The next morning, Liu Lin woke up and drowsily rolled over, only to find himself lying alone in bed.
When he got up, he discovered that Zhang Lexuan had already undone the chains.
He was just about to stretch when he spotted a note tucked beneath the table nearby.
Liu Lin walked over, picked it up, and read what was written on it.
The handwriting was neat and strong. There was only one line: See you tonight.
Liu Lin stared at the note for several seconds, then burned it in his hand with Soul Power.
He got up and pushed open the window. The morning breeze of Heaven Dou City swept into the room, carrying the bustle of the streets and the scent of food.
He looked down at his wrist. A faint red mark still circled it, and he felt that his life seemed to be hurtling in an increasingly absurd direction.
He took a deep breath and decided to get breakfast first. Whatever had happened last night, he still had to eat.
Just as Liu Lin was about to leave, someone knocked on his door, and Xu Jiujiu's voice came from outside.
"Liu Lin, are you awake? I brought you breakfast. Hurry up and open the door."
Liu Lin instinctively tugged at his sleeve, making sure it completely covered the red mark around his wrist, then went over to open the door.
Xu Jiujiu stood outside, carrying two breakfasts.
She was wearing casual light-blue clothes today, her golden hair casually tied into a ponytail.
She looked Liu Lin up and down as he emerged, her brows drawing together slightly.
"Did you sleep badly last night? You look awful."
"I had a nightmare." Liu Lin took the breakfast without changing his expression. "Why are you up so early?"
"Our academy has a match today. We're only the reserve team, but we still have to go watch."
As she spoke, Xu Jiujiu walked into the room and glanced around. The bed was neatly made, the window was open, and everything looked perfectly normal.
But her instincts told her something was off. She went over to the window, hoping to catch some unusual scent in the air, but the wind had already swept it all away.
"What's wrong?" Liu Lin asked casually as he held his bowl of porridge.
"...Nothing." Xu Jiujiu looked away and sat down across from him, beginning to eat her breakfast.
After a few bites, she looked up at Liu Lin again, but in the end, she didn't voice the questions on her mind.
From then on, Liu Lin's days fell into an extremely regular routine.
During the day, he went with Xu Jiujiu and the Star Luo Royal Academy team to watch matches at the Great Soul Arena, observing the various academies' tactical arrangements and the Soul Masters' teamwork. At night, he kept Zhang Lexuan company.
In the end, the Star Luo Royal Academy finished fourth. It wasn't a result to celebrate, but it was in line with expectations.
Shrek Academy, under Zhang Lexuan's leadership, won the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament.
As the reserve team captain, Xu Jiujiu was swamped these past few days. Not only did she have to organize the team's observations and studies, but she also had to represent the academy in exchanges with teams from several other empires.
But no matter how busy she was, she went to have breakfast with Liu Lin every morning.
That was when she began noticing more and more things that seemed off. Liu Lin looked worse with each passing day, and faint dark circles had started to appear under his eyes.
At first, she thought he was either cultivating or staying up late to study tactics. But when she borrowed the tournament's tactical handbook to look through it, she found that Liu Lin had already completed every analysis.
After that, she began keeping an eye on Liu Lin's every move. Then, on the third morning, she noticed his sleeve slip back as he reached for his bowl of porridge, revealing a faint red mark around the inside of his wrist.
"What happened to your wrist?" Xu Jiujiu put down her chopsticks and reached to grab his wrist.
"I accidentally tightened something around it while cultivating." Liu Lin spoke without changing his expression as he pulled his sleeve back into place.
Xu Jiujiu studied his expression but didn't press him further. She simply picked up her bowl and continued drinking her porridge.
But she had begun to suspect Liu Lin. Marks from cultivating wouldn't be so fine, and they certainly wouldn't appear in exactly that spot on his wrist.
The fifth day, the sixth day... Every morning, Xu Jiujiu knocked on Liu Lin's door right on time. Each day, he looked a little worse than the day before, and every morning he blamed it on cultivation.
Xu Jiujiu didn't call him out, but her morning knocks grew more and more urgent. They went from knocks to pounding, and from questions to scrutiny.
She no longer asked, "Did you sleep badly last night?" Instead, she simply stared into his eyes and waited for him to explain himself.
Liu Lin was suffering too. Every night, Zhang Lexuan from the future appeared in his room right on time, chained him up, told him stories, and finally held him as they slept.
Zhang Lexuan also liked to bury her face in the hollow of his neck, as if she could only fall asleep peacefully in that spot.
And sometimes, she would wake in the middle of the night and silently watch his face for a long, long time.
On the final night, Zhang Lexuan didn't chain Liu Lin up.
She simply sat by the window, lost in thought. Moonlight fell on her, shrouding her entire figure in a pale silver glow.
Liu Lin leaned against the headboard and watched her. Neither of them spoke.
The silence lingered for a long time. Only after all the lights in the distance had gone out did Zhang Lexuan speak. "You're leaving tomorrow?"
"Mm." Liu Lin nodded. "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament is over. I should go back."
Zhang Lexuan nodded, rose from the window, and walked toward Liu Lin.
"I see your little fiancée keeps a close eye on you. Why don't you tell her about me, Xiao Lin?" Zhang Lexuan looked at Liu Lin sitting on the bed and asked with a playful smile.
Hearing what Zhang Lexuan said, Liu Lin couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth.
Zhang Lexuan was absolutely right. Xu Jiujiu wasn't stupid. Who would believe the excuse he'd been giving every day? She was only waiting for him to confess on his own.
Seeing Liu Lin's unhappy expression, Zhang Lexuan laughed and moved on from the subject.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you, Xiao Lin." Zhang Lexuan put away her smile.
After a pause, she put on a serious expression and said, "I came to ask if you'd like to go with me to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well after the tournament ends."
"The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?"
"Mm." At Liu Lin's question, Zhang Lexuan nodded. "Do you have any questions, Xiao Lin?"
"Where is the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?"
"Oh, I forgot you don't know where the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well is yet." Zhang Lexuan said apologetically, patting her head as if she had only just remembered.
"But that's alright. There are plenty of heavenly treasures there that can help you improve your strength. How about coming with your big sister?"
Hearing Zhang Lexuan use that coaxing tone to say those words, Liu Lin couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"I'm not going."
At Liu Lin's blunt refusal, Zhang Lexuan clearly froze for a moment.
"Why not? There are heavenly treasures there that can help you improve your strength." Zhang Lexuan looked at Liu Lin in confusion.