“E-eh?!” I exclaimed as Wei swung forward while still holding on to me. With completely inhuman strength, he launched himself up the ravine as I screamed, clinging onto his neck.

We swung back onto stable ground just beside the now-ruined temple—countless rocks pelted down at us as the deafening roar of the dragon ensued. He set me down on the ground gently and quickly inspected me for any injuries.

“Get yourself far from here. It’s too dangerous,” Wei commanded, not recognizing me whatsoever.

I continued to gawk at him in complete shock. No way this was Wei—the white bandage that was once on his arm was used to tie up his long, glistening hair. His outfit glimmered boldly in the sunlight with stunning gold pieces woven onto the white robes.

“I…”

Yue let out a sharp yelp as she suddenly appeared just behind me, a glistening blue figure having dropped her off. The woman had long, flowing brown hair, and her gentle facial figures sloped beautifully.

Was everyone here beautiful? The woman caught my gaze and flashed me a pearly smile, and I nearly died on the spot.

She gave Yue a court bow before, with one elegant move, lept into the sky to battle Yang.

Wei’s face immediately lit up with admiration, his eyes shining. “Isn’t she just incredible?” he sighed, hearts practically exploding off of him.

Yue raised an eyebrow and gave him a judgemental look, but he paid her no mind. “Um… Wei?”

Suddenly, he looked incredibly embarrassed as his face turned bright red.

I quickly interjected, bowing deeply while side-stepping massive stone pieces that launched toward me from the temple. “Your highness!” I quickly corrected.

For whatever reason, I seemed to get déja vu back to my first meeting with Wei.

“Your highness?!” Yue repeated in surprise before she quickly bowed beside me as well. “Your highness! We’re very sorry for having been a nuisance to you!”

He quickly shook his head and dragged us further back. With one move, we suddenly seemed dozens of meters away from the chaos. “It’s alright. But get out of here quickly. It’s too dangerous for anyone to be out here.”

“What are you guys fighti—”

I promptly elbowed Yue.

“Your highness, we’re here to serve you,” I declared. “My subordinate and I know you’re being improperly persecuted by the Daji cult. We’re here to be of assistance.”

Yue’s expression was one of unadulterated rage. I was very glad she couldn’t murder me in front of Wei at this moment.

The mask Yang had been wearing was part of the Daji cult uniform—whether not Yang knew the implication of working with them was unknown, but he most definitely would put Wei’s wellbeing first.

Wei’s face immediately softened before he shook his head. “It’s better if I handle this with my wife.” In an attempt to shake me off, he took a step forward and prepared to launch himself back into battle, but I grabbed onto his sleeve just before.

Leaves and twigs smacked into my face as I tried to bury my heels in the ground and stop him from leaving. “W-wait!

I caught sight of the roaring dragon above us, and as I squinted to make out the figures, my eyes widened as the sight of a third on the dragon. It was a small boy about Amelia’s age dressed in ancient royal attire.

Peijin: Yang, did you fucking kidnap Wei’s brother?

Yue: Wei is married? How??

Wei peeled me off of him and his expression hardened even more. I knew he wouldn’t possibly lash out or try and harm me, but his priorities definitely lay with his family.

“I’m sorry, but if you wait here, I’ll be back in just a moment.”

I nodded, as if agreeing with him. “I know the two with the dragon! I can get your brother down if you just give me a moment!” I pleaded desperately.

Being dragged by him made our power imbalance wickedly apparent. After all, he was a divinity here—albeit a banished one on the run.

At the mention of my association with Yang and Amelia, his expression quickly hardened as he gripped his sword and swung it just before me.

“Believe me, I’m on your side,” I said slowly. “I’m… the god of fate and fortune, and those two owe me a favor.”

The more I thought about it, were Yang and Amelia that strong? Wei and his wife were practically invincible during this time period. The duo were either intentionally going easy on Amelia and Yang, or the two week gap allowed Yang to ramp up his skills.

But that would be impossible. Besides, I was definitely the most capable disciple….

I squinted up at the dragon again. Amelia was clinging onto the small boy, but it wasn’t in a threatening manner. Instead it looked friendly.

I let out a loud gasp and clasped my hands over my mouth. Amelia was so popular already! No wonder Wei and his wife were holding back the whole time. His little brother had a crush.

Wei drew his blade back a mere millimeter. “What's your epithet? I’ve never seen you.”

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“I’m small and weak, so you should pity me. I’m not famous enough yet," I pouted.

“What’s your epithet?”

“The Great Foreseer and Guardian of the Forsaken Tower.” I rolled up my sleeves, showing him the tattoo. “See?”

Perhaps my identity as a writer gave me a little bit too much of an imagination.

Wei hesitated, inspecting my arm. “I’ve never seen a tattoo like that.”

“You haven’t killed me yet either,” I became increasingly confident, “The reason you’re holding back, your highness, is because your younger brother is infatuated with that little girl. My subordinate and I will clear this up, but you’ll owe me a favor after.”

He let out a long sigh. “Of course you’d ask for something in return.”

I flushed in embarrassment and quickly tried to justify myself. “Your sword is still at my throat! I’d obviously want retribution.”

Even if I hadn’t threatened Wei, I knew he would relent. After all, part of the reason he ascended into becoming a divinity so young was because he was known for being so kind.

Occasionally, this led to Wei being a pushover. He had utmost difficult saying “no” to any requests, but his sheer kindness also meant he formed powerful bonds with those that wouldn’t weaponize him.

By no means was Wei weak. In fact, he was wickedly powerful—that was clear enough through his identity as a martial god. But simultaneously, he was still associated with delicate and small flowers for his personality.

Now, deep eye bags seared into his gorgeous and otherworldly skin. Yang was clearly running him dry.

“Alright,” he relented as he spotted Yue crawling out of the forest, gasping for breath. She was trying to control her breathing by holding it and letting it out in a meticulously timed manner, but she only ended up choking.

Wei looked at me curiously for a moment, and I was almost wondering if he’d discover my identity so early on.

“What’s your name?” He asked innocently.

“Peijin,” I said with a wide smile.

“You must be very ambitious.”

My smile faded.

Yue raised her hand into the air and gasped out, “We can… hide you… too," she paused, "since you're on the run.”

I puffed out my chest confidently. If Yue was this out of breath with her stupidly large arsenal of skills, I didn’t have anything to feel bad about.

Disciple Yue has activated ‘Magician’s Hand.’

Our entire surroundings completely crumpled away, and I watched as Yue slowly disappeared from my sight along with Wei. I looked back up at the sky, and Amelia and Yang froze in surprise as their adversaries seemed to suddenly disappear.

The small boy clung onto Amelia tighter with a thrilled expression plastered all over his face.

“Zhige, go say hi to them,” I whispered at the blade, gently running my hand along the hilt. I couldn’t believe I was going through a rough patch with a hunk of metal, but I did want to try and repair our relationship.

As soon as Amelia saw the sword zipping up, she commanded the dragon to snap at it before she recognize the blade. Her face immediately lit up with joy.

“Peijin!” She screamed, leaping off the dragon and straight at the ground toward me.

I quickly tensed up as I tried to catch her. She landed with her arms hooked around me, and she immediately squeezed me tightly and buried her face into my shoulder.

“Peijin, you took so long that I thought you were never coming!”

I smiled warmly while tickling her as Yang approached on the dragon with the small boy in tow. “I’ll always come back, Amelia.”

As soon as Yang’s feet landed on the ground, he rushed forward and gave me a tight hug, the ornaments on his mask pricking my skin.

“You took forever,” he whispered softly.

“Miss me?” I teased, giving him a quick punch.

“Not really.”

“... asshole.”

I quickly pursed my lips when I saw Amelia give me a mischievous glance, collecting another curse word.

I smacked Yang harder a second time and glared at him. “Why have you been ignoring my messages?”

“Because I’ve been battling some gods for days while riding a dragon,” he said as if it were incredibly straightforward.

I squinted at him, not quite buying it. “You’ve gained an attitude over the last two weeks.”

Amelia quickly jumped in. “Yang-shushu has been very nice to me and Sidang.”*

“Sidang?” I cocked a brow. “Are you on nickname terms with him?”

She nodded ecstatically as she waved for the small boy to approach. “This is the woman I’ve been telling you about this whole time! Isn’t she so pretty and cool? She’s my older sister.”

He gave a small nervous nod, staring at me with wide and timid eyes.

I loved Amelia.

Peijin: Yue, cut the illusion. What did it look like on your end?

Yue: You went up and struck them down. I made you look like you were arguing with them until they begrudgingly agreed.

Peijin: And the brother?

Yue: He’s clinging onto Amelia.

Peijin: Good. You’re not that far off.

Scathing Reviewer activated!

Knowing what would happen in the future of this scenario was worrying me deeply. Now, it wasn’t just Wei’s life on the line. It was Amelia’s heart, too.

I chewed my lower lip nervously. Wei would have a better chance at passing this level with his sanity intact if Amelia grew closer to Sidang. But, if I failed… I couldn’t. Even Feiyu awakened Wei during this arc, but my time would be different.

Yang tapped my arm, shooting me back into reality.

“You have that ugly look on your face.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I immediately retorted.

“It means you’re thinking of doing something stupid again. The illusion is fading. Let’s talk when we’re back.”

I looked over at him, staring at the golden mask and long ponytail behind him.

“Did you mean to join a pyramid scheme and cult?” I asked nonchalantly.

Yang looked over from me from beneath his mask, and I saw the small glint in his eyes. “This role was assigned when I came into the room. But it was the best way to get close to Wei.”

“Oh really? Because it looks like I just did what you were trying to do in a few minutes instead of two weeks.”

“...”

The illusion finally crumbled away around us. Yue’s gaze was dark and cold as she stared at us, and her figure slowly became more and more visible until I could make out Wei and his wife.

And to my surprise, Wei lunged forward, untied his hair, and quickly tied my arms behind me.