"..."
Lin Mo was momentarily at a loss for words.
He had been back for less than a quarter of an hour, and Liu Ziyan had already sent a voice transmission summoning him?
Had that Female Demon been waiting for me to come back all this time?
The thought had barely crossed his mind before Lin Mo dismissed it.
With that she-devil Liu Ziyan's cultivation, nothing around the Purple Heaven Palace, at the very least, should have escaped her spiritual perception.
Still, Lin Mo had no idea why Liu Ziyan was summoning him now.
The problem was that he had no choice but to go.
"Ah, there's just no peace."
With a helpless sigh, Lin Mo had to put aside his plans to rest for a while.
Inside the Purple Heaven Palace, upon the seat of honor in the main hall.
Dressed in a purple gauze dress with a white gauze robe draped over it, Liu Ziyan sat with dignified elegance.
Her long, silky raven tresses were pinned up.
An aura of nobility, elegance, and ethereal grace washed over him.
She sat with her legs crossed, the skirt of her gauze dress swept aside to reveal long legs that set the imagination running wild.
Lin Mo stood over thirty meters away, gazing at her from afar.
An awe-inspiring, regal presence weighed on him until Lin Mo could barely breathe.
"What are you looking at? Do you no longer want your eyes?"
Liu Ziyan's voice, as melodious as a heavenly song yet as cold as an iceberg, pulled Lin Mo back to his senses.
It's not as if I haven't seen them before...
Grumbling inwardly, Lin Mo hurriedly dropped to both knees and said hoarsely, "Lin Mo of the Maidservant Department pays his respects to the Sect Leader."
"Raise your head."
Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, but still raised his head as Liu Ziyan instructed.
However, he kept his eyelids slightly lowered, looking toward the floor.
He did not want Liu Ziyan, that Female Demon, flying into another fit.
Staring unblinkingly at Lin Mo's weathered old face, etched with the marks of time, Liu Ziyan knitted her delicate brows.
What's going on? Why do I find this wretched old slave more pleasing to the eye the longer I look at him?
When they had finished in the bathing pool not long ago, Liu Ziyan had assumed it was merely an illusion brought on by having just practiced dual cultivation with Lin Mo.
Yet now, it proved to be no illusion.
Before this, looking at Lin Mo had clearly been like looking at garbage. His appearance had not changed at all since then.
Could it be because of the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art?
Or perhaps...?
Unable to figure it out, Liu Ziyan ordered Lin Mo forward until he stood just over five meters away.
She studied Lin Mo anew.
This time, she finally discovered a few clues.
Lin Mo seemed to be exuding a peculiar charm, one that drew her mind toward him.
As for where this peculiar charm came from, Liu Ziyan could not say just yet.
But...
She smelled it.
She smelled the scent of another woman on Lin Mo.
Liu Ziyan narrowed her beautiful eyes and asked coldly, "Where did you go between leaving the Vermilion Bird Squad Office and returning just now?"
Faced with Liu Ziyan's question, Lin Mo answered naturally without the slightest hesitation, "Reporting to the Sect Leader, perhaps it was too dark that night, and this old slave lost his way."
"If the Purple Heaven Palace weren't so easy to recognize, this old slave might still be wandering aimlessly outside."
"Is that so?" Liu Ziyan asked again, a hint of warning already creeping into her tone.
"Yes!"
Without any hesitation, Lin Mo answered firmly and emphatically.
He did not dare say that Shangguan Wuqing had abducted him and then slept with him.
Who knew how Liu Ziyan, that Female Demon who changed her face as quickly as turning a page, would react to something like that?
Whoosh!
No sooner had Lin Mo finished speaking than Liu Ziyan swept her long sleeve.
A fierce gust struck, flinging Lin Mo over a dozen meters before he crashed heavily to the ground.
If he had not taken the Life-Prolonging Pill and made some recent progress in his cultivation...
Those old bones of his would probably have fallen apart on the spot!
Still, Lin Mo could tell.
Liu Ziyan had not put any strength into it at all. Otherwise...
With his cultivation at the Fourth Qi Refining Level, even the slightest effort from Liu Ziyan would have sent him straight to meet his great-grandmother.
Lin Mo forced himself back onto his feet and protested indignantly, "It was just as I thought! Sect Leader, you let me prolong my life and cultivate so you could wait until my health improved before torturing me again, didn't you?"
"If that's the case, even if you don't kill me, I'll end my own life when I get back!"
Previously, Lin Mo had dared speak to Liu Ziyan like this because he no longer cared about anything.
But now...
He no longer wanted to die, yet he could not let Liu Ziyan see that.
Otherwise, if Liu Ziyan realized he no longer wanted to die, his circumstances would only grow worse from now on!
He might even find himself unable to hold his head up in front of Liu Ziyan.
In plain language, he had to bluff Liu Ziyan into giving him at least a little dignity.
Didn't he have any pride?
Liu Ziyan's crimson lips parted. She had wanted to say something, but when the words reached her throat, she forcibly swallowed them back down.
She had intended to reprimand Lin Mo for the woman's scent on him.
But if she did... wouldn't it make her seem a little too concerned about Lin Mo?
Or give Lin Mo the illusion that she had already claimed him as her own?
That would never do!
Yet the scent of another woman on Lin Mo truly disgusted her.
Well, that settled it. She had originally intended to have Lin Mo come over for dual cultivation to stabilize her cultivation realm, but now there seemed to be no need.
She had no desire to endure another woman's scent while practicing dual cultivation with Lin Mo.
"Your mouth is full of lies. I merely gave you a little punishment. What do you have to feel wronged about?" Liu Ziyan still offered a relatively reasonable explanation.
After all, for the time being, she truly did not want Lin Mo to die.
"..."
Having his lie exposed to his face by Liu Ziyan left Lin Mo a little embarrassed.
But at least he had confirmed two things.
First, Liu Ziyan had not struck him for no reason.
Second, Liu Ziyan genuinely did not want him dead right now.
That made taking the hit worthwhile.
"Then may I ask why the Sect Leader summoned me today?" To keep Liu Ziyan from discovering that Shangguan Wuqing had slept with him, he hurriedly changed the subject.
Liu Ziyan's mind raced.
If she did not offer a reasonable explanation...
It would look as though she cared deeply about why Lin Mo had disappeared during that time.
That would never do!
Within just a few breaths, Liu Ziyan found a reasonable excuse and asked, "Have you mastered the Yang Volume of the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art?"
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, I was fortunate enough to master it," Lin Mo answered honestly.
Having just had his lie exposed by Liu Ziyan, Lin Mo did not dare keep lying.
Besides, with Liu Ziyan's cultivation, could she really fail to tell whether he had mastered the Yang Volume of the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art?
"I could tell."
Liu Ziyan's tone was indifferent, but her words could not quite conceal a trace of surprise. "With your dull comprehension, you actually managed to master the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art. That was beyond my expectations."
Although she did not know how Lin Mo had mastered it, this was undoubtedly tremendous news for Liu Ziyan!
Before you continue