Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

"So what?"

Xuan Lin was still unaware of the meaning behind Wen Yu's words. He stumbled to his feet and tried to grab Wen Yu's gorgeous clothes.

Wen Yu stood motionless like a withered tree. He waited for Xuan Lin to approach, then suddenly turned and viciously slashed his face with the phoenix hairpin in his hand. With each powerful slash, he tore apart the intact skin and flesh on his right side, leaving his face unrecognizable.

Xuan Lin was so frightened by the scene before him that his face turned deathly pale. He finally regained some of his senses, and disbelief almost overflowed from his eyes: "Wen Yu, you're a fucking lunatic!"

"Hahahaha..." Wen Yu's right cheek was so painful that he lost all feeling. He stared intently at Xuan Lin and mocked, "Xuan Lin, come on, don't you like my face? Look... look!"

Blood dripped continuously from the phoenix hairpin in Wen Yu's hand. He walked forward step by step, grabbed Xuan Lin's shirt, and dragged him in front of him.

Xuan Lin looked as if he had seen a ghost. He abruptly flung his sleeves aside and pushed Wen Yu away, his face clearly showing disgust: "What bad luck!"

Wen Yu crashed into the bedpost behind him, collapsing to the ground, half his face a bloody mess, yet he continued to laugh uncontrollably. Xuan Lin glanced at him coldly for a few seconds, then turned and pushed open the palace door, walking out.

"Throw him into Kunning Palace...lock him up! Don't let this madman embarrass himself!"

The footsteps outside were chaotic, and there was a lot of unknown noise everywhere. With a heavy slam of the door, the decorations inside the palace shook and were completely ruined.

Wen Yu felt as if all his strength had been drained away. Blood dripped from his face, staining his equally crimson wedding dress. He clutched the phoenix hairpin tightly in his hand, not daring to loosen his grip even after Xuan Lin had left.

"Quick! Come in here! Drag him out..."

Wen Yu's vision was blurry. He looked up and vaguely saw several dark figures walking towards him at the entrance of the main hall.

"Your Majesty the Empress..."

Wen Yu's eyes involuntarily stung and swelled. He angrily fiddled with the mask by the bedside, and suddenly felt a stinging pain in his fingertips.

He withdrew his hand and realized that the gold mask beside his pillow was rough and the edges had cut a bit of skin on his hand.

Wen Yu lowered his eyelashes, wiped the drop of blood on his hand onto the bedding, and then turned over to face outwards again.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of Shen Yu turning the pages of his book stopped. Wen Yu saw Shen Yu's figure swaying in the candlelight before he obediently lay back down on his bed.

Wen Yu waited for more than ten minutes, listening carefully, and finally heard Shen Yu's soft breathing become calm. Shen Yu had fallen asleep.

Wen Yu exuded a chilling aura. Even now, recalling those distant events still tore at his nerves, exposing the festering wounds and pain beneath his skin.

Your Majesty the Empress...

Wen Yu lay motionless on the bed. After a long silence, he reached under the bed and, feeling the rising chill, carefully pulled out a small box from under the bed and took out a medicine bottle.

Shen Yu hadn't responded yet. Wen Yu kept an eye on the situation behind the beaded curtain. He opened the mouth of the medicine bottle and placed it next to the candle flame.

Soon, a faint fragrance wafted from the bottle. Wen Yu covered his mouth and nose, and waited until the fragrance filled most of the inner hall before putting the medicine bottle back into his original small box.

"Shen Yu?"

……

"Shen Yu?"

Wen Yu called out twice, increasing the volume with each call to ensure the person behind the beaded curtain could hear him.

Shen Yu did not react.

Wen Yu cautiously called out twice more, but Shen Yu still did not respond.

Wen Yu was relieved. He got out of bed, grabbed the wooden cane next to him, and limped toward the back of the beaded curtain.

Shen Yu slept soundly on the small bed. He didn't have many strange postures or movements when he slept; he just lay flat and quiet.

Wen Yu stood in front of his bed for a moment, then reached out and pushed Shen Yu towards the wall.

The bed wasn't very big; Shen Yu alone took up two-thirds of it. Wen Yu seemed oblivious as he pushed Shen Yu against the wall, took off his shoes, and lay down in the small space he had just squeezed out.

Even though the place was so small, Wen Yu still felt awkward lying down. He turned to his side, pulled Shen Yu's arm over, and pressed his head against it.

The unknown chill finally showed signs of subsiding. Wen Yu lifted her eyelids and glanced up. It was pitch black all around, and Shen Yu was still unconscious due to the drug-induced incense.

Wen Yu withdrew his gaze, pulled the edge of the blanket over himself, and then quietly closed his eyes.

The creature, who was dozing by the window at the time, floated over to Shen Yu's side to check on him. The two faces in the purple light were remarkably similar, both with their eyes closed, and for a moment they seemed to be derivatives of the same person.

It yawned, barely surviving, and, finding nothing amiss, flew back to the window to continue its nap.

*

Shen Yu opened his eyes the next morning. He had dreamt of something strange and bizarre the night before, the scenes of which were so surreal that they caused his brain nerves to throb in waves.

Shen Yu frowned and sat up, glancing behind the beaded curtain. It was completely dark on Wen Yu's side of the bed; his breathing was shallow, and he hadn't woken up yet.

Shen Yu withdrew his gaze, stood up, and walked out of the hall. Suddenly, he felt an unusual soreness and pain in half of his arm. He frowned and pinched the muscles there, thinking that he had caught a cold the night before.

Even while barely surviving, it was still calculating its yang energy value. Seeing it storing energy day and night for the past few days, Shen Yu couldn't help but ask, "What do you need so much yang energy value for?"

The creature, barely clinging to life, turned its body to the side and said mysteriously, "This is my secret, I can't tell you."

Shen Yu had no intention of peeking. He glanced at the data screen that was barely hanging on and said, "You've made your screen so big, it's hard for me not to see it."

"Hmph!" The creature that had been stealing its life had blurred out its entire data panel with a mosaic. After doing this, it floated to Shen Yu's side and suddenly spoke.

"My yang energy is currently abundant, so I don't need you to give me any more for the time being. Since you're my host, I can help you remove the cold poison from your body for free, what do you say..."

"No need." Shen Yu walked along the road. After washing up in the outer hall, he walked around and then went into the inner hall. "I can untie it."

To live a life of ignominy: "?"

"How did you figure this out?" A question mark appeared on the data panel. "Did Wen Yu tell you?"

Shen Yu frowned slightly. As he walked up the steps, he said, "To be honest, I don't know why. I woke up one morning and suddenly knew how to solve it. Maybe I'm just gifted."

"Hmm...maybe it is!" After a few moments of contemplation, it flew into the sky, patted Shen Yu's head, and said proudly, "My previous host was a smart idiot, and the host before that was also a smart idiot. Now it's your turn, and you're definitely a smart idiot too!"