I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Gu Yan recalled the great battle that had taken place on the defensive line.

The swarms of bone-eating insects were overwhelming, the dark red beams of the steel colossus blasted a breach in the city wall, and the skeletal dragon hovered in the sky, its breath engulfing the entire heavy artillery position.

Yuzuru fought until his pheasant sword was stuck in the dragon bone, and then smashed the joints of the steel behemoth with his bare hands.

He stood at the breach in the city wall, pushing the Mirror Flower Imperial Seal to its limit, and only with the defection of more than a dozen S-class enemies could the battle line be barely pushed back.

But the rift remains, the black tide remains, and the monsters emerging from the rift will only grow stronger.

The third line of defense was set up along the eastern coast of Kyoto, across which lay the Great Xia.

He didn't know how long this defensive line could hold.

But he knew that those standing beside him—Yu Sheng, Lin Jinyu, and all those who were fighting desperately on the city wall—would not back down.

He pushed open the bathroom door, his hair still dripping wet.

The sound of wooden clogs clicking on stone slabs came from the end of the corridor, approaching quickly.

Then came the sound of the paper door being pushed open, very soft, but exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Mr. Gu.

It was Yuzuru's voice, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

"are u there."

"I am here."

He walked into the living room, drying his hair with a towel.

Yuzuru stood at the door, still wearing his dark blue haori stained with night dew, and carrying a paper bag with the logo of the old shop he had visited during the day printed on it.

Her face still bore the weariness of inspecting the defense line, and her long, dark hair was somewhat disheveled by the sea breeze.

But when she saw him come out of the bathroom with his hair all wet, she paused for a moment, then a very faint smile appeared on her lips.

"I brought you a matcha cake."

"The defense reinforcement project finished early today, so I bought it on the way back."

"But it's already cold."

Gu Yan took the paper bag and placed it on the coffee table, then pulled her wrist and made her sit down on the sofa.

Her wrists were cold, chilled by the night wind.

"You can eat it even when it's cold."

"Please sit down, I'll get you a glass of hot water."

Yuzuru took the thermos and sipped the water slowly without saying a word.

Gu Yan sat down on the sofa next to her without saying a word.

There was a cold matcha cake between the two of them, but the comfort of being together quietly was more relaxing than any dessert.

Mr. Gu.

Yuzuru placed his water glass on the coffee table, turned to look at him, hesitated for a moment, and then continued.

"A barrier ceremony will be held in Kyoto tomorrow."

"It is a ceremony jointly held by all the ancient shrine maiden families in the land of cherry blossoms to reinforce the ancient barrier beneath Kyoto."

"As the Chiyomiya family is the leading family of priestesses, I must attend."

I'd like to ask you to come with me.

"In my personal name, not in the name of the Chiyomiya family."

"Not in the capacity of the chief priestess."

"It's about the two of us going together. I'll wear a kimono and you'll wear formal attire. We'll walk the streets of Kyoto, and when we enter the venue, you'll sit next to me."

"After the ceremony, there was a night market on that street, with goldfish scooping and candied apples."

"I've never shopped with anyone before."

As she said this, she lowered her eyes, gently clenched her fingers on her knee, and then slowly relaxed them.

"Does this count as...being in a relationship?"

Gu Yan looked at her.

She sat beside the warm yellow paper lamp, her delicate profile bathed in soft, warm light.

Those deep brown eyes didn't hold the composure of a chief priestess, nor the sharpness of someone ranked third in combat power; they held only a girl's cautious yet earnest expectation that was heartbreaking.

"It's better to go slower."

Gu Yan put down her teacup.

"We haven't known each other for very long. Although a lot has happened, you can't rush things like falling in love."

"Take your time, it's fair to you too."

Yuzuru did not answer immediately.

She put the teacup back on the coffee table and tilted her head to look at him.

His expression was subtle, with a slight curve at the corners of his mouth and a very faint smile hidden in his eyes, as if he had heard something very interesting.

"Mr. Gu, when you said that just now, you really sounded like a scumbag."

Gu Yan's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

"I read it all in the Spirit Spring."

"You saw my body from head to toe, I kissed you twice in the secret realm, and you even hugged me yesterday."

"Now speak slowly. According to the standards in the comics that Sister Yasong bought for me, this is a classic line from a scumbag."

Gu Yan choked on her own saliva.

He coughed several times, covering his mouth, his face turning red from his neck all the way to his ears.

He's not a jerk, he just feels things are moving a little too fast.

No, he did read them all.

No, that's not right either. He repeatedly denied it in his mind, but finally shut his mouth.

Because she was telling the truth.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the maple leaves into the courtyard.

Gu Yan was squatting under the eaves. It was a calico cat kept by the Chiyogami family. Its belly was round and plump, and it was lying on his shoes and refused to get up.

The alarm didn't sound, and there were no emergency communications from the other side of the defense line; it was a rare moment of peace.

Then the courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside.

It wasn't a knock, it was a direct push.

Lin Jinyu was wearing that dark blue combat uniform, with the sleeves still rolled up to her elbows, revealing her fair arms.

Her long, golden hair was casually tied into a ponytail, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears.

Compared to her casual clothes yesterday, she looked more like she was on official business today, wearing combat boots, a tactical belt, and the arm patch of the Third Line Command on her arm.

But the way she pushed open the courtyard gate was exactly the same as when she kicked open his door three years ago, with a sense of self-righteousness and entitlement.

Is Lady Chiyomiya here?

"I've come to discuss the rune array layout for the third line of defense with you."

As she spoke, her gaze passed over Yuzuru and landed on Gu Yan, who was squatting under the eaves petting a cat.

Those golden eyes lingered on him for less than half a second before casually looking away.

"Senior Sister Lin, please come in."

Yuzuru stood up and bowed slightly, leading Lin Jinyu to the stone table in the courtyard.

On the stone table lay a defense map of the third line of defense, densely marked with the locations of various rune arrays and energy supply routes.

The two sat down side by side and began to discuss serious matters, not just polite small talk, but real military issues.

The northern rune array suffered a 60% loss in the last battle, and new sealing nodes must be set up as soon as possible; the protective force field of the air battleship docking area needs to be increased by two energy levels; the early warning array on the flanks needs to have its coverage extended to prevent the Gorgon's mental impact from bypassing the main city wall.

The two engaged in a professional and efficient conversation, with one speaking in the Chinese language and the other in the Japanese language, occasionally interspersed with a few military terms from the Russian Federation.

Sakura's Mandarin was mixed with Russian ballistic parameters and mecha numbers, sounding like some kind of underground code that only theater commanders could understand.

But amidst this dense array of military terminology, Gu Yan could sense Lin Jinyu's gaze occasionally drifting over, landing on his fingers as he petted the cat, on his sun-drenched jawline, on his lowered eyelashes, before casually looking away.