Lin Tian Had His Eye on Xiao Wu

"Who are you? What do you want with Boss Lin?"

One of the older-looking work-study students came over.

Lin Yuan said, "We're from the same village. I need to talk to him."

"Wang Sheng, what's going on?" Xiao Wu called from inside the dorm.

"Sister Xiao Wu, it's a new student! He says he's from Boss Lin's village and came to see him," Wang Sheng called back.

"Me?" Lin Tian paused, then walked over to Lin Yuan. "You must be Uncle Kun's son. I've seen you before. Did you need something?"

"Brother Lin Tian, the old village chief came to see my dad a while ago and asked him to look after you. So my dad got us a two-person room and prepared bedding and daily necessities for you."

Lin Yuan put on an earnest, guileless expression.

Lin Tian warmed to him at once. "So that's what happened. Thank Uncle Kun for me, but I won't need the room. I'm doing fine here."

"Then I'll bring your bedding and other things over," Lin Yuan said.

"Thanks." Lin Tian thought it over and agreed.

Even a hero could be stopped by an empty purse.

His pockets were empty. He couldn't have produced a single Copper Soul Coin.

He really did need those things.

Just then, Xiao Wu came over. "Lin Tian, who are you talking to?"

"My childhood friend, Lin..." Only then did Lin Tian realize he didn't know the boy's name.

Lin Yuan gave her a simple smile. "Hello, sister-in-law. I'm Lin Yuan."

"Hey! Who are you calling sister-in-law?" Xiao Wu's pretty face reddened before their eyes, and she stamped her feet in indignation.

Lin Tian was stunned by Lin Yuan's sudden remark too.

True, he had come here for Xiao Wu.

But calling her his sister-in-law already was a bit premature.

Then again, if anyone else had said it, Xiao Wu would have flown into a rage and thrown them to the floor.

She hadn't done that now. It looked as though he had a real chance.

"Aren't you Brother Lin Tian's girlfriend?" Lin Yuan looked mortified.

"No! We only met today. Besides, how old is he?" Xiao Wu said irritably.

"Oh. I'll be going, Brother Lin Tian. I'll bring your bedding and other things over soon," Lin Yuan said.

"All right." Lin Tian watched him leave.

Lin Yuan hadn't gone far when he faintly heard Xiao Wu and Lin Tian behind him.

"Lin Tian, who is that silly boy? Where are his manners?"

Xiao Wu looked toward Lin Yuan, clearly displeased.

Lin Tian answered gently, "Don't say that about him. He comes from a good family in our village."

Lin Yuan caught every word, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

His room was in the same building as Dorm Seven, not far away.

He went and returned quickly. Before long, he had delivered the bedding and daily necessities.

As it happened, Lin Tian's arrival meant Xiao Wu did not share a quilt with Tang San.

Of course, she did not share one with Lin Tian either.

Instead, Lin Tian offered her his bedding and chose to squeeze in with Tang San.

Tang San, unaware that someone was trying to steal the girl from under his nose, did not object.

He only felt that something was off, though he couldn't say what.

Once he was sure Lin Tian would not be moving into his room, Lin Yuan returned, locked the door, shut the windows, and drew the curtains.

He carefully took out the Heavenly Vial and the translucent object wrapped in cloth, then examined them closely.

He found that the translucent object could conceal the Heavenly Vial, but nothing else.

More importantly, the Heavenly Vial was actually made of plastic, with the official Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality logo printed on it.

"Does this thing really work?"

Lin Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

With nothing to lose, he went to the window, buried the Plastic Palm-Heaven Bottle in the soil of an abandoned flowerpot, and covered it with the counterfeit magic-treasure fragment that could conceal only the Heavenly Vial.

He placed the pot where moonlight could reach it without drawing attention, among the other discarded flowerpots.

Once that was done, Lin Yuan suppressed his impatience, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began cultivating.

But with the Heavenly Vial on his mind, he couldn't settle into meditation.

Night fell. Moonlight spilled through the window onto the flowerpot. Lin Yuan lifted the magic-treasure fragment and saw rice-grain-sized white specks of light gathering into a thin glow around the Heavenly Vial.

Relieved at last, Lin Yuan replaced the fragment and weighed down its edges with clods of earth so the wind would not blow it away.

He then found a new cord and restrung his Soul Tool ring. With hopes for the future and nothing else on his mind, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began cultivating.

Nouding Academy held only two classes each morning: one on general subjects and one on Martial Soul Theory.

From then on, Lin Yuan followed a routine:

During the day, he wrapped the Heavenly Vial in the magic-treasure fragment and kept it in the Soul Tool ring beneath his clothes, hanging from his neck. He rose early to run, do push-ups, squats, and sit-ups.

In the morning, he attended class as usual. To avoid standing out, he spent his breaks mingling with the small groups in his class.

After lunch, he declined his classmates' invitations, saying he had to help mind his family's shop. Instead, he secretly went to the academy library, borrowed a few books about Soul Beasts, and returned to his room to read them for an hour.

He spent the entire afternoon meditating and cultivating in his room to increase his Soul Power.

Each evening, after dinner but before dark, he secretly buried the Heavenly Vial in the abandoned flowerpot again.

Then he waited for it to produce Creation Heaven-Reaching Dew.

The days passed like this.

Perhaps the laws of this world differed from those of the human realm in Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality.

Or perhaps Yan Beifei had already exposed the Heavenly Vial to moonlight for several nights.

On the morning of the fourth day, a drop of Green Liquid finally formed inside the Plastic Palm-Heaven Bottle.

Anxious to try it, Lin Yuan sat through his morning classes, then rushed back to his room at noon without even eating.

He shut the door and windows and drew the curtains.

Then he held out his right hand, summoned his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul, and dripped the Green Liquid onto it.

Nothing happened. The liquid slid down its leaves and branches.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan reacted quickly, held the Heavenly Vial beneath it, and caught the drop.

Otherwise, it would have gone to waste.

Unwilling to give up, Lin Yuan carefully put away the Heavenly Vial, then went out and bought a large bathing tub.

He quickly filled it with water and poured the Green Liquid in.

Finally, he sat cross-legged in the tub.

To Lin Yuan's delight, when he entered meditation and circulated the Soul Power within him, he felt better than ever before.

Previously, his Soul Power had moved at a snail's pace.

Now it moved at least as fast as a tortoise.

It circulated several times faster than before.