After the duel between Lin Que and Jiang Moqing, their interactions gradually became more frequent, but only when it came to the sword.
After all, both of them were not fond of talking at the time. The ones who usually kept the atmosphere lively were the young maid and their master, An Xiaoyao.
Still, those two parallel lines had finally begun to intersect.
Practicing swordsmanship, reading sword scriptures, and meditating on cultivation methods occupied nearly all of Lin Que’s time.
His daily needs were taken care of by the maid.
Though one might say she took care of everything, in reality, her duties were mostly limited to laundry and cleaning the room. Thanks to the existence of military ration pills, even cooking had become a rare task.
Within the dream, Qin Wanyuan followed behind Lin Que, watching as he lived through these monotonous days, one after another.
“So this is what Lin Lang’s past was like… Is the sword truly everything to him? Just what kind of obsession must he carry in his heart to pursue the sword so relentlessly…?”
The closer she got to Lin Que’s past, the more Qin Wanyuan longed to learn everything about him.
As events progressed, time within the dream clearly began to accelerate, and step by step, she watched Lin Que grow while shedding his youthful naivety to become a dashing young swordsman.
Practicing swordsmanship, competing in the sect-wide tournament, seizing the top disciple’s position, and then facing off against the Hundred Sects of the Eastern Region…Lin Que outshone all his peers, stunned every audience, and, with a single dazzling sword strike, claimed the champion’s throne.
That year, he was seventeen.
As she looked at Lin Que standing tall and proud atop the winner’s podium, high-spirited and radiant, Qin Wanyuan couldn’t help but feel her eyes grow moist with tears.
So this is Lin Lang’s past.
And yet—
In the very next moment, the tone of the dream suddenly shifted. Lin Que, who had just been standing proudly atop the champion’s throne, abruptly fell from his lofty heights. The scenes changed rapidly, flashing by one after another like a revolving lantern.
At last, the image froze.
The once spirited and radiant young swordsman was now covered in bandages, collapsed weakly on a sickbed, looking like a man on the verge of death.
Qin Wanyuan’s pupils contracted sharply. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Trembling, she reached out, wanting to touch Lin Que.
But at that moment, the scene shattered like fragile glass. Startled, Qin Wanyuan’s eyes flew open and she realized she was still in her room.
The dream… had ended.
She looked up and saw Lin Que beside her, eyes now open, staring blankly at the ceiling as if lost in memory or reflection.
Glancing out the window, Qin Wanyuan noticed the first rays of morning sunlight slipping through the curtains. It finally dawned on her: it was morning. Lin Que had awoken, and with that, the dream naturally dissolved.
She reached out and gently caressed his face, silently murmuring in her heart, “As long as you’re safe and sound now, that’s enough.”
Lin Que quickly came back to himself. After greeting her with a good morning kiss, he headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, leaving Qin Wanyuan alone in the room to rest.
She opened the system interface and checked the favorability ratings. At this moment, Lin Que’s favorability toward Jiang Moqing had slightly recovered…but it still remained within the “wary” range.
On the other hand, Jiang Moqing’s favorability toward Lin Que had risen a bit more… only to gradually decline again.
“The Heartless Valley’s Technique really is a pain…”
For some reason, she felt like a frog stuck halfway up a well wall. Every time she leapt up a foot, she’d slip back down a few inches. Who knew when she’d ever reach the top?
At the same time, countless questions lingered in her heart.
Why had Lin Que fallen from a high-spirited swordsman to a man on the brink of death? What exactly had happened in between? And just how had his relationship with Jiang Moqing truly begun?
After all, she truly couldn’t imagine how two blocks of ice could possibly have sparked any flames between them. More importantly, what had caused such a drastic change in Lin Que’s personality?
The Lin Que of the past had been a forest boy for whom the sword was everything. He was like an unsheathed blade, always sharp, never withdrawn. But now, he was more like warm, gentle sunlight.
Just what kind of immense upheaval could have caused such a transformation in him? And beyond that, his change in status was also deeply puzzling.
How did a young swordsman who once stood at the top of the Eastern Region come to be just an ordinary inner sect disciple now?
The only explanation Qin Wanyuan could come up with was that all these changes both in personality and status must be related to the calamity that had nearly claimed Lin Que’s life.
Aside from that, she was also curious about what had happened to that maid. Lin Que had said she was dismissed after being found to be a deathsworn servant whose gu curse had been removed….but how much of that was the truth, and how much was left unsaid?
After waking from the dream, Qin Wanyuan was left with a complicated mix of emotions: surprise at seeing a completely different side of Lin Que, joy at watching him seize the top rank, and heartache witnessing him fall into despair.
But above all, the strongest feeling was…
She wanted to see what happened next!
How could the dream just end at the part where Lin Lang was bedridden and dying?! What on earth had happened in between? How did Lin Lang overcome the crisis and become the person he was today? And what exactly had happened between him and Senior Sister Jiang that led them to become Dao companions only to later separate?
She was curious about all of it!
Before watching the dream last night, Qin Wanyuan’s curiosity had been like a little kitten scratching at her. But now? It felt more like a pack of tigers clawing at her.
“System! How do I get those two dream talismans?”
[The host can obtain them randomly by completing missions or purchase them with points from the system shop. A single Dream Share Talisman costs 10,000, while the set of two is priced at 15,000.]
“Fifteen thousand… Doesn’t that basically mean I’d have to capture a target and get them and Lin Lang to… do it fifty times?!”
Qin Wanyuan did a quick mental calculation and was shocked by the result.
But if she were to capture her younger sister Qin Qian’er instead, wouldn’t she actually profit 15,000…?
“Pfft, what am I even thinking?! She’s my sister!” Qin Wanyuan quickly spat twice, scolding herself inwardly. Clearly, she’d been brainwashed by the system’s promise of triple rewards.
I can’t think like that.
“Just tell me what missions are available.”
Trying to shift her focus, Qin Wanyuan immediately asked the system.
After all, getting rewards through missions was far more cost-effective than buying directly from the system shop. There was no need to spend extra points.
[Main Mission: Have Lin Que and Jiang Moqing make eye contact for three seconds.]
[Mission Reward: Patience Potion x1]
“What’s a Patience Potion?” Qin Wanyuan asked curiously upon seeing the unfamiliar term. “Is it some kind of stamina booster? Though that might help mortal martial artists a bit, for cultivators…”
[No. This potion slightly lowers the host’s sensitivity, thereby extending the duration of each bedroom session.]
“…..”
Qin Wanyuan didn’t respond, but her face turned bright red.
Her issue had never been stamina. A Core Formation cultivator could train with a sword all day and night without tiring, but bedroom matters were a different story.
Due to her unique constitution, she would always finish quickly, and worse yet, each time drained a significant amount of energy. The more rounds she attempted, the more stamina it took, and the shorter each session became.
That’s why she was… pretty pathetic in that department.
After a brief silence, she hesitantly asked,
“Are you… telling the truth?”
[Guaranteed.]
“But didn’t you say that completing missions would reward me with Dreamshare Talismans?”
[This system never said every mission would reward one. Dream Share Talismans aren’t some common cabbage you can find on the street.]
“.……”
Qin Wanyuan was fuming, her chest rising and falling with each breath. In the end, she let out a deep sigh.
“Calm down, calm down… better to focus on how to complete the mission.”
A three-second eye contact wasn’t exactly a difficult task. Considering Lin Que and Jiang Moqing had just shared a dream about their past the night before, if she could find an excuse to visit again, the two would definitely end up looking at each other.
But why was this mission so much easier than the last one?
The system’s first mission had required her to pay Jiang Moqing a visit for at least half an hour.
Qin Wanyuan had only received the hidden reward after going above and beyond to complete it.
Wait a minute…hidden reward?
Qin Wanyuan suddenly felt like something was clicking into place.
Could this mission also have some kind of hidden condition…? But what would it be? Was it to extend the duration of the eye contact, or perhaps…
She was still pondering the possible hidden objectives when she suddenly sensed someone outside the door.
Looking up, Qin Wanyuan saw a small head peeking in quietly from outside.
It was Qin Qian’er.
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