A piece of good news finally arrived for the little fox, whose daily life had been a repetitive cycle between two points for quite some time.
Zhao Yuyu was back, meaning Lin Ling finally didn’t have to be so busy anymore.
She let out a long sigh, feeling as if all the strength had left her body.
“Yu Yu! In such a short time, your cultivation has actually surpassed Leader Lin’s. How did you do it?!”
Bai Yunyun’s eyes sparkled as she clung tightly to Zhao Yuyu, rubbing against her.
Zhao Yuyu pushed her away with a look of feigned disgust and smiled.
“I simply went back and focused on refining the insights I’ve gathered over the years.”
Gu Xiao added with a smile, “Welcome back. During the days you were gone, we were nearly driven crazy with work.”
Noticing that there were many new faces in the Xun Zhu Si, Zhao Yuyu asked curiously, “Who are they?”
“The boss had Leader Lin recruit them. He felt that having just two or three of us wasn’t enough,” Bai Yunyun explained.
“What’s wrong with Lingling?”
Zhao Yuyu asked cautiously, seeing the little fox slumped over the desk, staring blankly into space.
Seeing this, Bai Yunyun and Gu Xiao quickly pulled Zhao Yuyu aside to whisper in her ear.
“The boss has been away for a full rotation of rest. Our leader is lovesick.”
Lin Ling’s fox ears twitched. She suddenly slammed her hand on the desk and jumped up.
“Nonsense! What are you talking about?!”
‘Bullshit! Who the hell is lovesick?!’
Bai Yunyun quickly begged for mercy and pulled Zhao Yuyu toward the new members to introduce them one by one.
“His name is Feng Zhuyu. He’s the most talented among the newcomers,” Bai Yunyun said boisterously, hooking her arm around Feng Zhuyu’s neck.
Feng Zhuyu’s cheeks turned slightly red, and he hurriedly bowed in greeting.
Zhao Yuyu blinked and smiled at Feng Zhuyu.
“Hello, I’m Zhao Yuyu. I’m an 8th Rank Safeguard Official.”
Hearing this, Bai Yunyun’s eyes widened.
She grabbed Zhao Yuyu and asked, “Yu Yu, what’s going on? When did you get promoted?”
Zhao Yuyu pulled a medallion from her robe and said triumphantly, “My family requested it for me.”
Bai Yunyun looked like she wanted to cry.
“This is terrible! Are you guys all leaving me behind? Is Xiao the only Timekeeper Student left with me?”
Gu Xiao shook his head.
“When I broke through to the peak of the Spirit Awakening stage, the boss promoted me. I am now a Junior 8th Rank Spell-Suppressing Envoy. So, you’re the only Timekeeper Student left. You’re only one rank higher than Feng Zhuyu and the others.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Yunyun dramatically threw herself at Lin Ling’s legs, fake-sobbing.
“Leader! Look at them! They all got promoted and left me behind. Do you not love me anymore? *Sob sob*—”
Lin Ling looked at her with pure disdain and gently pushed her away with her foot.
“If you don’t focus on your cultivation, you’ll be the one responsible for standing at the gate soon,” Lin Ling said seriously.
“No!”
Bai Yunyun wailed, falling to her knees.
Lin Ling silently sang in her head for her: ‘The snowflakes flutter, the north wind whistles…’
As the girls made a scene, Feng Zhuyu and the other newcomers watched, dumbfounded.
To celebrate Zhao Yuyu’s return and to welcome the new recruits, everyone decided to eat at the Yunxiao Restaurant in the city.
Naturally, Lin Ling was treating.
Lin Ling was quite the “little rich woman” now.
Not only was her salary as a Ritual Monitoring Envoy generous, but reparations for the Yuzhou Fox Clan were also being sent continuously.
She tilted her nose up—she might even be richer than Xiu Jiming now!
Work ended for the day.
Everyone went home for lunch, agreeing to meet at the Yunxiao Restaurant in the evening.
Watching the group leave in a bustling, laughing crowd, Lin Ling smiled faintly.
The Xun Zhu Si was empty once again, leaving her alone.
A sudden wave of loneliness washed over her.
She turned back, looked at Xiu Jiming’s chair, and smiled.
“Student Xiao Ming, I’ll bring something back for you.”
She turned to tidy up her things.
Gradually, the sun reached its zenith.
Lin Ling brushed the dust off her clothes, locked the main gate of the Xun Zhu Si, and prepared to head home.
It was lunchtime, and the streets were very lively.
Lin Ling scanned the various vendors along the road, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the choices.
She was finally a wealthy woman, yet she suddenly felt like she had nowhere to spend her money.
Remembering that the old Temple Overseer had asked her to bring back some tofu, Lin Ling curled her lip.
‘It’s the middle of the day. Where am I supposed to buy tofu for him?’
As it turned out, after wandering the market for a bit, she actually found some.
Lin Ling’s eyes widened in surprise.
The auntie selling the tofu thought she was adorable and gave her an extra portion.
By the time she finished her loop through the market, she hadn’t spent much money, but she had received a mountain of gifts.
Lin Ling marveled once again at how wonderful it was to be a beautiful girl.
—
When she returned to the Fox Immortal Temple, the Temple Overseer had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Lin Ling return, he immediately pulled her along to practice her cooking.
A few days ago, right after Lin Ling had helped Lin Kejing move past her feelings of guilt, Lin Kejing had started “tormenting” her.
Recently, that woman had begun forcing her to learn things outside of cultivation, even attempting to teach her needlework.
It was only after Lin Ling’s fierce protests that she managed to escape that particular requirement.
Lin Kejing, however, expressed some regret.
“You’ll have to get married eventually. You’ll need to know these things sooner or later. Besides, you might be able to use the practice to improve your Talisman crafting. What’s so bad about that?”
“I don’t want to,” Lin Ling had retorted at the time, rolling her eyes.
“I’ve only just finished merging, and you’re already in a hurry to marry me off?”
“What, do you plan on finding a woman instead?”
Lin Kejing had shot back.
Lin Ling muttered softly, “It’s not like I can’t…”
“No!”
Lin Kejing said sternly.
“You’re the only one left of the Yuzhou Fox Clan. If you find a woman, we really will go extinct!”
Lin Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Are you expecting me to revive the Fox Clan all by myself?”
“Yes. Cultivators have long lives. You can have a litter every year, rest for one year in between, and repeat. At that rate, in 100 years, our Fox Clan might actually reappear,” Lin Kejing said, rubbing her chin with a mischievous grin.
“You’re treating me like a breeding pig!”
Lin Ling protested.
“Besides, the children wouldn’t be pure-blooded. They’d just have Fox Clan heritage.”
Lin Kejing gave a devious smile.
“Heh, so you actually *do* want to have them.”
“Is that what I meant?!”
Lin Ling’s fur practically stood on end.
“Oh, I heard the intent in your words. Hmm, your sister will look for a good husband for you in the future,” Lin Kejing said, nodding seriously.
“Furthermore, you don’t need to worry about the bloodline. If you have enough children, there will eventually be a few little foxes with atavistic traits. If there aren’t any, it just means you didn’t have enough.”
Lin Ling’s face was covered in dark lines.
She cursed inwardly, but because of the Jinzhi seal, she had to say, “Sister, you’re so wonderful~”
‘As expected of a scholar, every word out of her mouth is filled with “class.”‘
Lin Kejing reached out and pinched Lin Ling’s cheek, her own mouth twitching.
“You brat, you’re secretly scolding me again!”
Lin Ling shook her head, pushing those unpleasant memories aside.
She sighed and looked down at the bags of food in her hands, feeling melancholy.
If she really had to marry someone in the future, who would it be?
Shen Zaixin?
No, no, no.
That guy always looked like he was up to no good; it was better to stay far away from him.
Gong Xuance?
A total jerk.
She’d rather just kick him to death!
Then…
Xiu Jiming?
Lin Ling fell silent.
She grit her teeth, her heart stubborn.
‘That stingy guy! Just because I gave him the cold shoulder for a bit, he left me behind to go have fun. Absolutely not him!’