【The reason you were brought to this world, Host, was to prevent the male and female leads from dying at the hands of the great villain. If they perish at a time they shouldn’t, the entire world will collapse.】
If the world collapses, then the one she loves will cease to exist.
【Countdown: fifty seconds, forty-nine, forty-eight…】
Chu'he had no time to think. She hastily lifted her skirt, splashing through one puddle after another, sprinting recklessly toward the source of the sound.
Song Chunming could hear the tearing of his own flesh and bones, the unbearable pain searing through his entire body. No matter how strong his willpower, he couldn’t endure it.
Ninth watched his suffering with amusement, wiping the crumbs from the corner of his lips. His crimson eyes curved into a smile, his pale face blooming with an eerie yet mesmerizing beauty.
Anyone in this world could be a coward.
But not him.
Of course not—after all, he had won the favor of the finest girl in the world. Who could possibly compare?
The sound of approaching footsteps was achingly familiar. The smug grin on the young man’s face froze. He scrambled to his feet, turning just in time to see the girl sprinting toward him—only for her to brush past his outstretched hand, rushing instead toward another man.
"Song Chunming!"
Ninth’s hand hung empty in the air, fingertips still tingling from the fleeting touch of her sleeve.
He stood rooted to the spot, the wind in his ears fading into silence, leaving only the echo of her voice—"Song Chunming!"—repeating endlessly in his mind.
His smile vanished completely, replaced by an indescribable emptiness.
【Twenty seconds remaining.】
Chu'he couldn’t undo the chains. Seeing Song Chunming’s lips turn deathly pale as he lost consciousness, she gritted her teeth and slapped him with all her strength.
"Song Chunming, wake up!"
Perhaps the force was too great—Song Chunming’s head snapped to the side, blood trickling from his nose and ears, a furry little Gu worm tumbling out.
The bug wobbled dizzily on the ground, shaking its head before trying to crawl back into Song Chunming’s body. But a small green snake slithered out, hissing threateningly.
The bug hesitated, glancing between the motionless Ninth and Chu'he, who was now kicking and punching Song Chunming. It shrank back, retreating into the shadows with the snake.
When a married couple quarrels, bystanders often suffer. The smartest move is to stay far away and let them reconcile in private.
"Song Chunming, you can’t die!"
"Open your eyes right now!"
"If you die, I’ll strip you naked and parade you through the streets!"
The sharp sound of her slaps reverberated in the thick air. Maybe her final threat worked—just as the countdown hit three seconds, Song Chunming coughed weakly, his breathing gradually steadying.
His mind was hazy, his face burning with pain.
Exhausted, Chu'he slumped over his battered body, finally letting out a relieved sigh as the countdown ended.
【System, are we safe now?】
The system replied: 【The world is temporarily secure, but Host, you’re on your own.】
Only then did Chu'he realize the eerie silence around her. The dripping water amplified the suffocating stillness, sending a chill down her spine.
Just then, dark clouds swallowed the moon, snuffing out its cold light and leaving only an oppressive gloom.
Slowly, she turned and saw the slender figure of the young man.
Shrouded in darkness—or perhaps already part of it—his crimson eyes burned unnaturally bright, like flames or boiling blood. He was burning, yet there was no warmth left in him.
"Ah’he." He stretched out a hand, his voice devoid of emotion. "Come here."
Chu'he swallowed nervously, inching forward through the water. The closer she got, the clearer his features became.
His face was like a painting, usually adorned with either false or genuine smiles. But now, a blood-red mark stained his forehead, sinister and unsettling, radiating terror.
Her heart pounded harder.
Impatient with her sluggish pace, he flashed forward, yanking her out of the icy water.
His embrace was colder than ever—as if the one holding her was no longer a living boy, but a corpse.
"You used to hate getting dirty. Yet for him, you’d let yourself become this wretched."
His voice was low and rough, laced with a twisted gentleness—like pity, or judgment.
She could smell the damp, frigid aura clinging to him, reeking of resentment and malice from the depths of the earth. Once ensnared, there was no escape.
Chu'he stammered, "Ninth, it’s not what you think—I—"
"I’ve known for a long time that your story about a fiancé and a child in Miaojiang’s Medicine Cavern was a lie."
His icy fingers gripped her chin, cutting her off.
Leaning down, he forced her to meet his gaze, ensuring she saw nothing but him.
"But I didn’t care that you lied. As long as you still loved me, I was happy."
Chu'he shuddered, her breath turning to frost.
"Ninth" was just one of thirteen puppets created to kill each other and purge emotions. With no past memories, he had believed her lies.
But "Chi Yan" was different. From the start, he had seen through her flimsy deceptions.
Yet when the Witchcraft and Gu Sorcery Sect tried to refine her into a Gu, he had stepped forward, pulling her into his arms and under his protection.
Because he was curious.
This deceitful woman from the Central Plains had clung to a filthy, blood-soaked Medicine Puppet just to survive—even enduring the disgust of embracing and kissing him.
But at the last moment, she had turned back, carrying the mutilated puppet through a swarm of Gu corpses, trudging toward a hopeless horizon.
Was it all an act, or was it real?
He stayed by her side, searching for the answer.
Until the puppet who should have been emotionless and hollow grew more human under her care. He fell in love, and with it came insatiable desire.
Her past lies no longer mattered.
But the appearance of that jade pendant shattered everything, awakening the beast lurking in his heart.
The crimson mark between Ninth’s brows deepened, as if staining his very soul. In his mind, only one voice remained—whispering, luring him into the abyss.
"See? No one will ever love you."
"Everything is a lie."
"Chi Yan, Ninth, what’s the point of you still being alive?"
"Just drag her down to hell with you."
Chu'he was suddenly lifted off her feet. In the darkness, she could only hear the howling wind rushing past. Then, she was thrown onto the bed, and the wind slammed the door shut, cutting off all traces of starlight.
A frantic, scorching kiss crashed down, sealing her lips. She squirmed uncomfortably, but one of his hands held her face firmly, leaving her no room to escape.
In the past, no matter how intense he got, he never made her feel this way. But now was different.
When he pushed up her skirt and entered her, the presence of the love gu spared her any pain, yet his brows furrowed slightly.
Chu'he called out in her mind, "System, system! Ninth isn’t acting like himself!"
[He’s been infected by a heart demon. Whether you can wake him up depends on you now.]
Chu'he wanted to ask for more details, but the system cut in: [R-18 content is not suitable for viewing. Connection terminated per privacy protocols. Goodbye.]
After a burst of static, her mind fell silent.
Sensing her distraction, the boy’s breath grew even more violent.
Caught off guard, Chu'he let out a soft moan.
"Think only of me," he demanded, voice rough. "Only me, Chu'he. You’re only allowed to think of me."
Stubborn and obsessive, he brushed his lips against hers again and again. "You promised me—no take-backs. I’ll always be the one you love most. And our little one… we agreed, didn’t we? We’d have a little one."
Ninth had never been secure in love. It had taken her so long to make him believe he deserved to be cherished.
She had painstakingly guided him toward becoming an ordinary person, but someone in the shadows had seized the chance to plant a heart demon in him, trying to drag him back to who he used to be—
A soul frozen to the core, trusting no one, hostile to the world.
Chu'he’s heart burned with the desire to tear that bastard to pieces. But when she met Ninth’s stormy gaze, beneath the aggression, she saw the fragility he couldn’t hide.
He might have been the one acting cruel, but the one hurting was him. The one suffering was him.
The redness at the corners of his eyes, the slight tremble in his breath, the way he stared at her—unwilling to look away even for a second—it all gave Chu'he the strangest impression.
If she so much as blinked, he might cry.
When Chu'he wrapped her arms around him, Ninth’s breath hitched.
She relaxed beneath him, yielding completely. Her dark, liquid eyes held his steadily as she whispered, "Ninth, you’re angry, aren’t you?"
After a tense pause, his voice came out hoarse. "Yes. I’m angry."
—Yes, he was terrified.
Chu'he pressed on, "You don’t like it when I say Song Chunming’s name or interact with him, do you?"
His lashes flickered. "No, I don’t."
—No, he was terrified. Terrified she’d abandon him.
Finally, Chu'he asked, "Do you plan to keep me here until we have our little one?"
His lips pressed into a thin line. "Yes. We must have one."
—Yes, he was terrified. Terrified she’d leave him, so he clung to this childish, desperate hope—that if they shared a bond of blood, she couldn’t discard him so easily.
Chu'he closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she lifted her head and kissed him lightly, her lips curving into a smile.
"Then why don’t we do what we always said? Chain me up. That way, I can’t go anywhere!"
Ninth froze. The icy aura radiating from him seemed to halt midair, pinned down by her words.
Her cheerful tone was utterly out of place, yet it shattered the dark momentum of his forced dominance.
