You're Playing with Fire!

"Who's your girlfriend?!"

Ning Rongrong puffed out her little cheeks, hid behind Zhu Zhuqing, and made a face at him.

Lu Yuan reached out as if to grab her, but Ning Rongrong dodged away with a giggle.

Caught between them, Zhu Zhuqing gave an awkward cough.

She was a cat, not a dog.

Could these two please be a little more considerate when they showed off their affection?

Though she envied a scene like this, she would rather be the female lead than a supporting character with no role in it.

"Stop hiding. I came to help you deal with the problem on your body."

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing grow more and more embarrassed, Lu Yuan could only stop and speak helplessly.

He could have passed straight through Zhu Zhuqing's body and caught Ning Rongrong in the simplest way possible, but that would clearly have been disrespectful to Zhu Zhuqing.

Only then did Ning Rongrong stop, smiling.

Lu Yuan raised a hand and placed it on Ning Rongrong's shoulder. Their figures rippled almost simultaneously.

Then Lu Yuan's face turned pale. His body swayed, and he fell backward weakly.

Ning Rongrong jumped in fright and hurriedly grabbed Lu Yuan's arm, pulling him back up before he hit the ground.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Lu Yuan slumped into a chair and waved weakly, indicating that he was fine.

Just the aftereffects of overexerting his Soul Power.

He had long since gotten used to it.

But pain was still pain. Getting used to it did not make it hurt any less.

Flender reached out, checked him with his Soul Power, and immediately understood why Lu Yuan was in such discomfort.

Facing the expectant, hopeful gazes of the Little Monsters, Flender explained the reason.

"It's nothing serious. He just overexerted his Soul Power."

"Eat well, drink well, and get some proper rest. He'll recover gradually."

"All right, if there's nothing else, get back to your dorms and sleep."

Flender stretched, waved the Little Monsters away, then glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed to himself.

"These Little Monsters are full of energy!"

"Tomorrow..."

"Maybe I should increase their workload?"

"..."

The room fell silent.

Flender suddenly turned around, only to find that Zhao Wuji, that fool, had already started dozing off.

Smack!

"Who? Who hit me?!"

Zhao Wuji shouted instinctively, only to be choked silent by Flender's next words.

"If you want to sleep, get back to your own nest. This isn't a place for sleeping."

"Got it!"

Overjoyed, Zhao Wuji fled Flender's office like a gust of wind.

Meditation was meditation, and sleep was sleep.

Meditation could not replace sleep. Even the strongest Soul Master had to abide by that rule.

Because meditation itself consumed Mental Power!

Yet at that very moment, in the Male Dormitory, Lu Yuan lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Within his perception, a Flying Thunder God Mark was being infused with Soul Power intermittently, leaving Lu Yuan restless and irritated.

"So annoying!"

Lu Yuan abruptly sat up, and his figure instantly vanished from the room.

Star Luo Empire.

Zhu Family.

Inside a lavish bedroom.

A curvaceous young woman lay lazily on the spacious, tidy bed, burying her head in the blankets and making sounds like the soft panting of a kitten.

Logically speaking, the word "curvaceous" should not have been used to describe a young woman.

Because a young girl, or a girl, represented innocence and simplicity.

And the word "voluptuous" was better suited to certain roses brimming with charm.

Dangerous, mature, yet possessing a different kind of allure.

And the young woman lying on the large bed clearly belonged to the rose variety—the most dangerous kind of rose at that: a "black rose."

The eldest daughter of the Zhu Family, the Crown Princess of the Star Luo Empire—Zhu Zhuyun.

Yet at this very moment, this "black rose" had encountered a problem she could not solve.

Twisting her lovely figure into a knot, Zhu Zhuyun successfully reached around and touched her back. On her skin, a small pale-silver character gleamed beneath the moonlight.

Zhu Zhuyun suddenly lowered her head and took two sharp breaths. Then she raised her head again, closed her eyes, and cautiously injected Soul Power into it.

She trusted no one.

Especially in a matter that could ruin her reputation at any time, Zhu Zhuyun dared not trust anyone.

Not even the Death Guards or confidants she had personally cultivated!

A character had been carved into the Crown Princess's back.

How absurd was that?

Although the Starfall Empire's royal family might not believe it, what Zhu Zhuyun feared was that "what if"!

What if the Star Luo Empire's royal family demanded an examination of her body—

What then?

Could she cut off that patch of skin immediately?

Though she could be ruthless enough to do that to herself, doing so would undoubtedly turn an unproven matter into an indisputable fact—

When that time came, never mind anyone else; even the Star Luo Empire's royal family would likely suspect her.

"If you have nothing to hide, why cut it off?"

"If you did nothing wrong, why are you feeling guilty?"

Zhu Zhuyun could come up with those two simple questions herself, and they were enough to leave her speechless.

It was not that she did not want to argue.

The problem was that both witnesses and evidence were present. Even if she wanted to deny it or cover it up, she had no opportunity!

As for asking Dai Weisi for help.

In theory, that was the best option.

No matter what Zhu Zhuyun had done wrong, as long as she went to Dai Weisi and clearly explained everything, Dai Weisi alone could withstand the pressure from the Star Luo royal family.

After all, in the eyes of the Star Luo royal family, the "Crown Prince" and the "Crown Princess" were two different concepts.

If something went wrong, the Crown Princess could die, but the Crown Prince could not!

But in the eyes of the "Crown Prince," the "Crown Princess" was even more important than the Star Luo royal family.

Because whether during the struggle for succession or after the dust had settled, the "Crown Princess" was someone the "Crown Prince" could trust without reservation.

This was different from Death Guards.

In professional terms:

Death Guards were consumables. They belonged to the combat echelon, like swords and blades, and did not need much independent thought.

The Star Luo royal family were spectators, who also served as referees.

The "Crown Princess," meanwhile, was the "Crown Prince's" right-hand woman. She belonged to both the support and combat echelons, possessed high intelligence, and had the ability for Independent Action.

Swords and blades could betray you; before stronger swords and blades, they could even be smashed to pieces.

But right-hand limbs were different. They could not betray the body, because they were themselves part of it!

They shared glory, shared loss, and shared death.

Therefore, so long as the "Crown Princess" had not poked a hole in the sky, the "Crown Prince" would do his best to save the "Crown Princess."

For this, she had the Star Luo Empire's "excellent" system to thank.

Unfortunately, Zhu Zhuyun had ruled out this best option during her first round of analysis.

Zhu Zhuyun's reasoning was more than sufficient:

No man would tolerate another person's name appearing on his fiancée's back!

She could be poisoned, on the verge of death, even have her life in someone else's hands—but she absolutely could not bear even the slightest suspicion of "infidelity"!

Not even suspicion was acceptable!

Thus, with nowhere left to turn, Zhu Zhuyun could only try to solve the problem herself.

At the very least, she had to preserve her own life first.

Who knew whether the curse caster had planted a curse mark that activated automatically after a delay, or one that had to be activated manually from afar?

Zhu Zhuyun was not afraid of the second kind.

But if it was the first possibility...

Zhu Zhuyun shuddered.

Death would have been one thing, but the problem was that her reputation in her later years would be ruined!

"Need my help?"

A hoarse, low voice filled with rage rang out.

Zhu Zhuyun was so startled she nearly wrenched her arm.

God knew why there was someone else in her bedroom!

She instinctively wanted to scream, but before any sound could escape, Zhu Zhuyun forcibly swallowed it back down her throat.

Her tightly curled body stretched out as quickly as possible. Reaching out with her small hand, she grabbed the blanket beside her. In almost an instant, Zhu Zhuyun had wrapped herself into a dumpling.

The clouds dispersed, and moonlight spilled down.

Lu Yuan's sharply defined profile entered Zhu Zhuyun's field of vision.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Uh, almost two o'clock, I think?"

"Two thirteen."

Lu Yuan lifted the alarm clock that had appeared in his hand at some unknown point and gave it a shake, then casually tossed it into his Storage Space.

His eyelids lowered slightly as several items appeared in Lu Yuan's hands.

"A whip, a belt, a ruler, a Teaching Whip."

"Pick one you like!"

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P.S. There will only be one update today. Sorry—I'll see if I can make it up tomorrow.