When they returned to the residence, Xu Lin had just sat down when he turned and noticed Jiang Luo standing there awkwardly with a strange expression, which he found very odd.
“Did my earlier appearance scare you?”
Xu Lin asked.
Now that he thought about it, he had vented all his anger on that guy. It might have been a bit too much.
But it felt great.
He couldn’t do anything to Xi Ranchen, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t deal with other disciples of Sunset Sect. Not his fault. It was that guy who ran into him.
Jiang Luo quickly shook her head in denial, still fidgeting. After a while, she said, “Thank you for helping me out earlier.”
She had originally thought Xu Lin was just carefree and lazy, like those spoiled rich kids in the mortal world, and that he only liked to tease her. But just now, from her perspective, he had acted because she was being bullied.
Xu Lin chuckled. He had said that Jiang Luo’s mind was always full of strange ideas, and he wasn’t wrong. But he still went along with her words.
“Then how will you thank me?”
Jiang Luo looked at Xu Lin’s playful expression, paused, and asked back, “How do you want me to thank you?”
“Let me think.”
Xu Lin pretended to think, his tone frivolous.
“I guess I’m a hero saving a beauty. How about you give me a kiss?”
“Huh?”
Jiang Luo was startled, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes. She felt her ears burning and her chest restless.
‘If it’s to repay him for helping me out, kissing him wouldn’t be a big deal.’
“If you really want it, then… it’s not like I can’t.”
As she spoke, she took a small step forward on her own, ready to lean in. She had agreed, and she assumed Xu Lin had agreed too.
But before she could approach, Xu Lin dropped his playful expression and waved his hand.
“Don’t overthink it. I just didn’t like that guy, that’s all. It has nothing to do with you.”
Hero saving beauty? In the original plot of the book, Xu Lin died precisely because he saved the protagonist, becoming nothing more than the protagonist’s backdrop.
“…”
The maiden’s flutter that had just risen was now like a flame doused with a bucket of cold water. Jiang Luo froze in place. When she came to, she immediately pursed her lips. Her earlier innocent expectations had turned into anger.
“Stop standing there. Come inside and take out everything we got.”
Xu Lin didn’t even notice Jiang Luo’s expression change as he walked toward the room.
When he saw that Jiang Luo hadn’t moved, he turned back to look at her.
“You’re not thinking of grabbing those things and running off, are you?”
“I’m not the kind of person who takes advantage! Don’t look down on me.”
Jiang Luo stomped her foot and walked into the room angrily.
‘How could he be like this? So annoying!’
Once inside, she took out the storage pouch’s contents. When she opened it, she realized she had spoken too soon. Every box was filled with spirit plants and immortal herbs she had never seen before. A wave of spiritual aura instantly enveloped the entire room.
She didn’t know where to look. Her eyes sparkled.
“Is it too late for me to pack these up and run away now?”
“You’re just easily impressed.”
Xu Lin continued,
“I was planning to go to the Scripture Pavilion, but that guy delayed me, so I’m not in the mood today.”
“How did you manage to get all this?”
Jiang Luo couldn’t understand.
“That Elder is notoriously strict. He never lets anyone take more than one pill or herb. How did you take so many at once?”
“Who knows?”
Xu Lin looked over the items.
“Maybe it’s my personal charm.”
Not only that, but he had also taken a small furnace to refine these things, in order to remove the Bone Poison from Yang Yao. As for the excess, he considered them his own reward.
Xu Lin picked up a spirit plant, casually broke off half, and handed it to Jiang Luo.
This time, Jiang Luo had learned her lesson. She didn’t instinctively ask if it was for her.
“Use this spirit plant to stew the chicken you caught today. Also cook the fish, and stir-fry a dish while you’re at it.”
Jiang Luo pouted, feeling helpless but having no choice.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
She was starting to get used to Xu Lin’s capriciousness. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Without saying much, she took the spirit plant in a huff and walked out of the room without looking back.
When she was about to leave, the angrier she got, so she turned around and made a face at Xu Lin inside the room.
“Later, I’ll personally poison you to death!”
Xu Lin shook his head and didn’t take it to heart. He had heard that kind of talk many times when he teased that junior sister at Vast Dao Sect.
“Time to get to work.”
Xu Lin glanced around, activated his spiritual energy, and lifted the small furnace from the table.
Even though this furnace was only the size of a palm, just like Jiang Luo’s storage pouch, it was more than enough to hold all these spirit plants and herbs. Most importantly, it came with its own True Fire, saving Xu Lin a lot of trouble.
But Xu Lin didn’t plan to put all the spirit plants and herbs in. He had to keep some for himself.
Since he didn’t know exactly what Yang Yao’s Bone Poison was, all he could do was use these herbs to refine a medicine that could cleanse the bones. Combined with his needles, removing the Bone Poison wouldn’t be difficult.
Saying it, he did it. With one hand steadying the furnace, he used the other to pull in the various herbs scattered around the room and tossed them into the furnace one by one.
After all the spirit plants and herbs were inside, Xu Lin closed the lid and used his spiritual energy to intensify the True Fire in the furnace, refining the ingredients.
Instantly, the spiritual aura of the plants and herbs emanated on their own, rising up in a mist and forming several halos above Xu Lin’s house, as if a strange phenomenon had occurred.
The fragrance of the medicine spread far, immediately attracting the attention of many in Sunset Sect.
“Someone is refining medicine?”
Rainbow lights flew toward Xu Lin’s residence, and soon a crowd gathered.
They were bewildered and uncertain. People of Sunset Sect usually refined medicine in the Elixir Workshop; they rarely did it privately. And judging by the display, the method seemed unusual.
Just as they were about to approach and investigate, a demonic aura gathered from the void, and Xi Ranchen’s figure appeared.
“Sect Master.”
The crowd quickly bowed.
Xi Ranchen only gave them a faint glance before her cold eyes fell on Xu Lin’s small house.
At the same time, Xu Lin’s Divine Sense spread out and immediately clashed with Xi Ranchen’s. He didn’t hurry to withdraw it, letting his Divine Sense pause, as if confronting Xi Ranchen in the void.
Xi Ranchen naturally sensed it. Seeming to guess what Xu Lin was up to, she gave a faint cold smile and said to those around her,
“Everyone disperse. Do not linger here.”
With that, she turned and left.
Regardless of what small tricks Xu Lin might be playing, the fact that he was thinking of ways to deal with Yang Yao’s Bone Poison was undeniable.
The others exchanged glances, looked toward Xu Lin’s house, and finally abandoned the idea of checking it out. With the Sect Master’s orders, they didn’t dare act rashly.