Chapter 129: Meticulous planner Junlin
#ZhouYishuGetOutOfTheMartialArtsCircle#
Lu Heng looked at the trending topic on his phone, the corners of his mouth curling in a mocking smile. This "risking one's life to survive[1]" move was beautifully played.
After Zhou Yishu lost the finals, it was inevitable that many fickle fence-sitter fans would unfollow him. That was normal.
After all, Zhou Yishu was just a rookie who hadn't even officially started streaming on the Exorcist Martial Artists' live streaming platform. The fans he gained from the exposure of a single competition were nothing more than castles in the air. Only through long-term hunts for various mutated creatures and safeguarding ordinary people's safety could those fans gradually transform into die-hard supporters.
Like Junlin, for instance. He didn't appear before the public often, but his fanbase was massive and entirely made up of loyal followers. Because every time Junlin appeared, it was to strike down extremely dangerous mutated creatures with his sword.
In the eyes of his fans, and even ordinary passersby, a Martial Artist of Junlin's caliber was akin to a guardian deity. They protected the peace of this world, and thus, even if they didn't livestream, the power of faith was endless. Only when a Martial Artist reached this stage could it be said that they had truly set foot on the path to the ultimate pinnacle of Martial Arts.
However, for a topic like #ZhouYishuGetOutoftheMartialArtsCircle# to appear, that was far from normal. After all, he merely lost a match, not committed some heinous, unforgivable act. Furthermore, the Martial Arts circle and ordinary people's society had a long-standing agreement to stay out of each other's affairs.
The mastermind behind this was clearly trying to drag the entire Martial Arts community into the fray to change Zhou Yishu's circumstances. The only question was whether this clever tactic came from Father Zhou or that outsider.
It seemed he'd have to pay closer attention to the Zhou family's movements. As Lu Heng pondered his next move, his phone suddenly vibrated, signaling a new WeChat message.
"Come over."
It was Gu Lingjun. When Lu Heng checked the time, he realized it was already dinner. Gu Lingjun hadn't shown his face in the past two days, and Lu Heng assumed he'd been busy with matters related to the exchange conference. Though the rookie bracket had concluded, the other brackets were still ongoing, and the higher-level groups required experts like Gu Lingjun to maintain order.
As soon as Lu Heng arrived at Gu Lingjun's door, it opened from the inside. Lu Heng was momentarily stunned by Gu Lingjun's appearance—it was the first time he'd seen him dressed so formally.
Gu Lingjun was wearing a sleek black three-piece suit, his hair neatly combed back. The tailored fit highlighted his impressive physique: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs that seemed made for the runway.
"What's the occasion today? Should I change into something more formal too?" Lu Heng glanced down at his hoodie and jeans, feeling absurdly out of place next to this impeccably dressed man.
"I've already prepared something for you," Gu Lingjun said, stepping aside to let him in.
Gu Lingjun's bedroom and study were connected through a walk-in closet. He led Lu Heng through the study and into the closet, motioning to a set of clothes hanging nearby before turning to leave and closing the door behind him.
The door to the bedroom was conspicuously closed, sparking some suspicion in Lu Heng's mind. There was definitely something fishy about the bedroom; otherwise, Gu Lingjun wouldn't have deliberately avoided it, opting instead to lead him through the study to the closet.
Maybe he read some cringy stuff on the forum and got a strange inspiration again. Anyway, I'll find out soon enough. Lu Heng reached up and unzipped the garment bag. Inside was a suit identical in style to the one Gu Lingjun was wearing, differing only in size.
Thankfully, it's not white. Otherwise, it would feel like walking straight down the aisle, Lu Heng dissed secretly in his heart.
After changing, Lu Heng stepped out of the walk-in closet and pushed open the door to the study.
The living room was pitch-black, with only a faint light coming from the dining room. Following the dim light, he arrived at the dining table. There, elegant candelabras with slender candles flickered softly, casting a warm glow over the table. On it were a bottle of red wine and... spicy boiled fish[2]?
What kind of setup was this? A candlelit dinner featuring spicy boiled fish? The thought of accidentally eating a Sichuan pepper made Lu Heng tremble just imagining the sour, numbing explosion.
Lu Heng couldn't hold back any longer and finally asked, "Why all this? Wouldn't it be better to just turn on the lights and eat?"
Gu Lingjun was silent for a moment, then replied, "You don't like Western food. As for the Sichuan peppers, I'll pick them out for you."
"Alright, then." Seeing how insistent Gu Lingjun was, Lu Heng decided not to argue further.
Gu Lingjun's cooking had indeed improved yet again—the boiled fish was fresh, fragrant, and tender, leaving Lu Heng thoroughly satisfied.
"Today's elaborate setup, is it to celebrate my victory?" Lu Heng, almost done, swirled the wine in his glass and gestured toward Gu Lingjun on the other side of the table.
"Yes, but not entirely." Gu Lingjun slid a notebook across the table.
Lu Heng picked it up, opened it, and leaned closer to the candlelight to read.
After flipping through it for a while, he looked up with a puzzled expression. "Is this... a countdown?"
"Mhm."
"What's it for?" Lu Heng still didn't get it.
"Look at the first page," Gu Lingjun suggested.
Lu Heng flipped back to the first page and finally noticed that besides the large number dominating the page, there were a few rows of small words in the upper-right corner. The light was too dim to make out the details, but just as he was squinting, Gu Lingjun thoughtfully turned on the lights.
Now illuminated, the words became clear: Received Ah Heng's deposit today. Countdown to the final payment deadline.
Deposit? Final payment? Lu Heng immediately recalled a shameful conversation from some days ago—one involving repaying with his body.
Toward the end of the notebook, he noticed a page had been torn out. However, the writer must have been overly zealous, pressing the pen so hard that the text had imprinted itself onto the following page. The faint marks revealed a roughly legible outline of its contents:
Plan for a Perfect Evening.
- Show how much you care: dress up.
- Give your beloved an outfit. After all, gifting clothing to someone you cherish means…
(This part seemed to have been scribbled over heavily, rendering it unreadable.)
- Cater to their preferences and treat them to a perfect dinner.
- Set up a romantic atmosphere.
- …
Lu Heng used all his willpower to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out of his mouth. This meticulous little plan reminded him of some comments about Junlin that he had read on the Internet.
In the Martial Arts community, it was widely said that Lord Junlin was an exceptionally serious and meticulous individual. Before hunting any formidable prey, he would thoroughly research it, crafting a comprehensive plan before taking action.
How true those words were. Gu Lingjun is indeed someone who takes seriousness to another level. Lu Heng silently agreed, glancing at the meticulously crafted countdown and the detailed, almost military-grade final payment collection plan.
"What are you, giving me a debt collection notice for the final payment?" Lu Heng waved the notebook in his hand.
"Yes." Gu Lingjun nodded seriously, taking back the notebook and flipping to the back where the countdown had already gone negative. "Late payments incur interest."
"And how do you plan to collect this interest?" Lu Heng asked.
"Once per day. It's been four days since the finals ended."
A rookie demanding payment with such confidence. Lu Heng wasn't one to deny his debts, though. Without hesitation, he stood up. "Alright, let's settle the balance."
The moment he pushed open the bedroom door, Lu Heng was stunned again. He'd nearly forgotten about the last step on the plan—setting up a romantic scene.
The entire bedroom was covered in rose petals, from the floor to the bed, a fiery sea of red.
"Where did you get so many petals?"
"I ordered flowers from a shop and handled them myself," Gu Lingjun replied matter-of-factly.
Lu Heng imagined Gu Lingjun sitting in a room, plucking petals one by one. The overly girly image sent a shiver down his spine.
Perhaps noticing his thoughts, Gu Lingjun added, "I used blade winds to do it."
Lu Heng thought about it and decided, fine, that was easier to accept than the petal-plucking scenario.
Gu Lingjun stepped into the room and pushed open the bathroom door: "You should take a shower first."
Sure enough, strictly following the plan. This was step five from the notebook.
"Want to join me?" Lu Heng stepped into the bathroom, then turned back with a teasing smile.
Gu Lingjun's expression remained composed, but his ears flushed red. "Next time. When you come out... can you still wear that suit?"
"..." Seriously. You don't have to execute the plan so strictly. The whole idea of gifting clothes is for you to take them off yourself. But seeing the look of quiet anticipation in Gu Lingjun's eyes, Lu Heng couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Alright."
As promised, Lu Heng emerged from the bathroom still dressed in the three-piece suit. He found Gu Lingjun sitting on the sofa, staring at his phone. When he heard Lu Heng come out, he instinctively stuffed the phone behind a cushion.
"I'm going to shower," Gu Lingjun said, his face calm as ever, completely at odds with his childish act of hiding his phone.
While waiting for Gu Lingjun to finish, Lu Heng sprawled across the bed, idly playing on his phone. Thinking back to what had just happened, he logged into the Gu Idol exclusive forum.
Sure enough, the familiar ID popped up right on the first page.
What should I pay attention to when taking a bath together? Posted by: JunlinSecondGu.
Gu Lingjun was indeed a remarkably serious person, someone who left nothing unplanned. But before Lu Heng could click into the thread to read the responses, the phone in his hand was gently taken away.
Then, a body warm and damp from the shower pressed down on him from behind.
Why am I the only one fully dressed? No fair!
That was Lu Heng's last coherent thought before he was pulled into an endless vortex of desire.
When the rain cleared and the clouds dispersed[3], the sky was already light with the first hues of dawn.
As he had said before, Gu Lingjun meticulously collected the final payment, including interest—five times the original amount.
Lu Heng didn't feel discomfort, partly because of the exceptional physical condition of Martial Artists, and partly because Gu Lingjun had done thorough research and preparation in advance. Although he was new on the road, he was a surprisingly skilled driver, and Lu Heng had enjoyed it without suffering any pain.
"What's this?" Gu Lingjun's finger traced a dark mark at the center of Lu Heng's chest. With his fair skin, the incompatible ten-centimeter-long, dark mark stood out sharply.
That was, of course, the scar left from the heart transplant surgery. The Zhou family had been thorough, arranging for both him and Zhou Yishu to undergo laser scar removal. However, even after the laser treatment, the faint trace of the major surgery still remained.
Lu Heng couldn't explain this to Gu Lingjun, though.
According to the timeline, Zhou Yiheng should not be aware of the heart transplant at this point. The rules of the world line limited Lu Heng from directly revealing this to others; he could only guide them to notice the issue on their own.
"This? It's a birthmark. Zhou Yishu has one too," Lu Heng said casually. "Twins are fascinating. Even their birthmarks are in exactly the same spot."
Gu Lingjun's fingers lingered over the dark mark, his sharp senses detecting that the mark wasn't entirely smooth but slightly raised compared to the surrounding skin.
His gaze darkened as he recalled the phone call from his eldest brother before the finals. At the time, he had kept the information from Lu Heng, not wanting to affect his focus for the match, but now there was no need to hide it.
Gu Lingjun said, "That day, Thirteen and Fourteen were sent by the family to gather information. Afterward, they secretly investigated your background without telling me."
Seeing the faint apology in Gu Lingjun's expression, Lu Heng signaled that he didn't mind and gestured for him to continue.
"Soon after you and Zhou Yishu were born, the Zhous took you both abroad. The Gu family only found out that it was for a surgery. That country falls under the influence of the Western Exorcist Association, so the Gu family can't interfere. They didn't learn the details—what hospital or what kind of surgery."
Lu Heng noticed that Gu Lingjun's fingers kept hovering over the mark, and a cold shiver ran through his body. He could tell that Gu Lingjun had likely pieced something together. "Is this related to the so-called birthmark?"
Gu Lingjun was a Heaven-tier Martial Artist, and the incompatibility between Zhou Yishu's power and his psychic weapon naturally could not escape his attention. Combined with the information from the Gu family, Lu Heng's blocked heart, and the strange birthmark on his body, a horrifying thought began to take shape in his mind.
Swapping hearts and stealing the talent.
Although he couldn't begin to fathom why the Zhous would do such a thing, Gu Lingjun still shared his suspicions with Lu Heng, because he knew that Lu Heng himself had also sensed something off about the Zhou family, which was why he had moved out to quietly start cultivating on his own and had kept the fact that he was participating in the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference a secret from them.
After a long conversation, Gu Lingjun and Lu Heng decided to keep a closer watch on the movements of the Zhou family. With Zhou Yishu's crushing defeat in the tournament at the hands of Lu Heng, the Zhou family was likely in turmoil, and many of the deeply hidden ugly truths should soon be exposed.
As Lu Heng had anticipated, the online trend had shifted once again in the past few days.
The topic #ZhouYishuGetOutOfTheMartialArtsCircle# finally attracted the attention of the Martial Arts community.
A Martial Artist posted a lengthy microblog questioning why Zhou Yishu, a talented newcomer, was being driven to the point where people seemed to want him to commit suicide in disgrace just because he lost a single match.
The post titled #Please don't let new Martial Artists lose heart# quickly gained attention from all sides.
Unlike the trolling under the #ZhouYishuGetOutOfTheMartialArtsCircle# topic which was purely a hotbed of vented negative emotions, this hot topic, initiated by a Martial Artist, had more rational voices. Many Yellow-tier Martial Artists came forward to speak, sharing how tough the training was for newcomers and the dangers and hardships of hunting mutated creatures.
Public opinion began to slowly shift in Zhou Yishu's favor.
The sock puppet that started the #ZhouYishuGetOutOfTheMartialArtsCircle# was eventually unmasked by rational netizens, who traced it back to his main account. To everyone's surprise, this individual had once been the most fanatical Zhou Yishu fan.
This person had been in a frenzy ever since the finals, believing that Zhou Yishu would definitely be the Rookie King. His presence could be seen in almost every post praising Zhou Yishu. The most extreme part was that he had even spent a large sum in an underground casino betting on Zhou Yishu's victory.
When Zhou Yishu lost to EternalMoon, this fanatic fan not only lost all his money but, more importantly, also had his beliefs shattered. In his fury, he hired online trolls and swore to ruin Zhou Yishu's reputation so thoroughly that he would never be able to survive in the Martial Arts community again.
As the public's attention shifted away from Zhou Yishu's crushing defeat in the finals, discussions about the boundaries between the Martial Arts circle and ordinary people became rife. On Zhou Yishu's personal page, people began to comfort him, with most comments emphasizing that losing in the finals was not shameful. They pointed out that EternalMoon's strength far surpassed that of any rookie Martial Artist, so it was only natural that Zhou Yishu had lost.
"I'll transfer the remaining money today. Sorry for the trouble," Father Zhou hung up the phone and looked at the computer screen in front of him, rubbing his temples. His heart, which had been hanging in the air recently, finally settled down.
He glanced at Zhou Yishu, who was sitting across from him, and spoke. "This online incident will be settled soon. In a couple of days, I'll ask your gege to come home for dinner and clear up the misunderstanding between you two. You should apologize to your gege, and the two of you can reconcile."
"What? I apologize to him?" Zhou Yishu, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly looked up.
Father Zhou replied, "I can guess why your gege didn't tell the family about his secret practice. It's probably because he feels that your mother and I are partial, and holds grudges. Once you explain things clearly, there won't be an issue."
Seeing Zhou Yishu's face still clouded with anger, Father Zhou patiently continued, "Now, both you and Xiao Heng have attracted a lot of attention at the exchange conference. The family will find the right time and a suitable reason to explain everything to the public. Then, we'll reveal the fact that EternalMoon is your gege. After that, the two of you can live stream together. It won't be long before you both advance to the next level."
"There's no way I'll live stream with him!" Zhou Yishu furiously stood up.
"He's your gege!" Father Zhou finally lost his patience with this stubborn son and roared.
"He's my enemy! You understand the Path, you know perfectly well that EternalMoon has become my obstacle! If I don't crush him, my martial arts will never make any progress!" Zhou Yishu confronted Father Zhou.
Father Zhou took a step forward, clenched his fists, and still managed to hold back his fury. "This is the most practical solution right now. Think about it carefully! Don't be so headstrong—the revival of the Zhou family still rests on your[4] shoulders!"
With that, Father Zhou slammed the door and left.
"You just want to hug Zhou Yiheng's thigh because he is more talented than me now! You're abandoning me, your useless son!" Zhou Yishu yelled at the closed door.
Footnotes:
[1] 置之死地而后生: to fight desperately when confronting mortal danger; fig. to find a way out of an impasse.
[2] 水煮鱼: Sichuan poached sliced fish in hot chili oil.
[3] 云收雨散: Metaphor for end of sexathon.
[4] Father Zhou uses 你们 which is plural of you, indicating he's talking about both Yiheng and Yishu.
his seriousness wrapped all the way around hahahaha
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