After leaving Yang Yao’s place, Xu Lin toyed with the Sect Leader Token in his hand as he walked.
This token wasn’t anything special to him. Back when he was at the Vast Dao Sect, he had taken Wang Lingcang’s Sect Leader Token more than once.
The so-called Sect Leader Token meant that its bearer commanded the same authority as the sect master himself.
As Xu Lin descended the steps, the other Sunset Sect disciples found it strange. They had never seen this person before—and here he was, coming so openly from Yang Yao’s residence.
But the moment they spotted the token, their expressions shifted to respect and restraint. One by one, they bowed to Xu Lin.
He glanced at them indifferently and paid them no mind.
Back in the day, his treatment at the Vast Dao Sect had been no worse than this. He had long since stopped letting praise or criticism get to him.
‘Since demonic aura can complement my spiritual energy, maybe the Sunset Sect’s cultivation techniques can patch up my problem.’
The inability to fill his internal spiritual energy had always troubled Xu Lin.
If he had fought back with everything he had back then, he might have managed to escape Xi Ranchen. But in the end, that was just a hypothesis.
‘Might as well look for records about the Demon Mark while I’m at it.’
Xi Ranchen’s methods were truly bizarre. Xu Lin still hadn’t figured out what that Demon Mark on his abdomen really was.
But he had a gut feeling: if he tried to flee the Sunset Sect rashly, that thing would definitely backlash.
Xi Ranchen’s skill, and the warning Yang Yao had just given him—none of it was a joke.
Without any pause, Xu Lin stepped into the air and flew off.
It was because of that Demon Mark that Xi Ranchen felt comfortable letting him wander around the sect. She didn’t even need anyone watching him.
From the moment Xu Lin had left that place, a pair of eyes had been fixed on him without interruption.
Watching him leave, Xi Ranchen curled her lips in a cold smirk.
From Xu Lin coming to treat Yang Yao’s injuries, to Yang Yao handing him the Sect Leader Token—everything had been under Xi Ranchen’s observation.
Yang Yao had called Xu Lin over on Xi Ranchen’s orders. Otherwise, her personal disciple’s stubborn personality would have kept her locked in that sulk.
And Xu Lin was far too slick-tongued. Xi Ranchen was afraid he might lead Yang Yao astray, so she had kept a cautious eye out.
As for the Sect Leader Token, it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, it had given Xi Ranchen a few more ideas.
Back at his residence, before he even stepped inside, Xu Lin couldn’t help sighing again. This kind of free-range imprisonment was truly irritating.
Back then, to truly leave the Vast Dao Sect and keep its disciples from finding him, he had deliberately cut off all ties.
If he had left himself a fallback, he might have been able to ask the Vast Dao Sect for help.
But that would drag him back to the Vast Dao Sect. No matter what, he couldn’t escape the storyline. Xu Lin was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
As he entered the courtyard, he saw Jiang Luo hanging a quilt out to dry. Xu Lin was puzzled.
Jiang Luo used a pole to hang the washed quilt, then planted her hands on her hips with rolled-up sleeves, a smug look on her face. “There. That rotten guy won’t have anything to say now, will he?”
“What are you talking about?”
Xu Lin’s sudden voice made Jiang Luo’s body jolt. She turned around to find him standing right behind her, she had no idea when.
Xu Lin gave her an indifferent once-over. “You can just take that quilt back. There’s no need to go through all this trouble and bring it back here.”
Jiang Luo was so stunned she didn’t know how to respond.
“Also, I don’t get it. Why would you deliberately bring it back here to dry?” Xu Lin couldn’t understand her thinking.
“Well…”
Jiang Luo tried to salvage the situation. “I can’t exactly dry it at my place, can I? If someone asks me what happened, what am I supposed to say?”
There was no way she could let anyone find out about that incident.
Xu Lin narrowed one eye and raised the other, wondering if he had heard correctly.
“Then burn it!”
Jiang Luo blinked, startled. “Oh yeah, why didn’t I think of that?”
The more she acted like this, the more speechless Xu Lin became. He reached up and slapped his forehead, then slowly dragged his hand down.
He was already starting to regret his idea of making Jiang Luo his inside agent in the Sunset Sect.
Could this girl really be counted on?
Still, Jiang Luo wasn’t completely without merits.
After he had told her to leave that morning, he hadn’t expected her to come back here.
Technically, he had already more or less taught her how to control the inner turmoil. She could have just vanished, and he might not have been able to do anything about it.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Luo felt Xu Lin staring straight at her, which made her quite uncomfortable.
“What is it? Is there something wrong with me?”
Xu Lin found it strangely amusing how she used a weak tone try to sound tough.
Just like… that junior sister at the Vast Dao Sect.
Xu Lin pretended to pace around the courtyard, admiring the scenery, making it look like his attention wasn’t on Jiang Luo at all.
“Do you still remember what you said yesterday?” Xu Lin reminded her, watching her reaction from the corner of his eye.
Jiang Luo’s face flushed red, but she quickly suppressed it and put on a serious expression. “I remember.”
Of course, she remembered that Xu Lin hadn’t helped her unconditionally.
It was just that someone had come by in the morning, so they hadn’t had time to discuss the terms.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Good.”
Xu Lin had wanted exactly this kind of response. It proved that Jiang Luo wasn’t entirely without merits.
But he couldn’t tell her his plan just yet, since he still hadn’t figured out how to get rid of that old monster Xi Ranchen.
“I can continue to tune your physique issue, but you’ll need to do some things for me.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Luo nodded in agreement.
What she didn’t know was that the earlier bit of the Spirit Water Heart Scripture had let her stabilize through the Return to Origin Stage. Agreeing so quickly actually played right into Xu Lin’s hands.
“I have some things for you to do right now.” Xu Lin smirked, clearly having a bad idea brewing.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Luo tensed her face. “Tell me. But first, it can’t be too outrageous!”
Xu Lin shook his head internally. ‘Asking for conditions after you’ve already agreed? Isn’t that a little late?’
For now, he didn’t intend to make things hard on her. He’d start with an obedience test to see how far she would go.
“I want to eat fish.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no. I also want chicken,” Xu Lin added.
Jiang Luo turned to look at him, surprised.
This guy wasn’t just bad—he was weird.
“What, can’t do it?” Xu Lin guessed she had silently cursed him.
“That’s not a big deal.” Jiang Luo was half-convinced, suspecting he was just messing with her. “Nothing else?”
“That’s it for now.” Xu Lin yawned and headed toward the room. “I’m going to rest. I’ve been busy all day.”
Last time, Jiang Luo’s demonic aura had been weak, and he had been able to refine and integrate it immediately. But Yang Yao’s demonic aura was far denser. He figured it would take some time, and he wanted to see if it would be useful.