At the same time…
As soon as Lin Yan returned to the cave residence in a daze, Su Qianqian rushed forward to greet him.
“Brother Lin! How did it go? Did you manage to make the Archaic Bell recognize you!?”
If she hadn’t asked, it might’ve been fine—but the moment she did, fury instantly returned to Lin Yan’s face.
“Don’t bring that up!!”
Su Qianqian was startled and instinctively took a few steps back. “B-Brother Lin, w-what’s wrong with you!?”
A flicker of remorse and guilt passed through Lin Yan’s eyes.
What was wrong with him? He and Junior Sister Su had grown up together—how could he use that tone with her?
He was just about to apologize…
However… just then, Ye Mu’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind!
[You should go back and ask what happened between me and Su Qianqian these past few days…]
In an instant, the guilt vanished. Lin Yan clenched his teeth again and glared at Su Qianqian!
“These past few days!! Did something happen between you and Ye Mu that shouldn’t have!?”
The moment the words left his mouth—
Su Qianqian’s pupils contracted sharply! Her delicate body froze in place!!
Did… Brother Lin find out!?
Her lips trembled, and her body began to shake uncontrollably.
“Speak!!”
Lin Yan shouted again.
Su Qianqian’s eyes reddened. She opened her mouth instinctively, wanting to confess everything that had happened in the past few days, to apologize to Lin Yan…
But the moment she saw the expression on Lin Yan’s face—those words stuck in her throat.
“W-What do you mean something that shouldn’t have happened!? I… I don’t know!!”
Trembling, Su Qianqian lowered her head and chose to lie.
The moment she said it, regret struck her immediately…
She shut her eyes tightly, and a line of tears slowly slid down her cheek.
I’m sorry… Brother Lin…
Qianqian shouldn’t have lied to you…
I should have told you the truth…
I’m a coward.
A coward who dared to do but not admit it!! Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
She cried—partly from guilt, and partly from all the resentment that had built up inside her these past few days.
But in Lin Yan’s eyes, it looked like she was crying because he had yelled at her. His anger vanished and was replaced with panic!
“J-Junior Sister Su! Are… are you okay? Don’t cry! Please don’t cry… I was just spouting nonsense! Don’t take it seriously!”
Su Qianqian sniffled, steadied her emotions, and shook her head. “I… I’m fine…”
Seeing this, Lin Yan let out a breath and began explaining.
“Qianqian, I didn’t make the Archaic Bell recognize me. Because by the time I got there, it had already acknowledged Ye Mu as its master! That’s why I was so upset, please don’t take it to heart.”
“The Archaic Bell… recognized Ye Mu…?”
Su Qianqian was stunned.
Lin Yan’s face filled with frustration. “Exactly! I asked him to give it to me, and he refused! If it weren’t for him, that bell would’ve already been mine!!”
Su Qianqian lowered her gaze. Her hands trembled slightly.
She knew very clearly… with Ye Mu’s strength, there was no way he could’ve struck nine times on the Archaic Bell! Let alone make it recognize him!
Ye Mu… the simp who used to trail behind her, whom she used to ignore.
Now… not only had his attitude toward her changed drastically, but he had struck nine times and subdued the Archaic Bell. What in the world caused such a huge change in him!?
“Wait!”
Just then, Lin Yan suddenly cried out, snapping Su Qianqian out of her thoughts.
She looked up… only to see Lin Yan’s face lighting up with excitement as he met her gaze. “Junior Sister… I want to ask you for a favor!”
“What is it?”
A bad feeling rose in Su Qianqian’s heart.
“Can you go find Ye Mu… and ask him to give the Archaic Bell back?”
The moment he said that, Su Qianqian was stunned. She was just about to refuse when Lin Yan quickly added,
“Ye Mu’s your simp, right? As long as you ask, he’ll definitely give it to you! Please, Junior Sister… that bell is really important to me… it means everything!!”
Su Qianqian bit her lip, her fists gradually clenching tight.
She wanted to refuse!! Because… only she knew—Ye Mu was no longer her simp!!
Even just asking for one Holy medicine had cost her an exhausting length of time!!
If she really asked him for the Archaic Bell—never mind whether he’d agree—if he did, the price would be even more outrageous!
But… she had already lied to Lin Yan once! The guilt was overwhelming! At this moment… she didn’t have the courage to reject him again.
“Okay… I promise you…”
After a long pause… Su Qianqian nodded with trembling lips.
“Thank you, Junior Sister!!”
Su Qianqian’s pupils contracted as if startled by a reflex. She instinctively sidestepped his embrace and rushed out of the cave like fleeing. “I… I have something to do outside!!”
Lin Yan didn’t think much of it. He just stared at her back, full of emotion.
“Junior Sister… you’re so good to me! You’d even agree to such an outrageous request!”
“I can’t believe I doubted Qianqian just now! Heh! We’ve known each other since childhood. She’s been in love with me all along. How could she have done anything with Ye Mu, that simp!? Ye Mu must’ve just been trying to sow discord!!”
He could barely wait anymore. Once Su Qianqian retrieved the Archaic Bell, he planned to confess his feelings!
Then they’d become the perfect cultivation couple!
…
At the same time…
Elsewhere!
Su Qianqian had no idea what Lin Yan was thinking. Right now… she was walking absentmindedly along the path, unable to shake the turmoil in her mind.
“What should I do? If Brother Lin finds out the truth… how will he look at me!? Will he understand me? Should I tell him everything… or just take things one step at a time?”
She felt like she was trapped in a swamp. She was too afraid to move, afraid that any step would pull her in deeper—so she stayed still, unable to act.
Even though she knew standing still would only cause her to sink further in time… she just couldn’t bring herself to come clean to Lin Yan.
Su Qianqian bit her lip and clenched her fists.
“Guess who!!”
Suddenly, a pair of soft hands covered her eyes, and a playful voice followed!
Su Qianqian was startled, then said helplessly, “Yaoyao… I’m not in the mood to joke right now!!”
The girl withdrew her hands and grinned.
“Hehe, I saw you were in a bad mood, so I thought I’d tease you to cheer you up!”
Su Qianqian turned to look at the girl’s cheerful, carefree face and couldn’t help but sigh.
The girl before her was named Bai Yaoyao… like her, she was an inner disciple of the Blissful Holy Land. Bai Yaoyao was her close friend—her confidante. Whenever Su Qianqian felt troubled, she’d often confide in her.
“Qianqian, you look so down. Did something happen? Tell me! Yaoyao will help you solve it!”
Bai Yaoyao asked.
“I’m fine…”
Su Qianqian replied softly and started walking away.
It wasn’t because their relationship was bad—she just really couldn’t bring herself to tell Bai Yaoyao about this…
Bai Yaoyao watched her leave and quickly caught up to stop her.
“Hey! Why are you walking off already…?”
She still wanted to say more—but the moment her jade-like hand touched Su Qianqian’s body, her voice abruptly stopped!!
Her eyes widened. She stared at Su Qianqian in shock.
“Y-Your virgin yin… it’s… gone!?”