Wang Li was in trouble.
No, not the kind of trouble that came with demonic beasts, ancient curses, or exploding cauldrons. He was used to all of that.
This was different.
This was romantic trouble—the most dangerous kind of all.
The moonlight shimmered on the surface of the Lake of Whispering Clouds, painting silver ripples across the water. The wind was gentle. The air was soft. And Wang Li was cornered.
Literally.
Five beautiful women stood before him like a celestial formation.
At the center: Ling Xi, the fiery tomboy with a hidden soft spot the size of a mountain.
To the right: Bai Xueyao, fan-wielding beauty and master of poisonous words (and actual poison).
Next to her: Mu Qingling, who used to call him a pervert every two minutes but now blushed when he so much as breathed near her.
To the left: Feng Yuling, cold, graceful, and eternally suspicious of everyone… except when she was offering him soup.
And farthest left: Lin Ruoyan, the shy but clever alchemist, holding a glowing pink pill labeled "Heart-Essence Softening Elixir."
None of them spoke.
They just stared.
Wang Li, for his part, did what any rational man would do in his situation.
He turned to run.
He got five steps before a golden whip of spiritual silk caught his ankle.
Crash!
Face down in the grass.
"I knew it," Ling Xi growled. "You were hiding from us."
"No! I was just—uh—testing my agility!" Wang Li coughed out grass. "Cultivation requires mobility! And flexibility! And—"
Bai Xueyao calmly stepped on his back.
"You let Yuechan kiss you," she said.
"She kissed my cheek!"
"And you smiled after," Feng Yuling added.
"That's not a crime!"
Mu Qingling crouched beside him. "We were watching the whole time."
"…You were spying on me?"
"We call it monitoring a suspicious cultivator's activity." Bai Xueyao's fan snapped open.
Lin Ruoyan offered him the Heart-Essence Elixir like a peace offering. "Would you like to drink this and tell us the truth?"
Wang Li blinked at the suspiciously heart-shaped pill.
"I don't even know what that is."
"It makes you honest," she said brightly. "And makes your soul sparkle."
"That sounds like death!"
The women stared at him in a terrifying display of synchronized feminine fury.
Wang Li sighed and sat up. "Alright. You all want to know the truth?"
The five girls nodded.
He pointed dramatically at the moon.
"I kissed no one!"
The girls narrowed their eyes.
"And… I didn't even ask her to kiss me!"
"Then why did she do it?" Ling Xi growled.
Wang Li thought for a moment… then stood tall.
"Because I'm irresistible."
SMACK!
The spiritual whip hit him again.
He rolled dramatically down the hill, only stopping when he landed face-first in a patch of moonflowers.
The girls stood at the top of the hill, their silhouettes bathed in starlight, looking down upon their self-proclaimed irresistible hero.
"This is war," Bai Xueyao declared.
"Romantic war," added Mu Qingling.
"A war he started," said Feng Yuling.
"A war… we will win," whispered Lin Ruoyan.
---
Meanwhile – Back at the Inner Sect Peak
Yuechan stood alone atop the moonlit pavilion, arms crossed, hair fluttering gently in the wind.
"Let them come," she whispered to herself.
A faint smile played across her lips.
"I've already kissed him first. What can they do now?"
A figure emerged from the shadows behind her.
It was her junior sister, Yu Meilan, who had been observing the growing chaos from the sidelines.
"You're not afraid?" Meilan asked.
Yuechan glanced at her.
"I'm not afraid of girls who've only known him for two months," she said coolly.
"…And if he chooses one of them?"
Yuechan's gaze turned sharp.
"Then I'll break through to the next realm," she said calmly, "and make him regret reincarnating."
Yu Meilan took a step back.
"Remind me never to fall in love."
---
Later That Night – Wang Li's Courtyard
Wang Li sat on the roof of his pavilion, shirt open, face scratched, lip swollen, body bandaged, soul drained.
He stared at the stars and sighed like a man who had seen things.
He reached into his robe and pulled out his most secret treasure:
A bottle of cheap peach wine.
"To peace," he whispered, raising it to the heavens.
A shadow landed behind him.
"I thought you hated peach wine," said a soft voice.
Wang Li froze.
It was Yuechan.
"…It's growing on me," he said without turning around.
She sat beside him, gaze locked on the stars. After a long silence, she said:
"You should rest."
"I can't. I'm too afraid of what happens when I sleep."
She smiled faintly. "The others?"
"They're forming a coalition of violence."
Another silence.
Then Yuechan leaned over, placed her head lightly on his shoulder.
"You're too weak to protect them all."
He blinked.
She closed her eyes. "Grow stronger. Because next time… they won't just be fighting over you."
Wang Li's heart trembled.
"You believe in me?" he asked.
Yuechan gave him a rare smile.
"No. I own you."
"…That's fair."
---
The Next Morning – Sect Announcements Board
A new decree was posted:
> ⚔️ SECT COUPLING TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCED! ⚔️
Participants must form dual cultivation teams with a partner of their choice!
Prize: A Heaven-grade Dual-Spirit Furnace… and the title of Heaven's Perfect Couple!
Note: All matches will be publicly broadcast.
Fighting between partners is strictly prohibited. (Kind of.)
Wang Li, still wrapped in bandages, looked at the announcement with dead eyes.
"Whichever elder thought this was a good idea… must hate me personally."
From behind, five girls and one icy beauty stepped forward simultaneously.
Each of them smiling.
Each of them hiding a dagger.
"Partner with me, Wang Li."
"No. Me."
"I'll boil your bones if you say no to me."
Wang Li turned slowly… and ran.
Into a tree.
Then fainted.