In her everyday life, she was utterly dependable. She knew what ought to be done, what ought not to be done—what was her proper place, and what boundaries she must never cross.
So all Lin Qingyan needed to do was grow closer to Shangguan Yunying and dissolve the resentment hidden in her heart.
The special training, the intimacy, those actions that seemed ambiguous, over the line, and liable to invite misunderstanding…
They were all meant to break down the barriers, resolve their conflicts, and turn Shangguan Yunying into a true sister rather than a bomb that might explode at any moment.
But Luo Zhao was different.
Luo Zhao was not Shangguan Yunying.
No matter how much Shangguan Yunying repressed herself, her bottom line remained clear, and her desires were well-defined.
She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew what she could have and what she could never have.
But Luo Zhao’s restraint had no bottom line. Her desires had no limits. Her ambitions stretched beyond sight.
She could appear harmless in front of everyone, obedient and docile before Gu Chengyin, and utterly nonaggressive before Lin Qingyan.
But her mind had never stopped turning. Her calculations had never stopped, and her plans had never stopped advancing.
If Luo Zhao truly succeeded in achieving that unknown ultimate objective of hers…
Lin Qingyan felt that she might go insane.
Not merely in the literal sense of madness.
She might lose herself to cultivation deviation.
The intuition had come from nowhere, without any evidence or logic.
And yet it existed with startling clarity, warning Lin Qingyan to be extremely wary of Luo Zhao.
Lin Qingyan ran through the worst possible outcomes Luo Zhao might bring about once more.
Luo Zhao locking Gu Chengyin away?
Impossible.
Luo Zhao using schemes to coerce Gu Chengyin?
Even more impossible.
Luo Zhao resorting to unorthodox methods to control Gu Chengyin?
Completely impossible.
Lin Qingyan wasn’t some useless bystander, and she certainly wouldn’t stand around doing nothing.
Even if she took the most extreme possibility—suppose Luo Zhao really did lock Gu Chengyin away somewhere no one could find.
Lin Qingyan would still find him.
Even if he were at the ends of the earth, even if he were hidden in the heavens or buried beneath the earth, even if she had to dig three feet into the ground, she would find Gu Chengyin.
This was not blind confidence. It was the assurance born of absolute strength.
As long as she possessed that strength, even if Gu Chengyin disappeared, she could never lose herself to cultivation deviation.
Even if some indescribable entity tried to forcibly erase Gu Chengyin from existence, Lin Qingyan still would not lose herself to cultivation deviation.
Because she would die before Gu Chengyin did.
Then what, exactly, was that intuition warning her about?
Lin Qingyan thought until her head throbbed.
She went over every possibility in her mind once, then again, and then a third time.
Yet none of them seemed able to stand up to scrutiny. Not one could withstand careful examination.
Her intuition was like a lost bird flying aimlessly through her mind, telling her that danger lay ahead.
But it could not explain what kind of danger it was, much less where that danger would come from.
No matter how hard Lin Qingyan thought, she simply couldn’t figure it out.
But that didn’t matter. After all, there was someone beside her who was ten thousand times smarter than she was.
“Chengcheng.”
Lin Qingyan spoke.
Gu Chengyin’s heart stirred. He could hear the confusion in her voice.
It sounded like a student who had been sitting before a difficult problem for a long time, unable to solve it.
She had run through countless calculations and tried countless methods, yet still could not find the correct answer.
So her voice carried a touch of frustration, a touch of helplessness, and a faint dependence that seemed to say: I need you.
Gu Chengyin tightened his arms around Lin Qingyan, drawing her closer to his embrace.
“It’s all right, Little Aunt. I’m here.”
His voice was so gentle, as soft as a spring breeze brushing through Lin Qingyan’s tangled thoughts.
It scattered them, carrying them far away until they vanished from sight.
Lin Qingyan’s heart immediately grew calm.
It was like pouring a ladle of cold water over boiling water—all the bubbles disappeared in an instant.
The surface became smooth as a mirror once more, reflecting the clouds and moon above, clear and tranquil.
Leaning against Gu Chengyin’s chest, she felt his body heat, his heartbeat, and his steady breathing.
Suddenly, all her wild imaginings seemed utterly ridiculous.
What had she been thinking just now?
That Gu Chengyin might actually lose to Luo Zhao?
That Luo Zhao could do something Gu Chengyin would be unable to handle?
That she might lose control and go berserk because of it?
With Luo Zhao’s brain, so what if she had hidden some ulterior motive?
When had this princess ever beaten Gu Chengyin?
Never. Not once.
Whether in the open struggles of court politics or their private back-and-forth, whether in direct confrontations or subtle contests, Luo Zhao had never gained the slightest advantage over Gu Chengyin.
All her little schemes, calculations, and tricks were completely inadequate before him.
It was like a child showing off a clever stunt in front of an adult, thinking it was brilliant when, in fact, every move had already been anticipated.
Besides, Gu Chengyin had never lost.
No matter who his opponent was or what he was facing, Gu Chengyin had never been defeated.
This was not blind worship, but a fact proven countless times.
The old hands at court, the formidable enemies on the battlefield, the hardships along the path of cultivation—there was not a single person or thing that could turn Gu Chengyin into the loser.
Lin Qingyan suddenly felt rather ridiculous.
She had been led around by her own intuition for half a day, imagining countless possibilities and making countless assumptions.
She had practically tied herself in knots.
And the result?
The things she had been worrying about probably weren’t even worth a joke in front of Gu Chengyin.
Lin Qingyan couldn’t help laughing.
It wasn’t a happy laugh, but the sort of laugh born from being exasperated with herself.
The corners of her lips curved upward, as did her eyes.
There was a touch of self-mockery, a touch of helplessness, and even a hint of disdain for her own stupidity.
Fortunately, Gu Chengyin would never disdain her.
So…
Lin Qingyan hesitated for a moment, but out of her absolute trust in Gu Chengyin, she decided not to tell him about this utterly foolish intuition.
It wasn’t anything important to begin with. She had merely been overthinking things for a while, and it wasn’t worth making Gu Chengyin worry.
The first Taihe Battle was the day after tomorrow. His attention ought to be focused on more important matters, not taken up by these inexplicable thoughts.
Thus, Lin Qingyan smoothly changed the subject, her voice returning to its usual affectionate tone.
“The first Taihe Battle is the day after tomorrow. Is there anything you need me to prepare for you?”
“Or should Sister Yunying and I put you through some special training?”
Special training.
When those two words came from Lin Qingyan’s lips, they carried an enticing flavor.
It was like the same dish tasting completely different depending on who prepared it.
In Lin Qingyan’s hands, the words “special training” had been cooked into a delicacy so tempting that one could hardly resist pouncing on it and devouring it at once.
The smile on Lin Qingyan’s lips deepened, his voice soft and honeyed enough to make one’s bones melt.
Every word seemed wrapped in a layer of honey—cloyingly sweet, yet utterly impossible to resist.
“As long as Chengcheng likes it, I can even let Zhao’er take revenge on me~”
nce】【Lighthearted Comedy】【Ultimate Gentleman's Novel】【Viewer Discretion Advised for Under 16】 The mightiest human hero, Sharen Morian, is resurrected after a thousand years by his wife—the Demon King. This is not your typical hero-vs-demon-king tale.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
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.
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!
