“Don’t Worry About Me Becoming Your Stepbrother.”

The battle to seize the E’Luo Gui Faction’s throne lasted a whole day and night, and the process for Su Yang and Gu Feidi to tame each other’s wondrous beings also lasted a whole day and night. 

The sound of war finally subsided when the wind and snow gradually stopped, and the sky lit up again from dusk.

Inside the Baiwu Tower, Su Yang and Gu Feidi’s breathing slowly evened out. 

The two were tightly embracing each other. When they opened their eyes and met each other’s eyes, they showed a pale and tired smile together.

After a long struggle between the Apparition of Frozen Lake and the White Flame Gu, the Poisonous Gu finally ceased its torment, as if it had accepted its fate and lay dormant inside of Gu Feidi. The Apparition also seemed to have exhausted its energy as it slowly sank into Su Yang’s meridians and remained on standby.

However, due to the existence of Half-Withered Crimson, Su Yang’s body temperature was still at an unhealthy low. In the ice field’s environment, the air coming out of him contained no traces of heat.

Seeing that both of them were out of danger, Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “Both of you rest here. I’ll go see Luo Yin’s side…”

Before he could finish, Su Huaizhu suddenly coughed violently outside of the Baiwu Tower’s gate. Gasping for breath, he returned inside, body bent forward and leaned heavily against the doorpost. 

Spotting the blood spilling from the corner of the Sect Leader’s mouth, Luo Yu clicked his tongue. He came forward to support the man and asked, “What’s wrong? You can’t suppress the Emotion Gu?”

Su Huaizhu deferred the answer for a bit and replied in a low voice, “It’s no bother. Don’t...come too close to me. My current situation...It’s easy to get out of control...When it’s serious, I might not be able to recognise anyone…” 

Hearing this, Luo Yu snorted a smile. He raised his hand and stabbed a silver needle into the acupoint between Su Huaizhu’s eyebrow, saying, “Since Hai Bo’er海波兒, Gu Ruohai’s nickname. Hai means ocean, Luo Yu is calling him ocean wave (and er). is not here, I’ll help you suppress it for now.”

Hearing a certain someone being addressed like this, Su Huaizhu frowned and hissed, “Who allowed you to call him that?”

Luo Yu countered in disdain, “How old are you? Your son is about to reach his coming of age, and you still have such a possessive desire for a nickname...Since you care so much, why did you…”

Listening to Su Yang and Gu Feid’s approaching footsteps, Luo Yu ended the conversation and quietly poked Su Huaizhu with another needle.

Gu Feidi pondered for a moment before asking, “Is there a Poisonous Gu in the senior’s body?”

Su Huaizhu glanced at him and didn’t answer, while Luo Yu was surprised. “How do you know?”

Gu Feidi shared, “Since taming the White Flame Gu. I seem to have some perception of the Poisonous Gu...But I still couldn’t figure out what kind of Gu is in the senior’s body.”

After Gu Feidi’s statement, Luo Yu glanced at Su Huaizhu, frowned slightly while lost in his thoughts for a moment and wondered, “There might be literature on the cultivation of Gu Bug in the tower. Now we have obtained the Great Shaman’s White Flame Gu, along with Su Yang’s royal blood...Perhap there’s a solution to your Poisonous Gu!”

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to the two juniors. “Quickly! Go search around for any relevant documents stored here!”

Picking up the urgency in those words, Gu Feidi and Su Yang nodded right away, turned and ran to the spiral ladder next to the wall of Baiwu Tower.

“You start from the bottom,” Gu Feidi instructed. “I’ll start from the top and search downward.”

“Got it.” Su Yang answered instantly.

Along the spiral stairs, the duo searched through each small room. Soon, Gu Feidi found a hidden lair in the room closest to the top of the tower, inside contained countless ancient documents recorded on rattan woven stone slips.

However, these documents were not written in the language of the Central Plains, instead, it was written in a twisted and distorted font like knotting of bugs and snakes together. Gu Feidi couldn’t make out the text.

“These consist of the E’Luo Gui Faction’s written language in the early ancient times.” Luo Yu took a roll of stone slips from Gu Feidi. “Now, only the princes and queens learn it.”

Then he spread out the stone slips and scanned through the text. “Not this one. Bring them all to me and I’ll look through them myself.”

The duo nodded and immediately went to transport the remaining documents. 

“I’m relieved to see that everyone is alright.”

Suddenly, a voice carrying laughter came from outside the tower, and the people inside turned towards the sound of the voice.

Qin Jianyue, dressed in his military uniform, stepped through the gate and smiled brightly toward Luo Yu. “Your nephew is a man of few words but the way he conducts things is extremely methodical. There were so many people in the Royal Court who recognised him.”

Luo Yu’s head was buried in the stone slips, but he was still listening to the other man’s comment and replied with a smile, “He was a prince valued by my eldest brother and also an experienced member of the Heiyu Army after all. The generals and soldiers acknowledged him. It is natural for many members of the Royal Court to support him.”

Once he finished, he brought up, “Why did you come alone? Is the situation of the battle stable?”

Qin Jianyue replied, “Dan YangRefresher: this is Chi Tong’s real name.
has brought the brother emperor’s personal letter and is discussing the alliance between the Central Plains and E’Lou with Luo Yin. On my way here, I received a message from Tengyun Pavilion. Alliance Leader Gu is also on his way. I’m not sure where he is now.”

When the Alliance Leader was mentioned, he turned to Su Huaizhu, who was sitting by the wall, and added with a smile, “We haven’t gathered together for a long time.”

Su Huaizhu didn’t answer. 

Luo Yu glanced at him. “It’s good that Hai-ge is also coming. The needles are only a temporary measurement. Your body…” He coughed to reorganise his words. “Your problem...still needs him to solve.”

After hearing those words, Su Huaizhu couldn’t hold back not talking, “How could he solve it? He would just be offering his life in vain...When this is over, I’ll return to Yantan Divine Sect and rebuild the Chrysanthemum Hall, which is better than entangling with him for the rest of our lifetimes.”

Luo Yu was silent for a moment, eyes still downcast on the stone slips in his hand. “...You can always find another solution. Since he is aware of your situation, he’ll never let you seek relief like before.”

Listening to their conversation, Gu Feidi unknowingly tightened his arms around the stone slips.

He calmed down after a short moment, came forward and put several rolls of stone slips next to Luo Yu. He reflexively looked at Su Huaizhu, who was using his internal energy to suppress his Poisonous Gu. Then he got up and walked back up the stairs to continue the transport. 

Noticing Gu Feidi’s strange expression, Su Yang quickly put down the stone slips with the others and caught up with the younger man, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Gu Feidi walked up the stairs in silence.

Su Yang followed closely up to the secret room where the documents were stored, extended his hand to stop the other. He frowned and said, “Didn’t we agree that we won’t hide anything from each other in the future? There must be something in your mind that you’re not telling me. You don't want me to be angry, do you?”

Gu Feidi sighed lightly, said after a moment of hesitation, “It’s about the seniors. In fact, it’s not important. Moreover, my assumption is not necessarily correct.”

Su Yang displayed a very unhappy expression. He stared at the younger man and didn’t speak.

Gu Feidi uttered powerlessly, “It’s just my speculation…”

Su Yang stayed stubborn. “Then I also want to know.”

After a long silence, Gu Feidi settled, “I feel that my father seems...to have a different than normal relationship with your father...with the Evil Sect’s Sect Leader.”

Taking in this answer, Su Yang said, “They used to be fellow disciple mates in the House of Jade. They must have had a good relationship in that period. You don’t have to show such an expression.”

“What I mean is,” Gu Feidi paused. “Is...their relationship might be similar to...us. The relationship between me and you.”

Su Yang’s eyes widened.

“There's no way—!” He exclaimed, “But...That’s…”

Many images he had seen before but never considered with a second thought flashed through his mind immediately. He was frightened by his suddenly divergent thought on the spot—Chi Tong dressed in men’s clothes was inseparable from Luo Yin, Luo Yu and Qin Jianyue’s fingers touching in secret, and words that Su Huaizhu and Gu Ruohai said before...

This world was a novel, and the stories in the book and people’s relations were created by the author.

Since some ‘borderline subject matter’ could exist in movies, then why not in the novel as well?

As for him, the ‘Evil Sect’s Young Master’, also had lines in the script that were related to flirting and pestering young boys...

Su Yang was so confused that he grabbed for the doorpost beside him and banged his forehead against it. The maddening voice in his heart won’t go away, 

—What on earth is inside of the original author’s head? What was she thinking? Could she really be writing same gender literature! So, he transmigrated inside of  gay literature?! 

Gu Feidi was startled by Su Yang’s action. Right away, he reached out and grabbed the man to check his forehead for bruises, while comforting, “You don’t have to be this troubled. This is just my speculation. Moreover, even if it’s true, they can’t get married. So you don’t have to worry about me becoming your step brother...Er, I meant to say…”

Su Yang embraced Gu Feidi and buried his face in his favourite sport, and mumbled sadly, “I’m emotionally exhausted…”

Gu Feidi raised his hand and stroked Su Yang’s hair. After a moment, he smiled and said, “No matter what, our relationship will not change. This, I’m certain.”

Su Yang gave an exaggerated “Hmph” and snapped, “Good! Because I dare you to try.”

Gu Feidi smiled affectionately. “How do I have the heart to give you up?”

They hid in the small room on the top of the tower, and after they showed tender affection towards each other, they carried the last few stone slips down. To learn that Su Huaizhu was gone. 

Su Yang asked without thinking, “Where is the Sect Leader?”

Luo Yu rolled his eyes up from the text and looked at him, informing, “Alliance Leader Gu arrived just now. He had something to discuss with him and took him away.”

Su Yang: “...”

Gu Feidi: “...”

They glanced at each other with a stiff emotion.

Luo Yu saw through their thoughts, but he was at a loss on how to explain to them. He sighed and buried himself back in reading.

Not soon after, Luo Yin arrived at the Baiwu Tower with Chi Tong and several guards in tow. After a short discussion on the current situation of the E’Luo Gui Faction, Luo Yin and Luo Yu searched through the literature about the White Flame Gu together. 

About the time to burn an incense—half an hour of time—Luo Yin got up and announced with a smile, “I found it.”

Luo Yu immediately came forward and translated the E’Luo texts on the stone slip. “White Flame Gu is the leader of all Gu Bugs, which is the answer to the hundred of Gu. However, the blood of the assisting E’Luo Royal Court member must be at least the age of twenty...twenty of age, the coming of age…”

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his head and locked on Su Yang, murmuring, “That’s why Jin-er put such a curse on you! She gave Su Huaizhu a hope, but it was...a hope that he could never grasp.”

Luo Yin was puzzled and asked, “What kind of curse?”

Luo Yu shook his head and didn’t answer. 

Su Yang was completely stunned—if Luo Yu hadn’t mentioned it, he would have forgotten that he still had the curse of Never Reaching Coming of Age.

Gu Feidi stretched out and laced Su Yang’s fingers, he also didn’t know what to say.

Luo Yin’s eyes moved around them. Since he couldn’t get the answer, he wasn't stubborn about getting it, so he lowered his head back down to read the texts on the stone slip.

“If a person who harbours the Flame Gu is not old enough, he can also join hands with another person carrying the royal blood to perform the Gu Bug extraction technique.” He read. “However, these two could only succeed in driving it out using dual cultivation of mutual exchange between heaven and earth, and obtaining a balance of internal energy, of yin and yang.”

“Dual cultivation is considered uncommon in Wulin, but…” Luo Yu frowned. “Practice on mutual exchange between heaven and earth between men is very rare. I don’t know where to look. Perhaps a return to the House of Jade is in order. We can ask Shizun.”

Hearing this, Chi Tong, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, smiled and commented, “This kind of skill is indeed rare. There isn’t a record like that in the House of Jade, but...we are not at a dead end on its location. When the two of you first participated in the House of Jade’s selection, the two rogues, the fat and the thin men, were defeated by Di Ling in front of the mountain gate. Their internal energy was an integration of balance, what they practice should be what we’re looking for.”