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Chapter Seventeen

When we arrived at Zuixianglou, it was the busiest time of day, with every seat filled and the sounds of people playing drinking games and chatting rising and falling.

Exquisite dishes overflow the carved table, and fine wine fills the golden goblets.

Fine wine goes well with beautiful women. As soon as you enter, you are greeted by beautiful women. These women must have received special training, providing a one-stop service from the moment you enter, with standard smiles, polite but not obsequious.

The person who received them knew they were invited by Jiang Zanghua and led them to the third floor, to the VIP room.

Pushing open the door, the master was already sitting in the room, with a beauty on his left and another on his right, one feeding him grapes and the other wine. Fortunately, Gu Ling couldn't see the scene in front of him, otherwise he would have jumped up and cried out in anguish, "The world is going to the dogs!"

"You've arrived, please have a seat." Upon seeing the guests, the two beauties beside him tactfully left. Realizing that they might be misunderstood, Jiang Zanghua explained with a smile, "It's just my professional habit kicking in. I was just putting on a persona for myself and thinking about how to portray a playboy who indulges in debauchery."

Zhou Yulin nodded in understanding, while Gu Ling, unable to see, kept chattering away.

The food was delicious, and the meal wasn't too awkward as Gu Ling and Jiang Zanghua chatted casually. However, the conversation eventually turned to real information. "By the way, I haven't asked your names yet?"

"I am Gu Ling."

"This young lady's name is Zhou Yulin."

"Young Master, Chen Muyao." Gu Ling finished introducing everyone. When he heard the last name, Jiang Zanghua became a little nervous and quickly asked, "Is Chen Muyao the one with those three names?"

Zhou Yulin looked at the book he handed to Chen Muyao and immediately thought to herself, "Good heavens." Wasn't this the book she had just thrown away?

It's called "The Genius Young Master Falls in Love with Me: My Sweet Wife Runs Away with Her Baby in the Human World".

It turns out that Jiang Zanghua also enjoys reading novels.

Chen Muyao's face immediately turned ugly. Zhou Yulin thought to herself, "I knew it! How could this guy accept this kind of fanfiction?" Next, this guy loudly told Jiang Zanghua, "Hahaha, you didn't expect that, did you? I'm the male protagonist in your book!" Wow, here comes the iconic scene!

Jiang Zanghua didn't notice that Chen Muyao's expression had darkened, and instead put the book away on his own. "Sigh, I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Why would the young master of the Nine Star Pavilion run to the human realm and even meet with me? How could such a thing be possible?"

Zhou Yulin: But it's definitely possible! Brother, believe in miracles, okay?

Chen Muyao, who hadn't spoken all night, spoke for the first time, "Why do you have this book in your hand?"

Logically speaking, after the last complaint, such books should have been bought up by the Nine Star Pavilion as soon as they came out. However, the one in his hand was very new, obviously the latest one—even Chen Muyao himself hadn't seen it.

The book was closed, and the author's name was prominently displayed on the cover: Swearing.

Chen Mu shook his head, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

"That's right!"

“I am the author of this book series!” Jiang Zanghua said, his voice filled with a rare sense of pride. “When I was a child, I saw the two of them working together to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path.”

Zhou Yulin: Tell me clearly who the two people are, don't omit anything.

Chen Muyao: ...

"That heroic and dashing figure was imprinted in my mind from that time. I never forgot it, so I started writing myself."

Zhou Yulin was speechless. What do you mean by "when you were a kid"? You don't look young anymore. I was only in my early twenties when I died.

"Who is Zhou Yulin?" This question could come from anyone, but it just couldn't come out of Chen Muyao's mouth.

If looks could kill, Chen Muyao would be dead a thousand times over. Zhou Yulin's eyes blazed with fury, and she clenched her fists, almost unable to resist giving him three punches.

They were classmates for many years and were hailed as child prodigies.

So Zhou Yulin was the only one who survived all those years?

You didn't even know me, Chen Muyao!

Your classmate!

Your archenemy!

Your almost-married fiancée!

When it comes to Chen Muyao, Zhou Yulin could talk on and on for three to five days. But if you ask Chen Muyao herself, well, all she can say is, "Who is she?"

Zhou Yulin grew angrier the more she thought about it, feeling more like she wanted to kill him. She had treated him as a barely acceptable opponent. She had thought that after so many years without any feelings, he should be worthy of her attention. It seemed that only she remembered all the things they had been through together. Zhou Yulin wished she could kill Chen Muyao right now.

"Zhou Yulin is dead."

"He's been dead for three years."

Jiang Zanghua's words, though calm, held a hidden turmoil: "She is a very good person."

At this moment, Jiang Zanghua looked at Zhou Yulin and said apologetically, "Although it was a bit impolite, I was quite surprised that you and that person have the same name." Jiang Zanghua's words made Zhou Yulin realize that this person had probably only seen her and Chen Muyao once when they were young, and then never saw them again.

“Zhou Yulin? If I remember correctly, she seems to be one of the disciples of the Xuanling Sect’s leader. It’s a pity that the eldest disciple, Xuan Qingxian, fell into demonic possession three years ago and accidentally killed that junior sister. It’s quite regrettable. It is said that if nothing unexpected had happened, that junior sister would have been the first disciple in thousands of years to ascend before the age of thirty.” Gu Ling had always been very knowledgeable about this kind of thing, so Zhou Yulin was not surprised when she heard his introduction.

Jiang Zanghua picked up the conversation, also quite sadly saying, "I've always wanted to show her what I've written, but it's probably impossible in this lifetime."

Zhou Yulin: ...Brother, believe in miracles, you still have a chance.

But now Zhou Yulin could only remain silent, trying to appear very sad. No, they're grieving for my death, why should I be sad?

Chen Mu asked in confusion, "You mean the two of them have a good relationship?"

Jiang Zanghua recalled, "That's natural, otherwise how would I produce grain? Would I just make it up out of thin air?"

In fact, after thinking about it carefully, Zhou Yulin realized that apart from showing some restraint in front of others, she and Chen Muyao were always fighting whenever they were in the same space, regardless of life or death. However, after so many years of fighting, she had won against Chen Muyao a few times.

There was no other reason than that the boy was only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet his swordsmanship had already begun to show its sharpness. Every move was a life-or-death move, aimed at vital points, ruthless and decisive.

Her swordsmanship was unparalleled even among the immortal sects. She couldn't even last thirty moves against Chen Muyao. This wasn't because she was bad, but because every time they fought, some strange people would appear and pull them apart.

then……

Zhou Yulin has always had a dream.

They trampled Chen Muyao under their feet and made him call them ancestors.

She firmly believed: Heaven helps those who help themselves; with perseverance and determination, three thousand Yue soldiers could conquer Wu.

"I heard that Chen Muyao and Zhou Yulin almost became disciples of the same sect. That kid was very good at hiding. He fooled everyone in the Xuanling Sect. They all thought he was an orphan from an unfortunate family." Zhou Yulin didn't mind revealing information about the past to Chen Muyao. She even had a bold idea: since he was like this, it would be fine if he just had a bad memory, but if he had a divinely ordained amnesia, that would be even more perfect.

You can lie to him later, say something like he's had a crush on you for years...

Once the script of a man pursuing a woman is written and he believes it, isn't that even more satisfying than him calling him his ancestor? Speaking of this, Zhou Yulin said mysteriously, "Actually, I heard that the young master of the Nine Star Pavilion has a white moonlight?"

Jiang Zanghua was excited; there were even inside stories I didn't know about. His eyes practically lit up as he looked at Zhou Yulin, ready to gossip. "Who? Who?!" Gu Ling was also intrigued and eagerly urged, "Tell us!"

Zhou Yulin laughed inwardly, "Ha, Chen Muyao, you've finally met your match."

I'll teach you a lesson for not respecting me.

Anyway, I'm already dead, and you're not going to jump out and say you're one of the main characters in the story.

I opened my mouth, and Zhou Yulin, without any shame or embarrassment, said, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate, discussing someone's romantic history?"

Jiang Zanghua used concise language, "It's alright, my mouth is more secure than the most secure dungeon in the world. This matter is between you and me, and there will absolutely be no fifth person who knows about it."

Gu Ling nodded in agreement, "I'm more tight-lipped than my eighty-year-old grandmother, so you can speak freely, sister!"

"Then I'll tell you, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone."

You absolutely have to tell people! You absolutely have to tell people!

“That person is…” Zhou Yulin pointed to herself, immediately earning speechless looks from Gu Ling and Jiang Zanghua. Zhou Yulin then completed the sentence, “Of course it’s not me. I’m saying that person is just a coincidence, it’s the same person as me, the Xuanling Sect’s Lingyue Fairy, Zhou Yulin.”

"What!?"

Jiang Zanghua was overjoyed and slammed his fist on the table, so excited that he stood on a stool, exclaiming, "I knew it! The CP I ship must be real!"

"I'm going crazy from coming up with plot ideas every day, sob sob sob sob, sob sob sob, sob sob sob, do you know how I survived all these years of plain porridge and water? —" Jiang Zanghua wiped away a tear.

Zhou Yulin was just about to go up and say a few words of comfort when the other person didn't even need to, immediately bursting into laughter through tears, "I've been working on this for so many years, and I was even planning to stop updating recently, but all three million copies I printed last time were sold out, including those in the market. Hahahaha, it proves that after all these years, there are still plenty of fans who ship my Yumu CP!"

"Therefore, I've been working hard to finish this novel this week, and then I'll print another five million copies! To commemorate their pure love!"

Upon hearing the figure of five million, Chen Mu shook his head, his heart skipped a beat, and his resentful eyes revealed four words: doubting life.

Why would I do something so stupid?

Chen Muyao looked at Jiang Zanghua, whose laughter had turned to sorrow, and felt a pang of sadness herself. He really was... I'm going to cry.

"Sigh, it's a pity that the sweet CP ended so tragically." Jiang Zanghua's words carried a hint of sadness. After writing CP stories for so many years, how could he not have any feelings at all? After all, he had genuinely shipped them with his own emotions.

Jiang Zanghua raised his wine glass, downed it in one gulp, and held the empty glass up to the bright moon outside the window. "Senior Sister Zhou, don't worry, if I publish a book, I'll burn the first one for you to see!"

Senior Sister Zhou, sitting to the side: ...There's really no need for that.

"Senior sister?" Gu Ling keenly spotted the blind spot. "Could it be that you..."

Jiang Zanghua nodded noncommittally, "Yes, I am Jiang Zanghua, a disciple of Elder Yun Qing of the Xuanling Sect."

"..."

Wait, Elder Yunqing?

That person who has been traveling around for half a year and can only be seen a few times.

Wow, I've never seen anything like this before.

If you live long enough, you'll see everything.

Back when she was a child, Zhou Yulin loved listening to Elder Yun's lectures. Unfortunately, Elder Yun had no intention of taking on any disciples back then, so the matter was dropped. She thought he would never take on any disciples in his life, but she never expected that the opera fanatic she was meeting was one of his disciples.

"You're all in such a hurry to leave Jinling, are you also heading to Chang'an?" Jiang Zanghua suggested, gesturing with his hand. "Since you're all going to Chang'an anyway, why don't you take me with you?"

"I'll be your bodyguard and take you away."

Gu Ling thought to himself, "As expected of Zhou Yulin, she really dares to show off like this."

“Of course I can tell you more about what you want to know.” Zhou Yulin had grasped the desire of a CP fan who wanted material, and she had made thorough preparations when negotiating with Jiang Zanghua.