Lin Jiuge

After Shi Hao and his companion left, a major incident occurred in the village.

The Second Ancestral Land of the Stone Kingdom was burned. Three princes of the Stone Kingdom arrived and, following the leads, executed Yu Meng.

The capital was shaken, triggering a massive upheaval. In the end, the Human Emperor personally intervened, reprimanding several involved parties and executing many, which finally allowed the storm to subside.

Yet none of this had anything to do with Little One.

Chongyun Town.

Shi Lin had already been wandering around for several days and had a rough understanding of the situation here.

News of the Second Ancestral Land's destruction had reached this place. Shi Lin had long known this would happen.

This day was the date Little One had agreed to meet Shi Lin after leaving the Second Ancestral Land. Shi Lin strolled leisurely along the streets, heading out of the city.

People in the marketplace were all discussing the major events of the past few days.

"Have you heard? This arson was likely triggered by the Rain Clan, and they even dared to collude with the servants in that ancestral land. This is already treasonous!"

"Yeah, yeah! That day, heads rolled. All the servants in the village who had connections with the outside world were interrogated and then beheaded. Blood everywhere, corpses strewn across a huge area!"

"What's that compared to this? A great figure of the Rain Clan in the Western Border was killed by a prince who came from the capital!"

"Hiss~!"

The crowd was stunned.

Shi Lin walked past, listening with a smile. Clearly, all of this was within his expectations.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and a carriage came speeding over.

At a glance, the horses pulling this carriage were the vicious beast Gale Horses. Gale Horses were top-grade equine beasts, armored all over, used exclusively for human riding.

The person sitting in this carriage looked noble at first sight.

Shi Lin instinctively turned to look, only to be met with a sharp rebuke.

"Get out of the way, kid up ahead!" the coachman on the carriage shouted.

Shi Lin turned back, cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Brat, didn't you hear? Move it!" The coachman's tone grew heavier.

Shi Lin paid no attention, watching as the carriage approached.

The coachman hurriedly stopped the carriage.

"Whoa~!"

A pleasant female voice came from inside the carriage.

"What's wrong? Why did we stop?"

"Ninth Princess, there's a little brat blocking the road," the coachman transmitted softly inside.

"I'll come out and take a look."

"Ninth Princess, but your identity..."

"It's fine. We're leaving anyway."

"Yes!" The coachman drew open the curtains, and a beautiful girl stepped out.

Shi Lin stood in place like a rogue, unafraid of making a scene.

I have time anyway, Shi Lin thought.

Shi Lin looked toward the beauty inside the carriage and was instantly mesmerized.

The girl had a lovely face, skin as white as freshly peeled lotus seeds, slender brows, and a faint scholarly air between her features. Her face was exquisitely beautiful. She wore a plain green dress layered with a sheer white gauze, perfectly accentuating her graceful figure. Her waist-length hair danced wildly in the wind, a few strands playfully flying forward. Her head bore no ornaments, only a light blue ribbon gently tying back a lock of hair.

Around her neck hung a purple crystal that glowed faintly, making her skin appear snow-white, like a celestial maiden descended to earth. Her hands were like tender shoots, skin like congealed cream, neck like a grub, teeth like gourd seeds, forehead like a cicada's, brows like moth antennae, smiling charmingly, eyes glancing, brows like emerald feathers, teeth like embedded shells, waist like bound silk. Her radiant smile could bewitch Yang City and captivate Xia Cai. A sky-blue bracelet rested casually on her wrist, further highlighting the fair, lustrous skin. Her gaze was pure as water, occasionally tinged with melancholy, giving an unattainable feeling.

Her small red lips pouted slightly, lending a delicate, refined air. Though not old, she could be called a nation-toppling beauty.

At that moment, Shi Lin's heartbeat quickened, his face flushed red, his entire body heating up. He had never felt this way even during his medicinal bath in the cauldron.

Love at first sight isn't liking someone after one glance, but being unable to forget them after seeing them.

The girl lightly jumped down from the carriage and gracefully walked up to Shi Lin, parting her red lips.

"Excuse me, could you move aside?" The girl blinked her large, crystalline eyes.

Shi Lin was momentarily dazed and didn't answer. Staring at her face up close, his heartbeat seemed to race even faster.

"Huh?" The girl looked puzzled and waved her jade-like hand in front of Shi Lin.

"Why aren't you answering?"

"Oh!" Shi Lin startled backward and slapped his own face hard.

Shi Lin, what's wrong with you? You're renowned for your wisdom all your life, yet you can't speak after seeing a pretty girl, Shi Lin thought.

Still, this girl is really beautiful, Shi Lin mused, lovestruck.

Ah, no. I, Shi Lin, am a reincarnator. In the future, what beauties or fairies couldn't I find? There are plenty prettier than this girl. What am I doing? Shi Lin, snap out of it, Shi Lin waged an internal struggle.

I, Shi Lin, am a fine young man of the twenty-first century. I'm this handsome, so I need to be confident. He just scolded me earlier. I should teach them a lesson.

Shi Lin built up his self-confidence, gathered his courage, and walked forward.

The girl waited patiently on the side. Seeing him approach, she smiled and said.

"You've recovered, um, could you please move aside?"

Shi Lin looked at the girl's face, his own turning bright red instantly. His heart rate accelerated rapidly, and he quickly lowered his head, swallowing the words he had just been about to say.

"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything again?" The girl frowned.

Shi Lin stammered for a while before managing to squeeze out a single word.

"Okay~." Shi Lin whispered, head bowed.

"Great, thank you! Let's get to know each other; my name is Lin Jiuge, what's yours?" The girl was very lively and extended a hand.

"I, I am, I am Shi Lin." Only then did Shi Lin lift his head, though his face remained flushed.

Seeing that Shi Lin didn't reach out, the girl simply grabbed his hand and shook it.

The moment their hands touched, Shi Lin felt a softness in his palm; her hand was smaller than his, but her grip was not weak.

The wind blew through the girl's hair, and the fragrance within it wafted into Shi Lin's nose, a refreshing scent.

Shi Lin's heart suddenly calmed down.

"I'm off then! Oh right, I come from the Wood Kingdom Imperial Capital, remember to come find me to play! This is for you!" The girl left behind a sound like tinkling bells and a purple necklace, boarded a carriage, and rode off into the dust, leaving a stunned Shi Lin standing there.

"Is this... is this what it feels like to have a crush?"...

Outside Chongyun Town.

In a small pavilion, two children under ten years old were playing with a small monkey.

Suddenly, the golden little monkey looked up and began to squeak.

"It's Brother Lin!" Little One looked up toward the side. He saw a child about 1.6 meters tall standing there.

"Little One, Furball, I'm here!" Shi Lin laughed.

"Who is this?" Shi Lin looked at Qingfeng.

Shi Lin pretended not to know.

"Oh, Brother Lin, this is Qingfeng. He suffered a lot for my sake, so I'm planning to take him back to the village!"

"Mm-hmm! It's getting late, we should be going too!"

"Alright!"

And just like that, the three of them began their journey back.