Xie Zhaolin understood everything at once. The woman in front of her had lowered her guard a little, but she clearly hadn't let go of her doubts.
She kept things short. "Senior, don't worry. He's my servant and completely under my control. He won't do anything harmful to you here, and he won't leak a single word about this place. If you're still uneasy, I can have him swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao."
The black robed female cultivator listened in silence. Her gaze lingered on Xie Zhaolin's face, then swept toward Mo Yan, who stood with his head bowed like a statue.
After a moment, the last trace of tension around her slowly faded. It seemed she accepted the explanation. As long as the demon race youth posed no threat, she didn't seem interested in his origin. She gave another slight nod, her aura completely settling, yet she still didn't speak. She simply lifted her head again, staring straight at Xie Zhaolin, waiting for her to continue.
Xie Zhaolin felt helpless. This refiner was even more silent and standoffish than she'd expected. Everything had to be guessed.
So she stopped circling around and stated her purpose directly.
"Senior, I came here abruptly because I want to ask you to forge a life bound artifact."
The black robed female cultivator didn't react, quietly listening.
Xie Zhaolin continued, "I hope this artifact takes the form of a ribbon that can shift as I will. It needs to hold both spiritual power and baleful qi, run them together smoothly, and convert between them without any conflict.
I need its core ability to focus on stealth, restraint, and lethal one strike attacks. It has to be fast and explosive. I don't care about appearances, I only care about practicality. I want a weapon that can decide life and death in a fight."
The black robed female cultivator's body moved ever so slightly at that.
A ribbon? A battle cultivator choosing a ribbon, something usually meant for mobility and binding rather than killing? That was truly unexpected.
And battle cultivators who used ribbons were so rare that even she had heard rumors of the few who had.
She listened to everything Xie Zhaolin said, then fell into a long silence.
Time passed slowly. An entire incense stick burned away. The silence stretched so long that Xie Zhaolin almost thought the woman was rejecting her.
Finally, the black robed female cultivator lifted her head. Beneath the shadow of her hood, her eyes locked onto Xie Zhaolin as she spoke again with a hoarse, pressing voice.
"You… are… who?"
That single, stubborn question made alarm bells explode in Xie Zhaolin's mind.
This wasn't a normal inquiry.
Even ordinary refiners outside wouldn't insist on digging into a client's identity. That was taboo.
And this was someone who specialized in forging for battle cultivators.
Xie Zhaolin looked back calmly. She didn't answer right away, quickly weighing what the woman knew and what she intended.
After a moment, she said lightly, "Senior must be joking. I'm just a loose cultivator who stumbled into a few opportunities and learned a few old things. My identity isn't important. What matters is that I sincerely seek a weapon."
But the black robed female cultivator didn't accept the deflection. She stared at her, voice rough and unwavering, and repeated that single, heavy word.
"Ribbon."
Just one word.
But it landed like a thousand pounds. If she was pushing this hard, it could only mean she'd connected this request to someone who once used a ribbon as her weapon.
Someone very specific.
Her past life, Yun Qingyue.
Xie Zhaolin's heart sank. The woman really had guessed.
And she'd guessed accurately.
She made her decision instantly. She couldn't admit it. She couldn't let this conversation drag on.
The fewer people who knew about her past life, the better. Every extra person was another threat. If Hehuan Sect, Medicine King Valley, or any other enemies from her previous life sensed even the slightest clue, all her plans would collapse. It could bring disasters she couldn't afford.
She couldn't stay here.
She'd have to find another way to forge her weapon.
Keeping her expression steady, she cupped her hands toward the black robed female cultivator. Her voice turned distant. "Since Senior has doubts, let's end this here. I've disturbed you long enough. Farewell."
She turned and walked straight toward the courtyard gate without hesitation. Her movements were clean and decisive. She even felt relieved that she'd kept her human skin mask on the entire time and hadn't shown her real face.
The black robed female cultivator clearly never expected her to leave so abruptly. Seeing Xie Zhaolin heading out, she panicked and stepped forward. "Wait!"
Xie Zhaolin didn't stop. She kept walking. Safety came first, always.
Just as her hand was about to touch the gate, the black robed female cultivator gritted her teeth and blurted out at full speed, "I… I'm willing to swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao! Everything I saw and heard today, if I leak even half a sentence, may I suffer a heart demon backlash, lose all my cultivation, and have my Primordial Soul fall into eternal torment!"
An invisible ripple of Heavenly Dao power descended and wrapped around her.
The oath was complete.
Xie Zhaolin froze mid step. She whipped around, eyes full of shock. She never expected the woman to go this far just to stop her. This meant something. Maybe the woman had no ill intent. Or she wanted something huge, so huge she was willing to accept the shackles of a Heavenly Dao oath.
Her thoughts raced.
With such a heavy oath in place, the risk of exposure was almost gone for now. And she had chosen this refiner precisely because she'd judged her the safest option, the one most likely to forge the "Shiyue Ribbon" she needed. She didn't want to give that up unless she had no choice.
Risk and opportunity always came together.
And she was also curious. Why was this woman so obsessed? Was it really connected to her past life?
She lifted a hand and waved at Mo Yan behind her. He understood immediately, silently retreating from the courtyard and closing the gate behind him. He stood guard outside.
Inside, only Xie Zhaolin and the black robed female cultivator remained.
Xie Zhaolin looked at her calmly and waited for an explanation.
The woman seemed relieved that she stayed.
Slowly, she raised her hand and finally pulled back her hood.