Lin Huanhuan said indifferently, “What’s the rush? Currently, these things are just your side of the story. I still need to investigate and verify their authenticity.”
“Don’t worry. If what you say is true, I can take it upon myself to spare your family and even give you a reward as compensation.”
If it were someone like Lin Huanhuan who reported a spy, she would certainly receive a reward that could be described as generous.
A trace of disappointment flashed through Huang Huasheng’s eyes, and he nodded. “It was indeed my own impatience. If you can trust me, Lady Huanhuan, feel free to mention anything I can help with during the upcoming actions.”
Lin Huanhuan nodded. “Since you mentioned that your Huang family will be bringing that Demonic Sect spy back to recognize their ancestors in a few days, I’ll visit the Huang family then to see if it’s true. I’ll need your cooperation for certain things when the time comes.”
“Rest assured, as long as it is within my power, just say the word.”
Once Huang Huasheng left, Lin Huanhuan’s expression returned to its usual calm. ‘It seems this fellow is hiding something from me. What “tossing and turning with a restless heart”? Does he think he can lie to a ghost? Does he really think I’m some naive girl just starting out?’
‘Could it be some scheme of internal strife? Forget it. If I get a chance, I’ll look into it; if not, then whatever.’
Then, she thought about the original work. ‘The current situation is following the original plot, and as expected, there are no surprises. In the original novel, this is where I received the report and went to the Huang family to investigate the truth.’
‘But in the end, I inadvertently discovered that the spy was incredibly beautiful and was instantly overcome by lust, wanting to possess her by any means necessary. After that, I used the situation to threaten the spy, taking a lot of liberties during the process and stopping only one step away from the final act.’
‘Eventually, because I failed to report what I knew and even secretly colluded with a Demonic Sect spy—along with being reported by someone else—I was expelled from the Lingyun Sect.’
‘Good grief, the original plot is just too ridiculous. No way, I absolutely cannot let things develop like that. I’ll just pay a small price to modify the ending a bit.’
‘Hmm, if I don’t increase You Yuelan’s favorability during this process and only modify the outcome of being expelled from the Lingyun Sect, the price shouldn’t be too high. Let’s do that!’
After deciding on her next course of action, Lin Huanhuan left immediately. Having achieved her goal for the day, she could head back and rest.
***
Upon returning to Xiao Zhu Peak, the first thing Lin Huanhuan saw was Dong Yuner waiting for her.
She was sitting in the sofa chair that Lin Huanhuan had brought back earlier. In fact, ever since Lin Huanhuan had brought back such comfortable chairs and placed them in the living room, they had been used as regular seating.
Dong Yuner was quite interested in them as well. If she weren’t so busy with her cultivation, she might have even planned to mimic the design and make a few herself.
She was sitting by the door, resting her left cheek on her hand and looking up toward the entrance from time to time. The moment she saw Lin Huanhuan, her eyes lit up, and she called out, “Miss, you’re finally back.”
“I had to handle some business, so I’m only returning now. By the way, have you finished your cultivation for today?”
Lin Huanhuan walked over and sat down, asking Dong Yuner about her progress. While Lin Huanhuan was working hard on her own cultivation, Dong Yuner naturally wouldn’t choose to be lazy.
After a month of guidance from Song Zhuying, Dong Yuner felt that her strength had improved significantly. Her comprehension of the Dao of the sword had reached a new level, and she was very grateful to Song Zhuying.
Recently, she had been trying to create a sword technique unique to her. In her own words: “My sword path has reached a bottleneck. If I want to improve further, I need to master something that belongs solely to me. This is very difficult. It could take a month, a day, or I might not even be able to create it in a lifetime.”
The method she used now was quite primitive. Generally, at noon, she would sit cross-legged under a waterfall and quietly accept the washing of the water. In the afternoon, she would wear her training robes and sit with only a sword beside her, calming her mind and closing her eyes to feel nature.
Occasionally, she would refrain from using her cultivation and fight against some powerful animals to find inspiration during the process.
Lin Huanhuan didn’t understand much of this, but she still supported it. Dong Yuner’s increase in strength was beneficial to her as well, and her subsequent escape plan required strong power as support. In short, the more strength they had, the better.
“I still can’t feel it,” Dong Yuner said, shaking her head with a sigh. “I’ve already summarized a prototype through my past experiences, and I’m very close, but for some reason, I just can’t grasp the key.”
Lin Huanhuan comforted her, saying, “Don’t be in a rush. These things can’t be forced. The more you rush, the less you’ll grasp that flash of inspiration. If you’re feeling frustrated, you can take a break. That might help.”
Dong Yuner nodded and dropped the subject, not wanting Lin Huanhuan to worry too much about it.
“Let’s not talk about that. Miss has been busy all day and must be starving. I’ve already prepared the food. Come and try some.”
“Alright. Speaking of which, I really am a bit hungry. The food I ate outside today didn’t suit my taste at all. I only took two bites before losing interest. I still prefer your cooking.”
Watching Lin Huanhuan feast, the smile on Dong Yuner’s face grew wider. She watched quietly, taking an occasional bite herself. She felt that it would be nice to keep watching her like this forever.
“By the way, Miss, what were you busy with outside today? Is there anything I can help with?” Dong Yuner asked, seemingly casually.
Lin Huanhuan’s movements paused for a second, and she instantly realized that Dong Yuner was testing her. ‘She’s probably worried that I’m privately meeting other girls, although she isn’t actually wrong.’
‘She really is a yandere. Her possessiveness is so strong. Although she doesn’t show it directly, her daily behavior gives it away. And this is after I’ve been soothing her; I can’t imagine what a severe yandere would be like.’
Lin Huanhuan thought for a moment before answering, “It was nothing much. Haven’t I been cultivating on the mountain all this time? It was getting a bit too boring, and I felt like my heart was about to turn into stone, so I thought about going down the mountain for some fun.”
“I was going to ask you to come along, Yuner, but then I remembered you’ve been busy with your sword path lately, so I didn’t invite you…”
“I see. That’s a real shame.” Dong Yuner felt both relieved and as if she had missed out. If creating her own sword technique wasn’t so important, she would have wanted to drop everything just to go out and have fun with Lin Huanhuan.
‘The more I think about it, the more I feel like I’ve lost out. Forget it, forget it…’
Dong Yuner sighed and spoke hesitantly, “Miss… this, this, this…”
Lin Huanhuan knit her brows slightly. “Just say whatever is on your mind. Being so hesitant doesn’t suit you.”
“Oh, okay. Actually, I wanted to ask—can I give you a hug, Miss?”