Translated by Eve

　　Edited by Wuxian

　　TN Note: From now on I'm going to be capitalizing 'Actor' since it seems more appropriate to have it as 'Actors vs Destroyers' than the lower case version. I won't be updating previous chapters because I'd have to manually go through all of them and that would take a lot of time.

　　The pitiful former Demonic Cult Leader Ning Ze was naturally locked up in a courtyard Zhao Xihe had long-since prepared for him. Aside from being unable to move as he wished, his treatment wasn't bad. Thus, Ning Ze decided to first endure it, bide his time, wait until he had fully recovered, and strike back only after finding a loophole. After all, Ning Ze, who had always been arrogant and conceited, certainly was unwilling to live out his retirement in half-captivity so soon.

　　As for Nan Gongyi, the other irksome presence in Zhao Xihe's eyes, he was rightfully thrown at Ning Ze to keep him company. On the surface, the reasoning was that he was there to attend to and keep an eye on him. In reality, it was just to give them more time to interact with one another, urging them to develop feelings for each other earlier on. Although Nan Gongyi was concerned and was unwilling to be apart from his family's s.h.i.+xiong's side, he had no room to resist. This time, even his Da s.h.i.+xiong persuaded him to be content with his own lot and stay in the courtyard with Ning Ze!

　　"Although I can't explain things clearly, the situation right now is extremely dangerous. We don't know who the enemy is, nor what they're planning, so we must be all the more prudent," Sui Yuan stroked Nan Gongyi's hair and comforted him with a gentle voice, acting as if he was advising him when in reality, he was just tricking him. "The courtyard where Ah Hao shut in Young Master Ning was the most hidden place in the Demonic Cult's Forum, and the entire Demonic Cult is guarding over him. Likewise, it's the safest place. Only if you stay there obediently, will s.h.i.+xiong be at ease."

　　Nan Gongyi parted his lips, wanting to retort that he could protect himself, but when he saw Sui Yuan's concerned expression, he thought about how he had inconvenienced and brought harm upon his s.h.i.+xiong a countless number of times before. In that instant, he found that he couldn't say a thing.

　　"Moreover, aren't you worried that Ah Hao will do something to Young Master Ning—that he'll make an attempt on his life? Seeing is believing. Only when you are personally guarding Young Master Ning will you be able to ensure his safety, no?" Sui Yuan could see Nan Gongyi's hesitation and thus pressured him more, "Young Master Ning had helped you the last time we were chased after by people who were after our lives. If it weren't for him, you would not have been able to escape in one piece. The favour of having saved your life—" Sui Yuan bit on his tongue as he nearly spat out the words 'you should devote yourself to him'. Although he truly thought that way, it was inappropriate to tag that on at the end, "One must give back double of what he has received in times of difficulty. This time, when you go take care of Young Master Ning, you can consider it as somewhat repaying your debt of grat.i.tude."

　　Nan Gongyi, who was distressed and conflicted, did not notice the period of unnaturalness in his family's s.h.i.+xiong. It had to be said that he had definitely been convinced.

　　Ever since he had entered the Jianghu, Nan Gongyi, who could be considered to have broadened his horizons, knew that the Jianghu was not as beautiful as he had once imagined. Indeed, there was the heroism and brotherhood that he had always been longing for, but much more of what he saw showed him that it was a dog-eat-dog world, full of treachery and danger. For a while now, Nan Gongyi has ceased to be the naive youth who believed that people were inherently good and respected every path people took. He realized that if Ning Ze lost his position as Demonic Cult Leader, his ending would absolutely not be good.

　　With regard to feelings, Nan Gongyi was closer to and more grateful to Ning Ze. But the s.h.i.+xiong he revered and liked the most was more intimate with Yu Hao than with himself. This kind of web of complicated relations.h.i.+p made Nan Gongyi unable to approve of Yu Hao's betrayal of Ning Ze, but he was in no position to criticize him. At present, all he did was do as his s.h.i.+xiong had said: use everything at his disposal to protect Ning Ze.

　　"I understand," Nan Gongyi nodded. No matter what s.h.i.+xiong said or did, there was always a reason for it. As his s.h.i.+di, it was enough for him to just defer to his judgement, "Then s.h.i.+xiong, you must be careful. Even if s.h.i.+xiong's martial arts is high, it may falter under the scheming of nasty characters."

　　"s.h.i.+xiong understands. Xiao Yi, you need not worry," Seeing that Nan Gongyi let out a breath of relief, Sui Yuan's smile became much more genuine and sincere. Nan Gongyi was dazzled by it and flushed a bit. Fortunately, he, who was a model of self-improvement, was able to firmly maintain his calm appearance and did not forget himself as he had done in the past.

　　"Also…that Yu Hao…" Nan Gongyi bit his lips. Although it went against a n.o.bleman's character to speak ill behind another's back, and felt like he was purposely sowing dissension, if he didn't say it now, he was going to regret it for the rest of his life. "Yu Hao isn't a good person. s.h.i.+xiong, it'd be better for you to distance yourself from him. Although you met each other when you were young, you were separated for a long time. Perhaps he's changed since then and he's no longer that close childhood friend from your memories. s.h.i.+xiong…you must not trust him so easily."

　　Sui Yuan did not know why Zhao Xihe's flash of peculiarity from when he had been talking about the Destroyers suddenly came to mind. His smile disappeared involuntarily. Meanwhile, Nan Gongyi thought that the change in his s.h.i.+xiong's expression was because he had taken his advice to heart. He felt sad on his behalf but couldn't help but sigh in slight relief.

　　In Nan Gongyi's eyes, his family's s.h.i.+xiong was a pure white lotus. He has always been the most kindhearted, the most gentle, and the most considerate. s.h.i.+xiong had always forgiven him for everything. Even when things went wrong, he never let him lose hope. That's why, towards Yu Hao, s.h.i.+xiong must have also been this way.

　　Yu Hao has committed misdeeds. Even if he exploited s.h.i.+xiong, s.h.i.+xiong would try to persuade him even though he knew everything. When he's unable to persuade him and can only watch on helplessly, he would certainly feel irreconcilable self-blame and dejection. Once he thought of this, Nan Gongyi felt his heart go so tender that it began to hurt.