Chapter 71 (End of Main Text): You Don't Need to Love Me More.

The shocking incident that occurred at the castle museum a week ago was suppressed by the Special Bureau with a heavy hand. The news only briefly reported that "the museum was closed for repairs due to damage caused by lightning strikes," and several marketing accounts that tried to dig deeper and expose the incident were shut down one after another. The online discussion was quelled before it could even make a ripple.

Occasionally, passersby would casually take a picture of the ruins, tightly surrounded by protective netting, and post it online with a comment like, "Wow, that lightning strike was really fierce; the second floor collapsed into the first." But they would soon find that the post couldn't be commented on or shared, and its popularity would quietly fade away.

However, within the circle of Xuanmen spiritual cultivation, all sorts of rumors are rampant and cannot be suppressed.

Some say that the Temple of Truth appeared in the world because its supreme authority was offended, resulting in the complete loss of cultivation and damage to the spiritual roots of more than a dozen outstanding young people, who could no longer sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and were completely reduced to ordinary people.

Some people are convinced that the messenger who revealed the supreme Dharma form fell in love with an ordinary woman, and that the woman was kidnapped in the chaos, which prompted him to take action.

At first, it was said that the woman was "pretty," but as the story spread, it became "extremely ugly," and finally, it evolved into "a monster who used sorcery to bewitch the messenger."

However, although many people privately discussed that "the Death Summoning Array is indeed unable to summon the true god," no one dared to question why the spiritual practitioners of the Temple of Truth were able to break free from the Death Summoning Array's constraints.

No one dared to criticize the destruction caused by Dawei Jiali—after all, multiple pieces of evidence showed that the primary responsibility for the harm suffered by so many young spiritual practitioners lay with the Special Bureau, and secondarily with the impetuous young spiritual practitioners who took the initiative to provoke them.

As for the Temple of Truth?

This detached being has always remained indifferent to worldly disputes. If it does intervene, there must be a compelling reason.

No one dared to delve into what the reason was.

In addition, there are various theories about the whereabouts of the Soul-Guiding Ring.

Some say that the Special Bureau had already succeeded in secretly, and that night was just a self-directed and self-acted drama, with the aim of luring out all those who coveted the sacred object and wiping them out in one fell swoop.

Some say that the Soul-Guiding Necklace has actually been seized by the New Path and is being secretly transported to a base overseas for some shocking and evil ritual.

Even more bizarrely, it is said that the Soul-Guiding Ring itself possesses a spirit, and that it took advantage of the chaos that night to break through the air and fly away to choose its master. It is now hiding in the body of a destined person, waiting for the opportunity to awaken.

Lan Shuyin had no intention of paying attention to any of these disturbances.

It's been five days.

Li Yang hasn't returned yet.

Five days ago, Li Yang suddenly called her, sounding hurried, only saying that he had to leave for a few days due to an urgent matter. In the background of the call, she could vaguely hear the conversation of special bureau personnel, and Lan Shuyin immediately understood that Li Yang had been taken away.

There was no other way; she could only pester someone who might have connections within the Bureau.

"Ah Li, did you ask? When is Li Yang coming back?"

Wei Li, who was revising the contract for her, put down what she was doing and said to her, "You already know that Li Yang is a member of the Jiuli Clan."

"So what? I just want to know if she's safe now and when she'll be back."

Having known Li Yang for so many years, how could Lan Shuyin not notice her unusual behavior? Moreover, with her Yin Eyes activated, she could see even more clearly.

A faint, dark golden aura occasionally wafted around Li Yang, unconsciously appearing when her emotions fluctuated. What bothered her even more was that, under the vision of her Yin Eyes, the surgical scar on Li Yang's chest faintly revealed an intricate and complex sealing totem.

Although the Jiuli clan and Feng Zhizhaoxue have many connections, those tangled grudges and affections, in the end—

She died young. She died in a daze. It had nothing to do with her.

She only remembered that when she had a persistent high fever, it was Li Yang who stayed up all night using wet towels to physically cool her down. She also remembered that when she first started making adventure videos and was cyberbullied, it was Li Yang who registered more than a dozen accounts and responded to those malicious comments one by one.

To Lan Shuyin, Li Yang was simply Li Yang—a good friend who would worry about her, protect her, and accompany her through the most difficult times.

Looking at her furrowed brows, Wei Li said gently, "She'll be fine. She just needs to cooperate with the investigation to clarify some old matters related to her family before she can come back."

"But it's been five days already."

"I'll ask again later." Wei Li gently took her hand and led her to sit down beside him. "Look what this is?"

Lan Shuyin was barely distracted by him. "What?"

“I know you can’t sit still and like to explore.” Wei Li handed her a document. “You don’t have to force yourself to do things you don’t like anymore. If you want to go on adventures, this is your guarantee. And if you ever want to work as a waitress again, Ni Changye will always have a place for you.”

Lan Shuyin opened the contract, her gaze suddenly stopping. "Private photographer, Wei Ji? Why is your name here too?"

“Yes.” Wei Li nodded naturally. “I will accompany you on all your trips from now on.”

Since she didn't resist his approach, he certainly couldn't continue to hide in the shadows and secretly observe her from afar as before.

He wanted to weave his presence into the fabric of her life, immersing her inch by inch, taking root day by day, until his companionship became the deepest habit in her life, something she could never let go of.

"Then why is it Wei Ji, and not Dawei Jiali?" Lan Shuyin asked, then suddenly realized, "Oh, one of them is an unregistered resident."

"..."

Kui Li reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips lightly brushing against her earlobe. "I have two answers to your question. I don't know which one you prefer."

"Oh?" "One option is that I want to stay by your side in the most ordinary way possible."

"What about the other one?"

"You like to punch people, so as an undocumented person, you can't be released on bail through the proper channels."

...

Li Yang returned two days later.

As soon as Lan Shuyin received the news, she rushed over. The sisters were reunited, and their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. They exchanged words of comfort and reassurance.

That night, Lan Shuyin decided to stay overnight.

Just after ten o'clock, Wei Li started calling one after another. Lan Shuyin nestled on the sofa and whispered to the person on the other end of the phone that she wouldn't be going back.

Kui Li expressed her understanding gently on the phone, and added softly at the end, "I'll tidy up the house and wait for you to come back."

"Tch, so cheesy." Xuan Bingbing, who was sitting right next to her and had listened to the whole thing, made a cold remark as soon as Xuan hung up the phone.

“It seems like you didn’t like him from the first glance,” Lan Shuyin said with a smile.

"That's because... because I've seen him with Li Yang before, and I even heard him threatening Li Yang!" Now that she had said it, Xuan Bingbing had nothing more to hold back.

Li Yang was surprised, "When?"

“A few years ago, right after you were discharged from the hospital after your surgery. I saw you two at the emergency exit. I heard him threatening you, saying something like, ‘If you do too many wicked things, be careful you die young,’ and something like… ‘I don’t care about your life, but when I want it, you can’t save it…’ Tch, he was so arrogant.”

Li Yang paused for a moment, then realized, "It seems that's true. However, he speaks like that to everyone else except Yin Yin."

"Anyway, they're just not likable."

“Be content. He may be a bit sharp-tongued now, but he used to be all action and no words.” Li Yang turned to Lan Shuyin and explained, “Back then, he didn’t know you. He only knew that I had been secretly looking for Feng Zhizhaoxue. I thought that his target was also Feng Zhizhaoxue, but I didn’t expect…” She paused, “He has always been looking for you.”

Regarding their conversation about the past, Xuan Bingbing sighed, "It turns out that some people are truly born evil; if they can't have something, they'll slaughter the whole family..."

“Since she’s gone, the past grievances are settled.” Li Yang interrupted calmly, clearly afraid that Lan Shuyin would overthink things; after all, she was still her sister.

This topic was thus tacitly avoided.

Xuan Bingbing sighed softly, and with a hint of regret, changed the subject, "It's a pity you missed the class reunion."

“There’s nothing to regret,” Li Yang said calmly. “He didn’t go either.”

"Huh? Why?"

"It seems like she's sick."

Lan Shuyin listened to their conversation silently, then feigned curiosity and interjected, "What's the name of your white moonlight, Tang something?"

"Tang Xiuchen~" Xuan Bingbing drawled out the words, answering for Li Yang first, and even winked at Li Yang.

"Could he be someone from the Xuanmen sect?" Lan Shuyin asked half-jokingly.

Li Yang shook her head slightly, "I don't know, but I don't get along well with people from the Xuanmen sect, so it shouldn't be."

Lan Shuyin nodded thoughtfully, then, seemingly out of pure gossip, pressed on, "Do you have a picture of him? Let me see what kind of handsome guy he is that our Miss Li can't forget."

“There’s only one graduation photo, and it’s pretty blurry,” Li Yang said, looking down and scrolling through her phone’s photo album before turning the screen towards Lan Shuyin.

The photo wasn't high resolution; it was a typical group photo. Among a group of young people in school uniforms, Li Yang pointed to a slender figure in the corner. But the profile and facial features clearly identified him as Tang Xiuchen.

Perhaps because she had been staring at the photo in silence for too long, Li Yang noticed her unusual behavior and tentatively asked, "Yinyin, have you seen him?"

Lan Shuyin hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth, "That day at the castle museum... he was the leader among that group of young Xuanmen disciples."

After he finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence.

Li Yang stared blankly at the blurry group photo, her eyes shifting with complex emotions—shock, realization, and an indescribable sense of loss.

Lan Shuyin felt a little sorry for him and tried to ease the tense atmosphere, so she changed the subject to another person, "Speaking of which, there is something even stranger... about Guan Han."

Xuan Bingbing's attention was immediately drawn. "Guan Han? What happened to him?"

Lan Shuyin carefully chose her words, suggesting that Guan Han might be a woman disguised as a man, or that her true identity and appearance were extremely mysterious, possibly related to an evil creature in some strange tales that could "fly its head" or change its form.

"No way..." Xuan Bingbing was also shocked, as if struck by lightning, and murmured, "But he hasn't come to the company for several days. We all thought something had happened to his family..."

...

Lan Shuyin ultimately did not stay overnight.

Two bombshell news items left Li Yang and Xuan Bingbing distraught as they returned to their room one after the other. Lan Shuyin, finding it boring to sit alone, took a taxi home.

As soon as the key was inserted into the lock, the door was pulled open from the inside.

Kui Li was dressed in loose loungewear, his hair still damp with moisture. He said nothing, but reached out and pulled her into his arms. Their kiss was passionate and unforgettable.

"Was I too hasty? I shouldn't have brought up Tang Xiuchen and Guan Han... Sigh, I really can't keep things to myself."

After washing up, Lan Shuyin came out with her long hair still half-wet. She couldn't help but lean against the sofa and sigh, then told them what had just happened.

Seeing this, Wei Li turned around, went to the bathroom to get a hairdryer, and gently pressed her down to sit on the sofa.

A warm breeze, accompanied by a soft hum, brushed against her hair, and his fingertips gently traced through it.

“Just ask if you want to, why blame yourself?” His voice sounded especially gentle amidst the wind noise. “If you have to weigh everything carefully before you speak, life will be too tiring.”

After drying his hair, he put the hairdryer aside and said, "Just listen to half of what Li Yang says."

"Um?"

"I don't like her," he said bluntly.

"I understand." She blinked, a hint of slyness in her eyes. "It's the same reason why best friends always look down on each other's boyfriends."

Kui Li shook her head. "She's too calculating. You're just naive; you only see the good in others."

Lan Shuyin was displeased and sat up straight, glaring at him. "What do you mean? I'm very good at judging people, okay?"

"Yeah?"

He chuckled very lightly, his voice rising slightly at the end, and said nothing more. But Lan Shuyin could clearly detect a hint of mockery in his meaningful gaze.

Thinking of all the times she had been fooled, she was speechless. She grabbed a cushion next to her and was about to throw it at him, but he laughed and pulled her and the cushion into his arms.

...

For several days, Li Yang and Xuan Bingbing were both in a depressed state.

Lan Shuyin noticed their distress and, worried that they might be overthinking things by staying home all the time, suggested a short weekend trip to a quiet mountain guesthouse for a couple of nights to refresh their spirits. The two women weren't particularly enthusiastic, but they didn't object, which was considered tacit agreement.

The night before the trip, Lan Shuyin packed her suitcase, and Wei Li naturally came over to take over.

He squatted down beside the suitcase, folded and arranged her clothes, and, based on the weather forecast, quietly added a light jacket and a folding umbrella. He even remembered that she had trouble sleeping, so he packed an eye mask and melatonin in a small storage bag.

The warm yellow light outlined his focused profile and slightly lowered eyelashes.

Lan Shuyin sat cross-legged on the carpet beside her, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him. A long-lost warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she became engrossed in watching him.

"What's wrong?" As if sensing her emotional fluctuation, Wei Li looked up at her.

Lan Shuyin blinked, suppressing the slight moisture welling up in her eyes, her voice softer than usual, "It just feels like it's been a long time, and it feels a bit like home now."

Her tone carried a hint of longing and melancholy that she herself was unaware of.

Kui Li immediately got up and hugged her, "Even if you kick me out from now on, I won't leave."

The undisguised heartache and promises warmed Lan Shuyin's heart, but in the afterglow of this emotion, an untimely thought quietly bubbled up—he's so easy to coax, so easily softened, wouldn't it be easy to deceive him with just a few tears?

The thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately pulled away from his embrace slightly.

"Oh right, I forgot to ask you something." She said, turning around and walking quickly out. A moment later, she ran back, carrying the black jade box that Fang Huan had given her earlier.

Gently open the lid, and the feather, shimmering with a warm golden light, lies quietly on the deep red velvet.

"Is this yours? Fang Huan said it's the key to 'truth,' is it related to you?"

Kui Li glanced at it and shook his head. "It's not mine, nor is it a key. It looks like a feather that some senior accidentally dropped."

"...Is that so?"

"However, it should have some calming and soothing effects."

Hearing his nonchalant explanation, Lan Shuyin suddenly felt a complex mix of emotions. What they could easily lose was treasured by ordinary people, even becoming family heirlooms.

She said softly, "Fang Huan said that for the sake of this feather, his family was willing to offend the Special Bureau."

Sensing the faint hint of disappointment in her voice, Wei Li raised his hand and gently stroked her long hair, a deep tenderness welling up in his eyes. "Ayin, you're not looking up at a world that's out of reach. You're right here in this world, right beside me."

His voice was clear and resolute, like moonlight bathing a night river. He leaned down slightly, his forehead touching hers, their breaths mingling.

"You don't need to love me too much, just... try to love this world with you in it more."

At this moment, no further words are needed.

As night deepened outside the window, starlight streamed through the glass, gently enveloping the embracing figures in the room.

The golden feather shimmered in the box, quietly reflecting this moment.

It's like a perfect ending to a story.

Or perhaps it's the gentlest beginning of another journey.