"No, Chang Shanyin, I want you!" Ge Yao's voice rang out with absolute conviction.
By the glow of the campfire, her eyes sparkled brilliantly as she gazed at Fang Yuan with deep affection. "Chang Shanyin, you're a hero of the great grasslands. Your name is known far and wide. You are the man I'd entrust my life to! Age doesn't matter at all. Back then, Giant Sun Ancestor married countless beautiful young women every year even when he was over a thousand years old!"
Fang Yuan's expression darkened. "Enough. Stop this foolishness."
Ge Yao stamped her foot, her voice rising. "I'm not being foolish! Chang Shanyin, after traveling with you all this way, my heart has been thoroughly captivated by you. I only just realized it — I've fallen completely in love with you. I'm willing to give myself, give everything I have, to you. Please, accept it."
"Young lady, I already have a wife." Fang Yuan sighed, his expression conflicted.
Ge Yao immediately shook her head. "Your wife remarried long ago! Even if you took her back, I wouldn't mind. I'm not after the position of first wife — I'd be happy to be your concubine. Giant Sun Ancestor had hundreds of thousands of concubines, and only one of them held the title of main wife."
But Fang Yuan's refusal was equally resolute. "I will not marry again. My heart has grown still, like this Rotting Venom Grassland. You're too young to understand this feeling. During those days trapped inside the wolf's belly, when I couldn't move at all, I suffered agony beyond words. When my soul drifted across the vast grasslands, I wandered through hardship, but my spirit gradually transcended. I looked back on everything, witnessed the life and death of many people. The suffering and joy of my past life can no longer touch my heart. I will begin an entirely new existence. I am a new Chang Shanyin. I won't even return to the Chang Clan."
"Then come to my Ge Clan!" Ge Yao's eyes lit up.
She made the invitation with utmost sincerity, but Fang Yuan still refused, showing not the slightest trace of wavering.
"Chang Shanyin! Is your heart made of iron and stone? Do you still not trust me? Would you have me dig out my heart and show it to you, like that stone man?" Ge Yao pleaded in a low voice, her eyes rimming red, on the verge of tears from heartbreak.
Awooo!
Just then, the sound of wolves charging came from nearby.
A large pack of Poison Whisker Wolves, drawn by the firelight, was rapidly closing in on Fang Yuan and Ge Yao.
But camped around the bonfire was Fang Yuan's own substantial wolf pack.
The two packs crashed into each other almost immediately, entangling in a fierce and brutal clash.
"That's a thousand-wolf pack!" Ge Yao's attention snapped to the battle, her expression growing grave.
Previously, whenever the two of them encountered a pack of this size, they would choose to retreat. But now, Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh. "It's fine. Times have changed — we have wolves of our own. Ge Yao, I'll need you to step in and hold off the Thousand Beast Wolf King. Once my True Essence is replenished, I'll come to support you!"
The young woman nodded, but she didn't immediately move. Instead, she fixed Fang Yuan with an intense, burning gaze.
Fang Yuan looked at her. "Go on, then."
But Ge Yao pressed her lips together, her eyes firm, and remained rooted in place.
Fang Yuan had no choice but to soften his tone. "Fine. Give me some time to think about this."
"But I want an answer right now!" Ge Yao replied instantly.
A flicker of cold light passed through Fang Yuan's eyes, though on the surface, he merely let out a long sigh and made a proposal. "If you can slay that Thousand Beast Wolf King on your own, I'll agree to take you as my wife."
"Really?"
"Ha. Once a man of the Northern Plains has spoken his word, even a Gale Wind Horse couldn't catch up to it."
At that moment, Ge Yao's eyes blazed with radiant determination. "Then just wait!"
Filled with battle spirit, the young woman charged into the fray, heading straight for the Thousand Beast Wolf King.
Watching her retreating figure, the smile on Fang Yuan's face vanished rapidly, leaving behind a gaze of utter coldness.
He hadn't expected Ge Yao to be so smitten with him — it was practically a deep-rooted obsession. But love had always been an irrational thing, impossible to explain through common sense. Long ago, Gu Yue Yin Huang had climbed Success-Failure Mountain and been pursued by a stone man.
According to the "Legend of Human Ancestor" — When Human Ancestor failed to rescue his eldest son, Tai Yue Yang Mang, and was on the very cusp of his own revival, he fell short at the last moment, swept by the Reverse Flow River into the Valley of Dejection.
His second daughter, Gu Yue Yin Huang, learned of this news and devised a plan to rescue her father.
However, to enter the Life-Death Gate, one needed the help of the Courage Gu and the Conviction Gu.
But all those Gu Insects were on her father, Human Ancestor.
Gu Yue Yin Huang could not enter the Life-Death Gate, yet she desperately wanted to save Human Ancestor. Unable to think of a way, she consulted the Thought Gu.
The Thought Gu told her two methods.
The first was to enter the Void Hole, then push open the Void Gate to reach Human Ancestor directly. Then, through the Void Hole again, escape the Life-Death Gate. But this method could only save Human Ancestor's soul — it could not bring about his resurrection.
The second was to climb to the summit of Success-Failure Mountain and find the sole Success Gu. As long as she made a wish to the Success Gu, Gu Yue Yin Huang could save Human Ancestor and bring about his successful revival.
Gu Yue Yin Huang had long known of the Void Hole's existence but could never find a way to enter it. Moreover, she wanted her father truly resurrected, so she came to Success-Failure Mountain.
Success-Failure Mountain was not tall at all — it was practically a small hillock. It was unique, however, piled high from billions of "cobblestones."
These "cobblestones" were actually all Failure Gu. And the single, unique Success Gu sat at the very peak of Success-Failure Mountain.
Gu Yue Yin Huang arrived at the base of the mountain and began to climb.
Her climbing disturbed the Love Gu, which had been sleeping nearby.
Having its sweet dream interrupted, the Love Gu was furious and sought to take revenge on Gu Yue Yin Huang. Using its unique power, it imbued a stone with life.
The stone gained life through love, becoming a Stone Man.
The Stone Man was tall and imposing, its body covered in gold, silver, copper, and iron — resplendent and dazzling.
Upon being born, the Stone Man's first sight was of Gu Yue Yin Huang. He was instantly mesmerized, utterly conquered by her beauty.
He followed in her wake, gazing at her slender silhouette, his heart overwhelmed with love.
At last, he could contain himself no longer. He rushed in front of Gu Yue Yin Huang, blocked her path, and cried out loudly: "Beautiful maiden! How radiant your visage, how elegant your figure, how noble your bearing! The moment I laid eyes on you, I was conquered. You are my love — please, have mercy, and accept my devotion!"