Shangguan Yunying thought for a moment and closed her eyes.
She calmed her mind and began to look inward at her own body.
Soon, she discovered another Shangguan Yunying within her mind.
When Shangguan Yunying attempted to make contact, a switch occurred.
Her consciousness began to retreat, pulling back to a position where she could observe but not control.
Meanwhile, that consciousness puppet took over control of her body.
Shangguan Yunying saw herself open her eyes.
Saw herself stand up from the ground.
Saw herself look down at her hands, then raise her head to look at Gu Xiaoli.
It was a very strange feeling, as if her body had been put on autopilot.
The consciousness puppet controlled her body, but her perception did not disappear; instead, she could clearly watch the puppet's actions.
Moreover, as long as she wished, she could switch back at any time.
Not only that, no matter how great her emotional fluctuations were, they would not show.
Because right now, the consciousness puppet was the one controlling the body.
This way, no matter how strong Gu Chengyin's perception was, or how clever he was, it would be absolutely impossible for him to notice.
After taking back control of her body, Shangguan Yunying grabbed Gu Xiaoli's wrist and asked urgently,
Xiaoli, can you wake up Her Highness?
She could not be the only one awake.
Luo Zhao was still under hypnosis, and she had to wake her up; this was her duty.
Gu Xiaoli nodded.
Let's go, Shangguan Yunying said immediately, pulling Gu Xiaoli toward the sleeping quarters. We are going to wake up Her Highness.
But Gu Xiaoli did not move.
With a gentle tug, she made Shangguan Yunying stop.
Shangguan Yunying turned around in confusion.
Gu Xiaoli looked up, her expression incredibly serious.
Sister Yunying, Xiaoli thinks you should think things through and prepare yourself before waking up Sister Highness.
Shangguan Yunying was stunned.
She stood in place, the hand gripping Gu Xiaoli's wrist unconsciously loosening.
Prepare herself?
In her mind, Luo Zhao's eyes, burning with monstrous hatred, instantly surfaced.
Within them was the humiliation of being trampled upon, the anger of being manipulated, the pain of being betrayed, and emotions intense enough to drive someone mad.
With Luo Zhao's personality, once she woke up...
Could she endure it?
Would she endure it?
Shangguan Yunying's lips began to tremble slightly.
She looked at Gu Xiaoli and said bitterly,
Are you saying that Her Highness will kill Gu Chengyin after she wakes up?
Gu Xiaoli did not answer, but her meaning was already very clear.
Shangguan Yunying continued to ask,
So that is why you woke me up first instead of Her Highness, right?
Gu Xiaoli nodded and said softly,
Xiaoli hopes that Sister Yunying can stop Sister Highness.
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Shangguan Yunying's face.
Why would you think that I wouldn't kill him?
Her voice was very light, carrying suppressed emotions.
After all, he went too far with me.
Gu Xiaoli shook her head and said without a hint of hesitation,
Whether under hypnosis or not, Sister Yunying, you still trust and like my brother just the same.
These words were like a key that suddenly unlocked a tightly sealed box in Shangguan Yunying's heart.
She was stunned.
Gu Xiaoli continued,
Xiaoli thinks the reason Brother hypnotized you is because he needed to hypnotize Sister Highness.
If it weren't for Sister Highness, Brother wouldn't have hypnotized you.
Shangguan Yunying was speechless.
She opened her mouth to say something, but found her throat felt as if it were blocked by something.
Moreover, Shangguan Yunying suddenly realized that her emotions were actually slowly calming down.
It wasn't that she didn't hate, didn't hurt, or didn't feel betrayed.
But that hatred had been diluted by something much more complex.
Such as... understanding.
She had to admit that Gu Xiaoli made sense.
This was probably also the reason why Gu Xiaoli had awakened her first.
I understand.
Shangguan Yunying began to confirm her own thoughts.
After waking up Her Highness, she will very likely order me to kill Gu Chengyin.
If this were before returning to the Divine Capital, I would obey without hesitation.
But this time... I can't.
Shangguan Yunying looked out the window into the night, the distant palace lanterns reflecting in her eyes.
Whether it's me, or Her Highness...
We simply cannot leave him.
Besides, he hasn't violated Her Highness.
Just like her answer when she was hypnotized, her bottom line was Luo Zhao.
As long as Gu Chengyin hadn't done anything unforgivable to Luo Zhao.
Then she could understand and even forgive Gu Chengyin for hypnotizing her.
After all, from the playback of the records, she also knew Gu Chengyin's purpose for doing all this.
From a certain perspective, one could say that Gu Chengyin simply had too much ambition.
He merely wanted a promotion, what could be wrong with that?
Furthermore, for some unknown reason, after learning the truth of it all.
Shangguan Yunying found that she actually felt no disgust.
Instead, she admired this man's decisiveness and ruthlessness from the bottom of her heart.
Pulling back her chaotic thoughts and confirming her stance.
Shangguan Yunying took Gu Xiaoli's hand and headed toward the bedchamber.
The moonlight paved the way for them, and the shadows provided cover.
Inside the Crown Princess's bedchamber, everything remained as before.
On that large, elaborately carved bed, Luo Zhao was still soundly asleep.
Her moon-white casual clothes were slightly disheveled from turning over, and her black hair cascaded over the pillow like a waterfall.
That devastatingly beautiful face looked exceptionally serene in her sleep, her long eyelashes casting fine shadows on her eyelids, her lips the color of cherry blossoms, and her breathing even and drawn out.
She was completely unaware that two figures were slowly approaching her bed.
Shangguan Yunying stood by the bed, looking at the sleeping Luo Zhao.
Then she stepped sideways, making room.
Gu Xiaoli took a step forward, reached out her small hand, and gently pressed it against Luo Zhao's forehead.
The next second, her eyes became vacant once again.
The bedchamber was deathly silent.
Shangguan Yunying held her breath, staring unblinkingly.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
After about ten breaths.
Luo Zhao suddenly opened her eyes!
The moment those phoenix eyes opened, her pupils contracted violently; her gaze went from hazy to clear, and then erupted with monstrous hatred and fury.
She sprang up from the bed, gasping heavily, her chest heaving violently, as fine beads of cold sweat instantly seeped from her forehead.
Every breath was heavy and rapid, as if she wanted to expel all the humiliation and hatred in her chest through this panting.
Then, she spoke.
Her voice was twisted by intense emotion, every word like a venomous snake squeezed through her clenched teeth:
Gu Chengyin! I will definitely kill you! Kill you!
Before her voice faded, the true qi within her body had already begun to circulate madly.
Although her body had just awakened, that monstrous hatred instantly forced her into a battle-ready state.
True qi surged through her meridians like a flood bursting a dam.
It looked as though Luo Zhao was about to explode into action, about to charge out, about to find Gu Chengyin regardless of the consequences.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
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!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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.
