Love, Gun, Cupid

Wei Ying was stunned for a moment. She stared blankly at herself, tears welling up in her eyes. Before she could burst into a wail, Lin Jiade quickly got up and hugged her.

To his surprise, this ignited Wei Ying's anger. She shoved him, and he fell heavily onto the sofa, feeling dizzy. Then, a sharp pain jolted him awake; Wei Ying had bitten his shoulder hard.

The door opened, and light streamed in, slanting across Lin Jiade's face. Lin Jiade looked up and saw Du Juan standing in the doorway, her sister biting him while crying. Putting himself in Du Juan's shoes, it would be hard for him not to misunderstand.

"I think I can explain..."

Before Lin Jiade could finish speaking, Du Juan snapped her fingers, and he and Wei Ying teleported to her bed. Pink chains separated them, then bound Lin Jiade's hands and feet.

Du Juan checked on her sister's condition and pieced together what had happened from Wei Ying and Lin Jiade. Her expression toward Lin Jiade became complicated.

"First, let me help you understand why my sister cries and develops this attitude:"

She's an idiot, and so are you. This isn't me using profanity out of emotional bias, but rather an objective description.

"Becoming an Oracle's Protector isn't something you do after you've already accomplished it and then report it; you report it first before you can become one. Otherwise, you and Reed Warbler will both face sanctions from the Empire and the Celestial Realm."

Lin Jiade scratched his head, as if there was such a thing, but he forgot, so he looked at Du Juan embarrassedly. Du Juan sighed: "You are 10% responsible for this, and my sister is 90% responsible. She knew it was a wrongdoing."

If she truly transforms you into an oracles, in the worst-case scenario your physical body will be instantly destroyed, and then she will act as the mother to rebirth you and care for you as your mother for the rest of your life.

After your rebirth, you will live as an ordinary person, spending your life with your eternally youthful, childlike mother whose appearance will never fade. Everyone connected to you will have their memories erased, forgetting your existence.

Lin Jiade looked at Wei Ying. He had made the wrong choice again. It turned out that Wei Ying gave him power not out of kindness, but to win the competition with Kapok. She used the rules to strip him out of his original life and make him her thing.

He suddenly felt a surge of resentment towards Wei Ying. He had treated her as a combination of a friend and a younger sister, and yet she wanted to be his little mother—it was just too much!

"So, she reaped what she sowed." Du Juan shook her head with a wry smile. "To turn you into a divinely protected one, all she needed to do was unilaterally inject energy into you."

However, due to an accident, a large portion of the energy she injected into your body, along with a small portion of your energy, flowed back into her body, resulting in this state: your body contains the energy of the reed warbler, and the reed warbler's body contains your energy.

"So what?" Lin Jiade asked.

"From the perspective of carbon-based life forms, energy exchange is nothing more than a trivial matter. But we are energy beings, so you, with your own initiative, have completed an actual energy exchange through direct physical contact for more than three minutes. This is what the celestial realm defines as intercourse/copulation."

Lin Jiade was dumbfounded. Du Juan held her forehead and said, "Yes, according to our way of thinking, you and Wei Ying just took each other's first time in such a muddled way. If Wei Ying is willing, she can share her energy with yours and immediately conceive a child."

“I will never have his child!” Wei Ying said.

"Shut up. It would be better if you became a carbon-based life form and had fun with him than you are now. At least you would be just having fun, not engaging in intercourse."

Du Juan scolded her younger sister, then turned and said, "An underage girl, confused and confused, completed an energy exchange with a lowly carbon-based organism."

If word gets out about this, my sister will suffer social death, and you might face my parents' wrath—they're having fun, but that doesn't mean they approve of their daughter's energy exchange with humans.

Lin Jiade glanced at Wei Ying, who looked up at him pitifully. The thought of her existence and the possibility of her bearing his children replaced his anger with a sense of absurdity and powerlessness, which became his feelings towards Wei Ying.

“I will keep it a secret, but I won’t do anything more,” Lin Jiade said. “I was the one who was forced, and I don’t even see this as proof that we’ve crossed that line…in our relationship, so I won’t take responsibility for Wei Ying.”

The cuckoo looked at the reed warbler, who nodded gently. Thus, what should have been a tender farewell between him and the reed warbler turned into this muddled and confused ending.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Green Hat Radar

Du Juan processed the energy within Wei Ying's body, while Lin Jiade tossed and turned on the sofa outside. For the first time in his life, he felt that time spent at home was so unbearable.

He went to find Jianlan, who greeted him in a provocative nightgown, but he paid no heed. Before he could say anything, Jianlan tapped his forehead, and he fell into a deep sleep, burying his head in her ample bosom.

Passing Lin Jiade, Jianlan looked at Dujuan behind her. The chain extending from Dujuan's fingertips retracted, and she said, "It saves me the effort."

"The fact that you're willing to go to such lengths to erase Lin Jiade's memories to cover this up seems to be a huge scandal from the perspective of celestial beings."

When Jianlan put Lin Jiade down, she couldn't help but gloat: "You sacrificed your sister to uncover Lin Jiade's secrets. Was it worth it?"

“I never intended to go this far,” said Du Juan. “I just wanted Wei Ying to try and see if she could break the seal on Lin Jiade with brute force and unravel his mystery.”

Jianlan saw the whole story clearly, but she couldn't understand it. Dujuan seemed to see through her thoughts and smiled, saying, "If you could understand it, then you could at least advance the Empire's current theoretical level by a hundred years."

So what is the truth?

“I am now certain that Lin Jiade is the Oracle’s protector,” Du Juan said.

"?!"

“My sister attempted to turn Lin Jiade into an Oracle Protector, so she first stripped him away and injected her own energy into the gaps to completely change him, but this provoked a backlash from the Oracle that was already residing in Lin Jiade’s body.”

The divine oracle that person possessed was far more powerful and potent than my sister's energy, so my sister's energy was instantly forced back.

Sword Orchid murmured, "When I was fighting Korobochka, I sensed the mysterious power within him, but I never thought he was an Oracle Protector, because apart from you, I haven't sensed any other celestial observers."

"As luck would have it, a celestial observer granted their protector an oracle with a powerful concealment effect. It's quite a coincidence that if the Kapok/Ling Jiade duo can win in the end, they will have the opportunity to break the golden branch and challenge the King of the Forest," said Du Juan.

“Diana… How could that be? Diana only has one divine protector in the Empire, and that is the priest of the Temple of Diana, the King of the Forest who rules over the Virgins of the Temple.”

"Have you ever seen the King of the Forest?" the cuckoo asked.

Gladiolus shook her head: "No... I mean, Korobochka has no memories."

"What happened last time the King of the Forest changed hands?"

"It must have been ten years ago. In the last ten years, all the winners have given up the chance to break the golden branch and transferred their qualification to others. And those challengers have been silent after entering the temple. The Virgins are silent. Some say that the King of the Forest still wanders in the forest near the temple with his sword."

"I think Lin Jiade has Diana's oracle on him, but I have no evidence and there are some doubts about this claim. So the best way to verify my guess is to take a look."

We now have an opportunity to enter the Temple of Diana.

"The champion of the knockout stage," Jianlan said.

“Yes, but it’s not appropriate for me to get involved directly, so I’m asking you to do it this time. Anyway, you and Kapok have a similar support agreement, so it wouldn’t be too strange for you to interfere.”

Du Juan's domineering attitude displeased Jianlan, but she was not yet strong enough to resist Du Juan, so she kept her head down and remained silent... until Du Juan pointed her palm at Lin Jiade's forehead.

Gladiolus grabbed the other person's wrist: "What are you doing?"

Dujuan glanced sideways at Gladiolus's chest, where the Oracle of Submission still shone. She said approvingly, "The Mark of Submission is still shining, yet you were able to resist its pressure and express your resistance to me. Love truly is something that can bring about miracles."

Gladiolus repeated, "What are you going to do?"

"As you can see, in order to protect my sister's reputation, I have no choice but to ask Lin Jiade to make some sacrifices in the aftermath."

"Do you really think he'll tell anyone?"

"He certainly wouldn't, but he also needs to make sure that the person who gave him the divine decree doesn't find out about this. If my sister suffers a serious injury, then I have no intention of dealing with things here and must return to the Heavenly Realm."

You may seem to be free, but your life with Lin Jiade will always be shrouded in the shadow of that mysterious being, and without me, you could never know who the other is... Just imagine that when you kiss and embrace, there is an unknown being living inside your dear husband's body; I doubt you would feel excited about that.

Overt threats versus unknown threats—which would you choose?

Du Juan nominally gave Jianlan the right to choose, but she knew that Du Juan never made a choice. She sighed, letting tonight's events become Lin Jiade's dream, in which he ended his virginity in the strangest way, and guilt towards Jasmine woke him up.

He sat up, wiped his face, and found his clothes were soaked with sweat. His foot bumped into a reed warbler, who, in a daze, looked at him, touched her stomach, and lowered her head.

Lin Jiade was confused about the situation. He only felt that Wei Ying was quiet and well-behaved today. When he went to wash up, Jasmine yawned and pushed open the bathroom door. A few seconds later, she stepped back and pulled down Lin Jiade's pants. After looking at him for a few seconds, she said, "So it can still grow."

"Ok?"

Lin Jiade looked down and quickly turned around: "Don't do that, Jasmine, you're not a female hooligan!"

“It’s not like we haven’t seen it before,” Jasmine said, more concerned about her future happiness. “What’s going on?”

Lin Jiade's memory was a bit hazy: "I don't know either. Last night, I teamed up with Wei Ying and played three games. We were killed by cheaters in two of them. In the last one, we were just one step away from victory. Then I got so angry that I went to the refrigerator to get some soda and drank it. Later..."

He scratched his head, forgetting what he did next, and finally said, "I probably fell asleep."

Jasmine asked with some doubt, "Is that all?"

"Speaking of which, I had a dream in which I lost my virginity... Oh, it was just a dream, are you jealous?"

Jasmine was skeptical. Her cuckold radar was warning her, but firstly, she had no solid evidence, secondly, she needed to pee, and finally, she was used to being cuckolded, so she was wary but not really that wary—cuckolding is the same whether you wear one or ten, it's just a matter of zero or one.

So she let Lin Jiade go, and Lin Jiade was able to escape and live as usual. Jianlan cooked, and he and Jasmine and Reed Warbler eagerly awaited the meal. Because it was the last time, Jianlan made an extra lavish breakfast this time.

Wei Ying ate only a little bit. She was in a bad mood. Lin Jiade thought she was sad because of the separation. When he helped her carry her suitcase, Wei Ying said, "Keep some souvenirs."

"Ok?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Two-Colored Illusion (24→23)

The kiss carried the scent of Lin Jiade's blood. Their lips parted, Lin Jiade covering his mouth, while Wei Ying made a face, first at him, then at Jasmine and Jianlan, and finally at her sister.

Like the Little Mermaid, the reed warbler's figure vanished into bubbles in the morning light. Lin Jiade felt a little sad but also relieved, because the reed warbler was the only brake in his life. She always tried to make him slow down or drive into another lane, but now, his road was unobstructed, and he could drive wherever he wanted.

He left by high-speed rail in the afternoon, and on Saturday night, as the sword in Mu Mian's hand, he participated in another almost inevitable battle. Mu Mian had bribed Cui Mu Feng Lian, but on the field, she encountered strong resistance from her opponent.

Emerald Curtain had betrayed the secret contract they had signed; this was something Mu Mian was certain of at that moment. She fought with all her might, using every trick in the book, and barely managed to defeat Emerald Curtain after thirty minutes. But this victory was hardly a defeat at all.

Because Cui Mu Fenglian had learned most of her trump cards and demonstrated them, Mu Mian's opponent in the semi-finals gained much more detailed information. Mu Mian was naturally furious. She couldn't lash out on the spot, but after the match, she followed her opponent and eventually cornered her in a dark alley.

Emerald Curtain was powerless to resist, as the punitive mechanism of the secret magic was activated at this moment, tormenting the traitor who had broken the contract. Her body convulsed and she collapsed to the ground, saliva drooling from her open mouth.

Kapok watched coldly, neither kicking him while he was down nor offering any help. In the lull between the next punishments from the Secret Guardian Magic, she asked, "Why did you betray me? I only gave you one-third of the deposit. Your betrayal means you won't get the rest. And until I forgive you, the Secret Guardian Magic will torment you day and night. Who forced you to do this thankless task?"

Cui Mu Fenglian clenched her fists and remained silent. Just as Mu Mian was trying to speed up the process of the other party figuring things out, she suddenly sensed the presence behind her. Lin Jiade, who was in sword form, was connected with Mu Mian. He automatically flew behind Mu Mian and blocked the dart that was heading towards Mu Mian's back.

Mu Mian turned around and saw two dark figures approaching from both sides, leaping across the wall. A cold glint flashed in her vision. She twisted her body to dodge, and the two attacks barely grazed the back of her head and near her waist.

She stopped, stabilized her body, raised "Lin Jiade," and poured energy into the weapon. "Lin Jiade" trembled with the pleasure of the energy surging in. As the center of gravity of the sword shifted forward, the legs, abdomen, waist, shoulders, and arms exerted force in sequence, and an arc of sword energy with a sapphire blue color was launched.

The two attackers dared not confront it head-on. They dodged to the side, and the arc of sword energy illuminated the environment around it, revealing a third person at the alley entrance. That person started with the same stance, and the pink aura collided with the sapphire blue sword energy, dissipating at the same time, and the environment returned to darkness.

Mumian looked down at the large patches of pink on her weapon. From the first time she saw "Lin Jiade", pink had become her most hated color.

In the instant the sword energies clashed, Mu Mian caught a glimpse of her opponent's face—a woman whose figure and appearance were almost identical to hers, standing opposite her.

"Who are you?" Kapok asked.

The other person's voice rang out in the darkness: "Long time no see, big sister. My current number is F-7, codename Glarysh. This is the first time we've met since we came of age."

"Huh, why aren't you surprised to see me? Did my poor brother leak the news?"

"As expected... they still used those illegitimate children. Are you Kane's sister?" Mu Mian asked.

“Him?” Glalish scoffed. “His talent was fleeting; he was just a mortal after all. But extraordinary beings like my sister and I are the elite of humanity, the destiny of mankind, and the future of humanity. We are the ones who can lead the times.”

"This tone and rhetoric... it seems you've grasped the essence of family education... Now, explain what this 'emerald curtain' and 'wind curtain' all mean?"

Grellish replied, "I just wanted to see what my sister would look like at her best, so I went to her and found a weakness I could exploit—her lover who owes her a huge sum of money."

I offered her money, asking her to take you more seriously and hopefully force you to reveal your hand. She flatly refused, but that was all. I suspect her family has connections; her seemingly weak refusal suggests there might be something more to it.

Coincidentally, our family has a team located where the person I love is in the Green Curtain. I only threatened her a little, and she stammered out some unimportant bits of information (fear of the punishment mechanism of the Oath Keeper Magic). I roughly guessed what was going on.

Just like how my older sister took advantage of Cui Mu Feng Lian's touching unrequited love, I did the same. I offered Cui Mu Feng Lian the money she was willing to forgo the remaining amount and endure the penalty mechanism to get it.

Knowing your temper, sister, you'll definitely go to Cui Mu Feng Lian to get to the bottom of this, so while you were chasing after her, I followed behind.

The matter of dealing with the emerald curtain will be addressed later. Mu Mian gripped the hilt of her sword and sized up Grellish and the two helpers she had brought.