In the Capital, there was a river that connected to the largest Tianhai of the Xia Nation at its upper end and to the swiftest Dijiang River at its lower end. This river, known as the Flower River, bloomed with flowers in all seasons. Long ago, on the founding emperor’s birthday of the Grand Xia Empire, every flower along the river bloomed at once, dazzling beyond measure. From then on, that day each year was named the Festival of Ten Thousand Flowers, celebrated joyously by the people of the Grand Xia Empire.
Bustling markets lined both banks of the Flower River, with crowds surging endlessly. Jiang Lin and Zhang Wanmeng walked side by side, followed closely by Shangguan Yaoyao, who was still lost in thoughts about the events at the Wanhua Pavilion.
“Jiang Lin, you gave me this epiphyllum. I really like it, thank you!” Zhang Wanmeng said softly.
“Really? Wanmeng, if you like it, I’ll give you one every day from now on!” Jiang Lin replied with a faint smile.
“Jiang Lin, you’re so good to me. Close your eyes, I have a gift for you too!” She tiptoed, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before immediately acting shy like an ostrich hiding its head.
When Jiang Lin opened his eyes, he looked at Zhang Wanmeng with deep fascination. To passersby, they seemed like a pair of celestial lovers, perfect in looks and talent, drawing envious stares. Yet neither knew that the other was calculating in secret.
Jiang Lin was testing Zhang Wanmeng’s limits and intentions, planning to win her heart as quickly as possible to complete his mission. Zhang Wanmeng, on the other hand, was adapting to her identity, constantly pleasing him to gain affection points. She had already accumulated over a hundred points, earning an ancient zither technique—though only the first form due to her low evaluation. That kiss just now had earned her seventy more affection points.
At that moment, Shangguan Yaoyao suddenly awoke from her daze. She finally understood. Jiang Lin, from the beginning, you knew Yue Shang was Brother Xiao Dong! You wanted to destroy him completely, using Long Xiyue to kill him, and you even humiliated me in front of him on purpose. When you failed to kill him, you turned around and played the savior. You fooled everyone. Your disguise runs deep!
She looked at the smiling Jiang Lin ahead. In her eyes, he had become a venomous snake hidden in the dark, fangs bared toward her. Just wait—once I regain my purity, I’ll kill you for Brother Xiao Dong!
Her spatial talent suddenly sensed danger. An enemy attack was coming. The target wasn’t her—it was that woman ahead. Should she act?
Though confused earlier, she hadn’t stopped observing. The sight of the two of them flaunting their affection had already irritated her deeply. She wished she could kill Jiang Lin and devour his flesh and blood, yet when she saw another woman in his arms, a strange resentment and anger surged within her. It felt as if something of hers had been taken.
With this woman here, it will be harder to gain affection points! And anyone close to a villain like Jiang Lin can’t be a good person. Why should I warn them? With that thought, Shangguan Yaoyao pretended not to see the danger closing in.
Suddenly, a Daoist Sect’s gale struck Zhang Wanmeng directly. Her light blue dress was instantly stained with red. Jiang Lin felt the enemy’s presence—it was a spatial-type assassin. Damn it, I hate spatial-types the most! This is like a bug! This attack method… Daoist Sect’s Wind Demon, Sima Gan! It must be Long Zhan and the Sima family’s move against the Zither Sect. Get faster updates on g.com.
Even his guardian hadn’t noticed the attacker. This was getting interesting.
Zhang Wanmeng collapsed, gravely wounded. The strike shattered her guardian treasure and destroyed her harp heart. The attacker was ruthless, clearly aiming to kill. Without the harp heart’s protection, she would already be dead.
Jiang Lin glanced at her, then quickly took out the finest healing elixir and fed it to her, stabilizing her life force. She still had value—she couldn’t die yet. If she had to die, it would be after the heart-stealing mission was complete.
Another Daoist Sect’s gale swept toward them. Jiang Lin narrowed his eyes in fury, forming a hand seal. “Yellow Springs Hell!” A barrier appeared, barely blocking the strike.
“Li Shu, protect Zhang Wanmeng for me!” he commanded. A square-faced middle-aged man appeared—Jiang Lin’s guardian, Li Mantang.
“Young Master, please don’t be rash. The opponent has spatial techniques and disguise arts. They’re extremely troublesome!” Li Mantang cautioned.
Jiang Lin said nothing, glancing at the panicked crowd and then at Zhang Wanmeng. Her face was pale, her eyes filled with despair. The harp heart was her Dao heart, her Dao foundation. With it shattered, her zither path was destroyed. Her cultivation would soon regress to the Qi Refining Realm, and she would have to rebuild her Dao foundation from scratch. Twenty years of effort, gone in an instant.
Seeing the regret and seriousness in Jiang Lin’s eyes, Zhang Wanmeng instead smiled faintly. “Looks like I lost before it even began. You really were pretending all along. I underestimated you… It’s just a pity the epiphyllum was destroyed. I truly liked it.”
Her strange words puzzled Jiang Lin. He glanced at the flower crushed by the gale—it was the one he had just bought from a street vendor.
“In the Capital, only I, Young Master Jiang, get to bully others. Being bullied myself? Unacceptable!” Jiang Lin gritted his teeth. This was supposed to be a perfect chance to enhance his bloodline, yet it had been ruined. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“Young Master, the opponent is in the Spirit Severing Realm and proficient in spatial and disguise arts. We can’t find him, and even if we do, we can’t hold him. Maybe we should let it go?” Li Mantang advised.
Jiang Lin shook his head. “Even if someone in the Void Refinement Realm came, I wouldn’t let this go!”
“What do you plan to do?” Li Mantang asked.
“In the Capital, no one makes Young Master Jiang suffer!” Jiang Lin’s voice was cold.
Countless silver needles shot toward a spot in the crowd. A figure shot into the air, hovering above the Flower River.
“People of the Jiang family, what is the meaning of this? Since when do reclusive clans dare act so brazenly in the Imperial Capital?” the man in the air demanded.
Jiang Lin strolled lazily to the river railing. “If you enter the mortal world, you must follow its rules. Didn’t the Sima family teach you that?”
The man was Sima Gan of the Sima family—Daoist Sect’s Wind Demon, the one who, in the original novel, would later force Xiao Dong into a desperate situation.
From the first strike, Jiang Lin had recognized his technique. Sima Gan was a peerless genius from the hidden great clan, the Sima family, a villainous force backing Crown Prince Long Zhan. Just earlier at the Drunken Dreams Pavilion, Jiang Lin had considered finding trouble with him, but now the man had delivered himself.
The Sima family had no fondness for the Four Great Families, and Jiang Lin despised them equally—they had played a major role in the Jiang family’s downfall.
This attack wasn’t aimed at him personally—it was a premeditated strike to seize control of the Zither Sect. Their second disciple was already the Sima family’s pawn. In the original novel, this would happen much later, with Xiao Dong saving Zhang Wanmeng and earning her lifelong devotion as the “Love-Devoted Zither Immortal.” But now, with Xiao Dong still comatose, things had changed.
What mattered most to Jiang Lin was that his chance to improve his bloodline had been destroyed. His gaze turned sharp as he faced Sima Gan.