At that moment, the night breeze seemed to freeze in time.
The lanterns beneath the eaves still swayed, the shadows still fractured.
But every sound felt as though it had been strangled by an invisible hand.
The chirping of insects, the whisper of the wind, the distant drumbeats—all receded like a retreating tide.
Only Lin Qingyan’s light, drifting final syllables lingered in the air, refusing to settle.
Each word carried a hook, soft yet tenacious, snagging the darkness.
They also snagged Gu Chengyin’s hand, which hung at his side.
His fingertips had already left the railing, but now, slowly, one by one, they curled back.
Finally, they clenched into a fist.
The motion was so slow that it was nearly impossible to detect the tension in his muscles.
But Lin Qingyan saw it.
Her gaze had been fixed on his hand, on those long, elegant fingers with their knobby joints.
She watched him tighten his grip, then release it.
Lin Qingyan’s eyes brightened. Her intuition told her:
Gu Chengyin was angry.
Because he had never made that gesture before.
Could this mean…
Just then, Gu Chengyin turned around.
This turn was far slower than the one before.
Slow enough that Lin Qingyan had plenty of time to withdraw her restless hand.
Plenty of time to take half a step back.
Plenty of time to paste an obedient and innocent expression on her face.
But she remained rooted to the spot, her smile even deeper than before.
The corners of her eyes tilted upward, the corners of her mouth curved slightly—like a mischievous cat.
Not only unrepentant, but reckless to the core.
When Gu Chengyin turned to face her, the two stood opposite each other.
The distance was impossibly close. Close enough that Lin Qingyan could see the curve of his eyelashes.
Thick and slightly curled, they swept upward at the outer corners, as if painted stroke by stroke with the finest wolf-hair brush.
The pupils of Gu Chengyin’s eyes were a profound black, now reflecting the lantern light under the eaves.
They looked like two glass lamps sunk into a deep pool, flickering and uncertain, with undercurrents churning beneath.
“Lin Qingyan.”
Lin Qingyan’s smile froze for a split second.
“I am very upset right now.”
Gu Chengyin had called her by her full name.
Not “Little Aunt,” not “Lord Jingzhe,” but Lin Qingyan.
Three syllables, each distinct and clear.
It was like throwing perfectly polished stones into water—the ripples they caused were perfectly orderly.
Lin Qingyan’s heart skipped a beat.
She recognized the tone.
This wasn’t how Gu Chengyin usually spoke to her.
This was the tone he used in the court, during imperial audiences.
The tone he used when facing his opponents.
Calm, restrained. Every word as precisely calibrated as a weight on a scale.
Neither too much nor too little, exactly enough to tip the balance of the other side.
“Have I told you—”
Gu Chengyin lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze steady on her face as he continued unhurriedly:
“Some words, once spoken, come with a price.”
This was not a question, nor a threat.
It was a statement, as inevitable as rain falling or water flowing eastward.
Lin Qingyan’s throat tightened slightly.
She fully understood the weight of his words.
She also knew the line she had crossed with what she had said.
In truth, she had done it on purpose.
From the moment she suggested that he seek enlightenment on the Dao from her, to the moment let her fingers trail down along his robe.
From the moment she brushed against his earlobe and whispered that sentence.
Every step, every motion, every single word had been deliberate.
Lin Qingyan simply wanted to know: just how far could Gu Chengyin’s limits be pushed?
This man’s self-control was too strong.
So strong it was infuriating.
So strong that, at times, Lin Qingyan had the absurd thought:
Was he truly unmoved, or was he simply suppressing all his turmoil beneath the water’s surface?
Pressing it down so deep that not even a single ripple could escape?
So she tested him.
In the most direct way, with the most blatant temptation.
And with a remark that no man—any man—could tolerate.
After all, Lin Qingyan had only promised she would never force him again.
She had never said she wouldn’t provoke, tempt, or seduce him.
And now, the results were clear.
Gu Chengyin did not blush in embarrassment or retreat in discomfort.
He did not even give her that forced coldness that comes from being struck at a weak spot.
Instead, he was calm.
A calm far more terrifying than anger.
A calm far more dangerous than indifference.
It was like an entire ocean brewing a tsunami, while the surface remained without a single stray wave.
“A price?”
Lin Qingyan tilted her head slightly, her voice still carrying a hint of a smile.
But the smile was no longer as confident as before:
“What price?”
She was still holding on.
Because she wanted to see what Gu Chengyin would do next.
Gu Chengyin did not reply.
Instead, he raised his hand and, with deliberate ease, took hold of Lin Qingyan’s hand, which hung at her side.
His movement was featherlight, as if picking up a petal.
But as his fingers closed, it was not a rough grip—it was precise control.
Each joint settled into the perfect position. Tight enough that she couldn’t move a single finger, yet not enough to hurt her.
Lin Qingyan’s heart skipped another beat.
Not because he had taken her hand.
But because of the way he had taken it.
This man’s grip was calculated down to the last fraction of force.
Holding her hand, Gu Chengyin led her unhurriedly toward the side chamber.
Like a dance partner guiding the next move on the ballroom floor—composed, unhurried, smooth.
Lin Qingyan realized she had no room to refuse.
Because she didn’t dare refuse.
Because she liked being controlled by Gu Chengyin.
That realization sent a subtle shiver through her.
The walk from the eaves to the empty room in the side chamber was not far.
Gu Chengyin moved slowly, each step steady and planted firmly on the ground.
Lin Qingyan followed half a step behind, her eyes fixed on his back and shoulders.
That slender silhouette, which did not seem particularly broad,
Now felt like a wall, sealing off every avenue of retreat.
The room’s door was not completely closed. Gu Chengyin pushed it open with his free hand.
Inside, the light was dimmer than beneath the eaves. A single lonely oil lamp sat on the corner of a desk.
The wick had burned for too long, forming a small, dried-up flower of soot, casting a hazy, uncertain glow.
The yellowish light cut sharp, angular lines across Gu Chengyin’s profile.
The curve of his brow, the line of his nose, the contour of his jaw.
Every feature was polished sharp and cold by the interplay of light and shadow.
Gu Chengyin released Lin Qingyan’s hand.
Then he turned to face her.
“Just now you said—”
Gu Chengyin’s voice, in the empty room, was particularly deep, as if it had been steeped in the night itself before escaping his lips:
“That I’m not capable?”
Lin Qingyan’s breath quickened slightly.
Not from fear.
But because she had finally spotted the tsunami beneath the surface.
Like undercurrents in the deep sea that never see sunlight in a thousand years.
Usually, they are crushed under layers upon layers of seawater, motionless.
But once a crack appears, they would come crashing down with the full weight of an entire ocean.
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.
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!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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!
