When the outline of Shuanghe City's walls faintly appeared on the distant horizon, Gu Chengyin raised his hand and gently clenched his fist. Seeing this, Chen Busha immediately signaled the entire army to halt.
Then, Gu Chengyin lightly patted Shangguan Yunying's shoulder and pointed forward.
Understanding his intent, she immediately pulled back on the reins. The steed beneath her let out a low neigh and came to a steady stop at the top of a slightly elevated hill.
Gu Chengyin's gaze swept across the surroundings as swiftly as a falcon's.
The rolling mountains, winding ravines, and sparse woods were all taken in at a glance.
Afterward, he pointed toward the entrance of a valley with relatively dense vegetation:
"Her Highness has ordered that a temporary camp be set up with that mountain col as the center."
"The scale doesn't need to be too large, but it must look real. Create the illusion that the main force is resting and resupplying, and that both men and horses are exhausted."
"Understood," Shangguan Yunying replied. Just as she was about to pass down the order, she heard Gu Chengyin continue:
"Remember, the camp is fake, and the rest is fake. Once the setup is complete, assemble immediately and prepare for the return journey."
Return journey?
Shangguan Yunying paused mid-nod, a clear trace of bewilderment flashing through her eyes.
Return? Return where? Isn't Shuanghe City right in front of us?
Doubts sprang up in her heart, but the authority Gu Chengyin had established recently forced her to suppress the urge to question him.
She simply gave a composed nod: "Understood."
She then turned her horse around and relayed the orders clearly and swiftly.
Today's Golden Feather Guard, having undergone Gu Chengyin's previous ideological rectification, had quietly elevated their morale and cohesion to a new level.
Regarding this seemingly abrupt command, the commanders at all levels were exceptionally resolute when passing it down. There was no criticism from the rank and file, and its execution was swift and decisive, without the slightest hint of sluggishness.
Watching the Golden Feather Guard operate so efficiently, Shangguan Yunying felt a bit more at ease.
She stealthily glanced at the Fake Luo Zhao sitting with closed eyes on a flat rock not far away.
After hesitating for a moment, she quietly moved her steps and arrived behind Gu Chengyin, who was personally supervising the operation.
"Deacon Gu." Her voice wasn't loud, but it startled the fully concentrated Gu Chengyin.
Gu Chengyin spun around abruptly. Seeing it was her, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in annoyance, "Yunying, do you not make any sound when you walk?"
Remembering her Foundation Establishment cultivation realm, he realized she probably really could walk without making a sound, and he waved his hand helplessly.
"Forget it. Do you need something?"
Seeing Gu Chengyin's startled appearance, Shangguan Yunying found it rather amusing. The corners of her mouth unconsciously curved up, but she quickly restrained her smile and said seriously:
"I would like to ask you, sir, about the meaning of the word return you just mentioned. Where are we... returning to?"
Shangguan Yunying truly could not suppress the curiosity in her heart any longer.
Priding herself on being intelligent and adept at reading people, she could always guess Luo Zhao's thoughts with decent accuracy when she was by her side.
This was also a major reason why she could securely hold the position of Chief Lady-in-Waiting of the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Although she would occasionally guess wrong and be severely reprimanded by Luo Zhao.
But facing Gu Chengyin, she felt an unprecedented sense of defeat and bewilderment.
Every step this man took was beyond her expectations, yet perfectly logical once executed.
This advanced foresight and planning made Gu Chengyin seem like a walking fog, completely elusive to her.
At the same time, it aroused her intense curiosity. Shangguan Yunying had wanted to know for a long time.
Just what kind of strategy would allow thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards to safely reach the Divine Capital while besieged by hundreds of thousands of rebels.
At this moment, Shangguan Yunying shed her usual businesslike aloofness, her eyes sparkling with the thirst for knowledge.
"You want to know?"
Gu Chengyin turned his head and cast a glance at her.
As long as this woman wasn't arguing with him, she was actually quite pretty.
Shangguan Yunying nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with an eager thirst for knowledge.
However, Gu Chengyin's reply consisted of only a few dry words:
"Military secret. No comment."
The anticipation on Shangguan Yunying's face instantly collapsed. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly, and her eyes revealed obvious disappointment and a hint of irritation.
She naturally understood this principle, and she knew that some plans could not be leaked in advance.
But being rejected so bluntly still left a bad taste in her mouth, making her gaze toward Gu Chengyin turn a few degrees colder.
"However..." Gu Chengyin suddenly changed his tune, dragging out the word.
"If you promise me one thing."
Gu Chengyin lowered his voice, a hint of a smile in his tone.
"I will tell you. After all, you are the Chief Lady-in-Waiting. The orders have to be relayed through you anyway, so it doesn't matter if you know in advance."
"What is it?" Shangguan Yunying asked subconsciously, leaning forward slightly.
Gu Chengyin turned his head, leaned in close to her ear, and softly breathed out two words in a whisper only the two of them could hear:
"I'm sorry."
Shangguan Yunying was taken aback at first, then confused. Sorry for what?
What did Gu Chengyin have to apologize to her for...
In a flash of lightning, the thrilling leap on horseback last night, the out-of-control hands, and...
Like an unsealed memory, the image violently crashed into her mind!
With a boom, Shangguan Yunying felt the blood rush to her head.
Her cheeks instantly dyed a scalding crimson! She averted her eyes in a panic, not daring to look at Gu Chengyin's face, which was so close at hand.
"Lady Shangguan."
Right at that moment, a female official from the Internal Affairs Bureau hurried over holding a Luoshan Token.
However, as the female official approached and saw Shangguan Yunying's unusual complexion, her footsteps involuntarily paused.
In her memory, when had this lady ever shown such a thought-provoking appearance?
Could it be that Lady Shangguan and Deacon Gu...
The female official's eyes darted back and forth between Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying a couple of times.
A trace of realization flashed in her eyes, quickly turning into a bright, gossipy gleam.
"Mhm."
Shangguan Yunying forcefully suppressed the wild beating of her heart, striving to keep her face taut. She put on a serious, businesslike expression, deliberately keeping her voice steady and low.
She reached out and took the Luoshan Token. Her gaze fell upon it, but she felt the writing was somewhat blurry and couldn't process a single word.
After hastily scanning it a few times, she handed the Luoshan Token back and said in a flat tone, "I understand. Process it according to the established procedures. You may step down."
"Yes."
The female official respectfully took back the Luoshan Token and acknowledged the order.
But her departing steps seemed somewhat reluctant. She looked back every few steps, her gaze lingering on the two of them as if trying to catch some interesting details.
It wasn't until she confirmed that the gossiping gaze had completely disappeared that Shangguan Yunying breathed a sigh of relief.
Steadying herself, she tried her best to make her voice sound more normal and official:
"Nothing whatsoever has happened between Deacon Gu and me."
"So what is there to apologize for."
Watching Shangguan Yunying's forced composure, Gu Chengyin smiled and nodded:
"You're right."
Since nothing had happened, then this matter was considered settled.
Gu Chengyin paused and, no longer keeping her in suspense, said directly:
"Since that's the case, I will tell you."
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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.”
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)
