Ark Simulator, don't I have no physical form?

Suri: "......" (Is it too late for me to say I don't want to act anymore?)

Xi's tail tightened as a warning: "He's acting."

Suri: "???"

Xi glanced at him and said calmly, "I'll oversee the proceedings."

Nian: "......" (This is a difficult situation.)

Ling tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, observing the three men's thoughtful expressions, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Interesting."

This time, Nian only filmed a short video and posted it online, waiting for feedback from online viewers. Ling wasn't too demanding of Su Rui. She simply pulled Su Rui aside, had her sit next to her, and had some drinks with Nian and Xi.

As night deepened in Shangshu, lanterns in the courtyard swayed gently in the breeze, casting dappled shadows. Several small dishes were laid out on the stone table, and the newly opened wine flask emitted a refreshing aroma.

"Come, have a taste." Ling shook the jade wine pot in her hand, the amber wine gleaming alluringly in the moonlight. She smiled slightly, and with a flick of her fingertips, she gently lifted the rim of the pot, a wisp of pale blue mist quietly mingling with the aroma of the wine.

Nian, full of enthusiasm, was the first to pick up her glass: "Your sister's wine, I have to support it!" She tilted her head back and downed it in one gulp. The spicy liquid made her let out a "ha!" and her cheeks immediately flushed red. "That's strong!"

Xi glanced at the wine in her glass, then at Su Rui's expectant eyes, and finally picked up the glass and took a sip. The moment the wine went down her throat, a strange warm current spread from her stomach, making her frown slightly.

Su Rui held the wine glass with both hands and carefully took a sip. The sweet and spicy taste made his eyes light up, and his dragon tail unconsciously patted the ground gently: "Delicious!" The dragon patterns at the corners of his eyes gleamed, particularly conspicuous in the night.

Ling's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, and the fog grew thicker. Nian's eyelids began to droop, and her speech became slurred: "Ugh... this wine... it's quite potent..." Her head bobbed up and down, and finally, with a "thud," she slumped onto the table.

"Nian?" Su Rui turned her head in confusion, only to see Xi Ye suddenly clutching her forehead. Her ink-colored spiritual energy flowed chaotically around her, and she abruptly stood up: "Sister, you've got something in the wine..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xi swayed, her dark eyes gradually losing focus. She tried desperately to summon the painting, but found that her spiritual power was completely unresponsive.

Before plunging into complete darkness, she stared intently in Ling's direction and used her last bit of strength to pull Su Rui toward her.

"Sister Xi?!" Su Rui panicked and caught the swaying Xi, only to see her slump against his shoulder. He then realized something was wrong, but it was too late—his vision began to blur, and his limbs felt heavy.

"Sister Ling..." Su Rui struggled to stand up, but her legs gave way and she fell forward.

A pair of slightly cool hands caught him steadily. The man pulled the boy's soft body into his arms, his fingertips gently tracing the boy's burning dragon horns: "Sleep."

With that whisper, Suri drifted into a deep sleep. His silver hair cascaded over Ling's arms, his tail unconsciously wrapping around her wrist, his breathing steady and long.

Ling looked down at the sleeping boy in her arms, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her blue eyes. She gently stroked the dragon pattern at the corner of Su Rui's eye, where the ink-wash scent of Xi still lingered.

"It's really..." Ling's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, "...it makes you want to get it dirty."

The movie from 570 in Volume 9 was terrible.

The night fog grew thicker, completely enveloping the three figures. When the fog dissipated, only Nian, slumped over the table, and Xi, slumped on the stone bench, remained in the courtyard. Ling and Su Rui were nowhere to be seen.

In a pavilion somewhere in the world of the painting, Su Rui was gently placed on a soft couch covered with brocade. Ling sat by the bed, her wine jug replaced with a small jade bottle. She dipped a little of the liquid from the bottle and gently applied it to the base of Su Rui's dragon horns.

"That way they won't be found..."

In her sleep, Su Rui unconsciously rubbed against her fingers, uttering a muffled murmur: "Sister Xi..."

Ling paused, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. She leaned down and whispered in the boy's ear:

Tonight... you belong only to me.

……

Morning light streamed through the carved window lattice, dappling the brocade quilt with tiny, dancing spots of light. Su Rui frowned, groggily opening her eyes, feeling a heavy, leaden headache.

"Hmm..."

He instinctively tried to sit up, but found his arms were limp and powerless. Unfamiliar aches and pains spread throughout his body, especially around his waist, which felt as if it were being tightly bound.

(What's going on...?)

Su Rui looked around blankly and found himself lying in an unfamiliar room—green gauze curtains, sandalwood incense. This was not his room; it seemed to be the world in Xi's painting.

"woke up?"

A languid voice came from beside him. Su Rui turned his head sharply and saw Ling Zheng lying on his side next to him, his chin resting on one hand, his long silver hair flowing like water on the pillow.

She was only wearing a thin blue gauze dress, the neckline slightly open, revealing her delicate collarbone, on which there were still a few faint...bite marks?

Suri's pupils suddenly contracted, and the dragon's tail exploded with a "whoosh" of scales.

"Your...Your sister?!" His voice trembled. "I...we..."

Ling chuckled softly, gently tapping the tip of his nose with her fingertip: "What? You were so passionate last night, and now you're shy?"

Suri's face flushed red as fragmented memories flashed through her mind—

A hazy mist... cool fingertips... a wrist pressed against the brocade quilt...

And then, as if out of control, she actively wrapped herself around the other's waist with the dragon's tail...

"No, impossible..." Su Rui stammered and shrank back, but Ling grabbed her wrist.

Ling's thumb rubbed the scales on the inside of his wrist, where a blue cloud-shaped mark had appeared at some point.

"Trying to escape now?" She leaned closer, her hair falling onto Suri's neck. "Too late."

Su Rui froze, completely at a loss, when suddenly the door was kicked open with a bang—

"Sister Ling!"

Xi stood at the doorway, her ink-colored spiritual energy surging wildly around her, causing cracks to appear on the walls of the entire corridor. Her gaze swept over the messy marks on the bed, finally settling on the bite mark on Su Rui's collarbone, her pupils instantly shrinking to slits.

"You... dare?"

Nian's head peeked out from under the door, her white hair sticking up in a messy heap, clearly not fully awake yet. She squinted at the corridor—

Xi's inky spiritual power swept through like a storm, causing the wooden structure of the entire corridor to rot and crack at a visible rate. Ling, meanwhile, leaned against the door, blue mist swirling around his fingertips, a satisfied smile on his face.

As for Suri...

Nian blinked, her gaze falling on the disheveled, flushed black-haired boy on the bed.

His dragon tail was tightly wrapped around the blanket, trying to cover his body, but the exposed collarbone and the ambiguous marks on his neck said it all.

"Oh dear~" Nian sobered up instantly, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. "Looks like I missed a good show?"

"Sister Nian!" Su Rui stretched out her hand as if seeing a savior, "Quick, help—"

Before he could finish speaking, a chain of ink-wash style threads suddenly wrapped around his wrist. Xi's voice was as cold as ice: "Come here."

At the same time, the bluish mist transformed into ribbons and wrapped around Su Rui's waist. Ling chuckled, "Last night, he was the one who wouldn't let me go."

"Wait, wait!" Su Rui's scales all burst open, and he was pulled between two forces like a doll being fought over. His tail helplessly thrashed against the bed, and his eyes were full of pleading as he looked at Nian.

Nian stroked her chin, then suddenly clapped her hands and laughed, "Fantastic! This is practically ready-made movie material!" She pulled a camera out of nowhere. "Come on, Suri, say a line! Like, 'Don't argue because of me' or something?"

Suri: "......" (Is this the time to film a movie?!)

Xi's spiritual power suddenly surged: "Nian, you're courting death."

The mist around him churned: "Looks like we need to get him drunk again."

Caught in the middle, Su Rui was on the verge of tears when suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her: "My...my back hurts!"

All three of them stopped moving at the same time.

Taking advantage of the opening, Su Rui suddenly used magic to conjure a dragon shape. A small silver-white dragon "whooshed" out of the window with Su Rui, not even bothering to put on his slippers.

An eerie silence fell over the corridor. After a while, Nian whistled, "You run really fast."

Ling toyed with the jade wine pot in his hand: "Should we pursue them?"

Xi's nails dug deeply into her palm: "...It's up to each of us."

They initially thought Suri had fled in a panic, but then they saw her return after breaking the window. Under the astonished gazes of Nian, Xi, and Ling, she tried to dissuade them.

With a "thud," Suri's dragon tail slid off the window frame, its dark scales shimmering in the sunlight.

He coughed awkwardly, his fingers digging into the broken window frame, and cautiously poked half his head out: "Um... how about we check out Sister Nian's feedback on the short film first?"

A brief silence fell over the room.

Xi's dark spiritual energy still lingered around her fingertips, but its berserk state had subsided slightly; Ling gently shook the wine pot, and the mist silently dissipated; Nian raised an eyebrow, then suddenly grinned: "That makes sense!"

She magically produced her phone, swiping her finger across the screen a few times: "Come on, let's see what the audience is saying!"

Popular comments:

"Director Nian has finally stopped making bad movies! Suri Cruise is so cute, waaaaah!"

"That arm around the waist! That whisper in the ear! I screamed!"

"Am I the only one who noticed that Suri's tail was constantly wrapped around Nian's wrist? kswl"

"Where's Ling-jie? Where's Xi-jie? I want to see a chaotic scene unfold!"

Suri: "..." (Are all human viewers this scary these days?)

Xi glanced coldly at the screen, then suddenly grabbed Su Rui by the back of her collar: "Explain yourself, what's with the 'hug around the waist' thing?"

Nian proudly waved his phone: "Artistic creation! Artistic creation~"

Ling slowly sipped his drink: "It seems the audience is really looking forward to what happens next."

Suri's dragon ears drooped, and she weakly raised a claw: "How about... we film a happy ending for the whole family?"

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on him at the same time.

"Harmony, family, joy?" Xi repeated, each word deliberate, as the ink-colored dragon tail swayed dangerously.

Suddenly, she clapped her hands: "Great idea! Let's make a special episode of 'Three Dragons Fighting for the Pearl'!" She excitedly pulled out the script, "I've already thought of the plot—a pure-hearted little dragon being fought over by three dragon maidens, facing a difficult choice between love and responsibility..."

Ling chuckled softly, his fingertip tracing Su Rui's dragon horn: "I'd like to see how he 'chooses' his choice."

Su Rui: "......" (Is it too late for me to escape back to Shangshu tonight?)

Volume 9, Chapter 571: A wheat harvester cuts his leg with a sickle.

It seemed that making a movie wasn't a good idea. Su Rui had a sudden inspiration. Remembering that they had many siblings, she thought, why not go and visit them? So, she boldly said:

"Sister Nian was thinking of having a family gathering, how about we go and meet the other family members?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Xi's tail froze in mid-air, causing the fingers shaking the wine jug to pause, and Nian, who was about to launch into a long-winded explanation of the script, also stopped. All three of their gazes fell on Su Rui.

"Family, gathering, meeting?" Nian repeated each word carefully, his smile gradually turning dangerous. "Little Suri, are you sure?"

Suri's tail twitched involuntarily, but she still mustered her courage and nodded: "It's...it's what Sister Nian said she was going to do! To invite everyone over for a lively event..."

Ling suddenly chuckled softly, tapping the wine pot lightly with his fingertips: "Interesting."

Xi snorted coldly: "You want to find more people to protect you?"

Suri's dragon ears drooped instantly, and she muttered softly, "Well, it's not impossible..."

Suddenly, Nian slammed her hand on the table and stood up: "Great! Let's do it!" She excitedly twirled around, "Perfect timing to show those guys the power of Director Nian!"

Ling added slowly, "And...why not let everyone be the judge?"

Xi's pupils contracted slightly, and her tail thumped the ground in frustration.

Looking at the three people's different expressions, Su Rui suddenly had a bad feeling.

(Looks like... I've dug myself into another hole?)

There was no turning back. Su Rui carefully chose her words and said, "Is there anyone with an easier personality to get along with? Let's start with that one. After all, we should start with the easy and then move on to the difficult."

Su Rui's suggestion subtly eased the atmosphere in the room. Nian, Xi, and Ling exchanged glances, almost simultaneously thinking of that name—

"Shu".

“Sister Shu is indeed easy to talk to.” Nian stroked his chin, a sly glint in his red eyes. “Besides, she’s in the Great Wilderness City, not far from here.”

Xi gave a soft hum, but her tense tail relaxed slightly: "...At least she won't do anything reckless."

Ling shook the wine pot, a slight smile playing on his lips: "It's been a long time since I've tasted millet wine."

Seeing that the three of them seemed to agree with the choice, Su Rui secretly breathed a sigh of relief and wagged her tail happily: "So when do we set off?"

The millet's dwelling is located in the middle of a golden wheat field. The wooden house is simple yet cozy, with dried chilies and corn hanging under the eaves, rustling softly in the breeze.

When Su Rui and her group arrived, Shu was drying millet in the courtyard. She was dressed in simple coarse cloth clothes, with a few ears of wheat tucked in her hair. Hearing the noise, she turned around, her gentle eyes curving up: "Oh, what a rare guest."

"Sister Shu!" Nian was the first to rush up and affectionately took her arm. "We've come to see you!"

Shu smiled and patted Nian's hand, her gaze sweeping over Xi and Ling behind her, finally landing on Su Rui, a knowing glint in her eyes: "This must be Su Rui, right? Nian and the others mentioned you in their messages."