“Are you really that reluctant to leave that village?”
Lin Yin saw Jiang Che’s mood sour and was a bit puzzled, so she asked lightly, though a trace of sadness already crept into her heart.
“Yeah! I’m reluctant! So, will you let me go now?”
“No.”
Lin Yin replied decisively.
Jiang Che understood it wasn’t that simple.
Then Lin Yin continued, “I’ve already taken care of everything in the village. That River Clam Demon—I didn’t harm her; I even helped her further refine her magical treasure and taught her a concealment technique to hide her aura. With her treasure and her own attributes, no one will be able to find her. As for your Senior Sister…”
Hearing the words “Senior Sister,” Jiang Che immediately thought of Hu Qiao’er, with her gentle voice and the way she treated him like family.
“You and her are impossible.”
Lin Yin’s tone was firm. For some reason, Jiang Che didn’t have many feelings about Duo’er being close to him, but just seeing the way Qiao’er looked at him stirred a mess of emotions inside.
“What do you mean by that?”
Jiang Che was a little dazed; Lin Yin’s words took a sharp turn, and he couldn’t understand what she meant at all.
“No need to ask. Everything I do is for your own good.”
As soon as she said that, Jiang Che ground his teeth in anger.
For my own good?
For my own good, you destroyed my cultivation! For my own good, you severed my spiritual root! For my own good, you expelled me from the sect!
In this life! And the last life! And the one before that! I’ve hated that excuse of ‘for your own good’ the most!
Jiang Che steadied his mind. He was a mature young man now, and after so much effort, he had become a child again to start a different life.
He had no intention of becoming who he was before—that was something many people could only dream of.
“I’ll ask one last time. Will you send me back or not?”
Lin Yin slightly opened her eyes, looking at Jiang Che.
“Che’er, don’t you want to go back to the sect with me? That’s where your home is.”
“No! My home is in Shuiquan Village! That’s where my home is!”
Jiang Che trembled with anger.
Lin Yin’s expression was extremely unpleasant, as if she was about to cry, her tightly furrowed brows refusing to relax.
“Do you hate it there that much? You lived there for ten years, you know…”
“Enough! I don’t know anything about Shenxiao Sect! I don’t even know you! All I know is I grew up in Shuiquan Village! If you won’t send me back, I’ll go by myself!”
Jiang Che’s anger grew with every word Lin Yin said.
Ten years with Shenxiao Sect meant nothing to him compared to the three years Hu Qiao’er’s family in Shuiquan Village had treated him with genuine kindness.
Jiang Che forced himself to stand up. He couldn’t find his cane, so he limped forward slowly.
Lin Yin sighed softly.
Unconsciously, she took out a cane from her Storage Ring.
The cane was smooth and dark red all over, finely crafted with exquisite structure.
It was the very cane Jiang Che had always used.
When Lin Yin took Jiang Che away, Qiao’er had given it to her, and she didn’t even know why she accepted it.
“What are you doing!?”
Jiang Che had only taken a few steps before someone scooped him up in a princess carry.
“Your leg isn’t convenient; you probably don’t want me to carry you, but I’ll carry you anyway.”
“I’m not your disciple!”
When he said this, Jiang Che thought of the scene where Lin Yin expelled him from the sect.
But Lin Yin only gave a faint “hm.”
No matter how much Jiang Che struggled, she wouldn’t let go.
She had thoroughly examined Jiang Che’s body; his spiritual root had long since disappeared.
Inside his Dantian was an unknown mass that absorbed a large amount of spiritual energy.
Jiang Che’s body’s spiritual energy was nearly depleted.
Fortunately, Duo’er had recently contributed a great deal of spiritual energy to feed that mass, allowing Jiang Che to survive until now.
But no one could guarantee when that thing would start consuming energy again.
She had to take Jiang Che back quickly to resolve his physical condition.
Jiang Che struggled with effort, accidentally hitting Lin Yin’s shoulder.
Though it was just a moment, Jiang Che felt her hand tremble slightly.
He recalled how he had injured Lin Yin’s shoulder with a hairpin.
Cultivators were still human, after all—they could be hurt.
But strangely, no matter how severe the wound, it hadn’t healed after all this time.
“Che’er, can you not leave me…”
Jiang Che was silent for several seconds and stopped struggling.
He hesitated, then said, “Then let go of me. I can walk myself.”
……
Shenxiao Sect was a sect with tens of thousands of years of legacy on Tianyuan Continent.
It was ranked at the pinnacle of the Immortal path.
Lin Yin rushed back from Shuiquan Village, and considering Jiang Che’s condition, it took six days in the end.
Jiang Che tried to run away several times but never succeeded.
Lin Yin’s Storage Ring contained only some flavorless dry rations and wine.
Seeing the wine, Jiang Che was a little incredulous.
In his impression, Lin Yin disliked drinking because it interfered with cultivation and never drank.
But her affairs were none of his business, so he kept complaining about how awful the rations tasted.
Lin Yin had no choice but to catch some wild game.
During this time, Jiang Che tried to escape.
At first, a little white rabbit that had been following Lin Yin bit onto his clothes to stop him.
Jiang Che threw it far away.
But Jiang Che still underestimated Lin Yin’s speed.
He had thought there would be no game within a hundred miles, so she would take some time, but she quickly returned with a chicken.
Lin Yin didn’t immediately seize Jiang Che but quietly followed him. Jiang Che only stopped when he was exhausted.
To prevent another escape, Lin Yin planted a fragment of Shen Shi in Jiang Che’s mind.
Because of that, Jiang Che completely gave up on running away.
Against a Void Refining Stage expert, it was impossible for a disabled person like him to run.
But the closer they got to Shenxiao Sect, the more nervous Jiang Che became. He didn’t want to go back at all.
For some reason, Lin Yin didn’t take Jiang Che straight to Shenxiao Sect either.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s getting late, and you must be tired. We’ll stay here for now.”
Only after Lin Yin said this did Jiang Che notice the coolness of the air—it must be nightfall. He really was tired.
As night deepened, Lin Yin carried Jiang Che into the town’s streets.
The little rabbit hopped along behind them, curiously looking around.
The night here was brightly lit. Compared to Shuiquan Village and even Qinghe Town, this place was much larger.
Even so late, people weren’t in a hurry to close up and return home for dinner.
Lin Yin felt the real weight on her back and warmth filled her heart, speechless.
She had never imagined carrying her disciple like this would feel so different—far better than focusing on cultivation or honing her sword intent.
Seeing the bustling street, Lin Yin suddenly didn’t want to return to the sect so soon.
Jiang Che was truly exhausted on the journey. He had become numb, like a dead fish, completely limp in Lin Yin’s arms.
Lin Yin quickly found an inn.
“Yuelai Inn, will this one do, Che’er?”
Jiang Che didn’t reply. All he wanted to say was, “Not Yuelai Inn again.”
Yuelai Inn was everywhere—he didn’t know if it was some chain.
Inside the inn, a Township Waiter cheerfully greeted all the guests.
“Waiter! Where’s our wine? Hurry up!”
“Waiter, our Qian Kun Chicken!”
“Alright, alright, coming right up!”
…….
The waiter had worked in this town for a long time and liked it very much.
Thanks to Shenxiao Sect, this place was even livelier than Wang City.
The waiter caught sight of a plainly dressed woman in a moon-white dress carrying a blind child entering—the scene caught many people’s attention.