she was taken into the Nas, and confined to Pengxin Hall by Emperor Daojun, she secretly considered this brocade pouch her only last resort.
As it turned out, all she found inside was this sharp dagger.
Qin Gou’s intention was that once Lin Youqing recognized the dagger, she would understand his true identity and then seek his help without any reservations. Who knew that Lin Youqing at that time had no freedom to contact the outside world?
This almost made Lin Youqing mistakenly believe that Qin Gou was implying that since she couldn’t even handle such a small matter, she might as well just slit her own throat with the dagger!
It wasn’t until she carefully examined the dagger, which she had once used to attempt suicide many years ago, that distant memories surged like a tide. It was by chance that she recognized another facet of Qin Gou’s identity.
The man who had changed the course of her life and even reshaped her was the same person as the Brother Qin she now admired!
And she had known this long before Qin Gou truly arrived in the Daojun Dynasty, but she had deliberately not revealed the truth.
Firstly, Lin Youqing had never been shy about expressing her obsessive longing for ‘that person’ in front of Qin Gou. It seemed now that she was like the biggest fool in the world, both embarrassing and laughable.
Secondly, she feared truly seeing the distance between herself and Qin Gou.
A person who could move so freely within the Daojun Imperial Palace years ago, and a little girl he had casually saved? It was as insignificant as a firefly compared to the moon.
Maintaining their current relationship, becoming a peculiar sworn sisterhood that outsiders might find surprising but which they could enjoy, was clearly more intimate!
These past few days.
I asked Brother Qin to play along, because I truly, truly have no interest in love and being loved.
It’s just a kiss? Such a casual thing!
I don’t care at all, after all, I’ve never seen myself as a woman!
Her methods of trying to close the distance were overly cautious, clumsy, and blunt, merely placing herself in the most humble position… Yet, the times she genuinely laughed were more than she had in years past, and she would always do so without hesitation.
Tonight, Lin Youqing fell asleep with the dagger under her pillow once again.
The difference was that the person she longed for was just outside the door. They looked at the same brilliant starry sky outside the window, and he had finally put on the Cherishing Heart Ring that matched hers.
***
One day.
Qin Gou gathered Li Yuanzhen, Little Chair, A’Yuan, and others, including Emperor Daojun Lin Boyuan.
This was because the time for Goose Return Cage to take effect had arrived. Although he didn’t know the reason or the method, the system guaranteed that the Duoyu Stele would appear before Qin Gou.
This was also one of the reasons Qin Gou had been staying in the Daojun Imperial Palace for so long. The divine elixir that Celestial Master had painstakingly researched for hundreds of years, the formula for the Great Brother Emperor Pill, could not be obtained with a simple ‘pious younger brother’ title. Brother Lin, as a Generation Realm Lord, should naturally punish evil and uphold justice, and the capable should shoulder more responsibility!
“Pious younger brother, just say what you want to say directly.” Lin Boyuan did not seem to want to change his address before Youqing was officially enthroned.
“Then I’ll get straight to the point,” Qin Gou said, touching his nose. “Someone wants my life, and they will even pursue me to your territory, Brother Lin. Can this be tolerated?”
“Who dares to be so bold?” Lin Boyuan said in a deep voice. “Pious younger brother, you don’t need to worry. Tell me truthfully, and I will handle it for you.”
Qin Gou was deeply moved and said frankly, “Burial Soul Mound.”
“What?” However, Lin Boyuan’s expression suddenly changed. “Pious younger brother, you’re not joking, are you?”
Qin Gou couldn’t help but look puzzled. Could the influence of Burial Soul Mound really be so astonishing that even Lin Boyuan feared it?
Seeing this, Lin Boyuan explained with a strange expression, “Pious younger brother, you probably don’t know that the Mouse of Longevity once signed a contract with my dynasty on behalf of Burial Soul Mound, promising not to accept any assassination requests targeting anyone within the Daojun Dynasty! Therefore, even if someone is offered a high reward, once that person enters my Daojun Dynasty, the members of Burial Soul Mound will immediately stop, unless…”
“Unless what?” Qin Gou immediately asked.
“Only when the target of the pursuit acts in a manner that angers heaven and incurs the wrath of man, and becomes utterly devoid of conscience, will they use that as an excuse to make an exception!”
Lin Boyuan asked suspiciously, “Pious younger brother, could it be that you have truly committed some particularly heinous act somewhere, and that’s why…”
“How is that possible?” Qin Gou said earnestly, “I, Qin Gou, have always been selfless and acted righteously. Don’t you, Brother Lin, still trust me?”
“That’s true,” Lin Boyuan couldn’t help but chuckle and nod slightly. “If Burial Soul Mound truly breaks its promise, then I will naturally make them pay the price for breaking the rules!”
Upon hearing this, Qin Gou smiled faintly. Just as he was about to express his thanks again, he saw that the entire sky suddenly darkened in an instant.
“She’s here.” Qin Gou felt the Goose Return Cage in his hand dissipate directly and looked up.
He saw that in the dark sky, there was only an ancient stone tablet exuding an evil aura, as if it arrogantly devoured all the radiance in the human world.
“Your Excellency is… the Duoyu Stele?”
Lin Boyuan stomped his foot, stepping into the air to confront it.
“Emperor Daojun, my calculations indicate that my person is trapped within your Daojun Imperial City, with their life in grave danger! Do you not intend to give me an explanation?” the Duoyu Stele’s voice, cold and arrogant like frost, resounded through the entire sky.
Upon hearing this, Qin Gou instantly understood. So the Goose Return Cage had actually misled the Duoyu Stele’s divination results, thereby luring her here.
“Your person?” Lin Boyuan’s eyes sharpened. “I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”
At this moment, Qin Gou, A’Yuan, and others suddenly sensed a trace of spiritual power swiftly scanning over. The Duoyu Stele’s voice was filled with shock. “You are… Qin Gou?!”
She can indeed discern my true appearance! Qin Gou couldn’t help but sigh, realizing how wise it was to have altered his appearance during his last encounter with the Duoyu Stele.
“Your true motive is indeed him.”
Seeing this, Lin Boyuan let out a cold laugh and said angrily, “The contract you, Burial Soul Mound, voluntarily signed with me stipulated that unless you receive a large number of similar requests, hold the moral high ground, and pursue truly inhumane and beastly individuals, your Burial Soul Mound must not act recklessly in my Daojun Dynasty!”
“Now, if you were to switch targets and deliberately frame someone as cruel and wicked, I wouldn’t be entirely sure. But my virtuous younger brother Qin is listed on the Saint Immortal Ranking, known as the Saint of Chu Zhou, and is the only surviving person to have undergone the Fusheng trial! For such an outstanding cultivator as him, I’d like to hear what reason you have to slander him…”
“Qin Gou!”
However, recalling the previous divination results and noticing A’Yuan beside Qin Gou, the Duoyu Stele’s voice became heart-wrenching, filled with bone-chilling hatred, and she roared.
“Whatever trick you have, make your move on me. Now that you’ve captured my A’Yuan, my only treasure daughter, what are you?!”
