Chapter 18: His Cat Was Bullied

The mirror was pure white, its surface gleaming as it floated silently in midair. Lin Chuyun stared at it for a couple of seconds before the surface suddenly flickered twice, and an image appeared.

It was… the milk tea shop he used to go to before he transmigrated!

Lin Chuyun stared at the mirror in shock, instinctively taking a few steps forward to get a closer look at the image.

As he drew nearer, white mist began to drift from the mirror. The world around him seemed to recede, while the image on the mirror started to slowly draw closer.

“Lin Chuyun!!” A furious, low shout came from behind him.

Lin Chuyun shook his head, snapping out of it. He realized he had somehow walked right up to the mirror, his right hand already reaching out, as if to touch its surface.

And the milk tea shop he had seen in the mirror wasn’t there at all. The surface was completely blank!

A jolt of alarm shot through Lin Chuyun, and he instinctively tried to pull his hand back.

The mist surrounding the mirror seemed to have a will of its own, instantly wrapping around Lin Chuyun’s right hand. A powerful pulling force surged forth, catching Lin Chuyun off guard and dragging him forward two steps. Once he regained his senses, he quickly tried to retreat.

The mist looked ethereal and insubstantial, but its pull was incredibly strong, and Lin Chuyun found himself unable to break free for a moment.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the mirror’s surface, Lin Chuyun quickly used his spirit power to disperse the mist. With the mist’s gravity gone, Lin Chuyun shot backward, crashing directly into the arms of Feng Xixing, who had been rushing over to save him.

Feng Xixing held Lin Chuyun tightly with one arm while the Ice Sword in his other hand swiftly severed the pursuing mist. He then flashed back to a safe distance. The mist coalesced again, circled the area once, found no prey, and slowly drifted back into the mirror.

Lin Chuyun looked at the mirror, his heart still pounding with fear. “What exactly is that mirror?”

“… The Soul-Binding Mirror,” Feng Xixing explained. “It can trap a person’s Spiritual Consciousness inside, where they will spend countless years endlessly reliving the thing they care about most from their memories.”

The Soul-Binding Mirror was an Illusion Artifact that exploited the people or things one cared about most, luring them to touch its surface before sucking their Spiritual Consciousness inside.

So he was very curious. What exactly had Lin Chuyun seen that made him so impulsively reach out to touch it?

Could it be… he saw Bai Linghan?

Realizing this was a very likely possibility, a sudden wave of displeasure washed over Feng Xixing.

After hearing Feng Xixing’s explanation, Lin Chuyun understood that the milk tea shop he’d seen was an illusion.

Though somewhat disappointed, he still patted Feng Xixing on the shoulder and said, “Your teacher misjudged you. A magic treasure this good, no wonder you came to fight the Female Demon Spider.”

Being patted like that, all of Feng Xixing’s displeasure vanished.

He gave Lin Chuyun a helpless look, then refocused his mind and used his spirit power to freeze the Soul-Binding Mirror. By the time the mist inside sensed something was wrong, it was already completely sealed within the mirror, unable to escape.

The Soul-Binding Mirror, encased in Ice Qi, was delivered to Feng Xixing’s hand. He picked it up, glanced at Lin Chuyun, and suddenly asked in a testing tone, “Shizun, don’t you want the Soul-Binding Mirror? I imagine Junior Brother Bai would like it very much.”

Lin Chuyun was baffled.

Whether he likes it or not, what does that have to do with me?

He was just about to properly educate his little disciple, to teach him about the hardships of raising a child and the virtue of frugality, when he suddenly remembered his own identity.

A jolt of alarm struck him. Wait, was he starting to act out of character?

Although Lin Chuyun had never planned on maintaining the original host’s persona, he couldn’t change too drastically all at once. If he aroused suspicion, that would be disastrous.

But then, thinking of the persona of the original host being in love with Bai Linghan gave Lin Chuyun a headache. He wasn’t the original host, so naturally, he didn’t like Bai Linghan.

In fact, Lin Chuyun now not only didn’t like him, he could say he strongly disliked Bai Linghan.

Initially, he hadn’t had any particular feelings of like or dislike for Bai Linghan. After all, while Bai Linghan had been stringing the original host along, the original host hadn’t been a good person either. Lin Chuyun naturally had no desire to avenge the original host.

So, Lin Chuyun had originally planned that if Bai Linghan didn’t provoke him, he would just pretend the man didn’t exist and peacefully raise his little disciple.

But then, at the plaza, Bai Linghan had tried to slander Feng Xixing for stealing!

Since the first person he met after transmigrating—aside from the Gray-Robed Man, whose face he hadn’t even seen clearly—was Feng Xixing, and because Feng Xixing had been taking care of him ever since he turned into a cat, Lin Chuyun’s impression of this disciple was quite good. Yet Bai Linghan actually wanted to bully his disciple…

The fiercely protective Lin Chuyun instantly took a strong disliking to Bai Linghan.

He was definitely unwilling to just hand the treasure over to the white lotus pretty boy, but he couldn’t refuse outright. He needed a reason.

Racking his brains, Lin Chuyun’s gaze inadvertently landed on the clothes Feng Xixing was wearing. He cleared his throat lightly, and a plan suddenly came to mind.

Lin Chuyun furrowed his brow, his lips pressed tightly together, his expression visibly downcast. The hand holding the Azure Wood Sword trembled slightly, and a trace of moisture seemed to flicker in his eyes.

As if realizing his lapse in composure, Lin Chuyun dramatically flicked his sleeve, turning his back to Feng Xixing. Yet the tremor in his voice still betrayed his emotions.

“Linghan… Martial Nephew Bai has already given his heart to another. I, your teacher… am truly not worthy of him.” Lin Chuyun lowered his voice. “From now on, my sole pursuit will be the Great Dao. I will not bother Martial Nephew Bai anymore.”

Feng Xixing was bewildered by this act. He suspected Lin Chuyun was lying to him, yet the heartbroken tone in his voice tugged at him, making him want to believe it.

After a moment of silence, Feng Xixing was just about to ask more questions when he saw Lin Chuyun’s shoulders suddenly tremble twice.

Is he… crying?!

Feng Xixing was genuinely shocked now.

But the reality was—

Lin Chuyun was vigorously rubbing his eyes, trying to make himself look like he had just been crying.

“Shizun…” Feng Xixing finally spoke, but he didn’t know what to say.

Lin Chuyun, knowing that dragging the act out any longer would be overkill, coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “Your teacher is fine. It’s just… a moment of emotional turmoil. Let’s go.”

With that, he ignored Feng Xixing’s response and walked out of the Stone Cave first.

—Because if he stayed any longer, the act would fall apart! He should have taken an acting class back then. At least then he wouldn’t have to rub his eyes raw just because he couldn’t produce tears now.

However, to Feng Xixing, Lin Chuyun’s hasty retreat looked like he felt embarrassed for crying in front of his disciple and had run off.

Feng Xixing frowned deeply, momentarily hesitating.

He had originally suspected Lin Chuyun had been possessed, as Lin Chuyun’s temperament had indeed changed too much. But if Lin Chuyun’s claim was true—that seeing Bai Linghan in love with someone else had caused such a drastic change in his personality—it could make sense.

So, was Lin Chuyun so angry at the plaza because he saw Bai Linghan standing with Xu Quanfeng, and his heart was broken by jealousy?

Feng Xixing narrowed his eyes slightly, his mood inexplicably sour.

—It was as if a cat that belonged to him had been bullied, and there was nothing he could do about it.

At some point, a crack had appeared in the ice encasing the Soul-Binding Mirror in his hand. Mist silently seeped from the fissure—and then Feng Xixing viciously crushed it with his hand.

The Soul-Binding Mirror trembled in fear, the mist shrinking back inside, not daring to stir. When Feng Xixing opened his Storage Bag, the Soul-Binding Mirror even flew inside on its own.

Wuwuwu, this Human Cultivator is terrifying!

…

Seeing that Feng Xixing hadn’t followed him out immediately, Lin Chuyun secretly sighed in relief. He rubbed his eyes; he had used a lot of force to try and produce tears, so his eyes must be red by now!

But this way, he probably wouldn’t have to pretend to like Bai Linghan anymore. Though he’d still need to put on another act next time he saw Bai Linghan…

Life is hard.

Lin Chuyun sighed, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw something flash past. He turned his head, dazed, but saw nothing, only a few white Spider Cocoons on the ground.

Come to think of it, he wondered what was inside these cocoons. The female spider had used non-toxic silk to wrap them up.

Could they be magic treasures that were susceptible to poison damage?

Lin Chuyun’s interest was piqued, but he didn’t dare get too close. From a safe distance, he used his spirit power to control the Azure Wood Sword and slashed a seam open on one of the Spider Cocoons.

The Spider Cocoon was quiet, showing no signs of containing a living creature. Lin Chuyun breathed a sigh of relief, but just as he took a step forward, the Spider Cocoon suddenly jerked violently.

He stopped dead in his tracks, the Azure Wood Sword flying back into his grasp.

The Spider Cocoon first wobbled side to side, then shook up and down, and finally toppled over completely, rolling rapidly towards Lin Chuyun at a surprisingly fast speed.

Lin Chuyun dodged swiftly, avoiding the Spider Cocoon. But it seemed to sense the spirit power on him, shuffling in place near the wall, turning around, and once again rolling in his direction.

“D-D-D-D-Disciple!” Lin Chuyun quickly called for Feng Xixing’s help.

Feng Xixing walked out from the inner cave, and before he could even assess the situation, he was suddenly tackled by Lin Chuyun who flew right into his arms. He instinctively wrapped his arms around Lin Chuyun, and when he saw Lin Chuyun’s red-rimmed eyes, his expression softened even further.

“Quick, quick, quick, Disciple, freeze it!” Lin Chuyun didn’t notice Feng Xixing’s expression, his voice urgent.

Feng Xixing glanced at the pursuing Spider Cocoon and raised a hand, erecting four ice blocks around it. The Spider Cocoon crashed into them, oblivious, and a faint cry of pain could be heard from within.

“…There isn’t… a person in there, is there?” Lin Chuyun let go of Feng Xixing and, seeing the Spider Cocoon trapped, moved closer to examine it carefully.

Sure enough, getting closer, he could faintly hear the sound of someone talking coming from the small seam he had cut. But the Spider Cocoon was too thick, and he couldn’t make out what was being said.

This…

Lin Chuyun instinctively looked back at Feng Xixing, hesitating over whether to save the person. Anyone entering the grotto now would certainly be a disciple of the Sect. But Feng Xixing didn’t have good relationships with the other disciples. What if an enemy popped out?

But letting someone die when he could help violated the education he’d received for twenty years.

Feng Xixing, however, misunderstood Lin Chuyun’s meaning. Seeing him look to him for help, he walked forward and gently brushed his hand across Lin Chuyun’s face. He was so close, he even suspected his palm had brushed against the tip of Lin Chuyun’s nose.

“That should do it,” Feng Xixing said.

Lin Chuyun blinked, confused. He felt a cool, icy aura settle over his face, yet when he touched it, nothing seemed different.

Was this… the Disguise Art?

This spell existed in the original host’s memories, but it was the most basic Disguise Art, lasting only five days. A Cultivator with slightly stronger cultivation could see through it at a glance, but it would be enough to fool other Sect disciples now.

Right, he had followed secretly and really shouldn’t appear in front of other people.

Lin Chuyun touched his face, confirmed there was no problem, and didn’t delay any longer. The Azure Wood Sword in his hand decisively cleaved down, splitting the Spider Cocoon in half.

The tip of the sword finally stopped right above the person’s waist.

The person inside gasped sharply, his red hair practically bristling with fright. “B-B-B-B-Brother, show mercy!”