But upon closer inspection, she felt that beneath that glow lurked a thin layer of mist.
It was only later that Gu Xiaoli came to understand—the Empress was thinking of her hometown.
Thinking of that place she could never return to, thinking of those people she would never see again.
Back then, Gu Xiaoli didn't yet grasp the weight of those vows.
They only sounded beautiful to her, like the kind of solemn promises found only in storybooks.
Empress Lin would pat her head and say, Xiaoli, you remember this.
If one day someone asks you with vows like these, then that person truly holds you in the innermost corner of their heart.
At the time, Gu Xiaoli nodded with only a vague understanding, tucking those words along with the vows deep into her memory.
She never imagined that the first person to ask her with those vows would be Gu Chengyin.
And not only that—he spoke those wedding vows as though they were a poison oath.
Didn't this mean...
Her brother wanted her to be his bride!
Once that thought surfaced, it spread like wild grass in spring, growing uncontrollably, impossible to suppress.
Gu Xiaoli's face flushed instantly—redder than the sunset clouds on the horizon, redder than the peach blossoms blooming in March.
She could feel the heat climbing from the base of her neck, burning up past her earlobes, her cheeks, her forehead.
Setting her entire being ablaze like a lump of scorching charcoal.
Gu Xiaoli jerked her head down, chin nearly touching her chest, both hands gripping the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned pale and bloodless.
She didn't dare steal even a single glance at Gu Chengyin. Even her breathing became shallow and rapid.
As if she'd been suddenly thrown into a pot of boiling water—utterly stunned.
Her mind replayed those vows over and over.
For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad...
Every single word echoed relentlessly in her head, like a swarm of tireless bees buzzing to and fro, churning all her thoughts into a muddled paste.
Gu Xiaoli tried to calm herself down, but the more she tried, the hotter her face grew, the faster her heart pounded, the messier her thoughts became.
Watching Gu Xiaoli's reaction, Gu Chengyin blinked.
Of course he knew this was a wedding vow.
In his previous life, even though he'd never been married, he'd still seen these things—he could recite this kind of Western-style wedding vow with his eyes closed.
The reason he chose these words to make Gu Xiaoli swear her poison oath was simple.
He'd merely thought that as the third poison oath, these words would suit Gu Xiaoli perfectly.
The first two oaths, no matter how they were designed, were ultimately external—they could be avoided, even sidestepped.
But the third oath was different. Gu Chengyin wanted something that stemmed from Gu Xiaoli's very core.
Something that would make her naturally gravitate toward him, naturally take his side.
And wedding vows, by their very nature, carried a sacred, unbreakable sense of ceremony.
Perfect for imposing this kind of inner restraint.
Gu Chengyin truly hadn't thought any deeper than that.
But judging by Gu Xiaoli's reaction...
Her face flushed that deep, her head bowed that low, her fingers twisting like that, her whole self shrinking as if she wanted to burrow right into a crack in the ground.
This clearly wasn't just the nervous shyness of someone swearing a poison oath.
Gu Xiaoli had misunderstood something.
And that misunderstanding was probably anything but small.
Gu Chengyin's gaze lingered for a moment on her reddened earlobe, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Her reaction... it was as if she understood the meaning behind these words.
But these Western wedding vows—no one in this world should know them, unless...
Could it be that Gu Xiaoli recognized them as wedding vows?
Gu Chengyin thought for a beat and quickly found his answer.
Empress Lin.
It had to be Empress Lin.
Gu Xiaoli had mentioned earlier that Empress Lin had shown her a phone, so of course she could have learned about wedding vows that way.
That explained Gu Xiaoli's reaction perfectly.
She thought he was proposing to her with marriage vows?
Gu Chengyin fell silent for a moment.
He knew he ought to correct this misunderstanding.
He should tell Gu Xiaoli that those words were just something he'd come up with on the spot.
That they carried no special meaning, and she shouldn't read too much into them.
That way, Gu Xiaoli would probably feel disappointed and hurt, but at least she wouldn't keep misunderstanding.
Yet when the words reached his lips, Gu Chengyin somehow swallowed them back down.
Not because he didn't want to explain.
But because in Gu Xiaoli's reaction, he saw something he had been striving for all along—something that had always been just out of reach.
It was an unreserved, almost blind devotion and reliance.
The first two oaths could restrain Gu Xiaoli, sure, but that restraint was cold and hard—a blade held against her neck.
The only reason she obeyed was the fear of breaking the oath's consequences.
Not because she genuinely wanted to from the bottom of her heart.
But this time was different. In Gu Xiaoli's reaction just now, there was no fear, no resistance—not even a hint of reluctance.
She was only shy, only flustered.
Only overwhelmed—struck dizzy and senseless by the sudden wedding vows.
But Gu Xiaoli was willing.
One could even say—she was looking forward to it.
This kind of willingness, born from the very depths of her heart, was ten thousand times more effective than any restraint.
If he corrected the misunderstanding now, he might maintain an outward semblance of innocence.
But the fire burning in Gu Xiaoli's heart would be extinguished by more than half.
And if he didn't correct it...
Gu Chengyin weighed the options quickly in his mind, and finally chose silence.
Don't correct it.
Or rather—don't correct it yet.
He admitted that this was somewhat scummy, even shameless.
Using Gu Xiaoli's misunderstanding to cement her trust—it didn't look like something an honorable man would do.
But Gu Chengyin had never considered himself an honorable man.
In a world where people devoured one another, good men didn't survive past three chapters.
And he wasn't just going to survive—he was going to thrive, all the way to ascension.
So Gu Chengyin simply waited patiently, letting Gu Xiaoli calm down from her panic just a little.
Then he spoke: "Xiaoli, are you willing?"
His voice was even lower than before, and softer too.
Like coaxing a frightened kitten—patient, gentle, waiting for her reply.
This only made Gu Xiaoli's face turn redder, her head bend lower.
Her chin was almost buried in her chest, long lashes drooping, casting a trembling shadow on her cheeks.
Her breathing was audible—shallow and hurried, like a small creature just pulled from the water, every fiber of her being screaming with helplessness.
But even so, Gu Xiaoli still spoke.
Her voice was tiny—small as the first chirp of an insect in spring.
Like the crackle of a candle wick in the dead of night, like a feather landing on the water's surface and stirring a gentle ripple.
If one didn't listen closely, the words would be carried away by the wind, swallowed by the darkness.
"Xiaoli is willing."
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!
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?!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
