The person who arrived was none other than Lin Shuangye.
After learning that Lin Huanhuan was in trouble, she had dropped everything in a hurry, spent some time tracking Lin Huanhuan’s whereabouts, and finally made it in time.
Lin Huanhuan rushed forward and complained, “Sis, you’re finally here! If you’d come any later, you might never see me again!”
Hearing this, Lin Shuangye immediately became annoyed. “You still have the nerve to say that? I sent you out on a mission and you ran into something suspicious, but you didn’t come back right away. Did you think you were that great?”
“What have I always taught you? The outside world is dangerous. If you run into someone stronger than you, don’t pick a fight. The moment something feels off, you run. Don’t be curious about things you shouldn’t.”
“If your companion hadn’t come to find me in time, you really would be dead!”
Lin Huanhuan shrank her head back and argued stubbornly, “How was I supposed to know the enemy was so strong? I was going to leave, but they blocked my way!”
Lin Shuangye wanted to knock her on the head a couple of times to teach her a lesson, but as soon as she raised her hand, she noticed Lin Huanhuan’s injuries and the exhaustion she couldn’t hide on her small face. Her heart softened.
‘Forget it, I’ll lecture her when we get home.’
Lin Huanhuan had already closed her eyes, bracing herself for a scolding, but when it didn’t come, her face lit up with joy. Glancing at the spot where the mastermind had just been, she sighed.
“It’s a pity that guy ran so fast. If he’d stayed even a second longer, Sis, your sword would have kept him here for sure. He’s such a sly old fox, fleeing so fast he didn’t even think about finishing me off.”
Lin Shuangye shot her a speechless look and replied coolly, “You’re overthinking it. Once my sword is drawn, how could I possibly let him escape?”
“What do you mean?”
Lin Huanhuan was a bit confused, but Lin Shuangye didn’t answer. She just pulled out a small bottle, poured out a pill glowing with a faint green light, and handed it to her. “Eat this. Recover first.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks, Sis.”
Lin Huanhuan took it with a smile, then turned to look at Dong Yun’er, only to see she had collapsed on the ground. It must have been because she had fought so hard despite her injuries and was completely spent. Lin Huanhuan hurried over and fed her the pill.
The pill melted instantly in the mouth—it was clearly no ordinary item, at least much higher quality than what Lin Huanhuan had used before.
Watching this, Lin Shuangye’s mouth twitched and her heart ached, ‘Ha, this little spendthrift. That pill was expensive!’
But seeing that Lin Huanhuan was finally safe, fatigue washed over her body, and she immediately fainted.
Lin Shuangye could only sigh, walked over to them, gently lifted Lin Huanhuan’s head, and fed her another pill. Comforting herself inwardly, she thought, ‘Dong Yun’er was injured protecting Huanhuan, and she’s also one of our Lin family. It’s not a total loss.’
Just then, Ye Jinxi and the other Lin family disciples arrived. Seeing this scene, they couldn’t help but exclaim, “As expected of Miss Shuangye—she uses a Yunsheng Pill worth a thousand spirit stones without a second thought.”
Lin Shuangye set Lin Huanhuan down and stood up, her gaze sharp. “Enough chatter. Send two people to the place I mentioned and bring back that corpse. Move all the bodies and that one back to the Lin family’s base. I want to see which power dared to act so boldly!”
“Yes!”
The disciples took the order and left.
Lin Shuangye turned to Ye Jinxi, who stood nearby looking worried but hesitant to approach, and smiled. “I must thank you as well. If it weren’t for you, Huanhuan would have been in real danger today. Consider our Lin family in your debt.”
“As for their safety, you don’t need to worry. Both of them have taken extremely valuable healing pills, and I’ll be taking them back right away. Even if there’s a problem, we’ll be able to find it.”
Hearing this, Ye Jinxi finally relaxed and cupped her hands. “No need for gratitude—it was my duty. After all, Lin Huanhuan is my friend.”
Lin Shuangye just smiled and said no more. Favors were favors; whether the other party accepted or not, she couldn’t let it go unacknowledged. That was a matter of principle.
She added, “One more thing—next time, no matter who you’re looking for, make sure you explain everything clearly. It might lead to different results.”
She paused for a moment before saying, “After all, this is a world where the strong rule, and the rules are made by the strong—at least for now.”
Ye Jinxi’s eyes darkened slightly, and she gave a bitter smile. “Thanks for the advice. I’ve learned my lesson. I was too naive before, thinking that all Lingyun Sect disciples would be more or less the same…”
Meanwhile, a hundred li away, out on the wild plains.
Youming’s figure appeared, eyes wide with uncontrollable fear. “Why would Lin Shuangye, one of the top three on the Azure Cloud Ranking, be here over something so trivial!”
“Thank goodness I ran fast. Otherwise, I’d have died on the spot. Such a pity about that Hundred Li Teleportation Talisman—I could only use it once.”
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been greedy for the kill. What a waste of the rare treasure I got from ambushing my master…”
“Hmph, I must have been targeted by the Lin family. Looks like I’ll have to leave this region. I’ll come back for revenge when I’ve broken through to Golden Core. Then I’ll definitely—”
Just as Youming was celebrating his escape and dreaming of the future, the world suddenly turned to black and white. He could even see his own body from outside.
Only then did he realize, ‘So, I’m already dead.’
Like a black-and-white photograph, his body was sliced cleanly in two, severed limbs falling to the ground. Only then did time resume its flow.
*****
When Lin Huanhuan woke up, three whole days had passed. Dong Yun’er was sitting by her side, taking care of her.
Lin Huanhuan had slept soundly. She stretched, her slightly loose robe slipping down her shoulder, faintly revealing her now slightly graceful figure—a deep valley newly formed, snowy peaks half hidden, a sight rarely seen in the mortal world.
Dong Yun’er, who had come to help her wash, was utterly stunned, even doubting for a moment whether she was dreaming. Otherwise, how could she witness the scene she had once longed for day and night?
At first, Lin Huanhuan didn’t care, but then suddenly remembered that this maid of hers seemed to harbor some improper intentions toward her. To avoid any mishap where a servant oversteps her bounds, she quickly fixed her clothes.
She then pretended nothing had happened and said, “Yun’er, when did you wake up? Are you alright now?”
Dong Yun’er regretfully looked away and nodded gently. “I woke up a little earlier than you, Miss. I’m fine now, nothing wrong at all.”
“That’s good.”
Lin Huanhuan nodded, then asked, “What happened to those evil cultists who were after us?”
She had never been the forgiving type. For an evil cult that caused her so much trouble—if she was strong enough, she’d have destroyed them with her own hands, down to the last egg yolk!
Dong Yun’er replied, “The person who appeared at the end was slain by the Eldest Miss with a single sword strike, but we couldn’t find his corpse no matter how hard we looked. Maybe someone else took it away.”
Lin Huanhuan frowned slightly, sensing danger. Her experience told her that person might return in the future and could bring her even greater trouble.
Dong Yun’er continued, “The Eldest Miss has already reported this to the Sect Master. I heard even the Sect Master was furious. The evil cults within Lingyun Sect’s territory have been wiped out. For the next three to five years, no cultist will dare to show their face.”
“That’s a relief.”
Lin Huanhuan nodded. This news barely put her mind at ease.
“Oh, right,” Dong Yun’er added, “The Eldest Miss said that when you wake up, you should go see her. She wants to give you a proper lesson.”