"Master?"
When these two words slipped from the lips of the fake Luo Zhao, carrying an undertone of absolute devotion, Gu Chengyin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This scene was a bit too straightforward and tempting.
Didn't this mean he could do whatever he wanted with this lofty and aloof Her Highness?
With a trace of curiosity and a testing mindset, Gu Chengyin reached out a finger, tapped lightly on the fake Luo Zhao's chin, and gently tilted it up.
The breathtakingly beautiful face was submissively raised, and a pair of phoenix eyes met his gaze without any evasion.
Her gaze was clear and calm, carrying an attentiveness that awaited his instructions.
The only things missing were the anger, coldness, and disdain that the real Luo Zhao should have.
She was like an exquisitely crafted vase.
Meanwhile, the real Luo Zhao, forced to witness all of this, had her phantom form trembling violently, almost unable to maintain its shape!
She watched helplessly as this man used such a profane gesture to lift her chin!
If Gu Chengyin harbored any ill intentions at this moment, out here on the top-floor terrace, no one could stop him, and no one could save her!
Given her looks, temperament, status, and position... probably no man would let such an opportunity slip by.
The ultimate sense of humiliation and powerlessness, mixed with a chilling despair, instantly engulfed the real Luo Zhao's soul.
She had even foreseen the unbearable scenes that might follow.
"So this day has finally come..."
However, in the next second, Gu Chengyin's finger released her.
He even took half a step back, scanning her from top to bottom as if examining a piece of art.
Then, as if offering a critique, he casually gave his conclusion:
"Beautiful, truly beautiful. It's just a pity that her temper is so awful. Always putting on airs like a princess. A classic case of fair without but foul within."
The real Luo Zhao: "?"
Her grief, indignation, and despair, which had built up to the peak, were abruptly choked back by this sudden negative review!
What did he mean by fair without but foul within?
What did he mean by putting on airs like a princess?
She was a princess to begin with! And the only Princess of the Great Luo at that!
Was this guy actually disdaining her!?
After finishing his critique, Gu Chengyin waved his hand. "You just keep pretending... keep enjoying the breeze here. I'll be taking my leave."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door.
Halfway there, remembering another matter, he added without looking back:
"Oh, right. Later, if Shangguan Yunying asks you about teaching me cultivation methods, just tell her you agreed and tell her to make sure she puts her heart into it."
"Yes."
The fake Luo Zhao responded meekly, watching Gu Chengyin's figure disappear through the doorway.
When Gu Chengyin came downstairs, Chen Busha and Shangguan Yunying were already waiting in the hall.
"Manager Gu, you were looking for me?" Chen Busha stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"Yes, General Chen." Gu Chengyin gestured for the two to enter a quiet side hall.
"Yunying, the map."
Shangguan Yunying took out the military map and spread it out on the table.
Gu Chengyin walked up to the map, his finger pointing precisely at the area between Beihe City and Liming City.
"General Chen, Her Highness needs you to execute this matter personally," Gu Chengyin said with a serious expression.
"Draw three thousand elites from the Golden Feather Guards. Have them re-equip with standard heavy armor, carry complete heavy military ordnance, and three days' worth of rations."
Gu Chengyin drew a circle in the middle area with his finger:
"Your mission is to march in secret along the direction toward Liming City and find an absolutely hidden place to lie in ambush."
"You don't need to move fast, but you must remain concealed. At the very least, you cannot be discovered by the rebel army before Her Highness regroups with you."
Chen Busha's gaze focused. Although doubts suddenly arose in his heart, he did not ask further, only replying in a deep voice, "This general understands! This matter is of great importance. I will personally select the personnel and formulate the route and plan."
Gu Chengyin nodded in satisfaction and added, "The remaining twenty-seven thousand men will continue to move with Her Highness."
"Rest assured, General Chen, wearing heavy armor is not for combat. You are not being abandoned as pawns, but are part of a strategic intention."
"As long as you stay hidden, there won't be any casualties."
"Her Highness will rendezvous with you. The specific timing and location will be issued through the Luoshan Token when the time comes."
"Understood!" Chen Busha cupped his fists to accept the order. "Does Her Highness have any other instructions?"
"The time window is very ample, so you don't all have to set out together. For the sake of concealment, you can make your move after nightfall."
Chen Busha said no more. He turned and strode away, his steps already carrying the solemnity of executing a secret mission.
Gu Chengyin checked the time and said to Shangguan Yunying, "Once General Chen finishes his arrangements, it will be about time to assemble."
Shangguan Yunying gave a soft mm, appearing a bit absent-minded.
She was still preoccupied with another matter in her heart, one that unsettled her far more than this.
"Um... Manager Gu." She hesitated for a moment but couldn't help speaking up, her voice much softer than usual. "Is Her Highness doing well?"
"Her Highness is doing great. She's up there enjoying the breeze," Gu Chengyin replied casually.
"No, that's not what I'm asking..." Shangguan Yunying bit her lower lip and raised her eyes to look at Gu Chengyin.
"I'm asking... didn't you go up just now to request..."
Her words became almost inaudible toward the end.
Gu Chengyin suddenly realized what she meant and announced very crisply:
"Oh, you mean the matter of learning cultivation methods. Her Highness agreed."
He paused, looking at Shangguan Yunying's instantly widened beautiful eyes, and added, "Not only did she agree, but she also specifically instructed that you must put your heart into teaching me and hold nothing back."
"Ah."
Shangguan Yunying let out a soft gasp. Although she had a premonition, hearing this official notice with her own ears still made her heart skip a beat.
She froze for a moment, then quickly adjusted her expression, trying hard to make her voice return to its usual calm and professional tone, and nodded:
"I understand. Since it is Her Highness's verbal decree, Yunying shall naturally comply."
"Please rest assured, Manager Gu. I... will definitely do my utmost to teach you well."
However, her slightly reddened earlobes betrayed that her heart was far less calm than her outward appearance.
Seeing Shangguan Yunying's reaction, a mischievous and playful thought suddenly arose in Gu Chengyin's mind.
"Yunying."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Gu Chengyin's voice, Shangguan Yunying, who was just about to leave, stopped in her tracks.
"Say, if I requested to have you, do you think Her Highness would agree?"
Request to have me?
These words left Shangguan Yunying unable to react for a moment.
Have her do what? Continue teaching? Or...
No.
In a flash of lightning, she understood the deeper meaning behind Gu Chengyin's words.
"Manager Gu, you!" Shangguan Yunying instantly widened her eyes.
Looking at the distinctly teasing smile on the other party's face.
How could she not know that he was doing this on purpose?
Feeling both shy and annoyed, she stomped her foot and tossed out a sentence:
"It's time to assemble!" With that, she left without looking back, leaving behind only a flustered trail of fragrant breeze.
Gu Chengyin watched the beauty's hastily fleeing back and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
Teasing this woman occasionally was actually quite interesting.
And this scene was seen crystal clear by the real Luo Zhao beside him, whose mood was already extremely complicated.
Watching Gu Chengyin leave her, an absolutely obedient and stunning crown princess, untouched.
And instead have the leisure to flirt with her personal female official.
What did this mean?
She was Her Royal Highness, the Princess.
Was she really less attractive than a mere female official?!
Did this guy have any taste at all?!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
