Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.
During this time, Lin Yan, who had been settled in a side hall, waited and waited, but Xue Qinghe never showed up. So he simply began meditating where he was.
Seeing this, Xue Qinghe and She Long couldn't help secretly admiring the boy's composure.
Honestly, if some ordinary, spoiled kid had been left there, he would probably have started getting impatient long ago.
They hadn't expected Lin Yan to start cultivating right where he stood.
Night deepened. Just as a trace of weariness appeared in Xue Qinghe's eyes, Ci Xue finally returned from investigating Lin Yan.
"Your Highness, I've got the results."
Before Xue Qinghe could respond, Ci Xue began laying out the information as soon as he entered the room.
"About three or four months ago, this boy was an orphan from Grass Snake Village. Later, a Spirit Saint named Flender awakened a Mutated Martial Soul for him..."
Ci Xue then recounted, more or less, everything Lin Yan had been through during this time.
The intelligence network of Spirit Hall was truly top-notch.
In a single afternoon, they had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of both Grass Snake Village and Shrek Academy.
They had even uncovered the full nature of Wen Ruan's relationship with Lin Yan.
Finally, Ci Xue gave his conclusion.
"Your Highness, all in all, this boy has a spotless background. He's as clean as a blank sheet of paper."
Hearing this, Xue Qinghe was overjoyed.
"Good! Excellent!"
He paced back and forth, his excitement plain on his face. The weariness that had just begun to creep in had vanished completely.
"A six-year-old child hasn't yet formed a complete worldview. Whoever teaches him now, whoever treats him well, will become the blade in his hand."
"This is practically a piece of uncut jade delivered right to our doorstep, ready for anyone to carve..."
"And talented people like him are exactly what I lack most."
This time, Xue Qinghe had truly taken a liking to Lin Yan's potential.
Talent was, in the end, just two things: the person and the ability.
In the original story, she had admired Tang San so much and spared his life time and again because she valued his talent and wanted him to work for her.
But in some ways, Lin Yan's talent had already far surpassed Tang San's.
There was another crucial point: when she had met Tang San, he had already been an adult and stood on the opposite side. No matter what she offered, he hadn't been swayed.
But now, in her eyes, six-year-old Lin Yan was a blank sheet of paper, ready for anyone to paint upon.
Anyone could see which was better: a Tang San she'd exhausted every effort trying to win over, or a completely loyal Lin Yan brought up at her side from childhood.
Xue Qinghe immediately dispelled the disguise created by her Soul Bone Skill.
Golden light flashed in the room. The next moment, Xue Qinghe's face twisted and shifted, finally settling into that of a peerlessly beautiful woman.
"I'm going to change. Take him to the secret chamber."
"Yes."
Before long, a sudden cry rang out from the side hall.
"Huh?"
"Wait... who are you? Where's the Crown Prince? Your Highness!"
The boy's cries ended with the muffled thud of a stone door closing.
Lin Yan had been locked in the secret chamber...
Though Lin Yan had spent this time preparing himself, and had guessed that Qian Renxue might eventually recruit him under her true identity, being shut away in a dim secret chamber still left him feeling uneasy.
Would she... torture me to force a confession? Try to make me reveal the secret behind my thousand-year first ring?
If so, should I tell her the secret of Whale Rubber? And if I do, what are the chances she'll let me live?
For a while, Lin Yan couldn't help imagining all sorts of possibilities. Whether it was instinct from his six-year-old body or something else, his thoughts kept wandering further and further.
He thought about it for a long time—long enough to lose his sense of urgency, long enough to start feeling sleepy—but the door to the secret chamber still didn't open.
What's going on? Is she coming tonight or not?
Qian Renxue's prolonged absence left Lin Yan increasingly confused.
By rights, she had already had him brought to the secret chamber. Shouldn't she have come out and revealed everything by now? Why keep him waiting? Some kind of psychological tactic?
Just as he was puzzling over it, the stone door finally stirred.
Lin Yan's heart leaped with joy. He stared fixedly at the crack as the stone door slowly opened.
Amid the grinding scrape of stone, a woman in a golden gown came into view.
One glance, and a lifetime's worth of memories!
The moment Lin Yan saw her face, he was utterly captivated.
It was pure admiration for beauty, impossible to resist.
If looks were rated on a scale, Wen Ruan might get an 8.5, but Qian Renxue could score an 11.
Out of ten!
She was stunning. In his previous life, Lin Yan had heard people call Qian Renxue the most beautiful woman on Douluo Continent, but he'd never thought much of it. Only after seeing her with his own eyes did he realize how sharp the public's eye could be.
Her elegant makeup perfectly accentuated every detail of her face. At that moment, Qian Renxue seemed like a work of art too sacred to defile.
All he could say was, no wonder she was an angel!
"You are..."
Lin Yan pretended to know nothing and cautiously asked who she was.
Qian Renxue smiled and nodded.
"Lin Yan, congratulations on becoming a member of Spirit Hall."
"Huh? I... I thought this was the Crown Prince's Mansion in Heaven Dou City."
Lin Yan hadn't expected her to be so direct, openly declaring her allegiance to Spirit Hall.
With two shocks hitting him at once, his reaction was entirely natural.
Qian Renxue nodded slightly and began to explain.
"That's right. This is indeed the Crown Prince's Mansion."
"But I'm not the Crown Prince. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qian Renxue, and I'm the young master of Spirit Hall."
Lin Yan nodded. "I know you're not the Crown Prince. So where is His Highness now?"
Qian Renxue was very pleased with Lin Yan's reaction.
Especially the way he had stared at her the instant she walked in, dazed like a little boy. It was both amusing and charming, and it gratified the vanity of someone who rarely showed her true face.
In an excellent mood, she decided to lay everything bare.
Golden light flashed. Qian Renxue's beautiful face suddenly became Xue Qinghe's, then flashed again and returned to its original form.
"This..."
Lin Yan put on a thoroughly shocked expression, pointed at Qian Renxue with a trembling little hand, and opened his mouth. For a long time, not a word came out.
At the sight of this, Qian Renxue smiled and spoke slowly.
"What lies before you is a broad and open road, far grander than swearing loyalty to the imperial family."
"That is, joining Spirit Hall."
As she spoke, she opened her arms.
It was as though the gesture embraced her bright future and welcomed Lin Yan into it.
The girl lifted her chin and looked down at Lin Yan.
"As you can see, I am the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince is me."
"On the surface, you've joined the Crown Prince's Mansion, but in truth, you'll be serving Spirit Hall."
"Do you understand?"