Yan Shouyi joined the conversation among the three women by the door for a while, but then chose to space out as he couldn't contribute.
Perhaps seeing Yan Shouyi was bored, Luo Ning and Zhao Yiyao tactfully ended their conversation and returned to their rooms to rest. Lin Zitong waved goodbye to them with a smile and then returned to her room with Yan Shouyi.
As soon as the door was closed, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but say, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Lin Zitong's eyes shifted slightly, and she leaned against the corner of the wall with a bit of shy restraint. A blush appeared on her face, and she lowered her head, saying, "It's not appropriate right now."
Yan Shouyi was stunned for a moment. "Why isn't it appropriate? I think it's quite suitable! We just narrowly escaped death in the Imperial Mausoleum, and we found the soul of Princess Yushu, plus..."
What he meant to express was that after so many things had happened, what was wrong with him giving you a gift?
But Lin Zitong clearly misunderstood. Blushing, she said, "I'm not sure if it will affect the child."
"What does the child have to do with it..."
Yan Shouyi muttered, and then finally understood Lin Zitong's meaning. He quickly explained, "Ahem, I wasn't thinking of that!"
Men are a very impatient species. Seeing Yan Shouyi say he had been waiting for her for so long upon entering the room, Lin Zitong thought he had ulterior motives.
To prove he wasn't driven by lust, Yan Shouyi took out the bone chain soul-calling bell he had been holding and explained:
"I prepared a gift for you and have been waiting to give it to you!"
When Lin Zitong saw that the oblivious Yan Shouyi had actually prepared a gift for her, she was first surprised, and then a little disappointed.
As the giver, Yan Shouyi naturally cared about Lin Zitong's emotions when she saw the gift.
When he saw a trace of disappointment in Lin Zitong's eyes, his heart tightened.
Did that brat dislike the gift I prepared for her?
Hmm... it shouldn't be. Her eyes still held surprise.
With a little thought, Yan Shouyi immediately understood the source of Lin Zitong's disappointment.
He quickly put his arm around Lin Zitong's willow waist and whispered in her ear, "I know a bit of medicine. The child hasn't formed yet, so it won't affect us doing our thing."
Her thoughts exposed, Lin Zitong was so embarrassed she didn't know where to put herself. She chided, "Why weren't you this quick-witted before?"
This big idiot, when he first learned he was going to be a father, completely forgot that the child was only the size of a grain of rice and took impeccable care of him.
Now, in this situation, he was so rational, talking about the child not being formed yet and not affecting their activities...
As expected, men are all insensitive brutes!
Yan Shouyi chuckled, seeing Lin Zitong's delicate nature. He quickly changed the subject.
He waved the bone chain soul-calling bell in front of Lin Zitong and said, "After my modifications, the bone chain, the soul-calling bell, and the Shu Ling Snake are now integrated. Put it on quickly and see the effect."
Only then did the blush on Lin Zitong's face subside a little.
She took the bone chain soul-calling bell and examined it carefully.
After Yan Shouyi's modifications, the bone chain no longer looked like its original self. An ordinary person seeing it wouldn't even realize it was a human spine, thinking it was some kind of gently textured jade.
The soul-calling bell hung on the bone chain, with the sleeping Shu Ling Snake coiled around it, looking ancient and mysterious.
After putting on the bone chain, Lin Zitong felt that her perception of nearby souls had become clearer, and her control had also increased significantly.
She waved her hand, and Generals Heichuan Lu and Taohua Ying floated out.
Taohua Ying, in a red dress, descended gracefully, a look of joy on her face. "Miss, after young master modified your soul-calling bell, our dwelling environment has also improved significantly. As long as we hide in the soul-calling bell, the consumed soul power can be quickly restored, and even the speed of wound healing will increase!"
Heichuan Lu wasn't fluent in Chinese and only nodded from the side, looking at Yan Shouyi with admiration and worship.
Taohua Ying praised, "Young master truly lives up to his reputation as a descendant of Lu Ban!"
However, Yan Shouyi felt a little guilty.
It was true that he modified the bone chain and the soul-calling bell, but his purpose was to improve the efficiency of Lin Zitong's use of the soul-calling bell.
As for the effects of restoring soul power and healing, those were not Yan Shouyi's achievements at all.
After thinking about it, this should be a special ability of the bone chain. It was only by chance that this ability was discovered after it was merged with the soul-calling bell.
But regardless, the bone chain soul-calling bell did provide a partial enhancement to Lin Zitong's strength.
"You all made significant contributions during our trip to the Imperial Mausoleum," Yan Shouyi cleared his throat. "Since you are all here, let's settle your rewards."
Taohua Ying blinked, her beautiful eyes filled with longing. Heichuan Lu also showed an expectant expression.
They had known for a long time that Yan Shouyi had absorbed the essence of several ghost kings using the night watchman's lantern.
If they could absorb these essences, their strength would undoubtedly increase by a large margin!
But Yan Shouyi hadn't brought it up before, so they dared not mention it themselves.
On one hand, it was out of respect for their master; as followers, they could not dictate their master's decisions.
On the other hand, they worried that Yan Shouyi had no intention of sharing the essences with them.
Fortunately, Yan Shouyi was not a stingy person and was the first to think of sharing good things with everyone.
Lin Zitong said, "I'll have Lian He come out too. Although those essences cannot enhance Lian He's strength, they can allow Lian He to remain in the mortal world for a longer period."
Lian He was only a remnant soul, and her existence was slowly diminishing. While the essences couldn't increase her strength like Taohua Ying's, they could at least slightly delay Lian He's dissipation.
"Zhu Shanzao, you come out too."
Yan Shouyi snapped his fingers, and Zhu Shanzao drifted out listlessly.
As an immortal residing within Yan Shouyi, Zhu Shanzao showed no semblance of an immortal; it had even started to "slack off."
In the past, when it resided in Guling, Rongcheng, Zhu Shanzao ruled as king, living a carefree life, but it also had to worry about its territory being occupied by other demons.
Now, residing within Yan Shouyi, it spent its days sleeping, only occasionally needing to come out to take a beating.
It was truly a life as blissful as that of an immortal!
Zhu Shanzao had no intention of cultivating to become an immortal anymore; it was quite content to eat and sleep.
"Old Zhu, you also played a part in the Imperial Mausoleum."
Yan Shouyi said, taking out the night watchman's lantern, "There are several essences from ghost kings within the lantern. I will divide these essences equally into five portions for each of you to absorb."
Lian He, Taohua Ying, Heichuan Lu, and Zhu Shanzao would each absorb one portion. The last portion, Yan Shouyi intended to give to Zhao Yiyao.
After all, Zhao Yiyao had also contributed in the Imperial Mausoleum, and it would be good to use this opportunity to enhance the cultivation of Huang Sipi.
Yan Shouyi was absolutely not stingy with his companions.