Chapter 67

Ni Jinxuan wasn’t sure why her Uncle Junior Master wanted her to say that, but being obedient as usual, she tilted her head and smiled, “As long as our Uncle Junior Master has brains and a high cultivation, that’s enough! We’re responsible for carrying out the tasks and protecting her!”

Shao Fei chuckled at that, “Your sect seems to be really close-knit. I’m quite envious.”

“Of course!” Yuan Ye suddenly chimed in and smoothly began complimenting the food on the table.

“I never thought Yuan Ye was this talkative,” Mo Lin said, wide-eyed.

“He knows how to adapt,” Yan Qing commented succinctly.

Lin Du was thoughtful, wondering if Yuan Ye’s royal court table manners had triggered his diplomatic skills.

During the meal, the village chief and the elders couldn’t stop smiling as Yuan Ye praised them. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Lin Du had only eaten a small bowl of rice before putting her chopsticks down. The others, noticing her example, also limited themselves to one bowl, though they continued to compliment the food.

Mo Lin gave Lin Du a glance. She was never picky about food—she’d eaten meals prepared by elders that were overly salty, burnt, or undercooked without complaint. Today’s food was actually quite decent, so why was she eating so little?

After the meal, when everyone left the house, Ni Jinxuan asked, “Uncle Junior Master, were you injured today? Your appetite didn’t seem great.”

It was nighttime, and the houses of those who slept early were already dark. Outside, the dim lights flickered. Lin Du stood in the courtyard, leaning casually against a withered tree, arms crossed, as she smiled, “That was their winter food supply. Skipping one meal won’t make us hungry, but if they skip, it’s disrespectful. Eating just one bowl was polite.”

With heavy snowfall sealing off the mountain during winter, the villagers had low cultivation levels, and many hadn’t even entered the path of cultivation. Even those who had were mostly at the first level, with only the village chief reaching the second level. Unlike Lin Du and her group, they didn’t have access to advanced techniques and martial skills. Going to the city to buy supplies would cost them greatly.

Mo Lin realized what had been on Lin Du’s mind, leaving him a bit stunned. His Uncle Junior Master often seemed like an aloof observer, but her actions always kept her deeply connected to the world.

Ni Jinxuan rustled through her clothes and pulled out a roasted sweet potato. “Earlier, when we were putting up talismans for the villagers, they gave this to us. They said it’s really sweet, and I know you love sweet things, so I saved it for you. But by the time you finished setting up the formation, it was already time to eat, so I didn’t get a chance to give it to you.”

Lin Du stood there lazily, not reaching out for it. “You eat it. Your Uncle Junior Master’s not hungry.”

She glanced at Mo Lin. “Set up a barrier.”

Mo Lin raised his hand and cast a soundproofing barrier. “Go ahead, Uncle Junior Master.”

Xia Tianwu spoke first. “That Gu master—the one suffering from backlash—there’s something wrong with him.”

“Qi Zhun,” Lin Du said, “That’s the name of the one Mo Lin saved.”

She spoke with a playful tone, teasing as if joking with an old friend. Mo Lin widened his eyes, “Uncle Junior Master, I didn’t really save her. She just latched onto me!”

“Do you think she’s after my golden core?”

Lin Du couldn’t help but laugh. “Your Uncle Junior Master isn’t sure, but it’s always good to stay vigilant.”

“But that girl does seem to like you,” Yuan Ye added. “More than that! Seven out of every ten things she says are about you, and the other three are just disguised questions about you.”

Despite being young, Yuan Ye was observant and experienced. “It’s just like those palace banquets, where the concubines would always stare at my father while pretending to talk to someone else.”

“At today’s meal, she only glanced at Uncle Junior Master a few times. The rest of the time, her eyes were on you.”

Ni Jinxuan suddenly went off-topic, “Uncle Junior Master is so beautiful—who wouldn’t want to look at her? Earlier, one of the ladies even told me that among all of us, Uncle Junior Master looks like an immortal who stepped out of the snow.”

“She’s not looking at me because I’m good-looking.”

As Lin Du said this, she glanced at Mo Lin and saw that this promising young man had actually turned red. Things were getting out of hand.

Lin Du cleared her throat and tried to salvage the situation. “Kid, that girl doesn’t really like you, you know?”

“She just thinks she does. Have you heard of the suspension bridge effect?”

Everyone shook their heads, and even Mo Lin looked attentively at his Uncle Junior Master, eager to learn.

“The suspension bridge effect,” Lin Du explained, “happens when we’re in a dangerous situation—like walking across a shaky suspension bridge with only one rope and no support. Our heart starts to race, and if we happen to meet someone at that moment, we might mistake our accelerated heartbeat for feelings of attraction toward them.”

After she finished explaining, Lin Du noticed that the group of kids looked confused. One had a blank expression, another a stoic face, and one deep in thought. Something felt off.

Sure enough, Yuan Ye was quick to ask, “But we can just fly across, so why would we walk on the bridge?”

Lin Du smiled, “What I mean is, if a seventh-tier tiger demon were chasing you right now, wouldn’t you panic?”

Yuan Ye suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. “Yes.”

“Now, imagine if a celestial being swooped down and helped you chase the demon away. You might mistakenly think the pounding in your chest was because you fell in love with that celestial being.”

Lin Du walked up to Yuan Ye and clapped her hands in front of him with a sharp smack, startling him. “And then you’d believe you’ve fallen head over heels in love.”

Before Yuan Ye could respond, Lin Du turned to Mo Lin. “Nephew, you’ve always been bright. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

Mo Lin thought for a moment and then nodded firmly. “Shao Fei doesn’t really like me. If it were a wolf demon that saved her, she’d like the wolf demon. There’s been a misunderstanding—a big one.”

Lin Du pondered for a moment. That wasn’t a bad way to think about it.

【But, host, Shao Fei doesn’t even like Mo Lin in the early realms. She’s just using him.】

Lin Du tapped her fan handle. “She’s interested in Mo Lin’s spiritual bone, which means she’s interested in our dear nephew.”

As long as Mo Lin understood that Shao Fei didn’t truly like him, things would be much easier to handle.

“Shao Fei’s words had a lot of inconsistencies,” Lin Du continued, getting back to the main point. “The one eating people wasn’t a tiger demon, and the creature she chased away wasn’t a tiger demon either. She didn’t want us looking too closely at her sect members. At the very least, there are problems with some of the outer disciples from the Fei Xing Sect.”

She paused. “Today, Shao Fei was probing the cultivation levels and abilities of the six of us from the start.”

Ni Jinxuan’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. “So that’s why you had me say those things?”

Lin Du smiled and pinched Ni Jinxuan’s hair bun. “It’s called fishing.”

She gathered everyone closer. “I’ve been thinking, didn’t something seem off about that person’s face?”

Xia Tianwu’s eyes gleamed. “Disguise. I noticed the muscle structure was off earlier.”

The six of them exchanged glances, all with an excited gleam in their eyes. What righteous cultivator wouldn’t dream of slaying evil demons?

“But after what we did today, won’t they be more cautious?” Yan Qing stroked his chin thoughtfully.

A faint smile appeared on Lin Du’s pale face. “Do you know why I used black gold to set up the formation?”

“Tonight, no one will escape from my formation.”

A perfectly legal trap—closing the door to catch the prey.