Chapter 30: Delicate and Easily Bullied, Behind the Mask

Lin Xinyi’s arrogant words still seemed to ring in her ears.

Luo Qingyao knew she could do nothing at the moment, forcing her to watch from the sidelines even though she was furious.

However, what Lin Xinyi did not know was that she would soon pay the price for her arrogance.

“Respectfully seeing off Master Changqing…”

The moment Lin Xinyi stepped out of the sect, she felt much lighter.

She stretched slowly as the barrier behind her began to change, reverting to its original state.

‘At this rate, it won’t be long before the fruit matures. Then, I can focus entirely on properly nurturing Bai Qianqian…’

Lin Xinyi wore a sinister smile as she spoke.

In just 1 year, Bai Qianqian would come to the Hidden Immortal Sect to participate in the sect competition.

That would be the key event where the girl would formally join her tutelage.

Lin Xinyi felt a headache whenever she imagined the scene from the original timeline—the one where, during the competition 1 year later, Bai Qianqian would rely on her outstanding cultivation and techniques to not only kill enemies above her level but even call out Lin Xinyi by name to ask to be her disciple.

‘Now, I’d like to see how a cripple like you can stand out…’

Lin Xinyi could already imagine the girl failing the very first trial.

When that happened, she would use gentle words and a kind expression to lure her in, keeping her as a pet forever until she died in despair under the torture of the technique’s side effects.

‘I’ll see what you can do then. Roaming the world with a single sword and high spirits, killing all who stand in your way…’

Things were proceeding smoothly according to her plan.

With a single step, Lin Xinyi’s figure appeared in mid-air.

It took less than half a day for her to reach the Bai family port.

As soon as she arrived, she felt dozens of spiritual senses sweep over her.

She cast a cold glance toward a tall tower in the distance.

Noticing the surveillance was immediately withdrawn, she let out a cold snort and headed toward the back mountain.

Inside that tower, an old man with a white beard leaned against the wall, his face drenched in cold sweat.

Beside him lay five shattered life jade plates.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.

“Looking at this, I’ve lost at least 10 years of cultivation. But it’s fine; that lady didn’t pursue the matter…”

The white-bearded old man looked at the broken jade plates on the table with a cold, disgusted gaze.

It was clear he never expected those reckless disciples to cause him such massive trouble.

“Death is too good for those rebellious students…”

His voice was icy, showing no sadness for his dead disciples.

Instead, he leisurely turned back and walked toward the center of the room.

On the ground lay the Eldest Disciple, who had managed to crawl back.

“But it’s alright. Master still has you…”

The Eldest Disciple’s hamstrings and tendons had all been severed.

He lay in the center of a formation with a dull, vacant gaze; his soul had clearly been extracted.

“Those useless pieces of trash can stay dead, but the best one is still here…”

After saying this, the white-bearded old man grabbed the Eldest Disciple.

A miserable wail echoed throughout the tower.

Once silence returned, no one ever saw the master’s most beloved Eldest Disciple again.

….

After Lin Xinyi arrived at the back mountain, she stepped onto the flower field she had cultivated.

With one footfall, the formation unraveled.

The immortal flowers covering the mountain withered and wilted instantly, as if autumn had arrived in a heartbeat.

‘It seems I didn’t control it well; it was actually nourished this much. Quite a few people must have come…’

Lin Xinyi walked coldly beneath a tree.

She glanced at the several sets of white bones that had been picked clean nearby.

Her eyes filled with disgust; she hadn’t expected not a single shred of flesh to be left.

‘I should improve this formation later. It might as well consume the bones directly…’

Lin Xinyi casually kicked a nearby skull, only to discover a headless skeleton with a perfectly smooth cut at the neck.

‘This is…’

Confused, Lin Xinyi crouched down to examine the clean cut on the vertebrae.

She turned to another set of bones and found deep gashes on the spine and ribs.

It was obvious that this was not something her formation could have done.

‘Bai Qianqian…’

Lin Xinyi narrowed her eyes.

She hadn’t expected that rebellious disciple to have the strength to counter-kill several cultivators with higher levels than her own while being ravaged by two different techniques.

This immediately put Lin Xinyi on guard.

‘Does that girl have some trick up her sleeve that I don’t know about?’

If someone else had killed across realms, people would talk about it for ages.

But since it was Bai Qianqian, Lin Xinyi actually felt it was normal.

‘The cuts are clean and the reactions were fast. It looks like a single lethal strike…’

Luo Qingyao also appeared outside the grotto, studying the smooth cut before looking at two other corpses that had no visible wounds.

Though she couldn’t see much, she guessed they had been drained of their blood to serve as nutrients after being wounded.

‘She really is a surprise.’

Lin Xinyi began to worry if giving the girl the Danxin Jue had been a mistake.

Perhaps the influence of those two remnant techniques wasn’t as great as she had imagined.

Luo Qingyao watched the pensive Lin Xinyi and realized the woman was becoming cautious.

She knew that if Bai Qianqian were exposed now, Lin Xinyi’s paranoid nature would ensure the girl suffered.

‘Rather than thinking about it here, why don’t you go into the Grotto-heaven and ask her yourself?’

‘I just think I’ll understand better if I think it through on my own…’

Though Lin Xinyi was curious about how Bai Qianqian had pulled it off, when she entered the Mini Grotto-heaven, she saw spots of blood on the floor.

Luo Qingyao’s heart skipped a beat, and she began to worry about Bai Qianqian.

‘Oh no, she must be injured! I was so focused on distracting Lin Xinyi that I forgot she’s only been cultivating for 1 or 2 days…’

The concern in Luo Qingyao’s eyes was obvious, but a quick glance revealed Lin Xinyi’s gloating expression.

If Bai Qianqian was injured, it meant she wasn’t perfect.

Perhaps it was the side effects of the techniques that allowed her to be wounded.

“Bai Qianqian, are you there…?”

Lin Xinyi called out softly, eager to see the girl’s pathetic state.

Following the trail of blood, she saw Bai Qianqian on the other side of the bed, hugging herself tightly.

She held a dagger condensed from frost in her hand, and her eyes were filled with exhaustion.

“Mas… Master…”

The moment Bai Qianqian saw it was Lin Xinyi, she immediately lowered her guard.

It was as if she had lost all her strength; as she tried to stand, her body went limp and she fell forward.

Luo Qingyao grew frantic at the sight, even trying to catch her personally.

However, Bai Qianqian’s body passed right through her, falling straight toward the ground.

‘I forgot, I’m still just a soul…’

Luo Qingyao dithered for a moment, but luckily Lin Xinyi reached out and caught the girl in her arms.

After all, she had to maintain her “kind person” persona.

“How can you be so careless? You can’t even stand up straight…”

Lin Xinyi spoke with gentle concern, but she immediately noticed the wound on the girl’s shoulder.

Though the bleeding had stopped, it was clearly a sword wound.

‘She really is injured. It seems the side effects of those techniques are useful.’

Lin Xinyi was gloating internally, but she didn’t show it.

She simply allowed the girl to slump in her arms and offered gentle comfort.

Luo Qingyao also noticed the wound and felt heartbroken, yet she could do nothing.

Suddenly, Lin Xinyi felt a soft sobbing sound coming from her arms.

The usually calm and composed Bai Qianqian was now sobbing like a terrified child.

Lin Xinyi was startled by this behavior.

She had never seen this side of Bai Qianqian.

This fragile, weak appearance felt like something out of a dream.

“You… what are you doing!”

“Master, that person is dead…”

“If they’re dead, they’re dead. What’s the big deal?!”

Lin Xinyi’s body instinctively wanted to push her away in response to the abnormal reaction, but she suddenly felt Bai Qianqian’s body trembling in her arms.

Lin Xinyi quickly realized the situation.

Even if Bai Qianqian could kill someone above her level, she was still just a beginner in the Cultivation World.

Things that Lin Xinyi found ordinary—like killing for treasure or destroying corpses—were, in the end, a first for the girl.

“It’s alright. It’s normal to be afraid…”

Lin Xinyi hugged her gently.

While her words were comforting, her heart felt incredibly refreshed seeing this weak and childishly pathetic version of the girl.

Luo Qingyao sighed softly.

She wanted to offer comfort too, but she didn’t even have a body.

‘She must be feeling very vulnerable right now…’

Luo Qingyao felt a pang of pity, yet she could only let Lin Xinyi handle the comforting.

Luo Qingyao stood behind the two of them.

Just as she was thinking of how to contact Bai Qianqian, she looked up and saw the girl’s glazed, unfocused eyes.

“Mas… Master…”

Bai Qianqian’s arms wrapped around Lin Xinyi’s slender waist.

Though she looked fragile, there was no fear or weakness in her eyes.

Instead, they held a trace of near-obsession.

Lin Xinyi hadn’t noticed that the sobbing in her arms had already stopped.

She was too intoxicated by the girl’s fragile state and the success of her own plan.

‘I guess my worry was unnecessary…’

Luo Qingyao finally realized it.

Bai Qianqian wasn’t afraid at all; this entire display was nothing but an act.

“Master, I’m scared…”

“Sigh, I really can’t do anything with you. I suppose that’s what happens when I’m your master…”

The weaker Bai Qianqian appeared, the more Lin Xinyi’s guard lowered.

Luo Qingyao watched as the girl disguised herself to such an extent, and her own eyes couldn’t help but twitch.

‘As expected of her. She easily accomplished something I couldn’t.’

Bai Qianqian did not waste the opportunity.

She hugged Lin Xinyi tightly, as if she wanted to merge their bodies together.

Lin Xinyi noticed the grip tightening, but she assumed it was just Bai Qianqian’s fearful instinct and didn’t pay it any mind.

“Master, I’m scared. Can you stay by my side tonight? Don’t leave…”

“Uh…”

“Master, I’m begging you…”

“Since you’re begging me like that, I suppose I have no choice.”