85: The Concern of the Female Swordsman and the True Face of the Demon

The meeting concluded, and the crowd dispersed.

The vast main peak plaza became empty in an instant.

Mountain winds whistled past, ruffling Lin Gou's green robes.

His 'weak' appearance, after just expending his Divine Soul, seemed even more desolate in the wind, as if he would be blown away at any moment.

Zhao Linger followed closely behind him, not missing a step.

Her eyes were red, and she said nothing.

Her watery eyes were filled with an unresolvable worry and heartache, almost overflowing.

Suddenly, a voice as clear and cold as ice rang out from behind and to the side.

"Are you really going?"

Li Hanyue had appeared there at some unknown point.

Dressed in white, her hand on the hilt of her sword, she herself was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.

Her gaze, like a sword's edge, pierced directly at Lin Gou.

"Do you not know that the Devil Head's Clone has a strength at least equivalent to three Late Golden Core Stage Cultivators combined?"

"Your so-called trump card might just be a joke in the face of such absolute power."

Her words were crisp and clean, devoid of emotion, like a bucket of ice water poured over one's head.

Lin Gou slowly turned around, meeting her face, which was sculpted like ice and snow.

From her cold eyes, he caught a hint of a deeply hidden… fluctuation, one that even she herself hadn't noticed.

"Ding! Detected concern from Li Hanyue (Tsundere Edition), Gou Dao points +50."

Lin Gou understood, but his face still maintained that calm, unruffled actor's expression.

"Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist Li."

"But my mind is made up."

Li Hanyue stared at him for a full three breaths.

She seemed to want to find even the slightest trace of wavering, fear, or bravado on his face.

But she failed.

Lin Gou's gaze was as calm as an ancient well of a thousand years, bottomless, as if he were discussing something completely unrelated to himself.

"Good."

Li Hanyue said no more, only uttering a single word from her lips.

"The altar side, leave it to me."

She paused, her voice dropping by half, so quickly that it was almost inaudible.

"You… don't die."

Before her words finished, she had already turned and left, her white robes like snow, her Sword Qi awe-inspiring, without the slightest hesitation.

Watching her retreating figure, Lin Gou stroked his chin.

Hmm, Tsundere-style concern, worth 50 points, not bad value.

"Senior Brother."

Zhao Linger's soft call, tinged with a hint of resentment, pulled his thoughts back.

Lin Gou turned his head and met her beautiful, tear-filled eyes.

"Ling'er."

He sighed inwardly, walked up to her, and instinctively reached out to pinch her cheek, but felt that the atmosphere wasn't quite right at the moment.

His hand paused in mid-air, then naturally dropped.

His voice softened accordingly.

"Believe me, I'll be fine."

"But…"

Zhao Linger's tears finally, uncontrollably, fell.

Crystalline teardrops rolled down her fair cheeks.

"That's a Devil Head's Clone! Not those small Yao Beasts from Blackwind Valley! Senior Brother, how… how can you joke with your life again!"

Her voice carried an uncontrollable fear.

She had personally witnessed Lin Gou's 'death'.

Although he always miraculously returned, the pain and fear of watching him 'disappear' before her eyes, each time, was like being repeatedly cut with a blunt knife in her heart.

She was scared.

She was afraid that this time would be the last time.

She was afraid that this time, he would truly not return.

Looking at the young girl's delicate appearance, tear-streaked like a pear blossom in the rain, Lin Gou's heart, which had been tempered to be incredibly hard for the sake of rewards, softened a little.

He took a step forward, instantly closing the distance between them.

The wind on the mountaintop was strong, messing up a few strands of Zhao Linger's hair on her forehead.

Lin Gou raised his hand and, with an incredibly natural motion, gently tucked those mischievous strands behind her ear.

His fingertips, inevitably, touched her warm, smooth earlobe.

Zhao Linger's body suddenly stiffened!

A strange, tingling sensation exploded from her earlobe, instantly spreading throughout her body.

Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

Her heart even skipped a beat.

All the sadness and fear in that moment were actually scattered by a sudden rush of shyness and sweetness.

Lin Gou looked at her pretty face, instantly tinged with a blush, and at her eyes, like a startled fawn, and secretly thought, "Cute."

Stabilizing the emotions of the 'home front' was a crucial step in ensuring the safety of the anchor point; it had to be done well.

His voice dropped even lower, carrying an undeniable gentleness and certainty.

"Ling'er, be good."

"I've said it before, in this world, there's no trouble your Senior Brother can't solve."

"You've forgotten, your Senior Brother has always had good luck."

"You just need to… prepare new tea at home and wait for me to return."

The warm breath brushed past Zhao Linger's ear, making her ears tingle, and her heart tingle along with them.

She stared blankly at Lin Gou, at his deep eyes with a gentle smile, her mind a blank, completely forgetting what she wanted to say.

"Mm…"

In the end, she could only emit a mosquito-like response from her throat, then, like an ostrich, shyly lowered her head.

However, at this intimate and tender moment...

A more ambiguous and aggressive voice, like a ghost, rang out from behind a nearby pillar.

"Oh my, such a loving couple, making others envious."

Su Meier's figure gracefully emerged.

She was still in a fiery red long dress, swaying gracefully, a playful, seductive smile on her face.

Her captivating peach blossom eyes scanned back and forth between Lin Gou and Zhao Linger with great interest.

Zhao Linger was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly startled, immediately taking a step back to distance herself from Lin Gou, looking at this enchantress with full vigilance.

Su Meier, however, didn't care at all.

She walked directly in front of Lin Gou, and a rich, alluring fragrance once again domineeringly enveloped him.

"Great Master Lin, no, now I should call you Chief Strategist Lin."

She covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, her body shaking like a swaying flower branch, her breathtaking bosom rising and falling with it.

"What grand prestige, what great courage."

"To use your own life as bait, this heroic spirit truly makes this humble servant… deeply admire you."

She spoke of admiration, but her eyes were filled with undisguised mockery and scrutiny.

Lin Gou frowned slightly.

This enchantress was the biggest unstable factor, and also the biggest source of potential rewards.

"Is there something, Fellow Daoist Su?" he asked in a flat tone.

"Of course there is."

Su Meier's smile became meaningful.

She took another step closer, the distance between them now less than an inch.

Her voice was extremely low, exhaling like an orchid, at a volume only they both could hear.

"Chief Strategist Lin, your plan is very good."

"But have you ever thought, what if… I mean, what if Li Hanyue and the others couldn't destroy the altar on time?"

"At that time, you would face the Devil Head's Clone's relentless pursuit alone."

"Are your 'trump cards' really enough?"

Her words were like a cold viper, accurately probing the cracks in his disguise.

Lin Gou's eyes finally showed a subtle change.

He looked at Su Meier's eyes, which seemed to see through people's hearts, and a warning bell rang loudly in his mind.

This woman was not simple.

She had definitely guessed something.

"This is an internal matter of our Orthodox Alliance, so there's no need for Fellow Daoist Su to trouble herself," Lin Gou responded calmly.

"Hehe…"

Su Meier chuckled lightly, not annoyed.

She suddenly extended her slender, jade-like finger and, with an extremely bold movement, lightly tapped Lin Gou's chest.

"Little man, don't be so stubborn."

"Your courage is far greater than I imagined."

Her fingertips were cold, and even through his clothes, he seemed to feel Lin Gou's strong and powerful heartbeat.

"You're putting on such a show of heroism, aren't you just trying to find out what secrets are hidden beneath the Demon Suppression Abyss?"

Her voice carried a Gu-like, bewitching magic.

"Want to know the 'true face' of the Heavenly Devil?"

Lin Gou's pupils suddenly contracted.

Su Meier saw his reaction and smiled contentedly, like a fox who had stolen a fish.

She withdrew her finger, took a folded piece of paper from her sleeve, and with an extremely quick movement, slipped it into Lin Gou's hand.

The cold, smooth touch flashed by.

"Don't actually die."

Her red lips were almost pressed against Lin Gou's earlobe, her warm breath causing a shiver.

"Big sister is very interested in your 'luck'."

"If you can come back alive, come find me at this place."

"I'll tell you a big secret about the Heavenly Devil, one that even your Qingyun Sect Sect Head doesn't know."

After speaking, she gave Lin Gou a seductive wink that could make any man's Divine Soul sway.

Then, she twisted her snake-like waist, turned, and gracefully walked away.

Leaving behind only a fading trail of fragrance and a huge mystery.

Lin Gou stood still, expressionless.

He could feel Zhao Linger beside him, looking at him with a gaze that was both nervous and slightly wronged.

He could also feel that in the distance, Li Hanyue's clear and sharp gaze seemed to have never left him.

Undercurrents.

They were surging silently.

He slowly opened his palm, looking at the piece of paper slightly damp with sweat.

On the paper, besides an address, there was also an emblem.

An emblem he was so familiar with that it was etched into his Soul.

A sharp sword and a pair of spread wings.

The emblem of the secret organization he belonged to in his previous life.

Lin Gou slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles turning slightly white from the effort.

This play… seemed to be ten thousand times more exciting than he had imagined.

He raised his head, looking in the direction of the Demon Suppression Abyss.

The sky there was churning with Devilish Qi, covered in dark clouds, like a huge stage awaiting the protagonist's entrance.

The corner of his mouth curved into a subtle arc, filled with bloodlust and anticipation, almost imperceptible.

"Heroic Death."

I'm coming.