Chapter 148: Little Linlin Is the Master! (Part Two)

Finally persuading Lotus, Jiang Lin bid farewell to Mother Wang and then headed toward Twin Pearl Peak with Lotus.

Because Lotus feared sword flight—and such flights often involved close embraces to prevent falling—Jiang Lin, determined not to make Wu Ke jealous, had ZZ250 carry Lotus as they flew.

Lotus’s delicate constitution meant that, despite Jiang Lin casting a wind-ward spell on her, long flights were exhausting. Thus, their journey was marked by frequent stops.

Schrödinger, also afraid of heights, found a small compartment inside ZZ250—likely meant for tools—and happily crawled inside, only emerging when they landed.

Though slower, carrying Lotus made the journey steadier.

Jiang Lin glanced at Lotus, cradled by ZZ250, and she returned a gentle smile.

Along the way, Lotus asked many questions, mostly about the customs and landscapes of the Sun and Moon Sect. Yet, strangely, the conversation often circled back to her master and little Nian Nian.

Despite being the only man and woman traveling with a dog, Jiang Lin maintained a respectful distance, avoiding any awkward or embarrassing moments.

He adhered to good habits: when Lotus bathed, he meditated; when she stumbled forward, he sidestepped; when she changed clothes, he excused himself.

After nearly twenty days, they finally neared the Sun and Moon Sect.

Feeling the familiar afternoon breeze and knowing he would soon see his beloved master and little Nian Nian again, Jiang Lin longed to press the accelerator and dash straight into the formation—if only ZZ250 could keep up.

“Old Wang, Old Niu, Dad’s back!” Jiang Lin shouted upon seeing the man and bull-headed figure playing with the “invention” cards above the sect’s protective formation.

“Damn! Brother Jiang!” Both turned at the call, delighted, and embraced Jiang Lin in a bear hug.

“Hahaha, Old Niu, your bull head’s looking sharper than ever. That hairstyle! I like it!”

“Brother Jiang, you flatter me,” replied Old Niu, the bull-headed man, flicking his green hair across his forehead.

“Brother Jiang, you’ve been gone so long, you must have done well. I heard you destroyed Donglin City!”

“Hahaha, not really. My achievements… huh? Old Niu, what did you say? I destroyed what?”

“Come on, Brother Jiang, stop playing coy.”

Old Wang slapped Jiang Lin’s slender shoulder and produced a stack of newspapers.

“Look, Brother Jiang, it’s all in the papers. You’re famous now!”

Jiang Lin snatched the newspaper—NC Daily from Xuanwu City, Wutong Province.

The headline screamed in huge bold black letters:

“Decline of Morality! Has Demon Sect’s Jiang Lin Gone Beyond Humanity? The Night of Jiang Lin and the Eight-Tailed Black Fox’s Midnight Romance Exposed!”

“Ridiculous! What romance? My ass! Since when is romance a death wish...” Jiang Lin grumbled.

“Brother Jiang, don’t get angry, there’s more.” Old Niu handed over another paper, as if it were toilet paper.

“Penguin Gossip Headline: Sun and Moon Sect’s Jiang Lin and Eight-Tailed Black Fox Battle All Night, Rolling Around, Destroying Countless Houses! Shouts Heard for Miles.”

Jiang Lin’s forehead twitched black lines.

Old Rumor Headline:

“Demon Sect’s Jiang Lin Caught Cheating on Multiple Women, Hunted by Fox Clan Lady! Even Tied Up! See Picture…”

The illustration showed Jiang Lin tangled in the eight-tailed fox’s grasp—the fox’s tails like octopus tentacles.

“This!” Jiang Lin took a deep breath, dizziness washing over him.

“Brother Jiang! Are you alright? Maybe the battle with the black fox left you weak?” Old Niu hurried to steady him.

“Get lost... It’s slander!” Jiang Lin crumpled the papers, feeling on the verge of tears.

He had just saved three million people, yet here he was branded a villain.

“None of this is true. Ask Miss Lotus; I’m the hero who saved Donglin City,” Jiang Lin said, turning to Lotus.

“Ah… um…” Lotus’s eyes flickered as she softly replied, “Master Jiang… um… is that fox spirit prettier than me?”

“...” Jiang Lin was left speechless.

“All right, Brother Jiang, what of it? We’re all ‘villains’ around here. We haven’t killed or robbed anyone. So what if you fought that fox spirit for thousands of rounds?” Old Wang wrapped an arm around Jiang Lin’s shoulder. “By the way, was that fox spirit pretty?”

“She was… uh… well, never mind.”

It’s said unscrupulous reporters are everywhere; Jiang Lin truly experienced it now.

What good was explaining to them? Could he explain to everyone?

He guessed some gossip reporter hid nearby during the battle, saw nothing but filled in the blanks wildly.

Once such headlines came out, others competed to concoct even more sensational stories, drifting further from the truth—enough to fill a book.

“By the way, how long has this paper been out? Does your master know?” Old Niu scratched under his arm.

“We don’t know, but it’s just today’s edition. Brother Jiang, didn’t you subscribe to two gossip papers’ half-yearly issues? They’ll probably send it along.”

“Hopefully not yet.”

Jiang Lin imagined his master’s reaction—crying nonstop until dehydrated.

“Is this Lotus? The girl Wu Ke keeps telling us to find?” Old Wang looked at Lotus, cradled by ZZ250.

“Delicate features, a kind of ethereal grace. Wu Ke has good taste.”

“Definitely pretty.” Old Niu pulled a morning glory flower from his pants and flirtatiously flicked his green bangs. “Miss Lotus, a great sword for a hero, flowers for a beauty—please don’t despise this humble gift.”

“Careful, Wu Ke might smack you with his bald head.” Jiang Lin kicked Old Niu aside. “By the way, is Wu Ke around?”

“Ah, that guy went to Ten Thousand Buddha Continent—also called Bodhi Continent. Won’t be back for a month.”

“I see… Lotus, then, shall we head to Twin Pearl Peak?” Jiang Lin asked.

Lotus nodded.

“All right, we’ll set off. Let’s drink together another day.”

After bidding farewell to Old Wang and Old Niu, Jiang Lin and Lotus entered the Sun and Moon Sect’s protective formation.

The moment he crossed the threshold, Jiang Lin truly felt he was home.

“Lotus might be scared, but don’t worry. Old Niu looks like a bull-headed man, but he’s decent—well, except when he climbs trees with female pigs sometimes.”

Lotus shook her head. “Master Jiang, you need not worry. I can sense that anyone who can live alongside you can’t be bad.”

“Hahaha.” Jiang Lin’s face reddened. “Lotus speaks only honest truths, but you have good eyes—we truly are decent people.”

They continued toward Twin Pearl Peak.

Though eager to fly straight there, Jiang Lin took a detour to help Lotus familiarize herself with the surroundings, acting as a guide.

Listening to Jiang Lin’s explanations, Lotus looked over the Sun and Moon Sect.

Before coming, she thought the sect would be noisy, dirty, and dark, but she followed Jiang Lin because she trusted him.

She believed a man who never forced her and spoke sincerely could protect and never harm her.

Yet she never expected the sect to be so beautiful.

In the sky, cranes softly cried; an owl playfully chased an eagle, both laughing.

One green mountain after another rose in harmony, wrapped in white clouds like a fairyland.

Flying lower, they saw towns full of joy.

People walked bare-chested, arms around each other; elders sold calligraphy at stalls; children teased small birds.

Even an elderly woman, excited by a passing cart, approached and fell without harm, then laughed heartily—likely due to weak legs.

Elsewhere, a bandaged man strolled with a cute yellow mouse—Jiang Lin called it Pikachu.

It was hard to believe this was a demon sect. Perhaps all demon sects were like this?

After a circuit, nearing Twin Pearl Peak, Jiang Lin’s heartbeat quickened as images of his master and little Nian Nian filled his mind.

He hadn’t seen Nian Nian in months—had she grown taller? Had his master broken through again? Had the mountain’s flower and grass spirits been cleansed?

No matter; soon he’d have an indestructible "diamond kidney." What were a few flower spirits to fear?

“Master! Nian Nian! I’m back!” Jiang Lin shouted toward Twin Pearl Peak, his voice drifting on the breeze.

Seeing Jiang Lin’s joyful face, Lotus smiled faintly.

Master Jiang must be very important to him; she had never seen him so happy.

...

“Hiya… hiya…”

“Nian Nian’s doing great, come follow Mommy…”

“Mm-hmm… hiya… hiya…”

At the same time, on Twin Pearl Peak, a woman and a little girl wielded wooden swords, practicing incessantly.

The woman wore palace robes; her long eyelashes framed silk-like eyes. Every graceful sword movement was like a dance, her eyes shimmering with the blade’s motion.

The girl had a plump tail; silver hair glistened in the sunlight, and her bright eyes were earnest and cute. Small horns peeked from her head, delicate and charming.

“Hm? Nian Nian, what’s wrong?”

Seeing the little one pause, the woman set down her wooden sword, crouched, and gently wiped sweat from Nian Nian’s forehead.

“Mommy, I smell Daddy.”

“Maybe Nian Nian misses Daddy too much,” Jiang Yuni murmured, stroking her daughter’s head.

In truth, Jiang Yuni had just heard Jiang Lin’s voice too.

It wasn’t the first time recently; the scent of Jiang Lin’s clothes was fading, and she often found herself restless at night, hearing his voice in her heart.

“Mommy, I want Daddy.” Nian Nian held her wooden sword tightly, head bowed, eyes slightly moist like water-soaked gems.

“Nian Nian…” Jiang Yuni’s heart tightened as she held her daughter close.

She felt the same.

“Eh? Daddy…”

“Hm? Nian Nian, what did you say?”

Before the woman could finish, a familiar sword aura gently landed.

Startled, her eyes flickered low, moistening, her body trembling slightly.

“Master! Nian Nian!”

“Daddy!”

“Xiao Lin!”

Jiang Lin had just steadied himself when little Nian Nian leapt onto his face like a flying dragon, her plump tail wagging, rubbing her forehead against his, eyes squinting happily into crescent moons.

Jiang Lin’s vision blurred beneath the flying dragon, then felt softness all around.

“Xiao Lin~~~ Xiao Lin~~~”

Jiang Yuni, like a koala, clung to Jiang Lin’s chest, nuzzling him nonstop.

“Ah, Master, and Miss Lotus is here too. Master, show some restraint!” Jiang Lin lifted Nian Nian from his head, smiling at his master’s joy, feeling nothing but relief.

“Daddy, who is this sister?”

As Jiang Yuni nuzzled Jiang Lin’s chest, thinking to buy some ‘spring breeze’ that night with no trace, Nian Nian, now lifted high by Daddy, looked at Lotus and asked.

Hearing Nian Nian’s voice, Jiang Yuni, nestled in Jiang Lin’s arms, stiffened—there was another woman’s scent!

Turning his head in Jiang Lin’s embrace, her delicate face stood not far away.

[Delicate features, but not as pretty or cute as me. Nice figure, good proportions, but not as tall as me! Her legs are long, but my real form has longer legs! Whew… still better looking…]

[But… what if Xiao Lin likes this type? And brought her home? It’s the first time Xiao Lin has brought a girl home.]

Suddenly, staring at Lotus, Jiang Yuni felt struck by a thunderbolt!

In her silly master’s mind, she already imagined Xiao Lin marrying this girl, the girl taking over Xiao Lin, even kicking her out…

“Xiao Lin Lin is mine!”

Only 1.5 meters tall, Jiang Yuni jumped from Jiang Lin’s arms, spreading her arms like a protective hen in front of him.

“Master, what are you saying? This is Miss Lotus, my friend.”

Jiang Lin lightly tapped his master’s head.

“Ow!” Jiang Yuni crouched, holding her head, tears shimmering in her eyes.

Soon, she stood strong again, guarding Jiang Lin’s front, pouting fiercely at Lotus.

“No way, no way, Xiao Lin Lin belongs to Master!”