At the time of lighting the lamps, the moonlight was like silver.
Inside the room, the lights were bright, with many red candles on the candle rack, emitting a faint warmth.
He Sui’an sat at the desk writing. Princess Luoyan had arranged for them to move to another room, which was more than twice as spacious as the previous one and also equipped with a desk, writing materials, and other items.
She took a book from the shelf for Qi Buyan to read, while she wrote intermittently on paper, carefully pondering the plot of the original story’s ending.
Writing it down made it easier to think.
Although He Sui’an was very confused at the moment, she knew she had to calm down and think clearly, instead of wandering aimlessly like a headless fly.
Since last night, He Sui’an had not sorted out her thoughts. Knowing that she might uncontrollably follow the original plot and kill Qi Buyan, she instinctively wanted to escape to prevent it from happening.
Apart from crying her heart out, He Sui’an had been tightly controlling her emotions the rest of the time.
She had to suppress her feelings.
She didn’t dare let her emotions fluctuate too much, so since last night, He Sui’an had restrained herself from recalling the original plot, but tonight she changed her mind. She had to think about it.
Crying was a way to vent hard-to-express emotions, but crying and mindless escape wouldn’t solve the problem. Today, He Sui’an’s wish was to change the ending.
She gripped the pen tightly, and the black ink slowly appeared on the paper:
Liu Yan caused chaos in Chang’an using Spirit Gu.
Su Yang, Shen Jianhe, Xie Wenqiao, Jiang Songwei, and others tried to stop him but failed.
He Sui’an calculated the days; Liu Yan should have already refined the Spirit Gu but still needed one thing—Qi Buyan’s blood. He had a Heavenly Silkworm Gu in his body, and over time, his blood had become different from that of ordinary people.
Someone like Qi Buyan would never let Liu Yan take his blood willingly.
He played the bone flute once again.
Unexpectedly, Liu Yan also had a bone flute and counter-controlled Qi Buyan’s poison Gu. In his late thirties, Liu Yan’s Gu techniques were unfathomable.
Before meeting Aunt Cui, Liu Yan had been diligently studying Spirit Gu. After meeting her and receiving her guidance in Gu techniques, he became even stronger, which was Liu Yan’s advantage.
In the original story, He Sui’an broke Qi Buyan’s butterfly silver chain at a critical moment.
Without any warning.
If the original He Sui’an hadn’t broken the butterfly silver chain and wasn’t there, he might not have died. Although Liu Yan’s diligently acquired Gu techniques were profound, the naturally gifted Qi Buyan was not weak either.
At that time, they were confronting each other, with no winner yet.
Qi Buyan wouldn’t care about others’ lives.
He would never let anyone control his life or death. The sound of the bone flute meant taking lives. Su Yang and the others were trapped by the flute’s sound, unable to move, and had to deal with a swarm of counter-controlled poison Gu.
Only the original He Sui’an was by Qi Buyan’s side. She wore a rare item that could temporarily block the sound of the flute, which he had found for her.
In the original story, He Sui’an abruptly broke his butterfly silver chain in front of everyone.
Qi Buyan did not stop her.
He let her break the butterfly silver chain.
He Sui’an’s actions in the original story were controlled by Liu Yan. The author did not detail how Liu Yan controlled her, only mentioning that he could remotely control people through a special Gu technique.
This special Gu technique had limits on the duration and number of people it could control. The duration was unspecified, and the number was one person. Without knowing Liu Yan’s method of control, He Sui’an had no way to guard against it in advance.
What was certain was that as long as she was present, Liu Yan would definitely use the special Gu technique on her.
Liu Yan’s purpose in refining the Spirit Gu was to control a group of people.
Those controlled by the Spirit Gu would gain extraordinarily strong combat abilities, becoming almost invincible soldiers. Liu Yan wanted to use this to revive the Great Zhou dynasty and prevent other nations from bullying Great Zhou.
However, the Spirit Gu had a flaw.
People controlled by the Spirit Gu became like puppets, losing all human emotions and knowing only how to kill. They could even kill their own family members. Of course, the combat abilities granted by the Spirit Gu far surpassed those of ordinary puppets.
The biggest flaw was that there was a possibility of them losing control. If they did, they would kill the Gu master and then all living people.
At that point, the entire Great Zhou might be destroyed, wiped out of existence.
Liu Yan believed the likelihood of people controlled by the Spirit Gu losing control was low, so he was willing to take the risk. He planned to use them to reclaim the cities Great Zhou had lost over the years, and then destroy the Spirit Gu.
The way to destroy the Spirit Gu was to kill the people controlled by it. In other words, Liu Yan would kill them after achieving victory, using their blood to strengthen Great Zhou.
Where there was one, there would be another.
Liu Yan would become addicted to using the Spirit Gu.
After destroying one batch, he would refine another when needed, endlessly.
Qi Buyan’s blood contained the essence of the Heavenly Silkworm Gu, which could significantly reduce the likelihood of those controlled by the Spirit Gu losing control. Liu Yan would not miss this opportunity.
He Sui’an felt overwhelmed.
Liu Yan’s Gu techniques seemed superior to Qi Buyan’s. In the original story, before the winner was decided, Qi Buyan coughed up blood while playing the bone flute, whereas Liu Yan showed no signs of distress and seemed to be in complete control.
If Qi Buyan rashly went to confront him, it would be exactly what Liu Yan wanted, and the one who might die could be Qi Buyan. She had to prevent this from happening.
He Sui’an had thought about leaving Chang’an with Qi Buyan, to stay away from this place of trouble.
But that was not an option.
Not to mention that others would die miserably, Qi Buyan had something Liu Yan wanted. Liu Yan would chase him to the ends of the earth, controlling countless Poison Gu to track him down.
In that situation, Qi Buyan fighting alone would be even more difficult. He Sui’an couldn’t offer much help. It would be better for him to stay in Chang’an and join forces with Su Yang and the others to eliminate the life-threatening Liu Yan first.
The candle flames flickered in the room.
A breeze blew in through the window, and He Sui’an’s eyes started to redden again, feeling a sense of helplessness from knowing the future but seemingly unable to change anything.
She sniffled lightly.
Her nose was a bit red.
The candles near the desk suddenly flickered, and Qi Buyan walked over, sitting at the desk and taking the paper filled with He Sui’an’s writing.
He couldn’t understand it, as He Sui’an had written in English. She looked up at Qi Buyan, the candlelight casting a soft glow on her skin, making it irresistibly endearing. Her eyes were bright, like stars.
Qi Buyan put down the paper without asking what He Sui’an meant, just focusing on looking at her.
The light and shadow turned them into a silhouette.
She got up slowly, like a snail.
Qi Buyan thought He Sui’an was going to go straight to bed like last night, but she suddenly reached out and hugged his waist, rubbing her head against his chest a few times.
Her hair got messy from the rubbing, but He Sui’an didn’t care. She just wanted to indulge in being close to Qi Buyan. Her dependence on him was not formed overnight but had developed over a long period.
She had just regained her memory last night.
It was hard to adapt.
Her mind was filled with the thought that the original He Sui’an would break Qi Buyan’s butterfly silver chain, and she didn’t know when she might be controlled again. Afraid of hurting Qi Buyan by getting close to him, she had reduced her contact with him.
But He Sui’an found she couldn’t do it and felt especially uncomfortable, like a wad of cotton was stuffed in her chest, making it hard to breathe. It was the first time she experienced such an emotion, one she had never felt before.
He Sui’an hugged him tighter.
Qi Buyan’s waist was right between her arms.
The young man’s waist was firm, slightly hard. He Sui’an’s arms were soft as she hugged him tightly. Due to the height difference, He Sui’an’s head was pressed against Qi Buyan’s chin, her face touching his.
Qi Buyan’s hands hung at his sides, with He Sui’an’s warmth in front of him. After a long while, he finally raised his hands and hugged her waist.
“He Sui’an.”
He called her.
Though she wasn’t crying, she answered with a tearful “Hmm,” sounding so aggrieved. Qi Buyan chuckled, his fingertips brushing through her long hair that hung down her back. “What’s making you feel so wronged?”
If the Poison Gu were so hard to deal with, he would have gotten rid of them long ago. But she was He Sui’an. When it came to He Sui’an, Qi Buyan found his tolerance strangely high.
She mumbled a few words.
Qi Buyan couldn’t make them out.
He Sui’an stepped back from his chest, and after careful consideration, decided to tell him about her restored memory. “I’ve regained my memory.”
He looked at He Sui’an’s face, calmly asking, “And then?”
He Sui’an led Qi Buyan back to the bed, where she sat cross-legged facing him, her head bowed. She spoke softly, “I am not from Great Zhou.”
Qi Buyan looked at He Sui’an’s hand still holding his. His heart stirred as he gently squeezed her palm, feeling He Sui’an’s presence. “I’m not from Great Zhou either.”
She shook her head.
He Sui’an was trying to explain, “I know you’re not from Great Zhou; you’re from the Tianshui Village in Miaojiang. But my situation is different from yours. I’m not from this world.”
Qi Buyan seemed momentarily lost.
His handsome face showed confusion, and even his gaze became unfocused for a moment.
She found it hard to continue but pressed on, “I come from another world. I know the fate of everyone here. In my world, you are all just characters in a book.”
He suddenly raised his hand to caress He Sui’an’s face, bringing his gaze back from the void to her. “But He Sui’an is still He Sui’an. You are still you… aren’t you?”
Though it sounded like a fairy tale, Qi Buyan chose to believe He Sui’an.
He believed everything she said.
And he was willing to try to understand.
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t from this world; what Qi Buyan wanted was for He Sui’an to stay by his side forever, no matter what happened.
He Sui’an habitually nuzzled into Qi Buyan’s warm palm. “Do you believe what I’m saying?” She feared he wouldn’t believe her. If someone else told He Sui’an such a story, she wouldn’t believe it herself.
Qi Buyan replied, “I believe you.”
His quick trust made He Sui’an anxious. She confirmed again and again, “Do you really believe me? Don’t you think it’s incredible?”
Qi Buyan, pleased that He Sui’an was finally being close to him again, felt a sense of joy rise from the base of his spine. “It does sound incredible, but I believe you. As long as it’s coming from you, I’m willing to believe.”
He Sui’an felt a pang in her heart. “Aren’t you afraid I’m lying to you?”
“Are you lying to me?”
He asked.
She shook her head vigorously. “Of course not. I swear, everything I said today is true.”
Qi Buyan looked directly into her eyes, his lips curling slightly in a smile that was both there and not there. “If you say you’re not lying, why wouldn’t I believe you? I believe you, He Sui’an.”
He Sui’an nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
She had never imagined Qi Buyan would believe her so completely. “Aren’t you curious about what your ending is in the book?”
