Yin Luoling did not answer.
She merely twisted her face to the side with stubborn defiance, knowing that Ling Huan was about to perform his sorcery again.
‘He just wants to make me look pathetic so he can humiliate me.’
But on the other hand, if she showed no reaction at all, she could turn the humiliation back on Ling Huan!
In her previous life, she vaguely remembered being out on a sect mission.
While staying at an inn, a certain senior brother had snuck into a senior sister’s room in the middle of the night.
The next morning, she saw that senior sister looking furious while the senior brother begged her incessantly.
Although he spoke in a whisper, Yin Luoling had still overheard him.
“Give — give me another chance. I… I wasn’t in the right state! My condition was bad!”
“Hmph, bad condition? I think even if you were at your best, it wouldn’t have mattered. I didn’t feel a single thing. You’re truly a waste.”
After that, the senior brother’s face turned ashen.
From then on, he became a hollow shell of himself, eventually losing his life during a later mission.
‘That’s it!’
As long as she remained calm, she could crush Ling Huan’s heart and confidence!
Wouldn’t that be more painful than killing him?
She had lost face last time, and this time, she was determined to take it back!
She had to endure it.
Last time, she simply hadn’t been prepared!
Yin Luoling closed her eyes to rest her mind, constantly reciting a mental cultivation mantra in her head.
Even just reciting it had the effect of refreshing the mind and clearing the thoughts.
She just didn’t know how much effect it would have in a place where spiritual energy was so sparse.
However, as long as it had some effect, even a sliver, Yin Luoling believed she could withstand Ling Huan’s sorcery.
Ling Huan grabbed Yin Luoling’s foot.
He was in no hurry, instead patiently using his handkerchief to wipe the sole of her foot clean.
He was very diligent and his movements were gentle, as if he were afraid of hurting her.
‘Would Ling Huan really be this kind?’
Yin Luoling didn’t believe it.
He was likely harboring some wicked intentions.
But if he was, let him —
Yin Luoling’s entire body stiffened, and her internal thoughts were interrupted.
Ling Huan did not rush to use force.
He merely used his fingertips to gently stroke her delicate, slightly cool skin, slowly pressing upward along the meridians of her calf.
The simple touch felt like an unbearable itch that sent her mind into disarray.
As expected, there was something strange about Ling Huan’s hands.
“I… I didn’t give you permission to put your hands in… in other places!”
Yin Luoling warned through gritted teeth.
Her voice trembled slightly from shame and indignation, and her cheeks instantly flushed a deep red, with even the tips of her ears stained crimson.
Ling Huan ignored her, concentrating as he continued to apply pressure.
‘No, this won’t do!’
Yin Luoling immediately shut her eyes and recalled the mantra, reciting it repeatedly in her mind: ‘The heart is like a jade pot, untouched by the world’s clamor; Qi flows through the spiritual veins, all methods return to the source…’
The ancient and obscure mantra carried a soul-piercing steadiness, allowing Yin Luoling to gradually stabilize her mind, which had been shaken by Ling Huan’s touch.
‘It worked!’
‘Ling Huan, I’ll be the one to trample your pride into dust!’
As Yin Luoling gloated inwardly, Ling Huan used his memory to find the acupoints that could relieve soreness.
When his fingertips landed on the Zusanli point, a trace of slightly numbing warmth instantly spread through her meridians.
It brought an indescribable and unbearable sense of comfort, causing her tense calves to relax involuntarily.
When Ling Huan pressed the Yongquan point, a numbing sensation rushed from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
It felt as if countless tiny streams of warmth were wandering through her limbs and bones, and the fatigue accumulated in her body was suddenly cleared away!
‘So relaxing!’
The sudden pressure even made her throat nearly release an involuntary moan.
Yin Luoling could feel her expression softening.
“Mmph —”
Fortunately, Yin Luoling covered her mouth in time, preventing herself from losing her composure again.
Luckily, Ling Huan’s attention was on her feet and he didn’t seem to notice.
This allowed Yin Luoling to breathe a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, the fact that Ling Huan had made her look so pathetic stung her heart like a needle.
However, the moment her emotions wavered, the comfort brought by Ling Huan’s fingers felt like a fierce wave, threatening to swallow her whole!
She didn’t dare relax and immediately resumed reciting the mantra.
‘External things are all illusions; only a clear mind can see things through to the end…’
But as time passed, she could clearly feel Ling Huan’s fingertips sliding across her feet with a warm touch.
Every touch and every press made her face burn and her cheeks flush.
She didn’t know how long it had been, but Ling Huan’s movements gradually changed from intense to gentle.
The comfort wound around her body like vines, and her tense nerves relaxed imperceptibly.
Her entire body felt light.
With that lightness, drowsiness gradually seeped in, and her eyelids began to feel uncontrollably heavy.
Yin Luoling rested her hand on the nearby table and cushioned her head, constantly forcing herself to stay awake.
But whether it was the mantra or her repeated emphasis on her hatred for Ling Huan, nothing worked.
‘Why…?’
‘Shouldn’t I… be able to go a long time without sleep…?’
Yin Luoling thought dizzily.
“Always thinking about revenge is very tiring. Let your body have a good rest first. You’re still just a child.”
Ling Huan’s voice drifted over, very soft.
‘No, I don’t need you to care. It’s none of your business!’
Yin Luoling wanted to answer firmly, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Gradually, the arm supporting her lost its strength.
‘A child…? I stopped being a child a long time ago.’
But then she thought again, this body was still a child’s.
She had been so focused on revenge that she had forgotten.
She was currently a child.
Had her frantic cultivation been too harsh on her past self?
In her daze, she felt as if someone were gently holding her from behind, and a voice drifted over as if saying something.
Yin Luoling concentrated, using the last of her strength to listen, until a youthful voice spoke: “No, you’re the one who has worked the hardest.”
‘Was it… a hallucination?’
Yin Luoling fell into a deep sleep, sinking into the darkness.
Yet, she didn’t feel the slightest bit of cold or dampness.
Instead, it was dry and warm, and she felt a sense of softness and comfort.
How long had it been since she had a good night’s sleep?
She didn’t know.
But Ling Huan did.
Ling Huan gently placed Yin Luoling on his bed and tucked her in.
Looking at Yin Luoling’s sleeping face, a hint of softness appeared in his eyes.
‘Carrying the burden of a blood feud, huh.’
Ling Huan sat in a chair to the side and sighed.
That feeling was not a pleasant one.
When the only goal in life was hatred, everything in the world lost its beauty.
Beautiful scenery no longer caught the eye, sweet scents no longer aroused the appetite, and a warm, comfortable bed became an instrument of torture.
Flickering memories of suffering would constantly torment the mind, and the fire of hatred would lash the heart like a whip over and over again.
Everything became a mockery.
Revenge.
The relief of successful revenge was fleeting.
The joy would vanish in an instant, leaving only a hollow loneliness and a numbness that lost all desire for anything.
He supported Yin Luoling’s quest for revenge, but he didn’t want her to be like him — losing the will to live after the revenge was over, or being willing to lose everything just for the sake of it.
He was lucky; he had been given a second chance at life and was reincarnated here with a happy, complete family.
But what about Yin Luoling?
All he could do was ensure Yin Luoling had the strength to take her revenge and a purpose for it, rather than blindly and recklessly harming herself and those around her.
It was a pity he had that dog of a system, otherwise, Ling Huan would have wanted Yin Luoling to understand that someone would support her and someone would be with her.
She wasn’t alone.
Someone would be waiting for her to come home and eat together after her revenge was successful.
He had done many things wrong; at least he could let her —
Just as Ling Huan was feeling sentimental late at night, he suddenly thought of something.
Ling Huan stared at a specific rule word for word, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of the virtual interface as his gaze grew increasingly serious.
[Simulated opponents will replicate the target’s current state 100%, perfectly presenting their full strength. This includes, but is not limited to: hidden trump cards, unrevealed techniques, and the killing intent buried deep within their heart.]
“Replicate 100%… hidden techniques…”
He repeated the words in a low voice, and scenes from the battles in the [Simulation Space] instantly surged through his mind.
Yin Luoling’s efficient, straightforward movements; the precision and ruthlessness of every strike; her decisive lethality…
And then there were those endless dirty tricks and vicious schemes — gouging eyes, locking the throat, using socks to strangle, and even ripping off a chest wrap to use as a weapon.
Every move exuded the ferocity and experience of someone who had spent years in life-and-death combat.
Were these really things an 8-year-old girl could possess?
Could a genius truly be a genius to this extent?
Ling Huan’s brow furrowed even tighter.
This was a problem he had ignored for a long time, something he should have realized sooner.
He had a system and cultivation techniques to raise his level so quickly, but… what about Yin Luoling?
Thinking of this and combining it with his own experience — was it possible that his sister… was also a damn reincarnator?