As the saying goes, the first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar. Jian Lin, no longer embarrassed about stumbling upon a secret, cupped her fist in greeting.
The young man smiled and walked back into the inn.
Jian Lin smiled knowingly, finding the young man to be resolute. Despite being beaten so severely, he didn't appear dejected or sad, getting up with a composed demeanor. She truly admired him.
Closing the window, she turned around and was met with the Demon Lord's reproachful gaze.
Jian Lin chuckled foolishly and explained, "Young Master, it's very lively outside, quite different from other places. I was just curious and took a look."
The Demon Lord's gaze was cold. After a long silence, he closed his eyes and said lazily, "This area is within the central region of the demon realm, so naturally, it's different from elsewhere."
Upon hearing this, Jian Lin could guess the reason: it was likely because the demons here were all highly cultivated and unafraid to go out during the day.
Realizing this, Jian Lin's mind became active. She wanted to go out for a stroll.
But how could she ask the Demon Lord? He would surely disagree and have a plethora of reasons to stop her.
Jian Lin had no interest in cultivating. The tip of her white tail flicked back and forth as her mind raced, even considering whether to beg and act spoiled.
Alas, life was difficult.
While she was agonizing, the Demon Lord suddenly spoke, "You're too noisy. Since your mind is unsettled, why don't you go out?"
She had been figured out. Jian Lin's eyes lit up, and she rejoiced inwardly, though she maintained a facade of composure.
She quietly sidled up to the Demon Lord, acting obedient, "Ah, alright then. How can I possibly delay your cultivation, Young Master?"
The Demon Lord raised an eyebrow, looking at her, and said slyly, "You really dare to go out? To be clear, I won't accompany you. If anything unexpected happens, don't expect me to save you immediately."
"No, I'll just stroll around the street where the inn is. I won't go far. How could anything unexpected happen?" Jian Lin promised the Demon Lord with all sincerity, like a child asking their mother for permission to play outside.
"Whatever. It has nothing to do with me," the Demon Lord said haughtily.
He was truly quite contrary, but Jian Lin didn't take his words to heart. After making a few more sincere assurances, she happily left.
Most demons were accustomed to sleeping and cultivating during the day and being active at night. Therefore, even though shops were open in Qiongqi Town during the day, it was still much quieter than at night. However, for Jian Lin, who was new here, it was enough.
Because demons loved to dress up, most of the shops on the street were silk shops and clothing stores. Jian Lin excitedly went in to browse and soon came out wearing a new outfit.
She had left the Demon Palace in a hurry that day, wearing a simple white outer robe. She was tired of wearing the same clothes. Today, she specifically chose a red outer robe, exquisitely embroidered with crabapple patterns, making it very beautiful.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man. Wearing the new clothes made her look much more spirited.
Jian Lin put her old clothes into her Qiankun Bag and headed to the next shop, meticulously browsing every store on the inn's street.
Finally, she emerged from a snack shop, walking back while eating candied fruit. As she rounded a corner, she suddenly saw a familiar figure at the entrance of the inn.
The person was wearing a noble black and gold long robe, with sharp sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, exuding a cold and extraordinary aura. The surrounding demons avoided him, truly hindering his business.
Jian Lin chuckled, quickened her steps, and ran towards the Demon Lord, startling him by darting in front of him, "Young Master! What are you doing out here? Worried I'll be captured!"
"It has nothing to do with you," the Demon Lord remained as still as a mountain, gazing into the distance with a serious and proper expression, "I am contemplating some matters. Do not disturb me."
Jian Lin didn't expose him. She took a piece of candied fruit from her oil-paper packet and excitedly offered it to his mouth, "Then, Young Master, you can think while you eat. This tastes very good and isn't too sweet."
The Demon Lord dodged back, and his peripheral vision suddenly swept over her red attire, "You changed your clothes?"
"Yes," Jian Lin turned elegantly, "Don't I look beautiful?"
"You..." The Demon Lord's dark eyes locked onto her, but he feigned nonchalance, saying indifferently, "You certainly have a lot of leisure time."
Jian Lin ignored him and offered the candied fruit again, smiling playfully, "Young Master, you should eat the candied fruit. I have plenty of leisure time, and you'd best get used to it."
As the two stood at the entrance, chatting and eating candied fruit, they suddenly saw a group of people aggressively approaching the inn. Some of them maintained human form, while others were still in their demon forms, but their expressions were uniformly fierce, their gazes sharp, and they were cursing.
Jian Lin quickly pulled the Demon Lord aside. The group of demons rushed into the inn and loudly reprimanded the innkeeper, telling him not to be ignorant of heaven and earth and to quickly hand over the debtor.
Jian Lin watched from the side, inexplicably sensing that this group of demons was after that young man in green Daoist robes. After all, he had been beaten once that morning, so he must have caused trouble.
As expected, the waiter soon called down the young man. The group of demons grabbed the young man and pressed him onto the table, threatening him loudly, saying they would dig out his golden core if he didn't pay the spirit stones.
Jian Lin's brow twitched. She couldn't stand hearing the words "dig out golden core" anymore. After enduring it, she couldn't help but jump out to stop the demons.
"Brothers, please calm down," Jian Lin raised her hands, smiling to appease them, "Let's talk properly. Don't resort to violence. How many spirit stones do you want?"
The leading demon was a lizard. He deliberately left dark green scales on his face, making him look ferocious and terrifying, "Little fox demon, do you have spirit stones? If not, I advise you not to meddle."
"Of course, I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't dare to ask," Jian Lin maintained her smile, speaking to them with good temper, "Brother, just name your price."
The lizard demon's yellowish-orange eyes stared at Jian Lin, as if weighing her worth. He said disdainfully, "Three thousand spirit stones. Do you have them?"
Jian Lin didn't. She had spent her last spirit stone on shopping earlier. But she had a rich benefactor!
She quietly retreated, walked to the Demon Lord's side, and smiled fawningly, "Young Master, it's only three thousand spirit stones. It's actually not expensive. Look..."
Jian Lin was certain of the Demon Lord's immense wealth, as he was a man who had produced 100,000 spirit stones without batting an eye. However, she was unsure if he would be willing to help, so she could only take a gamble.
At this moment, other demons in the hall followed Jian Lin's gaze, shifting their attention to the man in black.
The man in black exuded an extraordinary aura. Just standing there, he possessed an air of superiority that commanded the entire scene. Everyone subconsciously awaited his reaction.
The Demon Lord glanced around. He could tell that everyone was expecting him to provide the spirit stones.
The innkeeper hoped there would be no bloodshed, as it would hinder his business. The creditors didn't truly intend to fight; they just wanted the spirit stones to report back.
And of course, there was Jian Lin. The Demon Lord's gaze flickered, and he saw her pleading expression, full of caution. For some reason, a thought suddenly arose in his mind: it wasn't necessary.
It wasn't necessary to make her wear that expression for three thousand spirit stones.
The Demon Lord reached into his embrace and fumbled for a while, then pulled out three top-grade red spirit stones. Each red spirit stone was about the size of a fist, clear and flawless, shimmering with a faint watery light. "Here you go. Leave now, and stop causing trouble."
The lizard demon's pupils widened, revealing a greedy gaze. He signaled his brothers to let go and personally walked up to the Demon Lord to receive the red spirit stones. "I've never seen such red spirit stones in my life. I've truly gained knowledge today."
The Demon Lord threw the red spirit stones into the lizard demon's arms and waved his hand as if swatting away flies, "If you want to look, take them back and examine them slowly. Don't be an eyesore in front of me."
The lizard demon bared his teeth, licked his lips with his bright red tongue, and smiled indifferently, "Alright. Who told you to have spirit stones? I won't quibble with you. Brothers, let's go!"
The group of demons arrived quickly and left just as fast. The hall returned to quiet. The young man straightened up, walked before the Demon Lord, and bowed deeply, saying sincerely, "Thank you both for your rescue. May I know your names? I have already sent word to my family to send spirit stones. It will take at most three to four days, and I will personally return them."
Jian Lin hesitated for a moment. It was inconvenient for both of them to reveal their names, so she quickly interjected, "That's not important. May I ask the young brother's name, and why you offended those demons?"
"It's a long story. Please, sit down, both of you," the young man invited them to sit. He sighed, maintaining his gentle demeanor, and spoke unhurriedly, "My name is Zhu Qingyu. I am from the Zhu clan of Zhongling Mountain. I came down the mountain this time to find a female cultivator I met by chance many years ago. I arrived in Qiongqi Town to use spirit stones to buy information, but my Qiankun Bag was stolen. I asked them for a few days' grace, but they didn't believe me, and today they are forcing me to produce spirit stones..."
After listening, Jian Lin's first reaction was that this young man was a bamboo spirit, which matched his temperament. Her second reaction was that this child was too naive and innocent to have his Qiankun Bag stolen. It was obvious he had been set up.
"Little Zhu brother," Jian Lin couldn't help but give him a nickname and said sincerely, "Listen to my advice. Go home quickly. Aren't you afraid if your golden core were really dug out today?"
Zhu Qingyu smiled sheepishly, "To be honest with you both, I'm not afraid. My true form is on Zhongling Mountain. If my golden core is dug out, my soul won't scatter. When the bamboo shoots break through the soil in spring, I can start cultivating again. In fact, I was prepared to die when I came down the mountain to find someone."
Such a persistent thought! Jian Lin became interested, as if listening to a poignant love story, "Little Zhu brother, who are you looking for? Could it be that you... like them?"
"You could say that. About a hundred years ago, I was absorbing the essence of the sun and moon on Zhongling Mountain and developed a bit of sentience but didn't know how to cultivate. That day, a female cultivator passed by. In the vast bamboo sea, she noticed me and took the initiative to enlighten me," Zhu Qingyu fell into memory and said slowly, "Her voice was very gentle. I tried my best to manifest eyes to see her, but I only caught a glimpse of her back."
"She had already transformed into human form, her posture was ethereal, her long hair reached her waist, she wore plain clothes, and on her head was a red jade hairpin," Zhu Qingyu's gentle gaze fell upon Jian Lin's hair bun. He smiled and said, "It's quite a coincidence. I always feel that the one on Fox Demon sister's head is very similar."
Jian Lin's smile froze on her face. A terrifying thought formed. She shouted inwardly that it couldn't be true, but her reason told her that the description of the back view was too much like the Crane Maiden...