Binding Successful

Lin Yan didn't stand on ceremony. He hopped directly onto the stone bench under the eaves and sat down.

Qian Renxue glanced at him but said nothing. She simply turned and walked toward the herb garden beside the courtyard.

Before long, she returned carrying two white jade plates.

On one plate were a dozen or so thumb-sized golden fruits, their surfaces marked with faint, shallow patterns that made them look like small dates.

On the other plate lay several pale green fruits, round and smooth, their skins covered in a thin layer of watery sheen, as if they had just been scooped out of a spring.

She set both jade plates on the stone table, her tone calm.

"These are all that's usually kept in the side courtyard. Eat first."

Lin Yan looked down.

Just from the soul power fluctuations, he could tell neither of these was ordinary.

Especially those few golden fruits. Just smelling them, he could feel a steady warmth within.

"And this is what you call 'all that's kept'?"

Lin Yan muttered inwardly.

"The Qian Family's resources really aren't thin."

But he didn't waste words. He lifted a paw, hooked one of the golden fruits over, and took a bite.

The moment the skin broke, juice gushed out.

It wasn't cloyingly sweet.

Nor was it sour.

The flavor was just right.

There wasn't much flesh, but it was firm. After chewing, it dissolved quickly, and a stream of warmth slid down his throat into his stomach, soon spreading through his limbs and bones.

His meridians, which had felt somewhat empty, warmed up considerably.

Even the fatigue from traveling all night faded by a notch.

Lin Yan's eyes lit up slightly.

"This stuff is good."

"It turns into soul power the moment it enters, and it even has a bit of body-tempering force."

"Way better than that milk and minced meat from the East Side Courtyard."

Thinking this, he stopped pretending. In a few bites, he finished the golden fruit cleanly, even studying the pit carefully for a moment. After confirming it wasn't edible, he set it down reluctantly.

Qian Renxue had been sitting across from him, watching.

Seeing him like this, a faint, barely noticeable trace of amusement flickered in her eyes.

"Does it suit your taste?"

"It does. Very much."

Lin Yan answered bluntly.

"A good fruit is a good fruit. It doesn't matter which family grew it."

Qian Renxue didn't respond to that. She simply pushed the other jade plate forward.

"Try this one too."

Lin Yan naturally didn't refuse.

He hooked over one of the pale green fruits and took a small bite.

Unlike the golden fruit, this one crumbled as soon as it entered his mouth.

There was no obvious sweetness.

Instead, it carried a faint, clear fragrance, like a tender leaf freshly plucked by a cold spring.

After the juice dissolved on his tongue, it didn't sink downward. Instead, it quickly transformed into a cool sensation, drilling straight into his spiritual sea.

Lin Yan's head, which had been slightly swollen from using Moon Mark Slow, almost immediately felt much lighter.

Even his primordial spirit and mental energy stabilized.

"This one's good too."

"One replenishes soul power, the other nourishes the spirit."

"You really live a refined life."

He praised naturally as he ate.

Hearing this, Qian Renxue's expression didn't change much.

But in her heart, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

She had grown up with many people watching her.

Some held reverence.

Some held caution.

And some held calculation.

But someone like Lin Yan—eating the things she gave him while praising them, and doing so with such unapologetic confidence—was almost unheard of.

For some reason, watching this white cat munch on the fruit with a look of pure contentment, she actually felt that giving him those two plates had been worth it.

"You're pretty easy to keep," she said flatly.

Lin Yan looked up at her, tail flicking.

"Depends on who's doing the keeping."

"If you fed me stuff like this every day, I'd be even easier."

Qian Renxue: "..."

She suddenly understood a little why, whenever this cat talked to her, he could always gently dissolve that subtle tension in the air.

Because he always spoke so naturally.

It sounded like an offhand remark, yet it somehow made it impossible to respond coldly.

Lin Yan, for his part, wasn't thinking that deeply.

Right now, his mind was filled with only one thought—

The Qian Family's Secret Courtyard was a damn good place.

The herb garden had medicine.

The fruit was edible.

The soul power was clean.

And the hot spring was right there, steam rising beside it.

If it weren't for the group of cats waiting for him back in the East Side Courtyard, he'd be tempted to just settle down here right now.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but sweep his gaze across the surroundings again.

The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

The more he looked, the more he felt that such a large place, with only Qian Renxue living in it, was a bit of a waste.

"If I could move Charcoal Ball and the others over..."

"Forget it, forget it. If I actually moved them, the Pope's Palace would be the first to refuse."

"Besides, this place belongs to the Qian Family, not to This Cat."

His mind was still wandering in a jumble when the system's notification tone suddenly rang out.

[Ding, fate node character "Qian Renxue's" acceptance of the host has reached the threshold.]

[Connecting...]

Lin Yan nearly spat out the fruit pit in his mouth.

It's here!

Finally here!

[Ding, fate node character "Qian Renxue" successfully connected.]

[Ding, Qian Renxue route stage gift packs claimed: First Meeting Gift Pack, Escape Together Gift Pack, Secret Companion Gift Pack.]

[Ding, Qian Renxue successfully fed the host a medicinal fruit. Reward: First Interaction Gift Pack.]

Lin Yan's eyes lit up instantly.

Holy shit.

This trip was definitely not wasted.

Not only had he made the connection, but he'd also filled in all the gift packs.

And it was a whole string of them.

He nearly bounced right off the stone bench.

But in the end, he forced himself to hold it in.

After all, Qian Renxue was still sitting across from him, watching.

If he suddenly got all excited and started bouncing around, it would look a bit too much like an abnormal cat.

Even so, his light golden eyes still curved unconsciously, and the tip of his tail lightly tapped the bench surface.

Qian Renxue watched him suddenly brighten up like this, her brow twitching slightly.

"What is it?"

"Is the fruit really that much to your liking?"

Lin Yan immediately snapped back to attention and straightened his expression.

"Mm, it's pretty good."

After saying that, he thought for a moment and added another line.

"Better than I expected."

That was actually the truth.

But what the speaker meant and what the listener understood were clearly two different things.

Qian Renxue thought he was talking about the fruit.

Lin Yan, however, had already started counting the gift packs in his mind.

First Encounter Gift Pack.

Escape Together Gift Pack.

Covert Companion Gift Pack.

And one First Interaction Gift Pack.

Four of them!

If he opened all of these, no matter how he looked at it, it couldn't be too bad.

Thinking this, he almost forgot to eat the second fruit.

Luckily, his reason held.

He forcibly pulled his mind back from the system interface, keeping his face as calm as possible, and continued lowering his head to nibble on the fruit.

Qian Renxue stared at him for two breaths but didn't ask further.

Still, she felt a little strange inside.

This cat's emotions were sometimes really easy to read.

A plate of fruit could make it this happy.

But other times, it was so deep.

So deep that you had no idea what it was thinking.

With that in mind, Qian Renxue didn't keep talking about the fruit and instead shifted the topic back.

"About what happened at the Black Marsh yesterday, if you still want to know, I can tell you."

Lin Yan's ears twitched, and he lifted his head.

"Go on?"

Qian Renxue didn't hide anything and briefly explained.

It was nothing more than her recently tracking a lead, suspecting that someone in Heavenly Dou City was secretly in contact with Evil Soul Masters, and the trail had finally pointed to an abandoned stronghold near the Black Marsh.

She had followed the clues all the way there.

But instead of finding the person, she had first stirred up something inside the Black Marsh.

After that, it became what Lin Yan had seen.

After hearing it, Lin Yan nodded.

"I see."

"Then this trip of yours wasn't a total loss—at least now you know the Black Marsh isn't somewhere to go lightly."

Qian Renxue glanced at him.

"And you?"

"Just out for a casual stroll?"

Lin Yan thought for a moment and didn't go into too much detail.

"Something like that."

"The East Side Courtyard has been too peaceful lately, and I was getting a bit bored staying there, so I wanted to see what it's like outside Martial Soul City."

"And maybe find something useful, while testing out my current skills."

Those words were seven parts truth, three parts hidden.

But after hearing it, Qian Renxue didn't press further.

She herself had held back a lot earlier.

Now that Lin Yan was keeping some things unsaid, she could actually understand.

"So what are your plans next?"

She asked.

Lin Yan was still nibbling on the fruit, but at those words, his movements paused slightly.

Plans?

He certainly had plans.

The gift pack needed to be opened.

The thread with Qian Renxue had to keep being pursued.

The East Side Courtyard couldn't truly be left unattended either.

More importantly, he had to find a way to slowly connect all these points together.

But the most practical issue right now was actually something else.

Thinking this, Lin Yan looked up and glanced around.

The courtyard was large.

The herb garden was neatly arranged.

A big empty plot of land sat beside the hot spring.

Further back, there were training platforms and a few empty rooms.

And the key point was—

There was no one else.

From the moment he entered until now, aside from Qian Renxue herself, he hadn't seen a single extra person.

With that thought, a very natural question suddenly popped into Lin Yan's mind.

"Qinghe."

"Hm?"

"This place of yours—do you live here alone?"

Qian Renxue nodded.

"Mm."

"Ordinarily, there's no need for others to come in."

Lin Yan cast another look deeper into the courtyard.

"Then who tends the herb garden on a daily basis? Who watches the hot spring? Who patrols the formations? If someone suddenly shows up from outside, do you go greet them yourself?"

Qian Renxue was taken aback at first.

Then she furrowed her brows slightly.

Clearly, she had never really thought about it from this angle before.

Or rather, she was used to doing all these things alone.

And she didn't see it as a problem.

But being asked by Lin Yan like this, she suddenly realized... it did seem to make some sense.

Seeing her silent, Lin Yan continued unhurriedly:

"Putting everything else aside, with a place this big, you can't possibly handle everything yourself, right?"

"And if someone you truly trust comes looking for you in the future, you'll need someone to guide them, keep the gate, and pass along messages."

"You can't have to personally open the door every single time."

He paused here.

Then naturally dropped the final line.

"Have you never thought about keeping a few cats?"