Chapter 24

Four people entered the pagoda at the same time.

Almost instantly, the three presences that were just by Lin Du’s side disappeared.

Lin Du quickly realized that they had each stepped into different spaces.

The interior of this pagoda was a complex overlap of various formations, ensuring that those who entered wouldn’t wander around like headless flies.

The treasures had their own spirit and would choose their master on their own.

Lin Du couldn’t tell which level he was on, so he could only observe the scene before him.

Strangely, though the pagoda appeared to be made of glazed bricks and stones from the outside, it now seemed as though it was nested within another structure.

The walls were vermilion, the pillars were made of green iron, and in the center, eight spiritual treasures were arranged according to the positions of the Eight Trigrams, each shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

Lin Du spread out his spiritual sense, approaching each treasure in turn, but the first three instantly repelled his sense.

If the treasures could speak, they would probably say something like, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

It wasn’t until he reached the fourth treasure that he felt a faint response.

He then tried the fifth one, which also responded, hooking his spiritual sense like a small hook.

The same happened with the sixth and seventh treasures, making Lin Du feel a bit like a playboy, casting a wide net to catch many fish, choosing the best among them.

Out of the eight treasures, five responded to Lin Du, with the fifth one being particularly enthusiastic. Even when she tried exploring other items, the aura of that treasure tried to hold her back, almost as if it was waving a little handkerchief and calling out, “Please don’t go!”

Lin Du quickly understood why it could hold her back like that.

It was a thread—or rather, not just a thread.

Upon closer inspection, the crimson thread was densely inscribed with golden and black runes. Despite having spent months immersed in the study of various texts, Lin Du couldn’t identify the material of this thread.

She glanced at the last item, a folding fan that resonated strongly with her soul as well.

She hesitated for a moment.

“This is too much… I’m being too much,” Lin Du muttered to herself, torn between choices.

Just as she was about to reach out and examine the fan, the thread suddenly moved, wrapping around her wrist like a darting fish. At the same moment, her hand grasped the handle of the fan.

In that instant, before Lin Du could react, she felt a spatial force. She had met the conditions and was promptly expelled from the treasure pavilion.

In a flash, she found herself standing outside, face-to-face with Feng Chao.

Lin Du looked down at the fan in her hand, then at her wrist, where the red-gold braided thread was coiled.

Her pupils trembled as she stared at it, unsure when it had wrapped around her.

She looked up at Feng Chao again, then weakly raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Senior Sister, if I said it seduced me, would you believe me?”

It was such a classic playboy line that even Lin Du found it hard to believe herself.

To her surprise, Feng Chao nodded. “I believe you.”

“I hadn’t even decided yet, and it pushed me out. Can I return it…?” Lin Du began to explain quickly, but then paused, realizing what Feng Chao had said. “Huh?”

Feng Chao smiled. “There’s no need to worry. Although the treasure pavilion has restrictions, allowing each person to take only one item, the fan in your hand only counts as half of a spiritual treasure. Its incompleteness isn’t in itself but in lacking the accompanying item necessary to unleash its full power.

“And as for the thread on your wrist, I vaguely recall something from the records in the treasure archive. Its aura is clearly that of an immortal artifact, but no one knows its exact purpose. It might be the remnant of an immortal weapon, possibly just the tassel of a sword, or maybe something used for binding.

“So, one incomplete treasure and one remnant don’t really count as breaking any rules.”

Lin Du let out a sound of realization. “So basically, I picked up two pieces of junk?”

As she spoke, she looked at the fan in her hand. Before Feng Chao could offer any consolation, she quickly hooked the fan onto the red thread and clasped both items together in her hands.

“They’re still young, so let’s pretend you didn’t hear that, okay?”

Feng Chao: …Are you going to say everything yourself?

Despite her words, Lin Du didn’t actually think she had picked up junk. It was just her habit to make light of things.

What others saw as junk, she had always seen as treasure.

When she was eleven, she would quietly wash unwanted teddy bears, sew them up, and even make clothes for them. Later, she started fixing toy cars with broken limbs and nightlights that no longer worked.

No one bought her toys, so she learned to repair these broken things, turning them into her own treasures.

Feng Chao watched the young junior sister, who was now carefully examining her new items. Today, Lin Du wore a narrow-sleeved robe in a light smoky green. Because she often spent her days calculating and drawing, she wore leather wrist guards to prevent ink stains. Despite her practical, martial-artist-like attire, she still carried an air of unrestrained elegance.

She stood tall and slender, like a distant mountain shrouded in mist. When her gaze dropped, there were faint shadows under her eyes, perhaps just the effect of her long eyelashes casting a delicate shadow, which no one could be sure of.

She was always like that—seemingly detached from the world, observing everything with a cold, weary gaze, even when she smiled and joked with a hint of carelessness in her eyes.

Lin Du looked up and smiled at Feng Chao. “Actually, I got the better deal. I’ll make sure to find more good treasures for the sect’s collection in the future.”

Feng Chao just assumed she was joking, as young people often do.

The other three soon emerged from the pagoda. Ni Jinxuan held a delicate whip, coiled and hanging at her waist, jingling with bells as she walked.

Yan Qing carried a large black iron saber, looking conflicted. He had always dressed as a scholar to appear more refined, but he never expected to bond with a weapon like this.

Yuan Ye, on the other hand, was quite happy, cheerfully holding a two-stringed fiddle.

Lin Du raised an eyebrow and asked again, just to be sure, “What’s that?”

“It’s a xiqin,” Yuan Ye replied, blinking. “And it turns out it’s a high-grade spiritual treasure.”

Yuan Ye had entered the Supreme Sect not only because of his excellent spiritual roots but also because he was of royal lineage, protected by dragon energy.

Now, this royal descendant was holding a fiddle, looking nothing like a member of the imperial family.

Lin Du suddenly felt a little less like an oddball. She patted Yuan Ye on the shoulder. “At least you know your way around a fiddle.”

Yuan Ye not only knew how to play it but was eager to give a demonstration for his junior uncle on the spot.

Lin Du raised a hand. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

She didn’t want this kid to accidentally send her off somewhere.

The group of youngsters, delighted with their new treasures, happily went off to play with them.

Lin Du, too, was one of those children, except she had two treasures.

She returned to the site of Luo Ze, where Yan Ye was, as usual, sitting motionless. Lin Du always had to make the first move whenever she visited him.

It was always like this. Lin Du even wondered if he was waiting to ascend or if he was destined to become part of the endless snow and ice.

If it were her, she would never stay in one place for so long, doing nothing, not even moving.

“What treasure did you get?” Yan Ye opened his eyes.

Lin Du thought that it didn’t really matter whether this man opened his eyes or not, but his eyes were indeed beautiful—gray pupils and white lashes, like a wolf on a desolate plain, devoid of emotion or desire.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she asked Yan Ye, “Master, are you following the Ruthless Emotion?”