It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists

Night fell, and the stars twinkled in the sky.

Street lamps lit up one after another along the dim streets, casting a warm glow on the bustling crowds below. The aroma of food and the wisps of smoke from cooking fires filled the air.

“How can I help you?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked amidst the bustling crowd.

He knew he could suppress others’ misfortune, but how to suppress karmic fire… was beyond his knowledge.

Although he had a guess, he wasn’t entirely sure and didn’t want to make a mistake.

More importantly, he wanted to hear it from Lin Ling herself.

Lin Ling held up her notebook: You can absorb others’ luck and suppress misfortune. Suppressing karmic fire is the same as giving someone Heavenly Court spiritual energy.

Mu Zhian smiled faintly, gently stroking her soft hair. “Do you regret it?”

Lin Ling shook her head gently.

Her world was small, and Shang Yanfei was the only person close to her, with Mu Zhian being the second… To her, Mu Zhian was someone she could trust.

“But… won’t you mind my identity? If others find out, it might cause trouble for you. Is that okay?” she wrote in her notebook, seemingly anxious.

If any other woman said this, it might sound manipulative, but Mu Zhian didn’t sense any such intent from her.

Mu Zhian said gently, “Love shouldn’t be limited by race or age. Since we have feelings for each other, Sister Lin Ling, why should we care about what others think?”

“Although it might cause some trouble later, sometimes, even life itself is less important than my feelings for you.”

Mu Zhian’s sweet words flowed effortlessly, but only someone as innocent and naive as Lin Ling, whose heart was as pure as a blank sheet of paper when it came to love, would be moved by them.

Even life itself is less important than his feelings for me… Lin Ling repeated these words in her mind, a blush creeping onto her face.

“Aaaaa~ (She always said you’re good at sweet-talking women),” she whispered after a moment.

She?

Mu Zhian paused, then realized who Lin Ling was referring to.

It must be Sect Master Lin.

Although she’s a recluse, the Sect Master really understands me…

Mu Zhian continued, “What about your feelings for me, Sister Lin Ling?”

“Do you like me or dislike me?”

This question was a bit of a trap. Lin Ling could only answer with ‘like’ or ‘dislike.’

The innocent Lin Ling blushed, and after a moment, she held up her notebook: Like.

“Then don’t call me by my full name. Call me Mu Lang,” Mu Zhian said.

Lin Ling tilted her head. “What does Mu Lang mean?”

“It’s a term of endearment, but only for the opposite sex,” Mu Zhian explained.

“Mu Lang,” Lin Ling said sweetly in her slightly awkward, clear voice.

Mmm…

A shiver ran down Mu Zhian’s spine, a pleasant sensation spreading through him.

He hadn’t expected a simple address to be so… satisfying.

He just wondered if Lin Ling would be angry if she knew its true meaning later.

Mmm, with her personality, she probably wouldn’t. Even if she did, some snacks should be enough to appease her…

Lin Ling glanced at Mu Zhian, then wrote in her notebook: “I hesitated when she asked me to come and help you.”

“You have many girls around you, and you’re always busy with their matters. And the Jade Empress has a strong personality. I didn’t want to cause trouble for you.”

“It’s not too late for you to change your mind.”

It’s not too late for you to change your mind now, but it will be too late after we return to the Mu family, Sister Lin Ling… Mu Zhian smiled. “I never regret my decisions.”

“Besides, if you want to suppress the karmic fire, you either have to return to your pocket dimension and cultivate, or I have to help you, right?”

Mu Zhian looked at Lin Ling sincerely.

He still wasn’t entirely sure about her feelings for him.

Was it just the care of a senior for a junior?

Or was it because of Shang Yanfei?

But it didn’t matter… Regardless, after they… dual cultivated, even if there were no feelings initially, it would eventually turn into love.

After all, even a blank sheet of paper would be… marked after the first time.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go back to the Mu Estate. I’ll have the servants prepare some snacks for you.”

Lin Ling’s eyes lit up, and she wrote in her notebook: Are there any delicacies I haven’t tried?

Mu Zhian hummed softly. “Even more delicious than your favorite crystal elbow and meat buns.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll prepare it for you after we return to the Mu Estate,” Mu Zhian said mysteriously.

…

Mu Estate.

After dinner, Lin Ling stood by the window, stretching languidly.

The spring night breeze ruffled her silver hair and her white dress, and combined with her bright red eyes and beautiful face, she looked incredibly adorable.

Mu Zhian had been summoned by Old Man Ren a while ago. It seemed that one of his former girlfriends had visited after he left the Mu family. Old Man Ren hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but now, seeing Mu Zhian return with such a beautiful silver-haired girl, he decided to inform him, just in case.

Lin Ling didn’t care about such trivial matters.

But she did care about Mu Zhian helping her suppress the karmic fire.

Waiting for him here was agonizing.

Although Lin Ling didn’t understand matters between men and women, she wasn’t completely naive. She knew what Mu Zhian needed to do.

Therefore, she felt incredibly uneasy.

Even if she transferred all three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy to Mu Zhian, her karmic fire wouldn’t be completely extinguished. Every word spirit ability involving ‘causality’ would intensify the burning.

But by cultivating with Mu Zhian, who possessed the Innate Celestial Furnace… the karmic fire could be gradually quelled.

After nearly half an hour, she still hadn’t seen Mu Zhian, so she walked towards the hot spring behind the Mu Estate, following her memory from earlier.

The maids nearby looked at the breathtakingly beautiful silver-haired woman with admiring glances.

Many were surprised, wondering how Young Master had managed to bring such a beauty back from the Two Polarities Sect.

She was tall, her white dress accentuating her figure, a black ribbon tied around her slender waist.

Lin Ling arrived at the hot spring and said, “No one is allowed to enter this area.”

She thought for a moment, then added, “Except for Mu Zhian.”

The rules of heaven and earth were silently rewritten, and the hot spring became a separate space, inaccessible to others.

After doing this, she untied the laces of her deerskin boots, her delicate, jade-like feet, adorned with a natural, translucent pink on her toenails, stepping onto the smooth pebbles beside the hot spring.

She untied the ribbon around her waist, then, holding the ribbon in her teeth, tied her silver hair into a bun and stepped into the hot spring.

Steam rose from the water, obscuring the hot spring, and Lin Ling raised her elegant chin, her red eyes gazing at the starry night sky, her long eyelashes fluttering gently.

If there were a plate of roasted crane legs by the hot spring, it would be perfect.

…Preferably Eight Treasures Crane.

After a while, she seemed to sense something and turned her head slightly.

A young man stood nearby, admiring the surroundings. He said, “The word spirit ability is truly amazing. This is practically erasing this hot spring from the Mu Estate, isn’t it?”

This was beyond the scope of ordinary techniques.

The word spirit ability had the power to turn the mundane into the miraculous.

Lin Ling blinked her red eyes and looked at Mu Zhian warily, writing with water by the edge of the bath: What are you plotting?

“Nothing bad. I just brought some snacks for you, Sister Lin Ling,” Mu Zhian replied, taking out a plate of roasted chicken and a jar of osmanthus wine he had asked the servants to prepare.

Lin Ling’s eyes lit up, then she became wary again: My senses tell me you have ulterior motives.

Mu Zhian walked over to her, knelt down, took her hand, and admitted frankly, “It’s not an ulterior motive. It’s to prevent you from being tormented by the karmic fire.”

Lin Ling sank into the water, only her clear, red eyes visible above the surface. She puffed out her cheeks and stared at him intently.

Mu Zhian met her gaze calmly. He knew he couldn’t avoid her, because Lin Ling was different from any other girl he knew. She rarely interacted with others, let alone being so close to someone.

He couldn’t avoid her now. Her current behavior was just due to her shyness. If he avoided her, it would make her uneasy, thinking he was forcing himself.

Although she possessed immense power, her heart was as fragile as a little girl’s.

So Mu Zhian looked at her with a gentle, sincere gaze.

Lin Ling could sense people’s good and bad intentions and naturally knew what Mu Zhian was thinking.

But Mu Zhian wasn’t hiding his thoughts.

So what if she could sense them? If he didn’t let her know his feelings, how could he proceed to the next step?

He was fickle and wanted to give every girl a warm home… Lin Ling already knew about the other girls around him. There was no need to hide anything.

So he wouldn’t hide his intentions.

Lin Ling looked up, studying Mu Zhian’s expression.

After a long time, she reached out from the water, grabbed Mu Zhian’s wrist, and pulled him into the hot spring with a splash.

Then, before Mu Zhian could speak, she tilted her head back slightly, closing her eyes under the gentle moonlight.

Her lips were slightly parted, her long eyelashes fluttering, a strand of silver hair falling across her shoulder.

Mu Zhian looked at her, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

He knew that her feelings for him were no longer just those of a feeder and a… feedee, but also… romantic feelings.

Mu Zhian took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and looked at her beautiful face. “You’re so beautiful, Sister Lin Ling.”

Lin Ling opened her eyes abruptly, a shy glint flickering within, and hid her face behind her notebook: Don’t say such cheesy things.

Despite her words, she felt a girlish excitement, more pleasant than any delicacy she had ever tasted.

Mu Zhian gently took the notebook from her hand and tossed it aside.

Then, as she looked up, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips.

The girl in his arms was warm and soft, her body trembling slightly.

After a while, her body relaxed, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Aaa?” she whispered, a blush coloring her cheeks.

Mu Zhian paused, then understanding, nodded slightly.

“Aaa,” he replied firmly.