See If I Don't Hammer You to Death Today! Beg for Follow-ups! Beg for Votes!

"Ah, don't! Don't hit the face! Help!"

"Han Yixian, I solemnly warn you not to throw your weight around just because you're a woman."

"What the fuck! You little vixen! You can't beat me, so you're resorting to needles?! My face won't move! Am I paralyzed? This is going too far!"

Soon, the shirtless Jiang Lin relied on his thick skin, braved a head full of silver needles, and lunged forward, directly tackling Xiao Yi Xian to the ground. However, as they fell, Jiang Lin instinctively stretched out his left hand to cushion the back of Xiao Yi Xian's head, and with a thud, the two of them tumbled down together.

Only the posture was a little ambiguous. The shirtless Jiang Lin pinned Xiao Yi Xian underneath, but one of his hands was still cupping the back of her head.

"Eep."

Struck by Jiang Lin's body, Xiao Yi Xian could not help letting out a painful whimper. Then she opened her eyes and locked gazes with Jiang Lin, who was less than a fist's length away from her head.

"...Hmph! Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Xiao Yi Xian could feel the warmth behind her head; the instant they fell, Jiang Lin had used his hand to protect her head, worried she would get hurt. It was just that this posture made it look like she had been pounced on and embraced by Jiang Lin. It was way too ambiguous.

When Xiao Yi Xian uttered these words, she lacked a bit of confidence. At the same time, a trace of a blush slowly crept up her cute ears, which were partially hidden by her dark hair, though due to the dim lighting, Jiang Lin did not notice.

Jiang Lin, who was still annoyed at being inexplicably attacked by Xiao Yi Xian, saw that she was pinned to the ground by him, her pale-white hair and dress stained with dust, and he also sensed a hint of tremor in her tone. The tip of his nose could practically catch the orchid-like fragrance of the young girl. In the end, Jiang Lin rolled his eyes at Xiao Yi Xian.

He really wanted to retort: Not doing anything!

On second thought, however, bullying a young girl like this seemed a bit too much, so he asked Xiao Yi Xian expressionlessly, "Let's get this straight first—no more hitting! If you agree, blink twenty times, and then I'll let you up."

Xiao Yi Xian stared at Jiang Lin in silence: ...

Listen to yourself, is that even human speech? Blink twenty times? Isn't it usually two times? Did you just arbitrarily add a zero on your own???

Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian's face had rounded out in anger, Jiang Lin wanted to laugh, but his facial muscles were too stiff and he could not manage it.

With no other choice, he could only quickly scramble up, help Xiao Yi Xian to her feet, and at the same time rapidly open all the doors and windows in the forge room to accelerate the dissipation of the white mist.

After doing all this, Jiang Lin hurried over to Xiao Yi Xian, found a stool for her to sit on, and then pointed to the silver needles on his face. "Xian'er Boss, hurry up and help me pull the needles out. You've turned me into a facial paralysis patient."

Looking at the paralyzed Jiang Lin before her, Xiao Yi Xian grew angrier the more she thought about it, and no matter how she thought about it, she was still furious. She let out a soft huff, her pouting appearance resembling a chubby, sullen little puppy, but she still reached out to remove the needles from Jiang Lin's face and head.

"You've even learned to bully me now? I should have just known to needle you to death!" Xiao Yi Xian muttered unhappily as she pulled out the needles.

"My good ancestor, I didn't do anything! I was just quietly hammering my iron here, and the moment you walked through the door you needled me. This was emergency avoidance, legitimate self-defense!" Jiang Lin found it all rather bizarre; he surely hadn't provoked her, had he?

"So you're full of crooked logic and arguments, is that it?! You were possessed by an evil spirit! You were right there crying and yelling at the top of your lungs, so I gave you a few needles to wake you up!"

"Uh..." Jiang Lin looked at the dust-covered Xiao Yi Xian in front of him, suddenly feeling like he might have misunderstood her.

"Xian'er Boss, is there perhaps some slight misunderstanding in all of this?" Once Xiao Yi Xian had pulled out all the silver needles from his head, Jiang Lin immediately put on a flattering smile.

"Indeed. When you were cursing me out, I thought you were plenty clear-headed." Xiao Yi Xian looked expressionlessly at Jiang Lin, who was squatting in front of her and fawning.

Hearing this, Jiang Lin's smile instantly froze. Why had he let his mouth run wild the moment he got all excited???

"Th-this..."

Xiao Yi Xian's remark instantly plunged Jiang Lin into a dilemma. Should he admit that he had been possessed by an evil spirit, or should he insist that he had been completely clear-headed?

To die standing or to live lying down—that was the question.

Watching Jiang Lin squatting in front of her like a big dog with an expression of extreme inner conflict, Xiao Yi Xian could not help the corners of her mouth twitching upward, though she quickly suppressed it and maintained her displeased look.

"Th-um... The first half of it was clear-headed, and the latter half was a demonic possession. Thanks to Xian'er Boss for wielding miraculous hands and saving Little Linzi's dog life from the jaws of death! For this great kindness, Little Linzi has no way to repay you, and can only hope to serve as an ox or a horse in the next life to repay Xian'er Boss!" In the end, after weighing various factors, Jiang Lin chose a compromise.

"You really..." Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian could not help twitching the corner of her mouth. Didn't Jiang Lin's words make it crystal clear that he was fully aware of what he had been saying?

Abominable! Little Linzi actually dared to call her stupid! Mr. Yao had said her medical skills were brilliant and she was as smart as they come!!!

"Then what about this life?" Xiao Yi Xian couldn't be bothered to quibble with this scoundrel Jiang Lin, her attention being caught by his subsequent words.

"Originally I was going to be an ox and a horse in this life, but I applied for a schedule change to the next life. I'll be your ox and horse in the next life; for this life, I'll focus on being a proper human being." Jiang Lin didn't panic in the least, tossing out nonsense with effortless ease.

Seeing other people born as beasts of burden, I suddenly burst into tears of joy over my own birth as a human! Hehe hehehe!

Xiao Yi Xian: "..."

Xiao Yi Xian got up, turned around, and walked straight out the door.

Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian seemed a little angry, Jiang Lin hurriedly stepped forward and caught her hand at the doorway. "Don't be mad, Xian'er Boss, I was just joking, just joking! I had a new flash of insight regarding artifact forging, and for a moment my emotions got a bit out of hand. Don't be upset, Xian'er Boss! I know Xian'er Boss was worried I'd burn the house down and came to check on me, and I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart. In a few days, once I translate my epiphany into a Dou Artifact, I'll definitely gift Xian'er Boss a super pretty present!"

Xiao Yi Xian stood at the door, listening to Jiang Lin's words with the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, but when she lowered her gaze to look at her dirty dress, her expression instantly collapsed. She let out a soft huff with her delicate, dust-smudged nose to express her displeasure, patted the dust off her skirt, tossed her little head, and left without looking back.

Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian hadn't left behind any harsh parting words, Jiang Lin finally let out a small inward sigh of relief. He turned back to look at the cleared-up forge room, walked over to the water basin, and stared at a piece of Purple Flame Stone lying quietly at the bottom and radiating a purple glow. Instantly, his anger flared up.

He immediately hauled it out and hurled it into the smelting furnace.

"See if I don't hammer you to death today!"

Purple Flame Stone: Oh! No! Ah! Ah! No! Please don't stop! Harder! Ah! Please use more force!

Jiang Lin: ???