The next morning.
Gu Chengyin woke up in his bed.
He sat up, rubbed his forehead, and frowned deeply.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
After returning to his quarters last night, he had originally just wanted to take a short nap before continuing to cultivate the Qingyun Mantra.
But bizarrely, he had fallen asleep.
Not entering a state of meditation, not contemplating, but falling into a deep slumber like a mortal.
Even more bizarrely, he had a nightmare.
In the dream, he was locked in a pitch-black basement.
The walls were damp and cold, and the air was filled with the smell of mold and rust.
His hands and feet were tightly bound by iron chains, and his cultivation and true qi had been completely crippled.
Then, Shangguan Yunying wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, her warm body pressing against his back.
The action seemed intimate, but was actually a form of control.
Luo Zhao stood in front of him, holding a water-soaked leather whip.
She softly called his name, her voice filled with a sick, twisted pleasure:
Gu Chengyin...
Do you know? I have waited for this day for far, far too long.
Then, the whip fell.
Luo Zhao wielded the whip, lashing him relentlessly.
Her movements were elegantly cruel; every strike precisely avoided his vitals, yet inflicted the deepest pain.
And on her face was a deeply satisfied, obsessive, and delicate smile.
What was even more terrifying...
At the same time, Shangguan Yunying's hands were slowly sliding downwards.
...
Gu Chengyin abruptly opened his eyes.
The dream had been far too real.
So real that he could feel the excruciating pain of the whip striking his body.
He could see Luo Zhao's possessive, twisted madness, as well as Shangguan Yunying's deeply controlling embrace and grasp.
What the hell was that.
Logically speaking, having already reached the Foundation Establishment realm, his Dao heart was stable and his divine sense clear; he should have long surpassed the realm of dreaming.
Gu Chengyin rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his heart full of an ominous premonition.
Could this be some kind of warning?
A thought instantly flashed through his mind:
Could Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying have broken free from the hypnosis again?
This thought made Gu Chengyin's heart tighten.
If that was really the case, he would have to pack his bags and run for his life.
No, he had to go and confirm it.
Gu Chengyin immediately got up, pushed open the door, and walked briskly towards the sleeping quarters.
Outside the sleeping quarters.
The female official on duty saw Gu Chengyin and hastily bowed: Chief Steward Gu.
Where is Her Highness? Gu Chengyin asked directly.
The female official lowered her head and replied: Reporting to Chief Steward Gu, Her Highness and the Head Disciple have gone to the Hall of Letters and Logic.
Gu Chengyin was taken aback.
This early?
Was it because, after being hypnotized, they no longer felt normal fatigue?
So they just automatically started working?
Gu Chengyin nodded, turned around, and headed towards the Hall of Letters and Logic.
The Hall of Letters and Logic.
Gu Chengyin stood at the entrance of the hall, looking from afar.
Behind the long desk, Luo Zhao was buried in a massive pile of official documents.
She wore her signature palace dress, her long hair pinned up in a high bun, her side profile looking exquisite and focused in the morning light.
The vermilion pen in her hand moved quickly across the memorials, her movements fluid and without the slightest hesitation.
Not far from her side, Shangguan Yunying was organizing several stacks of files that were half a person tall.
Her black hair was simply tied up, and she skillfully sorted and neatly arranged the files one by one.
Everything looked perfectly normal.
There was no unusual eye contact, no superfluous movements, and even the rhythm of their breathing was as steady as usual.
But the vigilance in Gu Chengyin's heart did not fade because of this.
He stood where he was, not approaching immediately, just watching from a distance, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two of them.
He was observing.
Observing their micro-expressions, observing the details of their movements, observing if there were any traces of acting.
It wasn't until Shangguan Yunying finished organizing a batch of files and straightened up that her gaze unconsciously drifted over.
She saw Gu Chengyin standing at the entrance of the hall.
The moment their eyes met.
Gu Chengyin stared intently into Shangguan Yunying's eyes, waiting for her reaction.
Would her eyes light up like yesterday?
Or...
The next second, Gu Chengyin saw it.
In those gentle eyes, there was no pleasant surprise, no emotion, not even the slightest ripple.
There was only a hollow sense of obedience.
Seeing this, the heavy stone hanging in Gu Chengyin's heart was lowered slightly.
It seemed Shangguan Yunying was still under the hypnosis.
But...
Gu Chengyin turned his head to look at Luo Zhao.
Her Highness was still buried in the official documents, completely unaware of his arrival.
Gu Chengyin stepped forward.
His footsteps echoed in the hall, but Luo Zhao seemed completely oblivious, still burying herself in reviewing the memorials, the vermilion pen in her hand never stopping.
If it had been the previous Luo Zhao, a greeting would have floated over long ago.
But now, she had no reaction at all.
As if she truly hadn't heard him.
Gu Chengyin walked up to the long desk and stopped.
He looked down at Luo Zhao.
She remained focused on the memorial, her long eyelashes drooping, the lines of her profile soft and beautiful in the morning light.
The vermilion pen glided across the paper, leaving behind elegant yet forceful handwriting.
He could even smell the faint, cool fragrance on Luo Zhao's body.
Gu Chengyin leaned over, got close to Luo Zhao's ear, and issued a command:
Follow me.
After speaking, he straightened up and walked towards the stairs without looking back.
The moment he stepped onto the first stair.
Footsteps sounded from behind him, along with the rustling of a palace dress brushing against the floor.
Luo Zhao followed him.
The second floor of the Hall of Letters and Logic.
Gu Chengyin quickly scanned the area.
There was no one.
Right now, there were only neatly arranged, clean desks and fine dust floating in the air.
Gu Chengyin turned to look at Luo Zhao following behind him.
She stood at the top of the stairs, her face devoid of any expression, her eyes hollow and obedient.
A perfect state of hypnosis.
Gu Chengyin took a step forward and raised his hand to gently lift Luo Zhao's chin.
Luo Zhao did not resist, did not dodge; she merely raised her head obediently.
Allowing his fingers to rest against her jaw, allowing his gaze to look directly into her eyes.
Their eyes met.
Gu Chengyin stared intently at her pupils.
Hollow.
Obedient.
Without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Like a pool of stagnant water, without a single ripple.
Gu Chengyin moved his hand away from Luo Zhao's chin.
Then he took a step forward, pinning Luo Zhao against the wall behind her.
At the same time, Gu Chengyin's face slowly began to draw closer.
Closer and closer, closer and closer...
As if he was about to kiss her.
But Gu Chengyin's eyes remained fixedly staring into Luo Zhao's eyes.
He was observing.
Observing if her pupils would constrict.
Observing if her breathing would become erratic.
Observing if her body would subconsciously tense up.
Observing if she would have an instinctive reaction of resistance.
No matter how good the acting of a conscious person is, no matter how perfect their disguise.
When faced with sudden intimate contact, the body's instinctive reactions are impossible to control.
The fluttering of eyelashes, the rate of breathing, the tensing of muscles... these tiny details can often betray the truest emotions.
But...
Nothing.
Luo Zhao's eyes remained hollow.
Her breathing remained steady.
Her body remained relaxed.
Even when Gu Chengyin's lips were so close that they were only an inch away from touching hers.
She still had no reaction.
Gu Chengyin stopped his movements.
His lips stopped merely half an inch from Luo Zhao's.
He did not kiss her.
Because he had already gotten his answer.
At least on the level of physical reactions, Luo Zhao's hypnotic state had no flaws whatsoever.
But... that ominous premonition in his heart simply would not fade away.
Gu Chengyin slowly straightened up, creating some distance between them.
He looked at Luo Zhao, fell silent for a moment, and then waved his hand.
"Go back. Tell Yunying to come up."
Luo Zhao gave a hum of acknowledgment.
Her voice was flat, devoid of any emotion, like the programmed response of a machine.
Then, she turned and walked toward the stairs.
Her movements were natural, her footsteps steady, without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Perfect.
Too perfect.
But just at the exact moment Luo Zhao was about to step down the stairs.
Gu Chengyin suddenly moved.
He lunged forward in a single stride, reached out to grab Luo Zhao's wrist, and yanked her fiercely backward.
He pulled Luo Zhao entirely into his embrace.
And then.
His lips pressed against Luo Zhao's.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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!
