Dan Heng did not share this news with Gu Yuena.
Otherwise, he feared that if Gu Yuena got upset, she might just wipe out the entire Spirit Hall, which would truly plunge the world into chaos.
Without a doubt, Gu Yuena possessed such power.
Another plain and uneventful day passed.
If not for Chrysanthemum Douluo's words, Dan Heng would have thoroughly enjoyed such peaceful days.
A few more days passed, yet there were still no disturbances.
Dan Heng silently appreciated Chrysanthemum Douluo, believing that the latter must be shouldering some form of risk.
In fact, that was indeed the case.
In a private room of a restaurant, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were discussing the progress of their mission.
"Old Chrysanthemum, I feel like His Holiness the Pope has been looking at me strangely these past few days. If we don't make some progress soon, I'm afraid we'll…"
Ghost Douluo's voice was hoarse, and his face showed an expression of terror.
Despite the table being full of delicious dishes, he couldn't bring himself to eat. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts—his stomach already felt full without having taken a single bite.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was equally troubled, frowning as he sighed. "But we simply can't complete the mission, can we, Old Ghost?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at Ghost Douluo nervously. He hadn't yet dared to reveal his own plan.
Ghost Douluo nodded slightly. He had witnessed the terrifying power of that family and likewise hadn't spoken about it to Chrysanthemum Douluo.
If that family found out that he had exposed their identity, he would surely be killed, wouldn't he?
The more he thought about it, the more afraid Ghost Douluo became. It was like being caught between a wolf and a tiger!
"What should we do? Why don't we just find some random person…"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes flickered as he considered fabricating results.
"But wouldn't someone like that be easily exposed?"
Ghost Douluo was skeptical.
Chrysanthemum Douluo smirked, the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. "It's just two policy proposals. If we get exposed, we can just say we were deceived too!"
"Good! As always, you're a genius!"
Ghost Douluo immediately perked up.
He approved of Chrysanthemum Douluo's idea. After pondering for a moment, he added, "Let's find someone who has lost the will to live, or simply threaten someone into cooperating!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Chrysanthemum Douluo nodded with a grin.
Their worries vanished in an instant, their moods improved, and they began to feast.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng and Gu Yuena, as a couple, were strolling through a scenic old street—a significant step forward in their relationship.
Before this, Dan Heng would never have been willing to go shopping with Gu Yuena while she showed her true face.
Although they were currently on an old street rarely visited by people, it was still part of the outside world.
The old street was paved with cobblestones, uneven and worn. Many stones had been dug up, leaving behind small pits.
On both sides of the street were weathered walls with graffiti that had faded from years of exposure to wind and rain. Many shops were closed, and those still open were run by elderly proprietors with barely any business.
Gu Yuena remarked, "I heard from Liu Erlong that she used to frequent this old street. Back then, her lover once found a heart-shaped stone on this very road and gave it to her, saying it was fate destined by the heavens. She was deeply moved by it."
Hearing this, the two of them started looking for heart-shaped stones together.
Dan Heng didn't use his perception abilities; instead, he enjoyed searching hand-in-hand with Gu Yuena like an ordinary couple. It was rather interesting.
However, their luck didn't seem too good. Even after searching two streets, they still hadn't found a single heart-shaped stone.
Gu Yuena straightened her back and sighed, "It looks like they've all been picked clean. There aren't any left."
Dan Heng raised an eyebrow slightly and pointed toward a small shop in the distance that had only a single open window.
"Let's check over there."
Gu Yuena followed him over.
When they arrived at the window, they saw that the store was selling nothing but oddly shaped stones.
The shop owner was a small elderly man. When he saw them, his expression turned a bit strange as he muttered:
"How come, after all these years, young folks are still using this trick to impress their girls?"
Dan Heng was momentarily stunned—was he being looked down upon right from the start?
Gu Yuena chuckled and shook her head. "It wasn't my husband who brought me here—I was the one who wanted to come. A friend of mine confirmed her love here…"
She then recounted Liu Erlong's story of receiving the heart-shaped stone.
To be honest, she quite liked the tale.
After hearing the story, the old man curled his lips and scoffed, "Only you young girls would believe in such nonsense. What heart-shaped stone? What heavenly destiny? It was all just a bunch of scoundrels' lies."
"How could that be?" Gu Yuena asked, puzzled.
The old man didn't reply. Instead, he turned around, rummaged through his store, and pulled out a transparent bag, placing it on the windowsill.
Inside the bag was a collection of stones, all heart-shaped and in various colors.
The old man sneered. "I'm the one who sells these stones."
"If I had known those brats were using them to deceive young women, I never would have sold them. One heart-shaped stone costs just a single copper soul coin, yet it's enough to win a girl's love. Those brats got off way too easy."
The old man looked utterly disgruntled.
Gu Yuena frowned slightly, picked out a red heart-shaped stone from the bag, and twitched the corner of her eye.
"This is exactly the same as the one Liu Erlong received…"
Even Dan Heng couldn't help but find it amusing.
Goodness, Liu Erlong had fallen for such a miserly scoundrel.
A heart-shaped stone worth a single copper soul coin had touched her for over a decade.
That man had really profited.
The old man continued, "What I remember most is this plain-looking brat who used the same trick to fool two girls. Both of them were stunningly beautiful. How did they fall for him?"
The old man sighed repeatedly, unable to comprehend it.
Gu Yuena chuckled and asked, "Were they as beautiful as me?"
"Not even close…" The old man waved dismissively.
Gu Yuena snuggled against Dan Heng's chest and playfully said, "Husband, you really got a great bargain."
Dan Heng hummed in agreement, paid two copper soul coins for a purple and a white heart-shaped stone, and turned to leave.
Since they were bought, neither of them felt any particular attachment to them.
As they walked beneath the willow trees, they continued chatting about heart-shaped stones.
"It's a pity there wasn't a green one. Otherwise, we could've kept them all as a memento," Gu Yuena said.
"We can find one ourselves…"
"That wouldn't be as fun. Husband, let's keep these two heart-shaped stones. When we have a daughter in the future, we can use this story to teach her not to be fooled by men…"
Gu Yuena smiled as she spoke.
Dan Heng froze for a moment. A child? How could they possibly have a child?
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
"You just mentioned heart-shaped stones?"
Dan Heng and Gu Yuena turned around and saw a woman in a purple dress looking at them in confusion.
Though her attire was simple, she was breathtakingly beautiful, and her regal aura made it clear she was someone of high status—no, more accurately, she carried the presence of an empress!
Dan Heng instinctively wanted to leave.
Women were already troublesome enough, but high-status women? Their level of trouble was bound to multiply.
However, Gu Yuena clung to his arm and wouldn't let him go.
"Dear husband, they were asking us something. How can you just walk away?" Gu Yuena smiled.
"..." Dan Heng was helpless and could only stay with Gu Yuena.
"What's this about a heart-shaped stone?"
The woman in the purple dress, Bibi Dong, continued to ask.
Gu Yuena then told Bibi Dong this "joke."
"…Tell me, isn't it ridiculous? A man used the same trick to deceive two women years apart. And both were beautiful women."
Gu Yuena couldn't help but laugh as she spoke, even though one of them was Liu Erlong.
"..." Bibi Dong's expression turned incredibly complex.
Her chest heaved violently, and her eyes were practically burning with fury.
Because the man and woman in Gu Yuena's story—the first pair—were none other than herself and Yu Xiaogang.
Back then, Yu Xiaogang had told her that he had picked up a heart-shaped stone here, saying it was a sign of their destined love. She had completely fallen for it.
But now, Gu Yuena had exposed the truth—everything had been a lie?!
That so-called heart-shaped stone was nothing more than a man-made trinket worth a single copper soul coin? There had never been any divine fate between them.
Even worse, after Yu Xiaogang left, she had returned to this place every year, still harboring the hope of meeting him again.
Yet, she never imagined that he had brought another woman here and used the exact same trick to steal her heart.
The feeling of being deceived made Bibi Dong's chest feel like it was about to explode.
"What did that heart-shaped stone look like?"
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth as she asked.
Gu Yuena opened her hand, revealing two heart-shaped stones—one purple and one white. The purple one was identical to Bibi Dong's!
This completely shattered her last bit of foolish hope!
Bibi Dong's face turned pitch black, and her entire body trembled.
Dan Heng, seeing this, tried to pull Gu Yuena away.
This woman was not in the right state of mind—he didn't want her to explode here.
Bibi Dong, overwhelmed with fury, let out a cold, bitter laugh. Tears streamed down her face as she lifted her head to the sky and said, "So it's true. There isn't a single good man in this world—they're all bastards!"
Dan Heng and Gu Yuena had already walked more than ten meters away when Gu Yuena, upon hearing this, turned back and protested indignantly:
"Don't talk nonsense! At the very least, there's still one good man in this world, and that's my husband! Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean you can blame all men!"
Bibi Dong turned to look at them, her eyes devoid of life.
"Is that so? Do you believe your husband will never betray you? Even that man couldn't be trusted—what makes your husband any different?"
Gu Yuena rolled her eyes. "Obviously! There is no better man in the world than my husband. And judging by your state, are you heartbroken over a man? Let me tell you—he doesn't even deserve to compare to a single hair of my husband!"
Dan Heng couldn't listen to this any longer. He quickly pulled Gu Yuena away.
If they kept arguing, they might end up fighting.
As for whether he was a "good man," Dan Heng didn't care—other people's opinions wouldn't change him.
Watching them leave, Bibi Dong quietly let her tears flow as she gazed at the old street before her, her vision gradually blurring.
In the haze, she seemed to see a scene from years ago—her and Yu Xiaogang strolling through this very place.
She could almost hear Yu Xiaogang's voice.
"Dong'er, look! I just happened to find this stone. It's heart-shaped. I think this must be a sign from the heavens… We are meant to be together!"
"I hope our love can be as unbreakable as this stone, rather than as fragile as crystal."
Yu Xiaogang's voice was so clear, as if he were right beside her.
Bibi Dong raised her palm. In it lay a heart-shaped stone identical to the one Gu Yuena had shown her.
She clenched her fist tightly, and a fine purple powder trickled through her fingers.
Her tears dried up, and the cold elegance of her face became utterly devoid of warmth.
"The world's number one good man? Heh, there is no such thing as a good man! I am suffering, so how dare you be so happy?"
"Then I will tear apart your happiness…"
A cold glint flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes as she made her decision.
She was no saint. If she couldn't have happiness, she wouldn't allow others to have it either!
The Next Day
It was supposed to be a holiday, but both the Blazing Fire Academy and the Divine Wind Academy teams arrived. Liu Erlong invited Gu Yuena to give another lecture and meet them.
Gu Yuena had no interest in an impromptu lecture.
Even if Lanba Academy lost, that wouldn't stop her from enjoying a date with her husband.
However, since Liu Erlong had come in person and even shamelessly stayed for a meal, clearly intent on staying longer, Dan Heng suggested that they might as well go to work too.
So, the three of them headed to Lanba Academy together.
At the Gates of Lanba Academy
The teams from Blazing Fire Academy and Divine Wind Academy arrived together—one clad in fiery red, the other in blue-green uniforms.
As students from aristocratic academies, their aura and soul power were superior to those of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Many Blue Tyrant Academy students gathered to watch them, but none dared to approach, only observing from a distance.
Huo Wu of the Blazing Fire Battle Team sneered as she surveyed the surroundings and remarked:
"This academy looks decent, but it's too small. And their students seem timid and weak—not presentable at all."
"The Thunderclap Battle Team actually lost to them? Are they pulling our leg?"
Huo Wu asked suspiciously.
Her older brother, the team's nominal captain, Huo Wushuang, sighed and shook his head.
"Xiao Wu, can't you talk a little less? If they hear you, what will they think of us?"
She scoffed at Huo Wushuang's words. She didn't care what Blue Tyrant Academy thought.
At that moment, a masked figure—mysterious in appearance—Feng Xiaotian, leaned over with a grin and said:
"Xiao Wu, you really should watch your words. I did some digging, and Blue Tyrant Academy's dean, Liu Erlong, has quite the explosive temper. If you provoke her, she won't care who you are—she'll beat you up all the same!"
"..." Huo Wu glared at Feng Xiaotian but didn't seem quite as arrogant anymore.
Still, she fundamentally looked down on Blue Tyrant Academy.
They were just a bunch of commoner soul masters—what future could they possibly have?
The accompanying Blue Tyrant Academy instructor secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't want to see Liu Erlong resorting to violence against these people.
Feng Xiaotian then turned to the academy's director and asked,
"Director, I heard that the reason Blue Tyrant Battle Team has improved so much is because of a certain teacher?"
The director puffed out his chest with pride and said, "That's right—it's Teacher Gu!"