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

At the end of the corridor, Yuzuru stood there quietly.

She had just come out of the operations hall, her pheasant sword still hanging at her waist, the dark blue haori still damp with the lingering glow of the conference room lights.

She saw Lin Jinyu pin Gu Yan against the wall, saw Gu Yan raise her hand to brush away the stray hairs from her forehead, and saw them kissing for a long time.

She stopped in her tracks, her deep brown eyes showing no anger, no jealousy, only a very faint silence.

Like moonlight rippling on a lake surface.

She paused for a moment, then silently turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

His bare feet trod on the wooden floor with unhurried steps.

Only the knuckles of his fingers gripping the knife handle were white.

The transport plane was parked at a military airfield in the western suburbs of Kyoto.

The propellers had already started spinning, and hot air carrying sand and dust rushed into the cabin. Several accompanying rune technicians were already seated.

Gu Yan climbed the gangway, holding onto the cabin door with one hand, and was about to bend down to go in when a familiar voice came from behind her.

Mr. Gu.

He turned around.

Yuzuru stood below the gangway, his dark blue haori fluttering in the wind whipped up by the wings.

She didn't bring a pheasant knife; she only carried a small cloth bag with the logo of the Kyoto wagashi shop printed on it.

She looked up at him, her deep brown pupils slightly narrowed by the dust kicked up by the propeller.

"I saw it all in the hallway just now."

"You kissed Miss Lin, and you kissed her for a long time."

"Are her lips softer than mine?"

Her voice remained calm and unhurried, as if she were asking about the desired flavors of today's tea and snacks.

But a very faint pink tinge had spread from her ears to her neck, and against the light, Gu Yan could see the extremely fine downy hairs on her earlobes trembling slightly.

He stood on the gangway and looked down at the girl in front of him, whose fingertips were trembling with nervousness, yet she still stood calmly on the airport runway.

She had come all the way from Kyoto, and the hem of her kimono still had dust from the front lines clinging to it.

He walked down the gangway, stood in front of her, and reached out to cup her cheeks.

Her face was cold, chilled by the cold wind whipped up by the wings for a long time.

He lowered his head and kissed her lips.

First came a soft, tentative touch, like the first time a spiritual spring was used to regulate her meridians.

She gently closed her eyes, her eyelashes brushing against his eyelids, and placed all her weight in his palm.

Her lips were soft, with a very faint scent of cypress.

It smelled the same as the scent on his pillow, but even more vibrant, mixed with the cool fragrance emanating from her body heat.

He felt her fingers gently squeeze his waist, the force was very light, lasting less than half a second, and then slowly released.

As their lips parted, she took a step back. She looked up at him, and her deep brown eyes, devoid of composure and restraint, held only a faint, watery glint.

"The priestesses of all generations have been very pure-hearted."

"I won't compete with Miss Lin."

She clenched her fingers slightly at her side, then put on that calm and elegant smile again.

"But now, we're even."

She took a step back and stuffed the cloth bag in her hand into his.

"The bento box contains matcha cake and motion sickness medication."

"Go early and come back early. There are tens of millions of people in Kyoto waiting for you to return and protect them."

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the airport exit with a calm and unhurried pace.

But Gu Yan saw that the woman touched her lips very quickly with her fingertips the instant she turned around.

It was already evening when the transport plane landed at a military airfield behind the defense line in the Middle East theater.

The sandstorm was fierce, and the fine sand particles stung my face.

The entire base is a military fortress made of alloy bunkers and rune towers, filled with soldiers in uniforms from different countries.

The deep green of Great Xia, the desert camouflage of America, and the khaki combat uniforms of the African Union.

The tattered military flags fluttered in the wind and sand.

Pei Youyi waited for him at the airport exit.

To be precise, she was standing at the very front of the group of high-ranking military officers who came to pick her up at the airport.

Wearing a plain white trench coat, the hem remained perfectly still in the wind and sand.

Her hair was loosely tied back with a jade hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears.

That face is exactly the same as it was three years ago.

With her full, red lips and gentle, graceful eyes, time has left no trace on her; it has only made her mature feminine charm even more pronounced.

As she stood there, the officers around her unconsciously kept a distance from her, not out of estrangement, but out of respect.

Her gaze swept across the sandstorm and landed on him, and the pupils of her gentle eyes subtly contracted.

That moment was extremely brief, so brief that even the adjutant standing next to her didn't notice.

Then she regained her usual dignified and composed demeanor as the matriarch of the Pei family, and nodded to Gu Yan with a slight smile at the corners of her mouth.

"This must be Lady Chiyomiya's deputy."

"I have received the encrypted letter from the Fourth Defense Line Command of the Eastern Theater Command."

Please come with me.

Pei Youyi led Gu Yan to a private command center.

The door closed behind him, shutting out all the noisy communications and officers' hurried footsteps from outside.

She walked to the opposite side of the long table and stood still, her plain white trench coat gleaming faintly under the cool light.

She didn't invite him to sit down, nor did she exchange any pleasantries. Her tone remained gentle and composed, but the content of her words went straight to the point.

"My lord, although the Middle East theater has temporarily stabilized, Yu Ran is on this defensive line."

"She is my daughter. It's not enough of a reason for me to leave her here alone and go to Kyoto, a thousand miles away, to guard the pass."

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't expected her to refuse so decisively.

She had just nodded and smiled at him at the airport exit, making him think that inviting her over was a sure thing.

He instinctively took a step forward.

"Ms. Pei, is it really not possible? The pass in the northern suburbs of Kyoto needs an SS-level defensive expert. Behind the fourth line of defense are tens of millions of civilians."

Pei Youyi did not answer immediately.

She looked at him quietly, a very faint smile slowly appearing on her lips.

That smile wasn't quite the same as her usual dignified and gentle demeanor.

It's not a polite way of keeping people at arm's length, but something deeper and gentler.

It was as if she had seen something that made her want to linger a little longer.

"No rush, Mr. Deputy."

Her tone remained gentle and composed, as if she were speaking to a younger member of her family.

"Let's have some food first, then we can talk."

"Some things can't be discussed in a meeting room."

She walked to the door, opened it, and glanced back at him.

"I know there's a great restaurant in the Middle East theater, not far from the base."

The restaurant that Pei Youyi took him to was located in a quiet alley outside the base.

The surrounding area was filled with low, earthen-yellow buildings, but stepping through this door revealed a completely different world.

A crystal chandelier, a white tablecloth, and a half-burnt white candle on a silver candlestick cast flickering shadows on the walls of the private room.

.