Everyone Says I’m Cold and Aloof, But I Just Have Social Anxiety! - Chapter 7

Outside the cave, Gu Qingzhi stood as still as a statue, his posture upright and tall, only occasionally shifting his steps slightly.

Yan Luochen sat casually on a nearby rock, slowly and rhythmically swaying the folding fan in his hand. His gaze remained firmly fixed on the person before him, filled with admiration—he was particularly infatuated with that perfect profile.

“Qingzhi, you’ve been standing like that this whole time. Aren’t you tired? Come over and sit with me for a while.”

Gu Qingzhi glanced indifferently at the ground and uttered a single, concise word: “Dirty.”

“You certainly are fastidious!” Yan Luochen’s lips curled upward, forming a handsome arc. As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Gu Qingzhi’s wrist, intending to pull him down to sit beside him.

Unexpectedly, deep down, Gu Qingzhi still found the ground too dirty. As he was pulled down, in an effort to avoid sitting on the earth, he performed an agile roll—only to accidentally tumble into Yan Luochen’s arms and land right on his lap!

On his lap…

This sudden turn of events left both of them stunned, as if they had been struck by lightning.

Thump… thump…

Yan Luochen felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. His chest heaved violently, and his breathing grew increasingly heavy.

Gu Qingzhi quickly realized the embarrassment of their current posture and instinctively tried to break free. However, in the next second, he keenly sensed something wrong with Yan Luochen’s body. He frowned and asked, “Why is the spiritual power in your body so depleted?”

After speaking, he grumbled internally:

No wonder he mostly just watched during the previous fight and didn’t step in much!

Yan Luochen did not respond immediately, merely offering a light smile. He marveled inwardly at how the other man truly refused to say a single unnecessary word. At this moment, he only felt his body becoming increasingly hot. He spoke up, “How much longer do you plan to sit on my lap like this?”

It was only then that Gu Qingzhi realized he seemed to be pressed against something hard! He abruptly wrenched his wrist from the other’s grasp, stood up quickly, and turned his back to Yan Luochen.

Holy crap! That was so awkward.

He was filled with mortification.

At this point, Yan Luochen could only see the other’s reddened ears, but his mood became significantly more pleasant because of it.

At this extremely inopportune moment, a large group of people aggressively burst into their line of sight.

Among them was a young man dressed in a blue brocade robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns—the material was clearly of exquisite quality. An air of insufferable arrogance radiated from between his brows.

Upon seeing the newcomers, Yan Luochen stood up instantly. His originally deep, dark eyes were now filled with intense hatred. A violent aura rose without warning as his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, trembling slightly.

Gu Qingzhi keenly perceived Yan Luochen’s abnormality and could guess that the newcomer was the so-called Prince Anyang.

So he’s not an old man. But he certainly doesn’t look like a good person; to be precise, he looks like a pervert!

Hearing this inner thought, Yan Luochen seemed to relax quite a bit. After all, at this moment, he was not alone. They should be considered… friends, right?

He just hadn’t expected that instead of the people from the Yuqing Immortal Sect, Prince Anyang would be the first to arrive.

Seeing the situation, the Golden Core leader of the men in black from earlier scurried forward like a lapdog to stand before Prince Anyang. He lowered his voice and said, “Your Highness, that man in white beside Yan Luochen is Gu Qingzhi of the Yuqing Immortal Sect.”

Hearing this, Prince Anyang’s eyes widened in rage. He swung his hand and delivered a resounding slap to the man’s face, roaring, “This Prince isn’t blind!”

“Uh… yes, yes, it was my big mouth!” The Golden Core leader quickly clutched his stinging cheek and slunk to the back. His gaze instantly became incredibly sinister—it was unclear whether his resentment was directed at Prince Anyang or if he was projecting his fury onto the two men before him.

Prince Anyang knew very well that Yan Luochen was currently no different from a mortal martial artist without spiritual power. Seeing the two of them here, it was obvious they had already beaten him to the Spirit Stone Mine.

He was filled with unwillingness. Originally, he had been wary of Gu Qingzhi’s status, but when he saw that Gu Qingzhi only had a cultivation at the Early Golden Core Stage, he decided to cast aside all reservations for the sake of this precious mine.

He completely ignored the look of bone-deep hatred in Yan Luochen’s eyes and turned his gaze toward Gu Qingzhi. He spoke, “This Prince is Prince Anyang. I heard someone protected Yan Luochen; I presume you are that Gu Qingzhi from the Yuqing Immortal Sect?”

Gu Qingzhi: “…”

He remained silent, seemingly unwilling to utter even a single syllable. However, he was not at all stingy with his internal complaints.

Damn it, if you already know, why ask? You’re just full of useless talk!

Beside him, Yan Luochen heard the thought and couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

At this, Prince Anyang’s fury instantly reached a boiling point. He, the dignified Prince Anyang, a genuine Early Soul Transformation Stage powerhouse, was being ignored by one person and laughed at by another—this was simply intolerable!

The corners of his mouth twitched. Suppressing his extreme displeasure, he began to spin a web of lies once more: “To tell you the truth, Master Gu, this cave is under the excavation authority of my Prince Anyang Manor. Therefore, I ask that you two leave this place immediately so that my men may continue their work.”

Gu Qingzhi continued to ignore him, as if he hadn’t heard a word he said.

Yan Luochen covered his face with his fan, laughing silently but with uncontrollable mirth. He leaned in and whispered into Gu Qingzhi’s ear, “He is an Early Soul Transformation powerhouse; killing us would be as easy as a flick of his finger. Do you really want to deny him face like this?”

Yan Luochen assumed the other wouldn’t respond, but he was surprised when Gu Qingzhi replied airily, “Don’t want to talk!”

“Ah, hahaha… fine, if you don’t want to talk, then don’t.” Yan Luochen truly didn’t want to hold back his laughter anymore and simply let out a loud laugh.

“You… YOU!”

Hearing their conversation, Prince Anyang was exasperated and could no longer contain himself. Even if Yan Luochen’s Golden Core strength were still intact, combined with Gu Qingzhi, he would still have no fear; he could turn them to ash with a casual squeeze of his hand. And now, it seemed he wouldn’t even need to act personally—the two of them had no way to fight back.

“You forced this Prince’s hand.”

“Attack! Kill them both!”

The Golden Core leader frowned, appearing conflicted. “Your Highness, he is from the Yuqing…”

Before he could finish, Prince Anyang cut him off violently, “Yuqing what? Do you dare to disobey my orders? Go and kill them!”

“Ah yes!”

Immediately, the group led by the Golden Core leader lunged toward Gu Qingzhi and Yan Luochen like a pack of vicious wolves.

Gu Qingzhi’s gaze sharpened, and he instantly entered a combat state. Knowing that Yan Luochen could not use his full strength, he unhesitatingly shielded Yan Luochen behind him.

Facing the aggressive enemies, a chilling frost erupted from around Gu Qingzhi as he fully activated the power of his Mutated Ice Spirit Root. His hands quickly formed seals, causing the temperature to plummet. Countless ice spikes instantly condensed in the air.

Then, the spikes shot toward the frontrunners like a torrential downpour of ice.

The men hurried to cast defensive spells, but under the sharp assault, many were still struck, their clothes stained red with blood.

Seeing this, Prince Anyang’s eyes narrowed. He let out a cold snort and muttered in a low voice, “A Mutated Ice Spirit Root! He really is the mongrel seed of Gu Yuan and that wench!”

Seeing his opening, the Golden Core leader let out a great shout and manifested a black long-sword, hacking toward Gu Qingzhi with powerful spiritual energy.

Gu Qingzhi dodged the fierce blow with a side-step. At the same time, with a wave of his palm, a wall of ice instantly rose, blocking the advance of the other cultivators.