Lin Qingyan shot Gu Chengyin a meaningful glance, pointed toward the door and then walked out first.
Gu Chengyin didn't say anything more but got up and followed Lin Qingyan.
Meanwhile, Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli sat on either side of Luo Zhao, forming a sort of pincer formation.
Lin Qingyan led Gu Chengyin out of the bedchamber and stopped in the empty corridor.
The night breeze swept through the hallway, tousling the stray strands of hair at her temples and stirring the hem of his moon-white robe.
Lin Qingyan turned around, about to speak.
But before she could utter a word, Gu Chengyin suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into his embrace.
Her words died in her throat.
She froze for a moment, her body instinctively stiffening.
But the stiffness lasted only an instant, before melting away like spring ice meeting the sun.
Lin Qingyan yielded, burying herself in Gu Chengyin's arms, pressing her face against his chest.
The moon-white robe still bore the stains left by that blade—dried into dark brown marks, carrying a faint metallic tang.
Yet Lin Qingyan didn't find it unpleasant. Instead, she buried her face deeper, as if that would bring her closer to Gu Chengyin's heart.
“They’re still inside,” she whispered, her voice muffled, laced with shyness and a feigned seriousness.
Gu Chengyin didn't care at all, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
“Isn't that even better?”
Lin Qingyan blinked.
Better?
Well, maybe it was.
Especially with Luo Zhao just on the other side of the wall.
Before she could think further, Gu Chengyin gently lifted her chin.
She looked up, meeting his gentle, water-soft gaze, and her heart skipped a beat.
The next moment, his demanding lips pressed against hers.
Now Lin Qingyan couldn't care less about anything else.
She raised her arms, wrapped them around Gu Chengyin's neck, and kissed him back without hesitation.
Her kiss was just like her personality—never passive acceptance, always active pursuit.
But Gu Chengyin didn't retreat; instead, he pushed forward, one hand holding her waist, the other cradling the back of her head.
He pinned her against the corridor pillar, deepening the kiss.
Moonlight spilled over them, freezing the scene into a tender, lingering portrait.
Only after a long while did they part.
Lin Qingyan leaned against the pillar, breathing lightly, her cheeks flushed, her lips even redder than before.
She looked down, fumbling to button up her undone collar.
Her fingers trembled slightly, but she couldn't manage to fasten the clasp.
“All your fault!” she murmured with a hint of reproach.
“Now I've forgotten what I was going to say.”
Gu Chengyin watched her flustered look and couldn't resist teasing her.
“Then, maybe we should kiss a little longer?”
Lin Qingyan looked up and shot him a glare.
That look carried reproach, shyness, and a hint of indescribable affection.
She lowered her head again, continuing her battle with the stubborn clasp while trying to gather her thoughts.
Earlier, she and Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli had discussed for a long time before reaching an agreement.
They had debated whether Gu Chengyin might hypnotize Luo Zhao again, what to do if he did, and whether they should stop it and how.
After going back and forth, they had finally reached a consensus.
None of them wanted Luo Zhao to be hypnotized.
But how could she explain this conclusion to Gu Chengyin?
Would he be upset?
Would he feel she wasn't on his side?
And Gu Chengyin, quietly watching Lin Qingyan, wasn't thinking about how to hypnotize Luo Zhao at all.
He was currently in the Foundation Establishment stage, with only two hypnosis slots available.
One had been used on Lin Qingyan’s inner demon, and the other was originally for Luo Zhao, but it had already been lifted.
As for whether he would re-hypnotize Luo Zhao—
Gu Chengyin shook his head inwardly.
No.
If he truly planned to re-hypnotize Luo Zhao, he wouldn’t have lifted the hypnosis in front of the three of them.
The reason he did it was to give them a chance to intervene, while simultaneously lowering their guard.
Because Lin Qingyan, Shangguan Yunying, and Gu Xiaoli all believed, without a doubt, that Gu Chengyin lifted the hypnosis solely to reapply it to Luo Zhao.
But in Gu Chengyin’s eyes, Luo Zhao was no more threatening than a stray dog on the street.
Hypnotizing her again would simply be a waste of a slot.
It was far better to maximize the benefit of the hypnosis-lifting gesture and use it on someone who was truly valuable.
For instance—Lin Qingyan.
At this thought, Gu Chengyin couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated.
For most people, one hypnosis was enough, but Lin Qingyan was different. She needed two.
Ever since he learned that Lin Qingyan had evaded hypnosis by using her inner demon, he had planned this strategy: if one wasn’t enough, two would surely bring her under control.
Given Lin Qingyan’s status, position, and power, even using both slots on her was far more worthwhile than wasting them on Luo Zhao.
“Chengcheng.”
Lin Qingyan’s voice snapped Gu Chengyin out of his thoughts.
She had finally fastened the frog buttons on her dress and looked up at him, speaking earnestly:
“I’ve discussed it with Yunying and Xiaoli.”
“Since you’ve already lifted the hypnosis, then... don’t hypnotize Zhao’er again.”
After saying this, Lin Qingyan kept her eyes fixed on Gu Chengyin’s face, waiting for his answer.
Under the moonlight, her cool, clear eyes carried a hint of anticipation, a touch of nervousness, and a trace of cautious hope.
Gu Chengyin didn’t reply immediately.
Lin Qingyan waited a moment. When he remained silent, her heart grew uneasy. She was about to speak again when Gu Chengyin suddenly pressed her against the wall again.
Her back met the cold surface, and she instinctively looked up, meeting Gu Chengyin’s eyes.
Those eyes, so close to hers, usually as gentle as flowing water, now held an intensity that made her heart race.
“Chengcheng?”
Lin Qingyan hesitated, her voice unconsciously softening.
But Gu Chengyin still didn’t answer.
Instead, he leaned in, his face nearly brushing hers, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath.
Close enough to see the faint glimmer deep in his gaze.
Then, he said tenderly:
“Whatever Little Aunt says, goes.”
“I’ll listen to everything you say, Little Aunt.”
Lin Qingyan’s heart suddenly raced.
Whatever she said, that was it?
He agreed?
A surge of joy lit up Lin Qingyan’s eyes as a spark of brilliance flickered within them.
She lowered her voice, looking into Gu Chengyin’s eyes, and whispered:
“Chengcheng, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will lay a hand on you.”
Five.
“Mm.”
Gu Chengyin responded softly.
His hands, without a sound, slid around her waist, pulling her just a little closer, bringing them even nearer.
Four.
Lin Qingyan’s heart was pounding like thunder.
She had no idea she was locking eyes with Gu Chengyin.
Three.
“Little Aunt.”
His voice grew even more tender, like a spring breeze drifting across a lake.
Two.
“Mm...”
She answered, her voice melting like a pool of spring water.
One.
“You’re beautiful.”
[Hypnosis Failed]
Gu Chengyin: "?"
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!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
