The night.
Lin Zhao and Xiao Shit on practiced boxing in the fine rain, their punches stirring the air, causing the raindrops to dance wildly. At this moment, Lin Zhao's boxing had a considerable master's demeanor. With each movement, whether still or in motion, there was an orderly progression of techniques, and the wild, untamed boxing intent flowed through his entire being. He had practiced the "Viewing the Wilds" intent to perfection, and it seemed he was not too far from reaching the mid-fifth realm of martial arts.
As the two youths practiced their boxing, inside the house, under the oil lamp, Xiao Jiuer rapidly dipped her brush in ink, diligently working on her schoolwork.
...
A woman holding an oiled paper umbrella walked intermittently, finally stopping in front of the Mingyue Shrine. She looked at the masterless shrine and couldn't help but let out a helpless chuckle. She had intended to step into the shrine for a visit, but hesitated as she raised her foot. Shaking her head, she turned and left.
Inside the shrine, an old man tending to the shrine, puffing on his pipe, inadvertently glanced at the woman outside while tapping his shoe with his pipe. He felt a moment of disorientation, as if he had seen this woman somewhere before. He didn't dwell on it, packing fresh tobacco leaves and preparing for another puff!
Behind him, the portrait of the immortal maiden Mingyue flickered gently, as if resonating with something.
...
The woman with the umbrella continued her walk, eventually crossing the stone bridge and arriving at the back street. It was drizzling, and the roads were muddy, but wherever she walked, not even footprints were left. Her pair of white cloth shoes seemed as if they were untouched by the dust. Passing by Baiwei Xuan, she glanced at the menu and revealed a knowing smile.
"Miss!"
Jia Zhong, the owner, greeted her with a beaming smile. "Would you like to dine? Our Chongqing hot pot is unparalleled in this world, a must-try!"
The woman smiled, shook her head, and walked away.
Qing Er Sao, the proprietress, slapped the back of the owner's head and, grabbing his ear, used his face to wipe the counter. "Are you getting too big for your britches the moment I'm not around? You're bold enough to hit on someone just because she's good-looking!"
"Hey, my dear, my dear, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!"
Jia Zhong cried out in pain, shouting, "How can her looks compare to yours, my dear? You are elegant and intelligent, of unparalleled beauty, the undisputed most beautiful woman in the Great Chen Dynasty!"
"Such sweet talk, who taught you that!?"
"No, no... it hurts, it hurts!"
Inside the restaurant, nearby diners burst into laughter, continuing to enjoy their hot pot. "Oh, Boss Jia has a good mood today! Is he performing an impromptu show for us again, getting his wife to beat him?"
...
The woman in white continued to walk with her umbrella. Passing by Baoyu Stream, she saw countless V-shaped traps made of reed stalks and nets at the bottom of the water, and couldn't help but smile. She then turned back to the back street and arrived at the entrance of Lin Zhao's ancestral home, gently knocking on the door.
"May I ask who you are looking for?"
Lin Zhao opened the door, rubbing his eyes. The woman before him was too beautiful, her ethereal grace rivaling that of Sister Bai!
The woman in white smiled. "I am a traveler, and I'd like to borrow a room for the night. Is that possible?"
"Ah!?"
Lin Zhao was taken aback, his heart trembling. So many people had been lodging at their home recently. First Lu Xun, then Third Senior Brother, and now this fairy-like figure. Had their Lin family ancestral home put up a "wine jar" sign lately?
"Is that okay?" the woman asked.
"Yes, it is."
Lin Zhao let her into the courtyard and smiled. "Have you eaten? What would you like to eat? I'll cook for you."
"No need, I don't eat."
"Oh, alright..."
In the main hall, the woman sat down and drank tea.
Xiao Shit on and Xiao Jiuer were very curious, their eyes wide as they stared at the fairy-like elder sister. Xiao Jiuer blinked and said, "Sister, you're so beautiful."
"Mhm..."
The woman in white smiled. "You are beautiful too."
Xiao Jiuer stood with her hands behind her back. "When I grow up, I might not be as beautiful as you."
The woman in white smiled faintly. "That's for sure."
Xiao Jiuer didn't get angry and simply chuckled happily.
...
Before long, Lin Zhao sent the two children to sleep. The main hall was darkened, and the woman also retired to her room.
As Lin Zhao drifted in and out of sleep, it seemed as if someone had gracefully entered the ancient sword.
Within the sword, there were two figures, both clad in white.
"Thank you for protecting my junior brother."
"No need for pleasantries. Little Zhao is my master."
"Is that so..."
The woman with the umbrella asked, "Back then, when I was the master of this sword, why didn't you reveal yourself?"
"You?"
The White Dragon Goddess chuckled. "The only Mingyue Chi in the human world, you are unique, but do you truly think you were worthy of being my master?"
"Who are you?"
The woman with the umbrella frowned. "When Master killed the White Dragon back then, the White Dragon's soul seemed... not to completely match your divine soul. Who are you? Hiding in the sword, what are your intentions towards my junior brother?"
The White Dragon Goddess chuckled. "What intentions could I possibly have? Would I perhaps watch Little Zhao grow up, see him become a suave and proud man, and then fall in love with him and marry him?"
"Forget it."
The woman with the umbrella said with some helplessness. "I can perceive that you have no ill intentions towards Little Zhao. As for your origin, we can discuss it later."
"Hmph, you descended from the heavens just to escort Little Zhao?"
"Precisely."
"Since that is the case, I will not interfere with the matter of the two rogue cultivators. With you here, nothing should go wrong. If something unexpected happens, I will personally dismantle that Mingyue Shrine."
"Yes, as you wish."
A figure floated out of the ancient sword and landed on the rooftop, as if stepping into the void, vanishing instantly without a trace, not even a wisp of spiritual energy detectable.
Within the sword, the aura of the woman in white also disappeared.
...
The next morning.
Lin Zhao took Xiao Shit on to send Xiao Jiuer to school. Afterward, he took his fishing rod and headed back to the stone bridge. On the bridge, he saw a woman in armor with a pair of exceptionally beautiful snow-white legs.
"What a coincidence."
Lin Zhao smiled. "You're here too."
"It's no coincidence. I was waiting for you," the other replied.
"Oh, so you've come to learn fishing from me..."
Lin Zhao didn't say much more and began fishing on his own.
Leng Yan was so angry that she trembled. This guy couldn't understand the double meaning in her words? He was so unromantic, such a person was destined to be alone for life! However, looking at his focused back as he fished, her mood instantly brightened. His chiseled profile, his upright posture, and the elegance of his boxing all made Leng Yan find him extremely pleasing to the eye. He was exactly the kind of man she liked.
"No way?"
She walked down the bridge and lightly punched a willow tree by the bridge, thinking she must be crazy. How could she have fallen for an NPC? Was she going to fall in love and get married in the game? Although the game "Tian Xia" claimed to be a metaverse, a second world, such a thought was too wild. This person before her was, after all, just a string of data!
Moreover, Lin Zhao was young, only fifteen years old. How old was she?
Leng Yan felt a pang of sadness. She was already a twenty-five-year-old "old maiden." Even if she managed to snag this kid, wouldn't Yi Shi Cang Liang's group laugh at her for being an old cow eating tender grass?
Thinking of this, she felt even sadder. But when she looked back at the guy on the bridge, fishing with such earnestness and focus, Leng Yan's gaze softened once more.
...
In the afternoon, visitors arrived outside the town.
They were two women, around forty years old. One wore a floral cotton-padded jacket and carried a basket of eggs. The other held a child and had a look of kindness on her face.
The two were the fifth-level rogue cultivators Lin Chikong and Song Sheng.
As they walked, the two conversed telepathically.
Lin Chikong: "Fellow Daoist Song, can you stop deliberately swaying your hips when you walk? Do village women walk like that? I've seen women's charm, but I've never seen such a coy gait. What more do you want?"
Song Sheng suppressed his anger. "It was your idea to disguise ourselves as women to enter the town, and now you're complaining that my hips don't sway well. Fine, fine, you, Grand Lord Lin Chikong, lead the way. Let me see how you sway! Damn it, carrying a monkey into town, only you, Lin Chikong, could come up with something like that."
"Country women are crude and unrefined, so this is good," Lin Chikong said with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Song, you were born a spirit, so you wouldn't understand. But have our auras truly been suppressed?"
"Don't worry," Song Sheng said, still swaying his hips. "The Heaven-Shading Array I carry with me has long been perfected. Forget those below the twelfth level; even those at the twelfth level would have absolutely no way of detecting even a trace of our aura."
"That's good then."
Lin Chikong looked into the distance and smiled. "Lin Zhao is on the stone bridge. We'll pretend to pass by the bridge. I'll snatch the sword, and you'll kill him. Once we succeed, we'll immediately activate the Heaven-Swapping Array and leave this place."
"Mhm!"
Just then, a woman with a sword, looking rather unhappy, approached them. Leng Yan looked up and saw two women from the town. But with just a glance, she instantly became vigilant. Both of them had "skull" level indications, and their names were "???" followed by the word "Disguise." This was too obvious!
...
"Stop!"
Leng Yan raised her hand, her sword edge horizontal before the two fifth-level rogue cultivators. Her beautiful eyes filled with doubt. "Who are you? Are you assassins sent to kill Lin Zhao?"
"Ah!?"
The two fifth-level cultivators were shocked to have their plan revealed by a single sentence.
"We can't let this woman live!"
Lin Chikong hissed and threw the infant in his arms. The infant transformed into a monkey in mid-air and leaped away.
"Kill her first, then Lin Zhao!"
As he spoke, Lin Chikong attacked immediately. With a spread of his fingers, a fiery red palm print descended from the sky!
"Hmph!"
Leng Yan lowered her waist and unleashed a "Sword Slash" skill, lunging forward about three meters. Immediately, her sword light flashed, heavily striking Lin Chikong and Song Sheng. Unfortunately, her low level meant she didn't inflict significant damage!
"Lin Zhao, run!"
As soon as Leng Yan shouted, she was blasted away by Lin Chikong's palm. Her health bar instantly dropped to zero, and her body slumped to the ground, dead.
...
"Ah?"
On the bridge, Lin Zhao's face turned ashen. He should have left, but he was unwilling to abandon Leng Yan. He sank his body, his boxing intent erupting from him, charging towards where Leng Yan had been killed.
"This is bad!"
Lin Chikong, cautious by nature, growled, "The commotion is too great. Use the Heaven-Swapping Array. Let's go!"
Song Sheng, without hesitation, crushed a talisman stone in his hand.
...
However, a sword light shot up into the sky. Huang Tingyu raised his long sword, activating the town's mountain-protecting sword array.
On the mountainside, the Mountain Lord Su Fu stepped forward. The spiritual energy of the entire Tianchi Ridge mountain range was gathered, and a restriction was added outside the mountain-protecting sword array, isolating the heavens and earth.
In the wind, the figure of an immortal maiden suddenly enlarged. The moment her slender feet touched the ground, a larger sword dao restriction completely sealed off the Tianchi Mountain area from the outside world.
...
Inside the bookstore, Qin Suihan rubbed his forehead. "The commotion is too big..."