The ultimate Valkyrie has fallen for me

"Why are you here? Didn't you come here to take over my place?"

Lu Yuan chuckled lightly, his face showing disdain.

"You think that with the Starry Sky Club backing you up, I'll back down and give this place to you? You're dreaming."

"That's right, it's wishful thinking. I'm not that stupid."

Shen Fengxing remained calm and looked up at Lu Yuan.

"Actually, I knew from the beginning that I couldn't take over anything here, and I might even lose my life."

"Um?"

Lu Yuan frowned, looking at Shen Fengxing with some doubt, or rather, curiosity.

Actually, the logic behind Shen Fengxing's words wasn't hard to understand. But that's precisely why Lu Yuan was puzzled: if Shen Fengxing clearly knew all this, why did he still come?

Are they tired of living?

"Of course I'm not tired of living. If I were, I'd just end it all myself."

Seeing Lu Yuan's confusion, Shen Fengxing snorted and said something very seriously.

"It's precisely because I want to live a good life."

Tell me about it.

There wasn't a chair here, not even a bed. Shen Fengxing usually slept on a pile of dry straw, and Lu Yuan could only sit on the ground.

Shen Fengxing paused slightly, perhaps to organize his thoughts, before speaking.

"Because I lost to you, my father has placed me under house arrest. Without your permission, I cannot leave the Shen family. If you lose power, perhaps I could be released from confinement. But on the contrary, your power is growing stronger. My desire to leave the Shen family seems to be a distant dream."

"Actually, if it were just a simple house arrest, I could accept it. Because as long as I work hard, there's always a chance to see the light of day again. But that's not the case. Being house-arrested means that I have completely lost my value."

"You may not know this, but losing value in the Shen family, or at least in the third branch, is tantamount to death. My mother will no longer care about me as her son, my brothers will climb over me to get ahead, and everyone will happily divide up what originally belonged to me."

"In other words, even if I am eventually released from confinement, I will already be finished."

"I'm not reconciled!"

"I'm not willing to just give up like this, but things have already come to this point. I'm like a pile of garbage, only able to rot alone in an unknown corner, until an opportunity appears in front of me."

"The guild found me and sent me here as their representative. Although I was kept in the dark during my house arrest, I still knew about the big things you did. Besides, we used to be adversaries, and I've studied you carefully. I think I know your style of dealing with people very well."

"So I understand that if I come here on behalf of the association, I'm basically asking for my death! Even if you don't kill me immediately, you'll find a way to torture me or arrange some accident that seems to have nothing to do with you."

"But I still came, because this is my only chance right now."

Having said a lot in one breath, Shen Fengxing paused here, looked at Lu Yuan, and waited for his reaction.

Lu Yuan didn't speak, but simply gestured for him to continue.

Shen Fengxing had already said that he didn't want to die; on the contrary, he wanted to live a good life. Since that was the case, he must have his own reasons for coming here.

"Okay, I'll continue."

"I think you've already seen through the association's intentions, but I still want to explain to you why they insisted on sending me here."

"Because I am a member of the Shen family, Shen Humeng's half-brother, and Shen Fuyue's son, they figured you probably wouldn't kill me, at least not immediately. As long as you don't kill me, as long as you keep me in this base, like a nail driven into a plank, I'll eventually come in handy. And you can use me as a breakthrough point to continuously infiltrate this base."

"If you don't act as they expect, but instead are ruthless and kill me outright, that would be even better. Once you kill me, it will inevitably create a rift with the Shen family and a crack in your relationship with my father. In this way, they can further drive a wedge between you and my father, causing you to eventually part ways, or even become enemies! At that time, this base will lose the support of the Shen family, like a building without its main pillar, making it much easier for them to take it over."

Lu Yuan nodded. Shen Fengxing was right; he and Xia Banzhu had already thought of these things.

The guild sent Shen Fengxing here as a double-edged sword, ensuring that no matter what Lu Yuan chooses or does, he will fall into their trap.

That is why Lu Yuan hesitated to make a decision and simply locked Shen Fengxing up.

However, it is clear that the association wants to force him to make a choice, so it is already preparing to take action.

"The Starry Sky Guild is able to establish itself in Chongming not only because of its powerful military force, but also because of its expertise in and constant use of intrigue and scheming. Heh, but they also have their moments of carelessness."

Shen Fengxing suddenly smiled, a smug smile, and pointed his index finger at himself.

"They overlooked the fact that even though I'm like a stray dog, I won't let them knead me like dough. I have my own ideas."

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. After listening to Shen Fengxing say so much, what he wanted to hear was Shen Fengxing's own thoughts.

"My thinking is simple: I choose the third path."

Shen Fengxing didn't keep them in suspense. He took a deep breath and spoke directly.

"I choose to follow you!"

"Um?"

Although he was somewhat prepared, Lu Yuan was still taken aback when he heard Shen Fengxing's words.

"What did you just say? Who are you following?"

"you!"

"No, we are enemies. How could you—no, how could you possibly follow me?"

"We were once enemies, but nothing in the world is static. On the contrary, everything and everyone is changing, and the rule of change is nothing more than seeking advantage and avoiding harm."

Shen Fengxing raised his head slightly, a hint of pride surging in his eyes, and then spoke.

"As I just said, my family has taken everything from me, and now I have nothing. The arrangements made by the association are an opportunity for me, not to try to lead anything, but precisely to follow you and open up a new path for me."

"What you're saying really surprises me."

"I'm serious, Lu Yuan, you can trust my loyalty!"

Shen Fengxing suddenly became a little excited and moved his body forward slightly.

"This is an opportunity for me, and it's also the only way for you to break this deadlock right now! As long as you accept me, I will be absolutely loyal to you! Moreover, if you help me reclaim everything that originally belonged to me, I will lead the third branch of the family to respect your fourth branch!"

"Um?"

Why are we bringing up the Shen family again? But perhaps this is Shen Fengxing's truest thought.

The so-called following Lu Yuan was nothing more than wanting to use Lu Yuan to regain his power and status in the third branch of the family.

To put it bluntly, he was using Lu Yuan, and that's the real Shen Fengxing.

"good!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan smiled and nodded.

"I'll take you!"