Before long, after the two of them pleaded with her, Ye Lingling finally relented, her expression easing.
"Hmph!"
"I'll forgive you this once, for the little junior's sake."
Ye Lingling unceremoniously snatched Lin Yan back and gathered him in her arms...
Then, feeling a little embarrassed, she asked Dugu Yan:
"Y-you... how are you feeling?"
Looking at Lin Yan, Dugu Yan forced down her reluctance and managed a faint smile.
"I'm fine now!"
At last, the rift between the two of them was mended.
Perhaps the Immortal Herb had played a part, but Lin Yan could tell that Ye Lingling was kind at heart—a "sharp tongue, soft heart." She had never truly intended to fight Dugu Yan to the death.
She had only kept up her haughty front for the sake of her pride.
"Come in. Why are you still standing outside?"
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Ye Lingling stepped aside at the door and invited Dugu Yan into the dormitory.
"Um... you two senior sisters should talk. I still need to go report to His Highness the Crown Prince and let him know I'm safe, so I won't disturb you."
As he spoke, Lin Yan wriggled free of Ye Lingling's embrace and walked to the door.
"Goodbye, senior sisters!"
He didn't give them a chance to stop him. He simply closed the door himself.
Perhaps the two girls also felt they shouldn't stop Lin Yan from returning to the royal family to report in, so they didn't reopen the door or say anything more.
In the hallway, Lin Yan let out a long breath.
"Phew~"
"What a battlefield!"
It had to be said: being too popular wasn't always a good thing. The effort it took to keep all the women in his life happy was no less than what he spent cultivating.
"I hope it won't be this troublesome again. Otherwise, it'll really get in the way of important business."
Thinking this, Lin Yan sighed quietly and headed toward the Crown Prince's Mansion.
The main hall of the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Xue Qinghe was reviewing memorials.
Though he was handling state affairs, his mind was elsewhere, his brows knitted into a deep furrow.
"Where on earth did that Dugu Bo take Lin Yan?"
"That fellow is getting more and more reckless, relying on his strength as a Titled Douluo and his status as a royal family retainer. I'll have to teach him a lesson."
"Otherwise, he could easily interfere with the Infiltration Plan!"
Xue Qinghe wasn't worried that Dugu Bo would hurt Lin Yan. It was just that the man's actions were an unmistakable challenge to his authority as Crown Prince.
After all, Lin Yan was his man. Dugu Bo had taken him away without warning, and his explanation afterward had been absurdly perfunctory.
Some nonsense about "finding a breakthrough opportunity." What breakthrough opportunity could a Soul Master at level 16 possibly find? Even if he broke through, could he jump straight to level 20?
There was definitely more to this than met the eye.
Perhaps Dugu Bo had done it for his granddaughter. Perhaps he wanted to recruit Lin Yan. Or perhaps...
"Young Master, Lin Yan is back."
Xue Qinghe's expression tightened.
Realizing that it was Ci Xue's voice, transmitted through spiritual power, he immediately sat up straight and replied with a mental transmission of his own.
"Where is he?"
"He'll be at the mansion shortly."
Sure enough, not long after Xue Qinghe received the reply, a young boy appeared at the entrance.
The moment Lin Yan entered the mansion and saw Xue Qinghe, his eyes lit up.
"Xue..."
"Your Highness!"
Xue Qinghe was just as excited. He took a deep breath and said to Lin Yan:
"To the side hall!"
Inside the side hall.
With no one else around, Xue Qinghe returned to her female form, becoming Qian Renxue once more.
Lin Yan called out "Sister Xue'er" with an obedient, delighted smile. He looked as if he had missed her terribly during the days he'd been gone.
Qian Renxue, taking it all in, felt her heart grow warm and asked with concern:
"What happened? Where did Dugu Bo take you? Why couldn't even Ci Xue and She Long find you?"
Lin Yan said:
"Dugu Bo has a hidden medicinal garden in Sunset Forest. He took me there."
"As for why..."
"It was because of Dugu Yan."
When he mentioned Dugu Yan, Lin Yan's voice grew noticeably quieter.
But Qian Renxue didn't think anything of it. She let out a long breath without the slightest hesitation.
"Phew~"
"How are you? Were you hurt?"
"No!" Lin Yan's eyes were bright with joy as he continued, "Not only was I unharmed, his garden was full of rare herbs. I ate one, and my Soul Power has already reached level 20."
At that, Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes widened.
"What? Level 20?"
She took a Soul Power testing crystal from her storage ring. Lin Yan understood and immediately placed his small hand on it.
The crystal ball lit up in an instant. When Qian Renxue saw the result, she sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hiss~"
"It really is level 20!"
Then she looked at Lin Yan.
"Y-you don't have any side effects?"
Actually, she'd first wanted to ask whether any of those herbs were left, and whether he could bring some back to help the other members of Spirit Hall improve their strength.
But when the words reached her lips and she saw Lin Yan's innocent smile, she changed her question and asked after his well-being instead.
Lin Yan noticed the pause in Qian Renxue's words but didn't think much of it. Instead, he took out a jade box.
"Sister Xue'er, this is a gift I brought back for you."
"It's called Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone. Taking it can greatly improve your physical strength, purify your Soul Power, speed up cultivation, and even raise your Soul Power Level."
"What?"
Qian Renxue's emotions had just started to settle, but now she was stunned all over again.
Purify Soul Power, speed up cultivation, and even raise one's Soul Power Level?
How could such a treasure exist in this world? Spirit Hall possessed information on most of the rare treasures on the continent, yet as the young master of Spirit Hall, she had never heard of any herb with such effects.
"Where did you learn all this?"
"From the Ye Family's records."
"The Ye Family..."
Qian Renxue murmured softly, searching her memory for information about the family.
At that moment, Lin Yan explained:
"Ye Rou'er wanted to recruit me and invited me to visit Ye Mansion. That's when I learned about these herbs."
"Then, that very day, Dugu Bo took me to his medicinal garden, where I happened to find them."
"Hiss~"
After hearing Lin Yan's explanation, Qian Renxue drew in another sharp breath.
"So that little girl from the Ye Family and Dugu Bo's granddaughter are both interested in you?"
"Uh..."
"You could say that."
Lin Yan looked a little awkward.
But Qian Renxue's eyes lit up!
"Excellent!"
"You did very well!"
"Make sure you maintain your relationships with them. They'll be of great use to Spirit Hall in the future!"
She hadn't expected Lin Yan to win over both the Ye Family and Dugu Bo's faction after showing only a little of his talent.
Qian Renxue was truly overjoyed: delighted to have gained a genius like Lin Yan, and delighted that his serious injury to Yu Tianheng a few days earlier had made him famous.
"Heavens are aiding Spirit Hall! With support from Dugu Bo and the Ye Family, I can surely complete the Infiltration Plan ahead of schedule."
The girl's eyes were filled with hope for the future. Then she looked at the jade box in Lin Yan's hands.
"As for this herb... what reward would you like?"
"Huh? What reward?"
Lin Yan pretended to look puzzled and answered with an innocent, obedient expression:
"I don't want any reward!"
"I just wanted to give it to Sister Xue'er."