Jian Lin hadn't expected any complications with her senior brother and sister descending the mountain. On Chi Yan Peak, they were practically invisible.
From Wen Mingyuan's account, he had been at Guan Lan Sect for about three months. Aside from bribing the gatekeepers with spirit stones at the very beginning, the minor disciple, remembering their past camaraderie, hadn't caused him any trouble.
Wen Mingyuan had free rein to come and go daily. If Lin Zhi had agreed to leave with him, the two of them would have departed long ago.
Jian Lin couldn't understand why something had gone wrong.
She had previously believed that sending Wen Mingyuan alone to pick up Lin Zhi was safer, a quiet in-and-out operation that should have been problem-free.
If she had known, she should have gone with them. It was her lack of foresight. If anything happened to the two of them, Jian Lin would never forgive herself.
"Lord Chong Yuan," Jian Lin confessed with self-reproach, "you were right. I often make mistakes in my actions. The lessons you gave me are all deserved."
They were currently speeding through the night. The Demon Lord glanced at Jian Lin beside him by the starlight. He saw her eyes filled with sorrow, a rare sight for her.
Jian Lin's eyes were usually resolute, devoid of fear. Whether she was trying to please or seduce, there was always a determination within her.
It seemed she truly cared about this senior brother and sister.
The Demon Lord paused, and as they landed, he spoke softly, "It's not entirely your fault. I didn't expect this either."
The Demon Lord's clumsy attempt at comfort had little effect. Jian Lin managed a weak smile, expressing her gratitude.
The Demon Lord had come to Guan Lan Sect for his own important matters; he needed to break the Demon Breath Forbidden Curse and rescue his subordinates. Yet, he had been busy with her affairs for the past two days. The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.
Thinking about their argument last night, Jian Lin felt even more remorseful.
He deserved better things, and she shouldn't have deliberately picked a fight with him just because she was afraid of being scolded.
Jian Lin had been repenting all the way. She decided that once this matter was resolved, she would obediently give him Xie Jin's message.
Soon, they reached the summit of Chi Yan Peak. From a distance, the Taoist temple appeared quiet, with no sign of anything amiss.
They headed straight for the backyard. Just as Jian Lin was about to climb over, she heard voices from within the small courtyard. She exchanged a look with the Demon Lord and quietly climbed onto the wall to observe.
The usually secluded and quiet courtyard was now filled with disciples, clad in white Taoist robes, conspicuous in the darkness. Lin Zhi's room door was wide open, and the interior was brightly lit. It was clear that both Wen Mingyuan and Lin Zhi were not inside.
"Uncle-Master, we've searched, and there's nothing suspicious," a disciple emerged and reported to the person leading the group in the courtyard. "What should we do next?"
Jian Lin squinted and recognized the Uncle-Master. He seemed to be the seventh disciple of True Lord Xuan He, colluding with Yuan Shuo and acting as his right-hand man.
"This place has bad feng shui. The appearance of a traitor tainted with demonic energy is a great shame for our Chi Yan Peak. We're being pointed at by other peaks because of this matter, and now there's a pair who have fallen into qi deviation," the Uncle-Master said hatefully. "In short, this place is too inauspicious. Just tear it down."
At first, Jian Lin rolled her eyes as the Uncle-Master scolded her. Later, when she heard him talk about tearing down the courtyard, confusion and bewilderment washed over her.
Why tear down the courtyard in the middle of the night? What had happened?
When things are out of the ordinary, there's usually a reason. Her senior brother and sister must have been captured by them.
They said they had fallen into qi deviation, but Jian Lin didn't believe it. Not to mention Lin Zhi, even Wen Mingyuan, with his extremely low cultivation, had no possibility of falling into qi deviation.
The Demon Lord reached out and touched her, giving her a look to signal her to get down and leave. Once they reached a secluded spot, he spoke to explain his guess.
"Tearing down the courtyard overnight is more like sealing it," the Demon Lord said, his brow furrowed. "If I'm not mistaken, Lin Zhi has a reason for not being able to leave Chi Yan Peak. If she left, it might affect the formation. The formation's master must have captured her."
Jian Lin understood the connection immediately. She clenched her fists and said in a low, angry voice, "My senior sister's Golden Core is shattered, and he still won't let her go. Yuan Shuo, you wait. You will surely have a terrible end."
"Your senior brother and sister should still be alive," the Demon Lord said, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Calm down. At this point, the only way to save them is to break the formation. This formation has likely been active for ten years, and it will undoubtedly be extremely dangerous inside. One wrong step could lead to death."
The Demon Lord had always been confident and arrogant. In all the time Jian Lin had known him, this was the first time she had heard him speak so seriously about the possibility of death.
The Demon Lord seemed to know what she was thinking and explained softly, "I cannot use demonic energy, or it will trigger the forbidden curse and attract the entire immortal sect to attack. Moreover, the formation will surely favor its master. Ten years is too long, and there might be a formation spirit that has cultivated within. The formation spirit will fight desperately for its master, and we will have no advantage. I'm telling you this not to scare you, but to prepare you mentally."
Jian Lin looked up at the Demon Lord, her heart softening with emotion. At this moment, she had only one thought: she couldn't let the Demon Lord take such a risk.
He had done enough for her. The revenge against Guan Lan Sect was her own affair. The Demon Lord had no reason to risk his life for her.
She reached for her Qian Kun bag and took out several rolled-up pieces of paper, handing them all to the Demon Lord. "This is the message Xie Jin sent me. I'm giving it all to you now, without any concealment."
"What do you mean by this?" the Demon Lord asked, not taking them, only expressing his disapproval with his eyes. "Don't think that giving it to me now means I won't be angry with you. I will settle accounts later."
Jian Lin reached out and held the Demon Lord's large hand, placing the paper strips into his palm. She pursed her lips and said hesitantly, "I just don't want to have any regrets. Our last day together was spent arguing about this. In the future, if you remember me, you'll only think of this, and I don't think that's beautiful at all."
The Demon Lord sensed something was wrong and didn't respond.
Jian Lin patted the back of his hand and looked up at him earnestly. "I'll go break the formation alone. Lord Chong Yuan, help me repair my senior sister's Golden Core. That's just a troublesome matter, and I'm willing to let you help me. But if there's a risk to life, I won't let you go."
"You won't let me go? Are you sure you can rescue them yourself?" the Demon Lord asked.
"I'm not sure, but they are my senior brother and sister, and they have nothing to do with you, Lord Chong Yuan," Jian Lin said firmly. "If they can be rescued, they will be. If not, it will be the destiny of us three siblings."
"Don't be foolish," the Demon Lord said, tucking the paper strips into his embrace, and started walking forward. "Do you know where the formation is? Let's go, saving them is the priority."
Jian Lin grabbed the Demon Lord's hand and refused to let go, saying urgently in a low voice, "I know where it is. It must be where Yuan Shuo is. It's either his bedroom or his training room. Listen to me, you are the head of the household. So many people rely on you for their livelihood. Miss Liu is still hoping to leave. You can't abandon them."
Jian Lin had made up her mind. Tonight, no matter what, she wouldn't let the Demon Lord risk his life.
The Demon Lord turned back. His expression was unclear in the darkness. He turned his body, reached out, and hugged Jian Lin's waist, whispering in her ear, "Your senior brother and sister have nothing to do with me, but you do. I'll give you two choices: either you leave here with me, or we go break the formation together."
Jian Lin's earlobes felt warm, and her heart fluttered. If she remembered correctly, this seemed to be the Demon Lord's first confession to her.
Although it wasn't a formal "I like you," the phrase "you do have something to do with me" truly warmed her heart.
Jian Lin was both happy and touched, with a hint of conflict. The better the scoundrel treated her, the more she felt reluctant to part.
"We can go break the formation together," Jian Lin finally conceded. She hugged his waist and mumbled softly, as if acting spoiled, "But you have to promise me one thing. If we encounter a truly critical moment, you have to run away first, don't mind us."
"I know what I'm doing. You don't need to teach me," the Demon Lord said, pulling her along. "Let's go. You're familiar with this place, you lead the way."
Jian Lin followed the Demon Lord's steps, her fingers intertwined with his. "Listen to me, oh, go this way."
Yuan Shuo was greedy for power and wealth, and he valued grandeur. Since he became the peak master of Chi Yan Peak, he had renovated and expanded the Taoist temple more than ten times. From the outside, it looked magnificent, and inside, it was even more exquisite and luxurious.
As a low-ranking disciple, Jian Lin had always shared the cleaning duties. She knew many side paths, and she silently led the Demon Lord into the main hall.
The main hall was paved with fine rosewood flooring, polished to a high sheen by the low-ranking disciples. Carved lanterns hung everywhere in the hall. Listening closely, one could hear the rhythmic footsteps of disciples coming and going.
After dodging a few groups of people, Jian Lin pointed ahead and said, "The front hall is the council chamber. Directly opposite the back hall is the tea room. To the left is the study, where official business is handled. Next to the study is the library. To the right are the bedrooms, and next to the bedrooms is the training room. Which room should we go to?"
"You're very familiar with this place. Did you not feel anything unusual before?" the Demon Lord asked softly.
Jian Lin recalled carefully. "We low-ranking disciples took turns cleaning. I've been to the study, bedrooms, and library, but never the training room. Yuan Shuo never let us clean it."
It was just that she was young then and didn't understand the significance. When Yuan Shuo didn't allow it, they didn't go.
"That's it, then. Let's go check that area first." The Demon Lord led her through several dodges, and they soon arrived at a corridor outside the bedroom.
The bedroom and the training room were connected, adjacent to a small garden. Looking out from the corridor window, they could see a pond in the small garden. The water's surface reflected the lights, like a mirror in the darkness.
"Wait, it seems unrelated to the training room," the Demon Lord said, pulling Jian Lin and signaling her to look outside. "I think that pond is more suspicious."
"The pond corresponds to the well," Jian Lin suddenly realized. "Speaking of that pond, I saw it when I was little. The water inside was dark and murky, and it didn't even have koi. I thought it was boring back then, but I never expected..."
As she was speaking, a powerful fluctuation suddenly struck. The Demon Lord hugged Jian Lin and crouched down, feeling a deafening roar in his ears.
The Demon Lord covered her ears for her, then released them after a while. Everything returned to peace.
He only heard the Demon Lord murmur, "Such powerful spiritual energy. I haven't seen it in many years."