"Ugh… No more… Hubby, please spare me… I was wrong!"
Smack! Xia Yi landed a hard slap on Gu Yue's perky ass and said harshly, "Wrong? Then tell me exactly where you were wrong!"
"I was wrong… I shouldn't have… thought about giving you… to someone else," Gu Yue admitted with an incredibly remorseful tone, looking pitiful.
"As long as you know you were wrong. Let's see if you dare to do it again next time." Seeing her sincere attitude, Xia Yi finally let her off.
Damn it, it had only been a few days, and she was already thinking about giving him to Xia Hong? If he didn't properly discipline her, who knew what she'd do in the coming days?
So, after parting ways with Xia Hong, Xia Yi dragged Gu Yue to a hotel and thoroughly "punished" her.
"Tell me, what exactly were you thinking? How could you come up with such a ridiculous idea?" Xia Yi pulled Gu Yue into his embrace and gently kissed her forehead.
"Dragon girls are the dream cultivation cauldrons of all Soul Masters, and Xia Hong is the Silver Dragon Girl. I just wanted to help your talent and strength improve further," Gu Yue murmured, burying her head in Xia Yi's chest. Her delicate, snow-white fingers traced circles on his chest.
Gu Yue was very satisfied. Though she had been the one to propose giving Xia Yi "half" to the Silver Dragon Girl, his reaction had pleased her immensely.
"But what she said didn't seem like something the Silver Dragon Girl would say. Could it be that your guess was wrong?" Xia Yi said in a deep voice.
He felt that Xia Hong hadn't been lying.
"Impossible. She must be the Silver Dragon Girl. My judgment won't be wrong." Gu Yue bit her lip and said, "Just because she spoke nonsense doesn't mean I'll deny my own conclusions."
"She gave you a book, didn't she? Take it out and have a look. Maybe there are some clues." Xia Yi suddenly remembered the book Xia Hong had given Gu Yue.
He had been too busy "punishing" Gu Yue to think about it earlier.
"Right! Let's see what she wrote." Gu Yue quickly retrieved the book, Northern Sunset, from her storage ring.
At first, it seemed like an ordinary alternate-history novel, describing how the Titan Snow Demon King of the Extreme North was suddenly blessed by the Ice God. The Ice God not only transformed into the Titan Snow Demon King's Martial Soul but also gifted a divine artifact—the Ice God Mirror!
With the help of the Ice God and the Ice God Mirror, the Titan Snow Demon King took on the name Xue Qiling. Under the watchful eyes of the Divine Realm, Tang San, and Da Ming and Er Ming, he began his journey to save soul beasts.
Though it was just an alternate-history novel, the way Xue Qiling overcame one desperate situation after another, pushing forward despite the suffocating pressure from the Divine Realm—constantly thwarting Shura God Tang San's schemes against soul beasts—made Gu Yue increasingly engrossed.
Even though the book was overwhelmingly oppressive, as the ruler of soul beasts, Gu Yue found it thrilling.
But the moment her character—the Silver Dragon King—appeared in the story, all of her enthusiasm vanished, and she gritted her teeth in fury.
Her anger erupted when she read that the Silver Dragon King collaborated with the Goddess of Life.
"Damn that Silver Dragon Girl! Damn Xia Hong! Even if you can't stand me, even if the dragon race and dragon girls have a grudge, there's no need to be this disgusting! Slander! This is blatant slander!" Gu Yue trembled with rage, her jade-like hand surging with intense fire elements as she slapped Northern Sunset. The book was instantly engulfed in terrifying flames.
Watching the book that had defamed her burn, Gu Yue's beautiful eyes revealed a sense of satisfaction.
As the edges of Northern Sunset turned to ash and the fire threatened to consume the rest, Gu Yue suddenly realized—she hadn't finished reading it yet.
"I need to see how she wrote my ending!" Gu Yue suppressed her seething anger and, with a wave of her hand, extinguished the flames, leaving the book half-burned but still readable.
Clenching her teeth, she continued reading.
After a while, her expression completely twisted.
Closing Northern Sunset, she turned around, fury written all over her face, and stormed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Summer Yi quickly grabbed her.
"To fight for my life!" Gu Yue growled through clenched teeth.
"It's just a novel. Isn't that a bit much?" Summer Yi said with a dark expression.
He had also been portrayed in a ridiculous light in a certain novel called The Leisurely Fox, but he hadn't gotten this angry.
"I know that the dragon girls hate the dragon race, and I expected her to slander me. If she painted me as a coward, unwilling to stand against the Divine Realm, I'd accept it. If she made me out to be a love-struck fool, making choices that disrespected my role as the ruler of soul beasts, I'd accept that too. But saying that I committed suicide to escape reality? That I cannot tolerate!" Gu Yue's killing intent surged, her beautiful eyes turning red. "No matter what happens, no matter whether I am right or wrong, if I dare to do something, I will never run away from the consequences. Do I look that weak to her?"
From the moment Xia Hong pulled out Northern Sunset, Gu Yue had expected to be vilified in the book.
She had never expected "Silver Dragon Girl" to praise her.
She had mentally prepared herself for the possibility of being depicted as an unworthy ruler of soul beasts.
As long as it wasn't too outrageous, she could accept it.
But she never expected that the Silver Dragon Girl, Xia Hong, would portray her as someone too cowardly to face reality.
Even she was enraged reading that, feeling the urge to slap the "Silver Dragon King" in the book.
How could she not be furious?
Did she really seem that pathetic?
"Alright, it's just a book. It's not worth getting so worked up over. Just be yourself. Maybe Xia Hong wrote it just to provoke you. If you go looking for a fight, you'll only be playing into her hands." Xia Yi ruffled Gu Yue's hair, speaking gently.
"Hmph! Damn Silver Dragon Girl, you'd better not fall into my hands in the future." Gu Yue gritted her teeth and took out Northern Sunset again to read the final chapter.
She wanted to see how it all ended.
Soon, she finished the last chapter, closed the book, and her deep gaze no longer held any anger.
"What, not mad anymore?" Summer Yi asked.
"You're right. It's just a novel. Getting angry over it isn't worth it." Gu Yue shook her head and said solemnly, "Even though human strength was far weaker ten thousand years ago, I have to admit, the pressure that Xue Qiling faced was far greater than what we're experiencing now. To persist despite constant betrayal by soul beasts and overwhelming external threats, never once wavering in his mission to save them—he truly deserves the title of Extreme North Heavenly King. His conviction is unparalleled."
"I didn't expect you to rate him so highly," Xia Yi chuckled. "I thought you'd hate him."
"Am I that petty?" Gu Yue rolled her eyes. Then, she sighed, "Even though we are in the darkness, we can still see the light. But Xue Qiling walked forward in absolute darkness, never giving up. Even after 'I' and the sea soul beasts betrayed him, his resolve to save the soul beasts never wavered."
Gu Yue sighed again. "Even though Xue Qiling is a fictional character, Silver Dragon Girl did an exceptional job portraying him as a true king. The only flaw is that she didn't handle his relationships well. Not just with the Ice God, Meng Hongchen, and Yan Xi—his relationships with Ice Emperor, Snow Emperor, and the Golden and Silver Dragon Girls were all full of regret."
"Precisely because there are regrets, it feels real. Just like this book—though oppressive, its content is incredibly authentic." Xia Yi nodded and said, "Xue Qiling carries too heavy a burden. The Divine Realm, the Sea God, Da Ming, and Er Ming—at every moment, they could render all his efforts futile. The entire Extreme North could be reduced to ashes at any time."
Xia Yi fell silent for a long moment before speaking again, "Rather than calling it regret, it would be more accurate to call it helplessness. Xue Qiling struggles every step of the way, treading cautiously. He must consider the interests of the soul beasts while also factoring in Tang San, Da Ming, and Er Ming, ensuring that they do not act prematurely. Under such pressure, how could he possibly have the time to indulge in romance with Bing Di, Xue Di, or the Gold and Silver Dragon Girls? How could he have the heart to experience love and hatred, or appreciate so-called beauty and passion? In a world where looking up means seeing nothing but despair, his personal emotions had long since been cast aside—not by choice, but due to the constraints of the greater circumstances."
"And that is precisely what makes it feel real." Xia Yi sighed softly and continued, "Charging forward, cutting down anyone who displeases him, gathering all the women he desires into a harem without a single regret—such a story might be thrilling to read, but it lacks realism."
"We won't end up like Xue Qiling, will we?" Gu Yue's eyes reddened again as she clung tightly to Xia Yi.
She had always felt that the pressure on her shoulders was immense, but after listening to Xia Yi's words, she realized that compared to Xue Qiling, she was far more fortunate.
In contrast to the Xue Qiling in the book, she had no right to complain.
"There's another possibility," Xia Yi suddenly remarked.
"What possibility?" Gu Yue, still holding onto Xia Yi, asked curiously.
"It's also possible that the author of this book simply isn't good at writing romance, which is why the protagonist's relationships are filled with so many regrets," Xia Yi chuckled.
"That's very likely! That Silver Dragon Woman is a hundred-thousand-year-old virgin! She probably imagined an awe-inspiring Heavenly King but didn't know how to properly develop his relationships, which is why there are so many unresolved emotions," Gu Yue was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.
She was certain that "Silver Dragon Woman" Xia Hong must have been quite frustrated when writing those parts as well.
(End of Chapter)