Spiritual Energy Revival (14): 

During this time, under Gu Juntian’s feeding, Zhou Qinghao was full of vitality, looking very healthy.

Gu Juntian was quite satisfied with this. He liked Zhou Qinghao’s healthy appearance.

Sitting behind his desk, Gu Juntian assigned the task of exorcising a demon at the seaside to Zhou Qinghao: “Qinghao, this time the troublemaker is an octopus demon. Not long ago, it attacked a cruise ship and ate everyone on board. The sub-bureau people went to investigate, but they were eaten as well… You go handle it, and remember to take Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo with you. They should be able to help.”

Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo were not weak and were both good at fighting in the water. It was right to let them deal with sea demons.

But that octopus demon was very strong.

In the original storyline, the original host only sent Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo at first, and both of them ended up dead.

Now with Zhou Qinghao going along, the three of them would definitely be able to kill the octopus demon.

“Godfather?” Zhou Qinghao was a little puzzled.

During this period, Gu Juntian should have been preparing for possession. Zhou thought Gu Juntian wouldn’t agree to let him leave.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao hesitate, Gu Juntian thought Zhou was reluctant to leave him. “Qinghao, this octopus demon is very strong. I’ll have to trouble you with it.”

Zhou Qinghao agreed. “Godfather, don’t worry. I’ll definitely complete the mission!”

If the octopus demon was that strong, it really required his intervention.

But right now his soul had issues, and he didn’t know if an accident might occur in battle.

Still, with Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo’s help, at least he wouldn’t lose his life.

Zhou Qinghao accepted the mission. Taking Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo with him, they first took a helicopter to the airport, then the fastest plane to their destination.

After landing, they took another helicopter to the demon’s location.

With their Demon Management Bureau credentials, they had green lights all the way, not even needing security checks to board.

The three of them soon arrived at the seaside.

“Captain Zhou, are you in a bad mood? Why won’t you talk to us at all?” Su Xuancheng couldn’t help asking.

Zhou Qinghao said, “I don’t like to talk.”

By keeping his distance from these people, it would be less noticeable if Gu Juntian succeeded in taking over his body later.

Su Xuancheng felt a bit dissatisfied, but when he saw Zhou Qinghao’s face, his dissatisfaction quickly vanished.

Zhou Qinghao said, “That great demon is very strong. When I fight it, you two look for chances to attack from the side, and be careful.”

Fearing something might go wrong with himself mid-battle, Zhou repeated his warnings to Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo, telling them to be cautious.

According to the sub-bureau’s analysis, the octopus demon was at Foundation Establishment stage, so Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo hadn’t taken it seriously at first.

After all, they themselves were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

But now, seeing Zhou so cautious, they became more alert.

The three used detectors provided by the Daoist sects to search the sea, finally finding traces of the demon.

Su Xuancheng sucked in a breath. “Based on the energy readings, this octopus demon has the strength of a Golden Core stage!”

Zhao Mo said, “No wonder Director Gu asked Captain Zhou to come!”

A Golden Core stage octopus demon was indeed troublesome. Zhou Qinghao drew his blade and charged into the sea.

If the battle dragged on too long, his soul might cause problems. He had to finish it quickly!

Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo followed behind him, muscles tense, ready for combat.

The octopus demon’s massive tentacles lashed out toward them. Zhou Qinghao raised his blade high and slashed forward…

One of the tentacles was instantly severed.

This octopus demon, active by the coast, had eaten many people already. It regarded Zhou Qinghao and the others as a fine meal too.

But it hadn’t expected Zhou to cut off one of its legs in just one strike.

The demon was cunning and immediately fled.

How could Zhou Qinghao let it escape? He chased after it and engaged it in battle…

Soon after, Zhou Qinghao returned to shore with the octopus demon’s core in hand, while Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo dragged its corpse.

Both Su Xuancheng and Zhao Mo were silent.

Before the fight, Zhou had warned them repeatedly, and they had braced themselves for a grueling battle. But Zhou had cut the demon down in just a few moves.

So what had they even come here for?

To clean up the corpse?

Zhou Qinghao himself found it unbelievable.

He knew his Golden Core had solidified a lot, increasing his strength.

But with his damaged soul, his combat power shouldn’t have been this high.

What was going on? Why did it feel like he’d gotten much stronger?

“As expected of Captain Zhou, too strong!”

“Captain Zhou, we’ve already prepared a hotel and food for you. Would you like to rest?”

“Captain Zhou…”

…

The sub-bureau people gathered around Zhou, eyes shining.

Zhou Qinghao said, “Lead the way.”

He did need a bath and some food, but he wouldn’t stay long.

He planned to rush back to the Bureau overnight.

Su Xuancheng was puzzled. “Captain Zhou, why are you in such a hurry to go back?”

Zhou Qinghao said, “My godfather isn’t in good health. I need to watch over him.”

Once Gu Juntian succeeded in possession, “Director Gu” would be dead.

So Zhou always told people he stayed at the Bureau only because Gu Juntian’s health was poor.

“Director Gu looked fine to me. He always seems energetic,” Su Xuancheng muttered.

Zhou Qinghao shot him a cold look.

Su Xuancheng immediately shut up.

While Zhou was killing demons, Gu Juntian sneaked into the high-risk warehouse and quietly returned everything he had previously stolen.

The last warehouse guard had been diligent, but the current one was lazy, making it easy to slip by.

Once Gu Juntian put everything back, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the warehouse was rarely inspected, if anyone found something amiss, it would be very bad for him.

Now that everything was returned, he had no more worries.

Though relieved, Gu Juntian didn’t fully relax.

In the original storyline, the possession didn’t happen inside the Bureau, but in a mountain near it.

There was a cave there, which was the original host’s secret base.

The original host had worried someone might stumble across it, so he hadn’t stored anything too valuable there. Still, there were some things that couldn’t be seen by others.

That night, Gu Juntian left the Bureau and went to his secret base.

To the north of the Bureau was a stretch of mountains. The base was inside one of them, in a natural cave.

It was about twenty kilometers away, not far. The surroundings were scenic, and deep inside the cave was a small spiritual spring.

In the future, he could even bring Zhou Qinghao there.

The cave had formations placed in it. After spending some time inside, Gu Juntian also installed a new portable protective formation bought from the Daoist sects, then left.

But shortly after he left, a ghostly shadow appeared nearby…

The Ghost King soon learned what Gu Juntian had done that night.

Gu Juntian had gone to the high-risk warehouse and to his secret base.

He must be preparing to act against Zhou Qinghao soon.

The Ghost King had considered sending someone to investigate Zhou Qinghao’s situation, but Zhou was too alert, so he hadn’t dared.

Gu Juntian, after running around all night, was exhausted.

He was just planning to rest for a couple of days when Zhou Qinghao returned.

So fast!

Zhou must have hurried back because he missed him.

His Qinghao was perfect in every way, except for loving him too much… During their dual cultivation, Gu Juntian could feel some of Zhou’s emotions.

Zhou trusted him completely, but also felt sorrow, probably worrying about his health.

Gu Juntian had told him he was fine, that his soul was strong and he was using spiritual energy to heal his body.

But Zhou hadn’t believed him, and there was nothing he could do—he’d just have to wait until his condition improved.

Once Zhou was back, Gu Juntian returned to his nights of indulgence.

With Zhou’s strength increasing, his own body recovered more as well, and afterward, his speed of tempering his body grew faster.

Gu Juntian was very pleased with this, but soon he ran into a problem.

Zhou Qinghao’s body began to change.

The Celestial Spirit Physique was usually innate—born flawless, loved by spiritual energy.

But this world was different. Fifteen years ago, there had been no spiritual energy here at all, and thus no Celestial Spirit Physique either.

Zhou’s Celestial Spirit Physique had awakened ten years ago.

Because of that, impurities inevitably existed in his body, so previously his physique wasn’t pure.

But recently, through dual cultivation, Zhou’s body had been repeatedly cleansed by spiritual energy, and his strength grew rapidly… His Celestial Spirit Physique had begun a second awakening.

This so-called second awakening was essentially Zhou’s body expelling impurities.

It didn’t affect his strength, but it made him have diarrhea and his body exude filth.

It was unavoidable, and he would feel uncomfortable.

Gu Juntian immediately told Zhou about this.

Zhou Qinghao was bewildered.

His physique had already awakened ten years ago. How could it suddenly awaken again?

Gu Juntian said, “Qinghao, in the back mountain there’s a cave with a spiritual spring inside. Stay there for a while.”

Not only was Zhou’s physique undergoing a second awakening, his cultivation was also about to break through.

Zhou absorbed spiritual energy at a tremendous rate. Previously, he hadn’t broken through because his soul hadn’t kept up.

But through dual cultivation with Gu Juntian, his soul had strengthened a lot. Now, he was ready to advance.

Breaking through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul required withstanding a lightning tribulation, which he definitely couldn’t do inside the Bureau, lest it destroy the formations and buildings.

The Bureau wasn’t poor, but it wasn’t rich either. Repairs would cost a fortune.

So it was best to let Zhou break through in the back mountain cave.

Anyway, there weren’t any urgent demon threats right now.

Leaving the Bureau? Zhou thought for a moment, then agreed.

Seeing Zhou agree, Gu Juntian immediately took him to the cave.

And within half a day, the Ghost King knew about it.

He was overjoyed—Gu Juntian was finally about to attempt possession!

Orc Priest (10): 

What Zhou Qinghao saw in his “prophecy” were actually fragments.

This time the fragments he saw were rather chaotic.

After Bai Yutian arrived, their tribe encountered one misfortune after another.

A child fell ill and died after taking the herbs he had prepared.

According to his “divination,” the hunt should have gone smoothly, but that time, someone from the hunting team was killed.

Incidents like this happened again and again, and the people of the tribe trusted him less and less.

It was at this point that Gu Juntian said he liked men, accused him of always trying to force himself on Gu Juntian, and charged him with being unfaithful to the beast god.

Gu Juntian also said he was unworthy of being a priest at all.

He couldn’t refute it, because what Gu Juntian said was true.

Though some people in the tribe still stood by him, the vast majority thought it would be good to let Bai Yutian be the priest instead.

At that time, he was already exhausted, and he began to doubt himself.

The people of the tribe whom he wanted to protect were dissatisfied with him, and Gu Juntian, whom he cared about, hated him all the more.

He felt there was no point in staying in the tribe any longer.

Bai Yutian, a priest from a great tribe, might indeed be more suitable as the hippo tribe’s priest.

In the end, he chose to leave the tribe.

After he left, Gu Juntian caught up to him and said some things.

“Qing, I do like men, but I only like Bai Yutian.”

“I really hate you. If it weren’t for becoming chief, I would never have tried to please you.”

“What I hate most is the way you boss me around.”

“I’m already the chief, yet I still have to listen to you. Who do you think you are?”

…

Gu Juntian said a lot, always voicing his dissatisfaction.

Zhou Qinghao had long known Gu Juntian didn’t like him, but he hadn’t expected Gu Juntian to hate him so deeply. Gu Juntian not only hated him, but even hated his teacher.

His teacher had been very fond of Gu Juntian, and before passing away, had told him to take good care of Gu Juntian. Yet Gu Juntian treated his teacher as an enemy.

Zhou Qinghao jolted awake again, this time with his whole body cold.

Gu Juntian… hated him that much?

Thinking carefully, Gu Juntian’s reactions in the past already showed he didn’t like him.

Lately Gu Juntian’s attitude seemed to improve, but maybe it was all just an act.

As a child, Gu Juntian had been very close to his teacher, constantly clinging to him, but when his teacher died, Gu Juntian hadn’t been sad.

In the past, Gu Juntian had also treated him very well, always giving him things, even turning into a little tiger to burrow into his arms. But later, hadn’t he avoided him for two whole years?

Noises came again from outside—it was the hunting team heading out.

Zhou Qinghao sat up and listened carefully. He heard Gu Juntian’s voice giving instructions to the hunters.

Gu Juntian’s voice was pleasant. Zhou Qinghao really liked it—too bad Gu Juntian didn’t like him.

He sat there for a long time. Only when the sounds outside grew louder did he finally open the door and step out.

The tribe was already up and about, and Gu Juntian was fiddling with some bamboo not far away.

When Zhou Qinghao looked at him, Gu Juntian happened to raise his head and see him too. His eyes were full of joy: “Qing, you’re awake?”

“I’m awake.” Zhou Qinghao stared at him.

Judging by Gu Juntian’s expression now, it seemed as if he liked him very, very much.

But… was that real?

Unaware of Zhou Qinghao’s thoughts, Gu Juntian picked up a piece of meat and walked toward his house: “Qing, let’s cook meat together.”

Zhou Qinghao followed Gu Juntian into his place, bending to enter, only to have his hand seized and squeezed by Gu Juntian.

The feeling of that touch stunned him.

He hadn’t expected Gu Juntian to touch him again. If Gu Juntian didn’t like him, why act so close?

Thinking of this, Zhou Qinghao suddenly remembered—Gu Juntian liked men.

He didn’t like him as a person, but surely didn’t mind teasing him.

There was once a man in their tribe who disliked a certain woman, yet still ended up having a child with her.

“Qing, today let’s cook the meat with water-grass roots,” Gu Juntian suggested.

The so-called water grass was a kind of plant that grew in marshes, along the water’s edge, even in the water itself. The hippo tribe always called it water grass.

Its leaves were edible, and its roots too. The roots were slightly bitter but rich in starch. Cooked with meat, they tasted quite good.

“Alright.” Zhou Qinghao sat silently at the side, cooking the meat.

Gu Juntian, meanwhile, spoke of other things: “That bamboo grove’s stalks are a bit small. Otherwise, we could make bamboo cups. Still, they’re fine for a chair. Maybe even a bed…”

Zhou Qinghao listened quietly.

Gu Juntian’s improved attitude toward him lately was most likely because Gu Juntian looked down on the other men in the tribe, and thought he was the better choice.

But when Bai Yutian appeared, Gu Juntian would probably switch affections.

He was several years older than Gu Juntian, more than ten years older than Bai Yutian.

Even as a priest who did less labor, he still didn’t have Bai Yutian’s delicate looks. Naturally, he couldn’t compare.

When that time came, would Gu Juntian really drive him away, as in the prophecy?

Zhou Qinghao sighed inwardly. He wanted to question Gu Juntian, but he couldn’t bear to ruin the pleasant atmosphere.

Yet when Gu Juntian kept leaning closer, he instinctively shifted away.

Gu Juntian noticed and looked at him in surprise, only to see Zhou Qinghao move back to sit by his side again.

Clearly, Zhou Qinghao hadn’t meant to avoid him.

But today, Zhou Qinghao was in a poor mood.

He must be brooding again about priests not being allowed to have partners.

“Qing, do you think the beast god really exists?” Gu Juntian asked.

Zhou Qinghao’s heartbeat faltered. “Of course.”

“I don’t think so,” Gu Juntian said. “I think maybe there is no beast god in this world at all.”

He wanted to ease Zhou Qinghao’s worries.

If there was no beast god, then it wouldn’t be such a big deal for a priest to have a partner.

“Tian, you must not disrespect the beast god,” Zhou Qinghao replied seriously.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao’s devout look, Gu Juntian couldn’t help but sigh.

Everyone in the tribe believed in the beast god. Though Zhou Qinghao knew much, as a priest he had probably been even more thoroughly indoctrinated.

Convincing him there was no beast god would be hard.

By contrast, convincing him that he himself was the beast god’s messenger might be much easier.

Then he could use that claim to do whatever he wanted with Zhou Qinghao.

And he could use it to make the tribe accept their relationship too.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian once again held Zhou Qinghao’s hand.

Zhou Qinghao wanted to pull away, but in the end did not, only looked at Gu Juntian with a complicated expression.

Gu Juntian tightened his grip.

“Since you’re not hunting today, why don’t you stay here with me?” Zhou Qinghao suggested.

His mind was a mess. At first, he’d wanted to be alone, but thinking that chances to be with Gu Juntian in private would be rare, he finally spoke those words.

“Alright!” Gu Juntian agreed instantly.

That whole day, Gu Juntian stayed in Zhou Qinghao’s house, making a bamboo chair.

It wasn’t too hard to make, but without tools, it was troublesome.

Gu Juntian felt his cultivation was still too low. If only it were higher, he could split bamboo with spiritual power, polish it with spiritual power.

Tonight he would continue cultivating!

After dinner, Gu Juntian left.

Watching him go, Zhou Qinghao sighed, lay down, and tried to sleep.

But he couldn’t. His mind was full of the prophecy, of Gu Juntian’s words when he drove him out of the tribe.

He lay awake for a long time before dozing off, only to see more fragments.

He saw himself, after leaving the hippo tribe, captured by people from a large tribe. They questioned him about the surroundings, wanting him to lead them to attack nearby tribes.

He refused.

Impatient, they killed him outright.

After that, he saw what happened later.

He saw Bai Yutian captured as well. Because Bai Yutian claimed to be a priest, he was treated far better. The people of the large tribe even sent someone to coax information out of him.

And Bai Yutian revealed everything about the hippo tribe.

Later… the hippo tribe’s young warriors went to that large tribe, trying to rescue Bai Yutian. They suffered heavy casualties. Taking advantage of the moment, the large tribe raided the hippo tribe, slaughtering the children and elders, and carrying away the women.

The hippo tribe vanished like that.

This prophecy showed events far in the future. Was the beast god letting him see them in order to prevent the tribe’s destruction?

And the destruction would be because of Gu Juntian and Bai Yutian.

Bai Yutian was only a secondary cause. The main one was Gu Juntian.

If Gu Juntian valued the tribe enough, he never would have led its warriors to clash with a great tribe.

The numbers were too unequal. Facing them would be like eggs against stone.

Not every tribe wanted to live in swamps. If the hippo tribe didn’t provoke them, then even if the great tribe liked to war everywhere, they might not target the hippo tribe.

Even if they did, the hippo people were strong swimmers—they could escape.

Now that he knew the future, what should he do?

Zhou Qinghao awoke again, his head aching, buzzing with irritation.

Outside, the hunting team was gathering. Today, Gu Juntian would go hunting.

Zhou Qinghao rose from the ground and felt the bamboo chair beside him.

It was the one Gu Juntian had made yesterday.

It wobbled slightly when sat on, and some parts weren’t smooth, so Gu Juntian hadn’t been satisfied with it, saying he would make a better one later.

Zhou Qinghao sat down on it.

He didn’t want anything bad to happen to the hippo tribe—it was where he had grown up.

Though in the prophecy, many chose Bai Yutian, that was because he himself had failed, others had steered things, and still, there were some who had chosen him.

If he wanted to prevent disaster for the hippo tribe, he had to start with Gu Juntian.

If Gu Juntian died, a new chief would lead the tribe, and they would never meet that end.

But just imagining Gu Juntian’s death was unbearable.

The future could be changed. He didn’t need to take such an extreme measure.

Perhaps… he could drive Bai Yutian away first?

The End of the World Base Master (5): 

Early in the morning, Gu Juntian dug a frozen chicken out of his family’s ice cellar and set it in the kitchen to thaw.

At noon, he planned to make spicy chicken stew.

The body’s original owner could cook, but was very slow—just cutting vegetables took half the day.

He was different.

He picked up the knife, chopped the chicken into small pieces in just a few strokes, then skillfully heated oil in the wok…

The base grew plenty of potatoes, had greenhouses for mushrooms, and even planted chili peppers. All the ingredients for the stew were available, so Gu Juntian made a pot of chicken that was rich in color, aroma, and taste.

After that, he also made smashed cucumbers and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Three dishes—already a feast in the apocalypse. Gu Juntian packed them into several glass containers and set out to find Zhou Qinghao.

The original owner rarely went out, but since he was Gu Chengming’s son and looked a lot like him, most people at the base recognized him.

When he said he was looking for Zhou Qinghao, he was quickly led to him.

“Why did you come?” Zhou Qinghao asked.

Gu Juntian smiled: “Didn’t I say from now on you’ll eat with my family? I came to bring you food.”

That had indeed been said, but Zhou hadn’t moved into the Gu household yet, nor had he given Gu Juntian supplies or work points. And still Gu Juntian was bringing him food?

Gu Juntian really was being overly attentive.

As Zhou thought this, Gu Juntian had already opened the containers.

The dishes were simple home cooking, but beautifully prepared. The chicken stew alone was appetizing to look at.

Zhou Qinghao had always thought of himself as someone who didn’t care much about food, but at that moment, he realized he had been wrong.

He really wanted to eat Gu Juntian’s cooking.

“Qinghao, I brought enough for two people. Let’s eat together?” Gu Juntian said.

When Zhou heard him call him “Qinghao” so directly, he confirmed his earlier suspicion.

Gu Juntian was trying to seduce him, looking for a protector.

And he was willing.

Zhou Qinghao said: “Then let’s eat together.”

The two of them enjoyed a warm meal. Afterward, Gu Juntian said: “Qinghao, later I’ll bring you dinner. After you eat, I’ll help you move your things.”

“Alright,” Zhou agreed.

Gu Juntian hadn’t shown much concern over his father’s injury, instead rushing to kick out his ex-boyfriend and cozy up to him. His character wasn’t great.

But Zhou still liked him.

Since he liked him, he wouldn’t let go.

All Gu Juntian wanted was a good life, and Zhou could give him one.

“See you tonight.” Gu Juntian reached out and shook Zhou’s hand.

With Zhou’s strength, he could have easily avoided it, but he didn’t.

Gu Juntian grinned. That was proof Zhou also had some feelings for him!

Cheerfully, Gu Juntian returned home, where he saw his father sweating and puffing while eating the chicken stew.

The dish wasn’t very spicy, but Father Gu couldn’t handle spice well.

“Why did you make it so spicy?” Father Gu complained.

“Dad, if you think it’s too spicy, you don’t have to eat it,” Gu Juntian said helplessly, using his mental power at the same time to smooth out the energy in his father’s body.

Father Gu was diligent. At this point, he had already become a level-two ability user. At this pace, by tomorrow he could reach level three.

“Even though it’s spicy, it’s satisfying,” Father Gu said.

It was rare to eat spicy food, so he still enjoyed it, even eating an extra bowl of rice.

After eating, Father Gu continued cultivating and said: “Juntian, tonight, sleep with me.”

Gu Juntian was speechless: “Dad, just sleep properly at night, don’t cultivate anymore!”

Father Gu clearly wasn’t seeking father-son bonding, but wanted help cultivating.

“Losing one night of sleep occasionally is fine,” Father Gu said.

“Maybe for you. But I’m just an ordinary person. If I lose a night of sleep, I’ll feel terrible.”

In the end, Father Gu cared for his son. Hearing this, he didn’t press the matter further.

Forget it, he would cultivate alone, even if it was slower.

That afternoon, Gu Juntian took a large piece of frozen pork belly from the cellar.

It weighed about four jin. He used three jin to make braised pork, and the remaining jin to make twice-cooked pork with yardlong beans and chilies.

At lunch, he had noticed Zhou Qinghao even ate the chilies from the chicken stew—clearly someone who liked spicy food.

Because of that, he also added green chilies when stir-frying eggplant.

As for his father, who didn’t like spice—wasn’t there braised pork? Plus his mother’s pickled vegetables. He could make do.

After all, his father had raised a son who cared more about his lover than him.

Father Gu: “…” Ever since his son awakened special abilities, he had been treating him with less and less respect!

But having once suspected his son, now he no longer did.

This was definitely his own flesh and blood!

The twice-cooked pork was too spicy for Father Gu, so Mother Gu, who liked spicy food, ate it instead.

The eggplant dish wasn’t too spicy, and with braised pork and eggplant, Father Gu ended up eating three bowls of rice, even mixing the braised pork sauce into his rice until the bowl was spotless.

Afterward, he asked Mother Gu to boil some potatoes for later, since he knew he’d be hungry after cultivating at night.

Ability users always had big appetites, and wounded ones who kept training had even bigger ones.

So, when Zhou Qinghao arrived at the Gu household with Gu Juntian carrying loads of his belongings, they saw Mother Gu bringing out a huge bowl of boiled potatoes.

“Madam Gu, what’s this?” Zhou asked curiously.

Mother Gu casually replied: “Oh, this? It’s for Juntian’s father.”

Zhou Qinghao: “…”

The base had a fertilizer factory, so food production wasn’t low, but making sure everyone ate well was impossible.

To boost yield, they planted lots of potatoes, which made them cheap.

Gu Juntian gave him meat and rice, while giving Gu Chengming potatoes. Wasn’t that a bit unfair?

Zhou almost felt sorry for Gu Chengming. Thinking of how he hadn’t visited him yet, he said: “Madam Gu, let me go with you to see Mr. Gu.”

She glanced at her son, busy moving things, then led Zhou upstairs.

Although she had once been close with Zhen Jiayun, she had to admit Zhou Qinghao was far more capable.

Now that her son liked Zhou, she treated him warmly, smiling brightly.

Noticing this, Zhou became more certain of Gu Juntian’s affection for him.

Gu Chengming already knew Zhou had come to the house.

He lay in bed pretending to be weak, planning to test him.

But in Zhou’s eyes, he only saw sympathy.

After some probing, Gu Chengming confirmed Zhou bore him no malice, but that very sympathy made him uncomfortable.

He had to train hard, recover his powers soon, and amaze Zhou!

“Juntian!” Father Gu started calling for his son again. Even if he couldn’t accompany him at night, at least before bedtime he could help him cultivate!

Gu Juntian replied: “Dad, I’m busy. If you need something, ask Mom.” Zhou had just moved in, and he had to help set up his room!

Besides, there was no need for his father to rush cultivation so much.

The H City safe zone was secure during the day, and Father and Mother Gu wouldn’t be in danger.

At night… now that Zhou had moved in, who would dare cause trouble?

His father could just take it slow.

After all, the whole reason he had invited Zhou to move in was that his father was injured and needed protection. If his father recovered too quickly, what if Zhou left?

Of course, Father Gu didn’t actually call Mother Gu—he didn’t need anything.

His injuries no longer affected him. He was already lively again and needed no care.

Zhou Qinghao, watching all this unfold: “…” Gu Chengming was rather pitiful.

His son was truly pragmatic. And yet, why did Zhou still like him?

If he himself were injured one day, would he also be abandoned?

Most likely. This was the apocalypse—he couldn’t expect Gu Juntian to support him.

So while he was still one of the strongest, he had better enjoy life early.

Zhou planned that after Gu Juntian finished helping him move, he would invite him to live together.

Zhou didn’t have too much stuff, but not too little either.

After a few trips, Gu Juntian finished moving everything.

At the same time, he was already thinking about suggesting he stay the night.

He could sense Zhou liked him. Maybe tonight, something would really happen.

Regent (8): 

In this era, war was truly exhausting, especially since Zhou Qinghao lived and ate alongside the soldiers.

His hands were very rough, full of cracks.

When Gu Juntian felt those hands touch him, his skin tingled with slight pain.

As the pampered Prince of Jin, he had delicate skin and tender flesh. Even when Zhou Qinghao was younger, his hands were rougher than his, let alone now.

Gu Juntian was somewhat dissatisfied with this fact.

He liked strong people and wished he could be as strong as Zhou Qinghao.

Still, having the strong Zhou Qinghao in his arms at that moment felt quite nice.

But those hands… Gu Juntian took Zhou Qinghao’s hand and kissed it gently.

Looking at Zhou Qinghao’s hands filled him with heartache.

Zhou Qinghao had just been feeling self-conscious when Gu Juntian grabbed his hand and kissed it. Startled, he tried to pull back, but Gu Juntian held on firmly, and Zhou Qinghao, afraid of hurting him, didn’t dare to use force.

In the end, his hand remained in Gu Juntian’s grasp.

And then, so did his whole body.

For a moment, Zhou Qinghao was dazed.

He had thought that even if he forced Gu Juntian to be with him, it wouldn’t mean they would truly be together.

Gu Juntian might not even like men, and even if he did, someone like Zhou Qinghao was hardly the type to spark interest.

Yet reality was the complete opposite of what he had imagined.

Gu Juntian was very interested—so much so that Zhou Qinghao hardly slept that night.

The next morning, Zhou Qinghao awoke groggily, still dazed.

For an instant, he felt as if Gu Juntian truly liked him.

Last night, Gu Juntian had been gentle and attentive.

Between men, the one beneath was usually uncomfortable, but because Gu Juntian was so careful, Zhou Qinghao felt little discomfort.

Afterward, Gu Juntian personally cleaned him, tenderly, and held him as they slept.

This behavior left Zhou Qinghao astonished.

He even wondered if his years of devotion had finally moved Gu Juntian, winning his affection.

But those he had kept by Gu Juntian’s side were long dismissed, and the sword he had gifted him had been melted down.

Zhou Qinghao reached up and felt his beard.

His lord had always looked down on rough men—he had once complained about his subordinates’ dark skin and rugged appearance. How could he possibly like someone like Zhou Qinghao?

Later, he would shave.

Last night had been so wonderful—if he cleaned himself up and served Gu Juntian well, perhaps before he died, he could enjoy a few more nights of royal favor. Then his life wouldn’t have been wasted.

He was already past thirty; some people were grandfathers by that age. He had experienced everything he wished to experience—dying now wouldn’t be a loss.

Thinking this way, Zhou Qinghao felt cheerful.

At this time, Gu Juntian also woke.

Having arrived in this world and immediately gained a lover who suited him in every way, he was in a good mood.

After a full night’s rest, he was no longer as eager to achieve great feats and unify the realm as he had been yesterday.

Yesterday, after inheriting the original body’s memories, he had felt stifled and rushed to seize power. But in truth, there was no need to hurry.

With Zhou Qinghao at his side, no one would dare oppose him.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian pulled Zhou Qinghao into his arms and kissed him again.

Zhou Qinghao looked at him warmly, eyes full of affection.

Gu Juntian, on the other hand, felt a sense of accomplishment. Unifying the realm could wait—he already had Zhou Qinghao!

“Uncle, do you feel unwell?” Gu Juntian asked.

He had called him “Uncle” last night too, and Zhou Qinghao’s reaction at the time had made his heart itch. He intended to keep using that form of address.

Zhou Qinghao replied, “I am not unwell, Your Majesty.”

Indeed, he felt fine; last night’s minor injuries were nothing compared to what he had endured before.

Although Zhou Qinghao said he was fine, Gu Juntian still pressed him down and checked him over.

Zhou Qinghao felt both embarrassed and exasperated, marveling again at how much his lord had grown.

That his lord could be so unreserved—personally checking such an undignified injury—was something Zhou Qinghao hadn’t expected.

Once he confirmed Zhou Qinghao was unharmed, Gu Juntian got up, dressed, and had breakfast sent in.

He specifically instructed them to bring more, as Zhou Qinghao’s appetite looked large.

The Jin royal family ate three meals a day; as for commoners, they were lucky if they didn’t starve.

Breakfast was boiled mutton, pickled vegetables, several condiments, a plate of boiled eggs, and a pot of millet porridge.

The eggs were as small as the chickens they came from, so there were ten in total.

Gu Juntian felt he could eat all ten himself.

He invited Zhou Qinghao to sit on the grass mat with him to eat, then picked up an egg to peel.

This startled the servant who had been about to do it for him, who immediately knelt to apologize.

Gu Juntian dismissed the servant and continued peeling, placing the egg in Zhou Qinghao’s bowl.

“Your Majesty…” Zhou Qinghao said uneasily.

Gu Juntian replied, “Uncle, in private, you don’t need to be so formal with me.” Given their relationship, Zhou Qinghao didn’t need to be so overly respectful.

Some things would take time to change, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

With that thought, Gu Juntian peeled another egg for him.

Out of ten eggs, he peeled six for Zhou Qinghao, keeping four for himself. He also split the mutton, giving Zhou Qinghao the larger portion.

His own appetite was smaller, which left him slightly frustrated.

In the future, he would train like Zhou Qinghao’s soldiers, striving to grow stronger and eat more than Zhou Qinghao.

After breakfast, Gu Juntian had his official duties prepared for the evening and turned to Zhou Qinghao. “Uncle, yesterday you promised to take me to see the military camp.”

Zhou Qinghao’s twenty-thousand troops were currently stationed outside the city.

In the future, once Gu Juntian took full control, some would remain in the capital as guards, and the rest would return home to farm.

Jin could not afford to keep so many soldiers in the capital; just feeding them would be impossible.

“Your Majesty, the camp will be rather dirty.”

“That’s fine,” Gu Juntian said.

Since he said so, Zhou Qinghao led him out of the city.

They shared a carriage. On the way, Gu Juntian examined the horses.

Stirrups and horseshoes needed to be prepared, but Jin’s iron supply was scarce.

Finding iron mines would take time; smelting iron would take more time, and skilled workers were needed.

Fortunately, he was the Prince of Jin.

The capital held many craftsmen under his command, and in the future, he could seize more from the royal clan.

He also needed to find a way for more people to read.

At this time, literacy was rare.

Books were written on bamboo slips, which were heavy and held little text. In wartime, they were difficult to transport.

Because of this, scholars kept their writing concise; without someone to teach punctuation and meaning, later generations could not learn from them.

The characters were difficult to write, and each state had its own script.

Knowledge was monopolized—only great families who passed it down could read.

Commoners had no chance to learn, and even poor scholars looked down upon had ancestors who were once wealthy.

For such scholars, even two scrolls of books could be family treasures.

Without them, they had no way to learn.

Gu Juntian found the scripts of this era irritating. When he unified the realm, he would standardize the writing system.

Also, bamboo slips were inconvenient; he thought paper could be produced.

To encourage reading, government-run schools would be best—but that required money or grain.

Yet many of Jin’s people were still hungry.

In the end, agriculture was the most important.

He recalled some planting methods, but to implement them, he needed enough minor officials…

Lost in thought, Gu Juntian fell silent, not speaking to Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao quietly watched him, without the slightest complaint.

He had never expected Gu Juntian to love him deeply—he only wished to be by his side.

Before long, they arrived at the camp outside the city.

There had always been a camp here, though “camp” meant simple wooden and earthen huts that merely kept out wind and rain.

In heavy storms, even that wasn’t guaranteed; it could be pouring outside and drizzling inside.

The camp was dirty, and the soldiers looked unkempt.

The officers who came to greet them were disheveled and smelled strongly.

Compared to them, Zhou Qinghao was positively clean.

If the original body’s owner had been here, he would have been full of disdain—but Gu Juntian showed no sign of distaste.

These men had just protected Jin.

He could scorn idle nobles, but never these soldiers.

Yesterday, he had met higher-ranking officers who didn’t live in camp.

The ones here were lower in both status and rank.

Other commanders wouldn’t even recognize them, but Zhou Qinghao could call them by name and introduced them to Gu Juntian.

Hearing their names, the officers were visibly moved.

When Gu Juntian thanked them for their hard work, they were even more overwhelmed, kneeling in tears.

In this era, the gap between classes was enormous.

For the Prince of Jin to treat them so warmly filled them with gratitude and excitement.

Gu Juntian could guess their thoughts, and he did want to cultivate their loyalty.

So he personally helped them to their feet.

Seeing that he didn’t mind their filth and had raised them with his own hands, they were even more moved, ready to give their lives for him.

Of course, they had already been willing to die for Jin and its ruler.

After speaking with them, Gu Juntian turned to Zhou Qinghao. “Uncle, take me around.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zhou Qinghao glanced at the officers Gu Juntian had helped, then led him forward.

His lord was truly skilled at winning hearts.

A few more visits like this, and his soldiers would be utterly loyal to him.

When that happened, even if his lord killed him, there would be no consequences.

That was fine—he wouldn’t have to worry about his lord being in danger after his death.

The Young man in Online Romance (6): 

Gu Juntian felt a bit relieved. Although the original owner had customized his avatar’s face, it was based on his real features and hadn’t altered the bone structure.

Thinking about his own current appearance and the original owner’s in-game character, Gu Juntian figured he still had a chance to make himself look similar to that avatar.

When the original owner was young, he had also been a handsome boy, but years of staying up late and eating junk food had drained all his vitality. His under-eyes were dark, and his face had grown rounder.

Clearly dissatisfied with his real-life looks, the original owner had given his in-game avatar the appearance he thought he should have had.

And to others, he always claimed this was his real appearance.

Gu Juntian believed that with early nights, early mornings, more exercise, and a clean diet, he could slim down—and once he did, his looks should be close to his avatar’s.

Thinking of this, he felt grateful for the full-immersion helmet.

Two years ago, when the original owner’s parents passed away, he had actually been heavier—over 200 jin.

Wearing the helmet to play games made eating inconvenient, so over the past two years, not only had he not gained weight, he had lost about 20 jin—a cause for celebration.

Looks could be improved with time; as for other matters… he would start learning programming right away!

After dismantling the original owner’s old helmet, he’d even gotten new ideas worth researching.

He could keep the online romance with Zhou Qinghao going for another year. By then, he would have filled all the holes the original owner had dug, and they could finally meet offline.

That sounded pretty good.

Feeling cheerful at the thought, he quoted a song lyric to Zhou Qinghao: “Ah Qing, the sky’s blue waits for the misty rain, and I am waiting for you.”

Zhou Qinghao’s heartbeat quickened—he even wanted to send Gu Juntian money.

This scammer’s skill level had definitely gone up!

As they spoke, small monsters rushed at them.

Gu Juntian swiftly cut them down and suddenly thought—this game was actually pretty fun.

He liked fighting!

Killing freely in-game was surprisingly satisfying.

He went on a killing spree, restoring his health and mana with potions when needed.

He was strong, but the Heavenly Demon Pavilion members he had brought along weren’t as powerful.

By the time their team reached the dragon, five members had already been lost.

But in a dungeon, deaths were normal—no one thought much of it.

Right now, they were more disappointed by the dragon’s appearance. “This dragon’s kind of ugly.”

“After being imprisoned so long, of course it’s ugly,” Gu Juntian replied.

In Cultivation, players were currently in the Mortal Realm map, but rumors said Qida Technology was already developing the Immortal Realm map.

A dragon matching the public’s idea of beauty would likely only appear in the Immortal Realm.

The one before them looked more like a flood dragon—its bloodline clearly impure.

Still, this was the strongest monster in the current game.

It had many spikes embedded in it, limiting its strength, but according to what Gu Juntian knew from the original plot, once its HP dropped to 20%, it would go berserk, the spikes would fall out, and its power would surge.

The spikes would then randomly attack everyone nearby. Many teams in the beginning had been wiped out at that stage.

Later, those who ran the dungeon would leave one or two attackers to finish bringing its HP to 20%, while the rest retreated into the cave to wait for the frenzy to end before swarming it again.

After going berserk, its attack power increased but its defense weakened, making it harder but still possible to kill.

Gu Juntian led his team into battle with the sealed dragon.

Some teammates had good coordination with the original owner and were among the strongest in the game.

After losing two more members, they brought the dragon’s HP down to 40%.

Then Gu Juntian spoke up. “Everyone, I’ve figured out this dragon’s attack pattern. I want to use it for practice—can you let me handle it alone?”

The Heavenly Demon Pavilion members were stunned. “Great Emperor, you’re going to solo it?”

“I want to give it a try,” Gu Juntian said.

He couldn’t reveal that he already knew its behavior—that would be suspicious, and the company might even investigate him for insider knowledge.

So he needed another reason.

The dragon’s attacks followed a pattern—Gu Juntian was confident he could use that to solo it and keep the others alive.

Otherwise, if everyone attacked during its frenzy, only the best-geared and highest-level player—him—would likely survive, and even he wouldn’t be able to handle it alone.

The Pavilion members had often benefited from his generosity.

Many players were reluctant to spend money in-game, but not the Great Emperor—he spent freely and often gave others items.

For this run, he had given everyone healing and mana potions worth about ten yuan each.

In real life that wasn’t much, but in-game it was quite a lot—and could be life-saving.

Without those potions, some of them might already be dead.

Since they owed him, they all stepped aside.

Gu Juntian said, “Healers, keep healing me—don’t stop!”

Then he began fighting the dragon alone.

His control over his character was extremely fast, dodging the dragon’s attacks with ease and landing strikes on its wounded, spike-pierced spots.

“The Great Emperor’s skill is amazing!”

“As expected of the Great Emperor!”

“His control didn’t seem this good before—just in great form today?”

…

The others were thrilled to watch, and Zhou Qinghao’s eyes could no longer hold anyone else.

The Heavenly Emperor was just too handsome.

He could keep this online romance going forever.

Gu Juntian’s attack power wasn’t low, and the original owner’s inventory still had talismans, poisons, and other tools.

Using these along with his skills, he brought the dragon’s HP down to 20% in just over ten minutes.

At that point, the dragon went berserk, unleashing an AoE attack and forcing the spikes out of its body.

The others were far enough away to avoid damage. Gu Juntian, with his good gear and cash-shop healing potion, lost over half his HP but survived.

Now, with its attack greatly increased, everyone knew they couldn’t just leave it to him.

They all rushed in, attacking together.

After losing seven more members, the dragon was finally slain.

This dungeon had only been discovered that morning.

Many teams had tried it throughout the day, but none had even brought the dragon’s HP to 20% before being wiped out.

That evening, an elite team had finally reached 20%, only to be wiped out by the AoE.

Little Lamb wasn’t surprised.

In his past life, this dungeon had been cleared for the first time two days later.

This time, he planned to gather a team tomorrow, stream the run, and be the first to clear it.

His stream would then become the go-to guide for the dungeon, boosting his popularity.

Later, he could even unlock the dungeon’s hidden storyline.

He had never been great at game mechanics, but after being reborn, his past-life knowledge had allowed him to produce many guides, making everyone think he was highly intelligent despite his weak skills.

Now, his follower count was several times higher than before, and he had befriended several top Cultivation players besides the Heavenly Emperor.

Even without the Heavenly Emperor, he could thrive in this game.

Little Lamb had already contacted people to run the dungeon with him tomorrow and aim for the first clear of Imprisoned Dragon.

But then, the system announced that the Heavenly Emperor’s team had cleared the Transformation-level Imprisoned Dragon dungeon.

First-clear rewards were very generous.

In his past life, the Dragon Scale set had eight pieces, and the first clear had dropped two of them.

The Dragon Scale set was unique—only one set existed in the entire game.

Even if not worn, it could sell for a fortune.

In his past life, a wealthy player had spent over a million just to complete the set.

And now, the first clear had gone to the Great Emperor?

That hadn’t happened in his previous life.

Wait—back then, the Great Emperor had already disappeared from Cultivation after being exposed as a scammer…

But that didn’t make sense. With his abilities, he shouldn’t have cleared it this fast. Could Zhou Qinghao have told him something?

Did Zhou Qinghao leak dungeon info?

Little Lamb’s face shifted repeatedly as he went to find his boyfriend.

Others in the game weren’t overthinking it.

“Heavenly Demon Pavilion again.”

“They’re really strong.”

“Well, the Great Emperor’s rich, after all.”

…

While chatting, many players contacted the Pavilion members for the dungeon’s strategy.

Even if the first clear was gone, they could still get the second or third.

Gu Juntian naturally noticed this.

He had recorded the entire run, so he simply uploaded the video to the game forum, charging only 0.2 yuan to watch.

It wasn’t expensive, so plenty of people went to see it.

And it would earn him at least a bit of money.

The Young man in Online Romance (New Game): 

Gu Juntian didn’t take Zhou Lin’s text message seriously at all. Right now, he was only marveling at one thing.

Zhou Qinghao was so handsome and so smart, yet somehow he turned out to be a total love-brain.

If he hadn’t come here, Zhou Qinghao would have been tricked by that scumbag the original owner was!

In the end, egged on by someone, Zhou Qinghao had even lost his life to the original owner.

Thinking of this, Gu Juntian turned to look at Zhou Qinghao and asked in a low voice, “A-Qing, do you have a nephew?”

“Yes, why?” Zhou Qinghao replied. That Zhou Qi was nothing but a spoiled playboy, dating both boyfriends and girlfriends at the same time, and a few years ago he even had an illegitimate child.

“Is he close to you?” Gu Juntian asked again.

“You’re asking if I’m close to a three-year-old?” Zhou Qinghao said, puzzled.

Gu Juntian: “…” His nephew was only three years old?

Clearly, the person who had incited the original owner to kill wasn’t Zhou Qinghao’s nephew at all.

Still, there must be people around Zhou Qinghao who wanted to harm him.

He should produce more results so the state would assign people to investigate and, in the process, protect Zhou Qinghao.

With that thought, Gu Juntian showed him the text message. “A-Qing, there’s someone around you who doesn’t like you. You need to be careful.”

After seeing the text, Zhou Qinghao immediately guessed who sent it. “The one who sent this is probably my cousin.”

“Then you should keep a close eye on your cousin,” Gu Juntian said.

Zhou Qinghao smiled. “I will. Tian-ge, after reading this message, you don’t suspect me?”

“You’ve got nothing worth suspecting. I’m just curious about one thing,” Gu Juntian said.

“What’s that?” Zhou Qinghao asked.

“How on earth did you have such bad taste in the past to actually like me?”

Zhou Qinghao: “…”

Their conversation couldn’t continue because it was already noon, and everyone was heading out for lunch.

The players invited to the event were eating buffet style at the hotel, but it was different for Gu Juntian and the others.

They were invited to dine upstairs in the restaurant.

Gu Juntian followed behind Zhou Qinghao, his bodyguards trailing behind him as they headed upstairs together.

During this time, Qida Technology’s partners kept looking curiously at Gu Juntian.

Before today, they had never even heard of him. Who exactly was this man?

As they were wondering, Old Chairman Zhou of the Zhou family arrived.

For Qida Technology, this event wasn’t particularly major. Having Zhou Qinghao and President Wang attend already counted as giving great face. But no one expected the legendary founder of the Zhou family’s business to also show up!

The partners of Qida Technology were shocked, and then they saw the old chairman walk toward Gu Juntian with a smile. “President Gu, I’ve heard so much about you!”

Old Chairman Zhou was famous in the business world and well known by many.

But the original owner of this body had never paid attention to business news, so Gu Juntian didn’t recognize him and felt a little lost.

Zhou Qinghao introduced them. “This is my grandfather, Zhou Anbang, chairman of the Zhou family.”

So he was Zhou Qinghao’s grandfather! Gu Juntian immediately stepped forward to shake his hand. “Hello, Grandpa!”

The old man beamed when he heard Gu Juntian call him grandpa.

After exchanging a few words with others and having his secretary entertain them, he started chatting with Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian was glad he had studied diligently these past weeks, so he was able to speak meaningfully with the old chairman.

Wanting to win his favor, he promptly mentioned that he had a few projects coming up and would definitely collaborate with the Zhou family.

The old man was even happier, and then, following Gu Juntian’s interests, began talking about Zhou Qinghao’s childhood.

Zhou Qinghao had always been smart, consistently ranking first in exams, and was well-behaved and likable.

As he spoke, the old chairman even pulled out his phone to show some childhood photos of Zhou Qinghao he had prepared in advance.

Gu Juntian added him as a friend and asked for copies of all the photos.

Zhou Qinghao: “…” The two of them were getting along so well it almost felt like Gu Juntian was his grandfather’s real grandson.

As for the others present… they became even more certain of one thing—Gu Juntian was definitely no ordinary person.

Unfortunately, they had no chance to speak with him.

At this kind of lunch, people usually walked around with wine glasses, toasting others, but anyone who tried to approach Gu Juntian was stopped by his bodyguards, who said he didn’t drink.

Still, they managed to learn a few things from President Wang of Qida Technology.

In recent months, Qida Technology had been making big moves, even developing a new generation of holographic headsets, and according to President Wang, the related technology had been provided by Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian had hidden himself deeply!

Unfortunately, he had already built ties with Zhou Qinghao and the old chairman, leaving them no chance to work with him.

Zhou Lin soon heard about all this as well.

It made him even more convinced that Zhou Qinghao had learned about Gu Juntian’s situation in advance and deliberately gotten involved with him.

Too bad he had been misled by Little Sheep into thinking Gu Juntian was incompetent!

It was all Little Sheep’s fault!

Without hesitation, Zhou Lin blocked Little Sheep and decided to cut ties.

He’d never liked him much anyway. If not for the fact that Little Sheep knew a lot of secrets Zhou Lin wanted to know, he wouldn’t have been involved with him at all.

Now that Little Sheep could no longer provide him with information, breaking up was exactly what he had wanted.

Just after doing this, he saw several police officers walking toward him. “You’re Zhou Lin, right? Someone reported that you defamed and exposed another person’s private information online. You’ll need to come with us.”

Given Gu Juntian’s current high security level, Zhou Lin’s smear campaign against him quickly drew attention from multiple parties.

If analysis hadn’t determined that Zhou Lin’s actions were aimed at Zhou Qinghao, the ones looking for him wouldn’t have been the police but certain secret departments.

Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao knew nothing about this.

That afternoon, Qida Technology arranged for invited players to livestream gameplay or have in-game PK matches.

Gu Juntian wasn’t interested and didn’t plan to participate, so Zhou Qinghao handed the work over to President Wang and skipped out to leave with him.

They went to Zhou Qinghao’s place.

While playing games, Gu Juntian had always been bothered by the lack of real physical sensation.

He had been with Zhou Qinghao for a long time, doing countless “kissing” actions in the game, but never feeling anything.

Now, alone together offline, they could finally do whatever they wanted!

The hugs in the game were acted out in reality, and the kisses in the game were also done in reality.

And before long, they were doing things that couldn’t be done in the game.

“A-Qing, I don’t have an eight-pack yet, but give me some time and I’ll definitely have one!”

“I’ll have the perfect body sooner or later!”

“A-Qing, do you want me to say a few sweet words to you?”

Gu Juntian kept talking nonstop.

Thinking of the cheesy lines Gu Juntian had copied from the internet before, Zhou Qinghao felt a little helpless and used his own mouth to block Gu Juntian’s.

At times like this, it was better not to just talk.

The next day, they learned Zhou Lin had been arrested.

Up until now, Zhou Lin hadn’t committed any major crimes, but minor offenses were numerous.

For example, Zhou Qinghao had never embezzled company funds, but the cash-strapped Zhou Lin had.

Thanks to the old chairman’s efforts, Zhou Lin wasn’t sentenced, but he still spent over a month in detention. After that, the old man simply packed him off overseas.

At the same time, Qida Technology released its new holographic headset, which was vastly different from the old one.

If the old model was a bicycle, the new one was a car!

Alongside it, Qida Technology launched its new game Counter-Terrorism.

This game was even more refined than Xiuxian, and it became a global hit as soon as it launched.

“Counter-Terrorism is so well-made—it’s all thanks to the technology Emperor Tian provided.”

“Emperor Tian is amazing!”

“I can’t believe there were people badmouthing him before. Ridiculous.”

…

In Xiuxian, whenever people mentioned Emperor Tian now, their faces were full of admiration.

They had actually played games with a legend!

Sadly, these days Emperor Tian wasn’t very responsive to others. Every time he logged in, he only played with Zhou Qinghao, and rumor had it that recently they’d been spending time in Counter-Terrorism instead…

People still occasionally mentioned Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao, but as for Little Sheep… he was only brought up in passing.

Online, nobody paid attention to him anymore.

Spiritual Energy Revival (15): 

During this period, Zhou Qinghao’s strength grew too quickly, and his Heavenly Spirit Body was undergoing its second awakening, so his overall condition was not very good.

Dirt kept seeping out of his body, his golden core could no longer absorb spiritual energy, and a strange smell lingered all over him.

If he were living in the cultivation world, he should now be finding a place with abundant spiritual energy to go into seclusion, tempering his golden core in preparation for the tribulation that precedes the Nascent Soul stage.

But in the world he was in now, spiritual energy had long been scarce, and it had already entered the Age of the Decline of Dharma for thousands of years. The records of the Nascent Soul stage in the Xuanmen were only fragments, and people did not clearly understand the stage, nor how to advance into it.

Gu Juntian thought that before crossing over, he had been a great figure in the cultivation world, but without memories, he too did not know the exact details of how a golden core advanced to Nascent Soul. He only knew there would be a tribulation.

His own cultivation was weak, so Zhou Qinghao would have to face the tribulation of advancing to Nascent Soul by himself.

Gu Juntian brought Zhou Qinghao to his secret base.

This place had been discovered by the body’s original owner twelve years earlier, back when his health had not yet deteriorated. At that time, he was constantly busy outside, occasionally returning to the Bureau of Demon Control, where piles of matters awaited him.

Every now and then, when he wanted some private space, he would slip away to this place and lie down for a while.

Running over from the bureau, spending a few hours alone, then running back again… Every time he did this, he would feel completely relaxed and full of motivation once more.

But after the original owner was injured, he rarely came here. In recent years, only after practicing demonic techniques did he occasionally come again.

Gu Juntian pointed to the spiritual spring inside the cave and said to Zhou Qinghao, “Qinghao, you can soak in the spring. It will benefit you.”

Zhou Qinghao looked around at the environment inside the cave.

The Bureau of Demon Control itself was built on a feng shui treasure land, filled with spiritual energy.

The mountain forest behind it also contained denser energy than most other places.

This entire mountain had been cordoned off, and sometimes new recruits of the bureau trained here in the wild.

This cave was extremely well-hidden, and with the formation Gu Juntian had set up, plus a boulder blocking the entrance, it was nearly impossible for ordinary people to find.

And inside, the spiritual energy was even denser than at the bureau.

Partly, this was due to the spirit-gathering formation laid out in the cave, but more importantly, because of the spiritual spring within.

“When I first discovered this cave, it wasn’t yet a spiritual spring, only a small pool. Over the years it has changed quite a bit,” Gu Juntian said. “Qinghao, your Heavenly Spirit Body is undergoing its second awakening. Soaking in the spring will make you feel more comfortable and help you complete the awakening sooner.”

But once it was used this way, the spring would be depleted. That was a pity.

Yet Zhou Qinghao was far more important than the spring. If it was gone, another could be found. Making Zhou Qinghao feel better mattered most.

Zhou Qinghao took off his clothes and entered the spring.

The water was a bit cold, but to a cultivator it was nothing.

Once inside, the discomfort on his body truly disappeared.

But… was this really a spiritual spring?

His adoptive father had told him to soak here—could it be just to make seizing his body easier?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Zhou Qinghao’s mind. Suddenly he opened his eyes and stared straight at Gu Juntian.

Why should he accept fate? Why should he let his adoptive father use his body?

After he died, would his adoptive father use his body to marry and have children?

Wouldn’t that be too great a loss for him?

One thought after another churned in his mind.

When he imagined Gu Juntian possibly being with someone else, Zhou Qinghao’s eyes turned red.

“Adoptive father…” Zhou Qinghao suddenly spoke.

Gu Juntian, who had been arranging formations, looked at him. “Qinghao, what is it?”

As soon as he finished, Gu Juntian realized something was wrong.

Zhou Qinghao’s condition seemed unusual. A piece of knowledge flashed in his mind—Heart Demon!

Before advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, there was a Heart Demon Tribulation. Zhou Qinghao was experiencing it now!

A heart demon was usually a cultivator’s obsession or suppressed thoughts.

And the methods of overcoming a Heart Demon Tribulation varied endlessly.

Generally, it required dispelling the thought, letting go completely, and then advancement would follow.

What was Zhou Qinghao’s heart demon?

Thinking of Zhou Qinghao’s feelings toward him, Gu Juntian suddenly realized—it might be himself.

And just as that thought formed, Zhou Qinghao lashed out with spiritual energy, dragging him into the spring, and immediately bit his neck.

Confirmed. Zhou Qinghao’s heart demon was him.

Zhou Qinghao loved him too much!

If the heart demon was the one a cultivator loved, the solution was simple.

That person only needed to provide enough comfort.

“Qinghao, I’m here. I’ll always be with you. I love you…” Gu Juntian patted his back.

“Liar!” Zhou Qinghao snapped, his eyes even redder. Spiritual energy burst from him, shredding Gu Juntian’s clothes to rags.

Gu Juntian kept soothing him: “I’m not lying. I’ll always stay with you…”

But Zhou Qinghao did not believe him.

Gu Juntian didn’t truly like him—how could he possibly always stay?

Sooner or later, Gu Juntian would seize his body.

He should kill Gu Juntian and perish together with him.

But Gu Juntian’s voice kept echoing in his ears, and he could not bring himself to strike.

Zhou Qinghao shoved him down against the edge of the pool and fiercely began… well, dual cultivation.

Gu Juntian: “…” This really wasn’t the best place for it.

His back scraped against the rocks, and though the original owner’s body was far stronger than most, wounds still appeared all across his back.

Zhou Qinghao’s movements were especially rough, clawing and scratching at him.

Gu Juntian’s body was covered in marks, hardly fit to look at.

Yet despite the pain, there was also great joy.

Both physical and emotional joy.

Zhou Qinghao’s heart demon was him, and during its outbreak he turned affectionate with him… how wonderful!

Gu Juntian guided the spiritual energy with his divine sense and saw Zhou Qinghao’s golden core already showing faint signs of cracking.

Once it shattered, the Nascent Soul would emerge.

Spiritual energy from all around, and from the spring itself, rushed toward them, washing over Zhou Qinghao’s body and pouring into his golden core…

Before leaving with Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntian had handed his work to others, saying simply that he would rest for a few days and contact them later if needed.

The Bureau of Demon Control happened to have no major matters at hand, so it wasn’t until the third day that someone tried contacting Gu Juntian—only to find him unreachable.

They instinctively tried contacting Zhou Qinghao, only to find him unreachable too.

Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao had both disappeared!

The bureau grew anxious and began searching.

But since the two had left of their own accord, no one knew exactly where they had gone.

“Where exactly did the director and Zhou Qinghao go?”

“They wouldn’t be in trouble, right?”

“Of course not—Captain Zhou is so strong!”

“Last month that octopus demon—the branch thought it was Foundation Establishment stage, but it turned out to be Golden Core… and Captain Zhou dealt with it effortlessly!”

…

While the bureau was discussing, the two other Golden Core cultivators of the Xuanmen, besides Zhou Qinghao, suddenly arrived together.

They were Master Rongfu and Daoist Guanyun.

Before spiritual energy revived, Master Rongfu was an unknown monk in a small town temple. Afterward, for reasons unknown, he suddenly opened his heavenly eye and could see ghosts.

Unafraid of them, he sent them on one by one. Over time, his strength grew, and he successfully reached Golden Core, becoming a leader of the Buddhist sect.

But he did not concern himself with affairs, instead wandering the land, ferrying spirits.

Daoist Guanyun’s situation was different. He came from the Xuanmen and already held a respected position.

Even before spiritual energy revived, he practiced constantly, striving to cultivate.

Once it did revive, cultivation became his sole focus.

With great talent, his progress was astonishing, and he smoothly advanced to Golden Core, becoming a leader of the sect.

But he too ignored worldly matters, being a cultivation fanatic who now trained daily.

These two were the highest-ranking people in the Xuanmen. When they came to the bureau, normally Zhou Qinghao or Gu Juntian should have received them, but both were absent.

So the bureau’s group of Foundation Establishment cultivators had to greet them instead.

Seeing them, Master Rongfu pressed his palms together, recited a Buddha’s name, and said, “Everyone, someone informed me that the bureau chief attempted to seize another’s body, so I came to investigate.”

Daoist Guanyun added, “I came for the same reason… Where is Gu Juntian?”

Both were older than him, their status equal to his, so they addressed him by name.

“Director Gu isn’t here,” someone from the bureau said.

“And Zhou Qinghao?” Daoist Guanyun asked.

“Zhou Qinghao and Director Gu are missing,” they replied. “Could you have been mistaken? How could Director Gu possibly want to seize another’s body?”

“This matter is serious. We must be cautious,” said Daoist Guanyun.

At that moment, officials from the state also arrived.

They too had received a report claiming that Gu Juntian dominated the bureau, abusing its resources, and even intended to seize Zhou Qinghao’s body.

None of them knew who had reported it, but the accusations were clearly written, even naming Zhou Qinghao as the intended victim. As soon as they received the information, they rushed over.

All three parties realized someone was hiding in the shadows, hoping to see the bureau embroiled in scandal.

But regardless, the matter had to be investigated thoroughly.

Zhou Qinghao could not be allowed to come to harm. As for Gu Juntian—if he truly had done something he should not, he must be brought to justice!

When they learned the two had been missing for several days, the three groups grew deeply worried. Daoist Guanyun immediately took out a magical tool to divine their whereabouts.

Orc Priest (11): 

Zhou Qinghao was in turmoil, but he still did everything he was supposed to do without letting anyone notice anything wrong.

Half of the able-bodied youths in the tribe had gone hunting, while the other half, who were supposed to rest in the tribe and guard it, couldn’t sit still. They took fishing nets and caught fish near the tribe.

The prey caught by the hunting team was shared with the entire tribe, but the fish they caught during their rest time belonged to them alone.

They didn’t catch many fish. After dividing them among themselves, they left one big fish, which they respectfully presented to Zhou Qinghao.

When Zhou Qinghao saw their smiling faces full of joy, and thought about their future, he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

These people’s fates would all be miserable.

His own fate would also be miserable.

Gu Juntian didn’t like him—on the contrary, he despised him. After Bai Yutian came to the tribe, he would drive him away.

He could think of ways to prevent Bai Yutian from joining the tribe, but that might not succeed, and he also didn’t want to harm Bai Yutian.

His ending, the tribe’s ending, though related to Bai Yutian, was not greatly connected.

Zhou Qinghao cooked the fish and ate it slowly, taking a long time before finishing.

When the tribe members saw this, they whispered, “The priest really does look different.”

“The priest looks so elegant when eating fish.”

They themselves gnawed at fish messily, but the priest’s slow, careful way of eating made him stand out.

Many wanted to imitate him, but after trying, they felt that eating fish so slowly was unbearable, and eventually gave up.

Very soon, the sky grew dark.

Gu Juntian returned with the hunting team, fully loaded.

Zhou Qinghao had thought about many things throughout the day, but once he saw Gu Juntian, all his thoughts condensed into a single one.

Gu Juntian didn’t like him. He only liked Bai Yutian—liked him so much that he didn’t care about the Hippopotamus Tribe, even to the point of leading the whole tribe to its death.

A storm of emotions churned in Zhou Qinghao’s heart, and he felt a suffocating pressure within.

As soon as Gu Juntian came back, he sensed something wrong in the way Zhou Qinghao looked at him.

“Qing, what’s wrong?” Gu Juntian asked.

Zhou Qinghao looked at him as though he had done something to wrong him, but he hadn’t.

He had been honest today, out hunting the entire time.

Could it be that someone in the tribe did something—like confessing to him and making Zhou Qinghao jealous?

It was quite possible. Prehistoric people were warm and open. From time to time, someone in the tribe would publicly declare they wanted to have children with another person.

Zhou Qinghao had liked him for many years, but always suppressed his feelings. If he felt unhappy after hearing someone else’s confession, that was normal.

“I’m fine,” Zhou Qinghao said.

Gu Juntian, not finding an answer from him, asked others while dividing up the meat if anything unusual had happened today.

The tribe members mentioned some things, but none said anyone had confessed to him.

Perhaps someone had said something to Zhou Qinghao that made him upset.

This wasn’t anyone’s fault, after all. People in the tribe didn’t know much about what was between him and Zhou Qinghao.

Now that Zhou Qinghao was unhappy, it was up to him to coax him.

By the time Gu Juntian finished dividing the meat, Zhou Qinghao had already cooked the gruel and had others take it away.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian took some meat and went inside, closing Zhou Qinghao’s door behind him and securing it with wood.

This way, no one could push the door open from outside.

And generally, no one dared to enter when the priest had closed the door.

“Why did you lock the door?” Zhou Qinghao asked.

Earlier, when Gu Juntian wasn’t around, his mood had lightened a little. But now, seeing Gu Juntian again, his feelings became extremely complicated.

Gu Juntian, intent on coaxing him, moved closer and held Zhou Qinghao’s hand. “Aqing, I want to be alone with you.”

Zhou Qinghao lowered his head to look at the hand being held.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian’s heart warmed. He lifted Zhou Qinghao’s hand and kissed it.

Zhou Qinghao froze. “You kissed me?”

“Can’t I?” Gu Juntian asked with a smile. He had long wanted to kiss Zhou Qinghao, but hadn’t dared for fear of scaring him or making him unwilling.

He didn’t even want to stop at just a hand.

Zhou Qinghao said nothing, simply gazing quietly at Gu Juntian.

Was Gu Juntian’s affection now all fake?

Or was there some truth to it?

“Aqing, did something happen to you?” Gu Juntian leaned over and kissed Zhou Qinghao on the face. “You can tell me.”

Zhou Qinghao remained silent.

Seeing that Zhou Qinghao didn’t pull away, Gu Juntian knew he was doing the right thing and that his guess was correct.

Most likely Zhou Qinghao was upset from jealousy… He should let him know his true feelings: “Aqing, you are the most important person to me. I really like you. In this world, I like you the most…”

“Are you telling the truth?” Zhou Qinghao asked.

“Of course it’s true!” Gu Juntian replied without hesitation.

Zhou Qinghao stared at Gu Juntian without blinking.

Gu Juntian was now the chief, already recognized by the tribe. Though he was the priest, Zhou Qinghao couldn’t just change the chief at will.

After all, both he and his teacher had once said Gu Juntian was a good chief.

To remove Gu Juntian, he would need him to do something harmful to the tribe.

In the prophecy, that was exactly what had happened—Gu Juntian repeatedly made mistakes and was driven out.

But mistakes meant death for tribe members.

In the prophecy, Gu Juntian disregarded lives, forcing him out. But he himself could not bring himself to do that.

Nor could he secretly kill Gu Juntian.

At this moment, he even felt swayed, wanting to kiss Gu Juntian.

“Aqing, I’ve liked you since we were young, which is why I’ve never been with anyone else. But since you’re the priest, I didn’t dare confess before, afraid it would harm you or make the tribe misunderstand…” Gu Juntian continued.

His words were sweet to hear.

Zhou Qinghao hardened his resolve and kissed Gu Juntian on the lips.

Besides framing him, Gu Juntian had also told the tribe that he forced him.

If that was the case, then what harm would it be to actually force him?

And if Gu Juntian still tried to harm him afterward, then he could just say Gu Juntian had forced him instead!

As the chief, forcing a priest—that charge alone could strip him of his position.

And Zhou Qinghao also had his selfish reasons.

Since Bai Yutian had not yet appeared, he believed Gu Juntian still had some feelings for him.

Even if he didn’t like his personality, Gu Juntian surely liked his body.

Otherwise, Gu Juntian wouldn’t be so touchy with him.

If they truly ended up together, then wouldn’t Gu Juntian stop paying attention to Bai Yutian?

The End of the World Base Master (7): 

Gu Juntian also thought it was Zhou Qinghao’s men who had come, but when the door opened, it was Zhen Jiayun who appeared before him.

Gu Juntian immediately frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Zhen Jiayun said, “I came to get my things.”

Gu Juntian said, “What things of yours are in my house? When you came here, you only had one set of clothes and nothing else.”

Zhen Jiayun looked at Gu Juntian in disbelief.

After leaving the Gu family, he had resolved never to come back.

But after he met Shao Huirui yesterday morning and moved into the place Shao Huirui arranged for him, he realized he lacked everything.

The place Shao Huirui gave him was smaller than the cloakroom he used to have at the Gu family’s house. Aside from the most basic furniture, there wasn’t even a bedsheet.

How could anyone live there?

The place was tiny, and the bathroom had to be shared. He didn’t even have a change of clothes or toiletries.

Even the food was terrible. Shao Huirui gave him some compressed biscuits produced at their base. Supposedly, those who went out to kill zombies all ate this stuff.

These compressed biscuits tasted better than coarse grain pancakes, but compared to the ones before the apocalypse, they were awful. They only had a salty taste and were so dry they choked him.

Zhen Jiayun was living miserably, and Shao Huirui was too busy to care about him.

After thinking it over, he decided to go to the Gu family and retrieve the things he had left behind.

He hadn’t expected Gu Juntian to be so heartless. Zhen Jiayun said, “Gu Juntian, I never thought you would be this kind of person!”

“What about me?” Gu Juntian countered. “I let you live in my house, eating and drinking for free for four years. Doesn’t that make me one of the best people around?”

Zhen Jiayun couldn’t stand Gu Juntian’s sarcasm and left again.

As he left, remembering the smell of meat wafting from the Gu house, he felt even more resentful.

The Gu family always spoke nicely but had excluded him all along.

Take food, for example. When he lived with them, their breakfast was just porridge and an egg. Now that he was gone, they were eating meat.

It had been the same before.

Father Gu brought home a lot of food, but all of it was stored in the ice cellar, never for him.

He ate three meals a day with Mother Gu and Gu Juntian, but sometimes Mother Gu would prepare extra dishes. He never got any of those.

Mother Gu had no idea that Zhen Jiayun held a grudge against her because he never got to taste the extra food she made.

She did make those snacks, but they were for Father Gu, an ability user.

Not only Zhen Jiayun, even her own son Gu Juntian didn’t get any.

Mother Gu did care somewhat about Zhen Jiayun, but of course, in her heart, he wasn’t as important as her own son.

Now her son liked Zhou Qinghao, and Zhou Qinghao had even stayed in the same room with him last night…

Afraid Zhou Qinghao might misunderstand, Mother Gu explained, “That person who just came was my best friend’s son. Back when we had plenty to eat at home, I took him in. But now that something’s happened to Old Gu, I told him to move out.”

“Mm,” Zhou Qinghao replied, then took out a card and handed it to Mother Gu. “Auntie, this is a secondary card for my work-point account. From now on, use it for household expenses.”

At H City’s safe base, everyone had their own work-point card. After joining work, their points were credited to it, and they could use the card to buy things.

Zhou Qinghao’s personal expenses were low, so his card held the most points in the entire base.

Originally, this secondary card was meant for Gu Juntian. But after his ex-boyfriend showed up, Zhou Qinghao felt displeased, so instead he gave it to Mother Gu.

Mother Gu said, “No need, no need, we still have plenty at home.”

How could she feel right about taking Zhou Qinghao’s money?

But Zhou Qinghao pressed the card into her hand. “Auntie, please keep it. I still have things to do, so I’ll go now.”

He turned to leave, just as Gu Juntian came back from sending Zhen Jiayun away.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntian immediately smiled. “Qinghao, are you going out?”

Zhou Qinghao still felt some irritation. He hadn’t intended to respond, but seeing Gu Juntian’s smile, he changed his mind.

He pulled Gu Juntian close and kissed him deeply before saying, “I’m off to work.”

Gu Juntian felt a bit helpless. Zhou Qinghao’s actions were very domineering, but this wasn’t what he had imagined!

He actually wanted to be the one to initiate the kiss.

Mother Gu, watching this scene, felt very satisfied.

She had always thought something was off when Zhen Jiayun interacted with her son.

Back then, she didn’t know why. Now she understood—Zhen Jiayun and her son never looked like a couple.

Zhou Qinghao was much better.

Mother Gu began chatting about lunch plans. “Juntian, how about we make dried bamboo shoots with old duck soup today? I’ll also buy some tofu and make braised tofu…”

“Mom, I’ll go buy tofu with you. Let’s make mapo tofu—Qinghao likes spicy food,” Gu Juntian said.

“Alright,” Mother Gu agreed.

They bought tofu, eggs, and some vegetables, then went home together.

At their doorstep, they saw a familiar young man.

He was the one who had once helped Zhou Qinghao by delivering the surveillance video of Father Gu’s injury to Gu Juntian.

“Gu Juntian,” the young man said, handing over a bag, “Captain Zhou asked me to bring these meat buns for District Chief Gu.”

The leaders of the safe zone were all called district chiefs. Although Gu Chengming had been injured, he hadn’t stepped down yet and was still district chief.

Gu Juntian accepted the buns. “Thank Captain Zhou for me.”

“Sure,” the man said with a smile before leaving.

Mother Gu couldn’t help but sigh. “Zhou Qinghao really is generous. Ten big meat buns again.”

The cafeteria’s meat buns weren’t cheap, but they were quite large. One was enough to fill Mother Gu up.

Gu Juntian said, “Dad should be awake. Mom, take a few up to him.”

Mother Gu brought the buns upstairs. Sure enough, Father Gu was already awake and cultivating.

When he saw her, he was about to ask her to cook something when he smelled the aroma of the buns.

Mother Gu gave him the buns and showed him the secondary card Zhou Qinghao had given.

Father Gu said, “He’s a good man.”

More than good—Zhou Qinghao was even a little too good!

He had practically brought a dowry into their family. His son must not let him down.

Yesterday, Father Gu had still been determined to surpass Zhou Qinghao and keep him from becoming district chief. But now, he no longer had the heart to compete.

He was getting older anyway. It was better to let the younger generation take on important positions.

Just then, one of Father Gu’s subordinates came looking for him.

In fact, people had come in the past two days, but Father Gu had been focused on cultivating and, knowing the safe zone had many matters to handle, had told them to manage things on their own first.

Now, though, the safe zone was more or less stabilized.

Father Gu lay back on the bed and told Mother Gu, “Let them in.”

He wanted to see the attitudes of his subordinates after his accident.

Those of good character and worth nurturing, he would recommend to Zhou Qinghao. Those who were double-faced, he would sideline.

At noon, Gu Juntian brought food to Zhou Qinghao again.

Old duck and bamboo shoot soup, mapo tofu, scrambled eggs with cucumber, and winter melon soup—four full dishes. Zhou Qinghao’s men were all envious when they saw.

In the apocalypse, it wasn’t easy to eat such a well-balanced meal with both meat and vegetables!

But aside from envy, they were puzzled. “Captain Zhou, why does Gu Juntian bring you meals every day?”

“I’m living in his house to protect his family’s safety. Isn’t it natural for him to bring me food?” Zhou Qinghao said. “Besides, it’s not like I eat for free—I gave them buns.”

He didn’t tell anyone about his relationship with Gu Juntian.

Although trading one’s body for resources was common in the base, people still gossiped about it. He didn’t want Gu Juntian to be talked about.

After eating, Zhou Qinghao gathered his men to discuss business.

With Gu Chengming injured, the safe zone needed a new district chief.

That district chief position—he intended to take it.

Only by becoming district chief could he better protect Gu Juntian.

Zhou Qinghao threw himself into work.

The base was in chaos now, and some people were even saying Gu Chengming’s accident was his doing.

He knew that the people spreading rumors wanted to set him against Gu Chengming.

This matter, he needed to discuss with Gu Chengming.

That night, when he returned to the Gu household, Zhou Qinghao intended to see Gu Chengming.

But Gu Juntian was waiting for him at the door, and as soon as he entered, he was called over to eat…

Forget it, dinner first.

Zhou Qinghao sat down, and then both Gu Juntian and Mother Gu kept piling food into his bowl.

Zhou Qinghao felt a little embarrassed. “You two eat as well.”

“We are eating,” Mother Gu said, “you just eat more.”

By the end, half the meat on the table had gone into Zhou Qinghao’s stomach.

After he was full, Zhou Qinghao suggested going to see Father Gu.

“I’ll go ask my dad,” Gu Juntian said.

Then he quickly went to find Gu Chengming.

As expected, Gu Chengming was cultivating again, his whole body overheated from training. Gu Juntian had to help first.

Opening the door, he saw Gu Chengming’s face red from exertion.

He immediately went forward to help smooth out the fire-type energy inside his body, and in doing so discovered that Gu Chengming had already advanced to a level-three ability user.

Amazing, truly amazing!

“Dad, Qinghao wants to see you,” Gu Juntian said.

“Then let him come up… no, wait, I’ll go downstairs to meet him,” Gu Chengming replied.

“Dad, you’re not hiding your strength anymore?” Gu Juntian asked.

“Not hiding anymore,” Gu Chengming said.

He didn’t know how his son had managed to win over Zhou Qinghao.

Before, he had thought Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t like his son, and worried that if Zhou Qinghao knew his son still had abilities, he might try to use him. That was why he insisted on concealing the fact that his powers weren’t abolished.

But now, hiding seemed unnecessary.

The safe zone had many issues to handle, and he needed to have a good talk with Zhou Qinghao.

Father Gu got up, changed clothes, opened the safe, and took out a small box before heading downstairs.

“Dad, what’s in that box?” Gu Juntian asked.

“It’s not for you, don’t think about it,” Father Gu replied.

“I’ll find out sooner or later,” Gu Juntian muttered. It was probably for Zhou Qinghao—once he and Zhou Qinghao were alone in the room, he could always ask to see it.

Downstairs, Zhou Qinghao frowned slightly.

He wanted to see Gu Chengming, but Gu Juntian insisted on notifying him first… was Gu Chengming alright?

Could it be that Gu Juntian went ahead to cover up some neglect of Gu Chengming?

Yesterday, when he had seen him, Gu Chengming’s body had been hot like he was running a fever. He wondered if it had gotten worse today.

Zhou Qinghao planned to check Gu Chengming carefully when he met him.

He thought that Gu Juntian and his mother’s neglect of Gu Chengming must have a reason, maybe something like infidelity or an illegitimate child.

That was why he hadn’t interfered much.

But since Gu Chengming had contributed so much to the base, Zhou Qinghao couldn’t let anything truly happen to him.

As he was pondering this, Gu Chengming strode down the stairs with the box in hand.

His complexion looked excellent.

Zhou Qinghao was a bit stunned, but Gu Chengming smiled at him. “Qinghao, are you full? Want some more food? I’m not short on supplies here.”

“I’ve eaten enough,” Zhou Qinghao said.

“Good, make sure you eat more in the future. You’re too thin.” Father Gu then looked at Gu Juntian. “Brat, cook more dishes from now on, build up Qinghao’s health.”

“Dad, even if you didn’t say, I’d still do it,” Gu Juntian replied.

Father Gu then turned back to Zhou Qinghao, smiling as he handed him the box. “Qinghao, yesterday I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t talk to you properly or give you a gift for our first meeting. Sorry about that. Take this as a meeting gift.”

Zhou Qinghao was puzzled. He had known Father Gu for a long time—why suddenly give him a meeting gift?

Wait, before the apocalypse, when someone brought their partner home, the elders would prepare a gift.

“From now on, we’re one family. My brat here still needs your care,” Father Gu said, pushing the box into Zhou Qinghao’s arms.

The more he looked at Zhou Qinghao, the more satisfied he felt.

The apocalypse bred darkness. Even though their H City safe zone worked hard to preserve order from before the apocalypse, shady industries still cropped up. Most strong male ability users lived chaotic private lives.

But Zhou Qinghao was different—his private life was spotless.

Strong and disciplined, wasn’t that wonderful?

Their family had to hold on to him.

Hearing Father Gu’s words, Zhou Qinghao’s heart trembled.

One family from now on… Did Gu Chengming mean…?

He really liked Gu Juntian, but he had always thought their relationship was just a transaction.

Could it be otherwise?

And Gu Chengming’s condition seemed strange.

Wasn’t he injured, his powers abolished? He didn’t look injured at all.

“Uncle Gu, your injury…” Zhou Qinghao asked.

“It’s nothing. My powers will recover in a few days,” Gu Chengming said, then demonstrated his ability.

His powers were fine! Zhou Qinghao instinctively looked at Gu Juntian.

Noticing this, Gu Chengming explained, “I hadn’t planned to hide it from you, but my brat here wanted to court you, so he asked me to pretend to be sick.”

Zhou Qinghao: “…”

Gu Juntian had used his father’s supposed injury as an excuse to make him move in, then slept on the floor in his room.

And it turned out, Gu Chengming was perfectly fine!

He had been tricked, but for some reason, he couldn’t feel angry.

By then, Gu Chengming had already sat down. Smiling, he asked, “You wanted to see me—do you have questions about the base? I happen to have things to tell you too…”

Gu Chengming’s understanding of the base far surpassed Zhou Qinghao’s.

He immediately began explaining who could be trusted, who to be cautious of, and how to be a good district chief.

“Uncle Gu, since you’re fine, you should remain district chief,” Zhou Qinghao said.

“I’m not entirely fine. My powers are only level three now, and I’m still injured. I’m not young anymore—I want to rest for a while,” Gu Chengming replied.

He told Zhou Qinghao everything about the base.

The talk went on until past nine o’clock at night.

“Dad, it’s already late,” Gu Juntian finally said.

“It’s only a little after nine, how is that late?” Father Gu replied.

“Not late? You always told me to sleep at nine,” Gu Juntian said.

Father Gu: “…” That was before the apocalypse, when his son was in puberty!

He had only made him sleep early because he was worried he wouldn’t grow tall.

But now, clearly, his son had his own nightlife, and as a father, he was no longer needed.

Father Gu, busy cultivating, got hungry quickly. Before Zhou Qinghao came back, he had already eaten dinner.

At this moment, he looked at Mother Gu: “Xiao Lu, I’m hungry.”

Mother Gu said: “I specially made more food tonight, I’ll fry you some egg fried rice.”

Father Gu gladly agreed.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao a little curious, Gu Juntian said: “My dad has a good appetite, he always eats a late-night snack. Do you want one?”

“No need.” Zhou Qinghao said.

He had always been worried that Father Gu was being neglected, but thinking back now… last night’s potatoes were probably also Father Gu’s late-night snack.

As for the daytime, with Father Gu staying at home, there was no way he would go hungry.

“If you’re not eating a late-night snack, let’s go back and rest.” Gu Juntian pulled Zhou Qinghao upstairs.

He had just gotten together with Zhou Qinghao, it was like newlyweds, every spring night was precious—better not waste time.

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian and suddenly asked: “When did you start liking me?”

Gu Juntian said: “The first time I saw you.”

Zhou Qinghao thought back. The first time they met was a long time ago.

So back then, Gu Juntian already liked him?

If that’s the case, then what was going on with Zhen Jiayun?

As he was thinking, he saw Gu Jun□□ leaning over to kiss him.

He pushed him away and asked: “I heard Zhen Jiayun was your ex-boyfriend?”

Gu Juntian was shocked. He thought Zhou Qinghao didn’t know about this, but unexpectedly, he did!

He quickly said: “That’s not true, there was nothing between me and Zhen Jiayun. I never even touched him.”

“Then why are you so skilled?”

“I love to study!” Gu Juntian replied.

As they talked, they moved on to their night together.

After everything was over, Gu Juntian remembered—his dad had already been honest with Zhou Qinghao, but about his own special ability, he still hadn’t confessed.

Forget it, he would talk about it tomorrow.

Hugging Zhou Qinghao in his arms, Gu Juntian used his power to help channel the energy in Zhou Qinghao’s body and heal his wounds.

Mental strength itself could not heal wounds, but ability users had powers—in other words, their bodies naturally carried energy.

He could guide this energy to help Zhou Qinghao recover.

The Gu household was warm and cozy, but Shao Huirui was furious.

For some reason, Zhou Qinghao had actually moved into the Gu family home!

He had long coveted the supplies Gu Chengming had saved up. He had originally planned to seize them after Gu Chengming had an accident, but now that Zhou Qinghao was living there, he couldn’t make a move.

He needed to think of another way.

After much thought, Shao Huirui decided to rely on Zhen Jiayun.

If Zhen Jiayun returned to the Gu household, he could help him with many things, and maybe even help him deal with Zhou Qinghao.

But to get Zhen Jiayun to do something, he would definitely need to coax him.

Shao Huirui had liked Zhen Jiayun a lot in the past.

But after the apocalypse began and his own power grew stronger, with no shortage of people around him, he didn’t really care much about Zhen Jiayun anymore.

On top of that, he had been very busy lately and hadn’t spared him any attention.

It was still early now, so he decided to call Zhen Jiayun over and coax him.

The next day, Gu Juntian got up early as usual.

Then he discovered that Father Gu was already awake.

“Dad, last night… you didn’t stay up again, did you?” Gu Juntian asked.

“I slept last night, just woke up early.” Father Gu said.

After talking with Zhou Qinghao yesterday, his urgency about improving his powers wasn’t so strong anymore. He had gone to bed early, probably earlier than his son.

After all, he didn’t have a night life.

“Dad, what do you want for breakfast?” Gu Juntian asked.

Father Gu said: “I remember there’s still some dried noodles at home, let’s have noodles.”

Before the apocalypse, many people didn’t care for dried noodles, but now, they were a luxury.

Gu Juntian fried some eggs, added pickles and shredded meat, and made a big pot of soup.

He cooked the noodles, poured the soup over them, and they were ready.

Since Zhou Qinghao wasn’t up yet, Gu Juntian planned to eat with him later, so he didn’t cook his own share and first made a bowl for Father Gu.

Father Gu ate heartily.

Watching him, Gu Juntian suggested: “Dad, later, take me outside the city to kill zombies.”

Father Gu paused in eating his noodles: “Why did you suddenly think of killing zombies? You don’t have powers, how are you going to kill zombies? No way.”

Outside the city was very dangerous. It was one thing if he went alone, but bringing his son along was impossible.

Gu Juntian said: “I don’t have powers, but I’m not helpless… Dad, I think my special ability has more uses than we thought.”

He wanted to go outside the city and test his powers properly on zombies.

But no matter how he tried to persuade him, Father Gu refused. Finally, after being pestered too much, he said: “If you want to go, then let Zhou Qinghao go with you.”

By himself, he couldn’t guarantee Gu Juntian’s safety.

But with Zhou Qinghao added, there would be protection.

Gu Juntian thought about it and agreed.

But Zhou Qinghao was a bit busy, so they would wait a few days.

That day, Zhou Qinghao still got up late.

And still felt refreshed all over.

He thought the situation was strange.

After sleeping with Gu Juntian, his spirit was especially good, like he had absorbed Gu Juntian’s energy…

Shaking off that inexplicable thought, Zhou Qinghao went downstairs.

Hearing his footsteps, Gu Juntian went to cook noodles. Soon, two steaming bowls were on the table.

Looking at the noodles in front of him, Zhou Qinghao felt dazed.

After the apocalypse began, he had traveled far and wide to find his parents.

Unfortunately, they had been unlucky and already passed away.

He had no home anymore.

But now, it felt like he had a home again.

“Qinghao, what do you want for lunch? Want to eat lamb? We still have some lamb ribs in the ice cellar.” Gu Juntian asked.

Zhou Qinghao came back to himself and said: “I’m not picky.”

“Then let’s eat lamb ribs. Qinghao, let’s go get them together. While we’re at it, you can help me reinforce the ice cellar.” Gu Juntian said.

Zhou Qinghao, being a water ability user, could also use ice.

Since it was summer, their ice cellar needed to be frozen more firmly, and he could help with that.

Major General Alpha (21): “I wonder what his expression will be when he comes out of the spaceship.”

Gu Jun­tian’s condition was now much better than before.

After lying down in the medical pod, he didn’t rush to sleep. Instead, he turned to Zhou Qing­hao and said, “Qinghao, do you want to come into my medical pod and lie down with me for a while? This pod is quite big — it can easily fit the two of us.”

Zhou Qing­hao sat beside him, listening intently, his eyes full of affection. But as for this suggestion, he refused without hesitation.

The medical pod was indeed large enough to hold two people, but doing so would affect Gu Jun­tian’s treatment.

Gu Jun­tian looked pitiful. “Why not? Do you not love me anymore?”

Zhou Qing­hao met his eyes and said solemnly, “I love you. I’d do anything for you.”

Gu Jun­tian had only been teasing him, but when Zhou Qing­hao spoke so earnestly, his own expression grew serious. “I love you too.”

“I know.” Zhou Qing­hao smiled.

When Zhou Qing­hao smiled, he was especially handsome. Gu Jun­tian’s heart stirred, but given his current condition, he couldn’t do much, so he simply said, “Qinghao, keep me company and talk to me.”

“Alright… Gu Jun­tian, are you really going to make our relationship public?” Zhou Qing­hao asked.

“Of course. We can’t keep sneaking around forever.”

Zhou Qing­hao smiled again at that.

The livestream viewers were delighted. “So sweet!”

“This stream has changed styles several times — now it’s a romance stream!”

“It really is sweet. I admire Lieutenant General Gu; the pod shows his vitals are all very low. In his condition, most people would’ve fainted long ago, yet he’s here flirting with Zhou Qing­hao.”

“Lieutenant General Zhou’s smile is gorgeous!”

…

Zhou Qing­hao asked, “Will Marshal Lei object?”

Gu Jun­tian chuckled. “If he objects, then we’ll work hard to get him off the marshal’s seat, and you can become marshal. Then no one can stop us!”

It was obviously a joke, and the viewers laughed.

“Marshal Lei, someone’s eyeing your position!”

“Marshal Lei, you should punish such rebellious subordinates — give them a long vacation so they can go get their marriage certificate!”

“Lieutenant General Gu, you’re something else — not only do you want to overthrow the royal family, but you also want the marshal’s seat!”

…

Marshal Lei, who was also watching, looked full of energy. “Brat, I wouldn’t stop you!”

Zhou Qing­hao thought for a moment and said, “Juntian, be careful of Hermann.”

Earlier, in the conference room, Gu Jun­tian hadn’t mentioned Hermann, but the video accusing him was likely recorded by Hermann.

“Hermann… he likes Amos, so he definitely can’t be trusted,” Gu Jun­tian said.

In the original plot, Hermann hadn’t done much, but according to the original owner’s memories, Hermann liked Amos and probably didn’t like the original owner, seeing him as someone who had stolen his idol.

Still, Gu Jun­tian didn’t feel like talking about Hermann now. “Qinghao, let’s talk about something else.” In the past, the original owner had badmouthed Zhou Qing­hao to Hermann, and Gu Jun­tian would need to fix that later.

“What do you want to talk about?” Zhou Qing­hao asked.

“Let’s talk about our wedding. What kind of wedding do you want?”

Zhou Qing­hao hadn’t thought about it. “I don’t know. As long as we get married, that’s enough for me.”

“A wedding is still important! I think we could have an outdoor wedding — we’d arrive in our mechs, then step out together to receive blessings…”

As he spoke, Gu Jun­tian drifted off to sleep.

Viewers promptly turned their attention to Marshal Lei again.

“Marshal Lei, did you hear Lieutenant General Gu’s request?”

“Better start picking a wedding venue!”

“We can crowdfund the wedding costs!”

…

Once Gu Jun­tian fell asleep, Zhou Qing­hao brought another medical pod next to his and lay down as well.

He still had some injuries that hadn’t fully healed.

Soon, both were asleep.

On another ship, the reinforcements were still excited — they had followed Lieutenant General Gu to kill the Zerg Queen, a monumental achievement.

No one could sleep, and someone suggested, “Shall we go see the Zerg Queen’s corpse?”

“Sure!”

They’d already visited earlier when Gu Jun­tian went to shower and change, even trying to haul the corpse out of its burrow, but it was too massive. Pressed for time, they had returned quickly.

Now, they wanted to take more photos.

They spent most of the night doing so, until they were about to head back and noticed incoming signals nearby.

“There are First Legion ships around us.”

“More ships? Did Lieutenant General Gu call in more reinforcements?”

“Probably. Let’s say hello.”

They hailed the newcomers, who replied, “How long have you been offline?”

“Two days. Why?”

“We’ve got a mobile signal station with us. Want to connect?”

“Of course! But why bring that? It’s expensive, heavy, and eats a ton of energy.”

“At first we didn’t, but after being chased, we brought it — and luckily we did…”

After Gu Jun­tian’s smear campaign spread online, Marshal Lei had immediately sent people to bring him and Zhou Qing­hao back.

They set off in a rush, only to learn halfway that the accusations were false — and that the two had even killed the Zerg Queen.

On the way, they ran into a swarm of mid-level Zerg headed to rescue the Queen, wiped them out, then met the later-arriving team who had the mobile signal station.

They’d watched the whole drama online as they traveled, and now they wanted to share the news with those still offline.

“Something big happened on the star network,” they said.

The people on the barren star were shocked and quickly connected — and were flooded with messages, even several from Marshal Lei himself.

They checked the star network: a nationwide vote to abolish the royal family, highlight reels of Lieutenant General Gu killing the Zerg Queen, the “sweetest AA romance”…

Wait, how did the entire empire know what happened here?

Then a familiar First Legion admiral stepped off a ship and said, “You and Lieutenant General Gu’s plot to overthrow the royal family was broadcast live to the whole net.”

They were dumbfounded.

“There’s a replay — you should watch it. Lots of things you didn’t know.”

They did — and were stunned.

The dependable Lieutenant General Gu they knew… was holding Lieutenant general Zhou’s hand the entire time during serious discussions.

“I thought he barely got injured killing the Queen, but…”

“He’s not quite what I imagined.”

“Isn’t he a little too playful?”

They stayed up, reading all the online chatter. By now, ten hours had passed since Gu Jun­tian entered the pod the second time.

The livestream showed he was awake again. Now that everyone could connect, it wouldn’t be long before he learned the whole empire had seen his private side.

They were looking forward to his reaction — as were the livestream viewers.

“Tens of thousands have arrived at the barren star. It’s surrounded by fleets.”

“Lieutenant  General Gu doesn’t know any of this!”

“Can’t wait to see his face when he steps out.”

“Is it bad to watch his embarrassment like this? So you all stop watching — I’ll watch alone, hahaha!”

Last night, many people had arrived at the barren star, but Gu Jun­tian and Zhou Qing­hao hadn’t been disturbed. These were their own people, and no alarms had gone off.

Gu Jun­tian woke feeling full of energy, greeted Zhou Qing­hao cheerfully. “Morning, Qinghao!”

“Morning,” Zhou Qing­hao replied.

Gu Jun­tian stretched as he stepped out of the pod. “A beautiful day begins. Qinghao, let’s go take a shower together?”

Now that he was fully recovered, he could finally do something.

Thinking of that, he added, “I’ll show you my well-toned body!”

Zhou Qing­hao: “…” There were still people waiting outside — what was Gu Jun­tian thinking?