The Qing Army Enters the Pass (1)

Inside Guan Ya's bedroom in the compact villa, dreamlike starlight rose. Zhang Yuanqing looked around, his gaze sweeping across the room filled with feminine touches and zodiac plushies. "Huh? Guan Ya isn't here?" At a time like this, shouldn't she be curled up on the bed hugging her knees and weeping softly? Puzzled, Zhang Yuanqing opened the bedroom door and headed downstairs, where he saw Queen and the Commandery Princess sitting at the dining table, each staring at her laptop, playing a game together online. —The Princess's laptop had been bought by Zhang Yuanqing. "Where's Guan Ya?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, pausing at the landing without going all the way down. Wearing mature smoky eye makeup, Queen turned her head and rolled her eyes at him. "You're finally back. Guan Ya couldn't reach you this morning, remember? She skipped lunch and went straight to your place to look for you. I've never seen her in such a foul mood. What on earth is going on between you two?" To Queen and Xie Lingxi, falling out of love with Yuanshi Tianzun yesterday had been a change that occurred quietly within their hearts. Just like not wanting to eat braised chicken yesterday but suddenly craving it today, it was a normal emotional shift for a human being; they wouldn't feel anything was amiss with themselves. Guan Ya was different, however. She had genuinely lost a boyfriend, which was why her reaction was the fiercest. *She went to my place? Well, that fits her personality.* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Got it." Just then, he saw Commandery Princess Yinyao turn her head, give him a look, and turn right back. "Anything you want to say?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. Commandery Princess Yinyao ignored him, focusing her attention on her game. It wasn't that she was passionate about gaming; she was just fascinated by novel modern things and wanted to experience them one by one. Zhang Yuanqing returned to the bedroom and sent Guan Ya a text: "I'm at Fujia Bay." Then he sat down at the desk, pondering what he needed to do next. The exploration of Takamagahara was temporarily concluded. The identity of Empress Wa and the secrets of the Spirit Realm were not questions that could be answered in a short time; they were long-term goals. The things to handle in the near term were his upcoming second Spirit Realm instance; contacting Good Minister Chooses His Master to Slay on Yin Ji's behalf to deal with Sect Master Chunyang; investigating the leader of the Dark Night Rose and the Night Walker among the Shadow Twins; and deciding whether or not to rescue Demonic Eye. Further down the line was Master Wuhen's sermon at the end of August, where he would meet Xiao Yuan's family. "August is already so packed, and the Xie family's crab banquet is in September..." Zhang Yuanqing pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling internally, *There really is so much to do.* Besides the monthly Spirit Realm instances, there were always endless matters in the real world. At times like this, he was truly grateful for Morality Points; without their restriction, the evil factions would be wreaking havoc every single day. Of course, the top priority right now was to win over Guan Ya and get their romantic relationship back on track. Just then, a Spirit Realm notification sounded by his ear: [Ding! Xiahou Aotian has requested permission to use...] Huh? Xiahou Aotian wanted to withdraw Dominator-level materials? No way, did this guy really fall into a trap? Zhang Yuanqing nearly burst out laughing. That was definitely something Xiahou Aotian would do. "Denied!" He certainly wouldn't grant Xiahou Aotian's request. There were currently three Dominator-grade materials belonging to Xiahou Aotian in the warehouse; whatever had been swallowed by the Hundred Refining Furnace could just serve as an expensive lesson. No matter how heavy the loss, it was better than losing his entire fortune. If the Hundred Refining Furnace's accumulated energy had already reached a high level, Xiahou Aotian would surely call him directly to ask, and in that scenario, he would naturally support him. However, based on his understanding of the Hundred Refining Furnace and his assessment of Xiahou Aotian's finances, the energy accumulation was probably only getting started. At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing's ears twitched. He heard hurried footsteps approaching. *Guan Ya is back.* He swiftly took out the Ghost Mirror and tucked it behind his lower back. *** Outside the entrance of Wanbao House stood a lonely figure. That face, which had once captivated countless young men, now possessed the stiffness of someone on the verge of passing away. His hollow eyes welled with a sorrow that seemed to stem from ancient times, practically on the verge of flowing backward into a river. It moved anyone who beheld it, stirring profound pity. Lian Sanyue glanced up outside the shop, withdrew her gaze, and went back to savoring the top-quality cigar Yuanshi Tianzun had gifted her. After a while, she glanced up again, then returned to her cigar. After doing this several times, the chaotic-neutral Dominator knitted her brows, rose, and walked to the doorway. Resting one hand on her hip and pinching the cigar with the other, she sighed: "Tell you what. I'll refund the cost of the firestones and the token. As for the commission from the antique auction, I'll only take five percent and refund the other five percent to you. "That's as much as I can do. Your materials were swallowed by the furnace, not pocketed by me. This is the absolute limit of my humanitarian aid." A spark of hope rekindled in Xiahou Aotian's hollow eyes. Thrilled, he said, "You really are a good person, Proprietress!" Lian Sanyue snapped, "This has nothing to do with being a good person." Hearing this, Xiahou Aotian grew suspicious. "Could it be you want to join my harem? But I'm not into domineering women." Lian Sanyue looked at him, her eyes brimming with pity. "I've just never seen someone so thoroughly cursed with bad luck. It stirred my sympathy." "???" *** Lingjun swirled his glass of red wine, ran a hand through his messy, unkempt, ear-length hair, and smiled. "After today, Yuanshi will truly be your cousin-in-law." Holding a cigar in his hand, Fu Qingyang said calmly, "Guan Ya will have to marry eventually. Rather than marrying into the Miller family, she's better off choosing Yuanshi. Yuanshi is very good; he isn't trash." Lingjun probed, "From what I see, that kid Yuanshi is quite the romantic at heart. He might mess around with other women down the road. What if he lets Guan Ya down in the future?" Fu Qingyang didn't reply. Picking up a cigar cutter, he clipped the tip of the cigar with a crisp *snip*. Lingjun reflexively straightened his back, only to realize immediately after: *The one who should be worried is Yuanshi. What does that have to do with me?* He relaxed once more. Pulling back from the brink in his youth and deciding not to pursue Guan Ya had truly been an extraordinarily wise decision. Not only was she a Scout herself, but the dark, tyrannical powers on her mother's side of the family were ruthless and overbearing—truly no good match for a playboy. Fu Qingyang set down the cutter, elegantly picked up a torch lighter, and toasted the cigar. Gazing into the blue flame, he said, "Guan Ya's parents were a marriage of convenience. After having her, my aunt and former uncle each went their own ways and led separate lives without interfering with each other. By the time Guan Ya was in middle school, they couldn't stand each other any longer and divorced. "Under the influence of her family of origin, Guan Ya is timid—cowardly toward fate, and cowardly toward love. "She doesn't want to end up like her parents, but she lacks the courage to rebel against the family. She yearns to choose her own romance freely, yet lacks faith in marriage and emotional bonds." The Money Prince took a deep draw from the cigar between his lips and slowly exhaled thick, velvety white smoke. "Whether she and Yuanshi can make it to the end doesn't concern me. But she needs to break through her psychological barrier, overcome her own cowardice, pursue what she wants, and take this step. That is what truly matters." How could Yuanshi's petty little scheme ever escape the grand Money Prince? "Such painstaking care!" Lingjun sighed in admiration. Then, suddenly recalling something, he said, "I heard something. My stallion of a father has been staying in the Spirit Realm lately, right? He observed that changes might be coming to the Spirit Realm soon." Fu Qingyang's gaze sharpened. "What kind of changes?" Lingjun replied, "According to the sect elders, the Spirit Realm's performance quota might expand from Dominators to Saints." The so-called "performance quota" was the term used by the major factions for the requirement that "Dominators must hunt down a certain number of enemy-faction Walkers during the last three months of the year." Was that not effectively a performance evaluation imposed by the Spirit Realm upon the Dominators? Failing to meet the quota wouldn't result in returning to the Spirit Realm, but it brought severe penalties. Currently, there was no uniform standard for these punishments: some lost experience points, some faced a massive spike in difficulty for their next dungeon, and some suffered personal afflictions—such as a Spirit Medium having their spiritual perception clouded, leaving them unable to communicate with supreme entities in the void... And other such penalties. Originally, this evaluation only applied to Dominators. Saints and Extraordinaries had to enter dungeons every month, enduring enormous pressure to survive, so they didn't need to bear additional quota pressure. Fu Qingyang frowned. "If that's the case, the conflict between Order and Evil will intensify. The Spirit Realm..." The Spirit Realm was deliberately escalating this conflict. *** The bedroom door was shoved open with force as Guan Ya rushed back like a whirlwind. She had a belly full of words pent up inside and countless emotions churning, but the moment she saw Yuanshi, she suddenly lost the urge to say anything. Seeing him brought her peace. *Phew.* Guan Ya let out a soft sigh. "I came back to pack my things," Zhang Yuanqing said, standing up and looking at her. He took the initiative to speak: "Once I'm done packing, I'll leave. I won't be staying here anymore." As he said this, his tone and gaze were exceedingly gentle and calm, as if this romance was already a reminiscence from half a lifetime ago—free of resentment and rancor, his heart as placid as still water. This mild demeanor had been deliberately sculpted using the Ghost Mirror to convey a state of mind where "no sorrow is greater than the death of one's heart." *As soon as Guan Ya sees me like this, she'll be so racked with regret that she'll throw herself into my arms, weeping bitterly, begging for my forgiveness, and then I can have whatever I want from her...* Zhang Yuanqing chuckled inwardly. Guan Ya gazed deeply at him, took a deep breath, and walked over. Softly, she said, "Yuanshi..." "There's no need to say anything more, and don't try to win me back," Zhang Yuanqing said, raising a hand in a gesture of refusal. "I thought about it for a long time yesterday. Perhaps you were right. I'm just an ordinary nobody from the grass roots, while you're an heiress of a prominent clan. We come from completely different social strata. We could enjoy the beauty of romance, but we aren't suited for marriage." Just as he finished, the long-absent tune of the Elvis speaker blared from the desk drawer: *"You were the one who wanted to break up, break up and walk away, and now you want to coax me back with true love! Love isn't something you can just buy and sell whenever you feel like it~"* *You sure know how to hog the spotlight. Still, nice track selection, very fitting for the mood...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally while maintaining his deadpan, heart-broken serenity on the outside. "Yuanshi, what I wanted to say is..." Guan Ya stepped right up to him. Staring into her boyfriend's sage-like, detached gaze, she suddenly grabbed his arm, twisted her waist, spun around, and delivered a savage over-the-shoulder throw, slamming her ex-boyfriend through the air as she roared: "What kind of tricks are you trying to pull on me this time?!" Zhang Yuanqing flew through the air as if riding the clouds, a barrage of question marks flashing across his brain. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Guan Ya's reaction was entirely beyond his expectations. Shouldn't she have rushed forward in tears, locked him in a desperate embrace, and cried: *You are electricity, you are light, you are the only legend?* The confusion in his mind didn't slow his combat reflexes. Zhang Yuanqing instantly activated Star Escape, turning into starlight to vanish before his body could splat against the floor. He reappeared right by the door, shouting, "What are you d—" Before he could finish, Guan Ya's whip-kick lashed toward his head with blurring speed. Zhang Yuanqing instinctively raised his arm to block. The bone in his arm instantly cracked. Before he could use Star Escape to get away, Guan Ya's follow-up strikes rained down in rapid succession, giving him no room to breathe. With a series of sharp smacks, Zhang Yuanqing was wrestled and pinned to the floor by Guan Ya. How could a Star Official possibly beat a Swordsman in close-quarters combat? Nor could he actually pull out items, summon yin corpses, and command spirit servants to pummel his own girlfriend. So he had no choice but to be captured in bitter defeat. "Ow, ow, ow! It's broken, it's broken, my arm is broken!" Guan Ya's long legs clamped tightly around Zhang Yuanqing's neck while she locked down one of his arms, exerting force through her slender waist and wrenching it backward with all her might. Zhang Yuanqing felt as though his arm was about to be torn right off. "If it doesn't hurt, you won't learn your lesson!" Guan Ya fumed. "What kind of trick did you play yesterday? Confess everything to me, down to the last detail, and then I'll decide whether to dislocate your arm or your leg!" "I didn't play any tricks! What tricks could I possibly have? Weren't you the one who brought up breaking up?" "Bullshit! I'm a Scout. If I hadn't figured it out by now, I might as well return to the Spirit Realm!" Guan Ya snapped. "Talk!" "It's all Fu Qingyang's fault! He cut my red thread..." Guan Ya yanked hard. With a sickening *crack*, Zhang Yuanqing's right arm popped out of its socket. She let go, pulled back her long legs, and sneered, "So you deliberately paraded in front of me yesterday, tricked me into initiating the breakup to pile on the guilt, and hoped to watch me drown in tearful regret so that I'd agree to anything you asked? "Yuanshi, do you think I've never seen a man before? That I can't survive without you?" She sneered again, stood up, dusted off her rear, and stormed out. "..." Zhang Yuanqing felt that he was still too young and naive; he had completely underestimated the sharp intuition of a Scout. *Well, tried to steal a chicken and ended up losing the rice. Guan Ya seems genuinely pissed...* Sitting on the floor, Zhang Yuanqing braced his palm against the ground and pushed down. His dislocated arm snapped right back into place. "I just wanted to do what lovers do with my girlfriend. Is it really that hard?" Zhang Yuanqing didn't give chase. He sighed, sat back down at the desk, and picked up his phone. He sent a message to Lingjun: [Yuanshi Tianzun: Mentor, the plan failed. The enemy is too formidable; this student is powerless.] [Lingjun: Guan Ya saw through your clumsy trick and beat you up, didn't she?] [Yuanshi Tianzun: How did you know? Fuck, you knew I'd fail and didn't warn me just now? Not only did you not warn me, you even hinted that I should go for it!] [Lingjun: Don't panic. Tonight, when you go to Guan Ya's room, everything will go according to your wishes.] [Yuanshi Tianzun: For real? Don't fucking bluff me. I don't want to get beaten up again.] [Lingjun: The crux of this matter is actually making Guan Ya realize how important you are. A relationship that hasn't weathered setbacks and storms isn't sturdy. People only learn to cherish what they have once they experience losing it.] [Lingjun: She's a Scout; she can see right through your little schemes with a single glance. But now that she's tasted loss, her mindset will quietly shift. She'll reflect on whether she's being a neglectful girlfriend.] [Lingjun: If her boyfriend is pushed to resorting to underhanded tricks like this, is it really your fault, or is it hers? As long as Guan Ya genuinely likes you, she will recognize her own shortcoming and make a compromise.] Zhang Yuanqing read through the messages several times and found that it made sense: [Yuanshi Tianzun: As expected of my mentor, your grasp of female psychology is consummate. Respect!] [Lingjun: Heh, don't think learning a few tricks means you can disrespect your teacher. My experience and skill will always be something you look up to.] [Yuanshi Tianzun: This student acknowledges his mistake.] [Lingjun: Go on. I hope that tomorrow, the Yuanshi Tianzun I see will be a real man.] [Yuanshi Tianzun: Mentor, lend me that soundproofing item of yours.] Lingjun thoroughly relished imparting his romantic wisdom; this pleasure and sense of accomplishment was something only Yuanshi Tianzun could provide him. Following Lingjun's instruction, Zhang Yuanqing spent the entire afternoon holed up in his room. When night fell, Queen came up to call him down for dinner, but he ignored her, using his silence to broadcast his gloom. The main reason he didn't show his face was that faked emotions couldn't deceive a Scout, so it was better not to appear at all. Having failed to summon him, Queen trotted back downstairs and returned to the dining table. "Did you two have another fight? The team leader looks like he's in a pretty bad mood." Guan Ya didn't reply. She ate with a sullen expression, zoning out from time to time. After barely taking a few bites, she set down her bowl and chopsticks and went upstairs. Commandery Princess Yinyao, who was sitting at the table reading the news, silently raised her mini-megaphone: "The Affinity Palace shows anomalies; disaster looms. Do you require me to assassinate your romantic rival?" "Huh?" Queen couldn't understand the technical jargon of a Star Official, her face blank with confusion. Commandery Princess Yinyao silently lowered the megaphone again. "So obtuse. You are not fit to rule the harem." *** 11:00 PM. The air conditioner hummed as it blew cold air into the pitch-black bedroom, the curtains drawn shut. Guan Ya tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, rolling over every few minutes until midnight, the restlessness in her heart mounting by the minute. Just then, she heard a soft *click* from the bedroom door. Guan Ya was startled, but then caught a furtive voice: "Guan Ya, are you asleep?"