I Owe You One (Extra Chapter 3)

Yun Jingheng's movements were so fast it was dazzling.

Before Gu Yue could even finish uttering "beg me," he sprang up from his chair, took three steps in two, circled behind Gu Yue, placed both hands on her shoulders, and began to massage them with just the right amount of force.

The technique was so skillful it was as if he had practiced it eight hundred times. His thumb circled along the edge of the scapula, and the heel of his palm pressed down along the curve of the trapezius muscle. The whole sequence was smooth and effortless.

"Gu Yue, Miss Gu Yue, the beautiful Gu Yue-- "

While massaging, Yun Jingheng kept talking, his tone so flattering it was almost sickeningly sweet, "Why are your shoulders so stiff? Have you been reading too much lately?"

"Sit still and let me give you a good massage. I guarantee you'll wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed, light as a feather, and able to climb seven flights of stairs without breaking a sweat..."

Gu Yue sat in the chair, her body stiffening for half a second, then slowly turned her head and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

Her lips were pursed, but there was a slight twitch at the corner of her eye.

"... Is this how you usually treat people?" she asked.

"That's impossible."

Yun Jingheng continued massaging her shoulders, pressing his thumb a couple more times on the stiffest spot on the inside of her shoulder blade, his tone serious, "I only do this to people who can give me Soul Bone."

"... You're quite frank."

"Sincerity is the most important thing in life."

Yun Jingheng changed his technique, pressing the heel of his palm against her shoulder and gently massaging the acupoints with his fingertips wrapped in Moonlight Spiritual Power. In that instant, Gu Yue's shoulder visibly relaxed, and even her back slumped slightly by half an inch, as if a key point that she herself had not noticed had been pressed.

Gu Yue was silent for two seconds, then let out a very soft "hiss," whether from pleasure or something else, it was unclear.

She picked up the glass of iced tea on the table, took a sip, put it back down, ran her fingers along the rim of the glass, and then said, "Alright, stop pinching."

Yun Jingheng immediately stopped, obediently retreated and sat back in his chair, placing his hands on his knees and sitting upright. His expression switched from fawning to an innocent "I'm being good, I'm waiting for you to speak" mode in less than a breath.

Seeing his expression, Gu Yue couldn't help but smile slightly, but she quickly suppressed it.

"I have a request."

"What? You say it."

"I want this." Gu Yue said, handing over a piece of paper.

Yun Jingheng took it and examined it carefully.

"Hiss... This is... you were spying on me?"

Gu Yue remained silent. "Why would I be peeking at you? I saw you when I went to find you with Ye Xinglan and the others. I thought you were pretty, and I wanted you."

Yun Jingheng looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll give the Soul Bone to Di Tian. You go and persuade your father to find Di Tian."

"OK."

Yun Jingheng nodded and was about to stand up to take his leave when Gu Yue spoke again.

"There's one more thing."

Yun Jingheng sat back down, waiting for her to continue.

Gu Yue's fingers paused for a moment on the edge of the table, as if she were organizing her thoughts, then she looked up at him, her gaze more serious than before. "I suggest you don't use your Seventh Soul Ring, the God-Bestowed Soul Ring."

Yun Jingheng raised an eyebrow. "... What do you mean?"

"You're currently at the sixth ring, and although you're still a ways from the seventh ring, at your cultivation speed, it should only take about a year."

Gu Yue said, "Your current physical attributes are at most capable of producing Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. If you form a contract with Zi JI, you will be able to obtain Beast Soul Ring and Soul Bone."

Yun Jingheng was taken aback.

"You... you're just going to give her up to me like this?"

Yun Jingheng's tone dropped from its previous playful tone and became much more serious. "She's been with you for so long, and you're just going to give her away like she's just Soul Ring material?"

Gu Yue's fingers stopped on the edge of the table.

She looked down at the table, the lamplight casting a small shadow beneath her eyelashes. After a few moments, she spoke, her voice softer than before, but every word was clear. "I've chosen to let her go with you. This isn't a sacrifice, it's a commitment."

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Gu Yue raised her eyes to look at him. There was no hesitation or joking in her eyes, which were tinged with purple light.

"If she follows me, she'll be nothing more than a Soul Beast. How long will this last?"

Gu Yue said, "But unlike you, you possess Godhood."

"After she forms a contract with you, she will continue to grow, her cultivation will not stagnate, and it will even be more worthwhile than hunting any Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Yun Jingheng remained silent for a while, pondering the sentence over and over in his mind.

He glanced at Gu Yue's face, and a strange, inexplicable feeling welled up inside him.

"You're right, this is indeed a better path for Zi JI."

He spoke slowly, "But I have to ask you one question—are you willing to do that?"

Gu Yue did not answer immediately.

She looked down at the flickering flame of the oil lamp on the table, the light reflecting on the purple hue in her eyes like a warm glow floating in deep water.

After a long pause, she finally spoke the second half of her sentence, her voice so soft it was as if she was afraid a third person would hear.

"I'm willing to do it. Because I know you won't treat her badly."

After saying that, she stood up, closed the book on the table, put it back on the shelf, and said with her back to him, "Alright, that's all I wanted to say. It's getting late, you should go. Remember to bring the things tomorrow."

Yun Jingheng stood at the door, watching her back as she stood in front of the bookshelf.

The light shone from the side, casting a warm hue on half of her silhouette, while the other half remained hidden in shadow.

He didn't say much, opened the door and walked out. As the night wind rushed in, he turned back and said, "Gu Yue, I owe you one."

The door closed.

He stood outside in the cool night air, took a deep breath, and started walking towards home.

The leaves rustled overhead, the moonlight shone white on the stone path, and his shadow stretched long behind him.

Gu Yue's purplish eyes gazed at his retreating figure. "If Zi JI doesn't form a contract with you... you will definitely stop me in the future..."

"Sorry..."

She stood inside the doorway, her fingers still resting on the spine of the book, her fingertips slightly white.

The footsteps outside the door gradually faded away along the stone path, carried by the night wind and the rustling of the sycamore leaves, finally disappearing in the direction of the alley entrance.

She didn't immediately turn back to the table; she just stood there, listening to the footsteps fade from clear to indistinct, and from indistinct to the quiet of the night.

Moonlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a narrow silver line at her feet, like a thin blade slicing through the room's light and the night outside.

Zi JI silently emerged from behind her, her long, deep purple hair gleaming Youyou under the light, and Gu Yue's profile reflected in her purple eyes.

"My Lord."

"You heard me. If you're not willing, I have other options," Gu Yue said in a low voice.

"There is no reason not to, my Lord. For the sake of the Soul Beast Clan, sacrifice is inevitable."

Gu Yue did not respond. "How are the preparations for the Ten Thousand Beast Platform going?"

"Still trying."

She nodded. "Understood. Let's do it as soon as possible, before he becomes a god."

"Yes."