The thick mist at the edge of the space dispersed.

Lin Wan Yi stood at the end of the black soil. Originally, this was an impassable white barrier, but now it had blown apart like a light veil, revealing an ancient altar covered in moss.

She climbed the stone steps. In the center of the altar stood a half-person high blank stone tablet.

Her palm rested on the rough stone surface.

A warmth spread from her fingertips. The previously smooth surface of the tablet began to reveal countless golden scripts.

The characters seemed to be alive, following her fingertips, directly entering her mind.

"37th Generation Descendant of the Lin Family, Lin Shuanghua."

An ancient memory laid out before her eyes.

It turns out, this space was not an ownerless object, but rather, a Miniature Sumeru crafted by an ancestor of the Lin Family who embarked on the path of cultivation centuries ago. Before ascending, the ancestor transformed a lifetime of cultivation into a Spiritual Spring, sealing it within a Jade Pendant along with this small world, waiting for a destined descendant to unlock it.

However, the conditions to open it were extremely harsh.

The Jade Pendant is yin in nature, and the Spiritual Spring is extremely cold. Without the balancing force of the utmost yang and firmness, forcibly acknowledging it with blood would result only in one’s body exploding and dying.

"One must possess the Po Jun’s destiny pattern, where evil qi and upright spirit intersect, using its Primordial Yang Qi as a guide, to harmonize yin and yang, and open the Life Gate."

Lin Wan Yi looked at the line of text that appeared in her mind, her fingers unconsciously curling up.

Po Jun’s destiny pattern, where evil qi and upright spirit intersect.

In this world, what could more fittingly meet the condition of "the intersection of upright spirit and evil qi" than soldiers who have spent years on the battlefield, defending their country?

Gu Yanshen.

The man known as the "living Yama" in the military district.

That night’s mishap, she thought she had the worst of luck, mistakenly sleeping with the wrong blind date, provoking her friend’s terrifying elder brother.

Now it seems, it was not a coincidence at all.

It was the Jade Pendant, after sleeping for millennia, sensing the utmost Yang Qi on Gu Yanshen, strong enough to break the seal, thereby creating a mysterious attraction.

The confusion that night, the loss of control, even her inexplicable misstep into the wrong room, were all inevitable parts of the gears of fate aligning.

Without him, she could not activate the space.

Without him, she might not even be able to take a single step in this unfamiliar era.

Lin Wan Yi withdrew her hand. The golden light on the stone tablet gradually dimmed, turning back into an ordinary stone.

She exited the space.

In reality, the bedroom lights were dim.

Outside the window was a Beijing early winter night, the cold wind striking the glass, making a faint rustling sound.

Lin Wan Yi opened her eyes, finding herself lying in Gu Yanshen’s broad embrace.

The man’s arm was draped across her waist, heavy as if afraid she’d run away. Even in his sleep, his brows were slightly furrowed, carrying an air of someone who has long held a high position with authority and strategist’s cunning.

Time had left some traces on his face, yet it made him appear even more composed and charming.

Lin Wan Yi turned to her side, quietly observing his face under the dim light of the bedside lamp.

She extended her index finger, slowly sliding down his prominent nose, finally stopping at his thin lips.

"Why aren’t you asleep?"

The man’s voice was hoarse, with the laziness of just waking.

He didn’t open his eyes, just accurately caught her mischievous finger, placing a kiss on it.

Lin Wan Yi snuggled into his embrace, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat.

"Gu Yanshen."

"Hmm."

"Do you believe in fate?"

Gu Yanshen finally opened his eyes. In the dim light, he looked at the petite woman in his arms.

From the seventies until today, it’s been almost twenty years. She seemed not to have changed at all, her skin still fair and delicate, even with barely any wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

He reached up to pull the blanket higher, covering her exposed shoulder.

"I am a materialist." His voice was steady, "I only believe in the gun in my hand and the things I can grasp."

"Then, if I told you that our meeting was destined by the heavens thousands of years ago?" Lin Wan Yi looked up at him.

Gu Yanshen chuckled lightly. The vibration of his chest traveled to Lin Wan Yi’s back.

"Then the heavens have good vision."

He turned over, partially resting her beneath him, his rough thumb brushing against her cheek.

"Did you remember the past?"

Lin Wan Yi nodded: "I remembered when I first went to the countryside, going to the guesthouse for a blind date. If I hadn’t gone into the wrong room and met you, I might have already been sold by those awful relatives to who knows who."

"That possibility never existed." Gu Yanshen interrupted her, his tone certain.