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.
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
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!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
