The next day.
By the time Gu Chengyin returned to the Crown Prince's Palace from the Heavenly Masters' Residence, the sunlight had already climbed to the highest point of the corridor pillars.
He came back alone. Lin Qingyan was still in bed.
After all, when this fairy maiden had taken the initiative to propose the wedding chamber, Gu Chengyin certainly wasn’t about to decline.
When he got up, Lin Qingyan was still curled up under the quilt, her long hair scattered across the pillow, her cheeks still tinged with a lingering blush.
She breathed evenly and deeply, like a sated cat too lazy to even stretch its claws.
Before leaving, Gu Chengyin sat for a moment on the edge of the bed. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Lin Qingyan's forehead back behind her ear.
Her lashes fluttered, but she didn't wake. She only burrowed deeper into the covers.
With a mumbled, unintelligible word, she fell back into a deep sleep.
Gu Chengyin looked at her soft, languid state and felt rather puzzled.
Was it that Lin Qingyan was too weak, or that he was too strong?
How was it that he could get up feeling as energetic as ever, as if nothing had happened?
Yet Fairy Jingzhe, who was supposed to be invincible at the Golden Core stage, couldn't even muster the strength to open her eyes.
This question circled once in Gu Chengyin's mind. Finding no answer, he set it aside for now.
The moment Gu Chengyin stepped into the Crown Prince's Palace, a young female official darted out from under the porch.
She was running so fast that her hat was crooked. Panting, she stopped in front of him,
gave a clumsy bow, and gasped out breathlessly:
"Ju... Junior Preceptor Gu, His Highness instructed that you are to come straight to the main hall upon your return. His Excellency Pavilion Elder Cui is here."
Cui Shifan had come?
Gu Chengyin nodded, asked no further questions, and strode toward the main hall with large steps.
His pace was as composed as ever, but his mind was already churning.
As the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Cui Shifan rarely set foot in the Crown Prince's Palace.
This wasn't a matter of protocol; it was a matter of stance.
Cui Shifan was the head of the Cui clan, the representative of the great aristocratic families.
And the Crown Prince's Palace was Luo Zhao's territory, the stronghold of the Crown Prince's faction.
For Cui Shifan to come to the Crown Prince's Palace, regardless of what he discussed, gave outsiders the impression that he was the one making a move.
Given Cui Shifan's shrewdness, he wouldn't do something so pointless.
Unless... his purpose here carried more weight than the question of appearances.
Gu Chengyin walked along the covered walkway, crossed the central courtyard, and paused for a single step on the stairs leading to the main hall.
Sunlight slid down from the glazed tiles on the rooftop and landed on his shoulders, casting a thin halo around him.
Gu Chengyin narrowed his eyes slightly, then stepped briskly up the stairs.
Just as he was about to cross the threshold, a hand shot out from the side and grabbed his sleeve.
The grip wasn't strong, but it was tight—tight enough that the fingertips were trembling.
Gu Chengyin turned his head.
Shangguan Yunying was standing beside the threshold.
Her face was anxious, her lips pressed tightly until they were white, the rims of her eyes faintly red.
She looked like a drawn bowstring, taut to the breaking point.
She pulled Gu Chengyin into the shadow beside the door and said in a voice full of unmistakable panic:
"What do we do! Cui Shifan has come to propose a marriage!"
Gu Chengyin blinked.
A marriage proposal?
He stepped forward, pulling Shangguan Yunying slightly closer to him.
With his other hand, he covered the back of her hand, the one gripping his sleeve, and patted it gently.
"Yunying, calm down first. Tell me slowly."
"Is Cui Shifan proposing to His Highness?"
Shangguan Yunying shook her head. Her voice still trembled:
"Cui Shifan hasn't said it outright, but according to information the Palace Affairs Office received, it's highly likely he's come to the Crown Prince's Palace today to propose a marriage on behalf of Cui Zilong."
"It's just that, because I'm His Highness's chief female official, he wanted to give His Highness a heads-up first."
When Gu Chengyin heard this, he laughed. It was the kind of laugh an adult gives a child who's afraid of a monster that doesn't exist.
A laugh that was both sympathetic and helpless.
He pulled Shangguan Yunying into his embrace.
His arm wrapped around her waist, enclosing her completely in the small space between himself and the pillar.
"It's just a rumor. Since Cui Shifan hasn't said it yet, don't take it as true."
"Besides, I would never let you marry Cui Zilong."
Shangguan Yunying's body stiffened for an instant in Gu Chengyin's arms, then slowly went soft.
All her tension and panic, all the fear and anxiety she had built up, melted away into water in that moment.
Shangguan Yunying knew she had panicked.
She had started panicking the moment she heard the news that Cui Shifan might propose a marriage.
She told herself not to panic. She told herself that Gu Chengyin wouldn't let her marry Cui Zilong.
But it didn't work.
Because Gu Chengyin hadn't come back all night.
He was at the Heavenly Masters' Residence, with Lin Qingyan.
With that Lord Jingzhe, whom she couldn't compare to right now.
Shangguan Yunying didn't know what Gu Chengyin was doing. She didn't know what he was thinking.
She didn't know if he still remembered that there was someone waiting for him in the Crown Prince's Palace.
All she knew was that she hadn't seen him, hadn't heard his voice, hadn't felt his warmth.
So she was panicked.
And now, Gu Chengyin was back.
Shangguan Yunying's panic finally subsided at that moment.
Her lips moved. She wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.
Her throat was choked with many words. Every one of them wanted to come out, but every one of them caught.
She knew she shouldn't ask.
Asking would make her seem difficult. Asking would seem like she didn't trust him.
But if she didn't say it, it would eat her up inside.
Finally, Shangguan Yunying said in a small voice: "It's your fault for not coming back all night..."
When these words came out, her voice was so tiny it sounded like a cat that had done something wrong, mewling softly. Both aggrieved and guilty.
She wanted Gu Chengyin to know she was jealous, yet didn't dare to let him know she was jealous.
Her face was buried in his chest, afraid to lift her head, afraid to see his expression.
Gu Chengyin didn't explain.
Because explanations never explained anything properly.
So he just tightened his arms a little and rubbed his chin against the top of Shangguan Yunying's hair, accepting her words through his actions.
"In any case, I'll take care of this. You can rest assured, Yunying."
Gu Chengyin lowered his head, his lips brushing against her ear.
"You can only marry me. Understand?"
Shangguan Yunying's face instantly flushed scarlet.
From her cheeks to her ears, from her ears to her neck. She turned red all over, like a shrimp thrown into a steamer.
Every part of her was aflame.
Her fingers clenched the fabric of his clothes. Her lips were pressed tightly together.
As if afraid that if she opened her mouth, something she shouldn't say might come spilling out.
After saying this, Gu Chengyin released Shangguan Yunying.
He was clean and decisive, without any hesitation.
As if the tenderness just moments ago had been nothing more than a natural pause in the conversation.
When the time came, the curtain fell. The actor exited the stage.
He turned and strode into the main hall, leaving only his back, framed by the doorway like a painting.
Shangguan Yunying stood in place, watching that painting.
Her face was still red. Her heart was still racing. Her entire body still burned.
Only after Gu Chengyin's back had disappeared into the shadow of the hall did she seem to remember something.
She spat lightly in the direction of the hall entrance and muttered in a low voice:
"Who said I wanted to marry you!"
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!
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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?!
