Obviously, Shangguan Yunying also understood the implication behind Gu Xiaoli’s words.
Not wanting to be a cat meant she was trying to compete with her for someone.
How could Shangguan Yunying not take that seriously?
"Yunying."
Shangguan Yunying turned her head at the call and looked at Luo Zhao.
Luo Zhao’s expression grew serious:
"Just now, you said that Gu Chengyin has started doubting me again because of Little Aunt?"
Shangguan Yunying nodded gravely:
"Though he didn’t show it overtly, I could sense it."
She paused, then added:
"But Lord Jingzhe said she needed to meditate on the way of immortality, so he probably won’t come tonight."
Luo Zhao nodded, her expression calm.
"I see. I’ll keep that in mind."
She pondered for a moment, then said slowly:
"As long as the consciousness puppet is in place, it doesn’t matter if Gu Chengyin grows suspicious again."
"Someone like him can only doubt unless he sees proof with his own eyes."
Having said that, Luo Zhao suddenly remembered something and turned to Gu Xiaoli.
"Xiaoli, does this consciousness puppet have to obey Gu Chengyin’s commands? Can it be modified?"
Gu Xiaoli was just munching on a skewer of lamb. She set it down, thought carefully, and then shook her head.
"It’s not that Xiaoli doesn’t want to—it’s that I can’t."
Luo Zhao frowned.
"Can’t?"
"Yeah."
Gu Xiaoli nodded, her little face serious.
"Big Brother’s hypnosis is very powerful. To completely evade it, only Her Highness’s bracelet could do that."
"Xiaoli’s cultivation level and skill aren’t high enough. Doing this much is already the limit."
Luo Zhao was silent for a moment, then nodded.
She didn’t doubt Gu Xiaoli’s words.
After all, Gu Xiaoli was only at the half-step Nascent Soul stage. If she could do something that even an immortal-grade artifact couldn’t achieve, that would be utterly astonishing.
Creating a consciousness puppet to fool Gu Chengyin was already beyond expectations.
To totally circumvent Gu Chengyin’s commands was indeed beyond her ability.
Luo Zhao sighed inwardly.
It seemed she’d have to keep playing along with Gu Chengyin.
So be it—she had been pretending for so long anyway; a little longer wouldn’t matter.
As long as she could stall and keep Gu Chengyin from discovering the truth, there was still a chance to turn things around.
Just as Luo Zhao was thinking this, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.
A female official rushed in, her expression tense, and bowed to report:
"Your Highness, Junior Preceptor Gu and Lord Jingzhe are heading toward the Crown Prince’s Palace."
As her words fell, the atmosphere in the hall immediately tightened.
Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying were both startled.
Wasn’t Gu Chengyin supposed to go to Lin Qingyan’s place? Why was he coming to the Crown Prince’s Palace?
Shangguan Yunying had just said that Lin Qingyan wanted to meditate on the way of immortality, so Gu Chengyin wouldn’t come tonight.
But now, the two of them were arriving together?
A bad feeling crept into Luo Zhao’s heart.
Gu Chengyin was suspicious of her again, Lin Qingyan wanted to meditate on immortality, and now both of them were heading to the Crown Prince’s Palace.
Could it be…
They wanted to meditate on immortality right in front of her?
Luo Zhao took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Knowing these two as well as she did, they really might do something like that.
After all, their first kiss had happened while hiding behind her.
Shangguan Yunying also realized what was happening, and her face changed slightly.
"Didn’t Lord Jingzhe tell Gu Chengyin to come to her place? Why are they coming to the Crown Prince’s Palace…"
She turned to Luo Zhao and asked:
"Your Highness, should Xiaoli and I step aside?"
Her tone was cautious, clearly she, too, had guessed at the possibility.
"No."
Luo Zhao opened her eyes, her gaze dark and heavy.
"You both stay right by my side. Don’t go anywhere."
If Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin were planning to meditate on immortality in front of her, and she were alone, who knew what might happen? What if their meditation turned into something on her bed?
She couldn’t just stand by and watch her Little Aunt and that bastard Gu Chengyin do something like that in front of her.
Thinking this, Luo Zhao’s face turned grim.
That’s why Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli couldn’t leave.
As long as they were here, no matter how deep the meditation went, it wouldn’t go too far.
Even if Gu Chengyin was thick-skinned, he wouldn’t dare do anything inappropriate in front of Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli.
And even if Lin Qingyan was bold, she wouldn’t lose face in front of her juniors.
Having made up her mind, Luo Zhao took another deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She glanced at Shangguan Yunying, then at Gu Xiaoli.
Shangguan Yunying understood and sat down on a chair nearby.
Gu Xiaoli, though not fully grasping the situation, saw Luo Zhao’s expression and obediently sat down, still clutching the last half of her lamb skewer.
She took occasional bites, chewing with her cheeks puffed out.
Luo Zhao sat upright on her bed, smoothed her dress, and composed herself.
She would see exactly what Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan intended to do.
Time passed, second by second.
Footsteps sounded outside the hall.
They drew closer unhurriedly, each step steady.
Luo Zhao’s eyes fixed on the hall’s doors. Her face was calm, but inside she had already braced herself for the worst.
At the entrance to the bedchamber, two figures appeared side by side.
One wore a moon-white robe, graceful and otherworldly—Gu Chengyin.
The other was dressed in blue like smoke, cool and frosty—Lin Qingyan.
They walked in together, one in white, one in blue, looking oddly harmonious under the candlelight.
Luo Zhao’s gaze swept over them, and she thought to herself.
From the looks of it, Lin Qingyan had completely dropped the act?
By now, Luo Zhao had retreated behind the consciousness puppet.
She rose to her feet, her expression one of well-practiced surprise.
"Junior Preceptor Gu? Little Aunt? Why have you come at this hour?"
Her voice carried a hint of confusion and concern, revealing no abnormality.
Gu Chengyin stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"Your Highness."
He lifted his head, his eyes landing on Luo Zhao’s face.
"I apologize for disturbing you so late."
Luo Zhao smiled faintly.
"Junior Preceptor Gu is too polite. May I ask why you have come so late?"
Gu Chengyin didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze slowly swept across the room, from Luo Zhao’s face to Shangguan Yunying’s, then to Gu Xiaoli’s.
Finally, it returned to Luo Zhao’s face.
There was a meaningful quality to his gaze, as if he was trying to see through her.
Though Luo Zhao was hidden behind the consciousness puppet, her heart tightened slightly. Fortunately, her emotions wouldn’t show.
What was Gu Chengyin looking for?
What was he confirming?
Or was he testing her?
Gu Chengyin watched Luo Zhao for a moment, then suddenly smiled—a smile that made Luo Zhao feel uneasy.
"It’s nothing major."
"I just suddenly remembered something I’d been meaning to confirm with you, Your Highness."
Luo Zhao’s heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"
Gu Chengyin looked at her, speaking slowly, word by word:
"Have you been feeling unwell lately, Your Highness?"
Luo Zhao replied:
"Unwell? No, I haven’t. Why do you ask, Junior Preceptor Gu?"
Gu Chengyin’s gaze deepened as he nodded.
"That’s good to hear."
"I’ve only recently heard rumors that Your Highness’s health has been off, so I was worried."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
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!
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.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
