At those words, Luo Zhao lifted her head.
Her cheeks were still flushed from the cleanup.
The blush spread from her cheekbones to the roots of her ears, then down to her neck, like peonies dampened by morning dew.
Her lashes trembled faintly, still holding tiny beads of moisture—whether tears or something else, it was impossible to tell.
Her lips were slightly swollen, a clear sign of how hard she had tried, yet she seemed completely unaware of it.
She simply gazed at Gu Chengyin with bright, shining eyes filled with dependence and obedience.
Gu Chengyin’s words continued to echo in her ears.
Luo Zhao knew he was telling the truth. This really was the best opportunity.
Lin Qingyan had just been thoroughly subdued. Her whole body was limp with exhaustion, to the point where she could not even be bothered to move a finger.
She lay on the left side of the bed, turned on her side with her face buried in the soft pillow, breathing evenly and peacefully.
Un-dried tear marks still clung to the corners of her eyes. Her damp lashes were stuck together, and her lips were slightly parted. She slept like a child.
The invincible Golden Core cultivator, Fairy Jingzhe, was not only vulnerable at this moment—she had also lowered every one of her defenses.
Only in the special setting of the Heart-Calming Pagoda, with Gu Chengyin—the one person who mattered—present, and after enduring that indescribable ordeal, could such a result have been achieved.
She was so weak that she had lost consciousness, even her most basic wariness gone.
Anyone could walk over and do anything to Lin Qingyan, and she would have no way to resist or refuse.
That was why this was the perfect opportunity.
Luo Zhao’s gaze drifted toward the bed.
She could vaguely see Lin Qingyan sleeping deeply.
One hand rested beside the pillow, while the other lay casually atop the covers. A few loose strands had slipped free from her hair and fallen against her cheek, highlighting the fragile beauty of a face stripped of all defenses.
All Luo Zhao had to do was get up and walk over, and she could take revenge for all the grievances she had suffered.
Whatever Lin Qingyan had done to her, she could now do to Lin Qingyan.
She could undo her clothes, touch her face, and whisper words in her ear that would make anyone blush.
She could make Lin Qingyan experience that same helpless feeling of being completely at another person’s mercy.
She could even go further.
For instance, she could leave marks on Lin Qingyan’s neck—marks like the ones Shangguan Yunying had left.
Throughout the entire process, no one would be able to save Lin Qingyan.
Not even Lin Qingyan herself.
She was simply too weak—so weak that she did not even have the strength to open her eyes.
So weak that, even if something were done to her, she could only passively endure it.
It was impossible not to be tempted by such an opportunity.
When had Luo Zhao ever seen Lin Qingyan in such a vulnerable state?
Never.
In Luo Zhao’s eyes, Lin Qingyan had always been the lofty Fairy Auntie.
From childhood onward, Luo Zhao had looked up to her from beneath Lin Qingyan’s protection.
She had looked up to this woman who was taller, stronger, and more beautiful than she was.
Luo Zhao had never imagined that one day, the aunt who inspired both love and fear in her would lie before her like a lamb at the mercy of another.
Now, as long as she wished, she could do anything to Lin Qingyan.
At that moment, Luo Zhao finished cleaning up.
She raised her head from the chair and spoke softly.
“Is it really all right?”
Gu Chengyin did not answer immediately.
He reached out and gently rubbed Luo Zhao’s head before saying, “An opportunity like this won’t come twice, Your Highness.”
Luo Zhao nodded.
She rose from the chair and slowly walked toward the bed.
Gu Chengyin remained where he was, silently watching her back.
He was waiting for an answer.
Waiting to see what Luo Zhao would do to Lin Qingyan.
Would she seek revenge? Give up? Or choose something else?
Whichever path she took would directly determine what happened next.
If Luo Zhao truly harbored a desire for revenge against Lin Qingyan, then taking her for himself would become rather troublesome.
Gu Chengyin did not want his household erupting into conflict every day.
Today, you take revenge on me. Tomorrow, I take revenge on you. The day after that, the two of you join forces against me.
And the day after that, you quarrel over who took revenge more fiercely.
The mere thought of such a life gave him a headache.
What he needed was a stable household, not a powder keg that might ignite at any moment.
That was why Gu Chengyin needed to be certain.
Certain of Luo Zhao’s true feelings toward Lin Qingyan. Certain that she was not hiding some ulterior motive.
Certain that she really was not, as Lin Qingyan’s instincts had warned, preparing something terrifying.
The only way to confirm this was through observation.
He could not ask her, because once he did, her answer would no longer be genuine.
He could only watch—watch what Luo Zhao would do, and how far she would go.
Watch what choice she would make when faced with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
So Gu Chengyin simply stood there without moving or speaking, silently watching.
Watching as Luo Zhao reached the bedside.
Then she hesitated.
The hesitation did not last long—indeed, it was so brief that it could almost be ignored.
Yet within that short moment, Luo Zhao’s mind flashed through countless thoughts.
She remembered the way Lin Qingyan had hooked a finger beneath her chin.
She remembered the calm certainty with which Lin Qingyan had undone her buttons.
She remembered the gentle words Lin Qingyan had whispered beside her ear, sending chills down her spine.
Those scenes spun through Luo Zhao’s mind like images in a lantern show.
In the end, they stopped on a single moment.
It was Lin Qingyan saying, “Chengcheng, take Zhao’er.”
Luo Zhao did not know why that memory had surfaced, but it appeared suddenly all the same.
Like a ray of light, it cleaved through the gloom that had gathered in her heart from grievance and resentment.
At last, Luo Zhao bit her lip and quietly climbed onto the bed.
Her movements were as light as a cat’s, soundlessly approaching its prey in the darkness.
First her knee touched the edge of the bed. Then one foot, followed by the other, and finally her entire body.
The mattress sank slightly and gave a faint creak.
In the quiet room, the sound seemed especially loud, making Luo Zhao’s heart race.
She stopped for a moment, confirming that Lin Qingyan had not been awakened.
Only then did she slowly inch closer, bit by bit, until she was beside Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan did not notice that Luo Zhao had arrived.
She was inside the Heart-Calming Pagoda, within her own magical treasure.
She was in the safest and most familiar place she knew—a place where she had no need to remain on guard.
And Gu Chengyin was beside her, the person she loved most, the person to whom she was willing to entrust everything.
Thus, Lin Qingyan’s defenses had fallen to their lowest point.
So low that even after Luo Zhao had moved to her side, even after the bed sank beneath the weight of another person, even with Luo Zhao’s breathing close to her ear, Lin Qingyan showed no sign of waking.
She slept deeply.
Deeply, like a warrior who had finally been able to rest peacefully after removing every piece of armor.
Deeply, like a ship that had drifted through a storm for far too long and had finally found a harbor.
After moving to Lin Qingyan’s side, Luo Zhao did not immediately do anything.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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!
