It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists

“Sister Lin Ling?!”

Mu Zhian stared at Lin Ling, who had appeared out of nowhere, stunned.

Shang Yanfei’s letter had just arrived at the Lan family, and Lin Ling was already here… Even with a flying sword, the journey from the Two Polarities Sect to the Lan family would take at least two or three days.

And the Lan family’s territory was protected by formations left by their ancestor. Anyone trespassing would be immediately detected… But the Lan family was quiet. Clearly, no one had noticed Lin Ling’s presence.

“Aaa?” Lin Ling blinked her clear, red eyes, tilting her head at him.

Then, as if remembering something, she stuffed a bag of snacks into Mu Zhian’s arms and said sweetly, “Aaaaa~”

“…Thank you, I know you mean well, but I’m not hungry. You can have them,” Mu Zhian declined politely.

Lin Ling glanced at Mu Zhian, then happily took out a pastry and ate it herself.

Mu Zhian put away the letter and asked casually, “When did you arrive, Sister Lin Ling?”

Why can I understand what she’s saying…? Mu Zhian pondered for a moment. “Did you tear open a spatial rift?”

Lin Ling shook her head. “Aaaaa (I just said a few words).”

Mu Zhian understood.

Her word spirit ability could affect any location, even herself.

In other words, if she wished, she could return to the Two Polarities Sect at any time just by speaking.

“If it weren’t for the restrictions of the rules of heaven and earth, the word spirit ability would be the most powerful technique in the world,” Mu Zhian marveled inwardly.

No wonder the Two Polarities Sect had endured for so long. The Sect Master could shield herself from heavenly secrets and temporarily rewrite the rules within the sect, removing the restrictions on the word spirit ability.

Sect Master Lin and Sister Lin Ling were practically invincible together…

Mu Zhian placed the empty snack bag on the table and watched as Lin Ling brushed her silver hair, trying to flatten her slightly curled ahoge with his hand.

Lin Ling didn’t mention her misfortune. Her expression was calm, but her face was slightly flushed. Her long, silver hair cascaded down, curling slightly at her calves.

A natural beauty, untouched by artifice, unlike any other woman in Mu Zhian’s ‘pond.’

But he didn’t have any… strong desires towards Lin Ling.

Although he occasionally had some… thoughts because of her figure, it was rare.

It was difficult to have any impure thoughts about such a pure, innocent woman.

After finally flattening her ahoge, Lin Ling adjusted her dress, looking at herself in the mirror.

She seemed to sense Mu Zhian’s gaze and looked at him through the mirror, her fingertip flickering with beautiful runes.

At the same time, words appeared on the table: Why are you staring at me?

“You look very beautiful today, different from usual, so I couldn’t help but look,” Mu Zhian chuckled, sitting behind her.

Today, Lin Ling wore a milky white knee-length dress that revealed her alluring shoulders. A thin ribbon tied around her high waist accentuated her slender waist and curvaceous figure.

From Mu Zhian’s angle, he could even catch a glimpse of her ample bosom.

Lin Ling rarely dressed like this, as she rarely left the Two Polarities Sect, and few outsiders had seen her.

But today, she had clearly made an effort to look beautiful.

“She prepared these clothes for me. Do they look good?” Lin Ling wrote on the table, using her spiritual energy.

So it was Sect Master Lin. No wonder… Mu Zhian smiled and nodded. “You look good no matter what you wear, Sister Lin Ling.”

“I can sense that you’re being sincere.”

Lin Ling nodded, then took out a blank notebook and wrote: But you seem to have some… impure thoughts about me.

A being like Lin Ling could sense a person’s good and bad intentions even without mind-reading, and Mu Zhian’s gaze just now had been different from usual.

After a brief moment of shock, Mu Zhian met Lin Ling’s gaze and coughed lightly, changing the subject. “By the way, Sect Master Lin wrote me a letter before you came. Do you know what it says?”

Lin Ling nodded. “She said I’m plagued by karmic fire and need your luck to suppress it.”

“But it’s not that serious. It’s just some misfortune. It won’t affect me.”

“I can suppress the karmic fire if I return to my pocket dimension and cultivate for a few days.”

Mu Zhian was stunned.

So, Sister Lin Ling can suppress the karmic fire herself? Then why did Sect Master Lin ask me to help…?

“Wasn’t your karmic fire already suppressed? Why is it acting up again?” Mu Zhian asked.

“The Sect Master is plagued by immense misfortune. I transferred it to myself, but it’s not a big problem. Don’t worry,” Lin Ling wrote in her notebook, showing it to Mu Zhian.

Mu Zhian’s thoughts stirred.

Sect Master Lin, a Dao Integration expert, is plagued by misfortune?

Even a Dao Integration expert can’t change their own luck…?

“So, your karmic fire is acting up because of Sect Master Lin’s misfortune?” Mu Zhian asked.

Lin Ling nodded slightly: ‘She’s done a lot for me in the past. It’s only natural for me to help her.’

Mu Zhian was silent for a moment. “There’s something I’ve been curious about.”

Lin Ling looked at him, silent.

“You helped me before… Was it really because of something special about me that attracted you?”

Lin Ling hesitated slightly, then shook her head gently. “She cares about you a lot.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen her care about someone. She told me you can refine all types of Heavenly Dao Energy, so I’ve been paying attention to you since you entered the Two Polarities Sect.”

“Although everyone thinks you’re fickle and unfaithful, I think you’re a good person.”

Mu Zhian was speechless.

Her words sounded a bit sarcastic. Although you’re fickle and scheming, I know you’re a good boy… That’s what Sister Lin Ling seemed to be saying.

But he couldn’t refute her.

“I’m not really a good person,” Mu Zhian said.

Lin Ling nodded, writing in her notebook: I know.

Mu Zhian: “…”

Then, he saw her continue writing: I knew you were using me to scare the elders of the other ancient clans, both at the Garden of Heavenly Harmony and in Tianxuan City.

Mu Zhian was stunned.

Who said Lin Ling was a naive, innocent glutton? She knew everything. She just didn’t care.

Although she rarely left the sect, she could sense people’s good and bad intentions.

To her, perhaps these things were just child’s play. The power struggles between Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and even Soul Transformation cultivators were just trivial matters.

As time passed, generations of disciples came and went, fighting amongst themselves, but the Spiritual Dragon remained the same.

However, among these disciples, only Mu Zhian dared to use the Spiritual Dragon to intimidate others.

After all, it was the first time the Spiritual Dragon had lived in a disciple’s courtyard.

This is a bit awkward, but fortunately, Sister Lin Ling can’t read minds… Mu Zhian quickly changed the subject. “Since you can suppress your misfortune yourself, why did you come looking for me tonight?”

“I came to say goodbye. I might not see you for a while.”

Mu Zhian smiled. “After you finish your seclusion, I’ll take you to Tianxuan City for snacks. We can consider it a vacation.”

Lin Ling’s eyes lit up.

But then they dimmed again.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Zhian asked.

“By the time we go to Tianxuan City again, that place might be gone…”

She hesitated, then wrote in her notebook: And you might be gone too.

Mu Zhian paused, as if remembering something. “How long will your seclusion last?”

“If all goes well, a thousand years should be enough.”

A thousand years… That was enough time for two dynasties to rise and fall, let alone Tianxuan City.

By the time Lin Ling emerged from seclusion, Tianxuan City would be a completely different place.

“That long?” he asked.

Lin Ling shook her head gently: ‘It’s not that long. When I had three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy, I spent most of my time in my pocket dimension suppressing the karmic fire.’

“But when I first joined the sect, I heard that the Spiritual Dragon appears every few years… Were you also suppressing the karmic fire then?”

Lin Ling nodded: ‘I was suppressing it until you appeared.’

“That must have been difficult, suppressing the karmic fire every day, unable to do anything,” Mu Zhian said softly.

“Everyone has their troubles. Mine are just… bigger. I’m used to it.”

Mu Zhian was silent.

He didn’t think he could stay in a pocket dimension for thousands of years, suppressing the karmic fire day and night, only having a chance to leave every few years.

No wonder she had been so clingy… To the Spiritual Dragon, he probably represented ‘freedom.’

No wonder she loved the food of this world. Unlike other Dao Integration experts, she couldn’t experience the joys and sorrows of life, nor could she train in the mortal world. Although she possessed the powerful word spirit ability, she could only spend her life in that gloomy pocket dimension.

If it weren’t for Mu Zhian giving her hope, she might still be meditating there, suppressing the karmic fire.

So, after finally being free from the karmic fire, she started to enjoy the delicacies of the world, which was, in a sense, experiencing life.

“Why didn’t you let me help you suppress the karmic fire?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

“You have many girls around you. They’ll cause unnecessary trouble for you if they find out,” Lin Ling wrote in her notebook.

Lin Ling wouldn’t make excuses or lie. This was her true intention: she didn’t want to cause trouble for Mu Zhian.

Mu Zhian was silent for a moment. “Since you came to say goodbye, can you delay your return to the Two Polarities Sect for a few days?”

Lin Ling nodded gently, a puzzled look in her eyes.

“The ancestral worship ceremony is still half a month away. I’ll take you to Tianxuan City before that, so you can enjoy its delicacies before your next seclusion,” Mu Zhian said.

Lin Ling’s eyes lit up, then she hesitated: ‘Won’t that cause trouble for you?’

She knew Mu Zhian had many girls around him. Taking her out at night might make them jealous.

Mu Zhian looked into her eyes. “You should also think about yourself sometimes, not just others. Just tell me if you want to go or not.”

Lin Ling was stunned, then nodded obediently after a long moment.

Mu Zhian smiled in satisfaction.

He whistled, and a faint roar echoed from the depths of the Lan family’s estate. It seemed the Flood Dragons were unhappy about being summoned in the middle of the night.

As they looked up, they saw the young man walking out of the room, and then their crimson eyes fell on the petite, silver-haired beauty.

The nine Flood Dragons’ eyes constricted, and their bodies trembled slightly.

Then, like obedient dogs, they lowered their massive heads submissively.

After the two boarded the carriage, the Flood Dragons raised their heads proudly and soared into the sky with a loud roar.

A strong wind blew.

Lan Pingzhi slowly opened his eyes in the quiet night. He had been awakened from his meditation by the Flood Dragons’ roars.

Without even leaving his room, he sensed Mu Zhian’s aura outside.

“Fooling around with another woman again?”

He scoffed, his displeasure with Mu Zhian growing.

After interacting with him for the past two days, he had a better understanding of his character.

The Jade Empress was close to Mu Zhian, but he also had relationships with other women…

Including his two daughters.

He couldn’t let this continue… He had to understand Mu Zhian’s intentions.

“I’ll go see him tonight and have a talk with him.”

Just one Dao Companion, the Jade Empress, would be fine, but having a rendezvous with another woman tonight… This was concerning.

Lan Pingzhi walked out of the hall with imposing steps, each step seemingly containing the laws of the Dao.

He looked up and saw a luxurious black carriage, pulled by nine Flood Dragons, about to leave the Lan family’s estate.

More than one person’s aura emanated from the carriage.

Seeing that Lan Pingzhi was about to call out to Mu Zhian, a servant at the door hesitated and whispered, “Clan Leader, let them go…”

Lan Pingzhi frowned, glancing at the servant. “You’ve always been by my side. Why are you speaking up for Mu Zhian?”

The servant hesitated, wanting to explain, but couldn’t find the words.

“Why are you stammering? Can’t you even speak clearly?”

Lan Pingzhi scoffed and looked up, about to call out to Mu Zhian.

“Mu—”

Inside the carriage, Lin Ling’s lips parted slightly, and she whispered something.

Lan Pingzhi’s voice cut off. He tried to speak again, but couldn’t make a sound.

The use of techniques was forbidden in this area, so even voice transmissions wouldn’t work.

This wasn’t Mu Zhian’s doing, but the mysterious woman in the carriage… Lan Pingzhi’s eyes narrowed, and he was about to dispel the technique.

Suddenly, the silver-haired woman opened the curtains, and as Lan Pingzhi looked up, his gaze met her clear, red eyes, which seemed to reflect everything in the world.

A strand of silver hair fluttered in the cold wind.

Lan Pingzhi was momentarily stunned, staring at her bright red eyes, his mind blanking.

After a long while, as the carriage slowly left the Lan family’s estate, he snapped out of his daze and murmured,

“How is this possible…?”