My lord, spare his life!

Zhang Yang was displeased.

What topics are off-limits to our esteemed players?

She wore her emotions on her face, and Fan You coaxed, "The two prefectures have just been pacified, and the lord has important matters to attend to. How can he be delayed by my personal affairs? I'll discuss it with Fulong in detail, and then tell the lord everything, shall we?"

Zhang Yang stared at him and counted breaths: "Hmm."

In her mind, she reviewed the data panels of Han Wo and Fan You. Han Wo's legs were still broken, so he shouldn't be in danger of Fan You. She gave him a few reassuring words of advice before getting up to make room for him.

Fan You and Han Wo then went to the study.

Han Wo had met Fan Shanzhang a few times, and his respect for the latter was more or less transferred to the Shanzhang's only son. He treated Fan You with much kindness, showing a bit of a sense of taking care of the younger generation.

Even if the age difference between the two is negligible.

"Judging from Shu Yan's complexion and condition, he shouldn't have been tormented by the lustful ghost too much. Is it because the frequency of the Lie Xing Jiang Li attacks is still low, or did he use some secret technique to suppress the attacks before?" Han Wo believed in the strength and tenacity of personal will, but he was even more aware of the lustful ghost's abilities.

That's not something that can be resolved by individual will.

Han Wo guessed that Fan You might have other ideas.

Fan You used subtle language to conceal Zhang Yang's true special qualities, saying, "Perhaps the lustful demon is extremely fond of its master. Every time it gets close to its master, it can behave itself for a few days."

"If we rely on this method to suppress the lustful demon, it's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause." Fan You spoke vaguely, but Han Wo wasn't led astray. "The more you suppress it, the more ferocious the lustful demon's backlash will be."

Fan You had clearly come from another front.

So far away, does that count as "being closer to the lord"?

Han Wo could guess that Fan You was hiding something, but he wasn't angry.

Fan You asked him, "How does Fulong address the root cause of the problem?"

"It's not a fundamental solution." Since Han Wo had agreed to help Fan You, he naturally had to share some heartfelt secrets. "All things carry yin and embrace yang. The Book of Changes also says that the interplay of yin and yang is the way. Whether yin prevails over yang or yang prevails over yin, the world will never be at peace."

Fan You pondered for a moment: "Yin and Yang?"

"The living are Yang, the dead are Yin, and many celestial afflictions are triggered after death. Therefore, the celestial afflictions... can also be considered a kind of Yin-Yang imbalance. Lustful ghosts are originally formed from Yin energy, and indulging in desires is actually drawing upon their own lack of Yang energy. However... this is just drinking poison to quench thirst. The Yang energy drawn from the outside world is like water without a source, a tree without roots."

Fan You asked in bewilderment, "This doesn't make sense either. Let's not even talk about the three enclosures of Ziwei, Tianshi, and Taiwei. Even among the Four Symbols and Twenty-Eight Mansions, the constellations of Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, Ji, Dou, Niu, Nu, Xu, Wei, Shi, and Bi are yang constellations, while the remaining fourteen are yin constellations... How can this not be balanced?"

Han Wo said, "I don't know about that."

Fan You: "..."

Han Wo sighed and said, "I really don't know. Ever since I learned that Lie Xing Jiang Li was a Five-Tong Lustful Ghost, my family and elders have tried everything to help me. The way of Yin and Yang balance is just the old man's guess. Before he could verify it, he let me risk trying it."

Fortunately, the outcome was good.

Han Wo has been trying to adjust his yin and yang balance over the years, and the lustful demon within him has been behaving itself, causing him no trouble. If Fan You is willing, Han Wo will definitely not hold back. However, the solution that works for him may not be suitable for Fan You.

Fan You: "How to replenish Yang energy?"

Han Wo said, "Consuming sexual relations with the opposite sex is the simplest thing. Over the years, my master and I have searched for many lustful people. By investigating their partners in dual cultivation, we discovered something interesting. The effects vary depending on the other person's birth chart and the stars in their chart. But what is certain is that the more abundant one's own yang energy, the better the effect will be."

"I don't care about that. Isn't it true that lust shouldn't be indulged?"

Han Wo said, "Indeed, we cannot indulge in this. According to the later investigation by our master, it was discovered that a lustful ghost was maintaining a relationship with one person, and the effect of dual cultivation was getting weaker with each session. Our master then suspected that everyone's innate yang energy may be finite. The amount that is absorbed is the amount that is lost, making it impossible for 'yin and yang to embrace each other and generate life endlessly.' This yin and yang energy has no connection with the yin and yang attributes of the stars."

Fan You: "..."

Han Wo said, "The commander also went to read ancient myths."

"myth?"

"In the creation myth, the stars used starlight as their energy and the earth as their bodies to reshape all things." Han Wo suspected that his master might have been completely out of ideas to come up with such a bizarre guess. "At the beginning of creation, Yin and Yang were unbalanced. Earth is Yin, and starlight is Yang. Logically, Yin and Yang should be balanced, but as many star lords perished, the starlight dimmed, and the Yang energy in the world diminished..."

Fan You shook his head: "This is just a myth."

Han Wo sighed, "I initially thought it was just a myth, but it's precisely myths that can explain so many strange and perplexing things. Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's just talk about how to help you. I have two methods. There was only one at first, but now there should be two."

Fan You listened attentively: "Which two?"

"Firstly, you and Lady Zhang don't need to be so innocent. You are highly valued by her, so she shouldn't hesitate to spend a night with you. After all, preserving your life is the most important thing." Han Wo's first words were a critical blow.

Fan You's face suddenly turned ashen: "What did you say?"

Han Wo: "Stop breathing first and let me explain my reasons. This Lady Zhang is the person with the strongest yang energy I have ever seen in my life. Compared to her, even the person with the most abundant yang energy before me is but a drop in the ocean."

How abundant is it?

While others possessed a balanced distribution of Yin and Yang energies, Zhang Yang was entirely composed of Yang energy, radiating a golden glow. Even when deliberately concealing his aura, his Yang energy was still so abundant it overflowed. This gave Han Wo the illusion that a single bite of Zhang Yang would sustain him for half a year.

Fan You's temple throbbed with anger as he said, "I'm not a sycophantic and obsequious official like Yuan Youzheng."

Can't he just be an honest and upright subject?

Why do they have to find a way to have an affair with their lord?

Deep down, he knew Han Wo's method might actually work—he couldn't stray too far from Zhang Yang at first, but Zhang Yang couldn't keep him by his side all the time either. Their temporary unbinding was entirely due to the stellar energy Zhang Yang had infused into his meridians. As long as Fan You carefully preserved this stellar energy, he wouldn't be affected by the lustful demon.

No matter how careful you are, the star power that you didn't cultivate yourself will still dissipate and disappear in your meridians, which is only a temporary solution.

Zhang Yang could only replenish a little bit each time.

but--

If it were another method, the effect would definitely be better than using star power.

Without hesitation, Fan You asked, "What about the second one?"

He's not Yuan Youzheng!

He is a true subject!

How can you spend your days thinking only about how to get into bed instead of doing anything productive?

Han Wo didn't ask who Yuan Youzheng was, but he could guess that this person named Yuan Youzheng had stumbled upon a shortcut to the solution. Fan You resisted, which suggested that he truly had no desire for worldly pleasures.

He said, "The second one is the reversal of yin and yang."

Fan You suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He took two steps back: "What?"

Han Wo remained calm, with a hint of helplessness on his face: "Fan Jun, when my mother gave birth to me, I was still a girl."

Fan You's lips moved several times.

There are two methods, and it's hard to tell which one is more outrageous.

He heard his own slightly dazed voice say, "Fan... Fan, a man of integrity, has never intended to be a daughter in this life..."

Fan You had heard many people marvel at the deep love between her parents. Her mother had also regretted that Fan You was not a daughter. She never expected that many years after her parents passed away, they would actually have the opportunity to have children.

Han Wo rolled his eyes: "What's wrong with my daughter?"

"...Nothing much, but I'm used to being a man." Fan You had always known that people who descended from the stars to become lustful ghosts could cross the boundaries between men and women after their number of genders increased. But he always thought that changing gender was just a manifestation of the lustful ghosts' depravity, in order to increase the scope of their pleasure-seeking—a single gender might only be able to find the opposite sex, but if one's gender was flexible, then one could have anyone.

It's a pity that Fan You's upbringing was too simple; he didn't know that as long as he wanted to have fun, his body couldn't limit him.

You don't necessarily have to change your gender.

Han Wo said, "I used to like being a woman too."

It doesn't stop me from being a man now.

He added, "Besides, it's not like you can't be the same sex again just because you've become the opposite sex. You can be a man for one year and six months, and a woman for the other six months. As long as the yin and yang energies in your body can achieve a relative balance... What's more important than life than face and habits?"

Fan You swallowed hard.

His face was still full of resistance.

At this point, even looking at Han Wu is somewhat objectionable.

Then he asked a rather nonsensical question.

"Besides these two, isn't there a third option?"

Han Wo shook his head: "No."

He said it with a hint of regret and disappointment.

"If only I could have met Lord Zhang ten or twenty years earlier..." Han Wo sighed. "Actually, my path is not easy either. Every time I change gender, I have to go through the pain of having my flesh cut out and bones broken."

Fan You asked warily, "Ten or more years earlier?"

Han Wo: "Lord Zhang is young and promising, and has an outstanding appearance. He also has the hope of giving me a permanent solution... No matter how you look at it, it's more cost-effective than forcibly changing my gender."

Fan You wanted nothing more than to jump up and yell, "You beast!"

How old was the lord back then?

"...Pfft, Fan Jun is not like the headmaster in this respect."

Fan You asked, "Where is it different?"

"Although the headmaster's lectures are a bit dry and boring, he is quite witty and humorous in private. It's just that he looks a bit serious and intimidating." When Han Wo was a student there, he and his classmates broke some academy rules. Even though the headmaster caught them red-handed, he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he secretly waved to Han Wo from behind his back, helping them stall the patrolling discipline instructors.

On the other hand, what about Fan You?

Although they had only spent a short time together, he could tell that Fan You was genuinely serious and had the air of a traditional feudal scholar.

"Mingde Academy's discipline instructors are known for their strictness, yet there are very few reports of students being expelled from the academy for violating discipline."

Fan You: "..."

Han Wo saw that Fan You was determined not to choose either path, so he didn't force him—what suited him might not suit Fan You. Other lustful demons, when they fell to a certain degree, would automatically change their gender without being actively forced to, and none of them were as stable as him.

Therefore, this method may not be universally applicable.

If Fan You were persuaded to become Fan Girl and couldn't change back to her original gender, or if the gender change didn't achieve the effect of balancing yin and yang, Han Wo would have no face to see the deceased Master Fan.

Fan Shanchang's only son cannot be experimented with at will.

Fan You exhaled a breath of stale air, his expectations dashed but not too disappointed: "Don't tell the lord what we discussed today."

Han Wo laughed and said, "Afraid of being rejected?"

After all, being rejected is quite embarrassing.

Fan You suppressed the urge to draw his sword: "My lord is still young. At this age, instead of thinking about how to build an empire, how can he be distracted by such worldly matters? Not everyone is as shameless and despicable as Yuan Youzheng! And you, don't even think about coveting my lord's noble body!"

Don't think he didn't notice Han Wo's interest in mentioning Zhang Yang's yang energy; that alone was enough to set off alarm bells in his mind.

They all want to corrupt the lord and hinder his career.

Han Wo: "...There's no need for that."

I do crave that yang energy.

But just because he's craving something doesn't mean he actually wants to do it.

It's like strolling down the street and seeing a celestial being descended to earth; whether male or female, it's only natural to take a second look. Han Wo dares to guarantee that anyone troubled by the wrath of the stars can suppress the evil spirits by replenishing their yang energy—who wouldn't be tempted?

Fan You's overreaction is really unnecessary.

"You'd better remember what I said today." Fan You's gaze swept over Han Wo's wheelchair, his mind a jumble of thoughts, and he couldn't care less about the fact that his wheelchair was being used by someone else.

Han Wo: "...Tsk."

Fan You left Han Wo behind.

He had wanted to be alone to sort out his thoughts, but Zhang Yang was too concerned about this matter and had been lying in wait on his usual route: "Uncle Yan, have you found a solution?"

What suits Fulong may not suit me.

The implication is that Han Wo's words are not reliable.

"Aren't you all lustful demons?"

"Others are at the third level, but I'm only at the second."

"So, you need to become triple-layered?"

"The second attack almost killed me... Let's just let things take their course." Fan You abruptly changed the subject, but in his heart, he still wanted to have a backup plan. Although Guan Si had some selfish motives, he was one of the few reliable people under his lord...

He glanced at the list of his lord's subordinates.

Suddenly, a sense of despair washed over me, as if I could see the end from the very beginning.

Aside from himself and the still-growing Jiuge, there were few people he could completely trust, except perhaps those who looked somewhat human.

He pressed his forehead with one hand.

Compared to these people, even the lord seems like a human being.

Zhang Yang secretly rolled his eyes.

She didn't believe what Fan You was saying.

The other party is definitely hiding something.

Instead of trying to get Fan You to talk, we should find the root of the problem.

As Han Wo had anticipated, Zhang Yang arrived even faster than he expected. Without even exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yang went straight to the point, asking what Han Wo had been discussing with Fan You. Han Wo, seated in his wheelchair, wore a slightly amused smile. Would he keep it a secret for Fan You?

That's certainly not the case.

Not only will they not, they will also explain everything clearly.

Zhang Yang brought weapons to Bodu Commandery. Although Han Wo surrendered, he also had his own selfish motives. He didn't want Zhang Yang to have such a smooth run in everything. Shouldn't he be less likely to suffer setbacks elsewhere when his career is going so well?

Fan You did not want Zhang Yang to become enlightened.

On the contrary, he really hoped so.

Didn't Fan Shuyan notice?

This Lord Zhang is a superior vessel for cultivation.

? ?(σ???)σ..:*☆

Tomorrow is Labor Day, Happy Labor Day!

PS: This chapter should be the core setting of this story. Zhang Yang originally possessed both Yin and Yang qualities, but now he is purely Yang. _(:3」∠)_