He sat in the chair, holding a bottle of sea salt, sprinkling it over the steak, with a freshly opened bottle of red wine beside him.

Behind him was a massive pitch-black void, so deep it seemed bottomless.

"I knew you'd be home for dinner, so I didn't prepare a portion for you."

He stabbed a piece of steak with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing softly: "What are you standing there for? Go on."

Gu Jianlin was stunned, then suddenly burst into helpless laughter.

"Thanks, senior brother."

Seeing the other's appearance had finally lifted the weight off his heart.

"No need to thank me."

Jing Ci said with a faint smile, "The reason the little girl didn't reply to your messages is that she fell asleep at home. After all, she was badly injured and needs proper rest; she's probably sleeping like the dead."

Gu Jianlin remained silent. To outsiders, it might have seemed as though his senior brother had a talent for profiling, knowing just about everything.

"It's not that I know everything. It's that when you care about someone, you show it too clearly."

Jing Ci paused briefly, then suddenly looked up at the strikingly beautiful attendants and said with a smile, "Go back and tell Wang Taisheng—don't play these silly games again. No one can restrict my junior brother's personal freedom unless... he wants to join his useless son in the critical care ward for a duet."

As soon as he finished speaking, the massive black hole swallowed everything.

When the darkness faded, the martial arts arena was completely empty.

The attendants exchanged uneasy glances, each seeing fear in the other's eyes.

Black Cloud City had already been sealed, even its dimensions had been locked down.

This was all to guard against the time-space abilities of the Ghost Slayer Path.

How could this person casually perform time-space travel?

·

·

At eight-thirty in the morning, the sound of the apartment door opening echoed through the home.

"Zhuzhu, your dad and I are heading to work now. Don't sleep in too late. Get up early and eat something."

Shi Jing, noticing her daughter hadn't looked well the night before, assumed it was due to her period again. Before leaving, she thoughtfully prepared breakfast, boiled a kettle, and left a box of painkillers on the table.

As for her father, being a typical man, the best he could offer was: "Drink more water!"

With a click, the door shut behind them.

Su Youzhu groggily sat up in bed. Her pale aqua short hair cascaded over her shoulders, her powdery white nightgown rumpled from sleep. One shoulder strap had slipped down, revealing a smooth, rounded shoulder and a refined collarbone.

She had gone through so much the night before that she had collapsed into bed as soon as she got home.

Fortunately, the side effects of the Yin Yang Twin Jade hadn't kicked in yet. Otherwise, she might have been crying out in pain and sent to the hospital by her clueless parents, leading to an avalanche of misunderstandings.

She casually picked up a glass of water, took a few sips, and instinctively reached for her phone.

Then she froze.

On WeChat, there were over several hundred unread messages.

Scrolling up to the very top, the first message dated back twelve hours ago.

Someone had been messaging her constantly over the past twelve hours, trying to check on her condition.

Unfortunately, she had slept through it and didn't hear a thing.

Otherwise, no matter how sleepy she was, she would have made a video call to him.

Su Youzhu looked at the messages; she could clearly feel how important she was to him.

But straight men would be straight men.

The first message: "Are you there?"

Every message afterward was just a smile emoji.

Su Youzhu didn't know whether she should be happy or annoyed. Initially, she had been groggy from waking up, but seeing the string of smile emojis had fully awakened her in irritation.

Fine, he was probably mad too.

Because she had been reckless in the Qilin Immortal Palace.

Hoping for sweet words from that guy? Impossible in this lifetime.

She was just about to reply when the sound of keys turning came from outside the door.

Bam!

The door was pushed open forcefully.

Gu Jianlin leaned against the doorframe, panting lightly. To avoid being spotted by neighbors, his senior brother had opened a time-space portal directly to the rooftop. Saving time, he had jumped straight down from the eighth floor.

After cushioning his fall several times, he landed steadily.

He didn't even know what kind of mood he was in when he opened that door.

The closer he got to home, the faster his heart raced.

Even though he knew she was fine, the inability to see her made him inexplicably anxious.

More chaotic than when he woke up from a car accident three months ago.

More nerve-wracking than the moment he first awakened from the Qilin Immortal Palace's tomb.

More intense than the life-and-death trials he had faced in the past few months.

But when he finally saw the girl in the room, everything seemed to settle.

Sunlight streamed through the window. Su Youzhu sat duck-like on the soft bed, her pale aqua short hair softly curled, her snowy shoulders and collarbone catching the sunlight. Her face remained as pristine as an icy snowfield, her beautiful eyes clear and lively.

As if reflecting his worried appearance.

"Are you planning to just stand there in the doorway?"

Su Youzhu glanced sideways at him and said seriously, "Aren't you going to consider coming over and hugging me?"

Gu Jianlin stood frozen like a statue, not moving an inch. The door, prompted by inertia, closed gently behind him.

Su Youzhu stared at him for a long time, let out a little snort, and got up from the bed.

Barefoot, she walked over to him, lifting her face that was as delicate as snow and ice.

"Gu Jianlin, is it really that hard to take the initiative just once?"

Su Youzhu puffed her cheeks slightly and said coldly, "Dating and family obligations are not the same. If that strange curse counts even girlfriends, then the Night Watcher's deputy captain Han Jing would've already gone down with our mentor long ago."

Gu Jianlin gazed at her expressionlessly, saying nothing.

"Hug me if you want, or don't."

Su Youzhu pursed her lips, turning halfway around.

Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her slender waist, the warmth of a familiar touch pressing against her back.

Her cheeks blushed, her body shivered instinctively, as though sinking into soft foam—weak and powerless.

Gu Jianlin held onto her delicate frame, inhaling the familiar cool fragrance from her hair, feeling an all-too-rare sense of calm and relaxation.

"Just this once."

He suddenly spoke.

Su Youzhu gazed at the sunlight outside the window. Her lips curled into a satisfied, triumphant smile.

"You know," she said softly, "some things start with just one time and then happen countless times after that."

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