Adultery

The amber wine swayed gently in the cup, reflecting the moonlight and the lantern glow.

Gu Chengyin drank the last drop, the bottom of the white jade cup striking the edge of the small couch with a crisp sound.

With the wine finished, he wondered if he should get some snacks. Although cultivators did not get drunk, drinking on an empty stomach always felt like it was missing something.

Just as Gu Chengyin looked up, his movements paused.

Lin Qingyan was staring at him without blinking.

Those blood-red eyes were astonishingly bright under the moonlight, surging with a devout anticipation.

Her hands were politely folded on her lap, and her sitting posture could even be called proper, but her eyes were like a cat waiting for its master's pet—wet and clingy.

Pouring out all her desires without any reservation.

Gu Chengyin's heart stirred slightly. He put down the wine cup and asked gently,

What is wrong?

Hearing this, the corners of Lin Qingyan's lips immediately curved into a sweet arc.

She leaned forward, shifting half an inch on the plush blanket, and then...

I want a hug!

A straight shot.

Without any disguise, without any beating around the bush, she just said it with absolute confidence.

Gu Chengyin's breath caught.

He looked down at himself. He was currently leaning against one side of the small couch, with a soft plush blanket beneath him and a cold carved railing beside him.

He then looked up at Lin Qingyan. She was sitting opposite him, no more than two feet away. Her robes were draped loosely, the collar slightly open, revealing a small patch of snow-white skin below her collarbone.

This small couch was both big and small. If they really cuddled up, the scene would be too ambiguous.

Ambiguous enough to make any bystander's imagination run wild, ambiguous enough to make any adult lose their reason.

But before Gu Chengyin could speak, before he could even organize his words of refusal.

Lin Qingyan had already moved.

It was not a reserved approach.

Instead, her whole body lunged forward with a swoosh.

Gu Chengyin only felt his vision blur, and Lin Qingyan had already burrowed into his arms.

Truly burrowed.

She squeezed sideways into the gap between his arms and chest, her soft body pressing completely against him. Her head naturally tilted and rested on his shoulder.

Her arms wrapped around his waist, her ten fingers interlacing behind his back. Her whole body clung to him like a vine.

Gu Chengyin was pushed against the nearby railing by this sudden collision.

One hand still held the white jade wine cup, while the other, out of instinct, subconsciously wrapped around the waist of the person in his arms.

Their posture at this moment could be called charmingly intimate.

Lin Qingyan was nestled sideways in his embrace, her cheek pressed against the side of his neck. Her warm breath brushed across his skin, bringing a tingling itch.

Gu Chengyin froze in place.

He subconsciously turned his head, his gaze passing over the top of Lin Qingyan's hair to look down.

Looking down from this angle, the view of the Imperial Street was in full sight.

The night was deep, but the prosperity of the Divine Capital never ceased.

The lanterns on both sides of the long street formed a winding river of light. Crowds bustled in front of the night market stalls, and faint clamor drifted from the taverns and teahouses. Further away, the sound of string and bamboo instruments from the flower boats floated over on the wind, intermittent and ethereal.

It was a scene of a peaceful and prosperous age.

But at this moment, Gu Chengyin had only one thought in his mind.

If the people below knew that the aloof and unapproachable Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master Mansion, a Golden Core stage cultivator, and the biological aunt of the Crown Princess Luo Zhao...

Was currently being held in his arms, clinging to him like a docile cat.

He did not know how massive of a storm it would cause.

The royal court would shake.

The noble families would be in an uproar.

The cultivation world would stare in shock.

Even Emperor Luo would probably have to reconsider his weight.

Gu Chengyin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

He originally wanted to speak.

But the words just reached his lips before being swallowed back down.

Because...

After Lin Qingyan burrowed into his arms, she made no further moves.

She just leaned against him quietly.

With her head resting on his shoulder and her cheek buried in the juncture of his neck and collar, her breathing was even and long.

The arms wrapped around his waist were comfortably snug, neither deliberately tightening nor randomly groping.

Her whole person presented a relaxed state, as if a weary bird had finally found its home.

Moreover...

Gu Chengyin could feel her tense shoulder and neck muscles softening bit by bit.

It was a relaxation that seeped out from her very bones.

He lowered his head.

The lantern light shone on Lin Qingyan's side profile.

Her thick eyelashes drooped, casting two faint crescent shadows under her eyelids.

Her teardrop mole appeared exceptionally clear, trembling slightly with the rise and fall of her breathing.

The corners of her lips were relaxed, curved in a slight upward arc. There was no longer any seductive charm, but rather a pure satisfaction.

Like a child who had received candy.

Gu Chengyin fell silent.

He looked at the peaceful sleeping face of the person in his arms, and finally...

Forget it.

Gu Chengyin turned his head to look at the distant night scenery.

One hand still held Lin Qingyan's slender waist, while the other gripped the empty wine cup.

Just like that, in an incredibly ambiguous posture, he drank and admired the moon.

Gu Chengyin's mood was very complex.

It felt a bit like... having an illicit affair.

And the person he was having an affair with was Luo Zhao's aunt.

This realization made the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

However, at this point, Gu Chengyin also began to understand.

The reason Lin Qingyan chose him was probably because she mistook him for someone else.

Thinking it over, Gu Chengyin figured this person could only be Empress Lin.

It seemed the early death of Empress Lin had indeed struck Lin Qingyan very hard.

So hard that her Dao heart was covered in dust, breeding inner demons.

So hard that she even harbored resentment toward Emperor Luo, the man who failed to protect her sister.

Gu Chengyin sighed softly, yet felt a bit puzzled.

Even if Lin Qingyan treated him as Empress Lin, the problem was.

He did not even know what Empress Lin looked like.

Their gender, demeanor, and speech were probably worlds apart.

What kind of satisfaction did Lin Qingyan exactly find in him?

Was it an expression in a certain moment?

A certain tone of voice?

But these things could not be answered merely by deduction.

Gu Chengyin finally decided not to delve deeper into it.

To him, as long as Lin Qingyan needed him, and as long as this need could maintain their relationship, then the rest...

Even whether he was facing an inner demon or not, was unimportant.

Gu Chengyin was very clear about the differences in strategy when dealing with different people.

Lin Qingyan was not like Luo Zhao. Luo Zhao had to be kept strictly under his control.

This concerned his most fundamental interests, at least before reaching the Golden Core stage, and before binding to the sect.

Luo Zhao had to be in his hands, and of course, the current situation was indeed in his hands.

As for the continuous probing, it was merely the most basic caution.

Only by maintaining suspicion could one survive until the final chapter.

But regarding Lin Qingyan, Gu Chengyin would not deliberately test her.

Any doubts he had were just habitual deductions.

But he would not look too closely, would not dig too deep, and would not press her step by step like he did with Luo Zhao.

He could even completely go along with Lin Qingyan.

She wants to cuddle? Then cuddle.

She wants to drink? Then drink.

She wants to lean on this small couch all night? Then let her lean.

Because there was no fundamental conflict of interest between the two of them.

What Lin Qingyan wanted was to weaken her inner demons to comprehend the Immortal Dao.

What Gu Chengyin wanted was a trustworthy Golden Core cultivator.

Each took what they needed without interfering with the other.

And, truth be told...

The aunt was truly delightful.