CHAPTER 424: CHAPTER 424: EMPRESS: AM I HIS BEAST GIRL TOO? (PLEASE FOLLOW)

Under the weight of that judgmental gaze, Xiao Ye felt an overwhelming pressure sweep over him, making his whole body sink as if he were shouldering a mountain of bricks.

*This woman’s really overbearing!*

*She looked gorgeous, truly beautiful, but she was a tigress—better not even graze her eyebrows.*

Xiao Ye squinted, his breathing growing a bit heavy.

The pressure from a Saint Realm Great Power was something he just couldn’t quite handle.

Ziran picked up on Xiao Ye’s awkwardness and grumbled, "Gu Qingcheng, what are you doing, this is our husband, the one we already made a contract with, not someone you can mess with."

Gu Qingcheng just shook her head, "No, even with a contract, it can still be broken."

"I asked myself, I treat you as real sisters—closer than blood—so I should think of what’s best for you."

"You—lift your head and look at me!"

Xiao Ye’s face went cold, his eyes flashing with danger as he said, "Ziran, your so-called sister? I really can’t stand her."

"You two talk, I’ll go for a walk."

He fought the urge to buckle under the pressure, spun around, and walked out of the private room.

His opinion of Gu Qingcheng couldn’t have been worse.

*This woman did whatever she wanted, wouldn’t even listen to Ziran’s opinion.*

*Who meets their sister’s husband and immediately tries to crush him with Saint Realm pressure? If he didn’t have a scrap of background, that little move would have knocked him flat on his face. Total humiliation!*

Gu Qingcheng had lost face. Her sword-like brows knit together, and she stared hard at his retreating figure, saying, "Ziran, this guy’s a bore—do you honestly like him?"

"Nobody threatened you, right?"

"If you really were forced into this, blink once, I, Gu Qingcheng, will stick up for you!"

"Even if an Emperor-level powerhouse came, I could handle it!"

Seeing her husband chased away by anger, Ziran’s lovely face darkened and she scolded, "Gu Qingcheng, you lunatic, do you have any idea how to respect people?"

"I don’t care if you mean well for me, or for Xiaobing and the others, you shouldn’t treat Xiao Ye like that."

"We all genuinely like him, no one ever forced us, and no one would even be able to."

"You know, the contract with him? We chased after him, not the other way around!"

"Xiaobing, me, and Xiaoxi—we all chased after him!"

Finished, Ziran stomped off, fuming. "Hmph, you stay here, I’m going to find Xiao Ye."

Gu Qingcheng: "..."

Her face stiffened, tea cup frozen halfway to her lips, a look of disbelief spreading across her beautiful face.

*This guy, in my close sisters’ hearts, was already more important than me.*

*She’d sensed it, and that knowledge hurt, setting off a ripple of anxiety inside her.*

*All these years, she’d been alone, burying herself in cultivation, driving back beast tides for Hang City Base City, clearing the surrounding demon beast mountains—never making a real confidant or soulmate.*

*Now, she was still alone; it had been ages since she poured her heart out to anyone.*

"Hey, Gu Qingcheng, I just zoned out for a second and you’ve already stirred up this kind of drama? What the hell is wrong with you!"

A mature, pleasant voice sounded off in her head, though it was laced with anger, clearly at her wit’s end.

Gu Qingcheng: "???"

"Why are even you blaming me? Aren’t you me? Didn’t you go through this before too? Or are you trying to scold yourself?"

That voice in her head was clearly exasperated, "Yeah, I’m scolding myself—and even more, I’m cussing you out."

"I think all this City Lord stuff’s fried your brain!"

"The way you treat your sisters’ husband, you walk around acting like the Empress, intimidating everyone—did a donkey kick your head or what!"

"Good thing I came back with the Supreme Treasure, I actually know how to fix this. Otherwise, you’d be stuck all alone forever, bitter and resentful!"

Gu Qingcheng: "???"

She felt a bunch of question marks float above her head.

In disbelief, she pointed at herself, blurting out, "Me, Gu Qingcheng—Blue Star’s number one prodigy, a Saint Realm at Perfection, got boobs and ass, and still Hang City’s top beauty."

"I’d end up all alone, a bitter wife?"

*She was starting to think her brain was toast.*

After a long silence, she gave a dismissive laugh, "I don’t buy it."

"Men who idolize the Hang City Empress could line up from Hang City all the way to Devil City. If I ever got a man, he’d probably want to stick to me twenty-four-seven, never take a step away."

Inside her Sea of Spirit, her Divine Soul form scowled and chimed in, "But do you even like any of those guys?"

Gu Qingcheng choked up, her face freezing again.

A few seconds later, she finally squeezed out, "Nope!"

Her Divine Soul version gave a cold, mocking grin, "See? The man you married is a hundred times better. If not for certain things, he wouldn’t even look at you."

"And let me tell you—not just Ziran, Xiaoxi, and Xiaobing—they all pursued him."

"You, Gu Qingcheng, also ended up chasing after him!"

Gu Qingcheng’s mouth hung open. Her worldview was being tossed and battered like never before.

After the longest pause, she finally choked out, "There’s really a man in this world better than me?"

Her Divine Soul self let loose, "Are you kidding me? You really think you’re all that? Out of all the races in the universe, right now, you’re nothing!"

"Once you see the universe out there, you’ll understand—he’s really something special!"

"Hmph, as you are now, you kept me lonely and bitter—living all alone like some crazy cat lady, and I absolutely can’t stand it."

Gu Qingcheng’s mouth twitched. Even Old Gu couldn’t stand her?

Gu Qingcheng said out loud, "I can feel all that bitterness in you."

"So you’re saying, in the future, I really become a resentful crazy woman?"

Her Divine Soul self looked embarrassed, feeling she was losing face, "Just try to fix it, all right? Unless you wanna walk down the same old road."

"Oh, and by the way, your future husband is also Xiao Ye."

"You, just like Ziran, Xiaoxi, and Xiaobing, ended up as Xiao Ye’s Beast Girl!"

Who would go around calling their past self a crazy lady—especially in front of their younger self? Did she want Xiaogu thinking she was nuts? So, she quickly changed the subject, steering Xiaogu’s thoughts elsewhere.

"Clang!"—her teacup slipped and hit the floor, tea splattering everywhere.

She stood there frozen, stunned beyond words.

*Me, Gu Qingcheng, became Xiao Ye’s Beast Girl too?*

Her Divine Soul self watched this dumbfounded expression and muttered inside, *Did I spill too much? What if I change too much now and screw up the future?*

*Forget it, I shouldn’t say more. I just need my current self to chill out a bit, dial back the bossy, stubborn attitude, so Xiao Ye wouldn’t find me insufferable.*

After weighing it out, her Divine Soul self saw her task clearly, so she spoke up,

"Don’t just stand there, Xiaogu! You don’t want your girlfriends hating you, do you?"

"Don’t worry about whether Xiao Ye’s your future husband right now. You should focus on saving your reputation with Ziran and protecting your hard-won sisterhood."

"Just remember two things. One, don’t be so overbearing. Two, actually listen to your besties. Get those down and you’ll be fine."

Gu Qingcheng felt totally irritated, yanked off the battle armor, revealing a fitted white robe underneath.

After a long silence, she stood up and said, "You don’t need to tell me, Ziran is a true friend—I’d never want to lose her."

She picked up her battle armor from the floor and set a Great Venerable High-Grade Crystal Core on the table. Then she hurried out of the Celestial Demon Inn.