CH 13

C13 – Butterfly Effect

The two women had different thoughts on their minds, but what they didn’t know was that the man they were thinking about, while looking calm and composed, was actually very frustrated on the inside.

Indeed, Liu Yuan was about to have a mental breakdown.

It was only when Ning Xiangrong appeared that he suddenly realized that these characters’ impression of him was completely based on what this Junxuan had been like in front of them previously.

Therefore, Liu Yuan should try to stay consistent with who he used to be.

But the thing was…

Sometimes he would deliberately put on an act and pretend to be someone else so as to meet the fantasies of different characters and win their hearts.

In other words, the specific “Junxuan” that these characters had fallen in love with could be completely two different men!

“I’ll be damned! If I’m not mistaken, the man Ning Xiangrong loves should be a frivolous playboy, while the one Gu Siyin loves should be a dominant, brother-like senior.”

Calm as he might seem, Liu Yuan was actually filled with bitterness at the moment.

Besides, now he had only met two characters and there hadn’t been much complications, and yet it was enough to drive him crazy. He couldn’t imagine how life was going to be for him when more and more characters started to show up.

He didn’t care much about how others saw him, but he did care about the characters’ favorability towards him, which might decrease if he failed to live up to their expectations.

And the decrease in favorability would eventually nullify the cards. That was something he couldn’t afford.

After all, now he was totally counting on the attribute bonuses from the cards to improve his cultivation.

It would be a disaster if he lost these cards.

“It seems that the attribute enhancement of character cards is not a permanent solution. I guess I’ll just have to rely on myself in the future… I must obtain as many Double Experience Scrolls as I can.”

Liu Yuan made up his mind.

Just then, Ning Xiangrong suddenly held his hand with a serious look, “No matter what you are going to do, I will stand by your side. Just, don’t leave me this time, okay?”

Liu Yuan’s heart almost skipped a beat. He frowned, as if he was deeply concerned about something, “I left because… Forget it. It’s all in the past.”

Ning Xiangrong bit her lips. She was convinced that Liu Yuan had left for a reason and that he was in some kind of trouble. She wanted to comfort him, but she wouldn’t want to do so with so many people watching. Therefore, she stood up and suggested, “Master Gu, there is plenty of time for us to discuss the details about the marriage. Now we’d better go and have some good rest, after all that has happened.”

Gu Feidao immediately understood what Ning Xiangrong meant — she wanted to talk to Liu Yuan in private — so he also stood up and saluted, “Yes, please go ahead. I will send someone to arrange a guest room for you right away.”

He then called for He Ren.

Ning Xiangrong shook her head, “There’s no need. Like I said, I’ll stay with him.” She was looking at Liu Yuan.

“But…”

He Ren was at a loss what to do next.

Were all cultivators so… open and unrestrained?

Gu Siyin, on the other hand, sat in her seat with her fists tightly clenched. She gritted her teeth and cursed in her heart, “Such a shameless woman!” It seemed she had completely forgotten that she was the one who had spent the night with Liu Yuan even with her wedding dress still on.

Ning Xiangrong asked rhetorically, “What? Do you have a problem?”

Immediately, He Ren could sense the aura of the Core Forming Stage in the air, and he found himself trembling.

He Ren nodded his head and hurried to the door, “No, no, not at all. Please come with me, Miss Ning and Mister Liu.”

Liu Yuan shook his head, “I have somewhere to be.”

He then stood up and added, “Please get her a guest room. She is not staying with me.”

Ning Xiangrong was stunned and wanted to retort, Liu Yuan gave her a look and she had no choice but to shut her mouth.

By now, He Ren had already realized clearly that Liu Yuan was the one in charge. He quickly nodded and led Ning Xiangrong out of the hall.

After a while, Ning Xiangrong made another requirement, “Then I’ll stay in the room next to his.”

“Phew, finally things are all settled… for now.”

Liu Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, “Hottie, it’s not that I don’t want to live with you, but I still have a cultivation technique manual hidden under my blanket. If you see me cultivating like a useless newbie, you will be disappointed. There’s no way I will let that happen. I’m so sorry!”

He could definitely not let her down!

Seeing Liu Yuan walk out of the hall, Gu Siyin immediately stood up and wanted to follow him, but Gu Feidao stopped her.

The young girl had no choice but to obediently sit down.

The old man said in a deep voice, “Siyin, tell me, who is the man?”

Gu Siyin pouted, “How would I know…”

She lowered her head and muttered, “Father, Brother Junxuan will never hurt me. Yes, he is a mysterious man, but he is really good to me. Actually, my brothers and sisters are the ones you should worry about right now, not me. I heard that the illegitimate son of my big brother was found a few days ago, and they’ve been having a row all the time.”

“Alas…”

Gu Feidao let out a long sigh.

Almost all of his children were troublemakers, and his grandchildren were not showing any talent. He wondered what his Pool Feather Mountain Manor would be like in the future. Was it sliding into decline?

But Siyin was right about one thing. He should look into that illegitimate child.

Ever since his eldest son Gu Shisong passed away, his other children had been fighting each other for power and inheritance. Now that the child of his eldest son had been found, things would only get worse.

The old man knocked on the armrest.

Swish!

Immediately, two men in black appeared in front of him, kneeling on the ground and awaiting orders.

…

Liu Yuan came out of the hall and noticed that the servants were mending the wall.

He took a closer look and felt bad about himself, “Oh, look all the mess we’ve made…”

Fortunately, the fight between him and Yue Longzhang just now did not destroy the hall’s main structure. Otherwise, the entire building might have fallen apart.

Feeling a bit guilty, Liu Yuan quickened his pace and left.

He backtracked towards the entrance of the manor, and not long after, the main gate was in sight.

From afar, he could see the towering trees surrounding the manor, below which stood a lot of buildings.

It looked exactly the same as the game setting.

Liu Yuan immediately sensed that the spirit butterfly he had released was in the forest outside.

Ma Shu must be waiting for him there.

Just like what Ning Xiangrong said, the operation this time was decided by the elders of Water Moon Dock. Even the Master could not stop them.

Naturally, Ma Shu was appointed by one of the elders.

But Liu Yuan had no idea which one it was. He did not know much about the details of this part of the story.

However, he was quite sure that whoever it was, he must be a spy of Devil Cult.

The force behind this operation to Pool Feather Mountain Manor was Devil Cult. Now, what he had to do was to follow the clues and find the spy among the upper echelons of Water Moon Dock.

He could trust no one else.

“Alas.”

Liu Yuan sighed.

He looked at his sword and then strode out of the manor.

Since he had already got involved, he couldn’t stay out of it.

The reason why Gu Siyin, who should have agreed to the engagement, now strongly refused to marry Xue Zhui was probably that she met him. This was just like the butterfly effect.

“It’s probably because of the conversation we had last night that she started to have second thoughts about the marriage. Moreover, she must have a lot of confidence in my ability. That’s why she doesn’t want to marry Xue Zhui.”

She even lost her temper and smashed a cup!

Liu Yuan smiled bitterly. That silly girl, she had no idea what the consequences of her actions might have been.

He was not some superhero, but a weakling who had just transmigrated into this world.

But for Ning Xiangrong’s help…

Liu Yuan frowned. Wait a second. Ning Xiangrong?

He didn’t recall seeing Ning Xiangrong among the envoys from Water Moon Dock before when he played the game!