Crown Princess's Palace, Wenli Hall.
Luo Zhao sat behind the desk, holding a brush and reviewing various official documents.
Shangguan Yunying sat in the side seat next to her, organizing the paperwork and selecting the parts that required Luo Zhao's attention.
With her head bowed, the sleeves of her scarlet palace dress were rolled up halfway, revealing her fair wrists.
Everything was as peaceful as usual.
Until...
Shangguan Yunying suddenly shuddered violently.
The tremor came so suddenly and intensely, as if an invisible electric current had pierced through her entire body.
The documents in her hands slipped and fell, hitting the floor with a smack that sounded exceptionally loud in the silent hall.
The hand Luo Zhao used to hold the brush paused in mid-air, and she turned to look at Shangguan Yunying.
At this moment, Shangguan Yunying's face was written with bewilderment and shock.
It was as if someone who had been sleeping for years suddenly woke up, not knowing what year or day it was.
What is wrong, Yunying?
Luo Zhao put down her brush and asked with concern.
Your Highness...
Shangguan Yunying's voice trembled slightly.
She rushed to Luo Zhao's side in a few quick steps, not even caring about etiquette, and leaned in directly to Luo Zhao's ear, saying urgently:
My consciousness puppet has disappeared! Gu Chengyin has lifted his hypnosis on me!
Luo Zhao's pupils contracted instantly.
What?
You mean Gu Chengyin voluntarily lifted his hypnosis on you?
I am sure!
Shangguan Yunying nodded vigorously, her breathing rapid, her warm breath hitting Luo Zhao's ear:
It is not just the consciousness puppet! I can clearly feel that the connection between him and me is broken!
It happened just a moment ago! And it was definitely Gu Chengyin who actively lifted it!
Genuine panic appeared on Shangguan Yunying's face:
Your Highness, did something happen to him?
Luo Zhao gave Shangguan Yunying a deep look.
The worry in those eyes was too real, so real that it made Luo Zhao realize that even if Shangguan Yunying's obedience was a disguise,
that kind of bond mixed with complex emotions was absolutely real.
Do not panic.
Luo Zhao raised her hand and gently held Shangguan Yunying's hand.
It felt cold to the touch and was still trembling slightly.
Let me confirm it first.
Luo Zhao closed her eyes and calmed her mind.
Her consciousness sank into the depths of her sea of consciousness, where there was a faint but stable connection.
Like an invisible silk thread, extending from the consciousness puppet towards a certain direction.
This was the mark left after being hypnotized, the proof of Gu Chengyin's control over her.
At this moment, this silk thread was still there.
Not only was it there, but its state was normal.
There were no signs of breaking, no abnormal fluctuations.
Luo Zhao opened her eyes, the candlelight dancing in her phoenix eyes, reflecting the light of rationality.
My consciousness puppet is still here.
The connection is also still there, which means he should not be in trouble.
Shangguan Yunying was stunned: Then why...
Because Gu Chengyin can only hypnotize two people.
Luo Zhao interrupted her and began to analyze rapidly.
At this moment, she was no longer the Highness who feigned obedience, but the true Crown Princess of Great Luo.
He must have encountered something he could not handle and had to hypnotize a third person.
But the quota is limited, so he had to lift the hypnosis on you to free up a spot.
Otherwise... his life would be forfeit.
Shangguan Yunying's breath hitched, instantly thinking of something.
And seeing the same judgment in Luo Zhao's eyes, the two blurted out simultaneously:
Lin Qingyan!
Shangguan Yunying then frowned tightly and said:
Could Gu Chengyin be trying to control Lady Jingzhe? But she is a Golden Core cultivator!
No.
Luo Zhao shook her head, her tone resolute:
Gu Chengyin is not that brainless. What good would controlling my aunt do him? The risks far outweigh the benefits.
Moreover, he would not lift the hypnosis on you just to control my aunt.
He would not make such a losing deal even if you beat him to death.
Shangguan Yunying understood: So... did something abnormal happen to Lady Jingzhe? And it threatened his life?
Forcing him to lift the hypnosis on me to free up a spot to protect himself?
That is the only explanation.
The light of rationality in Luo Zhao's eyes grew brighter.
My aunt is at the Golden Core realm, and anyone at the Golden Core realm must face one existence.
Inner demons.
Hearing the last two words, Shangguan Yunying's face suddenly turned pale:
Lady Jingzhe's inner demon erupted? Can Gu Chengyin hold on?
Luo Zhao chuckled softly, her laughter carrying complex emotions:
Only the good die young. A bastard like him could easily live for tens of thousands of years.
The words were harsh, but Shangguan Yunying heard a different underlying meaning.
Your Highness, are you not worried about Lady Jingzhe?
Is worrying useful?
Luo Zhao shook her head, saying helplessly:
If it really is an inner demon eruption, it is useless no matter who goes. She can only rely on herself to overcome it.
As for Gu Chengyin...
Luo Zhao paused, her tone complex:
Since my consciousness puppet is still there, it means he must have already passed the ordeal.
That bastard can always find a way out of desperate situations.
Speaking of this, Luo Zhao looked at Shangguan Yunying with a strange expression:
Yunying, if Gu Chengyin has lifted his hypnosis on you, then you need to think carefully about what comes next.
Think about how the newly awakened you should face him.
Shangguan Yunying froze.
That was right.
If Gu Chengyin had lifted his hypnosis on her, then naturally she could not keep acting.
Over the past few days, she had played the role of a hypnotized puppet, outwardly displaying absolute obedience to Gu Chengyin while inwardly remaining crystal clear.
But now, the role was gone.
She was no longer the hypnotized Shangguan Yunying, but the Shangguan Yunying who had just been freed from hypnosis.
What kind of reaction should a newly awakened person have when discovering that both she and Her Highness had been controlled by Gu Chengyin?
Anger? Hatred? Revenge?
Or fear? Evasion? Forbearance?
Shangguan Yunying lowered her head, looking at her open hands.
Memories flooded in like a tide, bringing real emotions.
Yunying.
Luo Zhao's voice drifted over from the side:
Remember, this time it is not a disguise, but going back to being yourself.
You are completely awake now. You know you were hypnotized, and you know I am still being controlled.
So, what should you do now?
Shangguan Yunying raised her head.
Complex emotions were reflected in her eyes, confusion, struggle, anger, unwillingness...
Finally, they settled bit by bit, solidifying into something cold.
She did not speak, but stood up and walked to the wall of the hall.
A sword hung there.
The scabbard was made of ebony, inlaid with cyan cloud patterns, gleaming with a faint green light.
This was her personal sword.
Shangguan Yunying raised her hand and grasped the hilt.
Clang.
The sound of the longsword leaving its sheath echoed in the hall, clear and sharp.
The blade reflected a cold light, mirroring her face at this moment. All the worry, nervousness, and confusion were slowly fading away.
Replaced by an anger suppressed to the extreme.
And a profound disappointment.
Shangguan Yunying did not even turn back to bow to Luo Zhao.
Instead, gripping the unsheathed longsword, she turned and walked towards the outside of the hall.
Luo Zhao watched Shangguan Yunying's retreating back.
A slow, expectant curve formed at the corners of her mouth.
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!
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.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
