Dong Yun’er trembled and quickly said, “I won’t dare anymore, it won’t happen again next time.”
‘But should I still do it on purpose next time? Let Miss punish me again? Though Miss always says that, she never really does anything, huh.’
After the meal, Dong Yun’er used a Cleaning Spell to swiftly wash the bowls and chopsticks.
‘This really is convenient. If I’d had this skill in my previous life, I could’ve made a fortune just washing dishes!’ Lin Huanhuan watched from the side, her thoughts wandering.
“Oh right, Miss, what did you go do today? You didn’t let me tag along—did you do something super bad again?”
Dong Yun’er looked at Lin Huanhuan with suspicion. Lin Huanhuan stomped her foot in annoyance. “What do you mean by that? Do I look like someone who’s always up to no good?”
‘She really has no self-awareness, so stubborn.’ Dong Yun’er muttered inwardly.
Lin Huanhuan knew she didn’t believe her, so she said, “It’s nothing big, I just went out to buy something.”
“What did you buy? Was it something secret?” Dong Yun’er pressed on.
She’d bought a murder weapon—how could Lin Huanhuan tell Dong Yun’er that?
“It’s nothing, don’t ask so many questions. You’ll know when the time comes.”
Waving her hand impatiently, Lin Huanhuan said, “You can leave now. I still need to cultivate. If I need you, I’ll call.”
“Yes, Miss.” Dong Yun’er lowered her head, her expression unreadable, and slowly backed out.
Once outside the room, Dong Yun’er slowly lifted her head, her little face twisted with a grimace.
Gripping the delicate rosewood railing, her hand unconsciously tightened, and the railing let out a ‘creak creak’ sound, though she seemed oblivious.
“When did Miss start having her own secrets? She actually won’t tell me.”
“Going out alone is one thing, but not telling me where she went? And now she’s impatiently shooing me away.”
“Is she planning to distance herself from me? Or is there something else I don’t know about? No, I absolutely can’t let that happen. Never!”
“I need to know everything about Miss. Only then can I take good care of her—take care of her!”
Her eyes were void of color, glowing with a predatory light in the night, her expression curling into a cold smile.
*****
Inside the bedroom, on a bed large enough for four or five people.
Lin Huanhuan took out the cultivation manual she had acquired today. The cover was already yellowed, slightly tattered, and only the words “Heavenly Silkworm” could be vaguely seen. Opening the manual, the contents were also incomplete.
‘Good thing. It was trash to begin with, and I don’t want it anyway.’
With a flick of her fingers—‘crack’—Lin Huanhuan tore the manual cleanly in two, then retrieved a small packet of white powder from the hollow inside the manual.
A flicker of amusement flashed through Lin Huanhuan’s eyes as she looked at the powder. “Ice-Biting Poison—this is the good stuff!”
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a prodigiously talented poison master. One day, his master cheated on him, and at the same time, he was betrayed by two of his closest kin. He was in utter agony.
To take revenge on his master, he used the coldest snow, the coldest poison, and unique methods of refining, creating a miraculous poison—Ice-Biting Poison!
Whether it touched spiritual energy, blood, or skin, it could wound its victim. Blood contact was the most effective, spiritual energy contact the weakest.
Once poisoned, in just forty-five minutes, the poison would burrow into the bone marrow and freeze the joints. At first, it felt like being struck by a blast of icy wind—after treatment, it seemed no big deal. But whenever it rained or turned damp, the victim’s whole body would feel cold, their joints aching, and their strength would be less than a third of what it once was.
This poison wasn’t meant to kill, but to torment. After all, the poison master could never truly hate his master to the bone.
After poisoning his master, he went to confront his Dao companion, promising that if they were willing to mend their ways, he would forgive them. His Dao companion agreed, and they lived happily ever after.
“What kind of bullshit green-hat fairy tale is that!”
Remembering the story she’d read in a book, Lin Huanhuan was speechless. “But it must just be a story. The real thing can’t possibly be like that.”
She recalled the original novel. “According to the original, this manual would be found by an outer sect disciple in half a month. With such a powerful poison, his life would rocket upward with a string of lucky encounters, and he’d even reach Golden Core stage in the end.”
“Then he’d end up facing the protagonist. With strength a level higher and the confidence that came from never meeting a match, he even wanted to force the protagonist to kneel and bow to him.”
“And then that outer sect disciple got kicked to death in one move. The protagonist even said: Didn’t you say you were strong? Didn’t you say you could kill me with a snap? If I didn’t go all out, you wouldn’t be dead now.”
Thinking of this, Lin Huanhuan stroked her fair chin. “From this angle, I actually saved his life in a roundabout way. He should really thank me!”
“Since that’s the case, I might as well do a good deed to the end. Next, let’s see if I can take the rest of his lucky breaks, so he can be an ordinary person for life, and keep his little life safe.”
With that, Lin Huanhuan set the white powder aside and took out a landscape fan from her Universe Ring.
Lin Huanhuan cultivated the Dao of Wind—renowned for speed, agility, and numerous techniques, though lacking somewhat in attack power.
So, she planned to infuse this poison into her wind attacks, adding an extra layer of unpredictability and making it impossible for enemies to guard against.
With this thought, Lin Huanhuan sat cross-legged, forming hand seals on her knees, her eyes half-open, half-closed.
Threads of spiritual energy flowed from her dantian, coursed through her meridians, and surged from her palms. Like willow twigs in spring, they gently wrapped the white powder, absorbing it. The white powder quickly vanished, and the spiritual energy returned to her dantian.
“Done!” Lin Huanhuan’s lips curled up. “The poison is now infused in my spiritual energy. As long as my Wind Blades hit, the target will be poisoned.”
“But there’s only a little poison. It’s only bonded to three wisps of spiritual energy, good for three Wind Blades. Not much, but it’ll have to do for now.”
Lin Huanhuan sighed, a little regretful.
Currently, she was at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, her dantian storing a total of twenty-three wisps of spiritual energy—the same as Dong Yun’er and the protagonist.
As a minor early-game villain, she could say with confidence that right now, she absolutely wouldn’t last five moves against the protagonist!
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Miss, people from the White Tiger Hall have come to visit. Do you wish to see them now, or wait until tomorrow?”
The crisp voice of the little maid drifted in.