Chapter 111

The night was as dark as ink, hung with dots of stars.

Student Zhuge Qianxing sat before the window, gripping a fountain pen in his hand. The tip danced lightly on the parchment letter paper; his handwriting was as fluid as flowing water, every character filled with vitality, as if leaping and breathing on the paper.

"To be opened by Ye Lin."

"Ye Lin, before you read this letter, I must first apologize to you. I am sorry."

"From the first time I saw you, I had already begun to lay out my plans. I am the planner, you are the one in the game; I am the one holding the chess piece, you are the piece, and the opponent I am playing against is this Heaven."

"I want to win against this Heaven, I want to change the future. I do not want the human race to be wiped out, I do not want Da Xia to perish, and I especially do not want to see my daughter die as miserably as I divined."

"I dare not divine the future of the human race; the karma involved is too great, not something I can bear."

"So I only divined for two people: one is you, and the other is Ni Ni."

"I have already told you the result for Ni Ni, but for your result, I cannot see clearly; I can only vaguely see some disjointed, incomplete images."

"I originally wanted to write down everything I saw to tell you, but I was afraid. If you knew what the future was like, you would subconsciously start to avoid certain dangers or events you deemed bad. In doing so, it would trigger a butterfly effect, potentially causing the final outcome to change."

"So I thought about it and left you seven brocade pouches. At important nodes in your life's trajectory, these pouches will automatically open. If you do not wish to follow my advice, you can also discard the pouches directly."

"As for this man Guo Qin, other than being too lecherous and prone to ruining things, he has no major problems. You can trust him. If you can 'cut to cure him forever,' he will become your right-hand man."

"Finally... please bury me with my wife."

"Signed, Student Zhuge Qianxing."

The wind outside the window blew gently, drying the ink on the paper and scattering Student Zhuge Qianxing's thoughts.

He put down the pen, gently rubbed his temples, his gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses deep and firm, looking calmly at the starry sky.

And this letter appeared in Ye Lin's hands three days later.

After finishing the letter, Ye Lin took a deep breath, calming his surging emotions.

He took out the smaller pouch that had fallen out of the large one. It seemed the seven pouches Student Zhuge Qianxing spoke of were like nesting dolls, one inside the other.

He could only get the next pouch by opening the first one.

Now that he had opened the first, was this the important node Student Zhuge Qianxing spoke of? Then this node... should refer to Guo Qin?

"How is it? I didn't lie to you, did I? What did Mr. Student Zhuge say?" Seeing that the killing intent had left Ye Lin, Guo Qin finally dared to ask.

Ye Lin looked at him with a strange expression.

"Mr. Student Zhuge said I should castrate you."

Guo Qin: "......"

"Then... then, what do you think?"

Guo Qin's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he carefully retreated a few steps, a look of obvious terror appearing on his face.

He was truly afraid!

There were still so many married women, mature women, lolis, wives, and amateurs in Qingcheng waiting for him to "pick chrysanthemums by the eastern fence."

As a man, and an extremely lecherous man at that, if that "tool" were gone, what would be the point of living?

Ye Lin frowned, feeling a bit of a headache himself. To "cut to cure forever" a guy like Guo Qin who valued lust as much as his life—wouldn't that be even more painful than killing him?

If he castrated him, it would be a miracle if Guo Qin didn't fight him to the death, let alone become his right-hand man.

But Student Zhuge Qianxing had no reason to trick him. Could there be some secret he didn't know about?

Ye Lin put away the Red Flame Staff and silently took out the Star Meteor Trace.

Practice is the only criterion for testing truth.

"Don't come over here!"

Looking at the half-person-tall machete in Ye Lin's hand, Guo Qin went completely insane with fear.

It's only a matter of an inch or two, why use such a big blade?

"Don't be afraid, my blade will be very fast."

Ye Lin carried the blade toward Guo Qin. All along, Student Zhuge Qianxing had never made a miscalculation; he figured this time would be no exception.

It was currently deep night, and the Star Meteor Trace's power bonus had increased from 300 to 600, which, combined with Ye Lin's own strength attribute, totaled 965 points.

With a strike like this, let alone an ordinary Kun-Kun, even a deep-sea giant Kun wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"I'd be a ghost if I wasn't afraid! Damn! Are you for real?"

Seeing that Ye Lin truly intended to strike, every hair on Guo Qin's body stood on end.

"This is the teacher's wish, Mr. Guo Qin. You wouldn't want to go against Mr. Student Zhuge's last words, would you?"

Ye Lin raised the Star Meteor Trace and began to aim.

Guo Qin instantly felt himself locked on by a terrifying aura.

Swish!

A streak of starlight flashed by, and with a clang, it struck the ground, sparks flying everywhere.

"An afterimage?!"

Ye Lin was astonished. He saw the Guo Qin before him slowly dissipating, while the real Guo Qin had already appeared dozens of meters away.

Although he had known Guo Qin for a while, Ye Lin had never seen him go all out before.

Judging by this speed, Guo Qin's strength was likely even more terrifying than he had imagined.

"You actually swung! Damn you!" Guo Qin cursed, grabbing his own hair in a breakdown. "I knew it! I knew things couldn't be that simple!"

Ye Lin raised an eyebrow. He knew it couldn't be that simple. He didn't continue the pursuit, but instead listened calmly as Guo Qin continued.

"Ye Lin, some mistakes really cannot be made, and some mistakes really require a lifetime to repay."

When Guo Qin looked up again, his face was already covered in tears.

"At the time, Mr. Student Zhuge told me that as long as I accompanied him to the Tianqi Gate once, he would set me free and let bygones be bygones. I thought I was going to be liberated early, but I never expected it was waiting for me here!"

As Guo Qin spoke, he spread out a yellowed piece of paper. On it was drawn a very complex magic array, and in the center of the array were written several ancient seal characters, faintly glowing with the luster of stars.

"Here, sign your name." Guo Qin's face was ashen.

"What is this?" Ye Lin asked, curious.

"This is my indenture, personally crafted by Mr. Student Zhuge. According to the rules on it, I have to work for Mr. Student Zhuge for free for thirty years to regain my freedom."

"During this period, I cannot betray my boss, and if the boss dies, I will die too."

Guo Qin's voice was choked with emotion. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a snap, his eyes filled with sorrow that couldn't be melted away, and then continued.

"This year is the tenth year. Before coming here, Mr. Student Zhuge suddenly canceled the indenture and returned it to me. I originally thought it was my ten years of diligent work that had moved Mr. Student Zhuge, but I never expected! He wanted to gift the remaining twenty years to you!"

Guo Qin indignantly crushed the cigarette butt.

"Damn, evil capitalist!"

"Hmm?"

Ye Lin was stunned for a moment. So that's what Student Zhuge Qianxing meant when he said that if he castrated Guo Qin, Guo Qin would become his right-hand man?

"Then why did you sell yourself to Mr. Student Zhuge for thirty years?" Ye Lin asked curiously.

Guo Qin glanced at Ye Lin, his expression very complex—three parts regret, three parts lingering fear, and four parts resentment—before he spoke.

"At the time... I set my sights on Mr. Student Zhuge's wife."