Chapter 5: Slacking Off, Day Five (Revised)
Lin Yu focused his mind, calmed his breathing, and circulated his qi. After a small cycle within his body, he finally suppressed his cough.
When he opened his eyes again, he was once more the radiant and serene immortal.
Resisting the spiciness of the green peppers was impossible; he simply held his breath to avoid coughing.
Lin Yu approached… not too far from Wen Ying and the cooking pot.
“Xiao Ying, I heard that during the recent trials, your group encountered a high-level ferocious beast.” Lin Yu’s brows furrowed slightly, but his gaze remained cold. A hint of worry was evident in his clear voice. “Xiao Ying, were you injured?”
Lin Yu, as her master, knew how poor Wen Ying’s cultivation was.
After emerging from seclusion, he heard that even Fu Shuangxue, the disciple with the highest cultivation, had been seriously injured, causing him to worry about Xiao Ying.
As Lin Yu appeared, the familiar mission panel appeared before Wen Ying.
【”The Female Second Lead in a White Moonlight Novel” Mission 1: Stay away from the male lead, Lin Yu; be wary of being framed; avoid the scene where the female second lead acts wickedly upon the reunion of the male and female leads; increase Lin Yu and Rong Hua’s favorability ratings.】
Wen Ying found it annoying, so she casually dismissed it.
The male and female leads—one was a scumbag who had a white moonlight and then found a substitute, and the other…
Anyway, Wen Ying had completely given up and had no interest in improving their favorability.
“What did you say?” Wen Ying shouted again, her voice strained. “Speak louder, I can’t hear you!”
Lin Yu was so far away and still maintaining his low, mellow voice; there was no way she could hear him clearly.
She wasn’t going to use her qi just to hear those words she’d heard over forty times.
Lin Yu did hear Wen Ying clearly.
He couldn’t possibly shout back at her. Using a sound-amplifying technique would be too much…
As Lin Yu hesitated, a clear, ethereal voice descended from the heavens.
“Senior brother, I’m back.” The woman’s voice was crystal-clear, melodious, and enchanting.
Accompanying the voice was a woman who looked like a celestial being.
“The woman’s clothes fluttered, her hair scattered by the wind, her face radiant, her eyes bright, and her teeth even. With a gentle wave of her sleeves, she descended slowly from the air, like a celestial maiden descending to earth, breathtakingly beautiful.”
Indeed, the newcomer was the female lead of this White Moonlight novel, Lin Yu’s white moonlight, Rong Hua Xianzi.
This was the moment of her return.
“Junior Sister Rong Hua!” Lin Yu immediately forgot about Wen Ying, turning to the source of the sound, his voice filled with a joy Wen Ying had never heard before.
Rong Hua circled as she descended, surrounded by fluttering petals. She was as light as a cloud obscuring the moon, drifting like swirling wind and falling snow.
“Senior brother… cough, cough, cough…” In mid-descent, Rong Hua had intended to sweetly call Lin Yu’s name, but as soon as she spoke, she was choked, tears streaming down her face as she coughed uncontrollably.
At that moment, a loud “boom” echoed from outside the courtyard, almost deafening.
When circulating qi, one must avoid interruptions. Rong Hua’s coughing fit wouldn’t stop, and now, startled by the loud noise, her breath was completely disordered, preventing her from maintaining her slow descent. Rong Hua, like a broken kite, fell to the ground with a “thump,” landing face-first in the dirt.
“Junior sister!” Lin Yu’s pupils widened in shock. He flew to Rong Hua’s side, crouching down to embrace her. “Junior sister, are you alright?”
“Senior brother… cough…” Rong Hua partially covered her face with her sleeve, but Lin Yu clearly saw a tear rolling down her cheek. “Don’t look at me, I’m very ugly… cough…”
“Okay, I won’t.” Lin Yu tried to suppress the sorrow in his voice.
By this time, Wen Ying had finished cooking and was watching the passionate scene with great interest.
It was just a face-plant in the dirt, but they were turning it into a tragic separation.
As Rong Hua’s tears fell, each drop seemed to pierce Lin Yu’s heart.
He gently patted Rong Hua in his arms, softly saying, “Junior sister, let’s go inside, shall we?”
Rong Hua, sobbing, finally let out a whimper like a kitten: “Mmm.”
Lin Yu’s eyes were filled with concern. He gently and carefully lifted the frail Rong Hua.
Passing by the kitchen, Lin Yu didn’t even look at Wen Ying but his eyes were icy cold. “Xiao Ying, no wonder you were frying chili peppers this morning, it was premeditated! I never imagined you would do such a thing to my junior sister. From now on, I will seal that stove, and no one is allowed to come near it!”
Lin Yu’s voice was like the ancient ice in an ice cave, piercingly cold and chilling to the bone.
Wen Ying simply shrugged, looking at Lin Yu radiating terrifying qi.
What had she done to Rong Hua?
At most, she had face-planted; he was making it sound like a near-fatal injury.
Having said that, Lin Yu flung open the door with a palm strike and carried Rong Hua into his room.
【Mission Failed】
Four gray-white words appeared before Wen Ying again, which she flicked away with a finger.
Frying chili peppers in the morning wasn’t Wen Ying’s intention. The broken system was malfunctioning lately, only providing a random vegetable or meat daily; today, it was green peppers. Wen Ying could only add yesterday’s eggs to make a green pepper and egg stir-fry.
However, regarding today’s events, Wen Ying believed that the system’s error accounted for two points, and Lin Yu’s, ninety-eight.
Lin Yu himself had permitted her to cook. He designed the kitchen in the courtyard. Frying involved oil and smoke, but it wasn’t like she was venting the fumes into someone else’s home, so it wasn’t particularly wicked, was it?
Lin Yu, the scumbag, was just like the formulaic scumbag males in countless novels—equally brainless.
Unfortunately, she didn’t gain much additional plot.
Wen Ying served the green pepper and egg stir-fry on the nearby stone table and began to enjoy the food.
Nothing could prevent her from enjoying delicious food. Lin Yu was nothing in comparison.
The only additional plot she gained was the explosion outside the courtyard.
After eating, Wen Ying went to the site of the explosion.
A section of the wall had collapsed, with a pool of blood on the ground, but no body.
Wen Ying picked up a small pebble from the ground, pouted, and threw it away in disgust.
What kind of additional plot was this?
The story was simple: while Lin Yu and Rong Hua were reunited, someone was hiding and preparing to attack Wen Ying, using a prepared pebble to aim for her knees, causing her to fall into Lin Yu’s arms and creating a misunderstanding for Rong Hua, thus incurring Lin Yu’s displeasure.
Everything proceeded as in the previous cycles.
Until the person threw the pebble at Wen Ying—
Wen Ying’s defense skill was now maxed out.
A maxed-out defense skill was even better than ordinary protective qi; it not only protected but also reflected attacks.
The higher the level, the stronger the reflection. At max level… it was probably equivalent to a cannon?
Unsurprisingly, the pebble bounced back, causing the wall to explode.
It seemed her slacking off had yielded nothing.
Oh well, success and failure are inevitable; she had many more missions ahead.
For example, the sequel to the previous cultivation novel mission, which piqued Wen Ying’s interest.
If her slacking off went smoothly… perhaps this time, she might make a significant discovery!