Zhou Yan's gossip

That evening, by the time night fell, Zhou Yan had already eagerly moved his luggage into the villa.

Calling it luggage was a stretch: it was really just a battered suitcase, plus a few bags of snacks and drinks from the supermarket.

"Little Lin, which room am I staying in?" He stood in the second-floor hallway, craning his neck to look around.

Lin Jin leaned by the stairs and casually pointed at the row of rooms beside the master bedroom.

"There are plenty of rooms. Pick one."

"Then don't mind if I do!"

"I'll take that one."

Zhou Yan chose a room beside the master bedroom. The moment he pushed the door open, his eyes lit up.

The room was over thirty square meters, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard pool and the distant mountains. The en suite bathroom even had a large bathtub.

"Holy shit!" He dropped his suitcase and flung himself onto the two-meter-wide bed, rolling over twice. "This bed is so soft! Little Lin, I feel like my life is complete!"

Lin Jin ignored him and turned to head downstairs.

Once Zhou Yan had rolled around enough, he got up, haphazardly stuffed away the things in his suitcase, then thundered downstairs.

In the living room, Lin Jin was sitting on the sofa, leisurely drinking tea.

Zhou Yan sidled over, plopped down beside him, grabbed a bag of chips from the coffee table, tore it open, and started crunching away.

"Little Lin, is it really going to be just the two of us living in this villa? Won't it be too quiet?"

"If you like noise, you can move back to your rental."

"Come on! I was just saying!"

"Do you know how miserable that crappy place I used to rent was? The soundproofing was so bad I could hear every word when the couple next door fought. There wasn't even air conditioning in summer. It got so hot I wanted to sleep in the fridge."

"Then shut your mouth!" Lin Jin paid him no further attention.

Zhou Yan tilted his head back to look at the enormous crystal chandelier on the ceiling, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"I never even dared dream of a house this big."

"No wonder you didn't want to join the Paranormal Bureau, Little Lin. A single job gets you a villa and fifty million. Who would care about a monthly salary of twenty thousand?"

He rambled on while Lin Jin listened quietly beside him.

When he tired of talking, Zhou Yan took a long swig of soda, then suddenly leaned closer with a shit-eating grin.

"Hey, Little Lin, let me ask you something."

Lin Jin raised his eyes to him.

Zhou Yan lowered his voice, even though they were the only two people in the villa.

"Did Group Leader Su hug you that night?"

Lin Jin's hand paused.

"Don't try to deny it! I saw it with my own eyes!" Zhou Yan's face lit up with excitement. "And it wasn't just me. Captain Chen, Liu Yang, Li Tong-they all saw it! Group Leader Su rushed over and threw her arms around you. She held you so tight!"

Lin Jin fell silent for a second.

"And?"

"And?" Zhou Yan's eyes widened. "You have no idea. Captain Chen and the others practically had their eyes popping out of their heads."

"Group Leader Su is famous for being cold and aloof at the bureau. She hardly ever even smiles, yet there she was, holding you and crying like that!"

As he spoke, he leaned a little closer and lowered his voice.

"Little Lin, are you and Group Leader Su... hmm?"

Lin Jin looked at him, expressionless.

"Are we what?"

Zhou Yan waggled his eyebrows. "You know! That! You know what I mean!"

Lin Jin looked away and continued drinking his tea.

"No, I don't."

Zhou Yan grew impatient. "Don't play dumb! Group Leader Su is gorgeous, she's at the peak of the Source Energy Stage, and she has an S-rank spatial superpower. They say she comes from a powerful family, too. She's the whole package-beautiful, rich, and fair-skinned! She obviously likes you. Haven't you thought about it at all?"

Lin Jin glanced at him, his tone indifferent.

"You're reading too much into it."

"I'm reading too much into it?" Zhou Yan sprang to his feet. "Why didn't you say I was reading too much into it when she was hugging you and crying that night? Why didn't you say I was reading too much into it when you patted her back and told her it was all right?"

"I've never dated anyone either, but you don't need firsthand experience to know what it looks like!"

"If you made a move, you could definitely win Group Leader Su over!"

Lin Jin raised his eyes to him.

His stare made Zhou Yan uneasy, but he steeled himself and kept talking.

"I'm telling you, Little Lin, don't think I really don't know anything."

"I've heard plenty of gossip during my time at the Paranormal Bureau. Group Leader Su has been in Jiangcheng for almost six months, and outside of missions, she's never gotten close to any man. You're the first man she's invited to a meal alone, and the first she's hugged of her own accord."

He sat back down, speaking earnestly.

"Little Lin, if you're not interested in her, you should make that clear sooner rather than later. But if you are..."

He chuckled twice.

"Then get on with it! I'm still waiting to call her my sister-in-law!"

Lin Jin was silent for several seconds.

Then he spoke.

"Have you had too much free time lately?"

Zhou Yan froze.

"Starting tomorrow, your training load doubles. You don't get to stop until you can form four seals in one second!"

Zhou Yan's face instantly fell.

"Don't, Little Lin! I was wrong! I admit it, okay?"

Lin Jin ignored him and got up to head upstairs.

When he reached the stairs, he paused.

"There's food in the fridge. Make your own dinner."

Then he disappeared around the turn in the staircase.

Zhou Yan sat on the sofa, watched him go, and chuckled twice.

"Still won't admit it. This is the first time you've ever dodged a question."

He happily cracked open another can of beer and crossed his legs.

Outside the windows, the night deepened, while the villa blazed with light.

Meanwhile, beyond Jiangcheng, undercurrents stirred.

Capital City, Paranormal Bureau headquarters.

The conference room was brightly lit late at night.

Seven or eight people sat on either side of the long table, all senior officials from Paranormal Bureau headquarters.

At the head of the table, an elderly man with graying hair rested with his eyes closed.

He was Zhou Jianguo, deputy director of the Paranormal Bureau, at the early Transcendent Stage.

A thick file lay on the table, its cover bearing a name: Lin Jin.

"Have you all read the report from Jiangcheng?" Zhou Jianguo opened his eyes and swept his gaze over those present.

Everyone nodded.

"One man, twelve sacrificial sites, eight B-ranks, four A-ranks. All killed instantly." A middle-aged man seated on the left spoke in a low voice. "Afterward, an S-Rank Weird Domain descended. He entered alone, killed the S-Rank Weird, and destroyed the entire Weird Domain in under half an hour."

He paused, his tone taking on a hint of gravity.

"That record already goes beyond what an ordinary Domain Realm cultivator can achieve."

"Are you saying he has the strength of someone at the Transcendent Stage?"

"I'm not certain." The middle-aged man shook his head. "But judging by the battle described in the report, he killed the S-Rank Weird far too quickly."

"An ordinary Domain Realm cultivator facing an S-rank would need to fight for at least half a day, and might even die. But he..."

He turned to a page in the report.

"No more than half an hour passed between his entering the Weird Domain and coming out. Most of that time was probably spent traveling and clearing out the Weirds along the way. The actual battle may have lasted only a few minutes."

"Most importantly... he's only in his twenties."

The conference room fell silent for several seconds.