Unfortunately, this time was too short for Zhong Ling.
Not long after, Gu Han Yuan brought Zhong Ling to the bottom of the cliff.
Gu Han Yuan noticed that Zhong Ling was missing a hair ribbon, her hair blown into a mess as they descended the cliff.
He took out a white hair ribbon from his storage space, one he had used before, and handed it to her.
“Tie it up, your hair is all over the place.”
“Ah!”
Zhong Ling also realized how disheveled she looked, taking the ribbon and turning her back to tidy her hair.
She took the ribbon and smelled Gu Han Yuan's scent on it.
Because the experience of descending the cliff had left such a strong impression on her, she remembered his scent.
Zhong Ling thought to herself that this ribbon must have been used by Gu Han Yuan.
But why white?
Someone dressed in black using a white ribbon seemed odd, didn't it?
Gu Han Yuan hadn't expected Zhong Ling to be so perceptive.
She had noticed the dissonance from just a single ribbon.
He was currently tallying his recent gains.
Two new entries had appeared in Zhong Ling's series evaluations.
Hero saving the damsel, A-rank evaluation, 1500 Villain Points.
Cliffside emotion, S-rank evaluation, 2000 Villain Points.
Current series evaluation: SS-rank, 6700 Villain Points, currently unclaimable.
Gu Han Yuan thought this evaluation was accumulating ridiculously fast, an SSS-rank evaluation was just around the corner.
He just didn’t know what the requirements for claiming it were.
Besides, Zhong Ling's favorability towards him should be quite high now, effectively severing the “yin yuan xian” (fated bond) for Duan Yu.
Villain Points exceeded 10,000 for the first time, currently at 10170 Villain Points.
He hesitated for a moment before deciding to hold onto it, he wasn’t in a hurry to use it.
Zhong Ling didn’t ask about the ribbon, she simply tied her hair up silently.
But perhaps because she was using Gu Han Yuan’s ribbon, she felt her hair being gently stroked.
A blush appeared on her face as a result.
Suddenly, Zhong Ling saw a figure in the distance by the pool, slowly climbing onto the shore.
“Wu Tian ge ge, is that Duan Da ge? Why is he here?”
Hearing Zhong Ling's voice, Gu Han Yuan's brow furrowed slightly. He felt a strange discomfort.
After suppressing that subtle feeling of unease, he turned his gaze toward Duan Yu.
Duan Yu, in a state of disarray, hadn't noticed them yet.
Gu Han Yuan pulled Zhong Ling into his arms, hiding behind a tree and observing silently.
Suddenly embraced by Gu Han Yuan, Zhong Ling found herself surrounded by his pleasant masculine scent, feeling as though she might faint.
She dared not struggle, so she simply rested quietly against his chest.
Gu Han Yuan hadn’t felt anything at first, but as he watched Zhong Ling’s blushing face and her obedient demeanor, and then glanced back at Duan Yu in the distance.
He suddenly unmasked the lower part of his face and lowered his head, kissing Zhong Ling.
Zhong Ling was startled, and without knowing why, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Gu Han Yuan's neck.
Time seemed to slip away.
Until Gu Han Yuan was startled by the system notification.
Obtained A-rank Villain Evaluation, 1000 Villain Points.
This must be the reward for Duan Yu tripping and knocking his head, discovering that the cushion had already been broken.
But since it had already been interrupted, Gu Han Yuan had no desire to continue.
Zhong Ling, with a flushed face, looked at him in a daze, seemingly asking “Why did you stop?”
Gu Han Yuan chuckled lightly and used his thumb to wipe away the water droplets from her lips.
This action finally woke Zhong Ling up, and she instinctively lifted her sleeve to wipe her lips.
“You…how can you just suddenly kiss me?”
She weakly protested.
Gu Han Yuan reached out and held Zhong Ling’s chin, gently lifting it up.
“Can't it be sudden?”
“No…no it can’t.”
Zhong Ling felt as though her tongue was tied, unable to speak clearly.
Gu Han Yuan let out a mischievous chuckle.
“Then… did you enjoy it?”
“En…pfft! Wu Tian ge ge is so annoying.”
Zhong Ling realized she had been teased and slapped away the hand holding her chin, hammering him with a few annoyed punches.
Gu Han Yuan didn’t resist, waiting until she had vented her frustration before pulling her along and leaving.
Duan Yu had already left, it was time to retrieve the jade statue from the "Láng Huán Fú Dì" (Láng Huán Blessed Land).
Along the way, he received another Villain Evaluation from the system.
Zhong Ling's admiration, S-rank evaluation, 3000 Villain Points.
Current series evaluation: SS-rank, total 9700 Villain Points, currently unclaimable.
Tsk, so it really does require going all the way, huh?
However, Zhong Ling's series evaluation was accumulating significantly faster than he anticipated, and she had many more events to complete.
He led Zhong Ling through the waterfall curtain, and she entered the Láng Huán Blessed Land, marveling at its beauty.
However, after entering the cave, he still reminded her to close her eyes.
After all, the jade statue had a hypnotic effect.
Gu Han Yuan didn’t want to see Zhong Ling running off to “tie tie” (snuggle up) with the "Immortal Sister" later.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking that maybe it wasn’t so bad.
But in the end, he decided against it and put the jade statue in his storage space.
Gu Han Yuan didn’t explain to Zhong Ling why she needed to close her eyes.
She didn’t ask either, as if she completely trusted him.
The two of them wandered around the Láng Huán Blessed Land.
However, without the jade statue, the entire Láng Huán Blessed Land felt like it had fallen from a fairyland to the mortal realm, lacking any charm.
Just ordinary stone beds, stone tables, and stone benches.
Gu Han Yuan did tell Zhong Ling the story of Wu Yáo and Li Qiū Shuǐ.
Even someone as innocent as Zhong Ling found the two of them incomprehensible.
Summarizing simply, it came down to this: the husband fell in love with his wife's underage younger sister, and developed feelings for a jade statue. His wife, in retaliation, found a group of handsome men and conspired with his disciple to throw him off a cliff.
A story filled with utter absurdity.
A perfectly fine cultivation sect was turned into a messy love triangle.
Of course, in modern times, it would be considered a youth idol drama.
As dusk approached, they decided to spend the night in the Láng Huán Blessed Land.
They'd let Duan Yu run around on his own for a while.
Gu Han Yuan wasn't a nanny, there was no need to follow him around.
Gu Han Yuan went out and caught a few wild animals for dinner.
Zhong Ling also caught a few venomous snakes for the lightning ferret to eat.
They lit a bonfire, Zhong Ling leaned against Gu Han Yuan's side, feeding the venomous snakes to the lightning ferret.
She would occasionally look up and take a bite of the grilled meat Gu Han Yuan handed her.
Seeing her beaming face, it was clear that she was in a great mood.
After dinner, they cleaned up the Láng Huán Blessed Land.
There happened to be two stone beds there, so they wouldn't have to squeeze together.
Gu Han Yuan wouldn’t have minded sleeping with Zhong Ling.
But he guessed that the shy girl wouldn’t be able to handle it, so he simply didn’t bring it up.
While Zhong Ling felt relieved, she also felt a little bit of disappointment.
The night was silent.
Gu Han Yuan suddenly heard a noise and went out of the Láng Huán Blessed Land.
Zhong Ling, for the first time sharing a room with a man, hadn't slept well.
Seeing Gu Han Yuan leave, she hesitated for a moment before getting up and following him.
Instead of calling out to him, she quietly followed behind.
Gu Han Yuan had already known Zhong Ling was following, he just hadn’t revealed it.
He could also use this as a test.
Gu Han Yuan’s eyes were filled with a deep, mysterious glint.