“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”
Having heard the Grand Elder’s plan in full, Lin Tiancheng immediately clapped his hands in approval.
“Then let’s go with the Grand Elder’s strategy. I’ll send a spirit message to the Li family right away!”
“As for secretly bringing the boy back to the family, allow me to handle it personally.”
The Grand Elder said with a satisfied stroke of his beard, confident in his flawless plan.
But plans are never perfect—reality often deviates from logic.
What he didn’t know was that Miss Liu, who seemed to have no connection to the champion of the Competition, had actually met him a few times before, admired him greatly, and had even gone in person last night to rescue him.
***
While the Lin family began executing their plan in an orderly fashion and making preparations for the upcoming family tournament, Lin Wuming was facing a different kind of headache—
He was out of spirit stones again.
Not only that, but he was also broke.
The fight last night had damaged a lot of furniture, and now he even had to think about compensation.
Without spirit stones, his cultivation had come to a halt.
Meanwhile, his little junior sister’s strength was steadily improving—making him anxious.
He had to find a way to earn some spirit stones.
But getting a job would waste too much time and wouldn’t earn him nearly enough, even though his reputation had changed and the teahouse owner treated him well.
There was just no way he could make enough in a short time to afford cultivation materials.
Was there a more efficient way to make money?
Lin Wuming racked his brain, but couldn’t come up with any good ideas.
“Sigh… if only there was another ‘event dungeon’ like the Wanyin Music Festival!”
He sighed deeply.
If he had used those three mid-grade spirit stones solely for his own cultivation, he could’ve reached the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm by now…
But where would he find such convenient “dungeons” on demand?
“Senior Brother, you’re awake!”
The door opened, and his little junior sister peeked in to find Lin Wuming sitting up in bed.
“Mm.”
Since her recovery, she no longer seemed weighed down by sorrow.
Though still a little shy and clingy, she was now much more cheerful than before—at least she didn’t sit around all day sighing anymore.
With sunlight streaming through the doorway, her light golden eyes sparkled brightly.
She smiled in delight at the sight of him, her already pretty face made even cuter by her happiness.
“Senior Brother, how’s your injury?”
He Yingying placed the breakfast tray aside and ran over in quick, delicate steps, asking with concern.
“It’s fine now…”
Lin Wuming instinctively shifted back a little from her sudden closeness.
Although his senior sister had once treated him like this too, she had a different, more teacherly aura.
His junior sister, on the other hand, gave off a completely different vibe.
In truth, his injury had mostly healed. It hadn’t been that serious to begin with, and with his decent medical skills, the wound had recovered quickly after being treated.
“You brought breakfast? Then let’s eat first.”
He said, glancing at the tray and preparing to get out of bed.
“No!”
His junior sister’s reaction was unexpectedly loud, startling him.
“I… I mean, Senior Brother, you’re still hurt. You need to rest more. Better not get up just yet…”
She rushed over to the table, brought back a bowl of hot porridge, and stood before him.
“So… um… Senior Brother, let me feed you!”
Her face turned crimson, and she was trembling so much she could barely hold the spoon.
“I told you, my wound is almost—”
“But it hasn’t completely healed, right?”
“It’s basically—”
“Still not fully healed, right?”
“Uh… yeah…”
Lin Wuming gave in, watching her raise the spoon to his mouth.
He opened his mouth.
The porridge carried a gentle fragrance of rice—but that scent was quickly overtaken by another smell drifting from the girl next to him…
…Milk?
He glanced at her and noticed a little white liquid at the corner of her lips.
‘Does she like drinking milk…?’
Well, she was still at a growing age…
He then involuntarily glanced down at her modest chest—what some might call a “Shenzhou flatland.”
‘Even if she drinks milk every day, it doesn’t seem like things are going to change…’
Of course, such cruel thoughts stayed firmly in his mind.
Being fed porridge by a younger girl was a strange but not unpleasant experience.
While it was awkward at first, he eventually began to enjoy it.
After breakfast, Lin Wuming planned to go work at the teahouse, but his junior sister refused to let him go no matter what—insisting he rest one more day.
Unable to win the argument, he resigned himself to being pampered in the inn for the day.
He Yingying stayed busy the entire day—doing chores when there were chores, and inventing things to do when there weren’t.
She treated Lin Wuming like a baby, fussing over him constantly.
As the evening sun cast its slanting rays, this idle day finally came to a close.
Lin Wuming was finally granted permission to get out of bed.
He stretched a bit and was preparing to take a walk.
“Esteemed guest, someone’s here to see you.”
Just as he stepped outside, the inn’s attendant approached and informed him.
“Someone… came to see me?”
Lin Wuming raised an eyebrow.
Who could it be?
Could it be… his dear “fiancée”?
“I see.”
He thought about it.
No one else really made sense.
Without giving it too much thought, he followed the attendant to one of the inn’s private rooms.
However, when the door opened, it wasn’t a group of servants or retainers that greeted him—but a middle-aged man dressed like a house servant.
“Young Master, you’ve come…”
The man looked up from his tea and greeted him.
“…And you are?”
Lin Wuming frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes.
“To call you ‘Young Master’… naturally, I’m from the Lin family.”
The man’s words were polite, but his expression carried no hint of actual respect.
“The Lin family?”
Lin Wuming raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“What does the Lin family want with me?”
“Young Master, how could you say that… You’ve been away all this time, and the Patriarch and Elders have been so concerned about you. Now that you’re back, and the Patriarch heard the news, he sent me immediately to fetch you.”
“…Is that so.”
Lin Wuming gave a noncommittal shrug—like hell he believed that.
It wasn’t surprising that the Lin family knew he was back. After all, the Patriarch himself had been seated on the high platform at the Wanyin Music Festival when Lin Wuming had made a name for himself.
So, now that he had become a famous genius, they wanted him back?
That might’ve made sense—if not for one key fact:
Last night, the Lin family had sent an assassin to kill him.
And now they wanted to “invite” him back?
Did they really think he was stupid enough not to see through that?