A string of sugar-coated haws in his left hand, and a small sugar person—three-parts similar to his own appearance in his right.
Passing by a small alley, Yan Lin suddenly turned his pace and walked toward the depths of the alleyway.
Leaning against the wall, he leisurely bit into the sugar-coated haws, his right cheek bulging slightly as if he were waiting for someone to appear.
A moment later, as expected, a figure appeared at the mouth of the alley. The other party’s gaze landed on Yan Lin; it was that same gaze that had followed him like a shadow, never once concealed, while he was wandering through the marketplace.
However, the very first sentence the other party spoke nearly startled Yan Lin into throwing the sugar-coated haws directly at the person’s face.
The newcomer looked at Yan Lin with great interest and finally said: “I didn’t expect to actually see a sealed Monster bloodline… Little fellow, who are your parents?”
Yan Lin… simply froze. Of all his thousands of calculations, he had never anticipated such an opening line.
What did that mean? Could it be that a Monster bloodline was hidden within his body?
The plot had once again departed from the script in a massive way; not only had it skewed beyond all limits and the protagonist broken down, but were they finally laying hands on him this hardworking, pitiful villain??
The newcomer didn’t seem to expect Yan Lin to have this reaction. Tilting his eyebrow slightly, he spoke again: “Could it be that you didn’t know?”
Then, he came to a sudden realization. Since it was a sealed Monster bloodline, perhaps the little fellow’s parents were keeping it from him, so it was excusable that the person himself didn’t know.
Having thought this through, he smiled apologetically, yet his eyes were full of malicious intent; undeniably, he might have said it on purpose.
After a long while, Yan Lin finally regained his senses and worked hard to digest this earth-shattering secret, not ruling out the eighty or ninety percent possibility that the guy in front of him was deceiving him.
After all, since it was a sealed Monster bloodline, and Perfected Wuyan was definitely 100% human, and there had never been any signs shown, it meant that perhaps even Perfected Wuyan didn’t know.
Furthermore, Perfected Wuyan was now a great cultivator in the Tribulation Transcendence stage and couldn’t see the sealed Monster bloodline, let alone the person in front of him.
Yan Lin’s brow furrowed slightly as he sized the other party up. The man had a good appearance and a refined, elegant manner, but he was a face Yan Lin had never seen before. Since he spoke the word “Monster,” he should also be a cultivator.
It was just that Yan Lin couldn’t see through the other’s cultivation level; he estimated it was either higher than his own or the man was wearing some magical artifact to hide his cultivation.
As Yan Lin speculated thus, the person in front of him suddenly burst into loud laughter. Then, amidst Yan Lin’s slightly stunned expression, he spoke teasingly again:
“Little fellow, you haven’t answered my question yet.”
“…Before asking someone a question, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first? You couldn’t possibly not understand the most basic etiquette, right?” Yan Lin spoke directly and sternly.
This time, it was the other party’s turn to be stunned. A moment later, he gave another “ha” of laughter, as if this sentence was very funny.
Yan Lin just looked at him with a wooden face.
The other party shrugged. “Fine, since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll tell you my name is Bai Si. Did you hear that clearly?”
Yan Lin: “…No, I didn’t hear clearly. Please say it again.”
“No, you already heard it clearly, little fellow.”
However, the other party ruthlessly shattered Yan Lin’s fantasy. This man named “Bai Si”—no, one shouldn’t call him a human because this was a Monster.
Moreover, he was the very one Yan Lin was familiar with from the plot: the Monster King with the highest status within the Abyss, “Bai Si.”
Setting aside why this guy had run out of the Abyss not only was the timing wrong, but wasn’t it said that the cracks could only barely allow high-level Monsters through?
So, could that first sentence the other party spoke actually be true?
Was there really some kind of sealed Monster bloodline hidden in his body??
Yan Lin: “…”
Fine, even a succession of collapsing plots could not stop his determination to complete his mission as a villain!
The man who had been staring at Yan Lin who perhaps should be called the Abyssal King Bai Si—felt the interest in his eyes grow even stronger.
He was not wrong; there was indeed a Monster bloodline sealed within this little fellow’s body. Although it was very sparse, it certainly existed. Regarding the background of this little fellow, he had probably guessed most of it… a flash of coldness passed through his eyes.
It was nothing more than the drama of some Monarch-level Monster falling in love with a human.
Yan Lin also guessed a bit; perhaps the problem lay with Han Ji that is, the original host’s mother. The original plot didn’t mention it, but the fact that Han Ji also shared the fate of a “Rootless One”… was a bit suspicious.
Before this, Yan Lin might not have had such a thought, but looking at it now, it probably had some kind of connection with the sealed Monster bloodline in his body.
Monsters and humans are not the same species to begin with. Even if a Monster can disguise itself as a human, the essence is still very different.
Regardless of whether Han Ji was a Monster, or if it could be traced back to the previous generation or the one before that, it was already impossible to investigate following Han Ji’s death. The original host’s mother had left no relevant clues; otherwise, the plot wouldn’t have lacked any hints.
Come to think of it, the so-called “plot” should be nothing more than a kind of precognition of the future; it cannot encompass all the operating laws of the world. Therefore, even though it has collapsed into a complete mess now, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything will happen to this world.
Yan Lin thought through it all, and his heart calmed down quite a bit. He slightly lifted his eyelids, glanced at the Abyssal King in front of him, and then stepped out, walking straight past the other party’s side, exiting the alley, and blending into the coming and going crowds.
He was looking for mid-level Monsters; the sudden appearance of an Abyssal King had nearly scared him to death.
Speaking of which, should he mention this to Perfected Wuyan? That an Abyssal King had actually run out and such… Is the seal you all discussed doing okay right now?
However, following this, no matter where Yan Lin walked, there was always a familiar gaze following him like a shadow.
Eventually, Yan Lin left the mortal town and walked along a deserted mountain path, stopping his pace under a towering tree.
“Come out.”
The Abyssal King, with his fine human appearance, appeared as he wished, still maintaining that refined and elegant manner.
And Yan Lin decided to strike first, saying: “Why are you following me?”
In his words and tone, he seemed not to know the other’s true identity. After all, Yan Lin couldn’t beat him; he estimated that even if Perfected Wuyan of the Tribulation Transcendence stage personally took action, he might not be a match.
The other party smiled slightly. “Because I feel we have a strong fate together.”
He shook his head again and said: “Aren’t you curious how I saw through it?”
Yan Lin… No, he wasn’t curious at all.
Just that, without waiting for Yan Lin to rebut, the other party suddenly leaned in close, staring into Yan Lin’s eyes, and continued with thick interest:
“Perhaps we should talk about how to break the seal in your body. I would be very happy to help you, you know.”
Yan Lin once again missed the departed original plot. He never could have imagined that the Abyssal King, who only existed as background filler in the original plot and hadn’t even officially appeared, would have such a wicked sense of humor.
At the same time, Yan Lin understood one thing: the other party already knew that he knew.
In other words, this Abyssal King had been teasing him all along, and he didn’t know what part of him had attracted him. More importantly, if this Abyssal King kept following him around, how could he implement his plan? And what mid-level Monster would dare approach him?
Thus, Yan Lin simply confessed.
“Your Highness, can you stop following me?”
“Call me by my name.”
“…I wouldn’t dare.”
Yan Lin, with a wooden face, saw the other party laugh again. He couldn’t understand what was so funny; why hasn’t it laughed you to death yet?
But looking at the situation, this Abyssal King seemed determined to pester him. Yan Lin just let him be and even leveled his mindset, even daring to use the other party as a tool.
Although it wasn’t clear why the other party kept tolerating him—perhaps it was just as he said, they had fate?
Liar. Yan Lin didn’t believe it for a second. But on second thought, since he couldn’t find other Monsters to hook up with now, the one in front of him seemed like he would do?
“You said before that I have a sealed Monster bloodline in my body—is that true?”
“Absolutely true.”
“Can you break the seal?”
“Hmm? Have you considered coming back to the Abyss with me?”
“…”
Yan Lin stopped talking.
After spending two days with this Abyssal King, who knows when a sudden whim struck, but he actually wanted to take him back to the Abyssal nest. Although he was a bit curious, considering his unfinished mission as a villain, Yan Lin naturally had a hundred thousand refusals.
Fortunately, the other party didn’t use force.
This evening, a streak of light suddenly flashed across the orange-red sky and landed inside a teahouse.
Sitting by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, Yan Lin, who was listening to a storyteller’s tale, only felt a flash of light before his eyes. Looking closer, a small golden sword appeared in front of him.
He recognized it; this was the communication method of the Yaoguang Sect. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly, unable to figure out who would send a message to him. Suddenly, a face surfaced in his mind… It couldn’t, surely it wouldn’t be the protagonist, right?
Yan Lin reached out, intending to touch it, but the small golden sword abruptly took a turn, flew to his cheek and rubbed against it, then turned into light and merged into his body.
At the same moment, the deep voice of a certain protagonist rang out in Yan Lin’s mind.
The gist was: Junior Brother has already broken through to the late stage of the Golden Core and needs to undergo a bit of experience to consolidate his cultivation; he will come to find Senior Brother in a few days to ask for some guidance.
Yan Lin: “…”
Setting aside why the protagonist had broken through again for the umpteenth time, more importantly, he had left the Yaoguang Sect less than five days ago?!
Thinking of this, Yan Lin suddenly grabbed the Abyssal King who was leisurely listening to the storytelling opposite him and, under the other’s slightly raised eyebrow gaze, said word by word:
“Your Highness, are you interested in helping with something?”
“Call me by my name.”
“…Bai Si, are you interested in helping with something?”
“Let’s hear it?”
And so, Yan Lin launched into a heated discussion with the other party regarding how to ruin the protagonist.
The Abyssal King nodded along while turning to ask: “Your Junior Brother is…?”
“Yan Li, that is his name,” Yan Lin said without hesitation.
Yet he did not see the flash of surprise that flickered across the Abyssal King’s eyes, nor the deep, intense interest.