Obedience Test

Gu Chengyin leaned against the carriage wall, eyes closed, breathing evenly, looking as if he were truly asleep.

But in reality, he was not asleep. His mind was constantly racing.

He wasn't thinking about the messy affairs of last night, nor the sharp confrontation between the two women beside him.

Instead, he was thinking about what to do after returning to the Divine Capital.

How to take the next step, how to force Emperor Luo to abdicate, and how to push Luo Zhao to the throne.

Then there was the matter of the imperial edict, which was also full of suspicious points.

Cui Shifan had suddenly jumped out, pushing the edict forward in the name of the Chief Minister of the Cabinet. Was there a deeper motive behind this?

Luo Zhao had suppressed the edict and refused to issue it. Was there a hidden reason?

And whose handiwork was the edict itself, exactly?

These questions tangled in Gu Chengyin's mind like a ball of messy yarn.

He needed time to sort things out, information for corroboration, and above all, quiet.

But the two women beside him made it completely impossible for him to find any peace.

Gu Chengyin wasn't blind; of course, he could see the intense rivalry between Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying.

From last night until now, the smell of gunpowder between them hadn't dissipated.

One was aloof and detached, the other gentle yet capable.

One was a Golden Core Fairy, the other a Chief Female Official.

He had bullied one, and he had bullied the other as well.

Although it was just a war of words, both indeed shared a complicated relationship with him.

So, putting these two women together was like Mars colliding with Earth.

What gave Gu Chengyin an even bigger headache was that Shangguan Yunying was playing sweet again.

He finally saw through her now. This Chief Female Official appeared gentle and capable on the surface.

But deep down, she was just a seductress wearing the skin of a female official.

She had more little schemes, petty calculations, and hidden agendas than anyone else.

Calling him master last night was to provoke Lin Qingyan.

Doing it this morning was to test Lin Qingyan's reaction.

Acting obedient after being reprimanded was to make Lin Qingyan lower her guard.

Every step was calculated clearly, every word hid a deeper meaning.

How was she a Chief Female Official? She was clearly a two-faced vixen.

But Gu Chengyin could only suppress his thoughts for now. He couldn't expose her.

Because once he did, Shangguan Yunying would lose face, and Lin Qingyan would become even more vigilant.

If these two women tore at each other's throats, being caught in the middle would be even more troublesome for him.

Most importantly, he still needed Shangguan Yunying.

He needed her to maintain his relationship with Jiang Qingshan.

At least until he stepped into the Golden Core Realm, before he officially took over the Qingjian Sect.

He still needed Jiang Qingshan, this nominal grandfather, to manage the Qingjian Sect.

With this layer of relationship, Shangguan Yunying's significance to him was far more than just a Chief Female Official.

She was a bond, the tie that maintained his relationship with Jiang Qingshan.

And even more so, the foundation for his future cultivation base.

So from the perspective of basic interests, Shangguan Yunying was very important to him.

So important that he had to protect her. Even Lin Qingyan couldn't be allowed to lay a hand on her.

Of course, this was only temporary.

Wait until he broke through to the Golden Core Realm, wait until his strength was enough to protect himself. When that time came...

Gu Chengyin would definitely hypnotize both Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying!

He would make them truly obedient, well-behaved, and compliant, just like Luo Zhao.

That way, Gu Chengyin could peacefully expand the Qingjian Sect, elevate the sect's status, and increase its influence.

Instead of being like now, where two women made so much noise he couldn't even think in peace.

But that was a matter for the future.

Currently, he was still at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

It wasn't that he couldn't use cultivation to break through realms.

It was just that normal cultivation relied on time to improve bit by bit.

Even with extremely high talent, even with the Qingyun Mantra.

To break through from the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Golden Core Realm.

That was absolutely not something that could be accomplished in a day or two.

However, as long as he took one more step, Gu Chengyin could directly enter the Golden Core Realm.

The time spent would be vastly less than normal cultivation.

As long as he reached the Golden Core Realm, even if he couldn't defeat Lin Qingyan, he would at least be able to outrun her.

Unlike now, where he didn't even have the qualifications to fight back.

He couldn't even lift the hypnosis on his inner demon to hypnotize Lin Qingyan instead.

What if, when lifting it, Lin Qingyan discovered that Gu Chengyin wanted to hypnotize her?

That wasn't impossible.

Lin Qingyan could sense the electricity on a person's body; her intuition was sharper than anyone else's.

If his intentions were truly discovered, the consequences...

Gu Chengyin's Adam's apple bobbed.

Whether he could even see the sun in this lifetime would be a problem.

Gu Chengyin silently sighed in his heart.

Although his cultivation and realm were improving very quickly.

Every step was actually like walking on thin ice.

No matter what he did, he had to be extremely careful. Every decision had to be deeply considered.

The slightest carelessness would result in eternal doom.

He didn't even know if he could reach the other shore in this lifetime.

Fortunately, as long as he didn't court death before reaching the Golden Core stage, whether it was Lin Qingyan or Shangguan Yunying.

They were still quite obedient to him.

This could be seen from their attitude of admitting fault last night.

When told to kneel, they kneeled. When told to admit their mistakes, they admitted them.

Fight as they might, argue as they might, in front of him, they still knew who was the one in charge.

Gu Chengyin slowly opened his eyes.

Sunlight spilled in through the gaps in the carriage curtains, casting mottled shadows inside the cabin.

Tiny specks of dust floated in the beams of light, like little sprites.

He first looked to his left.

Lin Qingyan was resting with her eyes closed. That aloof face glowed faintly in the sunlight.

Her eyelashes cast shadows on her eyelids, her breathing steady and long.

Then he looked to his right.

Shangguan Yunying had her head lowered, hands resting on her knees, looking gentle and submissive.

The sunlight outlined the soft contours of her side profile, making her look exceptionally well-behaved.

Two women, one aloof, one gentle, both as quiet as figures in a painting at this moment.

Gu Chengyin thought for a moment and coughed lightly.

Ahem.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet carriage.

Lin Qingyan's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes.

Shangguan Yunying also raised her head and looked at him.

Two pairs of eyes fell on him simultaneously.

One pair as cold as frost, one pair as gentle as water.

Gu Chengyin raised his hand and patted the empty seats to his left and right.

Come sit over here. I have something to tell you.

Seeing this gesture, Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying both froze.

Sit over there?

Sit beside Gu Chengyin?

The two subconsciously exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

Was Gu Chengyin...

Trying to embrace both of them at once?

This thought rose in their minds simultaneously, and was suppressed simultaneously.

But ultimately, neither voiced any objection.

Lin Qingyan stood up first, shifted to Gu Chengyin's left, and sat down beside him.

Her movements were very natural, as if this was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Shangguan Yunying closely followed, sitting down on Gu Chengyin's right.

She slightly lowered her head, her eyelashes fluttering gently, looking like an obedient and well-behaved girl.

Two women, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiching Gu Chengyin in the middle.

The carriage suddenly became a bit crowded.

Gu Chengyin nodded slightly. It wasn't that he wanted to enjoy the blessings of having two beauties.

Rather, he wanted to conduct a test.

A test regarding their obedience.