The recording played the phone conversation between Bai Xue and Fang Wen Hua, with almost every segment pointing to Bai Xue betraying Lin Xiao Tian.
"Hear me out, please explain!" Bai Xue pleaded, her voice choked with tears.
Lin Xiao Tian remained calm. He looked at Bai Xue and said, "Alright, I'll listen to your explanation."
Pressed by Lin Xiao Tian, Bai Xue fell silent.
She stammered for a long time, only managing to offer one reason, "These recordings look like they're fabricated. Xiao Tian, I love you, how could I do such a thing?"
Lin Xiao Tian had anticipated this response. Just then, Bai Xue's mother entered.
"I thought I heard crying just now, what happened?"
Upon seeing her flushed daughter, Bai Xue's mother looked at Lin Xiao Tian with confusion and a hint of anger.
Lin Xiao Tian, unfazed, calmly met her gaze.
"You've arrived at a good time. I have something I want to ask you."
Bai Xue's mother frowned. "Xiao Tian, arguments between couples are normal, but you should always maintain some rationality. Why are you acting like this? Besides, I'm your elder. Even though you and Bai Xue aren't married, I still deserve to be called Auntie, right?"
What she said was logical and without any flaws.
If Lin Xiao Tian hadn't heard her conversation with Bai Xue before.
If Lin Xiao Tian didn't know she was in cahoots with Bai Xue.
Lin Xiao Tian might have believed her now.
But there were no "what ifs."
"Auntie, look here!"
Lin Xiao Tian spoke as he extended his index finger.
Bai Xue's mother looked confused but followed his gaze.
Moments later, she felt the world twist.
"Auntie?" Lin Xiao Tian called out tentatively.
Bai Xue's mother responded blankly.
Lin Xiao Tian was satisfied.
This indicated that his hypnosis had been successful.
As a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, his hypnosis skills were far beyond what they used to be. Controlling an ordinary person now was a simple matter.
Seeing her mother's reaction, Bai Xue was astonished.
"Xiao Tian, what did you do to her?"
Lin Xiao Tian smiled. "You refer to your own mother as 'her'?"
Bai Xue blinked, then quickly reacted, "Xiao Tian, if you keep this up, I'll get angry."
Lin Xiao Tian remained calm. He turned to Bai Xue's mother and asked, "Is she your daughter?"
"No," Bai Xue's mother replied blankly.
Bai Xue was shocked and rushed to her mother's side. "Mom! What nonsense are you talking about?"
Looking at the anxious Bai Xue, Lin Xiao Tian calmly explained, "You can think of it as her being hypnotized. Whatever we ask now, she will answer."
Bai Xue immediately panicked.
"Xiao Tian, you've gone too far. How could you do this to my mother?"
"Don't call her that. She's not your mother, is she?"
"She's not my biological mother, but she's my adoptive mother," Bai Xue said guiltily.
Though she was a mole, her acting skills were still too poor. Before, when Lin Xiao Tian was unsuspecting, she hadn't bothered to study him. Now that Lin Xiao Tian was vigilant, Bai Xue's clumsy act could no longer deceive him.
Lin Xiao Tian noticed Bai Xue's expression.
"Are you her adoptive mother?" Lin Xiao Tian asked the "Bai Xue's mother" standing beside him.
"No," Bai Xue's mother replied coldly.
"Then who are you to her?"
"I'm from the same village as her. We were both sold to the Heaven on Earth KTV. Later, I was responsible for playing her mother."
Lin Xiao Tian looked up at the startled Bai Xue. "Did you hear that? You should call her Auntie."
There were no more secrets between them now. Bai Xue was like a blank sheet of paper in front of Lin Xiao Tian.
Bai Xue slumped onto a chair, her eyes welling up.
"Xiao Tian, I… I'm sorry."
Lin Xiao Tian did not reply.
They sat facing each other, a long silence stretching between them.
Finally, Lin Xiao Tian broke the silence. "I can hypnotize you too, but I don't want to. I need your help with a few things now, and I hope you'll cooperate with me."
Bai Xue's tears flowed, and she could no longer speak. She could only nod in response.
"Contact Fang Wen Hua for me. Tell him I've been severely injured, that I'm saying my final farewells to you, and that I'm heading to Black Mountain," Lin Xiao Tian said earnestly, looking at her.
Bai Xue nodded.
Lin Xiao Tian didn't say anything else and walked out of the villa.
After sitting on the chair for a while, Bai Xue suddenly stood up and took a few steps towards Lin Xiao Tian. She raised her hand as if to say something, but ultimately lowered it.
Lin Xiao Tian's departing figure flashed outside the window. Bai Xue knew this might be the last time she would see him.
Lin Xiao Tian, leaving the villa, also felt an immense weight on his heart.
To say he had no feelings for Bai Xue would be a lie. She was his first woman, and even though she had betrayed him, Lin Xiao Tian couldn't completely forget her.
It was precisely for this reason that Lin Xiao Tian didn't hypnotize Bai Xue but let her call Fang Wen Hua herself.
Bai Xue might betray Lin Xiao Tian again, but he no longer had the energy to care. He felt utterly exhausted.
In the following days, Lin Xiao Tian hailed a taxi and went to Jinsha Village alone.
A significant portion of the road to Jinsha Village had been constructed, and it should be open to traffic in some time. Lin Xiao Tian was pleased, as road construction had always been one of his dreams.
Upon arriving at Jinsha Village, Lin Xiao Tian didn't go to Li Ergaui's house. Instead, he went directly into Black Mountain. However, he didn't venture deep, choosing a high vantage point from which he could see the village.
The little white snake was the first to spot Lin Xiao Tian and immediately burrowed into his embrace. Lin Xiao Tian's response to its affection was to feed it a demon core.
With its hunger sated, the little white snake snuggled into Lin Xiao Tian's clothes, finding his warmth an ideal spot for a nap.
And so, three days passed.
During these three days, Lin Xiao Tian's primary activity was cultivation. The little white snake was his only companion. As for the Lin family, he told no one except the old matriarch.
He even kept Qin Yuxiang in the dark.
It wasn't that Lin Xiao Tian didn't want to tell her, but Qin Yuxiang wasn't good at acting, and it would be more convincing if she remained unaware.
During this period, people from Jinsha Village occasionally visited, presumably Lin family members looking for him. There were even teams entering Black Mountain, but Lin Xiao Tian avoided them all.
As time went on, fewer people came to Jinsha Village.
Another few days passed, and a week had gone by since he last entered Black Mountain.
Lin Xiao Tian bid farewell to the little white snake and, under the cover of night, descended Black Mountain.
Bang, bang, bang!
Lin Xiao Tian knocked on Li Ergaui's door.
"Who is it?"
Li Ergaui's voice sounded impatient, but he clearly wasn't asleep at this hour.
When he opened the door and saw Lin Xiao Tian, Li Ergaui froze in disbelief.