She looked into Gu Chengyin's deep eyes, looking at his calm face.
Watching the movements of his hands, a strange feeling suddenly washed over her.
Gu Chengyin was doing this on purpose.
Purposely doing this right in front of her.
Purposely making her watch.
Purposely making her...
Lin Qingyan lowered her gaze, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
She remembered her sharp confrontation with Shangguan Yunying just moments ago.
At that time, Lin Qingyan thought she was in control of the situation.
But looking at it now.
It was entirely uncertain who was actually controlling whom.
"Chengcheng."
Lin Qingyan lifted her head, her gaze a bit colder, but the redness at the tips of her ears betrayed her.
"Sister Yunying is already like this, just let her go."
As she spoke, she cast a glance at Shangguan Yunying.
Lin Qingyan suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for her, even though they had been at each other's throats just a moment ago.
But watching Shangguan Yunying now, an inexplicable sense of mutual pity arose in Lin Qingyan's heart.
Because Lin Qingyan knew that if it weren't for Shangguan Yunying, the one being taught a lesson right now might be...
No, it wouldn't be her.
She was Jingzhe of the Celestial Master's Mansion, Luo Zhao's aunt; how could she possibly be the one taught a lesson?
But then Lin Qingyan recalled the look Gu Chengyin had given her just now.
That profound glance seemed to say: Don't be anxious, Auntie, you are next.
Lin Qingyan's breathing hitched again.
Gu Chengyin looked at her, his gaze dark and deep.
"Is Auntie feeling sorry for Yunying?"
Lin Qingyan pursed her lips and said nothing.
Gu Chengyin looked at Shangguan Yunying, his hand sliding to the back of her neck and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Yunying."
Gu Chengyin's voice rang out, "Auntie is pleading for you. What do you have to say?"
Shangguan Yunying's body shuddered.
She slowly raised her head, revealing a completely flushed face.
There were tear stains at the corners of her eyes, her lips were slightly red and swollen, and her eyes rippled with moisture, making her look incredibly pitiful.
She wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
Watching this scene, Lin Qingyan's heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly realized that Shangguan Yunying couldn't speak right now.
She genuinely could not speak.
Lin Qingyan's face flushed red once more.
She tried her best to calm down. "Chengcheng, stop bullying her."
Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow. "Auntie says I'm bullying her?"
He moved his hand away from the back of Shangguan Yunying's neck and patted the top of her head instead.
"Tell me, Yunying, am I bullying you? If you don't speak, then I'm not."
Shangguan Yunying did not answer.
But Lin Qingyan could see that her shoulders were trembling even more violently.
Gu Chengyin waited for a moment. Receiving no response, he sighed and looked at Lin Qingyan.
"Look, Auntie, Yunying isn't saying anything."
Lin Qingyan: ......
Could Shangguan Yunying even speak?
Lin Qingyan felt like she was going crazy.
She had seen countless grand scenes, but she had never encountered a situation like this.
How was she supposed to handle this? What should she say? What should she do?
Lin Qingyan didn't know.
She only knew that her face was burning, her heart was racing, and her gaze uncontrollably drifted downward.
And what about Gu Chengyin?
He just sat there, calmly and unhurriedly arranging their strategy for when they returned to the Divine Capital.
Yet, in reality, he was doing that kind of thing.
Right in front of her.
Lin Qingyan suddenly had the urge to lift the carriage curtain and jump out.
But she couldn't.
She was Jingzhe of the Celestial Master's Mansion, the person ordered to escort Gu Chengyin.
So she had to escort Gu Chengyin to the Celestial Master's Mansion, had to act according to his strategy, had to...
Sit here and watch him teach Shangguan Yunying a lesson.
Lin Qingyan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Chengcheng."
She opened her eyes, trying to make her voice sound calm. "After we return to the Divine Capital, do you really plan to close your doors to all guests?"
Changing the subject.
This was the only solution Lin Qingyan could think of.
Gu Chengyin glanced at her, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
"Yes."
Gu Chengyin nodded and began to talk business. "Closing our doors is the safest approach. The current situation in the Divine Capital is unclear, and acting rashly will only lead us into someone else's trap."
"Only when the new imperial edict comes down will we know which direction to take."
Lin Qingyan nodded slightly, trying hard to focus her attention on what Gu Chengyin was saying.
"What if someone tries to force their way in?" she asked.
"Then we use the imperial edict to block them."
Gu Chengyin said, "I am a state criminal. Without a new imperial edict, no one is allowed to see me."
Lin Qingyan thought for a moment and asked, "What if Her Highness comes?"
Gu Chengyin's eyes narrowed slightly. "The same."
"But Her Highness is the Crown Princess."
"Even the Crown Princess cannot defy an imperial edict."
Gu Chengyin's voice was calm, but a dark undercurrent surged in his eyes. "Furthermore, Her Highness won't be able to come anyway."
Lin Qingyan paused for a moment. "Why?"
"Because Her Highness has been ordered to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors," Gu Chengyin said slowly. "She is too busy fending for herself."
Lin Qingyan's brows furrowed slightly. "Are you saying..."
"I didn't say anything."
Gu Chengyin interrupted, "I'm merely guessing. We'll only know the specifics once we return to the Divine Capital."
Lin Qingyan's gaze grew increasingly complex. She suddenly realized that even though Gu Chengyin was sitting right beside her.
Even though she could feel the electricity, she still couldn't see through him.
Gu Chengyin's mind was too deep, so deep that it was impossible to pry into.
On the other side, Shangguan Yunying was still trying hard to seek Gu Chengyin's forgiveness.
Lin Qingyan's gaze uncontrollably drifted over again.
This time, she did not pull it back in time.
Gu Chengyin followed her gaze, and his voice rang out, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
"Auntie, are you also wanting to..."
"No."
Lin Qingyan quickly cut him off, her face turning red again. "I'm not thinking about anything."
"Oh?"
Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow. "I haven't even finished speaking. How did Auntie know what I was going to say?"
Lin Qingyan pursed her lips and remained silent.
The carriage fell silent.
Sitting there, Lin Qingyan felt her heart beating faster and faster.
She could feel Gu Chengyin's gaze resting on her, burning and profound.
She could feel her face burning, the tips of her ears burning, and even her neck burning.
Lin Qingyan didn't dare to look at Gu Chengyin.
Yet she couldn't help but want to look.
Finally, she raised her head and met Gu Chengyin's eyes.
Their eyes locked.
A dark undercurrent surged in Gu Chengyin's eyes, as deep as a bottomless abyss.
Lin Qingyan's heart skipped a beat.
Just then, Shangguan Yunying suddenly moved.
She looked at Lin Qingyan, then at Gu Chengyin, and suddenly reached out to grab Gu Chengyin's sleeve.
Gu Chengyin looked down at her.
Then he saw Shangguan Yunying pointing at herself, a pleading look in her eyes.
Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow. "You want me to forgive you?"
Shangguan Yunying immediately let out two muffled whimpers in confirmation.
Lin Qingyan suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, Gu Chengyin turned his head to look at her, his gaze deep and dark:
"Auntie, Yunying wants me to forgive her."
"Tell me... should I forgive her?"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
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!
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?
