He looked at her as if she were a god that had just descended to smite him, and he was grateful for the punishment.

"Crystal clear, dear Ji’an," Shiru whispered, his voice trembling slightly, thick with a dark, masochistic reverence that made Ji’an’s stomach churn anew. "Your terms are... ruthlessly negotiated. I look forward to our future... transactions."

Ji’an stared at the crazed, obsessive look in his eyes.

A cold shiver raced down her spine. ’He liked it? That crazy fuck--!’

Ji’an realised with a surge of horror. ’I just broke his foot, and it only made his toxic male-lead syndrome worse. These protagonists are fundamentally, irreparably broken.’

Before Ji’an could decide whether she needed to break his other foot just to be safe, heavy, sprinting footsteps echoed from the end of the aisle.

"Brother Lin! Shiru! I found it!"

Gu Zhiwei came bounding around the corner, holding a glowing golden scroll high above his head, his face split into a massive, triumphant grin.

He skidded to a halt, looking at the scene before him.

Ji’an was standing with her arms crossed, looking furious.

Wen Shiru was sitting on the floor, surrounded by fallen books, clutching his foot, offering a strange smile.

"Ah! What happened?!" Zhiwei gasped, rushing forward, immediately dropping to his knees beside Shiru, his golden retriever instincts kicking in. "Shiru, are you hurt? Did a bookshelf collapse? Why didn’t you use your Qi barrier?!"

Shiru smoothly masked his crazed expression, adopting a perfectly crafted look of mild embarrassment.

He waved Zhiwei off gently.

"It is nothing, Zhiwei," Shiru lied flawlessly, his voice returning to its elegant, polite cadence. "I merely lost my footing on a loose floorboard and twisted my ankle. It was clumsy of me. Our esteemed Martial Uncle was just... assisting me."

Zhiwei let out a huge sigh of relief, slinging Shiru’s arm over his broad shoulder and effortlessly hauling the injured merchant to his feet, or rather, his one good foot.

"You must be more careful, Shiru! The library is ancient!" Zhiwei scolded affectionately, supporting his friend’s weight entirely.

He turned his bright, shining eyes back to Ji’an, completely oblivious to the thick, toxic tension still hanging in the air.

"Thank you for looking out for him, Brother Lin!" Zhiwei beamed. "Are you ready to go? I can carry Shiru to the medical pavilion, and then we can start on that hotpot!"

Ji’an looked at Zhiwei’s pure, innocent face. She looked at Shiru, who was currently leaning against the Holy Son, shooting Ji’an a dark, obsessive glance over Zhiwei’s shoulder.

Ji’an suppressed the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face right then and there.

’Ignorance truly is bliss,’ Ji’an mourned internally, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy for the golden retriever who had no idea he was best friends with a snake.

She forcibly smoothed her features, pasting on her best, most arrogant young-master smirk.

She brushed past them, intentionally ensuring her shoulder bumped roughly against Shiru’s as she walked by.

"I’m done researching for today," Ji’an announced, not looking back, marching down the aisle toward the exit. "Let’s go, Zhiwei. Carry your clumsy friend to the medics. If he drops his abacus again, just leave him in the dust. I have much work to do, and I don’t like keeping my ingredients waiting."

"Coming, Brother Lin!" Zhiwei called out happily, hobbling down the aisle while supporting the silently obsessing merchant.

As Ji’an descended the winding stairs of the Grand Pavilion, leaving the suffocating darkness of the restricted section behind her, she took a long, deep breath of the cool mountain air.

The plot was accelerating.

The toxic male leads were actively making their moves.

’I guess there is no more avoiding,’ Ji’an resolved, her silver-flecked eyes hardening with cold, tactical determination. ’Whatever happens from now on, I have to take them head-on if I want to reach the end.’

She didn’t care about the romantic panic anymore.

In a world entirely populated by feral beasts, manipulative merchants, and corrupted apprentices, Xie Wangchen was the only entity she could trust to watch her back without trying to put a collar on it.

"Hold on, Little Puddle," Ji’an murmured, picking up her pace, marching directly toward the Eternal Cloud Peak. "I’m coming home. And we have a lot of plotting to do."

***

The adrenaline-fueled sprint from the Grand Pavilion of Archives back to the Drunken Peak had been entirely motivated by one objective: Lin Ji’an needed to see Xie Wangchen.

She needed her glacier.

She needed the silver-haired, ruby-eyed anomaly who had promised to freeze the world for her, so they could sit down, drink tea, and meticulously plot their survival through the impending plot arcs.

But the universe, as it constantly, gleefully reminded her, was a sadistic author with a terrible sense of pacing.

As Ji’an burst through the overgrown bamboo gates of the Drunken Peak, skidding to a halt on the dirt path, she did not find a quiet, empty courtyard where she could compose her frantic thoughts.

She found Master Jiu Zui.

And, in a terrifying subversion of his usual character design, the Sovereign of the Drunken Peak was not passed out in a hammock, clutching a wine gourd, and wearing rumpled robes.

He was standing in the centre of the courtyard, straight-backed and tall.

His usually messy, dark hair was combed back and tied in an immaculate, silver-crowned topknot.

He wore formal, multi-layered robes of deep, royal purple silk, embroidered with silver thread depicting soaring cranes and ancient wine vessels.

Without the slouch and the alcoholic haze, the devastatingly handsome, DILF-tier majesty of the ancient immortal was on full, blinding display.

Ji’an stopped dead in her tracks, immediately covering her nose with both hands, her traumatic hot-spring memories violently resurfacing even though she jerked her head to get them outta her brain.

"I am not looking at your chest, Master! I am entirely respectful!" Ji’an blurted out defensively. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Jiu Zui merely rolled his eyes, the majestic illusion cracking slightly as he let out an irritated, deeply exhausted sigh.