“I’m sorry,” Lin Huanhuan said softly, realizing she was in the wrong.
Lin Shuangye gave her a wordless glance before saying with some relief, “You’ve made progress compared to last time. You actually knew to come find me. Remember to keep doing this in the future.”
“If something happens, don’t use the foolish method of shouldering it yourself to solve the problem. Tell me. Big Sister will always be able to think of more solutions than you can.”
“Oh, oh, I understand,” Lin Huanhuan nodded obediently.
“I hope so.”
Lin Shuangye shook her head and explained further, “The matter with the Chen family isn’t actually that big of a deal. Well, I might as well tell you about it; you’ll have to come into contact with these things sooner or later.”
Hearing this, Lin Huanhuan immediately assumed the posture of an attentive student, providing full emotional support. Lin Shuangye couldn’t help but smile knowingly.
“The current cultivation world appears peaceful on the surface, but like a calm sea, there are countless undercurrents hidden beneath. Open struggles and secret maneuverings happen almost every single day.”
“After offending an enemy, even if that enemy is very weak, you must do your best to wipe them out. If possible, you should even destroy the forces behind them. That is the only way to be safe.”
“Otherwise, they will inevitably retaliate once they’ve grown. This leads to endless disasters. Countless histories of blood and tears in the cultivation world have proven this over and over again. You must remember this—never be softhearted!”
Lin Huanhuan felt as if something had been forcibly stuffed into her head, making it itch. She nodded to show she had taken it to heart.
Lin Shuangye continued, “The Only-Immortal Auction House is a powerful organization overseen by Golden Core stage experts. Wiping out the Chen family silently would take no effort at all.”
“As for whether they will use this to threaten us, there’s no need to worry. First, they were the ones who did it, so exposing it would be a loss for them as well. Besides, dealing with a mere minor Foundation Establishment clan—especially when we weren’t the ones who acted—will have, at most, a small impact on us.”
…
“Alright, that’s enough for now. Go back. You must be exhausted from going to the auction and then coming here today.”
Lin Shuangye said with a smile. Lin Huanhuan nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then turned to leave.
‘I thought Sister would ask me what I auctioned off. I already had an excuse ready, but I didn’t get to use it. It’s a bit of a shame.’
—
After returning to her residence, Lin Huanhuan flopped directly onto a chair. ‘I spent the whole day watching the show. Even though I didn’t really do anything, I still feel exhausted. I’ll rest for a bit before cultivating.’
“Miss, you’re finally back. How did things go?”
Dong Yun’er said with a smile, “I guessed Miss would be hungry when she got back, so I prepared dinner in advance. I was just waiting for you. Do you want to eat now?”
“Yes, yes, yes! Bring it up quickly!”
Lin Huanhuan said excitedly, her eyes shining. She hadn’t been very hungry, but after Dong Yun’er mentioned it, she suddenly remembered she hadn’t eaten all day. Her stomach felt completely empty.
“So delicious. Yun’er, it’s so great to have you,” Lin Huanhuan said while eating, a blissful expression on her face.
Dong Yun’er held her face in her hands and watched her eat, her eyes curved into crescents. She tried her best to hide the disappointment in her heart to prevent Lin Huanhuan from noticing it.
After she was full, Lin Huanhuan lightly wiped her mouth. Recalling Dong Yun’er’s question, she said, “Things went quite smoothly. I’ve already obtained the item, so don’t worry.”
“That’s good then,” Dong Yun’er said with a smile.
Lin Huanhuan had told Dong Yun’er about it before setting out. After all, she was her personal maid; if she didn’t say anything, Yun’er would surely worry. Following along wouldn’t have been easy to manage.
‘Why does this feel like I’m reporting my itinerary to a wife? Is it my imagination?’ Lin Huanhuan scratched her head, somewhat puzzled.
‘But it’s great that Yun’er is back to normal. Yanderes are hard to deal with—they explode like landmines every now and then, and their emotions are quite unstable.’
Lin Huanhuan thought for a moment before saying, “Yun’er, your behavior these last few days has been different from before.”
Her intention was to praise her for getting better, but in the ears of Dong Yun’er, who was clearing the dishes, it sounded like: ‘What have you been thinking about lately? Why have you become like this?’
Dong Yun’er forced a smile. “It’s probably nothing. Isn’t it just like before? Miss, you’re overthinking it.”
Lin Huanhuan was a bit confused. ‘Did Yun’er misunderstand what I meant? I wasn’t being that vague.’
“Miss, I’ll head out first. I still have to cultivate later. Remember to sleep early and don’t stay up too late.”
After saying that, Dong Yun’er got up and left.
Walking out of the room, Dong Yun’er leaned against a nearby pillar and glanced at the silent door. She muttered to herself, “Did she really notice? If so, why didn’t she chase after me?”
At this moment, Dong Yun’er felt as if her heart was a tangled mess of silk—impossible to untangle, smooth out, or find any loose end.
“I clearly didn’t want Miss to know about this in my heart, yet because she really doesn’t know, I feel somewhat uncomfortable. How contradictory. I’m so strange.”
The moonlight illuminated half of her body, while the other half remained hidden in the shadows, much like her heart.
‘Is Yun’er acting weird today? But I can’t say how. Is it an illusion?’ Lin Huanhuan scratched her head, finding it strange.
Since she couldn’t figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it. She had more important things to do.
“It’s time to open the treasure chest! I loved gacha in my past life. I hope the quality of this Floating Earth is even better than I imagined.”
While the original novel said there was high-quality Floating Earth inside the jade Buddha, it didn’t describe it in detail. Now that she was in reality, she had to gauge it herself.
Thinking of this, Lin Huanhuan immediately took that simple jade Buddha from her spatial bag and weighed it carefully in her hand.
What puzzled her was that although the jade Buddha looked very old, there wasn’t a single flaw on its surface. It was very strange.
“Whatever. I’ll just smash it.”
Lin Huanhuan smashed the jade Buddha directly. With a *clatter*, it shattered into pieces. She squatted down and rummaged through them, immediately finding a piece of white soil inside.
Even though the soil was sitting in a pile of shards, there wasn’t a single bit of debris on it. It was pure white without any impurities, looking quite magical.
It does not sink in water, nor does it gather dust. This was exactly what the Floating Earth was.
Lin Huanhuan’s face immediately lit up with joy. Just as she picked up the Floating Earth, she noticed a small iron piece beside it.
“An unexpected bonus?”