A new hired muscle?

"Well? Does she look good?"

When Luo Yang and Hai Bodong returned to the inn, they happened to see Qing Lin, whose appearance had been completely transformed by Tushan Rongrong.

Qing Lin stood quietly on the inn's marble floor, a pale green flowing-cloud gauze robe draped over her shoulders. Its tight waist sash outlined her slender, snakelike waist, too delicate to fill a hand, while the hem stopped just three inches below her knees, revealing her long, shapely, fair calves.

Her hair had been casually gathered into a high ponytail, while a few stray locks on either side of her cheeks had been carefully woven into thin little braids.

The green snake scales at her wrists seemed to have become ornaments like jeweled bracelets, lending her a distinctive charm.

"Beautiful... absolutely beautiful..."

For a moment, even Luo Yang was spellbound by the sight.

Even Hai Bodong, who devoted himself to cultivation and shunned women, could not help widening those dim old eyes of his that took an interest in everything.

After 2.5 seconds, Hai Bodong shook his head, sighed, and looked away.

Such a good child, and she'd suffered so much over the years.

Remembering what Luo Yang had told him on their way back, he could not help feeling compassion.

Hai Bodong disliked being an unwelcome third wheel, so he quietly left to have dinner.

Before leaving, he gave Luo Yang a meaningful look.

By now, Hai Bodong had thoroughly equated Luo Yang with a lolicon.

First there had been Tushan Rongrong, delicate and supple, and now there was Qing Lin...

Fortunately, this was the Dou Qi Continent. In any other world, someone in Luo Yang's situation would have been electrocuted-shocked to death, with a hundred thousand volts! Nonstop, twenty-four hours a day.

After the third wheel left, Luo Yang remained standing there in a daze, his gaze resting on Qing Lin's slender waist.

"Y-young master, staring at me like that makes me embarrassed..." Feeling Luo Yang's unwavering gaze, Qing Lin felt as though insects were crawling over her skin. It tickled so much, and she felt so shy.

"Qing Lin, those clothes... why do they look like Sister Rongrong's?"

Who would have guessed that Luo Yang's attention was entirely on her clothes? He had seen Tushan Rongrong wear them before.

There were just a few small differences: the waist was tighter and slimmer, and the skirt's floor-length hem had been shortened enough to expose her calves.

Qing Lin no longer felt quite so shy.

So the young master was looking at the clothes. She'd thought...

"Hehe, I thought your head was full of nothing but lewd things." Seeing that he was mainly looking at the clothes, Tushan Rongrong did not pursue the matter of him embarrassing Qing Lin with his staring.

"This was altered from mine. Although it's been worn, the fabric and workmanship are both first-rate. A few little alterations made it a new style."

Luo Yang nodded at that. That was true.

After all, he had given Tushan Rongrong these clothes himself, so he knew their quality better than anyone.

Tushan Rongrong seldom wore them, either. She had only worn them a handful of times in total, and they were as good as new. Altering them and giving them to Qing Lin now put them to full use.

"The clothes are nice, but the main thing is that Qing Lin, who's wearing them, is pretty. Otherwise, however pretty the clothes were, they'd still just be clothes..."

After praising the clothes, Luo Yang looked at Qing Lin's flowerlike smile and did not forget to compliment her too.

"Thank you, young master~" She really was innocent. Hearing this simplest of compliments from her young master made Qing Lin smile brilliantly.

In all these years, this was the first time anyone had treated Qing Lin so well. When she was little, even her mother had despised her and abandoned her after she was born.

One could say the whole world had been full of malice toward her. It was truly rare that she had still managed to retain her innocence and kindness.

"Qing Lin, go ask the waiter to prepare some food first. We'll eat together in a bit..." Luo Yang found an excuse to send Qing Lin away.

"Okay~"

Without giving it much thought, Qing Lin went downstairs with light steps.

"Sister Rongrong, I have something to tell you." Once Qing Lin had left, Luo Yang took Tushan Rongrong by the hand and led her back to the room.

Tushan Rongrong showed no unusual reaction to having her hand held. After all, they had done more intimate things before. Even if they were not in that kind of relationship yet, holding hands was hardly anything.

"Sister Rongrong, I saw Xiao Yan today. He's come to Stone Desert City too, and he should already be at his two elder brothers' mercenary company by now. Good thing we've already brought Qing Lin over..."

After shutting the door, Luo Yang reported what he had seen that morning to Tushan Rongrong.

After all, this was a major matter, and he still needed Sister Rongrong to check things over.

Tushan Rongrong's expression did not change in the slightest after hearing him. She wore the same faint smile and said only one word...

"Oh."

As for what she was plotting beneath that smile, no one knew.

"Come on, Sister Rongrong, aren't you surprised?" Tushan Rongrong's reaction left Luo Yang with question marks all over his head.

"Surprised by what?"

"Xiao Yan reached Stone Desert City more than a whole month earlier than in the original story! He's already caught up with our pace. Doesn't that mean we've lost the advantage of having Heavenly Silkworm Potato's 'Doing Bad Deeds to Heaven'?"

Luo Yang turned his left hand over, and the complete, uncut, limited-edition version of "Battle Through the Heavens," with all its bonus content, appeared in his palm.

A transmigrator's greatest advantage was knowing most of the plot, allowing them to use their foreknowledge to get a step ahead and snatch the protagonist's opportunities.

Now that Xiao Yan had caught up with their pace, and had the protagonist halo besides, their advantage had vanished without a trace.

Or should they give up the nearest opportunity and head three stops farther ahead to snatch one there?

"Hehe, back in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, we already snatched his Calamity Poison Girl, Sister Yun Zhi, Purple Cloud Wings, Amethyst Essence, and Amethyst Beast Flame. After reaching the desert, we also took away his angel investor, Hai Bodong. With so many opportunities that would have taken considerable time to digest gone, isn't it perfectly normal for him to be a month early?"

"Besides, this already counts as slow. I'd long since prepared for the possibility that he might already be ahead of us. Luoluo, you needn't worry too much."

Tushan Rongrong sat down in a chair, placed "Battle Through the Heavens" on the table, and gently opened it to this part of the plot before turning a few more pages. Her voice held none of Luo Yang's urgency.

"I just wonder what level he's reached now, without so many of those opportunities. Has he had any other fortuitous encounters..."

As he listened to Sister Rongrong, the worries in Luo Yang's heart were swept away.

Right! He had Sister Rongrong, Tushan's second-in-command, whose plans left nothing unaccounted for. What the hell was he worrying about?

"I was being impatient. With Sister Rongrong here, no matter how much that Xiao Third Brother jumps around, he won't stir up any waves."

"Luoluo, don't depend on me too much, either. I'm not all-powerful. If you rely on me too much, how will you venture out on your own in the future? I can't always be by your side." Looking at Luo Yang, who wore every thought on his face before her, Tushan Rongrong smiled and shook her head.

Luo Yang's current shortcoming was his excessive dependence on her. Since transmigrating, he had needed her to look into everything and make every decision. He was clearly an outstanding young man himself, yet he was always too lazy to use his brain.

If you didn't run the household, you didn't need to know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt were, huh?

Children of the poor took charge early; children of the rich never took charge.

"What do you mean? Sister Rongrong, are you leaving me?"

Luo Yang was naturally no fool. He instantly caught the crucial information in Tushan Rongrong's words.

Having a brain and not using it was different from not having one.

[Name: Qing Lin]

[Sex: Female]

[Age: 16]

[Height: 151 cm]

[Weight: 40 kg]

[Cup size: B-]

[Measurements: 57-50-56]

[Body: Virgin]

[Special ability: Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils]

[Personality: Innocent, insecure, craves a sense of security]

[Intimacy: 61 (Trust)]

[Cultivation: None]

[Skills: None]

[Talent: Extraordinary]