Oath

Four words.

Just four simple words, yet Gu Xiaoli spoke them as if they had taken every ounce of her strength.

Each word lingered on the tip of her tongue for a long time, repeatedly confirmed before she carefully let it out.

After saying those four words, Gu Xiaoli did not stop there.

She closed her eyes and engraved those two sentences onto her Dao heart, word by word, character by character.

This was a poison oath—bound by the Dao heart as the contract, with heaven and earth as witnesses. Once carved, it could hardly ever be undone.

If the oath were broken, cracks would form in the Dao heart. At best, one's cultivation would regress; at worst, one would fall into demonic possession.

The binding power of such an oath weighed far heavier than any ordinary mortal's vow to the heavens.

Gu Xiaoli carved with extreme care, every word leaving a deep mark upon her Dao heart.

She could feel those lines pressing down like red-hot brands, searing into her until her Dao heart trembled slightly.

But she clenched her teeth and bore it in silence, carving every single word with absolute clarity.

In wealth or in poverty.

In health or in sickness.

In times of ease or in times of hardship.

Whenever her brother needs Xiaoli the most.

Xiaoli will never leave his side, until the very end.

After finishing, Gu Xiaoli let out a long breath.

As if she had just shed something heavy in that instant, and at the same time, taken on something even heavier.

She still had not lifted her head, but the corners of her mouth betrayed her—curving upward ever so slightly.

The curve was soft and light, like a willow branch bent by a spring breeze.

Seeing this, Gu Chengyin relaxed.

In a sense, this third poison oath meant that Gu Xiaoli had truly given him her heart.

The method might have been a bit despicable, but it worked.

Gu Chengyin silently justified himself.

Without resorting to hypnosis, this was already the best approach available.

He had considered other means before, but those were either too forceful, easily provoking Gu Xiaoli's rebellious side.

Or too gentle, lacking any real binding effect.

Only this method—seemingly mild and harmless, yet striking straight at the core of her heart—would do.

Moreover, the binding power of this oath far surpassed that of the previous two.

The first two poison oaths, harsh as they sounded, were ultimately external matters.

As long as one was clever enough and cautious enough, there was always a way to evade them.

No matter how venomous an oath, there were always loopholes to exploit.

But this third poison oath was different.

It contained no external restrictions, not a single "shall not" or "cannot" from beginning to end.

It simply asked Gu Xiaoli to promise that no matter what happened, she would stand by his side and never leave him.

The promise itself was not frightening. What was frightening was that Gu Xiaoli accepted it with all her heart.

She was not being forced to take an oath—she was making a vow.

A vow and an oath might sound similar, but at their core, they were completely different.

An oath is something you are compelled to do. A vow is something you choose to do.

For the first two poison oaths, Gu Xiaoli has been coerced. She had complied, but deep down, she may not have truly accepted them.

But this third poison oath, she made willingly.

In fact, when she said the words "Xiaoli is willing," her heart felt sweet.

This was the true power of wedding vows.

From now on, Gu Xiaoli would naturally gravitate toward him, lean in his favor.

Before making any decision, she would first consider how he might feel.

In times of danger, she would think of his safety before her own.

When everyone doubted him, she would stand by his side without hesitation.

Not because she feared the punishment for breaking an oath.

But because, from the bottom of her heart, she felt that this was the right thing to do.

It was only natural. It was what she sincerely wanted.

That was far more effective than any so-called poison oath.

As these thoughts ran through Gu Chengyin's mind, his gaze fell on Gu Xiaoli's ears, which were red enough to drip blood.

This silly cat girl, she could not even see that he was using her.

She truly believed he wanted to marry her as his bride, too shy to even lift her head.

He was not a good man.

Yet Gu Chengyin had to admit that at this moment, looking at Gu Xiaoli's shy, timid, delighted, and flustered expression.

A corner of his heart did stir slightly.

Like a breeze rippling across a lake's surface—fleeting and gone in an instant, yet it still left a trace.

Gu Chengyin collected himself and was about to speak when he suddenly turned to look aside.

The spiritual barrier that had isolated them from the outside world had been withdrawn by Gu Xiaoli.

Earlier, to ensure no one could overhear their conversation, Gu Xiaoli had deliberately erected this barrier, sealing inside from out.

Now that everything that needed to be said had been said, and the poison oath had been sworn, she dispelled it.

The moment the barrier came down, the sounds from outside came through clearly.

In plain view, at the end of the corridor not far away, Lin Qingyan and Luo Zhao were walking side by side.

Lin Qingyan was on the left, Luo Zhao on the right.

The distance between them was neither too close nor too far—just right for walking shoulder to shoulder.

But their expressions could not have been more different.

Lin Qingyan's face was filled with indescribable joy.

She was already breathtakingly beautiful—delicate features like a painting, skin like congealed cream.

Now, with a smile on her face, she looked like peach blossoms blooming all at once on a March night.

Or like the first rainbow appearing in the sky after rain, so dazzling it was almost hard to look at directly.

Her eyes curved into two crescent moons, brimming with sparkling light, and the corners of her mouth would not stay down no matter how hard she tried.

Even her steps were lighter, her sleeves fluttering with joy she could not hide.

Luo Zhao's expression, by comparison, was far worse.

Equally stunning in her own right, yet her face was dark, like the sky before a storm.

Heavy clouds gathered, ready to strike down lightning at any moment.

And with every few steps, Luo Zhao would steal a glance at Lin Qingyan.

That look was filled with grievance—like a cat whose fish had been snatched, or a child whose candy had been taken.

Pitiful and sulky, yet unwilling to say it outright, so she could only shoot resentful, dagger-like glares at the person beside her.

But Lin Qingyan, caught up in her excitement, did not even notice Luo Zhao's gaze.

Or perhaps she noticed but simply did not care, still smiling with eyes curved like crescent moons and light, brisk steps.

What happened?

Gu Chengyin took in both their expressions and formed a rough guess.

Lin Qingyan took the last few steps first, stopping before Gu Chengyin, and blurted out impatiently:

"Chengcheng, His Majesty has issued an imperial decree for our marriage!"

Her voice rang clear as jade beads hitting a plate, every word carrying joy she could hardly contain.

"It's you and me!"

After she said this, Lin Qingyan stared straight at Gu Chengyin, her eyes shining as if they held the entire galaxy.

And behind her, Luo Zhao shot Gu Chengyin a glance.

The resentment in that single look was so thick it was almost oozing out.