Xu Lin stood in place, sizing up Jiang Luo. Seeing her flustered, evasive demeanor, the irritation Xi Ranchen had stirred in him eased a bit.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and teased, “With that look on your face, are you here to steal something? Committing a robbery in broad daylight—that really is how a Demon Sect person operates.”
Jiang Luo glanced sideways, remembering how this guy had mocked her the night before. A surge of anger rose in her heart, and she didn’t want to say anything more to him.
“Say whatever you want.”
Jiang Luo made as if to leave.
She was already frustrated enough not finding her item, and she had no desire to waste time chatting with him here. She needed to hurry up and look elsewhere.
Just as she walked past Xu Lin, he shook his head, then took out a jade pendant from his person, slightly smaller than a palm.
The pendant was a mix of blue and white; when brought close, it emitted a faint, eerie chill—not bone-piercing, just a sensation of coolness.
“I was thinking this might have been something you dropped, but now it doesn’t seem like it.”
Sensing the aura of the Cold Jade, Jiang Luo, who had just reached the door, whirled around and fixed her gaze on the Cold Jade in Xu Lin’s hand.
“Cold Jade!”
Jiang Luo’s face lit up with joy, but then she realized something was off and quickly composed herself.
“That’s mine! Give it back!”
Turning on her heel, Jiang Luo lunged to snatch it away.
But Xu Lin stepped back in advance, deliberately preventing her from touching it.
“You!”
Flushed with anger and embarrassment, Jiang Luo channeled a bit of Spiritual Energy, refusing to let it go.
Xu Lin’s movements were like a phantom’s, dodging back and forth in the small room. Each time, Jiang Luo nearly got her hands on the pendant, but never quite succeeded.
After several moments of scuffling, Jiang Luo realized she couldn’t catch this guy. She stopped in place, a mix of grievance and fury building up, unsure how to vent it. She could only bite her lip and stomp her foot hard.
“Why are you so mean! You took my stuff and now you’re messing with me like this!”
Jiang Luo could tell—the man in front of her was doing this on purpose.
“You say it’s yours just because you say so? Got any proof?”
Jiang Luo thought for a moment, then said, “When no one lived in this room before, I was the only one who came here often. If it’s not mine, who else could it belong to?”
“Oh? Then what were you doing in this empty room?”
Xu Lin intentionally teased this little girl.
After being worked over by Xi Ranchen all day, a bit of amusement that came his way—why not take it?
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? I was cultivating here.”
This time, Jiang Luo answered quite quickly, as if she had rehearsed it in advance.
Xu Lin let out a mock sigh and laughed, “This Cold Jade has the effect of calming the mind and clearing away distractions. When did the disciples of the Sunset Sect ever need such a thing to aid their cultivation?”
“I…”
Right at the crucial point, Jiang Luo opened her mouth to speak but didn’t know how to explain. She felt stifled.
This was her secret—she couldn’t just blurt it out, or she would surely become a laughingstock throughout the sect.
But if she didn’t explain now, she had no way to justify why she needed the Cold Jade for her cultivation.
“On the other hand, Righteous Path disciples need such things to stabilize their mind.”
Xu Lin raised an eyebrow.
“Could it be that you’re a spy sent by some Righteous Path sect to the Sunset Sect?”
“I… I’m not!”
Being unfairly labeled a spy, Jiang Luo instinctively refuted, but after her denial, she had no way to prove her innocence.
At this point, either she had to accept the suspicion of being a spy, or she had to reveal her secret.
Neither option worked. Jiang Luo clenched her fists, staring hard at Xu Lin, trying not to lose to him in terms of presence. But her eyes treacherously welled up with tears, and even her nose uncontrollably twitched.
“Hey, you’re not going to cry, are you?”
Xu Lin’s stereotypical impression of Demon Sect members had always been ruthless and unscrupulous—like Yang Yao and Xi Ranchen.
He had originally been full of pent-up frustration from Xi Ranchen, and when he saw someone barging in, he thought he could use that to vent. But the person before him was nothing like what he had imagined.
Seeing her stubbornness called out, Jiang Luo herself couldn’t hold it together. She actually crouched down and started sobbing.
“Hey, hey, I’ll give it back to you, alright?”
Xu Lin got scared and quickly handed the Cold Jade over. He had only been teasing her; he hadn’t meant to actually bully her.
He walked over to her and held the item in front of her.
This girl’s appearance reminded him of a junior sister from the Vast Dao Sect. He used to tease her like this too, but before he left the sect, she had gone out for training. He wondered if she had returned yet.
And whether she would be happy knowing that the senior brother who always teased her had left.
Jiang Luo raised her head, hesitated, afraid he would dodge again like before.
“If you don’t want it, I’ll really keep it for myself.”
Hearing that, Jiang Luo quickly reached out, snatched the Cold Jade, and even checked it in her hand.
It was indeed the piece she had lost, and it wasn’t damaged either. Only then did she let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Say ‘thank you,’” Xu Lin continued.
Jiang Luo pouted, her eyes slightly reddened, sniffling now and then. After a good while, she reluctantly muttered, “Thanks.”
This guy was mean, but at least he had helped her find something important and returned it to her.
“That’s more like it.”
Xu Lin stood up, took a seat nearby, poured himself a cup of tea, and couldn’t help coughing once.
He had been injured by Xi Ranchen, and after coming back and teasing this little girl, his Spiritual Energy was quite disturbed.
Still, thanks to this girl, some of his irritation had faded.
Jiang Luo slowly rose, brushed off her skirt, glanced at Xu Lin, and still kept pouting.
Seeing that the room was now occupied, she planned to find another empty, secluded spot to cultivate.
“I’m going now.”
With that, Jiang Luo prepared to leave.
Xu Lin watched her back as she headed for the door, sighed, and said softly, “This Cold Jade can calm the mind and remove distractions, but your problem isn’t about that.”
Jiang Luo’s figure came to a halt. It felt like her secret had been exposed—flustered and surprised, she turned back to look at Xu Lin, who unhurriedly poured himself more tea.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Jiang Luo didn’t believe this nasty guy could actually make sense.
“Acting like you know so much.”
The issue she had with herself had troubled her for a long time; she hadn’t found a solution, and it was too embarrassing to ask anyone for help.
After much effort, she had found this Cold Jade, which had helped a bit, but now this guy was saying it wasn’t the right cause.
Xu Lin didn’t argue. He looked at the wardrobe not far away.
“Guess where I put that bedding that you messed up so badly last night? Want me to take it out and show you?”
Jiang Luo was stunned. Following Xu Lin’s gaze, the scene played out in her mind. Her cheeks, which had just calmed down, instantly flushed red again.