Not So Weak Either

Stop Shangguan Yunying from getting any closer with Gu Chengyong?

Was Lin Qingyan actually trying to collaborate to bring Gu Chengyong down, or was she targeting Shangguan Yunying instead?

As Luo Zhao listened, her brows furrowed slightly.

"It sounds good, but..."

She paused, her tone turning somewhat strange:

"Auntie, are you sure you're not using me?"

The question was blunt, almost rude.

But that was just how Luo Zhao was.

She had always been this way, and she still was.

She could endure and put on a facade, but on certain matters, she preferred to state things outright.

Especially when dealing with family like Lin Qingyan.

To her surprise, Lin Qingyan suddenly smiled.

That smile was as bright as spring, a stark contrast to her earlier indifferent demeanor.

"Zhao'er, you're right. I am using you."

Lin Qingyan admitted openly, "Just like you can use me too."

"Cooperation is inherently about mutual exploitation."

"What matters is whether both sides can get what they need from it."

Luo Zhao was taken aback.

She hadn't expected Lin Qingyan to admit it so readily, nor to lay things out so thoroughly.

She had assumed she'd need to waste some words or engage in several rounds of probing before getting to the core issue.

But Lin Qingyan had simply revealed her hand without hesitation.

Yes, I'm using you.

So what?

So her aunt really was straightforward in both speech and personality.

Just like yesterday, when she honestly admitted her feelings for Gu Chengyong.

Luo Zhao smirked in return, nodding with a glint of cunning in her eyes.

"Auntie is right."

"I'll restrain Yunying. But can you tell me..."

She paused, drawing out her words deliberately.

Like a fox sensing its prey's weakness, slowly closing in:

"Is Gu Chengyong hypnotizing the Heart Demon..."

"Or is he hypnotizing you, Auntie?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the air froze for an instant.

Lin Qingyan narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint flickering in their originally cold depths.

It was faint, fleeting, yet enough to send chills down one's spine.

Like a dagger hidden in a sleeve, inadvertently revealing a glint of cold steel.

Anyone else would have been terrified by now, hurriedly apologizing.

But Luo Zhao showed no fear. In fact, she met Lin Qingyan's gaze head-on.

Although Lin Qingyan had declared she still loved Gu Chengyong, something had clearly gone wrong between them.

The unspoken words in her speech, the hesitant pauses, the flickers of emotion—

Luo Zhao had caught all of it.

It would be a waste not to exploit this, especially after all the training Gu Chengyong had given her.

After all, Gu Chengyong had personally taught her so much—

How to spot flaws in the smallest details.

How to probe someone's limits with words.

How to grasp someone's weaknesses and tighten the grip, little by little.

Lin Qingyan stared at Luo Zhao, her gaze deep and unfathomable.

Luo Zhao stared back without retreating.

The air between them crackled with subtle tension.

In the end, Lin Qingyan said nothing.

Her form began to grow transparent, like a watercolor painting soaked through, its outlines gradually fading.

Starting from her feet, it crept upward until she dissolved into air, vanishing without a trace.

Even as she disappeared, Lin Qingyan left the question unanswered.

Luo Zhao gazed at the spot where Lin Qingyan had stood, the corners of her mouth curling upward slightly.

She hadn't gotten an answer, but that silence itself was an answer.

Gu Chengyong wasn't hypnotizing the Heart Demon.

The person Gu Chengyong wanted to hypnotize was Lin Qingyan.

Otherwise, given Lin Qingyan's personality, she would have simply denied it. Why avoid answering?

Her choice to stay silent meant something was wrong.

At the very least, it was wrong enough that she was unwilling to give a direct response.

Luo Zhao's smile deepened.

Even her aunt had fallen for it. From this perspective, Lin Qingyan wasn't as formidable as she seemed.

Being able to trade blows with Gu Chengyong might already be an achievement.

Now even Jingzhe, the invincible golden-core cultivator from the Celestial Masters' Office, had to live as furtively as she did.

Luo Zhao's mood lifted considerably, the frustration of being bullied dissipating.

That was human nature—when you're the only one suffering, it feels miserable.

But the moment you realize someone else is just as unlucky, happiness sets in.

The hall fell silent again.

Just as Luo Zhao withdrew her gaze and began to plan her next steps, a faint noise came from the doorway.

She looked up.

A small figure poked its head through the entrance, glancing around.

After confirming that Luo Zhao was the only one present, it stepped inside confidently.

It was Gu Xiaoli.

The misanthropic little girl walked over with light, brisk steps, her face bearing its usual flat expression.

She wore a female official's robe, a few fallen leaves clinging to the hem, as if she'd just crept back from somewhere.

Once Gu Xiaoli was close, Luo Zhao asked:

"Is Auntie gone?"

Gu Xiaoli nodded, her voice soft and childish but devoid of emotion:

"Sister Qingyan has already left."

Luo Zhao nodded, her gaze resting on Gu Xiaoli as a thought struck her.

Gu Xiaoli could slip away right under Gu Chengyong's nose and hide herself when Lin Qingyan appeared.

But how long could she keep hiding?

Even though her cultivation was so high that even Lin Qingyan might not detect her, this arrangement wasn't sustainable.

"Xiaoli,"

Luo Zhao carefully chose her words, "Can you keep Gu Chengyong from finding you?"

Gu Xiaoli didn't answer, but her lips pouted slightly.

Her deep eyes looked at Luo Zhao, and the answer was already written in them.

No.

Luo Zhao sighed inwardly.

She had known it.

She could keep Gu Chengyong from finding Gu Xiaoli for now, but not forever.

And even if he didn't find her, Gu Xiaoli would eventually go looking for him on her own.

It was just a matter of time.

She had to find another way.

At the very least, she couldn't let Gu Chengyong get Gu Xiaoli so easily.

That bastard had already taken so much from her.

Now he was off enjoying a feast with her chief female official, leaving her alone in this empty grand hall!

Luo Zhao lowered her eyes, her thoughts racing.

First, what had gone wrong with Lin Qingyan?

She hadn't wrung an answer out of her, but based on what she knew, she could roughly guess.

There was no way Luo Zhao believed that Gu Chengyong was hypnotizing the Heart Demon.

Lin Qingyan said nothing, but her evasiveness revealed everything.

Added to Luo Zhao's understanding of her aunt, the answer was clear:

Lin Qingyan had fallen for it.

She wanted Gu Chengyong, but in the end, she never got him.