Crossing the Line

"Xiaoli."

Gu Chengyin's voice sounded as he took down the book Gu Xiaoli was trying to reach.

Gu Xiaoli's hand paused.

She turned her head, her movements a bit slow, but when her gaze fell on Gu Chengyin, her calm, large eyes instantly burst with radiant color.

"Brother!"

Gu Chengyin handed the book he had taken down to Gu Xiaoli and casually rubbed her hair.

Then he spoke bluntly:

"Let me see your Dao Heart mark."

There was no build-up, no beating around the bush. It was like a swordsman drawing his blade and thrusting straight at the vital point.

Gu Xiaoli's expression froze for a moment.

Her eyelashes fluttered, but there was no panic in her eyes; instead, she raised her right hand without hesitation.

Palm facing up, fingers spread wide.

At first, there was nothing, just the palm of an ordinary young girl, with tender skin and slender knuckles.

But after three breaths, a faint halo began to glow in her palm, like moonlight shining through thin paper.

The halo gradually condensed, turning into a blurry sigil of light that slowly surfaced.

Gu Chengyin's eyes were as calm as water.

He reached out a finger and gently touched the light sigil.

The moment his fingertip touched the sigil, an oath echoed in his ears:

"If this lowly servant tells anyone anything I have seen or heard without the Marquis's permission, may I be struck by lightning, my soul utterly destroyed, never to be reincarnated for all eternity, and die without a burial place!"

This was the venomous oath she had personally sworn when he first brought Gu Xiaoli back.

Every word, every pause, and even the emotion in her voice at that time were completely reproduced in this moment.

The Dao Heart mark was still intact.

This meant that Gu Xiaoli had not broken her oath.

This kind of oath, engraved on the Dao Heart, pointed directly to the power of the rules of the Great Dao's origin. Let alone Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators.

Even an Immortal, as long as they carved an oath on their Dao Heart, would absolutely be unable to violate it.

The Great Dao is ruthless, and its rules are ironclad.

But...

Gu Chengyin withdrew his finger, and the light sigil slowly dissipated in Gu Xiaoli's palm.

He raised his eyes and looked toward the main seat of the Wenli Hall. There, Luo Zhao sat upright, reviewing documents, her silhouette tracing elegant lines in the morning light.

The content of the venomous oath was, after all, only about keeping secrets; it could only ensure that Gu Xiaoli hadn't told anyone.

It didn't mean Gu Xiaoli hadn't done anything.

Although Gu Chengyin didn't know what Gu Xiaoli could do, her database was simply too massive.

Sitting on all the information of the Wanxiang Pavilion, who knew how many secret arts and taboos were hidden inside.

What if she really found some method in there?

Gu Chengyin's gaze returned to Gu Xiaoli's face.

The world-weary loli was looking at him quietly, appearing incredibly obedient. Those large eyes were crystal clear, yet bottomless at the same time.

"Are you busy right now?" Gu Chengyin asked.

Gu Xiaoli tilted her head, as if searching through a task list in her mind, before speaking: "Sister Yunying asked Xiaoli to find something."

Her voice was very soft, carrying the sweet tenderness unique to young girls.

Gu Chengyin nodded: "Then take the item over first, and tell Yunying that I need you for something."

"Okay."

Gu Xiaoli agreed simply, turning around with the book in her arms and walking toward Shangguan Yunying.

Gu Chengyin stood where he was, watching her walk up to Shangguan Yunying.

She first put down the book she was holding, then pointed in Gu Chengyin's direction.

She said something to Shangguan Yunying.

Shangguan Yunying listened very seriously, glancing over at Gu Chengyin at the same time, and finally nodded.

Gu Xiaoli gave a sound of acknowledgement and turned to walk back.

The whole process took no more than twenty breaths, as natural as the simplest handover of a task.

Soon, Gu Xiaoli returned.

"Brother, Sister Yunying says she understands."

She stood in front of Gu Chengyin, looking up and asking, "Where are we going now?"

"Follow me."

Gu Chengyin turned and walked toward the outside of the hall. Gu Xiaoli followed quietly, half a step behind him.

After the two figures, one large and one small, disappeared through the hall doors, Luo Zhao maintained her posture of reviewing official documents, her lips moving slightly:

"Gu Chengyin took Xiaoli away?"

Shangguan Yunying also kept her posture, responding in a very low voice:

"Xiaoli just came over and said Gu Chengyin needed her for something, and then he took her away."

The voice was very calm, but Luo Zhao could hear the nervous tremble in it.

Luo Zhao did not press further. She took her brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the word "approved" on the memorial, her brushstrokes as sharp as a knife.

But her thoughts had already drifted far away.

Gu Xiaoli.

With her current perspective, she could see that Gu Xiaoli was deliberately getting close to Gu Chengyin.

Obviously, this was her royal father's arrangement.

Since even she could see it, Gu Chengyin definitely could too.

Otherwise, he wouldn't act so calm and composed.

Luo Zhao knew very well how high the level of these two scheming men was.

Every step her father took seemed to be elevating Gu Chengyin, but in reality, it was pushing him into an even more dangerous situation.

And Gu Chengyin?

This bastard, with limited resources and information, was actually able to counter every move, and even turn these crises around to pave the way for himself.

Behind every seemingly unintentional arrangement lay layers upon layers of deep meaning and backup plans.

So in comparison, Luo Zhao felt that Gu Chengyin was even more outrageous.

The tip of the brush paused on the paper, the ink spreading out.

Luo Zhao suddenly remembered the scene on the bed last night, where Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying were kissing.

He was demonstrating to her, using this method to test her reaction.

And she had endured it once again.

But Luo Zhao knew this was only temporary.

Gu Chengyin would not easily believe anything.

He would continue to test, continue to use various methods to confirm.

To make Gu Chengyin believe one hundred percent that she was truly hypnotized.

There was only one way.

To cross the line completely.

Then, even Gu Chengyin, faced with such a result, would have to admit it.

She, Luo Zhao, was hypnotized; she was under his absolute control.

But she couldn't cross this line herself.

Because she was the Crown Princess of Great Luo, the future Empress.

Not to mention that she disliked Gu Chengyin, and hated him even more.

So she absolutely would not allow Gu Chengyin to do such excessive things to her again.

Thus, Luo Zhao chose the second plan without hesitation.

That was to find someone incredibly important to her, and someone Gu Chengyin would believe, to replace her.

Shangguan Yunying.

It was crazy.

But very effective.

The corners of Luo Zhao's mouth curled up slightly; she found that she had finally gained a slight upper hand in their scheming.

Although the price was indeed a bit high, the price herself was quite willing.

Thinking of this, Luo Zhao casually glanced at Shangguan Yunying next to her.

Last night, when she proposed this crazy plan, although Shangguan Yunying expressed shock and disbelief.

But she ultimately agreed very reluctantly.

She even stated that she would take the initiative to seek out Gu Chengyin.

Heaven knows if this eldest miss was doing it for the plan or for herself.

It could be both.

But it didn't matter. In Shangguan Yunying's heart, she would always be number one.

Even Gu Chengyin couldn't replace that.

On the contrary, he would expose his weaknesses and hand over leverage because of it.