A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Choose Shangguan Yunying?
Then what would Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli think?
One he had just appeased, and the other he was trying to win over—offending either would be unwise.
Choose Lin Qingyan?
Could he bear Shangguan Yunying’s resentment? And with Gu Xiaoli watching from the sidelines?
Choose Gu Xiaoli?
Gu Chengyin didn’t even bother considering that option.
Bringing a cat-eared loli back with him? He’d rather not get electrocuted.
But if he didn’t choose…
Could these three women really let him off that easily?
Still, Gu Chengyin was Gu Chengyin.
Ignoring the pressure they were all exerting on him, he pondered briefly and found the only way out.
“I have something to report to Her Highness.”
His tone was calm, his expression composed, as if he really did have something important to attend to.
The three women’s hearts simultaneously sank.
Her Highness?
Luo Zhao?
At this hour, going to see Luo Zhao?
They all knew the current situation between Gu Chengyin and Luo Zhao.
On the surface, it was a harmonious relationship between crown princess and young mentor.
But in truth, even though Gu Chengyin had hypnotized Luo Zhao, his suspicions had never faded.
And the three of them had all been helping Luo Zhao cover it up.
Even Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli put aside their differences at a time like this.
They exchanged a glance—one filled with unspoken understanding and mutual awareness of the stakes.
Then Lin Qingyan spoke. She looked at Gu Chengyin with feigned suspicion, her voice laced with just the right amount of curiosity:
“So late at night, what do you need to see Zhao’er about? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
Her words actually gave Gu Chengyin a clue. He suddenly realized—
Lin Qingyan probably didn’t know he had hypnotized Luo Zhao.
Which meant she also had no idea why he needed to see her.
What’s more, if he went to Luo Zhao, he’d have to find a way to get Lin Qingyan out of the way first.
If she found out, given her personality, unexpected trouble would likely follow.
Having made up his mind, Gu Chengyin went along with Lin Qingyan’s suggestion.
“Little Aunt is right,” he said smoothly.
“It’s not appropriate to disturb Her Highness so late. I’ll go tomorrow instead.”
Lin Qingyan was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected Gu Chengyin to take the out she’d handed him so readily.
It left her momentarily unsure how to respond.
She exchanged a glance with Shangguan Yunying, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
Then she spoke again:
“Then…”
She paused, her gaze fixed on Gu Chengyin.
Her tone carried a hint of tentativeness, a touch of anticipation, and something else—something indescribable—
“Come to my place?”
Such a forthright invitation immediately tightened the atmosphere.
Shangguan Yunying’s gaze turned sharp, like a blade aimed at Lin Qingyan.
Gu Xiaoli’s cat ears perked up, her eyes flashing with alertness.
The unspoken pact among the three women almost shattered right there.
They even began to wonder if Lin Qingyan was trying to seize an opportunity for herself.
But Lin Qingyan ignored their stares.
She simply kept her eyes on Gu Chengyin, her tone calm as she added,
“Don’t overthink it. I just want to contemplate the Dao of Immortals.”
A perfectly noble excuse.
Shangguan Yunying bit her lip. She wanted to say something but held back in the end.
After all, she still had to return to the Crown Princess’s palace to inform Luo Zhao that Gu Chengyin might be growing suspicious again, so she could prepare.
Right now, the best course of action was to let Lin Qingyan keep Gu Chengyin occupied.
After mulling it over, Shangguan Yunying took a deep breath and suppressed her displeasure.
She stood up, smoothed her dress, and said,
“Then I won’t keep you and Lord Jingzhe.”
She grabbed Gu Xiaoli by the hand.
“Xiaoli and I will head back first.”
Gu Xiaoli was pulled to her feet, still clutching a large handful of lamb skewers.
She blinked, glancing from Shangguan Yunying to Gu Chengyin.
Then she nodded obediently and said nothing.
As Shangguan Yunying passed by Gu Chengyin, she whispered, just loud enough for him alone to hear,
“You promised to eat with me. You owe me!”
Gu Chengyin nodded repeatedly, his voice warm. “Of course, of course.”
Only then did Shangguan Yunying look satisfied. She took Gu Xiaoli’s hand and led her toward the door.
Gu Xiaoli followed, one hand held by her, the other still gripping the skewers tightly.
She turned back and waved her small hand at Gu Chengyin, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Gu Chengyin waved back. After their figures disappeared through the doorway, Lin Qingyan was silent for a moment. Then she suddenly asked,
“Did you hypnotize Zhao’er?”
Gu Chengyin’s pupils contracted, but his face remained impassive.
He turned to look at Lin Qingyan, his tone calm:
“How did Little Aunt know?”
Lin Qingyan didn’t answer. She just looked at him, her gaze growing deeper.
After a long pause, she said softly,
“I guessed.”
Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow.
“Guessed?”
“Yes. I guessed from your reaction just now.”
Lin Qingyan continued,
“When I said you should go tomorrow, you agreed immediately. That’s not like you.”
Gu Chengyin said nothing.
Lin Qingyan pressed on,
“If you really had something important to see Zhao’er about, you wouldn’t have changed your mind just because of something I said.”
"Unless..."
She paused, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"You don't actually want me to come along."
Gu Chengyin looked at her, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.
Truly Lin Qingyan.
Her insight and intuition were indeed formidable.
He didn't deny it, only offered a faint smile.
"Then?"
"Then," Lin Qingyan continued, "you agreed so readily, which means you do intend to find Zhao'er—but not necessarily right now. You just needed an excuse—a reason to send me away."
"So I'm guessing you hypnotized Zhao'er."
"After all, you have a track record."
At that word, Gu Chengyin couldn't help but laugh.
"Track record?"
"Yes," Lin Qingyan said earnestly. "You even hypnotized me, so Zhao'er goes without saying."
Gu Chengyin watched her serious expression and suddenly found it amusing.
"And what if I hypnotize you again, Little Aunt?"
Lin Qingyan shook her head.
"You won't."
"Why not?"
"Because if you wanted to hypnotize me, you wouldn't have kissed me just now."
She said this with a slight blush, yet her eyes met his without flinching.
Gu Chengyin reached out and gently pinched her nose.
"Little Aunt is really clever."
Lin Qingyan looked at him seriously and asked again,
"So you really did hypnotize Zhao'er?"
Gu Chengyin nodded with complete frankness.
"Yes."
Lin Qingyan's eyes widened slightly.
She was silent for a moment, as if digesting the news.
Then she asked,
"Why?"
Gu Chengyin looked at her but didn't answer.
Lin Qingyan waited a while. When she saw he wasn't going to speak, she ventured a guess.
"Is it because of Zhao'er's personality? Or because she hates you?"
Gu Chengyin was momentarily taken aback.
"Little Aunt knows?"
Lin Qingyan nodded.
"I watched Zhao'er grow up, so I know her very well."
Just as Gu Chengyin was about to explain further,
Lin Qingyan suddenly leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder, and said with mischief,
"Since Zhao'er has already been hypnotized, how about..."
"We go and contemplate the Immortal Dao right in front of her~"
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!
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.
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
