[Question 3: What is Jiang Lin’s dream?]
[A. A harem of three thousand beauties, endless nights of pleasure]
[B. A humble home with three rooms and two tiles, living in seclusion in Peach Blossom Land, spending life with the one he cares about]
[C. Standing atop the peak of the world, achieving eternal life and immortality]
[D. A harmonious world where the people live in peace and prosperity]
Jiang Zhiyi hesitated. The “good-for-nothing” she had taught was making her doubt her own judgment. “Lin’er, I’m asking you—what is your dream?”
Seeing Jiang Zhiyi calm down, Jiang Lin didn’t dare offend her again. “To become an immortal and comprehend the Dao, to witness the grandeur of the world’s peak!”
“Don’t think you can fool me!”
“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare!”
Jiang Zhiyi stared at him, still suspicious. “It’s not a harem of three thousand beauties and endless nights of pleasure, is it?”
Jiang Lin quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. “No, no. I may have thought about it before, but it’s not my ultimate dream. I swear to the Heavenly Dao, it’s absolutely not!”
Jiang Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at him again. “You’d better not be lying to me!”
“Choose C!”
[Ding! Three wrong answers. This assessment is over!]
[Host evaluation: Lowest grade (worst, no bonus to favorability reward)]
[Assessment interface closed. Cooldown: Seven days!]
[Ding! Host triggered God-Tier Lottery, reward obtained: Nine Heavens Treasure “Mandarin Duck Twin Heart Chain.”]
[Mandarin Duck Twin Heart Chain: A Nine Heavens Treasure consisting of two yin-yang bracelets. When worn by Dao partners, they can communicate mentally at any time without fear of any restrictions. In times of danger, they can sense each other’s presence and teleport through space (requires true qi energy).]
[Ding! Initial favorability is high, assessment result is poor, granting host an additional three-hour trial of the divine ability “Mind Reading” (effective only on Jiang Lin)!]
[PS: Get to know your Dao partner well—feelings always begin with true connection!]
“Jiang Lin!”
Jiang Zhiyi was completely furious. She didn’t even glance at the divine ability or the Nine Heavens Treasure.
It wasn’t that she was angry about Jiang Lin lying to her—children always had their little schemes.
But his dream… was to have a humble home with three rooms and two tiles, living in seclusion in Peach Blossom Land with the one he cared about!
Even if it had been a harem of beauties, she wouldn’t have been this angry. But swearing to the Heavenly Dao meant he wasn’t lying. Her own answer had been wrong. Peace and prosperity for the people had nothing to do with Lin’er.
The Lin’er she raised had no ambition!
Jiang Lin had barely sat down before he jumped up again.
What’s wrong with this woman now? Third time she’s gotten mad!
“What is your dream exactly?” Jiang Zhiyi snapped.
Jiang Lin froze. Didn’t he just answer her? Could she have some method to detect lies?
Right! That must be it.
In this world, methods were strange and unpredictable.
But could he really say his dream was to be a great villain and survive to the end?
When he stayed silent, Jiang Zhiyi shouted, “I’m asking you a question—are you mute now?”
In his memory, Jiang Zhiyi had always spoiled him. This was the first time she’d been this angry.
“I’ll tell you this—if you lie to me again, tomorrow I’ll send you to the Reincarnation Battlefield. Only when you reach the peak of the Spirit Severing Realm can you return!”
Damn! She’s serious?
He couldn’t go to the Reincarnation Battlefield—by the time he came back, Xiao Dong would have flattened the Jiang family, his biggest support.
Sweating profusely, Jiang Lin quickly thought of how to phrase it. Since she could detect lies, he’d say something ambiguous. “My dream is… to live, to live peacefully until the very end.”
Jiang Zhiyi slapped her forehead in frustration. No ambition at all! Living peacefully was basically option B.
Just as she was fuming, another voice sounded in her ears.
[That was already my true thoughts, so it should be fine, right?]
[Wow, even when she’s angry, she’s so stunning. This is the most perfect masterpiece Heaven has ever made.]
[How can someone be so perfect that every inch feels like it’s carved into my heart!]
Jiang Zhiyi felt as if struck by lightning, her pupils contracting sharply. “Lin’er, what did you just say?”
“Huh? I said I want to live.”
Jiang Zhiyi paused. Could it be she’d imagined those words?
No—this was the Mind Reading divine ability from the Heavenly Dao’s reward. That had been Lin’er’s… inner thoughts!
[Now I think I understand my previous feelings a little better.]
[Why I was so obsessed with Zhang Wanmeng for so long!]
[Turns out that Zhang girl’s brows resemble hers a bit!] This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
[If I could spend my life with such a beauty, even giving up power for a secluded paradise would be worth it!]
Jiang Zhiyi couldn’t listen any longer. Her cheeks flushed as she shouted, “Enough, Lin’er!”
Jiang Lin quickly lowered his head, sweeping away the thoughts in his mind, not daring to look at her. He had no idea his inner thoughts had been “betrayed” by the Supreme Charm Body, thinking instead that his earlier answer had made her mad. She must be disappointed that someone she’d raised for so long had so little ambition.
Still, maybe that was for the best—when Xiao Dong came for revenge, she wouldn’t be dragged down.
Jiang Lin truly admired this woman. In the whole novel, she was the most tragic character.
An orphan, she’d suffered much in her early years. With exceptional talent in alchemy, she was taken in by Jiang Haoyuan, the Jiang family’s patriarch at the time, as his adopted daughter. Even with her talent, she had worked tirelessly day and night to achieve her current accomplishments.
Outside of her cultivation in alchemy, all her attention was devoted to this “younger brother” who didn’t live up to expectations.
Even when her devotion led to her death, she never regretted it.
If he could make her give up on him sooner and chase her own life, that wouldn’t be a bad ending.
Though his goal was to be the villain, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt someone who gave him her all.
“Actually, you’ve already given too much to the Jiang family. You owe them nothing. I’m not worth all that you’ve done. I’ll ask the ancestor to let you leave the imperial palace so you can pursue your own life…” Jiang Lin said sincerely.
But his inner thoughts—aside from his reflections on the novel’s plot—flowed clearly into Jiang Zhiyi’s ears.
[Don’t worry, I’ll do everything to get you out of the palace.]
[Your life doesn’t need to be trapped in that cage…]
[If such a beauty could belong to me completely, how wonderful that would be. It’s a pity there’s still the chasm of status between us…]
Hearing Jiang Lin’s mutterings and increasingly twisted inner thoughts, Jiang Zhiyi felt something indescribable. She never imagined the Jiang Lin she’d raised had such “abnormal” feelings toward her.
Yet deep inside, she didn’t feel disgust—she even felt a hint of shy delight. After all, she had always treated Jiang Lin as her everything.
In that moment, she suddenly recalled the assessment question.
Could it be…
Lin’er’s most important person wasn’t Zhang Wanmeng—it was me!
Since childhood, he’d said he wanted to travel the world with her, to drink only the tea she brewed for the rest of his life.
So those weren’t just childish words.
His dream… was to spend his life with her, even if it meant abandoning all wealth and glory.