Chapter 55

Lin Du suddenly clasped her hands and bowed deeply. “I am Lin Du, the 99th-generation disciple of the Supreme Sect. I greet Immortal Lin Tuan.”

The person she had never encountered even though she lived in the forbidden area of the sect was someone she felt she should at least acknowledge in front of this esteemed romantic figure.

Her formal greeting was so sincere that both Wei Zhi and Lin Tuan, as well as the person on the ground restrained by Wei Zhi’s spiritual pressure, were taken aback.

Lin Tuan adjusted his expression slightly, speaking with a hint of mellow drunkenness. “The 99th generation? There are not many of us from this generation who haven’t ascended yet. Which of my junior brothers or sisters are you a closed-door disciple of?”

“I am a disciple of Immortal Yan Ye,” Lin Du maintained her posture.

She was not typically a stickler for formalities; even Yan Ye had never received such a greeting from her. However, in this moment, she delivered it with an air of authenticity, playing the part convincingly.

“Ah, that little brat.”

Lin Tuan, despite her high status and age, had been unable to ascend due to a personal issue. Nowadays, few people in the cultivation world even mentioned her name.

The top seclusion expert, the second is in seclusion waiting for ascension, and the third achieved a golden body through demonic means.

Lin Du felt that there were too few normal people in the cultivation world. Everyone seemed a bit abnormal, so what was considered normal became abnormal.

“How did you know it was Lin Tuan? Even Yan Ye rarely sees me and probably wouldn’t mention me.”

The woman seemed slightly tipsy and took the initiative to speak.

Lin Du, who couldn’t reveal her own connections, quickly found an explanation. “The wine in Immortal’s hand is the Zui Yushan from the Supreme Sect’s internal treasury. I happen to have a token and the entry ledger for the sect’s internal treasury.”

This wine was a specialty of the Supreme Sect, not available for purchase outside. Even a cultivator from the Seventh Tier, like Taiqing Realm, would fall intoxicated by it, hence the name Zui Yushan.

Lin Tuan looked at her in surprise. “Feng Dynasty is becoming less discerning, using child labor.”

Lin Du’s face lit up with her usual liveliness, nodding vigorously with a tragic expression. “I just finished repairing farming tools today.”

Lin Tuan sighed. “But your master also practiced those skills when they were young. So, this can be considered… a master-disciple legacy?”

Lin Du found it hard to determine which of the two sect leaders was more reliable at this moment.

It was, in a way, a sect legacy.

“Honestly, that kid’s master is useless,” Wei Zhi suddenly interjected.

Lin Tuan tapped Wei Zhi on the head with the wine jug, addressing him by name. “Wei Zhi, there’s no one who pries into my business like you.”

“Lin Tuan, I’m actually helping your Supreme Sect,” Wei Zhi turned to her.

“Please address me by my Taoist Name,” Lin Tuan’s peach blossom eyes met the Buddhist cultivator’s gaze fearlessly, containing the chill of a wintry night.

“Then please call me by my title,” Wei Zhi said, slightly raising his hand to adjust his bamboo hat, not letting up at all.

Lin Du felt as though sparks might fly from the confrontation. Following the principle of helping both friends and allies, she restrained her curiosity and scrutiny, and stepped in to break the deadlock between them. “Do you know how long it takes for my master to come down from the Supreme Sect?”

“If this person could kill me in one breath, then indeed I should not have advanced recklessly without any defense today.”

“But…” Lin Du raised her chin slightly, curling her lips into a disdainful smile. “Is that really possible?”

Wei Zhi was momentarily stumped. He always had trouble arguing with this little sickly child.

The Buddhist cultivator continued to silently handle his task, packing up the now seemingly lifeless person into a coarse sack, with a series of crisp noises.

“Immortal Lin Tuan… that person is likely one of the targets we’re pursuing,” Lin Du hadn’t forgotten the main point.

“I’ve seen the totem on that mask before, in the Lan Ju realm.”

“I know, I saw the sect’s warrant for pursuit signed by Feng Chao.”

Lin Tuan paused, then added, “Anyone who dares to intercept the Supreme Sect’s disciples deserves to die.”

Lin Du hesitated. Since it was a pursuit order, what did it mean for this Buddhist cultivator to look like he was packing up people as if he would never run out?

That wasn’t one of their own people, not even from the Zhong Zhou.

There were few Buddhist cultivators in the Zhong Zhou; their gathering place was Yun Mo Luo, which was far to the southeast from the Zhong Zhou.

Among the eight Buddhist sects of Yun Mo Luo, the Tantric Buddhism was the most prominent, and Wei Zhi came from that sect.

The mainstream practice in the Zhong Zhou was inner alchemy, which was different from Buddhist cultivation.

This person was indeed an outsider.

Lin Tuan gently patted Lin Du’s head. “We adults will handle this matter, you don’t need to worry.”

Her fingertips were cool, and Lin Du blinked, instinctively grabbing Lin Tuan’s sleeve.

A high-level cultivator who had lived for over two thousand years paused for a moment, seemingly remembering something. He did not move and allowed the somewhat audacious gesture, focusing his gaze on this slightly overstepping young disciple.

The child looked up at him, her small face filled with an inexplicable admiration. Her eyes, previously cold and wary towards Wei Zhi, now looked up with a dependent gaze, like a newly born kitten.

Lin Tuan was momentarily dazed. Her previously indifferent peach blossom eyes softened, and she extended her hand to pat Lin Du’s face again. “It’s alright, trust me.”

“Then, are you leaving now, Master Uncle? Won’t you stay and have New Year’s Eve dinner with us new disciples?”

Lin Du thought that after letting go this time, she might not get another chance to see this task object for a long while. She needed to leave a reason for a future meeting, or at least leave a trace of her presence for easier communication later.

It seemed that Lin Tuan was affected by this statement. Her gaze grew distant as she looked at Lin Du for a moment, then she smiled gently, her voice slightly hoarse with alcohol. “You really are still a child.”

“I won’t stay. When you’re older, come to the forbidden peach grove and find me for a drink.”

Wei Zhi suddenly interjected, “The kids who were busy eating finally remembered to check on you, the one who advanced.”

Lin Tuan glanced at Wei Zhi. “Pack them up and take them away. No bloodshed, or my children will be frightened.”

Wei Zhi chuckled lightly. “I’m a Buddhist cultivator, and I don’t like to see blood.”

He had already broken the person’s limbs and stuffed them into a sack, so there would be no blood seen.

Lin Tuan was clearly trying to scare the child, making her aware of the danger and not to meddle.

The space rippled slightly, and Wei Zhi, urged by Lin Tuan, vanished into the inner room.

Lin Du stayed behind, deep in thought. Perhaps there were some things hidden outside the storyline that even the system was unaware of.

For example… Wei Zhi, who had never appeared in the original plot, seemed quite familiar with Immortal Lin Tuan.

She planned to review the storyline of Lin Tuan again. Suddenly, she realized something.

“Wait… the barrier! Open the door! I’m still inside!!!”

Breaking through the barrier of a third-ranked in the Heavenly Ranking might blow up the whole restaurant.

Lin Du looked at the barrier helplessly, silently cursing the bad luck of the new year.

After a few breaths, the space rippled again, the barrier slowly dissipating. A hasty apology reached Lin Du’s ears. “Sorry, almost forgot. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Lin Du looked at the open window, with cold wind and light snow blowing into the room. She helplessly pressed the floating life fan to her forehead.

At this moment, she heard frantic voices searching for her outside the barrier.

“Where’s the Junior Master uncle? How did she disappear just from advancing?”

“Junior Master uncle! Where did you go! Did you leave because the 120 dishes were finished and we didn’t save any for you? Don’t, we can order more!”

“Dammit, Junior Master uncle! Where did you come from?”

To the high-level cultivator’s silent barrier, in the eyes of Mo Lin and the others, it seemed as though a Monk in green robes had suddenly appeared in the previously empty room, facing the wind and snow at the window, smiling with a fierce expression.

Mo Lin looked at the scene and whispered, “Tian Wu, don’t you think this Junior Master uncle looks just like one of the famous performers at the annual courtesan competition in Nanfeng Valley?”

Xia Tianwu pondered for a moment. “But those famous performers don’t have a murderous look in their eyes.”

“During the New Year, give you a surprise, alright?”

Lin Du glared at them. “Making such a fuss, you don’t have the demeanor of major sect disciples at all.”

The chef, wielding a kitchen knife, burst into the inner room, thinking that his restaurant had been wiped out, only to see this little master performing a miraculous transformation.

He silently tightened his grip on the knife. Well, if he couldn’t adapt, the disciples of the Supreme Sect were truly outrageous.

The chef’s knife almost wavered in his hands.