Gu Baiqing turned to stare at Mo Xuanli in astonishment, even wanting to cross his arms around himself. But with the groom’s robe torn away, underneath was just his usual black outer clothes. And it seemed no one else cared about that detail. After venting by burning the robe, Mo Xuanli only looked coldly at Ruiyao.
As if Gu Baiqing alone felt uncomfortable about such a stripping act.
Fine, maybe he was overreacting.
He swallowed down his indignation, forcing himself calm.
But very soon, Gu Baiqing found he could not remain calm.
“What do you mean we have no marriage bond? Even if it was an illusion, we’ve spent so many years together here, sharing deep feelings, falling in love. You promised to marry me, so this marriage must be completed. Otherwise, it’s just abandoning me after leading me on. Gu Baiqing, don’t tell me that after all this time you feel nothing for me. You’ve long since fallen for me, haven’t you?” Ruiyao, rejected, didn’t lash out with violence, but instead argued back.
Not fighting with fists, but with words? Shouldn’t you at least consider whether the person involved is willing to be exposed like this?
“R–Really?” the simple-minded Ji Chuling couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“Of course not! It’s all fake, right, Master?” Mo Xuanli immediately said anxiously. How could his master possibly fall for someone else? Even if it was just an illusion, his master would never so easily develop feelings. Clearly, in his master’s heart it was…
Gu Baiqing was speechless. Everything that had happened in the illusion now felt like nothing more than a long dream. His memories of Ruiyao were like a version fast-forwarded tenfold, with no sweet recollections left behind—only those few dreams… Thinking of them, his expression froze.
He hurriedly said, “Ruiyao, you know very well what our relationship was in the illusion. If not for you controlling my thoughts, I would never have appeared in the wedding hall. I don’t want to waste words. I had no feelings for you in the past, I don’t now, and I won’t in the future.”
For the sake of one-sided affection, a once-promising fairy fell this low. Gu Baiqing felt regret, but not sympathy.
It was the first time Ruiyao had heard Gu Baiqing speak such blunt and heartless words. Her crimson eyes seemed ready to bleed. She stared at him blankly, shaking her head in disbelief, no different now from Zhuo Ling before her—both clinging to self-deception.
“Fine, deny all that if you will. But what about the dreams you had in the illusion?” Ruiyao asked.
Gu Baiqing’s heart clenched. Why did it feel like he was about to be executed on the spot? The guiltier he felt, the louder he spoke: “What dreams? I didn’t dream at all.” Dreams, illusions—what was this, Russian nesting dolls? All fake.
But Ruiyao suddenly smiled with confidence. “You lie. I used succubus magic—how could you not have dreamed? You dreamed of me, didn’t you? You don’t dare admit what you did with me in those dreams? Even now, you still can’t face your own seven emotions and six desires?”
Explosive. Too explosive. Everyone was both shocked and embarrassed, sneaking glances at Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing, meanwhile, was stunned, then his brain began to buzz. Right—Ruiyao couldn’t know what he dreamed, only that the spell would make him dream such things.
Since it was succubus magic, those dreams were… Yes! They had nothing to do with his own will. Just because he had once dubbed those scenes in his mind, imagined them—once the succubus magic triggered it, they surfaced. That was all.
Hahaha, exactly! How could he possibly have “bent”? Dreamed? Dreamed of being with Mo Xuanli? Hahaha, absolutely impossible.
After regaining his memories before, he hadn’t dared think about it. Now it seemed laughable. He was clearly straight—faced with such things, he should’ve suspected sabotage first, not doubted his own orientation.
Really scared him half to death.
Mo Xuanli’s gaze was stunned, turning toward Gu Baiqing, his heart uneasy. Could it be that Master really did dream with Ruiyao…
Off to the side, Li Xiuran and Si Chun—who both “knew” of their vague relationship—didn’t know what expressions to wear. But the way they looked at Mo Xuanli was like seeing a dog suddenly realize another stray had licked its bone—simmering with suppressed anger and grievance.
At this point, none of them dared speak up. They could only watch.
“Master… what she said…” Mo Xuanli’s voice was a little unsteady. He felt as a disciple he shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t hold back.
Gu Baiqing immediately schooled his features to calm indifference, first glaring at Mo Xuanli. What was a child doing gossiping! Then he looked at Ruiyao. “I swear on my Dao heart, I did not dream of you.”
Mo Xuanli instantly felt relief. He believed his master. If Master said no, then it was no!
“I don’t believe it! You’re lying. Succubus magic allows no exceptions, and with the Passion Net’s aid—even Wuxiang Temple’s monks couldn’t avoid it. Gu Baiqing, if you had the courage to do it, why don’t you have the courage to admit it?” Ruiyao pressed frantically, as if as long as Gu Baiqing admitted to dreaming of her, she would win.
“I think you’re the one lying to yourself. Didn’t you understand what my master said?” Mo Xuanli chimed in, cheering him on.
Ruiyao snapped fiercely: “Shut up. What has this to do with you?”
Mo Xuanli faltered, his lips moving, but in the end he said nothing.
Instead, Gu Baiqing spoke: “I am not lying to myself. Your magic wasn’t wrong. I did dream. But I said it already—I didn’t dream of you. The one I dreamed of was not you.”
These words were aimed straight at Ruiyao. He wanted to shatter her delusion completely. After all, only he knew what he had dreamed. He could say whatever he wanted.
But he hadn’t expected that this one sentence would provoke such a massive reaction from everyone present.
Ruiyao froze, staring at him blankly. With her daze, the very space seemed to tremble, showing just how great the blow was.
He admitted he dreamed, but the person wasn’t her. That meant there was someone else in Gu Baiqing’s heart? Even if not love, at least desire, at least someone who stirred his emotions?
Ruiyao could not accept it.
Mo Xuanli, beside them, was stunned at first—then his face flushed red. His master’s forthrightness left the answer plain.
Li Xiuran and Si Chun reacted differently. Li Xiuran believed the master and disciple already had a deep bond, so his thoughts immediately aligned with Mo Xuanli’s. But Si Chun had only ever suspected Mo Xuanli’s one-sided feelings for his master; she had never known what the master thought. Hearing Gu Baiqing’s words, she felt both curiosity and worry. Curious whether the two truly shared feelings, worried whether Mo Xuanli—who had once gazed at his master with such deep devotion—would end up wounded by love.
Ji Chuling had nothing to add, just a face full of gossip. Three Bean was nothing but question marks.
“Impossible…” Ruiyao snapped out of it, suddenly shaking her head violently. Then, with a crazed glare at Gu Baiqing, she screamed, “Who! Tell me who it is!”
How could she resign herself? Back when she was still a fairy, she believed no one was more suited to Gu Baiqing than herself. Denied her plea for love, she fell into demonhood, absorbing the loves and hatreds of infatuated men and women across the world, turning into a Love Demon. She swore one day she would drag the whole world into obsession with love—make everyone suffer its pain, until all went mad for it, as she had.
Especially with Gu Baiqing—she wanted to become strong enough to drag Gu Baiqing down with her, to lure him into falling into demonic obsession, to make him drown in love and desire, unable to extricate himself.
But Ruiyao never expected that she didn’t need to use such extreme methods as turning him into a demon. Gu Baiqing had already developed emotions and desires. He could calmly face the fact that someone else appeared in his dreams—completely contrary to his former path of a heart clear of distractions and a ruthless Dao.
She could not accept this. She wanted Gu Baiqing’s only obsession to be herself.
“Love demon. We… are not even familiar.” Gu Baiqing said coldly, not even calling her by name anymore. With a lift of his hand, thunder crashed down—he attacked directly.
Ruiyao’s face suddenly changed.
Everyone joined forces, knowing that they had to defeat Ruiyao if they wanted to escape.
But one thing Ruiyao had said before was true: here, even if a finishing move struck her vital point, the damage would be greatly reduced. And now, with her plan’s failure, she had fallen into madness, her power doubling.
The more crazed the demons became, the stronger their demonic energy, and the more terrifying they were.
Although the fight was fierce, no one could hurt the other, and a stalemate arose.
Meanwhile, Gu Baiqing’s replenished spiritual power was simply not enough to keep up in this environment against such a master. At times, he even had to exchange points to sustain himself. Watching his spiritual power slowly rise while being consumed rapidly, Gu Baiqing had only one thought—d*mn, the outlet outside is too weak, charging is too slow, and spending points hurts!
After the Red String was wiped out again, Ruiyao suddenly shot into the sky and began forming hand seals. Everyone tried to chase after her but was blocked by an invisible force.
“She’s about to alter the illusion. That will put us at a disadvantage. If we’re separated, she can defeat us one by one,” Mo Xuanli immediately said. “We must get out of here before she makes her move.”
“But no, my spells can attack, but their power isn’t strong enough,” Ji Chuling said anxiously.
“If there’s any way, everyone try. If sacrifice is needed, I’ll be the first,” Si Chun said grimly.
Li Xiuran’s face darkened slightly, as if hesitating over something.
At the side, Gu Baiqing was also trying to think of a way—his method, naturally, was to rely on the system.
As usual, he directly exchanged for a strategy pouch. Though every pouch left him speechless, they always provided new ideas, so it was worth listening.
System: 【Congratulations, host, you have obtained one strategy pouch. For your current trouble, three solutions are available.】
System: 【Option one: Satisfy her.】
Gu Baiqing: ???
System: 【The love demon’s wish is for you to love her. So, pretend to love her—hold a wedding, enter the bridal chamber. Once she is satisfied, the illusionary net will easily collapse.】
Gu Baiqing: I just rejected her, okay? Even if I didn’t, I can’t sell myself! What about my principles?!
And this was actually placed as the first, the so-called optimal solution—utter nonsense.
System: 【Option two: Agitate her. Find someone to engage in an intimate act with. Stimulate her emotions. At her current tolerance level, it must at least reach a kiss, enough to destabilize her demonic energy. Then attack to resolve the problem.】
Gu Baiqing: …Heh. Just because you didn’t mention anyone’s name, do you think I can’t see the setup? With only a few people here, who exactly am I supposed to act with? Three Bean?
The system seemed a bit helpless and muttered: 【This was originally the optimal choice, but knowing the host would never choose it, it was adjusted to option two.】
Gu Baiqing pretended not to hear.
System: 【Option three: Forceful removal. Based on current calculations, the host would need to consume 99% of his existing points to forcibly break out.】
Gu Baiqing sucked in a breath of cold air. Unless it was the last resort, he absolutely couldn’t use this—too dangerous for his own future.
Of the three, the second was actually the most suitable, but… remembering that earlier dream, Gu Baiqing’s whole body broke out in goosebumps. No way in h*ll. Better see if anyone else had ideas.
Suddenly, Three Bean spoke: “Master, Xuanli, I can’t break this place, but I sensed a moment just now when her illusion wavered. If we seize that chance and strike her again, we can definitely get out.”
Three Bean was a tricolor illusion cat, and more sensitive in such matters.
Mo Xuanli immediately pressed him for the timing, and Gu Baiqing was also curious.
Three Bean said: “It was when Master said his dream wasn’t about her but someone else. The whole illusion destabilized then. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of it at the time. If we’d all struck together then, we might have had a chance. Now it probably needs an even greater stimulus.”
Hearing this, everyone fell into thought. Gu Baiqing, however, had a bad premonition. Wasn’t this exactly option two?!
“I’ve got it! As long as Brother Mo—no, Elder Luofeng—does something to make Ruiyao jealous, like telling her who you like… no, it has to be even more serious than that, otherwise it won’t work. How about we find someone to play your lover, and act it out in front of her? While she loses control, the rest of us attack—we’ll definitely break out!” Ji Chuling said excitedly, like a director staging a love scene, even guiding the plot. “Or maybe a heartfelt confession, swearing to be together for lifetimes.”
Hearing this, Gu Baiqing wanted to kneel on the spot. Was this girl a spy sent by the system? Could we cut down on these sacrificial, forced-romance-for-the-sake-of-plot tropes?
Then Li Xiuran asked the fatal question: “Who will cooperate?!”
Although phrased as a question, everyone could guess it meant Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli—but since they wouldn’t want to say it themselves, Li Xiuran kindly provided them an out.
Ji Chuling froze. “I… I can’t. She knows we only just met, she wouldn’t believe it.” With only two women present, and her heart leaning toward Li Xiuran, Ji Chuling naturally couldn’t lend herself to sweet talk with another. “What about Miss Si Chun? To be betrayed by both her lover and her disciple—now that would be quite the stimulus.”
Li Xiuran almost slipped up, forgetting that this girl knew nothing.
But this familiar scene really stirred Mo Xuanli’s bad memories. That little girl had liked to blindly play matchmaker before—why should his master have to confess to Si Chun?
Si Chun glanced at the two of them, and suddenly a thought of gleeful revenge rose in her heart. “I don’t mind.”
The three men were instantly stunned.
Mo Xuanli looked at Si Chun, and Si Chun met his gaze with a provocative look. “It’s all for everyone’s sake!”
That lofty banner left Mo Xuanli utterly unable to put on any expression at all.
Gu Baiqing wanted to clutch his forehead in despair. He knew perfectly well that just confessing wasn’t enough. According to the system’s judgment, it had to at least involve a kiss. This plan was no good.
Just as he was about to speak in rebuttal, Three Bean already sensed the change in the illusion. Time was running out. He shouted: “Hurry, Master, there’s no time, she’s about to act—try it first!”
Try? Try with who? Definitely not Si Chun! With Mo Xuanli? Why did every critical moment have to turn into some trick like this?!
Gu Baiqing’s face turned livid, as if being forced onto the rack. Suddenly his gaze flashed toward Three Bean. Three Bean could transform into a person, couldn’t he? He was just his pet—kissing him shouldn’t matter, right? At this point Gu Baiqing’s mind was in a blur, and he thought: if Three Bean doesn’t cooperate and insists on pushing me into this trap, I’ll castrate him afterward.
Swept up in the urgency of the moment, no one could think too much—just act first. Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling were already gathering power, Si Chun went right up beside Gu Baiqing and shouted toward Ruiyao: “Master, don’t you want to know who Gu Baiqing loves? I’ll tell you now!”
As expected, Ruiyao’s attention was immediately caught by Si Chun’s words. Si Chun turned to Gu Baiqing, savoring in advance the sweetness of hearing her beloved’s beloved confess—it felt wonderful.
Mo Xuanli’s body stiffened. He felt uncomfortable, yet he couldn’t refuse to cooperate given the circumstances. The bigger picture came first! Besides, Master hadn’t spoken a single word of objection—surely he agreed, thinking it wasn’t a big deal. What right did he have to object? It was just… just his master saying sweet words to another woman… words he himself might never hear, awake or asleep… words he had given up on ever hearing. Just a few sentences—nothing that important…
Meanwhile, Li Xiuran had already signaled to him in secret, telling him to be ready to strike together. Mo Xuanli had to focus.
But in that critical instant, Gu Baiqing suddenly grabbed Three Bean’s tail. “Three Bean, you—”
Three Bean, however, had been about to leap forward to join the attack. Unexpectedly, with his tail grabbed—cats hate having their tails pulled—he reflexively lashed out with all his strength. With the tail of a tiger-sized body, Gu Baiqing was caught completely off guard. Before he could even finish speaking, he was sent stumbling.
Mo Xuanli had already been watching his master closely. The moment he saw this, he immediately rushed to support Gu Baiqing. “Master—”
Ruiyao’s gaze focused—and in an instant, she was dumbstruck.
In her eyes, Si Chun standing aside now seemed like an irrelevant narrator. The true leads had become Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli.
Mo Xuanli… of course! Since Gu Baiqing had, against all precedent, accepted a disciple—his only one—then hidden his identity to accompany him down the mountain for training, even willingly walking with her for the sake of his safety… None of this should have been the actions of that aloof Elder Luofeng. The one who had changed Gu Baiqing, who had given him emotions and desires, was this disciple. It had always been this disciple! How had she not realized sooner?
“You… you’re both men—and master and disciple at that!” Ruiyao suddenly shrieked, her voice echoing. The entire space began to quake. Sure enough, it was effective—though in the wrong direction.
In that instant, everyone panicked. What now?!
