Chapter 7: The sticky feeling was awful.

Cold.

That was Lin An’s first sensation upon entering the slime pool—a cold that froze his entire being, even his soul.

Gu Yingge had told him not to struggle, but now he couldn’t even move, and his thoughts were gradually numbing.

‘I can’t believe I’ve been hiding for over ten days only to fall here.’

His physical senses were slowly fading, his ability to think gradually disappearing.

Suddenly, Lin An remembered that his first sensation in this world had also been cold.

It had been a snowy day with howling wind.

As an infant with eyes not yet open, he had been abandoned, wrapped only in a piece of tattered cloth.

“Hmm? Whose child is this? Why was he abandoned here?”

A gentle, water-like voice sounded in his ears, and then he was pulled into a warm embrace.

Yu Zhiyan—Aunt Yan’s name—was a woman who had gentleness and kindness engraved into her bones.

Lin An had once asked her why he didn’t take her surname.

Aunt Yan replied, “When I found you, there was a piece of paper in your arms with the character ‘Lin’ on it, so your surname is Lin. Aunt Yan hopes you’ll be safe and sound, so your given name is An.”

He immediately retorted, “But they already abandoned me. What connection do I have with them?”

Aunt Yan just smiled and patted his head.

“My little An’er shouldn’t say such things. They are your biological parents. If you have a chance to find them, it’s better to reunite.”

Faced with her soft but firm smile, Lin An had no strength to resist.

‘Forget it, forget it. Let her have her way. It’s not like I can find them anyway.’

Earlier, Aunt Yan had opposed him leaving, but he didn’t listen.

Even for this undercover mission, he lied to her, saying he was going on a business trip and would be back to see her soon.

He never expected that would be their last meeting.

‘As expected, I still can’t accept this…’

‘I want to eat Aunt Yan’s noodles one more time. They were so delicious, so warm…’

‘Warm?’

A surge of warmth suddenly appeared on the top of his head, then flowed down through his entire body.

Then a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up.

“Junior Brother Lin, are you alright?”

Gu Yingge asked with concern.

The answer was Lin An’s violent coughing.

“Cough, cough, cough! Got it in my mouth… Ugh…”

His throat felt clogged, his whole body was sticky, and the strange sensation made him feel terrible.

The cold faded, and Lin An’s first thought was that it was good to be alive.

‘Huh? What is this!’

They say the greater the mass, the greater the gravity.

Lin An wiped the slime off his face and was captivated the moment he opened his eyes, then he got a solid smack on the head.

“Sss…”

The pain made him gasp.

“You lecher! Close your eyes!”

But before he could close his eyes, Gu Yingge had grabbed him by the collar and thrown him out of the slime pool.

“Sss!”

The pain made him gasp again, his whole body feeling like it was falling apart.

‘Women, indeed. Say one thing and do another.’

Lin An got up and rubbed his dizzy head.

“Sorry, Senior Sister Gu. I couldn’t help it…”

“Hm?”

Gu Yingge’s brows shot up, as if she hadn’t expected him to dare say that.

“Oh!”

Lin An also realized that he had let his inner thoughts slip.

“No, no! I said I didn’t mean it. Yes, I didn’t want to look. I just…”

“Just what?”

Gu Yingge gritted her teeth, her mind in turmoil, and unconsciously asked.

Lin An was taken aback by the question, but he immediately realized that his answer would probably affect Gu Yingge’s attitude toward him in the future.

Focusing his gaze, he saw that the white mist around Gu Yingge was still as thick as usual, indicating she wasn’t truly angry, just shy.

‘Then… can I be a bit more aggressive?’

Lin An immediately put on a serious expression and said solemnly, “Senior Sister Gu, you are naturally beautiful and have a generous heart. I’m merely admiring, without any other thoughts.”

“You…”

Gu Yingge was stunned.

‘This isn’t right, is it? It’s different from what I thought.’

‘And why is he evaluating me so seriously?’

‘Naturally beautiful, generous heart…’

‘It’s… kind of embarrassing…’

‘Most importantly, the Origin Heart Sutra didn’t react, which means he might really mean it!’

A faint blush spread across Gu Yingge’s face, and her bright eyes watched him, half-looking, half-not.

It turned out that women dress up for those who appreciate them; just praise her and it’s done.

‘Of course, how to praise and when to praise—that’s the harder part.’

From Lin An’s perspective, the white mist around Gu Yingge had become so thick it was almost solid, and a faint touch of light blue was mixed in.

He knew this was a sign that her trust in him had reached another level.

After this came pink, red, and the highest, gold.

Aunt Yan’s trust in him was gold, and he had a willful childhood friend who had gone through the entire process—before he left, she was red with a hint of gold.

Lin An didn’t have a great impression of that little girl; she always bullied him because her cultivation was higher.

Since Gu Yingge wasn’t angry, Lin An decided to ask about some serious matters.

“By the way, Senior Sister Gu, who came just now?”

‘If it really was Qu Hongling, then it’s basically confirmed that she’s the Hidden Agent who wants to kill me.’

Gu Yingge was also a bit dazed, encountering this situation for the first time.

Hearing his question, she composed herself and sank her body into the slime.

“Mu Qinghan. She just returned from the south. She had commissioned me to forge a sword, so she came to ask about the progress. The Demon Extermination Assembly is in a few days, and she needs to go.”

“By the way, it’s because of her order that I didn’t have enough materials, which is why I asked you all to deliver the ore for me, and then…”

She left the rest unsaid, but Lin An understood—that’s how they came to know each other.

Then Gu Yingge explained why she had hidden him just now.

Lin An actually knew this; it had been mentioned in the intelligence, or rather, everyone in the Heaven Origin Sect knew.

Divine Fire Pavilion Chief Gu Yingge and Sword Chess Pavilion Chief Mu Qinghan had a falling out over the ownership of an Immortal Sword.

It seemed now that the sword in the furnace was that very Immortal Sword, which had ended up in Gu Yingge’s hands.

“So if she saw you here, who knows what she would make of it.”

Gu Yingge looked at Lin An, who was deep in thought, and asked again, “Junior Brother Lin, are you sure your body is fine? Don’t you feel cold?”

Lin An glanced at his disheveled clothes and said uncertainly, “It was really cold at first, almost froze to death. But then Senior Sister Gu gave me some qi, and now… I think I’m okay?”

Gu Yingge narrowed her eyes and studied Lin An, then raised a hand and stirred the slime.

“Junior Brother Lin, do you know what this is?”

Lin An shook his head.

He didn’t know, nor did he want to know.

But it seemed Gu Yingge was holding back and really wanted to tell him.

“This is the blood of a weird beast from the depths of the Outer Sea, extremely yin and cold. Until I reach the Spiritual Martial Realm, I must soak in it every night, otherwise the Yang Spirit Fire inside me will burn me to ashes.”

Looking at Gu Yingge’s somewhat lonely expression, Lin An understood at that moment—she didn’t like listening to stories; she yearned for the outside world in those stories.

To be honest, he didn’t understand the feeling of losing freedom.

Maybe only by experiencing it himself could he comprehend Gu Yingge’s feelings.

Lin An walked to the edge of the pool, crouched down, and after hesitating, still reached out his hand.

“Then, Senior Sister Gu, until you reach the Spiritual Martial Realm, let me see the outside world for you. I’ll tell you everything I see and hear, and those stories too, okay?”

‘If not now, when would I boost her affinity?’

Gu Yingge looked up at Lin An.

He was covered in slime, disheveled, and couldn’t possibly be considered handsome.

But at this moment, Gu Yingge felt her heart beating faster.

Unlike the scorching of the Yang Spirit Fire, something even more intense was spreading in her heart.

She slowly raised her hand and, with a squish, grasped his.

It was obvious that Lin An’s mouth twitched, wanting to show disgust but holding back.

“Pfft—”

Gu Yingge couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then, Junior Brother Lin.”

“Mm…”

‘As expected, this sticky feeling is terrible.’