Moonlight cascaded like water onto the glazed tiles of the Crown Prince's residence, casting a cold, silvery glow upon the scene.
Inside the bedchamber, candlelight flickered, stretching and shortening the shadows of several figures.
The air still carried the lingering fragrance of roasted lamb, mingled with the greasy aroma of the lamb skewers in Gu Xiaoli's hand, drifting faintly through the silent hall.
Luo Zhao sat upright on the bed, having listened to Shangguan Yunying's account, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
She never imagined that in the span of a single meal, so many things could happen.
Gu Chengyin had actually managed to gain control over Lin Qingyan?
Although it ultimately failed, and Gu Xiaoli had even provoked him into revealing himself, the news still weighed heavily on Luo Zhao's heart.
She had made similar inferences before, and now it seemed she had been right.
Lin Qingyan had lost control, prompting Gu Chengyin to act against her.
Fortunately, Lin Qingyan's cultivation was high enough that he hadn't succeeded.
Otherwise, if Lin Qingyan were completely under Gu Chengyin's control, who in the Great Luo Dynasty could rival him?
Thinking about this sent a shiver of fear through Luo Zhao.
But soon, her attention shifted to another matter.
Her gaze fell on Gu Xiaoli, who was busy gnawing on a lamb skewer nearby.
This cat had not only broken Lin Qingyan's composure but also declared in front of everyone that she wanted to be Gu Chengyin's bride.
Luo Zhao squinted, a swirl of complex emotions stirring within her.
This was her cat!
After all the effort she’d put into getting Gu Xiaoli to agree, now—just as Gu Chengyin appeared—the cat was about to betray her?
No, she had to get to the bottom of this.
“Xiaoli.”
Luo Zhao spoke, her voice soft but carrying a tone of seriousness.
Gu Xiaoli was munching on a skewer, her mouth glistening with oil, her cheeks bulging.
Hearing Luo Zhao call her, she looked up, tilting her head, her big eyes full of confusion.
“Your Highness?”
She mumbled back, a trace of grease still clinging to the corner of her mouth.
Luo Zhao gazed at Gu Xiaoli’s innocent face and asked with a serious expression,
“If Gu Chengyin insists on making you his cat, would you agree?”
At this, the atmosphere in the room stiffened.
Shangguan Yunying also turned her head, her gaze fixed on Gu Xiaoli, a hint of tension flickering in her eyes.
Now that she knew Gu Xiaoli was a cat demon at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, she understood why Gu Chengyin wanted the cat.
Who wouldn’t want such a powerful asset?
That Gu Chengyin would eventually try to claim Gu Xiaoli was almost an open secret.
Gu Xiaoli blinked, replying nonchalantly, “Big Brother wouldn’t do that.”
Her tone was resolute, as if stating an indisputable fact.
Luo Zhao was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected Gu Xiaoli to answer so bluntly and so firmly.
So firmly that she had no idea why the cat was so certain.
“Why?” Luo Zhao pressed.
Gu Xiaoli nibbled at her skewer and said matter-of-factly, “Because Xiaoli doesn’t want to be Big Brother’s cat.”
She said it as if it were the simplest, most obvious reason in the world.
Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying exchanged glances, both wearing puzzled expressions.
Doesn’t want to, so it won’t happen?
Since when did Gu Chengyin ever care about what others wanted?
Whenever he desired something, didn’t he always find a way to get it?
Shangguan Yunying couldn’t help asking, “Xiaoli, you don’t really want to be Gu Chengyin’s…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Gu Xiaoli nodded matter-of-factly.
“Exactly!”
She put down the skewer and earnestly explained to the two,
“Both you, My Lady, and Her Highness are family to Xiaoli, so it’s fine to be your cat.”
Gu Xiaoli paused before continuing, “But not Big Brother.”
Luo Zhao raised an eyebrow.
“Why not?”
Gu Xiaoli tilted her head and replied with childlike seriousness, “Big Brother once said that a brother and sister can’t sleep in the same bed.”
Her tone bore a kind of innocent gravity, as if this were the most important rule in the world.
“If I were Big Brother’s cat, he definitely wouldn’t let me sleep in his bed.”
A determined look crossed Gu Xiaoli’s face. “So I can’t be Big Brother’s cat.”
Her words left silence in their wake.
Luo Zhao froze.
She stared at Gu Xiaoli’s earnest little face, and suddenly, everything clicked.
Finally, she understood why Gu Xiaoli had agreed to be her cat.
In Gu Xiaoli’s world, both the Empress and she were family.
Like cousins or aunts—relatives, just without blood ties.
So Gu Xiaoli felt familial love for her.
But Gu Chengyin was different.
In Gu Xiaoli’s heart, Gu Chengyin wasn’t a relative.
Not bound by any relationship defined by family.
That was why she didn’t want to be his cat.
Because Gu Chengyin had said that a brother and sister couldn’t share the same bed.
That sentence had stuck with Gu Xiaoli, becoming an unshakable truth.
Not becoming his cat to avoid that rule was one thing; wanting to share a bed was another.
And wanting to share a bed meant…
Luo Zhao took a deep breath.
This meant Gu Xiaoli didn’t dislike Gu Chengyin.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Her feelings for Gu Chengyin were not the familial kind, but rather the same kind Lin Qingyan had.
Luo Zhao felt dizzy just thinking about it.
This was even worse than letting Gu Xiaoli be Gu Chengyin’s cat!
As a cat, at least they’d still be family, and she could still intervene.
But now, Xiaoli wanted to be his bride.
That changed everything completely!
No matter how strong familial bonds were, they could never outweigh romantic love.
Just look at Shangguan Yunying. If Gu Chengyin ever clashed with Shangguan Yuan, who would she side with?
There was no need to guess—she would definitely support Gu Chengyin.
If Gu Xiaoli turned out that way too...
Even as her cat, Gu Xiaoli would still choose Gu Chengyin.
Luo Zhao dared not think further.
She gazed at Gu Xiaoli’s innocent little face, her heart aching bitterly.
This cat seemed clueless and carefree, yet deep down she kept a ledger more precise than anyone else’s.
She knew what kinship was, knew what love was.
She knew whose cat she could be, and whose she couldn’t.
She knew who she could sleep with, and who she couldn’t.
She knew everything.
For a moment, Luo Zhao had no idea how to change Gu Xiaoli’s mind.
Though Gu Xiaoli appeared soft and easygoing, deep down she was stubborn to the core.
Once she set her mind on something, not even ten oxen could drag her back.
Like back when she fought with her younger aunt for the title of Empress Dowager—so many arguments.
Did she ever give in? Did she ever bow her head?
No. Not once.
Luo Zhao sighed inwardly.
The only silver lining was that Gu Xiaoli was still her cat.
Even if her heart belonged to Gu Chengyin, at least in name, she was hers.
As long as Gu Chengyin hadn’t stolen her away yet, there was still a chance.
Luo Zhao shifted her gaze from Gu Xiaoli to Shangguan Yunying.
At that moment, the chief female official was staring at Gu Xiaoli, who was eating lamb skewers.
A hint of hidden vigilance flickered in Shangguan Yunying’s eyes.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
