Love, Gun, Cupid

On that occasion, the Vestals of Diana's Temple manifested under the moon as archers. The Diamond Elves in the expeditionary force were renowned throughout the lands for their superb archery skills, yet even the proud Diamond Elves bowed their heads before the Vestals of Diana.

“This is hopeless,” Lin Jiade said. “If we trigger some mechanism once the competition starts, causing the Virgins to unleash a barrage of arrows, all four contestants will be finished in seconds. Are we going to rank them based on how fast they turn into corpses?”

Du Juan shook her finger: "No, Kapok might be able to find a solution."

"what?"

"Although they are called virgins, only a few of the Christian militia are still virgins. Most of them are widows whose husbands have died or women who have gone far away and are living as widows. They choose to serve Diana to gain spiritual comfort. Their average age is thirty or forty. Do you know what they need most?"

Kapok nodded. She and Azalea looked at Lin Jiade at the same time. Lin Jiade shuddered and said, "I'm your unofficial boyfriend! How dare you use me to attract Diana the pervert... no, Diana the virgin?"

“So it’s not like that yet,” Kapok said calmly. “That’s why I have to seize this last chance. If I continue to use you like this after we officially start dating, it will be like I’m cheating on myself.”

As long as I don't acknowledge you as my boyfriend, I won't be cuckolded.

Chapter 85 Cupid's Teachings (Bonus Chapter)

“At this point, I have to bring out the green hat nine-square grid,” Lin Jiade said.

However, Kapok didn't really want to discuss this issue. She looked at Azalea and asked, "That's the situation at the Temple of Diana, but what about the King of the Forest?"

"As we all know, those blessed by the oracle rely on their own oracle to fight, just as a warrior relies on the sword in his hand. Therefore, the oracle is both their strength and their weakness, which leads to their fixed mindset."

This is the divinely blessed one's destiny, a fate as well as the destiny of a skilled swimmer who drowns. Specifically regarding the King of the Forest, we can roughly deduce that his most familiar terrain is the woodland, his most proficient methods are murder and defending against murder, and his moment of power is bathed in moonlight. Furthermore, he may also possess the ability to transform into others.

"How confident are you about these things?" Kapok asked.

"It's completely uncertain, just a guess, but if you don't have more reliable sources, you can refer to this and make preparations specifically for this purpose."

“An opponent without information…that’s troublesome,” Kapok said.

"Furthermore, I must remind you that the King of the Forest is just a variable. Your competitors are the other three contestants, especially your sister Momo, with whom you have a long-standing grudge. She might use the King of the Forest to eliminate you first, preventing you from advancing to a higher rank, which would bring a series of disastrous consequences."

“I know,” said Kapok. “No matter who we lose to, we can’t lose to Peach.”

Du Juan waved her hand: "Lin Jiade and I have other things to do."

Du Juan acted as if she were the mistress of the house. Mu Mian didn't argue with her and turned to leave. Du Juan pulled a revolver from Lin Jiade's pocket and aimed it at Mu Mian's back. Before she could pull the trigger, Lin Jiade stepped in front of her.

His delay caused Dujuan to lose her chance to shoot. She said, "Since you are already lovers, I will carry out the final step: the imprint of joy, pain, resistance, and submission. You have to imprint one on her."

"It's not the right time yet; we're not officially in a relationship."

“My dear Lin Jiade, that’s a Hart woman. She loves you, but she will also calculate your worth and sacrifice you when the time is right.”

Have you forgotten what I said? She is free and independent. If you don't have the means to restrain her, then after you help her climb to the top, is it possible that she might kick you down, or gently let go of your hand?

Lin Jiade smiled and said, "How could that be? I am her sword, and she is my sword. We are each other's reflections, binding each other. We talked a lot, and I basically figured out her past."

"But she's hiding the most important part, hasn't she?"

Du Juan extended a finger and touched Lin Jiade's chest. She slowly drew a heart pattern on his chest, and Lin Jiade trembled. Cupid's finger seemed to be vibrating his heartstrings.

Cupid's expression was filled with worry, her eyes brimming with maternal tenderness, and her other hand gently caressed Lin Jiade's face. She was so kind that Lin Jiade almost fell into her arms and fell peacefully asleep in her embrace.

However, just as he was about to act, the cuckoo took a step back, leaving him unable to stop. This scene had happened many times, and Lin Jiade was unwilling to accept that it would always be the same. The training of the reed warbler had inflated his ego, making him crave more.

So he cornered Dujuan against the wall, where he prepared to hug her and warn her not to always test her willpower. When people are emotionally charged, they are creatures that can become aroused by goddesses... No, it is precisely because the other party is a goddess that the arousal bar rises exceptionally fast!

"Please don't do this, Lin Jiade, I beg you... I'm so scared, scared that you don't love me, but only my function as a reproductive tool."

The cuckoo transformed into a kapok tree, and her lamentation was strikingly similar to the scene where the kapok tree, after sharing her past for the first time, was consumed by her own fear in the driver's seat.

Sympathy made Lin Jiade's offensive unsustainable, and Du Juan reverted to her original self facing Lin Jiade, saying, "You are just too soft-hearted. When someone close to you has a tragic experience, you soften your stance in a moment of impulse."

Imagine an extreme possibility: because of her family background, Kapok harbors a fear of being a woman and of bearing children. Whenever she tries to fulfill her duties as a wife, she suffers a mental breakdown, weeping uncontrollably and begging you not to continue…

“Then I’ll stop,” Lin Jiade said. “I’m with Kapok for pleasure. If it causes her pain, what reason do I have to continue?”

What if she begged you to maintain a platonic relationship for the rest of your life?

Lin Jiade struggled to speak: "I can... I will fantasize that it is the kapok tree I love when I am with other women."

"What about freedom?"

Lin Jiade remained silent. Du Juan said, "You might try to persuade her for a long time and use every means possible, but if Mu Mian still doesn't change her mind, you will eventually agree."

"No, that's an extreme scenario, and I don't want to consider that possibility."

Lin Jiade swayed twice, and Du Juan loosened her fists that were hidden behind her back. She hugged Lin Jiade intimately, rested her head on his shoulder, and leaned back to match Lin Jiade's forward leaning.

She said in a gentle tone, "It's alright, Lin Jiade. I'll always stand by you. Whether you like it or hate it, I'll offer you advice. It's my mission."

Lin Jiade felt his body almost melting in Du Juan's embrace, and he reached out to hug Du Juan back, and they pressed even closer together.

Maybe it was only ten seconds, maybe a few minutes later, when Dujuan pushed him away and said reproachfully, "I just wanted to comfort you, but you're addicted to taking advantage of me. Be careful, or I'll tell Jasmine on you."

Lin Jiade reluctantly let go, and Du Juan smiled: "I was just kidding, I won't tell her."

"What do you think I should do?" Lin Jiade asked.

"Remember, you can love Kapok, but you must also show a hard-hearted side. Only then will you have value in her eyes, and only with value will she not leave you. You must make her understand that every mistake she makes, every act of willfulness, will be met with your retaliation, not with magnanimous forgiveness."

That's how people are. If you forgive them this time, enduring the pain without letting them notice, they'll assume you're not hurt, and next time they'll carelessly hurt you even more, then casually toss out a private comment like, "He's already apologized, what more do you want?"

"What if it were you, Miss Dujuan?" Lin Jiade stared intently at her.

Du Juan didn't answer. As she walked to the door, she turned back and smiled, a smile that seemed both an invitation and a temptation. Lin Jiade, drawn by her gaze, followed her back into the living room.

Italy won the European Championship, hence the extra chapter.

Chapter 86 Evoking Memories

Back in the living room, Lin Jiade asked Du Juan for one last small favor: to play Lin Jiade between December 30th and January 2nd. Du Juan shook her head and said, "You forgot, I still have my thesis to write."

"Oh, this."

Dujuan pulled Weiying over: "Silly girl, there's still someone here."

Wei Ying was a little confused. She glanced at Lin Jiade, then looked away and said, "I... um, I just..."

“Alright, it’s decided then,” Du Juan said. “I’m finding myself liking human food more and more, Lin Jiade, I want to eat hot pot.”

"Oh, okay, Kapok, why don't you stay for a meal? I'll call Gladiolus back."

Although only Lin Jiade and Jasmine among these people actually get their energy from food, it didn't stop him from treating them like true diners. He got up to go to the supermarket to buy hot pot base and side dishes, and Du Juan said again, "Wei Ying, go help him."

Wei Ying was already very comfortable lying on the sofa, ready to start a game, so she said casually, "Anyway, he can carry it by himself."

“He was just visited by the sisters of Kapok, so you should protect him.”

"Oh fine."

The warbler lazily got up and patted Lin Jiade's bottom. Jasmine gritted her teeth and glared at Lin Jiade's bottom, her bottom. She turned to look at the cuckoo, but the cuckoo had already turned its head to the side.

Lin Jiade and Wei Ying were together. For the first few minutes, Wei Ying was able to communicate normally and asked Lin Jiade about things on his side. She was very surprised to learn that all of Kapok's sisters looked just like Kapok.

"Let me ask you, if you were to marry Kapok, and all of Kapok's sisters were wearing wedding dresses with anti-detection spells, and you had to find the real Kapok among them, what would you do?" Reed Warbler asked.

"Exhaustive search method".

"Ok?"

"Anyway, Kapok is mixed in with that group of people. Even if I can't tell them apart, I can sleep with all of them and eventually I'll find the real Kapok."

“That’s true,” Reed Warbler didn’t see anything wrong with it, “but your weak stamina…”

Men can back down in other things, but when it comes to sex, they have to push through even if they can't, putting on a brave face... after all, it's a matter of dignity.

"Let's talk about your things too, since we're always talking about what I'm talking about. Is your alma mater afraid that you, this plague, will blow up the school again, which is why they let you finish this semester and enjoy a wonderful vacation?"

"No, it's that I'm afraid of being pointed at and talked about."

The warbler's smile vanished, and her voice became very soft: "That night... we exchanged energy by pressing our bodies together, in order to erase this trace."

I had a minor surgery, but people can tell from the marks that I did *that* kind of thing, which is immoral, so I had to hide here.

Lin Jiade had forgotten, but the warbler's words and the cuckoo's magic neutralized them, making him recall that absurd night.

According to the moral standards of the celestial realm, if the reed warbler were to transform into a human woman and have intercourse with Lin Jiade, even if she gave birth to a child, she would only be laughed at for being playful.

However, exchanging energy through intimate physical contact with humans signifies a union in the celestial sense, meaning the reed warbler is no longer pure. More importantly, the one who robbed her of her purity was a human.

Although it didn't break the law, the consequences the Reed Warbler faced were no less severe than if a woman's affair with a dog were exposed in the human world. Therefore, the Reed Warbler had no choice but to return to the Empire.

Lin Jiade didn't think it was his fault. From a human perspective, he didn't think he had taken anything away from the reed warbler, but the latter's disappointment was written all over his face.

“I can’t understand it, but I respect it. Wei Ying, I will take on my share of responsibility,” Lin Jiade said.

"Responsibility?" Wei Ying looked up in surprise. "You still want me to have your child?"

The thought of a high, beautiful, and solemn goddess bearing his child was so appealing that Lin Jiade was practically bubbling with joy. But Wei Ying's words made him realize that while the inhabitants of the heavenly realm seemed unrestrained and could indulge in pleasure with any race in any way, their morality suddenly became conservative when it came to the issue of their race's reproduction.

"So, what should we do?" he asked.

"Forget about that ridiculous night. I am your guide, your teacher, your... friend, someone you should respect and praise three times a day in your heart."

"As expected... my story with you is a repetition of my story with Kapok, and then you both made the choice to forget this memory."

Miss Reed Warbler... no, Reed Warbler, your existence reminds me how to face the Kapok, while the Kapok's existence reminds me how to associate with you.

So my answer was: I refuse to forget, and I will remember it, forever; it is a happy memory I can be proud of… although for the sake of your reputation, I will not tell anyone.”

Lin Jiade stared directly at the reed warbler, and for a moment, the warbler had the illusion that she was being stared at by a cuckoo. She wanted to look away, but then she remembered that Lin Jiade was human and she was a celestial observer, so pride compelled her to meet Lin Jiade's gaze.

"Don't talk like I'm some weakling you pitied and gave me charity. To be honest, I was the one who took the initiative that night. I'm the one who stole your purity." Wei Ying waved her hand impatiently. "Alright, I don't want to stand outside and be stared at for too long. Let's go to the supermarket."

Lin Jiade frowned: "Is someone watching... the Kapok sisters? They haven't left yet?"

"Do you need my help?" the reed warbler asked.

"need!"

Reed Warbler stretched her wrists: "I'm feeling really annoyed, and I need a punching bag. What should I do? Strip them naked and throw them in the snow, or carry them back to show Kapok her best friends?"

Lin Jiade frowned: "Just scare them away and keep them from coming here. After all, it's a residential area, and things will get messy if a fight breaks out."

"Tch, what a hassle."

Despite its complaints, the warbler was quite obedient in carrying out its orders. As this fierce little bird went to find the peeping tom one by one, Lin Jiade entered the supermarket and was immediately attracted by the fried chicken next to him.

When Lin Jiade came out of the supermarket checkout, a refreshed Wei Ying took half of the ingredients and glanced at them casually: "Hot pot lamb, potato slices, eggs, enoki mushrooms, fish tofu..."

“Although you don’t like fish tofu, Jasmine does,” Lin Jiade explained.

"..."

"I'll share some of my meat with you."