With the official matters conveyed, Shangguan Yunying finally shifted her attention, focusing entirely on the young guard who had been staring at her with burning eyes from the very beginning.
The more she looked at those eyes, the more familiar they seemed, gradually merging with a lively and charming figure deep in her memories.
Shangguan Yunying hesitated for a moment before calling out softly, unsure, ...Zilu?
Sister Yunying!
Cui Zilu could no longer hold back. She cheered like a happy little sparrow.
She threw her arms around Shangguan Yunying and buried her small face into her chest:
It's been so long! I missed you so much!
The soft and warm touch, the familiar sweet scent, and this completely unreserved way of hugging... Shangguan Yunying's body stiffened for a second before she completely confirmed the girl's identity.
She blinked and looked at Gu Chengyin beside them with a hint of helplessness, asking with her eyes: What is going on here?
Gu Chengyin didn't make a sound. He merely opened his mouth and mouthed a word to her: Amulet.
Shangguan Yunying instantly understood. So the amulet Gu Chengyin had mentioned yesterday was the Cui Clan behind Cui Zilu.
She immediately shot Gu Chengyin an exasperated glare. This guy really dared to think of anything and do anything.
To actually target the Cui Clan, and to have actually succeeded.
Shangguan Yunying withdrew her gaze and looked down at Cui Zilu, who was still clinging to her embrace. Her tone unconsciously softened:
Zilu, I missed you too. It really has been a long time.
Just then, Chen Busha came out of the Wenli Hall. Seeing from afar that Gu Chengyin hadn't gone far, he waved his hand, seemingly having a matter to discuss.
Gu Chengyin took a look and said, General Chen is looking for me. Zilu, go wait for me in the carriage first.
Okay! Cui Zilu nodded obediently, watching Gu Chengyin walk towards Chen Busha.
Then she said to Shangguan Yunying, Sister Yunying, I should go to the carriage.
Shangguan Yunying smiled, I'll walk you there, we can chat on the way.
Cui Zilu immediately perked up, her small face glowing with excitement:
Sister Yunying, was my acting convincing? This was Brother Chengyin's brilliant idea!
You have no idea. My father and mother look at me like I'm a lit fire starter now; they absolutely forbid me from leaving the estate. I was bored to death!
Fortunately, Brother Chengyin came. He asked if I wanted to go out with him to handle a major case, and I agreed immediately!
Then he said I could disguise myself as a man to sneak out! Look, do I look the part?
Cui Zilu proudly puffed out her chest, showing off her heroic bearing, and continued to talk incessantly:
Then I followed Brother Chengyin to the Left Vice Minister's estate! Oh my goodness, Sister Yunying, the atmosphere there was so heavy, with Golden Feather Guards everywhere.
We even saw the crime scene and met Constable Zhu from the Ministry of Justice and Censor Wang from the Chief Surveillance Bureau. Brother Chengyin looked so majestic!
Later we also went to see... uh...
Thinking of the corpse covered in a white cloth, Cui Zilu's voice lowered a bit, but she quickly grew excited again:
Anyway, the whole process was super thrilling! A hundred times more exciting than all the plays I've seen and stories I've heard!
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, her eyes shining as if stars had fallen into them:
Brother Chengyin is really amazing! He knows everything. He didn't show any stage fright facing those high officials. When investigating the case, he was meticulous and arranged everything perfectly.
And he was so good to me. He didn't find me to be a nuisance at all. He even listened carefully to my opinions and praised my ideas!
Cui Zilu was completely immersed in her own narrative. Her tone was filled with admiration for Gu Chengyin, excitement for the adventure, and an almost blind trust and joy.
She called him Brother Chengyin so naturally and intimately, as skillfully as if she had called him that thousands of times.
Shangguan Yunying listened quietly. At first, she felt amused and helpless by her friend's liveliness and this bizarre encounter.
But the more she listened, the clearer and stronger the sense that something was wrong became in her heart.
Cui Zilu's eyes, tone, and demeanor when describing Gu Chengyin... were not at all the admiration for a respectable older brother or senior, but rather...
A thought exploded in her mind like a clap of thunder, making her heart skip a beat.
Shangguan Yunying suddenly spoke up, interrupting Cui Zilu's enthusiastic narration, and asked somewhat nervously: Wait, Zilu.
Cui Zilu was just talking about her analysis in the carriage. Interrupted, she looked at Shangguan Yunying blankly: What's wrong, Sister Yunying?
Shangguan Yunying took a deep breath, locked her gaze on Cui Zilu's eyes, and asked word by word:
You don't...
Like him, do you?
The question came too suddenly, like a basin of cold water suddenly poured over her.
Cui Zilu froze entirely, the excitement and radiance on her face instantly solidifying.
She stared blankly at Shangguan Yunying. In those big eyes that were always filled with smiles and curiosity, for the first time, clear panic and shyness surfaced, along with the helplessness of having her secret unexpectedly exposed.
Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds.
Finally, Cui Zilu's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly lowered her head.
Her fair cheeks were dyed an intoxicating crimson at a visible speed, spreading all the way to the base of her ears and neck.
She neither admitted nor denied it, but merely gave a slight nod.
This tiny movement, however, struck fiercely against Shangguan Yunying's heart.
For a moment, Shangguan Yunying actually didn't know what to say.
She knew Gu Chengyin was excellent—possessing superior intellect, exceptional courage, and outstanding looks and bearing.
It wasn't surprising that such a man would attract a young girl experiencing her first awakening of love.
But why did it have to be her best friend?
Zilu.
Shangguan Yunying's voice became unconsciously soft, carrying comfort but also a trace of seriousness:
Marquis Gu... he is currently at the center of a vortex. His path ahead is unpredictable, and he is surrounded by danger.
Your feelings for him might just be a temporary attraction to the novelty and thrill, not...
It's not!
Cui Zilu suddenly raised her head, interrupting Shangguan Yunying.
The blush on her face hadn't faded, but her eyes were exceptionally firm, even carrying a kind of desperate bravery:
He is different!
Sister Yunying, I know what he is doing is very dangerous.
But he listens to me seriously, validates my childish thoughts, and takes me to see a world I have never seen before.
He also quietly lets me hold onto the corner of his clothes when I'm scared.
Cui Zilu's voice gradually steadied, filled with sincerity and passion: I don't like him because of the thrill.
I just feel that he is different, different from anyone else I know.
By his side, I feel like I've become a different, more useful version of myself too.
Sister Yunying, do you understand this feeling?
Shangguan Yunying stared at Cui Zilu blankly.
The undisguised adoration and earnestness in her eyes were like a beam of light that was far too bright.
Did she understand?
Of course she understood.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
