Shen Xin’s eyelashes fluttered lightly as she slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was hazy, carrying the demeanor of someone just awakened. Her soft arms wrapped around Qin Weiji’s neck as she asked in a languid tone, “Husband, what’s the matter?”
She was always skilled at putting on an act, Qin Weiji thought with a silent sneer. His fingers stroked the delicate skin of her neck, causing her to tremble slightly.
But before she could attempt to soothe Qin Weiji, Gu Luoyuan spoke again, “Xin’er, it’s me. I’ve come to take you away.”
Shen Xin tilted her head to look at him, “Who are you?”
Gu Luoyuan’s expression shifted, “Xin’er…”
Shen Xin turned back to Qin Weiji, her expression innocent, “Husband, who is he?”
Gu Luoyuan’s face completely darkened as he stared at Shen Xin with deep suspicion and probing in his eyes.
Qin Weiji’s gaze also turned sinister, yet his tone remained casual and gentle as he asked Shen Xin, “What’s this? Has Yao Yao forgotten her own lover?”
“My lover?” Shen Xin widened her eyes, “Him?”
She turned to glance at Gu Luoyuan once more, scanning him from head to toe before finally saying with a troubled expression, “Round eyes and a pointed mouth – he’s a fox demon, right? Why does his human form look more like a dog?”
Gu Luoyuan’s face completely fell. Yan Jun and the judge silently retreated a few more steps, though they couldn’t help stealing another glance at Gu Luoyuan.
They hadn’t noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, there was indeed something… rather dog-like about him?
Shen Xin let out a soft humph, “Would I choose a dog as my lover? I don’t believe it.”
Then she turned her smiling face back to Qin Weiji, slightly tilting her head to plant a kiss on his chin as she said sweetly, “My only lover is my husband. Only someone as handsome as you deserves to be my lover.”
Not forgetting to compliment herself, she added, “Of course, only someone as beautiful as me deserves my husband.”
What Qin Weiji wanted was certainly not just this light kiss on the chin.
But the woman in his arms was soft and boneless, her movement of looking up to kiss him natural and intimate, her curved eyes smiling as she declared that only he deserved to be her lover.
Qin Weiji admitted that she had easily soothed him.
The anger that had surged at Gu Luoyuan’s appearance once again silently dissipated.
However, he didn’t show it, maintaining his cool expression, “Is this your proof?”
Shen Xin was no longer exasperated by Qin Weiji’s peculiar habit of constantly demanding “proof,” only resigned.
After all, she truly had no interest in putting on public displays.
Pretending not to understand his meaning, she merely frowned slightly, “What else?”
Before Qin Weiji could express dissatisfaction, she nodded to herself, “Then why not kill him.”
Qin Weiji’s eyes flickered, “Kill him?”
“Yes, kill him.”
Shen Xin didn’t hesitate, “Just like we killed Qiyuan. Then would husband believe me?”
Qin Weiji’s gaze at her deepened with meaning.
But Shen Xin’s expression remained unchanged as she sat up slightly in his embrace, casting a cold look at Gu Luoyuan in the hall, “You who tarnish my reputation and destroy my purity – tell me, how would you like to die?”
Gu Luoyuan was so shocked by Shen Xin’s reaction and words that he didn’t know how to respond. Gritting his teeth in anger, he said, “Xin’er, have you gone mad? Do you know what you’re saying?”
“Of course I know what I’m saying?”
Shen Xin curled her lips into a cold smile, perfectly embodying the demeanor of a villain as she spoke with malicious intent, “Anyone my husband dislikes deserves to die.”
Gu Luoyuan’s eyes reddened with fury. “Do you think someone like you could kill me?”
When news spread through the divine realm that Shen Xin and Qin Weiji had killed Qiyuan, he hadn’t believed it. This foolish woman had long been utterly infatuated with them, waiting only to divorce Qin Weiji. Moreover, having witnessed Shen Xin stab someone through the heart with his own eyes, he was convinced she was being threatened by Qin Weiji.
Thus, upon detecting Shen Xin’s aura in the Netherworld, he rushed over immediately. Having come this far, he couldn’t allow his efforts to go to waste now—he must obtain Shen Xin’s Spiritual Root!
Yet now it seemed Shen Xin wasn’t acting under duress but had genuinely gone mad. In that case, there was no need for further pretense. He might as well seize her directly and take her Spiritual Root.
Gu Luoyuan was certain Qin Weiji wouldn’t intervene against him. As for Shen Xin alone, he didn’t regard her as a threat.
Shen Xin rose from Qin Weiji’s embrace, smiling mockingly at Gu Luoyuan. “Whether I can kill you or not—why not test it and see?”
Qin Weiji leaned back lazily, propping his chin with one hand, his dark eyes fixed on Shen Xin without uttering a word to stop her.
Yan Jun and the judge had nearly retreated from the God of the Underworld Palace, unwilling to involve themselves in the conflicts of such powerful figures. Yet they couldn’t help but think: This newly appointed God of the Underworld hardly seemed like a righteous individual, did she?
The not-so-virtuous Shen Xin sneered again, arrogance dripping from her words. “Today, I’ll skin you like a dog and make a scarf for my husband.”
As she spoke, immense divine power surged toward Gu Luoyuan. Her figure moved with it, arriving before him in an instant. The Wooden Flute in her hand struck like a sword, aiming directly for his vital point.
No matter how incompetent Shen Xin might have been, she was still a High God. Combined with the divine power Qin Weiji had recently used to fuse the Mermaid Pearl within her, her current strength was formidable. Even without formal combat training, her raw power alone placed her among the few in the three realms who could rival her.
Gu Luoyuan, raising his hand to counter, was inwardly shocked by the sheer force of Shen Xin’s divine power. He sidestepped her Wooden Flute, gritting his teeth. “Were you pretending to be foolish all along?”
Shen Xin’s expression turned icy. “Watch your tongue. There is no ‘before’ between you and me.”
Infusing the Wooden Flute with divine energy, she thrust it toward Gu Luoyuan once more. So what if the Heavenly Dao’s favor made him hard to kill? She wanted to see just how remarkable this male lead truly was.
Shen Xin’s attacks were chaotic and unrefined, yet Gu Luoyuan found himself utterly unable to defend, forced into evading repeatedly. Realizing he stood no chance here today, he decided not to prolong the fight and turned to flee.
But the void refused to tear open. After taking two steps forward, a silver barrier repelled him with a thunderous force. Gu Luoyuan’s face paled as he glanced toward Qin Weiji, who sat calmly ahead.
Qin Weiji remained in his languid posture, offering only a cold, mocking smile in response. Meanwhile, Shen Xin had closed in again. While Gu Luoyuan was distracted, she drove the Wooden Flute, imbued with divine power, straight into his abdomen without hesitation.
Gu Luoyuan froze, coughing up a mouthful of green blood. Qin Weiji narrowed his eyes slightly, while Shen Xin stepped aside disdainfully, yanking the flute out abruptly.
Staggering, Gu Luoyuan collapsed to his knees. The divine energy ravaged his meridians from within, the pain searing into his very bones.
Shen Xin raised a brow slightly. “No need for such grand gestures. Kneeling won’t earn you my mercy.”
Gu Luoyuan gritted his teeth, glaring at her.
She merely smiled, speaking to Xiao Ai through her Divine Sense: “So this is the male lead blessed by the Heavenly Dao’s fortune. Not particularly impressive.”
Xiao Ai: […]
Stop talking. It was utterly bewildered too.
Clutching the wound at his abdomen, Gu Luoyuan turned his pale face toward Qin Weiji, breathing raggedly. “Qin Weiji, how dare you defy the Heavenly Dao?”
Before Qin Weiji could respond, Shen Xin let out a scornful laugh, radiating arrogance. “So what if we defy it?”
Gu Luoyuan shifted his gaze to her as if seeing a stranger.
She simply used her divine power to slowly cleanse the Wooden Flute in her hand, clicking her tongue lightly. “Across the Six Realms and beyond, my husband may do as he pleases. Who dares restrain him?”
A faint curve touched Shen Xin’s lips as she pressed the cleaned Wooden Flute against Gu Luoyuan’s forehead. “If the Heavenly Dao dares speak one word against him, then we’ll slay the Heavenly Dao.”
Qin Weiji’s eyes darkened abruptly, while Gu Luoyuan’s widened, surging with a terror and panic even greater than when she had stabbed him. “Shen Xin, do you realize what you’re saying?”
“Of course I do.”
Shen Xin tilted her head, a sweet smile playing on her lips. “I’m saying that today, I will skin you like the dog you are. No one can save you—not even the Heavenly Dao.”
As she spoke, the Wooden Flute gradually pressed deeper into his forehead.
In her mind, Xiao Ai screamed, 【Ahhh! Host, you’re so cool!】 Yet Shen Xin remained calm, so calm it bordered on numbness.
Initially, she had been acting—wanting Qin Weiji to trust her, to provoke him into darkness and make him a villain.
But once she truly engaged Gu Luoyuan, it felt as if some force was guiding her, incessantly urging her to kill him!
Compared to Qiyuan, the residual memories in this body clearly harbored far deeper hatred for Gu Luoyuan—a hatred that pierced to the bone!
Gu Luoyuan, kneeling before her, instantly tensed, struggling to break free but immobilized by Qin Weiji’s divine power.
Just as the Wooden Flute was about to pierce fully into his forehead, a sob suddenly echoed through the hall. “Sister, sister, please don’t kill him.”
Frowning, Shen Xin turned to see Shen Yi materialize out of nowhere.
Weeping, Shen Yi rushed to Gu Luoyuan’s side, dropping to her knees and embracing the nearly unconscious man. Tearfully, she pleaded with Shen Xin, “Sister, don’t kill him… I beg you…”
Shen Xin paused, halting her movement but not withdrawing the flute, her gaze fixed intently on Shen Yi. “Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to focus on your studies and not leave?”
Besides, with her cultivation utterly destroyed, she shouldn’t have been able to reach the Netherworld on her own.
“I… I don’t know either. I was reading, but everything went dark, and suddenly I was here.”
Shen Yi’s expression was grief-stricken. After explaining, she clung tighter to Gu Luoyuan, begging, “Sister, please don’t kill him… I promise I won’t interact with him… won’t be with him. Please spare him, alright?”
As if sensing something, the semi-conscious Gu Luoyuan slowly opened his eyes. Recognizing Shen Yi holding him, his pale face showed shock and anguish. “Yiyi…”
Shen Yi looked back at him, tears streaming like pear blossoms in the rain. “Brother Luoyuan, how are you?”
Gu Luoyuan closed his eyes briefly, struggling to regain clarity, then urgently spoke again, “You must leave… get away from here…”
Shen Yi shook her head. “I won’t go. I won’t. I’m staying with you.”
Gu Luoyuan’s expression was pained, his eyes red-rimmed. “What can you do by staying? Leave quickly—”
Shen Yi cried even harder. “I won’t… I won’t abandon you…”
Gu Luoyuan could no longer hold on, closing his eyes completely. “Silly girl, why are you so foolish…”
As his voice faded, he lost the strength to maintain his human form and transformed into his true demon shape—a fiery red fox.
Shen Yi wept as she cradled the fox in her arms, pressing her cheek against its fur while repeatedly calling its name.
What a touching scene of deep affection—truly fitting for the male and female leads.
Yet Shen Xin found it grating to watch and painful to hear the crying. She felt somewhat irritable. “Shen Yi, are you aware that Gu Luoyuan and the others have been approaching me?”
Shen Yi sobbed, “I… I know…”
After all, she often visited the Divine Realm to see Shen Xin, so of course she had noticed how frequently Qiyuan and Gu Luoyuan appeared around her.
Shen Xin nodded. “Then do you know why they’ve been approaching me?”
Shen Yi’s face paled slightly, and she gently bit her lip. “I… I…”
Clutching the fire fox in her arms, she shook her head desperately but couldn’t form words.
Shen Xin understood.
She let out a self-mocking laugh.
Of course—in the book, the men cherished the female lead profoundly and would never hide anything from her.
To prevent Shen Yi from feeling jealous, they would have told her their purpose in getting close to the original host.
She had thought the original host was foolish, but now she realized she herself had been just as foolish to believe Shen Yi was truly innocent and unaware.
In reality, even with the intellect of a ten-year-old child, she was still the female lead—she couldn’t possibly be a complete idiot.
Seeming to sense Shen Xin’s anger, Shen Yi hurriedly explained through her tears, “I did know, but I never approved of their actions. I tried to stop them. Sister, I genuinely don’t want you to separate from the Divine Lord. I don’t want your Spiritual Root. I just didn’t know how to tell you the truth. Sister, I didn’t mean to hide it from you…”
Just as Shen Yi was explaining, Xiao Ai timely displayed a segment of the original work to Shen Xin—the part where the original host was thrown into the Ten Thousand Ghost Realm. On the silver screen, black text appeared character by character:
[Shen Yi had indeed reflected that she owed Shen Xin, because Gu Luoyuan and the others loved her so deeply that they disregarded her objections and took Shen Xin’s Spiritual Root for her, rendering Shen Xin incapable of cultivation forever.
She had felt guilty and considered making amends, but Shen Xin’s hatred was too intense. It drove her to madness, leading her to commit numerous wrongs and even attempt to destroy the Six Realms to vent her resentment.
She thought Gu Luoyuan and the others were right—it was all Shen Xin’s own fault. Besides, Shen Xin had repeatedly tried to harm her, and Brother Luoyuan had only resorted to severe measures when he could no longer tolerate it.
If Shen Xin hadn’t been so foolish, if she had turned back earlier, they would have granted her peace. She wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.
From then on, the debts were finally settled, and she no longer had to carry the burden of guilt toward Shen Xin…]
To be honest, reading this made Shen Xin nauseous, waves of disgust rising within her.
So she truly couldn’t bear to listen to Shen Yi’s explanations.
She coldly watched Shen Yi’s tearful display, then suddenly curved her lips. “I can spare him for now…”
Shen Yi’s eyes lit up, but before she could rejoice, Shen Xin added, “Didn’t he enjoy taking you to watch beasts mate? Speaking of which, I’ve never seen how beasts mate either.”
An 18+ male lead should be unrestrained, right? Then she’d let him fully embody the role of an 18+ male lead.
She wanted to see—after witnessing the disgusting sight of Gu Luoyuan mating with another female beast—if Shen Yi could still cling to him with such profound devotion.
If Shen Yi could turn back sooner, Shen Xin wouldn’t mind granting her a peaceful ending.
With this thought, she turned and gazed pleadingly at Qin Weiji, who had been sitting back watching the drama all along.
Qin Weiji never realized how well he understood Shen Xin. With just one look from her, he instinctively knew what she wanted him to do.
The corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly. After a silent pause, he said nothing but raised his hand and lightly waved. Instantly, a mottled-fur fox appeared in the hall.
And it was a fox in heat, currently frenzied and aggressive.
Almost immediately, the fox detected the scent of its own kind. Its eyes darting around, it spotted the fire fox in Shen Yi’s arms and lunged without hesitation.
With a swipe of its claws, sharp talons tore straight through the back of Shen Yi’s hand.
Shen Yi screamed in pain and let go. The already unconscious fire fox fell into the fox’s grasp.
By the time Shen Yi reacted and tried to rescue the fire fox, the two foxes were enclosed within a barrier. Unable to break through, she could only sob in despair…
Shen Xin watched leisurely until the fox mounted the fire fox’s back.
“?”
Wasn’t the posture a bit off?
Wasn’t this a female fox?
As she puzzled over this, her vision suddenly darkened.
A man’s cool palm covered her eyes. The fresh scent of grass and trees filled her senses, and his languid voice seeped into her ears like chilled water. Pressing close to her ear, he whispered, “Shen Yaoyao, is this what they call love turning to hatred?”
Shen Xin blinked and slowly turned to look at him.
Though his words weren’t particularly pleasant, he seemed to be in high spirits at this moment—like a large cat soothed into contentment, lazily retracting its sharp claws. Harmless, yet utterly captivating.
Shen Xin relaxed slightly, pouting a little. “I’ve said it—I only love my husband. Why do you always doubt me?”
Qin Weiji’s hand slid down to gently caress her cheek, his tone tender. “Shen Yaoyao, you’d better not deceive me. If I find out you’ve been lying to me all along…”
He paused, his gaze shifting ambiguously toward the two intertwined foxes, then curled his lips into a light laugh.
Shen Xin, “?”
Why did he look at the mating foxes with such a peculiar smile while saying that?
She wanted to turn and see what was really happening, but Qin Weiji covered her eyes again.
Leaning down, he pressed close to her ear, softly capturing her fair, tender earlobe between his lips. As she stiffened, he murmured hoarsely, “I’m very curious… what would Yaoyao look like beneath me?”