Xiao Fan withdrew his pressure and replaced it with a warm, inviting smile.
"Well, since this fellow is your cousin, Yuner, then by the rule of kinship, he's my cousin too. We fought, we met—no hard feelings, right?"
As he spoke, he reached out and gently pulled Su Yiyun into his arms.
Yuner?
Su Yiyun: ???
Didn't he just say we weren't a good match? Now he's calling me Yuner?
Being pulled so close in front of someone else made her whole body itch with discomfort. She instinctively tried to wriggle away from Xiao Fan's hold—but his voice transmitted directly to her mind:
"You wouldn't want the Holy Land to find out about your demonic cultivation, would you?"
Her body stiffened. She no longer dared move, silently allowing him to do as he pleased.
Yuner? So intimate.
To Qin Feng, every syllable landed like a dagger to the heart. The spiritual pressure had vanished, but something far heavier had taken its place—a blow to the soul.
"Cousin…" Qin Feng's voice trembled. His fists clenched so tightly that his untrimmed nails pierced his palms, drawing blood.
It felt like he'd lost something precious—even though, really, it had never belonged to him.
No. She wouldn't betray me like this. He must have forced her! That's it!
"Cousin, if he's threatening you, just blink—just once! I don't care if it costs me my life. I'll tear you free from his claws!" Qin Feng cried, his face twisted in rage, as if he'd chew Xiao Fan alive if given the chance.
Xiao Fan turned to Su Yiyun with a gentle, doting look, brushing his hand affectionately along her cheek.
"Yuner, what do you think?" he asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then lifting her silky black waterfall of hair and inhaling its fragrance like it was the air of immortality.
I mean, it really does smell kind of nice—
No! What the hell am I thinking? I'm a righteous cultivator!
Su Yiyun had never been handled so tenderly before. Her legs went weak, and she unconsciously leaned into his chest.
She could no longer tell—was this coercion… or was she genuinely being drawn in?
Is this the effect of the Secret Sutra of the Enchantress? Am I… really turning into a seductress?
Qin Feng's voice barely registered anymore. She found it grating, almost irritating.
"Ugh, you're so noisy! This is my palace—can you just leave already?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Xiao Fan blinked.
Did she just… flip the switch?
Even he hadn't expected that.
As for Qin Feng—he was frozen in place, his mind blank.
She told me to leave? Me?
His grip on the pill box loosened. With a dull clack, the Shattering Illusion Pill fell to the floor, rolling across the polished jade tiles.
Xiao Fan heard a sound far louder than that: the shattering of a man's heart.
"No… this isn't real. It can't be real…"
"She's being forced. That must be it!"
"She's being manipulated! I can tell!"
Qin Feng's mutterings became more intense, as if trying to convince himself.
Then suddenly, he roared, "You dare threaten my cousin?! You'll pay with your life!"
He lunged forward, fist cocked to strike.
Xiao Fan's expression turned cold. You're the one who came crawling in here—and now you think you can raise a hand against me?
Die.
He was just about to retaliate when the soft body in his arms stirred.
Su Yiyun snapped back to her senses. What the hell am I doing?!
She saw the incoming punch, and fear shot through her veins.
No, no, no! Don't make him angry! If he exposes my secret, I'm dead!
Without thinking, she raised a hand and blocked Qin Feng's strike.
Qin Feng was stunned.
She blocked me… for him?
He stood frozen, mouth half-open, as though he'd forgotten how to breathe.
Su Yiyun wasn't thinking that deeply—she simply saw Qin Feng as immature. What grown man still resorts to fists?
She turned back to Xiao Fan, only to find him watching her with that half-smile again. He pinched her waist—not hard, but just enough to make her flinch.
The pain triggered a reflex. Her Foundation Establishment cultivation surged, and her open palm lashed out instinctively.
SLAP!
Qin Feng was sent flying three meters before crashing hard into the floor.
Already battered, his clothes torn, the new impact left him a pitiful wreck.
Xiao Fan stepped in smoothly.
"Yuner, that was a bit much, don't you think? He's still your cousin, you know. You could've shown a little mercy."
He gently cradled her hand in his palms, blowing warm breath over her fingers with great concern.
"Did you hurt your hand? That was quite a slap…"
Su Yiyun shivered.
This man is dangerous—so, so dangerous.
He was turning everything around, making it look like she had acted out of her own free will. But she hadn't! He manipulated her every step of the way.
And even if she tried to explain, would Qin Feng believe her?
No.
She was trapped.
Qin Feng staggered upright, only to see Xiao Fan still cradling Su Yiyun's hand like a lover would.
Blood rushed to his brain. He gasped. Pfft! A mouthful of dark blood sprayed from his lips.
"You… you two…"
Since when? How? She's been cultivating nonstop—when did she meet him?
Xiao Fan took a moment to deliver the killing blow.
"Dear cousin, does our love displease you? I didn't want it to be this way, but Yiyun was relentless."
"I told her love was a distraction—that I was focused on the Dao. But she said she'd rather die than marry anyone else."
"What choice did I have but to accept her feelings?"
"Isn't that right… Yuner?"
He gazed at her lovingly, the very picture of a devoted partner.
To Su Yiyun, though, that look was cold as ice. A silent threat echoed between the lines:
"Say otherwise, and I'll expose your cultivation."
Qin Feng's heart leapt. Say it's a lie! Deny it! Please!
But Su Yiyun—
She chose the path of least resistance.
She lowered her head and murmured softly, "You idiot… did you have to say it out loud?"
Xiao Fan: Huh? Did I unlock some hidden dialogue flag?
Qin Feng: ...?!
Hope bloomed and died all in one moment. His heart shattered into a thousand pieces, and the light left his eyes.
[Child of Destiny's Dao Heart has collapsed. Villain Points +800]
Xiao Fan felt his mood soar.
Now that's what I call a harvest. Only twenty points for kneeling under pressure. Eight hundred for psychological destruction. It's true what they say—emotional damage pays best.
Qin Feng rose wordlessly, limping, expression blank. He still believed that Su Yiyun had been coerced.
No reason, no evidence—just sheer blind conviction.
He walked forward again, limping but determined.
Su Yiyun stared. What the hell is wrong with him? I could be dating someone, and he acts like he's lost his entire world. Is his brain broken?
"Qin Feng, your cultivation is weak. You'd best stay on the servant peaks. My affairs have nothing to do with you."
She meant it as a reminder—out of familial obligation, if nothing else
But to Qin Feng, it proved his theory.
She still cares about me. She's just afraid to say it. I knew it! She still loves me deep down!
[Child of Destiny's Dao Heart is beginning to self-repair. No Villain Points will be deducted. Shattering the Dao Heart again will grant further rewards.]
Xiao Fan: …He regenerates? Is this guy a cockroach?
Still, a regenerating Child of Destiny was also a good thing. It meant more points to farm.
One look into Qin Feng's eyes told Xiao Fan everything—this was a classic romantic simp-type protagonist.
No, even worse—a lovesick, delusional stallion protagonist.
"Can I just kill him now?" Xiao Fan muttered, annoyed. "I really can't stand this kind of idiot."
[You can. Killing him now will not reduce your Villain Points. However, leaving him alive will allow continued point generation. Choose wisely.]
Hmph. Not worth losing three days of freedom locked in the Reflection Cave for killing a sect disciple. Better to torment him slowly.
Qin Feng glared at him and took another step forward.
Xiao Fan cracked his knuckles. You want pain? I can deliver.
As he raised a hand, Qin Feng suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
Xiao Fan held back slightly but still smacked him down, slamming him into the ground with bone-rattling force.
"What're you looking at?" Xiao Fan snapped. "Never seen a handsome man before?"
"You wanna try that stare again?"
Qin Feng didn't reply. Instead, he crawled toward something on the ground.
Xiao Fan followed his gaze.
Ah. The pill.
The Shattering Illusion Pill.
It had rolled to a corner, and Qin Feng now clutched it like a lifeline.
This was a pill he had risked his life to steal from a minor cultivation clan. He couldn't afford to lose it.
He tucked it into his robes like a dragon hoarding its treasure.
Xiao Fan rolled his eyes. You're glaring at me like you wanna fight, and it turns out you're just retrieving your little pill? What a waste of a dramatic entrance.
Just as Qin Feng turned to leave, Xiao Fan called out, "Didn't you say that pill was for Yuner?"
Qin Feng froze.
He's just using her! If I give her this pill, that bastard will steal it!
He snorted. "If you like her so much, why don't you prepare pills for her yourself?"
I'll keep this one. I'll use it to raise my cultivation. When the time comes, I'll drag you down from your throne, Holy Son. Then, only I will call her Yuner!
He turned and walked off, red-faced but grinning like a maniac.
Xiao Fan watched in silence.
Did I break his brain?
Su Yiyun, too, was stunned. That was for me… and now he's taken it back?
He used to seem so kind. But now…?
She didn't want the pill, but something about him taking it back left a bad taste in her mouth.
How did I never notice he was this petty?
A sliver of contempt rose in her heart.
[Detected: Rift forming between Su Yiyun and Child of Destiny. Villain Points +80]
Wait, I didn't even do anything. How'd I earn points again?
Xiao Fan turned to look at Su Yiyun.
Truly… a woman's heart is like the sea.
She finally pulled away from his arms, her earlier submission gone. Her expression turned calm and distant, like a sage who'd just finished meditating.
"I've helped you chase Qin Feng off. That's worth something, right? Give me the recording stone now," she said, trying to bargain.
Xiao Fan blinked.
"Did I ever ask you to cooperate?"
Su Yiyun: ??