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The man’s handsome face was filled with embarrassment, his eyes darting awkwardly, unsure where to look. After speaking, he turned around like a gentleman.
But he only turned around—he didn’t leave.
Stiffly facing away from the lake, the man stammered, "Um, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to Miao Village. I’ve been lost for a day."
A stranger asking for directions to Miao Village could only mean one thing—he was the blind date of the person in Miao Ciyu’s arms.
Miao Ciyu’s eyes turned icy, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he coldly pointed the way.
"Head north."
The man seemed oblivious to the killing intent in Miao Ciyu’s voice. After thanking him, he hurried off toward the northern part of Miao Village, his retreating figure almost like a desperate escape.
Ruan Qing had instinctively buried his face in Miao Ciyu’s chest when the stranger appeared. Hearing Miao Ciyu’s words, he looked up in confusion, his beautiful eyes filled with doubt.
This was already Miao Village, and wasn’t the north where Miao Li lived—the forbidden zone of the village?
As if sensing Ruan Qing’s gaze, Miao Ciyu lowered his eyes and gently wiped the water droplets from Ruan Qing’s face. Their intimate posture resembled lovers as he murmured softly,
"He can’t be allowed to leave alive."
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened in realization. He grabbed Miao Ciyu’s hand, trying to stop him.
Miao Village treated human life as worthless, and Ruan Qing was just as indifferent—but that didn’t mean he could so easily decide someone’s fate.
Yet Miao Ciyu’s next words froze Ruan Qing’s hand mid-air.
"If he lives, Miao Li might find out about us."
Ruan Qing stared at Miao Ciyu in shock, clearly not having considered that. His delicate face twisted with conflict as he struggled to speak.
But the words of protest caught in his throat, impossible to voice.
He couldn’t bear the thought of Miao Li learning the truth. Just imagining Miao Li’s heartbroken, disappointed gaze made his head throb and his chest tighten.
The pain was like losing the person he loved most.
And he might really lose him. If Miao Li found out he’d been fooling around with someone else the day before their wedding, he would never marry him.
Even if he married him, he would definitely divorce him eventually.
Ruan Qing finally pressed his lips together, his expression stiff as he released Miao Ciyu’s hand.
Seeing this, Miao Ciyu understood that he had accepted his decision. Even though he knew it was only because of the gu worm’s influence, he still felt displeased. A dark, barely suppressed shadow flickered in his eyes.
What right did a dead man have to compete with him? This person—his heart, his body—should belong to him alone. He should only ever break his principles for him.
Fortunately, the gu worm’s master was already dead. Getting rid of it would be much easier now.
The darkness in Miao Ciyu’s eyes faded slightly. Gently, he straightened Ruan Qing’s clothes, and only after ensuring everything was in order did he carry him out of the water.
"Be good. Wait here for me."
"I’ll be back soon."
After speaking, Miao Ciyu settled Ruan Qing beneath a large tree by the lake, then quickly chased in the direction the other man had gone. It was obvious what he intended to do.
Though Ruan Qing had silently accepted Miao Ciyu’s decision, he still instinctively reached out, as if to stop him.
But Miao Ciyu moved too fast—his fingers closed on empty air, his hand freezing mid-motion.
He watched as Miao Ciyu swiftly disappeared into the distance, his lips pressed tightly together until his figure vanished from sight.
The lake was vast. The players, hidden in the bushes on the opposite shore, went unnoticed, partly due to the dimming twilight.
But they had heard every word of the exchange, and a chill ran down their spines.
Merely witnessing a kiss was enough to warrant death—truly, the more beautiful a person, the crueler their heart.
Yet beautiful he undeniably was.
The young man sat with one knee drawn up, leaning weakly against the tree behind him. An ordinary person would have looked utterly disheveled after falling into the water, but he was different.
His hair, disheveled from tilting his head back, revealed the delicate lines of his profile. Water droplets clung to his jade-white skin like dew on magnolia blossoms after a mountain rain. His long lashes cast delicate shadows beneath his eyes, making him seem like an angel stepped out of a painting.
Despite the venom in his heart, he exuded an aura of pristine purity—so much so that one couldn’t help but feel he must have been forced into this.
Even the players began to wonder: Had he been threatened? By the man who kissed him?
Or by the man he mentioned—Miao Li?
Lost in thought, they were startled by a sudden, piercing scream—close, far too close. Right beside them.
"Ahhh!!!"
The moment Ruan Qing heard the scream, he turned toward the source of the sound. "Who's there!?"
The players could no longer afford to hide—because the one who had screamed had been invaded by a gu worm, and more of the parasitic insects were closing in behind them.
Panicked, the players sprinted toward the boy by the lake. It wasn’t that they wanted to lead danger his way—it was simply the only path available.
However, they stopped halfway when they realized the gu worms halted at the edge of the woods, refusing to advance further, as if afraid of something.
The players let out a sigh of relief, but tension quickly returned—they were now far too close to the boy. Even if he were blind, he would’ve noticed them by now.
And he wasn’t blind.
Ruan Qing stared at the sudden intruders, his beautiful eyes filled with wariness. "Who are you!?"
From a distance, his features had been blurred, but now, they were unmistakably clear.
The boy was completely drenched. His thin shirt clung to his skin, outlining his slender frame—even the contours of his chest were faintly visible.
A faint blush colored his cheeks, his damp hair sticking to his delicate face, disrupting his usual pristine aura and instead making him appear bewitchingly alluring.
He was no angel.
He was more like a seductive spirit straight out of a folktale—one whose beauty alone could charm men into willingly dying for him.
The players fell silent, all of them staring dazedly at the radiant boy. Even Mu Ye'an and Fang Qingyuan were momentarily stunned.
The boy’s voice was far too distinctive. Fang Qingyuan recognized it the moment he spoke, yet something felt… off.
Was this really the school bully Su Qing from the <First High School> dungeon?
The Su Qing he remembered was arrogant and domineering, but the worst he’d ever done was petty mischief—never something as cruel as deciding life and death.
…And he definitely wouldn’t be meeting a man in secret like this.
Meanwhile, Mu Ye'an frowned deeply. That voice—he felt like he’d heard it somewhere before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall.
The live-stream audience naturally saw this scene too. Bullet comments flooded the screen, nearly covering it completely.
[Pretty, isn’t he? Serves you right, you idiot! Shouldn’t have messed up that blind date with your nonsense! What’s the point of staring now? He’s someone else’s wife already!]
[Quit looking, Big Shot. You already rejected him yesterday—need us to remind you how? “She’s gotta~ know~ how~ to~ fly~” smirk (mocking tone.jpg).]
[Don’t lose hope, Brother Mu! Sure, you can’t marry him properly now, but you can always be the side piece! Oh wait, no—the third wheel’s taken. You’d be lucky to rank fourth.]
[Fourth? Doubt it. With how many suitors he’s got, you’d be stuck in the waiting line. And my wife’s definitely not the type to revisit old trash.]
Though the sky was growing darker, it wasn’t so dark that visibility was lost. Ruan Qing took in the gazes of the group before him, his delicate face flickering with unease and fear. He even instinctively took two steps back to widen the distance.
Their stares were unsettling—like they wanted to devour him whole.
Ruan Qing didn’t recognize these people, but his gut warned him they were trouble.
The villagers of Miao Village were notoriously cold. Even if something happened to him, no one would come to his rescue. Worse, this spot was near the forbidden northern part of the village, where villagers never ventured.
Without hesitation, Ruan Qing turned to leave—only for someone to block his path.
The man blocking him was Fang Qingyuan.
Panic surged in Ruan Qing at the sight of him. He immediately changed direction, this time breaking into a run instead of just walking quickly.
But his body was weak, and his pace was sluggish. In no time, he was cornered again—this time with every escape route sealed off.
As the group closed in, Ruan Qing retreated step by step until his heels met the edge of the lake. There was nowhere left to run.
He glanced back at the water behind him, his beautiful eyes flashing with alarm. Forcing composure, he faced the others. “What… do you want?”
The players had only meant to gather intel about Miao Village. Blocking his path had been instinctive. But faced with this fragile, terrified youth, they frowned, their thoughts straying off course.
No matter how they looked at it, this person didn’t seem capable of cold-blooded murder.
Had he been coerced, then?
Ruan Qing clenched his sleeves, his slender fingers whitening from the grip, as he stared at the unfamiliar faces before him.
Who were these people? Why were they stopping him?
Fang Qingyuan was the first to block Ruan Qing. Suppressing the gloom in his eyes, he took a step forward and smiled with gentle refinement. "Don’t be afraid. Your mother—"
Before Fang Qingyuan could finish, the short-haired girl seemed to catch a scent. Her eyes widened, and she urgently cut him off.
"That man is back."
The smell of blood on the man was strong—now even stronger. The short-haired girl had no trouble detecting it.
