December 28, evening, Ren Suo's House.

Bai Ji stood at the bedroom door, watching Ren Suo sleeping peacefully inside, and gently closed the door.

He returned to the living room and looked at Qiao Muyi and Dong Chengling before asking, "So, do you plan to keep waiting?"

"Xiao Suo has many secrets," Qiao Muyi said indifferently.

Bai Ji was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Indeed."

As a Healing Cultivator, Ren Suo had previously defeated Zhao Huo and later suppressed Gu Yuexuan. He had even prepared a very delicious meal for them during the Winter Solstice that subtly benefited their awakened spells. Without a doubt, he harbored many secrets.

But it was normal for a Cultivator to have secrets. Or rather, as Cultivators grew stronger, they naturally accumulated more: mastering new spell-casting techniques, devising new magical methods, or evolving their awakened spells. Cultivators weren't intentionally hiding them; it's just that not everyone had the time to write a paper and submit it to the nation for some Points and bonuses.

Although Ren Suo had quite a few secrets, everyone was well aware of the kind of person he was—no one was worried that his secrets were related to 'illegal activities'.

At that moment, Bai Ji glanced at Dong Chengling and Qiao Muyi, quietly overturning the idea that 'Ren Suo would not commit a crime'—bigamy might somehow be linked to him.

However, everyone trusted Ren Suo very much. That was why no one asked or cared about his secrets, unless Ren Suo took the initiative to talk to them about such matters.

From Ren Suo's perspective, other than not having eaten for several days but looking rosier by the day—which seemed a bit odd—there were no other signs of concern. There was absolutely no need to take him to the hospital.

After all, even if they took him to the hospital, apart from a glucose drip, there was no way to get better treatment. Such a sudden sleeping disorder wasn't something that could be solved with Supernatural Ability or common medical methods.

They were not unconcerned about Ren Suo; it was just that his condition appeared too good, seeming not at all like something was wrong with him. He looked as if he had just enjoyed a full meal and was taking a nap, so they were all willing to wait a while.

"Gu Yueyan is also asleep?" Bai Ji asked.

Dong Chengling nodded and briefly explained Gu Yueyan's and Ren Suo's situation. After listening, Bai Ji asked, "Did you notify Gu Yueyan's family?"

"We notified them, and they have visited."

"Did they take Gu Yueyan away?"

"No, Xiao Yan is still under my care," Dong Chengling answered.

Bai Ji was slightly surprised. "Why didn't they take her...?"

"Because they also know that Xiao Suo and Yueyan fell asleep at the same time. They, like us, believe that Xiao Suo and Yueyan must have fallen into a special event together," Qiao Muyi said. "Rashly separating them might cause irreversible effects."

Indeed, it would be odd if there were no connection between Gu Yueyan's and Ren Suo's simultaneous sleep. As for whether this connection would be interrupted by physical distance, no one knew; no one dared to gamble on it.

Neither Qiao Muyi nor Dong Chengling had thought of this initially. Instead, it was Gu Yuexuan who expressed this concern after learning about Ren Suo's condition. After discussing it, the four of them decided to have Gu Yueyan stay as well, while Gu Wenyi returned to Sky Capital to search for information, and Gu Yuexuan stayed in Lianjiang to observe the situation.

Bai Ji also agreed with this argument and, relieved, said, "Then I can rest assured... I'll cover for Ren Suo's work and Gu Yueyan's studies. Chengling, you don't have to worry."

"But our waiting must have a deadline," Bai Ji added. "If Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan still haven't awakened, and the Tactical Bureau has no relevant cases, then let's send them directly to Sky Capital for treatment. I will pull some strings through my connections in the Yangtze Troops."

"We've also discussed this," Dong Chengling said. "Seven days—if Xiao Suo and Xiao Yan haven't awakened after seven days, Instructor Gu and I will personally take them to Sky Capital."

After clearing everything up, Bai Ji glanced at the bedroom door, said goodbye to them, and then left Ren Suo's House.

「...」

When Bai Ji reached downstairs, he came face to face with Yi Zhao, returning in the sunset, and greeted his future colleague. "Just got back from outside?"

"Yeah," Yi Zhao shrugged, lifting the cat space capsule tote in his hand to show Bai Ji the sleeping Black Bell inside. "My cat seems to be sick; it's been sleeping all the time, and my wife asked me to take it to the vet."

"Is it okay?" Bai Ji asked.

"It's fine, even quite normal. It slept a lot but seems really healthy. Cats need to sleep for over a dozen hours a day anyway," Yi Zhao said. "The vet mentioned it might be because the cat stayed up late, hence the long and deep sleep."

Bai Ji couldn't help but laugh. It sounded a bit like Ren Suo.

Could it be...

Bai Ji glanced at Black Bell inside the tote bag and mentally tossed away the absurd idea. This is a cat, that is a human; how could they be connected?

「...」

After Bai Ji left, Qiao Muyi didn't speak. She merely sat on the sofa, her arms crossed, pushing up the bunny on her chest, fixing Dong Chengling with an 'end-of-friendship' stare. Without using her hands to prop it up, she might not be able to suppress Dong Chengling with her aura.

Dong Chengling, however, was quite natural. "I couldn't hide it," she said. "Bai Ji hadn't seen Ren Suo for a few days and was already suspicious. Today, when I asked for leave on Suo's behalf, he came to me directly, suspecting that you and I had hidden Suo together. I could only tell him the truth... Bai Ji can be trusted in this regard."

"Trust is fine," Qiao Muyi said irritably, "he's not the kind to blabber. But... do you know, the so-called feelings grow deeper the more you invest? Originally, I was using this opportunity to make Xiao Suo disappear from Bai Ji's eyes. Over time, he would naturally let go of everything, but now this plan is completely shattered."

Dong Chengling was slightly startled and felt a bit ashamed. Xiao Qiao truly thinks more deeply about love than I do, and she handles these indirect methods so effortlessly.

Note to self: 'The so-called feelings grow deeper the more you invest.'

I must study hard, otherwise Xiao Qiao will definitely bully me in the future!

After all, Xiao Qiao no longer teaches me, so I have to learn on my own!

Having gained a bit more experience as a sly vixen, Dong Chengling continued to explain, "It's not that I didn't want to keep hiding it, but at that moment, he almost fought with me... He felt it was you and I who were hiding Suo, coercing Suo to make a choice."

"What do you mean?" Qiao Muyi asked.

"That we've imprisoned Suo and are asking him to choose between you and me..."

"He would definitely choose me, there's no question about that," Qiao Muyi said casually, not giving Dong Chengling a chance to refute, then asked, "Why would he have such a weird idea? Logically, shouldn't he suspect that I took Xiao Suo to live together romantically?"

Dong Chengling replied, "...But you can't make Suo lose contact."

"So he suspects you? Then why doesn't he think it was you and Xiao Suo..." Qiao Muyi paused, then realization dawned. "So that's it. You have the Ability to imprison but not the inclination, and I have the inclination but not the Ability to imprison. So, only by working together could we make Ren Suo evaporate from the Human World."

Bai Ji sure can come up with ideas... But unfortunately, it was Gu Yueyan who made Ren Suo evaporate.

The two suddenly fell silent.

Glancing at the calm Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi spoke in a relaxed tone, "However, according to Gu Yuexuan and his father's description, Yueyan is just like you, harboring certain romantic feelings for Ren Suo but still in an unrequited love stage, without having established a relationship with him."

After their detailed conversation with the Gu father and son yesterday, Qiao Muyi and Dong Chengling had naturally gained complete Insight into the mindset of the college girl who had quietly caused such a stir. Of course, under the guise of 'understanding Gu Yueyan's romantic life,' they did not reveal their own emotional affairs. Otherwise, the Gu father and son might have genuinely hesitated to entrust Gu Yueyan to their care.

In fact, Qiao Muyi had known about Gu Yueyan's crush on Ren Suo a long time ago; she used to be the love consultant for both Dong Chengling and Gu Yueyan.

Dong Chengling, now somewhat confused, asked, "I thought Xiao Yan always disliked Suo... I even worried about how to handle it if they ended up disliking each other..."

Qiao Muyi chuckled. "So, did you come up with a solution?"

Dong Chengling nodded. "I've sort of figured it out... Suo is quite soft-tempered. As long as I use a little pillow talk, he probably won't mind..."

Qiao Muyi's face darkened. Pillow talk! She's certainly thinking far ahead!

That term is actually derogatory, you know!

What girl would admit to using pillow talk on her lover!

"She used to dislike Xiao Suo," Qiao Muyi said impatiently. "But dislike and like can be interchanged. There are many examples of such bickering lovers in reality and fiction. Previously, Xiao Suo saved Yueyan at Ailan Lake. It must have been after that incident that Yueyan completely changed her feelings for Xiao Suo."

Dong Chengling had an epiphany and quickly took note: 'Dislike and like can be interchanged.'

"I thought that over time, Yueyan's feelings would fade, but instead, she's fallen deeper," Qiao Muyi sighed softly, then looked at Dong Chengling and asked, "What do you plan to do after they wake up?"

Dong Chengling blinked. "Hmm?"

Qiao Muyi continued, "Although I don't know why they're asleep, Gu Yueyan will most likely confess once they wake up; she wasn't part of the 'birthday pact' that night. What will you do if she ends up with Xiao Suo?"

Dong Chengling frowned slightly, her heart instantly tangled. She could stand her ground against Qiao Muyi because Qiao Muyi was a friend of equal standing; she had no reason to yield. But she treated Gu Yueyan like a sister, treasuring and protecting her dearly. If Gu Yueyan really...

At that moment, Dong Chengling suddenly noticed Qiao Muyi's eyes narrow slightly, a familiar slyness appearing in her gaze.

Dong Chengling immediately reacted. "No matter what I do, Xiao Qiao, you won't give up, right? If I voluntarily gave up, you would definitely be pleased to have one less competitor!"

Seeing that she had failed to trap Dong Chengling, Qiao Muyi shrugged and checked her phone. "Little Jiu is almost back. Chengling, it's time for you to cook."

Dong Chengling didn't let Qiao Muyi change the subject. "What about you?" she pressed. "If Suo already... Xiao Yan is also your friend. What are you planning to do?"

Qiao Muyi smiled and tilted her head. "Friend? What friend?"

Although Qiao Muyi tried to appear nonchalant, Dong Chengling could see that her smile had become somewhat stiff.

After thinking for a moment, Dong Chengling added, "Actually, aside from suspecting us of pressuring Suo to make a choice, Bai Ji came up with another hypothesis."

"What hypothesis?"

"It's... Ehuang and Nuying..."

Qiao Muyi was briefly taken aback, then burst into laughter. Her laughter grew louder and louder, until she was almost in tears.

After a while, she collected herself and said, "Putting aside whether Xiao Suo has the willingness or the courage... Let's assume he doesn't want to live and has both. So..."

Propping her chin with her hand, Qiao Muyi looked at Dong Chengling and chuckled. "He can hardly please one person. Does he really have the capability to become a man who can make several girls willingly fall for him... a scumbag?"

「...」

"Yes, you're right, I am a scumbag. I'm so sorry," Ren Suo said sincerely.

At that moment, he was cornered by Luna in the corridor. Luna seemed to have finally realized that Ren Suo was the so-called human scumbag and had come over to confront him. Ren Suo could only answer honestly—that's right, that's my character tag!

Luna was somewhat speechless, resorting to clumsy sweet nothings as a challenge. "I can't eat or live without you. I love you so much! Can you give me your love and be only with me forever?"

As Luna spoke, she licked Ren Suo's face. Ren Suo thought, Couldn't you at least wipe off the cream on your lips first? Ever since trying sweets yesterday, Luna just can't get enough of them.

And when you're whispering sweet nothings, you should look love-struck, not bare your little fangs like you're about to bite me!

Since I have to play along with your act, I can only pretend not to see.

Ren Suo couldn't possibly heed Luna's words, because his character tag demanded that he juggle between the two women.

Ren Suo scratched his head. "Um... by your logic, I probably don't love you, because I've never been unable to eat or sleep, or felt like I couldn't live, because of you. Hmm, never happened. So, I don't love you."

Sure enough, Luna immediately became furious enough to want a taste of Ren Suo's throat. Just then, Gu Yueyan's voice came from the kitchen. "Mr. Suo, come help wash the vegetables!"

"Coming!"

Ren Suo immediately ducked away from Luna cornering him, leaving her stomping her foot in irritation.

This new pet, why is she so thoughtless! Luna fumed internally.

Luna hadn't been too bothered by one-on-one mating displays before and had even found humans troublesome. But now she was fixated on it. I want exclusive mating too!

Why does that female get to have exclusive mating, but not me?

Does she have more fur than I do?

I know how to groom too!

It's just that when you humans 'groom,' you lick mouths... Hmph, just wait! I'll use my superior grooming skills to show you who the real master is!

It was almost time to snatch the next Silver Moon Crystal, so Luna had to put aside her grooming thoughts.

As she was leaving, the new pet called out to her and handed her a creamy white popsicle. It was round and long, exuding a cool aura and the scent of goat's milk—Luna's favorite!

Luna popped the popsicle into her mouth and discovered a sweetness different from the goat's milk. It was so delicious that she squinted her eyes and guarded the popsicle warily.

"I'm not going to take your popsicle," the new pet said, amused and exasperated. "I just made it this morning. Eat it on your way; there's plenty more when you get back. Are your wounds healed? Be careful on the road."

"Mm." Luna licked the popsicle contentedly, then stepped into the Moonlight and left to compete for the next Silver Moon Crystal.

The pet is quite nice to me. I'll groom you when I get back.

「...」

This was an extremely grim battlefield.

The gymnasium's exits were all sealed. The only opening was a Hollow in the ceiling, the very spot where they would fight for the descending silver-white beam of light. All competitors wielded Miracles and Spells, unleashing a Transcendent storm to drown any foolhardy enough to reach for the Silver Moon Crystal...

Especially that Blue Witch; who knew how many Silver Moon Crystals she had already snatched...

The Federation's five-person team, the League of Legends' Red Witch—a total of sixteen competitors were present. Everyone knew that what lay ahead would be a bitter struggle!

Luna had thought so as well, but she was extremely lucky this time. She drew a Miracle that threw the whole arena into chaos, and she seized the chance to grab the Silver Moon Crystal and escape!

However, it was only after Luna had snatched the Silver Moon Crystal and fled to a safe place that she realized she had transformed into the new pet's appearance!

She understood the Miracle: it allowed everyone within range to randomly transform into someone else. The cost, however, was that she was compelled to tell the truth.

She hadn't expected to be afflicted as well.

However, Luna didn't mind. She would change back soon, and being in the new pet's form seemed quite interesting.

Wait a minute... since I look like this now, can't I also try to mate with that female?

Hmph, then let me demonstrate to my pet what true heat is!

Just as Luna was joyfully using Moon Step to travel between buildings, hurrying home to teach her pet the correct way to be in heat, she was suddenly suppressed by an irresistible Force, freezing her on the rooftop.

A figure in white appeared before her.

She was a beautiful woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore a white dress, a Jade Pendant, and had large, clear, and bright eyes. With her small hand, she gently touched Luna's nape.

Luna didn't dare to move. She had never anticipated a time when someone would grasp her Destiny by the nape of her neck.

The woman in white caressed Luna's cheek, making Luna look at her.

She was very close, looking at Luna with a serene smile. Seeing such a smile, Luna relaxed slightly. But for some reason, as the woman in white continued to gaze at her, a murderous intent suddenly radiated from her, almost making Luna bristle with fury!

"Such an unfamiliar scent..." the woman in white whispered. "But you... who are you?"

Feeling the murderous intent dissipate, Luna immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She then looked at the woman in white and suddenly recognized her!

Isn't this my pet's pet!

My pet often gave me delicious things, and she's the one who often gives my pet delicious things!