Psychological Distance

Gu Chengyin brought Lin Qingyan to the second floor of Wenli Hall and looked around.

It was no different from the last time he was here—empty, with only neatly arranged desks.

After confirming there was no third person present, Gu Chengyin turned around and was just about to speak.

When Lin Qingyan, like an arrow released from its bowstring, crashed straight into his arms.

Gu Chengyin didn't even have time to react.

He only felt a figure press against him. A heady fragrance instantly enveloped him, and her hair brushed past his chin, bringing a faint, ticklish sensation.

But all of this lasted for less than half a breath.

"Swish."

Lin Qingyan quickly retreated, so cleanly and decisively that it felt as if what just happened was merely an illusion.

She stepped back three paces and gently shook her head, saying:

"No."

"It's too far from Zhao'er."

Gu Chengyin: "..."

He opened his mouth to say something, but forcefully swallowed the words back down.

Too far from Luo Zhao?

With the divine sense coverage of a Golden Core cultivator, let alone a few dozen feet, even a distance of several hundred feet shouldn't be anything at all, right?

But looking at Lin Qingyan's cold and calm face, Gu Chengyin suddenly understood.

This wasn't a physical distance.

It was a psychological distance.

What Lin Qingyan needed wasn't the objective fact of Luo Zhao being present, but the subjective feeling of having Luo Zhao by her side.

Just like when a person stands at the edge of a cliff, they need to tightly grip the guardrail to feel safe, even if the guardrail couldn't possibly support their weight.

Gu Chengyin could ultimately only say, "Alright, then let's go back and see."

But right at this moment.

New footsteps came from the stairs.

Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan looked toward the top of the stairs at the same time.

A few breaths later, a figure appeared.

Shangguan Yunying.

Upon seeing Gu Chengyin, Shangguan Yunying's eyes visibly lit up.

It was a subconscious reaction: her pupils slightly dilated, her eyelashes fluttered, and the corners of her lips curled up into a tiny, unconscious smile.

But she quickly restrained herself, then looked at Lin Qingyan and bowed respectfully in greeting:

"Lord Jingzhe."

"This humble official has come on Her Highness's orders to see if any assistance is needed."

This sentence fell into the ears of Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan, producing completely different interpretations.

Lin Qingyan genuinely believed Shangguan Yunying came on orders. She and Gu Chengyin hadn't deliberately hidden themselves when they came upstairs.

For Luo Zhao, noticing the two suddenly going to the second floor and sending her chief female official up to check was a perfectly reasonable action.

So she simply nodded lightly and didn't say anything more.

Gu Chengyin, on the other hand, assumed Shangguan Yunying had come up on her own after finding out.

The so-called "on orders" was merely an excuse for Lin Qingyan's benefit, though to him, this was also perfectly reasonable.

Instead, Shangguan Yunying's appearance gave Gu Chengyin an inspiration.

He looked at Lin Qingyan, then at Shangguan Yunying, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Auntie, I've spoken to Yunying about your inner demon, so?"

Gu Chengyin looked at Lin Qingyan, his eyes carrying a questioning look.

Lin Qingyan, in turn, glanced at Shangguan Yunying.

That gaze was very faint, but Shangguan Yunying felt a wave of invisible pressure.

The aura of a Golden Core cultivator, even just an inadvertent glance, was enough to make her, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, stop breathing.

"Fine."

Lin Qingyan finally nodded, agreeing to Gu Chengyin's proposal.

She roughly understood Gu Chengyin's intention. Since she needed the subjective condition of having Luo Zhao by her side.

And Shangguan Yunying was Luo Zhao's most trusted chief female official, then having Shangguan Yunying help might make things go more smoothly.

Having obtained permission, Gu Chengyin looked at Shangguan Yunying:

"Yunying, do not be surprised by what you are about to see, and do not make a sound about it."

Shangguan Yunying nodded slightly, her expression involuntarily becoming tense.

Then she saw Lin Qingyan close her eyes.

Her entire aura began to change, the cold and aloof feeling fading away.

Three breaths later, Lin Qingyan opened her eyes.

Her pupils had turned blood red.

Shangguan Yunying instantly gasped.

"An inner demon?!"

She instinctively took a step back, subconsciously beginning to circulate the Azure Sword Art.

Although she knew it was utterly meaningless in front of a Golden Core cultivator, this was a combat instinct formed from years of training.

However, the next second, she saw a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Lin Qingyan, or rather, the inner demon Lin Qingyan, did not attack anyone.

Instead, she pounced to Gu Chengyin's side, hugged his arm, and clung to him like a vine.

Then she hid behind Gu Chengyin, looking timidly at Shangguan Yunying with her blood-red eyes.

"Master~ Who is she~"

"She looks so fierce~"

Lin Qingyan even deliberately shrank her shoulders back, making a frightened gesture.

Shangguan Yunying: "..."

Her mind went completely blank.

This tone, this expression, this manipulative and innocent act...

Was this still the cold and aloof Lord Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion from just a moment ago?!

Furthermore...

Master?

She called Gu Chengyin master?!

Shangguan Yunying's lips moved, wanting to say something, but she couldn't spit out a single word.

She could only stare blankly at the scene before her, with Lin Qingyan hanging onto Gu Chengyin's arm like a spoiled little girl.

"Yunying."

Gu Chengyin spoke, breaking the silence.

"It's a long story. Actually, it's just like what I told you before."

He tried to pull his arm out of Lin Qingyan's embrace, but failed.

Gu Chengyin chose a relatively easy-to-understand explanation:

"And then it turned into this current situation."

Shangguan Yunying finally found her voice.

She stared at Gu Chengyin, then looked at Lin Qingyan who was still hanging on his arm, her mind rapidly digesting this information.

She did indeed know that Gu Chengyin had controlled Lin Qingyan's inner demon.

After all, it was because of this that the hypnosis on her had been lifted.

But she never expected it to be a situation like this.

No matter how you looked at it, the impact of the image of Lin Qingyan calling him master was simply too great.

Countless questions churned in her mind, but ultimately, Shangguan Yunying only asked the core issue:

"Then... you and Lord Jingzhe came here to?"

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was already obvious.

Gu Chengyin nodded and said:

"I told you before, I am helping Auntie."

Shangguan Yunying's pupils contracted slightly.

This meant that Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan came here.

To weaken the inner demon...

But she still didn't quite understand exactly what kind of weakening of the inner demon this was.

Shangguan Yunying's gaze involuntarily swept across the empty space of the second floor, sweeping over those neatly arranged desks.

She couldn't help but remember the last time, when she had been sitting on Gu Chengyin's lap...

Could it be...

No way!

Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan?!

This is Her Highness's aunt!

Shangguan Yunying was almost knocked dizzy by her own bold speculation.

She finally looked at Gu Chengyin, asking in a dry voice, "It couldn't be what I'm thinking, could it?"

Gu Chengyin sighed deeply, nodding in admission:

"Although I don't know what you are thinking."

"But it's probably exactly what you're thinking."