Block or Kiss

Dawn was just breaking.

A faint, fish-belly white glimmer appeared on the eastern horizon. Morning mist shrouded the imperial city like a veil, the silhouettes of the palace walls looming faintly within the haze.

Dewdrops condensed under the eaves, occasionally falling and splashing into tiny droplets on the stone slabs.

Inside the side hall of the Crown Princess's Palace, Gu Chengyin slowly opened his eyes.

Deep within his pupils, a flash of cyan-gold light vanished in an instant, like the last star fading before dawn.

He took a deep breath, feeling the surging true qi within his body.

It was more vigorous, more majestic, flowing endlessly through his meridians like a mighty river. Every circulation brought a profound tremor.

Late Foundation Establishment stage.

Just a moment ago, when the true qi converted from his influence accumulated to a certain critical point, the bottleneck shattered instantly.

There was no heavenly tribulation, no strange phenomena, and no thrilling breakthrough process.

It was as natural as water overflowing a full cup, as smooth as taking a breath.

The power of the system was fully demonstrated in this moment.

Power, status, influence... for him, they directly converted into the purest cultivation base.

If Shangguan Yunying knew, who knows what kind of expression she would make.

This Chief Female Official had practiced bitterly without pause for over a decade, yet she was still only at the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

Although she was only a hair's breadth away from the late stage, this tiny gap might still require countless accumulations to break through.

But what about him?

Yesterday he was still fighting Shangguan Yunying to a draw, and today he was already in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"I've finally turned the tables and become the master."

Gu Chengyin muttered to himself, then stood up and walked to the window.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the halls of the Crown Princess's Palace were faintly discernible in the fog.

In the distance, lights had already been lit in the direction of the Hall of Civil Affairs, clearly indicating that someone had already started handling official business.

Before heading out today, he had to go find someone first.

Gu Xiaoli.

This name had been circling in Gu Chengyin's mind for too long.

Ever since the night of the second hypnosis, a feeling that something was wrong had lingered.

The perfect state of Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying, and the world-weary loli who never showed up yet seemed to be everywhere.

Gu Chengyin closed his eyes, recalling every detail of last night once again.

Luo Zhao's breathing was even and long, without the slightest disorder.

Luo Zhao's heartbeat was steady and regular, without the slightest acceleration.

Luo Zhao's expression was serene and natural, without the slightest flaw.

Shangguan Yunying... was really big.

Perfect.

Too perfect.

So perfect that it made Gu Chengyin somewhat doubt his own intuition and deductions.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this.

Unless Luo Zhao was truly hypnotized.

Unless Luo Zhao truly knew nothing.

"Could it be that her ultimate forbearance has upgraded again?"

Gu Chengyin muttered to himself, a trace of absurdity in his tone:

"Enduring to this extent would make someone a psychopath, right."

Gu Chengyin could not help but recall that nightmare again.

The Luo Zhao in the dream was the spitting image of a complete yandere empress.

Gu Chengyin shook his head, forcing himself to throw this image out of his mind:

"A dream is just a dream, it can't be taken as real."

But the problem was, Gu Chengyin was currently unsure whether Luo Zhao was in a state of forbearance or a state of hypnosis.

After all, there was truly no evidence or flaw.

Since that was the case, he had to go find Gu Xiaoli.

Unlike at night, the world-weary loli was much easier to find during the day.

Gu Chengyin casually found a junior female official to ask, and learned that Gu Xiaoli was currently in the Hall of Civil Affairs.

"Xiaoli? She gets up before dawn every day, and then goes to Her Highness with the Chief."

The junior female official spoke in detail, her tone carrying a bit of admiration:

"Xiaoli is amazing, she knows everything. Her Highness even asks her when she encounters difficult problems."

Gu Chengyin nodded and gave his thanks.

It seemed that Gu Xiaoli's position beside Luo Zhao was even more secure than he had imagined.

Aside from going to the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion to read, she acted entirely like a Vice Chief Female Official, assisting Luo Zhao in handling official business alongside Shangguan Yunying and participating in the core affairs of the Crown Princess's Palace.

When did this transformation begin?

As Gu Chengyin walked towards the Hall of Civil Affairs, he sorted out the timeline in his mind.

It seemed to be during the few days he was taken away by the Bureau of Clean Officials.

When Gu Chengyin arrived at the Hall of Civil Affairs, the hall doors were already wide open.

Morning light shone through the doors, casting rectangular patches of light on the floor.

With a glance, he saw the scene inside the hall.

Luo Zhao sat behind the central desk, holding a brush and reviewing something.

She wore a casual palace dress, her black hair tied into an exquisite bun, secured with a white jade hairpin.

Her side profile outlined a soft contour in the morning light, her eyelashes lowered, her expression focused.

The perfect posture of a Crown Princess.

The perfect posture of a hypnotized person.

Shangguan Yunying was beside her, holding a stack of documents in her hands, speaking softly about something.

Her complexion looked somewhat pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating she hadn't slept well last night, or perhaps hadn't slept much at all.

Neither of them noticed Gu Chengyin's arrival.

Gu Chengyin stood at the entrance of the hall, not entering immediately.

He had figured it out by now; as long as he appeared, Luo Zhao would inevitably be in a perfect state of hypnosis.

Last night in the bedchamber had already proven that no amount of stimulation could force out a flaw in her.

Since that was the case, why bother testing someone who might never reveal a flaw in the first place.

Gu Chengyin's gaze swept around the hall.

Then, in front of a bookshelf in the corner, he found the figure of Gu Xiaoli.

Gu Xiaoli stood with her back to the hall doors in front of a bookshelf that was over a person's height.

She was standing on her tiptoes, reaching out to grab a book on the top shelf.

Her movements were somewhat strenuous; she was not tall, and the bookshelf was too high.

Her fingertips were still half a foot away from the book, and no matter how she reached, she couldn't get it.

Morning light shone in from the window beside her, plating a faint golden halo on Gu Xiaoli.

Dust danced in the beam of light like fine gold powder.

Just as Gu Chengyin was about to walk over.

The other two people in the hall finally discovered him.

Both Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying saw Gu Chengyin's appearance.

But their reactions could be called textbook-level natural.

Luo Zhao raised her head and glanced at the hall entrance, her eyes calm and placid.

Then she lowered her head and continued reviewing the documents, as if Gu Chengyin's arrival had nothing to do with her.

Shangguan Yunying's reaction was slightly more expressive. When she saw Gu Chengyin, a light clearly appeared in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

She nodded slightly as a greeting, and then continued reporting to Luo Zhao, her voice as steady as usual.

It was as if Gu Chengyin was just an insignificant background character.

But just as Gu Chengyin walked towards Gu Xiaoli, Shangguan Yunying's fingers moved extremely slightly beneath the documents.

A small slip of paper slid out from her sleeve, landing silently on the desk.

Then, Luo Zhao's hand holding the brush coincidentally moved over. As the brush tip glided across the paper, she simultaneously used the brush handle to gently push the slip of paper in front of herself.

The entire process was smooth and flowing, so natural it seemed like just a normal movement while reviewing documents.

Now, the two appeared to be intently handling official business.

But in reality...

They were passing notes to each other.

(Shangguan Yunying: Your Highness! Gu Chengyin seems to be going to find Xiaoli! He couldn't have discovered something, right!)

(Luo Zhao: Looking at him, it shouldn't be to interrogate her.)

(Shangguan Yunying: Then should I go intercept him?)

Then, Luo Zhao's reply made Shangguan Yunying's cheeks turn red at a visible speed.