Think It Over, Instead of Worrying About That

Inside the tower, the steps wound upward in a tight spiral, each floor's ceiling cutting off the view so that the staircase seemed to stretch on forever.

He Zhuoming was skeptical. She remembered how the top of the tower had been invisible even when she'd craned her neck outside, and she couldn't help asking Tang Shuyu, "Do we really have to climb all the way up on foot? Isn't there an elevator... I mean, a teleportation array that can take us straight to the top?"

Tang Shuyu walked ahead, leading the way. "Teleportation arrays are forbidden within the Divine Palace."

He Zhuoming: "Huh? But we—"

Tang Shuyu: "The array that brought us in from outside only reaches the outer perimeter. We still have a long walk before we're truly inside."

He Zhuoming was taken aback. "Is it that far?"

She tried to recall how far she'd walked when she'd first been transported here—back then, she'd been so dizzy that she'd thrown up, and she had no memory of the journey, only that she'd felt absolutely miserable. But it hadn't seemed like a long walk; soon she was lying in a bed, and a beautiful woman in white had fed her warm water.

Tang Shuyu smiled. "If your heart doesn't feel the distance, the walking is quick."

In truth, he had shortened the path, reducing it to a single step toward where he wanted to go. After all, this was Tang Shuyu's own Divine Palace. He didn't even need to use spells here—what he wished for, he got.

He Zhuoming thought this sounded too idealistic, but remembering the unlucky young man Lin Qingyun, she found herself half-believing Tang Shuyu's nonsense.

She hugged her arms and looked around as she walked: each floor was empty, but there were windows, and sunlight streaming through the latticed panes cast long, distorted shadows on the dusty floor.

The painted murals along the stairwell wall were clearly visible, their colors so vivid against the dust-covered floor that they looked freshly painted.

He Zhuoming tried to appreciate the murals, but she had no artistic eye. After climbing several floors, she still couldn't tell what was depicted—but the colors looked so new that she grew curious about their age. She quietly reached out, touched them, and scratched at a corner.

She swore she wasn't using any force, but a large chunk of plaster suddenly peeled off.

The crackling sound echoed in the empty space. He Zhuoming snatched her hand back and looked up to meet Tang Shuyu's gaze; he had turned around and was smiling at her.

The smile on his face didn't seem very sincere.

He Zhuoming smiled back, her smile tinged with guilt and a desire to please. She hid her hand behind her back and apologized carefully, "I didn't mean to... Do I have to pay for this?"

Tang Shuyu pointed to the empty spot beside him. "Come stand here."

He Zhuoming made an "oh" sound and shuffled over, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. She didn't dare look up to meet his eyes, so she stared at the floor.

Tang Shuyu took her right hand and said, "Let's go."

He Zhuoming was startled. "...Huh? But the wall—"

Tang Shuyu said indifferently, "It's worthless stuff; if it's peeled off, let it be. But there are some dangerous things here, so to be safe, I'd rather hold your dominant hand."

His smile was gentle and harmless; looking only at his face, he seemed like lukewarm water on a sunny summer day—but the hand holding He Zhuoming's right hand was gripped tightly, his slightly cool fingers threading through the gaps between hers and intertwining with her palm.

He Zhuoming didn't remember if she and Tang Shuyu had ever held hands before.

But at this moment, she clearly realized: I'm holding a handsome boy's hand.

She suddenly felt a subtle embarrassment, and her cheeks became more sensitive to the season than ever before—summer was really so hot that it made the temperature on her face rise quickly.

But He Zhuoming didn't pull her hand back.

She didn't know why herself; she just felt hot, her heart racing, wanting to talk to Tang Shuyu, wanting to push him away, her thoughts all jumbled.

She had to comfort herself internally—Tang Shuyu's reason for holding her hand was justified, flawless, common sense, understandable...

After all, she did trigger events absentmindedly, like accidentally pulling Tang Shuyu into the river, or just now scratching the mural.

And the young man Lin Qingyun was equally prone to triggering events—though he was older, in terms of appeal to the opposite sex, he really did seem more like the male lead than her friend.

Even the fact that the Earth Immortal disliked him felt very male-lead-ish.

Thinking this, He Zhuoming looked at Tang Shuyu again and asked, "Why do you think the Earth Immortal dislikes Lin Qingyun?"

Tang Shuyu, holding her hand, was in a good mood and replied with a grin, "Maybe he has a poor character."

He Zhuoming shook her head. "That's not it. He even lent money to Feixian—how could he be a bad person?"

Tang Shuyu: "Is lending money enough to make someone good? Loan sharks also like to lend money."

He Zhuoming: "That's different. He's not a loan shark..."

When she chatted with Xu Feixian, Xu Feixian had mentioned some things about Lin Qingyun—Lin Qingyun and Xu Feixian were from the same village.

According to Xu Feixian, Lin Qingyun had been a do-gooder since youth, especially unable to refuse girls' requests. Xu Feixian, because she had to maintain her blade, spent a lot, often taking odd jobs at various Demon Suppression Bureaus to earn money, yet she still often faced financial difficulties.

Lin Qingyun was a few years older, with a proper official rank and allowance, and he often proactively helped her with money without asking for repayment. It was Xu Feixian who insisted on paying back, but every time she did, Lin Qingyun would return the extra interest she'd overpaid...

Putting it all together, He Zhuoming murmured to herself, "He really does seem like the male lead..."

Tang Shuyu suddenly tugged the hand he was holding, and He Zhuoming swayed, looking up at him in confusion.

He smiled, his eyes curved like crescent moons, as if the sudden interruption of her thoughts was righteous and justified, and said, "Watch the road, Xiao He!"

He Zhuoming looked down at the path. The steps were flat and clean, not a single pebble in the way.

She didn't dwell on the details; if something felt odd, she simply stopped thinking about it—because right now, there were far more important things than the steps.

If the Lin Qingyun that Xu Feixian knew was the real male lead, and the Lin Qingyun she knew was just a passerby with the same name, then wasn't her good friend in danger?

Even though the Earth Immortal had just saved her, it was common knowledge that being a small villain under the big villain's command meant you wouldn't survive to the final act—you'd just become the male lead's experience points.

The more He Zhuoming thought, the more worried she became. She looked up with a troubled expression, opening her mouth as if to speak, then hesitating, gazing at Tang Shuyu.

Tang Shuyu noticed her gaze, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked, "Want to say something?"

He Zhuoming hesitated. "Yes... but I don't know if I should say it..."

Tang Shuyu: "What kind of words?"

He Zhuoming racked her brain to organize her thoughts, then began, "Important words... about our future!"

If Tang Shuyu was determined to follow the Earth Immortal to the end, wouldn't he be doomed?

Even if he didn't die at the male lead's hands, he'd die at the Earth Immortal's!

Because the big villain in the original novel was a moody madman, and her friend Lin Qingyun's temper wasn't great either, with even less ability to read the room than the dog at her aunt's house—and he shared the name with the male lead!

Wait, could it be that because he shared the name with the male lead, the Earth Immortal took out his anger on him and killed him before the main story even began?

He Zhuoming's thoughts snowballed, her eyes growing wider as she looked at Tang Shuyu, her expression shifting from contemplation to a sudden realization that slowly elevated into understanding.

Tang Shuyu squeezed her fingers, baffled by her stare—was Xiao He about to confess? Say she liked him, had him in her heart, and would only be with him from now on?

That would be fine.

If Xiao He wanted to recreate the scene from her dream and kiss him now, he would accept it.

After all, Xiao He was really cute.

Thinking this, Tang Shuyu's mood became extremely good—even his smile was much more sincere than usual.

He stopped on the stairs, leaning against the painted wall, still holding He Zhuoming's right hand with one hand, the other hand on his hip, his smile so wide that dimples appeared, but his tone still feigned indifference. "Mm... about us? That is indeed important. It's fine, go ahead."

He Zhuoming hesitated. "If we talk here, will the Earth Immortal hear?"

Tang Shuyu: "...Are you going to talk bad about him?"

He Zhuoming muttered awkwardly, "It's not exactly bad-mouthing... though it's not exactly nice either..."

Tang Shuyu's smile faltered slightly. "The Earth Immortal can't hear. Speak your mind."

He Zhuoming: "Really?"

Tang Shuyu: "Mm, really."

He Zhuoming felt relieved—given Lin Qingyun's example, she didn't want to be disliked by the Earth Immortal.

Taking a deep breath, He Zhuoming looked up with a serious face, pulling Tang Shuyu closer to her; he complied, leaning in, his eyes fixed on her flushed face, the fine beads of sweat on her nose, her lovely, bud-like features.

He Zhuoming said earnestly, "Even though the Earth Immortal saved me and I'm grateful, I really don't think he's a good boss—if you keep being his sushi..."

Tang Shuyu reminded her, "It's priest."

He Zhuoming readily corrected herself, "If you keep being his priest, you won't end well."

To add credibility, she gave an example: "And look—the guy who fell into the river and almost got eaten by waterweed today is named Lin Qingyun, and you're also named Lin Qingyun. How could such a coincidence exist?"

Tang Shuyu sneered. "That's his parents' fault, giving him such a lousy name."

He Zhuoming: "Don't attack his parents like that. If they've already passed, it's not nice to say such things!"

She remembered that the original male lead was indeed an orphan.

Tang Shuyu clearly felt no guilt, retorting matter-of-factly, "Then it's still his parents' fault, isn't it? Dying so early for no reason."

He Zhuoming shook his hand. "Hey! Stop digressing. Listen to me first—forget about his parents—"

"Think about it: if the Earth Immortal dislikes that Lin Qingyun, he might also dislike you, this Lin Qingyun! Today that other Lin Qingyun had bad luck, but tomorrow it might be you, this Lin Qingyun!"

Tang Shuyu listened, and as he processed, a light bulb went off.

He stared at He Zhuoming's earnest face for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. "Are you worried about me dying?"

He Zhuoming: "Of course I am!"

Tang Shuyu: "More than you worry about that other Lin Qingyun?"

He Zhuoming was baffled. "Why would I worry about him? I'm not close to him."

Even if that other man was the real male lead, the ultimate central air conditioner who treated everyone equally, He Zhuoming found it hard to have deep feelings for a man she'd only met briefly.

Tang Shuyu laughed out loud—his previously stiff back relaxing. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

He Zhuoming nodded. "Mm-hm!"

Tang Shuyu said, "I think you make a good point. Fine, I'll think it over."

He Zhuoming was worried. "Think about not following the Earth Immortal? How long will it take? Don't think too long—what if I find a way home soon? Then you'll be alone. What will you do then?"

Tang Shuyu shrugged nonchalantly. "Let's wait until the Day of Divine Celebration ends... Don't make assumptions about things that might not happen! If you go home, I can visit your place..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a faint sound of plaster peeling from the wall behind him.

As Tang Shuyu straightened up and his back left the wall, the entire mural section he'd been leaning against fell off, crumbling into colorful powder.

The peeled area was even larger than the part He Zhuoming had scratched off.

Tang Shuyu glanced at it, showing no guilt about damaging cultural relics, and said casually, "The craftsman who painted this was really careless."

He Zhuoming also stopped feeling guilty. "Do these murals date back far? I noticed no one comes near this tower. Murals need regular maintenance to last, and that has nothing to do with the painter."

Tang Shuyu pondered for a long while, but found no memory. "Probably from a long time ago—I can't remember!"

"This place isn't usually open to visitors. Because I'm the priest, I can take you around freely... Oh, we're here."

He Zhuoming found it unbelievable: a tower that looked absurdly tall, and they'd reached the top just like that?

She'd only chatted with Tang Shuyu for a while, and they were already here?

But the stairs did end, and in front of them was a black iron door without a lock—though there was no lock, the door was seamlessly embedded in the wall, with no purchase to open it.

Tang Shuyu searched his memory for the remnants of what he knew about this tower and said, "This Star-Gazing Tower was built by the Guye Immortal."

He Zhuoming: "...Huh?!"

Tang Shuyu: "Legend has it that when he was undergoing the trial to become a True Deity, his last mortal life was as a member of the Xia Kingdom's royal family. He spent enormous resources to build this, the world's finest star-gazing tower."

He Zhuoming could be very sharp at certain moments, like now—she said, "So the Guye Immortal borrowed the body of the Xia royal family. Is it because closer blood ties increase the chance of success?"

Tang Shuyu chuckled, his tone indifferent. "I don't know, maybe."

Anyway, they were all dead now; who knew what his selection criteria were?

He reached out and touched the door. On the black surface, a line of gleaming golden characters slowly appeared.

[Recipe for Tea-Stained Apple with Ice Cream]

He Zhuoming: "...?"

Tang Shuyu pointed at the line and said, "This is a puzzle the Guye Immortal set for the top floor of the Star-Gazing Tower. Only those who answer correctly can enter. Many have guessed it's the name of a legendary skill or an allusion from a scripture, but no one has ever answered it correctly."

He Zhuoming fell silent, staring at the words.

Then Tang Shuyu casually pushed the door, and it swung open—He Zhuoming was so surprised her mouth fell open, and after a moment she stammered, "Didn't you say no one ever solved the puzzle?"

Tang Shuyu smiled slightly. "I only said the puzzle was unsolved, not that the door had never been opened."

As if—was there any door in the Divine Palace that he couldn't open? If there were, he might as well hang himself with a clean neck—though before he did, he'd drag his colleagues to the grave with him.

Tang Shuyu kept smiling on his face while silently picking the colors of cloth to hang on his colleagues' graves.

He Zhuoming, unaware that her friend was cursing his colleagues, praised him, "Wow, you're amazing!" and then stepped inside—

The room's four walls were lined with books, but the ceiling was open. In the center stood a tent, a telescope, and next to the telescope lay a round sphere.