Weakness Period: Day 2, 17 hours remaining.
In Tianmen Village's main hall, Lin Che sat cross-legged, his face still pale.
[System Update: Host's spiritual energy recovery rate: 1.2%/hour. Weakness period will end in 17 hours.]
[Friendly Reminder: Lie down and don't move. Unless you want to extend your recovery time.]
Lin Che ignored the system. He needed to recover fast—the Black Wind Village initiation task was in three days.
"Brother." Lin Ying ran over clutching a Three-Character Classic. "Teacher Wen said 'People at birth are naturally good.' What does that mean?"
"It means you weren't a greedy little glutton when you were born."
"I'm not a glutton!" Lin Ying puffed her cheeks. "Yesterday I only had one sugar gourd, two buns, one bowl of chicken soup, half a bowl of rice..."
[System Logic Check: Little sister's defense contains 4 contradictions. Recommendation: Don't expose her. Let her be cute.]
Lin Che was about to laugh when the system blared:
[⚠️ WARNING: Nascent Soul Realm cultivator detected! Distance: 3.2km. Threat Level: MAX. Recommendation: RUN or play dead. Now.]
"Nascent Soul?" Lin Che's pupils contracted. How could a Nascent Soul expert appear in this backwater place?
He scooped up Lin Ying, ready to bolt for the back mountains.
"Too late," a raspy voice drawled.
An old man stood in the temple doorway. He wore a robe patched like a quilt, his hair a bird's nest, gnawing on half a roast chicken—grease smeared across his mouth.
[System Detected: Lao Ma (???). Cultivation: Unmeasurable. Threat Level: ???]
"So you're Lin Che? The one who wiped out the Zhao Family?" Lao Ma mumbled through a mouthful of chicken.
Lin Che shielded Lin Ying, his rusty knife raised. "Who are you?"
"Just passing by." Lao Ma grinned, revealing yellowed, gap-toothed gums. "Heard you got 3,000 spirit stones from the Zhao Family?"
[System Emergency Alert: Master thief detected! Recommendation: Clutch your money bag tight!]
Before Lin Che could react, his storage pouch lightened.
[��� ALERT: Spirit stones stolen! Loss: 500 stones!]
"You—" Lin Che roared in shock and fury, slashing with his knife.
Lao Ma vanished. Reappeared ten zhang away, tossing a pouch of spirit stones. "Good quality. I'll take these."
"Return them!" Lin Che charged, but his weakness-period legs buckled.
[System Roast: Host's current power ≈ unconscious goose. Recommendation: Kneel and beg for mercy.]
But Lao Ma didn't leave. He studied Lin Ying instead, his one good eye gleaming. "Hmm... this little girl..."
Lin Che's alarm bells screamed: "Touch her and I'll fight you to the death!"
"Fight? You can't even protect yourself." Lao Ma scoffed, flicking a jade slip to Lin Che's feet. "Since you're so protective, here's a free tip. That 'bear' at Black Wind Village? It's a gate guardian beast raised by Canglan Realm's Heaven Profound Sect. Kill it, and you'll stir up a hornet's nest."
Lin Che scanned the slip with his spiritual sense. It contained a map—marking an ancient teleportation array beneath Black Wind Village.
[System Discovery: Ancient teleportation array detected. Energy analysis: Can teleport 2 people to Canglan Realm.]
"Why help me?" Lin Che asked warily.
"Who said I'm helping?" Lao Ma finished the chicken, then swiped Lin Ying's half-eaten osmanthus cake. "I just love chaos. You go to Canglan Realm, those Heaven Profect Sect hypocrites will lose their minds—"
Before he finished, he stepped on a chicken bone.
SPLAT.
Face-first into the dirt.
"Ow... my old back..." Lao Ma cursed as he got up. "This temple has terrible feng shui!"
He tossed two healing pills and half a bag of sunflower seeds as "compensation."
"Next time we meet, you owe me one—oh, and the spirit stones in your pouch are mine!" He vanished in a flash.
Lin Che checked his storage pouch. 2,717 stones left.
[Theft Report: -500 spirit stones. Gained: Healing pills x2, Sunflower seeds x0.5 bag, Canglan Realm coordinates x1.]
[Net Result: MASSIVE L-O-S-S. Recommendation: Next time, mug him back.]
Lin Che gripped the jade slip, his expression shifting.
Black Wind Village is a gate guardian for Canglan Realm's sect? Then this initiation task...
"Brother." Lin Ying tugged his sleeve. "That old grandpa... he's so pitiful. He can't even fall properly."
Lin Che almost laughed. Pitiful? The old man just stole 500 spirit stones.
[Chapter 7 End]