Listening to the system prompts, Ji Xuanyuan enjoyed Gu Su Die’s “massage,” squinting her eyes in comfort.
This was all thanks to Junior Brother; she had accidentally managed to complete the binding of the Diviner Dragon Whip.
She traced circles on Chu Yuan’s chest with her fingertip, her voice as soft as melted honey:
“Since the Sovereign has abandoned you, from now on, be mine! Hehehe~! My feelings for you are genuine.”
As she spoke, Ji Xuanyuan even began to hum lightly.
In contrast, Chu Yuan remained silent. He just turned his head to look at the wall, his gaze as calm as a dead pool. The overwhelming sense of brokenness in his eyes shattered Gu Su Die’s heart into pieces, leaving not even a trace of dust.
Thinking back to its past life, it had watched that woman take away its chef; watched how that woman ignored its chef to show off in front of it. And it was always the one who got him “only when he wasn’t wanted.”
“I’m only got him when he wasn’t wanted.”
These words stabbed into its heart like a knife.
No!
In this life, Gu Su Die didn’t want this anymore.
It abandoned its pitiful pride, pounced on Chu Yuan’s chest, and grabbed his lapels with its little claws:
“Who said I don’t want my chef! Let’s make up! Right now, immediately!”
Seeing the little one’s tearful expression, Chu Yuan raised an eyebrow inwardly:
‘Not bad!’
‘Looks like my Self-Injury Plot is working well!’
Outwardly, he still pretended to be weak, confirming:
“Really? Am I hearing this right? Sovereign, you want to make up with your subordinate, right?”
A thin, watery sheen covered Gu Su Die’s vertical pupils, its voice both urgent and soft:
“Absolutely!”
Watching this man and dragon finally “reconcile,” the more Ji Xuanyuan saw, the more uneasy she felt:
‘Junior Brother’s methods… was he always this smooth?’
‘Why didn’t he use these tactics on me in our past life?’
‘Playing the self-injury card, playing hard to get—one trick after another, handling that dragon so skillfully.’
Thinking this, a strange jealousy flared up in Ji Xuanyuan’s heart:
‘Doing this… aren’t I just helping my romantic rival?’
‘No! I came here this time on Fairy Gu’s orders! I have to do something to stop this relationship between Junior Brother and this dragon right here.’
Ji Xuanyuan’s phoenix eyes narrowed. Silently circulating her cultivation technique, she began to slowly draw out the Spiritual Power from his body.
In an instant, Chu Yuan’s body stiffened. He could feel a force pulling at the Spiritual Power within him, channeling it from his limbs through his meridians to his abdomen, and then out through the Shenque acupoint at his navel.
The pain of the continuous drain of Spiritual Power forced a low groan from Chu Yuan:
“Aaah~!!!”
Though not loud, the sound was clear in Gu Su Die’s ears, and its vertical pupils contracted sharply:
“Chef, what’s wrong?!”
It brought its face close to his, its eyes full of panic:
“Chef! My chef! What’s wrong?!”
Chu Yuan didn’t answer. His brow was furrowed, a fine sheen of sweat quickly appearing on his forehead, his lips pale.
Gu Su Die panicked. It whipped its head around to glare at the red-haired Crown Princess sitting on its “cushion.”
At that moment, Ji Xuanyuan was breathing deeply with her eyes closed, her smiling expression clearly showing she was enjoying the pleasure of being filled with Spiritual Power.
“It’s you!”
Gu Su Die’s tail snapped up, lashing at Ji Xuanyuan’s back with a reckless, desperate ferocity.
The tail struck repeatedly, each blow using all its strength.
[Physique +1]
[Physique +1]
…
Facing the lashing, Ji Xuanyuan remained unmoved. She turned her head, looked at the young dragon on the verge of tears, and sneered:
“Sovereign, Sovereign! With that little bit of strength, you can’t even break through my defenses. Save your energy. At your current level of power, you won’t be a match for me even in a hundred years!”
These words provoked a furious, baby-like roar from Gu Su Die:
“Roooar!!!”
It refused to give up, continuing to lash out, but as time passed, its tail began to ache.
The more it hurt, the redder its eyes became, its face filled with the despair of powerlessness:
‘Why?’
‘Why am I so useless?’
‘Why can’t I even protect my own chef?’
The Gu Su Die of this moment felt like a powerless dragon wife, forced to watch her beloved husband be toyed with by another woman.
Finally, the tears fell, drop by drop, landing on Chu Yuan’s clothes, spreading into small, dark stains.
Soon, its tail hung limply on the bed as it lay on Chu Yuan’s chest, its vertical pupils filled with a watery sheen:
“It’s my fault… It’s my fault for being useless! It’s my fault for not being able to protect you!!!”
After the Fox Venerable was made to cry, the world now had a dragon who had also been made to cry.
Hearing the cries of this young dragon in his arms, Chu Yuan naturally felt a pang of pity.
But the situation was already set, and he was powerless to change it.
Seeing his Sovereign about to cry itself unconscious, Chu Yuan looked at Ji Xuanyuan and transmitted a sound directly into her mind:
[Your Highness the Crown Princess, even though we conspired in this Self-Injury Plot together, don’t go too far!!!]
Ji Xuanyuan raised a phoenix eyebrow, speaking with an air of entitlement:
[Too far? What do you mean? I’m also doing this on Fairy Gu’s orders, to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t fool around with other women!]
Chu Yuan was startled:
[Fairy Gu? Wan’er?]
How did she get involved in this?
Chu Yuan suddenly remembered the scene last night when, after the Divine Grade Auction ended, Ji Xuanyuan invited his childhood friend into her carriage.
What had they talked about back then?
Driven by curiosity, he couldn’t help but transmit a voice to ask:
[Last night… what did you talk about?]
The corners of Ji Xuanyuan’s lips curled up slightly.
She didn’t answer immediately but leisurely continued to drain his Spiritual Power.
Seeing Chu Yuan’s impatience, Ji Xuanyuan finally spoke slowly, transmitting her answer:
[Your Highness, I have already made things clear to Fairy Gu.]
Made things clear?
Chu Yuan was even more confused:
What does “made things clear” mean?
Made what clear?
As if she could see his confusion, her transmission carried nine parts of casual amusement:
[I told her: I’m only in a cooperative agreement with you, and I won’t snatch her A-Yuan away from her.]
[Now, I am Fairy Gu’s good bestie.]
[From now on, I will fully support your romance. Don’t worry!]
Chu Yuan listened, stunned.
Good bestie?
Support the romance?
Looking at Ji Xuanyuan’s half-smiling face, a myriad of emotions swirled within him.
Knowing this woman, he understood she couldn’t be this benevolent. This future Empress who would hold absolute power did everything with a purpose, every step concealing a calculation.
By “clarifying” things for him in front of Gu Qingwan, it wasn’t a move to help him and Wan’er get together.
So, what exactly was this woman after?