Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—
Lin Tianlu tilted his head back and watched the jade pendant spin on the ceiling for a long while before finally dropping as though it had run out of power.
"Were you trying to dig through the floor?"
He muttered with a strange look on his face and raised his hand to catch it.
But in the next moment, a sudden phenomenon occurred.
Strands of fluorescent light projected from the jade pendant, illuminating the ceiling.
Lin Tianlu's eyes widened slightly.
"What is this—"
Although the image was blurry, the arrangement of mountains, rivers, and other terrain looked very much like a large map.
On the map, he could vaguely make out a tiny, faintly glowing dot.
"Could it be some kind of treasure map, with wondrous pills and miraculous medicines or divine weapons hidden inside?"
With great interest, he hurried back to the study to find a map of Fengchen Kingdom. He returned to the main hall and compared it with the map on the ceiling.
"It looks... kind of far away. It's even outside Xima County. A rough estimate says that if I relied solely on my feet, it'd probably take more than ten days to get there."
Before he could look much longer, the map quickly flickered and vanished.
Lin Tianlu shook his head and sighed.
If he had the time, he could go over and take a look.
But right now, he was even more curious about the mysteries of this jade pendant. Could absorbing gray energy three times have been solely to unlock a map coordinate?
"Couldn't you have hidden some old grandpa or grandma or something inside?"
He brought the jade pendant before his eyes and examined it carefully. It was obvious that the pendant had undergone some changes.
The jade pendant, which had originally been dull and lusterless, now shone with a faint radiance. The jade within had also become several degrees clearer and more translucent, no longer as murky and mottled as before.
Judging solely by its appearance, its grade had risen considerably.
"Do you have any other special abilities?" Lin Tianlu wondered. He tried injecting a little spiritual power into it.
Buzz—!
A pale light lit up within the jade pendant.
Just as Lin Tianlu was marveling at it, the jade pendant suddenly spun around and shot straight into his face.
"..."
With a speechless expression, he peeled the jade pendant off his face.
But the jade pendant kept trembling back and forth between his fingers. After forcibly breaking free—
it stuck itself to his face again.
Lin Tianlu: "..."
Had this thing changed from a light bulb into chewing gum?
"Is there some kind of wondrous magnetism in my face? Isn't this a jade pendant? How can it keep getting sucked toward me?" Lin Tianlu helplessly removed the jade pendant from his face and forcibly clasped it in his palm.
The jade pendant struggled for quite a while, looking just like a wind-up toy.
Only after the commotion gradually died down did Lin Tianlu try opening his hand.
He hurriedly bit down on the jade pendant, which nearly flew straight into his throat.
What the hell is this?!
A murder weapon?
After struggling against it for a moment, he slowly felt its force weaken. Instead, it seemed to be gaining an urge to fly outward.
Only then did Lin Tianlu release it from his teeth. Before he could reach out to catch it, the jade pendant spun several times before his eyes, then floated lightly down into his palm.
It even deliberately rubbed against him twice.
The corner of Lin Tianlu's mouth twitched.
This sense of déjà vu...
"So you're a pet?"
The jade pendant floated up and bumped lightly against his palm, as if silently objecting.
Lin Tianlu grew somewhat interested. Curiously, he asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
"..."
The jade pendant made no sound, but it spun twice in midair, as though responding.
"Interesting." Lin Tianlu asked curiously, "Then is the map and glowing dot that appeared just now extremely important?"
The jade pendant flopped down into his hand and lay motionless like a dead fish.
Lin Tianlu looked thoughtful and continued, "You mean it's not important?"
The jade pendant floated up again and spun rapidly.
"So that means... I'm right?"
The jade pendant did a somersault and spun even more enthusiastically.
Lin Tianlu pondered for a moment before suggesting, "Can you dip yourself in ink and write some words on paper? You could just roll around on the paper."
The jade pendant abruptly stopped. Then it suddenly bumped against his forehead several times, neither lightly nor heavily, as though it had gotten a little angry.
"Hey! Don't just hit people! If dipping yourself in ink and writing won't work, we could try Morse code. Want me to teach you?"
Seeing that the jade pendant was full of spirit, Lin Tianlu simply fired off question after question.
"Are you an ancient immortal hiding inside the jade pendant?"
"Do you know what changes have happened to my body?"
"What secrets are there on Taiyi Mountain?"
"..."
The jade pendant seemed to have been completely bewildered by his questions.
One man and one jade pendant silently stared each other down for quite some time.
After mulling it over for a long while, Lin Tianlu suddenly said, "Can you transform into a beautiful young woman?"
"If not a beautiful girl, you could turn into a weapon of the immortals instead?"
"..."
Plop.
Lin Tianlu hurriedly reached out and caught the jade pendant, which had suddenly fallen.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that the spiritual light flickering within the jade pendant had gradually dimmed, as though it had exhausted its power.
As expected of something left behind by an immortal sect—it really did have some tricks.
"Could the immortals in that immortal sect have normally relied on this little fellow to amuse themselves?"
After injecting spiritual energy and confirming that the jade pendant could still glow and was unharmed, Lin Tianlu finally put it back into his robes, both amused and exasperated.
Temporarily casting this little interlude to the back of his mind, he went alone to the pavilion in the courtyard and sat down cross-legged.
He calmed his mind and parted the clouds and mist. Soon, he once again saw the Taiyi Immortal Mountain within his body, its rosy light flowing and circling.
"Other than that white lotus, there aren't any other changes. It's just that—"
With a thought, he could now summon Emerald Lock from within the mountain and control it freely as his heart desired.
"How wondrous. I never would have thought that Taiyi Mountain also possessed the ability to bind souls and condense spirits."
His gaze narrowed slightly. Beside the white lotus, he vaguely saw Cheng Yishi, dressed in a pure white skirt, smiling and bowing lightly to him in graceful reverence. Threads of pale golden haze rose from the top of her head and merged into the surging flow of spiritual energy within his body.
Lin Tianlu's expression turned complicated.
Not only is there a mountain stuffed inside my body—now there's a person too?
The next morning.
After washing up, Lin Tianlu soon arrived at the courtyard, refreshed and invigorated.
Hua Shuya had evidently risen early to practice her swordsmanship. Her feet moved in quick succession, and her figure was elegant as though dancing, her bearing graceful and captivating. Perhaps because of her battle with the fierce ghost the previous day, her sword aura had grown several degrees sharper.
"As for this jade pendant..."
Lin Tianlu took out the jade pendant and glanced at it.
Unfortunately, after its antics the previous night, the jade pendant had shown no further reaction. It did not move even when spiritual power was injected into it.
It seemed he still had to rely on absorbing more yin energy.
"Senior!"
As though noticing Lin Tianlu's arrival, Hua Shuya, who had been practicing her sword, hurriedly walked over.
Yet an extremely strange expression showed on her face.
Hua Shuya stammered, not knowing how to begin. Her bashful appearance left Lin Tianlu quite puzzled.
What's wrong with this girl today?
"Could she have caught cold from being affected by yin energy last night?"
"That's not it."
Hua Shuya repeatedly shook her head. Her jade-like hands clenched and unclenched within her sleeves. Finally, as though summoning her courage, she asked, "Senior, what is your relationship with that woman?"
"Woman?"
Lin Tianlu was stunned for a moment.
Just then, a bewitching figure emerged from the corridor, carrying several steaming dishes.
Lin Tianlu quickly turned his head and looked over in astonishment. "Madam Mao?"
"M-Mister Lin?!"
Their gazes met. Mao Ruoyu's whole body trembled, and she was so frightened that her legs nearly gave way.
Hua Shuya had only heard the word "madam," but her beautiful eyes immediately widened. She looked back and forth between the two of them in utter shock.
"S-Senior?!"
The three of them sat around the dining table. Only after a patient explanation did they each let out a sigh of relief, each with their own thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Madam Mao. This was my oversight."
Lin Tianlu cupped his hands and smiled sheepishly. "I was busy with some matters last night and somehow forgot the commission you entrusted to me. I also failed to explain things to Miss Hua. Please forgive me."
"It's all right."
Mao Ruoyu gently wiped away the cold sweat on her forehead, then quickly revealed a tender smile. "Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Mister Lin and this... Miss Hua should eat while it's hot. Rice porridge is best drunk while hot."
Hua Shuya's pretty face flushed slightly. She bowed deeply and solemnly. "Thank you for your kindness, Madam Mao. I was rude just now."
She felt utterly mortified.
In her panic just now, she had actually mistaken Senior and this beautiful married woman for husband and wife. Her mind had gone blank, and she had nearly said something strange.
With an embarrassed expression, she could only pick up the porcelain bowl and obediently drink her porridge.
But after tasting it, Lin Tianlu and Hua Shuya both let out a soft exclamation. The porridge was sweet without being cloying, and they hurriedly took several more spoonfuls.
Before long, the two bowls of rice porridge had been polished off. They casually picked up the pastries placed beside them and sampled them as well. Their balance of sweet and salty flavors was perfect, and the texture was exquisite.
Before they knew it, the two breakfasts had been devoured like a whirlwind.
Hua Shuya gently stroked her stomach, her pretty face filled with admiration. "Madam Mao's cooking is truly astonishing. With skills like these, even so-called master chefs would be far inferior."
"You flatter me, Miss. I'm glad you like it." Mao Ruoyu smiled gracefully.
"The flavor really is excellent. However..."
Lin Tianlu rubbed his chin and said doubtfully, "Compared with the pastries Madam Mao made before, these seem to lack a certain refreshing coolness. They don't have that wondrous aftertaste that lingers between the teeth.
"That's a little unfortunate. I wonder what ingredients Madam Mao used in those pastries before. If they were expensive, I can help pay for some of the cost now."
Mao Ruoyu: "..."
The gentle smile on her face froze, and for a moment, she did not know how to explain.
Those pastries had medicine mixed into them.
An ordinary person would have fallen into a deep, dream-filled sleep on the spot after eating them. Who would have thought you'd gobble them down like seasoning?!
Before you continue