“There really was such a cave?” Yin Shaoyuan looked at the dark, dingy cave. He had always assumed that the cave’s existence was just a rumor, he didn’t expect to actually find that it existed with his own two eyes. Thinking back to the rumors that going into it would make you powerful, he turned his eyes to Jiang Shuxuan. “Brother Jiang, are the rumors true or false?”

Jiang Shuxuan was silent, pursing his lips as he looked at the cave with a grim expression. After a while, he finally opened his mouth to reply. “It’s true, but the price is high.”

“What’s the price?”

This time, it wasn’t Jiang Shuxuan who replied, but Gu Xiqiao, “Your soul.”

There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and what you pay for was usually what you get. Though the cave would give you powers beyond your imagination, from the moment you walked in, you would no longer be yourself when you walked out.

Desire, money, fame, and fortune, these were the things that most people crave in their hearts. If you couldn’t escape this circle of desire, then you wouldn’t be able to avoid temptations.

“Soul?” Yin Shaoyuan repeated, stunned. He turned to Jiang Shuxuan again, silently staring at him for confirmation, and the latter nodded his head lightly.

This was beyond Yin Shaoyuan’s scope of comprehension, he always knew that Jiang Shuxuan was not an ordinary person, and that people like him were rare. But this was the first time he had encountered something that was so strange and despicable.

“Why did it appear here suddenly?” As someone who had gone through a lot of hardships and encountered many shocking things, Yin Shaoyuan managed to pull himself together after only a short time. There were two masters in his presence after all, though his hands were still trembling slightly. “Can it be resolved?”

Gu Xiqiao looked up at the negative yin energy that was swirling above them, her eyes wandered. “Yes, and the source of the issue lies with you.”

As she spoke, her hands were also moving. “This is not really a mountain cave, but an array. Its purpose is to deliberately harm ordinary people who are directly or indirectly connected to you. The person who deployed this formation is surely someone that you know.”

As she finished drawing her formation, the cave gradually faded behind a cloudy mist.

Jiang Shuxuan, who had been standing next to her, was rubbing his fingers together. In the end, he didn’t need to do anything. This level of formation was still not dangerous, it was good practice for her.

“There’s actually someone who wants to do this to such an amazing and handsome man like me?” Looking at Gu Xiqiao’s calm demeanor, Yin Shaoyuan felt the fear that had gripped his heart lessen. He observed the foggy mist shrouding the cave, his eyes still slightly wide with shock. “Qiao Qiao, you’re also cool!”

“It’s just you that was scared.” Gu Xiqiao lowered her hands, glancing at the man lying on the ground. “Take care of this guy, he has talent, but he’s been suppressed all the while by those petty people. He can still be groomed.”

“Alright.” Yin Shaoyuan glanced at the tanned man lying on the ground, not being able to make out his face. The military rules were extremely strict, this man had fled without proper permission and had ignored the military regulations. Normally, the person would be punished or expelled when he returns to the barracks, but since the things that Gu Xiqiao said had made sense, he would let him remain in the military for now.

After surveying the area, Jiang Shuxuan came back to find the two chatting happily, his eyes narrowed. “Shaoyuan, when you get home, let aunty know about this.”

“My mom?” Yin Shaoyuan suddenly looked ill at the thought of doing so. “What’s the point of telling… Alright, I’ll tell her once I get home.”

Jiang Shuxuan turned away, looking to see that the entrance of the cave had been sealed off by Gu Xiqiao. He raised his hand. “Let’s head back.”

With a flash, the four figures disappeared instantly.

Yin Shaoyuan had wanted to say something to Gu Xiqiao, but the scene suddenly changed. As soon as he landed in his own dorm room, he staggered and fell flat on his back.

“… are you alright?” Gu Xiqiao asked, looking away, trying not to laugh.

Yin Shaoyuan: No, listen to me, this has to be that demon Jiang Shuxuan’s doing!

Jiang Shuxuan glanced at him, one elegant brow arching up, though there was a rare warm expression on his face. “Sorry, my mistake.”

“It’s fine, no worries.” Yin Shaoyuan pulled himself up and patted the dust away. “I’m a man, this pain is nothing.”

“That’s good then, go and check on your subordinates.” Jiang Shuxuan had his usual indifferent expression on his face again, his entire person radiating confidence, and every move he made was graceful and majestic in every way possible.

Yin Shaoyuan stood behind him, goosebumps appearing all over him, and he resisted the urge to rub his arms. Why was it when Jiang Shuxuan started being nice and friendly, he felt that something bad was going to happen?

***

Li Shun’s sleep was not peaceful, he had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting to do something, and his head was killing him. He wanted to open his eyes, but it was hard to do. He heard someone calling his name in his ear, and so he gritted his teeth, forcing his eyes to open.

“Ah Shun, you’re finally awake!”

Li Shun struggled to keep his eyes open, and realized that the person talking was his bunkmate. He sat up, finding that he wasn’t in his own dormitory, “Liang Zi, where am I?”

“The commander’s dorm.” The one called Liang Zi said with a bright grin, “You’re so lucky, the commander is giving you a promotion!”

“Commander?” Li Shun couldn’t react for a while, his mind muddled. He kept feeling that he was forgetting something, but it was getting more confusing by the minute. “Why does he want to promote me?”

“How would I know? Now that you’re up, hurry up and go. The commander said to meet him in the training grounds once you woke up,” Liang Zi urged.

The two scrambled for a bit before heading towards the training ground, and it was unusually lively today. There were a lot of people who were standing in a circle outside, completely unlike the usual disciplined attitude they would be displaying.

The three people standing in the middle of the field were particularly eye-catching, and the one that stood out the most was the lone girl among them. Li Shun stared hard at the pale white figure, and she happened to turn around at the same time, letting him get a good look at her face.

Her face was like a beautiful picture, perfect in every way, and she dazzled like the sun. He felt like he was blinded by her radiance.

“I feel like I’ve seen her before?” Li Shun suddenly said.

Liang Zi was standing speechless next to him. “I say, this sort of pick up method doesn’t work anymore. It’s too old school, you gotta have better and newer ones now, let brother teach you some when we get back!”

Li Shun didn’t bother to explain his words, and silently walked toward Yin Shaoyuan.

Yin Shaoyuan glanced at him, then ordered him to stand at the side. He then proceeded to call a few other names.

Gu Xiqiao stood next to Jiang Shuxuan, looking at the people that were being singled out by Yin Shaoyuan, and her breath was caught in her throat. “Brother Jiang, these people…”

“There’s no helping them.” Jiang Shuxuan sighed, reaching out to rub her head gently. “Don’t think too much about it, they made their choices.”

“Mm.” Gu Xiqiao agreed, looking down.

Yin Shaoyuan had also heard Jiang Shuxuan’s words, and he gave a sigh before handing them all over to Jiang Shuxuan, no longer caring what would happen to them.

Gu Xiqiao walked away while the two were busy, and she received a call from Luo Wenlang.

His voice was heavy, like he had given up, “I got the result from the hospital today, it’s a 99% match.”

Gu Xiqiao had already expected this result a long time ago, but hearing it from Luo Wenlang’s mouth didn’t make it any less unpleasant. She was silent for a while, before speaking, “Where are you now, I’ll head over immediately.”

“The hospital, come on over.” Luo Wenlang hung up and sat down on the hospital bench, staring at nothing in particular while he waited.

Gu Xiqiao put away her phone and walked over to Jiang Shuxuan to inform him of her intentions, he lifted his eyes to look at her. “Take my car. Xixi is inside, don’t forget to bring it along.”

“…Oh.” Gu Xiqiao was reluctant, but it looks like there was no other choice but to bring Xixi, so be it.

Yin Shaoyuan had given her the permit in the morning, and so she went to find Jiang Shuxuan’s Bugatti with the permit in hand, finding Xixi sitting on the top of the car. When it saw her, it opened its mouth to greet her, “Beauty Gu! Beauty Gu!”

“If you go six hours without speaking, I’ll give you candy.” Gu Xiqiao started the car, then gestured with her hand as a white light flashed in her palm, a brown pill appearing.

Xixi was a divine beast after all, and feeling the rich profound energy the pill held, it shut up instantly.

Finally having the silence that she wanted, Gu Xiqiao pulled the car out onto the road.

***

The military base was located in a remote area, and so it took Gu Xiqiao about an hour to reach the national highway. When she reached the exit, her car was stopped by someone.

The person who stopped her was a middle-aged man, and his smile was kind. “Miss, our car has broken down, and the tow truck is slow in coming. Could we possibly trouble you to take our young master to N City first?”

The man was not a bad person, and if it was in the past, Gu Xiqiao wouldn’t refuse, and even if she did, it would be a gentle refusal. However, she glanced at the broken down car at that moment, and even though the window was tinted, she could clearly make out the face in the back seat.

“No,” Gu Xiqiao said, her voice full of ice. Not giving the middle-aged man time to get another word in, she closed the window and drove away.

The middle-aged man was dumbfounded, and he turned his head stiffly to see that the young master had stepped out of the car, revealing a stunningly attractive face. “Young Master, I’m sorry I have failed you!”

“It’s fine.” Mu Yunfan glanced up to see the rear of the black Bugatti disappearing into the distance, some doubts in his eyes. He had seen the girl’s expression when she had looked into the car, and it seemed cold? Had he offended her in any way?

But, he had never met her in his life.