If it weren't for the investigation of the 【Void Array Talisman】, Lin Yu might have actually believed Shen Buyao's act just now!
Well, well!
She’s actually putting on a performance right in front of him?
Tsk tsk tsk…
Isn’t this just her being afraid that if he confronted her directly, Lin Yu would simply call it quits and pack up?
With that, the last bit of hesitation in Lin Yu’s heart vanished completely.
“Buyao, did you bring a few outfits specifically for today’s photoshoot?”
“Can you show me what kind of styles you prepared?”
Playing along with Shen Buyao’s “wishes,” Lin Yu continued his role as the “well-dressed scoundrel.”
Shen Buyao immediately jumped up from the bed.
She completely forgot about the injury on her leg just moments ago.
“Ouch!”
Despite the sharp pain, her enthusiasm to grab the clothes from her bag remained undiminished.
After picking up her backpack, Shen Buyao froze for a moment.
She turned back and gave Lin Yu a meaningful look:
“Hey, Lin Yu, are you really going to take photos of me…?”
Lin Yu: “???”
After all this scheming and planning, Shen Buyao could still ask such a question?
Had she finally figured out what “boudoir photos” meant and was having second thoughts?
Lin Yu declared righteously:
“Of course! Are you doubting my sincerity now?”
“After getting the DSLR back, I only tested it—I haven’t taken any portraits yet. I saved it all for today.”
“Buyao, if you don’t believe me, you can check it yourself!”
Shen Buyao didn’t even move to take the camera.
She just lowered her head and murmured:
“Lin Yu, when you were driving here, you must have noticed it too.”
“Whenever someone gets… even a little close to me, disaster follows.”
“Taking boudoir photos… might not be that intimate, I guess.”
“But I think it’s still closer than just riding in a car together, right?”
“So…”
Lin Yu’s pupils trembled: “!!!”
So this silly girl…
Was worried about him!
Hey… don’t be like this…
Such an innocent, heart-melting reaction.
How could Lin Yu bear to take advantage of her now?
At this moment, Lin Yu finally understood—Shen Jiuyi’s words back then hadn’t been exaggerated in the slightest.
The tough personality she showed the world…
Was just the outer shell of her kind heart.
When someone got too close to her,
Her first thought wasn’t whether they truly cared for her.
But rather…
Whether she might bring them misfortune.
Right now,
Any words of comfort would only betray Shen Buyao’s sincerity.
Lin Yu stayed silent.
He turned around, opened the camera bag on the table,
Inserted the memory card, loaded the battery, removed the lens cap, attached the UV filter, powered on the camera, switched the dial to A+ (full auto) mode…
Under Shen Buyao’s stunned gaze,
He aimed at her and pressed the shutter!
Click!
Shen Buyao’s eyes instantly reddened: “!!!”
[Ding!]
[Masterful move! The Saint’s actions prove him as “the man of his word,” deeply moving his Dao Companion!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones.]
Lin Yu glanced at the display and nodded in approval:
“Even without any deliberate preparation, you’re still beautiful.”
“Buyao, you’re now the first girl in my camera.”
“If you’re worried about some nonsense, just toss it aside!”
“If you really don’t want to do this, we can reschedule.”
“But either way, my wish of capturing the first girl’s photo… is already fulfilled!”
Shen Buyao rubbed her eyes and broke into a radiant smile.
This smile, free from worry, was even more beautiful than before.
“Pfft, sneaking a shot like that?”
“Who said I didn’t want to? Of course we’re doing it!”
Lin Yu set the camera aside for now.
He stretched out his hand, palm open:
“That’s more like it. Hand over the clothes—let me see.”
The moment the words left his mouth—
Whoosh…
A faint whistling sound came from above Lin Yu’s head.
Something shot into his field of vision at blinding speed.
Lin Yu: “???”
That sound…
That angle…
That trajectory…
It was heading straight for his outstretched hand!
His body’s survival instincts kicked in—he yanked his hand back.
The next second—
Thunk!
Lin Yu looked down…
“!!!”
A rusted machete was embedded in the wooden floor!
Judging by how deep it had sunk,
Lin Yu’s heart nearly stopped.
If he’d been even half a second slower, that tetanus-inducing blade would’ve impaled his palm!
Lin Yu stumbled back two steps and frantically looked up at the ceiling.
The meticulously crafted, beautifully carved roof showed no signs of disturbance.
What the hell?!
This is way too supernatural!
A machete just materialized out of thin air?!
From the sound it made while falling, it was clear—
This wasn’t some hidden mechanism launching a projectile.
It had genuinely dropped from above like any falling object.
Lin Yu’s scalp went numb.
Maybe he should take Shen Buyao to see a specialist later?
There’s definitely something weird about her!
Shen Buyao rushed over.
She stared at the machete, then gave Lin Yu a complicated look:
“Are you okay? Your reflexes… are really fast.”
“This machete… I think I put it up there. Over a decade ago—I totally forgot about it…”
Lin Yu: “???”
It even has an origin story?!
That makes it even more absurd!
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, Lin Yu blurted:
“Buyao, may I ask—!”
“Why in the world would you put a machete on the roof?!”
“Ten years ago, you were barely a teenager!”
“How did you even get it up there?!”
Shen Buyao scratched her cheek sheepishly:
“Back then, Grandpa kept making me chop firewood to heat the kang bed. I hated it.”
“I thought—if the machete disappeared, I wouldn’t have to chop anymore.”
“So I just… threw it onto the roof beams…”
Lin Yu: “…”
A machete she didn’t want, tossed aside for years—just sitting up there.
Why now?! Why now of all times?!
If Lin Yu hadn’t already unlocked his “Ren and Du Meridians,”
He’d be dialing 120 right about now!
Shen Buyao stood awkwardly, pulling the machete out of the floor:
“So… are we still doing the photoshoot?”
Lin Yu: “We’re doing it. No question.”
A faint smile tugged at Shen Buyao’s lips as she silently bumped Lin Yu up another notch in her heart.
Then—
Lin Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose and asked:
“Hey, Buyao…”
“About those talismans your great-grandmother used—does the old house have any extras lying around?”
Shen Buyao: “Huh?”
……
(Bonus chapter delivered! More to come tomorrow—new month, new grind!)
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
