This is clearly telling me to go back to jail!

"Achoo!"

Su Yun rubbed his nose.

"Which unruly subject is trying to harm me again?"

He muttered to himself, casually handing the skewer of candied haws he had just bought to Xiao Wu.

Life these past few days had been nothing short of comfortable.

Teasing the rabbit when he had nothing to do, strolling through the streets, and occasionally wandering by the blacksmith shop to admire the look on Tang San's face—that expression of someone who couldn't stand him yet couldn't get rid of him either.

This was the pace a transmigrator ought to have.

Fighting and killing were so dull; enjoying life was the true path.

However.

Happy times were always short-lived, much like the post-coital clarity that arrived right on schedule after the peak.

Just as Su Yun was returning home loaded with goods, ready to enjoy a sumptuous dinner at his villa, a familiar figure appeared silently at the gate.

Clad in black armor and radiating a ghostly aura, the man stood there like a block of permafrost that would never melt, causing the surrounding temperature to drop by several degrees.

Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei.

Su Yun's footsteps faltered, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

"Elder Gui?"

"Why are you out in broad daylight? Aren't you afraid of the sun?"

Gui Mei: "..."

This kid's mouth was as punchable as ever.

He ignored Su Yun's teasing, coldly pulling out a roll of parchment, his voice raspy:

"Your Highness, have you had enough fun?"

"If you have, it's time to go home."

Su Yun's heart skipped a beat.

Go home?

Which home?

"The Pope's decree."

Gui Mei unfurled the parchment and read with an expressionless face:

"Holy Son Su Yun has been away from home for too long, and his studies have been neglected. Effective immediately, Gui Mei is ordered to escort him back to the palace to reflect behind closed doors and cultivate with focus. No delays permitted."

"Huh?"

Su Yun widened his eyes.

"Studies neglected? I've only been out for a few days! How could they be neglected?"

"Besides, I just got Xiao Wu and just stepped on Tang San; this is the perfect time to press the advantage. You want me to go back now?"

"I object! I want to appeal!"

Gui Mei put away the decree and glanced at him, his eyes filled with three parts sympathy and seven parts schadenfreude:

"Your Excellency said the appeal is denied."

"She also said..."

Gui Mei paused, seemingly imitating the tone of a certain Empress:

"You don't want to come back? Fine. Then break his legs and drag him back."

Su Yun: "..."

What a ruthless woman.

This wasn't asking him to go home for dinner; this was clearly ordering him back to serve a prison sentence!

He looked back at Xiao Wu.

The little rabbit was holding a pile of new clothes and snacks, looking at them with a blank expression.

"Brother Su Yun, are you leaving?"

Xiao Wu's voice trembled slightly. She gripped the corner of Su Yun's clothes tightly, her large eyes instantly brimming with tears.

She had finally found a home, finally found someone who treated her well.

Were they to be separated now?

Su Yun looked at those red, watery eyes, and his heart softened.

Although he had approached Xiao Wu with an agenda, after spending these past few days together—human hearts were made of flesh and blood, after all—it would be a lie to say he felt nothing.

"Hoo..."

Su Yun exhaled a breath of stale air, crouched down, and gently wiped the tears from the corners of Xiao Wu's eyes.

"Big brother has some business to attend to, I need to head home."

"But don't you worry, this villa is yours, and I've left you plenty of money."

"In Notting City, no one will dare to bully you. If that Tang San dares to harass you, just use the Soft Skill I taught you and throw him until he's half-dead."

Su Yun pulled a token (a Spirit Hall warrant) from his robes and shoved it into Xiao Wu's hand.

"Take this. If you run into trouble, go to the Spirit Hall branch and find that old man named Ma Xiunuo; when he sees this, he'll have to kneel to speak with you."

Xiao Wu nodded through her sobs, clutching the token tightly as if it were her last straw of hope.

"Then... will you come back?"

"Of course."

Su Yun smiled, his expression as bright as the sun.

"Once I've mastered my divine technique, I'll come to pick you up."

"When that time comes, I'll take you to a bigger, more beautiful place, and feed you carrots every single day."

Having painted a grand picture (even if it was the truth), he finally calmed the little Rabbit down.

Su Yun stood up, took a deep breath, and turned to look at Gui Mei.

"Let's go, Elder Gui."

"The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"I want to see what that old woman... cough, what my teacher wants so urgently that she had to summon me back."

The carriage started up again, pulling away from Notting City.

Inside the carriage, Su Yun watched the scenery fading into the distance outside the window, feeling rather depressed.

To be forcibly repatriated right after leaving the starter village—this gaming experience was abysmal.

"No, I can't just let it go like this."

"Since you won't let me have a good time, I won't let you have one either."

Su Yun's malice grew, and he once again pulled out the Diary that made Bibi Dong tremble with fear.

This time, he was going to use his ultimate move.

[Date: X Month X Day, Overcast.]

[Mood: Extremely poor.]

[I had just coaxed the little Rabbit, just stepped on Tang San, and was ready to show off my skills, when I was summoned back by a single decree from that old woman, Bibi Dong.]

[The reason? "Neglecting my studies"?]

[Pah!]

[I think she's just bored! She just can't stand seeing me happy!]

[Or perhaps... she misses me?]

[Tsk, that wouldn't be strange. After all, a disciple as handsome, dashing, and understanding as me is rare in this world.]

[As a beautiful woman who has been keeping an empty room for twenty years, it's inevitable that she'd feel lonely.]

[Fine, fine. Since you miss me so much, I'll reluctantly go back to keep you company.]

[But Dong'er, we need to set some ground rules.]

[After I get back, you are not allowed to spank me, you are not allowed to confiscate my private savings, and most importantly, you are not allowed to...]

[Sneak into my bed in the middle of the night.]

[Although I know I'm incredibly charming, we are master and disciple after all. If word of this got out, even in a place with such "simple" (not really) folk customs as the Douluo Continent, we'd be thrown into a pig cage!]

[If you really can't help yourself...]

[Ahem, remember to turn off the lights.]

Spirit City, Pope Palace.

"BOOM!"

A loud crash echoed like a thunderclap on flat ground.

Bibi Dong, who was in the middle of reviewing memorials, lost control of her spirit power, instantly shattering the desk made of Millennium Ironwood in front of her into powder.

Amidst the flying wood shavings, His Holiness the Pope's face turned so red it looked as if it were dripping blood.

It was out of shame, and even more so, out of rage.

"Sneak into his bed?!"

"Turn off the lights?!"

"Su! Yun!"

"You rebellious disciple! What kind of Yellow Waste is stuffed inside your brain!"

Bibi Dong trembled with rage, her chest heaving violently, that breathtaking curve quivering in the air.

When had she ever missed him?

When had she ever felt lonely?

She had summoned him back for the sole purpose of protecting him!

It was to prevent him from being ambushed by that madman Tang Hao!

Yet this bastard not only failed to appreciate it, but dared to fabricate such things about her in his diary!

"Fine, very well."

Bibi Dong took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the shame and annoyance in her heart, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.

"You want This Seat to turn off the lights, do you?"

"Fine."

"Once you return, This Seat will let you know exactly what 'the terror after the lights go out' means."

"Someone come here!"

"Remove all the lamps from the Holy Son Hall! Replace them with candles!"

"This Seat wants him to have a good, long 'reflection'!"