For the first time, Lin Xinyi felt she had never cared this much for anyone.
Bai Qianqian was gently placed on the bed, and even her wounds were dabbed with spiritual medicine and re-bandaged, with such care that Lin Xinyi herself found it a bit unsettling.
Within this miniature grotto-heaven, the soft bed and comfortable environment even allowed for the temperature to be adjusted.
Luo Qingyao drifted nearby, saying little, watching the other woman tend to her charge so meticulously.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
“You have to get better soon, alright? That way, you can properly learn the cultivation method I’ve carefully prepared just for you~”
Lin Xinyi gently stroked that soft cheek, a hint of genuine warmth seemingly present in her eyes.
If Qin Huaiyin had seen her master making such an expression here, she would surely have suspected she’d been possessed by some demonic cultivator.
“In just this short while, the wounds are already starting to heal. As expected, the effect of a superior-grade pill is truly remarkable~”
Lin Xinyi pinched the other’s soft cheek.
It fit perfectly with the delicate little figure in her memory.
If the girl really could just be a good disciple, she probably wouldn’t go this far, would she?
“Though, just being a good disciple wouldn’t have saved her either~”
“Fairy Sister…”
As Lin Xinyi was still thinking about how to begin her plan for nurturing this ‘useless talent,’ a childish voice travelled along her fingertips.
Looking down, she was surprised to find that the unconscious Bai Qianqian had opened her eyes.
Although she still seemed very weak, the light in her eyes was much brighter than before.
Startled, Lin Xinyi quickly withdrew her fingers, uncertain if the other girl had heard what she’d just been muttering.
“You… you’re awake!”
“A new fairy sister…?”
Bai Qianqian’s expression was calm, as if Lin Xinyi’s appearance hadn’t surprised her at all.
She even began to look around the room, a look that wasn’t at all like a child’s.
“Where is this? Am I dead…?”
Bai Qianqian looked around with vacant eyes.
Even though the pain in her body proved she was alive, the soft bed, the intoxicating fragrance, the temperature that wasn’t cold – it was all like a paradise on earth.
Bai Qianqian probably thought from start to finish that she was dreaming.
Only in dreams could such things exist: living in a house free from dampness and cold, and having a celestial beauty like this woman anxiously inquiring about her health.
No matter how she looked at it, it felt like a dream.
“Your body is still weak. I made you some plain congee. You can use it to fill your stomach first, and once you’re a bit better, you can eat something else…”
Lin Xinyi gently picked up a bowl of clear congee, scooped up a little with a spoon, blew on it to cool it, and then brought it to Bai Qianqian’s lips.
Seeing the food brought to her mouth, Bai Qianqian was momentarily startled, then looked up at Lin Xinyi.
Though a little hesitant, she still opened her mouth and ate it.
Seeing the girl so obedient, Lin Xinyi suddenly felt that this Bai Qianqian was far more pleasing to the eye than the one in her memories.
Now, she was more like a little pet.
“Such a good girl~”
Thinking this, Lin Xinyi subconsciously reached out and stroked the girl’s head.
Bai Qianqian didn’t resist the touch; instead, she obediently closed her eyes, as if she truly were an adorable little animal.
Watching from the side, Luo Qingyao saw that her own would-be good disciple, Bai Qianqian, was being so obedient under that wicked woman’s care.
For a moment, she felt a complicated mix of emotions and could only cross her arms, praying the woman wouldn’t do anything too excessive.
“Are… are you an angel, sister…?”
After being fed half a bowl of congee, Bai Qianqian’s complexion had noticeably improved.
Hearing this unfamiliar form of address that didn’t fit her at all, a slight smile appeared on Lin Xinyi’s face, followed by a flash of red light in her now-open eyes.
“An angel sister? To you, right now… I suppose I might count as one~”
“Then, angel sister, have you come to kill me too…?”
Bai Qianqian looked at Lin Xinyi with a calm expression, as if her question was purely out of curiosity.
But Lin Xinyi’s heart skipped a beat.
“Why do you ask that…?”
“Because another angel sister tried to kill me just a little while ago…”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She slowly turned her gaze to Luo Qingyao, who was floating beside her, and saw the other woman looking down in silence.
Seeing her reluctance to speak, Lin Xinyi could tell immediately that she was hiding something.
“That fairy sister was also very pretty, but she tried to kill me with a sword, so she was very scary…”
“Why did she want to kill you…?”
“I don’t remember. I only remember her saying a name… I think it was… Supreme Bone…”
Bai Qianqian said this calmly, but by the time she finished, Lin Xinyi’s expression had turned icy cold and terrifying.
The wounds all over Bai Qianqian’s body weren’t caused by some demonic beast, but by another person.
“So… the wounds on your body… were all caused by that person?”
“Mm.”
Bai Qianqian slowly nodded.
Although Lin Xinyi didn’t ask further questions, she could clearly sense Luo Qingyao behind her.
The moment Bai Qianqian uttered the words “Supreme Bone,” Luo Qingyao had already begun gathering spiritual energy, clearly showing an intention to fight to the death if necessary.
“Alright, I’m not going to kill you. After all, you’re so adorable, who could bear to kill you~”
Lin Xinyi reached out and gently pinched the girl’s soft cheek.
She said this not only to comfort Bai Qianqian but also to defuse the bomb standing behind her.
Luo Qingyao was practically ticking like a bomb right now.
If Lin Xinyi had shown even a moment’s hesitation over that precious treasure, the woman probably would have exploded right then and there.
“Rest well here for a while. After all, if you rest well, your wounds will heal faster~”
Bai Qianqian stared blankly for a moment at the other woman’s gentle demeanor, but still obediently nodded.
Lin Xinyi’s expression turned icy as she stepped out of the grotto-heaven and into the vast forest.
After taking a slow, deep breath, the killing intent she carried could no longer be concealed.
“Someone actually dares to touch what’s mine…”
Lin Xinyi had initially thought the girl’s wounds were caused by wild beasts, but she never expected they were deliberately inflicted by someone.
Luo Qingyao, who had remained silent earlier, now slowly drifted out from the grotto-heaven as well.
“Not watching over your beloved disciple any longer, Immortal Venerable?”
“Since she’s awake and seems fine, I can rest assured…”
“Then, Immortal Venerable, why did you deceive me?”
“When have I ever deceived you? You saw the beast’s claw marks on the tree stump and assumed it was a wild beast on your own…”
Hearing this response, Lin Xinyi could only offer a helpless smile.
It was true—she had jumped to conclusions, assuming the wounds were from a beast.
Luo Qingyao had never actually said so herself from start to finish.
“So, where exactly is that person?”
“Who do you mean? If you’re talking about that bastard who tried to lay his hands on Bai Qianqian, he’s probably dead already~?”
Luo Qingyao rested her chin on her hand, speaking as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Though Lin Xinyi felt some anger inside upon hearing this, she could only shake her head helplessly.
After all, Lin Xinyi had long regarded Bai Qianqian as hers—to kill or to punish should be done by her own hands.
And that bastard had actually dared to covet both the Supreme Bone and the Three Thousand Dao Seeds.
“At the time, to help Bai Qianqian escape, I used a thread of my soul power to burn that bastard badly. He’s probably long dead by now~”
Lin Xinyi looked at the woman’s smug expression.
Though she couldn’t personally execute that bastard herself, if he was burned to death, he probably didn’t die peacefully either.
“Sigh, forget it. Dead is dead. No point in getting angry over it…”
Lin Xinyi was about to return to the grotto-heaven to continue her plans when, unexpectedly, a sharp sword qi came flying from a distance, heading straight for her.
“Looking for death…”
With just a glance from Lin Xinyi, the sharp sword qi instantly scattered.
At the same time, from beneath a tree not far away, a charcoal-like figure slowly emerged.
It would be more accurate to call it a human-shaped piece of charcoal.
The person’s withered, cracked skin barely resembled a human form at all.
Yet despite this, their chest still rose and fell, proving they were alive.
“Looks like your work wasn’t thorough enough.”
“How strange. Even for a cultivator like you, my flames should have been enough to burn them to death…”
Luo Qingyao rested her cheek on her hand, staring with confusion at the approaching figure.
Their withered fingers clutched a long sword, and their blood-red eyes seemed to be running on their last breath.
“Su… Supreme Bone, Supreme Bone!!”
The figure lowered their head as if tracking the trail of blood on the ground.
When they suddenly looked up, they spotted Lin Xinyi standing beneath the massive tree.
“Give me back my Supreme Bone!!”
The charcoal-like figure charged forward in a frenzy.
Luo Qingyao, the instigator, raised her hand to deliver a quick death, but Lin Xinyi stopped her.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“That person is wearing the uniform of the Lanyu Sect. And they’re an inner disciple.”
“And here I thought you were different. Turns out you suffer from the same ailment as all lower-realm cultivators—bullying the weak and fearing the strong~”
Seeing Lin Xinyi stop her, Luo Qingyao didn’t hesitate to mock her.
Yet even as the charcoal figure charged toward them, Lin Xinyi made no move, further convincing Luo Qingyao of her cowardice.
“What? Are you planning to heal them instead~?”
“No. If you had burned their soul along with their body back then, we wouldn’t have all this trouble now…”
“So what are you going to do? Apologize obediently and hand Bai Qianqian back over to them?”
Lin Xinyi didn’t respond.
She simply took a slow step forward, and in an instant, a ten-meter-wide formation materialized beneath her feet.
Neither too large nor too small, it encompassed exactly the area where the charging figure stood.
When Luo Qingyao saw the formation appear beneath Lin Xinyi’s feet, she was somewhat surprised.
Then Lin Xinyi slowly opened her eyes, revealing a bloodthirsty gleam.
[Soul Binding Array]
“None of that. Just let me handle this… more cleanly.”
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