Well, it seemed this so-called Hehuan Sect incident was much more dangerous than Gu Chengming had imagined.
When Director Zhou had solemnly stated that the impact of this phenomenon on high-level cultivators was no less than that on low-level ones, Gu Chengming hadn't really felt it.
After all, in his eyes, great cultivators who could reach the Fourth or even Fifth Realm should have at least a firm dao heart, if not a complete severance from red dust attachments, right?
They shouldn't be so easily blinded by desire that they lost all self-control.
Until this moment, as he looked at Elder Yu—who was currently hanging from the ceiling beam and still trying to act cute with an innocent gaze—Gu Chengming finally understood completely.
—The impact of this thing was indeed quite significant.
At the same time, a dialogue box popped up at the right moment, though it wasn't from Little Yu.
【《Yin Yang Creation Strategy》 let out a disappointed sigh, filled with the frustration of seeing a student fail to live up to their potential after realizing what happened.】
【Worthless Little Yu, even when given the chance, you're useless?】
【Huiyuan Sword Manual snorted: Still not as good as me.】
【Qingxin Art: ?】
【Qingxin Art: !】
Gu Chengming ignored the contents of the dialogue boxes and let out a sigh. He didn't have any intention of letting Yu Wenqiu down immediately.
It wasn't until he was absolutely sure that she was no longer being influenced that he finally lowered her.
With a "thud," Yu Wenqiu fell to the ground face-first.
She didn't get up, instead choosing to remain in that prone position to play dead.
It was too humiliating.
As a sect elder, she had actually sneaked into a junior's room in the middle of the night with improper intentions, only to be caught on the spot and hung up.
If word of this got back to the Wenjian Sect, Yu Wenqiu wouldn't be able to show her face for the rest of her life.
"Awake?" Gu Chengming poured her a cup of cold tea and placed it on the floor. "If you're awake, let's talk."
"Talk about what?" Yu Wenqiu buried her head in the crook of her arm, her voice muffled.
"Let's talk about how you got caught in it." Gu Chengming said seriously, "Director Zhou said this thing is impossible to guard against. I need to know its trigger mechanism."
Hearing him mention official business, although Yu Wenqiu still felt socially dead, she could only force herself to climb up and try to recall her mental state before being influenced.
"Actually, I didn't feel anything at first."
Yu Wenqiu held the teacup, her eyes wandering. "It was on the way back when I heard about the Hehuan Sect's techniques losing control. At that time, I thought about how you also practiced that Yin Yang Creation Strategy. What if you also lost control?"
"And then?"
"And then I started thinking... if you lost control, you would definitely need someone to help guide your energy."
At this point, Yu Wenqiu's voice grew smaller and smaller.
Gu Chengming understood.
This erosion was gradual; it would capture the smallest spark of a thought in the depths of one's heart. Even if that thought was just an "if" or a "maybe," it would amplify it infinitely until that spark became an obsession.
When Yu Wenqiu began to imagine "if Gu Chengming needed help," her mind had already revealed a flaw.
No wonder high-level cultivators were more likely to fall for it.
The higher the cultivation, the more acute the divine sense and the stronger the perception of the outside world, making it easier to capture those stray desires instead.
And if this desire truly was related to a certain Dao Throne, then it truly was unavoidable.
After analyzing the cause, Gu Chengming looked at the time outside, then took out the rope again and beckoned to Yu Wenqiu.
Little Yu looked at the rope. "You're still going to tie me up?"
"Safety first." Gu Chengming had a completely professional expression. "Elder, although you are awake now, there's no guarantee you won't start dreaming once you fall asleep."
"I..."
Yu Wenqiu wanted to argue, but remembering her state just now, she was ultimately in the wrong.
"Fine, tie me up!"
She angrily extended her hands, letting Gu Chengming tie her up as firmly as a zongzi, and then hopped back to the neighboring room like a hopping corpse.
Before closing the door, she turned back to give Gu Chengming a resentful glare.
—Is it really necessary to guard against me like a thief?
Gu Chengming closed the door without expression.
...
After sending away the unreliable elder, Gu Chengming sat back on the bed cross-legged.
After all that commotion, he wasn't feeling very sleepy.
He was considering a question.
Since this thing could even take down the Fourth Realm Yu Wenqiu, why was he still completely unaffected?
In terms of cultivation, he was only at the Second Realm. In terms of techniques, he practiced the genuine Hehuan Sect's Yin Yang Creation Strategy; by all rights, he should be in the absolute center of the disaster zone.
【《Yin Yang Creation Strategy》: I am a proper technique that points directly to the Great Dao of Karma; of course I won't be affected!】
【《Huiyuan Sword Manual》 chimed in: Exactly! Chengming is mine! He won't be contaminated by that dirty stuff!】
Gu Chengming looked at the pop-ups and suddenly had a guess.
Perhaps it wasn't that his dao heart was incredibly firm, but that his cultivation system itself was incompatible with the "Heavenly Dao rules" of this world?
Cultivators in this world refined the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and comprehended the laws of the Heavenly Dao. Once the Heavenly Dao rules changed, they were naturally the first to be affected.
But he was different. His techniques were based on a system outside of the Heavenly Dao, complete with favorability bars and CG unlocking mechanisms.
If his guess was correct, then while the entire capital's level of suppressed desire increased a hundredfold, he remained unchanged.
...
Daqian Imperial Observatory, a side hall of the Star-Gazing Tower.
Documents were piled high like mountains, almost burying the slender figure sitting behind the desk.
Xu Huayi held a weasel-hair brush, focused on annotating a post-battle report about the "Falling Snow Pass Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Array."
Vice Director Song Zhixing stood aside with his hands behind his back, looking at this prized student sent by the Tianting Sect, his eyes full of admiration.
Not only was her array talent exceptional, but her temperament was also rare.
In the northern border battle, she had turned the tide with her Third Realm cultivation and even assisted that Gu Chengming in killing a Fourth Realm demon king.
Such achievements could easily lead to arrogance, yet she remained humble upon her return, even taking the initiative to handle the aftermath.
"Huayi." Song Zhixing spoke, breaking the silence in the hall.
Xu Huayi's brush paused slightly. She put down the brush and stood up to salute. "Vice Director."
Song Zhixing waved his hand, signaling her not to be formal.
He casually picked up the battle report regarding the demon king's death. His gaze lingered on the name "Gu Chengming" for a moment, and his expression became somewhat complex.
Looking at Xu Huayi in the prime of her youth, a sense of fatherly worry rose in Song Zhixing's heart.
"You did very well on this trip to the northern border."
Song Zhixing weighed his words and said earnestly, "However, this red dust tempering of the heart is meant to 'refine the heart,' not 'the emotions.'"
Xu Huayi lowered her eyes slightly, her hands folded in front of her as she listened.
Seeing how well-behaved she was, Song Zhixing went a step deeper. "That Senior Banner Gu is indeed a dragon among men, but the karma tied to him is too heavy. You are still young, and some people and things are not as simple as they appear on the surface. The path of cultivation is long; do not let a momentary connection of intent disturb your dao heart."
He felt his hint was obvious enough.
That's the Ancestor! Definitely don't have any teenage girl crushes!
Xu Huayi nodded, her voice cold and calm. "Huayi understands. Cultivation lies within oneself, not in seeking from others. Fellow Daoist Gu is merely a passerby on my path to the dao."
Song Zhixing was greatly relieved to hear this.
It seemed he had worried too much.
Then again, how could a genius like Xu Huayi, who was entirely devoted to the path of arrays, be as easily moved as others?
He gave a few more words of encouragement and then turned to leave, giving Xu Huayi a quiet space to process her work.
As the hall doors closed and the footsteps faded into the distance.
Silence returned to the side hall.
Xu Huayi maintained her dignified posture until she was certain Song Zhixing was far away.
She slowly sat back in her chair and picked up the weasel-hair brush again.
The brush tip hung over the paper, hesitating to drop.
On the rice paper originally covered in array deductions, a blot of ink had appeared at some point.
Xu Huayi stared blankly at the ink blot, her inner thoughts being entirely different.
['Ahhh, I miss Gu Chengming so much. I miss his hands, I miss his collarbones.']
['I miss him so much. Why is there someone in this world who fits my preferences so perfectly?']
—When exactly is he coming back?
After a moment of obsession, Xu Huayi regained her composure and shook her head, trying not to think about it.
Instead, she took a deep breath and opened the next dossier.
However, just as her gaze swept over the lines, her brows furrowed slightly.
The Hehuan Sect's techniques losing control...
This was indeed one of the few major events in the capital recently. On the scale of important affairs, it could be considered a major event, and it even had the potential to become a catastrophic one.
It could be said that the Imperial Observatory had been researching a solution to this matter lately, such as arrays or even reverse deductions of the techniques.
She analyzed the matter while peeling away the layers in her mind.
Hehuan Sect techniques, passion, losing control...
Wait.
The brush in Xu Huayi's hand suddenly stopped. With a "snap," a crack actually appeared in the high-quality brush handle from her grip.
Doesn't Gu Chengming also practice the Hehuan Sect's techniques?
If everyone practicing Hehuan Sect techniques becomes uncontrollable, then wouldn't Gu Chengming, far away at the northern border, be... Oh no, he won't end up benefiting other women in the north, will he?
Several women who were often around Gu Chengming surfaced in Xu Huayi's mind.
Luo Jinyao, Yu Wenqiu, Nuo Tao...
Dammit! Why wasn't she at the northern border? Why did she come back early!
If she were there now, as long as she brought out the savings she had accumulated for over a decade, Gu Chengming would definitely agree to dual cultivate with her, right!
Ahhh, I want to go to the northern border for work right now! I want to die!
She usually lived frugally and saved such a large fortune just so it could be useful at a critical moment. In the end, when the time truly came to be "generous for a cause," she was thousands of miles away.
The air pressure in the side hall was terrifyingly low.
Just then, the hall door was gently pushed open.
A young man in the official robes of the Imperial Observatory peeked in, holding a letter. "Senior Sister? Are you busy?" It was her junior brother, Zhou Hui.
Xu Huayi took a deep breath, instantly pulling back the aura of resentment that was about to overflow and returning to her usual self.
She turned her head slightly, her voice calm. "What is it?"
Zhou Hui stepped forward and placed the letter on the desk. "Oh, it's nothing major. I was just at the city gate for some business and heard some Night Guard banners chatting. They said Gu Chengming is back and should be at Jishan Neighborhood by now...?"
Before he could finish.
With a "whoosh."
Xu Huayi, who had been sitting calmly, stood up abruptly. The movement was so sudden that it knocked over the teacup by her hand.
Tea splashed across the desk, soaking the dossier about the Hehuan Sect.
Zhou Hui jumped in surprise. "Se... Senior Sister?"
Xu Huayi didn't look at him; her eyes were glowing.
"Senior Sister, are you going to..."
"Prepare gifts."
Xu Huayi was concise, her speech very fast. "Take all the spirit fruits and pills I've acquired in the capital, as well as that jar of Millennium Spirit Wine gifted by Vice Director Song. Bring everything."
Zhou Hui looked confused. "Where are we going?"
Xu Huayi strode out of the hall, her steps light as the wind.
"Jishan Neighborhood."
She said without looking back.
"To visit an old friend."
...
The next morning.
Gu Chengming woke up early.
After a night of rest and confirming his own condition, his mood was much lighter than yesterday.
He was practicing his sword in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a gentle knock on the gate.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The knocking was rhythmic and steady, showing a restrained politeness.
Gu Chengming sheathed his sword, feeling puzzled.
Who would visit this remote Jishan Neighborhood so early in the morning? A colleague from the Night Guard?
He walked over and opened the courtyard gate.
When he saw the person standing outside, Gu Chengming couldn't help but be stunned.
The person wasn't wearing the usual green array-master robes but had changed into a plain moon-white dress with a pale green cloak. Her long hair wasn't tied back sharply as it had been at the northern border, but was gathered in a bun held by a wooden hairpin.
"Fellow Daoist Xu?" Gu Chengming was surprised.
"Fellow Daoist Gu." Xu Huayi said with a very happy smile, "I hope you've been well."
Gu Chengming looked at this friend he had shared life and death with not long ago and smiled as he returned the greeting, stepping aside to make a gesture of invitation. "You as well, Fellow Daoist. Your grace is as it always was. I just didn't expect the Imperial Observatory's information to be so efficient; I just arrived, and you've already followed."
"I was just passing by and heard an old friend had returned, so I came to visit."
Xu Huayi lied without changing her expression, though her steps were very fast, almost sticking to Gu Chengming as she entered the courtyard.
Behind her, a panting Zhou Hui came in carrying a large pile of gift boxes. Seeing his senior sister's back as she practically hovered over Gu Chengming, he sighed silently. He set the things down and tactfully retreated outside the courtyard to wait.
In the courtyard, under the old pagoda tree.
Gu Chengming poured a cup of hot tea for Xu Huayi.
Xu Huayi sat on a stone stool, her back perfectly straight. She held the teacup with both hands, using the action of blowing on the tea to secretly look at Gu Chengming.
His complexion was healthy, his breathing steady, and his eyes clear. Xu Huayi's heart sank halfway.
This wasn't right.
According to the dossiers she saw at the Imperial Observatory, shouldn't someone who practiced Hehuan Sect techniques be overcome with the urge to pounce on the opposite sex right now?
Even if Gu Chengming had great self-control, he should at least show some signs of struggle, right?
As long as he showed even the slightest abnormality, even just a furrowed brow, she could immediately and naturally bring out the pills and spirit stones from her storage pouch and say in a deeply caring tone: 【Fellow Daoist Gu, I know you're suffering. To save you, I am willing to...】
"Fellow Daoist Xu?" Gu Chengming called out when he saw her staring blankly while holding her tea.
"Ah, it's nothing."
Xu Huayi snapped back to her senses and took a sip of tea as a cover, deciding to take the initiative.
She put down the teacup, trying to make her tone sound normal. "Fellow Daoist Gu, I wonder if you felt the atmosphere in the capital was a bit strange after your return?"
Gu Chengming nodded. "It's the influence of the Hehuan Sect incident, isn't it?"
"Then..." Xu Huayi's hand on her lap tightened slightly as she tested the waters. "How about you, Fellow Daoist? Have you been affected?"
Gu Chengming understood immediately upon hearing this.
Director Zhou really didn't lie to me.
He said without a change in expression, "Thank you for your concern. Perhaps because I also practice Confucian mental arts, the righteous qi in my body remains intact. This level of evil aura has not been able to contaminate me at all."
"My heart is currently as still as water; there are no major issues."
Xu Huayi looked at the wrist swaying before her eyes and felt as if the sky had fallen.
Heart as still as water? How could you be as still as water!
She asked again, refusing to give up. "Truly no feeling at all?"
He shattered her final fantasy.
"Truly none."
"Good." Xu Huayi took a deep breath and said with a forced, carefree smile, "Fellow Daoist Gu's dao heart is so firm, I truly admire it."
For the rest of the time, Xu Huayi visibly wilted.
She responded half-heartedly to Gu Chengming's small talk, her gaze occasionally drifting toward the pile of resources she had brought outside the yard. Her eyes were full of the tragic resentment of "offering one's heart to the moon, only for the moon to shine on a ditch."
After finishing her tea.
Xu Huayi stood up and smoothed her skirt.
"Since Fellow Daoist Gu is fine, then I won't disturb you further."
She nodded slightly, though she was finding it hard to let go. "There are still duties to handle at the Imperial Observatory. Farewell."
After saying that, she turned and left with hurried steps, her back projecting an air of honorable defeat.
Gu Chengming stood to see her off, feeling helpless.
—What kind of 'honorable defeat' are you trying to act out?
...
Night Guard Division, the Director's quiet room.
The eaglewood door isolated the noise from the outside, but it couldn't block the heavy chill emanating from the secret report on the desk.
Zhou Qingmu closed the dossier and lightly tapped the armrest of her wheelchair with her fingertips.
As expected, the thing she worried about most had happened.
"Yin Yang Fish..."
She whispered those three words.
That was the foundation of the Hehuan Sect and one of the most mysterious primordial artifacts in existence.
Normally, this object had suppressed the Hehuan Sect's destiny for thousands of years and was long connected to the ley lines. But now, it seemed the source of the pink chaos across the capital pointed to an imbalance in the Yin Yang Fish.
With yin and yang out of order, desires overflowed.
To solve this disaster, the only way was for someone to delve deep into the Hehuan Sect's forbidden grounds, make contact with the Yin Yang Fish, uncover the truth behind its loss of control, and bring concrete evidence back to Great Qian.
As long as there was evidence, the Great Qian imperial court could intervene under the righteous name of "assisting an ally in suppressing a revolt," and mobilize the national destiny dragon qi to suppress the Yin Yang Fish's riot.
But the difficulty lay in this "evidence."
Currently, there were many factions within the Great Qian court, and not a few eyes were fixed on the prize that was the Hehuan Sect.
The Yin Yang Fish was not only the lifeblood of the Hehuan Sect but also a treasure enough to make any Fifth Realm cultivator envious. Tearing through the pretense without evidence was clearly unwise.
This was a deadlock, and the key to breaking it was gathering proof.
But this involved a new problem: ordinary cultivators would be repelled by the massive yin and yang energies upon approaching the Yin Yang Fish, while those who practiced Hehuan Sect techniques and could resist such assimilation were currently mostly unable to even save themselves.
Zhou Qingmu sighed, her gaze falling on Gu Chengming, who had just pushed open the door and entered.
"Director?" Seeing Zhou Qingmu's solemn expression, Gu Chengming couldn't help but ask, "Did you find something?"
"You could say that."
Zhou Qingmu didn't hide anything and revealed the situation of the Yin Yang Fish and the current dilemma.
After hearing it, Gu Chengming rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully:
"So, what's needed now is someone who has practiced Hehuan Sect techniques but remains unaffected to infiltrate the Hehuan Sect as a scout?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a gaze land on him.
Zhou Qingmu's eyes lit up. "Lord Gu is indeed intelligent; you understand immediately."
Gu Chengming thought to himself, please don't flatter me.
The moment she called him 'Lord,' he suddenly had an ill premonition.
"So..." Zhou Qingmu revealed her intent, her voice full of expectation. "Could I ask you to disguise yourself and make a trip to the Hehuan Sect?"
Gu Chengming pointed to his own nose with a look of absurdity. "Me?"
"It's not that I'm declining, but really..."
His fame was quite large now, and with his outstanding appearance, it was hard not to draw attention.
If he were to investigate, he'd probably be recognized as the Night Guard's Gu Chengming the moment he appeared at the Hehuan Sect's gates, then captured and thoroughly drained.
"Don't worry. Since I'm asking you to go, I naturally won't let you run into trouble."
Zhou Qingmu seemed prepared. She waved her hand. "I have someone in mind whose methods are enough to let you move through the Hehuan Sect as if no one were there."
After saying that, she took out a sound transmission talisman from her sleeve. About fifteen minutes later,
the door to the quiet room was pushed open again.
A figure in plain white walked in, the scent of medicine drifting with the wind.
The visitor had snow-white hair and a gentle face; it was the chief physician of the School of Medicine and Gu Chengming's old acquaintance—Li Suizhuang.
"Greetings, Director Zhou, and... Senior Banner Gu?"
Li Suizhuang's gaze lingered on Gu Chengming for a moment, a trace of surprise flashing through her eyes.
"Doctor Li?"
"This matter involves medical theory and physical modification; Doctor Li is an expert in this field." Zhou Qingmu explained, then looked at Li Suizhuang. "Well? What I mentioned before."
Li Suizhuang sighed and looked at Gu Chengming with some helplessness. "I knew this hard labor would eventually fall on me."
She walked up to Gu Chengming, opened the medicine box she carried, and took out a row of silver needles and several jade bottles.
"Senior Banner Gu, forgive me."
"This is for..."
"Disguise."
Li Suizhuang touched some ointment with her finger and applied it gently to Gu Chengming's face. "Only this can bypass the divine sense detection of those high-level cultivators in the Hehuan Sect."
As spiritual energy flowed through her fingertips, Gu Chengming only felt a tingling ache in his face, as if his bones were imperceptibly moving and rearranging.
A moment later.
Li Suizhuang put away the silver needles and handed over a bronze mirror.
"It's done."
Gu Chengming took the mirror and looked.
The person in the mirror had average features; you definitely wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd with a second glance.
Even the sharp aura of a sword cultivator was suppressed, making him look like a common rogue cultivator one might find anywhere.
This skill was exquisite.
"Not bad." Zhou Qingmu looked him over and nodded with satisfaction. "This way, as long as you don't draw your sword, no one will recognize you as Gu Chengming."
But Li Suizhuang, looking at Gu Chengming before her, was still somewhat amazed.
Even though his appearance had been completely changed and she had deliberately made him look plain and unremarkable—even shaping his temperament to be unnoticeable—Gu Chengming still possessed a unique charm.
'Does this world really have a concept like "Celestial Visage"?' Li Suizhuang wondered to herself.
This kind of charm that ignored the skin and pointed directly at the soul was something she had only seen recorded in the notes of that legendary, ascended ancestor of the Hehuan Sect.
But Gu Chengming was only in the Second Realm.
"Doctor Li? Is something wrong?" Gu Chengming felt a bit uneasy seeing her staring so intently.
"...No, it's nothing."
Li Suizhuang snapped back to her senses and coughed to hide her surprise. "I just feel that even with a different face, Senior Banner Gu still... has a unique flavor."
Gu Chengming: "..."
Why did those words sound so strange?
"Very well."
Zhou Qingmu finalized the decision. "Since the disguise is complete, the matter is settled."
She looked at the two of them, her expression grave.
"For this mission, Doctor Li will be the lead, responsible for contacting the Hehuan Sect's upper management on the surface. While you, Little Gu—"
She pointed to Gu Chengming, who was sporting a generic face. "You will act as Doctor Li's assistant, responsible for observing in secret and taking the opportunity to uncover the truth."
Gu Chengming looked at the gently smiling Li Suizhuang beside him, then at Zhou Qingmu in the wheelchair with an "I have high hopes for you" expression.
Things had come to this; what else could he do but agree?
"I... accept the order."
Gu Chengming cupped his hands, though he sighed silently in his heart.
The Hehuan Sect...
He hoped this would still be a professional business trip.
...
The flying boat heading toward the Hehuan Sect wasn't large, its passage carving two white trails through the sea of clouds.
Gu Chengming leaned against the railing, reaching up to touch his now plain and unremarkable face.
Li Suizhuang's craftsmanship was indeed impeccable. The aching sensation from the bone displacement had faded, replaced by a sense of natural fit.
"Is Lord Gu still adapting to the new identity?"
Li Suizhuang approached carrying a pot of warmed medicinal tea, her moon-white skirt fluttering in the wind.
She wore no makeup today, her hair held only by a plain silver hairpin, making her look a bit more otherworldly and cold than she did in the capital. However, in the depths of her eyes, a few streaks of red were faintly hidden.
Gu Chengming took the teacup, thanked her, and said with a smile, "It's not so much about adapting, but I was thinking that if I go to the Hehuan Sect with this face, the difficulty of getting information out of the disciples there might be quite high."
"Lord Gu is too modest."
Li Suizhuang sat down beside him, her gaze lingering on his featureless face for a moment. "The skin is merely a surface appearance, don't you think, Lord Gu?"
She seemed to be implying something, but quickly turned her gaze away to look at the mountains and rivers passing rapidly below.
Gu Chengming didn't linger on the topic and instead asked, "Speaking of which, I wonder how Senior Sister Fu has been doing lately?"
He still remembered that small Hehuan Sect elder.
Back in the capital, although Fu Xiaoxiao's actions were a bit flamboyant, she had treated him quite well. Not only did she teach him the Red Dust Technique, but she had also stuffed a bunch of miscellaneous life-saving items into his hands before leaving.
Now that the Hehuan Sect was in chaos, with Fu Xiaoxiao's personality and cultivation, she was likely...
Hearing the words "Senior Sister Fu," Li Suizhuang's fingers holding the teacup stiffened slightly.
She lowered her gaze to look at the tea leaves rising and falling in the cup, her eyelashes trembling, hiding the flicker of worry in her eyes.
"Senior Sister Fu..." Li Suizhuang paused, her voice slightly lower than before. "She has deep cultivation and the protection of the sect array; she should be fine."
Should be?
If she were truly fine, given the relationship between Li Suizhuang and Fu Xiaoxiao, she would have cracked a joke or two instead of using such an ambiguous tone.
"Is there something inconvenient to say?"
"It's not that." Li Suizhuang looked up and sighed. "It's just that the sect has been closed for a long time, and communication is difficult. I've been away for many years; I won't know the specific situation until we arrive."
She clearly didn't want to talk much more. Using the excuse of needing to check the calming incense in the cabin, she hurriedly stood up and left.
Gu Chengming watched her slightly hurried back, lost in thought.
It seemed the situation at the Hehuan Sect was even worse than what was written in the dossiers.
...
Night fell.
The flying boat was suspended above a layer of clouds. The surroundings were silent, with only the high-altitude air currents occasionally striking the protective array, making a slight sound.
Gu Chengming sat cross-legged in his cabin.
Although he was an assistant, the room Li Suizhuang had arranged for him was right next to hers, separated only by a thin wooden wall.
After chatting with his techniques for a bit, he was preparing to enter meditation to regulate his breath.
Thud.
A dull sound suddenly came from next door.
It sounded like a heavy object hitting the wall, followed by a burst of suppressed panting.
It was very quiet on the other side of the wall—too quiet. But precisely because Gu Chengming's senses were so acute, the sounds that were being deliberately suppressed became even clearer.
"Mng..."
A muffled groan came through the wood.
The sound contained a sweetly resonant trembling that made one's scalp tingle.
Then came the sound of fabric rubbing, the harsh noise of fingernails scratching the wooden boards, and intermittent, rapid breathing.
Gu Chengming instinctively wanted to get up and check the situation, but his movement froze as his hand touched the doorknob.
Only at this moment did he suddenly realize one thing.
—Li Suizhuang also practiced Hehuan Sect techniques.
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