Without wasting much time, in just a short while, Guiyi Lijiu had already finished preparing the spirit thread.
Lin Huanhuan took a closer look and saw that the originally pale, slender, and soft spirit thread now looked like a vibrant blue meridian, with a few tiny capillaries crawling along its surface.
“It’s truly lifelike, worthy of a senior indeed,” Lin Huanhuan exclaimed.
Guiyi Lijiu was both pleased and a little ashamed. He cupped his hands slightly and said in a low voice, “I only hope that Miss Lin will keep your word, and after the matter is done, hand over the antidote to me. Please don’t deceive this old man.”
Somehow, Guiyi Lijiu’s manner of addressing Lin Huanhuan had become more respectful, which made Lin Huanhuan quite satisfied.
“Rest assured, I always keep my promises. I would never deceive you. Once the transplant is complete, I’ll personally deliver the antidote with both hands—my word is as good as gold.”
Lin Huanhuan patted her chest and promised, which finally put Guiyi Lijiu a bit at ease.
Following the principle of putting on a complete act, Lin Huanhuan then asked Guiyi Lijiu to bring out some medicinal powder, which she smeared on Ye Jinxiu’s face. Though Ye Jinxiu’s expression was full of humiliation, she could do nothing to resist, and Lin Huanhuan even played with her face a bit.
Ye Jinxiu’s face was now so pale it had lost every trace of color. Exhaustion was written all over her, her pink lips opening and closing repeatedly, a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead—she truly looked as if she had suffered grievously.
Lin Huanhuan nodded in satisfaction. “Looks perfect, truly worthy of being my masterpiece.”
Although Ye Jinxiu understood this was all necessary, she couldn’t help secretly cursing: ‘Pervert. Female pervert.’
Just as Lin Huanhuan was about to push open the door and leave, she was called back.
“Wait.”
“Is there something else?” Lin Huanhuan turned and asked.
Complicated emotions flickered in Guiyi Lijiu’s eyes, but finally a sharp glint flashed through them.
“If I’m not mistaken, Miss Lin must have a grudge against Huang Gongzi, right? After this, are you planning to move against him?”
“So what if I am?”
Guiyi Lijiu said coldly, “If that’s the case, has Miss Lin considered taking advantage of White Tiger Hall’s current carelessness to deal with them first?”
“Wouldn’t it make things much easier when you go against them later?”
Lin Huanhuan’s eyelids twitched, and she refused without hesitation, “There are only two of us—me and my maid. As for White Tiger Hall, they have over a dozen people. We’re outnumbered. Let’s go back first and talk later.”
Guiyi Lijiu said, “If you can’t fight them head-on, then use some tricks. For instance, drugging them. If you want to set someone up, there are always more ways than difficulties.”
Lin Huanhuan’s eyelids twitched, clearly tempted, but she still didn’t agree. “They’re not fools. How could we poison them so openly?”
Guiyi Lijiu grinned darkly. “Who said anything about poison? That’s the dumbest way. All you need is to give them some laxatives. Laxatives can clear heat and detoxify; they’re not classified as poison, but they can greatly weaken their combat strength.”
“This works better than **. I happen to have some right here—what do you think?”
He took a small packet of powder from a black-purple medicine box and handed it over. “This is it.”
With the conversation at this point, Lin Huanhuan naturally nodded in agreement. To refuse again would just be too impolite.
“I have one more question—aren’t you and that sissy on pretty good terms? Why do you want me to deal with him?” Lin Huanhuan asked.
Guiyi Lijiu let out a light sigh. “White Tiger Hall’s greatest strength is only Foundation Establishment. But your Lin family has a Golden Core, and behind you stands Lingyun Sect. White Tiger Hall has no chance of survival.”
“Given that, it’s better to let Huang Gongzi close his eyes early, so he doesn’t have to witness your tragedy. This way, I can at least repay a bit of the kindness he’s shown me.”
He wore a look of pity for the world, but Lin Huanhuan didn’t believe a word.
‘A bunch of nonsense. The real reason must be you’re afraid he’ll take revenge on you for this, so you want to get rid of him first and save yourself trouble. Truly a seasoned schemer—ruthless enough.’
Lin Huanhuan made a mental note to be more wary of Guiyi Lijiu: ‘Too dangerous. After this, it’s better not to get involved with him again.’
Ye Jinxiu’s almond-shaped eyes were wide with disbelief. Everything happening in front of her had already surpassed what she could comprehend.
Just as the door was pushed open, outside, Huang Dingyuan—who had been waiting impatiently but worried that knocking would disturb things—quickly asked, “Senior, Miss Lin, how did it go? Was it successful?”
Lin Huanhuan said nothing, simply carrying the extremely weak-looking Ye Jinxiu out and setting her on a chair.
Guiyi Lijiu smiled and said, “Rest assured, Huang Gongzi. Everything went smoothly. The Youquan Spirit Vein has been successfully extracted—now it just needs to be transplanted.”
He opened the jade box, and Huang Dingyuan stared at the precious “Youquan Spirit Vein,” lost in thought, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curling up high.
“Wonderful! Truly, I’m in all your debt. There’s no problem with transplanting it now, is there? I’m ready,” Huang Dingyuan said hurriedly.
“Of course, no problem at all. Huang Gongzi, please come with me. This will only take a moment inside.”
“Great, great! Once I have this Youquan Spirit Vein transplanted, my immortal cultivation potential will soar. One day, I may even stand atop the Dao itself!”
The immense joy had already rushed to Huang Dingyuan’s head. Eager beyond words, he dragged Guiyi Lijiu inside at once.
Lin Huanhuan sat down as well. Dong Yuner came over, leaning in close, and whispered in the quietest voice, “Miss, it’s really been taken out?”
‘This wasn’t the plan. According to what we discussed yesterday, weren’t we supposed to attack as soon as we came out? I was already ready to act, but in the end, nothing happened.’
With confusion on her face, Dong Yuner whispered again, and Lin Huanhuan also replied in an extremely gentle voice, “The plan changed a little. I’ll act in a moment. Watch for my signal.”
Ye Jinxiu frowned slightly. “Isn’t this a bit too sudden? We’re not that well prepared.”
Lin Huanhuan said, “It’s true, it’s a spur-of-the-moment decision. But if we’re not prepared, they’re even less likely to expect us to make a move. Once their strength is weakened, and with a surprise attack, our chances of winning are high.”
Seeing this, Dong Yuner could only agree.
“Everyone, it’s been a pleasure working with you. Since we’ve all gotten what we wanted, I’m quite happy. By the way, I’ve brought some special spirit tea from the Lin family, which can temporarily boost cultivation speed. Would anyone like to try some?”
Lin Huanhuan said with a smile.
“Uh…”
Scarface hesitated, worried it might be a trick and wanting to refuse. But then he thought, if they were going to poison them, would they be so obvious about it? Wouldn’t it be easier to do it more covertly?
‘Check it. If there’s no problem, then drink.’
After carefully checking and confirming there was nothing wrong, Scarface finally said, “Then, thank you, Miss Lin.”
The members of White Tiger Hall all drank the tea, marveling that the spirit tea worthy of a Golden Core clan really was different from what they usually drank.