After returning to her cell, Lin Huanhuan served as You Yuelan’s pillow for a few more days before her final verdict finally came down.
She had known about the demonic path but failed to report it, which was a major mistake. Although she was suspected of colluding with the demonic path, and after learning that You Yuelan was clearly a demonic cultivator, she had sheltered her, and half a month later had followed the Punishment Hall squad to the Yu Shui Manor to investigate the truth. Considering that she had actually acted for the sect’s benefit, exposed Xuan Yin Zhenren’s vile plot, and that this demonic spy had caused no substantial harm to the sect, the punishment was reduced to five years of observation. During these five years, she was not allowed to leave the area within a thousand li of the Lingyun Sect.
As for You Yuelan, after asking whether she truly wished to submit to the Lingyun Sect, she was granted the status of a genuine Lingyun Sect disciple.
“Huanhuan, can we leave now?” You Yuelan scratched her head and said. “Seems pretty simple.”
“Theoretically, yes, we can leave, since everything’s settled. Plus, you really didn’t do anything bad here at Lingyun Sect, so the punishment was light.” Lin Huanhuan nodded.
You Yuelan yawned lazily.
“Why would I do bad things? Might as well just sleep. I’m getting sleepy again.”
Lin Huanhuan’s mouth twitched.
“For you, it does seem that way… Oh well, this is fine too.”
In the neighboring cell, Red Fang, upon hearing their light sentences, became visibly envious and said angrily:
“Why? We’re both spies, so why do I have to work for free for the Lingyun Sect for twenty years? And be observed for twenty whole years? You only have five years, and you don’t even have to work for free. Why is the gap so obvious?”
“Is this about connections and background? Hah, isn’t Lingyun Sect supposed to be righteous? Why do they care about that stuff? Isn’t it all about talent and hard work?”
Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Of course all those factors matter, but no matter what, it’s still better than your old Chaos Demon Mountain, right? Over there, they never treated you like people—just pure consumables.”
That was true. Red Fang and Shadow could also join the Lingyun Sect, but because they were involved in damaging many of the sect’s facilities, planned to attack the Heaven-Bearing Hall, and injured several Punishment Hall disciples, they had to pay compensation. Adding it all up, they had to work for free for twenty years as payment.
Red Fang was momentarily speechless, and Shadow quickly kicked him, frowning.
“This is already very good. If you keep slandering the Lingyun Sect here, I’ll have to be rude to you!”
“Hah, do you, a traitor, even have the face to say that?!”
The two started fighting again. Just then, a Punishment Hall disciple patrolling by stopped them. Because they had been fighting in the cell, it was decided that their imprisonment would be extended, causing another round of wailing.
Lin Huanhuan and You Yuelan walked out of the cell.
When the warm sunlight hit her face, Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but look up, a strange expression appearing on her face.
This incident was over. At this point, most of the events from the original work involving her had ended. Although there were slight differences from the original, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
Now, only her final death remained to completely fulfill all the plot concerning her. During this gap period, the original work didn’t describe her, which meant whatever she did was consistent with the original. She didn’t have to worry about punishment from the Heavenly Dao.
‘Can I truly live as myself now?’
‘So, am I free now?’
Facing the sunlight, she asked herself internally.
The sun felt warm, seemingly filled with a joy she had never felt before, making her immensely happy.
“Miss, congratulations on getting out.”
A familiar voice pulled her back to reality.
She looked up and saw Dong Yuner standing in front, her eyes filled with undisguised tenderness that nearly overflowed.
“Ah, Yun’er, how did you come?” Lin Huanhuan immediately smiled happily.
“Miss, you just got out, so of course I came to pick you up. Otherwise, you might suddenly want to go play somewhere and disappear. Wouldn’t I have to wait on the mountain until the sky goes dark?”
“How is that possible? I do like to go out and have fun, but there’s no way I’d run off and fool around at a time like this. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Yun’er, I’ve missed you to death.”
“Of course it’s true. Would I lie to you?”
“It sounds nice, and I like hearing miss say that, but I’m not sure if it’s true or false.”
“Of course it’s not false.”
The two laughed and walked toward Xiaozhu Peak.
You Yuelan watched for a moment, then remembered that she also lived on Xiaozhu Peak now, and quickly followed.
After all, the reason You Yuelan had been punished so lightly—though partly to show other demonic cultivators that even spies could be treated well—was certainly inseparable from Lin Huanhuan’s status.
Lin Huanhuan glanced back and saw that You Yuelan was indeed obediently following, so she felt a little relieved.
‘At least she’s not too lazy to walk. Not bad. Actually, have my expectations of You Yuelan dropped extremely low? Seems like it.’
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard of Xiaozhu Peak, Lin Huanhuan was shocked to find Lin Shuāng Yè already sitting there waiting for her.
The smile on Lin Huanhuan’s face instantly froze.
“Ah, this… Sister, aren’t you very busy? How do you have time to come here?”
“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? I could have come out to greet you. Coming so suddenly without preparing anything feels a bit bad.”
Realizing that big trouble was brewing, Lin Huanhuan quickly bowed and scraped to curry favor, but Lin Shuāng Yè, who was determined to teach her a lesson today, wasn’t buying it at all.
“No need to put on an act. It’s tiring. I never knew you were so capable—actually threatening other children in the sect to be with you, taking advantage of other girls. Quite impressive.”
“And I always thought it was fake, that someone was maliciously trying to slander you.”
“Turns out most of the rumors about you in the sect were true—you’re even blackening the face of the entire Lin family. I didn’t expect it to be the truth.”
“And I went out of my way to find the culprit behind the rumors. Good thing I didn’t find them; otherwise, I’d have wrongly accused them and had to apologize.”
Lin Shuāng Yè said sarcastically, a faint smile on her face, radiating an aura of “you’re dead meat today no matter what.”
Lin Huanhuan gritted her teeth slightly and quickly defended herself:
“Sister, it’s all a misunderstanding. Let’s talk calmly, stay calm.”
She quickly looked back, wanting to find Dong Yuner to help mediate, but the spot beside her was empty. Dong Yuner had already vanished.
“Dammit, Yun’er, how dare you betray me!”
“Ah, Sister, stop hitting me! It hurts!”
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