Awaiting You for Some Time

Such a thought flashed through his mind.

He Song lowered his head and glanced at the teacup before him, speechless.

It seemed—

The other party had not truly been cautious.

He had sensed He Song's presence, so he had not dared to make a move.

Perhaps he feared that He Song would play the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waited behind, or perhaps he worried that Lin Cong was not actually dead.

But now, it seemed—

There was a high chance the man would act today.

Without touching the tea in his hand, He Song carefully listened to the footsteps next door.

The faint footsteps circled the house once, then stopped by the window of the neighboring house.

After a brief pause—

Click~

With a soft sound, He Song immediately realized that someone had opened Lin Cong's window.

The window opened.

The man who had been scouting the place for half a month soon climbed inside.

The window closed.

After that, the surroundings fell utterly silent.

He Song remained unhurried, still holding his teacup as he quietly listened.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the other party to succeed and leave.

Or for Lin Cong to strike and kill him.

No matter how things developed, it would not greatly affect He Song. Naturally, he did not pay it much mind.

Next door.

A thin man in a long robe gently shut the window behind him, blocking out most of the sounds from outside.

After sweeping his gaze across the room, the man quickly made his way toward the only quiet room within.

The houses rented out in Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market had, besides an outer room with windows, a quiet room as well.

The outer room was built of ordinary wood, used for receiving guests and daily living.

The quiet room was built from Soundproof Wood, used for daily cultivation and practicing spells without fear of disturbance.

Nearly every house followed this design.

Thus, the man knew the layout like the back of his hand.

His footsteps were nearly soundless. Holding a Fine Steel Dagger, he cautiously approached the quiet room.

"Half a month has passed. If this man is dead, his corpse should still not have rotted inside the quiet room. But that brat next door stays in his room every day—I have no idea what he is doing. He made me wait half a month for nothing. If I ever get the chance..."

As he drew closer to the quiet room, a vicious glint flashed through the man's eyes.

But he quickly shook his head again.

"Forget it. That brat works for the Immortal Market. If I kill him, I won't be able to stay in the Immortal Market either. Still, it is fortunate he isn't home today. I'll gladly accept this man's belongings!"

With such calculations in mind, a thick greed had already surfaced in the man's gaze as he looked toward the quiet room.

The belongings of a Qi Refining Layer 3 cultivator.

No matter what, they ought to be worth several dozen Spirit Stones, right?

He knew that Lin Cong was powerfully built. At a glance, he was clearly no ordinary cultivator.

When the quiet room was shut, it was difficult to open from outside.

But it could not stump a cultivator.

So long as they were not worried about being disturbed, it was easy enough for a cultivator to break into a quiet room.

The noise, however, might attract the attention of those nearby.

That was why he had waited until He Song left before making his move.

Creak~ Creak~

Amid a grating sound that set one's teeth on edge, the door to the quiet room was slowly pried open.

However—

Just as the door opened and everything inside was exposed before the man's eyes, a wave of terror instantly surged into his heart.

"I have been awaiting you for some time." Lin Cong grinned savagely as he spoke, one hand as broad as a cattail fan suddenly seizing the man by the throat.

With his other hand, he lightly formed a hand seal.

A streak of sword light instantly severed both the man's arms and legs.

Immediately afterward, a Magic Artifact longsword under Lin Cong's control aimed directly at the man's terrified eyes.

The searing agony throughout his body.

The suffocation at his throat.

And the terror of suddenly being carved into a human stump.

All made the man who had come to collect another's belongings feel as though his eyes would split apart.

He wanted to scream.

But the pressure on his throat prevented a single sound from escaping.

He wanted to beg for mercy, only to realize he could not even speak.

All he could do was repeatedly plead with Lin Cong through his eyes.

At this moment—

The bloodstains on Lin Cong's body had already dried. Though the depression in his chest had not fully healed, it was much improved from before.

Not only had he not died—

His injuries seemed to have healed more than halfway.

With his Qi Refining Layer 3 cultivation and that tiger-and-wolf-like body, he took down the man before him in one stroke.

"You only dared enter after half a month. If you had come on the second day, I might truly have fallen for your trick." A vicious gleam flashed through Lin Cong's eyes as he looked at the man already reduced to a human stump.

The great hand clamped around the other's throat began to tighten.

"Remember this in your next life. Some things are either not to be touched at all, or, if touched, must be handled with thunderous methods!"

Before his death—

The man heard those words by his ear.

In his heart, he could not help cursing He Song.

If he had not feared that He Song would play the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waited behind, he would never have waited until today to act.

Upon learning that Lin Cong had returned seriously injured, he would likely have come straight to his door the very next day.

He had never expected He Song to be practicing spells, barely leaving his home for half a month straight.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world.

He Song would never know of the curses in his heart at that moment.

Even Lin Cong before him—

Did not know what he was thinking.

He Song had no idea that he had inexplicably caused someone's death.

Nor did he know what the man had encountered after entering Lin Cong's house.

But—

After waiting for half the day, until the sky had begun to darken, and still not seeing the man emerge, He Song already had his answer.

That man had most likely died in Lin Cong's house.

Lin Cong had most likely not died either, but had been recuperating from his injuries inside.

As for why there had been no sound for half a month—

He had probably been taking Fasting Pills. Coupled with the fact that meditating to heal required no movement, it was only natural that he made no noise.

A few guesses flashed through his mind, and He Song's expression soon relaxed.

Whether Lin Cong was dead or alive—

Had little to do with him.

If Lin Cong was dead, He Song would lose nothing.

If he was alive, He Song would gain nothing.

They had only met twice and exchanged greetings twice.

The friendship of gentlemen was as light as water. He Song would not take such matters to heart.

After putting away the tea set—

He Song soon began meditating and cultivating.

Time flowed on.

Days flew by like arrows.

In the blink of an eye, another month quietly passed.

By then, it had been a month and a half since He Song became a Spirit Plant Farmer.

In the five mu of Spirit Fields, the Spirit Rice that had grown had already been pulled out by He Song, and new seedlings had been transplanted.

This was a small technique recorded in Spirit Plant Cultivation Techniques that could effectively increase the yield of spirit rice. It was quite similar to the rice transplanting He Song had experienced in his previous life.

That day—

As usual, after getting up in the morning and eating breakfast, He Song cast the Spirit Rain Technique over the Spirit Fields for half an hour.

However, just after He Song finished casting the Spirit Rain Technique, with the spiritual power in his body completely drained and as he prepared to return home to recover it—

An unexpected figure stopped him.

"Fellow Daoist He, I said before that I would visit you, but my injuries were severe and I did not have the chance. Now that Lin's injuries have fully healed, I have come to trouble you with a visit." Lin Cong, whose injuries had fully recovered, stood outside He Song's home and cupped his hands in greeting.