I am an incredibly handsome man, and my fiancée refuses to call off the engagement even at the cost

Gu Yan was happy to enjoy his solitude, drinking tea and taking walks while waiting for the Dugu family to find the Soul-Stabilizing Dragon Blood Wood and deliver it to him. As for the Ten-Thousand-Year Tear Bodhi, Dugu Xun had already given it to him on the third day at Moon Imprint Mountain.

The reason the Ten Thousand Year Tear Bodhi was delivered so quickly is because the Dugu family had it in their inventory, while the Soul-Stabilizing Dragon Blood Wood was out of stock. Gu Yan didn't know how long it would take to find it, but they would definitely find it much faster than he could. Gu Yan was prepared to wait for several years, or even a decade or more.

Gu Yan wondered how long it would take Dugu Xun to study the "Heavenly Demon Guide," perhaps even ten or twenty years.

Dugu Xun didn't study it for that long. A month later, he finally came out of the secret room and felt very sorry for leaving Gu Yan aside for a month.

"I never expected that a casual study would take so long. How have you been staying here? Have the servants been neglecting you?" Dugu asked.

Gu Yan smiled and said, "No, they served me very well."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Xun's gaze turned coldly to the several beautiful maids standing beside him, causing them to tremble in fear. Very attentive? How attentive? To him, failing to serve attentively was a capital offense, and serving too attentively was also a capital offense.

If you end up serving someone in bed, then being subjected to a hundred slow slicings would be the least of your worries.

Feeling sorry for the maids, Gu Yan said to Dugu Xun, "Brother, let's go for a walk."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Xun turned his gaze to Gu Yan and smiled, "Okay."

So Gu Yan and Dugu Xun got up and walked outside. As soon as they left, the maids all breathed a sigh of relief, each feeling as if they had survived a disaster.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

There is a stream in the mountain, and a spring in the stream. Two people sit on the rocks by the spring. The man in black with white hair sits cross-legged with a seven-stringed zither on his knees, his fingers playing on the strings; the young man in white with a face as beautiful as snow is like an immortal, he plays a jade flute to accompany the zither music.

The sounds of the zither and flute drifted among the mountains, attracting countless creatures to stop and listen.

Ever since Dugu Xun finished studying the "Heavenly Demon's Guide," he'd been spending every day practicing music with Gu Yan. Gu Yan had given him many sheet music scores before, right? He'd been asking Gu Yan questions about each piece. Then he'd ask all sorts of questions: Who wrote this piece? Why haven't I heard of this composer's name before?

What? This piece of music has a story behind it? Tell me quickly.

Who invented this fingering technique? Why is the style of this piece like this? Do you have any other famous pieces you're keeping hidden away?

Gu Yan was both amused and exasperated by his fervor; was she here to teach him a lesson?

Before I knew it, more than half a year had passed.

As November arrived, it began to snow. One day, while it was snowing heavily outside, Gu Yan and Dugu Xun were drinking inside. They enjoyed the snowy scenery while drinking, and as they drank, Dugu Xun, slightly tipsy, stared at Gu Yan for a long time before saying, "Why aren't you a woman?"

He said it again; Gu Yan had lost count of how many times he had said it.

This time, however, he saw struggle in Dugu Xun's eyes, a painful struggle.

The next day, Gu Yan quietly left Moonshine Mountain.

Why did you leave?

He suddenly realized that Dugu Xun actually minded that he was a man, which proved that there was still hope for him.

The longer you're in contact with someone, the more deeply you'll be influenced. Since that's the case, he couldn't continue harming Dugu Xun. So Gu Yan even gave up the Soul-Stabilizing Dragon Blood Wood and left.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The mountains dance like silver snakes, and the plains gallop like wax elephants.

A long rainbow streaked across the icy, snowy landscape. After flying for a long time, the golden rainbow landed on a snowfield and transformed into a young man in white.

The young man looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, with impeccably handsome features and a pure and transcendent aura. The beautiful young man in white looked ahead, where the faint sound of a zither could be heard. He walked forward step by step and saw a white-haired man in a black robe playing the zither.

The middle-aged man with white hair and a black robe looked to be in his thirties. He resembled Dugu Xun in appearance. His cultivation had reached the late-stage peak of the Spirit Venerable realm. Although he did not reveal any killing intent, the aura he released was still quite astonishing.

Gu Yan frowned as he looked at the unfamiliar middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Senior Dugu."

Dugu Yue's sharp eyes looked at Gu Yan, a flash of cold red lightning seeming to pass through them as he opened and closed his eyes: "You know me?"

"I don't know him, I'm just guessing," Gu Yan said.

He had never met Dugu Yue before, but seeing how much he resembled Dugu Xun and how he deliberately blocked his way, he made a bold guess, and now it seems he was right.

Dugu Yue put away his zither, a slight smile on his face. He looked Gu Yan up and down and exclaimed, "What a handsome man! No wonder my son is infatuated with you. I like you very much too."

Gu Yan: "..."

What does that mean?

"What brings you here, senior?" Gu Yan asked directly.

Dugu Yue looked at him and said:

"I originally came to kill you, but now that I've seen you, I feel it would be a pity to kill you." He sighed deeply as he spoke.

Gu Yan: "..."

He knew the visitor meant no good.

"My aptitude is poor, and I fear I'll never reach the Spirit Saint realm in this lifetime, but A-Xun has limitless potential. He's my only son, and I'll risk my life to clear away any obstacles for him. You are his inner demon; do you think I can let you go?"

Gu Yan: "..."

Is Dugu Xun's inner demon himself?

"I'll give you two choices. One, I'll kill you..." Dugu Yue stared at Gu Yan with utter indifference at first, then a smile appeared on his face. "The second, you can become my daughter-in-law."

What?!

Gu Yan almost burst apart.

Daughter-in-law?

Gu Yan's lips twitched.

"Senior Dugu, are you serious?" Gu Yan asked.

"I'm serious," Dugu Yue said.

"I'm a man," Gu Yan said.

"Having cultivated to this level, there's not much difference between men and women. Of course, it would be even better if my daughter-in-law were a woman. But this brat has fallen for a man and developed a mental demon. What can I do? If I really kill you, he'll definitely resent me. So, I hope you choose option two," Dugu Yue said earnestly.

Gu Yan becomes Dugu Xun's inner demon because he loves Gu Yan, but he's bothered by the fact that Gu Yan is a man; he can't accept that he's fallen in love with a man. This causes him pain, inner conflict, and hardship, which ultimately leads to his inner demon.

Resolving this inner demon is quite simple. Either Gu Yan dies, then there's no need to dwell on the question of love, and the inner demon will naturally disappear. Or, admit that you've fallen in love with a man, and as long as he becomes Gu Yan's Daoist partner, the inner demon can also be resolved.

Gu Yan: "..."