CSMCDB - Chapter 109
Chapter 109
1947 was speechless. It thought to itself, Your own level isn't even that high, and you're already thinking about nurturing someone else? Nurture what? Lin Jinyu's star level is higher than yours right now. Keep dreaming.
But 1947 didn't say it out loud. It wouldn't do to crush the kid's motivation. If Wen Yuncheng wanted Lin Jinyu to advance quickly, she would need resources. And how does one get resources? By fighting and seizing them! The little cub was never one to stir up trouble in secret realms, but now that she had a goal, some cannon fodder was bound to show up looking for a beating. Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity for some face-slapping?
January 13th.
Wen Yuncheng woke up before four in the morning, but she dawdled until six and still hadn't left. She stared at the maid outfit in her closet, lost in thought. After a long period of silence and internal struggle, she took a deep breath, picked one of the three outfits at random, and put it on as if she were marching to her doom.
[I've lifted the block for you,] 1947 said considerately. [It looks great, really.]
After all, Wen Yuncheng was already the tall and slender type among girls, and her skin was practically glowing white. When she dressed as a man, those who disliked her would call her a "sissy" or a "pretty boy." In a way, you could say that was a backhanded compliment.
It was Wen Yuncheng herself who felt a bit awkward. She hadn't worn a skirt since coming to the Starry Sky Continent, and now she had jumped straight to a frilly maid's dress. She was more than a little uncomfortable. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she was in a daze, finding it hard to believe this person was the domineering, cool, and arrogant Long Aotian.
[…] 1947 had no response to that. After all, no Long Aotian in history had ever been like Wen Yuncheng. But the old father figure had long since come to terms with it and urged her to head out. [Hurry up and go give Lin Jinyu a surprise. But run fast when you leave the dorms so no one sees you.]
Wen Yuncheng only had a white fox mask in her storage ring, but that was the mask she used for bounties, so it wasn't appropriate to use it for concealment now. On the other hand, casually covering her face with a piece of cloth seemed too deliberate. Helpless, Wen Yuncheng took a deep breath to steel herself, then abruptly pushed the door open, covered her face with one hand, and sprinted out of the dormitory building.
Since they had agreed to meet outside the academy… Wen Yuncheng dashed straight to the academy gates.
…Lin Jinyu was early.
Wen Yuncheng lowered her hand and tiptoed over. She had wanted to give Lin Jinyu a little scare, but the moment she got close, Lin Jinyu turned to look at her, having already noticed her.
Right, that was one downside to the cultivators of the Starry Sky Continent—they weren't easily startled.
Just as Wen Yuncheng felt a pang of disappointment, she noticed Lin Jinyu staring at her blankly…
Wen Yuncheng's face instantly flushed a deep red. She asked shyly, "Does this look strange?"
"No, it's beautiful." Lin Jinyu came back to her senses, the tips of her ears turning red. "Very beautiful," she repeated.
Although she still felt extremely embarrassed, receiving Lin Jinyu's approval was a relief for Wen Yuncheng. "Are you going back to the Flowing Cloud Sect this afternoon?"
"Yes. You can come back with me," Lin Jinyu said, a hint of anticipation in her voice.
"Ahem, I'll go to the Flowing Cloud Sect once I'm stronger, but let's forget it for now." Once she reached level 50, she would go challenge the Flowing Cloud Sect. After all, level 50 would unlock new C-Series blueprints. "But I'll meet you outside the sect tonight. You can sneak out. I have something to show you." It was still daytime, and Wen Yuncheng felt the surprise she had planned would be better revealed at night.
Lin Jinyu considered that if she brought Wen Yuncheng along, Wen Yuncheng would probably have to wander around the sect alone while she was in the ancestral hall. Her father might even summon her. With that, she dismissed the idea. Wen Yuncheng took Lin Jinyu to a restaurant in the Imperial Capital and personally cooked her a bowl of longevity noodles. This wasn't actually a custom on the Starry Sky Continent, but it was something Wen Yuncheng wanted to do, and Lin Jinyu was happy about it.
Longevity noodles, a birthday cake, making a wish, and blowing out the candles. Wen Yuncheng placed the sachet she had spent a month pondering over into Lin Jinyu's palm. "A gift."
"Hm?" Lin Jinyu paused. A sachet? Embroidered on it was a small, blue ice mountain, with a little fish flicking its tail at the corner, looking lively and cute. She remembered the time Wen Yuncheng had slipped up while chatting with Yao Mu and Cheng Jiangliu and called her "Little Ice Mountain," and she couldn't help but smile. …Of course, Wen Yuncheng probably didn't know that she knew, since Zhao Qiuyu had told her in secret. "Thank you." She rubbed the pad of her finger over the ice mountain and the little fish. "Why didn't you embroider a little cloud next to the ice mountain?"
"Why would I embroider…" Wen Yuncheng stopped herself abruptly. Realization dawned, and she said helplessly, "It didn't occur to me~ How about you embroider it on?" The fragrance inside the sachet wasn't a conventional perfume but rather spirit herbs specially procured by 1947 from the system store. Their scent had a calming and focusing effect that was beneficial for cultivation.
"Alright," Lin Jinyu agreed. She didn't know how, but it wouldn't hurt to learn. Wen Yuncheng leaned in to help Lin Jinyu tie the sachet to her waist, then whispered, "There are no other gifts, you know. Will you be angry?"
"Why would I be angry?" Lin Jinyu reached up and pinched Wen Yuncheng's cheek, then stroked the maid outfit she was wearing. "You've already… given me a wonderful surprise."
"You and that Wen family boy… how far have things gone?" Just as Lin Jinyu was about to enter the ancestral hall, she was stopped by a rare summons from Lin Zhenyun. The Sect Master of the Flowing Cloud Sect had a complicated expression as he finally asked the question.
"We have confessed our feelings for each other." Lin Jinyu stopped and stood ramrod straight. She turned to face Sect Master Lin. "She is not the 'Wen family boy.' And after I take over as Sect Master, I will marry her."
"Must it be her?"
"Yes. It must be her."
"I won't ask any more about these matters, but you must not neglect your cultivation. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Looking at Lin Jinyu, Lin Zhenyun was reminded of his younger self. He waved his hand, said no more, and allowed her to enter the ancestral hall.
Since Lin Jinyu had already made her decision… it was time to thoroughly reject all those marriage alliance proposals. In the past, Lin Zhenyun had always used the excuse that Lin Jinyu was too young and focused on her cultivation to fend them off. Now, he could reject them outright without any other considerations. It was just that Wen family boy… he still hadn't dared to come to the Flowing Cloud Sect to see him. Sect Master Lin snorted, feeling slightly displeased.
After all, he could never have imagined that Wen Yuncheng's plan was to wait until she was a Star Spirit and then storm the Flowing Cloud Sect to challenge him one-on-one.
Lin Jinyu knelt in the ancestral hall, gazing at the ancestral tablets. After a long silence, she began to speak earnestly, telling her deceased mother and the ancestors of the Lin family about Wen Yuncheng.
"…Once I take over the Flowing Cloud Sect, I will bring her to see you."
"She is a very good and unique person. I think you would like her."
Wen Yuncheng didn't dare to call Lin Jinyu. Estimating the time, she took a Gugu Bird to the foot of the Flowing Cloud Sect's mountain. The sect probably had some kind of protective formation, so she didn't dare try to sneak in. Instead, she waited quietly at the base of the mountain, watching various snapshot clips from the past four years with 1947.
Logically, the photo of their first kiss on her last birthday should have been especially meaningful, and Wen Yuncheng had initially wanted to include it in the projection. But when 1947 reluctantly and embarrassedly displayed it, their heads had turned into a mosaic of pixels! All the beauty, romance, and commemorative value were gone! 1947 had beaten its chest and promised to try to remove the mosaic and restore it, but it had yet to succeed.
[This… I can't do anything about high-dimensional rules! I don't have the authority!] 1947 was suffering inwardly. It didn't want this either. It was a fully adult system, but these rules were meant to protect the host. 1947 hadn't expected that the host kissing someone would also fall under that category.
In the end, Wen Yuncheng had to reluctantly abandon the photo.
[She's here, she's here!] The moment it sensed Lin Jinyu, 1947 quickly alerted her.
Wen Yuncheng stood up from the ground. She had already changed back into her usual clothes; the puffy dress was ultimately inconvenient. Though they had only been apart for an afternoon, seeing Lin Jinyu again still made Wen Yuncheng uncontrollably excited. She ran over and threw her arms around Lin Jinyu. They hugged for a long while before separating. Wen Yuncheng then led Lin Jinyu to a nearby open space. "Did you miss me? I missed you so much!"
"…I did." Although Wen Yuncheng often said things like this, Lin Jinyu still felt shy every time she heard it. Her expression remained unchanged, but the tips of her ears quietly turned red as she responded.
Wen Yuncheng smiled. "Quick, close your eyes. I'm going to perform some magic for you!"
"Magic?"
Oh, right, the concept of magic didn't exist here. Wen Yuncheng didn't know how to explain, so she just blinked her eyes coquettishly. "Just close your eyes. It's a birthday present, it's supposed to be a surprise."
Lin Jinyu didn't ask any more questions and obediently closed her eyes.
With her eyes closed, her other senses became more acute. She could feel Wen Yuncheng seemingly peeking at her, leaning in extremely close. Lin Jinyu could feel Wen Yuncheng's breath. Then, Wen Yuncheng took her hand, opened her fingers, and placed a small, soft, ball-like object in her palm before closing her hand around it.
Leaning in, Wen Yuncheng gave Lin Jinyu a quick peck on the lips. "Okay!"
Opening her eyes, Lin Jinyu saw that nothing had changed. She looked at Wen Yuncheng. "What…"
Just as she spoke, a scene suddenly appeared in the open space before them.
It was Lin Jinyu as seen from Wen Yuncheng's perspective on the day she came to annul their engagement. Back then, Lin Jinyu was still very young, her expression not as cold as it was now. She looked like a little adult trying to act mature, which was extremely cute.
"Even back then, I thought you were so beautiful, like a porcelain doll."
Lin Jinyu's eyes widened, and her ears turned completely red. Watching her four-years-younger self alongside Wen Yuncheng… Lin Jinyu was utterly mortified. The image then began to change, showing a montage of Lin Jinyu, all from Wen Yuncheng's point of view.
There were encounters from when they had little interaction, close-ups of Lin Jinyu during her matches… The photos from the Fire Tempering Bath were missing; according to 1947, those were also blocked.
The turning point was their journey together during the Beast Tide. It seemed that only after spending that time together did they become friends. And from then on, Lin Jinyu gradually began to open her heart to Wen Yuncheng.
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