Gu Chengyin still didn't speak, merely looking at Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan's nose tingled with the urge to cry.
She lowered her head, burying her face back into his chest. Her voice was muffled, carrying a noticeable tremble:
"I'm sorry, Chengcheng... I'll never dare to do it again..."
"Will you forgive me, please..."
"I... I..."
Lin Qingyan thought and thought, but could only come up with one solution.
"Chengcheng, if you still refuse to forgive me..."
"Then... then tie me up."
"You can tie me up securely and hang me from the roof of the carriage too..."
"You can do whatever you want to me."
"As long as... as long as you don't ignore me."
As Lin Qingyan spoke, her eyes had already turned red.
Those usually aloof and clear eyes were now brimming with panic, grievance, fear, and pleading.
Lin Qingyan was pleading.
Pleading for Gu Chengyin not to ignore her.
Pleading for him to forgive her.
Pleading for him to still want her.
Gu Chengyin looked at Lin Qingyan.
Looked at her reddened eyes.
Looked at the trace of panic and fear deep in her gaze.
Looked at her fingertips tightly gripping his lapel.
He suddenly wanted to laugh.
Wanted to laugh at how Lin Qingyan could be so silly.
The dignified Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion, an invincible Golden Core expert.
Yet at this moment, she was like a child who had done something wrong, pitifully begging for his forgiveness.
But Gu Chengyin did not laugh.
Because now was not the time to laugh.
Only by dragging this out longer would Lin Qingyan become more obedient.
Otherwise, if she pulled a stunt like this every now and then in the future, who could handle it?
It wasn't always possible to turn danger into safety every time.
Seeing the look in Gu Chengyin's eyes, Lin Qingyan grew even more panicked.
"Chengcheng..." Her voice carried a hint of a sob. "You... say something..."
Gu Chengyin remained silent.
Lin Qingyan bit her lower lip.
She suddenly let go and took a step back.
Then, golden lightning surged from her fingertips, transforming into a rope.
It was exactly the same as the one she had just used to tie up Gu Chengyin.
Holding the rope, she offered it to Gu Chengyin.
"Tie me up."
"Tie me up, hang me, whatever you want."
"Just don't ignore me."
Gu Chengyin looked down at this rope made of spiritual energy.
Then he looked up at Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan met his gaze without shrinking back.
Those eyes were still red, but beneath that redness lay a trace of grievance.
Finally, Gu Chengyin let out a soft sigh.
The sigh was very light, like a wisp of wind.
But Lin Qingyan heard it.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
"Chengcheng..."
Gu Chengyin finally spoke, sounding somewhat helpless, yet somewhat doting:
"Little Aunt, oh, Little Aunt."
"What am I supposed to say to you."
Lin Qingyan's eyes instantly turned red again.
She threw herself into Gu Chengyin's arms, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
"I'm sorry, Chengcheng... I was wrong... I really know I was wrong..."
Gu Chengyin reached out and gently stroked Lin Qingyan's hair.
"Alright, stop crying."
Lin Qingyan didn't look up; she only hugged him tighter.
Gu Chengyin didn't rush her. He just held her like that, gently stroking her hair, stroke by stroke, with great patience.
The inside of the carriage fell silent.
Only the rumbling sound of the wheels could be faintly heard from outside.
Sunlight slipped in through the gap in the curtains, casting mottled shadows over the two of them.
Lin Qingyan nestled motionlessly in Gu Chengyin's arms.
She had been staying like this for a long time.
The commotion just now had left her exhausted.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, but a weariness welling up from the bottom of her heart, making her just want to curl up into a ball.
She buried her face in his chest, listening to Gu Chengyin's steady heartbeat and feeling the warmth of his chest.
That heartbeat, thumping steadily and powerfully, gradually calmed her panicked heart.
But after calming down, that thought surfaced once again.
That thought which made her heart flutter with unease.
Lin Qingyan bit her lower lip, hesitating for a long time before speaking.
"Chengcheng..."
"Hmm?"
Lin Qingyan buried her face even deeper, her voice becoming even more muffled:
"Do you... still want me?"
As soon as these words came out, the carriage fell silent for a moment.
Gu Chengyin looked down at the fairy in his arms, looking at her slightly reddened ear tips exposed to the air.
After thinking about it, Gu Chengyin asked:
"Does Little Aunt know what she did wrong?"
Hearing this question, Lin Qingyan abruptly lifted her head.
Her eyes were bright, carrying a trace of urgency, as well as a trace of anticipation.
"I know, I know! I really know I was wrong!"
Gu Chengyin revealed a smile, as if to encourage her.
"Then tell me, Little Aunt, where did you go wrong?"
Lin Qingyan blinked, then started to count on her fingers.
"First!"
She held up one finger, her tone as serious as if she were reporting on her work.
"I shouldn't have sensed your thoughts without your permission."
Gu Chengyin nodded slightly.
"Second!"
She held up another finger.
"I shouldn't have felt aggrieved after sensing your thoughts."
Gu Chengyin continued to nod.
"Third!"
A third finger was held up.
"I shouldn't have electrocuted you unconscious after feeling aggrieved."
The corner of Gu Chengyin's mouth twitched.
"Fourth!"
A fourth finger.
"I shouldn't have tied you up after electrocuting you unconscious."
Gu Chengyin didn't say anything.
"Fifth!"
A fifth finger.
"I shouldn't have hung you from the roof of the carriage after tying you up."
"Sixth!"
A sixth finger.
"I shouldn't have threatened you while you were hanging there."
"Seventh!"
A seventh finger.
"I shouldn't have used inner demons as an excuse after my threat failed."
"Eighth!"
An eighth finger.
"I shouldn't have lied and said the inner demon did it after using it as an excuse."
"Ninth!"
A ninth finger.
"I shouldn't have... after lying to you."
Lin Qingyan went on, listing them one by one.
She counted on her fingers, from the first to the ninth, and from the ninth to the fifteenth.
She basically took the blame for everything that had just happened.
Every single point was stated clearly and plainly.
Gu Chengyin did not interrupt her from beginning to end.
He just watched Lin Qingyan like this, watching her count on her fingers, listing her crimes one by one.
Watching her nod earnestly with each point she counted, looking so serious that it was somewhat adorable.
The dignified Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion was now acting like a child who had done something wrong.
Honestly listing her mistakes, not leaving a single one out.
Finally, Lin Qingyan finished counting.
Her voice lowered as she carefully probed:
"I'm... I'm done talking."
Gu Chengyin asked for confirmation:
"Are you done?"
Lin Qingyan nodded.
But her nod was very slight, making her look quite apprehensive.
Looking at her like this, Gu Chengyin suddenly wanted to laugh.
But he held it back, changing it into a sigh instead.
Hearing this sigh, Lin Qingyan's body stiffened, and she buried her head even lower.
Then, Gu Chengyin's voice sounded:
"Since Little Aunt knows where she went wrong..."
He paused, and Lin Qingyan's heart leaped into her throat.
"Then I'll forgive you this time."
As his words fell.
Lin Qingyan abruptly lifted her head, her eyes suddenly shining brightly.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
