Concubine Liu was utterly speechless. She could not see even the slightest trace of fear on Lin Yanxi’s face—if anything, there was more gloating than concern.
Shi Rong’s large eyes were filled with anger toward Lin Yanxi, but in order to have the silver needles removed from her body, she could only swallow her resentment and close her eyes as if she had seen nothing at all.
Seeing Shi Rong like this, the mocking smile on Lin Yanxi’s lips simply would not fade.
Little brat, you really thought I couldn’t deal with you?
It seemed this method worked quite well. From now on, her ears would finally get some peace and quiet.
Lin Yanxi circled around Shi Rong several times, making Shi Rong so nervous that she barely dared to breathe, while countless grievances churned inside her with nowhere to vent.
“Xi’er!”
A heavy voice came from inside the room as Lin Hongyuan walked out.
“The doctor said that if your mother keeps standing like this, it could seriously affect her health. You should remove the silver needles from her.”
Lin Hongyuan knew there was deep conflict between the mother and daughter, and he had always found himself caught in the middle.
“Father, are you alright now?” Lin Yanxi raised her brows with a smile, the dimples on her cheeks becoming even more eye-catching.
“Father is fine.” Lin Hongyuan took a deep breath and looked at her with feigned dissatisfaction. “Since I’m alright now, hurry and remove the needles from your mother.”
Pursing her lips reluctantly, Lin Yanxi removed the silver needles from Shi Rong’s body.
Honestly, it would have been better if she had stayed frozen like that. At least things would have been much quieter.
The moment the silver needles were removed, Shi Rong seemed to suddenly come back to life. She rushed to support herself against the table and gasped for breath.
After calming down for quite a while, tears suddenly welled up in Shi Rong’s eyes. Clinging to Lin Hongyuan, she began crying bitterly.
“Master, why is my life so miserable? To think I gave birth to such a vicious daughter—she almost killed me!”
Shi Rong cried miserably, her voice choked with sobs.
Lin Hongyuan had seen how Shi Rong had treated Lin Yanxi during this period and had privately spoken to her many times. He had been somewhat dissatisfied with Shi Rong’s behavior, but hearing her cry like this left him at a loss for what to do.
“You still want to keep making noise?”
Unable to stand her wailing, Lin Yanxi once again held the silver needle in front of Shi Rong and said,
“If you cry again, I’ll stick this needle right back into you so you can calm down properly!”
The moment Shi Rong saw the needle, fear instantly spread through her eyes. Terrified, she quickly hid behind Lin Hongyuan.
“Y-you wouldn’t dare! I’m your mother!” she said tremblingly.
Lin Yanxi snorted.
“So you are my mother? I thought we were enemies in our past lives.”
Every time they met, Shi Rong could never go three sentences without calling her vicious or filthy.
“I…”
Shi Rong was left speechless and could only continue shrinking behind Lin Hongyuan.
“You’ve been standing all afternoon. You must be tired.”
Lin Hongyuan called toward the doorway,
“Someone come and escort Madam back to her room to rest.”
In the end, Shi Rong was taken away by the servants, leaving only Lin Yanxi, Concubine Liu, and Lin Hongyuan in Muya Pavilion.
Lin Yanxi clapped her hands and sat down casually at the table. Very familiarly, she poured herself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp before turning an unusually serious gaze toward Lin Hongyuan.
The look startled him slightly.
He remembered that his daughter had worn the same expression last night. At the time, it had made him uneasy, and then the next day he had mysteriously fainted.
“Xi’er…? Why are you looking at Father like that?”
Lin Yanxi lowered her voice.
“Father, why did you appear at that temple today?”
Lin Hongyuan froze for a moment as he recalled the business meeting he had attended that morning with Boss He.
“After finishing discussing business with your Uncle He, I remembered that I was supposed to return home for lunch with you, so I left around noon. But on the way back, I encountered two groups fighting. I got dragged into it by accident, and while trying to escape for my life, I ran into that temple.”
After hearing this, Lin Yanxi’s delicate brows knitted together tightly.
Last night, she had already noticed something abnormal in her father’s physiognomy. She had intended to help him avoid disaster, but unexpectedly, her actions had instead become the trigger that led him straight into deadly danger.
If her father had not rushed home to eat lunch with her, perhaps he would not have encountered those people on the road and would never have been dragged into the temple.
Fortunately, she had given him a talisman last night. Otherwise, his life would surely have been in grave danger today.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Seeing his daughter so serious made Lin Hongyuan worried.
Lin Yanxi shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
Next time, she absolutely could not act so rashly again. In the future, she needed to see things clearly before taking action.
“Oh right, Ruqiu said you were the one who brought me back. How did you know I was there?”
Lin Yanxi raised her brows confidently.
“I have many abilities. Knowing where Father is isn’t difficult at all.”
Lin Hongyuan glanced suspiciously at Concubine Liu.
“Is that so?”
Concubine Liu merely smiled without speaking. Even now, she was still helping Lin Yanxi hide the fact that she had been setting up fortune-telling stalls outside.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first.”
Lin Yanxi spoke absentmindedly. Without even waiting for Lin Hongyuan to respond, she had already left.
Lin Hongyuan watched her leave in confusion, feeling as though there were still questions he wanted to ask, yet unable to remember them.
On the way back, Lin Yanxi’s thoughts were in turmoil.
It seemed her cultivation was far inferior to even one-tenth of what it had been in her previous life. Otherwise, her father would never have suffered such an ordeal.
The most urgent matter now was to improve her cultivation and raise her mental cultivation technique to a higher level.
If she wanted to advance faster, the best method would naturally be the assistance of magical artifacts.
But where could she obtain one?
Suddenly, Lin Yanxi thought about what had happened at the temple today.
There must have been a treasure suppressing something within the temple.
The ominous artifact had produced such overwhelming deathly energy—it had to be something extraordinary.
If she could make it serve her…
It would undoubtedly help increase her cultivation tremendously.
However, she still needed to prepare several things. Most importantly, she needed to find an antique object to serve as the core of a formation array so she could extract that ominous artifact.
Thinking this through, Lin Yanxi already had a plan in mind.
The Lin family lacked nothing—least of all money.
If she wanted something, silver could solve the problem directly.
After returning to Xiyan Pavilion, she instructed Cuizhi to keep an eye out for the items she needed. Once she finished giving orders, she contentedly ate dinner and went to sleep.
She had originally thought the requirements for the item were too demanding, and that it would take quite some time to receive any news.
Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Cuizhi hurried over to find her.
“Miss! Miss!”
Panting heavily from running, Cuizhi had not even steadied herself before excitedly blurting out,
“Miss, this servant has found some information!”