The Na'er from three years ago was the Silver Dragon King's true form — she had reincarnated in human shape to better integrate into human society, sealing away her own memories in the process.
To more deeply understand human emotions, she had suppressed her recollections entirely.
But when her memories returned not long ago, the Silver Dragon King realized something was wrong.
Why was it that during her time as Na'er, her mind had been so thoroughly filled with the image of one little golden-haired boy?
The Silver Dragon King felt helpless. This wasn't the kind of emotion she had set out to understand!
Still, stumbling into an apprenticeship under Leng Yaozhu, the Vice-Master of the Spirit Transmission Tower, turned out to be quite fortunate — it aligned perfectly with her original plans.
So she threw herself into the grand cause of the Spirit Beast revival, forcing down the feelings that had taken root during her time as Na'er.
Day one: she probed Leng Yaozhu through roundabout conversation, fishing for critical intelligence on the Spirit Transmission Tower.
Day two: she found herself wondering how Arthur was doing.
Day three: Three years had nearly passed. She could finally go back and find him.
Day four: Wait. Something was wrong.
The Silver Dragon King snapped back to herself with a start. The human emotions she had accumulated as Na'er were far too unruly.
To keep them from jeopardizing the Spirit Beast cause, she made a drastic decision — she excised those memories from her time as Na'er, along with every feeling she had developed for Arthur, and crystallized them into a separate, independent entity: Na'er.
What remained became the person she was now: Gu Yue.
With Na'er separated from her, Gu Yue was able to observe that span of human memory from a detached, outside perspective — and in doing so, she made a new discovery.
In those memories, Arthur sometimes gave off a peculiar aura. From it, Gu Yue sensed an elemental force that drew her in irresistibly.
If she was the sovereign of elemental power, then Arthur was something else entirely — a being that elements found familiar, even dear, one they would willingly serve of their own accord. And that included even her, their queen.
It was almost unthinkable that such a person could exist among humans. If he were allowed to grow into his full potential, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Gu Yue had wanted to snuff him out while he was still weak.
Unfortunately, Na'er would never allow it.
But who was she, Gu Yue?
She was the other half of the Dragon God — the one who had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom. A queen of unparalleled, world-shaking intellect.
And with that supreme intellect, Gu Yue arrived at a solution that satisfied both sides of the problem. Arthur had bound Na'er with emotion. So why couldn't she bind Arthur with emotion in return?
She reflected on her own condition just before Na'er had been separated from her, and even Gu Yue had to concede — human emotions were a terrifying thing.
If she could make Arthur fall in love with her, he would surely do whatever she said.
With such a general at her disposal, the Spirit Beast cause would be as good as won.
Truly, a stroke of world-shaking genius.
And so the scene of today came to be.
---
Gu Yue stared at her own reflection and felt faintly puzzled.
Na'er had said Arthur liked this sort of appearance.
Yet she had been drifting in and out of Arthur's line of sight for an entire day, and she hadn't detected even the faintest flicker of romantic feeling from him.
It hadn't once crossed her mind that Na'er might have lied to her.
But of course — how could Na'er ever honestly coach someone on how to win over her Arthur? Even if that someone was another version of herself? Out of the question.
"Ditian," Gu Yue called for her subordinate.
A broad-shouldered, powerfully built man in black stepped out from the shadows.
Ditian knelt on one knee and bowed his head. "My liege."
Gu Yue turned toward him, her expression genuinely curious. "Ditian — am I beautiful?"
The air went absolutely still.
In that moment, Ditian's mind crashed.
Am I beautiful?
What does my liege mean?
Beautiful, or not beautiful?
Saying she isn't beautiful is obviously out of the question.
But saying she is beautiful — wouldn't that border on impertinence?
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead. Ditian realized he was staring down a question with no safe answer.
"What I mean is," Gu Yue added, "does my current appearance qualify as beautiful by human standards?"
Oh. That's what she meant.
Ditian exhaled quietly. He wanted to say very, but he also couldn't deceive his liege, so he answered plainly: "By my understanding of humans, your current features would not be considered exceptional, my liege."
"I thought as much myself." Gu Yue propped her chin on one hand and tilted her head at her reflection. "Then why did Na'er say this was just right?"
The answer, had anyone thought to offer it, was this: Gu Yue had offloaded her emotional awareness onto Na'er so shortly after the separation that her own capacity for feeling was now hollowed out, and it would take time to recover. In plain terms, the current Gu Yue was operating in a state of emotional deficit — though since she had always been reincarnated in human form, those emotions would naturally return with time.
And there was another gap: observing from the outside was nothing like living through something firsthand. On the matter of winning Arthur over, Gu Yue had referenced Na'er's advice.
Could it be that the other you — your liege Na'er — deceived you?
Ditian kept the thought to himself. What passed between the two lieges was not his place to comment on.
"Hmm. Na'er must have made a mistake," Gu Yue murmured, shaking her head. Then a realization struck her. "Of course — looking back at those memories, Na'er never even managed to win Arthur over herself."
"She ended up being led around in circles by him instead."
"I was foolish to consult her on this. Na'er is a failure. Her advice has no reference value whatsoever."
She had gotten every step of the reasoning wrong — and arrived at the right conclusion anyway.
Gu Yue deployed her world-shaking intellect and decided she would proceed at her own pace from here on. Na'er's counsel was worthless.
Which meant this face served little purpose now. But she couldn't simply swap back to her original appearance, either.
"A pity. I've already shown this unremarkable face to the world."
"Reverting now would only invite suspicion." Gu Yue sighed. "The only way is to let time do its work — use the natural growth and development of this body as cover, and gradually restore it."
"You are dismissed, Ditian."
"As you command." Ditian's figure vanished instantly.
Alone in her room, Gu Yue sat with her thoughts for a moment. Her mind drifted to the girl who had chatted so easily and freely with Arthur today.
She turned to her vanity and began styling herself to match the girl's appearance.
---
Not far from where Gu Yue was, in a makeshift hideout, the Spirit Beasts stirred as Ditian returned.
A Spirit Beast spoke up immediately, curious: "What did our liege command?"
The one who spoke was a beauty with a slender figure, generously curved, long legs, and dark violet hair that cascaded down her back: Ziji.
Seeing it was Ziji asking, Ditian let out a tired sigh. "Our liege asked me whether she was beautiful."
Ziji's lips parted slightly. She was stunned.
The gathered Spirit Beasts exchanged bewildered glances, none of them understanding why their liege would ask such a thing.
Xiong Jun was turning the problem over in his bearish skull — if my liege asked me that, how on earth would I answer?
There's no right answer. No matter what you say, you're done for.
Then, all at once, a flash of brilliance lit up his bear-brain, and Xiong Jun nearly leapt with glee. "Ditian, you've been found out!"
"She must be displeased with you and used that question to put you on the spot as a warning!"
Ditian didn't bother dignifying Xiong Jun's fantasy with a response. If it weren't for Ziji standing there, he wouldn't have mentioned the matter at all.
"Is it because of that human?" One of the sharper Spirit Beasts cut straight to the truth.
The mention of Arthur drew instant grumbling.
"That human has no idea how fortunate he is. To cause our liege such trouble — I should just—"
"Silence." Ditian's displeasure flared at once. He fixed the offending Beast with a withering stare and let his suffocating aura crash down. His voice went cold: "Do not meddle in what does not concern you. We need only follow our liege's orders."
No one said another word. Quiet settled over the hideout.
---
The next day, Arthur arrived for class and immediately encountered something strange.
Standing before him was Gu Yue — her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her bangs trimmed, her whole look entirely different from the day before.
Why do you look so much like Muxi all of a sudden?
And it didn't stop there. Over the following days, Gu Yue appeared each morning in a completely different style, like a peacock endlessly fanning its feathers.
It left Arthur thoroughly baffled. Was Gu Yue really this obsessed with fashion?
Until the weekend.