Hearing these words, Lin Qingyan's eyes suddenly lit up.
A warm current surged in her heart; this was the warmth of being taken seriously.
She knew it!
She knew Gu Chengyin was the best!
He would never brush her off.
He would never deceive her.
He would never treat her words as nonsense.
He would listen earnestly, think earnestly, and respond earnestly.
Even if he wanted to leave, it was all for her own good! It was because he didn't want her to get hurt!
All the tangles, worries, and feelings of helplessness in Lin Qingyan's heart...
...seemed to find an outlet in this instant.
She leaned forward, almost pressing right up against Gu Chengyin, and looked into his eyes.
Gu Chengyin's gaze was equally gentle and affectionate.
He was now basically certain that Lin Qingyan was highly likely completely love-struck.
If he didn't want to repeat the fate of being knocked out by lightning, tied up, or even locked in a dark room...
...the only way was to placate her first, at least until he had the power to protect himself and could fight her to a draw.
Now there was truly a compelling reason to force Emperor Luo to abdicate.
At least in Gu Chengyin's eyes, as long as Emperor Luo was still breathing,
he would absolutely never let him advance any further.
It was even possible that he was already treating him as a whetstone for Luo Zhao.
If it weren't for Emperor Luo having Luo Zhao as a weakness...
...with the resources of the entire Great Luo, he would be terrifyingly invincible.
To make Gu Chengyin believe her, Lin Qingyan thought about it very seriously and carefully.
Weighing her words, she said cautiously:
Chengcheng, do you think there's such a possibility?
Zhao'er... actually wants to be like me.
Gu Chengyin paused slightly. Luo Zhao wanted to be like Lin Qingyan?
What did that mean? Was Lin Qingyan projecting herself onto Luo Zhao?
Lin Qingyan continued, speaking slowly, as if thinking while she spoke:
How should I put it... it's like crippling all your cultivation, erasing all your identities, and stripping away all your status.
Dragging you down from your place high up like the bright moon, banishing you into the mortal dust, and then intentionally stepping on you a few times.
Then appearing before you as a savior, telling you that in this world, I am the only one who loves you.
Then I could trick you into going to a place no one knows about, lock you up, and have you belong to me alone forever.
Gu Chengyin: ...
He rarely experienced a brain crash due to the sheer volume of information revealed in someone's words.
But at this moment, his brain really did crash a little.
Cripple all cultivation?
Erase all identities?
Drag down ruthlessly?
Only I love you?
A place no one knows about?
Belong to me alone forever?
This...
This is...
This is a crime, isn't it?!
Gu Chengyin's mouth twitched.
The look in his eyes as he stared at Lin Qingyan became increasingly incredulous.
Yet Lin Qingyan didn't notice anything wrong at all and continued talking to herself:
Chengcheng, think about it. Zhao'er is the Crown Princess, a proud daughter of heaven. She's had whatever she wanted since she was a child, but you...
At this point, Lin Qingyan bit her lower lip, and her tone couldn't help but turn sour:
You treat Zhao'er so well, assisting her and protecting her.
Not only did you help her gain a firm foothold, but you also shielded her from the wind and rain, even risking your life to help her expand her power.
But you have never truly belonged to her.
If it were me, I would definitely go crazy too.
As Lin Qingyan spoke, she suddenly felt like she had found the logic, and her eyes couldn't help but light up:
You see, if this edict was issued by Zhao'er,
don't you think it feels a lot like possession?
Making you lose everything, so that in the end, you can only rely on her.
Turning you from the high-and-mighty Junior Preceptor to the Crown Princess into an existence that can only depend on her.
So, this imperial edict is just the beginning.
Lin Qingyan paused, but with an indescribable certainty:
There will definitely be an endless stream of offensives waiting for you after this!
Until you are truly beaten down into the dust.
Gu Chengyin: ...
He looked at Lin Qingyan's face, which was slightly flushed from her deduction.
Suddenly, he didn't know what to say.
Now he truly didn't know what to say.
Although what Lin Qingyan said was well-founded, logical, and formed a closed loop,
Gu Chengyin didn't actually suspect Luo Zhao because of it.
He only had one thought in his mind right now.
Lin Qingyan seemed to be talking about Luo Zhao with every sentence, but in reality, every sentence was about herself.
Especially those sparkling eyes.
They were full of expectation, full of yearning, and even held a hint of eagerness to give it a try.
Was she deducing Luo Zhao's thoughts, or deducing her own future?
Gu Chengyin finally understood.
Lin Qingyan wasn't analyzing Luo Zhao; she was projecting herself.
The words she just said, rather than guessing Luo Zhao's thoughts, were more like...
...describing Lin Qingyan's own deepest desires.
She didn't really want to harm him; she wanted to possess him.
So she wanted to drag him, the high-and-mighty Junior Preceptor, down into the dust.
And then lock him up, so he could belong only to Lin Qingyan forever.
Gu Chengyin's Adam's apple bobbed. The more terrifying point was...
Lin Qingyan had said these things unconsciously.
This proved that these were her true thoughts, her deepest hidden intentions.
And even now, Lin Qingyan still hadn't realized what she had actually said.
She even looked at Gu Chengyin with full expectation, hoping to get his approval:
Chengcheng, what do you think? Isn't my deduction very logical?
Looking into Lin Qingyan's eyes, Gu Chengyin fell silent for a moment.
Finally, he spoke with some difficulty:
Little Aunt.
Hmm?
You...
Gu Chengyin took a deep breath, mentally prepared himself, carefully weighed his words, and asked:
I must admit, what you said makes a lot of sense. It's indeed not just empty talk, and the logic is very sound.
Hearing Gu Chengyin's affirmation, Lin Qingyan's eyes shone even brighter. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Gu Chengyin continue:
But, I want to ask you one more question.
Were the things you just said actually your own thoughts, or...
Lin Qingyan froze. What kind of question was that?
What she thought was naturally her own thoughts! Could it be...
Wait.
Lin Qingyan suddenly realized something was wrong.
What had she just been thinking about?
Erasing all of Gu Chengyin's cultivation.
Dragging him from the high moon down into the dust.
And then...
And then...
Lin Qingyan was stunned. She looked at Gu Chengyin and saw the complex gleam in his eyes.
She finally realized something; she finally realized what exactly she had just said.
Then, Lin Qingyan's face flushed bright red.
The redness spread all the way from her cheeks to the base of her ears, and from her ears down to the sides of her neck, burning so hot it felt like she was going to emit smoke.
Oh my god!
What on earth had she just said?!
Weren't these things she was only supposed to think about in her head?
How did she speak her innermost thoughts out loud!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
