Yun Hao listened as Lin Xian called out to someone inside the bamboo house.
A hint of surprise stirred in his heart.
He had always thought that Elder Lin lived alone on Western Peak.
It seemed he was not as solitary as he appeared—someone was there to keep him company.
Yun Hao lowered his head to check his robe, making sure it was presentable.
Only then did he calmly look toward the interior of the bamboo house.
Although I’m a little anxious to return, Elder Lin is being so enthusiastic. I should meet the person inside first before leaving.
With that thought, Yun Hao stood quietly beside Elder Lin.
Before long, the person inside the bamboo house seemed to have finished preparing.
A gentle and considerate young girl’s voice sounded.
“Please come in, Grandfather. Young Master Yun Hao, please don’t stand on ceremony. Come inside and sit for a while before you go.”
As soon as the girl’s voice fell, Lin Xian took Yun Hao by the arm and stepped into the bamboo house.
The interior of the bamboo house had no special decorations.
It was exceptionally simple.
A wooden table, a bed, and a bamboo chair similar to the ones outside made up everything inside the bamboo house.
Beside the window sat a somewhat frail-looking young girl.
She wore a pale yellow long skirt.
Her hair was styled in a simple垂鬟分肖髻 bun, with strands flowing smoothly down to her shoulders.
The slightly upturned ends of her hair rested gently on her still-developing, modestly raised chest.
Her small face showed a trace of sickly pallor.
Her entire body leaned slightly against the bamboo chair, as if she had no bones to support her, soft enough that a gentle pinch might draw water from her.
From a distance, she looked like a delicate beauty in illness, exuding a fragile, ethereal charm.
However, her pair of light red eyes had lost some of their luster.
A vacant look gradually revealed itself as Yun Hao’s gaze fell upon her.
Yun Hao was still somewhat dazed.
He had assumed that the person accompanying Elder Lin would be an elder from a previous generation, perhaps an aunt or similar.
He never expected a frail young girl around his own age.
The girl seemed to sense that Yun Hao and the others had approached.
She spoke softly in apology.
“Young Master, please forgive me. Yu’er is unwell and cannot rise to greet you personally. I hope Young Master will not take offense.”
Hearing the girl by the window apologize to him, Yun Hao snapped out of his reverie of her beauty.
He waved his hands repeatedly.
“Not at all. It was Yun who disturbed the young lady’s peace. Please don’t mind it on my account.”
Lin Xian watched the two begin conversing and stroked his already graying beard in satisfaction.
Yun Hao’s first reaction upon seeing Yu’er had not escaped his notice.
In that instant, Yun Hao’s eyes had shown a flash of amazement and infatuation.
This infatuation was not some base desire.
It was humanity’s instinctive pursuit of beauty—the kind one could admire from afar but not profane.
Moreover, Yu’er had taken the initiative to speak to Yun Hao, proving she was not indifferent to him either.
If things continued this way, there might really be hope.
Lin Xian observed their conversation and seized a suitable moment to interject.
“Yun Hao, this is my granddaughter. Her name is Lin Shengyu. She is one year younger than you, fifteen years old this year.”
“Her health has been frail ever since three years ago, and she has never had a playmate. A few days ago, I noticed you were also alone, so I thought of introducing you two. That way, you can look after each other from time to time.”
Yun Hao had been wondering how to address the frail girl.
Lin Xian’s words informed him of her surname.
After Lin Xian finished speaking, he bowed lightly once more and said,
“Miss Lin.”
Lin Shengyu returned the greeting in kind.
“Young Master Yun.”
Lin Xian saw that their exchange was still somewhat stiff and wanted to draw them closer.
He spoke as if the thought had just occurred to him.
“Yu’er, you are a year younger than Yun Hao. From now on, call him Senior Brother Yun Hao.”
He then turned to Yun Hao.
“And you can call her Junior Sister Yu’er from now on. In my eyes, you are a child of excellent character, worthy of Yu’er calling you Senior Brother.”
Yun Hao glanced somewhat embarrassedly at Lin Shengyu, then at Lin Xian.
He felt that Elder Lin was exceptionally good to him—not only testing his immortal aptitude and imparting experience, but also introducing him to a companion and allowing him to use a more intimate form of address.
After a slight hesitation, he followed Lin Xian’s instructions.
“Since Elder Lin has said so, I will accept this honor.”
Then, he looked with sincere eyes at the frail girl leaning against the bamboo chair and spoke.
“Junior Sister Lin, I will address you this way from now on.”
After a brief hesitation, Lin Shengyu parted her cherry lips.
“It is Yu’er who should ask Senior Brother to take good care of her in the future.”
The three of them slowly enjoyed the osmanthus cakes Yun Hao had made amid light laughter.
During their conversation, Yun Hao noticed that although Lin Shengyu kept smiling gently, her eyes remained vacant.
When she reached for the osmanthus cakes, she did so by feeling around.
Most of the time, it was Lin Xian who placed the cakes in her hand before she slowly picked them up to eat.
A guess gradually formed in Yun Hao’s heart, but he did not voice it.
If his suspicion was correct, mentioning it would only add to his junior sister’s worries.
That would be inappropriate.
Another half an hour passed.
Yun Hao stood up, preparing to take his leave once more.
The hour had reached the final moments of the Shen period.
It was time to go back.
Upon hearing that Yun Hao was leaving, Lin Shengyu made an effort to rise.
“Senior Brother, please wait. Let me see you off.”
She tried to support her frail body to send Yun Hao off.
However, she failed to sense the tea table in front of her.
With a sudden movement, she knocked it over and nearly fell to the ground herself.
“Junior Sister Lin!”
Just as Lin Shengyu was about to hit the floor, Yun Hao swiftly used his spiritual power to catch her in his arms.
Feeling the thin, soft body of the sickly beauty in his embrace, he ignored his splashed clothes and any notions of propriety between men and women.
He asked anxiously,
“Junior Sister, are you hurt?”
Lin Shengyu curled up in Yun Hao’s arms.
With a trace of dejection in her voice, she forced a smile.
“Thank you, Senior Brother. I’m fine. It’s all my fault for not being careful. My eyes are bad, yet I insisted on acting rashly and even got Senior Brother’s robe wet.”
Her vacant eyes welled up with teardrops.
Her small face carried traces of unease and apology, looking as pitiful and helpless as a little white rabbit that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
Seeing the helpless expression on Lin Shengyu’s face in his arms, Yun Hao could no longer hold back.
He looked at Lin Xian, whose face showed a hint of grief, hesitated several times, and finally asked firmly,
“Elder Lin, Junior Sister’s eyes… this is…”
He avoided directly mentioning blindness, using a more subtle phrasing to spare Lin Shengyu any pain.
Lin Xian saw that the opportunity was just right.
With a trace of concealed anger, he spoke slowly.
“Yu’er’s eyes…”
Lin Xian gradually told Yun Hao about the great battle from three years ago.
This included everything Lin Shengyu had endured after being ambushed at the sect camp, as well as how, after her injuries caused her to lose her cultivation, the once proud and mischievous girl had gradually become frail, quiet, and reluctant to go out.
Her health had also worsened steadily.
Finally, he explained that the current Lin Shengyu needed her body to be nourished with spiritual power every three days to suppress the demonic poison’s erosion.
Otherwise, she would slowly wither away under its influence.
Today was the third day.
Because he had not suppressed the demonic poison for her, she appeared so frail today.
After hearing about Lin Shengyu’s experiences, Yun Hao felt immense sympathy.
Especially after learning of the existence and actions of demonic cultivators, he could not contain the anger in his heart and cursed aloud.
“Those damned demonic cultivators! They are utterly heartless and have committed every evil deed imaginable.”
Then he asked urgently,
“Then why not suppress the demonic poison for Junior Sister today? With your cultivation, Elder Lin, this should be easy, right?”
Lin Xian shook his head helplessly at Yun Hao.
“Precisely because my cultivation is too high, Yu’er’s body cannot withstand my spiritual power. That’s why she is so frail today.”
“Then how do you usually suppress the demonic poison for Junior Sister? Is it impossible today?”
Facing Yun Hao’s question, Lin Xian replied helplessly,
“Usually, some disciples I know come to help suppress the demonic poison for Yu’er. But now, they have all gone out on missions. Not a single one remains.”
In truth, Lin Xian was lying.
There were no such disciples.
He had always done it himself, never trusting anyone else with Yu’er.
But now, Yun Hao was the exception.
Yun Hao saw Lin Xian’s helpless expression and felt extremely anxious.
Sensing the frail junior sister in his arms, he gritted his teeth and said to Lin Xian,
“Could this disciple suppress the demonic poison for Junior Sister instead? Though this disciple is only at the mid-Qi Refining stage and my spiritual power is still weak, I wonder if it would be enough.”
“If it is possible, then let this disciple do it.”
A glint flashed in Lin Xian’s eyes.
He pretended to be worried.
“It is possible, but it will take much longer—at least two and a half hours. Can you manage?”
Yun Hao glanced at the sky, thinking of his senior sister waiting beneath the osmanthus tree.
Yet feeling the weak breath of Lin Shengyu in his arms, he deliberated back and forth before choosing to stay.
He then spoke to Lin Xian.
“This disciple has no objections. However, I fear I must trouble Elder Lin to inform Senior Sister on my behalf, so she does not worry about me.”
“…Very well.”
Yun Hao did not notice that when he mentioned Luo Shuiling, Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed slightly and his tone became a bit off.
But with his urgent desire to save someone, he had no time to observe such details.
After asking Lin Xian how to suppress the demonic poison for Lin Shengyu and where to do it, he hurriedly carried Lin Shengyu toward the bamboo grove.
Lin Xian watched Yun Hao rush toward the bamboo grove, his eyes narrowed to slits.
In his heart, Luo Shuiling had always been the biggest variable preventing Yun Hao and Lin Shengyu from becoming dao companions.
He slowly raised his head to look at the sky.
His white beard seemed to shimmer with a pure white glow under the setting sun.
Feeling the mysterious ice within his qi sea, he thought that perhaps it was time to go discuss matters with Luo Shuiling.
He wanted to “buy” Yun Hao back.
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