"Come with me!" Li Susu said fiercely to Tantai Jin.
Father Ye and Grandmother looked at Li Susu in confusion. What was going on? Who had upset their precious darling?
Li Susu also realized her tone was wrong. She hurriedly smiled at Grandmother and Father Ye, then pulled Tantai Jin away.
"What is it, Second Miss?" Tantai Jin asked softly.
Li Susu looked him up and down, truly unable to compare the gentle, refined Tantai Jin before her with the Devil God of the future.
Unable to figure it out, Li Susu simply put her hands on him, feeling him all over. Chun Tao, who arrived afterward, hurriedly covered her eyes.
"Miss, even if you want to get intimate with your husband, shouldn't you wait until you're back in your room tonight?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm looking for something!" Li Susu flushed and hastily withdrew her hands.
"Looking for something? What are you looking for, Second Miss? As long as I have it on me, you're welcome to take it."
Tantai Jin felt his own chest too. He wasn't carrying anything either. What was the Second Miss looking for?
"She's looking for the Evil Bone!"
Lin Ran's voice reached them. Li Susu was startled, then relaxed. Since Little White knew she was Li Susu, he naturally ought to know that Tantai Jin carried the Evil Bone too.
"The Evil Bone? What's that?" Tantai Jin and Chun Tao were both somewhat puzzled.
"You should all know there are cultivators in this world. But there are no longer any gods in the world-you should have heard that too."
All three nodded. Lin Ran lay lazily on Chun Tao's shoulder and began telling them a story.
"That's because, long ago, a Devil God was born. He wielded the three great demonic artifacts and swept through the immortal sects. To destroy him, the gods of the Shangqing Divine Realm ultimately perished together with him. From then on, there were no gods left in the world. But the Devil God was born from chaos, carried the Evil Bone, and absorbed the turbid energy of heaven and earth. In essence, he was an undying, indestructible existence! As long as hatred and resentment persist between heaven and earth, the Devil God will be reborn."
"And Little Jinjin is the new successor chosen by the Devil God! That's also why Little Jinjin's fate has been so miserable."
"The voice inside me is the Evil Bone?" Tantai Jin couldn't help asking.
"I'm not sure. It might be, or it might be a wisp of will left behind by the previous Devil God."
"Senior, since you know so much about this, do you have a way to remove the Evil Bone from Tantai Jin?"
"Not yet. I'm not a player in this game. We have to wait for the right opportunity."
"The right opportunity?"
"Don't rush. Take it slowly. Little Jinjin, the ruler of the Jing Kingdom doesn't have long to live. Would you like to return to the Jing Kingdom and inherit the throne?"
"Well..." Tantai Jin hesitated.
"To be honest, at first, I really was sick of life in the Sheng Kingdom, and I considered escaping back to the Jing Kingdom. But since coming to the Ye Residence, I haven't been bullied or humiliated anymore, so I stopped thinking about returning to the Jing Kingdom."
"But your brother Tantai Minglang is cruel by nature. And lately, friction between the Sheng Kingdom and the Jing Kingdom has been constant. I'm afraid that once your brother takes the throne, the two kingdoms will go to war. Besides, your brother may not tolerate your existence."
"There's also how the King of Sheng has treated you since you arrived in the Sheng Kingdom. You should know that well enough. If the two kingdoms go to war, I'm afraid you'll be dragged out as a sacrifice to the war banner!"
"Then, Senior, are you saying I should return to the Jing Kingdom and seize the throne?"
"Hey! I never said that!" Lin Ran blinked innocently at the two of them.
"There's no hurry. Take it slowly. The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge!" Lin Ran yawned, climbed onto Chun Tao's head, and went to sleep.
Chun Tao gently patted Lin Ran. Others might have found it a little strange, but she thought nothing of it. Lin Ran weighed practically nothing. Sometimes, while she was busy, she would even forget there was a little tiger lying on her head.
Over the next few days, Tantai Jin was indeed summoned to the palace by the King of Sheng. Li Susu went along too. She took a look around the place where Tantai Jin had lived. The difference was that this time, she didn't see Ying Xin.
As for Ying Xin, Lin Ran had naturally rescued her. However, the King of Sheng didn't suspect Tantai Jin of doing it. What a joke-the palace was heavily guarded. If Tantai Jin had been that capable, he would have run away long ago.
The King of Sheng suspected an expert from the Jing Kingdom had done it, possibly intending to use Ying Xin to hold sway over Tantai Jin.
The King of Sheng sounded Tantai Jin out and found that he knew nothing about Ying Xin's rescue. In truth, Tantai Jin really didn't care about Ying Xin. Why should he care about someone who had betrayed him?
Speaking of which, his time at the Ye Residence had been the happiest period of his life. Every day, he had enough to eat, slept warm, and had no one bullying him.
Recently, Tantai Jin had been feeling something unusual, as though something was about to grow inside his heart!
After returning to the Ye Residence, Li Susu and Chun Tao gathered curiously around Tantai Jin, wanting to know what the King of Sheng had asked him.
"If there's anything you two want to know, just ask." Tantai Jin smiled helplessly.
"What did the King of Sheng ask you?"
"Nothing much. He just sounded me out about my attitude toward the Jing Kingdom. Senior really called it-he even said he wanted to sacrifice me to the war banner."
"Wait, he wants to sacrifice you to the war banner, and you're still this calm?"
"What else can I do? Is there anything I can do?"
"Don't worry. Let things take their course. Aren't I still here? As Little Jinjin's big brother, I certainly won't let anything happen to him," Lin Ran said lazily.
"Right, we still have Little White!" Li Susu said with a beaming smile. She lifted Lin Ran off Chun Tao's head, settled him in her arms, and began stroking him. She wasn't as proper as Tantai Jin. Perhaps influenced by Ye Xiwu's memories, she had spent every day with Little White for three years and was already very familiar with him. Calling him Senior felt a little awkward.
Only a few peaceful days passed before news of missing people began spreading through the imperial capital. Lin Ran knew it was probably the dream demon's doing.
That night, Lin Ran opened his eyes, glanced out the window, then rolled over and continued sleeping soundly beside Li Susu's pillow. The following morning, word spread through the residence that Ye Bingchang was missing.
"Little White, do you know where my eldest sister went?"
"Sure. A demon took her." Lin Ran yawned and spoke drowsily.
"Then take us to find her! Let's go catch the demon!"
"No hurry. I won't deal with this demon. Consider it a test for you. It works out perfectly-I have something to take care of outside."
With that, Lin Ran dashed off and vanished. He went to find Lan An. Of course, when he went, he brought Yue Ya, whom he had rescued while grinding experience in the Desolate Abyss.
When mother and daughter reunited, Lan An realized Tantai Minglang had been deceiving her and decisively chose to betray him.
Lin Ran didn't send her to find Dandan Jin again. Instead, he found them a small courtyard where they could spend the rest of their lives in peace, apart from worldly strife. He also left Yue Ya the address of the Carefree Sect. As for a token of identification, that was even simpler. He casually condensed a token using his sacred beast power. Any immortal sect disciple would be able to sense the aura of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage Extreme Realm. Anyone who dared refuse to accept Yue Ya would be refusing to give Lin Ran face, and he would overturn their whole establishment!
"Goodbye, Brother Ran!"
Lin Ran nodded to the two of them and left with Nian Baiyu. He told Nian Baiyu to find a place to stay with the Moon Shadow Guards under his command and simply wait for word from him.
Lin Ran, meanwhile, sneaked back to the Ye Residence and concealed his aura, so Li Susu and Tantai Jin wouldn't discover him.
Tonight was when Li Susu and Dandan Jin would be abducted by the flower demon. Then Li Susu would be able to learn about Dandan Jin's past through Ying Xin's memories.
Don't ask why she could do so through Ying Xin's memories. The answer was that Lin Ran had delivered Ying Xin to the flower demon's lair. After this incident, Ying Xin's job as a tool would be complete, and Lin Ran planned to send her to reunite with Lan An and Yue Ya.
Moreover, tonight was when the Evil Bone inside Tantai Jin would awaken. He wanted to see just how powerful this Evil Bone was!