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Yunjin had a special gift. she could resonate with animals, which made her far from a burden in Yino's eyes for now. But taking Yunjin along meant dealing with Jinyue, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and clung to him like a sloth. It was honestly giving Yino a headache.

Jinyue hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. And right in front of Yunjin, no less. Yino couldn't bring himself to act too cold, so he reluctantly agreed to let Jinyue join them.

"

Benefactor

~!"

"Who would've thought we'd meet here too? It must be fate, a connection between our hearts!"

The foxgirl wrapped her arms around Yino's waist, burying her face against his back while inhaling deeply and rubbing her cheek against him. Her playful and charming expression was almost irresistible, sweet and captivating in every way.

Even though she was in her human form and didn't have a tail, the way her hips swayed under that red dress was pure instinct. She even lifted her black-stockinged leg, adorned with a metal anklet, and rubbed it against Yino's hand.

At this moment, Yino finally understood why, in ancient times, a king might light signal fires just to amuse his consorts.

When this little fox acted coy, who wouldn't be tempted?

But then, Yino remembered that night when Jinyue had secretly spied on everything at the Mountain Temple. That thought immediately sobered him up, snapping him out of her seductive spell.

In the original plot, Jinyue never behaved this flirtatiously toward the protagonist. Yet, she had always stuck by his side, joining his team on their journey to the Azure Forest.

What puzzled Yino was that, in the original timeline, when the protagonist got captured by the Holy Maiden of the Full Moon Sect in the Azure Forest, Jinyue had suddenly shown up to save him.

This unpredictable pattern baffled Yino. In the first arc, she schemed to have the protagonist killed by Gu Wanglan. In the second, she acted like a bodyguard, rescuing him from the Holy Maiden. But by the third arc, she pushed him straight into the Abyss of Demons, revealed her identity as a demoness, and even joined forces with the Holy Maiden to try and kill him.

If that wasn't insanity, then what was?

From Yino's perspective, Jinyue was nothing short of a troublesome little demon.

She was so fake—every action and word carefully calculated. In the game, she barely said a single honest thing to the protagonist.

And now, not only was she acting even more over-the-top, but she'd also seen through Yino's secrets. There was no way he could trust her sudden

kindness

.

All her talk about fate? He was certain she'd been lurking around Ranmo Peak, plotting something. She was probably planning to drag him into another scheme once they reached the Azure Forest.

The more Yino thought about it, the angrier he got. He really wanted to slap her for all her annoying antics.

But just as he was fuming, Jinyue's stockinged leg rubbed against his hand again. As much as he doubted her, the silky smoothness of her stockings was... distracting. His anger weakened, and he found himself unable to stop touching the soft fabric.

Damn it. This fox demon is a bad news, but her legs? Absolutely perfect.

"Benefactor~!"

"Take me with you! I promise I'll do

whatever

Experience tales with empire

you say once we're inside the secret realm."

Jinyue clearly knew his weakness. Seeing how much he enjoyed the feeling, she grabbed his hand and guided it higher up her thigh under her skirt.

At the same time, she leaned closer, blowing softly into his ear and speaking in a seductive, honeyed voice.

Within moments, she had Yino completely wrapped around her finger.

"J… J.Junior Sister!"

"This is way too improper! It's just a secret realm trip—did you really need to stoop to... this?"

Not far away, Yunjin was furious. Watching Jinyue cling to Yino and shamelessly rub against him was too much.

She was here first! But before she could even get a word in, this foxdemon had already latched onto him, grinding her thigh against his hand like some... well, like a fox in heat!

"

Oh my~

How is repaying kindness improper?"

Jinyue, now confident she had Yino hooked, smirked and turned to Yunjin. Her lips curled into a teasing smile, her enchanting eyes full of smugness.

"Besides," she added, "to repay kindness with charm, you'd need charm in the first place, wouldn't you?"

With that, she grabbed Yino's hand again, pressing it firmly against her leg.

She shot him a sly, meaningful look before finally easing up a little. Then, ignoring Yunjin completely, she gracefully stepped onto Yino's sword and naturally wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"You... you!"

Yunjin's innocence couldn't stand up to Jinyue's provocations. Her face turned bright red as she struggled to find a retort.

She couldn't believe it. Just a month ago, Jinyue was nothing more than a casual acquaintance in the snowy northern village. But now, she was openly flaunting her affection for Yino, practically stealing him away right in front of her!

The way Jinyue looked at Yino was so intense it could melt steel. It was as if she was ready to drag him into a dark room and devour him whole.

"All right, enough."

"Yunjin, you can take the front position from now on. It's your exclusive spot."

Seeing that Yunjin was no match for Jinyue's antics, Yino sighed heavily. He reached out a hand to Yunjin, trying to console her.

The words "exclusive spot" lit up Yunjin's eyes. Forgetting her anger, she quickly grabbed his hand and climbed onto the sword, letting him steady her with a surprisingly gentle touch.

"Hold on tight."

"Our destination is the Azure Forest."

Yino felt like his back was about to give out.

Flying at high speeds, Yunjin clung to him tightly, burying her face in his chest to shield herself from the wind. Meanwhile, Jinyue hugged his waist from behind.

By the end of the journey, Yino was effectively sandwiched—Yunjin in front, Jinyue behind, and a deer girl perched on his shoulders. Between supporting all three of them and steering the sword, he was physically and emotionally drained.

If this was what having a harem felt like, Yino thought he'd much rather trade Jinyue for Yuyan. At least Yuyan's solid presence would feel safer against his back.

But alas, Yuyan couldn't join them because of her cultivation limitations.

Earlier this morning, before they set off, Yuyan handed Yino a brand-new icy blue jade pendant.

This one was different from the previous ones—it didn't have any emergency communication or distress signal functions. Instead, it contained a sealed sword technique from Yuyan's peak strength.

According to her, she had specifically asked Yanran to carve it. If Yino found himself in danger in the Azure Forest, he just needed to crush the pendant and swing his sword with all his might at the enemy. That one strike would unleash Yuyan's ultimate sword technique at its full power.

When Yino heard this, he was stunned.

Isn't this just like the substitute skill in those games?

Back in his previous life while playing Fallen Immortal, the system's computing power made it impossible for all characters to fight in real-time. So, the other team members became a collection of skills the protagonist could activate when their energy bar was full.

He never imagined that the "substitute ultimate" mechanic from the game could actually be recreated in real life by sealing a sword technique in a jade pendant.

What made him even more ecstatic was knowing just how absurd the damage multiplier of Yuyan's ultimate move was in the original game. It was so overpowered it felt like the developers had been drunk when they coded it.

This pendant was a game-changer.

With it as his trump card, Yino felt a lot more confident—even if Jinyue continued to cling to him or more troublesome people showed up. Everything suddenly seemed a lot more manageable.

But just as he was feeling smug about his new ace, he landed in the plaza at the front gates of the Azure Forest and immediately spotted someone in the crowd—a plain-looking boy in a black robe.

Oh, hell no! What are you doing here?

Wait, is this still Chen Jianxin's timeline?

How did the protagonist from the Liuli Sect storyline, who's supposed to be in Jiangnan, end up in the Azure Forest?!

Don't tell me there's more than one protagonist in this reborn timeline. What's next, each of the five immortal sects has its own storyline hero?

The moment Yino recognized Xumo, his legs nearly gave out. He almost collapsed right there.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, but he forced himself to stay calm and assess the situation.

In Fallen Immortal, players could choose one of five starting sects, each tied to a different cultivation path and talent.

Yino had always assumed this timeline followed the Wuji Sect storyline because, in the original, his character was a minor villain in Chen Jianxin's story.

But now...

Xumo from the Liuli Sect was here too!

Even if multiple protagonists could exist in this world, according to the original timeline, Xumo should still be in the Liuli Sect, locked in a magical duel with a senior disciple villain.

Why was he here?

Did he travel all the way to the Azure Forest to avenge Chen Jianxin's death in spirit?

Curious, Yino kept a close eye on Xumo, observing him from a distance. He noticed Xumo suddenly move toward an open area, seemingly drawn by something in the crowd.

Following Xumo's line of sight, Yino's gaze landed on a striking blue-haired girl dressed in a fierce, martial-style skirt. The crowd's attention was clearly focused on her.

"...?"

"...???"