172: This is my home now, and I'm in charge here.

Faced with Ai Yue's barrage of criticism, Cheng Siyu was beyond furious, her beautiful face turning pale and flushed by turns.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Ai Yue, we've barely had any interaction and have hardly spoken a few words. Why do you always target me every time you see me?"

"Insulting me time and again—is it just because I accidentally hit you last time? But that was to save you! Why must you insist that I'm trying to hurt you?"

Cheng Siyu spoke with a look of deep hurt, as if she had suffered a monumental injustice.

The sight of a beauty looking so wronged naturally made people more inclined to believe her words.

Ai Yue was utterly speechless in her heart!

"Cheng Siyu, I didn't expect you to seem like a different person after such a short time. Where did your cold and aloof demeanor go? Did something happen recently to traumatize you this much?"

Cheng Siyu's face turned slightly pale as Ai Yue's words reminded her of that unbearable night. A hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes, though her expression grew even more aggrieved. "Ai Yue, you're crossing the line! Putting aside the baseless conflict between us for a moment, shouldn't you release Xiheng and the others? They're all injured and need treatment."

"Yeah, yeah, regardless of anything else, you should at least let my brother and the others go."

Gu Xitian said cautiously, peeking out from behind Mo Li's back.

"Why should we release them just because you say so? This is our territory. If you all agree to leave and never come back, then we'll let them go. Otherwise, I'll keep shocking them!"

Ye Rui stood with her hands on her hips like a little firecracker, her eyes wide. With a flick of her fingers, "crackling" blue electric arcs danced at her fingertips.

"How is this your territory? This is a mountain! What makes you think it's yours just because you say so?" Gu Xitian shouted, refusing to be outdone as she emerged from behind Mo Li.

"Because we occupied this place first, that's why it's our territory! Why, do you have an objection?" Ai Yue suddenly spoke up, her voice cold as she emphasized the words "have an objection."

Gu Xitian was now terrified of Ai Yue, like a mouse seeing a cat.

Hearing Ai Yue's questioning, she shook her head repeatedly and ducked back behind Mo Li in a flash, not daring to speak again.

At this moment, Gu Xiheng, having regained some mobility, exerted himself and pulled half of his body out of the ground.

Seeing Gu Xiheng's actions, Ai Yue didn't stop him, allowing him to regain his freedom.

With his hair standing up like a Saiyan's, Gu Xiheng spoke with a stern expression:

"Ai Yue, you're a sensible person. You should know our purpose for coming here; it's something we must achieve! I won't hold your teasing against us, but as for the ownership of this mountain, the Base must have it in its hands. I don't have the right to say no."

Ai Yue sneered. "What? Are you going to declare war on me on behalf of the Base?"

Gu Xiheng felt a bit uneasy; he didn't want any conflict with Ai Yue.

He hadn't expected the world to be so small that he'd keep running into her.

To him, it should have been romantic, but who would have thought that every meeting would be so indescribable and frustrating!

This mountain was already occupied by Ai Yues family, but he also knew that no one could change what Gu Yan decided.

In the end, he would still have to face off against Ai Yue!

Hearing Ai Yue's disdainful words, Gu Xiheng's stern expression wavered for a moment. He sighed with a hint of helplessness and said, "Ai Yue, whether you still consider me a friend or not, I still consider you one. That's why I don't want to push things to an irreconcilable point, nor do I want to be in opposition to you. Do you understand?"

"That's right, Ai Yue. Xiheng is telling the truth. He's always looking out for you and truly considers you a friend. Last time, when you were being chased by the Devil Frog, Xiheng even wanted to go save you."

Cheng Siyu stepped forward and naturally, affectionately took Gu Xiheng's arm, speaking with a beaming smile.

Gu Xiheng stiffened when Cheng Siyu took his arm. He instinctively wanted to brush her hand away, but remembering he had already agreed to marry her, he felt it wouldn't be right to embarrass her in front of so many people and cause her to be looked down upon, so he endured it and didn't move.

Seeing that Gu Xiheng didn't object to her action, Cheng Siyu was delighted and couldn't help but show a triumphant look toward Ai Yue.

Seeing their interaction, Ai Yue remained as calm as still water, without any emotional fluctuations or words, just quietly watching the two of them.

"Ai Yue, why aren't you saying anything? Could it be that you no longer consider Xiheng a friend?" Cheng Siyu added.

Ai Yue grinned. "Seeing Beauty Cheng and the Young General Gu standing together like such a handsome couple is quite a sight. I was just looking a bit longer, so how did that turn into me not considering him a friend in your words? Your ability to label others is getting more and more impressive!"

Hearing the teasing tone in Ai Yue's voice, as if she wasn't at all upset about him being with Cheng Siyu, Gu Xiheng felt a deep bitterness in his heart.

Especially seeing Ai Yue's vibrant little face, the sadness in his heart almost made it hard to breathe, and for a moment, he stared at her blankly.

"Ai Yue, can you stop snapping at me every other sentence? Is this fun for you?" Cheng Siyu's inner anger was ignited by Ai Yue again, and she spoke with some irritation.

Her grip on Gu Xiheng's arm tightened instinctively, snapping him out of his daze while he was staring at Ai Yue.

"It is fun, very fun. Since you insist on interjecting, making insinuations, and sowing discord, then it's very fun for me to shut you down."

"You..."

"Alright, stop arguing, both of you. Siyu, can you give me some space to talk to Ai Yue alone?" Gu Xiheng said, without a trace of a smile on his face, his tone somewhat impatient.

"Xiheng, I didn't... I, I didn't mean that, I..."

"Alright, I know." Gu Xiheng released her hand and then patted it as he spoke.

Seeing that Gu Xiheng didn't intend to blame her, Cheng Siyu felt relieved and looked at Ai Yue triumphantly again.

Ai Yue rolled her eyes speechlessly and parted her thin lips to say, "Idiot!"

"Ai Yue, I don't want to fight you, but the Safety Tower will not give up on this mountain. So, to avoid a lose-lose situation, how about we both take a step back?" Gu Xiheng suppressed all his emotions toward Ai Yue and said slowly.

"How so?"

"How about this: you all join the Safety Tower. That way, as members of the Safety Tower, you can freely come and go from this mountain, and there won't be any major changes to your previous life. What do you think?"

Halfway through, Ai Yue's face turned completely dark. After enduring her anger to hear him out, she said mercilessly, "I think you're full of it! Get this straight: this is my home now, and I call the shots here. I'm the boss, so why should I be under your jurisdiction? What are you thinking?"