It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists

How to suppress karmic fire…?

This topic was a bit dangerous… Mu Zhian’s heart skipped a beat as he heard Lan Mulian’s question and was about to speak.

Lan Feiying placed her finger on his lips, smiling. “Sister just wants to ask Senior Lin Ling. If you don’t have anything else to say, it’s best to remain silent.”

“Or…” she continued, her tone changing slightly, “are you worried about revealing something?”

Mu Zhian smiled. “Of course not. I just think Sister Lin Ling is a bit… socially awkward… She might not be comfortable with so many people around her.”

Lan Mulian smiled faintly. “I often chat with Senior Lin Ling. She shouldn’t mind.”

She looked at Lin Ling.

Mu Zhian also glanced at Lin Ling, giving her a subtle look.

Lin Ling blinked her red eyes, understanding immediately.

“Aaa!”

Lin Ling immediately held up her notebook: Ask whatever you want.

Mu Zhian: “…”

Lan Mulian looked at Lin Ling, her voice clear and melodious, like ice clinking in a glass. “I’ve often heard Master mention karmic fire… It’s said to be innate and uncontrollable. But it seems Senior Lin Ling has suppressed it quite a bit?”

Lin Ling nodded.

“May I ask how you suppressed it, Senior Lin Ling?” Lan Mulian asked sincerely.

Wei Mengrou pursed her lips, a suspicious glint in her eyes as the setting sun’s light reflected within.

Mu Zhian’s heart tightened as he also looked at Lin Ling.

Lin Ling shook her head gently and wrote in her notebook: It’s a secret. I can’t tell you.

That’s good… Sister Lin Ling isn’t that foolish.

Although she seemed innocent and adorable, she was actually quite intelligent.

She knows our relationship can’t be revealed. If it were Yao Meng, she would have already admitted it… As Lin Ling’s words appeared in her notebook, Mu Zhian’s worries dissipated.

Although Lan Mulian was still suspicious, she couldn’t be disrespectful towards her master’s close friend, so she dropped the subject.

“By the way, please keep Senior Lin Ling’s presence here a secret,” Mu Zhian suddenly said, addressing the two sisters.

He didn’t want Lin Ling’s identity to be revealed so soon.

“I know. If the clan elders find out she’s here, it might cause trouble,” Lan Mulian nodded slightly.

The Spiritual Dragon could bestow luck upon others, and most cultivators’ luck, although not terrible, was still far from ‘immense.’

Such an ethereal thing as luck could be bestowed by the Spiritual Dragon with just a few words.

Although they wouldn’t dare to harm the Spiritual Dragon, her presence in the Lan family would still cause trouble.

After explaining, Mu Zhian looked at the woman in yellow. “I’ll take her to her room. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Wei Mengrou glanced at him meaningfully, a strange glint in her alluring eyes.

…

“I feel like Mengrou has noticed something… I shouldn’t have been so… unrestrained in front of her. Now, I can’t hide anything.”

As night fell, Mu Zhian returned to his room, exhausted.

Lin Ling tugged on his sleeve and showed him her notebook: How did I do today?

Mu Zhian collected his thoughts, took the notebook, and wrote: You did great, Sister Lin Ling.

“But this might… wrong you.”

She shook her head.

“If you don’t want our relationship to be revealed, we can keep it a secret for now,” she wrote.

Mu Zhian gently stroked her hair. “After all, you don’t like conflict. If no one knows about our relationship, no one will bother you.”

Although they had traveled for a day and a night, she didn’t look tired at all, her face even slightly flushed, her demeanor elegant and refined.

Lin Ling wrote in her notebook and showed it to Mu Zhian: But seeing you with other girls makes me unhappy.

Mu Zhian’s thoughts stirred, and he suddenly smiled. “That’s a good thing.”

“It means you’re becoming more… human, Sister Lin Ling.”

Lin Ling looked up at him, clutching the half-eaten bag of pastries.

“Being unhappy… makes me more human?” She couldn’t understand.

Mu Zhian took her hand. “Humans have emotions. Happiness, sadness, jealousy… these are all normal.”

“You being unhappy seeing me with other girls means you like me.”

“Like how you refused to kiss me a few days ago because you were shy… Shyness is also an emotion.”

“If I get jealous, will it cause trouble for you?” she wrote.

“No, I’ll be happy,” Mu Zhian chuckled, amused.

He reached out to Lin Ling, and under her clear red gaze, embraced her waist, looking down at her beautiful, innocent face.

“But as I said before, you don’t have to always consider me. You should also follow your own heart and be happy.”

“Aaa…” Lin Ling made a thoughtful sound.

Then, she leaned her head against Mu Zhian’s shoulder.

Before Mu Zhian could make a move, she whispered, “Don’t move. I want to lean against you like this for a while.”

Mu Zhian’s body froze, and he sighed inwardly.

After a moment, Lin Ling seemed to realize something, and she released him with a word.

“It’s a good thing the word spirit ability is on the innocent Sister Lin Ling. If it were any other girl in my pond, there would be big trouble…” Mu Zhian, his body having recovered its mobility, thought to himself.

The words spoken with the word spirit ability would always come true, one way or another. Even words like ‘Mu Zhian will be enamored with me’ could take effect. It was a truly powerful ability.

After a while, the sound of rain came from outside. Lin Ling frowned slightly, then took out her notebook: I don’t like rainy days.

“I quite like it. Drinking and enjoying the rain with a girl indoors is quite pleasant,” Mu Zhian said.

“Why don’t you like rainy days, Sister Lin Ling?” he asked.

“No one goes out on rainy days. When I was in my pocket dimension, I couldn’t hear anything,” she wrote, her expression calm, but Mu Zhian saw a deep loneliness in her eyes.

Even her gaze seemed to dim.

Mu Zhian suddenly said softly, “I’m here with you now. Let’s go outside and enjoy the rain and have some late-night snacks.”

Lin Ling’s previously dim eyes lit up, looking at Mu Zhian with a newfound brightness.

…

Spring rain was always like this, continuous and gentle, silently nourishing the earth.

Mu Zhian’s residence in the Lan family’s estate was a six-story building on the north side.

Each floor had an observation deck. From the top, one could see the surrounding area and the faint spiritual energy of the disciples from smaller sects and families under the Lan family’s rule.

On the top floor, Lin Ling sat on a soft mat, leaning against Mu Zhian, her shoulder against his.

She wore a white dress that hugged her figure, her feet bare, one thin strap slipping off her shoulder, her silver hair slightly disheveled, a wine cup in her hand.

Her face was more flushed than before, her usually innocent appearance now carrying a seductive charm, as she leaned against Mu Zhian, still immersed in the afterglow of their intimacy.

Mu Zhian, in a ‘sage mode,’ his arm around Lin Ling’s shoulders, looked out at the dark, rainy sky, the Lan family’s estate silent below.

“Do you still dislike rainy days now?” Mu Zhian wrote in her notebook.

Lin Ling shook her head gently.

“Do you still feel uncomfortable or uneasy about… being intimate with me?” Mu Zhian wrote.

“I wasn’t used to it at first, but I’m used to it now,” Lin Ling wrote, leaning against the table.

Unlike the innocent Lin Ling from before, she seemed much more mature now, no longer filled with the mixture of anticipation and unease she had shown that night.

“Just ‘used to it’? No other feelings?” Mu Zhian continued writing. He didn’t want to break the peaceful silence, content to enjoy the beauty in his arms, the sound of rain outside, and the warmth of the moment.

The candlelight flickered, and Lin Ling glanced at Mu Zhian, blushing slightly, and shook her head.

“No other feelings.”

“Heh, that’s not what you said earlier,” Mu Zhian teased, embracing her waist and feeling her soft body against his.

“How did you feel earlier?” he asked.

Lin Ling clearly knew what he wanted to hear and glanced at him, initially unwilling to answer.

But Mu Zhian gently pinched her waist.

Lin Ling’s toes curled, and she blushed, writing in her notebook: Very happy.

Mu Zhian smiled, about to tease her further.

Then, she continued writing: Happy being with you.

Mu Zhian was silent for a moment, sipping his wine.

Suppressing her karmic fire in the hot spring two days ago had been a struggle, with Lin Ling’s hesitant cooperation.

But today, both he and Lin Ling had been proactive.

To be honest, suppressing the karmic fire in the hot spring wasn’t as… sensually pleasing as doing it in bed.

After all, the water created… resistance.

But the different experience, the change in scenery, and the psychological satisfaction… Despite the resistance, it was still incomparable to being in bed.

“Should we write a letter to the Sect Master to reassure her?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

Lin Ling had come to him because Shang Yanfei had secretly instructed her to seek his help in suppressing the karmic fire.

Shang Yanfei was far from the Lan family, and they hadn’t sent a message back, so the Sect Master must be worried.

Lin Ling shook her head gently and wrote in her notebook: If you wish. But she probably already knows.

Mu Zhian was stunned. “Did you tell her I would help you?”

Lin Ling shook her head: She knows you wouldn’t refuse me.

“But you would refuse…” Mu Zhian couldn’t help but say.

He hadn’t expected Sect Master Lin to miscalculate… If it weren’t for his quick thinking and gradual approach, Lin Ling might have really returned to her pocket dimension for seclusion.

If that happened, he wouldn’t see this innocent, adorable Spiritual Dragon for another thousand years.

Lin Ling hesitated slightly, then tugged on Mu Zhian’s sleeve, showing him what she had just written: I’ve had… bad thoughts about you before.

Mu Zhian’s thoughts stirred: Are you referring to… that?

Lin Ling buried her face, nodding slightly: Aaa.

“When? Why don’t I know?”

“Whenever the karmic fire burns, a voice in my mind urges me to… do things to you. It’s like there’s another me inside.”

Suppressing her shyness, she extended her arm, and a silver scale, seemingly burning with flames, appeared on her fair wrist.

“Is this the karmic fire? But haven’t I suppressed it for you these past few days?” Mu Zhian asked.

“And I’ve never seen this scale on your arm before.”

Lin Ling under the influence of karmic fire was indeed a different person, almost like a… blackened version of herself.

“The karmic fire won’t disappear so easily. If I use word spirit abilities involving causality too many times, it will reappear. And if I wish, I can also make it appear by circulating my spiritual energy,” Lin Ling wrote.

“I’m sorry… I thought your karmic fire was completely gone.”

“It’s fine. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to play outside with you, Mu Lang. Being free makes me very happy.”

Lin Ling blushed, burying her face and tapping her notebook lightly.

“And… I was also very happy when you kissed me.”

Mu Zhian’s heart stirred. He stroked Lin Ling’s hair and whispered, “Call me Mu Lang again.”

Lin Ling’s face flushed, and she wrote in her notebook: What does Mu Lang mean?

Although she didn’t know its meaning, she felt like Mu Zhian was teasing her.

“It’s just a term of endearment for someone of the opposite sex. Nothing special,” Mu Zhian said, trying to coax her. “If you call me that again, I’ll have someone prepare a feast for you every day.”

Lin Ling’s eyes lit up. She looked up at him: Aaa?

“Really,” Mu Zhian nodded firmly.

“Mu… Mu Lang…”

Mu Zhian’s heart pounded with excitement.

Just teaching Lin Ling to call him this brought him an inexplicable joy.

Word spirit abilities make words come true, but titles don’t seem to be affected… I think I’ve found a bug in the word spirit ability.

I should have Sister Lin Ling call me that more often. It’s so exciting…

Lin Ling looked at Mu Zhian’s excited expression, puzzled. She couldn’t understand why he was so happy about a simple address.

She thought for a moment, then called out again, “…Mu Lang?”

Mu Zhian stroked her silver hair. “You’re such a good girl, Sister Lin Ling.”

Lin Ling frowned, displeased. “I’m your senior.”

“You’re such a good girl, Senior Lin Ling,” Mu Zhian said.

Lin Ling puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away, ignoring him.

Mu Zhian, seeing that he had teased her enough, was about to comfort her when Lin Ling suddenly looked towards the hall entrance.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Zhian asked.

Lin Ling wrote in her notebook: Someone snuck in… from the east.

She adjusted her dress, tying the ribbon around her waist and covering her fair skin.

Mu Zhian whispered, “East… If I remember correctly, that’s the Lan family’s ancestral grounds. There are elders guarding it every day. Any intruder would be immediately detected.”

“The elder on duty tonight didn’t notice and let someone enter the ancestral grounds?”

“Is it a bad person?” Lin Ling wrote.

A faint smile appeared on Mu Zhian’s face. “I don’t know.”

“But since we’re full, let’s go and take a look. Let’s see who’s visiting the Lan family’s ancestral grounds so late at night.”