The waiter quickly brought hot water and poured it into the wooden bathtub behind the screen.
Steam filled the room, mingling with the moisture, creating an inexplicable sense of security.
Ban Wan’er stood behind the screen, hesitated for a moment, then began to bathe.
The sound of clothes falling to the floor was very soft, but in the quiet room, it was exceptionally clear.
Lai Li’nv stood by the window, looking out at the night scenery.
His expression remained still, but his ear twitched slightly.
‘No, what am I thinking!’
Lai Li’nv took a deep breath and suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
He was a great senior master—how could he have such thoughts?
Sin, sin.
Lai Li’nv closed his eyes and began to silently recite the Diamond Sutra in his mind.
Although in his previous life he only remembered the line, “All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows,” at this moment, he felt that remembering just that line was enough.
The sound of gentle water came from behind the screen.
Ban Wan’er sat in the bathtub, warm water covering her shoulders, enveloping her in warmth.
She closed her eyes, feeling the hot water slowly seep into her skin, washing away the remaining Evil Qi on her body.
Her mind was clear, her heart calm.
But her mind uncontrollably conjured everything that had happened over the past two days.
Falling from the sky, landing in a bush.
Looking up to see those eyes as calm as still water.
That figure who always stood in front of her, composed and unhurried.
Ban Wan’er’s heart suddenly raced.
She quickly opened her eyes, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on her face, trying to calm herself down.
‘Don’t think nonsense.’
‘Senior is only taking you along out of consideration for Mother. Don’t flatter yourself.’
She told herself this, but her heart still beat a little faster.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the sound of water behind the screen stopped.
Ban Wan’er’s voice came from behind the screen, tinged with embarrassment: “S-Senior.”
“Your junior’s clothes… are no longer wearable.”
Lai Li’nv then remembered that he had only asked for hot water, not preparation for a change of clothes.
“Wait a moment.”
He opened the door, walked to the stairway, and called down, “Shopkeeper!”
There was a moment of silence downstairs, followed by the middle-aged man’s voice, barely containing his excitement: “Coming! Right away!”
The middle-aged man’s voice came from downstairs: “Guest, what are your orders?”
Lai Li’nv returned to the room and closed the door.
“Bring a set of clean clothes up.”
Not long after, a knock sounded at the door.
Lai Li’nv opened it.
The waiter stood outside, holding a neatly folded set of light blue-green dress.
The fabric wasn’t expensive, but it was clean and fresh.
“Guest, this is the landlady’s finest clothes from the bottom of her trunk. She said to lend it to that young lady, no need to return it.”
The waiter grinned, then turned and ran off.
Lai Li’nv closed the door and placed the clothes by the screen.
“It’s here.”
“Thank you, Senior.”
After a while, Ban Wan’er emerged from behind the screen.
The light blue-green dress fit her surprisingly well.
Her long wet hair still held some moisture, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks, making her face look even paler and more radiant, like someone who had just stepped out of a painting.
She lowered her head, unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, standing there a bit awkwardly.
“Senior… do I look good?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it.
‘What kind of question is that! How could I ask Senior such a thing!’
Lai Li’nv glanced at her, his gaze calm.
“Adequate.”
Two simple words, flat and unremarkable.
Ban Wan’er felt a strange sense of disappointment inside, but she quickly suppressed it.
‘What kind of person is Senior? How could he care about such mundane things!’
Thinking this, she felt even more that her question was too impolite.
“Your junior was rude.”
She bowed her head, walked to the other side of the room, and sat cross-legged against the wall.
“Senior, please rest early. Your junior will keep watch here tonight.”
Lai Li’nv nodded.
He closed his eyes, but his mind was racing.
Every step felt like walking a tightrope.
Everything that had happened in the past two days was more intense than the past twenty years of his life combined.
But fortunately, the results weren’t bad.
The cultivation provided by Ban Wan’er had already reached the Foundation Establishment Peak.
Although he still didn’t know any spells, at least the Vajra Indestructible Body was truly useful.
Taking that hit head-on today was the best proof.
Thinking this, Lai Li’nv felt a little more at ease.
‘Sleep, sleep.’
‘Have to keep up the act tomorrow.’
The oil lamp in the room was blown out.
Moonlight leaked in through the cracks in the window, leaving a thin silver line on the floor.
Ban Wan’er sat cross-legged against the wall, eyes closed, breathing steady.
But she wasn’t asleep.
Her Spiritual Sense quietly extended, sensing every subtle movement in the room.
Senior’s breathing was very light, very steady, as if he was already asleep.
A flicker of doubt crossed Ban Wan’er’s mind.
‘Senior is really sleeping.’
‘Not meditating, not resting with eyes closed, but genuinely sleeping.’
Did a Golden Core Stage cultivator need to sleep?
Golden Core True Persons had long since achieved Grain Avoidance, no longer eating mortal food, untouched by mundane affairs.
They didn’t even need sleep, just a few hours of meditation each day to refresh their minds.
But Senior…
Ban Wan’er bit her lip.
‘Maybe Senior is using some method of meditation I don’t know about?’
‘Or maybe… Senior is cultivating his mind?’
‘Yes, that must be it.’
Ban Wan’er nodded to herself silently, feeling she had gained another layer of understanding.
She stopped overthinking, closed her eyes, and began circulating her Spiritual Power, entering a cultivation state.
The moonlight outside the window gradually shifted.
Night deepened.
Ban Wan’er was startled awake by a strange, unusual fragrance.
She snapped her eyes open.
Her Spiritual Sense surged outward like a tide, vaguely sensing something was wrong.
A medicinal scent, faint yet distinct, quietly bloomed in an unnoticed corner.
The moment the medicinal scent entered her nose, the Grand Quality Water Spirit Root within her trembled slightly, as if gently plucked by something.
A fragrance that could stir a Grand Spirit Root was definitely no ordinary thing.
The scent drifted from a certain direction, intermittent, like some ancient breath.
She quietly rose, walked to the window, and followed the source of the medicinal scent.
Under the moonlight, the continuous forest behind the town was especially tranquil.
The medicinal scent came from the deep mountains ‘about ten li away.’
She had once read in the sect’s scriptures that certain spiritual herbs growing in special terrains would release moonlight essence during full moon nights, their medicinal power spilling out to form such fragrances.
Such a spiritual herb would be at least a century old.
Ban Wan’er’s confusion grew deeper.
‘Senior… didn’t sense it?’
‘Or is this medicinal scent, in Senior’s eyes, beneath notice?’
Ban Wan’er subconsciously glanced back toward the bed.
Lai Li’nv was still sleeping soundly, his breathing steady, completely unresponsive to that scent capable of stirring a Grand Spirit Root.
Ban Wan’er sat back down cross-legged against the wall and closed her eyes, but that faint medicinal scent lingered around her nose, refusing to let her calm down.
What she didn’t know was that on the other side of the town, three figures had silently merged into the night, heading in the direction of the forest.
Shortly after, Ban Wan’er’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
She discreetly released a thread of Spiritual Sense, carefully probing outside the room.
Three people.
One Foundation Establishment mid-stage, the other two at Qi Refining level eight or nine.
These three people sneaking to the inn in the dead of night was obviously no coincidence.
Ban Wan’er’s gaze fell toward the bed.
Lai Li’nv was still lying there, breathing evenly, not moving at all.
‘Hasn’t Senior noticed the commotion outside at all?’
Anxiety surged in Ban Wan’er’s heart.
‘Could they be pursuers?’
‘Why is Senior still sleeping? Didn’t he notice?’
‘No.’
Ban Wan’er suddenly recalled that along the way, Senior’s style had always been calm and unhurried.
‘Maybe Senior noticed long ago, but just thinks it’s not worth bothering with.’
‘But what if those people really break in…’
Ban Wan’er’s mind raced.
She instinctively wanted to wake Lai Li’nv, but stopped herself just as the words were about to leave her mouth.
Senior was a great master, a Golden Core True Person.
How could a Golden Core True Person need someone else to warn them of danger?
‘Maybe Senior is testing me.’
Ban Wan’er’s heart suddenly calmed down a bit.
‘Yes, that’s it.’
‘Senior deliberately pretended not to notice, to see how I would handle it.’
Ban Wan’er took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She closed her eyes and carefully sensed the auras of those three people.
They lingered downstairs for a while, seemingly whispering to each other, then footsteps sounded, heading toward the back of the inn.
Ban Wan’er frowned slightly.
‘Seems like they aren’t after us.’
But she didn’t let her guard down, keeping track of their auras.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, those three auras gradually faded away into the night.
Ban Wan’er let out a long breath, guessing they were heading toward that strange fragrance.
Her tense body slowly relaxed.
She turned to look at the bed.
Lai Li’nv happened to turn over, mumbling something indistinctly, then continued sleeping.
Ban Wan’er was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but curl her lips.
‘Senior…’
‘He really has none of the airs of a Golden Core True Person.’
She sat back down against the wall, but found she couldn’t calm her mind anymore.
The sky outside the window gradually brightened.
Morning light streamed through the crack in the window, spreading a faint layer of gold on the floor.
Ban Wan’er looked up at the dawn, suddenly feeling like something inside her had brightened as well.
She stood up, walked to the window, and gently pushed it open.
Morning air rushed in, carrying the scent of earth and grass.
On the distant street, early-rising vendors were already setting up their stalls.
It was an ordinary morning, an ordinary scene of mortal life.
She turned around and looked at Lai Li’nv.
The morning light fell on his face, outlining clear, sharp features.
Ban Wan’er suddenly noticed that Senior looked very young.
He seemed hardly older than twenty.
Thinking that Senior had once been her mother’s Master, he must be quite old, yet he still looked so handsome.
Could it be some kind of Youth Preservation Art?
Ban Wan’er quickly suppressed the thought.
‘Senior’s origins, Senior’s realm, Senior’s past—these are all Senior’s own matters.’
‘If Senior doesn’t speak of them, it’s not for me to ask.’
‘That’s the rule, the boundary.’
She told herself this.
Lai Li’nv’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Ban Wan’er quickly looked away, hurried back to the wall, sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and pretended to have been cultivating all along.
Lai Li’nv opened his eyes, yawned, and slowly sat up.
He glanced out the window, then at Ban Wan’er by the wall.
“Awake?”
Ban Wan’er opened her eyes, stood up, and respectfully bowed.
“Good morning, Senior.”
Lai Li’nv nodded, stood up, and stretched his slightly stiff neck.
“Nothing happened last night, right?”
Lai Li’nv asked casually.
“Reporting to Senior, three people came last night. One was Foundation Establishment mid-stage, the other two were Qi Refining levels eight and nine.”
Lai Li’nv’s movement paused.
Three people?
Foundation Establishment mid-stage!
He had slept too soundly last night and heard nothing.
But his face showed no ripple of emotion.
He merely replied with a faint “Mm.”
“No need to mind.”
Seeing Lai Li’nv so unfazed, Ban Wan’er became even more convinced that Senior had long been aware and simply deemed them unworthy of attention.
“Yes, your junior understands.”
Lai Li’nv walked to the window and looked down at the street, which was already coming to life.
His mind was racing.
‘Three cultivators, showing up in the middle of the night near this small inn.’
‘A coincidence, or are they after me?’
He couldn’t find an answer.
No matter what happened, remaining calm was the priority.
Because Ban Wan’er was watching him.
Her Fantasy Value was built on this facade of his composed detachment.
“Tidy up. Let’s go down for breakfast.”
Lai Li’nv turned around, his tone casual.
“Yes, Senior.”